Hatemail #22. Author: Julia Shane

[Eleine]

Originally Said by Alice Shade

Such reason. Too bad it`s completely wasted by assuming God exists. I must say, this is outrageously ridiculous - toiling day-to-day for vague promise of "heaven", if you do everything in "righteous" way. Note, that there was NEVER any confirmation about the existance of this "heaven", to boot. Yet, people behave in insufferably bigoted manner just to make sure they will get their "heaven".
We can prove that our Goddess exists and is benevolent. You can`t prove your God exists, let alone disprove his malevolence. I can`t wait for first child abuse lawsuit - someone ought to finally demand compensation for having to observe crucified man day by day.

You know, I feel nearly guilty for bashing the religions of others, but I am so very tired of people lately treading so lightly in fear of stepping on others' toes. Having grown up in China, I am going to take full advantage of the wonders of free speech.

The promise of heaven is not for those who are righteous, remember? Heaven is for those who repent for their sins. Meaning the repenting pedophile preachers, murderers, etc. who repent for their sins are whisked away to "Heaven," leaving non-Christians such as Mahatma Ghandi or the Dalai Lama are to be forever cast into Hell.

Then there is the outright ridiculous idea that these meager 80 years or so can deserve an eternity of suffering.

The Christians' merciful God is indeed merciful--except to the Egyptians, to those who first lived in Canaan, Jericho, Soddom, and Gomorrah, etc. Except to those idol worshippers who had to eat their statue. Except to the thousands of pigs that were possessed with the demon that was purged from one soul and except those pigs' owner who is now poor. Sloth is a sin, but Mary was right to sit around all afternoon listening to Jesus while Martha was immoral to spend the same afternoon working and cooking so she could serve her family and Jesus dinner. Etc. Etc. Etc.

God isn't necessarily immortal. What if everyone on Earth forgets about Christianity and God? When the religion and its man-made deity are no longer believed or practiced? Is that like the death of God?

How does God help "us" everyday? Do tsunami's, hurricanes, wildfires, radiation, etc. help us? Do you witness miracles on a daily basis? Does google help us everyday? Yes. Millions of users daily use the search engine to find what they're looking for.

Google is the closest to omniscient in comparison to all other things/beings/persons that we know of. Have you found something for which google has failed to turn up a result? Have you made a prayer for which God has failed to produce a result?

(Am I being too harsh?)

Not really.

And Elaine?

According to canons, if you repent, well, that`s a start, but you still get to to time in purgatory, so let`s cut christians some slack here.

You know... The whole christianity reminds me of mafia family, and God is the Don of that family. A Capo, if you will.

Family got laws - don`t steal from family, don`t cheat family, don`t murder family, obey family...

Capo God has a Consigliori - Jesus, who carries out more menial of those tasks.

And what happens to those, who chose to betray our Don God? They broke the "omerta", conspired with unfaithful cops, and now must die for their treason.

Is it just me, or my comparison looks pretty accurate?

Originally Said by Alice Shade

Not really.

And Elaine?

According to canons, if you repent, well, that`s a start, but you still get to to time in purgatory, so let`s cut christians some slack here.

Not sure which canon you're reading, Alice, but as far as I remember, the concept of purgatory is not biblical, i.e. taken from the canonical texts. It is a catholic apologist's concept created to explain an inconsistancy not covered in said texts - if Jesus came to "wash away our sins" and save us from hell where did thousands of years worth good people go before his supposed sacrifice.

As formulated in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, the doctrine of purgatory, also termed the "final purification", is articulated as a purification after death prior to entrance into heaven, and explained as "based on the practice of prayer for the dead."[43] Catholics consider purgatory part of the apostolic deposit of faith, finding its origins in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Protestant theology generally does not articulate such a view on doctrinal development, and certain Protestant scholars consider purgatory to be an "unbiblical" belief not derived from revelation. Hence, Adolf Harnack, a nineteenth century Protestant historian, argued that purgatory entered the Church via Hellenistic philosophy and thus represented an infusion of "unrealistic" and "unbiblical" ideas into Christianity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory

Capo God - Interesting take on the theme. I like that ...

LJ

Hum. I`ve been thinking about orthodox church, actually.

In any case, concept of purgatory is still somewhat more reasonable, if we take the theory of sins and repentance for axiom.

*Nods*

Thanks for the clarification.

LJ

I totally agree with you, Julia. How can people believe in such nonsensical crap? A search engine being God, that's ridiculous. On the other hand, a virgin who somehow manages to stay virgin after having a kid, who in turn resurrects people and then dies and then lives again and then flies to heaven, that's much more reasonable. Or the assumption that when we have some weird bread and a cup of wine we're actually eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Everyday stuff. And it doesn't have any massochist connotations at all, that's for sure.
Ever read "The God Delusion"?

I totally agree with you, Julia. How can people believe in such nonsensical crap? A search engine being God, that's ridiculous. On the other hand, a virgin who somehow manages to stay virgin after having a kid, who in turn resurrects people and then dies and then lives again and then flies to heaven, that's much more reasonable. Or the assumption that when we have some weird bread and a cup of wine we're actually eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

Here's the funny thing... we offer you something close to God which is possible and you scoff and think it's the stupidest thing ever. You don't even acknowledge that we think Google is the closest thing to a God, not an actual God. These are the same people that accept the story of God, accepting that a being impossible according to so many aspects of reality, openly because they think that God is too good to follow the rules of reality...

Xians, other religious people against this Church, you people confuse me. You evidently will believe the far fetched fiction that is religion, but you won't accept something that actually has proof and logic behind it. Are you people just allergic to logic and proof?

God ( not Google ) knows these things and helps us everyday, Google does not.

It's not God that helps you. It's your belief that there is a God that helps you. It's a placebo, your mind tricking you. It comforting to think that someone is always watching you and protecting you. That's what is so attractive about religion. You feel comfortable, you feel protected, you feel safe, you feel loved, you feel like you belong. Are you? No. If God helped us everyday, I wouldn't have divorced parents, I wouldn't have scars, no one would have scars, we wouldn't have a war, we wouldn't have poverty, we wouldn't have disease, we wouldn't have suffering, now would we? God evidently is so capable of doing these things you tell me yet he NEVER does. So what's the problem? Does he not love us, like you say he does? Does he not have the power, like you say he does?

This is why I am an atheist. You (The Religious Persons) can't answer this question. You've never been able to. You never will answer the question. You will only tell me to look for God and have faith and not question what I believe in. Do you ever shut up and think to yourself after you tell that to someone? Ever think why you encourage people not to question, to just blindly have faith? Ever wonder why you have to do that? Perhaps the higher of you religious folk don't want you to realize something and stop getting your money, your votes (for political manipulation), and your time.

</rant>
That felt good...

Oh, and for the love of Google, read the fucking FAQ before you write a hatemail. I know none of you out there who would write one will listen, but I can say I tried.
Save yourself from the opportunity to become our plaything to get into another argument about something totally unrelated or just rant at to make us feel better. But, hey, if you want to, go ahead. It makes me feel better anyways.

I must say though, good try at making a false religion. Too bad it doesn't work. Try again! ^_^


From: Julia Shane

Good job lasting two thousand years swallowing Pauls Jizz...try again.

Originally Said by Rand

It's your belief that there is a God that helps you. It's a placebo, your mind tricking you. It comforting to think that someone is always watching you and protecting you. That's what is so attractive about religion. You feel comfortable, you feel protected, you feel safe, you feel loved, you feel like you belong.

Well said/ranted, my friend. It is my belief that you've hit the nail squarely on the head with the above paragraph.

Think about it: We spend the first 16 to 18 years of our lives dependent on a parental figure and that dependence is reinforced daily. We are, in most cases, taught from the cradle to be dependent on a higher power in the form of our parents. Someone bigger, smarter, more powerful than ourselves. Someone who loves us, provides for us, believes in us, roots for us, guides us, looks out for our interests and protects us, someone who intercedes for us, making all things right in our lives.

Is it so hard to understand that there are folks in this world who never got over that need, nor want to? Folks who still, subconsciously, feel the need for that higher power in their lives? Is it any wonder that the Xtians in particular, as well as many believers of other faiths call their deity, "The Father"? Is it any wonder that in times of strife throughout history people have flocked to churches/temples of one type or another for solace? Further, is it any wonder that a correlation can be drawn that holds true throughout the world and through history that the most downtrodden, poor and/or uneducated peoples have the highest rate of faith per capita?

Originally Said by NIV: Matthew 18:3

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

It has been said that there are "no atheists foxholes". Maybe so, but is it so far fetched to believe that this could be the reason? I think it could be said that religious folk are so adamant about their faith due to two reasons: fear of growing up to find there is no heavenly parental figure and having to take responsibility for their own actions and lives and/or a simple self interested belligerence against being wrong.

If you think about it, good Xtians put effort into their faith. They do bible studies, go to church on their days off, give money to the church, follow commandments and morals that their bodies tell them are the opposite of what they want/need (abstinence, fasting, humility, meekness, poverty, etc.), donate time and money to charities, become missionaries, weather storms of ridicule and confounding ideas from the likes of us (atheists), shore up the moorings of their faith on a constant basis against such threats as logic, common sense and scientific proof, etc.

If you are able to take that faith away from said believer you pretty much take their view of the universe, its workings and their place in it, as well as their father figures away from them. You also take away someone to place blame on when things go wrong and their self supposed superiority (ultimately they're right, you're wrong and you're gonna burn for it)/ i.e. their ego. You show them to be fools for having wasted so much time, resources and energy on mythology; a child's wishful thinking. You show them to be children, and selfish children at that.

Of course they're going to fight you on it. In fact, if you're not careful, they'll attempt to force their views and morals on you, by law if necessary, so that they can feel more comfortable, i.e. less threatened in their faith. It's human nature not to want to see one's own faults or mistakes.

How many times have you insulted a Xtian simply by not agreeing with them or not feeling the need to respect their beliefs or morals? I'll bet, for those regulars on this forum anyway, it's been a lot. Have you noticed how indignant and spiteful they can become? One need only look at the hate-mail section to see examples of such behavior. We deny them their storybook hero/messiah, shake their faith in him and they often react like belligerent, petulant children because of it.

Religion brings out the best and the worst in people but in the end, I believe it can all be traced back to a need for "daddy" and maybe, in the case of the more rabid of sheep, the anger and denial associated with the subconscious knowledge that "daddy" might not really be there/has abandoned them in some way. After all, we atheists say we KNOW he doesn't exist and can prove it logically. Our own belief/knowlege confounds their own. Even the biblical heaven is described as "being with the father for all eternity" and, in one part of the bible anyway, the punishment for not being rightious is the opposite, i.e. being seperated from the father for all eternity. If you look at it in this light, you might say that Xtians have abandonement issues.

It is this reason that I still believe that if prehistoric man had left mythology in the caves with the loincloth we'd all be better off/further along as a species. It's time to grow up, believers. Time to come out of the cave, put down the security blanket and face the world as an adult. It's high time to realize that you are not the center of the universe, you're not special in the grand scheme of things just because you breath and walk upright and maybe, just maybe, it's time to start taking some personal responsibility for your own actions ... and leave others to theirs.

Shit happens. Deal with it.

LJ

dude do everyone a favor and get off the internet cause oviously you can't tell a joke from a real thing.