I am an award winning robot designer, I have worked in nanotechnology, I have beaten chessmasters and won tournaments. So I am a bit of a Nerd. I have some awesome parents,two brothers and a sister. I love to have fun with my buddies and just hang out. I am happy with the way things are.
My name is Athens, and im an atheist.
I am sure you have seen an ad either on youtube or elsewhere on the internet that was just like this. The only difference being that they are videos made by Mormons. That is why I chose the format that I did. I am an ex-mormon, I grew up in a mormon home with mormon parents and friends, and everything that they taught I took for truth.
Indoctrination is very heavy and clever in the mormon church, you grow up singing songs such as "jesus wants me for a sunbeam" among others, and are taught never to question the leaders of the church. As a child you are encouraged to get up on the podium and tell people that you believe in the church, the prophets, god, and that it is the only true church on earth.
The key to my escape was skepticism. I was first a magician/con-artist, then I was a chess player, then I was a skeptic, then I was an atheist. The magician/con-artist angle really helped me to see that sometimes the coin has heads on both sides, I learned how and why people will trick you into believing something. Becoming a chess player helped me to realize that I needed to analyze not just one or two paths, or ways of thinking, but all of them. Skepticism about things like homeopathy and other ridiculous claims helped me to cement in my mind what is required to determine what is real. My atheism springs from those things. It is not a choice to disbelieve. I cannot bring myself to believe it without real evidence.
That is a brief history of my de-conversion, as some call it, and I will be using this blog to talk about issues that relate to religion which affect everyone. People act on their beliefs, and sometimes they need to be brought into discussion and debated. There are two sides to a fair coin, and I am on the other side.
Fair warning though.. I may be especially harsh on mormons, but MORE harsh on morons.
ATHENS.
Having known the Mormon you, it makes me wonder. And I'm not claiming that you're wrong or that you indeed chose what you believe or what you think. But you used the word "escape". Escape from what? Lies? The definition of lies as presented in the Websters dictionary: "A statement intended to deceive; a DELIBERATE untruth." So you couldn't have been escaping lies because no one is deliberately trying to sell a religion of things they themselves believe to be untrue. Untruths? Maybe. Potential disappointment in case in the end you devoted your life to believing something that indeed was not true-- something you got your hopes up for that was not so? I have no physical proof to say that it won't all end in disappointment. Was it bad things that you escaped? I would venture to say no. The goal of the Mormon religion is to fill people with love. It's not meant to condemn people that don't follow the same standards (though some individuals do condemn, but that's not the "pure" religion, and by all means not what God intends). It's a religion that preaches love, service, kindness, that people have an immense self-worth, of forgiveness, happiness, and acceptance for every INDIVIDUAL because of the worth we believe they too have. That's not to say we believe in agreeing at all times with what they choose to do, say or think, but we believe in accepting them as unique individuals that are loved and worth worlds. And how does believing in any of those principles take away from your life? Are you happier when you help other people or are you happier when you put them down? Are you happier when you spread love or is hate more fulfilling? From my personal life and experiences, I would say of course not. I'm happiest when I serve and love, when I don't hold grudges or think I'm going around life with no direction or purpose, when I believe that I am an amazing individual with potential to be incredible. I'm happiest when I feel the love of something far greater than any individual thing I have ever physically witnessed on earth. So, tell me, what did you "escape" really?
ReplyDeleteUntruth. Did you know that there are court records that prove that Joseph smith was tried and convicted for being a disorderly person and an imposter? They nicknamed him Jo smith the "glass looker" because he would tell farmers that it was revealed to him that there was treasure buried on their land by a peep stone. Then he would dig until the farmer realized that he was being scammed.
ReplyDeleteHow then can I believe he saw anything from such stones?
What did I escape? An illusion.
If we could put your brain in a jar and you could live a perfect and happy virtual life, would you choose that over a real life?
Alright.
ReplyDeleteAnd in answer to your question, you gave me a perfect happy virtual life and a real life as an option, but since when is an imperfect, happy, real life not an option? Because I live my life, believing what I whole heartedly believe to be true, and we can't prove there is or is not a God. But I live a happy life, and it's a real life. That's the life I choose to live, and I would never trade it for the world.