ID:30851
 
A few months ago, I stopped believing in God, because lets face it, that whole religion thing is ridiculous. Now, my family is Catholic, so of course, I'm not gonna tell him. If my mom found out, she would probably react something like this.

So now I'm still stuck going to church every Sunday.

But on the bright side, I still get Christmas presents! (Yes, I do realize its nowhere near Christmas.)
Well, as soon as you move out, let them know. I don't know your parents, but I know my mom didn't care much. She is Christian, but has always kept an open mind, and never forced beliefs on me. It's hard for me to imagine how it would have been if she would have been one of those bible thumping Baptist we have around here.

Easy for me, but rough for most others. But it is good that you are capable of thinking beyond what your parents have pushed on you. I would suggest you learn from this experience, and when you raise a kid, don't put taboos into his head. Don't make him afraid to admit when he disagrees with you. I really hate seeing parents treating their kids like that. Be it parents with homosexual kids, or kids who like those of another race with racist parents. It is far too common, and truly sad for those children.
"Your gonna get absolutely nothing for Christmas, Michael. Nothing! Nothing at all! Because Christmas is about Jesus!"

lul what?
Lol. I live with my grandparents, and my grandma is like that. I was like, 'I don't believe in God' and she went the fuck off. She tried to force me to read the Bible and go to church twice a week. Thankfully, my grandpa intervened..^.^' If it wasn't for him, I'd be miserable about now. Also, lul at that video.
What does Santa Claus have to do with Jesus anyway?

Lol, your post made me think of my favorite lady comic, Sarah Silverman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40qTXlNJj9s
While I would disagree that religion is stupid (it has been instrumental in everything from literacy and public education to the abolition of slavery), there are definitely those who take it too far.

I just find it sad that people think that Christianity, a faith of hope, peace, and love, can be spread through anger, violence, and threats.
Meh, believe what you want, but go ahead and capitalize on whatever you can, like me. I'm Christian, but I play off of Atheism almost every week. It actually feels good knowing you're sticking it to someone else. But yeah, hat bitch needs sodomized by Father Nelson in my opinion(the lady on the video). As far as what St. Nicholas has to do with Jesus....it's almost nothing, and most Christians(all protestants) shouldn't be using him. He was a Turkish Cardinal, and his body(bone fragments) leaks holy oil(still!). Go capitalism!
Funny, I could say the religion has hampered those just as much as helped. The Christian churches didn't want the bible translated to English so that the masses couldn't actually read it. Several times in history many religions have tried to stamp out science. And religion was used as an excuse to start slavery. They thought they were godless savages and so it was fine to treat them like dirt, especial if you where attempting to convert them at the same time.

At best it levels out to even. At worst you can blame some of the worst things to ever happen on this Earth on religion.
At worst you can blame some of the worst things to ever happen on this Earth on humans.

*corrected*
Yeah, that too. That's why I mentioned that it could just be leveled out. Because an indeterminable amount of it would have just had another excuse if it wasn't religion. I'm not one of those atheist that go around complaining about every religious thing he sees, but I'm not a big fan, to say the least, of any religion.
Danial.Beta wrote:
Be it parents with homosexual kids, or kids who like those of another race with racist parents. It is far too common, and truly sad for those children.

My mom gives me uncomfortable looks when I look at a pretty Asian girl or a pretty native girl, or in fact any other pretty girl who is obviously non-white. She's pretty much a closet racist. I know my grandfather, when he was still alive, was very racist, and my grandmother is quite racist as well, and my mom has inherited most of it; she pretends she isn't, but if you talk to her about Asian people you'll undoubtedly hear at least one stereotype, probably negative, and if you try to point it out as wrong she'll insist otherwise.

It's sad, really.


As for the topic at hand, have guts. Tell them you're atheist. If they tell you some bullcrap or punish you for it, it stands to reason that they're pretty hypocritical to punish people for believing in something different. You might be able to bring up terrorism. ;-)
My mom would probably wear it as a badge of honor if I dated a girl of another race. Hell, she'd probably wear it as a badge of honor if I dated a man of another race. My mom is racist in her own ways, but she prides herself on overcoming those racist instincts.

But I don't think that is at all unrelated to the original topic at hand. Oppression of choice, specifically of children.
Man, you're stupid. And it irks me so much that I'm impressed by the sheer force of my animosity towards you and your typical hypocritical godless Linux evangelism.

The Christian churches didn't want the bible translated to English so that the masses couldn't actually read it.

Uh... That's a matter of power, not literacy. So you didn't really prove your point.

And religion was used as an excuse to start slavery. They thought they were godless savages and so it was fine to treat them like dirt, especial if you where attempting to convert them at the same time.

Slavery emerged in Africa, not in Europe. They used to sell prisoners of war to the Europeans. Religion was just one of the many, many, many reasons they used to justify slavery to themselves. It would have gone on without it(still does today without any justification of religion) and certainly didn't start it.


I am now just waiting for the rest of you and your eternal Linuxtard brethren to come here and stomp on me with your life long crusade against Windows and God. But at least I tried.
I've long given up on the life long crusade against God, because crusades are done for the name of God. =P
If you would have read my reply to Jmurph, you would have realized that I said the he was right, and that most thing of the things that were done in the name of God would probably have just been done in the name of something else.

I am not a Linux evangelical person. And you seem to suggest that me being godless is a bad thing. Like I am a worse person because of it. When, outside of these comments, have I ever mentioned my religious beliefs(Or rather, lack there of)? I don't go around pushing Linux, I have been known to bring support details to others, or mention my use of it. But what the fuck should you care if I say I like Linux, especially when I'm not pushing it, simply mentioning it.

And I find your use of "Retard" as part of in insult(In the combination of Linux and retard) insulting as someone who has an aunt who is retarded.

And yes, the Africans enslaved themselves, so did the Europeans, the Asians, and many native Americans. I probably shouldn't have used that specific point, so that point was a mistake by me, mostly because I didn't consider all the angles.

I do find it odd that you bring up Linux in this conversation. If you notice, nobody else has, so where the hell are you pulling that from? My one post in the last long as hell time outside of the Linux guild talking about it?

So you are saying I am a 'typical hypocritical godless Linux evangelic' person, because I talk about shared interests with friends* and don't try to hide it?

*OK, I don't even know Spade489, so he isn't a friend, but has clearly stated his stance on the subject.
Vandit wrote:
Man, you're stupid. And it irks me so much that I'm impressed by the sheer force of my animosity towards you and your typical hypocritical godless Linux evangelism.

Because evangelists are well known for making understated comments in public areas. God Eris knows what Linux has to do with it.

The Christian churches didn't want the bible translated to English so that the masses couldn't actually read it.

Uh... That's a matter of power, not literacy. So you didn't really prove your point.

I'm fairly damn sure it's obvious that churches throughout history have only ever helped science and morality accidentally. See the Crusades.

And religion was used as an excuse to start slavery. They thought they were godless savages and so it was fine to treat them like dirt, especial if you where attempting to convert them at the same time.

Slavery emerged in Africa, not in Europe. They used to sell prisoners of war to the Europeans. Religion was just one of the many, many, many reasons they used to justify slavery to themselves. It would have gone on without it(still does today without any justification of religion) and certainly didn't start it.

But it was certainly part of it. Surely you've heard some of the religious justifications for slavery spouted around about the time this was happening? They're fairly similar to similar religious justifications for 'miscegnation' being illegal, and the modern religious justifications for homosexual marriage to be illegal.

I am now just waiting for the rest of you and your eternal Linuxtard brethren to come here and stomp on me with your life long crusade against Windows and God. But at least I tried.

I can have a life-long crusade at 17? Amazing.
That's the problem with topics like faith and politics- people internalize them so much that rational discussion becomes impossible. Vandit's comments illustrate this nicely. I do find it hilariously ironic that Windows and Christianity would be grouped like that....

Daniel.Beta- I think you reasoning is sound. Absent Christianity, men would find another excuse for their bloody deeds. The question is would those who were moved to good have done so without the inspiration. Consider that while Christianity was used to justify slavery, it didn't create it. However, it was the reason for works like the Sistine Chapel, a huge number of abolitionists, and responsible for the establishment of many schools and universtities. (Interestingly, churches were also a central information network during both the American Revolutionary War and Civil War.) I am not saying institutionalized religions never pick fights- witness the Crusades and militant Islam, for example. But I still wonder if faith isn't overall more productive than destructive. The destruction exists anyway, after all.

I find forced conversion abhorrent, however, and violative of basic concepts of Christianity and democracy. If you wish to embrace atheism, great! I think it is a strength of our system that people can question beliefs and traditions and come to their own conclusions. Open discussion > intolerant dogmatism. Unfortunately fanatics of all stripes (religious, atheistic, etc.) seem to disagree and shout down dialogue wherever it dares appear.
Religious arguments are so fruitless. Non-believers will never convince believers or vice-versa. I'm happy in my godless world and I'm certainly not a worse person because of it. Enough said.
I think that religion would have overall negative effect, because even today it oppresses many(Not me), and always has. And I'm not just talking about Christianity. But I suppose this is neither here nor there, at least in this conversation. It will only draw more people like Vandit if we keep up this line of debate.

I've always been motivated to do good and help others by the thought of my empending doom. Knowing that I won't be anywhere after death except six feet under makes me want to leave my mark on this world. And a good mark at that. Then again, I guess some people could go the other way with it, much like people do with religion, and decide that since they aren't going anywhere after they die, there's not reason to act nice or be kind.

Oh the woes of psychology.
Vandit wrote:
Man, you're stupid. And it irks me so much that I'm impressed by the sheer force of my animosity towards you and your typical hypocritical godless Linux evangelism.

lul, Linux is a religion now?
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