Naomi....

[ummmm]

I told OH I'm not sure I believe in God anymore...

He told me to go and see the Priest...!!!!

[society]

:-) @ Rowan. How I wish I was 5 again...

[askyourgran]

Very true, nice answer rowan.

[joggerjayne]

That's rather the point, I think.

When you are with a 5 year old, you WANT to believe in Santa.

And when you're with a nice reassuring priest ...

(ie. not one of the rapist Catholic ones)

... you WANT to believe in a divine creator.

[mibn2cweus]

If there's anything worse than being deceived it's deceiving yourself and surrendering your best judgment to your deceiver.

[society]

I believe that all have to do with trust, Mibs

[mibn2cweus]

Trust is something I aspire to be found worthy of but not something I would ever ask for.

[jomifl]

Tony ..It is possible to have faith in lots of things not just the concept of a god, there are other concepts too..and people.

[ummmm]

Tony...there is nothing wrong with my life. I'm guilty of ignorance. I only know one Atheist in the 'real' world so I've never had reason to question what I believe in.

[naomi24]

Ummmm, sorry for the delay. To answer your questions, nothing much has happened to me emotionally, except I've become stronger. I discovered that I haven't been a sinner since birth, I'm not the bad person I was told I was, and I've freed my mind to think my own thoughts, to appreciate the vastness of the universe as it should be appreciated, and to understand what is really important in this life, shedding a whole mound of needless guilt in the process. My innate compassion for my fellow human being hasn't waned in the least, but since religion is really all about fear and self-preservation, I no longer dwell upon the horrors that once threatened to befall me upon death.

Yes, I used to believe in God and I would cry buckets at the thought of Jesus dying for me in that horrible way. Given a choice I'd have saved him and taken my chances as far as having my sins forgiven go. I changed my mind about religion because I took the trouble to read all the bits (and more) the teachers didn't tell me about (and in truth probably didn't know about). On doing that I discovered that religion is without doubt man made, and this God cannot possibly be the Almighty Creator because he certainly isn't up to the job.

continued...

[naomi24]

...continued

If there is a God, which I very much doubt, I'm of the opinion that it doesn't have a personal relationship with anyone or anything, it doesn't concern itself with our sexual activities or our diets, or with any other aspect of our lives, and it certainly doesn't require worship and all the ridiculous paraphernalia and superstitious rites that go with that demeaning nonsense. Rationality dictates that anything possessing the wherewithal and the intelligence to create the universe has to be far bigger than anything the authors of the Bible or the Koran could invent. When I think of the abject misery that belief in this charlatan has created in this world - and is still creating in this world - I can only conclude that stupid, arrogant man has a lot to answer for.

Tony, I think for some people atheism does breed spiritual sterility to a degree, but certainly not for all because whilst religion restricts the intellect, atheism liberates it and opens it up to genuine freedom of thought. I would, however, like to hear your observations.

[ummmm]

I'll get him to read that when he gets home x

[jomifl]

Tony, As a hard nosed anti religious atheist I will take that as a compliment, thank you.
I do not tell people what to believe in though, perhaps that is a fault.

[mibn2cweus]

Religion is the hammer. As an atheist I assume the necessary posture to deflect the blow.

[naomi24]

Tony, thanks for answering, but I can assure you what I said was written with no bitterness. I simply told the truth because I care about people and about peace in our world. Yes, some atheists, including me, are openly anti-religion, and some do hammer their views home, but clearly you haven't really thought about why they feel as strongly as they do. How pleasant it would be if religion simply encompassed the creed that the more delicate among us imagine Christianity to be where gentle Jesus is meek and mild, God is everyone's best friend, we all love our fellow man regardless of colour, race or creed, no one is bad, the devil isn't mentioned and there is no hell or torment at the end of it all, but unfortunately it isn't like that. The reality is that people's minds are, often from birth, permanently incarcerated in the superstition and the lies and the fear and the horrors of the dark ages, children are being taught as 'fact' information which is completely contrary to proven science, people are dying of disease and babies are being born with HIV/Aids for no good reason, women are being abused and living their whole lives as second class citizens, and men are regularly blowing each other and anyone else who happens to be around to smithereens - and all this in the name of religion. And the rest of us are expected to accept this and to respect it? Why? Sorry, not me because I can find no sense whatsoever in any of it. However, if you can I'm listening.

[naomi24]

Tony .... just a 'ps' to say I'm not nagging you - just explaining - and still working on fattening the thighs up. ;o)

[Ankou]

ummm, as long as the decision is yours and you approach it with an open mind then you know you will reach the right one.

in any event, whichever way you go, you can always talk to us

[pugwashjw]

You might be better going to www.watchtower.org...for a much more comprehensive view of the WHOLE BIBLE

[mibn2cweus]

Actually, I believe it's all been summed up rather nicely right here - http://www.theanswerb...6.html#answer-5289887