Religion/Spirituality Atheism and the black community...good read

[Suicide King]

Repenting is not just asking for forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness on your death bed is hardly enough. The serial killer trait would have to no longer exist in your nature for anyone to even hope for forgiveness.

 

[FlimFlam]

So what are you saying? Because there's not enough atheists in the black community, fukk em? About 11% of black people are nonreligious. If the number reaches say 35%, would it then be serious enough tackle?

Majoritarianism isn't something any group should embrace.

i said what i said

until reality meets up w/ the internet, then this is a dismissable internet side show


lol at ostracized and rejected

fukk a stat sheet. the black experience cannot be quantified. and i dont need a chart to tell me how me and mines get down

according to the current black/gay media circus and polls and studies , black people reject gay people w/ virtual unanimity but even the most flamboyant of them walk around black america in the HEART OF THE HOODS w/ impunity and pride. all up in the church whereever they please. ud get ran on as a regular dude than much quicker than a dude w/ lipstick and eyeliner.but u wont find a poll saying that, so i guess it aint a viable point for the internet

i say all that to say

if they can find their niche, you all can too. this aint a serious issue

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

Finally a place for those who follow the atheist faith to congregate.

You're officially a religion now.

 

[The Real]

the antagonism is corny

black people have among the most unique religious experience in the west

for years. Christians, Muslims (noi and 'orthodox'), & Hebrews lived side to side w/o religious turmoil and strife and even a sense of synergy at one point

if atheism is so great for blacks, get ur weight up and produce tangible productive fruits and folks will fukk w/ you. simple as that. anything less than that is just meaningless internet garble & charades

no need for the condescension & jabs. we have been through too much already w/ our rich religious diversity not being such a dividing factor for us. no need to introduce such a chasm THIS late in the game. that would NOT be progression

I think you're identifying religion too strongly with its utilitarian element. Atheism holds no claim to a general or universal kind of political or social liberation for anyone, nor is that necessarily why people end up not being religious. There are specific critiques atheists have levelled within Black institutions- at megapreachers sucking up money, at people being distracted by Conservative politicians though moral issues like gay marriage while those same politicians continue to erode Black progress, etc, but none of those need to necessarily come from atheists.

The issue is more personal. It's more about atheists being allowed to be who they are without being seen as less Black for it. There is currently a sense in some quarters that you can't be part of a Black community at all if you're an atheist. You get shunned or seen as a sellout of some kind, despite several great Black leaders and thinkers being atheist.

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

I think you're identifying religion too strongly with its utilitarian element. Atheism holds no claim to a general or universal kind of political or social liberation for anyone, nor is that necessarily why people end up not being religious. There are specific critiques atheists have levelled within Black institutions- at megapreachers sucking up money, at people being distracted by Conservative politicians though moral issues like gay marriage while those same politicians continue to erode Black progress, etc, but none of those need to necessarily come from atheists.

The issue is more personal. It's more about atheists being allowed to be who they are without being seen as less Black for it. There is currently a sense in some quarters that you can't be part of a Black community at all if you're an atheist. You get shunned or seen as a sellout of some kind, despite several great Black leaders and thinkers being atheist.

Personally, I don't know any black atheists, at least that I'm aware of. So all I have to go off is the coli. And these nikkas are disrespectful and condescending as fukk. So nobody should give a fukk if they wanna boo hoo. These fakkits need to suck it up. They're the minority and most people don't like them with just cause.

Why would anyone abandon their life's guide to join a bunch of ignorant acting, intolerant fakkit lovers?

I'm just saying. Atheists brought the hate upon themselves.

 

[Snitchin Splatter]

Personally, I don't know any black atheists, at least that I'm aware of. So all I have to go off is the coli. And these nikkas are disrespectful and condescending as fukk. So nobody should give a fukk if they wanna boo hoo. These fakkits need to suck it up. They're the minority and most people don't like them with just cause.

Why would anyone abandon their life's guide to join a bunch of ignorant acting, intolerant fakkit lovers?

I'm just saying. Atheists brought the hate upon themselves.

Truth.com

These nikkas go out of their way weekly (if not daily) to find a way to disrespect God/Religion and attack them on threads here. Arrogant, Ignorant, condescending, however you want to describe it it most likely fits this group of posters

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Personally, I don't know any black atheists, at least that I'm aware of. So all I have to go off is the coli. And these nikkas are disrespectful and condescending as fukk. So nobody should give a fukk if they wanna boo hoo. These fakkits need to suck it up. They're the minority and most people don't like them with just cause.

Why would anyone abandon their life's guide to join a bunch of ignorant acting, intolerant fakkit lovers?

I'm just saying. Atheists brought the hate upon themselves.

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

Sure, guy. That's why I made this bytch-fest/support group thread.

 

[FlimFlam]

I think you're identifying religion too strongly with its utilitarian element. Atheism holds no claim to a general or universal kind of political or social liberation for anyone, nor is that necessarily why people end up not being religious. There are specific critiques atheists have levelled within Black institutions- at megapreachers sucking up money, at people being distracted by Conservative politicians though moral issues like gay marriage while those same politicians continue to erode Black progress, etc, but none of those need to necessarily come from atheists.

The issue is more personal. It's more about atheists being allowed to be who they are without being seen as less Black for it. There is currently a sense in some quarters that you can't be part of a Black community at all if you're an atheist. You get shunned or seen as a sellout of some kind, despite several great Black leaders and thinkers being atheist.

the thing is, the inside coincides with the out. a REAL personal liberation will lead to observable fruits, which is why i mentioned it in the post you quoted. Not even necessarily cash, but some observable form of progression. Theres only so far the "im mentally free" screed can take you take you w/o anything else before it gets considered hogwash

All kinds of things are sweeping through america, atheism & secularism included. Everyone chalks these up as victories and 'progression' for the country but it isn't even arguable that society has noticeably regressed in several essential dimensions from personal (outrageous drug use) to communal (broken families being a national standard)

like i said, where are the fruits? Atheism is picking up steam here and in europe...what fruits have been borne from that?

again, im asking because our physical reality is a mere manifestation of our minds. Mental leads to physical...inward to outward.

Im not for nor against atheism. but what use is a "personal" liberation if it doesnt reflect reality? u kind of threw a blow at atheism. that's making it seem like useless nothingness

 

[intilectual recipricol]

@FlimFlam

youre posting a lot of words but not saying anything of substance. Just throwing out phrases as if its true simply by your utterance... much like religion, and also the reason I reject it--no basis to support it.

 

[NoMayo15]

Truth.com

These nikkas go out of their way weekly (if not daily) to find a way to disrespect God/Religion and attack them on threads here. Arrogant, Ignorant, condescending, however you want to describe it it most likely fits this group of posters

Well, of course. This is the internet. We're all relatively anonymous, so some people are going to be more vulgar than they would be in real life.

If you use the internet to categorically generalize a group, then you're an idiot.

 

[TrueEpic08]

The bolded is a rarity. But I like this thread. I'll say this, one of my close friends has a story pretty much like yours and that's why I dapped your post. One of my cousin's too. I'm pretty much the only person that stood by them. Like @OG_StankBrefs is the homie, I couldn't care less about his "lack of belief" (as long as he stops posting up certain images ) I also appreciate that you didn't devolve into what leads to a lot of the religious fights on here (referring to all religious people as completely stupid...like I always say, when you go to that extent, you alienate people that in some cases are your natural allies on 90% of issues).

Aside from that, I think a lot of people operate on the idea that being opposed to the church and what it does to people, means that one cannot be Christian. I grew apart from organized religion at the exact same age you became atheist, for many of the same reasons. The only reason I ever attend church (and it's like 6 or 7 times a year) is because my congregation was the exception, not the rule. It wasn't rigid, and every question I ever asked was thought about carefully and answered earnestly. "Are all my Buddhist friends going to hell then?" "We don't buy people living to be hundreds of years old at point." "So you're saying, that if God did not say it was wrong, that murder and rape would be okay?" "No, look at divine command theory." Etcetera.

Everything we questioned during confirmation, was treated with respect and at times elders in the church were like "we agree or I don't know how to explain it either." If there was anything my church fostered beneath the service, it was liberalism. But on the same token, I didn't grow up in the Black Church. I was there frequently enough, but I didn't grow up in one. My church was very diverse and it seems that those most affected by the most negative impacts of that institution did grow up in the traditional black church. So I can imagine how people who had their questions repressed and were not allowed to find their own feeling of God, or what God means to them or who chose to not even be a part of the Church at all anymore (and some people did), could become so jaded. But the people at my church with us on confirmation were very smart people, highly educated and in good professions that often involved a lot of science. I never had to choose between something like science and religion for example. Some of my friends think I'm not really religious as opposed to spiritual or a believer or whatever else because strict adherence to the literal terms of any Holy Text would require me to act differently. I don't know if I agree with their view, but I understand it.

But I don't see religion as being something that will hold my generation back. I think that by and large, people have adapted it to contemporary society, and its the remnants of the past that are the issue. No matter the denomination, the youth are more progressive than their parents. That trend will only continue among theists and atheists alike.

You haven't been around for the that span where religion threads took up one third of the page. But now, I suppose I understand these people. This whole thread reads like atheists anonymous. And maybe that's why on the outside looking in when, as mods (all of us collectively) thought people were obsessed, I suppose we were being short-sighted to a degree. Maybe, we didn't see the profound impact or effect it has had on the lives of so many of you. It's because I have so many friends that are "culturally Jewish" or "culturally Christian" but don't really believe in the tenets of their religions that heavy, and they seldom express this feeling of repression for just going through the motions and enjoying the time with their families during religious holidays or certain ceremonies and then just going on with their lives. I guess somewhere in there I forgot why I don't enjoy going to many other people's congregations.

There are things in this thread, that I think are overgeneralizations and in some cases just plain wrong but there's no need to go debate that stuff. I get you guys now. I just wish that people didn't feel that being atheist made them superior and that it made them "real" or something to go around trashing other people for believing or making threads for the sole basis of ridicule. I wouldn't do it to someone for their religious or non-religious beliefs and I think that respect should be mutual.

BTW guy, you just post in here again, I always felt our back and forths were the most interesting thing to me.

Regarding the bolded, while I don't exactly find that among Blacks (if you don't mind the question: What denomination did you grow up in?), I do have a couple of friends who vigorously claim their faith, but won't go near a church because the type of atmosphere you describe doesn't exist in any type of way. Hell, those types of churches will barely encourage independent critical readings of the Bible, much less such liberal thoughts in a congregation. In a few ways, I could consider my experience more in line with their feelings on organized religion than the more radical Anti-Theist outlook.

Speaking of those Anti-Theists and those who feel that being an Atheist makes them superior to everything, I pretty much dislike it for the exact same reasons, even though I see great correlation between my views and their line of thought. There's just a virulence to Anti-Theism (specifically the Hitchens type) that I desire to stay away from. I don't like religious dogma at all, as I believe it's been one of the most destructive forces in the history of world cultures and civilizations, but ambivalent toward its existence and have no real desire to fully exclude someone from my life because they are religious. Anti-Theists can sometimes be virulent to the point of actively attacking the people partaking in religion rather than the religion itself and, while its sometimes needed, more of the time it's gets to be over the top.

Note: Posting in TSC is easy and mindless, posting here takes great thought and consideration when I want to. When you're transitioning into teaching 18-year-olds full time and considering Portfolio work, thought beyond that can be a bit too much. So I just post when I can.

 

[intilectual recipricol]

Truth.com

These nikkas go out of their way weekly (if not daily) to find a way to disrespect God/Religion and attack them on threads here. Arrogant, Ignorant, condescending, however you want to describe it it most likely fits this group of posters

Again, the theists' beliefs is that the non-believer is going to burn in hell forever... I find us being candid about your belief system hardly as arrogant, hardly as ignorant, hardly as condescending, however you want to describe it; it fits the group of believers

If you hold such beliefs you SHOULD have to defend the absurdity... stop whining.

Repenting is not just asking for forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness on your death bed is hardly enough. The serial killer trait would have to no longer exist in your nature for anyone to even hope for forgiveness.

So you dont believe in John 3:16 I see...

 

[No1]

Regarding the bolded, while I don't exactly find that among Blacks (if you don't mind the question: What denomination did you grow up in?), I do have a couple of friends who vigorously claim their faith, but won't go near a church because the type of atmosphere you describe doesn't exist in any type of way. Hell, those types of churches will barely encourage independent critical readings of the Bible, much less such liberal thoughts in a congregation. In a few ways, I could consider my experience more in line with their feelings on organized religion than the more radical Anti-Theist outlook.

Speaking of those Anti-Theists and those who feel that being an Atheist makes them superior to everything, I pretty much dislike it for the exact same reasons, even though I see great correlation between my views and their line of thought. There's just a virulence to Anti-Theism (specifically the Hitchens type) that I desire to stay away from. I don't like religious dogma at all, as I believe it's been one of the most destructive forces in the history of world cultures and civilizations, but ambivalent toward its existence and have no real desire to fully exclude someone from my life because they are religious. Anti-Theists can sometimes be virulent to the point of actively attacking the people partaking in religion rather than the religion itself and, while its sometimes needed, more of the time it's gets to be over the top.

Note: Posting in TSC is easy and mindless, posting here takes great thought and consideration when I want to. When you're transitioning into teaching 18-year-olds full time and considering Portfolio work, thought beyond that can be a bit too much. So I just post when I can.

I feel you. I'm a lazy poster these days as well. I find myself walking around the Arcadium a lot. So part of my family was Catholic and I went to those churches at one point, but I grew up Presbyterian. Like I was in church when they announced they would start allowing gay people in the congregation. Some of the older people were looking around like , but never said anything because they didn't care in the end. All of the younger members were like or . To this day I don't know who the gay people in the congregation actually are though. They never put them out there like that and then I left for college.

 

[Blackking]

You haven't been around for the that span where religion threads took up one third of the page. But now, I suppose I understand these people. This whole thread reads like atheists anonymous. And maybe that's why on the outside looking in when, as mods (all of us collectively) thought people were obsessed, I suppose we were being short-sighted to a degree. Maybe, we didn't see the profound impact or effect it has had on the lives of so many of you. It's because I have so many friends that are "culturally Jewish" or "culturally Christian" but don't really believe in the tenets of their religions that heavy, and they seldom express this feeling of repression for just going through the motions and enjoying the time with their families during religious holidays or certain ceremonies and then just going on with their lives.

I guess it can be difficult for an atheist in a religious nation. But Adults should be able to handle anything. I mean, I went to visit my mom today.. she knew I was coming.... And I said I'm starving. She made porkchops

Plus she has a socalled pic of Jesus on the wall.

And she has a strong personality... but most people just want you to listen to their pov, so it's whatever.