Atheists and Anger...

by new hope and happiness 27 Replies latest social current

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  Qcmbr

  I am many things and depending on circumstance each of those personality bits and pieces come to the fore. When I'm discussing religion , depending on context, I either reveal my atheist side ('I do not believe in god') or my anti-theist side ('I do not accept concept <x> because...'). Sometimes the topic under discussion / situation lends itself to various emotions and since I have left mormonism I no longer feel a salesman's duty to suppress emotional states for the religion's sake, in fact , as part of my new found authentic identify I accept natural states and try to use them rather than suppress them. When I feel anger (or disgust etc.) I can normally trace it to an indignation with a moral scenario (injustice, bullying etc..) and I now accept that anger can be 'righteous' and dare I say it - hate can also have a place. I am happy to own my hatred of concepts that once I had to incorporate into my mormon identity (patriarchalism and sometime disregard for life for example.)

  tl:dr Sometimes I am an angry anti-theist; sometimes I am a joyful atheist. For everything there is a season.
• 

  bemused

  More frustrated than angry.

  Sometimes I wonder why it is not obvious to everyone that religions made up explanations for things that were not understood at the time (earthquakes, volcanoes, mental illness etc). When these things have subsequently been explained, why do people cling to the false beliefs (e.g. young earth creationist)? Why do some people think that the human race is special in a universe of at least 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars?

  Then I see newspaper reports claiming that people with faith are happier than those without. That really makes me fed up.
• 

  Phizzy

  " Then I see newspaper reports claiming that people with faith are happier than those without. That really makes me fed up."

  Don't believe much that you read in the Newspaper, my own experience, my own observations of the religious, and the many personal Testimonies here on JWN are pretty convincing support for my firmly held conviction that nearly eveybody would be happier without Religion, or belief in "god".

  As to anger, I rarely get angry at anything, but I do get riled up at the WT/JW "religion" and their terrible treatment of past, present and future victims of Paedophilia.
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  Simon

  It's sad and frustrating to see people get so caught up and what are simply works of fiction to the point that they want to kill each other.

  We like to think we're super intelligent as a species but it's almost like The Time Machine where there will be two branches of humanity - the thinkers and the thugs. It is possible to switch between them, all it needs is a working brain or an open bible.

  Yeah, I'd say I'm an angry atheist - I hate when people impose their selfish beliefs on other people whatever the situation. Whether it's because if religion or some careless driver cripppling an innocent stranger, how can anyone not be outraged at injustice?

  What right does anyone have to try and ruin someone elses life or make their life less enjoyable than it otherwise could be?

  We're both the most intelligent species on the planet and the most selfish and stupid, but with flashes of brilliance.

  If anger is the wrong word, we should call it "righteous indignation" ... that will confuse theists if nothing else.
• 

  punkofnice

  Then I see newspaper reports claiming that people with faith are happier than those without. That really makes me fed up.

  We need to decide if we want to go along with false hope or reality.

  False hope of a magic man in the sky making things better is a wonderful feeling for sure but reality is at least honest.
• 

  bemused

  Punk - agreed. You can't just believe when you don't (at least I can't).

  Actually I'm pretty happy. Would I be even happier if I truly believed that I would be resurrected and would live forever in paradise and meet dead friends and relatives again? Well, maybe. Would I be happier if other people didn't believe they would live forever etc? Definitely. There are way too many nutjobs around who think their murderous activities are guaranteeing them a place in heaven.
• 

  punkofnice

  bemused - There are way too many nutjobs around who think their murderous activities are guaranteeing them a place in heaven.

  I agree. There are levels of delusion maybe yet the murdering scumsuckers that kill in the name of some filthy pig of a god are unforgivable.
• 

  new hope and happiness

  I dont like activisam, but i think it is true that anger has been the driving force for social change. Take for example the civil rights movernment, or the modern feminist movernment, the anti war movernment in the sixties, the anti war movernment today, you name it ....but all of these movernments had a tremendouse amount of anger behind them,anger over injustice and mistreatment and anger over helplessness.

  I mean anger can be a good thing for change. If it wasn't for the anger that came from the realisation i'd been fed a lot of bullshit as a witness, then what is the motivation to leave?

  So i think anger is valuable, its neccessary and the correct word for my O.P. But anger can also missfire and badly.
• 

  James Brown

  It makes sense that atheist would be repressed in Christian countries.

  Birds of a feather flock together and defend their own.

  Which is not to say atheism is wrong it just is what it is and the way things are.

  Go and form or live in an atheist country.

  People in the United States have escaped atheist regimes to live here.

  They also have escaped religious totalitarism.

  Religion and politics are provacative subjects,

  Often it is best not to talk about them in public.

  If you must talk about them in a Christian country

  you are going to feel the presure.

  If atheism is true. It is not for everybody at this time.

  So take your wisdom and find a way to profit from it.

  If it is true you are way ahead on the journey.

  I cant even begin to immagine why an atheist would want to be a soldier in a volunteer army.

  If this life is all their is why be a soldier and risk it.

  There are other ways to get free money from the government for education.
• 

  Simon

  We need to decide if we want to go along with false hope or reality.

  Yeah - the red pill vs blue pill. What if Neo had chosen to stay in the Matrix - would he have been happy not knowing that it wasn't real?

  He wouldn't have gotten to see Carrie-Ann Moss in that black suit which seems like a loss.