Atheism

https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2021/07/fallen-evangelist-acton-bowen-sentenced-to-more-than-1000-years-for-sex-crimes-denied-case-review-by-alabama-supreme-court.html

Hello. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

I've been concerned regarding some of my family members getting more deeply involved in Christianity to the point of talking about hoarding holy water and avoiding taking responsibility for issues and problems in their lives because "God will take care of it/fix it/keep us safe."

Recently, a conversation came up regarding lent and I wasn't sure how to address it. A brother (early to mid-twenties) is seemingly searching for meaning in his life but I can't see this direction going well for him, and that all that awaits him is empty beliefs and practices, while being a pawn to people in his church.

Below are examples of what he's said he's searching for in eating no meat, dairy, or oils for lent.

I want to be spiritually better, I've felt empty inside for a while, chasing vanity, little highs and rushes of fun but ultimately mean nothing. Maybe sometimes I want these things, but then I remember it gets me nowhere as they're bad habits. It's fun to give into everything I crave, but then it just slowly eats away at me. I'll live in cognitive dissonance knowing deep down there's something wrong and the more I ignored it the worse it got. I've done a lot of research, inquiring, and things happened it's clear this is the path

He said having a strict diet on lent is "practice to make myself in this world, but not of it". I asked what that means and he said this.

"To not put my values in worldly things. It's a theological concept that, even tho I'm man and live in the world, I shouldn't put my basis for everything here. I sleep and wake up everyday, I eat, drink, work, and have fun, but there are greater things than this world. And it's not because "if I don't do what I want here, I get what I want later" but rather I'll start glorifying shitty things, chasing highs, becoming addicted. These cravings become my values if I'm not careful, but my values don't come from the world"

I want to help him find what he seems to be looking for, while directing him to things which don't involve religious belief. I don't really know what most of this means or what to do. I personally caused a huge issue in my family as a child (losing my 'door privileges' as a result) when I locked my door one day and refused to go to church anymore. So I'm not the most familiar in what's happening at places like this anymore.

Thank you again for your time and any advise or direction is greatly appreciated.

I've been an atheist for 20+ years now (ex-catholic). Early in my atheism, followed the typical new-atheism route; reading Dawkins, watching tons of debates and interviews, participating in forums, joining atheist and rationalist groups. I went through an angry atheist phase, and then into a compassionate rationalist phase, seeking to understand religions and religious people, and to guide those who might be on the fence.

For many years I was optimistic about the future, thinking that rationality would spread and accelerate around the world. That newer generations would discard their religion and adopt progressive attitudes. More recently, and obviously due to current world events, I've lost hope in a brighter future. I suppose I set myself up for disappointment. I think you could make an argument that in the very long run (centuries), people are getting more educated, rational, and secular, but it seems clear that is not a guarantee in the short term. Looking at the rise of Christian nationalism in the US, misogynistic laws, anti-LGBT sentiments, the absolute loss of freedom for women in Afghanistan, etc; Even my close family are some mix of religious, conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaxxers. Evidently, humanity can easily regress decades worth of progress in an instant.

I'm sure we all have coping mechanisms, relationships and activities we enjoy, escapism to take our mind off things. If you put those aside, how do you deal with living in a religious, irrational world that will likely not improve in our lifetimes? Can we reason our way to a positive mindset? Is cope all we have?

Thanks in advance for your replies. I will read every single one of them.

President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast an executive order instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek out and prosecute "anti-Christian bias."

"To confront such weaponization and religious persecution, today I'm signing an executive order to make our Attorney General, who's a great person — she's going to be a great Attorney General — Pam Bondi the head of a task force, brand new, to eradicate anti-Christian bias," Trump said. "About time, right? Anti-Christian bias. Yeah, never heard of that one before, right?"

"So many times you hear, but you don't hear the anti-Christian bias," he continued. "The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible."

Trump suggested the FBI and IRS were "terrible" for targeting Christians.

"In addition, the task force will work to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide," he added. "You've never had that before, but this is a very powerful document I'm signing."

"You get it now. First time you've had it. If we don't have religious liberty, then we don't have a free country. We probably don't even have a country."

Have you ever wondered why so many religions share themes of death, resurrection, and renewal? One fascinating connection lies in the Sun and its behavior during the winter solstice.

Around December 21, the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky (in the Northern Hemisphere) and appears to "stand still" for three days. Then, on December 25, it begins to rise higher again, marking its "rebirth." Ancient cultures noticed this phenomenon and interpreted it as the death and resurrection of the Sun—a powerful symbol of hope and renewal.

This solar cycle influenced many religious traditions. For example:

• Pagan Religions: Sun worship was central to many pre-Christian belief systems. Festivals like Saturnalia celebrated the return of light after the darkest days of winter.
• Mithraism: Followers of Mithras, a god associated with the Sun, celebrated his birth on December 25, symbolizing light's triumph over darkness.
• Christianity: Early Christians adopted similar themes. Jesus' resurrection after three days mirrors this solar pattern. He is even referred to as the "Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 4:2) and "the light of the world." Coincidence? Maybe not.

The symbolic "three days" is also worth noting. Across cultures, three days often represent transformation or renewal—whether it's Jesus in the tomb or the Sun's pause before its upward journey.

It’s fascinating (and a bit ironic) how much modern religions owe to ancient astronomical observations. The Sun’s predictable cycles became a powerful metaphor for life, death, and rebirth—one that still resonates today, even if its origins are rooted in natural phenomena rather than divine intervention.

What do you think? Are these parallels just coincidence, or do they reveal how human beings have always looked to the cosmos for meaning? Let’s discuss!

For six agonizing days, members of the group chose “faith-healing” over proven medicine, believing that’s what God truly wanted, and the little girl eventually paid the price for their religious negligence.

Horrific.

All of them, including Elizabeth’s parents, were the adult members of a religious group known as The Saints—a tight-knit group that only has 23 members in total, spread over three families.

How fucking arrogant do you have to be to call yourself saints? This is why I used to answer the door to random religious preachers and say, "Go fuck yourself." You can't be more arrogant than knocking on my door and telling me that I don't know what's correct. And then I learned about these people. Wtf.

She said while it was a "good outcome", the "system failed to protect Elizabeth in the first place".

"We are only here today because more wasn't done sooner to protect her or remove her from an incredibly unsafe situation in her own home," Jayde said.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I had a friend who committed suicide. I blamed his ultra-religious parents (he was only 19 or so at the time). I'm sure he thought it was a sin when he masturbated. He believed the earth was 5000 years old and dinosaurs didn't exist. Now tell me that his parents weren't at least partially to blame.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24467023

I haven't kept up lately, so this whole thing was news to me. I used to support CFI, but not anymore unless there is a major change.

This is anti-skepticism and, as Hemant Mehta/The Friendly Atheist says, it is anti-science and it helps religious fundamentalists.

Other secular, humanist and freethought groups have released a statement in support of queer people and queer issues: https://www.atheists.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FINAL-Joint-Statement-on-LGBTQ-Rights.pdf

As an Atheist, I am often puzzled by the theist view that the Meaning of Life comes only from God. It seems very narrow, bleak, and heavy handed.

Do you find value in discussion of the Meaning of Life?
What do you think the meaning is?
What value do you think knowing the Meaning of Life brings?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/1hykw4r/uniformed_group_just_came_up_and_stole_half_the/

And this is a school run by evil Pearson who controls all the textbooks, so that's a bit of a comfort even as America's educational standards slip down the tubes.

Sara Harmouch

Ph.D. candidate in Public Affairs, American University

Jerry Coyne, Steven Pinker, and Richard Dawkins are big mad that FFRF removed an anti-trans article from their website