Seth Andrews: Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot

Seth Andrews gave this speech June 3, 2017 in Toronto at the Imagine 7 conference. It's a humorous (and perhaps therapeutic) romp through Seth's religious past...and the often bizarre words and attitudes that reflected his Christian faith.
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[@lilykep]

I grew up in an EXTREMELY religious family. When I was a teen I decided it wasn't for me. I've been a happy unbeliever for years. Recently I ran into a childhood friend and we started talking. The conversation moved to religion and I mentioned that I was an unbeliever cause things just didn't factually add up to me. She started *crying* over the fact that I didn't believe in god. Now I like this person, she is a very sweet lady, so I tried to reassure her that it was ok. I told her that I'd done a lot of research on a lot of different religions before I came to this conclusion and it was a highly thought out process that lead me to my conclusion that god didn't exist. She legit *said* to me "That's why my mom taught us not to read all those different things, cause you open yourself up the the spirit of doubt and disbelief". I just kinda smiled and ended the conversation. If your belief in god can't handle a little *research* then something is *wrong* with it!

[@michaelhixson6939]

most christians I've met can't hold an argument because they are still children in their faith. They still run around with the roman road and other such trivialities. Honestly, if ya did more than 'a little' research you might come to find a deeper faith then all the little kids running around these days.

[@lilykep]

@@michaelhixson6939 I didn't do a little research before I left Christianity and religion in general. I did a LOT of research, which I stated at the top of my comment. Everything from talking to my pastor, assistant pastor, and church elders when I was still in church, reading my bible cover to cover while in prayer, to reading "informational" christian books. I even spoke to the pastors of other churches in other religions. I did a tour of other non-christian religions and even a brief stint in paganism. None of it added up to a whole picture or helped answer the fundamental issues I had with religion. I am no longer questioning. I have already decided religion isn't for me. Your smug assertions about my lack of faith, based your assumption of my supposed poor research methodology, is definitely not changing my mind.

[@michaelhixson6939]

@@lilykep smug, I ain't smug. Sorry that I sounded smug. I like to think of myself as sarcastic. Leave me a question or two, I am curious to know what your hang up was.

[@CharlesSeipke]

Its unfortunate that us happened and I am displeased with your beliefs and hope you come back to the light. Jesus will come back and that's a fact. Besides should you rather spend your entire life believing in God and the finding out that their isn't, or not believing and finding out their is one? The choice is yours and evil is easy to fall into but stick with it and come to good.

[@CharlesSeipke]

@Michael Stocker Mark Twain is quite odd, you would think that someone like that would would know about preachers who have read the bible multiple times and believe more then anyone else. Come up with your own conclusions and quit being a sheep. Mark Twain is not your Dad so quit listening to his religious opinions.

[@chuckhunter77]

My favorite meme is Jesus standing behind the surgeon saying, "What are you doing?! I put that tumor there for a reason!"

[@RickaramaTrama-lc1ys]

Some Funny Stuff~!!!

[@johno9507]

Ah yes the old 'God has a plan for your life" Well I'm 46 and dying of lung disease...He needs a new bloody plan! 🇦🇺

[@skfineshriber]

I’m sorry. ✌️❤️

[@TheBermudaMan]

Heaven forbid the possibility that the patient was just a raging dipstick who smoked thirty cigarettes a day.

[@billkgeorge]

When lightning rods were being built & put up in the 19th century, social conservatives opposed it with the argument: If God wanted to hit a building with lightning, then it wasn't right for man to stop him from doing so.

[@johnsperry9494]

One of my Christian friends told me I should read the Bible. I told him I have read the Bible, cover to cover, twice, and it’s the main reason I’m an Atheist.

[@charlesfortescue8631]

I've read it too. But to be honest, you only have to read Genesis and see that it's all nonsense. The creation story, and the flood etc, simply makes no logical sense whatsoever.

[@hesuskristo5642]

I read the bible since im a kid. Im an athiest...and have a perfect life.

[@hesuskristo5642]

I read the bible since im a kid. Im an athiest...and have a perfect life.

[@neclark08]

...and how did he respond..?

[@Doku71]

I read the Bible over a decade ago in college. I also read about other religions and the various pantheons. I'm Agnostic and don't concern myself with it beyond my readings, as it doesn't change my day to day in that it is ultimately my personal being that I am me. The amount of times I've had these Abrahamic religion pushers pester me or even appear in comments and push it annoys me to no end. I prefer reading about philosophy than religious scriptures, Marcus Aurelius philosophical writings of stoicism, the quote that has sat with me that made me start getting out of a depressed funk I had was, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

[@alessandrobanovich6847]

Hello everyone! I'm a fellow Atheist right from the heartland of Catholicism 🇮🇹. I've been a Catholic Christian until the age of 14, when I got out of my local church slamming its door with a loud bang. I've done both Communion and Confirmation, but after the latter I decided to leave Christianity for good. The thing that made me an non-believer was the day when my cousin came out as gay, and the horrendous treatment he received from all those people who pretend to "love thy neighbour". And I never understood the very Christian obsession for family and marriage...you don't get married in the name of Jesus, you do it because you really want to. Pretty basic and simple, right? I'm 34 now, and been an Atheist for 20 years. And by the way, I love this guy. So direct and simple, yet very smart. Greetings from Italy!

[@daredevil1956]

I got slapped by a nun when I asked "Where are the dinosaurs in the Bible?" I became an Atheist at 8 years old. Nuff said!

[@richrichy3015]

You can see how man lived alongside dinosaurs at the Ark theme park. Really compelling and convincing stuff. 😆

[@daredevil1956]

@@richrichy3015 LMAO!!!! Good one

[@ingebygstad9667]

literally slapped? :D

[@daredevil1956]

@@ingebygstad9667 Yes literally !

[@ingebygstad9667]

@@daredevil1956 I really don't get my head around how this "make-believe" works, as I'm a natural skeptical, being rational, and love _knowledge._ How can someone believe in something they _know_ is a wrong? Why do a nun _want to_ devote her life to something there's no evidence _for,_ but tons _against?_ She slapped you, because you hit her hard somewhere, and she felt it. An 8 year old kiddo....

[@msoda8516]

As a brain tumor survivor I’m glad I went with science and because of that I’m able to raise me kids to day.

[@tedl7538]

@Ryan Plethra Ah, so we have confirmation from Ryan once again that religion often goes hand in hand with cruelty and arrogance.

[@adamplentl5588]

@Ryan Plethra >*claims totally plausible story is b.s.* >*believes a shitty old book of obvious mythology*

[@robertrosskopf4641]

Both science and religion are sources of truth. It isn't an either/or proposition. There is nothing in science that supports an atheist point of view, except half-baked theories.

[@msoda8516]

Ryan Plethra What about my story is bs? That I had a intraventricular meningioma and that modern medicine allowed me to survive? You sir can kiss my ass. I know what I went through and some little troll like you isn’t going to try tell me it was a lie.

[@robertrosskopf4641]

@Ryan Plethra Noone can prove the earth is flat. And noone can prove that there are no gods. Atheists tell us that we can't trust eyewitness testimony, but half baked theories are even more unreliable.

[@Chris-hx3om]

A story I heard told by one of the soldiers who liberated a concentration camp during WW2. He found, carved into the wall in one of the bunk houses, a quote that read "If there is a god he will have to beg my forgiveness when I meet him." Sums up how I feel pretty well.

[@TheGunsAndGloryShow]

Yep. Thanks for posting that,.

[@richardlawson6787]

True..if god is real it doesn't care about human suffering...its interesting that every christian ive met admits if they were all powerful they would not sit idly by watching children starve to death...

[@benjaminnielsen4288]

That's pretty powerful. I've always wondered (if there is God) up there watching, why does he let terrible things happen to good people. And the assholes seem to live forever 😢

[@richardlawson6787]

@@benjaminnielsen4288 gets worse ..bible says god is a mass killer and commands believers to kill unbelievers

[@KindredKunoichi]

@@benjaminnielsen4288 "Freewill", supposedly. It's not God doing all these awful things. It's us humans. We do this to each other. We've literally been left here to get on with it & love one another but we can't even manage that! You can't get mad at God if you don't believe in him though. This is the Devil's playground, why doesn't he ever get the blame?!?!

[@geneseeco5265]

In about 1977 when I was a medical student at Yale, I attended a presentation with a visiting professor who was to be challenged to make a particularly difficult diagnosis before the faculty and students. The visiting professor asked that the doors to the auditorium be locked because he was about to tell a story that might offend the lay staff at the hospital. He began by noting that many in the hospital were wearing badges stating that doctors only treat patients while God heals them. He noted that these badges reminded him of a story from long ago in Jerusalem. A man was on his hands and knees tending to his small garden inside a low wall when a religious man riding a donkey spoke to him from outside the wall. The religious man said, "You and the Lord have created quite a beautiful garden." The man working in his garden looked up and said, "Me and the Lord hell. You should have seen it when the Lord had it all to himself!"

[@scotte4765]

There's a similar theme at the end of the book of Job. After Job caves in to God's bullying rant, God "blesses" Job with, among other things, ten new children to replace the ones God allowed to be slaughtered. That passage always made me wonder whether Job's wife might deserve at least a little of the credit for that "reward".

[@AW-uv3cb]

@@scotte4765 Yeah, that plus for me that passage always sounded creepy because it's like: oh who cares about the children you already had. Here, have some new ones. After all, what's the difference - it's not like they're actual human beings, am I right?

[@scotte4765]

@@AW-uv3cb Quite so. The passage is callous on multiple levels. In addition to Job's wife doing all the work and not getting any credit, and children being talked about as replaceable commodities, we're further told that Job's new daughters were prettier than anyone else's. The writer could have given them any admirable trait to stress how good a reward this was, such as saying that the new children were as righteous as Job, but instead made the girls physically attractive. As a Bronze Age morality tale that reflects the values and issues of that time and place, the story makes a lot of sense. As a depiction of an actual good God in charge of the universe, it's horrific nonsense.

[@sven888]

I don't get your story. What is it you are trying to say?

[@scotte4765]

@@sven888 That religious people often give credit to God for things that were entirely the effort of regular human beings.

[@muttleycrew]

I dated a Christian who could not only say stupid shit, she was sometimes cruel and inconsiderate, using her faith as a pretext to judge others. In the end I couldn’t bear her lack of real empathy, the startling absence of human kindness, the braindead apologetics for casual bigotry and smug, conceited nastiness. She was more impressed with an invisible skyman than real human beings.

[@wirelesstrav]

You nailed it. Grew up in this type of family and your description is spot on. It's subtle if you are not around it much, but overwhelmingly obvious if you have regular, repeated interactions with them.

[@muttleycrew]

@@wirelesstrav I'm saddened to hear that you have this inside of your own family. It must have been a tough thing to identify as unusual or unhealthy if it's already there when you're born into it. It was hard enough for me to really acknowledge it even as I was seeing it because deep down you want to love who you want to love and that can make it hard to accept that someone you want to love cannot ever really love you back without this other, very odd relationship with God always getting between you. Who can measure up to someone who loves an invisible perfect being more than they could ever love anyone else? I found it heartbreaking, just three years with that person left me feeling unworthy, unloveable, unimportant and worse, I only had myself to blame for sticking around. I kept trying to mend her, to show her another way to be but she despised me for it and it took a long time to see that dynamic for what it was and to admit to myself that she truly wasn't able to care about anyone. I don't believe all Christians are like that, not at all, but many are and she was one of them. Wishing you happiness, strength and many sunny, great days ahead. Best wishes.

[@undrwatropium3724]

You can't blame the her for her lack of empathy. They live their lives according to..... Kill adulterers (Lev 20:10) Kill all witches (Ex 22:18) Kill blasphemers (Lev 24:14) Kill false prophets (Zech 13:3) Kill fortune-tellers (Lev 20:27) Kill anyone who sins (Ezek 18:4) Kill the curious (1 Sam 6:19-20) Kill gays (Lev 20:13, Rom 1:21-32) Kill all non-Hebrews (Dt 20:16-17) Kill sons of sinners (Isaiah 14:21) Kill non-believers (2 Chron 15:12-13) Kill anyone who curses God (Lev 24:16) Kill any child who hits a parent (Ex 21:15) Kill children who disobey parents (Dt 21:20) Kill those who work on the Sabbath (Ex 31:15) Kill disobedient children (Ex 21:17, Mk 7:10) Kill strangers close to a church (Num 1:48-51) Kill all males after winning battles (Dt 20:13) Kill those who curse father or mother (Lev 20:9) Kill men who have sex with other men (Lev 20:13) Kill any bride discovered not a virgin (Dt 22:21) Kill those who worship the wrong god (Num 25:1-9) Kill anyone who does not observe the Sabbath (Ex 31:14) Kill everybody in a town that worships the wrong god (Dt 13:13-16) And most importantly: Kill anyone who kills anyone (Lev 24:17).

[@paulread7113]

​​@@muttleycrewI feel for you as I have recently had a very similar experience myself. It's tough.

[@percubit10]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@maureenperez9999]

At 14 yrs old, I was kicked out of my "Open Bible" Pentecostal church for questioning their BS and it was one of the highlights of my life. Spirituality is so much cleaner than organized religion with hate mongering.

[@koppite9600]

Were you there because of the people or because of Jesus? Because you are an idiot if you left your faith because of the bs those people taught

[@mutualink]

Yes,we can be religious without religion.Glad that you found your spirituality.😊

[@neilroy4406]

@@mutualink Even jesus said the kingdom of heaven i within. Christianity religion is a insult to jesus as well

[@pauldurand4780]

@@neilroy4406 most 'c'hristian "religion" is as bad if not worse than other religions as it has the truth but besmirch it with "theological" and " interpretationing" garbage. I particularly cant stand "the one verse" churches that build everything around one verse.

[@jacksonrelaxin3425]

@@pauldurand4780 science is a religion conducted and organized by the same people who ran the church’s before. They just replaced the word “God” with “science”and dumb a zzes like you will still eat it up. Enjoy living in a pod and eating bugs while politicians use your taxes to buy their McMansions.

[@essenceoneessence]

I have carried guilt with me for over 13 years because the last words I said to my boyfriend was “I love you” instead of praying for him before he entered the procedure room that he died in. Even though I’ve deconstructed and deconverted from Christianity over the last 6 months it’s not until this very moment, watching this video that I’m freed from that guilt. I truly am free. Thank you 🥰

[@jennifersmith4864]

Kinda dumb. Ya know, you coulda said "I love you" AND prayed too.

[@grandeau3802]

@@jennifersmith4864your comment is kinda dumb. You missed the point totally.

[@richardvass1462]

I'm a Christian and I believe God and trust him for everything and I would rather my wife say I love you is that would make me feel better than to hear a prayer before I go through something something like that

[@essenceoneessence]

@@jennifersmith4864 yeah. Those kinds of sentiments are what led to my deconstruction and deconversion. So thanks

[@essenceoneessence]

@@richardvass1462 yeah. That’s what I held onto and what made/makes it easier, considering the relationship between us, that he felt loved near the end. As a trauma nurse I’ve witness death regardless of prayer but my outlook as to why is much different now. I just thought it was something that I hadn’t processed this important moment until seeing this video.

[@cbrashsorensen]

What is curious to me is how many of us who were raised in strict "Christian" homes knew deep within us at very early ages that what we were being told and taught were not TRUE? I was forced to attend Church but by the age of 6 it was just a weekly "duty" that I had to perform. My siblings continue to be "true believers" and have shunned me. What an amazing thing to be related to those who expound on love and yet have no earthly idea what "love" is?

[@charliepershall5956]

Am I an atheist? For Those Who Call Themselves Christians. Only the Honest in Spirit Understands and accepts the Truth. The Enlightenment of Our Time Science Lacks Understanding The Spirit Energy Source. Spirit Is The Highest Energy Source. Knowledge, Understanding and Intelligence is of the Spirit Energy Source. Knowledge has always existed as Matter has always existed. Knowledge is not created in the Human Brain. The Human Brain was only Designed to receive Knowledge. The Great Designer and Creator, Matter, Knowledge, Energy, Time and Space Has Always Existed. All are Without Beginning or end. Beginning and End only reveals an absence. Creation is only the rearrangement of matter as Matter does not evolve from nothing. Though Science Lacks The Understanding of The Spirit Energy Source. Science has been using The Spirit Energy Source for Many years. As that is where knowledge is found. Truth is All That Truly Exists Other Than Truth there is Just The understood Concept of An Absence. Lies with intent to deceive or not is fantasy. Lies remain in the nonexistent realm. The Great Creator is far more Massive and complex than the God worshipers realize and understand. The Great Creator is not a being somewhere in space. The Great Creator is a huge mass of spirits in perfect unity. And with the same care and respect for each another. Truth is not free. Truth has absolute boundaries'. Justice comes only by the truth. Free has absolutely no boundaries', free is chaos. Gods Are Imaginary Personages Of Worship Gods are not creators. There are Hundreds of Gods that the human has worshipped. Fathers are not creators. It takes both father and Mother to create a child and the mother has more to do with the creation than does the father. The child is attached to the mother for nine months receiving nutriments for the creation. Religion has refused to give Honest respect to the female. And they have exalted the male, with the Lie that the Father is the creator of the child. Spirit Is The Highest Energy Source. Spirit is an Energy similar to Electricity. unseen with the eye. We only see what it produces. The basic principles of Christianity is corrupt and promotes Injustice. sentencing and Executing an innocent man for the crimes of all humanity. Would you let your friend and neighbor be executed for the crime that you committed? If so you are a typical Christian. This Is All In the Book You Cristian's Worship "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. is a biblical statement. In fact, it is more than a biblical statement, it is a command from the man Himself that you worship. How is it that you successfully deceive those in other nations to worship your Gods and then go to war for the nation you worship and kill those members of your own churches. And you promote Cannibalism by a ritual that you pretend you are eating Jesse's flesh and drinking his blood. The Great Creator performs Justice. You all will face your own consequences for your corruption and crimes. You will not pin them on an innocent man. Words to the honest and wise: honesty and understanding is the only true belief. Without honesty and understanding we do not know what to believe. To accept other’s opinion of the truth without proving it to yourself; it is being deceived it is not believing. We must understand to believe. Until Next time: Sweet Dreams: Truth will solve all our problems before we create them; and ignore or reject the truth; problems will multiply all by themselves; those problems will need no help. Have a great and a meaningful life if it is at all possible. Just whispers, of the Ghost of Reality.

[@sven888]

What is not true? Ask me. Maybe I can answer.

[@Mehki227]

​@@charliepershall5956Why do you people always write these long nonsensical wall of text screeds? Always sound hysterical, like you're trying to convince yourselves of something.

[@MrNoName7474]

Relatable. This video got me thinking and reflecting on my youth/family. Didn’t consider us especially religious, but prayer before every meal and before bed and before every long car trip doesn’t seem so normal now. I never really believed in god, but still happily continued through and beyond college because I saw it as like a metaphor and a valuable positive way of thinking. Was always uncomfortable though praying or addressing god because I just didn’t believe like others. Finally realized there are other activities I could replace church with on sunday that are more fulfilling and valuable to my life. Like I was also in it for the social aspect as it’s just harder to connect and socialize at any church I’ve been to as compared to like a group run for example. It’s been hard to cut those ties though. My siblings now are just as religious if not more than my parents and I just can’t relate with them as easily anymore. They don’t even know. I moved to a new city and last they heard I found a new church and immediately got involved with volunteering and everything. I just kinda dodge questions on my rare visit back home. I think they assume I still attend. And I’ll still join them for church back home, but zero interest now going back.

[@benjones7634]

Wow, that sounds so hard. Like being forced to attend school or karate or some other thing.

[@michaeljarchibald7417]

“Religion is like a pair of shoes… Find one that fits you, but don’t make me wear your shoes. “ -George Carlin

[@lightbeing8174]

George carlin needs an exorcist priest role.

[@divided_we_fall6628]

That's why I walk barefoot

[@lightbeing8174]

Irresponsiblemilo The exorcist priest role is cool I walk with socks and shoes.

[@seanm4095]

@@lightbeing8174 Ok just so long as you definitely don't make me wear your socks those things can wreak at times lolz!!!

[@lightbeing8174]

Sean M I got brand new clean socks that I have never worn you can wear those.

[@HerkRants]

If God's counting the hairs on my head, his job gets easier every day.

[@trapdoormajesty]

*Luke 12:7* _"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."_ Before you were born God knew all the hair strands you would ever have :) it's when you stop growing hair, when your body stops working that we should all know what comes after this life. God bless neighbor :)

[@SadisticSenpai61]

In every "bless you" is a hidden, tiny "fuck you"

[@napillnik]

well that's evidence that he's cheating. Therefore god.

[@emilyfrugalsworthkiang2324]

HerkRants HA!

[@karensmith3565]

HerkRants ha ha ha! Love it

[@thomasgodfrey5766]

When I was 11 years old and starting to think for myself, I asked our priest,who had just heard my confession and gave me 5 “Hail Marys’ and 3 “Our Fathers’ to recite as a penance, why was talking to god and Jesus’s mother considered punishment? He told me to go away, and that I was in danger of being cast into eternal damnation, I did go away, and I stayed away. Thank you Father Doyle.

[@Semety]

Huh I'm not Catholic, but that's an interesting question. I wasn't sure if it was actually done like the movies. Maybe the penance is the repetition and it's also supposed to get it into your mind, like writing lines? Instead of putting the sin by repeating I shall not do whatever sin?

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

As I recall, the penance is simply apologizing to God for falling short; especially when you knew you could've done better. Penance in the modern Catholic church is less than a bad joke. Many centuries ago, penance was a real act of contrition that required a lot of self-abasement and discomfort. All the hard stuff you had to do for penance had the side effect of deterring future mischief and making you try harder. Vatican II has utterly ruined the Church and the reasons are legion.

[@maddyboombaddybaddy6532]

I was adopted by a mormon family at 8 years old and I've struggled with it horribly for decades. I'm very relieved and at ease after learning about Christopher Hitchens and reading his book.

[@STGFilmmakers]

OUCH!

[@TheBinaryWolf]

Satan is very clever: he infuses ungodly religions to dissuade people from coming to the real Christ. Finding a genuinely Christian church among the cults is like trying to find a diamond in a bucket of zircons. Don't let the old serpent deprive you of eternal life because of failed parenting. Nobody knows when it is your time to cross to the other side of the grave, where all the clever arguments for atheism will count for nothing.

[@pauldurand4780]

Yeah.. mormonism , JWs, most "ism"s, especially catholoscism have turned more people from God and especially Christ than just about anything.and are as bad as a bad acid trip. Thats why its important to read the NT to discern whether the place you go to worship and seek God is in agreement with The Word. Even then, watch out for places that build on the premise of just a couple of verses like Pentecostals or snake handlers etc. It must be all with nothing above the other in import. Most people don't read it and end up in shitshows. As Paul said- praphrase- if I do this or that but dont have Christs love Im just someone with a stick and a garbage can lid banging away to no ones benefit, not even my own.

[@TheBinaryWolf]

@@pauldurand4780 Well said.

[@STGFilmmakers]

@@TheBinaryWolf Not trying to be rude sir, but has it ever crossed your mind that they are all cults? The same reasons you provide for whatever following you were indoctrinated into being "the one true faith" is the exact same reasons all the others are "the one true faith." Thousands of branches with millions of people all saying the same exact thing about their branch. "We follow the real Christ."

[@RandyFricke]

I always liked the bullet-proof Pope Mobile. There's faith in action.

[@levinwhitfield3398]

They don't really believe all the bs they preach. I was an aspiring christian until I read the bible. I was cured.

[@MsWill813]

That's why I appreciate the current pope.

[@historicalbiblicalresearch8440]

When you visit a Church look for the Lightning Conductor on the Church Spire that's Science > Faith

[@cryptohunt2552]

What makes more sense? A man who believes in a God he cannot see, or a man who rages against a God he doesn't believe in?

[@cryptohunt2552]

Wow, I'm impressed. you know every Christian that goes to church!

[@timelston4260]

Don't feel bad: after being raised in a pastor's home, getting a masters degree in biblical studies, teaching biblical Greek to seminarians, and being a minister myself for seventeen years, it wasn't until the month of my fortieth birthday that it hit me like a ton of bricks that it wasn't true. Paul said he wasn't ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He should have been.

[@ericwilliams626]

You learned nothing.

[@terrellsmith6715]

He learned in the end

[@timelston4260]

@@terrellsmith6715 Thanks for saying that. I was in a PhD program in New Testament when I realized. I had started the program to solve biblical problems, but the more problems I tried to solve, the more problems I found. Finally it hit me that the solution that made it all fit together was that it wasn't the "Word of God", but the ideas of different people, at different times, in different cultures, all whose projections of themselves they mistook to be "God". "Holy men of God" wrote not as they were moved by the "Holy Spirit", but from their own culturally bound, prejudiced, power-seeking perspectives. It all fell into place once I realized that, and even though I gradually lost my life-long friends and have become increasingly alienated from my own family over it, at least I no longer live under the burden of having to make sense of, defend, and proclaim the ridiculous.

[@terrellsmith6715]

@@timelston4260 👍🏻

[@ingebygstad9667]

Where does Paul say that Tim? Just a question of interest. It's interesting to read peoples stories. Most Atheists leave faith because of inaccuracies or problems with scripture. Since there are so many different stories, I'd like to here more about yours. :) Considering you've been a minster and done bible studies for seventeen years, how come you missed this part out, or was unaware of this, for this long? Did you somehow neglect, or refuse to think about it? How does it work?

[@donaldbingham8990]

You were not alone. There are hordes of people talking like idiots. My parents made me go to church but even as a 6 year old I was not able to accept what they tried to convince me of at the church. It did not make sense and it still doesn't.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Donald Bingham I have an old friend in Texas who said the very same thing. When he was a child he pointed out to his mother that there were contradictions within the bible and his mom said I know I saw that too but don't tell the preacher. He became an atheist too. The thing that will be the most important for humanity is to find out where religion/s came from in the first place! There is an answer that will shock most people at first but after taking a closer look it becomes easy to understand see (Symbols of an Alien Sky 1) and (Remembering the End of the World) both documentaries are excellent and make it easy to understand where religions, all religions came from.

[@mlayton1904]

Here are two videos that will explain why you were confused. One about what Jesus actually taught versus what you were taught he was teaching. The confusion will begin to be gone. 1. What Jesus actually taught. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKmaZoKMq9Crq6M 2. The gospel of the Kingdom vs. the gospel of Christ. The confusion will now be gone. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYTYnK2efc2CmKc 3. An excellent overview of what is going on in the bible. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKCsn2icnbhqm5I It all can be confirmed with a KJV bible.

[@jacksonrelaxin3425]

@Paul Kinley awe poor you. Wanna band aid?

[@jonstone9741]

Fortunately, my parents were not religious at all. But when we visited relatives, I got dragged to Catholic Church a few times. As a young child, the rituals performed by priests during Sunday mass seemed bizarre and boring. The chanting in Latin, the smoke coming out of the incense burner as the priest swung it back and forth like a pendulum, the genuflecting, the praying, the standing then kneeling, then sitting, then kneeling. But I must admit, Catholics have built some beautiful churches and cathedrals.

[@darcymurphy1769]

I to often queried my parents at a young age about religion and in my opinion never got satisfactory answers, as a consequence I am now a non believer in any god shape or form. I saw the true light in my forties thanks to books and deeper thought!

[@xavierbreath2227]

In the 1970s my Mother took us to church. I will never forget the moment I became an atheist. I was 7 years old and in the pews with my Mom and brother. The preacher started going off on the sins of divorce and especially divorced woman and single Mothers. My single and twice divorced Mother stood up, grabbed my brother and I and walked out of church in protest. We never went back. This taught me that a persons moral center has nothing to do with God or The Bible. If my Mother could pick add choose her faith, then anyone including me could do so as well. Right then and there I knew it was all BS.

[@normanleach5427]

Have you ever revisted your conclusion? Your mother's action could be that the pastor was a condescending jack-ass. The inflated ego of smug sanctimony is a pathology...but such poor theology isn't the whole picture of your personal perspective. There's love involved here and those who understand such subtlety have tried to get others on board...while contending with the arrogance of incredibly poor theology.

[@JustineDodd]

I love that your mum used the new information and made a change.... unlike, well, so many other ..............s.

[@xavierbreath2227]

@@normanleach5427 I have revisited the issue 1000 times over, every time Christians or Muslim or whatever religion oversteps their bounds, makes a ridiculous claim, attempts to influence foreign or domestic policy, and whenever they attempt to shove their archaic and backward way of thinking down me or my kids throat.

[@ThomasCranmer1959]

Yah, fatherless homes are a blessing. LOL

[@xavierbreath2227]

@@ThomasCranmer1959 compared to every dual parent household in my neighborhood at the time, I did feel blessed.

[@tommytomtom5531]

all their lives, sheep fear the wolf..... in the end it is the shepherd who eats them.....

[@siboleketiyabantu1309]

Damn... Dude that's deep People don't think. Salute Man

[@cristinafultz4572]

Only if the wolf doesn't get there first.

[@jdanielcramer]

Ah...but at least they’ll have a chance with the wolf👽

[@MrElionor]

@Binguh Bungah So that gives the shepherd the right to eat them?

[@rukisar6312]

Even deeper when you consider that sheep were turned into creatures that couldn't care for themselves by the shepherd's race (humans). In their original form they could protect themselves from the wolf (see the mouflon, a possible sheep wild ancestor, and its enormous horns). So the shepherd made the sheep dependent on him so they had no choice but to stay near him for protection. Before the shepherd came, the sheep had everything - their wool, their lives, and their freedom.

[@user-hi6dj2we1b]

Talking about the dinner "blessing", in Japan we say "Itadakimasu" (I accept) which is a recognition in gratitude for the growers, farmers, distributors, grocers... all those people who made your meal possible. Much better than thanking a fictional cosmic father figure. You don't have to follow a superstition to say thanks in appreciation.

[@noeenricodomanais2517]

@Gagan Singh indeed. Both of these are philosophies not religion

[@adamplentl5588]

@@noeenricodomanais2517 no, they're definitely religions.

[@axisofego1112]

What's wrong with making a profit? can i have your money ?

[@stryker1195]

I believe Seth Andrews IS an idiot. He seems to believe that saying a blessing over a meal is senseless since no measurable or detectable changes occur in the food. Seth seems to have expectations about saying a blessing over a meal that Christians don’t have. He seems to believe that saying a blessing over a meal is pointless unless the food is supplemented by a supernatural aura or divine glow. Again, Seth continues to have expectations about saying a blessing that Christians do not have. He seems to believe that blessed food should be different than unblessed food. Seth continues to have expectations about “blessings” that Christians do not have. He seems to believe Christians don’t know which God or which spirit they are praying to when they give thanks for a meal. Well, if Seth ever wins any kind of award he should not be a hypocrite and “give thanks” to anyone or anything because he probably won't know who he is giving thanks to, right?

[@Rx7man]

@@stryker1195 Nah, Seth will give thanks to all the people that helped him, his teachers, his peers, his supporters, etc

[@pammer12345]

oh wow wow wow. I think I am in love!!!! I don't think my husband would even mind because Seth is so wonderful lol. I too grew up in a fundy evangelical home. My parents worshipped at the alter of that horrible human James Dobson who was responsible for the horrific abuse of a generation of christian children. I was thoroughly indoctrinated, went to church, sunday school, prayer meetings, youth group, choir practice....I was told that every word of the bible is true. I had NIGHTMARES about being "left behind" in the rapture (the Tim LaHaye thing was big when I was growing up). In fact, from the time I started school I had such bad night terrors that I would go to school with ZERO sleep. Then I got in trouble for falling asleep in class. This also led to a lifetime of insomnia and bipolar disorder. Like Seth, I was in my 30s when I first started to question, where I got the courage to question. Because I was raised to believe that if you do not have faith, even for 10 minutes, if you die in that ten minutes you will go to hell. Lack of faith was the only unforgiveable sin. I started to research. I read EVERYTHING about the truth of the bible so I could get my questions answered. If I asked an uncomfortable question to my parents, I would likely get hit for "blasphemy". So I wanted biblical answers to my questions. It took about 5 years of obsessive reading and research and this led, very unexpectedly, to atheism. In fact, it was a shock that i will always remember. I was reading Dawkins very late at night and it suddenly hit me that CHRISTIANITY WASN'T TRUE, IT WAS THE GREATEST HOAX EVER PERPETRATED ON MANKIND. My life opened up after that. I left an abusive husband (who was violent and jealous, just like god), became an environmentalist, and made me care for people's welfare in THIS world. I was able to develop empathy because I was finally able to access my conscience after years of terror that I was relying too much "on my own wisdom". I didn't expect to give my life story here, but this video really ripped the bandaid off for me, the trauma of religion, and I am so grateful for Seth because the best way for me to heal from that trauma is through LAUGHTER. Thanks for reading :)

[@leelee-ss8yl]

It spoke to me. Thank you for writing it ♥️

[@alienonion4636]

I'm glad I took the time to read through your entire comment. I came from two abusive families one of which outwardly used church and so-called christian values. Everyone saw right through them. About half the neighborhood were catholic and none of the boys I knew that became altar boys did for very long as they hated it from the first day.

[@arriuscalpurniuspiso]

Great post. We here in the real world love you.

[@jonstone9741]

I'm an atheist, but I usually keep it to myself, except in online comments. I have a neighbor who is a Christian. For 10 years, we were pretty good friends and avoided talking about religion. After revealing that I'm an atheist, our friendship seems to have cooled a bit. Now I'm more cautious about offending Christians. Before saying anything that a Christian might not like, I usually ask: "Are you a Christian?" One of my most valued friends (who is fighting cancer) answered that question with "No, I'm a realist."

[@doogan8129]

​@@jonstone9741I hope you asked him what that meant because without an explanation, 'realist' sort of stops at just words. Im a realist, yet cannot fathom the faith required to be an aethiest. The word fits....where ever you put it.

[@user-jq1cw9xz3n]

When my parents divorced, I was ten years old and had been raised Catholic until this point. Within a year my mother had stopped taking us to Catholic Church and we started to attend a born again Christian Church. That was the biggest....... SHOCK I had ever experienced. Completely opened my eyes.... yep, idiots defines it well

[@onkelwaldo39]

Many, many years ago - I think I was around twelve at the time, I asked a very kind, very affectionate and very religious lady a question about God or Jesus - I forget which, and I’ve also forgotten the question. She looked at me with big, shocked and fearful eyes, then asked: - You are not a FREETHINKER, are you? I didn’t have an answer for her at the time, but I pondered for a looooooooong time, then came to the conclusion: Yes! - that’s what I am! (Fortunately, she was not around to hear it!) 😁 Today, almost seventy years later, that is still my answer!

[@onkelwaldo39]

PrettyGirl111 You are free to have YOUR beliefs and convictions, I am free to have mine. I am in addition tolerant enough to NOT call people with another conviction «dumbo». You just MAY get there, too - but it will take some time - and a lot of REALLY free thinking! 😁

[@paulgemme6056]

@@onkelwaldo39 What a terrible freedom. Free will. That's what got Adam and Eve in this mess that we are now in. A Sinful mess. Thank God there is a way out of this mess. Jesus is the only way. Romans 14:11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

[@thuscomeguerriero]

There's a great story in the gospels Jesus tells. Its about someone who, like you, was something of a free thinking individual. Its the story of the Prodigal Son. But you bring to mind another story that, though albeit not directly applicable to yourself, nevertheless traverses the same worldview. Its the story of the Rich Fool who thought himself secure in the worldly sense having all he needed for years to come only to be called from this life leaving behind all he had thought his own. In my opinion when a persons sense of self sufficiency, autonomy is shone for the hubris that it is it allows space for God in their heart where otherwise there hadn't been.

[@nowimhigh]

@@thuscomeguerriero You come off as articulate, smart, and educated. I'm sure you've had your doubts or test of faith? Yet you'll justify you faith due to the cognitive dissonance you possess. We all are technically born Atheists. We have no concept of a higher power. When we become more impressionable and can begin to wrap our minds around the concept of religion. That's when a child is indoctrinated and grows up to believe in whatever their family believes in. Now once you become a teenager and have developed critical thinking skills. You have more reading comprehension in return. You can now begin to read the Bible for what it is. If they haven't been fully indicated and had some doubt in them. Something they've been skeptical about because things just didn't add up. Those ppl usually look at things with an open mind. Usually those who think critically use facts, via through research, personal experiences, unbiased sources, etc. They use that evidence to produce an answer. No difference than the scientific method used when makes an experiment. Expect this is life and therefore your experience. You're either a skeptical person by nature or you follow whatever narrative you've been told all of your life. Faith is your crutch and the reason why you could never let go of your religion. You'll never be open to the possibility that you were lied to this whole time. When you spent your whole life believing in a God. You may of even experienced things you connect directly to as a message or conduit it God. The mins is a complex organ and religion can bring about some odd occurrences. That would be your rebuttle, that your felt God's presence. You were experiencing mild delusional perceptions. You'd swear up and down that it was real. Cognitive dissonance and mental illness go hand in hand. Religion aides this phenomenon and that's really as close to God you'll get is your own self. You'd have to have a basic understanding of psychology to really grasp what I'm trying to convey. I'm the end your entitle to your beliefs as much as the next man. If it's not harming anyone than I see nothing wrong. Except with monotheism they seem to develop this us vs. them mentality. It's hard to talk any sense to them, so I gave up entirely. I realize they don't know any better,

[@paulgemme6056]

@hatter00For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[@deepwoodtickles]

What is the difference between the blessed and unblessed food?One is colder because you delayed eating it!

[@paolaeli850]

awsome

[@exzelcic]

deepwoodtickles yes

[@ianp3112]

deepwoodtickles unless its ice cream, then its a puddle of milk. Good comment mate, cheers

[@MartTLS]

I have a born again hamburger.

[@EmilyRose900]

Hey Daniel, if what you can't explain is the work of God, then explain how that theory stands up against scientific evidence when we figure out what could not be explained years ago? Your God only exists if your ignorant to scientific fact. What do you sound like?

[@mtambov2351]

I was an orthodox Jew until, at about 22, I realized how ridiculous it all was. What a disgusting shame that kids every day become the vessels of such foolishness. And what a shame that few of them have the courage to throw off these religious shackles.

[@trichinosis333]

"Prayer is a fancy term for talking to yourself" - Me

[@WilbertLek]

"prayer" Is pretending to do something useful while not doing anything.

[@newlooksbeauty9291]

Also the equivalent of saying, I'll try to help you. Also have you tried wishing on a star? There's rumors....

[@jtnachos]

Ha! That is priceless.

[@undrwatropium3724]

If prayers worked we wouldn't need doctors and we'd all be rich and beautiful

[@Bravo-Too-Much]

Unless you’re Christopher Hitchens, that’s not your quote.

[@spiderfan1974]

Christianity in a nutshell "that's a nice soul, be a shame if anything happened to it".

[@MOSMASTERING]

Now pay!

[@pondartinc4002]

With a New Jersey accent...........

[@ericsbuds]

lolll

[@joyclark7530]

spiderfan1974 Tythe and I can have my own jet, yacht and mansion.

[@mackhomie6]

That isn't original, is it?

[@OneTrueScotsman]

*The goat-herder's guide to the universe*. That's a new one to me. I love it.

[@hedgehog1965uk]

Me too. I'm gonna have to remember that one.

[@caribbeanman3379]

BIBLE = Brutish Imbeciles Butchering Logic Enigmatically.

[@Thecatnipproject]

Secular Guy savage

[@alucarderipmavtube]

Secular Guy I'd call it "The Goat-Fucker's guide to superstitious nonsense".

[@kennkong61]

I call it the Goatherder's Guide to the Galaxy (in tribute to Douglas Adams). 1st edition - Old Testament, 2nd ed. New Testament, 3rd ed. Koran.

[@lindabolique72]

In High School, a friend took me to her church and begged me to take Jesus Christ into my heart in front of everyone. There was a line of people gathered in the front of the church waiting to get saved. I told her no and she said "Do you want to go to hell" I said if god can see into my heart, he'd see that I was faking it so what would be the point? She had no answer.

[@dawnpham8394]

I too wasted my 40 years believed the nonsense. I happily walked away from Christianity and have been enlightened. Thanks Seth for the amazing work you do.

[@jacksonrelaxin3425]

You’re enlightened about what, shit coming out of your ass? 😅

[@theboombody]

Believe in the divine inspired me to study special relativity at one point. I don't consider that a waste.

[@SweetTodd]

If it wern't for Gaileo, Irish kids would had been taught the earth is flat.

[@SilverSurfer5150]

You have become endarkened, not enlightened. That’s what happens when you walk away from God. So now you believe something came from nothing?

[@SweetTodd]

@@SilverSurfer5150"Endarkened" 💀💀💀

[@hoopsmom68]

As an ex-JW, everything you experienced is exactly what I went through. Thank you for your work and activism.

[@JohnDoe-ov9ib]

So happy for you. Congrats on leaving the Jehovah's Witness cult. You're one of the lucky ones to have made it out.

[@phinehas55]

I like you woke up years ago 🌴

[@black_jackledemon6298]

🙋‍♂️ freedom from Jdub here as well.

[@violet11000]

I’m a freed JW too!!!

[@martylawrence5532]

Today on January 22nd, 2022 there is a news article of "Scientists Have Successfully Reversed Signs of Aging in Mice for the First Time". How did they do it? It was by restoring the youthful epigenetics of the old mice. They call this epigenetics coming from all life's epigenome a software program. What is the other huge aspect of this? Here it is below. It is this epigenetic biological system made of methyl tags giving ADAPTATIONS in earth's creatures and us to changed environments, changed diets, or new threats. This is without any evolving DNA mutations being involved. This was found materially factual in 2014 by scientist Dr. Michael Skinner in all of observed organisms and in Darwin Finches in their beak-to-diet adaptations. This takes out the cornerstone of the theory of evolution. These epigenetic-derived adaptations...including for bacterial antibiotic resistance...are logistically from intelligent design, not by the spinned Godless self-creation of evolution. These observed adaptations for all these decades have had ASSUMED evolving DNA mutations and were called 'microevolution'. Then effects from genome degeneration were equivocated to be the same. It was a non-sequitur. The assertions by evolutionists of genome degeneration causing evolutionary generation is laid out here as absurd comic book science. New finches transported from the mainland onto new islands pass beak adaptation to the offspring in just two generations or seventeen years. Evolutionary 'biologist' have wrongly theorized the Darwin Finches took 2.3 million years. The theory of evolution is the biggest scam ever foisted on humanity. The correct alternative? We are a creation by Jesus Christ beyond doubt. The theory of evolution has been beloved by the Left for its political science benefits, not for its science. It has been scientism instead. Many of people have gone to their death beds or laying fatally injured in their crashed vehicles thinking an eternal void was awaiting them because of this theory of evolution. It gives the 'dots of the picture' of a Godless existence. To which spiritual existence of the two did these deceived people go to?

[@mysunnybird]

There should be just one Commandment for everybody to follow: DON'T DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE DONE TO YOU.

[@redleg56]

Which is something Jesus knew because Hillel said it already. He took it a bit further after quoting him, and -- believe it or not, Aleister Crowley explained it a great length,

[@annk.8750]

It doesn't take great lengths. It's pretty self-explanatory.

[@laurasomebody]

You mean the golden rule? Lol pretty sure I learned "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" in church 😉

[@ktmal1681]

But then the sex fetishists will run rampant....

[@wetyewruyrtsutrdhjfg]

@@laurasomebody Eh, what if I want to have sex with a beautiful woman and she says no? I want that woman to have sex with me,, so according to that principle, it'll be fine if I have sex with her, right?

[@Novalunosis90]

I’m so glad I never fell for all the religious insanity. I’m so glad I questioned everything in church as a child and was never criticized or condemned for it by my parents. I’m so glad I educated myself and continue to do so; and have been free from religion’s grasp for nearly 18 years. And I’m so very, very glad that my family has removed themselves from any specific religion (yet are still spiritual) and respect my atheistic opinions.

[@user-df6mf9mb2l]

I am a secular humanist and I get sick of people selling God, instead of helping people use their own strength to solve problems. My sister was so dependent on believing and expecting help her, she became a very weak person.

[@michaelkochanewycz972]

As my mother said, "if you have time to pray you have time to be doing something constructive".

[@Will-tm5bj]

"You're going to hell unless you believe this.." "Who's in hell?" "People like you" "Whos in heaven? "People like me" "You really need to work on your threats"

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

Haha, almost every cool person I've met is going to hell. Hell, Satan seems more morally upstanding than god at times.

[@Will-tm5bj]

@Binguh Bungah lol ok

[@Will-tm5bj]

@Binguh Bungah 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Lol.... OK

[@vaiyt]

Hell's got all the best people in art, science and humanitarianism. Who goes to Heaven, Mormons? Nah, lake of fire for me it is.

[@amberblackwell7687]

Hell sounds pretty dope. The Devil seems cool. He never did anything wrong and he was right in the garden. Plus Hell has some of the human race's greatest minds in the arts, the humanities and the sciences: Steven Hawking, Albert Einstein, Issac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Alan Turing, HG Wells, Carl Sagan, Ken Levine, Marilyn Manson, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. The list goes on and on but you get the point. If Hell exists it's gotta be fucking great.

[@DimaRakesah]

God is straight up abusive. "You must love me, worship me, accredit all good things to me, sacrifice what you want for me, change yourself for me and have blind faith in me or suffer for all eternity" ok this seems like a healthy relationship....?

[@chrissonofpear1384]

Somewhat unbalanced at least, when put that way, yes. Not like for sure infallible either, per existing text.

[@chrissonofpear1384]

But Satan can ONLY do what God allows him, or retain the powers YHWH wanted him to have, yes? And why was Satan owed anything?

[@chrissonofpear1384]

And for the blood libel on Jews, and the Inquisition, how did that come to be... Did Matthew 27:25 already do much damage? And of Leviticus 25:46... (potentially misread)

[@lastdays3148]

God is not abusive. Satan is abusive that Devil has been using the Pimp Preachers to con the weak Humans. Even God cannot enter into those Pimp Preaching fleecing the flock Churches. For Centuries Humans have been vile & evil towards God. Well God is letting Humans do whatever they want now. God doesn't forced us to worship the Savior. If anyone wants the Savior well they have free will to read John Chapter 3 KJV for Salvation🙏🏾🙋🏾‍♀️

[@lastdays3148]

@@chrissonofpear1384 ,for Centuries Humans have been saying that they don't won't God. Well God gives us free will to do what ever we want. Maybe God is saying okay you want a World without me okay your choice. God is allowing Satan to ruled the World,because some of the Humans wants Satan instead of God. God doesn't forced the Savior on us. The Pimping Preachers, Religious Judging Church people and the Devil worship people are to blame for all of this hellish chaos on this toxic Planet Earth🌎🌍🌏🤦🏾‍♀️

[@skfineshriber]

“Everything happens for a reason.” One of the most thoughtless phrases ever. Does it mean that everything is predetermined? If so, what good is prayer? What is the reason a woman I loved, a woman who was universally loved, with two small children, who just finished a master’s degree in social justice, was killed by a drunk driver? There is no benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent deity.

[@Plethorality]

I am so sorry that happened to you and to her and her family. And i am sorry that idiots said that stupid bloody phrase to you. You did not deserve that crap.

[@gregmonks]

When I was a child bible-reading was compulsory. One very religious teacher said we should write a letter to god each and every day. One day I stopped producing my letters. She demanded why. "The old bugger never writes back to me," I told her. "Until he does, I'm not writing him another letter."

[@thorpenator9148]

At my family I give Thanks to my mother for working 50 years to provide for us. She is our saint...and gave us all we needed...and went to work while ill..through horrible weather to ensure we had food and shelter.

[@dreamzofhorses]

“Everything happens for a reason.” Right. After my daughter was murdered, I tossed that Bible and several Christian “friends”. God is supposedly omniscient, all powerful and everywhere. But he doesn’t do a damn thing to stop murder, sexual assault, child molestation, starvation, drought..all the “evil” acts and events that plague this world. Even you and I would try to stop someone from doing these things if we had the power to do so, but the only one with the power to see all, do all, does nothing. Takes a lot of “faith” to ignore these facts.

[@sidnew2739]

My condolences.

[@randomuser6306]

It's called the problem of evil, and yes, there are answers that resolve it from A Christian perspective. What can't be resolved is that from an atheist perspective, all of us have no inherent value and thus murder isn't even a thing, just one meat bag ending the blip in time far the other was alive, not that there's any value in being alive anyways.

[@dreamzofhorses]

Leonardo's Truth I’m not an athiest

[@richrichy3015]

@Leonardo's Truth Was that supposed to be some compelling argument there? Those things you talk of going "unpunished" would be exactly that if this made up god really forgives, based on his ego, and whether you ask for forgiveness....which is exactly the case in your religion. Doesn't matter what someone does....as long as they say "sorry" and bow their head. In reality, there is no such thing as "evil". Evil, like the god you worship, is just another man made concept. People just do shit we consider bad....or they don't. Shit happens, or it don't.

[@Ray89135]

He could stop bad happenings, but doesn't because....(you figure it out)

[@markporter2642]

They tried indoctrinating me in my youth. It never stuck. A few years back I was taking a training course and my instructor (very religious guy), who had quickly become my friend, was shocked to learn that I am a non-believer. I told him that "I hoped he didn't think any less of me." I also hope that he learned that you don't have to be religious to be a good person with moral values and character.

[@blue-ck9ns]

That last sentence was so true. A personal relationship with reality. To all Christian’s, please say “Amen” to that 😂😂😂

[@sven888]

Amen to that for all is Relative as in Related as in I Love You and I appreciate You are Here.

[@johndavis-cf5wf]

Amen.

[@sethamule]

The “blessed” potato’s are colder.

[@armyshope]

Eat while it's still hot!

[@davemwangi05]

Blessed potatoes have Jesus' cum

[@xeroaishintu5777]

@@davemwangi05 'OOF' size large.

[@user-qh6nf2ev9s]

😂 😂 😂

[@cryptohunt2552]

The blessed potatoes might also be safer to eat.

[@pam1574]

Parent: Be like John or Paul Me: What about George or Ringo???

[@richardkranium2944]

Be the fifth beatle.

[@michaeljarchibald7417]

And no religion too, ... That John?

[@wesleygordon1645]

Funny to a point. Bare in mind that this Dusty might have been a religious idiot in the past but now he makes himself a bigger idiot & fool than anyone could ever be.He doesn't really bother me personally. Just another wilfully blind full of hatred,met a few like him(though not as eloquent)

[@jimgallagher5902]

Too bad your parents produced a moron.

[@pam1574]

Jim Gallagher Too funny!!! Hope u have a great day funny boy😆

[@Rain-Dirt]

I was taught that everything non-christian or to the likes of the parent as bad. The false feeling of superiority towards the world. The false shame and guilttrippings. The sheltering to distance oneself from the world. How wrong it was. How traumatizing it was. It truly IS an abusive prison! I 100% understand Seth's desire to vent. I too was in my thirties before walking the path Seth is walking now: one of honesty and within reality.

[@Sky-ee1bf]

'My wife's cooking is so bad, we pray AFTER we eat!!' Rodney Dangerfield

[@kimnabi3988]

Another smart one

[@tennbones]

I love Dangerfield lol

[@DimaRakesah]

The way our country has so many people tying religion into politics and patriotism is terrifying. Somehow when a person in the US does it, it's wholesome and good and patriotic. But if you ask them about religion mixing with politics in the middle east well....

[@dreamzofhorses]

DimaRakesah We must insist on separation of church and state and uphold the constitution. No national religion and no religious tests. Republican Christians are trying to rewrite history and claim America was founded on Christian ideals.. no it was not! Correct them when they try to spread this fake news around!

[@AndrewFosterSheff69]

@@dreamzofhorses Your double think is frankly astounding... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." * all men are CREATED equal * * endowed by their CREATOR * I urge anyone hearing a claim that the American Constitution was NOT founded on Judeo-Christian morals, to tell them to actually READ the constitution and stop listening to these godless marxists who are famous for spreading fake news and millions of deaths!

[@wd3185]

@@AndrewFosterSheff69 John Adams, a devout Christian, in the Treaty of Tripoli, 1796, Article 11: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;" This document was ratified unanimously by the 23 members of Senate present, out of 32. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, ratified by Congress and all the states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation all avoid the specific mention of Christ or Christianity. George Washington, the first American President under the Constitution, avoided references to God when possible in regards to political affairs. Thomas Paine, a devout Deist, vehemently opposed any connection between church and state. America was, in no sense, founded on any particular religion, not Christianity, not Deism, not Judaism.

[@RonLarhz]

I hate these american missionaries invading other countries with this bs.

[@rs72098]

@@wd3185 Correct John Adams and the majority of founding fathers were Christian. You're denying reality if you don't think the founding of the U.S. was NOT influenced at all by Christianity. It was HEAVILY influenced by Protestant Christianity and the manifest destiny philosophy.

[@j.j.1064]

Joseph Stalin said "If you can control what people believe, you can control how they act". Unquote. This does not exclude religion.

[@standswithfist806]

perhaps a tad bit scary when someone quotes Joseph Stalin who killed over 20 million people mostly Christians. People like Mr. Andrews encourage animosity towards Christians...animosity is the seed of hate, which then sprouts and becomes the tree of genocide. J.J. I hope you don't wanna kill me. ...Joseph Stalin certainly would have. ...what a sad world we have today...

[@RousosrGL]

J. J. Evolution fits that theory perfectly.

[@AM-nn8lo]

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca A great and true statement made by a Roman historian and philosopher.

[@candaceskeen7522]

J. J. Awe! A trump worthy attitude as he basically said the same- only a bit skewed... ya know he had to throw his spin on it...

[@speedy7040]

standswithfist806, you did not understand the quote and you really don't know anything about stalin. Stalin woud not want to kill you just because you are religious. The communists divided the religious bunch in 2 groups - the stupid sheeps , who would be left alone, just not promoted because...well, they were stupid.. - the prozelites , the preachers . They belived thoose are seeking power thgrought endocrination of the sheeps (! yeah, the communists were not stupid ...) And they didn't like the competition. they actually didn't care what ideology you try to use against them, either religion or philosophy , you would be crushed just the same. But you should reflect on the quote.. it actually reveals that religion works just like communist propaganda did...with the same methods, and the same results.

[@cultfan5227]

As a retired R.N. I can tell you it used to kill me when a patient got better and the family thanked god. Not the doctors, not the nurses with all their education and hard work, not the numerous scientists that created the drugs and procedures , but their pretend god.

[@jennifersmith4864]

So, what;s yer point, there is no god?

[@cultfan5227]

I don't believe there is. @@jennifersmith4864

[@paulgrieger8182]

You had me at, "The Goat Herder's Guide to the Universe."

[@jacquiorhena-tule4446]

I was 37 and lived in the 3rd World, I thought living in the 3rd world was the reason🤦‍♀️thank you mehn. I really regret that I didn't get this therapy atleast 20 years ago. I lost out on a whole different, progressive and more intelligent way of life. My sentiments exactly

[@ambulocetusnatans]

A long long time ago, religion served a purpose and made the world a better place. That time is gone and now religion is making the world a worse place. In some places it is dangerous to ask too many questions, but if it is safe where you are, consider learning Street Epistemology. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6CkoXptr5ejobs

[@kimchikoalaa714]

Ambulocetus religion has always been used as an excuse to wage war, oppress people, and to impose the pope’s agenda on others. Fuck the “religion served a purpose” shit. It never did. Maybe for a small fraction of religious people, the found peace in religion and become better people, that is good, I recognise that. But the evil and destruction and suffer that come from powerful religious leaders far outweighs the claim that religion made the world a better place

[@AndrewFosterSheff69]

@@ambulocetusnatans Those same rules would fix a lot of problems we have today, such as people now being confused about obvious things like what is between their legs!

[@ambulocetusnatans]

@@AndrewFosterSheff69 I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean.

[@M.J.212]

@@AndrewFosterSheff69 That's the bigotry speaking from ignorance, additional evidence that God's perfect plan is a fallacy. Not everything is black white, there's a whole lot of gray. FYI: you're not cute or funny, for many of those unfortunate enough to be born in the gray areas, it can often be a living hell. Try to grow and learn, develop some semblance of empathy for your fellow humans.

[@ssdsd5394]

ITADAKEMASU /いただけます。 Japanese say this before eating. It means..."I receive this" It's not a prayer but an acknowledgement of everyone involved from the farmer to the one who lovingly prepares and serves the food. Makes more sense to me than giving credit to an imaginary diety that has nothing to do with anything. So that's what we say in our house before we eat. 🙄

[@1MegArbo]

I really like that. Thank you for sharing. :-)

[@kullerva5738]

@@1MegArbo 頂きます、actually, in kanji. That's いただきます。Itadakimasu, in English letters. Close, but itadakemasu is the potential form of the verb ("I can receive," not "I receive.")

[@ReiMiiz]

In Thailand, we also have this but unfortunately, people these days don't say it anymore. roughly it says "Every dish, every food is valuable, do not waste it. People are starving.....". It's really really long. I think Buddhism countries don't have/believe that kind of "god". Instead, we have some kind of lucky charm to pray to( not that we really believe in it lol).

[@ssdsd5394]

@@kullerva5738 Yeah that's correct 😊👍 I live in Texas now. Without anyone to practice Japanese with its difficult to maintain and progress. I don't give up easily though. 🤓

[@ssdsd5394]

@@ReiMiiz 😎Cool

[@stevenhogenson4880]

I was indoctrinated just like you Seth, and didn't de-convert until I was about 50. You talked about some of the Bible passages, particularly the one about ask anything in Jesus' name and the Father will do it to bring glory to the Son. I have a grandson who was born with a congenital heart deformity. Lacking some of the chambers, there was no way he would survive more than briefly at birth. They knew about it the womb. I prayed for him to be healed so that the doctors and nurses would see the miracle and recognize that only God could do that. He wasn't healed. He underwent surgery nearly immediately to have his heart modified by the doctors to allow his very survival. He's had several surgeries since then and currently sits at the Mayo medical center in MN awaiting a heart transplant. My wife says "how do you know God didn't use the doctors to save him?" My reply is that if God really existed, we wouldn't have needed the doctors in the first place and he wouldn't be in the fix he is right now. That situation with my grandson was the straw that broke the camel's back, the wind that blew down the house of cards called Christianity. For many reasons to numerous to relate here, I had already begun to harbor serious doubts. The failure of prayer, even doing just as the Bible said, was the nail in the coffin of my faith. Videos like yours and those from many other KZbin contributors have reassured me I made the right decision.

[@Rain-Dirt]

Yes, while reading this I was going to say that one most likely would say what your wife said. It's a typical thing, but indeed, why would God offer the hard way with plenty of suffering, insecurities and payments to be done, while it would have been no effort at all for an omnipotent poewrful god to give the person a normal functioning heart. That is just the act of a cruel god. But again christian could refer to the book of Job, to have us know that we have no say in the matter and have to accept whatever this god throws at us and at the same time keep praising his greatness and love that god (allegedly) has for his creation... If something like that would happen between two people, we would speak of a toxic and abusive relationship. I feel the Bible is a tool for a kingdom to control it's people and manifest ultimate authority. I'm glad you made it out, to embrace freedom.

[@videoettaceo8900]

Very immature and lacks understanding.

[@Stacky31]

“The cornerstone of interpreting this verse is the qualifier Jesus provides: that requests must be made "in my name." This implies someone who is acting according to the will and authority of someone else. A cliché from old movies involves police officers shouting "Stop, in the name of the law!" The implication is they are speaking with the approval of a greater power. When a foreign ambassador says, "I agree to these terms in the name of the king," it means his ruler has given him the authority to make such a bargain. On the other hand, people would probably laugh if a police officer said, "buy me coffee, in the name of the law!" Merely using that phrase does not guarantee the person to get whatever they want. They can only use that authority-and expect results-when they act according to the will of the law. And the law does not demand that random people purchase food for the officer. Anyone who says differently is either sadly mistaken, or an abusive fraud. In exactly that sense, Jesus does not say, "I will give you anything you ask for." Nor does He say, "as long as you include the magic words 'in Jesus' name,' I will grant your request." Christ promises He will do anything that is asked "in my name." That implies that the person is asking something consistent with the will and nature of Christ. This, in turn, means such a request is consistent with the will and nature of God (John 14:10).” I am truly sorry for your sorrows and loss.

[@Rain-Dirt]

@@videoettaceo8900 "Very immature and lacks understanding." Elaborate.

[@Rain-Dirt]

@@Stacky31 It's a nice addition of insight on how things are alegedly supposed to work (which I already knew), but regarding the christian religion, everything points into the direction it is not real. It's more using "hope" to keep people from taking another step towards something that has given nothing back but more false hope. Praying will not provide help from a higher being since this higher being has not presented himself yet, how can we believe the word(s) of a few who claimed to have spoken with a higher deity. In this particular deity's almighty power, it would know we would require more than just words of a few and this sentence blessed he who believes without seeing is just BS to keep the pot being stirred. The bottom line is, a just fair god can not exist with how nature and religion presents itself (discrimination) and that logically the best way to make things better is through honest empathy and effort to turn situations into better situations without discrimination.

[@amosfwo4609]

Without lies. Religion dies. The truth shall set you free. Literally

[@SabrinaFaith]

Whoever uploaded this, thank you! I really mean that.

[@eugenegrewing2587]

Seth Andrews uploaded it. It’s his channel.

[@JaegerLeMaserati]

You'll always have Faith ... literally.

[@fatturbo7680]

No problem 😉

[@bleirdo_dude]

Behold the power of the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* ! "The second system, known as the mesolimbic system, has its cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area, which is medial to the substantia nigra. It projects to several parts of the limbic system, including the nucleus accumbens and ventral portions of the striatum, amygdala, and hippocampus, as well as prefrontal cortex. *This system has been linked to reward-related behavior (Berridge and Kringelbach, 2015). Dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens increase in response to both natural reinforcers (such as food, drink, and sex) and drugs of abuse (such as amphetamine and cocaine). Additionally, in humans, activity in this region increases in response to more abstract rewards, such as money.* " Marie T. Banich/Rebecca J. Compton, Cognitive Neuroscience, Section: Subsystems, pp. 2/3 "Dopamine, in fact, is critical in association learning and the reward system of the brain that Skinner discovered through his process of operant conditioning, whereby any behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated. *A reinforcement is, by definition, something that is rewarding to the organism; that is to say, it makes the brain direct the body to repeat the behavior in order to get another positive reward.* ..The connection between dopamine and belief was established by experiments conducted by Peter Brugger and his colleague Christine Mohr at the University of Bristol in England. *Exploring the neurochemistry of superstition, magical thinking, and belief in the paranormal, Brugger and Mohr found that people with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidences and pick out meaning and patterns where there are none.* " Michael Shermer, The Believing Brain, Section: 6 The Believing Neuron pp. 8-10/29 "Genetic and behavioral factors influencing religiously motivated behavior appear related to dopamine metabolism and signaling. *Inclination toward religious behavior and motivation has been associated with a polymorphism on the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 (Comings, Gonzales, Saucier, Johnson, & MacMurray, 2000;Sasaki et al., 2013). Acquired disorders of dopamine physiology also show links to religious behaviors.* " www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478470/ " *Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music,* report researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The findings will be published Nov. 29 in the journalSocial Neuroscience." unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/ "Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that belong to the catecholamine family. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain, and dopamine alterations are related to schizophrenia (1, 2). Dopaminergic projections are divided into the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical systems. Impairments in the dopamine system result from dopamine dysfunctions in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental region, striatum, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus (3-5). *The “original dopamine hypothesis” states that hyperactive dopamine transmission results in schizophrenic symptoms.* " www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032934/ "Dopamine In schizophrenia (SCZ), there is evidence that *very high levels of dopamine in the limbic system play a major role in emergence of hallucinations and delusions.* Antipsychotic medications, which block central dopamine activity, alleviate the hallucinations of psychosis. Drugs with strong dopaminergic effect, such as L-dopa, methylphenidate, bromocriptine, pramipexole and piribedil, may induce hallucinations. D-amphetamine, a direct dopamine agonist, may also induce psychosis and hallucinations." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996210/ "Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. *This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future.* " www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424419/ "Tibetan mystics have long practiced a method to create sentient beings (Tulpas) from the power of concentrated thought." Note: These (Tulpas) are not sentient beings, but a manifestation of the subconscious mind through neural plasticity via neurochemical imbalancing inducing meditation. In other words it's having a dream state while awake, and interacting with a character that's made up of one's own preformed thoughts (building blocks of ideas/concepts that are below conscious awareness) which gives the illusion of sentience. In simpler words *it's self induced schizophrenia due to stresses (psychological/physical/environmental) where neurochemical traffic gets rerouted causing hallucinations* to any of the five senses, and can include involuntary movement (not mystical experiences). www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/exmqzz/tulpamancy-internet-subculture-892 *Imagine the euphoria experienced by the average person for believing they won a million dollars on a scratch off ticket (it could be a joke ticket yet as long as they believe). Now imagine someone having the same sensations, but being convinced it's a paranormal contact for believing John **3:16**.* The ticket can be confirmed soon enough as reality, or not. But the other results in confirmation, and cognitive biases. We evolved to seek pleasure (eating/reproduction), and avoid getting killed (tiger in the grass/competing neighbor/harsh enviroment). With our increased cognitive abilities we made up other reasons for pleasure, and survival. On a neurological level chemical addiction (drugs/alcohol) and thought addiction (gambling/believing outlandish conspiracy theories) are closely related. *The Dopamine Reward System over time reinforces neurochemical pathways in order to form habits to repeat behaviors, and or thoughts.* The often cited testimony of getting off an addiction thanks to a God is just a placebo replacement due to the power of the mind (an AA participant I heard of chose to worship the radiator in his room instead of an higher power, and became sober). Ancient people did not know the neurosciences, and some thought that joy came from the divine on high (no pun intended). The hellenized Jew Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of Paul the Apostle) believed that *God's firstborn son an annointed archangel the Divine Word (Logos)/Right Reason/Wisdom (a character derived from OT scripture, and hellenistic philosophy) poured down spiritual nourishment as a reward for righteous thoughts about God* . ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book 2 "XXXVII ...And *who can pour over the happy soul which proffers its own reason as the most sacred cup, the holy goblets of true joy, except the cup-bearer of God, the master of the feast, the Word* ?" ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, III "LX ... *the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, “This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul, (Exo. **16:15**)” explaining that God has brought it, his own Word and his own Reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this Word of his* ." Then He Appeared to Over 500 Brethren at Once! www.richardcarrier.info/archives/14255 Mark's Use of Paul's Epistles www.richardcarrier.info/archives/15934 Why Did Mark Invent an Empty Tomb? www.richardcarrier.info/archives/16366 What Did Paul Mean in Romans 1:3? www.richardcarrier.info/archives/16065 How Historians Try to Rescue Jesus www.richardcarrier.info/archives/13812 Desperately Searching the Epistles www.richardcarrier.info/archives/12220 Josephus on Jesus? www.richardcarrier.info/archives/12071 NT Narrative as OT Midrash www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/art_midrash1.htm The Idea of the Sanctity of the Biblical Text users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/CohenArt/#8a Forged archive.org/stream/BartD.Ehrman-ForgedWritingInTheNameOfGod-WhyTheBiblesAuthors/Forged_djvu.txt Three Things to Know about NT Manuscripts www.richardcarrier.info/archives/11209 That Christian Nation Nonsense www.richardcarrier.info/archives/3314 Dying & Rising Gods: It's Pagan www.richardcarrier.info/archives/13890 The Dark Ages www.richardcarrier.info/archives/15567 The Holy Dopamine Ghost (Thoughts are as addictive as drugs) kzbin.info/aero/PLQATeZAnm87BaJjBtM1vMIq_gHRmBq3ie "Of all this, and other detail of Jesus’ life, miraculous or mundane, there is not a single secular, contemporary, eyewitness account. Perhaps this is why Robert Funk, noted Biblical scholar and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, admitted the following: 'As an historian, I do not know for certain that Jesus really existed, that he is anything more than the figment of some overactive imaginations… In my view, there is nothing about Jesus of Nazareth that we can know beyond any possible doubt. In the mortal life we have there are only probabilities. And the Jesus that scholars have isolated in the ancient gospels, gospels that are bloated with the will to believe, may turn out to be only another image that merely reflects our deepest longings.' While issues with the gospels are certainly not enough to rule out the possibility that there was a historical Jesus behind the gospel story, it also cannot be said with certainty that there must have been one. The lack of primary sources and the problems with the Gospel stories alone, would seemingly justify having some doubt." Raphael Lataster, Jesus Did Not Exist, Section: Sources: We All Know They're Rubbish - pp. 35/73 i.imgflip.com/1ydvtk.jpg

[@jimgallagher5902]

lilykep: Good for you. I too am not a believer, but what I AM, and most non-believers aren't, is a believer in treating other human beings who believe differently than I with dignity and love.

[@beckyenglish4783]

“The Goat-Herder’s Guide to the Universe”...love it!

[@motleydude73]

Pretty smart goat herder! Scholars and scientists are still trying to decode and decipher it thousands of years later.

[@TheAndnor]

@@motleydude73 Cant that point more to really dumb goat herders? the fact that it is so poorly written and full of contradictions that people cant figure out what it means

[@TheAndnor]

@UCW5uX4y2NQguHdF3bhluxXg well, prophecies are not very difficult to make come true. I can make several prophecies and then make sure it happens. And lots of them are extremely vague, so they are worthless. And several stories in the bible are just stolen from older story books. Can nobody really have the imagination to write those bad stories? Jrr tolkien was a far more creative author than any of the bible authors, was he inspired by god? And some archeological findings, sure. The same kind of evidence that proves that spiderman is real... new york is a real place, spiderman lives in new york and the city is well described in the comics (that by the way are far more creative and imaginative than the bible stories).

[@thebigjul]

@motleydude73, you are a funny guy, the bible is just a vast pile aof badly written shit, there is work to do on it Indeed just to get a sense out this mess. Only morons are still believing in what's written in it.

[@seanm4095]

You know this all reminds me of a science program I came across recently and there was a guy who was fascinated by the fact that when you send radio messages they never stop they exist forever in the universe even long after we find our way to the pine box. He is also fascinated by the possibility of alien life. And before you call me a nut let's not forget there is a scientific program and yes actual money is being spent on SETI. The program called S.E.T.I. Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence somehow I doubt they are using monopoly money. And he wanted everyone to have the opportunity so he set up a very simple way to send radio messages and for a modest fee anything you could send online you can now send among the stars. And I forget his name but he has a website a quick dig through my history and I can probably find the website. Anyway to get an idea of what kind of message he should send he got together a group of linguist and crytographers, and other skilled professionals. He was concerned that whatever message he sent that Aliens may not have the necessary skills to interpret his message so he gave the professionals a real message (that was sent by NASA back when they still were a thing to also to make contact) but randomized he wanted to see if they would spend a lot of time on it believing it was a real message or would they realize it was just not a message but randomized pixels made to look like a message. That what the bible often reminds me of.

[@erstwhile3793]

These analytical assessments of fundamental christian practices are what I went through on my own, inside my head, in the middle of my religious community, while still fully practicing everything and believing the core truth claims of my religion. One by one, e each of these ideas about blessings, prayer, obedience leading to blessed outcomes, etc., etc., fell victim to the pressure of real, lived experience. I couldn’t help seeing that faithful, praying people were literally no better off in terms of actual effects and outcomes in life, than any one else. I also couldn’t help seeing that my community doubled down very tightly on the times when the outcome was what they wanted, while assiduously ignoring the times when it was not (those are the “testing” times, apparently). None of it made any sense, the longer I lived it and practiced it. So I left. I’m much healthier mentally and emotionally now, as I’m “allowed” to learn from actual experience about what is real and what is not.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Erstwhile3 I understand exactly how you feel as I went through this kind of experience on my own at age 45 and actually went to the holy land to get Baptized. Now I go by empirical law (observation and experience) and trust my judgement.

[@emo516]

"praying people were literally no better off" exactly. I think you articulated that pretty well... I saw my group pray intensely for members of their own church and community, but often wondered why we weren't praying for real life battles and larger issues like the human and child trafficking that still plagues our world, or drug addiction etc... When one of our church members daughter died he lost faith and lost hope and stopped going to church. Rather than pray for him as an individual to find strength again they prayed for him to return to the church.... like what?

[@jbinkly]

Brilliant. Always great to hear a rational speaker. I lost my religion, thankfully, at the age of 12.

[@sven888]

Who knows. Maybe you will return one day. Usually we don't understand until something happens. Then it all clicks. Right now. Enjoy life.

[@jamesniagu274]

I remember hearing on a recent podcast of his that he thought this was a throw away speech sir you are wrong this is a life changing speech . Thank you for this speech

[@kirielbranson4843]

This is a speech I search for occasionally. One of my favorites.

[@tmeservey2723]

I’ve been an atheist my entire life and have always thought most people sound stupid AF and crazy. Glad to see more people are escaping the nonsense!

[@DrCatdeJong]

Me too, i did went to a catholic elementary and middle school but they didn't teach much about it. I just remember in elementary school having to lipdub the "our father" every day but that's it. In middle school we didn't do that. My kids go to the same school i went to when i was young, and even though it's still a catholic school i don't mind because of the lack of religious teachings.

[@richrichy3015]

Such a good sight. I have been going back and forth with this one particular Christian....that happens to believe the world is flat. 🤦‍♂️The things he types made me think of this video. I had to come watch again. Kinda sad what it does to people's minds, though.

[@MadebyJimbob]

T Meservey well, I have some bad news, that’s all ad hominem and so is the title of this talk. It’s literally nonsense, logically invalid, and includes zero reasoning

[@richrichy3015]

@@MadebyJimbob So, he ad hominem-ed himself with the title of the video. Oh, ok! 🤦‍♂️🤣The whole topic is about CHRISTIANITY and what it does to people....not the people. Learn what ad hominem is, instead of just throwing around a term you think makes you sound smart. Very flat earther-ish.

[@andrewhigdon8346]

Richie Rich I’ve never spoken to anyone who is seriously a flat earther. I can understand some real morons believe whatever they are told, especially when it fits their agenda. Sometimes people just need to be a part of something bigger, but out of defiance, not because the subject is virtuous or even true. It’s enough to be inflammatory and against the grain of the norm, but if the subject seemingly reinforces their agenda, well then by god it is the gospel. I have an argument for people who believe in and swear and live by tenants of belief systems with little or no adherence to reality. I explain that the earth is flat. I produce the very biggest straightedge I can find, be it a ruler or the edge of a dumpster, or a building or a truck or hallway. The longer the better. I argue that the straightedge is straighter than straight straight, and it is the very thing we use to square up our building, the very foundations of our civilizations. These things are reference points drawn in stone, literally, and we can’t refute their straightness, nor do we need to. But keep extending that edge, as far as you can see, and it will eventually reach the edge of the earth and hang off the edge. Next tell them that if they have good aim and just keep adding to the edge, it will eventually poke them in the ass. Mind blown. The argument is like playing the ultimate devil’s advocate, and I implore him to prove to me one way or the other whether the earth is round or flat. I challenge them, or anyone, to prove the roundness of the earth without using modern tech tools, or another person’s words or ideas, within 24 hrs. It can’t be done. It takes at least a day to prove it. But any mere mortals can simply observe the straightedge and with no argument or doubt, decree that the world is indeed flat. Just look before you fellow people. How could anyone think that it is any other shape than flat? But it’s not. We use faith to agree that it is round. We can use the repetitive placement of heavenly bodies to prove its roundness. So it’s faith until it is not, and it is proven. The flow of a river is no longer the tears or piss streams of the gods. The wind isn’t divinely blown. We figured it out. Sometimes we are wrong. But sometimes we need to believe a truth only by faith. Besides having read it in a book, how could any normal person prove that the earth is round on demand? Yet as non God believers and decriers of faith, we use just that, faith, to expect a certain result, to know what is good and bad. So even those with no mercy for religion are forced to cling to its teachings every day. If we are going to give the church a good ribbing, let’s check ourselves and try to stave off hypocrisy.

[@peggyunderhill601]

When I was 5 I thought religion was ridiculous. I’m 83 now and still feel the same.

[@jennifersmith4864]

That doesn't mea the thing called god doesn't exist.....right?

[@xykeem4805]

@@jennifersmith4864proof?

[@jennifersmith4864]

@@xykeem4805 Proof of what?

[@xykeem4805]

@@jennifersmith4864 responded to the wrong person, my apologies.

[@jennifersmith4864]

@@xykeem4805 No prob

[@w.ellynkathryngaleckipolk2451]

I grew up in a household with a fervently religious grandmother, an on-again off-again religious mother and an almost atheist father. His summation of God was, "If there is a God, he does a damned good job of messing things up!"

[@natemorgan1996]

Your father seems like a smart man for saying that

[@stacyrodriguez128]

People mess up things.

[@miaomiaochan]

@@stacyrodriguez128 okay, then - if God is a wise, loving, protective father figure as so many Christians claim, he sure as heck isn't doing a good job of preventing millions of us from perishing or suffering from man-made catastrophes. So either he can't, which proves that he isn't all-powerful, or he won't, which means he's indifferent at best or cruel and sadistic at worst (in the real world, it's called being a neglectful or abusive parent).

[@stacyrodriguez128]

@@miaomiaochan He will not force Himself on you, it wouldn't be love if He forced us to follow Him. He gave us free will, whatever sin we commit against each other has nothing to do with God. That was our decision. But the good news is that He's near to the broken-hearted and will listen to your cry. All you have to do is seek Him (Jesus) sincerely and I promise you, He'll answer.

[@chrissonofpear1384]

@@stacyrodriguez128 And is that how Jehu experienced things, in 2 Kings 10, then? How about King David, forced into a Hobson's choice, with other's lives - in 2 Samuel 24? And why did Romans 1:18 not work well, with one third of all angels, in heaven - to begin with? Before they rebelled, I mean, almost spontaneously. Yet got to keep many powers too - hmm. Curious version of being 'spiritually dead', post sin. And How did He feel, and act, about the Inquisition, or slave trade (in Christendom) also?

[@BradyBHull]

I spent so much of my life outwardly practicing this nonsense. Thanks to logic and courage I was finally able to admit that I'd been duped.

[@raysalmon6566]

12, , I spent so much of my life outwardly practicing this nonsense. Thanks to logic and courage I was finally able to admit that I'd been duped. just remember the bible is a history book and you are held accountable to it So is SA and all his misrepresenting what it says...

[@keenmortimer7918]

​@@raysalmon6566 a heavily exaggerated and nonsensical history book.

[@raysalmon6566]

@@keenmortimer7918 explain how Israel came into existence

[@raysalmon6566]

@Melody Smith well you probably never became a child of God. A forgiven person. j27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

[@Marko-pg8ms]

@@raysalmon6566 israel existing is not proof of god

[@ericephemetherson3964]

I was thrown out of a class because I said that I did not believe in talking snakes.

[@religionisalie]

Best comment 2023

[@AskMeWhen]

I seem to have an opposite story compared to most here. I was not raised with the Bible, we never went to church. I was “lucky” enough that my parents chose a different path for me. I’m currently in my late forties and about 10 years ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and survived. My parents became born again Christians and are still to this day. Every time they visit my dad always turns the conversation to religion. It’s like he is trying to “convert” me and even tells my wife that I was conservative before she met me! My parents apologized for not raising me with God in my life. I had a good relationship with my parents before religion and now not so much.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Scott Its sad to see loved ones go through this when we know what they're hearing is nonsense, and even sadder when there's nothing we can do about it because when some of these people find religion its almost impossible to change their minds. I had an older brother who was miserable because he wasn't perfect in the eyes of god and came up with some of the stupidest ideas anyone ever heard.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Paul Kinley Of course the promises would be empty because there is no such thing/s as god/gods in the first place! It's like when Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner) gave a raspberry blubbsst to god and Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Conner) said "did you see that?! you just gave a raspberry to god" "no I didn't because there's nobody up there so I gave a raspberry to no one" There he did again I'm getting away from you buddy because you're gonna get hit by lightning!" not really realizing what's being said or having any idea of what it means. For those who really want to know where religions/all religions came from see the documentaries (Symbols of an Alien Sky) and (Remembering the End of the World) both are excellent and well documented. Another great source are (Ancient Gods, Modern Sects) by Alexander Campbell Ingersoll Jr. and (Auroras, Peteroglyphs, and Pagans) by Jeff Ransom.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Paul Kinley Yes and than take into consideration that the Babylonians referred to the planet Venus as the witch star, and every culture has a counterpart to the witch in their ancient history. The best way to put this stuff together is to watch these two documentaries (Symbols of an Alien Sky 1) and (Remembering the End of the World) as both will give anyone who desires to know a clear understanding of where the witch originally came from and be able to dismiss it.

[@velikovskysghost]

@Paul Kinley An old friend from Texas said it best "I don't need to believe in anything/anybody, to say thank you I just know it's the right thing to do"... The trick, as I see it, is to recognize where the idea/s came from in the first place. The videos I recommended are an excellent reference point and the books (Ancient Gods, Modern Sects) 2020 and (Auroras, Petroglyphs, and Pagans by Jeff Ransom clearly show where the beginnings of religions, deity worship, and all the nonsense that goes with it came from. I don't believe in a god/creator because it doesn't make sense regarding the laws of physics. This can only mean that our universe "electric universe" the late Wal Thornhill; has always existed which does make sense. It has been suggested that the proper term describing our home is (the electrified plasma universe) which is actually what we observe.

[@tanktank3874]

​@@velikovskysghost 37:51

[@wayneturner5801]

Have the same story. Dad was a preacher. Finally free at age 41.

[@johnny50424]

ATHEISM = SLAVERY.. YOU ARE JUST GIVING MORE EVIDENCE THAT ATHEIST ARE TOTAL morons. atheism does not make you free you lying fool. atheism turns you into an easily controlled slave.,

[@napillnik]

Congrats! I'm still amazed at how people free themselves so late. I expected that by 30-ish people would be set in their ways. Or did doubt appear earlier?

[@pigfighter6274]

johnelee2k93 Amen. The bible is evil!

[@joyclark7530]

CatsEvolutionsFinest Creation Amen!... Sorry

[@joyclark7530]

johnelee2k93 delude much?

[@dbeaulieu9730]

I grew up in Northern Ontario in the 60's and went to a catholic school. Everyday the brothers would goad us into giving our dimes and nickels for the poor in the Phillipines. One day I had to go to their rectory. Most of us at that school lived very poor lives. When I stepped in their rectory I was flabergasted to find a grand piano in the living room along with a library and fine furnishings. It was the last day I believed.

[@wallihaley5194]

D Beaulieu, how do you know the grand piano and fine furnishings weren’t donated to them?

[@peteralleyman1945]

@@wallihaley5194 Like all of the outrageous wealth of the vatican was donated. By the poor, ignorant and gullible believers. Christianity is sick. Give your money tho the poor, their holy godman told his followers, not to the pope.

[@JFrazer4303]

@@wallihaley5194 They should liquidate the value and help the poor.

[@wangson]

@@peteralleyman1945 I agree. The Vatican should absolutely liquidate all it's artworks and its gold and crowns and all that shit and turn it into prosperous possibilities! Good call dude!

[@peteralleyman1945]

@@wangson That's not enough. That criminal organisation has to be liquidated it self.

[@judythompson8227]

I knew a woman online in a chat room who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She took the twigs and berries route, and prayed fervently to her Jesus to heal her. She didn't want her child to see her throwing up in the toilet, or reacting to the meds. Her daughter who was 15 got to bury her mother a year later.

[@billpetersen298]

That is so sad, and irresponsible.

[@oakmaiden2133]

Ikr, my mom prayed for my dad to live. He didn’t. But there is a christian out there who will say it was gods choice. Not the kidney infection he didn’t go see a doctor for until it was too late.

[@jahrasta4907]

I tried so hard to be Christian, but the more I tried, the bigger the jerk I became. Now, I love everyone without judgment, and the bliss is awesome.

[@raymondhall2039]

Total understand as well. I believe what he says about religion. I also was one of them. We get this PTL aditude and look down on people. The only thing for me I just can’t go the atheist route. When you see the stars, the ocean, the mountains, the babies born, the universe around us. People who are kind and loving despite what you think. I totally still believe in God. Yes. The church and religion has its major problems which paints bad reflections on God.

[@deluxeassortment]

As a devout Christian (edit: of 38 years), I spent 15 years looking for proof of God to validate my beliefs and to use as an apologetic argument. I am now an Atheist.

[@jeffmojave3851]

Thats so sad that you need proof of God's existence. 15 years wasted looking and wanting for all the wrong things. Now, you're an atheist. Sheeeewww! Now you get to believe in nothing! Sooooo easy. You can just sit back and relax, not have to worry about anything...living the good life now, eh? A life spent devoted to Christ might be the hardest thing to do in this world. Too bad you didn't have what it takes. Now you get to be with all the other quitters making fun of something that was once the most beautiful thing in your life. Good luck dealing with that....

[@deluxeassortment]

@@jeffmojave3851 Funny how you seem to know so much about how easy it is to be an Atheist and how hard it is to be a Christian. lol. Becoming an Atheist was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Can you imagine what it's like to have your worldview completely shattered and all of the things you based your life on are quickly dissolved? All of your morals and ethics begin to break down. You realize just how much of your beliefs were based on ignorance. the world seems pointless, life has no meaning, we're nothing but meat sacks trying to reproduce and survive. Some people get lost here. They spend life sad and alone. Some people go back to religion because they can't see any other way. But some people, after a complete teardown of their reasoning, suddenly realize they have the capacity to write their own rules, create their own ethos. Create their own purpose. Learn to live without exerting your will on others, develop a desire to minimalize suffering in yourself and others. They learn reasoning skills and critical thinking. Personally, just as I was thinking life was meaningless and there was no inherent purpose in life, I had a baby. She completely changed the way I see "meaning" and "purpose" and "reproduction" and "survival". They all took on new connotations and I realized that I do have something to live for. I tell you, a skeptic's conclusion to atheism is not just a rejection of God. It is a tragic and uncontrollable loss of purpose and control. It's like watching a tidal wave rolling in to shore while everyone says it's safe and nothing will happen. You realize they're wrong, so you get in a boat and let it wash you away. But when you land, you have to decide what to do next.

[@jeffmojave3851]

@@deluxeassortment Not sure what's so hard about being an atheist. All you have to do is believe what they taught you in public school. I would imagine that walking away from Christ would be the hardest thing you've ever done. If your conviction to God was strong, then abandoning it because your life wasn't going your way sounds like you never really understood what this life is for in Christ. Sounds like you've got some new age thinking going on as well now...you can create your own future, you can be your own god, etc...You're one step away from "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" I'm not trying to come across mean. I know religious organizations can be hard to grow up in. I found that they are that way by design. Jesus Christ said, "I have built my laws in the hearts of men, and will not dwell in any temple built by the hands of man." Christ knew the church was corrupt. He knew that the evils of this world had already taken control of it back then 2000 years ago...imagine what stranglehold those principalities and dark powers have over it now. But Christ told us that we dont need the church to find Him. We have in us the ability to connect with Him on an intimate level away from all that nonsense. I guess my point is, dont abandon Christ completely. Use what you're going through as a stepping stone to regain your footing. Even if you need to walk away from your Faith for a moment, dont lose your bearings on what this world really is. I hope that in your journey through logic and reasoning, you'll come to see the flawed paradigm that cosmology and astronomy present to you. And please, please, never forget that your new baby girl, is a miracle from God.

[@deluxeassortment]

@@jeffmojave3851 I get that you're not being mean. I am not easily offended. Just humor me for a moment and try to put yourself in my shoes. Try hard to imagine if you suddenly realized that everything you've been told your whole life about God, Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, salvation, and your soul were all a lie. I don't want you to think about all the reasons you don't believe it's a lie, I want you to really think for a moment, really put yourself in my shoes and try to imagine how it would feel to come to that world shattering realization. No heaven, no God there to ask for help, no more fellowship, no more comfort in knowing that there's a plan for your life, no more seeing suffering as temporary because this life is just a stepping stone to eternal peace, no more rationalizing the things that are happening to you as the hand of God. None of it. It's all gone, and you're all alone with your thoughts because everyone you know will shun you because you're now "doing the devil's work", an evil, godless, lazy sinner. You have to be careful because if your boss finds out, you'll probably get fired. Your family won't talk to you for fear of you influencing them. You're nothing but a dying pile of bones with little time left to figure out what you can to do make life with living. You can't just go back to living a lie, you hurt people. You brainwashed people. You know the "truth" now, and the rest of your life you'll be explaining to people that you don't pray or read the Bible or go to church because you've escaped the slavery of religion. They will think you're just lazy, immoral, and just want to do whatever you want and don't want anyone telling you what to do. They make assumptions about you, about your morality, about your life, your kids can't play with their kids. They can't possibly imagine what it would be like, because they've never tried to think outside of what they've been told their entire life. Does that really sound easy?

[@jeffmojave3851]

@@deluxeassortment No, it doesnt. And I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy. I am sorry you had to go through that. But in the end, you should want that. You dont want your kids playing with other kids that might influence them to believing God exists. You want kids around, and friends around that know God is a cosmic joke. You want to be in a circle of friends that know that you control your own destiny. And that feeling happy, and getting all you want out of life is more important than laboring in prayers that never get answered. Time should be spent on obtaining material things, and indulging your carnal desires, and fulfilling your wanton needs. I am so glad that you found a better way! I wish you happiness prosperity and riches beyond belief!

[@toni4729]

I became an atheist at the age of eight I think I was. I remember deciding that God was about as believable as santa clause. I've never changed my mind since that day. Logic took over my entire life from that day forward.

[@toni4729]

@@lightbeing8174 No thanks, I'm perfectly happy.

[@lightbeing8174]

Antoinette Parry okay I will leave you be.

[@tenaciouspoetry]

Salute

[@CharlieNoodles]

Light Being if you’re going to pray for anything you should pray for the gift of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

[@CharlieNoodles]

Binguh Bungah knowing that Santa Claus is based on a real person and believing that he flies around the entire world on Christmas Eve, shimmying down chimneys to deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls, are two very different things.

[@user-uu2cj9ct3j]

14:37 I know this is a joke, but right now it hits home. My mother currently has stopped eating 3-4 days out of the week to “fast” for my uncle who has cancer. He is receiving all kinds of medical treatment, and yet she does this for some dumbfounding reason. I’m afraid she is going to give herself an eating disorder (which, in all honesty, wouldn’t surprise me if she already has). On top of that, she seems to think that my uncle (who is agnostic) getting cancer is a chance for him to come to Christ… another belief that makes me sick, being glad for the suffering of others because now they might worship your god. It’s been eating me for sure.

[@ilovethe80s71]

"I want a personal relationship with Reality!" I love it, I'm using it!!!

[@WeirdWonderful]

It's obvious why the deer were struck down. It's part of the ongoing christmas turf war between Jesus and Santa.

[@merikijiya13]

TheApachacha greatest Christmas narrative ever.

[@stephaniecuellar3192]

Raven R Stupid exsists. As it will continue to do so, these conversations won't stop.

[@marymacdonald1651]

Stephanie Cuellar No, it is a good possibility these conversations have increased it.

[@happyhaze1526]

Bless yur heart.

[@happyhaze1526]

doctoristina I believe in Peter Pan. I challenge you to a public debate as to which belief is more valid!

[@dismantlingdoctrine]

Christianese is what Robert Lifton refers to as “loaded language” or “thought-terminating cliches.” Seth does a great job unpacking and deconstructing many of these.

[@mariastevens6406]

"Christianese" I'm gonna use that

[@richardlawson6787]

When you shed religion and beliefs in gods life gets a lot better..its scary what the church teaches

[@njhoepner]

I wish I had seen this years ago. It took me until age 56 to begin putting this stuff aside...and yes, it made me talk like an idiot, and yes, it made me a bigot as well.

[@MissOne]

Same

[@brianvance1178]

I just have one question for the Norwegians: what the hell did those reindeer do to piss off Thor?

[@bretzajac7986]

to equate Christianity with Thor shows your ignorance not the ignorance of Christianity.

[@ForOdinAndAsgard]

Thor? Plz keep your mouth shut if you know nothing of our faith.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

Loki took the form of a deer. Thor figured that was the quickest way to find him. The deer that survived was Loki. Foolproof plan. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[@mailill]

@Valentine Erindros De var nok jotner og troll som lot som om de var reinsdyr. Takket være Tor er trollene utrydningstruet. (Som man spør, får man svar :-) ).

[@allanmcinnes4765]

The one that still gets me are all those dead billions who never heard the word of Jesus and would they be condemned to hell? Missionaries response to an Eskimo in this predicament - "Well if nobody told you about the gospel you are exempt from everlasting torture" ESKIMO - "So why the hell are you telling me this?"

[@Angela24407]

😂😂😂😂

[@richardlawson6787]

Right?!!

[@thelittlemoonling]

Seriously!! 😂😂😂

[@tmrezzek5728]

One of my favorite scenes in the movie Blazing Saddles is at the climax when Gene Wilder is about to shoot the dynamite, and the preacher starts bellowing "OHHH LORD! GUIDE THE STEADY HAND OF THIS MAN--" and everyone slaps him down so he'll shut up and Wilder can concentrate. Sanctimonious Christians are the absolute f**king worst.

[@jayham1970]

I grew up in an evangelical household. I am still a semi-believer. I have vacillated between believing and and atheism. Actually, to me, the verse about “…faith being the hope for things unseen” (not said that way but should have been) actually does make sense to me. If taken in a proper context, faith should always have doubts. Thomas is my favorite apostle. Jesus actually didn’t rebuke him. He gave Thomas a blessing: “…blessed are you because you have seen.” I wish that I could have seen the miracles and a “resurrected Jesus.” I have not seen it, therefore I am a Christian agnostic. I want to believe, I try to be a Christian, serve Christ, but ultimately I do not know or have proof. Therefore I have faith…which means that I do not know. I want a wonderful life in the Hereafter, see friends and family that have passed, I hope for that, but I have no evidence that the Hereafter exists. It is just hope.

[@united270]

Doctor: Does surgery and saves person Person: Thanks God Doctor: *AM I A JOKE TO YOU?*

[@jameskassolos4652]

In my case my surgeon thanked God

[@robertdemeter5793]

Christian America is 100% total bullshit. This sums it up - imgflip.com/i/1im5mm

[@robertdemeter5793]

The endless Lies that fake Jimmy and Fake America Li (v) es - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mn-5i2OQhct4btU

[@silgassaway1985]

God Made You and he's the one who hold your breath in his hands right now you could do nothing without him your argument is illogical

[@silgassaway1985]

@@simionenaclably9280 you don't like being controlled but you're trying to control Christians contradict yourself you don't like being controlled cuz you know you are a sinner repent and have faith in Jesus be born again

[@aaronthomas3168]

the level of self-realization he went through is amazing. Most people will never get there. I love it

[@lightbeing8174]

Seek an exorcist priest role?

[@SupervisorMartinez]

Aaron Thomas and now just because he was embarrassed Or fooled by it , now he is trying to make fun of it to enlighten his soul

[@AndrewFosterSheff69]

I wouldn't worry, you'll all end up in the same place anyway.

[@natsinthebelfry]

@@AndrewFosterSheff69 Hail Satan and have a wonderful day!

[@MrHendu214]

@@AndrewFosterSheff69 in the ground? So what? Life ends, enjoy it while you can.

[@halcyonzenith4411]

Here's how prayer works: Heads, God is merciful and loving Tails, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

[@margritkaminsky1470]

I would say to the fundamentalists: Read the bible please, read it from the first letter to the last one. No skipping allowed. Read it without prejudice, with intellectual honesty, integrity. It may change your mind about the holy bible. You may wind up being an atheist. A liberating experience. But the way to it can be very painful indeed when you have been born and raised by fundamentalist family. 37:51 37:51 37:51

[@globalman2]

Religion was born out of the fear of the unknown by Bronze Age people. They didnt love God. They feared “him”. Today is the same. People believe out of fear not love.

[@alanthompson8515]

GlobalMan So true. You reminded me of this from the Irish comedian Dave Allen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5uZiXSsqreharM

[@WayneLynch69]

I'll use some caps to slow down to your level: Einstein said, "Thermodynamics is the ONE universal theory which will never be overthrown". THIS universe 1st LAW-could not originate ex nihilo 2nd LAW-cannot be eternal 3rd LAW-could not restore from heat death THAT may be 'born out of fear' for you, not the religious --- Darwin said: "The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble" YOUR GOD, Richard Dawkins, SAT MUTE while atheists/Nobel laureates in biology Sydney Altman & Leland Hartwell said humans knowing the origin of first life was "IMPOSSIBLE". Recipient of the President's "Medal of Freedom Award" for co-chairing "human genome mapping"/atheist Craig Venter, also used the word "IMPOSSIBLE!!" THAT'S the CREDAL atheist BELIEF; 'life occurred by natural etiiology'. YET DAWKINS SAT MUTE, contesting NOTHING re THE contention of "New Atheism": "WE'S GOTS SEANCE" ---YES ATHEIST...BE FEARED....IGNORANCE ACCOMPANYING CHUTZPAH IS SCARY!!!

[@WienArtist]

"Religion" perhaps, but certainly not Christianity. There was no fear at all before I became a Christian, and when I read in John 3:16 that "...God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Or when I read in 1 John 4:19 that "We love Him because He first loved us." And when I read of the many examples of God's love throughout His Word, or when I read in John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.", and all the many, many expressions of God's love for a fallen world - it was God's love for me personally that caused me to become a Christian - not fear; for He did not give me the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. God never coerces us to draw us to Him, but out of His love for us. Christianity is not a religion, but a restoration of the relationship with God that He had intended from the beginning. I never came to believe in God because I feared what would happen if I did not. I came to believe in God because of his signature I recognized in all of His creation. Fear was never a factor in my decision to have a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ of Nazareth. On the contrary! It was actually gratitude and reverence, and the awareness that God loved me at my worst, and gave me a better life through Him.

[@WienArtist]

@Justin Credible Your comment illustrates just how little you know of the character and nature of God. You obviously are biased in your opinion based upon such ignorance. But I would not make any attempts to convince you otherwise because I have learned that it is futile to show someone the error of their ways when they refuse to acknowledge it. And as one of my late relatives once said, "He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still, which he may adhere to, yet disown, for reasons to himself best known." - Samuel Butler

[@bobertospearza8800]

The Fear For Repecting Other's ... something Atheist's Don't Do very well either ....Hypocrite sounds familar...Why Do You Need To Tear Down a Cross ...Sounds Violent to me and Disrespectful...

[@boeingdriver29]

I always give thanks to Joe Pesci before meals.

[@I_know_it_I_sew_it_I_grow_it]

So did George Carlin!! 😂

[@ARoll925]

George, miss that dude so much

[@jackpress15]

I hate that I was a Christian for so long that I actually missed out on a lot of Atheists comedians, watching old George Carlin stand up moments is hilarious as well as Bill Maher.

[@ARoll925]

@@jackpress15 ricky gervais, jim jefferies, bill burr,

[@kennethleoganda9805]

Yea, or the sun, which we can see and feel, or maybe even a cow?

[@paulgritter7957]

As a Catholic Convert, who fled Protestantism, and left what was presented to me, as “christianity” in my youth; I can fully relate, and appreciate this video. Thank you!

[@pauldurand4780]

Wow..talk about heading in the wrong direction! First you fled *_TO_* catholicism..? no wonder you fell right off the map! lol...

[@Ircy2012]

As a former catholic: in what way do you appreciate this? The first 2/3 (a bit less) stands just as true for catholicism. The part about Thomas and evidence versus faith too.

[@doogan8129]

Hope you ended up doing your own study and didnt just accept people's versions of how they individually interpret scripture.

[@Lemarcus03]

I grew up in Fundamentalist Christianity. But as a reader & Free Thinker, I eventually learned to deprogram myself. I still like Jesus' (and Budha's) mssg of peace. I view him more as a Peace & Hippy movement and not sure that he would want his name attached to a Bloated text that has had many things added and a third of its books taken away to fit the narrative of the big Church. I follow the Golden Rule & know that if there is a Just Deity, It will Recognize...

[@WilbertLek]

Exactly.

[@zemc77]

Despite not being "a scientist or a great thinker", Seth is actually one of my favorite Atheists spokesmen out there.

[@aughalough1]

One of my favorite Atheists ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJCkk2miZdZqbpY

[@xDarkPheonix1]

I love this. I can't count the number of people who claim they're protected by god, blessed, they don't worry about death. But yet, they look both ways before crossing the street.

[@devilmonkey427]

Don't forget they go to the hospital when they get sick.....Rather than just going home and praying the demons away.

[@Doceli-dg3cn]

@@devilmonkey427 if someone don't pray to christ if someone u know is at hospital and very possible to die will possibility cause someone to die more automatically then surviving to something that's common to kill people

[@devilmonkey427]

@RetroMan Just a fairy tale.

[@allentremper8243]

RetroMan well said, God bless you for your Testimony, may it plant seeds of the Love of Christ.

[@allentremper8243]

Devilm onkey This whole world is a fairy tail. What is more real than this"reality" is the one you can not see, the one that is controlling all that happens in politics, entertainment industry, most Churches nowadays, everything is being taken over by the demonic. If you have never experienced the Divine, you can't understand it. If you don't notice the Divine in nature, you are blinded. Hate for people who do believe, the name calling, the put downs, just show what a lost little child you are Spirituality. I sincerely hope that you don't sear this into your mind, I hope that you have not done that to yourself, I hope someday soon God works in your life to the point of not being able to deny your Maker anymore. Please understand that this world is the Battle Ground for the Spiritual War, and if you don't know that you are in a war, you will be captured or killed, I want none of that for you or any other people who just got programmed by Secularism, Materialism, and all isms, they are all from the Enemy of man, and God. I don't know if you have children, but if you do, how can you look at those precious blessings and think for a minute that they just happened. That they are not made in the image to God Almighty. Please don't attack me because I believe something you don't, I am not attacking you, I am just bearing my Testimony that God Lives and that His Son Messiah Jesus Christ is the Saviour of this fallen world. I testify to you that you are a Son or the Living God Almighty. That makes you very very important, not an insignificant piece of random chemical reactions, you are not on a insignificant rock that is just one out of billions, you are the center of God's attention, He's not far away, He's very close and personal. I hope that you humble yourself and repent of all pain you have caused yourself others and God Almighty. After that you will know God is God.

[@DaveLorenzo101114]

Seth, you always put things in a great perspective. Well done.

[@MarvelousLXVII]

Unfortunately, religion will probably never go away. Brainwashing (at a young age) is a very powerful thing. When people find out I'm an Atheist, you should see the absolute shock on their face. They ask how I can be one. When I start answering the question--they put their hand over their ears and refuse to listen and mumble bullshit about hell, etc. I'm so thankful I broke away from religion and I remember the day it happened. To me, life is more amazing when I think about the fact that elements in my body can only be formed by exploding stars. Pretty amazing. A lot more amazing that god taking a handful of dirt and making me lol.

[@Siss2012]

There is no absurdity so palpable that can’t be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity. Arthur Schopenhauer

[@beansbaxter224]

I'm a recovering Catholic since the age of thirteen.

[@devilmonkey427]

Congratulations, I wish you the best.

[@GrammeStudio]

ah, a born-again atheist.

[@firefox5926]

just remember you not alone... you're never alone... but in like a none creepy way supportive like yaknow ?

[@bazingaburg8264]

@Project AcuHope How sad that a doctor of the mind points to dogma, when you're in distress. Pretty disgusting shit, actually

[@7deadlysloths]

Catholic? Heh, well you were never a Christian to begin with, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[@whiskeyfur]

17:22 prayer requests before school... I got suspended for asking this one:"can we pray that you'll stop with these prayers? not all of us believe in your fantasy." The looks on their faces... wow. It's like I kicked each of them in the balls or something.

[@yyyyyyyyyroto]

I would be the worst student to ever exist in a religious school. I would make them kick me out. I can't handle religious bullshit and even less when we're forced to do it and kept from being rational.

[@nataliagonzalez1698]

John Walker II Makes me glad that my school is secular

[@aristotelian3098]

+John _your insanity is showing thinking people are looking to support you_ Actually, thinking people *do* support him. Therefore, it is not insanity (which is not a category accepted by the mental health professionals, only used by old literature and street-level Thoughtlessnesses). But I can see why you would believe it to be: you are quite a man of faith.

[@kerrib4670]

Nathan Gonzalez by law religion is protected but another lie by atheist

[@pineapplepenumbra]

I told a muslim that allah was a gangsta rapper (it occurred to me while reading the quran) and *that* was a look you had to see. The guy was Nigerian and his eyes almost popped out of his face!

[@iainfrost4990]

the blessed potato is colder...

[@CamdenBloke]

I actually lived very recklessly at a critical point in my life based on the idea that if God wanted me alive he would keep me alive and if you wanted me dead he would kill me and there was nothing I could really do about it.

[@zhangyaxing2101]

I was scrolling through the library and stumbled across this book "Has Christianity failed you?". Even Christians realize in this day and age of modern tech and medicine, less and less people are falling for it.

[@martzjertz5975]

A lot of people will come to a point where it will occur to them that Christianity/God has failed/disappointed them.

[@JesusChristisLORD1020]

Atheists deny reality and reason in their blind belief. They just REALLY hope to be right ;) Imagine wasting your life on something you CLAIM you don't believe in and you hate. One day some of you will realize this after much regret and shame. The empty, horrible, depressed, p--n-addicted, alcohol and antidepressant filled, degenerate lives that atheists live is also proof that God is saying the Truth about sin. They all check at least 2 or 3 of these things. And if you're a teenager living with your parents, you will become that way in the future, UNLESS you repent and give your life to Christ. I used to be an antitheist too. I was deceived by atheist lies, strawmans, fake studies, fake experts and frauds for many years so I know all the atheist "arguments" very well. I despised all religions and saw them as plagues upon humanity but then Jesus showed me the Truth like He also did for many other agnostics and atheists too. He'll do the same for you, if you seek the truth in a humble and sincere manner. I know at least some of you are able to do that if you truly want it. NO EXCUSE. All those who are SINCERE in their seeking and actually want the truth will find God. Those that are not, should expect to receive nothing but deception(of any kind), misery and great confusion. Degenerate atheists will find any excuse to deny FACTS and reality, including the Knowledge and Experience of billions of people(trough all history, I'm not talking all professing Christians, of course), as Christianity is a LIVING relationship with the Creator, not a dead religion of works and rituals, nor a blind, irrational belief like atheism is. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me WITH ALL YOUR HEART. Jeremiah 29:13 KJV

[@zhangyaxing2101]

@@JesusChristisLORD1020 And I was a former Christian, who realized that it was all "lies, straw-mans, fake studies, fake experts and frauds". Although I'm sure you'll say I wasn't a "real" Christian. But if it's really as you say it is, then why worry? You already believe we're going to hell, and we'll get what we deserve in the end. Why this desperate appeal to emotion, with no logic whatsoever attempt to convince us? Just pray to God that we'll all find him and that should solve the problem

[@JesusChristisLORD1020]

@@zhangyaxing2101 You are deceived. And only the Truth can set you free, that's why I speak the truth.

[@zhangyaxing2101]

@@JesusChristisLORD1020 Nope. Two words: prove it