True, and there is steel time to do even better

How is he correct? He doesn't do anything for Christianity, namely because he's not Christian anymore

@@joshfish2 the best thing to do for Christianity is to help Christian becoming atheist xD

Andrew Shaw 1: Becoming an atheist may help Christians self reflect and make Christianity as a whole better and more effective. 2: Perhaps this means he’ll eventually become Christian again and go on to do great works. 3: “Do great things,” is vague enough to mean just about anything.

yes, waking them up to the truth and how christians are so blinded to the real truth. idolizing a wooden image and a white jesus who is not the messiah or white and was jewish so christian should act more jewish and eat kosher and honor shabbat if they want to be like jesus

Yea, and thats sad, they dont even go as its prefered by Jesus, like he preferes mercy over sacrafice, and then parents beat theire young, I was lucky, never pushed towards God by my parents, only my intent, its sad how parents do this, i can't express how hipocrit it is, but i see why they do that, they dont have the biblical education to answer the questions of the young, so they get nervous about theire children loosing faith, or they are just hipocrits, false belivers, there is a leque of possibilities.

Pfff, false believers. Not everyone has to be doctor of the church to believe. That's a thing in catholicism, there are answers, but not everybody are looking for them. And then, somebody encounters such person, get into argument and calls it a victory for whatever he advocates.

In my experience the extreme believers have atheist kids, the atheists have atheist kids and only the moderate believers have religious kids

Yep

The most abusive parents make the most unreligious kids.

etymology vs unquestioned scripture

Yes, God is jealous exclusively. Jealous is explained in the Hebrew lexicon like this: "Jealous", used of God as not bearing any rival; the severe avenger of departure from Himself." The difference being that human jealousy is a act of the sinful nature (selfish independent nature) that was the result of the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden. Once you understand everyone's sinful state at birth, you can soon discover their is a cure, and His name is Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

@@christophergibson7155 What does that mean? God is jealous about not having a rival? What about Satan? He's practically depicted as his rival and can be implied to be just as powerful as God since he isn't dead yet and that the concept of "Evil" still exists. Also, the word "Jealous" is the wrong word here, the definition you put out refer to the words "Unrivaled" and "Narcissistic", with a lot more narcissism though. And I'm curious about something, why are there two different definitions of a word for these two subjects? Is it because God is a god therefore not subject to human words? Because he certainly acts like one and more precisely a damn spoiled child.

@@rokilaiyangtzer1134 What does that mean? It doesn't mean God does not have a rival. It means God will not accept any rival. Satan is God's defeated enemy. Jesus defeated sin and death at the cross and during his resurrection. And it is the most powerful act of love that anyone has ever given. Who are we to stand in judgment over Almighty God in the light of our own sinful nature? Until you understand your rebel nature because of sin, you will continue to shake your fist at God and mock His character. Jesus said, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." Ask yourself if you have broken God's moral law? Have you lied, stolen, sexually lusted, blasphemed God, dishonored parents, etc...? If you will repent, (have a change of mind toward sin and self), and trust in Jesus alone, (as a little child) for your salvation; then you will spend eternity in the kingdom of heaven, a totally amazing and beautiful place.

@@christophergibson7155 amen brother I’m in college 18 and I thank you for this comment. In this age and day when we are taught things in school like evolution. We just take it as is. They never discuss the MAJOR problems with it. like mathematical probability of evolution or the development of one singular CELLED organism with dna and proteins and ribosomes occurring. It’s nearly impossible. You just look at the mathematical data then you will see for yourself. Another thing is that they organize themselves in a way that requires there to be information in how they organize themselves, if one isn’t in the right place at the right time there will be no functioning cell at all. Another thing is that scientists don’t know where that information comes from.

thank you for listening to your children.

@@lostinthecosmos6095 good. Interest them in science and if they still be faithful to religion they are geniunly religious or they just faking it

Thank you. I was one of those lucky kids as well.

@geshem leocario Why would you want to live forever?

@geshem leocario many of the 3000 religions humans invented has eternal afterlife as a wishful thinking and magical reward, this is just one of them

Leaving the faith actually gives a large sense of freedom.

EnjoyThis I don’t think so. My mental health has gotten much better since I left religion.

@EnjoyThis ever since I dropped the dogma from my development, I’ve felt freer and healthier than ever before. I am at a greater peace and filled with more ambition and passion.

They're all cults - any belief system that discourages independent thought & threatens with otherworldly punishments is a cult, full stop. Extra points for revered figures like prophets & messiahs. It's all too obvious of a scheme, but the only reason they survive is because of indoctrination, human fear and gullibility.

@@seanells2333 if I may ask how old you were when you dropped the dogma?

Why?

@@krioni86sa Because that creates wisdom, which will save everyone a whole lot of trouble in the long run.

As a Christian, I wholeheartedly agree with this. Christian parents shouldn't shush questions. I Peter 3:15. We need to be ready to give an answer why we believe what we believe.

@@WeavyBoo lets start from u then..

@sabage cabage123 hahahaha

There is good reasons to believe in God. Here are strong arguments. Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

@@jkyles1000 Actually, the void, the vacuum, is filled with virtual particles that pop out of nowhere and disappear almost instantly, because they always come in pairs and they always cancel each other out (they kinda destroy each other out of existence). And since the waves are caneling each other out we can't detect them. What we detect as a matter, as a thing, is actually a fluctuation, a wave that doesn't get canceled out and that we can detect. So actually, SOMETHING can emerge out of NOTHING

@@jkyles1000 this argument can easily be disproven by continuing to question: If something cannot come from nothing, where did god come from? And if god has always been, why couldn’t mass do the same? Even if thats true there is no proof this existence is intelligent. Let alone powerfull or benevolent.

@@KalashDaCat Alternativly we simply lack the tools to measure them properly, and where they come from. Whether it be god, alternate universes or some theory currently beyond our grasp.

@@KalashDaCat Actually, virtual particles are not popping in and out of existence, they’re just simply becoming observable (and then eventually unobservable). I don’t think it’s possible for matter to come into existence out of nothing (“nothing” as in a lack of anything).

Hitting a child to 'protect' a book. So many of us grew up around that kind of utter perversity.

@@TheraminTrees yet, unironically, the book teaches love. Hmm. Oxymoron I smell

@@OfficerHotpants Its funny how Christians believe god is just and right when almost all of his actions demonstrate his jealousy, sadism, narcissism, huge ego, and depravity. Its literally insane to me. The mere fact he demands worship shows how awful of a character he is. Nobody who demands to be worshipped is doing that from a place of "love."

what kind of sick individual would hit a child and yell at them to 'protect' a stupid book?

​@@TheraminTrees what did you mean by "atheism happened to me when i was not looking"?

And yet, people still find amusement and blissful joy in the unknown and unexplained while those who debunks the trick find joy in being party-poopers.

@@realThomastheCat Nah...some people just don't like to be fooled and appreciate those who take the time and trouble to expose cheats.

Awesome line, I may steal it!

"Atheism happened to me when I wasn't looking, theism happened to me when I wasn't thinking." 🔥🔥🔥

@The Martial Lord of Loyalty Nonsense. The Theory of Gravity has never been proven. Neither has Atomic Theory, or Evolutionary Theory, or Germ Theory of Disease. But they are all well-supported by empirical evidence. What body of evidence supports the Theory of God? Nothing, nadda, zippo. Religious people have had thousands of years to demonstrate something, and all they've ever come up with is wishful thinking and error-riddled fables.

@LeviAckerman yeah u cant think

@@iflax7460 Atheism is just a lack of belief in god. It cannot be right or wrong.

@@iflax7460 Lack of belief doesn't mean that we say that god doesn't exist. We can't say that because god is an unfalsifiable claim. There is only 2 options, god either exists or not. There is no evidence for the existence so I say I don't believe that he exists. Doesn't mean that I believe he doesn't exist. Simple enough? And there is no such thing as scientism. There is science, that pesky thing that lets us communicate right now...

@@iflax7460 No. Theist - I believe Atheist - I do not believe Agnostic - I don't know I stand on I do not believe because oh I've allready said why...

@@iflax7460 You are funny man. Look at those starlink satellites and tell me again that science will never win.

*it could lead you down a path that I've decided I don't want you to travel

@@quarepercutisproximum9582 man I’ve realized how stupid some people are to tell people that they can’t do something based off of “it’s a scary path” even though there’s nothing there. it’s just knowledge

Now apply that to dogmas you accept. Like racism bad.

@@st.michaelsknight6299 What are you even implying

@@vkyal5810 That all believe systems have dogmas that you cannot question. The only real question is why those dogmas, and why are they dogmas

Oh, poor baby. You weren't alone. Those contradictions were about to evolve into a PlayStation. You gotta have faith brother.

@@markrowton8004 ?

@@felobatirmoheb4884 thou shall not question God’s words

@@orangesoul4289 fair enough

@@markrowton8004 what lol

Dani L he said that logic and reason points to god. I’ve seen him in other comment sections starting arguments. He has no idea what hes talking about.

God os good. Amen.

I would like to see this as an actual social experiment

@@ultrainstinctgoku2509 Yep. Good is good. Amen. There is plenty of evil in “the Good Book,” but here are some highlights: 1. God drowns the whole earth. In Genesis 7:21-23, God drowns the entire population of the earth: men, women, children, fetuses, and perhaps unicorns. Only a single family survives. In Matthew 24:37-42, gentle Jesus approves of this genocide and plans to repeat it when he returns. 2. God kills half a million people. In 2 Chronicles 13:15-18, God helps the men of Judah kill 500,000 of their fellow Israelites. 3. God slaughters all Egyptian firstborn. In Exodus 12:29, God the baby-killer slaughters all Egyptian firstborn children and cattle because their king was stubborn. 4. God kills 14,000 people for complaining that God keeps killing them. In Numbers 16:41-49, the Israelites complain that God is killing too many of them. So, God sends a plague that kills 14,000 more of them. 5. Genocide after genocide after genocide. In Joshua 6:20-21, God helps the Israelites destroy Jericho, killing “men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” In Deuteronomy 2:32-35, God has the Israelites kill everyone in Heshbon, including children. In Deuteronomy 3:3-7, God has the Israelites do the same to the people of Bashan. In Numbers 31:7-18, the Israelites kill all the Midianites except for the virgins, whom they take as spoils of war. In 1 Samuel 15:1-9, God tells the Israelites to kill all the Amalekites - men, women, children, infants, and their cattle - for something the Amalekites’ ancestors had done 400 years earlier. 6. God kills 50,000 people for curiosity. In 1 Samuel 6:19, God kills 50,000 men for peeking into the ark of the covenant. (Newer cosmetic translations count only 70 deaths, but their text notes admit that the best and earliest manuscripts put the number at 50,070.) 7. 3,000 Israelites killed for inventing a god. In Exodus 32, Moses has climbed Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments. The Israelites are bored, so they invent a golden calf god. Moses comes back and God commands him: “Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.” About 3,000 people died. 8. The Amorites destroyed by sword and by God’s rocks. In Joshua 10:10-11, God helps the Israelites slaughter the Amorites by sword, then finishes them off with rocks from the sky. 9. God burns two cities to death. In Genesis 19:24, God kills everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from the sky. Then God kills Lot’s wife for looking back at her burning home. 10. God has 42 children mauled by bears. In 2 Kings 2:23-24, some kids tease the prophet Elisha, and God sends bears to dismember them. (Newer cosmetic translations say the bears “maul” the children, but the original Hebrew, baqa, means “to tear apart.”) 11. A tribe slaughtered and their virgins raped for not showing up at roll call. In Judges 21:1-23, a tribe of Israelites misses roll call, so the other Israelites kill them all except for the virgins, which they take for themselves. Still not happy, they hide in vineyards and pounce on dancing women from Shiloh to take them for themselves. 12. 3,000 crushed to death. In Judges 16:27-30, God gives Samson strength to bring down a building to crush 3,000 members of a rival tribe. 13. A concubine raped and dismembered. In Judges 19:22-29, a mob demands to rape a godly master’s guest. The master offers his daughter and a concubine to them instead. They take the concubine and gang-rape her all night. The master finds her on his doorstep in the morning, cuts her into 12 pieces, and ships the pieces around the country. 14. Child sacrifice. In Judges 11:30-39, Jephthah burns his daughter alive as a sacrificial offering for God’s favor in killing the Ammonites. 15. God helps Samson kill 30 men because he lost a bet. In Judges 14:11-19, Samson loses a bet for 30 sets of clothes. The spirit of God comes upon him and he kills 30 men to steal their clothes and pay off the debt. 16. God demands you kill your wife and children for worshiping other gods. In Deuteronomy 13:6-10, God commands that you must kill your wife, children, brother, and friend if they worship other gods. 17. God incinerates 51 men to make a point. In 2 Kings 1:9-10, Elijah gets God to burn 51 men with fire from heaven to prove he is God. 18. God kills a man for not impregnating his brother’s widow. In Genesis 38:9-10, God kills a man for refusing to impregnate his brother’s widow. 19. God threatens forced cannibalism. In Leviticus 26:27-29 and Jeremiah 19:9, God threatens to punish the Israelites by making them eat their own children. 20. The coming slaughter. According to Revelation 9:7-19, God’s got more evil coming. God will make horse-like locusts with human heads and scorpion tails, who torture people for 5 months. Then some angels will kill a third of the earth’s population. If he came today, that would be 2 billion people. Now, Christians have spent thousands of years coming up with excuses for a loving god that would allow or create such evil. Top 20 Evil Bible Stories commonsenseatheism.com/?p=21

@@ultrainstinctgoku2509 10. God destroys a good family 'for no reason.' God made a bet with Satan that Job, a good and blameless man, would remain faithful even if he killed his children and ruined his life. Here we see God indicting himself for the crime, openly confessing that he destroyed a family "for no reason." "The Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the Earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.' " (Job 2:3 New Revised Standard Bible) 9. God destroys the fetuses of those who do not worship him. This is not the only feticidal passage in the bible, but it is the worst: "You shall acknowledge no God but me. . . . You are destroyed, Israel. . . . The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open." (Hosea 13:4, 9, 16 New International Version) 8. God approves the massacre of a peaceful people so one of his tribes could have a place to live. Most believers think God destroyed the Canaanites because they were depraved and immoral, although the bible does not make that claim. They were killed - and labeled "evil" and "wicked" - simply because they did not worship him. Here is a group of people who did nothing wrong. They were "at peace and secure," but they had to be eliminated. "And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. . . . Then they said to [the priest], 'Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.' The priest answered them, 'Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord's approval.' . . . Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city. . . . The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there." (Judges 18:1-28 NIV) The Canaanites were not the evildoers. The Israelites were the invaders! 7. Babies are slaughtered and wives raped. The murderous Old Testament deity deemed human life to be worthless, placing his own megalomaniacal glory above human values. Here is one of the worst examples: "See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger. . . . I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty. . . . Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated." (Isaiah 13:9-16 NIV) 6. A mixed-race couple is murdered by a godly priest to keep God's people pure. The righteous priest Phinehas murdered a loving couple for the crime of miscegenation. Then he was praised by God and rewarded for the hate crime with a perpetual priesthood for keeping the nation racially pure. "Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites. When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites. Therefore say, "I hereby grant him my covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the Israelites.' '" (Numbers 25:6-13 NRSV) 5. A daughter is burned as an acceptable sacrifice to God. General Jephthah made a vow with God in order to defeat the enemy. When Jephthah won the war, God received his hundred pounds of flesh. "And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: 'If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.' . . . When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! . . . After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed." (Judges 11:30-39 NIV) After burning his daughter, Jephthah was rewarded with a prestigious judgeship and was later buried with honor. 4. The cannibalistic God makes people eat human flesh. There are nine passages in the Old Testament where God makes cannibalistic threats. Here is the worst one: "And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat." (Leviticus 26:27-29 King James Version) 3. God threatens rape, then takes credit for it. This passage was new to me, and it blew me away. I guess I had only read it before in the King James Version, where the sexual molestation is not obvious. Here it is in the NRSV, where the Israelites were asking why they were being attacked by the Babylonians: "Hear and give ear; do not be haughty, for the Lord has spoken. . . . And if you say in your heart, 'Why have these things come upon me?' it is for the greatness of your iniquity that your skirts are lifted up, and you are violated . . . because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies. I myself will lift up your skirts over your face, and your shame will be seen." (Jeremiah 13:15-26 NRSV) "Skirts lifted up" is sexual assault. "Violate" is rape. The King James Version has the quaint "heels made bare," which obscures the sexual assault. Notice that the "iniquity" for which they were being raped was not immorality or depravity; it was simply because "you have forgotten me." 2. God threatens sexual molestation. The Lord will harass attractive uppity women by exposing their private parts. "Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts." (Isaiah 3:16-17 KJV) The New International Version covers up this embarrassing passage with "make their scalps bald" in place of "discover their secret parts [Hebrew: poth = vagina]." Other translations are more honest: The Orthodox Jewish Bible has "lay bare their nakedness," Amplified Bible "stripped naked," Complete Jewish Bible "expose their private parts," Common English Version "uncover their private parts," and Living Bible "expose their nakedness for all to see." Even if "daughters of Zion" is a metaphor for Israel, it is a metaphor of sexual assault. 1. God wants you to be happy to dash babies against the rocks. I have always thought this was the worst verse in the bible, and my opinion remains unchanged. "O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!"(Psalm 137:8-9 NRSV) God was not merely saying that regrettable collateral damage might occur during wartime. He said believers should be happy - some translations say "blessed" - to kill innocent babies of those who are keeping you from worshipping your own god. • • • Anyone who claims to admire and worship the biblical God has either abandoned all sense of moral judgment or has never actually read the Old Testament. The 10 Worst Old Testament Verses by Dan Barker - Freedom From Religion Foundation ffrf.org/publications/freethought-today/item/26141-the-10-worst-old-testament-verses

My primary was rather similar I was the only atheist, I was treated differently I never was Christian but everyone around me was, their religion was something they were unaware of mostly, due to their parents indoctrination

The simple answer to this is Free Will. There are multiple ideas within Christianity, most popular being the debate between Calvinism (Predestination) and Arminianism (Free Will). These are very barebones description of the 2, but Predestination stems from the idea that everyone is assigned saved and not saved (i.e. The Elect) and that God has predetermined your path in life. Obviously this raises more questions than answers like "Would God predestine Sin?", Answer: Of course not. Meanwhile Free Will surmises that men are free agents that are welcome to chose to follow or not follow God. Evil exists because of the free will of man. Since we chose to eat from the tree of good and evil, we are condemned. Free Will exists because God wants believers who truly believe in him and are not merely subservient to him because he said so. Theology 101, but of course not every Christian is going to have all the answers.

We didn't choose to eat fruit from the tree of *knowledge* of good and evil, a mythical man made from dirt - in a story - did, without knowledge of good and evil, through the "corruption" (honesty) of a serpent. Y'know, according to the Bible at least. Absolute nonsense, of course. But let's say that it's just everyone is capable of sin. Why are we capable of sin? More importantly, assuming you don't hold a creationist view with a 6000 year old world, and don't disagree with the mountains of evidence in favour of evolution... How do you explain such an evil selection process? All the suffering of every non-human species, and all the death and pain experienced by organisms before humans existed? Like, the majority of the Earth's history? Predeterminism (or predestination) is a necessary conclusion from the typical claims associated with theism - All powerful, all knowing creator of the universe. It's not an exclusively theistic problem though.

When I was part of campus crusade, I had a really hard time connecting with other people, because most hadn't read the Bible. I couldn't figure out why they were so jolly for the longest time.

@@littlegamer9573 is it truly free will if at the end its "believe in me or suffer"?

Irony at its finest. Those who knows the bible best are those who know the lies it says.

that is crazy to think about.

@Ahmed Shah What do you mean?

Omg I’m trying to stay calm but I agree so hard. It’s very encouraging to not feel so alone with both him and his brothers vids and the communities they both facilitate. Really helps keep me going when it feels I’m being a pointless pesk to try and stay committed to rationality and curiosity over the false peace and harmony of agreement enforced by the assumption of divine right

@@sleepninja2350 Does his brother have a channel too? If so, what's the name of the channel?

If you look through the comments some time - aside from the predictable silly vitriol - you'll see a lot of people affirm that they've shared a similar childhood. There are lots of us out there who felt we must've been the only one.

@@TheraminTrees Hey! I loved your video, it explained the process of atheism so smoothly. I'll also throw in my own childhood experience, which isn't really interesting but just something to share, because.. why not? I don't have a similar childhood as you, but I also was very curious about everything. I always loved to question things, I liked to pose many philosophical questions. It came to a point my mother would sometimes get mad at me it, probably because she thought I was demanding answers, when all I did was just let my mind speak outloud. What's different is that, I actually never got to be a believer in the first place. I'd never accept anything given to me without first questioning it. When religion was given to me, I questioned it like everything else, no exception. Why should it be? I got to be an atheist pretty quickly, in fact, it didn't even take longer than a day. I pondered the whole thing in a few concentrated hours and excluded it as a possible reality. I was maybe 12 at the time.. from that point on, no one else could convince me otherwise. I never got to waste years of my life believing into something that was most possibly non-existent, and neither was I introduced to the great fear of hell. I didn't think it was real, so it didn't bother me. And, of course, I also didn't feel the need to 'come out' since I didn't really think religion was real, thus, not something to fuss about. Eventually, though, I had a few encounters with my family members that forced me to 'come out'. I did, and I didn't get such a positive response.. I was referred to as a "demonist" (as if that's a real word) for merely saying "I don't think god is real, I kind of doubt it if anything.." Like yourself and many other atheists, I was talked over, even looked down upon. It was pretty confusing, knowing how I was the child, yet, the adults seemed to be childish.. and, well, as of now, I'm just accepting that the debate of religion is impossible to talk about.. if you're talking to a religious person, that is. If you don't want to listen to what's being presented, a reasonable argument won't be enough to convince you.. us humans can be complex like that. Aside from our intelligence, we'd need to consider our emotional intelligence. Being logical is nice, but sometimes not sufficient. In the end, being emotionally aware is what's needed to avoid traps like these..

TheraminTrees Yes, Theramin, this is my story. I’ve been explicitly told by my family that I’ve been a problem child ever since I asked why people tried to predict the second coming, when we’d just learned in a Sunday School that Jesus said he’d come like a thief in the night and no-one would know the day or the hour. Yeah, and also asking why we were all supposed to act sad at funerals. It seemed to me that we should be so happy for our beloved grandparents that they now got to be with god. Instead of the answers I expected from the adults I loved and trusted, my questions just inspired anger. I didn’t understand. I should have trusted my childish questions. Devoted too much of my life trying to make sense of my religion and my family. Thank you for all your videos. I can’t tell you how important they are.

@@TheraminTrees I agree, I was coming out by my self by not practicing but you have given me the tools to clean up all remnants of theism I had, so many things in my life where still dictated by the invisible hand of "God", no more. Thanks for your work and time :)

Very same experience for me.

Leads to some good music though.

Hell is the best fanfiction red goat dudes are cool

h*ll is total separation from God.

@@JPX7NGD why do you believe in God?

@@ghoulbuster1 no one can be this st*pid, demons hate you almost as much as you want to destroy yourself.

You should be proud of yourself. You’ve been taught to pursue truth and you’ve found it. I went through the same thing you did praying to god and receiving no answers from him. The change can be a lot to handle so I highly recommend pursuing forms of self improvement such as therapy or simply picking up an instrument. Best of luck in discovering more about life and more about your true self untethered from religion.

It hurts yeah, but damned did i really needed this video. It thankfully hurt less for me bcs i already am an atheist but this video genuinely hit home, reminding me of what i went through, it was less harsh then what op went through which I am very thankful for

Mankind always wants to own the truth. If a lord who is so wise and loving is up there, he surely would not sound like an ancient man that was given an infinity stone. I'd argue he wouldn't even get his feet onto his creation and that our mere lives already accomplish his goals. He is supoosed to be perfect and all-capable, even of solving the paradox of free will if he so wanted. Humans do lie. Not everything is what it seems and to know who made us all would be an achievement, but to claim you do and then tell what he says is an act of disrespect, diffamation, mislead and dispair.

It's hard to find your footing again when you realize that a lot of the foundational beliefs you've held for a very long time just aren't there anymore. I found the process terrifying. I grew up being trafficked and even after my escape I believed that I deserved to be property and drifted from relationship to relationship. I didn't think I could make decisions for myself but unfortunately the kind of person willing to take that kind of role on for you is either equally broken or someone who wants to take advantage of you. When my now-ex husband walked out on me, I was suddenly put in a position where my body was my own. It was terrifying. I started having gender dysmorphia. Unlike dysphoria where you believe your body doesn't match what you believe it should be, dysmorphia means I stopped being able to see female features on my body when I looked in the mirror. I think what happened was that some part of me said "the person who owns me must be a man, the person in the mirror owns me, therefore the person in the mirror is a man." Suddenly finding myself an adult with no sense of identity, no sense of what I believed, no sense of what I wanted, no sense of what I valued--it was horrific. I can't describe the pure terror and emptiness. But somehow I made it through. It does get better. I promise. I won't pretend it's easy or fun because it sure as hell isn't but it does get better.

Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

Wouldn't it be great if religion was a choice instead of an institution?

He litterally used the pelagian heresy as an argument 16:45.

@@servantmapper8893 What is that?

Basically the belief that one can deserve to Go to Heaven, as the Bible says no one can deserve it, we can only get to it because Jesus paid our bail. - The dividing line is everyone goes to Hell except for those who believes in Jesus and are thus saved. So the argument used at 16:45 in the video is based in a heresy, technically. @@ElanaVital83

@@servantmapper8893 LOL That's silly. In order for me to actually care about what rules are out there, prove that Hell even exists in the first place. I don't think this guy is worried about going to a fictional afterlife.

There's always a protagonist...antagonist...character development, narrative plot....and climax to every story book.

That might be the best way to put it I ever heard.

h*ll is total separation from God.

@@JPX7NGD Nope, hell is just man made place such as is all gods and all different heavens.

@@tgstudio85 Heaven is our Home. God Is The Uncreated, Uncontingent Prime Mover Whom Is SO Far Above His Creation that you may only witness Him as He acts upon creation. the pagan "gods" you unquestioningly worship are just demons: created, contingent beings as you are. h*ll is complete, total, Eternal separation from God and therefore true d*ath and Eternal suffering beyond what you could imagine.

Good luck to you, hang in there and always be true to yourself.

To this day, the best thing that happened in my life was moving out of my parent's house. Just play along, things will get better, you'll be able to be yourself one day, good luck.

be persistent

@@randomrandom450 it's going to be harder for me since I am masquerading as a muslim

I was doing the same thing until my dad found out that I filled out “atheist” on a section of one of my college applications. That was not a pleasant conversation to say the least. Good thing I’m moving out next year. Best of luck to you!

Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

@@jkyles1000 why are you spamming this on every comment??

@@jkyles1000 us not knowing how the universe came into existence doesn't make it reasonable to assume that a concious, intelligent being somehow created it. it's a speculation that is just as likely as any other. it's better to just accept the fact that we do not and cannot know where it all came from or why, and just try to understand what we can.

@@jkyles1000 I would argue your points operate on several assumptions, including assuming that some other assumptions are definitely true, which is not how things work. We learn and redefine our understanding of the world all the time. The beginning of the universe in particular is very prone to us being wrong about it, in that we've never had the chance to observe anything truly like it and similarly make assumptions on assumptions to speculate on what it was like. I just think its important to understand that our current interpretations are our best guesses based on our best possible evidence we could come up with. I think gravity is a great example, it doesn't just pull down, we figured out its attraction of matter. And then we learned its more accurately described as bending of space-time fabric. And I'm sure there's more to learn here as well. I don't think filling gaps of understanding with the word God has done any good for the pursuit of knowledge in hundreds of years.

@@jkyles1000 Do you truly think with your one copypasta of religious goop, you'll change back someone who devoted half their life to following God? The ammount of pain and suffering it takes to leave religion behind? I think most of us wanted it all to be true, but it was when we saw it objectively that it started to crumble from the inside out. Speaking for myself though, not everyone; just sad how many dont stop to think that leaving isn't a fun or easy choice, but usually a necessity for a better life.

Beautiful but unfortunately sad story that in this case proves how people find themselves in struggle when someone or something is not in line with their guidelines. I mean that all of those people you spoke about just couldnt find anything better to do then to look at you as to evil. They ignored the fact that you were just a kid because you trespassed so heavily the formalities. With this I want to poin out how people can become so blinde when behaving like a certain society request to ignore the logic. In your case all of them should have been able to see and understand that you did not know what were you speaking about instead of feeling offended or even afraid.

What you said made absolute sense. The least the adults could have done was not treat you like some sort of monster. I personally have always believed in euthanasia for suffering consenting humans. Just because these adults felt uncomfortable with the question did not justify their horrible response to you.

@@sugarmouse3555 I agree. It's crazy that people feel justified to force humans to be alive only so they can suffer...become conscious of their suffering, suffer more, then die anyways. The least we can do is allow people to die when they want and don't have to be conscious of the pain. I didn't get to choose to be alive, I didn't get to choose to be mortal, I at least deserve to choose when and how. _(as long as I don't force others to be alive and take that responsibility)_ The Church is very smart to include that "suicide is a sin"...considering they insist that death will grant you an eternity of paradise. Suffering on Earth is a complete waste of time. I'm happy to die just because of the lack of conscious pain. Can't imagine how desperate I'd be if I thought that actually I'd continue to live *and* live in paradise. Very convenient that the one thing I can do to get there, suicide, will actually void my ticket. 👍

I had a similar issue when my great-grandmother died. My mom would only tell me that we couldn't visit her because she was asleep and I was just like "It's the middle of the afternoon, shouldn't we go wake her up?" My mom was chronically incapable of addressing the concept of mortality so she'd just start crying. Wasn't long after that that someone (probably my mom) locked me in a closet at a hotel (probably so she could go have sex with someone) and I watched a woman get disemboweled. So that...not great.

@@fingerboxes WHOA, that is....damn what a childhood

Who did you ask, a homeless person? This is a pretty odd and weirdly materialist description of the Kingdom of Heaven.

EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME! BRUH THAT SHIT WAS THE FIRST EXISTENTIAL TERROR I FELT

Me too!! I was crippled for several days until I decided to not think about it

@Bøï 89 Well no eye has seen nor ear has heard, so I'd guess those claims of going to heaven are just as legitimate as those of alien abductions

@@williamsmith9948 if god doesn't want us to go there why did he create it or why does he let it exist or why doesn't he make it extremely clear he exists beside a book written by man, you think if he really didn't want us to go to hell he would made more of an effort

No there has been evidence found that Jesus Christ existed at some point, although he looks a lot different that white Beatles Jesus Also the scriptures that were written about him and the stuff he said were written hundreds of years after he was dead. There was a man named Jesus Christ although everything his ever said or done is up for debate

I Dont Know where the devil resides but I have heard his in the Vatican lol

I've heard of the Rothschild and some of the thing, even if they're not satanists they'res something undeniably creepy about them.

@S Robin very interesting

I wasn't sure if that "cheezuz" was on purpose or a mistake in the closed captioning!

At this point we can classify the subgroup of humanitarian faith of atheism as itself a religion. A religion doesn’t need a god.

@@1mol831 You are tragic.

@@1mol831 is not playing football a sport then?

@@henrystibitz8111 it is obviously a sport

​@@1mol831Then there are infinite sports like "Not playing basketball" and "Not playing hockey". You and I are both athletes.

Technically speaking Hitler could have gotten saved between the last time he was seen and his death. Christians would probably say he'd never do that but there's no rule saying he couldn't have.

@@joshuaa7266 exactly, yet children who die of hunger in small African villages that have never been exposed to Christianity or the concept of “being saved by Jesus” supposedly go to hell for not believing in something they’ve never even heard of? Makes a lot of sense, right? Totally not morally inconsistent whatsoever! /s

@@DosYeobos One of the things that promepted me to apostasy was just the question of the afterlife, especially the things of the Heaven and the Hell, where christians insist on existence of those places because… well, you know. So, I read the Bible about the Heaven and the Hell, and guess what I found? Not so much, especially in the old testament, because when you talk about the "Hell", the Jewish point of view talk about a place colled Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom, a place where the canaanite tribes sacrificed their babies in that Valley to the god Moloch. Basically the Gehenna is not a place where that is in the Afterlife or in "another dimension", but a place that is part of our world. The second thing of the "Hell" is called Sheol, the underground, where you bury the dead as you do in the cemetry. I mean, some Jews say that there is an Heaven or the Hell, but about the Hell (the Sheol) is like the Hades of the greek mythilogy, and there isn't an eternal punishment, but is like a waiting room, before the resurection of the dead. And there are some Jews that don't believe in the Afterlife, because the Ecclesiastes ( or the Qohelet) chapter 9 verse 5 say: "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not any things". The jews point of view of the Afterlife accepts interpretations, but isn't so important, because they focus more on this life, and not after. About the Christian point of view is so messed up. I mean, maybe not all christians are agree about the concept of the Heaven and the Hell, but if these people read carefully what Is written in the Bible, especially in the old testament, they will found that there isn't so much about the afterlife, neither in the new testament. For exemple, the Gospel of Luke chapter 17 verse 21, Jesus talk about the "Kingdom of God" the Christian point of view of the Heaven. I think that is an emotional state of your feeling, and not a place where your "soul" going in another "dimension" because like Jesus say "The Kingdom of God isn't here or in another place, but inside all of you". Basically, the Kingdom of God is a sentimental thing, also the Hell is a sentimental thing, not a "pleace". Concept like Heaven, Hell, and eternal life are concepts of the late christianity, not of the early christians, and like I said about the jews point of view of these three things aren't so importants, so why bother with these things? Better focus on this life. Right?

@@robertomondello2447 I absolutely agree with that. I may not be religious so much anymore, but if I were, it would be more from this perspective of focusing on the one life that we have.

It really is a ridiculous concept to think about. And as he said in the video, immoral too

Reading this appalling experience you've shared reinforces what I've often thought: that the unacknowledged goal of believers in administering these kinds of punishments is not to get children to believe, but to get them to act 'as if' they believe.

@@TheraminTrees It's worse. It's not even about the children, it's about themselves. They beat the children so they don't have to think about their belief, so they don't have to question it. I'm sure you know why.

@Wee Mac Is this belief rooted in defending or identifying with evangelical Christianity?

@Wee Mac What makes it appear this story is a lie for the purpose of seeking attention? It doesn't look like he is following up with any other responses to double down on any "woe is me" sympathies. He never said anything such as "like this comment to show solidarity". How is one able to tell the difference between a true story and attention seeking? I guess in the grand scheme of things, a single comment thread isn't exactly all that important.

It's always good to experience christian love.

Hasty genaralisation

@@ziyaaddhorat It is an arguable generalisation, at least. When you consider all Christianity consists on 'bringing the children to Christ' and 'be like a baby'. It depends on whether some parents are more Christian than others.

Oh I did eat my fair share of slap to the face.

@@ziyaaddhorat perhaps, but it is true that some Christians do that.

@@iexist1300 some ≠ Most or disproportionate amount

@jazzyj2182 dude i was already past all this dumb shit at 11 years old, do you think im more susceptible now at 37? Do you think everyone's as dumb as you?

@@Scratchy314You’re so based for that hahah

​@jazzyj2182predestined but still needing to repent. Very cool

I had a similar experience with my own (Christian) grandfather, at about... 18 or 19, I think? I said I wasnt sure what I believed, if anything, and his response was "that's part of what you're going to university to find out". He never showed any less love, kindnss or respect for me after that conversation.

You're definitely not alone! Wishing you the best! 💖

Indeed i dont get why religous people are so agressive to other people's ideals well actually the only people ive seen be agressive are Christians i feel bad for you and its not like you can change being gay it isnt a choice its a feeling you just dont feel for girls like you do boys and most of them dont understand that

I'm touched at the depth of abuse you were subject to, these vlogs must be healing and cathartic I hope - religion is a haven for narcissistic sociopaths. Most pretend, few there be that truly find life. Mr Elliott has a lot to answer for yet I applaud your authentic enquiry. *I have heard Yeshua, audibly* I'm a Respiratory Specialist with qualifications from 3 universities. The first time I heard Him I was neck deep in philosophy, Buddhism and any new age deep thinker deception. I was not looking for Jesus, was on a reprieve from studying - I heard Him but still didn't yield. An upstanding citizen but Deuteronomy describes me as being an abomination to God at that time, thank God for the dispensation of Grace we are in. I've escaped death many times, as a child I've been in write-off car crash, had bone crumbling tumours that sadly killed others, as an adult I was held at knife point, have been hit by a bus (my head smashed the windscreen as I was flung up like a rag doll, landing far over the opposite side of the road), I've survived trauma, violence, neglect, abuse, sabotage, early bereavement, lost everything twice and I have 4 children in heaven. I had even visited the Dalai Lama, when told I was dying of cancer, but alas there I was dying nothing was authentic, my medical knowledge of no comfort. That brought me to my knees in my own home, described as a 'good' person I cried out to God for Truth. He told me, He showed me, everything He said came to pass. Once you see and hear Him it changes you forever. I understand why the disciples and countless others were martyred. He is Love, but also a pure Holy, Terror to be revered. True Love involves Judgment, hating and destroying that which destroys innocence and growth. Yet He loves us so much to give us free will, God could make us subservient compliant robots - but no one wants significant relationships like that. Equally He gave the way back to reconciliation with Him, He covers our shame with His Righteousness in Christ Jesus as we've all fallen short of the Glory of God. I wasn't an easy convert in spite of my experience, I still researched even though He forever changed me - God given Wisdom explained everything. That was in 2012, Jesus healed me and brought a miracle child against all odds. To those you refer to in Hinduism etc, God states Creation reveals Him and intelligent design in DNA. Abraham didn't have access to the new testament, but we are his descendents. Jesus loves you and paid the highest price to show you. I Pray you meet Him quickly beloved, time's almost up, prophesy converging at an alarming rate.

@@perhaps7995 not all religious people like that

@@momo-xg7mz No...but a lot are... And then some feel like they need to make an infomercial for their god, all the way to the point of putting their "infomercial for god" in places where people do not care to see it... Like the guy above...who thinks his anecdotal evidence proves his god...claims credentials with no evidence or proof... I was going to report his...but, since the guy above your comment isn't being a colossal jerk, perhaps leaving his up is for the best, if only to show people how sick some christians really are...😳😵

@@christopheralthouse6378 not all of us are :(

@@degaussingatmosphericcharg575although the magic trick was already proven false.

IKR? Atheists do lie but their magic, when explained, can no longer deceive.

@@DanielKolbin nope,athiests use no magic,you do though.

@@DanielKolbin unless that's a bruh momentum joke.

brotherhood knight69, actually that is incorrect. Christianity and God don’t use magic. No matter what my view or beliefs are. But you do though.

The moment you said "lgbt-free zone" my mind instantly went "POLAND!" Anyways, we have those Christianity Indoctrination classes in Bosnia aswell. The difference is that which religion you get depends on which Ethnicity is the Majority in the Area. Croat Majority? Catholic. Serb Majority? Orthodox. Bosniak Majority? Islam. Anyways, since i'm a Croat, i had to deal with Catholic Indoctrination during Class. My Teacher said the same thing about Gays as yours. Except, mine expanded it to "Helping" them. And he also applies it to Non-Binary and Trans folk. Most of the Time, he Tends to talk about Protestants and How they ruined everything for the Church with their Reformations. Because getting rid of so many Traditions caused the Church to lose power, allowing Atheism to rise in Western Europe. Or so he says. It makes me sick. He just Treats Atheists as some Product of Protestantism! AS IF THERE ISN'T AN OPEN EX-CATHOLIC IN HIS FUCKING CLASSROOM. The way Catholic Theocrats see the world is insane... The only good thing about them is that they only care about Europe....

sounds like you had a problem with the church and your family members not the religion

@@cadds8055 the religion is connected with both of those

Religion is like a drug and its for free. Some even develop a mental illness out of it as you may have noticed. Religion is a way to divide people and promoting bigotry, the biggest scam in history

Good luck :)

@@lostinthecosmos6095 really what if he had good parents and went to a church that respected him and treated him well

Six year olds question everything, but yeah that's not exactly normal

Didn't we all? It's around that age you learn that questioning everything can get you in trouble, so you stop.

@@gabemerritt3139 but this guy in the video don't and so do I

@@user-vq8dq8jo5p yeah, but those are seemingly few, and even he and I stopped doing so verbally

I had doubts about religion at about the same age, at seven I found the religion course useless and at 17 I was fully aware I was atheist and I wasn't hiding it.

I'm glad your disclosure was received with respect and love. Reactions to differences and disagreements say a lot about relationships don't they. Your mention of religion as a coping mechanism for some is something I'll be looking at in one of the next couple of videos.

I wish I had parents like your.....

Didnt they cry? I am so afraid of breaking my mothers heart... thats why i am hiding it

Ooof. Dang. I wish.

@@TheraminTrees of course it is a coping mechanism. That's why smart people use that mechanism for. Why shouldn't they ? How do people actually cope, without God. Jesus the Christ, is someone, one says yes to, and ALL may, if they choose. The fact that people fall away from choosing to receive His holy, holy, and most amazing grace, mercy, love, compassion, fortitude and hope, is man made, not God. It's fulfilling to come to Him. Satisfying. Educating. TRUTH. The calm, admidst the storm, and, the guiding light when in a valley of shadow. It is not something, to resist. Rather something to offer and, share. It's qualifying, tangible, real and it grows, which is contentment. Because Jesus , can handle it. When I can't. Because it's about Him. And not you or me. Because He is Lord, and most high judge, and I am nothing other than deserving, of the unblemished and righteous judgment, of course when He, allows that to happen. As for everyone. So, it's comforting, to be aware, awake and armed, in life, during time on earth, with Jesus the Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life, and no matter what anyone says, to contradict this, is deluded. Jesus loves you. Jesus does. Can, and always will, be most high, first only and number one, everlasting God. Because He is. Because it's FACT. And that's what I love most about faith. When you know, you know, and that's all there is to it. The ultimate defence, against the wicked, and evil one, who runs the world, Satan. There's no WAY, I will be letting go of Him. And would be insane, if I did, especially when, I'm only fifty. That's still young . I am still young, with Jesus close. You don't deserve anything LESS to know, he loves love's love's you. Repent and surrender your life to Jesus Christ.

I know this comment is old, so my apologies if I bring up sad memories, assuming you read this. I just wanted to say that I hope things will get better for you. I'm not religious in any sense, I won't spout anything about prayers. But I do hope that you will find the strength to move forward as best you can. Its hard, its really really hard. Reach out to friends you feel safe around, emerse yourself in new hobbies and communities. It sucks, its hard. Itll get better with time and self reflection, and good friends to help you. I wish you the best. ~ a stranger on the internet

A worse thought process is, he created us and the world KNOWING this would all happen, and still punishes us for it

I'm 12. (A very intellectual 12 year old, I might add) My parents are liberal Protestant Christians. I started questioning Christianity at 8. It was rough. I didn't have siblings to confide in or close (at the time) atheist friends. (My town is about a 90/10 split for Christians to Atheists, so its a little unpopular and people won't come out guns blazing as an atheist.) By 9 I knew at least most of Christianity was fake. My parents still forced me to go to Cristian summer camps (IDK why, but churches in my area love sending kids off for a week so they don't have to run a youth church for one Sunday of the year) and church. This all recently came to a head when my dog died over the summer. He was the best dog ever, and my parents loved him so much. The worst part was that he was only 6, a very young age for a dog to pass away. It made me angry at god. Even though I had doubts, I was praying for miracles, wishing and threatening god if he didn't save my best friend. He died, and I vowed for revenge. I argued with councilors, beating them down with superior logic. I barreled a speaker (Who went to a bible school and got a degree in Religious Studies) to the "Just have faith" line. I told 4 kids at the summer camp about my beliefs and explained my reasons. (One turned out to be an agnostic and is still my friend today!) Two of my best Christian friends also went to this camp. One of them spent half his life in my house, and my mother was effectively his godmother. This kid was my best human friend. I would roll my eyes at some of the dumb points pastors made. On the last day of camp the subject was demons. I was pulled out of the sermon and was sent to the head youth pastor. (I go to a larger church, so that's a big deal.) He told me that he had heard i was talking about being an atheist and seemed genuinely upset. I explained the less logical reasons for my lack of belief (ex. being homophobic) and he sent me back in. They split us into smaller groups. My bro, the kid I've spent my life with, was in it. I berated him, telling him my feelings and how hurt I was that he chose a false religion over a human who (platonically) loved him. I then shoved him out of the way so I could storm away. (He continues to allege I threw a punch.) He has not apologized for ruining many friendships that were hurt with other people, including my parents. I stood up during the small group and told the kids and teenager running the group how idiotic they were for believing in demons and exorcisms. When we arrived back home, thankfully my parents hadn't learned through the grapevine. I told them the next morning, and they took it well. I know how lucky I am and know how many silent secular voices there are. Always keep learning, and never shy away from facts!

I'm sorry for your loss, welcome to freedom and being in charge of your own morality and life! It's better on this side.

And at that stage of asking for god, the silence hits HARD. Like, there were so many instances in the bible where god came and directly interacted with those asking for him, and if not that then it was said "god works in mysterious ways" so I waited for a sign. Anything. But its the silence that is such a horrible feeling. "His eye is on the sparrow, but why is it not on me?" It made me feel so small, so inadequate and unworthy. Lol sorry this video exposed a huge wound for me, but I'm at least glad im out of that space

@@DanielYapHZ I happened to be lucky in my youth, for my parents going to church was more about community and a vague sense of 'spirituality' than actual communion with a god. As it was, when I came to my realizations about the god stories, it hit me less hard than figuring out the truth about Santa had (at least Santa had written me hand-written notes each year, so I had more reason to think they were real).

I kinda figured that's how everybody lost faith

This argument is always refuted with a "THOU SHALL NOT TEST YOUR GOD".... not sure how i can respond to that other than saying how good a job it does at protecting the lie.

@@kennyv1854 Here's a question to consider...why _can't_ you test god? If someone asked _you_ to do something you can easily, effortlessly do, there are a number of reasons you might still say no, but those reasons wouldn't apply to an omnipotent god. a) 'You're just a human', for a god to not do something _just_ because it was asked of by someone 'lesser' is a sign of arrogance and pride...not attributes of any god worth caring about even if they did exist. b) 'God wants you to have faith', faith is demonstrably not a good way to find the truth, failing to even teach children meaningful lessons. If my child asks me why they shouldn't cross the road without looking, if I told them 'because a car might be coming down the road and you could get hurt' vs 'you just need to have faith in my words'...which situation has lead to my child having a better understanding of the world, and more knowledge overall? What's more, if one took the bible as anything more than just stories (they really shouldn't) it depicts god physically meeting and talking to people...so if then, why not now? c) 'You can't just demand god to do what you want', while this may be reasonable in some circumstances (asking god for super powers or all the world's money, frivolous requests), it's hardly an unreasonable demand to simply ask 'I'm not sure if you actually exist, could you give me...any indication I'm not just talking to myself in an empty room?' I could go on, really. Ultimately if the reasoning could equally be applied to _any_ god, it's not particularly useful. "Zeus creates the lightning" "Can we run some tests and see if that's true?" "Though shall not test your Zeus!" is an equally meaningless situation. "Don't test X" just tells me "There is no evidence for X".

thanks and best wishes to you

Rose, I wish you the very best in coming out to your friends and family. I love the way you summed it up: "I'd rather people hate me for who I am than love me for who I'm not."

@@Soapandwater6 Thanks, I can't remember where I heard that quote, but whoever came up with it was genius. Thank you for replying, it means a lot. :)

Thanks for your story. You know, I've also grown up in a technically catholic family, even though it went quite differently than it did for you. My parents weren't big advocates of the christian faith, even though my mother was a Christian. My father would often teach me about science and space exploration. One of my earliest memory was seeing astronauts doing repairs on the Hubble space telescope on TV. As such, I quickly realized the contradictions between our indoctrination classes at school and what science was saying. I started making fun of my grandmother's beliefs, started arguing and trolling christian teachers in class and certainly made no attempt to camouflage my atheism. Eventually confronted my mother with the absurdity of her beliefs, as well as my close friends whose faith was wavering already in some cases. Nobody in my entourage now is christian. They've all been deconverted, one way or another. I was arrogant and confrontational, but I don't regret it. If you don't feel like doing your Confirmation, I suggest you not do it. It's a lot more satisfying to assert who you are and your position loud and clear rather than hang your head low and whimper a contrived "yes" to please whoever expects unreasonnable things of you.

Hello my follow human and creation. If you are feeling as a fraud take a break, find out what it means to be a Christian. You are an honest person and that is good. Made I recommend you read the book of Philippines and Ephesians? Just read it slowly and highlight things you did not know before. Then Colossians and 1 John. After that ask your self questions. Treat it as you did English class. Figure out what is the point of it all. Then message me and let's talk.

@jazzyj2182 we’ve already read the bible, thanks. thats why we’re atheists. its sad that some people are so desperate to ignore all logic that opposes them that they become these mindless drones that spew meaningless words all day, knowing they wont affect anyone here in any way, its a stunt for your own ego.

Dude, I was just going to write the same thing.. Altho I'm agnostic, it feels refreshing to see people with similar thoughts! Thx you made my day

@@rooploverence I bet there are thousands of people with similar thoughts on this video alone!! But it's very nice to hear from someone who feels the same. Neither of us are alone in this. Best wishes, man!!!

always has been

Imagine having such an ego you think that the creator (not Jesus or Yahweh or allah) has to show himself to you

@@parkfamily9776 why couldn't he

@@XanGious because all he did was created. For all we know, he may not even be listening or anything, just observing

Park Family listening is observing... what

Well then good for you. We need more nice people like you and the community you grew up in in this world.

@@that_one_strange_person There are many christians who don't take these books litterally. Which I think is the right approach. As long as someone believes it because they want to and wish to help others; I think its fine. Such as loving your neighbor as yourself, and helping others. We can all do that without religion, but it often makes it easier for people to do this when their is some authority directing it. I don't think that trying to "prove" god's existence or demanding belief is the right idea. Many religious folk need to start accepting they don't have to convert others or demand obedience. Its harmful to others and their religion.

@@MasterGhostf I'm not particuarly certain if you're attempting to refute me or agree with me, but I definitely agree with you.

@@chicken29843 saying this is the same as me asking you why you have believed in the pursuit of science that has been around for basically as long as writing- you can make any train of thought seem absurd.

@@estrellabax2024 Over the course of my life, I've given away a great many worthless things.

I say I didn't lose it, I outgrew it.

I know how you feel, sadly there is much more ignorant people than people that are rational in this world.

You are a victim of deception: Religion is nothing more than a scapegoat. you blame religion but stop half the way. If you start questioning the existence of god you should also question the existence of morality and the concept of good and evil of their own. And then think about how you treat people who dare to question those things and disobey them. you will be no different from those fundamentalists

@@deltaxcd Morals exist because those who held morals and ethical beliefs (even instinctually) had social groups which performed better than those that lacked ethics. Morals exist because it is beneficial to everyone if nobody tries to stab anybody. That's the difference between true, unadulterated morals and the Bible's parroting of said morals. You don't need fear of punishment to be a good person.

@@clickpause8732 well, first there is no such thing as instinctive morals they are all result of indoctrination. and second pretty much every group has different morals, while those morals are wahst separates groups from each otter in one group is ti ok to kill your wife when you suspect adultery and in another group, it is not ok. and if we compare which group is doing better, unfortunately, groups who are stabbing people are expanding and those who don't are shrinking.

@@deltaxcd That's as a result of a secondary predictor of population expansion, education. When the access to education is greater, the population growth drops, and vice versa. For places like that, the problem can be seen in the commonality of religious beliefs and 'morals', which also goes down as education increases. Fundamental morality is a little more vague, and there are of course genetic outliers, like sociopaths. For the majority of people, fundamental morals are expressed in the form of empathy, since a vast majority of laws beside are caused by that. Laws like what you mentioned are usually only present as a secondary by-product of religious belief within that nation.

I'm glad i saw that dog in your PFP today. Much-needed eye-bleach from the sheer stupidity on display in this comment section. Is the dog yours?

I was raised atheistically, but when I went to college I opened my mind to theism. First I was spiritualistic, having taken a course on Buddhism and the Buddhist philosophies. It wasnt long before I began exploring all sorts of belief systems, and when I began to actually read the Bible, it all started coming together for me. I am a Physicist, Philosopher, and Follower of Christ. Yes Churches and Pastors may mislead the people, but Scripture does not lie.

@@beamshooter I’m curious. Have you read the Old Testament?

@@executeorder6613 I have not read it in its entirety, I have read up to Samuel 2 fully, and excerpts from other books.

@@beamshooter Reading the Old Testament was what made me an atheist, so I was curious to see what you had read. Thanks for humoring me.

Scripture doesn't lie?...😂😂

Me too

Same,,

Same here

I wish you the best of luck! I hope your families don't take it too hard!

Good thinking, Batman. Best of luck.

@Erick GP that's wrong btw, God demands that children should die if they disobey.

For me 40 fucking years. 30 years as a buddhist and 10 years as a christian. Now I'm 41 and start to enjoy life for the first time. Thank God I finally become an atheist.

It's also a perfect phrase when considering that through their votes these stupid religious types may exacerbate climate change and all the horrors it will bring over the next centuries.

if you wanna talk about waste, think in scale. Imagine how much lives, money and knowledge were wasted throughout the history.

@@sillypenquin9189 That's ironic...lol !

🤝

In a way, she might feel sad that you're gonna part ways with her when the FUTURE judgement occurs, but her faith keeps her moving fowards. Otherwise, you feel sad that in your PRESENT you're not having the support you need in your life, and the collective support from other people that focus on present issues is helping you. I hope you can be happy in your life, and we're never alone. We will all love each other

Have you tried to go to "Recovering from religion" ?

It is quite reasonable to believe in God. There are many, many good arguments, but let's just start with the basics because really nothing else is necessary. Here are some simple arguments that cannot be disputed, laid out: Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

because he's not real.

​@@jkyles1000 And that first mover could have been some other God, it could have been Allah, Vishnu, or Odin. There is nothing to say your God is the right one. There are other problems with the argument too, however it is such a common argument I'm sure you can just google them if you wish to know. While I realize you come here with good intentions, this is a channel for people who have left religion, we aren't here to hear the arguments. We've heard them before. We are here to help eachother through a difficult journey, one with often very little support from family and friends.

Or because thats their opinion and they have many different reasons to believe in christianity.

@@bbbbmmm-ui3ht Like?

@@Adam-yr2nq wdym like?

@@bbbbmmm-ui3ht What well explainable reasons do they have to believe in christianity?

@@bbbbmmm-ui3ht they mean "what are the examples of those reasons?"

I look at it on a scale: Knowledge: justified true belief Trust: based on something Faith: based on nothing

@@Raven3one I agree with your scale, but there is a question I must ask. Is there a situation where faith is good and/or beneficial?

@@morromenos1016 If you have good reasons to believe, then faith isn't needed. If you don't have good reasons to believe, then you shouldn't believe. Faith is how all those other religious people have picked the wrong religion. If faith was really a good tool for determining what is true, people would be encouraging you to use faith when buying a used car. With a generous application of faith you can believe absolutely anything. "Is there a situation where faith is good and/or beneficial?" No! Not if you care that the things you believe are true.

@@dimbulb23 Thank you for your answer. I must admit that I respectfully disagree, but I also must admit that you have a valid point. If you would like to discuss further, I would be willing to, but I am only willing to pursue this further if you are. If you are willing, as it could prove educational. my premise is only that there is a place where faith is beneficial and/or good. I am not defending theism or religion, nor is it a part of my premise. Are you willing to debate?

@@morromenos1016 I'm willing to exchange ideas, Fire away.

Me too. Like, did they even watch the video?? I can't wrap my head around it

I’m glad you’ll get out of it and have found friends. You are not alone

that school should not exist

@@Dock284Another part of it were the insults my classmates commented, that perdured for 9 years, calling me either a fascist or a communist, slave (they dont know the difference between mexican and african american :/, even though none deserve being called that) even though they were the ones to ostricize, threaten and behave among extremist and rascist lines.

@S Robin Dinosaurs existed, there is no thing such satan lmfao.

@S Robin Funny thing, i did my research at lot of different scientific sources. The flat earth theory is against the laws of physics and got debunked many times. Btw. i am not ignorant and i am always open to new theorys. If you want to convince me otherwise, please link me your sources.

@S Robin And the Evolution is not just a theory. Wikipedia: To the public, theory can mean an opinion or conjecture (e.g., "it's only a theory"), but among scientists it has a much stronger connotation of "well-substantiated explanation". With this number of choices, people can often talk past each other, and meanings become the subject of linguistic analysis. Its official.

@S Robin Wolfgang was a little bit off in the definition, so I'll try to explain a bit better (if I can, which I may not be able to). The theory of evolution is a scientific theory, rather than the more common use of the term. The distinction is that a scientific theory is a model to explain what we already observe, like how all things fall, so we have the Theory of General Relativity. The difference between a scientific theory and a regular theory in the common use is that a scientific theory is the theory for that particular phenomena that has survived being questioned and criticised, and is best supported by the evidence provided. Adaptation in environments has been observed, evolution is simply the model by which that adaptation occurs.

Dinosaurs, which were reptiles, overtime evolved into birds. That's hilarious. Amen.

No worries, you will find the college hollow too. Between the crippling debt, a fading promise of a half decent job, an ecstasy phase, and probably about dozen different guys. Classical liberalism is a piles of lies and unkempt promises. And sadly mormonism drank that koolaid.

Every conversation will require balance. Remember, it is the duty of every individual to follow what they believe and be honest. I believe in you. You have already been set free to an extent. Many people wish we would have realized this sooner. You could have realized this when you were already married in a Mormon temple, or gone through several years of being a missionary…

If they only love you because you're a Mormon, then it probably is conditional

I grew up in a mormon home as an athiest. I am so sorry you are going through that. I hope you got out and found a group of people who can help you learn to be your own person without your parents toxic influence. Yes, many mormon parents do love their children, but what I say about my own parents is that they obviously love their narrative more. Because I know how this experience can unfortunately define a large part of ones life, If you ever need someone to talk to who shares some of your past, I offer my time to you.

I hope you're doing well!! Also I really hope that College life has been great for you.

I always felt the sentiment of the Bible had more value than as a history book or literal guide. Many things like the flood do tend to be apocrypha from historical events or local preexisting tales.

Or just maybe, no such Flood ever happened

i mean even if a flood did happen around that time and that's what the story is based on, but there is no evidence of any creator having a hand in it, or in anything else in our world.

@@gwit4051 True, but I know of nobody who claims to be able to prove that a creator was involved

@@ollybolly2881 there are many that make the claim that one was, but you are right in that there are none that can give any actual proof to support it.

"The best cure for Christianity is reading the bible" - Mark Twain

It's not an uncommon event.

Same, their god seems to be very sexist and cruel, and the Q'ran guy is even worse, these archaic and barbaric hung ups should have no room in modern society, alas humans seem incapable of evolving

God in the old testament killed more people than hittler and stalin combined lol

Same here.

Kumusta na po kayo ngayon? 😀

Saan ka sa pinas bro? Same tayo. Last September 2020 lang ako naging full-pledged atheist. Lumaki ako sa church pero nung bata ako dami ko naring tanong kahit sa sunday school. Wala ako makausap kasi hindi rin alam ng parents ko at nakaka attend parin ako sa church..

Sorry to hear about your pains, I hope you're in a better place now. Your doubts are valid and your path has worth 🤍

It may be hard to not feel like all that time was wasted, but if it was not your fault I would say that it's simply a bad lot, and the fact you were able to leave it behind is more important than all the years you were part of it.

Jesus cried for the sake of the people who were emotional over Lazarus' death. He had empathy for them. But ultimately he wants us to know that we do not need to weep over lost loved ones like those who reject Him and have no greater hope. Because we will see them again, we can gain the right perspective to deal with these things. Sure you can explain it away as wishful thinking, or the imagination of someone who doesn't want to miss their loved ones... Or you can learn to understand God is real, and these things are true. It really is a choice, whichever way you decide to go. No one goes to heaven when they die, they are asleep until Jesus returns to raise the dead and they and those who are still alive will be gathered together. Also, there is not only heaven, but the New Earth that we will live on. But basically the heavenly realm/dimension will be together with the New Earth. Do I know every mystery of how that will actually occur? No, but I know enough about God's word being true throughout history and within my own life after turning to Him, to know his future promises are true as well. I hope you will learn more about spiritual things before deciding God isn't real and convince yourself there is no purpose to the temporary suffering we experience right now.

Tracey M Unfortunately, God has already dictated that I be tortured forever for things out of my control, so you're a fair bit too late here, mate.

@@camolotthe42 No, no one will be tortured forever, that is a false teaching. If you read scripture you can clearly see whoever is lost will perish, be as ash, consume away. Hell itself will be destroyed. The lost are not given eternal life, and even an eternal burning would still be life. That opposes God's word. If you learn the language of the bible, there are parables, metaphor,s, symbolism, things that would be made clear to someone truly seeking to reconcile with the truth. God is loving, so obviously torture for eternity doesn't make sense. But you also have to learn a new perspective that allowing some temporary suffering or pain doesn't mean God isn't loving. And countless people around the world know God's word is true, has been fulfilled throughout history, they don't continue living in doubt, and then use that doubt to fuel fears about being burned for eternity, or use it to fuel their resentment against God and resentment or mockery of those who do know the truth and follow God. You have a choice right now today to go on another path, so please rethink your decision. I know God will be fair to everyone based on their circumstances and understanding. He knows those who truly did not want what he was offering, who looked at the idea and laughed at it. That is not for me to judge, but yet I can see the effects of someone who is currently on that path and see they're going in the wrong direction. But there is still hope for you or anyone else.

Tracey M No, look. I'm gay. The Bible dictates that I must be killed for that. That's the end of it.

@@camolotthe42 I'm sorry that you're worried or upset about that, it is difficult for sure. God also says many other issues humans deal with cannot exist for eternity when it is restored. But are you open at all to the idea of not being gay one day, and of being free from many other issues you face other than that? If that wasn't God's design for men and women, then are you willing to acknowledge that? Are you willing to see this temporary broken time for what it is, that we all are facing issues that God doesn't intend for us? It's important to be open-minded and not so grounded in feelings( which are very real and difficult to face on many levels ) or what the world says is possible. God knows you're dealing with that and cares, and there are opportunities to lessen the temptation, to not be so focused on it, to not surround yourself with people who support it and drive those ideas, to not indulge, but to retrain the pathways in the brain to desire other things more. It's not easy, but when you know God's word is true, you have a solid foundation to view everything from a new perspective for eternity that gives you the strength to endure and overcome things you otherwise wouldn't. There are so many other things in life to care about, but I believe it's important to divide a fight against unfair treatment and a fight for homosexuality. Because I believe all humans need to be treated with dignity and respect as they are made in the image of God. But first and foremost I have to regard God's word before humans. So, while I would treat someone with as much care as I could in all areas, I would not be able to meet their expectation of saying homosexuality is right, so they would feel discriminated against. It's not something that can be reconciled. You have to take it day by day. God does love us, and as difficult as the reality of our existence right now is, to be involved in this battle, we can choose to take part in this story, one way or another. I've faced many difficult things, and struggle daily and get upset with God too, but I also know it's temporary and think it's worth the fight to not give up and to hold onto the truth and the promises of God. I personally have hope that everyone will be saved, and this time is a testimony of what sin does, what humanity does apart from God, how it destroys us on so many levels, but also a testimony where the light comes in and redeems us in so many ways too. I've heard many testimonies of former LGBT people, so I have hope in what God can do when someone comes to a point of softening their heart toward God and his love for them as an individual, regardless of whatever they have done. I know I would be a different person if I had not suffered so many things, or if I had complete faith in God, and I look forward to eternity where that will be true, I will be restored and I won't have any doubt or fear, I will have the fully clear picture of who God really is.

I have similar memories. And I remember the intense cold.

@@TheraminTrees I hope you don't mind me taking this opportunity to say your videos are very interesting and informative. I was fortunate in that I didn't have to endure the kinds of abuse that can proliferate freely in those kinds of environments, but I wish I had found your videos a few years ago when I was going through AA which has such an emphasis on God I couldn't make use of the program as I was a rigid atheist. It was so frustrating I would have found a lot of validation if I'd found your channel then. I especially liked your video on how cults groom adults, I don't think I've ever seen it explained like that before. Thank you for your hard work on these videos.

I've just been forced to go back to my religious private all girl's school (I'm a lesbian, agnostic, stoner, witch in training, who was kicked out of my past school so I was a little nervous) and I almost cried during a Three hour speech about how the fish talks to us and questions are a sin lmao

​@@schnitzelberry I'm really sorry for your situation. It seems like a long time away, but being an adult is way different than being under 18, and if you can just hang in there it really does get better. Take care of yourself until then.

Robyn Smith: I used to take a pack of cards when I was in my early teens (but still under parent's rules)......I got lots of disapproving looks from the "sheep" but playing patience was a lot more interesting than listening to the nonsense that the preacher was spouting.

I'm so sorry about that. I'm queer in a religious household too, just stay strong you'll get out soon enough! Sending love your way dude 💕

It is quite reasonable to believe in God. There are many, many good arguments, but let's just start with the basics because really nothing else is necessary. Here are some simple arguments that cannot be disputed, laid out: Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

@@jkyles1000 I mean... I am agnostic. But I would say I am agnostic from wishful thinking. I would like to think a god or beings higher than us exist, but I don't have proof for such reasoning. Plus we don't know everything about our universe. To claim that everything that we don't know should therefore come from God would be ignorant. If he does exist, I wouldn't attribute him to the Christian God however. Especially since there are many historical or archeological errors in Genesis alone.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mdZza7ql2syukqM.html 4:57 nearly word for word

@@shadowstriker6484 yep, GMS makes good content and he put it in better words than I ever can

Just wanted to say congrats on coming out as agnostic, and no matter what people tell you that doesn't make you a bad person at all! I left about 3 years ago, and my parents just shook it off and have basically ignored me in more ways since. But my goodness it gets easier the longer you've been out of it. I have become such a more joyous, loving, and more anxiety-free person since leaving more so every day (which is funny, because isn't that what they promised God would bring? Oh the irony of Christianity!). Cheers though, and I hope the best for you in life free from the clutches of the religious beast!

It’s a great word isn’t it hahaha

@@jamesmac357 Why comment about a video you obviously didn't watch?

@@jamesmac357 Your comment. Demostrates stronger how dishonest. You are.

@@jamesmac357 How so. I am just explaining how your comment sounds to me.

James Mac777 I am disrespecting (to put it mildly) the Christian rules because firstly I think they are harmful and secondly I see no reason why I should respect them, so?

JamesMac777 What makes you think that the Bible is the truth?

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/npyWlq6Qy7i9kX0.html

In that case you should kill old, sickly people who previously had happy lives.

Find a person, make them happy for as long as possible, and kill them *painlessly* . Do this to as many people as possible.

People who got 10 abortions: *nervous sweating*

or let everyone experience all the joy and all the suffering that was caused by themselves.

I honestly don't think you would believe mine. I seriously considered writing a book. Only with a comical spin. I told my fellow manic depressive friend that I thought I was Jesus Christ and I was locked up into a mental institution. Her reply? "Yea, I thought I was Jesus Christ while locked up and the scary part was that they actually believed me." In no way would I ever diminish the HORROR of having that mental illness. The countless attempts of suicide. That's why I never wrote it. Out of respect for people that have what I have. It is a death sentence. Suicide rates have gone way up, especially with young people. Be responsible, if you know of anyone who might be suffering with this, encourage them to see a counselor, but don't let them sign away their rights. The police could show up on your doorstep kicking and screaming because a "therapist" thought they we're God and decided to have you unknowingly sign your rights away.

That whole thing started with there fear tactics of hell. It screwed me up for life.

I also was raised without religion. Well, that's not entirely true. My father appointed himself god and didn't allow any others. There is always a god; someone to tell you what to do and what not to do; someone you admire and choose to follow, entire or just the parts you admire.

Jesus cried for the sake of the people who were emotional over Lazarus' death. He had empathy for them. But ultimately he wants us to know that we do not need to weep over lost loved ones like those who reject Him and have no greater hope. Because we will see them again, we can gain the right perspective to deal with these things. Sure you can explain it away as wishful thinking, or the imagination of someone who doesn't want to miss their loved ones... Or you can learn to understand God is real, and these things are true. It really is a choice, whichever way you decide to go. No one goes to heaven when they die, they are asleep until Jesus returns to raise the dead and they and those who are still alive will be gathered together. Also, there is not only heaven, but the New Earth that we will live on. But basically the heavenly realm/dimension will be together with the New Earth. Do I know every mystery of how that will actually occur? No, but I know enough about God's word being true throughout history and within my own life after turning to Him, to know his future promises are true as well. I hope you will learn more about spiritual things before deciding God isn't real and convince yourself there is no purpose to the temporary suffering we experience right now.

My dad took me to Sunday school when I was a kid. I don't know whether his heart was ever in it, but I just tagged along because it was polite. I never really got into it the same way some kids did. I always just saw the Bible as stories. Even back then, I had this weird semi-belief that sure, Jesus may have existed insofar that he could've been a real influential thinker of his day, but the idea of a god seemed kind of a stretch. I never really put it together just how much people actually believed this stuff. There's a kind of irony that Jesus was also said to question the world, and got punished for it.

alot of his videos are. I'm now more opened minded due to him:)

It is quite reasonable to believe in God. There are many, many good arguments, but let's just start with the basics because really nothing else is necessary. Here are some simple arguments that cannot be disputed, laid out: Something has always had to exist, whether it is matter or spirit (e.g. God), intelligent or inanimate. This is because (in a principle going back to ancient Greek philosophy) SOMETHING can never come from or out of NOTHING. A vacuum or void can never produce matter. The universal law of cause and effect states the principle that what a thing DOES is based on what it IS. Because a void, by its very definition, contains nothing and therefore has nothing as a CAUSE, it cannot produce anything (e.g. matter) as an EFFECT. Thus, either God, as an intelligent Being, has always existed or matter has. It is either one or the other. But Matter could not have always existed since, based on the second law of thermodynamics, if it did all the stars would have all burned out by now. Therefore, the existence of an eternal, all-powerful God is required as the 'first cause' of everything that exists. But, you say, maybe the stars are still burning just because they haven’t been in existence long enough to burn out yet. You are thinking in terms of time. And, by definition, you are referencing a beginning point. But if everything always existed, there would be no beginning. So, stars would have all burned out. Period. Again, this leaves only the possibility for an Being to have always existed. As to matter, and time and space - the Universe as we know it - we know if is NOT eternal. According to the Big Bang Theory, it began to exist around 13.6 billion years ago. And for something to begin to exist, it must have a cause. And since the universe can't cause itself, its cause must be beyond the space-time universe. It must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably powerful. Much like God. So far we have established that something must have always existed and it can’t be matter and therefore must be non-matter or spirit. And we know that matter, space and time began to exist and that something caused it to exist that must be outside of space, time and matter. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that God does exist.

​@@jkyles1000 well, where did god come from?

@@jkyles1000 Classic god of the gaps argument Even if there was a God, it's a huge leap to assume that Christianity or any other is now suddenly right.

​@@jkyles1000Greek Philsophy, "Universal law of cause and effect" - those are ideas of man, not God. And man is a fallable creature. Just because man cannot fully explain the universe - which is infinitely more expansive than our tiny brain - does not necessitate the need for a god. God is such an arrogant notion. Arrogance in believing that man is at the center of the universe, and that the universe holds no mysteries because it was made perfectly for us.

Keep up the good work. Always question yourself and the world around you.

It’s interesting to see parallels of my life in people like this KZfaqr our upbringings were almost identical yet he left christianity and i remained and still do as an adult. I wish we could have a more civil conversation in inter religious convos most of the time it devolves into a name calling match

@@Commandosoap777 Yeah fr

Amen! I'm Christian, but I welcome hard ball videos like these. These videos make my faith stronger as I compare my thoughts with his. I find that some of the ideas he mentions like Hell, or predestination, are topics I have found answers for. The church has a serious issue, and I find that a lot of ideas get perverted or Christians regurgitate false ideas of the Bible without looking into it. There needs to be more discussion and more apologists!

Tony Tran why do you have to call her a bitch? Anyway, from my personal experience, there was very little sexual experience involved in my finding out that I’m gay. As a child, I had crushes like any other kid. Elementary school teachers, other girls, characters on TV, et cetera. The only difference was, I had no idea that I was experiencing a crush because there was no concept of homosexuality in my mind. I came up with reasons for these feelings, mostly admiration. I’d also never taken an interest in boys. It wasn’t until I discovered the concept of homosexuality that I was able to recognize my natural and innocent experiences as early signs of my sexuality. Even though this is a personal anecdote, it’s what pushed me further into researching the sociological, biological and psychological basis for homosexuality in not only humans, but other species as well. Also: please don’t equate transvestism to homosexuality. “Lady boys” may be gay, but autogynephilia plays a big part in men presenting as female.

@@TheraminTreesStop deceiving these PEOPLE. To start off in genesis. GOD told adam and eve not to eat from the tree and when the devil deceived them, adam and eve became the ones to blame for listing to the snake and not not LISTENING to god and ultimately paid the price. Its like your father telling you not to eat the cookies off the table and when ur sister showed up and said come on brother its just one cookie and then yall ate it, your going to be in trouble for following her.

@@TheraminTrees Another debunk. God is almight he can do anything, so where did the water come from? GOD. where did it go ? Away. Simple as that

@@TheraminTrees Another debunk . Just beacuse it was someones time to die and you had prayed for them doesn't make ur prayera pointless. Prayer is about your feelings and thoughts with god not whether your questions will be answerd. The fact that you prayed foe someone in their time of need was more than enough.

@@TheraminTrees Fear is the first step to knowledge and just beacuse he wants his people to fear him doesent change anything. If you contiune to fear god then you dont truly love him thats what that verse means

@@TheraminTrees Psalms 51 says you do not take pleause in burnt offerings, GOD can take pleasure in what ever he wants

I was encouraged to question too, and to doubt. My parents told me doubt was good, a path to a stronger faith. My questions were met with loving support, if not an answer. So, I ventured further. They took it back when I became an atheist.

+Joseph Stokes That 'no atheists in foxholes' line is such bullshit isn't it. Remarked on it in another video once: 'It's simply not true that there are no atheists in foxholes. But those who regurgitate this thought-terminating cliché unwittingly concede a remarkable own goal. Even if the odd atheist did find divine ideas frothing up in their mind in their last moments, are those desperate, irrational, psychological defences, mobilised by a fear of imminent death, actually being defined as 'theism'? Let's boil down what's being proposed here: an atheist clutching at straws out of fear is a theist. What an extraordinarily revealing commentary on the nature of faith.'

Bravo! Well stated! Thanks again.

You missed the point I am afraid. It's not in what you believe, the magic dust is BELIEVING itself. In your case you believed in yourself.

There have been countless examples where people in hopeless situations, where they were stranded and starving, would resort to eating the corpses of fellow humans. I guess according to the “no atheists in foxholes”-types, this would imply everyone is a cannibal.

I'm going to use that "if we have to vote on it the chinese will win" line. Can't wait for my daughter to get older. Thanks for that.

Deep Ashtray "hey, put that in writeing on this sheet of paper and sign it, I want to see your face when I present this to you after september, remember to state that you are absolutely sure and if it turns out you are wrong I have permission to state that you were a moron"

doombybbr Let me get this straight. You want me to put in writing that the world will not come to an end in September, and when it does come to an end you're going state that I am a moron? Sure...go for it, big guy.

Deep Ashtray that is what I would say to THEM

doombybbr In the comment exchange I mention, yup that's what I tried to get across. Sorry, thought it was worded toward me :)

Deep Ashtray no way, why would it be worded towards you? I wouldn't be able to collect if it were the case.

I was thinking the same thing. Came back to watch this after that video and realized immediately that the woman telling him not to blaspheme wand slamming him against the wall is his own anti-parent.😊

God is not unjust. The Bible writes almost all the time how fair and just he is with judging. And hell is not a good place. The feelings you feel now of happiness, joy, positivity. That's all from God. Hell is being away from God. In hell you will barely remember what joy feels like. Believe me on this, God doesn't want you to this place meant for Satan and His demons.

Hell is fun as long as you have a chainsaw and double barrel shotgun, if i ever die would you do me the honor to slaughter demons with me?

@@aliscafrancois3185 thats like the average living standards for kids nowadays anyways. Just an average monday.

@@aliscafrancois3185 *sigh* someone didnt watch the video huh

Alisca Francois if god truly cares for us then why does he let us go to hell or why doesn't he destroy hell all together? If he cant do that then it means that he's not all powerful and if he can but chooses not to then he doesn't care about us

RihannaIsIluminati i urge you to watch this webshow called the Atheist Experience. it is where the atheist hosts have theist callers come for debates and more often than not (infact the entire time) the theists get demolished by the logic and rational of the hosts. most of the time the theists are courtious if a bit dense but the best episodes are where the theists break down and just insult the hosts in which the hosts wait till they get to a point and when they dont they are hung up. it is those crazies that helped me get over my own parents emotional abuse as it helped me realize those same insults did not coem form a loved one who flted betrayed but a dottering coot who thinks taunting counts as arguments because they dont have any:) so if you can laugh off the loons on the show you can laugh off that loon of a mother:) i also urge you to read up on logical fallacies especially ad hominem:) learning about the ad hominem fallacy also hellped me overcome the trauma and pain of emotional abuse as the ad hominem is an atack on an opponent's charatcer rather than their argument ie insulting the opponent because you have nothing better. this tells me those insults were desperate attempts to win arguments and therefor baseless and empty and thus cannot hurt me:) i also urge you to look up the amazing atheist,a popular outube atheist known for his cras and beligerance but also very sharp and peircing insight. though i want you to see him not so much for the content of his videos but his charatcer. he revels in online abuse aimed towards him because he is so comfortable with himself and well aware of his own nature that he will take most insults thrown at him as truth and shrug it off as a fact of life. e shwocases this well in his podcast the drunken peasents where he soemtimes shows vids o peopel talking about how awful he is and how he should be banned and such and he takes it in stride and soemtiems joins in, happens so often it became a running joke where his cohosts ben and scotty often chant "ban TJ (the amazing atheist" and even have shits with ti in his store. he is also a master of self depreciating humor and to me a role model in bing comfortable with yourself:) i hope my advice helps you in soem ways,from one de-convert to another:) i wish you luck and i at leats will be here to help if needed. b well friend.

RihannaIsIluminati There are so many of us closet atheists. You are not alone.

RihannaIsIluminati _"she had already told me that she loved jesus more than me."_ She appears to have taken Matthew 10, 34-39 rather too literally. _"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."_ Quite why anyone would "love" such a sick and twisted bast'd is anyone's guess.

***** The only solution is to bide your time until you have the freedom to express yourself, good luck to you.

CoolHardLogic I'm a huge fan of yours! Thank you so much for giving your time to respond! It means more than you know...

"Under normal circumstances, good people tend to do good things while bad people tend to do bad things. However, to get good people to do bad things you need religion."

@@zenkim6709ehhh I’d say anyone who slams a kid into a wall is not and won’t ever be a good person

Well yes. I wondered about the poop.

Genocide is only wrong when you are not God, because God can do no wrong. Hard to accept, but not without reason.

@@amberslahlize7961 Precisely so, because god defines what is right and what is wrong. You too can define these words any way you like.

@@thomasmaughan4798 Well what's the issue with God defining right and wrong? Why are you assuming that just because God can, so can you? Morality isn't subjective, neither is God, they are both objective. While on the other hand, you and me are, we are subjective by nature. Morality will undoubtedly exist long after we are gone, we can safely assume morality was here before we got here. So no, the same rules do not apply to us as they do with God. Simply put. Our sense of morality might be right, but that doesn't mean it can't be wrong. Whatever God does is the only way to know what right and wrong is. So, genocide is only right when God does it (or commands it), but not when we do it (unless we are obeying that commandment). Once again, hard to accept, but only without reason.

@@amberslahlize7961 "Well what's the issue with God defining right and wrong?" You might get an answer from someone that has an issue with god defining right and wrong. "Why are you assuming that just because God can, so can you?" Actually, it is the other way round. Because I can, so can God (or you, or anyone else). "Morality isn't subjective" Yes, actually it is exactly and only subjective. It is whatever you think it is, for you; and it is whatever I think it is, for me; and it is whatever any god thinks it is, for that god. It is reasonable to adopt the sense of morality as defined by the god that most likely actually exists; that will be the morality that *matters*. "Morality will undoubtedly exist long after we are gone" That is an interesting point of view and runs along the Nominalist view of things; that there need not be an actual "chair" anywhere in the universe for "chair" to still be defined. "Whatever God does is the only way to know what right and wrong is." Perhaps. So, what did God do TODAY? And assuming you know the answer, how shall you convince me that you know the answer and that it is true, accurate and complete? I doubt such a thing is possible. "So, genocide is only right when God does it (or commands it), but not when we do it" A circularity exists in your reasoning. A better argument is that God can uncreate whatever he created by the same magical means he created. In other words, I have a doubt it is ever "right" for humans to uncreate what God created. If he wants to uncreate some humans he can certainly do so and there would be no preventing it. No claim is reasonably made that genocide is ever "right" even if by command of God. It might be *excused* or justified or expedient; but that does not make a wrong thing right. Policemen and military persons must sometimes kill; seemingly in violation of "thou shalt not kill", but it is expedient that some persons trained in the procedure and with knowledge of laws and rules of engagement do a thing that untrained and uncommissioned persons have no right or duty to perform.

My response to that is usually to say that I'm no more angry at God than I am at Santa Claus for not bringing me a new phone last year, and for the exact same reason.

@@scotte4765 - Love it. I will borrow that one, with your kind permission.

@@jerometaperman7102 Granted. :)

@@scotte4765 - Many thanks.

Ah yes. When you're mad at someone you just believe they don't exist

That abuse sh*t krazy... gods,Christianity,religion all bs. This whole cosmos insane!

He was asserting His divine dominance over all of you simps and Soy Boi nonbelievers. Repent!!!

It's more like Y-posing but I can see your point there.

Ben C. Hode I feel as though I’ve seen u before

I'm a game developer and I understood that reference. Thank you.

why must you show disrespect

I am sorry to hear that.

@@Warrior99980 Don't be, he's in a better state of mind now.

@@plazmavision Okay, whatever floats his boat I guess..it doesn't affect me.

There is another way inward to a truer god, transcendent of religion, which needs no faith.

Jesus cried for the sake of the people who were emotional over Lazarus' death. He had empathy for them. But ultimately he wants us to know that we do not need to weep over lost loved ones like those who reject Him and have no greater hope. Because we will see them again, we can gain the right perspective to deal with these things. Sure you can explain it away as wishful thinking, or the imagination of someone who doesn't want to miss their loved ones... Or you can learn to understand God is real, and these things are true. It really is a choice, whichever way you decide to go. No one goes to heaven when they die, they are asleep until Jesus returns to raise the dead and they and those who are still alive will be gathered together. Also, there is not only heaven, but the New Earth that we will live on. But basically the heavenly realm/dimension will be together with the New Earth. Do I know every mystery of how that will actually occur? No, but I know enough about God's word being true throughout history and within my own life after turning to Him, to know his future promises are true as well. I hope you will learn more about spiritual things before deciding God isn't real and convince yourself there is no purpose to the temporary suffering we experience right now.

Maybe I can help you to respond against the religious people if they'll say this word

My favorite response to this is to ask what couldn't be justified by the supposed incomprehensible brilliance of god. Murder? Torture? Rape? Genocide? Worship of another god entirely? If God's logic is truly incomprehensible, then it is an explanation for nothing at all.