I don't want to believe any more

[Mac]

How do I join this group? I no longer consider myself a theist. Sign me up. Religion is a cancer on society and I have no love for it any longer.

 

[Mac]

I'm serious. I don't see a way to join. Do I need an invite or what? VP? Isn't this your group? Hook me up.

 

[Clovery]

if you go to your profile, find groups on the left, click that, search for this group, get to the group page and at the upper right there's a drop down box that says "group tools". you can select join group from there, but it looks like membership needs to be approved before it's official.

Just curious... what made you decide to no longer be a theist?

 

[Mac]

if you go to your profile, find groups on the left, click that, search for this group, get to the group page and at the upper right there's a drop down box that says "group tools". you can select join group from there, but it looks like membership needs to be approved before it's official.

I have a feeling VP will see it in his heart to let me join. Seeing as how we have been ecf pals for.. (Damn has it really been 3 years?)

Just curious... what made you decide to no longer be a theist?

Because there cannot be a reason for life sucking this bad. I refuse to accept that there is some all powerful being who planned all of this and created us with such obvious and horrendous flaws. If life was even remotely fair, I'd buy it. But the pattern I have noticed is quite the opposite. If you are a selfish creepy douche you get ahead in life. If you live right and do right god will almost surely punish you. That does not compute for me. Like a week after we announced our wedding date my fiance was diagnosed with stage three skin cancer. Stage three means it's in her lymph nodes. They are giving her a 70% chance of survival. that and god if he had a hand in it. She is literally the kindest, most loving and giving person I know and does not deserve this. Yet mass murders and child rapists get to live til age 90 cancer free. I call shenannigans on that. If god is real he is impotent or a douche. Neither interest me. So I withdraw my previous stance that there is a point to all of this and that we are all connected. I no longer believe that. If god is real I will find him and stab him in the face with a soldering iron. So he had better hope he isn't.

 

[Clovery]

I'm sorry to hear about your fiance... I can't even imagine how you must feel right now. Seems like you are going through a normal grieving process, and are in the "anger" stage. I wish I could welcome you to the world of atheism at a happier time in your life

Like what I was saying in that philosophy thread... "the problem of evil" states:

- God, by definition is all powerful and all good. He must want to prevent evil and is capable of doing so.
- Bad, evil things happen all the time.
- God must not exist.

This works for me, but some theists have tried to reconcile this by stating that God gives us free will, or allows bad things to happen for the greater good.

I don't really like to promote religion, but if your fiance is religious, this may be a time in her life where she will need to rely heavily on it. How is she handling the diagnosis?

 

[Mac]

Real tall. She is staying focused on work while she can. (we had just commited to opening our fourth store and signed a lease and gave a deposit like 2 weeks before this happened)

She hasn't mentioned the topic since the diagnosis and I will not likely bring it up. If she decides to go xtian I am not going to fight her on it. If she wants to believe in that poorly written book I won't intervene. I have always been bitter on the subject and she knows that. When I was calling myself a theist I had my own church and own unique views on divinity. I have always rejected the money grubbing organized would be holy rollers of all sects and types. The primary tenet of my belief was simply that everyone has it wrong. That the only true path to divinity was within. I wouldn't say that I am certain that this is no longer true. But I will say that if it is. I have no interest in hooking up with it. The afterlife can off. I was a hardline atheist until about 6 years ago when I had what I can only refer to as an "out of body exerience" I can't explain the things I saw or how real it felt. But none of that matters now. There simply cannot be a design here. It all sucks too bad. To rationalize a creator, I must first rationalize the FACT that said creator is a giant douche. I just can't accept that.

 

[tranced]

I'm sorry you guys are going through this Mac, I truly am. Cancer sucks.

 

[Mac]

Thanks tranced.

 

[CHoKPoP]

Like what I was saying in that philosophy thread... "the problem of evil" states: - God, by definition is all powerful and all good. He must want to prevent evil and is capable of doing so. - Bad, evil things happen all the time. - God must not exist.

It's a bit more complicated than that. If we think things in terms of "good" and "bad", we tend to oversimplify matters. Things just are. I tend to suggest to others to refrain from black and white thinking.