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Here's an interesting audio story that aired on NWPR (NW Public Radio) yesterday. A real problem for this woman pastor who realized she could no longer be a sheeple.
I feel both sorry and excited for this woman who no could longer live a lie.
Her words: "such freedom!" when she came out at a national atheist convention, which brought the house to it's feet for a standing ovation. Spiritually, I join them. This took an amazing amount of personal courage and, of course, sacrifice. She also apologized to the atheists in the convention hall; "those people" who she was once sure "would burn in hell", which she now humorously allows she'll do along with her fellow atheists!
Naturally, her church locked her out, job interviews were cancelled, her "friends" abandoned her; elements within the city in which she lives has culturally cast her out, and the veneer of shallowness in faith that pervaded her life as an official church minister was all lost when she simply told the truth. She allows has how she misses the regularity and ritual of Sunday morning in church but of course in no way misses a false God.
Of course that distancing and hostility from people who once claimed to have "loved and respected" her will be replaced with new friends, those who are not so judgemental and requiring of her adherence to a rigid structure and mandated belief system. Apparently neither personal honesty nor integrity are respected nor allowed within the church. If I can, I'll be e-mailing her some conciliatory words of comfort and support.
Here's an interesting audio story that aired on NWPR (NW Public Radio) yesterday. A real problem for this woman pastor who realized she could no longer be a sheeple.
I feel both sorry and excited for this woman who no could longer live a lie.
Her words: "Such Freedom" when she came out at an atheist convention. And she apologiezed to "those people" who she was surely would burn in hell, which she now allows she'll do along wih the atheists.
Naturally, her church locked her out, job interviews were cancelled, her "friends" abandoned her; the veneer of shallowness in faith that pervaded her life as an official church minister was all lost when she simply told the truth. Apparently the truth is not allowed within the church.
Enjoy!
This minister probably did not give the God factor much thought. The fact that she is female taking on a traditional male role shows that she is a spawn of the old woman's rights movement..and like those who seek power for powers sake - looks like serving God was not enough..and her natural evolution is not to be God...Sounds like she is the actual sheeple.
This minister probably did not give the God factor much thought. The fact that she is female taking on a traditional male role shows that she is a spawn of the old woman's rights movement..and like those who seek power for powers sake - looks like serving God was not enough..and her natural evolution is not to be God...Sounds like she is the actual sheeple.
Sooo Umm she is evil because she's thinking for herself??? How dare her!
I've always thought that some of us are wired that way and it just takes a while to get to the point that you adopt your deepest instincts.
Lord knows (pardon the pun) that they try hard enough to brainwash us to the point of no return.
There is a guy here in OKC (Clinton Wiles) who goes by the name of Reverend Real and he says that for many of us it is "more important to 'BE' right than to 'BELEIVE' right."
I suppose others are more comfortable in believing what those around them believe no matter what. Good for them I guess.
This woman probably had that same gnawing feeling inside that many of us had on our way to being a skeptic. When you finally decide it's all hogwash you do get a sense of relief and freedom.
I admire her courage. It takes guts to do something like what she did, especially when you're a minister of a church.
If it was me, I probably wouldn't be able to give up all those things just like that even if I lost my faith. But this would be true even if one converts to another faith.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 05-01-2012 at 10:27 AM..
Oh no....you gotta go with the girl. Shes being honest with herself and rejecting all the dissension which contradicts the peace-unity incentive. This is the future, a full rejection of the personal God outside of total simplicity. What ever created this thing would not be interested or could even comprehend lets say for example, the flowing thoughts and incentives within a Bundy crime....its all disorder. ...So the sketch of the origin or higher power becomes all tangled up in non-sense with people thinking...hey look at that Im special, this creator is on MY SIDE....its so dumb Its too bad the husband doesn't understand the necessary rejection of the faiths miserable outcome due to wrath and all kinds of existing punishment ideas which is absurd. People will go about their lives and think that a creator is picking and choosing people, tossing arrows at them and so forth and the only arrow which can hit the target is self disorder caused by the dissension itself from what ever source.... So looks like pangs of natural consccience wins out, obliging the nature in existence. Interestingly the Sun God reduce's the acceleration of entropy on earth, I just found that out the other day. Man will prob re order himself back to this fashion of analogy. Statistically it would make perfect sense.
So a woman left the church to become an atheist. Who could blame her? If anything, churches teaching that some God is going to eternally torture people for eternity in fire should, yes SHOULD make an atheist out of everyone!
I am so glad I found the truth that God is going to save all mankind due to what Christ did the week I left church for good.
She may have left God but God will never leave her. God loves all mankind, atheists, agnostics and yes, even Christians (even though the Christians malign His love and goodness) :-)
Oh no....you gotta go with the girl. Shes being honest with herself and rejecting all the dissension which contradicts the peace-unity incentive. This is the future, a full rejection of the personal God outside of total simplicity. What ever created this thing would not be interested or could even comprehend lets say for example, the flowing thoughts and incentives within a Bundy crime....its all disorder. ...So the sketch of the origin or higher power becomes all tangled up in non-sense with people thinking...hey look at that Im special, this creator is on MY SIDE....its so dumb Its too bad the husband doesn't understand the necessary rejection of the faiths miserable outcome due to wrath and all kinds of existing punishment ideas which is absurd. People will go about their lives and think that a creator is picking and choosing people, tossing arrows at them and so forth and the only arrow which can hit the target is self disorder caused by the dissension itself from what ever source.... So looks like pangs of natural consccience wins out, obliging the nature in existence. Interestingly the Sun God reduce's the acceleration of entropy on earth, I just found that out the other day. Man will prob re order himself back to this fashion of analogy. Statistically it would make perfect sense.
Uhmmmmm.....errrrrgggghhhh..... I think I get what you've said, and it's pretty "cosmo" I'll agree! I think....
But it's also a bit odd and hard to follow. I think. I appreciate what you agree with.... I think I feel my entropy focal points increasing as I write this! I think....
So, you're saying that to a Christian should not base his faith around a book containing God's 'true and inerrant word'?
Why did God dictate it, if it's supposed to be ignored?
This is just a flip-flop position the new christianâ„¢ has taken as the bible is obviously not inerrant and certainly one can no longer take it literally and apply its alleged laws in real life.
The evangelicals have reinvented themselves and folk bandy this relationship garbled BS about w/o really thinking what they are saying.
How can you have a relationship with something that does not exist?
All relationships are to some degree co-dependant and as such must derive some mutual benefit Even in the sciences, relationships are derived from more than one entity. Take water. There is a relationship of two hydrogen to one oxygen atom yet both exist independently in the atmosphere.
Ergo, a relationship with god must have at least some modicum of benefit to god but of course this is not what the theist implies. So why call it a relationship?
This is merely a new way of stating belief as there really is no relationship to begin with. It also is a lame deflection of acknowledging when someone like me (or the OP piece) leaves the faith. An excuse is needed as the bible declares that the calling of god is irrevocable (well that depends what parts you choose to cherry pick and base your beliefs on) you know that part that say no man who had put his shoulder to the plough looks back. But of course there are other texts that suggest that folk like me should be given over to satan for the destruction of the soul, wheat and tares etc. conflicting with the parable of the lost sheep and so it goes.
The bible is thus not really a good benchmark of what or how a christian should conduct themselves, they know this and so the "relationship" is no more than a synonym of cherry picking which is supposed to sound more eloquent.
I guess I can buy into the concept of a "relationship" in that the god in their heads is solely dependent on the belief of the believer. Once belief or faith is lost or tossed, the god in their head dies an unceremonious death and now they come to realise that all along, the "relationship" they had was merely them talking to and hearing their own thoughts. IOW, the corporate god is dependent on believers and thus the lie must be perpetuated from generation to generation.
If everyone stopped believing in god simultaneously, there will be no judgement from heave in bolts of lightning or whatever other fearful thing they can dream up. Life would go on, and the sun will still rise in the east every day till the planet is consumed by the sun when it goes big red on us.
At the end of the day, whatever they espouse in these terms, merely shows their own insecurities in their belief and like "Oh boy, I wonder when it is going to happen to me?"
The mind is very powerful in making stuff appear real when it is not - I guess some folk just need this placebo to help them get through the day....
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How dare her!
) that they try hard enough to brainwash us to the point of no return. 
Appreciated. I think....
