Quote Originally Posted by COOL AND MANLY View Post
I guess I'm a different kind of atheist. I don't understand the arguments in this thread because proving god's existence means nothing to me. I don't really care if he exists or not, I still wouldn't follow him. It's like having a bad father. You are not a slave to your father just because he created you. I do remember being religious though. God to me was more or less a representation of own values/philosophy. Which is a bigger deal to me than whatever everyone else was preaching. Once I reached to that conclusion I left the religion. Why would you even submit to anyone, let alone a being that supposedly gave you the option to defy him? I would make that choice every single time.

It's funny because looking back I remember when I first told my family I'm an atheist we were going through a rough patch, most of them said that is the only reason I have felt discouraged and left the religion. But the reality is I've actually planned to leave eventually. I just didn't know how, when and where. That is more or less how I plan my long term goals. I'm very opportunistic by nature, I don't force things unless I have to, I'm happy to sit back and wait for a long time but once I'm provided with an opportunity I don't shy away from taking it no matter how drastic it seems to others. It always looks like I make rash decisions when I eventually make them because I don't hesitate (I would have thought about it a million times already), especially if I don't tell anyone about my plans beforehand, which I very rarely do. I feel guilty because the situation wasn't pleasant for anyone and it was very stressful, but again, I would make that choice every single time.
What I am about to say is disassociated from the main theme of the thread:

I truly do understand your thoughts and feeling. God didn't expect people to love him just because he created them. He truly does have good intentions for us. If he didn't, he would not grant us free will and make us in his own image. He wouldn't send Jesus Christ in the flesh just to die by his own creations. There was absolutely no reason to do that other than to show that he knows life is hard (He is omniscient), but he has given you a role model that went through harsh tribulations and exposed to the same temptations we all go through even though he didn't have to. "We love him because he first loved us"-1 John 4:19. A lot of people talk about the "harshness" of God's punishments in the Old Testaments without understanding the reasons or the context for the punishments. Without realizing we are human beings meaning we are not omniscient, so there may be good deeds in which we don't realize that they are good. I understand how you feel about being mistrustful of other people's preachings. Even though I am Christian myself, I find myself arguing with people who claim to be my spiritual authority. However, you must realize your most important spiritual authority is God and you have to know him for yourself.

Being a Christian doesn't mean being a slave to religion and its institutions. It means being in a personal relation with God, who loves you unconditional whether you are Christian or not. If I have a child, and he announced himself as an atheist, I would still love him. Sure I would be sad, but I wouldn't want to make him sad. Instead I would shower him with love and preach to him, but not to the point of shoving done Christianity down his throat. The bible tells us precisely not to do this.

Quote Originally Posted by COOL AND MANLY View Post
I'm conflicted because that is my favourite character. Maybe I should retype as ILI, seems like a lot of ILIs like him.
He is my favorite as well, I just love how he ignored everyone's lack of trust in his abilities and gets stuff done.