My Thoughts on Why Some Don't Give Up Religion
I've had thoughts on why many cling on to religion, even after constant debunking and debating. I think I may have a possible reason why some do not give them up.
Most religions all have some system of an afterlife. People practicing the religion believe that, if they follow their specific book and appease to their specific God, they get to go to a magical place where nothing bad happens and they get to live out their wishes and desires that were either impossible in their mortal life, or there life was too short to live it.
When someone suddenly suggests that such a concept does not exist, the believer becomes defensive. Death is a bitter result of life. We dread the day we where we breathe our last breath, or if our life was suddenly cut short. To us, the concept of an after-life is comforting, a God protecting us like a Dad telling his son everything is going to be alright, even though he knows the bitter end is near.
I think, while not the sole reason for many that hold on to their faith, a denial of a mortal death being a permanent death is what keeps them from swallowing the bitter pill of reality that life is not fair, and that shit happens and you may not get to do everything in life or you could drop dead the very next day.
I was born in Mississippi, and raised Baptist, although, my family was mostly lazy Christians who only went to church on around the Holidays. I had the hope as a small child to go to Heaven and be with Angels and no kids there would ever be mean to me again. The thought that I couldn't have any of that would probably have scared me back then.
I came to realize that it's for the best that there is no afterlife. Imagine what exactly you would be doing in an afterlife. As the eternity went on, you would grow tired of the same mundane things. Would you truly want to spend your mortal life appeasing some God, only so you can appease him the rest of your life? I can't think of anything else that would be so...well, boring.
In a way, I feel more confident in this life. It won't be okay if I skip out on opportunities, because I may not get the chance again. This is my one shot, and I don't want to blow it on wishful thinking.
How about you? If you were once religious and now Atheist, how did you overcome the hurdle of accepting there is no afterlife? Or, do you not believe in an afterlife, but in some way, wish/hope there is one? Has any of this changed your perspective on how you live your life than how you lived your life beforehand?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on -
So what's he going to do - CAPS LOCK him to death?
Unseen was being deliberately insulting, and you're all being disingenuous if you pretend not to see it.
-
Permalink Reply by John Major on -
Hey nobody is being disingenuous! The point is, who knows what leads to a theist being deconverted. Maybe the theist doesn't know him/her self. There is so much going on during the process who is truly to say whether it is brought about by emotion, logic, or a mix the two. I think that was the doubt that @Unseem was raising, not the integrity of Exile.
There is just no way it was an insult. Exile is having a hissy fit over absolutely nothing, he should apologise and move on. @Unseen is no particular friend of mine. I and others have called it as we have seen it. I don't appreciate you suggesting I am not being genuine.
@Exile is an angry man and you should see that.
-
Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on -
Oh . . . well . . . I guess that settles it then. Blaine says Unseen is intelligent and would never be disingenuous. What was I thinking!?!
-
Permalink Reply by John Major on
-
Lol, now you are being disrespectful to Blaine too.
-
Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on
-
John,
You're damn right I'm angry. And I've made no bones about it. So, yes, everybody should see that.
And if they're familiar with our exchange on your vegetarian moralizing, they also know you've got some sour grapes.
Anybody else want to jump on the bandwagon?
-
Permalink Reply by John Major on
-
I remember from our exchange you also got very angry, particularly when I showed up your inconsistencies. Why you get so angry is perhaps explained by this:
http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/~jminson/Site/PAPERS_files/Minson_%26...
It is an interesting read and covers behaviours you have exhibited here with @Unseen and before with me. I particularly think the bit about, 'knee jerk defensive reaction' germane. You accused @Unseen of a Jesus impersonation and me of moralising. Both good examples of the sort of aggressive preemptive strike detailed in the article.
It's not too late to apologise to @Unseen and move on. You really have blown this up out of all proportion.
-
Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on
-
John, no disrespect to you, but Unseen needs to apologize and stop acting like a little girl.
-
Permalink Reply by John Major on
-
@Athiest Exile. Apologies about the vegetarian moralising. I know I should have other things to worry about, like parking violations maybe?
-
Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on
-
# I don't appreciate you suggesting I am not being genuine.
OK John, I'm sorry, I appreciate your not appreciating ... whatever, I'm in knots now. Unseen is PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE. Now that I've been out for a walk, I can understand that you's can't see the sly underhand tactics that he uses. The fact is, Unseen probably doesn't realize it himself. Passive aggression goes under the radar of everybody except the person it's aimed at: ie. Atheist Exile in this case.
Unseen just did a similar thing to me, and I went off like a rocket. All my other posts have been polite. The guy has a talent for pissing people off.
Atheist Exile is right to be livid.
-
Permalink Reply by kOrsan on -
No he's not right, neither were you. I'm honestly surprised that some people can get mad so easily. Especially atheists, who are supposed to be intelligent reasonable people.
Losing control over your emotions and raging is the sign of weakness, not strength. This is not aimed at you in particular, Simon. I just get the feeling that some people think reacting to minor force with a bigger force is equal to defending your ground, being a man, protecting your honor etc.
It's not. It's equal to being huge oversensitive whiny douchebag that's so insecure about himself he has to attack even the smallest opposition to feel safe.
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, often used to mean low self-esteem, is a feeling of intense insecurity, inferiority or of not measuring up. An inferiority complex can be seen in the negative or "useless" reactions to problems in life.
Sound familiar?Whether Unseen, or anybody else, had a veiled insult in his comment is irrelevant. I don't accept the premise that you should be that mad over a negative comment or insult somebody else made. Even if he insulted you directly, who cares? I mean honestly this guy acts like "Where I come from you don't shit from anybody!" because Unseen called him a "liar" ? Really, that's all it takes for you to become an unstable savage? That warrants a dark alley beating? I'm sorry, but if you really consider being called "liar" so offensive you WERE born yesterday. Not even 12 year olds would think it's a big deal. What are you going to do if someone calls you an asshole? Start a nuclear war? Stop making a joke out of yourselves people. I'm not even going to mention that he's probably a couch potato who'd run away from a fight, I don't care about him. I just wanted to let you all know that being oversensitive is a stupid weakness to have, get rid of it.
The reason this baffles me this much is that I saw it a few times already. How is oversensitivity so common? I said in my other post that this one guy told me he'd punch me, if I told him in real life that having too many babies is a problem for humanity. That guy was a police officer. A fucking police officer. A person who's supposed to protect people, admitting publicly that he is so mentally insecure and emotionally volatile he'd exert force because we had a differing opinion and I wrote that sentence. Don't you see how ridiculous that is?
You know how people make fun of the "COME AT ME BRO!" douchebags on the jersey shore? If you do, you'll know how everybody else is looking at you the moment you react like this.
Also, please listen to this
-
Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on
-
kOrsan -
# Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, often used to mean low self-esteem, is a feeling of intense insecurity, inferiority or of not measuring up. An inferiority complex can be seen in the negative or "useless" reactions to problems in life.
You're mistaken, I don't have low self-esteem. Unseen behaves like a douche, on occasion. Wait til he does it to you, and then see if you can keep your lid on.
-
Permalink Reply by kOrsan on
-
Like I said, that wasn't aimed at you, Simon. I didn't see any of your posts, or at least not any were you displayed such behavior. But what's going on right now in this thread is the clear result of a complex.
I don't know about Unseen, maybe you're right about him, and I'm not trying to defend anybody here. But honestly I don't care. He can call me a liar, a murderer, a nazi whatever. Hell I give him a freebie, he can call me a mofo or anything else he wants. After all is said and done, he too is only a mere stranger on the internet who doesn't know me. How much weight can his, or anyone elses words have?
What's new today
Events
Forum
America - "Love It or Leave It"
Started by Ed in Small Talk. Last reply by archaeopteryx 16 minutes ago. 22 Replies 0 Likes
Blog Posts
Christian Man Claims Native American Statue On License Plate Violates His Freedom Of Religion, Sues Oklahoma
Posted by Rob Klaers on June 17, 2013 at 2:00am 5 Comments 3 Likes
Videos
The Latest Giz Gad
Services we love
Check out our new mobile/tablet version of Think Atheist! www.ThinkAtheist.com/m
© 2013 Created by Morgan Matthew.
