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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 7:58 am
(October 13, 2018 at 8:32 pm)Little Rik Wrote: I got good news for you Dragonfly.
There is no hell.
There can not possibly be any hell.
Why?
Because if there would be an hell there wouldn t be God.
But let me explain to you this point.
Being God perfect an imperfection would mean that He is not perfect.
Hell is a place where imperfections are to be dumped.
The so called sinners therefore would be dumped in this rubbish bin.
Rubbish creation is not part of God otherwise he wouldn t be perfect so hell is out of the question.
To sort out imbalances that pop up here and there God established the Karma law but this is something that you will learn later on.
Religions have done terrible things especially by inventing the hell and at the proper time they too will learn and punished by the karma law.
So try to be happy and put hell stories in the rubbish bin where they belong.
Atheists on the other hand have very little to teach you.
Spirituality is lot lot better.
Have a lovely day away from the fear of hell and religions.
It's nice that you're trying to help. :-)
Also, I don't think CarveTheFive meant to sound so nasty and maybe didn't deserve to be slammed so harshly.
Dragonfly, there are benefits to being an atheist, namely you can be free to be yourself.
I'd advise you to focus on the perks.
Also, don't forget what depression does.
It takes a little cloud on the horizon and turns it into an end-of-the-world thunderstorm.
Hang in there, buddy. :-)
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Quote:Also, I don't think CarveTheFive meant to sound so nasty and maybe didn't deserve to be slammed so harshly.
I appreciate that.
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 3:37 pm
I keep reading "IF you deconvert a midwife...", which is not a bad idea.
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 5:36 pm
(This post was last modified: October 14, 2018 at 5:38 pm by Simon Moon.)
Deleted post.
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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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 6:30 pm
(October 13, 2018 at 7:53 pm)Thoreauvian Wrote: (October 13, 2018 at 7:09 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote:
Wow. Smart kid. Pretty remarkable video. Thanks for sharing!
I said to the sun, tell me about the Big Bang.
The sun said, 'It hurts to become.'
~Andrea Gibson
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 14, 2018 at 6:44 pm
(This post was last modified: October 14, 2018 at 7:39 pm by Dragonfly.)
I said to the sun, tell me about the Big Bang.
The sun said, 'It hurts to become.'
~Andrea Gibson
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 15, 2018 at 12:00 am
(October 13, 2018 at 3:29 pm)Dragonfly Wrote: Hi, All,
Most of the atheists I've met have been so for their entire lives, or at least since they were kids. I think those of us who leave religion in midlife or well into our adulthood have a different experience as we have a lifetime of conditioning to overcome. I'm really struggling, some days more than others. I hope you'll read the intro, but if you don't want to, please jump to the numbered list at the bottom. (thank you)
...I became the most reluctant atheist I can imagine. I did NOT set out to become an atheist, only to know what truth is, and that led to lack of evidence for Biblegod. It's always remarkable when I hear people say they've been atheist since a very, very young age like age 4 or in utero or something like that. Actually we're all atheist at birth. However, whether or not you follow religion at such a tender age is highly dependent on the beliefs of your family of origin. Whether a particular child is raised religiously or not is decided by that family, not by the child themselves.
Very young children do not grasp the permanency of death, much less whether they should challenge their moms'/ dads' and societal beliefs in gods.
So people who drop religion and become atheist in middle age are much more common than you might think.
I don't have specific answers to your questions but I think dealing with your depression and anxiety in tandem with you grappling with atheism will help. And it sounds like you are on the right track and doing just that. As I said in your intro thread, you're gonna be ok! Keep asking questions - the beauty of atheism is you get to do that - and stay on track. Do keep us posted on how you're doing.
-Teresa
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 15, 2018 at 2:39 pm
(October 14, 2018 at 6:44 pm)Dragonfly Wrote: I like the "wait just a damn minute..what?" method. You're right--it's worse with stress and illness. I think they who did this to me really believed what they taught. They are all victims themselves. Doesn't make it right, though. Stress and Illness are moments of vulnerability that the religious are quite happy to exploit. They sometimes do this in person, but more often by planting those seeds in your mind as a child.
Now, I have had my share of medical misadventures up to and including full on OOBE under anesthesia complete with tunnel and light. So I know it is a load of bollocks for a fact.
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RE: IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?
October 16, 2018 at 5:54 am
(This post was last modified: October 16, 2018 at 5:55 am by The Grand Nudger.)
If there is a hell, and some god to send you there, it's not as if there's anything you could do about it.
I try not to spend time worrying about things I have no control over, on principle.
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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