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I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 6:41 am
I have heard religion described as poisoned mother's milk. In other words, if you are raised in a religion, and your social capital is derived from that religion, it is even more difficult to separate yourself from it.
This is my problem.
I am in a situation in which I have no family I can trust, not because they are religious, but because they are dysfunctional and have major issues that prevent them from being a supportive network. I am often tempted to return to religion and join a church, not because I believe the teachings, but because I need a close-knit community to belong to, especially when life gets rough.
Any ideas?
God is a personification of ourselves, what we wish to be, and that which we do not understand.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 10:26 am
Join a church.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 10:39 am
do you go to school? look up some groups that share you beliefs and princples. do you have any hobbies? i love fishing( if the wheater ever permits lol), shooting my bow, playing guitar etc. i found these things help me release some tension and escape from all the B.S. if you do go to school take a philiosphy class or science class. you will have a higher probability of finding people you have things in common with there.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 2:17 pm
Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Freemasons, Elks...Volunteer for Hospice is also a good one.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Consider a Unitarian Universalist church. They are freethinker-friendly because their religious beliefs are not strict or dogmatic. They're a very diverse group with diverse beliefs.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Join a small church, one where people share your concerns, people tend to have trouble finding a place to fit in at larger churches.
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 3:50 pm
(This post was last modified: March 30, 2013 at 3:51 pm by Cinjin.)
(March 30, 2013 at 10:26 am)Rhythm Wrote: Join a church.
![[Image: Cherna-facepalm.gif]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i1118.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk619%2Fjcincain%2FEmoticons%2520Insults%2520and%2520Kudos%2FCherna-facepalm.gif) ...or...
You could join any number of social groups and actually learn something that hasn't aided in keeping the human race in the dark for thousands of years.
A book club. A humanists group. A sexual addictions group. A fight club. A bicyclists group. Sign up for marathons, meet people and get in shape at the same time.
Or better yet ... DO ALL OF THEM! There are likely hundreds of hobbies that someone somewhere has set up some kind of social club around.
Church is for the lazy shits that don't want to make any effort towards real fulfillment.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 4:08 pm
LOL, cmon, if he joins a church, he'll just be back in a few months with an even broader picture of why he left in the first place.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Stay away from churches....nothing but a bunch of bigoted assholes there.
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RE: I am at a weak point.
March 30, 2013 at 7:01 pm
There are other worthy organizations you could join in order to get the community you are missing. You may need to step out of your comfort zone to find one, and it may take a few times to find one that is a good fit, but they're out there.
Maybe start with 'The Secular Student Alliance'.
Why would you want to return to a superstitious dogma that believes you are destined for eternal torture for a finite thought crime? Certainly you could do better.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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