For example, you put yourself through university by studying hard and working full time. Then someone says, you should thank god for giving you the strength. Like wtf do you mean, I busted my ass day in and day out but I’m supposed to thank god for it?
Yes.
Thank God for imbuing you with skepticism
It bothers me when people aren’t consistent.
Like when something good happens to them: god is rewarding me for being so good
When somehting bad happens to them: god is testing me and will reward me later for being so good
When something bad happens to someone they don’t like: god is punishing them for being so bad
Or like how they pray to god for individual favors. Like “dear god even though I didnt study please let me do well on this test” as though god should care and give them special treatment for… nothing. Yet they claim to value hard work, god only gives you what you can handle, are generally fatalistic, etc.
I have a friend whos deeply into god, but doesnt go to church or anything. Hes also in his mid 40s and lives at home with his 82 year old dad and smokes weed all day. He used to send me videos about how godly Trump is, etc. Big Trump guy. I dont know what happened, but he started sending me videos about Trump being evil and the antichrist. I mean, I love the change. Its definitely in the right direction. But my guy, why the fuck are you sending me 45 minute long Youtube or Facebook video essays on why Trump is the Antichrist. He sends me several of these a day. Usually 5-60 minutes long. Its literally all he has become. Religion aside, I find it terribly frightening how the internet algorithms first radicalized him for Trump, then completely changed his view to the other side. My friend isnt very bright. I’d say hes about the average American. Millions are just like him.
Ok, this really went off the rails here. I dont know why I went from the religious stuff to the internet algorithms manipulating people. Maybe its because they go so well together. Different tools to accomplish the same goal of mass manipulation.
Personally, I aged out of the whole edgelord ‘Religion bad!’ in my early 20s. I just ignore it. People believe what they want. If it doesnt harm anyone, who cares?
I grew up culturally Christian and surrounded by soft-references to Christian stuff all the time. I try to see past whatever the literal thing they are saying and see the metaphor they are trying to express. People can have limited vocabulary and grow up in bubbles of their family, church, whatever. I try to give them Grace and just move on. Ultimately, they are trying to communicate a good thing with you. As long as they don’t start evangelizing or guilting, that’s different.
Religious proselitism sucks
Does anyone else feel irritated when deeply religious people
Yes
So fucking irritated my dude. I know in their minds they’re doing it out of a sense of trying to help other souls to find the correct path, in theory. But when you look at it from a secular point of view it literally just feels like them asserting their worldview constantly in the most smug possible way, like get fucked fr. Humans just don’t know how to stop themselves from convincing everyone around them of whatever fairytale horse shit they desperately need for themselves to not fear death. I don’t mind them believing whatever the hell they want, I just wish they would shut their ass about it. If it’s the truth thing everyone on Earth has the same access to it and I don’t need somebody constantly reminding me that what’s true is true. Things that are true don’t need to be constantly repeated
I would push back on the idea that humans inherently want to push their religions on people. In actuality that behavior is an effect of the memetic construction of more modern religions. Memetics being the concept “viral ideas” or contagious ideas. Where an idea becomes a thing of its own and spreads without outside interference. (yes like memes). The polytheistic religions were generally not so inclined to spread their religion to others. They’d show up in a forgein land and see other peoples worshipping gods and either think those were the names for their own gods here or think that these are just the gods of this land. The Greeks for example would make offerings to Isis while in Egypt.
The more recent idea of “An imperative to spread” is an invention of christianity that was picked up by Islam as well. Over time much like our societies evolve the ideas we have evolve too. It’s natural selection. Given enough time any idea that has baked into it the imperative to spread will overtake ideas that do not. Hence the death of paganism in Europe and the dominance of Islam, and Christianity in that region by comparison over the last few centuries.
Eventually (As is already happening to some extent with political ideologies imo) a new memetic construct will come along that outcompetes christianity. Just as the christians before it absorbed paganism (Arch Angels and Demons are literally just pagan gods given new names) this new one will absorb christianity and outcompete it and the other religions into near extinction. This may be a new religion of its own, it may be a political movement, it may be something else. Whatever it is it will better fit the material conditions of the current world than the now quite outdated christianity which was more suited to a medeival time period. Giving it an advantage and leading to inevitable spread.
I do appreciate your lofty conveyance of these concepts and your insight on historical context. I suppose I just tend to put sociopathy on all strangers these days. I’m not necessarily saying it’s like an imperative to spread their religion, more like people generally tend to not mature or grow in their lives, but rather to justify their own behavior to themselves instead. It’s relatively common, because of this, that people are subconsciously using religion to justify their own antisocial behaviors instead of improving themselves. And that inherent narcissism is the actual reason people will inject religion into every conversation and try and push it on to those around them. Maybe I’m cynical, though, and applying my anecdotal experience to more of the population than it actually fits with
Well it is actually true that an integral part of Christianity itself is the imperative to spread or proselytizing. It is baked into the religion itself. Originally this was an idea to convert all Jews to the new religion, but it was Saul of Tarsus, or the Apostle Paul, who introduced the idea that this should apply to all peoples, not just Jews.
In the words of the Bible itself: Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
So while you may be correct that there is a psychologal aspect to it as well, it is also true that it is simply a part of their religion. They are taught that they should do this. It is generally seen as a holy duty to convert others and save their souls.
Thank god the tornado destroyed my neighbor’s house and not mine.
Thank god those kids in poor countries are starving and not me.
Thank god for killing kids with cancer.
They never attribute to god the things that a god could prevent, or in fact deliberately willed to happen, but they’re sure happy to strip someone of their accomplishments and effort by attributing them to god’s will.
The overall purpose of religion is to propagate itself like a mind virus. Institutional velocity.
I wouldn’t care at all if these people were able to keep their delusions to themselves. As a whole, past and present, these people have proven themselves incapable of doing so.
Paradox of tolerance.
Omg! God told me I would see this post! Praise him!
Yay well done God. Great job you did there. Keep it up, you’re doing so well.
Which god?
The one true god.
I’ve been told the same thing, they said god gave me my strength, but realistically if this “god” did give me anything, it would be my weaknesses and hostile social environment, where I was forced to find my own strengths that a god couldn’t give unless they wanted me to face some sort of mythological nepotism.
Reminds me of a couple of joke/stories.
- A flood came and an owner was on top of the house. A boat came by to save him and he said “That’s okay, God will save me”. Then a helicopter came by to save him and he said the same thing. He drowned and went to heaven and asked God why he didn’t come save him and God said “I sent you a boat and a helicopter!”.
- A very famous, powerful rabbi stopped at an inn and the owner was out, but the staff treated him terribly. The rabbi cursed the hotel and stated that it will burn down the following day at noon. The next morning the rabbi got up to leave and the owner, who was now back, begged and pleaded with him to remove the curse. The rabbi eventually agreed. The peasants were watching the inn to see what would happen and when noon came and went, and the inn did not burn down, everyone exclaimed “It’s a miracle!”.
they can wishfully think themselves into anything as long as it makes them better than other people and they can play victim
I especially feel irritated when they credit god over actual people that made something happen, like thanking god over a surgeon that just saved your life
