Hello everyone, I'm new.
My name is Lacey, I'm 17 and I'm from Colorado. I was raised in a Catholic and Lutheran house cuz we skipped around a lot. I've been thinking about my believes a lot the last 2 years since they started giving us "the hard stuff" at youth group and lgbt and women's rights started to be brought up. It's just, like, the churches ideas of what god thinks about those things seems to be so cruel and not what a loving god should be about?
I'm not really very smart with theology or any of the hard study aruff, but I'm hoping to find some stuff to build a foundation with as I explore this. I still have a lot of questions about religion that my church tries to answer but those answers aren't really doing it for me anymore
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Welcome Laceyq, I hope you learn from this forum and reach a resolution on your "beliefs", what ever they may go.
Take your time, the decisions you will reach have major implications.
I am sure many will be very ready to assist you in your journey of learning and discovery.
This seems like a really good place to start. The forum is small but everyone seems pretty civil and knowledgeable. I've been watching a guy on YouTube named Jimmy Snow, he's very pro lgbt and has raised a lot of goodbquesrions to consider. I think I'm gonna go dip into the book club too to see if anything seems nice and entry level
Hey there, Lacey. Welcome to the AR. Yeah, we are a somewhat tight-knit little group here, but we like to have our fun and also help others whenever we are able. You have definitely come to the right place to learn and ask questions. Another perk is that you are free to simply vent here and get stuff out of your system if needed. We all enjoy hearing a good rant from time to time... *chuckle*... Hang around and start reading some of the current threads. Ask questions. State your ideas and opinions and get feedback. Most every member here is a big proponent of helping people learn. Take advantage of it, because there are quite a few wicked-smart folks among us.
In regards to your statement: "I still have a lot of questions about religion that my church tries to answer but those answers aren't really doing it for me anymore"
I can tell you from personal experience, good luck with having anybody in your church give you any straightforward and honest answers in relation to their chosen faith. For whenever any of them get cornered with a question that makes them feel uncomfortable or if they plain just do not have a valid answer, the standard fallback answer will pretty much always be, "Well, God works in mysterious ways, and we cannot know why He does what He does. We just have to have faith that God loves us and is doing what is right for us." Personally, I know I use to HATE that answer. Another pat answer I especially detest is the ol', "Sure, everybody has doubts now and then. But we are not to question or doubt God. Whenever we have doubts and question things about God, it is the Devil creeping in and trying to pull us away from God. Just pray and ask forgiveness, and put all your doubts aside." To me, that is just another way of saying, "Sit down. Shut up. Don't ask questions. Remain ignorant. And do as you are told. Do not DARE think for yourself, or Satan will drag you with him down into the pits of hell." It is precisely that "lesson" I was taught that kept me tied to my religious indoctrination for over forty years. Don't let that happen to you, young lady. Again, you are in a good place to learn. Enjoy.
Laceyq this is something you should be aware of. Many theists claim to know the nature of their god, it is loving, made the universe, lots and lots of other stuff. But if you ask the hard questions, the explanation suddenly turns to "we do not know the nature of god", or some other evasive answer.
When the question suits them, they have all the answers. But if the question does not suit them, they pretend ignorance.
One would expect that if someone knew the nature of god, they could give a good answer why children suffer and die from cancer.
Yeah, the church's hatred of gay people has probability done more damage to my friends and family's church attendance than any other single thing.
Welcome to AR Laceyq!
Well according to some in my church it's just weeding out those who wont make it to heaven
@Laceyq
"Well according to some in my church it's just weeding out those who wont make it to heaven"
The next time you are watching TV and an ad pops up, ask yourself what leverage the ad is using on the viewers. It is either fear, ego, or greed. Advertisers know these are what manipulate people.
And religion uses fear to keep the masses in line.
Did you know that the concept of hell was gradually applied, where initially it was not the scary place it is now depicted?
Thanks for the welcome tin man!
Yeah that's totally what I get at church, though sometimes they try to be more scholarly. Like, my current church tends to be a little more ok with evolution as long as god guided it, and they aren't bible literalists but that doesn't make sense to me. If the bible stories are allegories and myths to explain things, what makes it any different from, say, the Greek myths ?
I love how you bring this up! To answer your question simply, it's not different. You are 100% correct in describing them as myths. But since you brought up the comparison to Greek mythology I wanted to give you a little something more to think about.
I am reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (if you've never heard of him, he is loved by many atheists and I recommend a google search). In the book he actually compares the Catholic religion to the polytheistic religion the Greeks proclaimed. Catholicism has a staggering 5,120 saints. There is St. Gianna Beretta Molla who when prayed to will cure infertility. Sounds a lot like Demeter the goddess of infertility. Feeling out of love? The Catholic church can provide a whopping 8 saints you can send all your prayers and adoration to. One of which is the famous St. Anne. How about praying to Eros or Aphrodite while you are at it? Then we come to the trinity which I am sure you are aware of growing up Catholic. So which is it three gods in one or one god in three parts?
I challenge you to question not only how the stories are different but how far has the religions themselves strayed away from their polytheistic roots? I only mention Catholicism specifically since (like me) you grew up in a Catholic home and I think you'll have a special appreciation for this.
Anyway! Welcome to Atheist Republic!
Hello, thank you!
Yes, I have heard a bit before that the Catholic church really borrows a lot from paganism but it's usually explained away as not that bad or w/e. Kinda like how I've heard a few times that the Christian and Jewish god actually evolved from a polytheisric god, but I always hear that with the follow up of, but that's bot true of course ! I'm afraid I'm not really sure what to believe yet. It seems that both sides have so many arguments
@Lacyq
The story of resurrection by jesus was stolen from other cultures, including the Greeks.
Just a small excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection
"Achilles, after being killed, was snatched from his funeral pyre by his divine mother Thetis and resurrected, brought to an immortal existence in either Leuce, the Elysian plains or the Islands of the Blessed."
Sound familiar?
@Laceyq: Check the box. 1. I believe Gods exist. Some kind of God somewhere. [ ] Theist (+ 4 or 5)
2. I don't believe the God thing is real. [ ] Atheist (+4 )
3. I believe Gods do not exist. [ ] Anti-theist (atheist position) (+4)
4. I know there is a God. [ ] Gnostic (+1)
5. I have no idea if there is a god or not. [ ] Agnostic (+1 or 2) (+2=Agnostic atheist.)
RE: It's just, like, the churches ideas of what god thinks about those things seems to be so cruel and not what a loving god should be about?
Ahem - How long have you been attending Church? The fact that you can say the words "Loving God" demonstrates for a fact that you have NEVER READ THE BIBLE, and NEVER EXAMINED IT CRITICALLY. There is nothing, NOTHING, loving about the Abrahamic God of the bible.
KNOWLEDGE IS THE BANE OF RELIGION - THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT LIFE AND THE WORLD AROUND YOU THE LESS RELIGIOUS YOU ARE GOING TO BE. AS YOU ARE ONLY 17, I SUGGEST YOU START WITH SOME OF THE SIMPLE STUFF. BUT I WILL GIVE YOU A MIX.
1. non-stamp collector https://www.youtube.com/user/NonStampCollector
2. atheist experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBwN9NjSxns A call in talk show. Hundreds of episodes on UTube.
3. How Jesus Became God - UCC Part 1 of 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IPAKsGbqcg&t=1559s
I mean, you're kinda right, ya. I've tried doing bible studies and devotions before but it seems so thick and laborious and most of the stories don't seem to make sense. But I have gone through a little more recently to look up stories I see people mention as being really awful and surprising, so I'm starting. Thank you for the links!