Yippee, another new guy.

[festive1]

I would go from being a Christian to being an evolutionist, which means that there is no eternity, a concept that has been prominent in my life for 18 years.

Okay, it might not be eternity, but billions of years is damn close enough. Our lifespans are at best around 100 years, how can we even begin to fathom a million or billion years?

I want there to be something else after it all, I've lived a fifth of my life already, and if there isn't anything, then I better have a damn good life. I don't want to die an atheist, when OOPS!, God was real.

To this, I'll refer to my byline. Would you prefer to accept the comforting lie or to revel in reality?

BTW, welcome to the forum!

[Endo]

KichigikaiNeko: I've never relied on God in that way. I take Taekwondo and carry a knife. Eventually, I'll carry a gun, too. I'm very self-reliant when it comes to physical safety. Unless you mean spiritually. I can see from your two posts in this thread that you have an extreme distaste for religion and on the whole are a cynical person. Well, if you weren't born into a religion, then you wouldn't understand. All the people around you expect that you will follow the religion and accept it. I don't want to create a disturbance in my family structure, they've all been good to me, and it would be a big shock to them.

[festive1]

I don't want to create a disturbance in my family structure, they've all been good to me, and it would be a big shock to them.

But see, they're adults. Which means they are responsible for their own feelings and emotional regulation. Each of us has to make our own way through this life. Going about our business, always keeping in mind how our choices effect others, especially in this way you are describing, is unhealthy. Would you want to live your life pretending to be something you are not just to please others? That's living a lie.

[Endo]

To this, I'll refer to my byline. Would you prefer to accept the comforting lie or to revel in reality?
BTW, welcome to the forum!

See, that could go both ways. The comforting lie could be that YOLO, so live it up now", while the reality could be that there is something out there. You might believe that God is a lie, but I don't. There's nothing comforting about not being able to live as you want to, but that you are asked to conform to a set of laws.

[Joel]

To this, I'll refer to my byline. Would you prefer to accept the comforting lie or to revel in reality?
BTW, welcome to the forum!

See, that could go both ways. The comforting lie could be that YOLO, so live it up now", while the reality could be that there is something out there. You might believe that God is a lie, but I don't. There's nothing comforting about not being able to live as you want to, but that you are asked to conform to a set of laws.

For the love of your God; don't ever say "YOLO" again.

[Endo]

See, that could go both ways. The comforting lie could be that YOLO, so live it up now", while the reality could be that there is something out there. You might believe that God is a lie, but I don't. There's nothing comforting about not being able to live as you want to, but that you are asked to conform to a set of laws.

For the love of your God; don't ever say "YOLO" again.

See, I usually don't, but when referring to acting stupidly and or doing whatever you want, YOLO fits the bill perfectly.

[LastPoet]

I don't want to create a disturbance in my family structure, they've all been good to me, and it would be a big shock to them.

This is a common problem with our young atheist members, there were even cases of teens expelled from home due to being atheists.

One only has to wonder that if a so called loving religion paves the way to separate you from your progeny, what does that say about said religion and its followers.

And many of the atheist members were brought on religious homes, and some did believe at a point. Then we grew out of it.

[Joel]

It's a simple, non-stupid question.

Believing a comforting lie just shows that you (not you in particular) are content, and do not care about truth. You only believe because you want to believe what you want to believe because you want to believe, ad infinitum.

If you accept the truth, however harsh it may be; you are the stronger person and will be able to live a better life because of it.

[Endo]

I don't want to create a disturbance in my family structure, they've all been good to me, and it would be a big shock to them.

This is a common problem with our young atheist members, there were even cases of teens expelled from home due to being atheists.

One only has to wonder that if a so called loving religion paves the way to separate you from your progeny, what does that say about said religion and its followers.

And many of the atheist members were brought on religious homes, and some did believe at a point. Then we grew out of it.

Thank you, I'm glad someone understands my home situation.

Edit: I'm very sorry about that. Many of the other forums that I'm on often abbreviate posts similarly for brevity. I must not have noticed that in the rule post earlier.

[LastPoet]

Ahem, Endo, go back and edit post #29 (the one above) to correct your quote of me, its in our rules. Don't make me put my Mod Hat on. Changing quote contents is a big no-no.

EDIT: No problem, just a reminder