What does Atheism offer me? Read it all….

[cleanhippie]

http://madmikesamerica.com/2010/11/what-does-atheism-offer-me-read-it-all/


Atheism offers nothing to me,
it never has and never will,
it doesn’t make me feel good or comfort me,
it’s not there for me when I’m sick or ill,
it won’t intervene in my times of need or protect me from hate,
it doesn’t care if I fail or succeed,
it won’t wipe the tears from my eyes,
it does nothing when I have no where to run,
it won’t give me wise words or advice,
it has no teaches for me to learn,
it can’t show me what’s bad or nice,
it’s never inspired or excited anyone,
it won’t help me fulfill all my goals,
it won’t tell me to stop when I’m having fun,
it’s never saved one single soul,
it doesn’t take credit for everything I achieve,
it won’t make me get down on bended knee,
it doesn’t demand that I have to believe,
it won’t torture me for eternity,
it won’t teach me to hate or despise others,
it won’t tell me what’s right or wrong,
it can’t tell nobody not to be lovers,
it’s told no one they don’t belong,
it won’t make you think life is worth living,
it has nothing to offer me, that’s true,
but the reason Atheism offers me nothing is because I’ve never asked it to,
Atheism offers nothing because it doesn’t need to,
Religion promises everything because you want it to,
You don’t need a Religion or to have faith,
You just want it because you need to feel safe,
I want to feel reality and nothing more,
Atheism offers me everything,
Whereas Religions gave me nothing.


http://madmikesamerica.com/2010/11/what-does-atheism-offer-me-read-it-all/

[ixion]

1. k/r

:applause: :woohoo:

[yellerpup]

2. A very 'in the moment" contribution.

:kick:

[BlueJazz]

3. Atheism offers me the Ability to accept the fact that my course in life is chartered by me BUT...

....if there IS a God, He hates the Cowboys..which is not a bad thing. :)

[Deep13]

4. And the NY Yankees. Let's not leave them out. nt

[Ernesto]

9. and the lakers! nt

[cleanhippie]

24. .

[qb]

5. Atheism gives me freedom from fear & shame.

It gives me the motivation to focus on what's real and what I can accomplish.
:bounce:

[AlecBGreen]

8. i feel the same way about my faith :)

[cleanhippie]

11. What faith is that?

[AlecBGreen]

14. the totality of my faith

my faith in the existence of God, my faith that Christ was/is God in the flesh, my faith that he died but still lives, my faith that I am a part of the living body of Christ... all of it. That faith gives me freedom from fear and shame.

Do I still feel moments of fear and shame? Yes! But I am no longer a slave to those destructive feelings.

[cleanhippie]

15. Then I think that the question is...

Why do you feel moments of fear and shame? Are they caused by some tenet of your faith?

[AlecBGreen]

18. many reasons

I feel fear because I am human and I am subject to the primal instincts of survival-at-all-cost. Its because I dont viscerally understand in the core of my being what I know mentally: there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

There are also moments of spiritual fear - Am I good enough in Gods eyes? Will I go to hell? Is there a God or have I been fooling myself? There comes a point when you just have to lay fear and doubt aside and press on. I will NEVER have all the answers or understand everything, but thats OK. Is there a possibility that I am wrong and this is all foolishness? Yes, it is a possibility. I am not afraid of admitting that. I accept that. I refuse to live a life of hesitation & second-guessing. I have felt the call of Christ and I have made my choice. One of the defining moments of my life was when I was faced with a very difficult situation and I was wracked with indecision and second-guessing. This was when I was first feeling called as a Christian so I prayed to God for guidance. "Open the Bible" was the response. I did, and the first passage I turned to was Luke: "He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the Kingdom of God." In other words make a decision and move on.

Shame is a function of the psyche or the devil, depending on your frame of reference. In my opinion, shame is just another shade of sorrow and regret. There is another passage in the Bible that got me through a very difficult time, and it says "Worldly sorrow leads to death; Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret." In other words, feeling shame and feeling sorry for yourself is a dead end; it is a path to self-destruction if followed too far. True sadness comes from falling short of God's high standards and leads to recommitment and a redoubling of ones efforts. Shame should have no place in my life, but it does pop up, usually when I disappoint myself by not living up to my own expectations.

Thank you for asking. Answering questions online makes me take my time and really examine what I believe.

[cleanhippie]

19. Thank you for sharing that with me. I think we are more alike than you realize.

Aside from how you feel about your faith, you and I are just like most every other human on the planet. The only thing I think that really separates us is this one line from your post: "Is there a possibility that I am wrong and this is all foolishness? Yes, it is a possibility."

I answered that question about the religion I was raised in with "is it likely that I my parents and everyone else at church is wrong and this is all foolishness? Yes, it is quite likely."

So with the exception of a few key words, we are pretty much the same.

Again, thank you for sharing and I wish you luck on you journey.

[cleanhippie]

10. "Freedom from fear and shame." I like that!

[Roy Rolling]

6. not atheism....anti-religionism

This is not atheism but "anti-religionism"---and it is a faith unto itself. You believe all those things the same way a theist beleives the exact opposite. That is why atheism is categorized as a religious faith, too---it is a system of beliefs that constitute a "faith." I learned this from Spongebob Squarepants "Opposite Day" LOL

[AlecBGreen]

7. uh-oh...

atheism = faith?

:hide:

[cleanhippie]

13. No. next question.

[cleanhippie]

12. Hahahaha! If you need to say that to convince yourself, you go right ahead.

Much like it is very difficult for me to tell you what you really think and feel about your religion, you really cannot tell me what I think and feel about my LACK of religion.

But if it makes you feel better to try and drag me down to your level, you go right ahead. I am sure your god would be proud.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

16. Secular humanism gives me self-respect.

People can do great and wonderful things without relying on gods.

And secular humanism doesn't tell me I'm a POS because of a fairy tale of a couple of fruit munching idiots who never existed in the first place, and therefore I have to accept an imaginary god who has to replicate himself on earth (we think, we're not real sure Jesus existed) and have himself die on a cross and be resurrected to pay for this alleged sin of fruit munching idiots who sought knowledge and were punished for it.

[rhett o rick]

17. Some one needs a Martini, my god. nm

[cleanhippie]

20. They do? Why?

[dimbear]

21. Don't leave out this: you can spend your tithe on real charity,

instead of building maintenance.

[caitxrawks]

22. i like it :) n/t

[cleanhippie]

23. kick

[HarveyDarkey]

25. Pretty much sums it up

N/T (except for this)