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发帖数: 1424 | | d********d
发帖数: 1424 | 2 aded by FightingAtheist on May 17, 2007
I am an atheist and a former Christian. As a former Christian I look back to
what I used to believe. I wonder how I could have been no naive.
As a Christian I had very little knowledge about evolutionary biology,
physics, geology, and chemistry. Yet I argued about evolution, fossils, and
radioactive dating. I claimed to know problems that scientists just happen
to miss when developing these thoroughly tested methods. These supposed
flaws were pointed out to me by other Christians. Now I have read several
books on each of these subjects and understand more than I thought I ever
would. I know now that scientist have accounted for these supposed flaws.
As a Christian I vigorously denied the existence of thousands of gods
claimed by other religions, but I was irritated when someone denied the
existence of my God. I had an emotional attachment to my belief. My beliefs
are now based on logic and reasoning and not emotional feelings.
As a Christian I felt insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists said that
humans evolved from other life forms, but I had no problem with the Biblical
claim that people were created from dirt. I ignored the evidence from
millions of scientific tests that pointed to a different theory. Now I study
these scientific findings with an open mind.
As a Christian I laughed at polytheists, but I had no problem believing in
the father, son, and Holy Spirit that are separate yet the same. To me a
trinity made more sense that multiple gods. Now I don't believe in any gods.
As a Christian I got upset when I heard of the violence attributed to Islam,
or any other religion, but not when the bloodshed was committed by my God.
I made excuses for my God. For Example: the slaughtering all the Egyptian
babies in Exodus and the genocide performed in "Joshua" including women,
children, animals and trees. I also claimed that my God was loving and kind.
As a Christian I thought Hindu beliefs that deify humans were just silly. I
believed Greek claims about gods sleeping with women were absurd. Yet I had
no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave
birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then flew up into
the sky. I realize now that the difference between these beliefs is
minuscule. One is just as silly as the next.
As a Christian I was willing to spend my life looking for loopholes in the
scientifically established age of the Earth, which is a few billion years,
but I found nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age
tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing the age of the Earth.
As a Christian I believed that the entire population of this planet, with
the exception of those who shared my beliefs, would spend Eternity in an
infinite Hell of Suffering. And I considered my religion "tolerant" and "
loving." I am free of the fear of hell now.
As a Christian I ignored the textual scholars that showed evidence that the
Bible was not a reliable source. However an emotional person rolling around
on the floor screaming gibberish was all the evidence I needed. I know now
it was just plain nonsense.
As a Christian I thought that the double blind studies showing prayer
completely ineffective were diversions from Satan. I believed the unanswered
prayers were simply God saying "No." I ignored the fact that praying to any
god produced the same results. I also ignored the fact that if my god was
the one true god, my prayers would be answered more often than other
religions which would cause a statistical anomaly that could be measured. I
don't waste my time praying now.
As a Christian I actually knew little more about my religion than what I
heard in church. I did not study the history of Christianity, the early
church, how the bible was written, what books were left out of the bible,
the mistranslations from the original Hebrew, and the atrocities committed
in the name of Christianity. This knowledge was not needed to be a Christian
. Studying all of these items and actually reading the entire bible helped
me see the truth.
I am happy I do not believe in superstitions anymore. I believe actions are
more important that beliefs.
http://www.evilbible.com/Top_Ten_List.htm |
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