On this episode of Ask an Atheist, two FFRF staff, PJ Slinger and Raghen Lucy, will discuss why they are atheists. Learn more about the Freedom From Religion Foundation at ffrf.org.
In order to believe in god, I would have to believe that some jerk wanted my sister to suffer from cancer and die before her third birthday. I would then have to believe that my youngest brother was chosen to live a life of hell without a functioning kidney. If someone chose my siblings for that, I would not worship them.
The problem of suffering also is a key point in why I'm on my way out. It really is terrible for apologists to attempt to justify the suffering all the while trying to be "good" parents to their own children. If God allows us to suffer I think I'm better at taking care of my daughter better than an supposedly omnipotent being that is considered "all loving"... You and I as mere humans have a deeper capacity to love than this entity...
@@herzkine Remaining humble without compromising the individual you want to be is good. Using life's trials to better ourselves and help others is admirable. Valuing the concept that a god is allowing us to experience pain, hardship and suffering is terrible. If a God allows or actively does these things to us He approves of the pain we all experience. This includes all the atrocities committed by disturbed individuals and the terrible diseases children contract and suffer horrible deaths. And some of them ask mommy and daddy why God doesn't heal them. No, life isn't fair but it is not a god... If it is a god, then I hope my example as a loving father to my own child exceeds that of the proposed deity that takes pleasure in the suffering of his own offspring.
Being forced to attend church, which I hated, was also what I had to endure. I also upon finding out Santa et al weren't real I also felt that God was also just a story. As I grew older and learned about science and heard the mythologies of other cultures, my belief waned even more. I did try very hard to believe through my teens and 20's and up to my early 30's, but to no avail. Nothing made sense about belief and I have been a solid atheist for the past 40 years.
The hypocrisy of lying to your little children about Santa Claus, and then expecting them to always tell the truth because God said so, is astounding to me. And how did Santa become a part of a religious tradition honoring the birth of their deity? Hypocrisy on many levels.
@Sylvia Rucker - But then it neither about truth. All religious primers are baseless stories manufactured by humans without a scintilla of actual proof.
@@douglasrasmussen480 Bingo ...manufactured by humans ...to put the literal fear of a god into them so they will conform. Religion is like a virus that has infected mankind.
Thank you for all you do. If nothing else, you at least can slow down the integration of church and state. It's more important today than at any time I can remember. Keep doing the good work! I bought Andrew's book and wished it was mandatory reading.
Wow, thank you for showing this footage! Them praying, after all they'd done... they thought their god was on their side and so they thought what they were doing wasn't wrong.
I'm an atheist because I'm curious about everything and I don't follow one voice because it is the way it is supposed to be. I follow my intellect and my own research.
I was 11 when the Jim Jones Guyana Tragedy happened. I remember watching the movie later. From then on, I always doubted religion though at times I wanted to believe. Never could rationalize a blind leap of faith in the end. Luckily, my parents never indoctrinated me.
That tragedy had a huge impact on my understanding how easy it is to have people believe anything. At the time that happened, there was also a "craze" about hypnotism where liver performances of people being made hyper suggestive for entertainment. Remarkably this demonstration of mind control is not really mentioned, yet talk radio and churches demonstrated it all the time.
I remember the look on my mother’s face when she found out I didn’t believe in the Christian god anymore. Shock, horror, anger. She said, “I didn’t raise you like that!” That sentence was said with tones of disgust and anger in it. I now know those emotions came from fear. Her fear of the “unknown”, of hell, etc. It’s so sad, what religions do to people. How they make them take for granted that their god exists and to expect that everyone else believes too. The thought of NOT believing doesn’t even occur to them………until they meet an atheist. Then the fear sets in.
When you have been indoctrinated as a child, it gets hardwired in you brain and very difficult to overcome. I’m 76 and still have the fear of hell even though logically I know it’s just a human invention.
I get that, even though I wasn't indoctrinated as a child I still find it hard to shake the idea of hell, or even people watching me from heaven and judging my actions, I know full well it's not real but every so often I find myself unable to shake that feeling and have to literally tell myself to stop being so stupid 🤪
Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, malaria, smallpox, cholera, influenza, yellow fever, polio, the plague. I don't know how anyone can believe in a loving, merciful, god who inflicted these horrors upon us. A monster god? Yeah, I could believe in that.
I have similar experience and I was a Christian once. The wake up call came one morning in Sunday school where the teacher taught Num 22:21-39 where a donkey talked to Balaam. She said, " that is strange. Is that a normal reaction? Image your dog talked to you one day and what's your first reaction? The first thing you are going to say is, how come you can talk, you are only a dog. But the bible record a human like conversation with logic, that is strange. But let's continue and see the moral of this story." I totally agreed with her this is NOT logical. I bet 10 out of 10 people will have the same reaction: how come my pet can talk to me? This is the seed of my doubt, my wake up call. I don't want to be like her, close my eyes even there is illogical things. It is because if you close your mind to illogical things, you'll also close your eyes to truth and close your heart to empathy. But it took me 15 more years to totally leave Christianity.
Evolution and the problem of evil/suffering were the two big ones for me Also, I was 11 when September 11th happened. I saw what faith could do. It was then I decided I wanted to know as many true things, and as few false things as possible
To be religious is to misrepresent everything, and it is why the question is "why are you an atheist" instead of "why are you not religious". The difference matters.
Because the very statement in itself assumes that one has taken a form beyond what is humanly possible,or purpose beyond comprehension. Been an atheist to me simply means an acknowledgement that I do not know the source of my existence. Even though been religious can definitely mean different things depending on who answers. It requires the acknowledgement of some higher power, some divine entity that is there to correct us. And am fully convinced that,if it was not for my parents talking about God or god's. I would have had a much better perspective of life already as a child. But of course today it doesn't matter, I do not live by religious standards but rather simple human common sense.we are of course different,but the majority of people have innate abilities and are perfectly capable of doing what is right.
There’s an invisible man living in the sky looking down at everything we do every minute of every day. And he has 10 things he doesn’t want us to do. And if we do any of them he’ll send us to a place of fire and burning and torture for eternity. But he loves us. He loves us and he needs money. Almighty all powerful all willing, just can’t handle money.
I'm an Atheist because I've methodically examined the philosophical, historical and scientific arguments for and against the existence of deities. I concluded theists have all failed in their burden of proof. If anyone disagrees and claims their God or gods exist then please present your evidence/argument?
I am an atheist because I was born without a god concept like everybody else and I refuse to poison my mind with one of the thousands of gods mankind ever invented.
Now that more examine and investigate. Is the reasons for Overwhelming Christian Fundamentalist Ideological Propaganda and Outrage. Education, Logic, And Intelligence is eliminating the religions. *MULTI-TRILLION DOLLARS CON RAN FOR CENTURIES!* Who think they're going to abandon the money? Universities, Organizations, Charities, Schools, Real Estate, And Control Of The Minds Of So Many. ?????? *Why The James Webb Space Telescope Haven't Been Launched!* A FACT AN END TO THE GODS.
I'm an atheist because, like everyone else on this planet, I was born an atheist. Luckily no one ever stuffed nonsense inside my head, so I've remained one.
When I was a child, I thought as a child. As I matured, I put away childish things. I was brought up in it as a child, embraced it as a teen, thought my way out as an adult. It took a while; I was actually serving as a VP of a bible college when I abandoned the faith 😲
Thank you for this conversation (and the opening rant). It is wonderful to hear the perspectives of Raghen and PJ. Andrew, you wondered whether if you had been raised being forced/bribed to go to church would have lessened your curiosity somehow. In my experience, people are curious or they aren't. You can only stifle the questioning mind for so long before the person has to give in to that curiosity. You may have gone in another direction with that curiosity, however. Thank goodness for your mama's "question everything" approach!
I’m an ashiest because I grew up in the born again Christian church. I believed whole heartedly in what I was being taught, until as I was growing up, I didn’t. I started asking questions about the holes, I was increasingly getting more aware of, in the stories of the Bible and what was being spewed behind the pulpit. My elders didn’t like my questions, because they had no answers. That sparked my ambition to really dig for the answers, and that journey has let me to where I am now. A happy, well adjusted adult, free thinking, and no longer tied to the constraints of outrageous, and oppressive, religious beliefs.
At this time, the best explanation for our instinctive empathy comes from evolutionary psychology. There is a huge survival advantage and economy of effort in belonging to a group, trading away a big part of your freedom for the defensive network of your group, the effectiveness of hunting in a pack, and so much more. In fact, even the capacity for self-sacrifice for the group is easily explainable through evolutionary psychology, so the real creator of the Golden Rule was probably not a human civilization but a four-legged rat-like predecessor of humans and other "sophisticated" animals.
Agreed. But I have noticed that people like Christopher Hitchens and Matt Dillahunty have strong followers. It’s almost like a case study in how we are prone to “worshiping” other people and how churches/cults/fandom grow up around these charismatic characters.
@@losttribe3001 Do not confuse ‘admiration’ with ‘worshipping’. I do agree with Hitchens (and many others) and admired his wit, but do not worship or idolize anyone.
I'm an Atheist, because Stephen Hawking's theory and the theory of other scientists that agree, makes the most sense to me. If the universe always existed, then energy, consciousness, life, and suffering always existed, which would mean that there wasn't any plan by a supposed creator, but rather everything that occurred and occurs, is natural.
I agree 100% Hawking was brilliant as was Einstein and Sagan. The cosmological argument I always return to because it simply States there is no necessity for a beginning and the universe always existed.if there has to be a creator then who created the creator ad infinitum. We are proven to have come about through natural selection and evolution and nowhere else.if we do find it was another means that started everything so be it but definitely NOT a deity in the sky
I'm lucky like Andrew in that I was not raised in a religious household. I was dragged along into a church for some special occasions but was not taught to believe any of it. Both my parents and all my grandparents were always pretty anti-religion. Believing in a deity is a different issue, and some of them were more "spiritual" or at least hoped there's a higher power. Either way they always thought organized religion was not the pathway to use to become acquainted with such a being (if it even exists). I personally say if it can be proven to exist that I'll happily believe in it, but until then I'll remain good without god (s). Most atheists would believe in a deity if scientifically proven, but most of us would continue to reject religion anyhow.
In my case I wasn't raised in a Religious household in Berlin, Germany which in the 80ies and 90ies was beautiful. I never once was forced to go to church and the religious education included the Greek and Roman mythology, Judaism Christianity and Islam. Always in a historical view...never did my teacher force religious views down our throats. But as a kid I was always outside, preferably in nature preserves. I loved insects and frogs, studying the behavior and collecting bugs I somehow discovered natural selection without ever learning about it until in highschool. I loved dinosaurs too and had a great collection of Dino Riders... Only later when I moved to the US did I learn that my atheism wasn't the norm. Then I started studying Darwin, Huxley, Hooker, Lyell etc ( the classics ) and moved to astrophysics and genetics...mixed with philosophy ( Hume, Popper, Leibniz, Spinoza etc ) and history ( French Revolution and the enlightenment ) and reading about the history of Atheism and Secularism my worldview changed from natural born Atheist to convinced and proud atheist... I consider myself a freethinker that never ever was indoctrinated and had never the problem of outgrowing religious indoctrionation. I don't hate religion but I'm a staunch secularist. Political I'm a mixture of Social Democrat and Liberal of the John Locke kind...I despise Fascism, Authoritarianism, Christian Nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu Nationalism, Pseudoscience and post modernist mumbo jumbo. I consider myself a freethinker. Atheist as a term makes no sense to me because theism was never an option for me. I reject it as outdated philosophy. Star Trek and the Dune books also shaped my character in a profound way... Thank you guys at FFRF...and Andrew Seidel's The founding myth still remains my favorite with The Power Worshippers by Kathrine Stewart...
Was in Christian school in Texas, (no religion at home) but realizing that similarly devout believers of other religions existed and every one of those believers was _just_ as convinced they were right about their beliefs as these Christians around me. Figured at that point religion was just a tradition, and as a kid I learned it’s rude to point at other people’s traditions and call them weird or nonsensical so just let people do their thing. Now I feel a little more strongly about atheism since beliefs inform actions/lack of action and life can go to hell in a handbasket if belief in untrue things is allowed to take the reins.
That pretty much does it, but allow me to steal from Dr. Bart. I may have it sideways but here goes. I do not Believe in god, gods, or magic, thus i'm atheist, but I don't know, so I'm agnostic. I do, possibly because of stupidity, believe in Karma, not the magic kind though. I just noticed that baddies get their comeuppance sometimes and it only seemed to happen when the community knew about the baddies bad acts. That is the reason I still believe Karma depends not on your acts but on getting recognized for them.
Considering what we know about human psychology, considering what we know about how religions develop and evolve, and considering what we know about the cosmos, the most reasonable/rational conclusion is that religions are invented by humans to alleviate our fear of death and the unknown...
Because there is not one sliver of objective evidence that any God or Goddess has ever existed. I avoid all myths, superstitions, and dogma. I have under stood for a long time that faith is nothing but gullibility.
I think there is a whiff of something that gets skirted in these kinds of conversations and that is the free thinker personality. I count myself as one because 1.) social boundaries have no emotional merit for me and 2.) as a consequence everything is up for scepticism. As a general sceptic I challenge everything and not just religion. One of my favorite sceptic quotes is from Alexander Pope, "A person with one watch is sure of the time, a person with two watches is not so sure." I never read just one newspaper long before the Internet happened. Free thinkers can be infuriating to be around because we change minds on moments notice because there is no emotional investment, at all. Being religious for me is as silly as joining a political party. I've always been a free thinker and challenged everything under the sun. For my parents my lack of belief in religion that came out once I was old enough to think about it was just social norm number 1,498 that I refused to abide by. Why wear clothes? Why eat dinner at the same time? The number of things I was sceptical about was huge. I'd been fighting with them over trivial social stuff like this for years. Damn the torpedoes I didn't care about any punishment. Religion was just yet another thing. In this I differ greatly from Daniel Dennett who likes all the art, ceremony, and social trappings of religion and only dislikes the religion. To me any ceremony is a prison and tribalism of any kind is anathema. I think it is this kind of free thinking perhaps that the religious folks project onto normal atheists who are really just sceptics about religion and not so much everything else in life. But the thing about a free thinker is that all of the boundaries are deliberate even if not rational. I have lots of boundaries that are whimsy, just like society at large and the religious. The only difference is I know them to be whimsy and would never expect them to be made into law or kill somebody if someone insulted me for them. Silly is silly. We also see empathy as the naked thing that it truly is, a raw human trait that has no other force compelling it. Empathy is something one has to work at just like any skill or muscle building. And some people are not born with much empathy and will never have a lot no matter how much they may try to build it. Basing a religion that relies on a large degrees of natural empathy capacity to tell right from wrong across the human species such that eternal damnation is at stake for those lacking empathy naturally is just pure evil. Teaching right from wrong has a basis in nature, natural empathy. Tall people can't be short, short people can't be tall, and people with little empathy will be bullies, mean, and nasty. It is called human nature. So the Christians who project a boundary-less behavior onto atheists are dead wrong. Boundary behavior is correlated with natural empathy, not religious behavior. Somebody like Trump was born a sociopath. That doesn't mean he has no empathy, but rather he's just short on it. As a species we need to understand this and going forward see to it to not vote people who are short on empathy into office.
Yeah, bashing the other side based on obvious flaws does not move us forward. Expressing vitriol for religion only strengthens it. Free thought can and must stand on its own and stop leaning on the crutch of better than religious dogma by comparison. I admit to watching guys like Hitchens bash religion in combination with encouraging free thinking. But, we might do well to keep on moving forward and trust that there is enough information available now that others can make informed decisions to break away from religious dogma not because it isn't cool, but because it isn't rational or reasonable.
Thank you for your feelings. Trump, by the way, has made it public that he is insecure and lacks confidence. You can see it in his talks. He is always trying to say what he thinks people want to hear so he gets the laughs, hand claps and boos. He gets a reaction that validates his insecurities. Preachers, priests and ministers, both male and female, are exactly like trump. The Q conspiracists are also very insecure con-artists. Good luck!
Even as an older child, it bothered me that this imaginary god loved us, but was willing to throw us into eternal hellfire. As I got older I realized that prayer is useless and became angry that this god got credit for everything good, but no blame whatsoever for the bad things in life. The creator made everything beautiful, but somehow didn't create disease, birth defects, deadly natural disasters, starvation, and human suffering. I was raised in the church, but threw the bullshit flag over fifty years ago, and never regretted it.
I grew up going to Catholic school in another country. My earliest memories were that this was all absurd. Prayers never got me anything I wanted. Guardian angels never guarded me from anything. All this invisible stuff like the devil, heaven and hell just seemed stupid. I kind of figured out that this was a cultural thing after watching the old Disney shows where different peoples of the world were shown doing different things. I really expected that when I grew up I'd be let in on the secret that like Santa Claus, this was all part of some tradition and I was now relieved to find out everyone was in on the joke. Alas, I moved to America and found out that "drinking the Kool-Aid" is real. It may not be like the Jones Town fatal brand, but it gave the country something nearly as toxic with an insane president with crazy and dangerous followers. Religion is like alcohol: unnecessary, pleasant in small quantities, good for socializing, but can easily be harmful or fatal in any substantial amount.
Why i became an atheist? As a consequence of building up life experience and gathering knowledge about the universe and by comparing both to religious scripture : started doubting at 11, didn’t believe in the Abrahamisitic god by 16 but became a pantheïst and full soft-atheist by 27.
I followed up on what my religion told me to do- to investigate my faith in order to find it's truth. It didn't go as they planned. I found my religion not only wanting, but largely and demonstrably untrue.
I have a problem with the crimes of the church! One priest had the nerve to tell the people they have to make sacrifices because of the priests crimes!
I was raised by educated, thoughtful secular parents. We also lived in Southeast Asia for a time. I was spared indoctrination, was exposed to a wider world, and therefore understood from a very young age that religion was conceived of by people.
What a story about how PJ got the job as editor for FFRF. Even 2 years after he originally turned the job down. That proves that there is a God, and that God will for PJ was that he be an editor for an atheist magazine. Hallelujah.
"What a story about how PJ got the job as editor for FFRF. Even 2 years after he originally turned the job down. That proves that there is a God, " You have a complete lack of understanding what constitutes "PROOF".
Why? Because there is nothing to compel me to be otherwise. I agree with Jonathan Miller that the word atheist can mislead some to think it's a describable belief system rather than simply not believing in a thing. I don't need a label for my not believing in trolls, fairies, or ghosts.
Funny thing, those of the theonomic practice (the Law of God) assert that moral governance affords more freedom as one is not compelled to be devote or coerced to be a member of a governing structure. What they fail to mention is how individuals can be both ostracized and rejected from the community if they are not compliant. Being a citizen does not require one to establish an allegiance to a set or series of arbitrary and abstract practices--I see it as sort of inverse moral deprivation. And yes, I understand that I am preaching to the choir (I was a choral singer in grade school) metaphorically--or is it meteorically.
That's one of those things that Christians conveniently overlook when they try to tell us Hitler was an atheist so all atheists are evil and all WW2 deaths can be chalked up to atheism. Even if he was an atheist (for which suggestion I do not know of any evidence) he also knew that you can use religion to get people to do evil things they would not normally do.
Was not raised religious. I'm one of the lucky people. Not really sure why both my parents just never went to church. Never talked about god. And i know my dad considered himself nostic back in the day (late 80s) for what i figure is the sheer stigma that atheist had (and still has)
Hello, my fellow heathens. I have a friend who is a Catholic who said he has a question that no Athiest could answer, and it goes as follows. He states that the Bible isn't just a book that was slowly created over time, it is the culmination of many different books written across many years by various different people. The book of mark was written from about 66-70ad, Matthew and Luke around 85-90 and John around 90-110 on top of this, the book ROMANS is actually a culminations of Letters that The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans even before the gospels were written. So, his point is that many continents have similar accounts that had very little to no intervention. Is there any material that refutes this claim?
Where do I get my morals -- initially from mom and dad. The golden rule is a pretty good guide. I also want people to think I am a good guy. The bible is a terrible guide. Even Christians ignore most of the rules. Fear of hell is a childish guide. It falls apart when belief in god collapses.
Where did "THE GOLDEN RULES" come from? *Why was people encouraged to live according to them?* What does the bible STORIES Teach Us? (stories not scriptures removed from them.) People are taught SCRIPTURES REMOVED FROM STORIES. Then told that's the moral, message, lesson of the book. *Why Write A Book If A Sentence Will Do?*
i need evidence to believe in something, there is no evidence of a god, and it would be relatively easy to prove there was if (he?) existed, but 'miraculously" religion can't provide a shred of verifiable evidence.
Circumstances being what they are, a deep-seated hatred for God is guaranteed. The funny thing is, God doesn't even have to exist in order for that to be true.
The perpetuation of ancient religions in modern human society constitutes one of the most egregious confidence schemes ever perpetrated on human society.
Just recently picked up Andrew's book. So far it's great. I got a pretty good and unexpected laugh at the church leaders rejecting Franklin's lightning rod in spite of all the bell ringer deaths. Maybe I shouldn't laugh. But they were basically treating their god like he was Zeus or some other lightning god and the irony of this is too much to bear.
I used the socratic and scientific method in grad school. After my degree, I started using it for everything. Not sure any relative agreed. They got scared.
That's why, while I may disagree vehemently with my folks on the political side of things, I'll always be grateful to them for consciously choosing not to raise my siblings and I in a specific religion. Yeah they did send us to the Catholic church they attended when they were young, but I think that had more to do with appeasing both sets of grandparents than anything else. But even at five and six I remember thinking in my way that the whole thing seemed ridiculous. All I know for sure is that when I told my mom I didn't want to go to church anymore she didn't make a big deal of it.
One could outwardly profess to be an atheist (believing it were so) and yet not be able to recognize that it would be what was in the unconscious part of his mind that would determine whether or not he were actually telling the truth. It's in that part of the mind that one's true beliefs are formed.
I never bought into the magic, but was fascinated by the Historical Jesus. After 40 or so years of reading different theories, I've decided that Mark was using the figure of Jesus to explain the destruction of Jerusalem to an apocalyptic Jewish sect, when he wrote the first gospel. There are many books and U-Tube lectures on the subject.
I never found the God I was told of. *None of the churches attended ever read a complete story of the bible.* The Churches are doing what the bible says not to do. *NO CHARITY SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY!* It became a hustle for the greedy! *A DOORWAY INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR THE PREACHERS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND FRIENDS ONLY!* The Bible said I shouldn't listen, take instructions, attend their temples, follow their rules. *The bible said to seek God within myself.* Not within the lies told by people. When I understood. *No God Was Ever Revealed Throughout The Bible.* As a matter of fact. Spoke of multiple gods that existed. SANTA CLAUS.
I am Irish, my upbringing was very liberal ,my father mother second husband was church of Ireland which was a big deal for a Catholic in 1940s Ireland We were brought up in a tolerate house. my father went to work in a men's drapery which was owned by a presbyterian I growing up in 70s Ireland would have lived through John Charles mcqiad archbishop of Dublin reign of censorship. I didn't think much about religion even went to the Phoenix park to see the visit of pope John Paul 2. I went to mass most Sundays, we weren't pressured to go My first doubts happened with the first divorce referendum, which I voted for divorce. But still saw myself as a Catholic. I later joined society of saint Vincent de Paul. Then all the scandals about abuses of the Catholic church, the industrial schools mother and child homes and the Magdalene laundries sickened me I was beginning to have serious doubts. read the bible and god delissusion and discovered I am an atheist
I've always been an atheist. I tried but could never pretend to believe in religion. When I was a kid going to a Catholic church it was all just very strange to me. I cupped the holy water and drank it once.
I'm with you on what you said about Christian nationalism and I have to say that I've been and still am concerned about it we have to do all we Can to keep religion out of government
I watch this from the UK, as I watched the shocking and terrifying attack on US democracy. I also subscribe to a channel TellTale Atheist where the words and actions of crazy religious apologists and pastors are highlighted. It is almost impossible to understand what is happening to the US from this distance. Here in the UK we are known for our dislike of outward shows of emotion on subjects like religion and it is true to say that we are fast becoming a secular society. We have always viewed the US as a place of freedom and opportunity and a home for the dispossessed or unfortunate who seek a better life. It is therefore incomprehensible to us that Christianity and an ugly form of the faith, should be rising so high and involving itself in politics in such a traumatic way. I'm sure I speak for many when I say we admire your country greatly and we truly hope you are able to resist this tide of vile and dangerous fanaticism.
After reading The Founding Myth, i recommend 'Jesus and John Wayne' by Kristin Du Mez, which examines how Evangelicals approve unchristian acts; they worship power, not Jesus.
Don’t suppose religious movement is merely an effort to gouge out the seeds of knowledge consumed in the garden, a form of guilt trip, a hope to put the genie back into the bottle?
It could be that the story of the garden of Eden is about obtaining knowledge of good and evil. But even my dog "knows" it is bad to pee in the house, while preachers don't think it is bad to solicit money for their Gulfstream jets. Genies, 3 gods in one - all abstractions to deal with the onerous condition of having to get up every day and struggle for a living, making you want to believe a wish or a prayer makes things happen instead of work.
I remember praying to God as a child to give me one concrete sign that it existed and I would be forever a faithful servant. I stood a nickel on its side and asked God to knock it over. Waited 5 minutes, nothing happened. I moved on.
IDK. I just never bought it. Once I was older and able to examine it, I realized that I had just intuited how nonsensical it is. Guess I was just lucky.
I'm 5th generation atheist so at first it was because i was raised that way. As i got older i realized how damaging and dangerous religion is. Now I'm an atheist by conscious informed choice.
My God forbid Bikinis and that seriously made me study the archaeological history of the Abrahamic religion and came to the conclusion that there is nothing divine in the bible. The way it was written; it seems like I was writing the bible. TLDR:My girl need her threads.
My humble opinion is Jesus was a Buddha to be and will be fully enlightened when he returns for his last birth. No religion has the copyright to enlightenment.
It is the evolution of the churches we both went to as children. Anyone that can believe in a invisible creature that controls everything can be manipulated into believing anything.
In order to believe in god, I would have to believe that some jerk wanted my sister to suffer from cancer and die before her third birthday. I would then have to believe that my youngest brother was chosen to live a life of hell without a functioning kidney. If someone chose my siblings for that, I would not worship them.
I'm so sorry for having to life through this :(
The problem of suffering also is a key point in why I'm on my way out. It really is terrible for apologists to attempt to justify the suffering all the while trying to be "good" parents to their own children. If God allows us to suffer I think I'm better at taking care of my daughter better than an supposedly omnipotent being that is considered "all loving"...
You and I as mere humans have a deeper capacity to love than this entity...
"Mysterious ways..."
/utter B.S.
@@offline34 i still value the concept if being humble in a way, and also not understanding everything.
@@herzkine Remaining humble without compromising the individual you want to be is good. Using life's trials to better ourselves and help others is admirable. Valuing the concept that a god is allowing us to experience pain, hardship and suffering is terrible. If a God allows or actively does these things to us He approves of the pain we all experience. This includes all the atrocities committed by disturbed individuals and the terrible diseases children contract and suffer horrible deaths. And some of them ask mommy and daddy why God doesn't heal them. No, life isn't fair but it is not a god... If it is a god, then I hope my example as a loving father to my own child exceeds that of the proposed deity that takes pleasure in the suffering of his own offspring.
Being forced to attend church, which I hated, was also what I had to endure. I also upon finding out Santa et al weren't real I also felt that God was also just a story. As I grew older and learned about science and heard the mythologies of other cultures, my belief waned even more. I did try very hard to believe through my teens and 20's and up to my early 30's, but to no avail. Nothing made sense about belief and I have been a solid atheist for the past 40 years.
What? But Santa brought me a Radio Flyer wagon and a three pack of tube socks. Maybe you were just bad that year?
The hypocrisy of lying to your little children about Santa Claus, and then expecting them to always tell the truth because God said so, is astounding to me. And how did Santa become a part of a religious tradition honoring the birth of their deity? Hypocrisy on many levels.
I asked myself why anyone wants to live in FEAR of an imagined magical, mystical, entity.
@Sylvia Rucker - But then it neither about truth. All religious primers are baseless stories manufactured by humans without a scintilla of actual proof.
@@douglasrasmussen480 Yeah, but the World we live in is too. Ever heard about Trump haha. Logic and reason is dead.
So I guess evil wins. Yay!
@@douglasrasmussen480 Bingo ...manufactured by humans ...to put the literal fear of a god into them so they will conform. Religion is like a virus that has infected mankind.
Me, too. And I'm a theist.
Thank you for all you do. If nothing else, you at least can slow down the integration of church and state. It's more important today than at any time I can remember. Keep doing the good work! I bought Andrew's book and wished it was mandatory reading.
It's a wonderful book.
Wow, thank you for showing this footage! Them praying, after all they'd done... they thought their god was on their side and so they thought what they were doing wasn't wrong.
I'm an atheist because I'm curious about everything and I don't follow one voice because it is the way it is supposed to be. I follow my intellect and my own research.
I was 11 when the Jim Jones Guyana Tragedy happened. I remember watching the movie later. From then on, I always doubted religion though at times I wanted to believe. Never could rationalize a blind leap of faith in the end. Luckily, my parents never indoctrinated me.
That tragedy had a huge impact on my understanding how easy it is to have people believe anything. At the time that happened, there was also a "craze" about hypnotism where liver performances of people being made hyper suggestive for entertainment. Remarkably this demonstration of mind control is not really mentioned, yet talk radio and churches demonstrated it all the time.
Sorry 🙏 I don't know anything about it, please can someone elaborate for me? 😊
@@DoctaOsiris About Jim Jones and his cult? There is a lot of info online, including many videos. Just do a search.
Because I'm an adult and no longer need an imaginary friend? 🙃
I remember the look on my mother’s face when she found out I didn’t believe in the Christian god anymore. Shock, horror, anger. She said, “I didn’t raise you like that!” That sentence was said with tones of disgust and anger in it. I now know those emotions came from fear. Her fear of the “unknown”, of hell, etc. It’s so sad, what religions do to people. How they make them take for granted that their god exists and to expect that everyone else believes too. The thought of NOT believing doesn’t even occur to them………until they meet an atheist. Then the fear sets in.
Everyone is born atheist. Religion is a derivative of narcissism. Religion is manmade, fiction and Ponzi scheme.
When you have been indoctrinated as a child, it gets hardwired in you brain and very difficult to overcome. I’m 76 and still have the fear of hell even though logically I know it’s just a human invention.
I get that, even though I wasn't indoctrinated as a child I still find it hard to shake the idea of hell, or even people watching me from heaven and judging my actions, I know full well it's not real but every so often I find myself unable to shake that feeling and have to literally tell myself to stop being so stupid 🤪
🎼🎶Freedom!🎵Freedom from religion!🎵🎶
The only choir I want to sing in is the one that is free from religion.
Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, malaria, smallpox, cholera, influenza, yellow fever, polio, the plague. I don't know how anyone can believe in a loving, merciful, god who inflicted these horrors upon us.
A monster god? Yeah, I could believe in that.
A psychopathic god.
Reading the Bible made me an atheist: A TALKING SERPENT???
Don't forget Noah's ark.
Creates light and separates it from darkness. Huh!?
Same as me by reading the bible. The bible is total non-sense.
Don't forget the talking donkey
Trees talking to a Bramble Bush?
I have similar experience and I was a Christian once. The wake up call came one morning in Sunday school where the teacher taught Num 22:21-39 where a donkey talked to Balaam. She said, " that is strange. Is that a normal reaction? Image your dog talked to you one day and what's your first reaction? The first thing you are going to say is, how come you can talk, you are only a dog. But the bible record a human like conversation with logic, that is strange. But let's continue and see the moral of this story."
I totally agreed with her this is NOT logical. I bet 10 out of 10 people will have the same reaction: how come my pet can talk to me? This is the seed of my doubt, my wake up call. I don't want to be like her, close my eyes even there is illogical things. It is because if you close your mind to illogical things, you'll also close your eyes to truth and close your heart to empathy. But it took me 15 more years to totally leave Christianity.
Evolution and the problem of evil/suffering were the two big ones for me
Also, I was 11 when September 11th happened. I saw what faith could do. It was then I decided I wanted to know as many true things, and as few false things as possible
I was about 13 or 14 when I put all of the worlds religions into the MYTHOLOGY category .
To be religious is to misrepresent everything, and it is why the question is "why are you an atheist" instead of "why are you not religious". The difference matters.
Because the very statement in itself assumes that one has taken a form beyond what is humanly possible,or purpose beyond comprehension. Been an atheist to me simply means an acknowledgement that I do not know the source of my existence. Even though been religious can definitely mean different things depending on who answers. It requires the acknowledgement of some higher power, some divine entity that is there to correct us. And am fully convinced that,if it was not for my parents talking about God or god's. I would have had a much better perspective of life already as a child. But of course today it doesn't matter, I do not live by religious standards but rather simple human common sense.we are of course different,but the majority of people have innate abilities and are perfectly capable of doing what is right.
There’s an invisible man living in the sky looking down at everything we do every minute of every day. And he has 10 things he doesn’t want us to do. And if we do any of them he’ll send us to a place of fire and burning and torture for eternity. But he loves us. He loves us and he needs money. Almighty all powerful all willing, just can’t handle money.
Your own thoughts buddy? We already know what George Carlin had to say.
You forgot to give attribution to George Carlin.
Praise George
That famous G Carlin quote..
I'm an Atheist because I've methodically examined the philosophical, historical and scientific arguments for and against the existence of deities. I concluded theists have all failed in their burden of proof. If anyone disagrees and claims their God or gods exist then please present your evidence/argument?
I am an atheist because I was born without a god concept like everybody else and I refuse to poison my mind with one of the thousands of gods mankind ever invented.
What's your definition of a god?
Now that more examine and investigate. Is the reasons for Overwhelming Christian Fundamentalist Ideological Propaganda and Outrage.
Education, Logic, And Intelligence is eliminating the religions.
*MULTI-TRILLION DOLLARS CON RAN FOR CENTURIES!*
Who think they're going to abandon the money?
Universities, Organizations, Charities, Schools, Real Estate, And Control Of The Minds Of So Many. ??????
*Why The James Webb Space Telescope Haven't Been Launched!*
A FACT AN END TO THE GODS.
I'm an atheist because, like everyone else on this planet, I was born an atheist. Luckily no one ever stuffed nonsense inside my head, so I've remained one.
When I was a child, I thought as a child. As I matured, I put away childish things.
I was brought up in it as a child, embraced it as a teen, thought my way out as an adult. It took a while; I was actually serving as a VP of a bible college when I abandoned the faith 😲
Congradulations, that couldn’t of been easy.
Thank you for this conversation (and the opening rant). It is wonderful to hear the perspectives of Raghen and PJ. Andrew, you wondered whether if you had been raised being forced/bribed to go to church would have lessened your curiosity somehow. In my experience, people are curious or they aren't. You can only stifle the questioning mind for so long before the person has to give in to that curiosity. You may have gone in another direction with that curiosity, however. Thank goodness for your mama's "question everything" approach!
I’m an ashiest because I grew up in the born again Christian church.
I believed whole heartedly in what I was being taught, until as I was growing up, I didn’t.
I started asking questions about the holes, I was increasingly getting more aware of, in the stories of the Bible and what was being spewed behind the pulpit.
My elders didn’t like my questions, because they had no answers. That sparked my ambition to really dig for the answers, and that journey has let me to where I am now. A happy, well adjusted adult, free thinking, and no longer tied to the constraints of outrageous, and oppressive, religious beliefs.
At this time, the best explanation for our instinctive empathy comes from evolutionary psychology. There is a huge survival advantage and economy of effort in belonging to a group, trading away a big part of your freedom for the defensive network of your group, the effectiveness of hunting in a pack, and so much more. In fact, even the capacity for self-sacrifice for the group is easily explainable through evolutionary psychology, so the real creator of the Golden Rule was probably not a human civilization but a four-legged rat-like predecessor of humans and other "sophisticated" animals.
Q: Why are you an atheist?
A: My brain still functions properly.
The idea of worshipping anyone/anything makes me sick to my stomach.
Agreed. But I have noticed that people like Christopher Hitchens and Matt Dillahunty have strong followers. It’s almost like a case study in how we are prone to “worshiping” other people and how churches/cults/fandom grow up around these charismatic characters.
@@losttribe3001 Do not confuse ‘admiration’ with ‘worshipping’. I do agree with Hitchens (and many others) and admired his wit, but do not worship or idolize anyone.
Because I have yet to be convinced that any god or gods exist.
I'm an Atheist, because Stephen Hawking's theory and the theory of other scientists that agree, makes the most sense to me.
If the universe always existed, then energy, consciousness, life, and suffering always existed, which would mean that there wasn't any plan by a supposed creator, but rather everything that occurred and occurs, is natural.
I agree 100% Hawking was brilliant as was Einstein and Sagan. The cosmological argument I always return to because it simply States there is no necessity for a beginning and the universe always existed.if there has to be a creator then who created the creator ad infinitum. We are proven to have come about through natural selection and evolution and nowhere else.if we do find it was another means that started everything so be it but definitely NOT a deity in the sky
I'm lucky like Andrew in that I was not raised in a religious household. I was dragged along into a church for some special occasions but was not taught to believe any of it. Both my parents and all my grandparents were always pretty anti-religion. Believing in a deity is a different issue, and some of them were more "spiritual" or at least hoped there's a higher power. Either way they always thought organized religion was not the pathway to use to become acquainted with such a being (if it even exists). I personally say if it can be proven to exist that I'll happily believe in it, but until then I'll remain good without god (s). Most atheists would believe in a deity if scientifically proven, but most of us would continue to reject religion anyhow.
In my case I wasn't raised in a Religious household in Berlin, Germany which in the 80ies and 90ies was beautiful. I never once was forced to go to church and the religious education included the Greek and Roman mythology, Judaism Christianity and Islam. Always in a historical view...never did my teacher force religious views down our throats.
But as a kid I was always outside, preferably in nature preserves. I loved insects and frogs, studying the behavior and collecting bugs I somehow discovered natural selection without ever learning about it until in highschool.
I loved dinosaurs too and had a great collection of Dino Riders...
Only later when I moved to the US did I learn that my atheism wasn't the norm.
Then I started studying Darwin, Huxley, Hooker, Lyell etc ( the classics ) and moved to astrophysics and genetics...mixed with philosophy ( Hume, Popper, Leibniz, Spinoza etc ) and history ( French Revolution and the enlightenment ) and reading about the history of Atheism and Secularism my worldview changed from natural born Atheist to convinced and proud atheist...
I consider myself a freethinker that never ever was indoctrinated and had never the problem of outgrowing religious indoctrionation.
I don't hate religion but I'm a staunch secularist. Political I'm a mixture of Social Democrat and Liberal of the John Locke kind...I despise Fascism, Authoritarianism, Christian Nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu Nationalism, Pseudoscience and post modernist mumbo jumbo.
I consider myself a freethinker. Atheist as a term makes no sense to me because theism was never an option for me. I reject it as outdated philosophy.
Star Trek and the Dune books also shaped my character in a profound way...
Thank you guys at FFRF...and Andrew Seidel's The founding myth still remains my favorite with The Power Worshippers by Kathrine Stewart...
Was in Christian school in Texas, (no religion at home) but realizing that similarly devout believers of other religions existed and every one of those believers was _just_ as convinced they were right about their beliefs as these Christians around me. Figured at that point religion was just a tradition, and as a kid I learned it’s rude to point at other people’s traditions and call them weird or nonsensical so just let people do their thing. Now I feel a little more strongly about atheism since beliefs inform actions/lack of action and life can go to hell in a handbasket if belief in untrue things is allowed to take the reins.
Andrew, I just preordered The Founding Myth in paperback.
I loved that book.
Because i dont believe theres a God.
Same. I’ve only read books that say they are from this god or that god.
That pretty much does it, but allow me to steal from Dr. Bart. I may have it sideways but here goes. I do not Believe in god, gods, or magic, thus i'm atheist, but I don't know, so I'm agnostic.
I do, possibly because of stupidity, believe in Karma, not the magic kind though. I just noticed that baddies get their comeuppance sometimes and it only seemed to happen when the community knew about the baddies bad acts. That is the reason I still believe Karma depends not on your acts but on getting recognized for them.
Proud of you!
@@therugburnz There is more to kamma than reaping what you sow, buddy.
I don’t believe in gods. I was born without aged concept like everybody else and I refuse to believe in any of the gods ever invented by mankind.
Logic is my reason
Considering what we know about human psychology, considering what we know about how religions develop and evolve, and considering what we know about the cosmos, the most reasonable/rational conclusion is that religions are invented by humans to alleviate our fear of death and the unknown...
Because there is not one sliver of objective evidence that any God or Goddess has ever existed. I avoid all myths, superstitions, and dogma. I have under stood for a long time that faith is nothing but gullibility.
gullibility and a justification for their stupidity.
All the mental gymnastics you gotta perform when you are a theist sound so exhausting.
I was born an atheist and no one gave me a good reason to stop being one.
I think there is a whiff of something that gets skirted in these kinds of conversations and that is the free thinker personality. I count myself as one because 1.) social boundaries have no emotional merit for me and 2.) as a consequence everything is up for scepticism. As a general sceptic I challenge everything and not just religion. One of my favorite sceptic quotes is from Alexander Pope, "A person with one watch is sure of the time, a person with two watches is not so sure." I never read just one newspaper long before the Internet happened. Free thinkers can be infuriating to be around because we change minds on moments notice because there is no emotional investment, at all. Being religious for me is as silly as joining a political party. I've always been a free thinker and challenged everything under the sun. For my parents my lack of belief in religion that came out once I was old enough to think about it was just social norm number 1,498 that I refused to abide by. Why wear clothes? Why eat dinner at the same time? The number of things I was sceptical about was huge. I'd been fighting with them over trivial social stuff like this for years. Damn the torpedoes I didn't care about any punishment. Religion was just yet another thing. In this I differ greatly from Daniel Dennett who likes all the art, ceremony, and social trappings of religion and only dislikes the religion. To me any ceremony is a prison and tribalism of any kind is anathema. I think it is this kind of free thinking perhaps that the religious folks project onto normal atheists who are really just sceptics about religion and not so much everything else in life. But the thing about a free thinker is that all of the boundaries are deliberate even if not rational. I have lots of boundaries that are whimsy, just like society at large and the religious. The only difference is I know them to be whimsy and would never expect them to be made into law or kill somebody if someone insulted me for them. Silly is silly. We also see empathy as the naked thing that it truly is, a raw human trait that has no other force compelling it. Empathy is something one has to work at just like any skill or muscle building. And some people are not born with much empathy and will never have a lot no matter how much they may try to build it. Basing a religion that relies on a large degrees of natural empathy capacity to tell right from wrong across the human species such that eternal damnation is at stake for those lacking empathy naturally is just pure evil. Teaching right from wrong has a basis in nature, natural empathy. Tall people can't be short, short people can't be tall, and people with little empathy will be bullies, mean, and nasty. It is called human nature. So the Christians who project a boundary-less behavior onto atheists are dead wrong. Boundary behavior is correlated with natural empathy, not religious behavior. Somebody like Trump was born a sociopath. That doesn't mean he has no empathy, but rather he's just short on it. As a species we need to understand this and going forward see to it to not vote people who are short on empathy into office.
Yeah, bashing the other side based on obvious flaws does not move us forward. Expressing vitriol for religion only strengthens it. Free thought can and must stand on its own and stop leaning on the crutch of better than religious dogma by comparison. I admit to watching guys like Hitchens bash religion in combination with encouraging free thinking. But, we might do well to keep on moving forward and trust that there is enough information available now that others can make informed decisions to break away from religious dogma not because it isn't cool, but because it isn't rational or reasonable.
Thank you for your feelings. Trump, by the way, has made it public that he is insecure and lacks confidence. You can see it in his talks. He is always trying to say what he thinks people want to hear so he gets the laughs, hand claps and boos. He gets a reaction that validates his insecurities. Preachers, priests and ministers, both male and female, are exactly like trump. The Q conspiracists are also very insecure con-artists. Good luck!
Even as an older child, it bothered me that this imaginary god loved us, but was willing to throw us into eternal hellfire. As I got older I realized that prayer is useless and became angry that this god got credit for everything good, but no blame whatsoever for the bad things in life. The creator made everything beautiful, but somehow didn't create disease, birth defects, deadly natural disasters, starvation, and human suffering. I was raised in the church, but threw the bullshit flag over fifty years ago, and never regretted it.
Because after decades of being taught otherwise, I realized that theism in general, and Xianity specifically, is an immoral choice.
I grew up going to Catholic school in another country. My earliest memories were that this was all absurd. Prayers never got me anything I wanted. Guardian angels never guarded me from anything. All this invisible stuff like the devil, heaven and hell just seemed stupid. I kind of figured out that this was a cultural thing after watching the old Disney shows where different peoples of the world were shown doing different things. I really expected that when I grew up I'd be let in on the secret that like Santa Claus, this was all part of some tradition and I was now relieved to find out everyone was in on the joke.
Alas, I moved to America and found out that "drinking the Kool-Aid" is real. It may not be like the Jones Town fatal brand, but it gave the country something nearly as toxic with an insane president with crazy and dangerous followers.
Religion is like alcohol: unnecessary, pleasant in small quantities, good for socializing, but can easily be harmful or fatal in any substantial amount.
Hard for me too. Oh wait, hard for almost everyone.
Why i became an atheist? As a consequence of building up life experience and gathering knowledge about the universe and by comparing both to religious scripture : started doubting at 11, didn’t believe in the Abrahamisitic god by 16 but became a pantheïst and full soft-atheist by 27.
January 6th was indeed a terrorist attack
By Christian Nationalists, whom the Corporate Media never mentions by name. Their leaders actually stopped for a prayer once inside the capital.
True
I followed up on what my religion told me to do- to investigate my faith in order to find it's truth.
It didn't go as they planned. I found my religion not only wanting, but largely and demonstrably untrue.
I have a problem with the crimes of the church! One priest had the nerve to tell the people they have to make sacrifices because of the priests crimes!
...and my response would be, "Why wouldn't I be ?" I have never received a convincing answer to that
I was raised by educated, thoughtful secular parents. We also lived in Southeast Asia for a time. I was spared indoctrination, was exposed to a wider world, and therefore understood from a very young age that religion was conceived of by people.
Ignorance is the Disease, Education is the Cure.
A fantastic show. Thanks to everyone. 👍
Thank you so much for this video!! So inspirings and useful! Sending love! ❤
What a story about how PJ got the job as editor for FFRF. Even 2 years after he originally turned the job down. That proves that there is a God, and that God will for PJ was that he be an editor for an atheist magazine. Hallelujah.
"What a story about how PJ got the job as editor for FFRF. Even 2 years after he originally turned the job down. That proves that there is a God, "
You have a complete lack of understanding what constitutes "PROOF".
Why? Because there is nothing to compel me to be otherwise. I agree with Jonathan Miller that the word atheist can mislead some to think it's a describable belief system rather than simply not believing in a thing. I don't need a label for my not believing in trolls, fairies, or ghosts.
Funny thing, those of the theonomic practice (the Law of God) assert that moral governance affords more freedom as one is not compelled to be devote or coerced to be a member of a governing structure. What they fail to mention is how individuals can be both ostracized and rejected from the community if they are not compliant. Being a citizen does not require one to establish an allegiance to a set or series of arbitrary and abstract practices--I see it as sort of inverse moral deprivation. And yes, I understand that I am preaching to the choir (I was a choral singer in grade school) metaphorically--or is it meteorically.
Please support FFRF!
Can't wait for Andrew's next book.
Why am I an Atheist? Because I'm not that gullible.
The German Nazi-soldiers had "Gott mit uns!" engraved on their belt buckles.
That's one of those things that Christians conveniently overlook when they try to tell us Hitler was an atheist so all atheists are evil and all WW2 deaths can be chalked up to atheism. Even if he was an atheist (for which suggestion I do not know of any evidence) he also knew that you can use religion to get people to do evil things they would not normally do.
near 15:00 I mishear him say "Humans have this dog shaped hole", and it was so wholesome!!!
I dont believe in magic man in the sky
The magic man sitting on a throne with long,white beard and white flowing robe with a magic wand.
Was not raised religious. I'm one of the lucky people. Not really sure why both my parents just never went to church. Never talked about god. And i know my dad considered himself nostic back in the day (late 80s) for what i figure is the sheer stigma that atheist had (and still has)
Does anyone have a link to the enquiry/hearing thing please? ☺
Hello, my fellow heathens.
I have a friend who is a Catholic who said he has a question that no Athiest could answer, and it goes as follows.
He states that the Bible isn't just a book that was slowly created over time, it is the culmination of many different books written across many years by various different people. The book of mark was written from about 66-70ad, Matthew and Luke around 85-90 and John around 90-110 on top of this, the book ROMANS is actually a culminations of Letters that The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans even before the gospels were written.
So, his point is that many continents have similar accounts that had very little to no intervention.
Is there any material that refutes this claim?
Because I seek and knock.
I have the ability to telepathically communicate with my imaginary friend. -donkey
Where do I get my morals -- initially from mom and dad. The golden rule is a pretty good guide. I also want people to think I am a good guy. The bible is a terrible guide. Even Christians ignore most of the rules. Fear of hell is a childish guide. It falls apart when belief in god collapses.
morals come from evolution. altruism is sometimes beneficial to species survival
Where did "THE GOLDEN RULES" come from?
*Why was people encouraged to live according to them?*
What does the bible STORIES Teach Us?
(stories not scriptures removed from them.)
People are taught SCRIPTURES REMOVED FROM STORIES.
Then told that's the moral, message, lesson of the book.
*Why Write A Book If A Sentence Will Do?*
i need evidence to believe in something, there is no evidence of a god, and it would be relatively easy to prove there was if (he?) existed, but 'miraculously" religion can't provide a shred of verifiable evidence.
well said. you can also see how religions have evolved over time, demonstrating that they are human constructs.
It's because of my deep-seated, intense hatred for God, and my desire to sin without consequence. 🤣
good call. same here
Circumstances being what they are, a deep-seated hatred for God is guaranteed. The funny thing is, God doesn't even have to exist in order for that to be true.
Lol.😅
The perpetuation of ancient religions in modern human society constitutes one of the most egregious confidence schemes ever perpetrated on human society.
Just recently picked up Andrew's book. So far it's great.
I got a pretty good and unexpected laugh at the church leaders rejecting Franklin's lightning rod in spite of all the bell ringer deaths.
Maybe I shouldn't laugh. But they were basically treating their god like he was Zeus or some other lightning god and the irony of this is too much to bear.
I used the socratic and scientific method in grad school. After my degree, I started using it for everything. Not sure any relative agreed. They got scared.
That's why, while I may disagree vehemently with my folks on the political side of things, I'll always be grateful to them for consciously choosing not to raise my siblings and I in a specific religion. Yeah they did send us to the Catholic church they attended when they were young, but I think that had more to do with appeasing both sets of grandparents than anything else. But even at five and six I remember thinking in my way that the whole thing seemed ridiculous. All I know for sure is that when I told my mom I didn't want to go to church anymore she didn't make a big deal of it.
I always blamed Trump for this, constantly bellowing he was a Christian and a believer. What has that to do with politics?
If he said he was an Atheist, what do you think that would have done to his career? ALL Republican politicians play the religious card!
One could outwardly profess to be an atheist (believing it were so) and yet not be able to recognize that it would be what was in the unconscious part of his mind that would determine whether or not he were actually telling the truth. It's in that part of the mind that one's true beliefs are formed.
I need tangible proof, and there never will be proof of the existence of god.
I never bought into the magic, but was fascinated by the Historical Jesus. After 40 or so years of reading different theories, I've decided that Mark was using the figure of Jesus to explain the destruction of Jerusalem to an apocalyptic Jewish sect, when he wrote the first gospel. There are many books and U-Tube lectures on the subject.
I never found the God I was told of.
*None of the churches attended ever read a complete story of the bible.*
The Churches are doing what the bible says not to do.
*NO CHARITY SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY!*
It became a hustle for the greedy!
*A DOORWAY INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR THE PREACHERS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND FRIENDS ONLY!*
The Bible said I shouldn't listen, take instructions, attend their temples, follow their rules.
*The bible said to seek God within myself.*
Not within the lies told by people.
When I understood.
*No God Was Ever Revealed Throughout The Bible.*
As a matter of fact.
Spoke of multiple gods that existed. SANTA CLAUS.
I am Irish, my upbringing was very liberal ,my father mother second husband was church of Ireland which was a big deal for a Catholic in 1940s Ireland
We were brought up in a tolerate house. my father went to work in a men's drapery which was owned by a presbyterian
I growing up in 70s Ireland would have lived through John Charles mcqiad archbishop of Dublin reign of censorship. I didn't think much about religion even went to the Phoenix park to see the visit of pope John Paul 2. I went to mass most Sundays, we weren't pressured to go
My first doubts happened with the first divorce referendum, which I voted for divorce. But still saw myself as a Catholic. I later joined society of saint Vincent de Paul. Then all the scandals about abuses of the Catholic church, the industrial schools mother and child homes and the Magdalene laundries sickened me
I was beginning to have serious doubts. read the bible and god delissusion and discovered I am an atheist
Did you see Andrew’s ear piece? He looks like an agent from the matrix 🙃
I've always been an atheist. I tried but could never pretend to believe in religion. When I was a kid going to a Catholic church it was all just very strange to me. I cupped the holy water and drank it once.
I'm with you on what you said about Christian nationalism and I have to say that I've been and still am concerned about it we have to do all we Can to keep religion out of government
I watch this from the UK, as I watched the shocking and terrifying attack on US democracy. I also subscribe to a channel TellTale Atheist where the words and actions of crazy religious apologists and pastors are highlighted. It is almost impossible to understand what is happening to the US from this distance.
Here in the UK we are known for our dislike of outward shows of emotion on subjects like religion and it is true to say that we are fast becoming a secular society. We have always viewed the US as a place of freedom and opportunity and a home for the dispossessed or unfortunate who seek a better life. It is therefore incomprehensible to us that Christianity and an ugly form of the faith, should be rising so high and involving itself in politics in such a traumatic way. I'm sure I speak for many when I say we admire your country greatly and we truly hope you are able to resist this tide of vile and dangerous fanaticism.
After reading The Founding Myth, i recommend 'Jesus and John Wayne' by Kristin Du Mez, which examines how Evangelicals approve unchristian acts; they worship power, not Jesus.
I was raised that way in Denmark.
Don’t suppose religious movement is merely an effort to gouge out the seeds of knowledge consumed in the garden, a form of guilt trip, a hope to put the genie back into the bottle?
It could be that the story of the garden of Eden is about obtaining knowledge of good and evil. But even my dog "knows" it is bad to pee in the house, while preachers don't think it is bad to solicit money for their Gulfstream jets.
Genies, 3 gods in one - all abstractions to deal with the onerous condition of having to get up every day and struggle for a living, making you want to believe a wish or a prayer makes things happen instead of work.
I don’t know. Ask God why he won’t show me anything that would convince me he exists.
Thou shall not put the Lord the God to the test and Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. 😆
I remember praying to God as a child to give me one concrete sign that it existed and I would be forever a faithful servant. I stood a nickel on its side and asked God to knock it over. Waited 5 minutes, nothing happened. I moved on.
IDK. I just never bought it. Once I was older and able to examine it, I realized that I had just intuited how nonsensical it is. Guess I was just lucky.
The problem with many believers is that they think being atheist is a choice
- Aron Ra
Title topic begins at 10:49
Because Richard Dawkins & Sir David Attenborough?
Bravo.
I'm 5th generation atheist so at first it was because i was raised that way. As i got older i realized how damaging and dangerous religion is. Now I'm an atheist by conscious informed choice.
Everyone is born atheist. Religion is a derivative of narcissism. Religion is manmade, fiction and a Ponzi scheme.
i see no evidence
I simply have never seen enough verifiable evidence for the supernatural.
Because theocrats have not demonstrated that a deity exists.
Nonsense. Faith is wishful thinking. Therefore completely irrational, unreasonable, and unnecessary. ^
Great video, thanks.
My God forbid Bikinis and that seriously made me study the archaeological history of the Abrahamic religion and came to the conclusion that there is nothing divine in the bible. The way it was written; it seems like I was writing the bible.
TLDR:My girl need her threads.
My humble opinion is Jesus was a Buddha to be and will be fully enlightened when he returns for his last birth. No religion has the copyright to enlightenment.
My answer, because belief in nothing is the default
I have no clue what church these "Christians" go to all I know is they didn't go to the same church this grown atheist went to as a Christian kid
It is the evolution of the churches we both went to as children. Anyone that can believe in a invisible creature that controls everything can be manipulated into believing anything.
Thanks.