₦airaland Forum

Beey:
Depression is actually caused by a hormonal imbalance in the brain where hormones like serotonin that affect the mood are low.Just like diabetics need insulin, depressed patients need antidepressants. Depression cannot just be wished away. It’s real.

This is not completely true. Science does not know the actual cause of depression. The reason it is difficult to treat with medication.

Antidepressants are band-aids you continue to depend on them without really getting cured. Even when you do get cured you're prone to having a relapse when you're faced with the same situation which caused it in the first instance.

The hormonal imbalance you talked about is the effect of something they did not reach you in medical school.

If you want to put out a fire you don't blow at the smoke.

petra1:
Demons are responsible for suicide and depression



I do cast them out of people

How do know those who are depressed and how do you determine they have been cured after Prayer?

What are the symptoms of depression?

FOLYKAZE:
Help dying souls

Just a token now. Please keep my identity to yourself

petra1:
ITS THE WORK OF DEMONS!!

How do you know it is demons?

Have you been depressed before?

Contrary to what most people think or say, depression is not real .

I have experienced it before and came out of it without any form of medication.

You experience depression when you continually think to yourself that the problem you're going through will not end or has no solution .

However, if during this period you can force yourself to think or look around , you will find that there are others who are also going through the same negative experience as you, but are able to manage it or have found a solution to that same problem you erroneously believe has no solution.

The man who just committed suicide,in my opinion had no valid reason for doing so . Millions if not billions went through the same situation and people have not been commiting suicide because of this.

But he should not be entirely blamed or called a weakling .I think he didn't know what to do or how to handled the situation .He did not reach out to anyone and nobody bothered to check on him.He has not found himself in this kind of situation before and he didn't know what to do.

Please try to reach out to your friends and families especially when you have not heard from any of them for an unusually long time.

A person who is experiencing depression usually withdraws to himself since he falsely believes through wrong thinking that nobody can solve his problem or there's no solution and may not want to bother anyone.

And finally, don't hide your problems or think nobody cares.You can never tell where the solution might come from.Suicide is not a solution to life challenges

So here is my reasons or story for leaving and not wanting to associate with any religious group or movement ever again.

But before I do so, I would like to share a parallel story which exactly described how I felt when I got exposed to the real truth about the religious group I was part of then.

My colleague in the office where I am currently working told me an interesting story of what happened two years ago when she took two of her sons to attend a father Christmas show that was put together by the management of the school her children are currently attending.

On the day of the event, they left home early enough and arrived at the school before the time fixed for the show to start. And as she and sons waited for things to get going, one of the boys excused himself to make use of the toilet.

On his way to the toilet, which was some walk from the hall they have been waiting, the boy's attention was suddenly drawn to some activity going on in one of the classrooms block. So he looked through the window and was shocked, confused and surprised to see one of his classroom teachers putting on the father Christmas costume. Not wanting the teacher to see him, he quickly moved away and continued to the toilet. After he was done, he went to meet with his mum and his other sibling.

The mother said she immediately noticed her child's mood has dramatically changed and she tried to find out what was the problem.
And when she asked "what's problem with you "
The child angrily blurted out " I don't want to see father Christmas again"

" Why" the mother asked in confusion.
Still angry, the boy replied " I saw my teacher wearing the father Christmas clothes .He is not from Australia."
At this point ,she said she then fully understood her son"s disappointment.

Before now, in order to build excitement for the kids ,the school management has been announcing that father Christmas is coming from Australia and asking them to tell their parents to pay the required fee to enable them visit him in his grotto and collect exciting gifts.

The children believed this story and each day would remind their mum to pay so they could attend.

Now they are attending but before they could see him one of the boy's just discovered the truth, father Christmas is not from Australia but thier classroom teacher.
He no longer wants to see him and he is no more interested in collecting any gifts.
Nothing the mum said could make him change his mind .

And so, just like this child who suddenly stumbled on the truth about father Christmas and decided not to partake in the show anymore and also not to collect any gift, I had also decided long ago not to ever associate with any religious group or related due to what I discovered about them.
What did I discovered?
I will modify and come back to complete my own story

kingxsamz:
Everyone has the ability to reason. When you grow older, you begin to ask certain questions, and when you aren't getting any reasonable answer to those questions, the whole thing begins to unravel.
What do you do when you realize you've been told a lie all your life?

What made you or how did you realize you have been fed with lies all along?
I don't intend to drag this further with you.I would respond to the op later with my own experience..

I believe the purpose of this thread is for non religious persons to share their deconvertion stories to enable others understand the actual reason or reasons they left.

I believe this would clear certain misconceptions some religious persons hold against those who have abandoned their Faith.

You know when someone is in the dark about something, the usual tendency is to come up with all sorts of illogical speculations to explain what they really don't understand.

For instance,a religious person would say the reason you started to question your belief was because you were possessed by the devil and quote a Bible verse to support this.

So tell us what led to you questioning your Faith.

Bacteriologist has already done that and I enjoyed reading his story.

I already promised mine but at the moment I have a seminar to attend in less than an hour's time .Will be back later with it

kingxsamz:
How was what possible?

You said something without explaining what led to it.

Is it possible for a religious person to suddenly start applying logic to everything without any reason for it?

Jman06:
When I started thinking critically about the fairytale in the bible, it dawned on me that they were all balderdash.

Like how am I supposed to worship a god that receives thanksgiving from some people after surviving a mishap in which others perished

What made you to start thinking?

kingxsamz:
The day I started applying logic to everything.
Something that religion is devoid of.

How was this possible?

Righteousness89:
When has sex become your Trophy?

Sex outside Marriage is Fornication! It is evil! It is Wrong! It's sin against GOD!
You don't justify or modify sin!

If sex is the paramount stuff in your life Ho and marry!

Be Fruitful and Multiply is GOD'S Blessings for Married Couples

May GOD Have Mercy on you!

You won't say you don't know the truth!

Garbage in garbage out.

You cannot answer a simple question but to rant emotionally.

How do you know I am not married?

This is how religious fanactics like you put unnecessary pressure on people ,especially young ladies who most times end up not getting married , to get married simply to have sex.And when they don't they either have spirit husbands or need deliverance from ancestral spirit.Not everyone will get married and that is a fact.

Moreover, an adult does not need anyone's approval or permission to have sex.

If your religion says otherwise ,I can understand and respect what you believe .But the reality is that normal people (adults) will have sex if they have a need for it.

Don't cry over this

alBHAGDADI:
When someone cannot hold an argument, they tend to make accusations against you. You are blind to the truth. I pray God saves you.

You have not before now responded to anything I have said.How come the argument ?

I said you're a potential rapist and the evidence is there in the op.Anyone who cannot see this, is as blind as you are.

You need the God saving more

alBHAGDADI:
I mentioned instances where despite dressed like a masquerade, some ladies still get raped. Demon possessed people don't need to see indecency before they rape. Also, note that some rape are ritual inclined. That should explain why babies are raped, even mad women. Asides that, mental disorder which is also demon possession causes a man to see himself as a pedophile only aroused by babies.

So, dress code is not the only reason for rape, but one of the reasons which must be addressed to avoid being a rape victim.

Dressing or dress code as you put it is not a reason for anyone to be raped.

There are lots of societies where women go almost naked and the men there don't even attempt to rape them.

If you go to some villages here in Nigeria you still find young ladies going about without little clothing on without anyone bothering how they dress or attempt to rape them. Why is this so?

It's your religious indoctrination that has blinded your from seeing that how a lady dress is not the problem.

I have gone through your op over and over again and all I can see is you presenting yourself as a potential rapist.
Yes. Go through the op and read you saying that a lady who mistakenly exposes her thighs can be raped by anyone and you are not exempt from it.

My friend you are sick and you need professional help

Righteousness89:
Irrespective of whoever does it! Be you a pastor, Doctor or whoever, it is sin!

When you see GOD U Ask Him your second question!

You have not even answered my first question.
You skipped it.

I am asking you again. When and how can those who cannot get married due to no fault of theirs have sex?

Is it not a sin if they don'tuse their God given "talents" ?
The Bible says be fruitful and multiply and you can only do this by having sex when you are ready as an adult.

So how can Christians obey this injunction if some of them may never get married?

Righteousness89:
Sex outside Marriage is Fornication! It is sin against GOD ALMIGHTY And against your body!

If you put your eyes down and look around your congregation you would find that most of them were products of fornication.

Is God angry with those children born out of wedlock? Is he going to throw those children into hell fire with the parents who produce them from fornication?

Righteousness89:
Marriage is made for a man and Woman to ravish and enjoy themselves!

The styles you desire to ravish your wife is your concern.
Everything u do should be done to glorify GOD!

Taking your wife through the anus is unnatural and ungodly!

Apart from that, Enjoy your wife/ Husbands!

Unmarried should not have sex?

There are lots of people who may end up not getting married even when they desperately want to. So this group of persons should not have sex? And wait till when they get to heaven?

alBHAGDADI:
He humbles her by taking away her pride which is her virginity.

Lay hold is not force not cannot be equated with rape. it is simply to hold on to something.

1 Timothy 6:12 KjV
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Your problem is poor education. You do not know that the context in which a word is used is what actually determines its true meaning.
Your understanding of the English language is very poor.

Dtruthspeaker:
I have answered it before (with other persons) and now you have also helped me answer as Code Templar answered even just yesterday, Saturday the 30th May.

If he can not blame Toyota as You have Said, he can not blame God!

That's what he ought to teach his children, which is also summarised in the words called Taking Responsibility and Liability or Praise for All your Actions and Inactions!

Curiously Responsibility comes from Response-Able meaning Able To Respond!

Then we don't need God at all.

Let everyone take responsibility for what they do.
. We should not involve God in anything that we do.

Because when we buy a Toyota car from a car dealer, the manufacturers don't get involved or try to monitor how will use the car everyday

Now since this is the case,why are we worried about God.We is it difficult to take responsibility for our actions without involving God punishing us or not.

If you buy a Toyota car and damge it in an accident through reckless driving, the car dealer or manufacturer will not stop you from buying a new one.In fact they are happy that you come again and again to buy from them

So you see, your Toyota analogy does not fit
The question has an answer but you cannot accept it because it is not within the scope of your current religious point of view

nairalandankrah:
you rather you were a robot or a lower animal?programmed like a zombie?
we are given choices, and we will be held accountable for the type of choices we have made ..whether good or bad.
if you make good choices, fine. if you make bad choices you will not go unrewarded..

Then you don't get it.

Why should God take it upon himself to punish us when we can suffer the consequences of our actions from the choices we make.
Please read the op again and get the point

As humans when we create a defected product we destroy it because we already know what will happen

TheSourcerer:
Imagine and I'm sure she must have called the name of God multiple times with faith beyond measure but still the deed was done , hope the perpetrators get arrested soon , who am I kidding , are autopsies on raped dead victims even carried out?




You still be thinking you are special o and God will come to your aid when you need him because you are special or because you dey read Bible.

Some of you are just heartless.

If she did not call on God those it mean the rapist would have left her alone?

Dtruthspeaker:
Op, how is that after all these years, you still did not know the answer and you could not teach your child the same?

Courtesy Code Templar
"Blaming God for suffering (your sins) will be like a man who buys a brand new Toyota Camry, fuels it with acid and pepper against Toyota's instruction, then blames Toyota for the break down of the vehicle."

We have all answered this question before!

No. You have not answered it before.

Only a mad man will act the way you
have decribed and when that happens you cannot blame Toyota.

nairalandankrah:
your answer is simple.. he created man with the power of choice...man wasn't created as a robot

Created with the power of choice?
Then why should we be punished for exercising this God given choice?

Your daughter is very clever. Please protect her from church people before they start calling her possessed or she needs Deliverance.

[quote author=kushe post=90153208][/quote]I understand you

But you forget that to be listed in the Forbes billionaire list , your total net worth at the current time is what is calculated.

So if you give all that you make from your business venture how then do you become a billionaire?

Don't also forget that this is a faith based question and it seems you have missed it.

By faith all Christians are billionaires because it is believe that actual wealth resides with God and not what you do.

A Christian is not suppose to be a billionaire whether through the cutting of corners or hard work

To become a billionaire or be regarded as one you need to hoard wealth.

And it is difficult to hoard wealth when you have lots of poor people around you

Also a billionaire seeks security from his wealth instead of God.

It is due to the above reasons Jesus told the rich Man to sell all his property and give to the poor .

But the rich man was unablet do so because he trusted more in his wealth which he can see than in a God he cannot see and wasn't ready to let go of what gives him security.

And so according to the Bible, it is easier for a camel ..................

IamMichael:

I get your point bro, honestly i do.

But, when you look at the things/traits i listed, it has more to do with personality than religion. I discuss about religion with a lot of people offline, and they don't get angry over it or start displaying childish stunts just because of mere discuss.

Those that do not know what next to say usually tell me that i need Jesus in my life, and other funny things like that, and life goes on.
Some will outrightly tell me that i want to confuse them, and so request that we should cease the discuss.
Some get angry, but I usually used the self-guilt trick of "why are you getting angry over a mere religious discuss?".

Ever since I stopped being religious, i realised that you cannot argue with a religious person, you just discuss it with them seeing as religious beliefs cannot be proved from now till eternity because if you read well enough, you must understand how and why Religious beliefs came up...at least to an extent.

But, when you come here, it's a different thing altogether. They take it too serious, and that is very dangerous.
One thing I have seen is that they don't know difference between facts and opinions. They portray opinions as facts, and when you take any of them up, trust me, you must surely see them displaying some of the trait's i listed above.

Offline people would react to your religious arguments with civility for a number of reasons.

Respect for your person due to friendship, they depend on you financially, they want to pretend to be well educated and so on.

But Nairaland is a different arena. Nobody knows you personally and due to internet disinhibition, anything can thrown at you since people can hide under the anonymousity of the forum.

This should not bother you because a religious person, just like a football, fan is usually passionate about defending his "favourite" religion.

And would come up with whatever kind of argument or stories no matter how improbable it may seem to defend their religion.


Religious people are not concerned with verifiable facts or the real truth of the matter but are more concerned with what they have been made to accept as truth.This is what they defend.

If you think you know the truth, stick with it some persons might be helped by it without you knowing it.

@Iammichael

In your other thread you said you were once a religious person before you became an atheist

If that is true, then why are you surprised that people you were once like are acting irrationally

I rather you focused on your mission of trying to free their minds from religious indoctrination instead of what you're trying to do now. It doesn't help help you in anyway
Instead it would make your task more difficult.

People will continue to say and do things based on what they know and cannot change until they know better.
This is the truth of the matter and I don't expect you not to know this.

Do the Job you have assigned to yourself without complaining or getting distracted

9jawear:
Let me give you a scenario , you live in a house and you are consistently attacked spiritually and health wise by people who do it repeatedly and before they sleep and wake up in the night and morning, they pray for forgiveness and blessings and they don't commit petty sins, they repeatedly commit sins of harming plants,animals, human beings with sickness. They destroy plants that the creator created to heal the sick. They project telepathic attacks repeatedly to their victims, they refuse to even adhere to instructions in their religious books to make peace in a communicable language that is understandable by all. What if the same people also in secret engage in witchcraft and still claim Christianity.
What do Christians have to say about this. Or is the entire concept of Christianity a ploy to dominate others and suppress their rights.

Now I know why some tribes hate a particular race and group of people.

You have described the Nigerian version of Christianity practiced by "pento--rascal" Christians.

According to them,once you give your life to Christ,all your sins are forgiving including the ones you will commit later because the price has been paid already by Jesus on the cross.

Hence they are at liberty to do all the things you've mentioned above without remorse.

At a time ,due to pressures from family and some friends,I decided to play along by attending church but after some time I could not take it anymore.

I am never comfortable in the midst of hypocrites. It's better to be yourself than to pretend who you're not.

I don't judge or condemn anyone for what they choose to do with thier lives But I don't want to be decieved by who you pretend to be.

Don't preach about the love of God to me when you have enemies everywhere

petra1:
Tell that to jesus . Leapers were in isolation in the bible days also.

And during Jesus time orthodox medicine was the same as it is now?

Would also like to know an instance in the Bible where Jesus attempted to break protocol in order to force himself into an isolation center to heal lepers

Anyone going to an isolation centre to pray for quarantined patient is not only ignorant but also behaving irresponsibly.

There is a reason that place is called an isolation centre

If you're not a medical personel or have been quarantined due to the virus, then you're expected to stay clear of that environment so that you don't pick up the virus in anyway and after leaving there spread it among innocent victims

People should learn to apply common sense while trying to exercise faith.

This post is not a substitute for medical help. If you ever start to experience symptoms such as those associated with the covid 19 virus or you feel overwhelmed by stress, please don't hesitate to reach out to those who have been mandated to help you at this time. Also, this has nothing to do with any religion The topic is centered on the psychological and physiological benefits of prayer or meditation during times of stress.

The current pandemic has thrown up several stressful situations. And with the numbers of those getting infected increasing daily, those who have come to accept the reality of the virus ,are beginning to worry about the prospect of getting infected and being forced to the isolation where the only guarantee cure is one's immune system.

Hence alot of persons have been consuming all sorts of herbal remedies promoted as immune boosters.Nothing wrong with this. But what is not being emphasised are things we should be doing mentally to stay calm so as to also boost our immunity.

Constant worry or fear can result in chronic stress and chronic stress has a crippling effect one the activities of the mind which not only results in irrational behavior but also can compromise one's immune response to such an extent that no matter what herbal remedies we consume, in a short time, it's back to square one. We're not helped . And we continue to overdose on herbal boosters (garlic, ginger, black seeds oil etc). Overconsumption of these can have adverse effect on one's health.

And also, once the immune system is compromised , one becomes highly vulnerable to viral illnesses and it would take a longer time to recover if infected.

To avoid this from happening to us we need to find a way to manage anxiety or fear.


One of the most reliable ways to deal with stress which is supported by current scientific studies,is prayer or meditation.These activities when engaged in, can help one to deal with negative situations that results in chronic stress.

Science and prayer?

Yes. There's the science of how prayer or meditation results in certain effects in our body

When someone is fully engrossed in prayer or meditation,. Certain parts of the brain are triggered and relaxed at the same time.. This can be observed using magnetic image resonance machine (MRI) which shows detailed anatomical pictures.

And as one continues to pray or meditate, the desire to take action or be put in "the fight or flight mode" , is greatly reduced due to the relaxation of the back part of the brain, the posterior cigulate cortex which is the part that pressures us into taking action. With the back part relaxed, the reflective area of our brain,. the medial prefrontal cortex, is then fully focused in thinking

The association between deep reflective states and a relaxation of the pressure to take action helps alot in staying calm during periods of stress or anxiety.


Whenever I am agitated and it becomes difficult for me to stay calm down, I immediately remember to meditate. And once I do so, my mind starts to calm down, and I am then able to focus and handle things from a more expansive perspective thereby dealing with the situation more rationally

We also know that some religious persons after prayer, says God or the holy spirit spoke to them of what to do about a particular situation or problem. Science says the reason for this, is simply due to the mechanism which exist in certain parts of the brain.

Whether this explains it all, is left for the individual to decide.. Well, for me , I think there is still much more to know.

Another important reason why it is good to pray or meditate during this period, is the effect it has on our immune response

Constants worry results in the over production of certain hormones in the body which weakens ones immunity. When adrenaline floods the body, the immune system is compromised which then makes one vulnerable to viral infection and illnesses.

Also too much stress increases one's cortisol level, the stress hormone.. This hormone decreases the body's white blood cell that helps to fight off infection.

Our body's response to stress is automatic or programmed from childhood.So trying to use will power to cope with stress will only result in the build up of tension in the body which worsen the situation Moreover,anti--depressants only act as band-aid

Prayer or meditation is the better way

When we pray or meditate, our brain releases certain feel good hormones into the body. Oxytocin, also know as the love hormone, can results in good feelings despite stressful situations happening around us

There was a time I visited one of my cousins who is a pastor. When I got to his house and was let into the parlour by his wife, I had to wait to see him because he was in his bedroom praying. And when he came out later to meet me, the first thing he said was "prayer is like making love. I feel so good'!



I know alot of religious persons experiences what is call the presence of the holy spirit which results extremely good feelings. But science says it is due to the release of feel good hormones in the brain.

Whatever the explanation, the fact remains that prayer or meditation results in good feelings. And when we're are feeling good we can cope with stress.

Finally, prayer or meditation, results in beneficial physiological changes, such as a reduced blood pressure, slow breathing, slow brain activity.

Since prayer or meditation takes our attention from the fight or flight mode, we can stay calm at all times.

Moreover, when an individual prays, during periods of stress, attention is shifted to something outside, God or gods, This causes the mind to experience a pyschological release from whatever anxiety which plagues it, thus giving us the freedom to act with calmness or no fear


So we can know see, that regular practice of prayer or meditations certainly help.

Even though the research on all these is at it's infancy,there is still much to suggest that prayer or meditation has salutary effect on the mind and body.

A strong immune system is the only thing we can rely on right now since there is no vaccine or cure . If ones immunity is compromised, it becomes very easy to be infected by viruses and once infected it may take a longer time to recover. So do please find time to meditate or pray. It has nothing to do with any religion. Anyone can pray or meditate. Before the advent of any religion, our forebears instinctively used prayer, as an imaginative means to cope with stress which came from the very harsh environment they found themselves.

What started as a primitive practice can still help the modern man to deal with stress

Stay safe Observe all the necessary protocols, washing of hands, social distancing and wearing of face mask . We shall overcome and things we become normal again.