Why do theists refuse to embrace adulthood?

[TSJohnson]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

 

[Ernie S.]

Why do atheists insist everyone believe that they alone are the Higher Power?

Damned few believers here (there are exceptions) start threads ridiculing atheism on a near daily basis.
Could your frequent proselytizing be motivated by self doubt?

 

[Meriweather]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Religion teaches ethics and morals, and also presents examples of love and other virtues. Asking a person why they don't give these up once they become adults is kind of like asking adults why they don't give me art, sewing, and trigonometry once they reach adulthood. Do we give up the examples our parents, teachers, and childhood friends set for us?

Some of us still keep in touch with parents, friends...and God...from childhood. Think of, "No man is an island..."

Becoming an adult doesn't entail becoming a blank slate, but rather building on what we were given and what we learned as children.

Can you answer the question, "Why do adults sometimes destroy what they had as children?" Wouldn't a good answer be, "It's not that we destroyed anything...rather than we chose to build on one thing rather than another."

One of the things I retained to build upon was a relationship and a discipleship with God.

 

[the_human_being]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Why does what theists or anyone else for that matter occupy so much of your time and thought? You appear to be totally obsessed with what is on a Christian's mind. Are you still that insecure with the choice you have made? It certainly appears so.

 

[Dajjal]

I used to feel what I considered to be the presence of God in my heart from early childhood. This is no theology or religion, but my personal experience.

 

[Grendelyn]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Why does what theists or anyone else for that matter occupy so much of your time and thought? You appear to be totally obsessed with what is on a Christian's mind. Are you still that insecure with the choice you have made? It certainly appears so.

In my opinion, it is Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, who are obsessed with what is on the minds of atheists and all others not of their faith as easily evidenced by the many moneygrubbing Christian priest craft one sees everywhere pandering their mythical story of Christ and eternal life. We should all thank our lucky stars for the atheists, who you confuse with being insincere, particularly those atheists who fight to maintain that healthy wall of separation between church and state in America that protects our country from becoming a theocratic Iran. ~ Susan

 

[BluePhantom]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Well I guess I would respond to this in several ways. First, what evidence to the contrary? While God cannot be proven, neither can God be disproven. That's been a stalemate that's gone on for centuries.

Second, why do you care? If someone holds a belief that gives them a sense of peace, happiness, or contributes to their life in a positive way, what is your motivation for interfering in that or insisting that it is without merit? In fact, the very fact that it DOES give some people a positive perception about their lives and the lives of others makes it worthy of merit. Why not let them believe what they want? If you want to go through life believing you are alone, knock yourself out. No skin off my back

 

[RandomVariable]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Wow. It is so not like that. Yes, we/I might personify God some when referring to him but he is not a person at all. I wish I could just wrap it all up in one sentence but I can not. Imagine everything you can possibly image and then put it into a single point is space and time and then make that a hundred times more so and then make that into someone who loves you very much and then you might get the very smallest idea of who God is.

 

[Grendelyn]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Wow. It is so not like that. Yes, we/I might personify God some when referring to him but he is not a person at all. I wish I could just wrap it all up in one sentence but I can not. Imagine everything you can possibly image and then put it into a single point is space and time and then make that a hundred times more so and then make that into someone who loves you very much and then you might get the very smallest idea of who God is.

I have never been able to understand comments such as this for if there is a God I find no proof of His/Her/Its love for us on this planet . . . would you care to extrapolate on this a bit? Surely you don't find a loving God in the Old Testament, now do you? ~ Susan
PS Do you believe this loving God of yours is alive and well and residing in such places as cancer wards in children's hospitals?

 

[The Irish Ram]

Gren, The love you seek happened 2,000 years ago, on a cross. It is the love that enabled our Father to remember our sins no more as He sets a place at His table for His children. There is no greater love. Bask in it, eternally.

This is earth. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. What God promised was to get you through it. It is Satan that is alive and well and does reside in cancer wards. He loves death. God gives life. If a child succumbs, his last breath on earth is his first breath in Paradise with His Father.

 

[Grendelyn]

Gren, The love you seek happened 2,000 years ago, on a cross. It is the love that enabled our Father to remember our sins no more as He sets a place at His table for His children. There is no greater love. Bask in it, eternally.

This is earth. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. What God promised was to get you through it. It is Satan that is alive and well and does reside in cancer wards. He loves death. God gives life. If a child succumbs, his last breath on earth is his first breath in Paradise with His Father.

I find it strange how two people can view the same topic and each reach a different conclusion that is in total opposition of the other . . . what I see happening on a cross 2,000 years ago was not love but a grotesque, abominable act that modern religious sadomasochists enjoy reenacting on their Easter holiday. ~ Susan
PS Even though my computer had difficulty with its sound, I picked the below video mainly because it was the shortest I could find; however, there are many others if you care to do your own YouTube research. A warning, please . . . the video is very graphic and not for the squeamish.

 

[RandomVariable]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Wow. It is so not like that. Yes, we/I might personify God some when referring to him but he is not a person at all. I wish I could just wrap it all up in one sentence but I can not. Imagine everything you can possibly image and then put it into a single point is space and time and then make that a hundred times more so and then make that into someone who loves you very much and then you might get the very smallest idea of who God is.

I have never been able to understand comments such as this for if there is a God I find no proof of His/Her/Its love for us on this planet . . . would you care to extrapolate on this a bit? Surely you don't find a loving God in the Old Testament, now do you? ~ Susan
PS Do you believe this loving God of yours is alive and well and residing in such places as cancer wards in children's hospitals?

I talk to God. I know, it should be in my sig but that might be a bit vain.

 

[BluePhantom]

Gren, The love you seek happened 2,000 years ago, on a cross. It is the love that enabled our Father to remember our sins no more as He sets a place at His table for His children. There is no greater love. Bask in it, eternally.

This is earth. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. What God promised was to get you through it. It is Satan that is alive and well and does reside in cancer wards. He loves death. God gives life. If a child succumbs, his last breath on earth is his first breath in Paradise with His Father.

I find it strange how two people can view the same topic and each reach a different conclusion that is in total opposition of the other . . . what I see happening on a cross 2,000 years ago was not love but a grotesque, abominable act that modern religious sadomasochists enjoy reenacting on their Easter holiday. ~ Susan
PS Even though my computer had difficulty with its sound, I picked the below video mainly because it was the shortest I could find; however, there are many others if you care to do your own YouTube research. A warning, please . . . the video is very graphic and not for the squeamish.

Actually I tend to agree with you. The main problem I see with your video is that it doesn't depict the crucifixion of Jesus (or any crucifixion in ancient Rome) in any way that is accurate. Jesus was scourged and he was almost certainly naked. Why portray it with nice white cloths covering him? Jesus was shredded. He was hamburger by the time they nailed him to the cross. I welcome depictions like "The Passion" where the depth of His suffering was shown (and even then they held off). Let the people see what He endured. The crucifixion (ANY crucifixion) wasn't some mild mannered event. It was bloody, gruesome, brutal, and unfathomable. The video you post doesn't begin to do it justice.

I agree with you. It was an abominable act....but that was Rome. That's what Rome did. But it was also an act of love because if one accepts that Jesus had the power to stop it then it means He endured it willingly in order to make Himself the eternal sacrifice for mankind. So it was both an act of grotesque cruelty AND and act of love.

 

[BluePhantom]

Gren, The love you seek happened 2,000 years ago, on a cross. It is the love that enabled our Father to remember our sins no more as He sets a place at His table for His children. There is no greater love. Bask in it, eternally.

This is earth. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. What God promised was to get you through it. It is Satan that is alive and well and does reside in cancer wards. He loves death. God gives life. If a child succumbs, his last breath on earth is his first breath in Paradise with His Father.

I find it strange how two people can view the same topic and each reach a different conclusion that is in total opposition of the other . . . what I see happening on a cross 2,000 years ago was not love but a grotesque, abominable act that modern religious sadomasochists enjoy reenacting on their Easter holiday. ~ Susan
PS Even though my computer had difficulty with its sound, I picked the below video mainly because it was the shortest I could find; however, there are many others if you care to do your own YouTube research. A warning, please . . . the video is very graphic and not for the squeamish.

I will say though Grendelyn, that I don't think Jesus would support the recreation you posted nor any other of that type. The whole point of Jesus' sacrifice was so that we wouldn't have to make such a sacrifice ever again. I tend this think Jesus would not be impressed. On the contrary I think He would say "what in the name of all that is holy are you doing that for? I already did it for you! Good Lord almighty!"

 

[guno]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Study finds brain differences based on faith

Study finds brain differences based on faith - USATODAY.com

 

[guno]

Study suggests ‘born-again’ believers have smaller brains
Study suggests born-again believers have smaller brains

 

[BluePhantom]

Study suggests ‘born-again’ believers have smaller brains
Study suggests born-again believers have smaller brains

well.....I am not sure that being published on PLoS ONE does much to lend that study a great deal of credibility. I mean that's kind of where you go to publish when you can't get published anywhere else. Granted, fanatical Christians, can sometimes say some stupid shit, but I am relatively certain it's not because they have smaller brains.

 

[Avatar4321]

Maybe because they recognize they do have a Heavenly Father to guide them and to whom they are accountable to. I fail to see how being ungrateful for what we have received and refusing to recognize we are accountable for ones actions is evidence of being an adult.

in fact, I find that being ungrateful and pretending as you are not accountable for your actions is evidence for immaturity. As is presuming that anyone who differs from you on a matter is childish.

 

[Avatar4321]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Study finds brain differences based on faith

Study finds brain differences based on faith - USATODAY.com

having a big brain doesn't matter if you never use it.

 

[BluePhantom]

As a child, your parents watch over you. They provide for you. They protect you and ensure your needs are met. They set you up for a successful, happy future. Eventually the time comes to leave the house. On your own, you're responsible for your own safety and provision. Nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. Psychologically normal people accept this and adapt. They recognize that their well being is their own responsibility and stop looking to others to fulfill their needs. Theists, on the other hand, convince themselves that they still have a parental figure who keeps watch over them even after they've moved out to live on their own. They tell themselves that there's still this positive force in their life keeping them safe and guiding their lives. Why can't they just accept that this isn't the case though? What's so different about them that they have to tell themselves they're still not alone despite all evidence to the contrary?

Study finds brain differences based on faith

Study finds brain differences based on faith - USATODAY.com

having a big brain doesn't matter if you never use it.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!! That was harsh.