As I grew up I was taught that there was a "hole in my heart" shaped for God. What they neglected to mention was *they carved out that hole* , straight out of my self esteem, then stuffed God in there so my sense of self worth would form around it. I've had mental issues ever since. It's been a very slow heal.
I see what you mean my parents told me too stay calm affter I had a seizure that it was a test from God,but if I questioned why I was guilt triped by my parents.
MegaChickenfish your not alone. I left Christianity about two months ago. Everyday is a constant struggle with my mind and the dogma I’ve grown up believing in, but I know I’ll be fine. I’m getting better each day You will be fine too, healing takes time.
I am a 16 year old apostate (was Muslim) in the east. And shortly after leaving my religion (2 months ago) I was linked by a friend to your videos. They really helped me understand what I went through. The punishing doubt one was really helpful. I left religion because of childhood indoctrination and its effects (I could literally identify them on myself) I thought it was child abuse. Thank you theramintrees.
I always now find myself as an anti-theist/anti-religion towards Islam. when i first left i thought it was perfectly moral, Muhammad was perfect, Quran was perfect and Allah was perfect. I tried to justify myself why i left the religion and for that i started researching. And the deeper i got into it the more i realized how much everyone is suffering because of Islam. And i know Muslims are the main victims. what disturbs me and makes my life absolutely futile and meaningless is that i can't help others too. I just can't criticize Islam because of Blasphemy law. And knowing what it does to people yet not being able to say anything and stuck here (what if; forever?) just suffocates me. it causes severe anxiety and paranoia everyday. I found myself crying sometimes, not for the oppression i face but because everyone else around me is suffering and i can't do anything to help them. Islam has a privileged immunity from criticism and it's taking a toll on me.
Ahh, Pakistan's 'wonderful' stifling of free debate and reason. I know you'll likely be fine if you're in one of the major cities, but if you're in a smaller city or rural area, keep safe!
Someone once told me "atheists are kinda bad. If you noticed, many people who were once religious and no longer are now have serious mental illnesses. That's god's way of condemning them" Sure Janet, sure.
mhm, nope, not at all it's like not being able to pay taxes, except completely nonsensical you need money to be healthy and survive you need a job for money you need to have a certain amount of energy to work effectively, and this takes aforementioned survival so if you can't get a job because you can't afford to be healthy, you can't pay taxes and if you can't pay taxes, so they charge you for more money because you couldn't pay them enough money so thanks "GOD", this mental illness is sure to bring me back like a desperate ex-partner who up and woke up to your active abuse! I'd metaphorically crawl with my one remaining arm with all other limbs missing to get away from him
Hilariously, my depression and suicidality almost completely vanished about the same time I stopped subscribing to Christianity and it only returns when I begin to slip back into theology dunno how to explain that one, Janet, but i'd love to see you try.
Ohhhh now I know its been a while. I had forgotten how awful it was trying to adjust, at times it did feel like I should've just stayed and lived that ignorant life.
My best friend is extremelly christian, but when she noticed how traumatized I was by religion, and after me having a panick atack, she stopped a moment to think then said "You know what? Let's not discuss god, heaven, or hell. You ate hurted, you need time to heal, to recover. So let's talk about sonething else" And she bever tried to convert me ever again. That were the most beautiful action a christian did for me. Respecting boundaries, aknoledging other's pain, and noticibg god's name CAN hurt people.
@@curiodyssey3867 Well, I'm not native english speaker, and this is not a redation test. As long as the message is sent, IDK why this obcession about spelling errors
I was watching this again, and I noticed the analogy you used between The Wizard of Oz and God. The story L. Frank Baum wrote can be interpreted as a lesson in self-sufficiency. The Lion wants courage, yet routinely conquers fear. The Scarecrow wants a brain, yet is cleverest of them all. The Woodman wants a heart, and is already the most caring. And Dorothy already has the means to get home right there on her feet. The Wizard, the savior, is a fraud; he was unnecessary all along.
Hey George. Yes, it's a great illustration - isn't it - of how we sometimes hand ourselves over to self-styled 'authorities' to help with deficiencies we perceive in ourselves that might not exist .... and how those 'authorities' just give us the runaround.
You can not expect to hear the truth. And they don’t want to hear it. They want there ears tickled. They never really searched the scriptures for themselves. And didn’t ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to understand it. They never wanted it.
Or rather, the Wizard like Satan whom the Bible says is the god of this world, pulling the strings behind the curtain. Satan offers you the material things and pleasures of the world, tempting you into sin, trying to fill your desire to feel fulfilled with the things of the world. But the truth is that none of these material things matter and that true fulfillment is in the Lord, Who had already been with us since the beginning.
Years back when I was still a christian, I watched the wizard of oz and the thought came to my mind. I started analyzing it, just the way it is in this video. Because of the fact that I was a christian I had to forcefully stop myself from thinking deep into it. It was almost as if I was afraid to come to the truth that I some how know somewhere in my heart that god story is a scrappy story.Its all scam.
Reminds me of a quote from Epicurus - “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
We have free choice and we are the one’s who allow evil into our own lives. God gave us the escape plan for evil by fallowing Jesus example. If you don’t fallow the way, the truth, and the life satan will bring evil and let you blame God for letting it happen.
@@ThapeloMKT we choose it when we don’t fallow the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ example in our life. Satan brings evil into your life and let’s you blame God for letting it happen.
@@ericwalker6546 well, it's all apart of "god's" devine plan. You know, the plan where each and every detail has been predetermined by god. Apparently he wants more and more people to stray away. Strange...
When I was a Christian, I never felt like I 'loved' God enough. In Christianity, God is supposed to be the center of your universe, and if he's not you're guilty of idolatry. Because of this I was so incredibly terrified of hell throughout most of my teenage years. I was afraid every day, and I'd pray to God to help me love him enough, or to give me some assurance that I'm not going to hell. As an atheist now I'm not (usually) afraid of hell, or God. Comparing religion to an abusive relationship really is spot on. I've only just begun to realize how incredibly fucked up the whole thing is. Thanks for the great content, as per usual.
Yes, and that has horrid consequences for everybody. In particular, the Republicans in the USA have been taken over by religion and because religion gets people to "respect" authority without question, the oil companies took over the Republicans (by buying them). Then the voter republicans go along with their bought leaders. As a consequence we have global warming - a huge disaster - and these delusional people are resisting finding solutions!
As a christian I am telling you you had the wrong veiw of christianity. God is supposed to be a major part of your life but that doesn't mean you have to be thinking of him all the time. You worried too much so you decided to take a less stressful route
I felt that too for a bit, but then I thought “If I believe he exists and am thankful and repent, then I have to go” and now I’m just focused on making God happy.
Never have been religious, but your videos on the psychological effects of religious indoctrination consistently bring me to tears. I guess it's just a matter of realizing the cruelty that's out there. I've got a friend who's an ex-Catholic. And he makes jokes about Catholic guilt creeping up on him whenever he fails in some way. But he's told me honestly how much of a burden it is on him and how it makes him paranoid about avoiding failure at any level as if its a moral indictment. That sort of deeply self-deprecating response to failure is something I can only imagine coming from an abusive dynamic.
@Anne You can be encouraged that it does indeed go away, from my personal case study. In fact, there was a period where I was a bit too casual in making mistakes and brushing them off, a bit of a rebound effect towards lack of self-awareness, haha. It was only minor things for the most part, like gaffes in public conversation, work meetings, etc. Eventually, you build up both personal confidence and personal discipline to healthy life levels. From there, you can be disciplined in doing your best to consistently get things right, but at the same time accepting mistakes, learning from them, and moving on. It is a heck of a lot better regiment to operate, and viewing it like that has made it easier to switch. View it like switching an exercise regiment from one that is silly, self-defeating, and ineffective (like slapping oneself in the face for 15 min a day, no other exercise allowed) to one that is healthy, approved by medical science, and normal (mix of cardio, resistance, stretching with friends/fun). The problem is, there is a lot of emotional baggage and habit in trying to keep us tied to the ineffective way, but viewing the switch in a detached way as just a different healthy lifestyle choice helped my motivation to change. It is just changing everyday psychological exercise methods.
@Anne Yeah, religions have a bad habit of coercing the idea that their way is the only option. Trusting in people you care about is better as you say, understanding friends, family, and local secular/freethinker groups are all helpful.
Dylan, "Never have been religious,.." Religions are man-made. What God made man can't make. I was raised strict Catholic. My remaining family is still strict Catholic. I got out of it in my teens. As time went on I still wanted answers because natural causes are a whole lot dumber than any man-made religion, so that's got to be pretty dumb. So dumb, it's funny. Through much trial and error I found the bible without all of man's traditions attached to it is kickass. I don't go to any church. I just want things to make sense if I'm going to believe it. No supernatural God makes no sense. It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?! ----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.----- Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny! www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny! Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour. th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny! Life takes information to form and proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity. th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html creation.com/laws-of-information-1 creation.com/laws-of-information-2 I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses. There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe.
@@2fast2block so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing (this is a severe misunderstanding of the big bang) how does an infinite omnipresent, omnipotent, all knowing being that conveniently hides himself because "muh free will" despite him constantly messing with people's free will in the bible specifically magically creating a universe that works entirely autonomously makes more sense? How do you specifically know it's the Christian God and not any of the other thousands of religions? How does it make more sense that this supposed being created tons of planets, stars, solar systems, Galaxies, etc. To only put life on a single planet? It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific. Let's use an example ghosts. If ghost are real how come they are mostly detected with items that are designed for another purpose? Why can only ghost enthusiasts and no scientists create devices specifically for detecting and talking to ghosts? Why do none of these enthusiasts reveal their inventions to the scientific community? Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning, earthquakes, the moon, the sun, diseases, etc. Never has the supernatural been found to be the answer for anything. The supernatural is just whatever guess humans can come up with to explain what they don't understand. I'm gonna repeat this same comment for every sectuon that you find where you repeat this same argument that misrepresents science Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often *interpreted* as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system also the presence of entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order, entropy is the measurement of the change from order to disorder it says the same thing in the description I gave also by the way. You're just another theist that doesn't know the science they're talking about yet still trying to argue science proves the unscientific
@@Abyzz_Knight The world will breathe a sigh of relief when a worthless nothing dies and one less dumbass, liar to deal with. "so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing" Strawman! Where did you mention the BB, ignored it and say anything on it? Nowhere. Up yours. Copy and paste that or just get lost. "It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific." And you give no science to counter mine. No surprise. "Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning," blah, blah, and yet no science to counter mine. "entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order," Another word fart. You give NO proof. You are so stupid. How and why do you live? You're a nothing from your god of nothing. "You're just another theist that doesn't know the science" From the dumbass who did not give any science to counter mine. Again, you're nothing. Nothing of value. Nothing of science. Nothing of importance. A 100% loser.
Just went to a sermon where they said that suffering is for God's glory. I watched my grandma die slowly from ulcerative colitis and I might have inherited that disease. Needless to say it wasn't a comforting sermon lmao
Typical atheistic misrepresentation. All choices have consequences so logically any choice you make will have a consequence whether good or bad. If someone Says you can pick this or that and explains the consequence behind each how can you blame them when you pick the wrong one?
Alex Thompson How can someone blame you for picking the wrong choice, or blame you for doing so when that someone is all knowing, and knows all that will be where as you don’t? Especially when they made you that way, when they know what you’re going to pick and all the details behind such a decision. Nor will there ever be a consequence for every action, a great many men have done horrible things and yet they were not stopped, reasoned with or worse. While you may condemn rapist, murders and thieves as the lowest rung of society; at least hey aren’t able to destroying a entire nation, nor do they legally disarm or put those at a disadvantage. The latter of which often live long lives, lavish lifestyles and die comfortably.
@@silent_stalker3687 1. Because God gave the answer to us. He doesn't just ask you to pick without telling you anything he says "this is the right answer" then allows you to make the choice to follow or not. That is why he says " you are without excuse". Becausw he gives you the answer before hand
This is EXACTLY what I used to have. I remember as a child having what I called “guilt attacks”. I felt like I had just murdered someone despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything.
Yep. You feel guilt even fpr thoughts inside your head no one knows, but you. "Oh, but god knows" Do you must be perfect even for what crosses your head! Like sexual fantasies, wishful thinking, etc. You thinkn something and has right after beg forgivenes, or you gonna go to hell, even if is an absolute fact that whatever crosses your mind doesn't hurt anyone.
@@taynahibanez9952 yup, the standard is absurd. no person can be as perfect as the bible wants you to be. i’ll never understand the religious obsession with being utterly perfect inside and out even when no one is being hurt by your actions! when you’re in a church you assume everyone else is having an easy time, like you’re the problem. giving myself some space from christianity to reflect on what behaviours are actually immoral and what isn’t hurting anyone has been so helpful to me. when i wrote my original comment i had just left christianity behind and it was scary understanding a world that had seemed so simple before, but i’m so much happier now!
@@-book I once were in your place. I am absolutelly happier now than I never once had in my life! I left this toxic and abusive envioriment and I just won from it. Hope things get even better for you
Even after I had come to the conclusion that Yahweh doesn’t exist, I was so frightened anytime someone would make fun of Jesus, or if I had a negative thought about him. People saying “Oh my god” still sets off a sort of “oh no don’t do that” panic in me. Crazy.
@@oliviadawn9002 yes i had a similar experience. its been a few years now and i've made friends who have also left their religion. talking to them about our shared experiences has made a lot of that fear go away. its nice getting to joke about god. makes it all feel less serious than it did as a kid. i hope the panic goes away for you as well!! :]
Dear TheraminTrees, Reading the comments below and seeing how many ex-Muslims find your videos helpful is heart warming. As an Ex-Muslim I came to the apostate party late in my age. Mainly because I struggled with the concept of hell. In Islam there are vivid description of the day of judgement, death, the punishment in hell and so on. Although I jettison many of the rituals and beliefs earlier in my life, I could not get rid of that one. I was exposed to that story repeatedly at a very young age. That fear was the last chain that I had to sever to break free from that poisonous ideology. We as humans are driven by fear more than logic, just look at Brexit and Trump. Perhaps if you can offer some strategies on how to combat that type of irrational fear. For me I spent many hours, days and months reflecting on the concept of hell and trying to understand it logically. Also seeing many arguments made by other atheist about hell helped me reason my way out. It is after all a bogyman used to scare children into submission. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hello Dogmalogy. I love the idea of an 'apostate party’. Starting this channel ten years ago as an explicit response to fundamentalist Christianity - predominantly in the US - it's been a delight to find common ground with wider groups, including ex-muslims and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses. I know that I feel richer for my conversations with individuals from these groups. Dealing with irrational fears is a difficult one in terms of finding out what works for the individual. For some folks, they will have a realisation about something like ‘hell’ that suddenly takes away all of its power permanently. I had such a realisation - I describe it in ‘losing faith’ at the 16min mark. Once I had this thought, I never looked back. But we all respond to ideas in different ways. For some people, thought-stopping techniques work - getting into the habit of recognising an unproductive recurring image and ejecting it. Some people use elastic bands/bracelets that they snap against their wrist to break the thought. Some inwardly - or outwardly - say things like ‘go away’. Some just visualise the thought as a piece of rubbish to be thrown away, and turn their attention to other things. The idea behind this is that negative thoughts are often simply a meaning habit - nothing more. They’re just a routine we get into that we can get out of. We often give thoughts ‘power’ by assuming they always have meaning or significance to us, when they simply don’t. When we recognise that we’re not helpless slaves to our thoughts, and that we have the power to think about what we wish to think about, we take back control. I hope you find the answer that works for you ;8)
@@TheraminTrees this is very true. I often have to say "Stop it" out loud when negative thoughts like "you're useless" or "you don't have good friends" or even simple ones like "you're a bad person" start to overwhelm me. The weird thing is that i know what i was thinking is untrue yet i still have to forcefully remove the thought to break out of that cycle. I don't know if its an insecurity from when i was younger or that those ideas somehow became a habit due to it being paraded in my head at that age, but its something I've noticed. It might also have to do with me being a Calvanist in south africa until i was 15 years old, i always just used to pray when something wasn't going my way. So in a sense i had no way of dealing with problems in the real world when i became an atheist, which might explain why i had such a tough time dealing with insecurities and others opinions. South Africa, especially the community i grew up in the Afrikaners, are extremely religious people, so it probably also contributed to me feeling isolated and being unable to deal with these feelings of being alone. I mean to this day i dare not tell any of my friends im an Atheist, instead i just srug off the question. But that was years ago. I dont want to sound like im depressed or anything, you learn how to deal with issues eventually. I guess all i want to say is that i wish i learned from a younger age how to deal with these situations instead of just being told to pray and trust god. It would've made my high-school a lot more fun. And finally i really enjoy your videos, it gave me clarity and certainly of my opinions like never before. I hope you have a great day
Hell is being the last chain for me aswell (ex-christian) and what made it worse was seeing muslin descriptions of hell. It was something that incresed and worsened a trigger I already was struggling with. Took months to my mental state go back to normal. I had a lot of support from my therapist and friends. Love brought me back, and real kind love, not the narcissistic "love" decipted in most abraamic relogions.
‘When we turn the spotlight on the abusers we see that not only that they dont come to the standards they set for others but they also operate on a different set of rules, one that shields them from all the hardships their targets are expected to endure’
i grew up super religious, and my family believed in omnipresent gods that listened to my thoughts and judged me based on actions i hadn't even taken. every so often, i catch myself spiraling into guilt over any lapse from the "norm", no matter how small: my gender and sexuality, my estranged relationship with my parents, and my general lack of faith. it often feels like religion is some inside joke i'm just not in on, and i'm not trying hard enough to see god's glory or whatever, like everyone else i know. i come back to this video whenever i'm stuck in those thought spirals. it's nice to have a reminder that i'm not the delusional one, and that i should stop punishing myself for failing to live up to some nonexistent deity's demands. thank you so much for what you do.
A loving Coach is rightfully disappointed when the athlete in training does not give their best. Far too many parents abused their children by threatening the wrath of a vindictive God. That description certainly does not fit the FatherJesus claimed kinship with and considered an even more perfect Spirit than himself in human form.
I think my imagination has recovered quite well from religious indoctrination. Luckily, my emotions seem to be capable of following my rational mind after I left Islam. Once I understood that God's existence is a philosophical affair that needs to be approached with a sober, unbiased mind, I ceased to experience the emotions that would cloud my judgement such as fearing punishment, desiring rewards, being watched, etc. That said, you've always managed to put the vague ideas that roam in my mind into elegant words accompanied by impressive animations, and this video is no different. Your work is desperately needed and greatly appreciated. I do hope to see more about Islam, but I'll devour anything you create and watch it multiple times.
Hey Tranquil. Yes, with this one, I wanted to address the 'generic' god that folks from different religions seem to be left thinking about - even when they've distanced themselves from the specific scriptural deity they once believed in. But Muhammad will be appearing in the next video.
I always found it strange that "free will" meant we were allowed to shank someone on a toilet, but not to conjure a new roll when it's needed. That the laws of physics were just _so_ much more inviolate than the laws of morality.
Exactly. Preventing us from being able to fly or walk through walls limits our free will as much as preventing us from ever desiring to murder or steal, and does just as little to change how like this god we supposedly are.
@markj6700 if there is an omni creater, then the laws of the universe are indeed persciptive, since he/she must have created the universe knowing full well how our freedom would be limited by imposing such laws.
@markj6700 hmmm i thought a perscriptive definition described what a word meant (as if there was an intrinsic, correct meaning to words) and a descriptive definition described how it was used.
@@TheraminTrees LOOOOL rekt For years I've only just lurked your channel, you've managed to put a lot of the difficulty and strange feelings I had from growing up in an overly religious household into words. Thank you for being a gem on this platform
Thank you for this, and all your other videos. I left Islam around a month ago and your videos played a big part in changing my mind. It wasn't and still isn't easy. Sometimes I still wonder if I'm wrong because I was so deeply indoctrinated but videos like this one remind me of why I left in the first place. Again, thank you.
Ame, trust me, I know how you feel, I left islam a few months back, at 32 years of age. I just couldn't force myself to ignore the reality any more. I haven't looked back since, I feel a whole lot better and my family is starting to accept the fact that I can't force myself to believe in God and our holy book just as much as I can't force my self in believing that I can fly. I told them that too, when I see my mom take an unaided flight just by making herself believe she can do it, I'll make myself believe in God again...
Azzedine Al-Razi I'm at uni now where I can pretty much be myself! I only wear hijab when my family visits. All the hiding is still taking a toll on me but I'm getting help soon :)
Ame, i still avoid talking religion to my parents as well and I think they're starting to see I'm being serious about it. They used to comfort themselves in thinking that I was just going thru a doubting stages and would be back. I can't come back even if I try, I lost all the feelings and the fear of god I had...
I stopped believing in Allah a few years back. TT’s videos really helped me communicate my reasoning to my parents and I think the realisation that I couldn’t believe in a god on the basis of my logic and reasoning (vs. it being a shallow act of rebellion or social conformity) made them less angry about it all. I still often wish I could believe in God to bridge the gap between my family and I (a gap that they feel more than I do) but I have felt so free now that the contradictions of believing in a God and being a student of science and reason have been removed. And I hope that my parents can be at peace with me. They always say they’ll pray for me and I’ve learnt not to take it offensively 😂 Good luck to everyone trying to find psychological peace
You certainly don't work in any reasonable ways, so you should be shutting up. It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?! ----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.----- Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny! www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny! Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour. th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html creation.com/laws-of-information-1 creation.com/laws-of-information-2 Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny! Life takes information to proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity. th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses. There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe.
@@2fast2block I do not speak for any other atheists, I would not presume to do that. But, as a atheist, (I prefer the term non-believer) the only thing that I believe about about any religion is just one thing, There is no god of any type, size or image.
@@TheTheotherfoot "There is no god of any type, size or image." Fine, but it so ironic when many atheists mouth off how Christians go by blind faith when it's the atheists (which includes you since you don't give any reasonable explanation to how things I covered could have happened naturally) that have the blind faith. Since there is NO science to support you all then the most common pathetic excuse is the god-of-the-gaps crap. I don't go to any church and for good reason. So many of them do the exact same things they accuse non-believers doing, and that's sticking to beliefs that are proven wrong. I also can't go to the atheist side because it's even worse. That being said, I've learned from both sides. When a person is very good on the topic they are teaching, I don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
@@ej4j4i38wGwgeb8, Here's what happens when you give a dumbass common science that they can't contend with, they will completely ignore it and since they are disgusting human beings that don't care, they will think they have something clever to say that makes it look like they are not as stupid as they are, so this is what is considered a good scientific come back to all the science they were provided: Drumroll, please.... their science....."say sike right now" Yes, I'm serious. I'm not making this up. They are really that stupid.
I really appreciate that you call it 'Christian mythology' and 'Christian Jesus' 'Christian God' etc. It's helpful to specify and the phrasing reminds me that my religious upbringing was cultural, not necessarily the "truth" or "reality"
I'll never forget the time I sat in church crying from being told I'm a horrible sinner but Jesus would save me if I only let him in. I was maybe 10 or 11. I look back on that and realize how twisted the religion really is and am amazed I ever believed.
@@klumaverik But children are susceptible to it, especially if its coming from an adult. Children tend to assume the adult knows what they are talking about. I went to church when I was about 12, but I don't even remember if I believed in god or not. I didn't question it like I would now, but on the other hand, I wasn't particularly arsed with it either.
Excellent and thought provoking. Not just thinking "about" the subject and giving context to my understanding, but also making me look inwards for yet more "aha" moments. Requires more than one watching.
Or perhaps sin makes you weak, prevents you from living a happy and successful life, ultimately kills, allows your leaders to be corrupt and manipulable, harms the people around you and ultimately destroys the whole planet (false flags, rigged elections, loss of freedoms, staged wars, mass extinctions). Do not reject that wisdom.
@@B30smo I can assure you that I am gay and I absolutely love my life of atheist way better than before I came out of both the religion, and the closet.
Not really as sin is in cultures without the concern of religion. A sin is anything that results in something negative. Hunting wouldn't be considered a sin, but killing thoughtlessly would be. Not wasting food is good, but overeating is bad. I've found that some of the weird sins like no eating pork or shellfish were actually wiser in the past than thought. I mostly see athiest videos trying to be man vs god, but it's mostly man vs religion. I'm agnostic.
As someone who was raised Atheist, I feel terrible for everyone who has converted from Theism and had to go through all of this. I've never had abusive or unrespectful religious parents, been estranged from family and friends, gone through complete upending of my beliefs, and manipulative indoctrination, and I feel immensely privileged to have not. I have a loving family and friends who share and respect my beliefs when I know many Atheists do not. Anyone who has or still is going through this is a stronger person than me.
When I didn't want to pray and ask God for comfort my mom made a remark about how not believing in God must be so lonely and isolating. I do not understand what she thought was lonely when she was right there supporting me and giving me comfort, she had just fallen back on God to help give me some extra comfort, not accepting that comfort didn't make the other comfort go away. Why is it, though, that Christians (and I bet many other religious people) don't feel able to comfort someone without falling back on their belief? "Let's pray" or "I'll pray for you" are very common things to hear when seeking comfort, do these people not realize that they are fully capable of providing people with comfort without relying on any god?
This comment is old, buy I add that this also is the cause of why children distance themselves emotionally from christian parents (other religions too, but christianity is the one I was raised). I struggle with depression, generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD since little, but was not diagnosed at thar time (I got diagnosed with 28 years old). And when I used to have panick atacks, depressive thoughts or felt uncapavle cause of the limits my ADHD gave me, and I tried to share with my mom, her immediate response was "Had you being praying latelly?" Like, ALWAYS. If I said "no" she used to say it was mu fault cause I was not praying, and if I said "yes" she again would blame me for "obviously" not be praying enough, and called me liar if I said I was. Then when she finds out problems she never was aware of, she would play the victm and ask "why did you never had told me all this? If you had, I would had solved it" would she tho? Cause every time I tried, she would fall on "had you be praying?" Like this is the ultimate solution. When I became atheist, I seeked therapy to recover, and investigation and analysis of them leaded to tons of diagnosys. GAD, ADHD, clinical depression, religious trauma syndrom... Wheb my mom received all that, she blaned me for not sharing my struggles with her, from hidding it from her, and why I was never diagnosed. But when I tried, what did she do? "This is lack of god, you are not praying enough. Read the bible". Then now gets shocked and surprised I do not share things with her. When I came out as atheist tgen? It got worse. All my problems were my fault for veing atheist, all tge family's problems were my fault for being atheist. It took a loooong time for her to see sge was wrong, and to stop this stupid mindset that all problems are solved by praying. You need to take action for things to happen, praying or not praying. I still don't trust her honestly, but is way better than in the past
As a person still trying to figure out what I really believe, I'd like to mention that it isn't that people who default to prayer are left unaware of their innate ability to comfort and care for other humans. From my personal experience, I can tell you a bunch of stories of times when I felt I needed to pray for other people (back when I was actually confident in what my worldview looked like), and in every single one of them it was with the intent to solve a problem or fix a terrible situation. The major story that comes to mind took place during my first or second year of high school. There was a girl I was friends with at the time - I'll call her Beth - who used to do flags with me and several other girls at school. During the winter season, when we were just getting started with rehearsal for the night after school let out that day, I noticed she looked upset. When I asked her what was wrong (like any sane, well-meaning friend should) Beth broke down and told me that her parents were getting divorced and she would most likely have to move. Now I've had experience with divorced and broken families because my family took in foster kids for a long time, and literally every uncle in MY family has been the cause of some breed of relationship chaos hell since before I could speak. Many of those memories were still fresh in my head at the time of this conversation. From what I'd noticed, most splits aren't tame by any sense of the word, and far as I was aware, most people who come from divorced homes (especially if the parents kept it together a long time and the split seems to come out of nowhere) tend to either blame themselves for the divorce or jump to the conclusion that it was their least favorite parent's fault. Couple that with casual teen hormones, not being sure where she would be going or what parent would take her, and the looming threat of never seeing her friends again... I knew she was gonna have a heck of a time. Telling her things would be okay eventually felt cold, and while I knew a big hug and an "I'm so sorry, I know this really sucks" would help a little bit, that help I'd give would've been short term at best (still did it though. I hate it when people get hurt). If I really wasn't going to see her again, I needed to pass her problem over to someone that I felt confident had the ability to solve it, especially since I couldn't be there when it came time for her to move. So we popped our happy butts down in the cafeteria and I prayed the hardest I ever have. I gave everything I knew about that situation to God, and just in case my request was going to get mixed in with all the others he likely gets in a day, I asked him to watch over Beth by name. A few weeks later she moved, and I didn't see her since. I still hang onto the memories I have of her and wish her well, wherever she is. That's all I can really do now. If I knew therapy was a thing at the time I'd have suggested it...
II was about 8 years old when I realized that religion was just twaddle. It was amazingly easy to give up because neither parent was strongly emotionally tied to a supreme being. In other words, I did not have to put up a fight. My older sister moved from England to America and became ensnared in the cult of organized religion. She still fails to accept that she is in a cult. Go read about cults and how they work then open your eyes to the cult YOU live in. PS it applies to the cult of politics too. Blind faith in concepts like perfect markets is equally blinding to realities.
hauskalainen I have mild autism™. I remember having an epiphany, when I was like 12. I realized that religion wasn't a joke to everyone around me. Still my parents did a solid job of making me afraid of hell.
To everyone saying 8 is too young for him to realize anything, I would like to point out that neither of his parents were deeply tied to religion. And if he had access to the internet at that age, it's especially likely that he could've become an atheist. With access to the world wide web (which is how I became an atheist at age 10, almost 5 years ago) and parents who weren't desperate to corral their child back into the religious pen, it's not too absurd to consider the possibility that he might've really become an atheist at his age.
my life is staggeringly, terrifyingly similar to yours and your viewers'. your videos sound like me in the future, making videos to help my present self. i'm really not being hyperbolic when i say your youtube channel is one of the best things to ever happen to my mental health
I come from Mexico which is 96% Catholic, throughout my whole life I was indoctrinated into the Catholic Church. My elementary school was ran by nuns and I remember we'd pray several times a day. When I lost my grandmother at the age of 10 is when my doubts for the Catholic Church began to arise, but it wasn't until I moved to Canada at the age of 13 that I really started to doubt my religion. I no longer believed in the Catholic Church but I still believed in their God, not until I turned 17 that I fully admitted to myself that I was an atheist. At times I still feel like I could turn back to theism and pretend that nothing happened, or like I'm lying by saying I'm atheist, but I know I'm an atheist because at the same time I can't take religion seriously anymore, I can't help but seeing it like a big manipulative lie, and I can't help but seeing a lack of individuality whenever a theist family member talks about God, as if the words coming out of their mouths were scripted. I don't expect anyone to read this comment but it certainly makes me feel better being able to share some of my experiences in a community that understands where I'm coming from. I don't feel comfortable telling my family about my beliefs, except for my brother who's also an atheist
I've read your comment! Good on you for using your brain, muy bueno. Always know you're not alone in your skepticism: I myself had no clue I was an atheist until I started watching this channel and had the lightbulb moment of 'Oh, bugger, I never really believed this stuff either.' 😆
Same bro, maybe almost. I am from poland- also a big number of catholic christians maybe something like in Mexico. But I didnt go to another country. I was just really confused about the things they thaught me. Religion stopped maling sense and was just a burden and a chore. Thank GOD I dont believe in him LOL
Finally someone gets it. Suffering didn’t have to exist! He literally could have created a universe full of happiness without violating free will-because he’s supposed to be all powerful
Is God supposed to be all powerful? Or is that just man's interpretation? Imagine if we went back to around Jesus's time with modern technology, would we too not be described and written as 'all powerful'?
@@crispywings9066 An omniscient god would have seen that outcome from miles away though. Either he failed a spot check or he's just stupid. Or both. And also, why was that tree even there in the first place? If he didn't want them to eat that tree he could have just placed it out of reach.
@@mysterywyvern7065 "God" is a combination of two different gods: the Canaanite "El" and the Judahite "Yahweh." The former was the mythological father of the gods, ultimately a corruption of the earlier Sumerian god Enki which ultimately came from the Proto-Indo-European animistic religion's personification of the sky, and the latter was a tutelary deity associated with tribal warfare and storms. At their root, both are superstition.
@ 15:33 it is not just God who has free will but no suffering, the bible says " ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4. This creates a paradox. Either there is no free will in heaven, in which case, free will is not necessary, or in heaven, there is free will without suffering, in which case suffering is not inherent to free will.
There are numerous flaws with this. Belief isn't a choice. Belief is a state only achieved through persuasion. If it an argument isn't convincing you won't believe. Love isn't a choice either. Yet these things are demanded by God through threats and coercion in order to achieve life and avoid death. There are also numerous predeterministic verses in the bible describing that before people even existed God decided that they would worship Satan and consequently be sent to hell. Free will is a responsibility negating concept and has the potential to allow people to commit horrible atrocities. If someone held a gun to my head and threatened to pull the trigger unless I became his slave for an eternity I am put into a position in which I can make a choice. Does making the choice to say "no" vindicate the man for shooting me in the head and taking my life? Do we say that it was my fault I was shot? Some people do, but if that is your first reaction to the situation you're ignoring the obvious detail, which was this man was the one who painted the options in this corner in the first place. He didn't have to pull the trigger. You would have to be sadistic and downright cruel to assert that I deserved to die in this situation for not complying to a tyrant who would control my life. This situation is fundamentally the same situation that humans would be in if God were a thing. The only difference being that at the very least there may be an opportunity to escape this horrible person. With God there is no escape. Obey me or die. Doesn't sound like much of a choice.
@@danielthames8829 you do realize that free will is the ability to choose right? God gives you a choice and specifically labels consequences to them. You still do have a choice but you just don't like the consequence
@@alexthompson8977 Free Will is the ability to choose what ever way you want. But do you chose what you want? If I ask do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream you can use free will to pick what ever you want! Maybe you like vanilla so you choose it. But why did you want it? Because you think vanilla is tasty so you wanted the tastier option? Why do you want the tastier option? Maybe youre aware of this and in a attempt to get your free will back you pick chocolate. But you really just wanted to get 'free Will' back more then you wanted your favorite flavor. You can do this forever until you get the the realization you don't choose what you want. If you can't choose what you want to want how can you have free will?
Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud! So many inconsistencies in Christianity. I grew up Christian and the older I got the less sense it made and the more betrayed and grossed out I felt by god and the church. Taking a philosophy of religion class in college helped me open my mind completely to the abundant fallacies, lies, and insidious manipulation I had endured and accepted as truth for years. It was liberating and I'm never going back. I'm proud to say I think for myself now and feel more empowered. I'm not inherently broken. The church is.
During my time of being a Christian, I was constantly scared that my religion might be false and there was nothing after death. Now that I left, I came to terms with nonexistence and am no longer in panic because of it, yet now I am scared that Christianity might be right. This channel and especially this video helped me a lot with my transition, thank you so much.
Funny I would say I’m the same now, and it’s being made out to me in rational terms as well, especially ever since I told my father, he had a surprisingly calm reaction and we’ve been working trough it together , although he is way more theistic than me, myself, somewhat leaning towards theistic. I would recommend Jordan Peterson.Ive derived from his works the claim that( and this works theologically/scripturally too) what really matters in the end is how we live in this world(or more precisely, how we determine morality) , and the particular articulated beliefs are irrelevant, although the paradoxical thing is, we act in accordance to our beliefs.
Your videos are phenomenal and have been a great asset to me as I have begun my faithless journey. I've spent hour watching them in a library computer at my Christian University, afraid someone would find out but watching anyways. It was amazing to find people who saw the same things that I did when reading the Bible. Thanks so much for helping me step away from the faith. I still go to church with my family because that's the only way my mom will trust me, and I want to take my sister off to grad school with me and out of our abusive home. Watching your videos are like a breath of fresh air after drowning in church services.
I feel sorry for what you've been through, and as a Catholic myself it gives me a twinge of sadness to see a person thanking someone for helping them lose their faith :( . I know that you probably won't regain your belief, but I am just going to say that please remember what history (even in the bible itself) has taught us about religion being used as a tool, a weapon even to control the masses for one's own personal grudge or belief. The Bible is not the God's words, but man's belief/interpretation of God's words. The Bible has also been re-translated many times over, and has actually had things changed by people for who knows whatever end. Anyway I hope I'm not bible bashing XD but that's just my two cents
The array of emotions i felt until this day from renouncing religion are perplexing 1- shock 2- fear 3- anger -4 hatred 5- empathy 6- acceptance 7- joy 8- peacefulness 9- emptiness 10- fear 11- spiritual longing 12- skepticism of the existence of god again 13- disorientation 14- rationalizations 15- weakness I can’t explain why im feeling all of these feelings after I discovered and accepted the truth I just became an atheist 1 month ago
The judgment that you feel "defective" is on point. At age 27 that's exactly what I felt... defective. i couldn't take on all of what the religion into which I was born was shoveling on me. Extreme depression was, of course, the result. The day I was able to shuffle the God weight off my shoulders was one of the happiest of my life.
At aged 8, my parents were asked to remove me from Sunday school because I was a disruptive influence and kept asking questions they didn't want to answer (couldn't?). Mom explained to me that church was just something we did for a more harmonious community, it wasn't meant to be taken literally, overall it made no real difference to anything at all. A compromise was met, I would get a bicycle if I played nice. It didn't last long as quiet Sunday streets proved to be a much greater lure for a new bike than going to church. Dad was sort of the churchie type but he was also considered borderline insane by most, and I think he was just into the organ music. This was the 60's and I was raised by "bohemians", hippies and a constant flow of "lodgers" from all walks of life, in a small conservative city in Australia, so we were already square pegs. No topic was taboo at the diner table and as I was much younger than the next of my 4 siblings, I would just take it all in. Of course the downside to the diner table was, any school friend I would invite over would be promptly told not to talk to me, when word got back to their parents of the discussions had by my family. However I was still indoctrinated to a degree, I had until my early 20's had a loose belief in the the "New Age" crap, as I hadn't realised the disconnect between thinking it was any more rational than a concept of god. BTW only just found your channel and seen a handful of your vids, but find it fascinating and an absolute pleasure to listen to, so far you have articulated my thoughts in a way impossible for me to do so. (also the graphics in this vid are brilliant in their simplicity) + 1
Beautifully said, all the way through. I’ve never understood God, or how my family could worship this father figure that’s somehow absent AND abusive. “Trust that I’m here. I killed my son to save you. You’re still worthless, always will be. Praise me. Worship me. Or you’ll burn for eternity.” -God, probably.
For me family values culture is what I'm recovering from. It doesn't even have to have a religion attached to it. Sick family values culture can drive you into a sick religion.
I noticed something was wrong when my mother said to me that the purpose of life was "to serve and praise god" I was like "What? God created all of the humans just to praise and serve him?" But until a few months ago i didn't think anymore of it
"I was like "What? God created all of the humans just to praise and serve him?"" So then you think you became smart. Now you somehow know that your god, the god of nothing, created the universe, did the fine-tuning for life, gave life from non-life, gave the information out of chaos for life and gave us the laws of nature. And to you, that is being smart. You're a worthless nothing from YOUR god of nothing. NOTHING more. So shove that your dumb ass, dumbass.
@@2fast2block gotta love how Christians and Muslims immediately turn on and make unfounded assumptions about someone the moment they have any lapse in faith. So much for love and tolerance. How are you so sure that this person is part of this mysterious religion that worships this nameless god of nothing? you're talking about athiesm it's already apparent in your comments from other comment chains and I all I have to say is that you clearly can't accept the idea of people not worshipping a god/gods because it makes it so much harder to put down their beliefs so you have to make up the moroonic idea of a god of nothing. What fine-tuning for life? 99.99% of the universe is not suitable for life, none of the planets in our solar system are suitable for life with the only planet with the possibility of being suitable for life if we terraform it first, the planet being mars. Many parts of the earth weren't suitable for human life, we can only live innthese places because we technological advances. Would you call any of the deserts of the world suitable? would you call Russia suitable if humans never learned about fire? Many places are frequently hit by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, floods, volcanoes, etc. If this is what you call fine-tuning then I'd say it's a colossal failure.
@@2fast2block First things first, wishing death on others because they disagree with you already makes you look like an imbecile. Secondly, what proof can you provide to assert your belief? The burden of truth falls on you to show that there is a god, not on anyone else to show that there isn't. In any case there's more evidence supporting the big bang than there are supporting a creator. For example our universe is still expanding as we speak. If this creator was interested in such an insignificant species like us, why continue to expand the universe? Why make the sun spell our inevitable doom as a species? Doesn't seem intelligently designed to me. Next, if there is a creator, how do you know specifically what he/she/it/they are? Have you been explicitly spoken too by this creator? And is it our fault for not believing in said creator when you clearly received special treatment? Sounds amoral to me. Jeez usually theists are more optimistic than you. Need a hug, friend? Also, you seem to have atheism mistaken. There is no god of nothing, just the universe.
@@2fast2block Man i think you should take a hard look in the mirror, before you try to judge someone. I dont know where you got this notion that you can address somebody as worthless from, but you're about as narcissistic as a toddler. You seriously need to grow up. No one cares about your opinion more than the next guy. I am entertained by your childishness. Please stop being so vulgar, it doesnt make you look smart. Quite the opposite.
I wish I would have found your channel when I first started coming out of religion (Christian in my case). These are all issues I needed to think through, and I kept coming to new issues. You explain the issues quite well and truly understand how much of religion we internalize.
Glad to see you posting again! You and QualiaSoup were absolutely instrumental to my transition to atheism.. in fact, it was around 6 years ago, after 30+ years as a serious Christian, while listening to your "Transition to atheism" video that I actually stopped dead in my tracks and said out loud "Shit, I think I'm an atheist. What the hell do I do now?" I couldn't be happier, now.
Glad to hear you're happier. I know the transition is easy for some, tough for others - but my impression is that most of us emerge from it feeling better in all kinds of ways.
Talk of free will ignores aspects of our lives where we are controlled for our benefit. I am overweight. If I could refrain from eating, I would loose weight. But if I refrain from eating for more than a couple of hours, I get a strong urge to eat, and if I refuse to eat (or cannot) for a full day, I have strong invasive thoughts of food, eating, and a heightened sense of smell. I can be debilitated by hunger after more than a day. I have a fear of heights that has prevented me from jumping off of a high dive on multiple occasions. Then there are parental instincts, and many other genetically determined behaviours and reflexes-such as flinching-that protect us and our infants on a daily basis. Free will is constantly violated for our protection. Why would it be impossible for God to make further restrictions on our free will to prevent war, mass murder, rape, etc.? Why can't God give every man who would rape, a protective instinct to save his victim, as one would want to save a baby that is about to fall off a balcony? Why can't/won't/didn't God make stabbing a human, as difficult as not flinching when water is thrown into one's face? Until theists can answer these questions, and the others that arise from the contradiction between having free will to murder, but not to starve, or keep one's eyes open, then appeals to free will are vacuous.
Not only that, but we instinctively seek out certain behaviors that are sinful. Why would God make his creations desire sin, especially when he caused the apocalypse over his creation being too horrible? God seems pretty inept to me if he can't even make humans that don't gravitate towards sin.
"God is great, God is good, He protects your neighborhood, but it's generally understood, NOT in a way you would." - lyrics from Jackson Brown Yes, God's "protection" seems strangely lacking, as if it were worthless, even non-existent, e.g., "never fear, God sees the fall of every sparrow". How does that help he sparrow? No answer. We are not allowed a dialogue. How would that be different from a relationship with an illusion? It wouldn't differ at all.
My parents raised me catholic and we were all devote Catholics until I was about 13-14. Their marriage fell apart and the church refused to offer any help to them or my brother and I. All of our faiths dropped off after then. We've all been struggling through these experiences. This is wonderfully eye opening. Thank you
I can’t tell you how comforting your videos are… it’s like in my mind I can see this collapsing building falling down and I’m in the middle of it but I’m not trying to hold it up anymore hurting myself… I can just step back and watch it fall and not get hurt… and not suffer or condem myself when this belief system was comndemed to begin with…. it had no right to be standing at all….. I feel like I’ve rediscovered the 5 child year old child under the wreckage that was sane and understood the laws of humanity better than my so called leaders and saviors… thank you
I really appreciate your videos. I am an atheist since early childhood, but as my whole family is religious and my parents sadly failed to teach me how to deal with death without fear or seeking shelter in an idea of an afterlife, I didn't stand up for my case, visited religious lessons and even had confirmation with 14 years to make them happy, to avoid thinking about death and also for the presents to be brutally honest...In these years, my originally clear stance became weak and apologetic to fallacious arguments, also because at the age of 17, I fell in love with a wonderful human, my girlfriend, full of passion and love, but part of a very esoteric and spiritual family. Now I am 21, stumbled across your videos, and literally got chills when being confronted with such honest and clear rationality. I didn't have to untangle a deep cognitive dissonance, but it still felt like a bucket of water washing away some dust surrounding my brain ;)But the most beautiful part was the change in the relationship to my partner. One evening, I made clear that I honestly lack believe in any spiritual ideas. Sadly, this alone was enough to make her cry, because she always linked spirituality with deeper love, as most of her family traditions were based on prayers or thoughts about divine love.But by simply showing her some of your and your brothers videos and explaining her my feelings, she managed to understand, and now, after 4years of avoiding this specific topic, we made another big step even closer to each other.Thank you so much for helping out ;) During my semester breaks I will look over my finances and then most likely start to become one of your patreons. :) Sorry if there are any English mistakes, I am nonnative speaker.
Your English was perfect - and I'm delighted that you and your partner have overcome what felt like a barrier at first. It's a great shame that religion can interfere with relationships in all kinds of ways, sometimes permanently. But it's wonderful when people can instead talk things through and become closer. Thanks for sharing your positive story. Good luck to you both! ;8)
i call myself an agnostic when asked, because i’m honestly too afraid to call myself atheist; it would feel like ‘such a sin.’ most of my relatives are religious, and i’d be lying if i said their thoughts on blasphemy, eternal punishment and non-believers haven’t begun to seep into my brain. that’s why i immensely appreciate channels like these - definitely helps to make me feel less alone, and less guilty about my own beliefs.
I can't believe how I found your channel at the exact time when I kept stressing out whether to believe in a God or not. I just can't thank you enough for shining a bright light in my direction, whilst I was surrounded by darkness (stress, anxiety, fear). And because of you, I can finally sleep calmly, knowing atleast 1 of my most stressfull questions have been answered. It almost feels silly to remember myself not being able to asleep for more than 2 minutes, thinking about if I should be a Theist, or an Atheist. So I just can't thank you enough. To those of you, who still can't decide, like I did, I just wish the best for you, so that you could finally relax, and be happy.
I have come across many compelling criticisms of religion, but the ones presented here immediately became my favourites. You have an excellent mind Theramintrees, these arguments are beautifully logical, clear and calm. Human progress and moral development in the face of indoctrination is practically carried by thinkers like you.
This makes me want to write a story about a god that is NOT all knowing, and the main character is like "hey man, why'd you cast our people into darkness for being bad half of us didnt even do anything" and the god is like "yeah man i'm sorry, i'll fix that. here have this cool rock that i made"
I've heard people choose to interpret the Bible like that. Like God from the old testament isn't omnipotent or omniscient. He doesn't understand human limitations or experiences, but wants to be worshipped and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Then God gets born as Jesus, experiences human life and suffering for the first time, and realizes how badly he goofed it. He can't apologize (still insecure) and decided to be like, "Haha actually I'm not God I'm uh.. his son! And God says being a human sucks and y'all have to help each other now. I'm gonna leave and not come back until this whole Earth thing is over." He gets crucified, comes back one more time to say bye and inspire the homies, and then leaves for good.
@@lateoclock4281 Honestly that would be an actually FUN story to read! A god (like the older ones from polytheistic religions) that is more like us, fallible and able to make mistakes.
@@olaczyk You don't need to believe in a story for it to be impactful, not even religious ones. The lessons held within or the journey of characters can still influence you to become a better person.
I remember thinking a lot about the "in his own image" thing when I was working my way through the bullshit as a child. Like much of the other stuff the nuns were telling me (in all seriousness) was true, it just didn't make any sense. Perhaps it's no surprise that I left it all behind long before I hit puberty! Another wonderfully eloquent and thoughtful piece, TT. Thank you so much for making it.
Hey TLD, cheers ;8) Seems the 'in its image' claim is less popular these days, certainly the more literal interpretation - but it was one explicitly taught to me, and sounds like you had it from the nuns. I hope your experiences with the be-wimpled was less 'intense', shall we say, than those of some folks I know.
As a woman,I never could feel any comfort that MAN is made in HIS IMAGE and God always being MALE I have read the so- called holy books of other religions and women are mostly seen as trash and made in MAN'S IMAGE.This is one of the concepts of Evangelicals,specially the ones I have spoken with re the bible and their creation myth. Seems God gave his MALE buddies the best deal, eh?
Excellent points all, esp. ending with "What do we think of those who have to diminish others in order to feel great?" Thanks for phrasing these concepts in a new way. Very helpful!
I am rn going through your videos they reignited my hope for freedom and truth , this will guide my search for groups that'll understand. Living in the Middle East in an religious oppressive country with a dictatorial government. My hope for life , my need for truth and expression ,they dead after a recent traumatic event .that made my brain melt . Continue posting
"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." Matthew 7:18 Now, let's take a look at this world... tell me, is this the BEST an omniscient, all powerful, omnipresent being can do?
I left the mormon church at 8. I was supposed to get baptized that year. I moved around a lot and my parents and I have always been black sheep. The only time it comes back is when I am really depressed. When my grandmother died I prayed to God asking that even though I didn't believe I hoped he was real so that my grandmother could go to heaven.
thanks for video. 3 years recovering from religion and your video always shed light on areas/POV that few others thread. in an enlightening and non-adversary.
"I love your videos. If you have the desire, please write a book!" He might. I good name for it would be, "If you're stupid enough to take my videos seriously, then this book is for you". It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?! ----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.----- Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny! www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny! Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour. th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny! Life takes information to form and proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity. th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html creation.com/laws-of-information-1 creation.com/laws-of-information-2 I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses. There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe. ===================================
@@2fast2block so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing (this is a severe misunderstanding of the big bang) how does an infinite omnipresent, omnipotent, all knowing being that conveniently hides himself because "muh free will" despite him constantly messing with people's free will in the bible specifically magically creating a universe that works entirely autonomously makes more sense? How do you specifically know it's the Christian God and not any of the other thousands of religions? How does it make more sense that this supposed being created tons of planets, stars, solar systems, Galaxies, etc. To only put life on a single planet? It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific. Let's use an example ghosts. If ghost are real how come they are mostly detected with items that are designed for another purpose? Why can only ghost enthusiasts and no scientists create devices specifically for detecting and talking to ghosts? Why do none of these enthusiasts reveal their inventions to the scientific community? Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning, earthquakes, the moon, the sun, diseases, etc. Never has the supernatural been found to be the answer for anything. The supernatural is just whatever guess humans can come up with to explain what they don't understand. I'm gonna repeat this same comment for every sectuon that you find where you repeat this same argument that misrepresents science Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often *interpreted* as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system also the presence of entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order, entropy is the measurement of the change from order to disorder it says the same thing in the description I gave also by the way. You're just another theist that doesn't know the science they're talking about yet still trying to argue science proves the unscientific
Hey there, a new viewer of the channel and new subscriber here. I just want to thank you very much for making this video. I'm currently recovering from religion myself, continuously doubting my atheism and in the very back of my mind fearing eternal torture. This video has helped to put me more at ease with my newfound atheistic thoughts. I just hope that, when my family does eventually find out, they'll understand more than some of my older friends have. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us- though I don't speak for us all, I bet it helps all of us out of the shackles of religion.
After more than 13 years the superstitions if you want to call them that are almost all gone ,i am very confident there's no hell. but i still find myself in some nightmares whipping out the old verses that i haven't read in all those years 😂. last time i had a vivid nightmare ,when i woke up i was so surprised! why did i remember to do that(read verses)?and even more that it stopped the dream demon monsters 😂. It can get weird is what I wanted to say.
@@TheMilitantMazdakite man made doesnt mean it wont affect you, if someone is dying from poverty you wont tell them, your problem is made up, everything is made up
Now that it's been a few years since I left religion, I can appreciate these videos much more. Your analogy of religion being an abusive relationship is really insightful and helpful. Religion hurt me in a lot of ways but I want to one day get to a place where it doesn't live rent free in my head and I can completely move on.
I had to stop trying to be so close to God i wanted to be walking with him already. Every emotion i had was so extreme and potent and had so much philosophical relgious meaning. I hurt myself attempting to release bad entities from my spirit. I dont want to burn in hell forever. I saw every action and every word come out of peoples mouths as an action of God. I could not connect properly to non believers because i saw them as filthy, i become a recluse in a way. Taking religion to the extreme i think literally turns you into a schizophrenic and im deadly serious when i say this. I just hope i can heal, and live life again, and make sense of things the way i use to, before i fell into religion.
As a young boy, I had the concept of the all knowing all seeing god who could read my thoughts and inhabit my mind running through my head, and came to the conclusion that it was insanity.
I grew up with Catholic grandparents and born-again Christian mom. Slowly my faith became replaced with questions and facts until I became agnostic. I recall some years later, a couple of Mormans came to my house. Because I'm polite, I let them inside to give me their pitch. They went over the first chapters of their version of the Bible with me, and when they asked me what I thought, I told them that I thought that the writer must have eaten some powerful shrooms. After an awkward silence, they excused themselves.
I actually really value your videos as a Catholic. It helps me interpret my beliefs more and cement what 'God' is. In a way, it helps me question them, and that is very valuable. Invaluable. Of course, I have many arguments against some of your claims, but I do not think those matter as much when compared to what value videos like these bring to good will. It is good to question, there is nothing wrong with it, thank you good sir.
Relatively new atheist here. I was born and raised into Christianity. My parents are still very devoutly religious. I was born with a curious and inquisitive mind and questioned everything I was taught until I was convinced I knew everything possible about a given subject. I always want specifics. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I started having doubts. A year ago I started doing my own research into the Bible. About six months ago I made the choice to become atheist. Your videos are really helping me understand and explain the doubts I had about Christianity and why I made the switch to atheism. One thing that always catches my eye is your choice of words. “Recovering from religion” and “having lapses back into theism.” Why word it this way? Why do people make it sound like they were addicted to heroine? I’m genuinely curious.
As a Catholic hearing people use that kind of language feels like a sting to my heart, as if I'm diseased or ill :( . I wish that they wouldn't describe it like that, as though if you believe in religion you're guilty and unclean; rather hypocritical considering that's the sort of language he is saying makes religion bad imo.
@@mysterywyvern7065 What people are describing is a religious abuse they had to grow out of. It's perfectly fair to describe it as a sickness. If you feel attacked it means you're not feeling empathetic for people outside your group.
Sometimes it is refered to as so because the same brain stimulation which drugs bring are exactly the same type of high which religious experience bring. The same pleasure receptors are stimulated by both religious ecstatic experiences and ecstatic drug experiences. Many people use religion as a way to get off drugs, the 12 step programs rely on it. Is it just using one drug to substitute for another? There's plenty of information about the neurology of religion available online feel free to look this information up if your guilt about questioning your religious beliefs will allow you to do so.
In my case I was scared that if I didn’t go to mass on Sunday I would burn in hell cause it is a mortal sin in the Catholic Church, I am recovering from being in what seems like an abusive fake relationship with God.
Went down much the same road as you. One piece of advice. Don't stop questioning and criticizing. Many people get hurt in religion, question it. Find their excuse out, and then stop questioning. I've personally found that if you criticize atheism/agnosticism as harshly as Christianity, you'll find that it has many more holes. I still have many questions about Christianity and Faith, which is why I'm watching this stuff. But its much more coherent that Atheism/Agnosticism.
I have been a fan of your work for over a decade and just noticed that you had sent some views my way. I’m an ex Christian Scientist and I have a few stories that I could tell you but I wanted to thank you for the help and support. I am 59 and knew that CS was nonsense when I was in grade school. I have learned a lot from your videos and wanted to formally send you a thanks. I’m still trying to get my channel off the ground and I have a new one to upload today. Thanks again and Cheers
I love your videos. Your videos are some of the only ones I can watch and reflect on so many of my childhood experiences. When the ones who hurt us are so close it can be hard to remember all of the reasons I got out of that situation and I can start to feel guilty about leaving. You videos help change that perception.
I honestly believe and know for a fact, that religion has stifled my growth as a person, both physically and socially. Now i have catching up to do... without the role model of a father because my dad left.
Same. It also ruined my financial life: my pastor told my lazy lackadaisical parents that secular school would corrupt us. So they decided to homeschool and entrusted a Christian umbrella school to submit our high school transcripts to the school board. Long story short: the "school" did not trust the school board and lost all records of my transcripts. So no college for me unless I got a GED. But employers/colleges who see I have a GED immediately assume that I must've gotten into trouble in high-school. Also I am wayyyy behind on subjects the church found problematic, like science and history. Didn't really ever learn algebra. So even if I do get into college someday it'd be really tough to keep up. It's humiliating. So the jobs I had to settle for were low level stuff for years. 😊 But at least I was never "corrupted" by evil things like education 😅
I haven't done this in awhile but I remember when I dropped religious and started doing thing the old way and realized that I wasn't doing anything productive. its weird to think how much we take for granted and how deep religion is rooted in our lives
I myself noticed the correlation between the Abrahamic religions and abusive relationships a few years back. I heard a Christian talking about how all good things can be attributed to Yahweh, while all the evil can be attributed to man. This sounded familiar, so on a whim, I looked up the signs of an abusive relationship at www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm Lo and behold, 16 of the 23 signs listed there match up perfectly. I keep trying to point this out to theists, but like Voltaire said, it's difficult to free someone of the chains they revere. Truly, there are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
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As I grew up I was taught that there was a "hole in my heart" shaped for God.
What they neglected to mention was *they carved out that hole* , straight out of my self esteem, then stuffed God in there so my sense of self worth would form around it. I've had mental issues ever since. It's been a very slow heal.
Wow, I love that statement, it's very profound. I hear that "God-shaped hole" shit all the time.
Best wishes for your healing, Megachickenfish!
I see what you mean my parents told me too stay calm affter I had a seizure that it was a test from God,but if I questioned why I was guilt triped by my parents.
I genuinely wish you a speedy recovery. Humanity needs to open their hearts and minds and realise Religion has been our enemy for a while.
MegaChickenfish your not alone. I left Christianity about two months ago. Everyday is a constant struggle with my mind and the dogma I’ve grown up believing in, but I know I’ll be fine. I’m getting better each day
You will be fine too, healing takes time.
I am a 16 year old apostate (was Muslim) in the east. And shortly after leaving my religion (2 months ago) I was linked by a friend to your videos. They really helped me understand what I went through. The punishing doubt one was really helpful. I left religion because of childhood indoctrination and its effects (I could literally identify them on myself) I thought it was child abuse. Thank you theramintrees.
yours is a very brave choice. stay safe man.
Glad to hear you made it out - and at an age where you have many shackle-free years ahead.
I always now find myself as an anti-theist/anti-religion towards Islam. when i first left i thought it was perfectly moral, Muhammad was perfect, Quran was perfect and Allah was perfect. I tried to justify myself why i left the religion and for that i started researching. And the deeper i got into it the more i realized how much everyone is suffering because of Islam. And i know Muslims are the main victims. what disturbs me and makes my life absolutely futile and meaningless is that i can't help others too. I just can't criticize Islam because of Blasphemy law. And knowing what it does to people yet not being able to say anything and stuck here (what if; forever?) just suffocates me. it causes severe anxiety and paranoia everyday. I found myself crying sometimes, not for the oppression i face but because everyone else around me is suffering and i can't do anything to help them. Islam has a privileged immunity from criticism and it's taking a toll on me.
I have exmuslim friends in Pakistan. I hope you meetup with a group of them and keep each other safe.
Are you aware of the /r/exmuslim subreddit?
Ahh, Pakistan's 'wonderful' stifling of free debate and reason. I know you'll likely be fine if you're in one of the major cities, but if you're in a smaller city or rural area, keep safe!
Someone once told me
"atheists are kinda bad. If you noticed, many people who were once religious and no longer are now have serious mental illnesses. That's god's way of condemning them"
Sure Janet, sure.
Nothing to do with the religious trauma, Janet.
mhm, nope, not at all
it's like not being able to pay taxes, except completely nonsensical
you need money to be healthy and survive
you need a job for money
you need to have a certain amount of energy to work effectively, and this takes aforementioned survival
so if you can't get a job because you can't afford to be healthy, you can't pay taxes
and if you can't pay taxes, so they charge you for more money because you couldn't pay them enough money
so thanks "GOD", this mental illness is sure to bring me back like a desperate ex-partner who up and woke up to your active abuse! I'd metaphorically crawl with my one remaining arm with all other limbs missing to get away from him
Hilariously, my depression and suicidality almost completely vanished about the same time I stopped subscribing to Christianity
and it only returns when I begin to slip back into theology
dunno how to explain that one, Janet, but i'd love to see you try.
Even if it was gods way of condemning, that would just prove how self centred that the god actually is
Ohhhh now I know its been a while. I had forgotten how awful it was trying to adjust, at times it did feel like I should've just stayed and lived that ignorant life.
My best friend is extremelly christian, but when she noticed how traumatized I was by religion, and after me having a panick atack, she stopped a moment to think then said
"You know what? Let's not discuss god, heaven, or hell. You ate hurted, you need time to heal, to recover. So let's talk about sonething else"
And she bever tried to convert me ever again. That were the most beautiful action a christian did for me. Respecting boundaries, aknoledging other's pain, and noticibg god's name CAN hurt people.
That was great to read - that really was a beautiful empathic act.
@@TheraminTrees It was. She is a great friend. ^_^
@@taynahibanez9952 those spelling errors tho
@@curiodyssey3867 Well, I'm not native english speaker, and this is not a redation test. As long as the message is sent, IDK why this obcession about spelling errors
@@taynahibanez9952 you're doing great bud
I was watching this again, and I noticed the analogy you used between The Wizard of Oz and God.
The story L. Frank Baum wrote can be interpreted as a lesson in self-sufficiency. The Lion wants courage, yet routinely conquers fear. The Scarecrow wants a brain, yet is cleverest of them all. The Woodman wants a heart, and is already the most caring. And Dorothy already has the means to get home right there on her feet. The Wizard, the savior, is a fraud; he was unnecessary all along.
Hey George. Yes, it's a great illustration - isn't it - of how we sometimes hand ourselves over to self-styled 'authorities' to help with deficiencies we perceive in ourselves that might not exist .... and how those 'authorities' just give us the runaround.
You can not expect to hear the truth. And they don’t want to hear it. They want there ears tickled. They never really searched the scriptures for themselves. And didn’t ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to understand it. They never wanted it.
Or rather, the Wizard like Satan whom the Bible says is the god of this world, pulling the strings behind the curtain. Satan offers you the material things and pleasures of the world, tempting you into sin, trying to fill your desire to feel fulfilled with the things of the world. But the truth is that none of these material things matter and that true fulfillment is in the Lord, Who had already been with us since the beginning.
@@EndTimesHarvest don’t forget the flesh has a little something to do with that as well.
Years back when I was still a christian, I watched the wizard of oz and the thought came to my mind. I started analyzing it, just the way it is in this video. Because of the fact that I was a christian I had to forcefully stop myself from thinking deep into it. It was almost as if I was afraid to come to the truth that I some how know somewhere in my heart that god story is a scrappy story.Its all scam.
Reminds me of a quote from Epicurus - “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
Theists will usually tell you that God doesn't want to take your free will away, they'll say that we choose evil.
We have free choice and we are the one’s who allow evil into our own lives. God gave us the escape plan for evil by fallowing Jesus example. If you don’t fallow the way, the truth, and the life satan will bring evil and let you blame God for letting it happen.
@@ThapeloMKT we choose it when we don’t fallow the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ example in our life. Satan brings evil into your life and let’s you blame God for letting it happen.
@@ericwalker6546 well, it's all apart of "god's" devine plan. You know, the plan where each and every detail has been predetermined by god. Apparently he wants more and more people to stray away. Strange...
@@AmalgmousProxy I guess when you can’t understand the Bible you are going to see it that way. Poor soul.
When I was a Christian, I never felt like I 'loved' God enough. In Christianity, God is supposed to be the center of your universe, and if he's not you're guilty of idolatry. Because of this I was so incredibly terrified of hell throughout most of my teenage years. I was afraid every day, and I'd pray to God to help me love him enough, or to give me some assurance that I'm not going to hell.
As an atheist now I'm not (usually) afraid of hell, or God. Comparing religion to an abusive relationship really is spot on. I've only just begun to realize how incredibly fucked up the whole thing is.
Thanks for the great content, as per usual.
Yes, and that has horrid consequences for everybody. In particular, the Republicans in the USA have been taken over by religion and because religion gets people to "respect" authority without question, the oil companies took over the Republicans (by buying them). Then the voter republicans go along with their bought leaders. As a consequence we have global warming - a huge disaster - and these delusional people are resisting finding solutions!
As a christian I am telling you you had the wrong veiw of christianity. God is supposed to be a major part of your life but that doesn't mean you have to be thinking of him all the time. You worried too much so you decided to take a less stressful route
I felt that too for a bit, but then I thought “If I believe he exists and am thankful and repent, then I have to go” and now I’m just focused on making God happy.
I went through the same thing.
@@farvision republicans also use god's plan as an excuse to deny global warming.
“A man I’ll call Ben,”
Hey, that’s me-
“Who presented with depression.”
Oh.
hehe
Lol, have a wonderful day, you deserve it!
yeah same reaction here...
Hey that's me!
"Who presented with depression."
Yep!
(JKJK)
Literally me fr fr💀
Never have been religious, but your videos on the psychological effects of religious indoctrination consistently bring me to tears. I guess it's just a matter of realizing the cruelty that's out there.
I've got a friend who's an ex-Catholic. And he makes jokes about Catholic guilt creeping up on him whenever he fails in some way. But he's told me honestly how much of a burden it is on him and how it makes him paranoid about avoiding failure at any level as if its a moral indictment. That sort of deeply self-deprecating response to failure is something I can only imagine coming from an abusive dynamic.
@Anne You can be encouraged that it does indeed go away, from my personal case study. In fact, there was a period where I was a bit too casual in making mistakes and brushing them off, a bit of a rebound effect towards lack of self-awareness, haha. It was only minor things for the most part, like gaffes in public conversation, work meetings, etc. Eventually, you build up both personal confidence and personal discipline to healthy life levels. From there, you can be disciplined in doing your best to consistently get things right, but at the same time accepting mistakes, learning from them, and moving on.
It is a heck of a lot better regiment to operate, and viewing it like that has made it easier to switch. View it like switching an exercise regiment from one that is silly, self-defeating, and ineffective (like slapping oneself in the face for 15 min a day, no other exercise allowed) to one that is healthy, approved by medical science, and normal (mix of cardio, resistance, stretching with friends/fun). The problem is, there is a lot of emotional baggage and habit in trying to keep us tied to the ineffective way, but viewing the switch in a detached way as just a different healthy lifestyle choice helped my motivation to change. It is just changing everyday psychological exercise methods.
@Anne Yeah, religions have a bad habit of coercing the idea that their way is the only option. Trusting in people you care about is better as you say, understanding friends, family, and local secular/freethinker groups are all helpful.
Dylan, "Never have been religious,.."
Religions are man-made. What God made man can't make. I was raised strict Catholic. My remaining family is still strict Catholic. I got out of it in my teens. As time went on I still wanted answers because natural causes are a whole lot dumber than any man-made religion, so that's got to be pretty dumb. So dumb, it's funny.
Through much trial and error I found the bible without all of man's traditions attached to it is kickass. I don't go to any church. I just want things to make sense if I'm going to believe it. No supernatural God makes no sense.
It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?!
----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.-----
Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny!
www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html
kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe
And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny!
Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour.
th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html
Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny!
Life takes information to form and proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity.
th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html
creation.com/laws-of-information-1
creation.com/laws-of-information-2
I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses.
There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe.
@@2fast2block so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing (this is a severe misunderstanding of the big bang) how does an infinite omnipresent, omnipotent, all knowing being that conveniently hides himself because "muh free will" despite him constantly messing with people's free will in the bible specifically magically creating a universe that works entirely autonomously makes more sense? How do you specifically know it's the Christian God and not any of the other thousands of religions? How does it make more sense that this supposed being created tons of planets, stars, solar systems, Galaxies, etc. To only put life on a single planet?
It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific.
Let's use an example ghosts. If ghost are real how come they are mostly detected with items that are designed for another purpose? Why can only ghost enthusiasts and no scientists create devices specifically for detecting and talking to ghosts? Why do none of these enthusiasts reveal their inventions to the scientific community?
Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning, earthquakes, the moon, the sun, diseases, etc. Never has the supernatural been found to be the answer for anything. The supernatural is just whatever guess humans can come up with to explain what they don't understand.
I'm gonna repeat this same comment for every sectuon that you find where you repeat this same argument that misrepresents science
Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often *interpreted* as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system also the presence of entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order, entropy is the measurement of the change from order to disorder it says the same thing in the description I gave also by the way.
You're just another theist that doesn't know the science they're talking about yet still trying to argue science proves the unscientific
@@Abyzz_Knight The world will breathe a sigh of relief when a worthless nothing dies and one less dumbass, liar to deal with.
"so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing"
Strawman! Where did you mention the BB, ignored it and say anything on it? Nowhere. Up yours. Copy and paste that or just get lost.
"It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific."
And you give no science to counter mine. No surprise.
"Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning," blah, blah, and yet no science to counter mine.
"entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order,"
Another word fart. You give NO proof. You are so stupid. How and why do you live? You're a nothing from your god of nothing.
"You're just another theist that doesn't know the science"
From the dumbass who did not give any science to counter mine. Again, you're nothing. Nothing of value. Nothing of science. Nothing of importance. A 100% loser.
Just went to a sermon where they said that suffering is for God's glory. I watched my grandma die slowly from ulcerative colitis and I might have inherited that disease. Needless to say it wasn't a comforting sermon lmao
Any god who wants you to suffer for his ego is not a god worth followin
I have Mitchells disease, my entire body feels as if im on fire when i get hot. My life is suffering tbh.
Free choice, a gift so magnificent that the recipient of said gift must be punished every time they use said gift. Sounds like a load of crap to me.
42ndLife, very well put....
nobody said that, you are just making this up.
Typical atheistic misrepresentation. All choices have consequences so logically any choice you make will have a consequence whether good or bad. If someone Says you can pick this or that and explains the consequence behind each how can you blame them when you pick the wrong one?
Alex Thompson
How can someone blame you for picking the wrong choice, or blame you for doing so when that someone is all knowing, and knows all that will be where as you don’t?
Especially when they made you that way, when they know what you’re going to pick and all the details behind such a decision.
Nor will there ever be a consequence for every action, a great many men have done horrible things and yet they were not stopped, reasoned with or worse.
While you may condemn rapist, murders and thieves as the lowest rung of society; at least hey aren’t able to destroying a entire nation, nor do they legally disarm or put those at a disadvantage.
The latter of which often live long lives, lavish lifestyles and die comfortably.
@@silent_stalker3687
1. Because God gave the answer to us. He doesn't just ask you to pick without telling you anything he says "this is the right answer" then allows you to make the choice to follow or not. That is why he says " you are without excuse". Becausw he gives you the answer before hand
This is EXACTLY what I used to have. I remember as a child having what I called “guilt attacks”. I felt like I had just murdered someone despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything.
Yep. You feel guilt even fpr thoughts inside your head no one knows, but you.
"Oh, but god knows"
Do you must be perfect even for what crosses your head! Like sexual fantasies, wishful thinking, etc. You thinkn something and has right after beg forgivenes, or you gonna go to hell, even if is an absolute fact that whatever crosses your mind doesn't hurt anyone.
@@taynahibanez9952 yup, the standard is absurd. no person can be as perfect as the bible wants you to be. i’ll never understand the religious obsession with being utterly perfect inside and out even when no one is being hurt by your actions!
when you’re in a church you assume everyone else is having an easy time, like you’re the problem. giving myself some space from christianity to reflect on what behaviours are actually immoral and what isn’t hurting anyone has been so helpful to me.
when i wrote my original comment i had just left christianity behind and it was scary understanding a world that had seemed so simple before, but i’m so much happier now!
@@-book I once were in your place. I am absolutelly happier now than I never once had in my life! I left this toxic and abusive envioriment and I just won from it. Hope things get even better for you
Even after I had come to the conclusion that Yahweh doesn’t exist, I was so frightened anytime someone would make fun of Jesus, or if I had a negative thought about him. People saying “Oh my god” still sets off a sort of “oh no don’t do that” panic in me. Crazy.
@@oliviadawn9002 yes i had a similar experience. its been a few years now and i've made friends who have also left their religion. talking to them about our shared experiences has made a lot of that fear go away. its nice getting to joke about god. makes it all feel less serious than it did as a kid. i hope the panic goes away for you as well!! :]
Dear TheraminTrees, Reading the comments below and seeing how many ex-Muslims find your videos helpful is heart warming. As an Ex-Muslim I came to the apostate party late in my age. Mainly because I struggled with the concept of hell. In Islam there are vivid description of the day of judgement, death, the punishment in hell and so on. Although I jettison many of the rituals and beliefs earlier in my life, I could not get rid of that one. I was exposed to that story repeatedly at a very young age. That fear was the last chain that I had to sever to break free from that poisonous ideology. We as humans are driven by fear more than logic, just look at Brexit and Trump.
Perhaps if you can offer some strategies on how to combat that type of irrational fear. For me I spent many hours, days and months reflecting on the concept of hell and trying to understand it logically. Also seeing many arguments made by other atheist about hell helped me reason my way out. It is after all a bogyman used to scare children into submission.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hello Dogmalogy. I love the idea of an 'apostate party’. Starting this channel ten years ago as an explicit response to fundamentalist Christianity - predominantly in the US - it's been a delight to find common ground with wider groups, including ex-muslims and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses. I know that I feel richer for my conversations with individuals from these groups.
Dealing with irrational fears is a difficult one in terms of finding out what works for the individual. For some folks, they will have a realisation about something like ‘hell’ that suddenly takes away all of its power permanently. I had such a realisation - I describe it in ‘losing faith’ at the 16min mark. Once I had this thought, I never looked back. But we all respond to ideas in different ways.
For some people, thought-stopping techniques work - getting into the habit of recognising an unproductive recurring image and ejecting it. Some people use elastic bands/bracelets that they snap against their wrist to break the thought. Some inwardly - or outwardly - say things like ‘go away’. Some just visualise the thought as a piece of rubbish to be thrown away, and turn their attention to other things. The idea behind this is that negative thoughts are often simply a meaning habit - nothing more. They’re just a routine we get into that we can get out of. We often give thoughts ‘power’ by assuming they always have meaning or significance to us, when they simply don’t. When we recognise that we’re not helpless slaves to our thoughts, and that we have the power to think about what we wish to think about, we take back control.
I hope you find the answer that works for you ;8)
@@TheraminTrees this is very true. I often have to say "Stop it" out loud when negative thoughts like "you're useless" or "you don't have good friends" or even simple ones like "you're a bad person" start to overwhelm me.
The weird thing is that i know what i was thinking is untrue yet i still have to forcefully remove the thought to break out of that cycle. I don't know if its an insecurity from when i was younger or that those ideas somehow became a habit due to it being paraded in my head at that age, but its something I've noticed.
It might also have to do with me being a Calvanist in south africa until i was 15 years old, i always just used to pray when something wasn't going my way. So in a sense i had no way of dealing with problems in the real world when i became an atheist, which might explain why i had such a tough time dealing with insecurities and others opinions.
South Africa, especially the community i grew up in the Afrikaners, are extremely religious people, so it probably also contributed to me feeling isolated and being unable to deal with these feelings of being alone. I mean to this day i dare not tell any of my friends im an Atheist, instead i just srug off the question.
But that was years ago. I dont want to sound like im depressed or anything, you learn how to deal with issues eventually. I guess all i want to say is that i wish i learned from a younger age how to deal with these situations instead of just being told to pray and trust god. It would've made my high-school a lot more fun.
And finally i really enjoy your videos, it gave me clarity and certainly of my opinions like never before.
I hope you have a great day
Hell is being the last chain for me aswell (ex-christian) and what made it worse was seeing muslin descriptions of hell. It was something that incresed and worsened a trigger I already was struggling with. Took months to my mental state go back to normal. I had a lot of support from my therapist and friends. Love brought me back, and real kind love, not the narcissistic "love" decipted in most abraamic relogions.
‘When we turn the spotlight on the abusers we see that not only that they dont come to the standards they set for others but they also operate on a different set of rules, one that shields them from all the hardships their targets are expected to endure’
"Thrones _are_ built for asses..."
A majestic quote indeed, thank you!
-- Hope. that's just the mockings from a person who's ignorant of God.
Just like my tomb fr fr bruh.
Bwahahaha
i grew up super religious, and my family believed in omnipresent gods that listened to my thoughts and judged me based on actions i hadn't even taken. every so often, i catch myself spiraling into guilt over any lapse from the "norm", no matter how small: my gender and sexuality, my estranged relationship with my parents, and my general lack of faith. it often feels like religion is some inside joke i'm just not in on, and i'm not trying hard enough to see god's glory or whatever, like everyone else i know.
i come back to this video whenever i'm stuck in those thought spirals. it's nice to have a reminder that i'm not the delusional one, and that i should stop punishing myself for failing to live up to some nonexistent deity's demands. thank you so much for what you do.
Is that the message of the Prodigal son?
A loving Coach is rightfully disappointed when the athlete in training does not give their best.
Far too many parents abused their children by threatening the wrath of a vindictive God. That description certainly does not fit the FatherJesus claimed kinship with and considered an even more perfect Spirit than himself in human form.
I’m glad you have these videos to support you. Your family is delusional, you are just fine!🌷
@@glenliesegang233 what an awful thing to say, clearly you’ve missed the point. You’re talking from a religious point of view, the poster is not.
@@glenliesegang233 this is not the place to push your religious beliefs
I think my imagination has recovered quite well from religious indoctrination. Luckily, my emotions seem to be capable of following my rational mind after I left Islam. Once I understood that God's existence is a philosophical affair that needs to be approached with a sober, unbiased mind, I ceased to experience the emotions that would cloud my judgement such as fearing punishment, desiring rewards, being watched, etc.
That said, you've always managed to put the vague ideas that roam in my mind into elegant words accompanied by impressive animations, and this video is no different. Your work is desperately needed and greatly appreciated. I do hope to see more about Islam, but I'll devour anything you create and watch it multiple times.
Hey Tranquil. Yes, with this one, I wanted to address the 'generic' god that folks from different religions seem to be left thinking about - even when they've distanced themselves from the specific scriptural deity they once believed in. But Muhammad will be appearing in the next video.
Tranquil Oblivion, TheraminTrees did a few years ago a video about Islam, you should go and check it.
@@runningwithfaith8644 No it does not, preacher of suffering and lies, meant to glorify one invented god over others
After reading the Koran I became a full blown atheist! Absolutely no regrets and no temporary lapses! I was truly and forevermore changed!
Yes - sometimes our atheism arrives 'instantly' doesn't it. No lingering thoughts. I'm glad for you.
Aisha Little
😁
I'd propose that there's never been a better tool for deconversion than a religion's own holy book read in earnest.
*Quaran
nvm I am a literal idiot I am very sorry,,,, good for you
I always found it strange that "free will" meant we were allowed to shank someone on a toilet, but not to conjure a new roll when it's needed. That the laws of physics were just _so_ much more inviolate than the laws of morality.
Exactly. Preventing us from being able to fly or walk through walls limits our free will as much as preventing us from ever desiring to murder or steal, and does just as little to change how like this god we supposedly are.
Much more, I would say. If we were unable to desire murder, I dare say we would not desire the desire to murder.
@markj6700
if there is an omni creater, then the laws of the universe are indeed persciptive, since he/she must have created the universe knowing full well how our freedom would be limited by imposing such laws.
@markj6700
hmmm i thought a perscriptive definition described what a word meant (as if there was an intrinsic, correct meaning to words) and a descriptive definition described how it was used.
@markj6700 thats kind of my point, --> either god doesnt exist, or hes not omni
The irony of every ad on this video being religious isn't lost on me... 😂
And the money they pay me isn't lost on me :8)
@@TheraminTrees LOOOOL rekt
For years I've only just lurked your channel, you've managed to put a lot of the difficulty and strange feelings I had from growing up in an overly religious household into words.
Thank you for being a gem on this platform
Cheers Zeeno!
Its for this exact reason I pay for the YT Red thus avoiding ads.
Yep..Those Bible thumpers keep trying.
Thank you for this, and all your other videos. I left Islam around a month ago and your videos played a big part in changing my mind. It wasn't and still isn't easy. Sometimes I still wonder if I'm wrong because I was so deeply indoctrinated but videos like this one remind me of why I left in the first place. Again, thank you.
Good luck - I hope things get easier as you move forward.
Ame, trust me, I know how you feel, I left islam a few months back, at 32 years of age. I just couldn't force myself to ignore the reality any more. I haven't looked back since, I feel a whole lot better and my family is starting to accept the fact that I can't force myself to believe in God and our holy book just as much as I can't force my self in believing that I can fly. I told them that too, when I see my mom take an unaided flight just by making herself believe she can do it, I'll make myself believe in God again...
Azzedine Al-Razi I'm at uni now where I can pretty much be myself! I only wear hijab when my family visits. All the hiding is still taking a toll on me but I'm getting help soon :)
Ame, i still avoid talking religion to my parents as well and I think they're starting to see I'm being serious about it. They used to comfort themselves in thinking that I was just going thru a doubting stages and would be back. I can't come back even if I try, I lost all the feelings and the fear of god I had...
I stopped believing in Allah a few years back. TT’s videos really helped me communicate my reasoning to my parents and I think the realisation that I couldn’t believe in a god on the basis of my logic and reasoning (vs. it being a shallow act of rebellion or social conformity) made them less angry about it all. I still often wish I could believe in God to bridge the gap between my family and I (a gap that they feel more than I do) but I have felt so free now that the contradictions of believing in a God and being a student of science and reason have been removed. And I hope that my parents can be at peace with me. They always say they’ll pray for me and I’ve learnt not to take it offensively 😂 Good luck to everyone trying to find psychological peace
"He works in mysterious ways" is what you will hear them say. I say he works in delirious ways
You certainly don't work in any reasonable ways, so you should be shutting up.
It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?!
----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.-----
Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny!
www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html
kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe
And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny!
Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour.
th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html
creation.com/laws-of-information-1
creation.com/laws-of-information-2
Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny!
Life takes information to proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity.
th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html
I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses.
There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe.
@@2fast2block I do not speak for any other atheists, I would not presume to do that. But, as a atheist, (I prefer the term non-believer) the only thing that I believe about about any religion is just one thing, There is no god of any type, size or image.
@@TheTheotherfoot "There is no god of any type, size or image."
Fine, but it so ironic when many atheists mouth off how Christians go by blind faith when it's the atheists (which includes you since you don't give any reasonable explanation to how things I covered could have happened naturally) that have the blind faith. Since there is NO science to support you all then the most common pathetic excuse is the god-of-the-gaps crap.
I don't go to any church and for good reason. So many of them do the exact same things they accuse non-believers doing, and that's sticking to beliefs that are proven wrong. I also can't go to the atheist side because it's even worse. That being said, I've learned from both sides. When a person is very good on the topic they are teaching, I don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
@@2fast2block say sike right now
@@ej4j4i38wGwgeb8, Here's what happens when you give a dumbass common science that they can't contend with, they will completely ignore it and since they are disgusting human beings that don't care, they will think they have something clever to say that makes it look like they are not as stupid as they are, so this is what is considered a good scientific come back to all the science they were provided:
Drumroll, please.... their science....."say sike right now"
Yes, I'm serious. I'm not making this up. They are really that stupid.
I really appreciate that you call it 'Christian mythology' and 'Christian Jesus' 'Christian God' etc. It's helpful to specify and the phrasing reminds me that my religious upbringing was cultural, not necessarily the "truth" or "reality"
“Created sick, commanded to be sound” that one really got to me
Mm hmm, "Born sick and demanded to be well"
I'll never forget the time I sat in church crying from being told I'm a horrible sinner but Jesus would save me if I only let him in. I was maybe 10 or 11. I look back on that and realize how twisted the religion really is and am amazed I ever believed.
@@klumaverik But children are susceptible to it, especially if its coming from an adult. Children tend to assume the adult knows what they are talking about.
I went to church when I was about 12, but I don't even remember if I believed in god or not.
I didn't question it like I would now, but on the other hand, I wasn't particularly arsed with it either.
I can only hear that in Hitch's voice.
@@klumaverik ah, Christianity or whatever religion didn’t do that to you, PEOPLE DID.
Excellent and thought provoking. Not just thinking "about" the subject and giving context to my understanding, but also making me look inwards for yet more "aha" moments. Requires more than one watching.
Check this out th-cam.com/video/VxoZ0vDWFp0/w-d-xo.html
'Sin' is an imaginary disease, meant to sell you an imaginary cure.
Truth 😎 that comment is.
Or perhaps sin makes you weak, prevents you from living a happy and successful life, ultimately kills, allows your leaders to be corrupt and manipulable, harms the people around you and ultimately destroys the whole planet (false flags, rigged elections, loss of freedoms, staged wars, mass extinctions). Do not reject that wisdom.
@@B30smo are you some believer who thinks the only way to be happy is to believe in Gods? Because may there never be any evidence still like always.
@@B30smo I can assure you that I am gay and I absolutely love my life of atheist way better than before I came out of both the religion, and the closet.
Not really as sin is in cultures without the concern of religion. A sin is anything that results in something negative. Hunting wouldn't be considered a sin, but killing thoughtlessly would be. Not wasting food is good, but overeating is bad. I've found that some of the weird sins like no eating pork or shellfish were actually wiser in the past than thought.
I mostly see athiest videos trying to be man vs god, but it's mostly man vs religion.
I'm agnostic.
As someone who was raised Atheist, I feel terrible for everyone who has converted from Theism and had to go through all of this. I've never had abusive or unrespectful religious parents, been estranged from family and friends, gone through complete upending of my beliefs, and manipulative indoctrination, and I feel immensely privileged to have not. I have a loving family and friends who share and respect my beliefs when I know many Atheists do not. Anyone who has or still is going through this is a stronger person than me.
When I didn't want to pray and ask God for comfort my mom made a remark about how not believing in God must be so lonely and isolating.
I do not understand what she thought was lonely when she was right there supporting me and giving me comfort, she had just fallen back on God to help give me some extra comfort, not accepting that comfort didn't make the other comfort go away.
Why is it, though, that Christians (and I bet many other religious people) don't feel able to comfort someone without falling back on their belief? "Let's pray" or "I'll pray for you" are very common things to hear when seeking comfort, do these people not realize that they are fully capable of providing people with comfort without relying on any god?
This comment is old, buy I add that this also is the cause of why children distance themselves emotionally from christian parents (other religions too, but christianity is the one I was raised). I struggle with depression, generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD since little, but was not diagnosed at thar time (I got diagnosed with 28 years old). And when I used to have panick atacks, depressive thoughts or felt uncapavle cause of the limits my ADHD gave me, and I tried to share with my mom, her immediate response was "Had you being praying latelly?" Like, ALWAYS.
If I said "no" she used to say it was mu fault cause I was not praying, and if I said "yes" she again would blame me for "obviously" not be praying enough, and called me liar if I said I was.
Then when she finds out problems she never was aware of, she would play the victm and ask "why did you never had told me all this? If you had, I would had solved it" would she tho? Cause every time I tried, she would fall on "had you be praying?" Like this is the ultimate solution. When I became atheist, I seeked therapy to recover, and investigation and analysis of them leaded to tons of diagnosys. GAD, ADHD, clinical depression, religious trauma syndrom... Wheb my mom received all that, she blaned me for not sharing my struggles with her, from hidding it from her, and why I was never diagnosed. But when I tried, what did she do? "This is lack of god, you are not praying enough. Read the bible". Then now gets shocked and surprised I do not share things with her.
When I came out as atheist tgen? It got worse. All my problems were my fault for veing atheist, all tge family's problems were my fault for being atheist.
It took a loooong time for her to see sge was wrong, and to stop this stupid mindset that all problems are solved by praying. You need to take action for things to happen, praying or not praying. I still don't trust her honestly, but is way better than in the past
As a person still trying to figure out what I really believe, I'd like to mention that it isn't that people who default to prayer are left unaware of their innate ability to comfort and care for other humans. From my personal experience, I can tell you a bunch of stories of times when I felt I needed to pray for other people (back when I was actually confident in what my worldview looked like), and in every single one of them it was with the intent to solve a problem or fix a terrible situation.
The major story that comes to mind took place during my first or second year of high school. There was a girl I was friends with at the time - I'll call her Beth - who used to do flags with me and several other girls at school. During the winter season, when we were just getting started with rehearsal for the night after school let out that day, I noticed she looked upset. When I asked her what was wrong (like any sane, well-meaning friend should) Beth broke down and told me that her parents were getting divorced and she would most likely have to move. Now I've had experience with divorced and broken families because my family took in foster kids for a long time, and literally every uncle in MY family has been the cause of some breed of relationship chaos hell since before I could speak. Many of those memories were still fresh in my head at the time of this conversation. From what I'd noticed, most splits aren't tame by any sense of the word, and far as I was aware, most people who come from divorced homes (especially if the parents kept it together a long time and the split seems to come out of nowhere) tend to either blame themselves for the divorce or jump to the conclusion that it was their least favorite parent's fault. Couple that with casual teen hormones, not being sure where she would be going or what parent would take her, and the looming threat of never seeing her friends again... I knew she was gonna have a heck of a time.
Telling her things would be okay eventually felt cold, and while I knew a big hug and an "I'm so sorry, I know this really sucks" would help a little bit, that help I'd give would've been short term at best (still did it though. I hate it when people get hurt). If I really wasn't going to see her again, I needed to pass her problem over to someone that I felt confident had the ability to solve it, especially since I couldn't be there when it came time for her to move. So we popped our happy butts down in the cafeteria and I prayed the hardest I ever have. I gave everything I knew about that situation to God, and just in case my request was going to get mixed in with all the others he likely gets in a day, I asked him to watch over Beth by name. A few weeks later she moved, and I didn't see her since. I still hang onto the memories I have of her and wish her well, wherever she is. That's all I can really do now. If I knew therapy was a thing at the time I'd have suggested it...
@@madolinwolfe7767 And maybe it did do something, maybe your devotion and words did help. But that was all YOU, for showing her respect and care.
@@taynahibanez9952oh my god. how absolutely relatable.
Me: *Watches atheistic videos*
TH-cam ads: HAVE YOU PRAYED TO JISES?!
😆😆😆
@Oh Hai 😐
@Oh Hai what u talking about? Atheist or regular people shouldn't get Christian ads or something.
@Oh Hai OK 😐
Same here but im In the UK so i get Islam ads
II was about 8 years old when I realized that religion was just twaddle. It was amazingly easy to give up because neither parent was strongly emotionally tied to a supreme being. In other words, I did not have to put up a fight. My older sister moved from England to America and became ensnared in the cult of organized religion. She still fails to accept that she is in a cult. Go read about cults and how they work then open your eyes to the cult YOU live in. PS it applies to the cult of politics too. Blind faith in concepts like perfect markets is equally blinding to realities.
hauskalainen I have mild autism™. I remember having an epiphany, when I was like 12. I realized that religion wasn't a joke to everyone around me.
Still my parents did a solid job of making me afraid of hell.
"Religions are cults"
"Animals are birds"
"Basketball players are LeBron James"
Yeah sounds like an 8 year old
@eat the rich I would argue that Cult is to Religion as Bird is to Flock. It's a matter of size.
@eat the rich Well I'll say it... ALL religions are cults. The only thing that separates their status is the size of their real estate.
To everyone saying 8 is too young for him to realize anything, I would like to point out that neither of his parents were deeply tied to religion. And if he had access to the internet at that age, it's especially likely that he could've become an atheist. With access to the world wide web (which is how I became an atheist at age 10, almost 5 years ago) and parents who weren't desperate to corral their child back into the religious pen, it's not too absurd to consider the possibility that he might've really become an atheist at his age.
my life is staggeringly, terrifyingly similar to yours and your viewers'. your videos sound like me in the future, making videos to help my present self. i'm really not being hyperbolic when i say your youtube channel is one of the best things to ever happen to my mental health
I'm glad it's helped. Funnily, a question I've held in mind over the years, guiding the content, is: What would've been good for my past self to hear?
TENET
I come from Mexico which is 96% Catholic, throughout my whole life I was indoctrinated into the Catholic Church. My elementary school was ran by nuns and I remember we'd pray several times a day. When I lost my grandmother at the age of 10 is when my doubts for the Catholic Church began to arise, but it wasn't until I moved to Canada at the age of 13 that I really started to doubt my religion. I no longer believed in the Catholic Church but I still believed in their God, not until I turned 17 that I fully admitted to myself that I was an atheist.
At times I still feel like I could turn back to theism and pretend that nothing happened, or like I'm lying by saying I'm atheist, but I know I'm an atheist because at the same time I can't take religion seriously anymore, I can't help but seeing it like a big manipulative lie, and I can't help but seeing a lack of individuality whenever a theist family member talks about God, as if the words coming out of their mouths were scripted.
I don't expect anyone to read this comment but it certainly makes me feel better being able to share some of my experiences in a community that understands where I'm coming from. I don't feel comfortable telling my family about my beliefs, except for my brother who's also an atheist
I've read your comment! Good on you for using your brain, muy bueno. Always know you're not alone in your skepticism: I myself had no clue I was an atheist until I started watching this channel and had the lightbulb moment of 'Oh, bugger, I never really believed this stuff either.' 😆
Same bro, maybe almost. I am from poland- also a big number of catholic christians maybe something like in Mexico. But I didnt go to another country. I was just really confused about the things they thaught me. Religion stopped maling sense and was just a burden and a chore. Thank GOD I dont believe in him LOL
Finally someone gets it. Suffering didn’t have to exist! He literally could have created a universe full of happiness without violating free will-because he’s supposed to be all powerful
But he just HAD TO put that apple tree there to have a cheap excuse for eternal punishment.
Bruh.
th-cam.com/video/VxoZ0vDWFp0/w-d-xo.html
Is God supposed to be all powerful? Or is that just man's interpretation? Imagine if we went back to around Jesus's time with modern technology, would we too not be described and written as 'all powerful'?
@@crispywings9066 An omniscient god would have seen that outcome from miles away though. Either he failed a spot check or he's just stupid. Or both.
And also, why was that tree even there in the first place? If he didn't want them to eat that tree he could have just placed it out of reach.
@@mysterywyvern7065 "God" is a combination of two different gods: the Canaanite "El" and the Judahite "Yahweh." The former was the mythological father of the gods, ultimately a corruption of the earlier Sumerian god Enki which ultimately came from the Proto-Indo-European animistic religion's personification of the sky, and the latter was a tutelary deity associated with tribal warfare and storms. At their root, both are superstition.
@ 15:33 it is not just God who has free will but no suffering, the bible says " ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4. This creates a paradox. Either there is no free will in heaven, in which case, free will is not necessary, or in heaven, there is free will without suffering, in which case suffering is not inherent to free will.
David Hoffman! Free will can only be used for chosing betiwn life and death.
There are numerous flaws with this. Belief isn't a choice. Belief is a state only achieved through persuasion. If it an argument isn't convincing you won't believe. Love isn't a choice either. Yet these things are demanded by God through threats and coercion in order to achieve life and avoid death. There are also numerous predeterministic verses in the bible describing that before people even existed God decided that they would worship Satan and consequently be sent to hell.
Free will is a responsibility negating concept and has the potential to allow people to commit horrible atrocities. If someone held a gun to my head and threatened to pull the trigger unless I became his slave for an eternity I am put into a position in which I can make a choice. Does making the choice to say "no" vindicate the man for shooting me in the head and taking my life? Do we say that it was my fault I was shot? Some people do, but if that is your first reaction to the situation you're ignoring the obvious detail, which was this man was the one who painted the options in this corner in the first place. He didn't have to pull the trigger. You would have to be sadistic and downright cruel to assert that I deserved to die in this situation for not complying to a tyrant who would control my life. This situation is fundamentally the same situation that humans would be in if God were a thing. The only difference being that at the very least there may be an opportunity to escape this horrible person. With God there is no escape. Obey me or die.
Doesn't sound like much of a choice.
@@danielthames8829 you do realize that free will is the ability to choose right? God gives you a choice and specifically labels consequences to them. You still do have a choice but you just don't like the consequence
80 Mind blown.
@@alexthompson8977 Free Will is the ability to choose what ever way you want. But do you chose what you want? If I ask do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream you can use free will to pick what ever you want! Maybe you like vanilla so you choose it. But why did you want it? Because you think vanilla is tasty so you wanted the tastier option? Why do you want the tastier option? Maybe youre aware of this and in a attempt to get your free will back you pick chocolate. But you really just wanted to get 'free Will' back more then you wanted your favorite flavor. You can do this forever until you get the the realization you don't choose what you want. If you can't choose what you want to want how can you have free will?
Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud! So many inconsistencies in Christianity. I grew up Christian and the older I got the less sense it made and the more betrayed and grossed out I felt by god and the church. Taking a philosophy of religion class in college helped me open my mind completely to the abundant fallacies, lies, and insidious manipulation I had endured and accepted as truth for years. It was liberating and I'm never going back. I'm proud to say I think for myself now and feel more empowered. I'm not inherently broken. The church is.
During my time of being a Christian, I was constantly scared that my religion might be false and there was nothing after death. Now that I left, I came to terms with nonexistence and am no longer in panic because of it, yet now I am scared that Christianity might be right. This channel and especially this video helped me a lot with my transition, thank you so much.
Funny I would say I’m the same now, and it’s being made out to me in rational terms as well, especially ever since I told my father, he had a surprisingly calm reaction and we’ve been working trough it together , although he is way more theistic than me, myself, somewhat leaning towards theistic. I would recommend Jordan Peterson.Ive derived from his works the claim that( and this works theologically/scripturally too) what really matters in the end is how we live in this world(or more precisely, how we determine morality) , and the particular articulated beliefs are irrelevant, although the paradoxical thing is, we act in accordance to our beliefs.
My friend evidence is everywhere. A building does not build itself, nor does a painting itself. For itself is evidence that there is a creator.
You should stop being scared. Looks like you are looking for reasons to be scared of something. Just relax and live your life.
@@runningwithfaith8644 watchmaker argument
@@runningwithfaith8644 It's the brave that continues the line of questioning by asking who created god?
Your videos are phenomenal and have been a great asset to me as I have begun my faithless journey. I've spent hour watching them in a library computer at my Christian University, afraid someone would find out but watching anyways. It was amazing to find people who saw the same things that I did when reading the Bible. Thanks so much for helping me step away from the faith. I still go to church with my family because that's the only way my mom will trust me, and I want to take my sister off to grad school with me and out of our abusive home. Watching your videos are like a breath of fresh air after drowning in church services.
Delighted to have been some help - and I wish you and your sister well in regards to moving away from the abusive environment you describe.
I feel sorry for what you've been through, and as a Catholic myself it gives me a twinge of sadness to see a person thanking someone for helping them lose their faith :( . I know that you probably won't regain your belief, but I am just going to say that please remember what history (even in the bible itself) has taught us about religion being used as a tool, a weapon even to control the masses for one's own personal grudge or belief. The Bible is not the God's words, but man's belief/interpretation of God's words. The Bible has also been re-translated many times over, and has actually had things changed by people for who knows whatever end. Anyway I hope I'm not bible bashing XD but that's just my two cents
that moment when you go no contact with a god that never contacted you
😂
Then chrstians be like "Well why would he want to talk to you?"
@debeb5148 "he doesn't even talk to me." Checkmate atheists!
Alright this is going to the line of hating Christians who force to hating Christianity and Judaism in general
With a god like this, one does not need Satan. With hateful believers, one does not need demons.
They are just projections and confessions
"With a Government like us, who needs terrorists?"
The array of emotions i felt until this day from renouncing religion are perplexing
1- shock
2- fear
3- anger
-4 hatred
5- empathy
6- acceptance
7- joy
8- peacefulness
9- emptiness
10- fear
11- spiritual longing
12- skepticism of the existence of god again
13- disorientation
14- rationalizations
15- weakness
I can’t explain why im feeling all of these feelings after I discovered and accepted the truth
I just became an atheist 1 month ago
The judgment that you feel "defective" is on point. At age 27 that's exactly what I felt... defective. i couldn't take on all of what the religion into which I was born was shoveling on me. Extreme depression was, of course, the result. The day I was able to shuffle the God weight off my shoulders was one of the happiest of my life.
Check this out th-cam.com/video/VxoZ0vDWFp0/w-d-xo.html
At aged 8, my parents were asked to remove me from Sunday school because I was a disruptive influence and kept asking questions they didn't want to answer (couldn't?). Mom explained to me that church was just something we did for a more harmonious community, it wasn't meant to be taken literally, overall it made no real difference to anything at all. A compromise was met, I would get a bicycle if I played nice. It didn't last long as quiet Sunday streets proved to be a much greater lure for a new bike than going to church.
Dad was sort of the churchie type but he was also considered borderline insane by most, and I think he was just into the organ music. This was the 60's and I was raised by "bohemians", hippies and a constant flow of "lodgers" from all walks of life, in a small conservative city in Australia, so we were already square pegs. No topic was taboo at the diner table and as I was much younger than the next of my 4 siblings, I would just take it all in. Of course the downside to the diner table was, any school friend I would invite over would be promptly told not to talk to me, when word got back to their parents of the discussions had by my family.
However I was still indoctrinated to a degree, I had until my early 20's had a loose belief in the the "New Age" crap, as I hadn't realised the disconnect between thinking it was any more rational than a concept of god.
BTW only just found your channel and seen a handful of your vids, but find it fascinating and an absolute pleasure to listen to, so far you have articulated my thoughts in a way impossible for me to do so.
(also the graphics in this vid are brilliant in their simplicity) + 1
Beautifully said, all the way through. I’ve never understood God, or how my family could worship this father figure that’s somehow absent AND abusive.
“Trust that I’m here. I killed my son to save you. You’re still worthless, always will be. Praise me. Worship me. Or you’ll burn for eternity.”
-God, probably.
I think God was looking for a way to understand us.
Jesus filled that role.
Now he knows it's not easy being us.
For me family values culture is what I'm recovering from. It doesn't even have to have a religion attached to it. Sick family values culture can drive you into a sick religion.
I noticed something was wrong when my mother said to me that the purpose of life was "to serve and praise god"
I was like "What? God created all of the humans just to praise and serve him?" But until a few months ago i didn't think anymore of it
"I was like "What? God created all of the humans just to praise and serve him?""
So then you think you became smart. Now you somehow know that your god, the god of nothing, created the universe, did the fine-tuning for life, gave life from non-life, gave the information out of chaos for life and gave us the laws of nature. And to you, that is being smart. You're a worthless nothing from YOUR god of nothing. NOTHING more. So shove that your dumb ass, dumbass.
@@2fast2block gotta love how Christians and Muslims immediately turn on and make unfounded assumptions about someone the moment they have any lapse in faith. So much for love and tolerance.
How are you so sure that this person is part of this mysterious religion that worships this nameless god of nothing? you're talking about athiesm it's already apparent in your comments from other comment chains and I all I have to say is that you clearly can't accept the idea of people not worshipping a god/gods because it makes it so much harder to put down their beliefs so you have to make up the moroonic idea of a god of nothing.
What fine-tuning for life? 99.99% of the universe is not suitable for life, none of the planets in our solar system are suitable for life with the only planet with the possibility of being suitable for life if we terraform it first, the planet being mars. Many parts of the earth weren't suitable for human life, we can only live innthese places because we technological advances. Would you call any of the deserts of the world suitable? would you call Russia suitable if humans never learned about fire? Many places are frequently hit by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, floods, volcanoes, etc.
If this is what you call fine-tuning then I'd say it's a colossal failure.
@@2fast2block First things first, wishing death on others because they disagree with you already makes you look like an imbecile. Secondly, what proof can you provide to assert your belief? The burden of truth falls on you to show that there is a god, not on anyone else to show that there isn't. In any case there's more evidence supporting the big bang than there are supporting a creator. For example our universe is still expanding as we speak. If this creator was interested in such an insignificant species like us, why continue to expand the universe? Why make the sun spell our inevitable doom as a species? Doesn't seem intelligently designed to me. Next, if there is a creator, how do you know specifically what he/she/it/they are? Have you been explicitly spoken too by this creator? And is it our fault for not believing in said creator when you clearly received special treatment? Sounds amoral to me. Jeez usually theists are more optimistic than you. Need a hug, friend? Also, you seem to have atheism mistaken. There is no god of nothing, just the universe.
@@2fast2block Man i think you should take a hard look in the mirror, before you try to judge someone. I dont know where you got this notion that you can address somebody as worthless from, but you're about as narcissistic as a toddler. You seriously need to grow up. No one cares about your opinion more than the next guy. I am entertained by your childishness. Please stop being so vulgar, it doesnt make you look smart. Quite the opposite.
God is all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect and also all-insecure. That's why he needs all our love and worshipping. 😜
I wish I would have found your channel when I first started coming out of religion (Christian in my case). These are all issues I needed to think through, and I kept coming to new issues. You explain the issues quite well and truly understand how much of religion we internalize.
Glad to see you posting again! You and QualiaSoup were absolutely instrumental to my transition to atheism.. in fact, it was around 6 years ago, after 30+ years as a serious Christian, while listening to your "Transition to atheism" video that I actually stopped dead in my tracks and said out loud "Shit, I think I'm an atheist. What the hell do I do now?" I couldn't be happier, now.
Glad to hear you're happier. I know the transition is easy for some, tough for others - but my impression is that most of us emerge from it feeling better in all kinds of ways.
Years later I still rewatch these videos. They are incredibly well done and valuable. Thank you for your work.
Talk of free will ignores aspects of our lives where we are controlled for our benefit. I am overweight. If I could refrain from eating, I would loose weight. But if I refrain from eating for more than a couple of hours, I get a strong urge to eat, and if I refuse to eat (or cannot) for a full day, I have strong invasive thoughts of food, eating, and a heightened sense of smell. I can be debilitated by hunger after more than a day. I have a fear of heights that has prevented me from jumping off of a high dive on multiple occasions. Then there are parental instincts, and many other genetically determined behaviours and reflexes-such as flinching-that protect us and our infants on a daily basis. Free will is constantly violated for our protection. Why would it be impossible for God to make further restrictions on our free will to prevent war, mass murder, rape, etc.? Why can't God give every man who would rape, a protective instinct to save his victim, as one would want to save a baby that is about to fall off a balcony? Why can't/won't/didn't God make stabbing a human, as difficult as not flinching when water is thrown into one's face? Until theists can answer these questions, and the others that arise from the contradiction between having free will to murder, but not to starve, or keep one's eyes open, then appeals to free will are vacuous.
Great points David.
Not only that, but we instinctively seek out certain behaviors that are sinful. Why would God make his creations desire sin, especially when he caused the apocalypse over his creation being too horrible? God seems pretty inept to me if he can't even make humans that don't gravitate towards sin.
Great points
@@vidyasreeram2587 Thanks. :-)
Free will as a concept is quite interesting in itself. I recommend a reading of Free Will by Sam Harris.
"God is great, God is good, He protects your neighborhood, but it's generally understood, NOT in a way you would." - lyrics from Jackson Brown
Yes, God's "protection" seems strangely lacking, as if it were worthless, even non-existent, e.g., "never fear, God sees the fall of every sparrow". How does that help he sparrow? No answer. We are not allowed a dialogue. How would that be different from a relationship with an illusion? It wouldn't differ at all.
By giving the sparrow a source of life, th-cam.com/video/VxoZ0vDWFp0/w-d-xo.html
My parents raised me catholic and we were all devote Catholics until I was about 13-14. Their marriage fell apart and the church refused to offer any help to them or my brother and I. All of our faiths dropped off after then. We've all been struggling through these experiences. This is wonderfully eye opening. Thank you
I can’t tell you how comforting your videos are… it’s like in my mind I can see this collapsing building falling down and I’m in the middle of it but I’m not trying to hold it up anymore hurting myself… I can just step back and watch it fall and not get hurt… and not suffer or condem myself when this belief system was comndemed to begin with…. it had no right to be standing at all…..
I feel like I’ve rediscovered the 5 child year old child under the wreckage that was sane and understood the laws of humanity better than my so called leaders and saviors… thank you
I really appreciate your videos. I am an atheist since early childhood, but as my whole family is religious and my parents sadly failed to teach me how to deal with death without fear or seeking shelter in an idea of an afterlife, I didn't stand up for my case, visited religious lessons and even had confirmation with 14 years to make them happy, to avoid thinking about death and also for the presents to be brutally honest...In these years, my originally clear stance became weak and apologetic to fallacious arguments, also because at the age of 17, I fell in love with a wonderful human, my girlfriend, full of passion and love, but part of a very esoteric and spiritual family. Now I am 21, stumbled across your videos, and literally got chills when being confronted with such honest and clear rationality. I didn't have to untangle a deep cognitive dissonance, but it still felt like a bucket of water washing away some dust surrounding my brain ;)But the most beautiful part was the change in the relationship to my partner. One evening, I made clear that I honestly lack believe in any spiritual ideas. Sadly, this alone was enough to make her cry, because she always linked spirituality with deeper love, as most of her family traditions were based on prayers or thoughts about divine love.But by simply showing her some of your and your brothers videos and explaining her my feelings, she managed to understand, and now, after 4years of avoiding this specific topic, we made another big step even closer to each other.Thank you so much for helping out ;) During my semester breaks I will look over my finances and then most likely start to become one of your patreons. :)
Sorry if there are any English mistakes, I am nonnative speaker.
Your English was perfect - and I'm delighted that you and your partner have overcome what felt like a barrier at first. It's a great shame that religion can interfere with relationships in all kinds of ways, sometimes permanently. But it's wonderful when people can instead talk things through and become closer. Thanks for sharing your positive story. Good luck to you both! ;8)
i call myself an agnostic when asked, because i’m honestly too afraid to call myself atheist; it would feel like ‘such a sin.’ most of my relatives are religious, and i’d be lying if i said their thoughts on blasphemy, eternal punishment and non-believers haven’t begun to seep into my brain.
that’s why i immensely appreciate channels like these - definitely helps to make me feel less alone, and less guilty about my own beliefs.
Good call, atheism is disgusting, at least agnostics admit that they just don't know, or don't particularly care
I can't believe how I found your channel at the exact time when I kept stressing out whether to believe in a God or not.
I just can't thank you enough for shining a bright light in my direction, whilst I was surrounded by darkness (stress, anxiety, fear).
And because of you, I can finally sleep calmly, knowing atleast 1 of my most stressfull questions have been answered.
It almost feels silly to remember myself not being able to asleep for more than 2 minutes, thinking about if I should be a Theist, or an Atheist. So I just can't thank you enough.
To those of you, who still can't decide, like I did, I just wish the best for you, so that you could finally relax, and be happy.
I have come across many compelling criticisms of religion, but the ones presented here immediately became my favourites. You have an excellent mind Theramintrees, these arguments are beautifully logical, clear and calm. Human progress and moral development in the face of indoctrination is practically carried by thinkers like you.
I always look forward to your videos - the best of TH-cam imo
Hey thanks
This makes me want to write a story about a god that is NOT all knowing, and the main character is like "hey man, why'd you cast our people into darkness for being bad half of us didnt even do anything" and the god is like "yeah man i'm sorry, i'll fix that. here have this cool rock that i made"
I've heard people choose to interpret the Bible like that. Like God from the old testament isn't omnipotent or omniscient. He doesn't understand human limitations or experiences, but wants to be worshipped and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Then God gets born as Jesus, experiences human life and suffering for the first time, and realizes how badly he goofed it. He can't apologize (still insecure) and decided to be like, "Haha actually I'm not God I'm uh.. his son! And God says being a human sucks and y'all have to help each other now. I'm gonna leave and not come back until this whole Earth thing is over." He gets crucified, comes back one more time to say bye and inspire the homies, and then leaves for good.
@@lateoclock4281 Honestly that would be an actually FUN story to read! A god (like the older ones from polytheistic religions) that is more like us, fallible and able to make mistakes.
Bro that sounds so cool! I wouldn believe in this story ofc but I would definitely read it!
@@olaczyk You don't need to believe in a story for it to be impactful, not even religious ones. The lessons held within or the journey of characters can still influence you to become a better person.
I would PAY for that.
I remember thinking a lot about the "in his own image" thing when I was working my way through the bullshit as a child. Like much of the other stuff the nuns were telling me (in all seriousness) was true, it just didn't make any sense. Perhaps it's no surprise that I left it all behind long before I hit puberty! Another wonderfully eloquent and thoughtful piece, TT. Thank you so much for making it.
Hey TLD, cheers ;8) Seems the 'in its image' claim is less popular these days, certainly the more literal interpretation - but it was one explicitly taught to me, and sounds like you had it from the nuns. I hope your experiences with the be-wimpled was less 'intense', shall we say, than those of some folks I know.
TheLivingDinosaur glad to see your making videos again. Keep up the good work!!
Wow I watched your videos when I was a teen. Now I’m 26 and I got to say thanks
If we were created in his image, why am I not invisible?
As a woman,I never could feel any comfort that MAN is made in HIS IMAGE and God always being MALE I have read the so- called holy books of other religions and women are mostly seen as trash and made in MAN'S IMAGE.This is one of the concepts of Evangelicals,specially the ones I have spoken with re the bible and their creation myth. Seems God gave his MALE buddies the best deal, eh?
Excellent points all, esp. ending with "What do we think of those who have to diminish others in order to feel great?" Thanks for phrasing these concepts in a new way. Very helpful!
I am rn going through your videos they reignited my hope for freedom and truth , this will guide my search for groups that'll understand. Living in the Middle East in an religious oppressive country with a dictatorial government.
My hope for life , my need for truth and expression ,they dead after a recent traumatic event .that made my brain melt . Continue posting
Stay strong my friend.
What you do is so important. thank you!
Thank you Kelsie
i want to play these at the movies at the park somehow lol
I've been living this struggle for over fifty years. Embracing critical thinking makes things better.
In the first minute and a half, you've described one of my biggest struggles coming from a religious background. I have chills.
"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." Matthew 7:18
Now, let's take a look at this world... tell me, is this the BEST an omniscient, all powerful, omnipresent being can do?
God is malevolent
@@jackgreenearth452 Probably not malevolent, because the universe could conceivably be worse, but definitely callous and negligent.
@@lucyferos205Or inept.
Wow! this was fantastic! I always receive new ways of seeing things through these thoughtful videos. Thank you so much :)
One of the most mind blowing speeches I've ever heard. Your videos are incredibly mentally liberating.
I left the mormon church at 8. I was supposed to get baptized that year. I moved around a lot and my parents and I have always been black sheep. The only time it comes back is when I am really depressed. When my grandmother died I prayed to God asking that even though I didn't believe I hoped he was real so that my grandmother could go to heaven.
thanks for video. 3 years recovering from religion and your video always shed light on areas/POV that few others thread. in an enlightening and non-adversary.
Thanks Cube Earth
Very thought provoking.
You have a new subscriber. Hate feeling like I've been tricked most of my life, but I won't go to my grave a fool.
'Detached reflection' it sums up how I feel occasionally when I hear Christian music.
Once I left, there was no turning back at all.
I love your videos. If you have the desire, please write a book!
I'd read the hell out of that book!
I really appreciated the wording of your comment. Thanks Mykel ;8)
TheraminTrees so... would you want to :D ?
"I love your videos. If you have the desire, please write a book!"
He might. I good name for it would be, "If you're stupid enough to take my videos seriously, then this book is for you".
It's the atheistic/agnostic types that supply the greatest comedy. They think the universe came about by natural means. There's NO science for it and ALL the science we know proves that creation had to be supernatural and done by a supernatural creator, but...., not to atheists/agnostics. Isn't that funny?!
----Real science says nothing does nothing. Real science says if there was something there already it must fit with the evidence of what we know. We know the 1LT says there's a conservation of energy. It can change forms and neither can be created or destroyed. Creation cannot happen by natural means. The 2LT has various aspects, one being the universe is winding down, entropy. Usable energy is becoming less usable, so at one point usable energy was at its max. This all points to a supernatural creation, by a supernatural creator at a certain point in which matter, space and time were created. When I read how it can happen otherwise, ALL the fools resort to science-fiction. Once a supernatural creation is accepted, then the next step is finding proof of what supernatural power did it.-----
Then the extreme order we have in our universe that defies all physics, but....., not to atheists/agnostics. It's just happened by mere chances even though we prove it can't happen by chance. Funny!
www.inplainsite.org/html/anthropic_principles.html
kgov.com/fine-tuning-of-the-universe
And life? Well, it just came from non-life. It's so absurd it's even hard to type that, but....., atheists/agnostics claim to believe it happened somehow by natural means. Again, funny!
Many have brought up such issues how funny it is, including James Tour.
th-cam.com/video/zU7Lww-sBPg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/r4sP1E1Jd_Y/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/Ymjlrw6GmKU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/L0-hgSjnomA/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/5AXkrc2OSs4/w-d-xo.html
Then, what this life did after it started by mere chance can't happen by science, but....., atheists/agnostics believe it did. Funny!
Life takes information to form and proceed on. But to atheists/agnostics, chaos through time gave us information. Although it's even hard to write such a ridiculous statement, they believe it. All one can do is laugh at such stupidity.
th-cam.com/video/aA-FcnLsF1g/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/7c9PaZzsqEg/w-d-xo.html
creation.com/laws-of-information-1
creation.com/laws-of-information-2
I've kept this very basic and brief. I can provide much deeper, yet there's no need to since each point proves there is no explanation for such things to have happened naturally. This IS evidence against such things happening naturally. Lame excuses of why it can still have happened naturally with no science to support it are just that, lame excuses.
There's a ton more. If you want a laugh, see what atheists/agnostics believe.
===================================
@@2fast2block so ignoring how the big bang doesn't say the universe came form nothing (this is a severe misunderstanding of the big bang) how does an infinite omnipresent, omnipotent, all knowing being that conveniently hides himself because "muh free will" despite him constantly messing with people's free will in the bible specifically magically creating a universe that works entirely autonomously makes more sense? How do you specifically know it's the Christian God and not any of the other thousands of religions? How does it make more sense that this supposed being created tons of planets, stars, solar systems, Galaxies, etc. To only put life on a single planet?
It's also funny how you say science points towards the supernatural since it's inherently unscientific.
Let's use an example ghosts. If ghost are real how come they are mostly detected with items that are designed for another purpose? Why can only ghost enthusiasts and no scientists create devices specifically for detecting and talking to ghosts? Why do none of these enthusiasts reveal their inventions to the scientific community?
Humans have given supernatural explanations for lightning, earthquakes, the moon, the sun, diseases, etc. Never has the supernatural been found to be the answer for anything. The supernatural is just whatever guess humans can come up with to explain what they don't understand.
I'm gonna repeat this same comment for every sectuon that you find where you repeat this same argument that misrepresents science
Entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often *interpreted* as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system also the presence of entropy doesn't mean there shouldn't be order, entropy is the measurement of the change from order to disorder it says the same thing in the description I gave also by the way.
You're just another theist that doesn't know the science they're talking about yet still trying to argue science proves the unscientific
"Wanting worse for others than for yourself is no indication of greatness". Well said, my friend. Sums it up very well
Hey there, a new viewer of the channel and new subscriber here. I just want to thank you very much for making this video. I'm currently recovering from religion myself, continuously doubting my atheism and in the very back of my mind fearing eternal torture. This video has helped to put me more at ease with my newfound atheistic thoughts. I just hope that, when my family does eventually find out, they'll understand more than some of my older friends have. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us- though I don't speak for us all, I bet it helps all of us out of the shackles of religion.
After more than 13 years the superstitions if you want to call them that are almost all gone ,i am very confident there's no hell.
but i still find myself in some nightmares whipping out the old verses that i haven't read in all those years 😂.
last time i had a vivid nightmare ,when i woke up i was so surprised! why did i remember to do that(read verses)?and even more that it stopped the dream demon monsters 😂.
It can get weird is what I wanted to say.
I’ve literally never heard of Christian stories as “mythology” before, but honestly it’s sobering.
I have a rather large book titled “The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology” and it has an entire section on Judeo-Christian traditions.
The gods of one age become the next's theatre characters.
🤯. I stopped trying to explain my thoughts about this to people but appreciate this explanation for my internal understanding of why I’m not believer.
This video hit VERY close to home. Thank you. This answered questions I've had bouncing around for a long time.
this video reminds me of “If there is a God, He will have to beg for my forgiveness.” (quote said to be written in the concentration camp)
Tsk tsk tsk. All of our problems are man made. Deal with it.
@@TheMilitantMazdakite man made doesnt mean it wont affect you, if someone is dying from poverty you wont tell them, your problem is made up, everything is made up
You seem like an insufferable person to be around@@TheMilitantMazdakite
Now that it's been a few years since I left religion, I can appreciate these videos much more. Your analogy of religion being an abusive relationship is really insightful and helpful. Religion hurt me in a lot of ways but I want to one day get to a place where it doesn't live rent free in my head and I can completely move on.
the speedy analogy was brillaint. found this channel last night and its so good!!
What was brilliant about it?
I had to stop trying to be so close to God i wanted to be walking with him already. Every emotion i had was so extreme and potent and had so much philosophical relgious meaning.
I hurt myself attempting to release bad entities from my spirit. I dont want to burn in hell forever.
I saw every action and every word come out of peoples mouths as an action of God.
I could not connect properly to non believers because i saw them as filthy, i become a recluse in a way.
Taking religion to the extreme i think literally turns you into a schizophrenic and im deadly serious when i say this.
I just hope i can heal, and live life again, and make sense of things the way i use to, before i fell into religion.
I come from a fairly religious country (Christian) and I started questioning religion recently. You have helped me so much
Man's doing God's job.
No wait.
As a young boy, I had the concept of the all knowing all seeing god who could read my thoughts and inhabit my mind running through my head, and came to the conclusion that it was insanity.
Exactly.
@@KILLRXNOEVIRUS Let me correct that. I had this notion planted in my head by some very mis-guided people.
That doesn't mean it isn't true tho
I grew up with Catholic grandparents and born-again Christian mom. Slowly my faith became replaced with questions and facts until I became agnostic. I recall some years later, a couple of Mormans came to my house. Because I'm polite, I let them inside to give me their pitch. They went over the first chapters of their version of the Bible with me, and when they asked me what I thought, I told them that I thought that the writer must have eaten some powerful shrooms. After an awkward silence, they excused themselves.
lmao i LOVE that😂. well done.
It's my birthday/Christmas/Easter/Hanukkah/Eid again, which is everytime you upload a video
Also, my name is Ben.
They teach in churches that god gave us free will but then take it away when we're still children who can't think for themself yet.
I actually really value your videos as a Catholic. It helps me interpret my beliefs more and cement what 'God' is. In a way, it helps me question them, and that is very valuable. Invaluable. Of course, I have many arguments against some of your claims, but I do not think those matter as much when compared to what value videos like these bring to good will. It is good to question, there is nothing wrong with it, thank you good sir.
I am honestly wondering what are some of your agruements against his points in the video since many of them are actually queit valid
Relatively new atheist here. I was born and raised into Christianity. My parents are still very devoutly religious. I was born with a curious and inquisitive mind and questioned everything I was taught until I was convinced I knew everything possible about a given subject. I always want specifics. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I started having doubts. A year ago I started doing my own research into the Bible. About six months ago I made the choice to become atheist.
Your videos are really helping me understand and explain the doubts I had about Christianity and why I made the switch to atheism.
One thing that always catches my eye is your choice of words. “Recovering from religion” and “having lapses back into theism.” Why word it this way? Why do people make it sound like they were addicted to heroine? I’m genuinely curious.
As a Catholic hearing people use that kind of language feels like a sting to my heart, as if I'm diseased or ill :( . I wish that they wouldn't describe it like that, as though if you believe in religion you're guilty and unclean; rather hypocritical considering that's the sort of language he is saying makes religion bad imo.
@@mysterywyvern7065 What people are describing is a religious abuse they had to grow out of. It's perfectly fair to describe it as a sickness. If you feel attacked it means you're not feeling empathetic for people outside your group.
Sometimes it is refered to as so because the same brain stimulation which drugs bring are exactly the same type of high which religious experience bring. The same pleasure receptors are stimulated by both religious ecstatic experiences and ecstatic drug experiences.
Many people use religion as a way to get off drugs, the 12 step programs rely on it. Is it just using one drug to substitute for another?
There's plenty of information about the neurology of religion available online feel free to look this information up if your guilt about questioning your religious beliefs will allow you to do so.
In my case I was scared that if I didn’t go to mass on Sunday I would burn in hell cause it is a mortal sin in the Catholic Church, I am recovering from being in what seems like an abusive fake relationship with God.
Went down much the same road as you. One piece of advice. Don't stop questioning and criticizing. Many people get hurt in religion, question it. Find their excuse out, and then stop questioning.
I've personally found that if you criticize atheism/agnosticism as harshly as Christianity, you'll find that it has many more holes. I still have many questions about Christianity and Faith, which is why I'm watching this stuff. But its much more coherent that Atheism/Agnosticism.
Excelente video, como todos. Nada es más agradable que encontrar contenido inteligente y de calidad en TH-cam.
I have been a fan of your work for over a decade and just noticed that you had sent some views my way. I’m an ex Christian Scientist and I have a few stories that I could tell you but I wanted to thank you for the help and support. I am 59 and knew that CS was nonsense when I was in grade school. I have learned a lot from your videos and wanted to formally send you a thanks. I’m still trying to get my channel off the ground and I have a new one to upload today. Thanks again and Cheers
I would like to take a moment and appreciate how the "dots" representing the 70 or so people are in fact all different shapes and sizes. :)
They reminded me of those candy things, Nerds maybe?
God DAMN this shreds. Mind-blowing!!!
I love your videos. Your videos are some of the only ones I can watch and reflect on so many of my childhood experiences. When the ones who hurt us are so close it can be hard to remember all of the reasons I got out of that situation and I can start to feel guilty about leaving. You videos help change that perception.
I honestly believe and know for a fact, that religion has stifled my growth as a person, both physically and socially.
Now i have catching up to do... without the role model of a father because my dad left.
Same. It also ruined my financial life: my pastor told my lazy lackadaisical parents that secular school would corrupt us. So they decided to homeschool and entrusted a Christian umbrella school to submit our high school transcripts to the school board. Long story short: the "school" did not trust the school board and lost all records of my transcripts.
So no college for me unless I got a GED. But employers/colleges who see I have a GED immediately assume that I must've gotten into trouble in high-school.
Also I am wayyyy behind on subjects the church found problematic, like science and history. Didn't really ever learn algebra. So even if I do get into college someday it'd be really tough to keep up.
It's humiliating. So the jobs I had to settle for were low level stuff for years. 😊
But at least I was never "corrupted" by evil things like education 😅
It’s honestly striking how easy it is to criticize religion from every angle imaginable
It's such am inconsistent thing, easy to pick apart
@@sentinelUSA05 that’s true, probably because societal norms protect criticism of something so personal in every day conversation
I haven't done this in awhile but I remember when I dropped religious and started doing thing the old way and realized that I wasn't doing anything productive. its weird to think how much we take for granted and how deep religion is rooted in our lives
Thank you. Thank you for all the hard work you do to make sense of the world. Thank you for making this easy to follow and understand.
I myself noticed the correlation between the Abrahamic religions and abusive relationships a few years back. I heard a Christian talking about how all good things can be attributed to Yahweh, while all the evil can be attributed to man. This sounded familiar, so on a whim, I looked up the signs of an abusive relationship at www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm Lo and behold, 16 of the 23 signs listed there match up perfectly. I keep trying to point this out to theists, but like Voltaire said, it's difficult to free someone of the chains they revere. Truly, there are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
I wasted formally 30 years as a Jehovah's Witness. Since then went on to study mind control. The Video is excellent.