Human suffering and the sins of the bible shredded any objective interest in religion. I quickly became irreligious and found that my natural calling was to be more of a secular humanist. Which to quote "Secular humanism is a secular ideology that espouses reason, ethics, and justice, whilst specifically rejecting supernatural and religious dogma as a basis of morality and decision-making." When I was a witness...pioneering where the need was great, holding down a few positions in our small KH it was my pleasure to serve, to sacrifice, to be of help. My viewpoint was not focused on Jehovah and future rewards but on the congregation, on practical concerns. Even back then when I was totally committed I had growing suspicions that this wasn't the truth. Eventually I had to step away.I cleared the religious dogma out as well as God whom became just another god and changed my life and goals.
What it takes to become an atheist.
by dontplaceliterature 90 Replies latest jw friends
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caliber
What it takes to become an atheist.
Just take away faith, hope and love
Faith follows the thing heard.....
all you need to do is cover your ears
but love starts in the eyes of understanding
But if you try to close your eyes
Love turns into a teardrop
but in your heart lies it's broken remains
~~~~~~ by Caliber
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THE GLADIATOR
"Just take away faith, hope and love."
La speranza รจ l'ultima a morire
Hope is last to die.
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blindnomore
what it takes to become an atheist? hummmm...
was an atheist first 20+years. then converted to JW. and become a 100% theist. for 25 years. and then,
have personally witneseed sheer wickedness done without any remorse or conscience by the spiritual leaders and some of their followers who believe in God that sees everything.
also saw how injustice prevail and thrive every time while the helpess inocent viticms being thrown under the bus by evil religious JW leaders.
make me to compare these God fearing people to my atheist family members and my formal etheist association.
I starting to have more respect for my atheist family and friends for their humanity and sincerity. I found myself embarrassed for what and who I have become.
Some how I become judemental, self righteous myself as a theist. I had been naive, innocent, and mild as an atheist. Now I want to be who I used to be.
If God was there why and how He would lead or at least let his worshipers be less human! Why these god fearing people become deteriorate instead of making progress in their behaviour?
Or have I just had been mislead by false theists?
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shamus100
If somebody needs something to be happy then what's wrong with that? And even then, that is a rather broad, generalized statement.
Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on your own happiness than make other people feel lousy for having a belief?
When I stopped needing god he evaporated into oblivion. He hasn't come back. Your experience may vary and never let someone tell you that you are stupid for believing something. The ignore button on the forum (and in life) is hidden. Seek it out, find it, and use it. It works great. :D
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Qcmbr
Shamus - some of us want to help those trapped by childish beliefs. You seem to like to be childish with your kiss the monkey pap but no one bothers to call you on it because its not important and it seems to make you happy - it is bloody annoying when you trash a thread with it but I just bite my tongue and move on. Religion however, is important and while it can indeed make people happy it does so at a high cost to intelligent enquiry and logical decsion making. It can also have a sinister side that allows people to control others, 'steal' money, make fatal health decisions or waste their lives chasing a phantom dream. For some of us that is a tragedy and - speaking for myself but hopefully for others - watching it silently is not an option.
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shamus100
Qcmbr,
Why is the way that someone thinks a tragedy to you?
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InterestedOne
Shamus wrote:
If somebody needs something to be happy then what's wrong with that? . . .
Why is the way that someone thinks a tragedy to you?
I go back and forth about whether or not I should just ignore people's religious beliefs. When I lean toward -not- ignoring it and speaking up about it, I am usually motivated by how sad I feel about how their beliefs affect their view and treatment of others. For example, take the JW idea of who can be their "friend" or not. In my case, I know that as long as my JW acquaintance continues believing JW-ism, she cannot be a close friend with me. We can only be acquaintances. This makes me sad because it is purely based on religious ideas that have zero credibility. I think it's a shame that some people make life decisions, such as who to be friends with, based on unsupportable religious ideas. If someone doesn't want to be friends with me, I would rather they do so because they -really- don't want to be my friend, not because they have joined a religion that tells them not to be my friend.
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palmtree67
I feel like you, Interested One.
Also, hypocrisy really gets to me.....I'm working on that......
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tec
Q and IO... if someone of faith has a love for science and its findings, does not discriminate against anyone based on their faith/lack of faith, who do not use their faith to cause harm or seek control or anything of the like... why then do some of you still have a problem with people of faith? Not everyone is limited by religion, or seek to impose their faith on anyone else. So certainly, speak out against something that causes harm to you or to others... but why have a problem with those whose faith help them to be stronger, more at peace, more forgiving (not more than another person; but more than what they might be on their own)?
Are you painting everyone with the same brush, simply because they think and believe differently than you... and if so, why?
Peace,
tammy