It just makes me mad

[icantlogoff]

My journey of the last few years looking into what i had been taught for the last 30 Just makes me mad...why?

Mad at being taught something as fact and the only option when their is so much 'other' evidence

Mad (kind of) at my father for telling me to looking into my faith to ensure that it was correct, but steering me away from anything outside of the bible.

Mad at myself for teaching the same stuff to my kids for nearly 10 years.

Mad that it took me until i was 34 years old to question any of this.

This was born out of a discussion between my wife and I the other night, about for want of a better word..I felt cheated in my knowledge, a feeling of wasted time spent chasing and believing something that now i struggle to imagine why i ever did

Just me? or do others feel the same way?.... I am new to this forum and it has been my only connection to anyone who has similar ideas.

Its funny the one thing that i said i could never accept even after realising what the bible really is ...was that evolution took place.. yet here I am learning more and more to it. It never made sense to me before I think due to the information about evolution only came from Christian sources, once i started reading about the other side of the coin, its starts to make so much sense.

It Just makes me mad! but happy I found another option

regards

Steve

[bluess]

Steve, you must be feeling like there is no solid place to set your feet.

I don't really have anything to offer, here, as I've never had as cataclysmic a change in world view. I used to believe in a number of health claims that had no basis in fact, and realized how much I had changed when I walked into the organic market where I had been spending LOTS of money on various remedies - and couldn't find a single thing I was willing to buy. If you are facing that kind of disassociation on a global scale, I would think things are maddening right now.

:rub:

[Tanstaafl]

Very glad that you have broadened your horizons.

I was never really that committed a believer, and was always exposed to the scientific world view, so I have not had the kind of upheval you have gone through. Conratulations on managing it.

As far as taking so long to see all of this, you should take solace that few people who are deeply immersed in such a belief system ever break free. You should be proud of yourself for being willing and able to question your own beliefs. Seriously, that's a tough thing to do, regardless of age. In fact I suspect that it only gets tougher if you start later.

I suspect you're really going to enjoy the intellectual journey from here on out.

But I hope you're not getting too much flak from family members.

[Freethinker]

Glad you woke up and joined us. Welcome to enlightenment. Some people never figure it out.

[Marquis de Carabas]

Don't sweat the past. Yeah, it might have sucked, but all you can do anything about is now and the future. Focus on that. And have a beer.

[Ipecac]

Steve,

Welcome! I went through a similar path at about the same age and found myself feeling much the same way you do. I really regret that I didn't come to this until after my kids started attending my wife's church. My daughter is now deeply into her youth group and while I'm happy for her friendships and comraderie, I am troubled about what she may be learning.

It's a rough road you've chosen, but worth it because it's right. Your reward is illumination.

You have friends here.

Ipecac

[grayman]

My moment of awakening happened five years and one day ago. I took a long hard look at religion, God and all that. I figured that if he existed he would have straightened things already. I came to the decision that God did not create us, we created God.

Welcome to reality (refreshments in the lobby).

[Dark Jaguar]

Having only fairly recently took the wool off from over my own eyes, I can attest to how very frustrating it can seem. I can only imagine it's all the worse since I've fortunatly not had the chance to indoctrinate a brood of my own to such things. You've got a ways to go from here. Start with your kids I'd say. I know I myself would have wanted a more open and challenging approach from my skeptical father when I first started getting into this stuff. Maybe you could try a subtle approach and just start asking them questions without giving them any answers. Get them to start questioning it themselves. Just my advice. You yourself know exactly what they believe and what it was like to think such things at their age, you'd know best.

Life's a big continuous series of events. It's not rock steady, no, but as I'm sure you may have come to realize yourself, that's not a bad thing. If you want total unchanging sameness, there is always death. The very act of living is change in and of itself. The very act of thinking is too. Enjoy that aspect and take every thing as it comes, or be depressed, but that's depressing. The choice is yours planeteer!

[Tanstaafl]

The kids may well be alright.

My son was raised Catholic by my ex-wife, and was very much a believer until age 16 or 17. I didn't do much to contradict his beliefs, I just presented him with the idea of critical thinking. I basically told him that my only desire was for him to think for himself.

By the time he was 19 he had discarded religion. Now we both call ourselves Pastafarians.

As long as they know it's okay to ask questions and think for themselves, there's a pretty good chance they'll be okay. But in the end, of course, it'll be their choice.

[grayman]

Now we both call ourselves Pastafarians.


Which sect: Penne, Shell, Ziti...?

[Tanstaafl]

Which sect: Penne, Shell, Ziti...?

Unitarian.

[chance]

Such stories remind me of two things:

A. the movie “The Matrix”, when Neo wakes up outside the matrix, and
B. Scientific discovery that causes a paradigm shift in knowledge.

Must be quite a buzz.

[Ossai]

icantlogoff
If you’re wanting some more information on evolution try Talk Origins (http://www.talkorigins.org/). Lots of excellent information available, one of my favorites Index to Creationist Claims (http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html).

Otherwise, welcome aboard; complimentary drinks and an all you can eat pasta bar.

Ossai

[icantlogoff]

icantlogoff
If you’re wanting some more information on evolution try Talk Origins (http://www.talkorigins.org/). Lots of excellent information available, one of my favorites Index to Creationist Claims (http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html).

Otherwise, welcome aboard; complimentary drinks and an all you can eat pasta bar.

Ossai

Wow you must have read my mind..... I was just going to post asking for some link to help the whole evolution exploration. So thank you for the links.

Also one other request. Some of my children i am their step father and the 'biological father' is a good ol southern baptist, no without doing what he does and shoving my view down their throats any suggestion on some of the recent questions like, why dont we go to church anymore? etc?

My apologies if this sounds a little infantile just like i said this is complete uncharted waters for me and the last thing i want to do is force a belief on them.

regards

Steve

[Foster Zygote]

Wow you must have read my mind..... I was just going to post asking for some link to help the whole evolution exploration.
Steve

I also highly recommend Richard Dawkins. The Blind Watchmaker is a great place to start with his writings.


Steven

[qayak]

Hi Steve,

First off, don't be too pissed at your parents. They were indoctrinated too.

I suggest you read some of the great books available that explain evolution in very simple language. Once you get up to speed on the process, you can dig into the more technical stuff.

For evolution I suggest books by Gould and Dawkins. For critical thinking I add Sagan, Feynmen, and Shermer.

For a little history on the Big Bang theory read "Big Bang" by Simon Singh. His "Fermat's Enigma" was a great read too.

I also suggest jumping into some of the discussions on this site. I think you will have a unique insight into the workings of a religious mind that someone like me, who only attended church once and got kicked out, has no ability to comprehand.

Store your baggage in the overhead container, place your seat in the upright position and fasten your seatbelt. Your journey through the wonders of the universe is about to take off. :) :) :)

[rachaella]

Also one other request. Some of my children i am their step father and the 'biological father' is a good ol southern baptist, no without doing what he does and shoving my view down their throats any suggestion on some of the recent questions like, why dont we go to church anymore? etc?
Steve

How old are the kids? I'd suggest the truth in a very simple manner that conveys the smallest amount of anti-religious bias possible. "Well, I (or your mother and I, whatever) have recently rethought our religious beliefs and we don't share the same beliefs as the people in church anymore, so we've decided not to go anymore."