Good evening

[Mr Olefemi]

Hello I am a christian,originally from Nigeria,I hope to come to a better understanding of what atheism is about,and maybe we can benefit from one another somehow.I hope to have enlightening discussions with you.

[Minimalist]

Hello.

Atheism is about the non-existence of gods. It can be phrased in several ways. I prefer "there is no evidence for any gods" but others may wish to phrase it differently.

Religion, however, does exist....to the detriment of mankind.

[Darwinian]

Hi

Welcome along.

What kind of Christian are you. Are you the sort of Christian who believes that the Universe was not created by God but is in fact a manifestation of him, and perhaps you believe this because it 'feels right'.

[Rhage]

Ah, another christian. I sincerely doubt this one will be as entertaining as the last.

Welcome Mr. O. I hope you learn a little something from your stay here.

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

Hello I am a christian,originally from Nigeria,I hope to come to a better understanding of what atheism is about,and maybe we can benefit from one another somehow.I hope to have enlightening discussions with you.

Always good to hear that someone desires to learn anything.
My personal experiences with african christians has been quite positive so I hope this won't be a break from those experiences. (I live near an area where there are a lot of african immigrants into the united states, so I've had the opportunity to work, talk, and date many of them.)

Anyway, it's good to meet you and I hope we all learn something with you here.

[Mr Olefemi]

Thank you for the welcome,I would like to say that religion is a very positive force in the world,what saddens me is how charlatans use it to lead people astray.In my town,for every one genuine pastor there are roughly 2 or 3 fakes and the sad fact is that they are very popular with the people.I distance myself from them because all they want is money.
My religion has a very bad name but maybe one day soon this will slowly begin to change.The teachings of Jesus Christ are very simple and I have always thought to myself that the only reason that a big fuss was made about him was because what he was teaching was so different to what people were used to before.But now it is normal and still there are those who try to turn what is simple teachings into a money making machine.I am against the pope also by the way.

[Nitsuj]

Hello...

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

Thank you for the welcome,I would like to say that religion is a very positive force in the world,what saddens me is how charlatans use it to lead people astray.In my town,for every one genuine pastor there are roughly 2 or 3 fakes and the sad fact is that they are very popular with the people.I distance myself from them because all they want is money.
My religion has a very bad name but maybe one day soon this will slowly begin to change.The teachings of Jesus Christ are very simple and I have always thought to myself that the only reason that a big fuss was made about him was because what he was teaching was so different to what people were used to before.But now it is normal and still there are those who try to turn what is simple teachings into a money making machine.I am against the pope also by the way.

It's no different in the united states. People who pray on the faithful's gullibility.
Depending on my mood, I tend to put the blame either on the scam artist and those gullible enough to fall for it but regardless of that, it's still a scam.

But my view on the failing of religion has more to do with even the legitimate pastors of any faith who have let their own views blind them to their own teachings on god's love. The kind of people I'm talking about are the kind of pastor who will take the word of the bible to back up their own backward morality.
Take the homosexuals for example, if a pastor finds reason to believe that the bible says that homosexuality is an abomination upon the lord and the pastor agrees, then people who fall into that cycle treat homosexuals as less-than-human. Whether it's simply by trying to 'convert' them into heterosexuality or by passing laws to execute them for being gay, like what was attempted in Uganda.

Those kinds of pastors seem to prefer to selectively follow some ordinances more than others.
Most christian pastors I've come to know preach love, forgiveness, and empathy for your fellow man.
Yet, when it comes to being homosexual, many pasters throw 'love', 'forgiveness', and 'empathy' out the window to be able to stone gay people on the streets if they could.

Arguably, I could say that for all pastors (because God himself preaches one thing and does another, like all the genocides from the old testiment and the new genocides in the new testiment as well as the torture of his own son) but what makes having faith in that sense worthwhile is that it can teach that kind of morality and provide a positive effect on the lives of many people.

[Mr Olefemi]

I am very much in agreement with that.Many pastors and priests use the bible to justify things that they don't like.I for example find homosexuality quite disgusting.I think it's quite silly for a man to put his thing in another man,I really do.But when I think about it,they're not doing it for malevolent reasons,they just like it.I don't understand it and I think it is crazy,but there must be some reason and if god created us in his image then god must be a little bit gay too (I would be crucified if I said that back home,I've never said it or even typed it).If two men love each other then they have to do what they have to do.I don't like it but it's not my life.What I'm trying to say is that even if I disagreed with it more than I do and if I was a pastor I'd never look for bits in the bible to try and say that it's wrong or that gay people should be punished.So yes many religious leaders abuse their position and that's a big problem.he religion isn't a big problem it's just the people who translate it and use bits as weapons.That's why as I say religion has a bad name,which it truly deserves but only because of certain people who have made it that way.And I don't believe that the bible is the literal word of god,I understand that men wrote it,which is why I am careful what I trust.The teachings of Jesus are enough for me.

[Minimalist]

Thank you for the welcome,I would like to say that religion is a very positive force in the world,what saddens me is how charlatans use it to lead people astray.

The money scams are bad enough but this

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/w...eria-1.htm

At least 57,000 people fled their homes following sectarian violence involving Christians and Muslims in northern and central Nigeria. More than 30,000 Christians have been displaced from their homes in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, which was racked by religious violence on Tuesday and Wednesday. A further 27,000 displaced people had sought refuge in Bauchi state in east central Nigeria following a massacre of Muslims by Christian gangs in neighbouring Plateau state earlier in May.

President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau State in central Nigeria on 18 May 2004, following the Christian massacre of Muslims that in turn led to reprisal killings of Christians in the northern city of Kano. The bloodletting had claimed more than 2,000 lives since September 2001. Obasanjo sacked governor Joshua Dariye, accusing him of failing to act to end a cycle of violence between the Plateau State's Muslim and Christian communities. The president also disolved the Plateau State legislature and appointed a retired army general, Chris Ali, as interim administrator for the next six months. Ali is a native of Plateau State.

is why religion really sucks. To quote Voltaire:

"Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit atrocities."