Do You Look Down on "Religious" People Now That You're No Longer a JW? (page 4)

ozziepost

once someone tries to impose their beliefs on me, or in any way hinder my getting on with my own life, there are bound to be problems

Does this include any talk of Republicans and Democrats??

iiz2cool

"Does this include any talk of Republicans and Democrats??"

For the most part I don't listen to it. I hear enough here about Liberals, Conservatives, and Dippers to keep me on edge.

Walter

I can't help but draw a parallel with romance. When you are being wooed your suspension of criticism allows you to see the very best in the other person; the object of your emotion. You bond. You defend them, serve their needs and refuse to hear anything bad spoken about them.

But, life can be quite a pinprick in the bubble of wishful thinking! when reality starts slapping you across your face and dashing cold water on your illusions you begin blinking away the dream.

Soon cracks begin to appear and the paint chips away. Underneath the sugar coating a starkness of black and white fact stares you in the eye.

Is there anything worse than falling "out" of love? To see the object of desire become, not only ordinary, but repugnant and distasteful is bone chilling.

"How could I be so blind?" you ask yourself over and over. The anger and the pain rush in to fill the void.

So too with religious conviction; it is falling in love with an ideal that is larger than life and carries more vivid promise of eternal happiness than the last phrase in a fairy tale that says "happily ever after".

When the illusion is gone--it leaves a hole in the roof big enough to let in the cold, the rain, the nasty and unwished for.

For awhile it seems impossible to love again. But, people cannot easily give up the sweet taste of their fantasy and the deep desire for a happy ending.

For myself, when I was finally able to think clearly about life, god, religion and my wasted time--I vowed I'd not easily slip back into a lockstep march toward a Kingdom in the sky.

I do view religious people as delusional. I view them as purposefully engaged in self-deception. They need reassurance of projected fantasies and find others willing to reinforce them.

When people are praying they are talking to themselves. Religion is pretending to tell the truth in a make-believe surrounding; then, hiding the make-believe from themselves.

Do I "look down" on religious people? Well, do I look down on someone stricken by drug addiction? Yes and no--they do it to themselves but, they are suffering and causing suffering in others.

Let me just say I "pity the po fool".

LittleToe

Terry:
I take it that you've stripped away said delusion regarding romance, too?
After all, people are only into things for what they can get, right?
If love is an illusion, then it's surely one that you must buy into to reap the benefits.

If (as you seem to believe) faith is merely an illusion, then it's one that you must buy into to enjoy it's warm fuzzies. To suggest that you can accept it as an illusion and live life accordingly, as some suggest, is somewhat naive IMHO. That would be like living a hollow shell of pseudo-love, knowing it was a shame.

Excuse me if I comment that you sound somewhat jaded whith some things that really make life worth living. May I ask what you suggest people replace such things with? Hard work and storing up for the future?

Whilst essential, they are not what make life worth living.
Do we work to live or live to work??

Big Tex

I don't look down on anyone. I've got enough to answer for with this life without taking on that attitude. If I learned nothing else from the Witnesses, it is never sit in judgment on someone else.

lazyslob

No.But I have sometimes hard to cope with them. One reason is that the norm in Scandinavia is non religious. Religious people are commonly seen as weak naiv persons, who can´t survive without somebody telling them how to live their lives. Most people I have talked to are very antireligious. Going to church is not commonly accepted. aso.

undercover

LittleToe and Billygoat:

Reread my post...all of it. Notice that I said that I have less animosity towards religious people after leaving religion. If someone chooses to believe in God, Allah, Jesus, Muhammed, fine, believe it. But it's my belief that religion, not belief in a higher power, but religion, is all bullshit. I admitted that I lean towards being agnostic. I don't know if there is a God, but if there is, I believe that he does not operate through any organized religion. Since that's my belief, then it's logical to assume that I would think that anyone who believes in religion is mistaken. That doesn't mean I dislike them, hold animosity toward them or judge them.

If someone who believes in God, Jesus or whatever and has the right to speak it about then I also have the right to speak about what I believe. I can respect you and your opinion and still believe that you're wrong.

What do you find so condescending or offensive? That I have a different opinion than you? That I think you're wrong? If you want to debate whether God operates through religion or not, fine let's debate, but don't give me some knee-jerk reaction as if I personally attacked you and called you bad names.

Billygoat

I'm not debating whether or not you can or cannot have your beliefs or even state them on a public discussion board. That's the reason Simon built this board and I understand it. You'll also find that I'm one of the most tolerant Christians you'll meet on this board and in RL. But too many times we say we're respectful of other beliefs/ways of life/faiths even though we don't agree with them. But are we really behaving respectfully? We say it out of one side of our mouths and yet we make comments like the following:

They've been fooled and haven't caught on yet. Some never will.

Honestly how you can read that as NOT condescending, I have no idea. I'm okay with you thinking I'm wrong. I don't really enjoy being characterized as foolish. I believe differently than you. End of story. I do apologize if I'm being a little sensitive about that, but I don't find your statement at all tolerant or respectful. I find it condescending, demeaning, and rude. You will never hear me say that Agnostics are arrogant @$$holes that don't have a clue. Even though I don't understand believe Agnostically, I will not make a condescending remark about you like you did above. So based on your comments: if I or some other Christian stated you would burn in hell for your attitude or lack of belief in God or religious affiliation, you wouldn't find that comment bothersome? The point I'm making is that "TOLERANCE" is widely discussed and applauded on this board, but many times it's the biggest hypocrisy in our written words.

undercover

So based on your comments: if I or some other Christian stated you would burn in hell for your attitude or lack of belief in God or religious affiliation, you wouldn't find that comment bothersome?

Wouldn't bother me a bit because I don't believe in Hell or a God that punishes that way. Threats of a vindictive God from a religious zealot are meaningless to me.

I said:

They've been fooled and haven't caught on yet. Some never will.

That's no different than a born-again Christian saying, "They haven't been saved and realized the power of Jesus Christ. Some never will."

A born-again Christian saying that means nothing to me. I don't believe that way; the belief that I need Jesus is erroneous to me. I ignore it. I do not judge him for believing it or even saying it, he believes that way and it's his right. Why should I be judged because I think and say that people who rely on religion are fooled by the religion?

LittleToe

Undercover:
First off you'll notice that I never personalised my comments. They were general, and directed at the statement, not the individual - I'm usually pretty consistent about such things.
I'm addressing you now because you addressed me directly.

Secondly. This isn't really a debate about whether a Christian or Atheist is right or wrong, it's about intolerance and whether or not an individual looks down on another.
Your comments clearly indicated that you do look down on some others, because you view them as holding an inferior belief set. That is entirely your perogative. There's no rule that says you have to be politically correct. The appeal is merely for you to see it for what it is, given what you wrote.

Do You Look Down on "Religious" People Now That You're No Longer a JW?

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