- cross-posted to:
- atheistmemes@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- atheistmemes@lemmy.world
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Christians are indoctrinated from childhood to obey any authority that speaks the way their pastor does, and to ignore the evidence of their eyes and ears to believe what they are told.
So it’s always awkward interacting with Christians, i can correct some of their shitty behavior by explaining how it would hurt them, but the conversation that their core beleifs are a control mechanism abused by conmen is impossible to broach.
It makes me sad because religion is so important to so many people, but it wouldn’t be if they weren’t indoctrinated against their will as children.
In my experience the Christians don’t really shove it down your throat. They will invite you to their church and are open to have a philosophical discussion about the existence of god and the outcomes of that. The ones I’ve met are very respectful about it.
Its another religion that also believes in Jesus (but not as god himself) that are very aggressive about enforcing it upon you.
As often, the loud minority gives a bad name to the others. People meet a lot of respectful Christians, but doesn’t even know they’re Christians, as they don’t shove it in anyone’s throat. They meet a few vocal Christians, and know they’re Christians, and then think they’re the only ones.
I’ve met people who were later surprised to find out I was a Christian.
I know on here it’s probably quite obvious to people who see me around, but only because religion is discussed on here quite frequently.
My experience is the opposite, it’s always Christians bringing it up, often by judging others’ actions out loud.
Never had any of the other Abrahamitic denominations try to convert me, although I was approached by a Hare Krishna recruiter once.
They are no more judge than other system of belief imo. I’ve always found they are respectful about it tho.
I was referring to a specific Abrahamic denomination. The one that had their profit marrying a 9 year old.
Your description was clear, our experiences seem to differ.
In case you’re worried we have different frames of reference: The way you’re trying to implicate Islam in denigrating terms is not respectful. In analogous phrasing, the Christian denominations are based around glorifying human sacrifice.
I think simplifying the incarnation of God as a man and offering Himself up as a sacrifice for His children as “glorifying human sacrifice” is a massive misrepresentation. Unless that’s supposed to be your point.
That is precisely the point, well spotted.
Regular churchgoers are a mixed bag. The real trouble comes from religious institutions themselves.
It’s almost as if no group is a monolith and people who like to abuse power seek positions of power regardless of the structure they are in
Yes well I’m also an anarchist so, yeah not really stumped by that one
Oh you are? Ok enjoy your block
Anarchy is just a stepping stone to fascism, grow up
My what?
I’m a Christian pastor happily married to an atheist, AMA.
Were you both Christian and your partner fell out of it?
No, she never was Christian, nor anything else for that matter.
Do you believe your wife will go to hell?
Is she agnostic or does she believe there is no god?
And to follow up, are you okay with that? If not, do you try to convince her to believe to save her? How does she feel about those efforts or lack of?
Do you believe your wife will go to hell?
No. I don’t believe in all that “you have to confess Jesus as your personal lord and saviour to avoid hell” crap. It’s in fact something not very widespread outside evangelicalism. I believe the Cross is working mysteriously, far outside the frontier of the visible Church. A God who condemns people that doesn’t recognize him is not a loving God, it’s a pervert. I believe that “to confess Jesus as my personal lord and saviour” is a way to live a better life here and now, and I don’t expect an eternal reward for that.
Is she agnostic or does she believe there is no god?
I’d say she’s agnostic atheist. She doesn’t know if God exist, but believes he does not, and in fact doesn’t care.
You sound like a very good person.
I think you get what I believe religion is supposed to be about.
And that’s nice to see :) keep it up!In many christian traditions the “confess Jesus as savior” can also be done after this life when standing before Jesus, basically at the gates of heaven. At that point it’s really just a formality, and doing that right now instead of in the next life is exactly what you describe what it means to you: a way to live a better life right now.
But if someone is an atheist and doesn’t want anything to do with God, won’t God respect their decision?
I don’t know. The Bible don’t speak that much after the afterlife. Jesus mainly spoke about the Kingdom, which is within us and not something otherworldly (Luke 17:21), the Old Testament is almost only interested in how to follow God here and now, even the book of Revelation is, if read correctly, more a veiled criticism of the politics of Roman Empire than a prediction. The only one who spoke a lot about the afterlife is Paul, but if he’s clear about who will be saved, he’s not about who won’t. That’s why I spoke about a mystery; but I trust God to make the best decision.
Jesus mainly spoke about the Kingdom, which is within us and not something otherworldly
Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven. And more about hell than anyone else in the Bible.
Paul is quite clear.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Romans 2:12-16
For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-25
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I looked to first link, and the first biblical reference was Luke 16:23. It’s a parable… not a description of actual hell… I saw enough to know that it’s not theologically serious.
The rest of your message is cherrypicking. You can’t cite verses without providing any context or analysis, staying on the surface of things, and think you make a point. Again, not theologically serious. You should study the Bible praying, make it resonate with the life of the marginalized people that Jesus came to meet, not just choosing the verses that confirm your preconceptions, or you’ll make the Bible saying the contrary of what it says by cherrypicking and staying too literal. Nobody can make this work for you.
Imagine someone who’d come to you and say: “the Bible say that God doesn’t exist, look at Ps 14:1 ‘There is no God’!”. Of course this Psalm says the contrary, and it would be easy to prove, just by citing the verse wholly; but what you do is not different, just more subtle.
I don’t deny that Jesus came to marginalised people. He came to free them, redeem them, and forgive them. He didn’t sit around and say “you do you, live your truth”. He said “take up your cross, and follow Me”.
How did the marriage ceremony go, who officiated the marriage, was it a religious leader or another type of official. I am really curious because I want my Christian GF to have the wedding of her dreams and I am not sure how to approach the topic. I have no issues but I am scared a pastor or similar might have because I am atheist
I’ve seen a pastor hold a nice opening without any direct religious references
That I could do, if it made sense in the context.
I live in France, where it’s illegal to have a religious marriage without having a civil one first. As a pastor, I have to ask a proof that the people I religiously marries are already married civilly. I agree theologically with that, as protestants don’t marry people, they bless an already existing marriage.
So we had both. To be honest, in France, civil marriages are quite dull: it takes 5 minutes, the mayor or their deputy reads the law, asks for consent, makes the people sign, and it’s the next couple’s turn. It’s very administrative. There’s a little decorum, but just a little.
So, even for people without strong belief, the ritual makes the marriage something special. It was the case for my spouse, at least. She’s atheist, but she respects my faith, as I respect her atheism; she knew it was important for me, so that made it important for her.
I would warn you though: if your girlfriend is Catholic, you’ll have yo promise to raise your children in the Catholic faith. If your girlfriend is evangelical, they may ask you to testify of your faith. I’d say to discuss this with her first very openly, and test the waters with her priest/pastor. 90% are cool people, with whom you’ll be able to be open, and they won’t refuse you as long as they don’t sense that you opposes the whole thing. 10% are assholes; I’d advice you to look for an other one; if it’s the one your girlfriend wants, lie to them (as long as your girlfriend agrees with that). You don’t marry for the officiant, you owe them nothing.
Were you a Christian before you married her? Were you a pastor at that point?
Also, what denomination/church do you belong to
No, we were in highschool when we begun to date. But I was already Christian, and we knew I was going to a faculty of theology a few months later to become a pastor.
I’m a member of a united Lutheran-Reformed church. I come from a Reformed parish, but serve nowadays in a Lutheran one, and theologically I navigate between the two traditions.
Isn’t there someone you forgot to ask? [Motions towards where the divine should be]
Fixed:
The only winning move is not to play.
This is actually what I dread if I date a non-Westerner. Sure, there are secular religious people who have sex before marriage, but they could change their tune if they find out I am agnostic atheist.
deleted by creator
That’s false, the creator of this comic is just trying to spread hate
"Which one?“
I had the misfortune of needing to attend a “Christian” university for a short while due to visa reasons in the US, the vomit inducing cult speak they do at every opprtunity at a institute that’s about education and science was appalling, imagine the kids who have to grow up in such an environment, no wonder the country is so fucked up right now
Religious leaders there openly brag about having gold shoes and private jets…
I once had a study partner who was raised like that. We were scheduling our first after school study session and trying to figure out time. I shoot out sunday and he goes “nah I have church, wait don’t you have church?” “nah, I’m an atheist”
dude vanished. Three days later I notice him trying to like… hide in a hoodie towards the opposite side of the class. I walk over, worried I offended him or something. He basically tells me that he can’t interact with satanists and I just go “look, if you don’t wanna interact with me, don’t. You don’t have to hide in a corner or try to avoid me. If you wanna draw the line at just existing in the same room, ok then.”
To his credit, he did try to have a study session with me after that, but I had to end it early. The dude was so on edge, it was like he was convinced I was gonna stab him at any moment.
Years later he contacted me to apologize out of the blue on facebook. Went completely off grid traveling the world. My guess trying to compensate for just how little he knew of it.
Well at least he kept to himself, I met a guy in university who asked for my number to invite me to a soccer game and then kept texting me to join his prayer group until I blocked his number
When I was on dating apps, I specifically filtered out anyone with religious beliefs (other than Buddhists, because they seemed inoffensive to me).
Got a selfie with a cross on your necklace? Nope. Same for women with photos with guns, anyone with an American flag, and any woman posing leaning against the hood of a sports car. There are telltale signs that we have different values. Honestly, I appreciate your advertising that we aren’t compatible and saving me the effort finding out on my own.
women with photos with guns
any woman posing leaning against the hood of a sports car
We sure have different values
Perhaps. I think guns are something to be handled with care, not something to enjoy as a hobby. I think sports cars are a waste of money because, realistically, you’ll be driving on city streets with speed limits in most cases.
I have a comfortable sedan because the pan taught me that I can’t rely on ride-shares and mass transit in a once-in-a-lifetime (we hope) emergency. I barely drive it. It’s a tool. And I don’t own guns because I think they’re dangerous and I’m prone to bouts of depression (I’m bi-polar). Anyone who thinks these are cool or part of their identity is not someone I want as a life partner. Even without being judgmental about these things, they signal different priorities from my own.
Now a someone with a full bookshelf in the background is another thing entirely. Or playing musical instruments. Or out in nature. These are things I value.
You know, as reasonable as it is, the last paragraph does sound totally corny. I’d be fine dating someone who’s not as much of a nerd as me, or is a nerd in a different way like movies.
Especially the bookshelf part, since in my experience, a lot of people with piles of books don’t read them (I gave the worse ones away), and making a dating app pic in a library isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
It’s funny being a socialist who doesn’t believe in god. I actually support the things Jesus taught becoming law, and Christians argue the most against it.
That’s because Jesus’s teachings are tenets of common decency.
ITT: The most obnoxious type of fedora-wearing atheism. Makes me feel nostalgic for early reddit…
Oh did I say nostalgic? I meant nauseous.
I find the fedora bois on here
I’m as atheist as they come (I’m actually anti-theist in a lot of ways but I’m not militant about it) and I live in a very Red, very “Christian” area of the country, but with a couple of exceptions I haven’t had too many problems with “Christians” in face to face encounters, though they are often very judgemental people and I don’t particularly like associating with them. Still I haven’t had to pull out my Halberd once.
The only real way “Christians” negatively impact my life is when they vote in laws that requires non-“Christians” to follow their interpretation of their religion and/or try to impose their religious views on me such as making the display of “The Ten Commandments” (one of them anyway) a requirement in our public schools, which they do in my state with frequency.
Actual Christians are much more rare and I get along with them a lot better. These people actually follow with Jesus teachings (within reason) and don’t try to force their beliefs onto others. My mom was one such person in her later years and she was the best person I ever met in my life (before and after being more religious).
It takes all kinds. What’s much more important to me than what you believe is how you behave.
Just venting…
Last year my partners mother stayed at our house for a long time (months). I felt constantly judged when I was around her, so I started to become reclusive. She started judging that too. I ended up falling into depression because I felt trapped in my own home.
The day before she left, she told me she hopes I find Jesus.
It took all my willpower not to snap.
Maintain eye contact and reply “Same to you.”
“What do you mean? He watches me from the corner every time I’m masturbating.”
Should’ve gone full nuclear: “Jesus watches while I fuck your daughter from behind”
