by jamesmahon 69 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I know what you mean, Loz. My kids mom is still is and super hardcore. I have the whole baptism/shunning thing facing me. Best thing I have going for me is that our divorce decree explictely states that they can't be baptized in any faith without the consent of both parents until they reach the age of majority (18).
So, I have until 18 to keep them out.
Good planning EP...yes, keep them out for all your sakes, while you have time.
Loz x
Here's to hoping. I am doing my best, but it's an uphill battle. Their entire family (other than me) is in, and it's a large family. They have friends, cousins, etc., all encouraging them every second I am not with them, making sure everyone knows that I am a "corpse" when Armageddon comes, that I don't love god, etc.
Sometimes I just want to beat those peices of shit that say those things down to the ground and then kick their teeth in, let them heal, then break their jaw, wait for that to heal and then punch them in the larynx until they can't talk for six months, THEN see how much they can tell my kids I am bad person when they can't fucking talk. But then, that would make me the bad person they warned my kids about. Or would it?
Ok, anger time is over. All better now.
I'm a believer, but I have no problem with/fear of atheists. Their viewpoint is obviously more rational than mine, and I readily admit it! I regularly discuss religion with my atheist and agnostic friends, and it seems like people who are afraid of such discussions really aren't all that strong in their faith anyway. The constant warnings of some churches to only hang out with believers is a sign of that, I believe. People haven't considered much else and would have serious questions about their faith after a while of being exposed to other beliefs/non-belief.
I will say one thing that annoys the crap out of me when it comes to a lot of other believers: The whole idea that believing in God somehow makes you more moral than people who don't. What the crap is that? That makes absolutely no sense to me. So people who have a hard time believing in something that isn't readily tangible and provable are bad people? Okay... dummies.
Boy, oh boy. Where do I start with this? As others have said, not all religious people are afraid.
I'm religious. Not afraid.
I also disagree that the opposition comes from an underlying fear that their premise is flawed, foolish. Again, as other posters have pointed out, fear is an emotion. The visceral fear of "opposers", "athiests" has to do with a genuine, illogical fear. There could be a fear that their reasoning is controlled by Satan, even, and that their words have the power to suck the unsuspecting in to perdition. Terrifying!
I believe the fundamentalist's (the subset of the religious who are afraid) primary fear is loss of traditional values. I think this is the chief draw to fundamentalist religions, especially in this era of change. There is a tendency to take complex issues and oversimplify them. Entire sects have been built on oversimplifying and creating a false dichotomy. Take the militarization of a term like jihad, for instance. Equally false is to demonize all of Islam by the Christian West.
I got a whole new perspective on the issues, and a greater appreciation for the strength of the fundamentalist's fear in Karen's Armstrong's book, the Battle for God. Armstrong's argument, to calm the fundamentalist, is to first allay their fears.
Kind of like how one approaches a cultist, come to think of it.
Which brings me back to your original question. It oversimplifies the issue by lumping all religious in to the fear pot. But, modified, your question has merit. Why are fundamentalists afraid of athiests? They are afraid that the athiests will grab our society by the throat and drag it in to an unrecognizable future. With Satan's blessing.
By the way, I am afraid of people who are ruled by emotion. They are unpredictable. They panic. They frantically claw their neighbours in their efforts to return to safety.
Softly, softly catchee monkey.
" OTOH, it's pretty fun to embarass them sometimes. Just because."
Heh heh, especially my daughter but I swear I will be good up in Tahoe.
I was afraid of atheists as a religous jw, because every atheist I knew seemed so sure that God doesn't exist. I figured they must know something that I wasn't allowed to know. I was afraid of atheists as a non-religous, non-jw, because I thought ethics and morals were the same thing. I couldn't imagine someone who wasn't morally bound, on at least a cursory level, to a code of conduct such as the Bible, Koran, Talmud, etc. could practice ethical or moral behavior.
After I got a little older, I discovered that actions speak louder than words. For example, I know a born again Christian woman who slept with her stepdaughter's husband and stole thousands of dollars from a savings account set up for her own children. And I know atheists, who not only would never dream about doing things like that, but also do productive things to help other people.
Wariness and uncertainty rather than abject fear is what I seem to encounter more, especially from JW's that know me, they do not quake with fear, but are cold and reserved, so underneath there is fear really.
In their innermost thoughts they know they cannot defend their religion in any way that stands up, apart from appealing to emotion, so they do fear a confrontation, you can tell.
Personal note to dear Sab, I am sure you will make/ are making, a perfect father, and your child or children will grow up happy balanced individuals who will love you for giving them such a lovely start in life.
Religions are scared of atheism because atheists do not support religion, and they are usually difficult to recruit into religion. They are even more scared of spiritual Satanists, since Satanists are almost impossible to sucker into right-hand path religion and can use black magic to bring down the whole religion (usually exploiting problems the religions themselves create).
I discovered that actions speak louder than words. For example, I know a born again Christian woman who slept with her stepdaughter's husband and stole thousands of dollars from a savings account set up for her own children. And I know atheists, who not only would never dream about doing things like that, but also do productive things to help other people. -jamiebowers
Is this a fact or did you make this a fact based on a few examples from obesrving both athiests and believers?
