?

Fortunately I wasn't brought up with much religion and was able to find my way to Atheism without any sort of religious lens so to speak. I'm always interested in hearing about others who -were- religious and what provoked them into changing, what was it like, etc.

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Hitler, Stalin, Kim Jong, Castro, Mao... the list goes on.

This question is for Christians who believe in a literal torturous hell.

Let's say an Atheist, such as myself, dies and goes to hell even though I tried to hold myself to the utmost moral standards. Did I send myself to hell?

If your answer is yes, then you are incorrect. I do not choose hell just because I don't live by a certain standard. "You send yourself to Hell" is also a really weak shirking of your true opinion of me. What you really mean is you DESERVE to be tortured for eternity, correct?

Your god created hell. Your god created the criteria for how/why people are sent to hell. I think I can safely assume that you think your god can do no wrong and makes no mistakes. Therefor, god is responsible for everyone that goes to hell. Furthermore, you don't just think I send myself to hell, but you also think I deserve eternal punishment because your god thinks I deserve it, and he's NEVER wrong is he?

I'm so tired of you guys sugarcoating the coercive nature of your god/religion. How is it any different from the Mafia Boss analogy? "Sure got a nice store here; be a shame if anything happened to it. Maybe you better pay me so I can protect you." If I don't pay the mafia boss, I'm not CHOOSING to have my legs broken. I feel this is a VERY appropriate analogy for your god/religion, is it not?

Coercianity.

Your thoughts?

Coercianity.

Coercion: The intimidation of a victim to compel the individual to do some act against his or her will by the use of psychological pressure, physical force, or threats. - Taken from thefreedictionary.com

God: "Do what I say or you will suffer for all eternity in hell."

Is this not coercion?

Coersianity. Taken from thefreedictionary.com:

Coercion: the unlawful act of compelling a person to do, or to abstain from doing, something by depriving him of the exercise of his free will, particularly by use or threat of physical or moral force.

Is this not the very base of your religion?

He said that good Atheists are going to Heaven. I shall quote him.

"The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!".. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/pope-fran...

So Christians, is blasphemy not the one unforgivable sin? Is he contradicting the Bible? Is he just making up his religion as he goes along?

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Hitler, Stalin, Kim Jong, Castro, Mao... the list goes on.

I hear this a lot, but I have a question.

Atheists don't believe that a magic person created the incomprehensibly massive universe just to put his prized creation on one speck of dust. We don't believe we were put here to rule over the Earth and all the animals. We don't believe that someone has a special plan for us that has been since time immemorial. We don't believe that someone has a special place for us to go to after we die. We don't believe that people who believe otherwise are going to be tortured for eternity and deserve it according to what our book says. We DO (generally) believe in equal rights for people who may think or live differently than us.

So how are Atheists the prideful/arrogant ones again?

I have been an Atheist all my life. I have been told if I get on my knees and ask him to show me a sign he will do it. I did it, and suddenly my left testicle started throbbing. Is this the sign???

God sent himself to sacrifice himself to himself to appease himself, but it wasn't really a sacrifice because he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven(nothing gained, nothing lost) so he could forgive mankind of their sins(using the free will that he gave them) (this was the best way he could come up with to forgive) so that he could punish the people who find this idea ridiculous and reward the people who help him stroke his own ego by believing in him.

How are people Christian again?

The Father of Christ is just one god but Hinduism has like 500 Gods should we be worried?

srs bsns than at normal times? I just gave evidence for God that is as good as what's in the Bible and my question got deleted and got 10 penis points subtracted? Is this a gift from God?

In God we Trust was put on coins nearly a century after our revolution. It wasn't put on paper money or in the pledge of allegiance until the 1950s. Not sure how swearing on the bible in court came about but it doesn't belong there either.

Seeing as how Atheism is the fastest growing 'religion' in America, how long will it be before we can correct these violations of separation of church and state?

Source: http://secularist10.hubpages.com/hub/Religion-Athe...

This is all that we Atheists ask. =( We have given you two thousand years to produce some evidence, but the best thing you can come up with is WELL I LOOK AROUND ME AND I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYTHING CAME TO BE THEREFORE GOD. Or PRAY HARD TO GOD AND SOMETHING COMPLETELY RANDOM AND ARBITRARY WILL HAPPEN AND YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO INTERPRET THAT AS GOD. Or YOUR JUDGEMENT IS BEING CLOUDED BY SATAN. The prosecution only has so long before the judge gets tired of hearing the same old BS and ends the trial. That time is coming very soon for Christianity. The numbers of your faith dwindle by the day. Atheism has more than doubled in the past two decades and shows no sign of slowing down because your God doesn't care enough to provide any reason to believe. Either that, or he doesn't exist.

Source: http://secularist10.hubpages.com/hub/Religion-Athe...

And, no. The Bible is not a very credible source, especially with the supernatural claims.

but then I took an arrow in the frontal lobe.

Men make the best chefs. Because with two eggs, a sausage, and a little bit of milk he can fill a girls tummy for 9 months.

As an Ameican Atheist, I have obviously come across many Christians and have had many theological discussions. In almost every case, the Christian faith boils down to "BECAUSE I WANT TO." It has nothing to do with facts, the consideration of other religions, or the pursuit of truth. I find that most of you believe for reasons such as "because I was raised this way", "I can't imagine a world without God," or some similarly wishful thinking-esque philosophy. What is your reason for believing?

Faith the point at which you stop seeking the truth and just say "I don't know how to get any further so I'm going to accept this answer because I'm too lazy or uneducated to continue the search, or because it feels good and is what I WANT to be true."

If you disagree, post your own definition! (=

The Internet and the Information Age are BY FAR the most threatening adversaries religion has ever faced. The 2008 American Census statistics show a 10% drop in religious people the past 20 years, while 'nonbelievers' nearly doubled from 8% to 15%.

Just think, you right now are using the very tool that may eventually put an end to organized religion as we know it!

Deists, no offense but we know what your response will be so there is no need to state it. For everyone else, do we need religion to keep the would be socio/psychopaths in check? I've spoken with deeply religious people who seem to have a very broken moral compass but luckily also have a great fear of God. Do we have too many people who do good only because it's forced onto them by religion?

Do we have a need for religion in 2013? What about the future?