I went to church tonight and...

[tymygy]

So my best friend asked me to go church for the first time in a long time tonight, so I did.

And I was amazed at what I never realized...

The scare tactics the church throws into the faces of little kids is amazing. They play as if god is a loving god that just wants a relationship with you, but then.. "IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS YOU WILL BURN IN HELL" its sick, truly sick. Children and adults alike should not be fed these lies that just degrade a persons peersonality and lifestyle.

We need to focus on bettering our species as a whole and end the religous who kill, hate and destroy those who don't believe what they believe.

 :shake:  

[lundberg500]

You have witnessed, first hand, one of the most horrible things ever that could be done to a child. The church has been using this threat of hell for almost 2,000 years now. It's their way of maintaining hold and power over credulous people so these people will need the church for their salvation. They prey upon the children first with these horrible threats. It's, of course, worse when the parents of these children back the preachers up by confirming the existence of hell.  The threat of hell is something the church should be ashamed of. So many people were taught this concept as children and it sticks with them through their adult years. At such a young age, children aren't able to rationalize or challenge the validity of what is being told to them by adults that they trust. The church pressures these children into believing in Jesus or burning in hell. If they accept Jesus then they get to go to heaven with infinite happiness. If they reject Jesus then they get to burn in hell. How many impressionable young children could possibly refuse this offer of heaven over hell?

Freedom is found by becoming an atheist and learning for yourself all there is to know about religion. Since I became an atheist, I have truly realized that the concepts of heaven and hell are the most ridiculous ideas ever created by man. The more you learn about religion, the less and less you believe in supernatural concepts such as heaven and hell. It's things like the threat of hell that make me sooooo happy that I became an atheist and gained sound knowledge about the world around me.

I'm curious, are you agnostic or atheist , or perhaps still consider yourself a Christian? Why did you agree to go to church with this friend? I am curious because I have found myself in a similar position. My best friend is a devout Christian and he has no idea that I am an atheist. I have learned that it is best not to talk about religion with good friends if you can avoid it. But, he would never invite me to church. If he ever did then we would definitely have a discussion on religion at that point and I would have to tell him that I am an atheist. Our friendship is pretty strong so I don't believe that religion would create any problems, I would hope. There just hasn't been any reason, so far, to discuss religion with him.

[pinkocommie]

The fact that a lot of churches tend to separate parents from kids bothers me.  The kids go to some basement where they are indoctrinated with bright colors, puppets and fun activities while the parents go upstairs and enjoy their proper, adult indoctrination.  I have had people, my sister included, invite me and my son to church and it's always the same issue that pops up - if they won't let me and my son stay together, there is no way I'll even entertain the idea of going.  While it's entirely possible that he would have a fun time and not feel uncomfortable or scared, I would hate to willingly thrust the kid into a situation where he was alone and being pressured and made to feel uncomfortable.  And, even though every religious person I've talked to about the subject insists that their church would never do this, more and more I feel like they might not even be aware of it themselves since they're willingly into the whole scene to begin with.

[tymygy]

I'm curious, are you agnostic or atheist , or perhaps still consider yourself a Christian? Why did you agree to go to church with this friend?.

My friend does not know my religious views either.

Thats why he asked, thats why I agreed.

This video shows the true way to raise a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw8Ewa2iBPY

[lundberg500]

Seriously, if my friend ever asked me to attend church with him that would be it. I would HAVE to reveal my atheism to him. What if this friend keeps asking you to go to church with him? Would you put yourself through something like that over and over again? Doesn't it bug you that this friend thinks that you believe in all the same nonsense that he and all other Christians believe in? In my own way, I have made it obvious, without telling my friend so, that I am not a religious person. There have been times when he has prayed with others in my company and I sit there with my head up making it obvious that I am not doing what they are doing. He has made comments before about Jesus and I just act like I didn't hear him and ignore what he said. We have never discussed religion but I would never have him think that I believe in anything Christian. It doesn't bug you that your friend believes that you are a faithful Christian when you are not?

[tymygy]

Seriously, if my friend ever asked me to attend church with him that would be it. I would HAVE to reveal my atheism to him. What if this friend keeps asking you to go to church with him? Would you put yourself through something like that over and over again? Doesn't it bug you that this friend thinks that you believe in all the same nonsense that he and all other Christians believe in? In my own way, I have made it obvious, without telling my friend so, that I am not a religious person. There have been times when he has prayed with others in my company and I sit there with my head up making it obvious that I am not doing what they are doing. He has made comments before about Jesus and I just act like I didn't hear him and ignore what he said. We have never discussed religion but I would never have him think that I believe in anything Christian. It doesn't bug you that your friend believes that you are a faithful Christian when you are not?

its not actually to that point. He asked me to go once, if he asks again, I would have to respectfully dissagree.

But he isn't an uptight christian like your friends seem to be. He doesn't pray in public, he doesn't act like a perfect little jesus follower. He just wanted to share his faith with me, probably because of what some preacher told him to do. The main reason why I went other than him asking was, I didn't really remember much of what the preachers said, so I wanted to share with HAF what they did.

I knew it was going to be bad before they opened their mouths.

[maninorange]

I've made sure to make it clear what my religious views are whenever such and issue arises.  Oh, I go to church.  I even take notes =)  but don't expect me to go to any praise music sessions and enjoy it like it's a concert.  Even when friends invite me to church or ask me a question that's god related, I'll make sure to construct my response in a manner that's polite, but clearly indicative of my beliefs - or lack thereof.

I'm sorry you had to experience that.  I've grown numb to it.  Fortunately I can at least influence those closest to me.

[ScaryBadReligion]

I've found that church leaders get very defensive whenever you mention any sort of "age of consent" for religion. Why? Because children are the next generation of hosts for the parasite.

[tymygy]

I've found that church leaders get very defensive whenever you mention any sort of "age of consent" for religion. Why? Because children are the next generation of hosts for the parasite.

They also believe we are part to be the cause of the new world order. Which is absolutelly insane.

Kent Hovind was the king of crazy, and he told how we are spraying poisons in our crops, our vaccines, and UFO's are satan spaceship to get around really fast...

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I've found that church leaders get very defensive whenever you mention any sort of "age of consent" for religion. Why? Because children are the next generation of hosts for the parasite.

They also believe we are part to be the cause of the new world order. Which is absolutelly insane.

Kent Hovind was the king of crazy, and he told how we are spraying poisons in our crops, our vaccines, and UFO's are satan spaceship to get around really fast...

 

He also preached the unneccessity of paying taxes, but a Higher Power showed him otherwise.

[tymygy]

I've found that church leaders get very defensive whenever you mention any sort of "age of consent" for religion. Why? Because children are the next generation of hosts for the parasite.

They also believe we are part to be the cause of the new world order. Which is absolutelly insane.

Kent Hovind was the king of crazy, and he told how we are spraying poisons in our crops, our vaccines, and UFO's are satan spaceship to get around really fast...

 

[lundberg500]

Well, my Christian best friend that I have known for years knows I am an atheist now. The other night when we went out he just asked me out of the blue. He said "so what are your thoughts on religion?" That led us into a very lengthy conversation about religion and how different we are, in that respect. I let him know that this was a conversation that I had been dreading to have with him because I am fully aware of him being Christian. I was very honest about my atheism and made it known that it was something I take seriously. We both agreed that we value the friendship and don't want to ruin anything with a theological argument so we kept it cordial. It went rather well and he understood that I was never going to see things the way he does. Having this discussion with someone you care about can be  a little stressful.

[DropLogic]

Well, my Christian best friend that I have known for years knows I am an atheist now. The other night when we went out he just asked me out of the blue. He said "so what are your thoughts on religion?" That led us into a very lengthy conversation about religion and how different we are, in that respect. I let him know that this was a conversation that I had been dreading to have with him because I am fully aware of him being Christian. I was very honest about my atheism and made it known that it was something I take seriously. We both agreed that we value the friendship and don't want to ruin anything with a theological argument so we kept it cordial. It went rather well and he understood that I was never going to see things the way he does. Having this discussion with someone you care about can be  a little stressful.

About 18 months ago I was having a conversation about religion with my then friend Anna at work.  She got visibly upset when I told her I didn't believe in god or go to any church.  She is a NEC (new earth creationist), and the things that came out of her mouth as arguments to my points were beyond ridiculous.  For every point I made, she had a bible quote ready to "refute" it.  I explained how flawed each of her arguments was, but it didn't seem to matter.  They are so brainwashed that the bible is the only book that has answers.  It's nuts because otherwise she's a perfectly intelligent and rational credit analyst.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, my Christian best friend that I have known for years knows I am an atheist now. The other night when we went out he just asked me out of the blue. He said "so what are your thoughts on religion?" That led us into a very lengthy conversation about religion and how different we are, in that respect. I let him know that this was a conversation that I had been dreading to have with him because I am fully aware of him being Christian. I was very honest about my atheism and made it known that it was something I take seriously. We both agreed that we value the friendship and don't want to ruin anything with a theological argument so we kept it cordial. It went rather well and he understood that I was never going to see things the way he does. Having this discussion with someone you care about can be  a little stressful.

It sounds like you guys have your priorities ordered correctly.  So long as that remains the same, you can have many long years of friendship.

[ElizabethPeart]

Now i must confess that at one time I had a part in this very indoctrination of children, as I was at one point a Sunday school assistant. One of the things I notice looking back is that, as you mention, it's about the pretty colors and the 'Love of God' stories and the hellfire, hatred and other nasty aspects were simply sneaked in once they'd been sucked into the whole thing.