God is an Excuse

[mrwinkie1330]

I was a Catholic my whole life, up until about 2ish months ago...  I first started thinking atheist quotes were funny, then I doubted religion, then I was a "closet" atheist...  Now I'm open to everyone but my immediate family.

The main problem I have here is that most people are atheists because god doesn't make sense and all that.  The interesting thing I see, is that life is more fulfilling as an atheist... Religious people are allowing themselves to be deluded.  They use god as an excuse for their accomplishments and mistakes.  They talk to an imaginary being for comfort.  It really just shows a huge lack of self confidence and accountability.

If I do something wrong, it was me.. I can accept it without "God" telling me it's okay.

If I do something good, such as have a strong performance with my violin... It was because of my determination... Not "God's" gifts.

If I am upset about something.. I think logically..  I don't need imaginary friends.

Basically.. Life makes more sense. There is no ambiguity.

Does anyone else see religion only as a ridiculous excuse for incompetence or ignorance?

[MommaSquid]

.... Does anyone else see religion only as a ridiculous excuse for incompetence or ignorance?

Absolutely.  Religion is a crutch--and an excuse for so many things.

[Kona]

Many here, I'm sure, would agree with your assessment.  I think there are many more 'closet' atheists out there than would admit it.  They may think they have some sort of concept of god and an after life of some sort, but they live their lives with very little acknowledgment of their own atheism.  In all of the polls I've seen, 90% of the people in this country profess some sort of theistic belief, but I bet if you pressed them on it you could easily drop that number to 50%.  Biggest reason for belief:  the world seems to appear designed, therefore there is a designer.  Is it any wonder that they are such easy prey for the evangelicals and other religions when this is the depth of their reasoning skills?

[SteveS]

Hey mrwinkie - yes, I agree with you.  I think "lack of self confidence" motivates many a poor human decision.  And lack of accountability is behind many a human injustice.

I do agree that religion is a crutch, and I'm happy to walk unassisted!

[tacoma_kyle]

Agree.

You know that 'rational' that some use, where they say 'I'd rather believe in a god who isnt real and just die, than disbelieve in a god that turned to be real and burn for infinity.'

It is a perfect example of self-confidence. Errr lack of.

[shoruke]

One of my favorite examples for butchering people (christians) is parallel examples.

So, there's a five year old kid with no real friends, but several imaginary friends. A psychologist examines him and deduces, "he invented some friends to keep himself company, so to speak."

So, there's a fifty year old person with no self-confidence, but he does have a god. I (a seventeen-year-old) examine him and deduce, "he has no confidence, so he blames everything on god."


Is this not valid? The same way that kids need imaginary friends, theists need god.

[susangail]

.... Does anyone else see religion only as a ridiculous excuse for incompetence or ignorance?

Absolutely.  Religion is a crutch--and an excuse for so many things.

Yes. I agree. It's an excuse; a crutch. And religious people know it in the back of their mind (as a recent de-convert, I speak from experience) but their belief system often has rules or explanations that counter their doubts (Christianity esp.) Such as: when you accomplish something great, it's God's accomplishment because He created the world and gave you that gift that allowed you to accomplish that. Don't be prideful. I was an excuse master. That's one of the main reasons I stayed in the church so long.

When I was a Christian, I was once called a coward by an atheist. I totally didn't get it at first. I didn't want to get it. I made myself stop thinking about it. I devoured the thought in Scripture and prayer. I even joked about it in my church small groups. But I knew he (the atheist) was right. But I didn't think I could live without my comforting friend. Death didn't scare me at all because I 'knew' what happened after. I believed the lie that atheists and all others without God and Jesus could never truly be happy and feared death. Well now, I personally am happier than I was before. I fear death even less than before because what is there to fear? Nothing. Religious people are cowards that can't live without their crutch. But if that's how they want to live, they can have fun with that. I'm glad to be rid of it.