I'm NOT going to let stories of a mythological deity hurt me ANYMORE - Amy Rath

[@devinbraun1852]

As a former Catholic, I appreciated this video. I grew up In a very devout Catholic family and all Catholic schooling. All of my childhood memories of the church and school were quite positive and idyllic. When I was about 13-14, I had my existential crisis of faith. I continued to go to church as long as I lived at home, figured I’d go through the motions and maybe I’d rediscover my faith, but it never returned. I don’t harbor a grudge against the church, but feel bad for all those who are so wrapped up in it. I’ve come to the realization that the prime directive of most religion is to get the members so invested that the belief becomes a core part of their self-identity. Once you conflate religious belief and self, you are disinclined to question these beliefs.

[@onedaya_martian1238]

I too grew up Catholic and loved the traditions, community and culture (in general). I never believed that god was real any more than I figured out that Santa was just a lovely tradition and that eventually religion would be revealed to be the exact same past time as the whole secular christmas story. Alas, that later event has not happened. These atheist KZbinrs are, however, starting to point out that what they are being taught is myth...a great thing ! However I have learned that the folks who have fetishes about their books because they need absolute certainty are actually dangerous. That is sad to find out.

[@3ggshe11s]

Before Vatican II, people criticized the church for basically giving over the role of the Holy Spirit to Mary. In practice, a whole lot of Catholics worship her, but you can never admit it, and the priests help you rationalize it away. She was the most important thing to me in my Catholic experience by far... the mother of unconditional love I never had. One of the problems with Western religion is that it has always suppressed the Sacred Feminine, which I think has done real damage to women both inside and outside the church. When your only deities are three men in the sky, what is a woman to think other than that she's second-rate?

[@ericapoe]

Tim Thanks for having Amy on your channel. Her story resonates with me and my experience with Christianity and my heated conversation with a Christian believer family member who feels I’m destined to go to hell because of my agnostic beliefs.

[@renny3816]

That’s how they get people in the church, by using FEAR. This has to stop, because people can’t continue being fed lies. I wouldn’t have a problem with it, if they didn’t use it to hate or make themselves seem like they are “above” others, because they believe the Bible or Quran.

[@downenout8705]

I am interested by your "agnostic beliefs" terminology. As gnosticism pertains to knowledge, you appear to be saying that you believe that you don't know a god or gods exist.

[@amindra963]

Born to RC family in Sri Lanka and throwing off the shackles of Catholism and Christianity in general was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

[@anthonyjohn9000]

You are great, you are saving people from falling victims to God that cannot hear, cannot do no good nor can do no harm. It's time to wake up and put an end to the bible stories that never happened nor the persons mentioned in it ever existed. Bible is totally based on Egyptian myth like creation, animal sacrifice, human sacrifice, heaven, hell, resurrection, miraculous virgin birth and life after death, all of these things predates the bible by thousands of years. The stories in the bible are man made doctrines and prophesies and are nothing but lies. 100%.

[@adamnascent7231]

It's so good to hear this perspective. I'm an ex-fundie-evangelical, we always looked down on other phony weak christians, but during my deconstruction I ended up with a lot of respect for Catholics and liberal Christians because not only are we all just humans trying to figure this shit out, I started to see how fundamentalist religion sells ignorant certitude, which is childish and cultish in comparison. Yet it sounds like even in Amy's Catholic experience the guardrails against real critical thinking were put in place from a young age just the same. Maybe religion is just intrinsically poison to the mind.

[@TrisjensChronicles1203]

Religion is a mental virus

[@visionaryventures12]

19:41 The existence of celibacy strikes me as contrary to the beginning of Genesis where the Adam is split into the Adam and Eve, the notion that they are both from one flesh.

[@renny3816]

Yeah. It makes no sense at all. It’s just a bunch of people making their own set of rules. That pretty much can be said about every religion, because it starts with one person or a group of people.

[@YY4Me133]

I've read that it was done because married priests left their money and property to their wife and children after they died, and the church couldn't have that; they wanted it. So, the priests were told to be celibate, and the wives and children of the priests were sold into slavery.

[@rsnsol2490]

Cant wait to see the project you mentioned at the end. Looking forward to learning all about it.

[@kevinslyter]

A few years ago I knew a Retires Catholic Priest that quit later in life to marry the ‘love of his life’, it was kinda cute ngl.🥰

[@devinbraun1852]

When I was a kid, our Catholic parish had a priest who we all really liked, he was young, energetic and relatable. After a few years he was transferred to another parish and within a year or so left the priesthood to marry someone whom he fell in love with. I remember people talking about it as a bit scandalous, but I always just thought, “good for him”.

[@Flockmeister]

@@devinbraun1852 hhh

[@visionaryventures12]

27:03 In Kabbalah, the shekhinah is the manifestation of Yehovah’s (Elohim’s?) power. It’s described in feminine terms. In fact, the very name is the feminine form of shakhan (“dwelling”). Also in Kabbalah, the deity is both male and female, depending on whether receiving or giving.

[@josephthomasjr.6551]

Thank you Tim! Thank you Amy! That was extremely good!

[@michaelc3051]

I love your channel, Tim, keep up the good work. I was raised Catholic, and just to let you know, we do not pray TO the saints, including the Virgin Mary; rather we ask them to intercede FOR us to God. We ask the Mary and the saints to add their prayers to ours, in effect, so multiplying their efficacy. Catholics, like Protestants, only pray directly TO Jesus/God. It's just like when you ask somebody to pray for you; Catholics also ask the Church Saints and their deceased loved ones to pray for them. For example, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray FOR US sinners now and at the hour of hour death". We are asking Mary to intercede to God on our behalf.

[@joycesky5041]

Lot’s of people worship them…all my family did and so did the Catholic Churches I went to. People also prayed to the Mary apparitions and talked to her.

[@joycesky5041]

And they had all kinds of statue idols that they prayed to….it’s all crazy!

[@michaelc3051]

@@joycesky5041 No, only God/Jesus is worshipped; the saints are asked to add to the prayers, in the same way you might ask someone you know to pray for you. The saints are asked to intercede in the same way. Catholics ask the saints and their dead loved ones in heaven to add to their prayers before God.

[@michaelc3051]

@@joycesky5041 No praying to statues. Again it is intercession, in order to commend our prayers to God/Jesus.

[@traog]

Asking the saints or Mary to intercede vs praying to the saints or Mary to intercede seems like a distinction with out a difference.

[@joycesky5041]

I was born Catholic and went to Catholic Grammar School and couldn’t stand the nuns. The church I went to was huge and Gothic style in which it was always dark and dreary inside which scared me but what scared me the most was having to go into a dark box with a priest behind a screen and had to tell all my sins to him…it was so scary because it was dark in the box and because I couldn’t see the priest, all I could always hear was a loud deep voice and it scared me to death! This was from first to eighth grades so I was just a little girl when it all first started. If there’s such a literal place as hell, that dark Gothic church and dark box with the man with a deep voice like god in the Ten Commandments movie, that church was my literal HELL! When I was little I really thought that the man in the dark box behind the screen was REALLY god…it was all so HORRIFYING!!! Oh yeah Amy & Tim, I had realized that when I prayed I was talking to the air and the wind! It’s crazy! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@grimlund]

Thats called child abuse.

[@Neon-Shadowcaster]

I'm really curious about your mythology project Tim... 🤩

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Thanks, I appreciate that! I have so much information I want to share asap! In the meantime, get as familiar as you can with the books by Dr. Dennis MacDonald, the blog called Vridar, and the YT channels MythVision, as well as Dragons in Genesis. I'll try to get my project done asap.

[@Neon-Shadowcaster]

@@HarmonicAtheist I'm familiar with them, exept the Dragons in Genesis, I will look them up asap. But for now i'm working on my own mythology project 😉, i'm writing part two of The Jesus Code(x), and this is taking up most of my free time. 💞✌...

[@johnjohnson1657]

Well done. Kudos.

[@SHurd-rc2go]

How apt. Today began the Battle of the Virgins. Rockets, fireworks, band music at 5 a.m.; our local church is celebrating Rosario, the Virgin of the Rosary. Southwestern Mexico. Stay well, both. Keep up the vital work.

[@DarqueSyde66]

Led Zeppelin’s follow up to Stairway. And I’m sitting in the waiting room….of Heaven!!!! 😂😂😂 Excellent video, you two!

[@myintellect2577]

This was so good 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@billkeon880]

Great discussion

[@visionaryventures12]

Speaking as a Jew, without knowledge of Kabbalah and the Talmud, the bible comes across as bland and, at times, about a destructive deity. She’s only aware of the surface text. The commandment about tearing down the statues of the Canaanites, for example, is an analogy for tearing down the klipot (husks) surrounding your sefirot (balancing charity and restraint, how you deal with others, intuition and more conscious awareness, etc.). This is a manner of becoming healthier mentally.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

I've been exposed to Christian and Jewish teachings for four decades, and never once heard anything like that. Very interesting. Sounds like a more esoteric form of Judaism?

[@jackalsgate1146]

If stories of a mythological deity hurt you; then, that's your own fault. Don't blame it on a deity or stories that you don't even believe in.

[@LM-jz9vh]

🤦

[@jackalsgate1146]

@@LM-jz9vh I realize that emojis are specifically designed for those who have not mastered the art of reading and writing but I can't think of anything more pathetic; then, blaming everything on something that has no control over one's own life. If you allow something to control you, then you, allowed it to happen. Take some fockin responsibility for your own bullshit.

[@LM-jz9vh]

@@jackalsgate1146 Believers or former believers think or used to think a god had control over their lives. That's the point. Also, look up religious trauma syndrome.

[@jackalsgate1146]

@@LM-jz9vh It doesn't matter. There comes a time when a person has to take responsibility for their own laziness. Do you go through life blaming everything on everyone else.? Children do that and you can't be a baby forever. As far as "Religious Trauma Syndrome:" everything is considered traumatizing now days. Jesus Christ...let's make up a bunch of fake bullshit so the whole world can be a victim. How in the world did survivers of the depression, holocaust, world war one, world war two, korean war, and vietnam war, ever survive.? They weren't a bunch of cry babies.

[@BearFruit90]

@@jackalsgate1146 you really dont know what you are talking about.

[@KeithBujack]

You unwittengly presented her with the "true" gospel. You may have unintentially turned her back into the arms of Jesus!

[@renny3816]

What?

[@KeithBujack]

@@renny3816 58:20 - about 2 minutes