A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents - Christianity Etc (10) - Nairaland
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| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 11:29am On Jun 03, 2020 |
TRAUMA FROM LEAVING RELIGION cont'd: Betrayal trauma theory This approach has challenged the traditional focus on fear as the primary response to trauma. PTSD has been assumed to be an anxiety disorder, requiring the individual to experience intense fear, helplessness, or horror in response to a traumatic event. Treatment has emphasized corrective emotional processing. Understanding post traumatic distress in terms of shattered assumptions and betrayal can shed light on effects not related to fear or terror. Freyd (1996) studied the impact of childhood abuse, or the betrayal of a trusted caregiver, on memory, and concluded that a low awareness of violation appears to have survival value. These theories indicate that a cognitive appraisal which raises awareness of violated assumptions can be traumatic. The concept of betrayal is important in that it changes the whole context of understanding trauma that is human caused. First of all, society is resentful of the ways in which victims of trauma shatter our illusions of safety and often engages in victim blaming in order to order to maintain basic assumptions (Van der Kolk, McFarlane, and Van der Hart, 1996). The letter to the editor printed in the previous issue shows the way society resists recognizing that religion can do any harm. Secondly, and especially in the case of Complex PTSD, which refers to ongoing, repeated abuse, it makes a huge difference to shift the focus to relational issues. As explained by DePrince and Freyd (2002), mainstream psychology has focused on fear and tended to pathologize trauma survivors’ reactions. In this approach, responsibility for the experience of fear is placed on the individual survivor, implicitly or explicitly. Cognitive-behavioral therapies are focused on treating the individual’s anxiety symptoms. When betrayal is included as an important reaction to trauma, research and treatment questions are placed in a relational and social context. The pathology is not just in the mind of the survivor. Relevant questions include who did the betraying, what was the betrayal about, the relationship to the perpetrator, and the societal response to the events. With a betrayal framework, these authors say that closer attention is paid to the relationship between the perpetrator and victim in interpersonal violence. (Regarding religious indoctrination, a case can be made for emotional and mental abuse, which is also violent with long-term effects). This framework allows for a historical context in which there may be intergenerational transmission of trauma. Betrayal may also come in the form of response the survivor receives from others following the event, such as disbelief, minimizing, or otherwise devaluing the individual’s experience. A view of trauma that recognizes the sociocultural forces at play helps us go beyond individual emotions and consider the community’s role in addressing the transgression. Recognizing interpersonal betrayal in trauma requires that we confront the reality of the harm humans can cause one another (DePrince and Freyd, 2002). Shattered faith: As an example of ‘loss of the assumptive world’, losing one’s religion is a special and potentially extreme case. A shattered belief system can be devastating and cause cognitive and affective problems, including an acute sense of betrayal. Many ex-believers have anger about the abuse of growing up in a world of lies. They feel robbed of a normal childhood, honest information, and opportunity to develop and thrive. They have bitterness for being taught they were worthless and in need of salvation, yet never able to be sure they were good enough to make it. They have anger about terrors of hell, the ‘rapture’, demons, apostasy, unforgivable sins, and the evil world. They resent not being able to ever feel good or safe. Many are angry that the same teachings are inflicted on more children continuously. They have rage because they dedicated their lives and gave up everything to serve God. They are angry about losing their families and their friends. They feel enormously betrayed. The following comments support the theories of trauma involving shattered assumptions and betrayal. As a child I had an awful fear of hell, and I used to fall asleep crying cause I thought I wasn't saved. Irrational fear leads to irrational decisions. Now with my career in the tank, having lost contact with friends and family over my leaving the church, I am trying to put my life back together. So now at the age of 43, I feel that my youth was wasted. I think about all the fun I lost out on, all the women I rejected, and the education I could have had. I think about all the worry, guilt and fear I've had to endure for 31 years. I've been feeling a mixture of anger, sadness, and desperation regarding my former ‘life of faith’... I spent about 20 adult years as a ‘serious Christian’… trying to live out ‘radical Biblical obedience to God’… The fact is I could NEVER totally please God. ‘He’ made impossible demands of me and it was a fantasy to think that he provided the actual resources necessary to fulfill them. RTS as Complex PTSD: The definition of Complex PTSD is interesting in light of religious indoctrination: ‘a psychological injury that results from protracted exposure to prolonged social and/or interpersonal trauma with lack or loss of control, disempowerment, and in the context of either captivity or entrapment, i.e. the lack of a viable escape route for the victim’ (Wikipedia). Small children who are subjected to toxic religious teachings and practices are trapped and dependent on their dysfunctional families. Pete Walker (2009) has developed an approach in psychotherapy that considers emotional flashbacks to be the key symptom of Complex PTSD. Because of the prolonged nature of the trauma, he says Complex PTSD can be even more virulent and pervasively damaging in its effects. (Complex PTSD has not yet been included in the DSM; nor has RTS.) This seems to be true for many who have left religion. When asked to describe my past, overwhelming emotions sap my body of positive energy...Flashbacks assault my subconscious in vicious nightmares after dredging up this damage. I remember many dark nights trying to sleep being fearful of many things in life, lying there in bed worrying while trying to sleep while considering all the nasty things that might happen to me as a sentence from god for my suggested bad/evil choice of leaving. The worry and lack of sleep made life and work that much harder to handle. I even got headaches from thinking and worrying so endlessly. A lonely trip into the unknown battling that what you have been taught, questioning over and over again that what might be true or untrue. Feelings of guilt and fear of daring to trust your own natural human instincts or reasoning. A pathway of uncharted waters, supposedly booby trapped by devils and monsters. I had a nervous breakdown as the beliefs that I was being taught were not really helping me develop as an individual. I have spent the last 5 years in and out of hospital for suicide attempts and things were gradually getting worse... Every day became a nightmare, I became immersed in a depression that had only one way out... suicide. I didn't want to kill myself, however life was so miserable that suicide seemed like a reasonable option. I have just woken up from another nightmare. My husband says I cry out in the night and cry in my sleep. I was in an empty room with no escape. Totally alone and so so scared. Why RTS is so invisible: With RTS, the social context is completely different from other trauma recovery situations. Natural disaster experiences, childhood sexual abuse or family violence are all understandable to friends and professionals who are likely to be sympathetic and supportive. In the case of religious abuse, a person is often hounded by family and church members to return, and reminded in many ways that they are condemned otherwise. In essence, they are pressured to return to the perpetrator of their abuse. Their suffering is not seen. In fact, they are made pariahs when they do not return and this social rejection is an added layer of serious injury absent from other varieties of trauma. A survivor of religious trauma is also surrounded by potential triggers, especially in more religious communities. Symbols of sexual abuse are not celebrated, but someone with RTS is expected to enjoy Christmas and Easter, or at least be quiet. Religion holds a place of privilege in society. Churches are everywhere and prayers and hymns are ubiquitous. In many communities, to not believe the prevailing religion makes one a deviant, putting one at risk of social rejection, employment problems, and more. Anger for other kinds of abuse is considered normal and acceptable, whereas ex-believers are supposed to forgive and ‘not throw the baby out with the bathwater’. They are called too sensitive or accused of taking religion the wrong way. People understand nightmares about wartime combat but not about Armageddon. Expressing feelings is usually dangerous. Too often, the result is a shaming attack rather than support, i.e., ‘blaming the victim’. From an orthodox, conservative point of view, people who have left their religion and are suffering are seen as failures - they simply haven’t done it right. A fundamentalist Christian view is that they have been ‘rebellious’ and brought about their own problems. Depression and anxiety are often considered sins or even demonic attacks. Personal misery is seen as a natural result of rejecting God; being apostate brings God’s punishment. A religious counselor will redirect a client back to the religion, typically with biblical guidelines to repent and become more devout. The client suffering with RTS is then likely to try harder to meet the impossible demands of the religion, much like returning to a situation of domestic violence. They will do this because of the authoritarian nature of such counseling, but fail again and feel hopeless or evil or crazy. No one concludes that it is the religion itself, which is at fault. (And religious counselors often have very little training in psychology while getting exempted from standard licensing requirements.) In many seemingly secular settings, religious views are still considered ‘normal’ and even advocated in aggressive ways. In medicine and in treatment for drugs and alcohol, professionals assume that pushing religion is acceptable. Yet people struggling with RTS-related substance abuse simply cannot stomach the religious tone of Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, and get very little sympathy. In one case, a client of mine who was in a psychiatric ward because of panic attacks due to RTS told me that a doctor told her she needed to get right with God. Imagine giving parallel advice with some other kind of abuse. I also had a call from a veteran who was searching for an alternative because his counselor at the VA said he preferred working with people who believed in hell because he could get them to behave. In many ways, a person with RTS can be retraumatized again and again through minimizing and denial. This can cause regression to an earlier state of fear by triggering the phobia indoctrination. One person wrote about the unequal social status of religious abuse: If I were to say that Christianity took my childhood, filled me with fear, paralyzed me with anxiety, annihilated my Self, robbed my body of feeling, stole my future, gave me an unequal marriage role, and cost me thousands of dollars, Christians would dismiss it with ‘You were in the wrong church, you take things too seriously, or you made your choices based on your own free will’. It is no better when I talk to those raised outside of Christianity. They gently suggest that I’m over sensitive or making a big deal out of nothing or that I don’t understand who Jesus really was or that it couldn’t have been all that bad since I turned out to be such a nice person. Why is it so hard for people to understand that Christianity completely messed up my life?!?!?! If I had been discriminated against, beaten, sexually abused, traumatized by an act of violence, or raped, I would be heard. I would receive sympathy. I would be given psychological care. I would have legal recourse and protection. However, I am a trauma victim that society does not hear. RTS victims feel very alone because, except on certain online forums, there is virtually no public discourse in our society about trauma or emotional abuse due to religion. This gap was noticed by a young man who wrote to me about his YouTube deconversion series: I've been working on the 4th part, focused on trauma, for better than a month now and having a hard time with it. I've been reading a lot about trauma and finding myself amazed by how closely what we attribute to trauma and PTSD align with my experience of deconversion. No one talks about religion and trauma. Not in the scientific journals, not on trauma resources... I thought maybe I would be the only one to address it. Child Protective Services will aggressively rescue children who are physically or sexually abused, but the deep wounding and mental damage cause by religion, which can last a lifetime, does not get attention. The institutions of religion in our culture are still given a privileged place in many ways. Criticism is very difficult. Parents are given undue authority to treat their children as they wish, even though the authoritarian and patriarchal attitudes of religion, along with too much respect for the Fourth Commandment to obey parents, has resulted in harsh and violent parenting methods. Even the sexual misdeeds of the Catholic clergy have been amazingly difficult to confront. Children are treated like the property of parents or parish, and too much goes on behind closed doors. Multiple issues Space considerations prevent a full description of all the challenges a person faces over a lifetime of recovering from religious indoctrination and living in a religious environment. Cognitive problems can be serious because decision-making for oneself is difficult and critical thinking skills are undeveloped. A person healing and recovering needs to unlearn many dysfunctional ways of thinking and behaving and then rebuild. They are faced with reconstructing reality, in essence. The old assumptive world is gone and a new one must be built. A new sense of self has to be developed, and personal responsibility for life has to be accepted. The existential crisis can be enormous when one feels entirely groundless and must start over. One of my biggest problems has been the inability to trust my own intellect. I strained everyday to get rid of the old beliefs, but they never seemed to go away. I guess ultimately I’ve made my peace intellectually. I’ve been reading and learning religious history, philosophy, etc for almost a decade. But I wonder...emotionally I can’t convince myself I’m not going to hell for every little thing. Does it ever get easier? Does 20 years of intimidation, coercion, fear mongering and bigotry take just as long to disappear? Adding to the challenge is the all-too-common rejection from family and friends. For most people from a religious family, they must also reconstruct an entire social structure, while learning to view other people and the world in completely new terms. This can even require new employment. Marriages suffer when only one leaves the faith, and divorce is not uncommon. I left the church and told my family almost two years ago; they are sure I am going to hell and taking my 3 small children with me. All friends were Christians and are no longer around. My community is deeply religious, and I feel isolated and afraid. I think I need counselling, but don't know where to turn. I have been associated with the religion of my parents since birth. I am now in my fifties. If I leave openly I will be disfellowshipped and WILL lose all my family and friends. I suffer from OCD and severe depression. What should I do?...if I go, my wife will stay – I foresee nothing but grief ahead for me. In conclusion, I believe it cannot be overstated that mental health professionals need to recognize the seriousness of Religious Trauma Syndrome. Religion can and does cause great personal suffering, fractured families, and social breakdown. There are many individuals needing and deserving recognition and treatment from informed professionals. We need to let go of making religion a special case in which criticism is taboo. It is our ethical responsibility to be aware and our human obligation to be compassionate. References Beder, J (2004-2005) ‘Loss of the assumptive world – How we deal with death and loss’, Omega, 50(4), 255-265 DePrince, A.P. & Freyd, J.J. (2002) ‘The harm of trauma: Pathological fear, shattered assumptions, or betrayal?’ in J. Kauffman (Ed.) Loss of the Assumptive World (pp. 71-82), New York: Brunner-Routledge Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992) Shattered Assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma, New York: Free Press Kauffman, J. (2002) ‘Safety and the assumptive world’ in J. Kauffman (Ed.), Loss of the Assumptive World (pp. 205-211), New York: Brunner-Routledge Shermer, M. (2011) The Believing Brain, New York: Times Books Van der Kolk, B. A., McFarlane, A. C., and Van der Hart, O. (1996) ‘A general approach to treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder’ in B. Van der Kolk, A. C. McFarlane, & L. Weisaeth (Eds.), Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society (pp. 417-440), New York: Guilford. Walker, Pete. (2009) ‘Emotional flashback management in the treatment of Complex PTSD’, Psychotherapy.net |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 11:43am On Jun 03, 2020 |
Do you have your own stories of "from Religious person to irreligious" to share? You are welcome to share with all. You are also welcome to share your challenges, your fears, as well as the fears you still encounter afterwards. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Konstatin(m): 12:01pm On Jun 03, 2020 |
Quite typical of Nigerians,they use the mental construct of a villian called Satan and enemies to absolve themselves of their wrongdoings.Hence you hear statements such as ;it was the devil that made me do it. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Konstatin(m): 12:06pm On Jun 03, 2020 |
IamMichael:Well,I had a serious argument with my mom and she called me the usual names "devil's incarnate" ,"demon" etc simply because I said I didn't believe in god. I discovered that renouncing organized religion in Nigerian is akin to coming out as being gay or even higher than that. For now tho,the best option is to keep it hidden till I'm old enough to assert my authority and dominance. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 2:04pm On Jun 03, 2020 |
Konstatin:Yeah, you have to keep it to yourself. But it's hard to do because now you know better, and you know that they're being decieved. So the question becomes how to make someone see that what he has believed all his life as true is false. As much as you are tempted, desist from engaging in religious discuss with people who are Religious around you except you can vouch that such persons will not discriminate you afterwards. As for me, mum has been talking since 2014 till now... Recently, it's now normal thing. Everyone in the family takes it as a normal thing for me, and noone cares about that aspect of my life anymore cuz i have stopped giving it fuse. The embers are totally dead. It will take a totally brainwashed dimwit to cast their child aside because they didn't believe again in same Religion as you. Deep down, people care more about how they will be treated as in their social circle if they deviate, than actually deviating itself. I don't blame them because that is the life they grew up in, and everything they do revolves solely around those circles. Honestly, it is hard and frightening to imagine loosing everything and everyone you love and are familial with. But, whenever someone navigates through this and come out irreligious, it is liberating. It is one of the best feelings anyone can ever have. It will be like your eyes just opened. Suddenly, a lot of things you used to believe stops making sense because you now have a higher perspective of things. It's like there is this new curiousity that overwhelmes you, and you start following the logical explanation, and quit dismissing ordinary explanable things. Nonetheless, if your mom is calling you devils incarnate or what have you, maybe then it has to do with your character or how you relate with her as opposed to not being a churchgoer/Religious adherent. I'm just guessing here, so i may be wrong. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 2:09pm On Jun 03, 2020 |
Konstatin: As in eh. Or "it's God's will". Or "by the grace of God". Or " God willing". Keywords for personal debasement and glorification of the alleged Religious god they each ascribe to. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 12:39pm On Jun 05, 2020 |
I was locked out. I'm back, till they lock me out again. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 7:11am On Jun 06, 2020 |
I promised that this thread is for religious emancipation. In line with that, here are some hard questions you should ask yourself about your religion. Remember, you can lie to me with your answers, but you cannot lie to yourself. Write it down if you will, for future continuous review. Before we start: Do you accept you don't know everything? 1. What religion do you believe in? 2. When did you choose your faith? 3. What is your idea of what God/god looks like? 4. When exactly did your belief that there is a God/god start? 5. Why did you start believing in a God/god? 6. Was there any situation that played a role in your belief in a God/god? 7. Are you spiritual or Religious? 8. What’s the difference between being spiritual and being religious? 9. Do you think that you can be spiritual without being a member of any religious organizations? 10. Why do you go to church/mosque/worship centre? 11. What’s the best part of going to this Religious centre? 12. What benefits do you get from going to this worship centers? 13. Do you think is better for someone to follow religion on his or her own, or involve/force the family and friends, too? 14. List at least 5 misconceptions you harbour about your faith? 15. Do you know the real history of your religion/worship centre? If no, have you ever bothered to? 16) Do you think your religious book is figurative or literal? 17) What is the meaning of a prayer(s)? 18). What’s your favourite prayer? Why is it your favourite prayer? 19) How many of your prayers can you accurately say worked? 20) Would that thing you prayed about have worked even if you didn't pray about/for it? 21) Who do you think answered the prayers? How did you know who answered the prayers? 22. Have some/all your prayers not been answered? How do you feel when this happens? 23. What’s the best thing about your belief? 24. Does your belief system encourage blind faith in things you can't see? 25. Why do you believe in something you can’t see or hear from? 26. Do you have the habit of seeing everything through the eyes of your Religious Beliefs? 27. How does God and religion really help you get through tough times? |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Nobody: 1:47pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Hello @IamMichael Any findings on this dating stuff - BC, AD; on another thread someone was like 'we still in 2020, therefore the Biblical years is somewhat correct' Thanks |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 3:26pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Macsjebs:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/45510-anno-domini.html?espv=1 https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/4462775/bc-ad-dating-history/%3famp=true?espv=1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Nobody: 3:33pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
IamMichael:Thanks Boss, Will look it up, been acting lazy these days, lol |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 3:47pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Macsjebs:You are welcome. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Nobody: 3:49pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
IamMichael:Maybe when I am chanced, will research on it, I am thinking of how all countries including Muslim and atheist countries agreed on this date whose origin is linked to Christianity, there is perhaps some factual stuffs not known |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Nobody: 3:52pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Europe had always been in control of almost all parts of the world though... Their systems mostly seen as the standard to be followed by all |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:00pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Macsjebs:It was a christian that devised it from the links i posted. So, it would make sense that christians today will propagate and twist it to certify whatever line of argument they're pushing. You should read it anyway to get a more proper in-depth knowledge and make your own personal assessment form it. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:02pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Macsjebs:Exactly. First Rome...then Britain/Spain/France/Portugal/Netherland... United States of America... All Caucasian! |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by Nobody: 4:03pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
IamMichael:Yeah, thanks, looking at it from the 'European' dominance angle, same way they discontinued traditional institutions all over Europe and other parts of the world for democracy Will do more research on it Thanks |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:06pm On Jun 06, 2020 |
Macsjebs:You are welcome...  |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:47am On Jun 30, 2020 |
It's really hard to keep up with this thread when I'm constantly being banned. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:50am On Jun 30, 2020 |
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." Does it sound like anything/anyone you know? |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:52am On Jun 30, 2020 |
A growing body of social science research reveals that atheists, and non-religious people in general, are far from the unsavory beings many assume them to be. On basic questions of morality and human decency - issues such as governmental use of torture, the death penalty, punitive hitting of children, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, environmental degradation or human rights - the irreligious tend to be more ethical than their religious peers, particularly compared with those who describe themselves as very religious.Gregory. S. Paul. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:55am On Jun 30, 2020 |
George Washington. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 4:57am On Jun 30, 2020 |
It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.Thomas Jefferson. |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 5:18am On Jun 30, 2020 |
1 Like |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 7:49am On Jul 01, 2020 |
"Most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us." |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 7:51am On Jul 01, 2020 |
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| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 8:02am On Jul 01, 2020 |
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| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 8:04am On Jul 01, 2020 |
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| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 8:07am On Jul 01, 2020 |
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| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 8:13am On Jul 01, 2020 |
"Because here's something else that's weird but true: in the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness." |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 12:58pm On Jul 02, 2020 |
Religious people need their places of worship to reaffirm themselves of their Belief's. Non-religious persons simply know they're humans. They don't need anything to reassure themselves they're human or fantasize about some Disneyland wonderland after death where everywhere is built with gold and flowing with milk and honey. 1 Like |
| Re: A Thread For The Mental Emancipation Of Indoctrinated Religious Adherents by IamMichael(op): 12:22pm On Jul 06, 2020 |
"That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." |
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