It didn't cushion me against the pain of life or inevitability of death. I feared ppl I'd loved were in Hell & I'd end up there too.
-
-
-
God was only a benevolent father figure very briefly as a young child. Soon became a harsh & cruel judge watching my every move.
-
It wasn't a wrench to overcome faith & accept that I was small, powerless & mortal. It was a relief. Liberating.
-
I've always struggled to understand how ppl can believe in God & heaven & hell & yet not be overwhelmed with fear & anxiety all the time.
-
If what you believe is true, some ppl you currently love will suffer horrendous & eternal torture. Why aren't you freaking out?
-
But I've realised that most ppl simply aren't that literal & don't think things thru to logical conclusion re: religion. Its fuzzy & benign.
-
The most common attitude seems to be to believe in a benign figure who shares your values and will see you OK.
-
I just read that only 2% of ppl who believe in Hell think they themselves might go there.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
I often find American atheists baffle me, having often come from quite severe religious positions.
-
...as someone who was just left to his own devices re. religion, I often find American atheists vehemence surprising.
-
Because religion is so horrible & if you've only seen a vague benign facsimile of it, you can miss this.
-
Oh, I've seen grim, horrible forms of religion. But I guess I was never subject to that so I've never taken it personally
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.