I am retarded when it comes to religion

For some reason, I do not believe in a god, but believe in an afterlife.

I do not like christianity.
I do not like modern religion overall.

BUT

It makes so many people happy, and have a hope, and faith in something they cannot see.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

I can not comprehend all of this.

They do not see a god, that "god" they talk to does not help them, but they still are happy for him!
People die for religion and even kill for religion but they say its good!

My thought and own opinions will not matter compared to everyone else's thoughts...

:bnghd: I DONT GET IT!!!

I do not know what to do anymore, I do not know if I even should talk for the sake of probably screwing up!!

Help me out people, what is wrong with me? Do I hate religions, Am I crazy or hurtful what??? :bnghd::bnghd::bnghd:

Congrats.
I believe you are afflicted with Reality.

You just feel weird because most aren't.

No you are very normal in your belief.

You may be better off not having been brain washed by some of those fire and brimstone religious cults or show your butt to the sky a half dozen times a day.

Of course you never had the privilege of knocking on strangers doors handing them tracts that would shortly be tossed in the trash.

And of course you also missed the thrill of being molested by the parish priest.

Good old religion.

As thought up by ignorant people.

You want to know if there is a god?

Look up into the night sky, all that you see and all that you cannot,that is god.

And he does not care if you use a small g when typing his name.

Religion is a way to present the unexplainable reality of spiritual experience through metaphor. If one gets caught up in the metaphor, it has the opposite of the intended consequence, which is never having an actual spiritual experience.

reply to post by Shoomoo


Do you believe you have a spirit? This is the first step.

reply to post by oliveoil



yes i do of course.

jmdewey60, i actually didnt have a real spiritual experience last i checked. do i need help in the spiritually department?

reply to post by Shoomoo


My guess is, you're like most of us. You see the media portrayals of Christians. Typically, they appear to me, at least, to be folks who use religion to further a political goal. Often that political goal is racist, elitist, or focused on the economy. More times than not, it appears their solution creates more victims than beneficiaries. Others use Christianity to further political goals by projecting what Christians believe and saying they're not like that. These often try to say all Christians are racist, rich, fascist slime that doesn't give a krump about you or anyone you know.

It seems blatantly obvious watching all the shows, seeing people who condemn Christians and people who claim to be Christians giving the religion just as bad a name.

Then, maybe you're one of those people who knew people who kept saying, "Ever since I found Jesus, everything has been perfect -- I've never been happier!" Then you tried it, and it was pretty cool for a couple of weeks, but then life got real. Maybe you lost a loved one, maybe you lost your house, maybe your wife had an affair. Regardless, the advertising was false -- not everything was perfect. Life got hard.

The problem with this, though, is that none of these is Christianity as described in the Bible. In the Bible, the second greatest commandment according to Christ was to love one another. In case you missed it, there was a period after another. Not love one another, so long as they are [whatever color/income class you are]. That means those politicians are wrong about Christianity.

Sadly, they're not always wrong about those claiming to be Christians, but think about this. Wherever you work, this of the sleaziest, nastiest employee there. Now imagine CNN did a special on the employees of your company, and used that employee as the poster child. It would obviously be grossly skewed. However, many people would think that if they work for your company, that's what they'd become, and since you work for that company, it must mean you're exactly like that.

This is not true. Obviously.

As the popular media has presented it, I would applaud you for not liking religion and especially Christianity. However, what Jesus taught, what is contained in the gospels, such as the gospel of John, is so completely different from what you've been taught. Christ saw right from wrong, but He showed grace, something so many Christians today are lacking. He came for you and me because Heaven's perfect, and we're not. So, to get into that perfect place, to perfect us, He sacrificed Himself. He didn't do it to further democracy or capitalism. He did it because He wanted to be with you in that perfect place.

That's what it's about. A relationship with God, not a corner stone towards political or social power. Jesus called those people out in the Bible just as we do here on ATS. Having once been in your shoes, being extremely anti-Christian, I know where you're coming from. However, having become a Christian despite the evils of man, I've come to see the hypocrisy of man versus the genuine character of God and Jesus. c

reply to post by Shoomoo

jmdewey60, i actually didnt have a real spiritual experience last i checked. do i need help in the spiritually department?

I think a person can benefit from the spirit of God, also known as the Spirit of Jesus, which he represents, without realizing that you have had, or are having a "spiritual experience".
I you, or anyone else, were to have a "real" spiritual experience of the Biblical nature, you would probably react like the people in the Bible by saying, "Why me?" And I don't mean that in a "OH, yes!" sort of way. I mean it in a "Is there any way I can get out of this?" sort of way.
Hear the voice of God, not like a trumpet, but a small voice saying, "You know what is right, so why don't you do it?"

What we need more of in this world is secular humanists; actually any kind of humanist. After all, the great ones of history who actually drove change for the betterment of the human condition acted out of humanity.

Humanism has been neglected in the contest of ideologies. There are no $20 million bonus payments for raising people in dignity. There is no broad political capital to be made in the fight for common human rights. I recommend a novel by Frank Yerby I read in the late 70s which I still consider in the top five I've ever read.

www.frankyerby.com...
One of the books Yerby is most proud of is An Odor Of Sanctity. It is a triumph of multi-culturalism. Christians, Jews and Muslims, all interact without contrivance and within their own cultural imperatives. For a multicultural understanding alone, Yerby deserves to be studied. And no better place to start than with An Odor Of Sanctity. That is because Yerby shows the human agency is culture neutral but intelligence sensitive. Human agency is intelligent, thinking and self absorbed. It makes rational judgments and intelligent choices … whether as a predator or as prey. It falls within the power of every person to find that agency for himself or herself and exert his or her will and meaning upon life. In Yerby’s books, his characters, whether born slave or noble … or somewhere in between ... either exercise their own free will or succumb to their individual fate.

reply to post by Shoomoo


I don't think there's anything wrong with you except for the fact that you care so much about what other people think! Actually, I think your post does a good job of implicitly identifying the real problem which is fundamentalist religious belief.

As you pointed out, your beliefs differ from many other people's and you have some objections to those other beliefs. This is perfectly natural. After all, everyone should have the right to believe whatever they want.

The problem occurs when fundamentalism enters the picture because it creates a situation in which people no longer simply hold a belief, but adhere unquestioningly to a dogma. Additionally, they often demand that other people adopt the same beliefs as them. This kind of thinking can lead a person to commit various harmful acts, even going so far as to kill other people in some cases (as you mention).

In summary, the questions and concerns you voice in your post are the kinds of questions and concerns that are not voiced by fundamentalists, and that is precisely the problem.