Comic Strips

Don't forget the "not believing in god = sadness" one. Realizing it is fake actually brought relief for the ex-religious people that I know (anecdotal, I know. I don't have the actual numbers).

It's more of a generational issue, really. Convincing someone who was already indoctrinated as a baby and began to "pray" as early as their arm coordination allowed it is almost cruel, really. At that point it's reality-shattering. Let alone if your religion included any kind of body-modification, especially without anesthesia (that shit burns itself into the very fabric of your brain as a baby). In that case it's even worse, as it'd entail the realisation that your body has been violated (some may use stronger wording).

At the end of the day what counts is that you're a decent person, no matter your stance on religion or spirituality.

Yeah, going from finding fulfillment through religion to finding it through other means isn't something you can do instantly.

Not to offend you but tbh I hate this thought process and imo this smells of superiority complex "peasants are just not ready for reality yet". The peasants are actually really smart and humans are very good at adapting and changing their world model given appropriate motivation.

The world is absolutely ready to rid itself of religion.

I try not to be too judgemental of people who are religious. We are not evolved enough as a species to be able to comprehend the unknown or unknowable, and everyone to some degree has to cope with this somehow, even if we aren't consciously aware of it. Faith is an easy, convenient and catch-all solution to all of life's unexplained phenomena, so it makes sense that people tend to gravitate towards it naturally, all it takes is a little push during childhood.

I take issue with it when religious folk try to force their views onto other people. Proselytizing is one thing, but converting people by duress or force, or by weaponizing the government apparatus to conform to their views and their views only, is where I stop caring about the feelings of those religious cults and do everything in my power to stop them or undermine their efforts.

Also, it really just depends on your age. Have you believed for decades? Not believing at some point in your life will be some kind of earth shaking change.

Sure, but the sooner they start, the better off they'll be.

When I worked in a nursing home, I was Christian.

I mean, I wasn't. At all. But the dying little old ladies who sundowned so bad that they sometimes thought I was their grandchild? When they asked if I believed in Jesus, I'd bite my tongue and tell them yes. I hated having to lie to their faces, I hate even thinking about it all these years later, but some of them had nothing to look forward to except "going to heaven" by that point. Lying seemed the most ethical choice.

knowing that they’ve wasted an entire lifetime and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tithing on a con isn’t going to do anything useful at this point.

It always gets me how people can be so comfortable with tithing while so prickly about paying taxes. I've straight up heard "every dollar I give to the government is one I can't give to the church" as an argument, when the town and state I'm living in is joined at the hip with the church they love.

Fifty years ago? Sure, they would have had plenty of time to come to terms with it.

Church is one of those third-spaces that the unemployed and retired flock to when they've got too much time and not a ton of money. A great deal of the appeal of these places, especially back in my parents' day, was as a social center with a feel-good energy. As a born-and-raised Houstonian I've seen it work on enormous numbers of otherwise-religiously-apathetic people. The whole Joel Osteen model is Good Vibes as a religious experience. One big Jesus Themed Pep Rally.

I think you can probably logic your way to a "God's Not Real" conclusion with a generic religiously-ambivalent lay person. But I don't think a simple logic chain is enough to convince folks who consider religion a form of community recreation to stop showing up. No more than you could talk someone out of blaring their favorite brand of Country Music or driving an oversized pickup truck or playing with their toy guns down at the gun range.

These just aren't logical decisions. They are social decisions.

Don't be anti-intellectual about this silly comic. People can apply intellectual analysis to stupid things if they want to, and they damn-well may find deeper meaning sometimes.

Let people have their hobbies.

Dad's reaction is exactly what I'd do.

I didn't catch the self-deprecation. What makes it clear?

Thing is it shouldn't be comforting to anyone if they really take the details seriously. You could do as much damage really educating someone about Deuteronomy and other fun parts of the Bible and ultimately leave them in a worse state than finding a way to make them an atheist.

We forget an atheist is just a non-theist. Someone who doesn't believe in any specific canonical god. I'm an atheist with a genuine faith the universe has more in store for "me" (whatever that is; I don't believe it's necessarily or eternally "ynthrepic") than a mere human lifetime given what we know about the universe as a whole and how mysterious and seemingly fundamental consciousness is to it all. That gives me some relief and comfort from the existential dread. More than I could possibly get from Yahweh and his totally uncompelling biblical heaven and hell dynamic.

The first experience for many is crushing despair. It can take time to get out of that slump and learn to find meaning in a meaningless world.

Me when I try and pet a cat but they run away.

What aspects of naturalism do you feel negate the reality of our collective community? I really don't see how the one led you to the other.