Category: religion

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Non-Religious People Discuss Their Favorite Gods

I’m totally ignorant when it comes to religion.

I was raised in a Catholic household, but I never really took any of it all that seriously and I never explored any other religions.

But I’m open to learning about it!

And that’s why I’m looking forward to hearing these responses from other non-religious people.

Non-religious people talked about their favorite gods on AskReddit.

Here’s what they had to say.

1. A lot in common.

“Hestia. She doesn’t meddle or succumb to vanity or start wars over dumb s**t or take the form of animals to sleep around.

She isn’t an obvious favorite or anyone’s hero. No one fears her wrath. There are no surviving myths dedicated to her. But she’s a constant, vital presence in everyday life and was unobtrusively worshipped by everyone in Ancient Greece.

She maintains the hearth for all humanity and is present in every home. Ancient artwork suggests that, over time, her honored position as the 12th Olympian was transferred to Dionysus. Scholars have theorized that perhaps she willingly gave up her seat to avoid conflict and maintain the peace.

I always identified with her a lot.”

2. He did it!

“Odin, he promised us to defeat the ice giants.

I have never seen a giant my life so he did a good job.”

3. A smart one.

“Thoth, because he created writing, maths, and other feats of intelligence.

He also tends to be very level-headed in Egyptian mythology.”

4. A good one.

“I like Nienna. Turning grief into compassion and understanding.

I even have a grey tabby cat that has this super mournful sounding meow that I had to name after her.

She’s my little grey lady who is constantly crying.”

5. Shiva.

“Shiva probably, from Hindu Mythology.

He’s supposed to be a “God of Gods” cuz the other Gods look up to him, plus he’s also the God of Destruction who incinerated 3 planets after firing a single arrow.

I mean, I dunno, but that sounds pretty bada**.”

6. Seen her at work.

“Annoya.

There’s a goddess I can believe in, the goddess of things stuck in the drawer so you can’t open it all the way.

She exists; I’ve seen her work, and not just in my own home.”

7. Very cool!

“Anazi the trickster spider!

I like that he is always out for himself but often doesn’t win in the end.

He never gives up!”

8. Don’t mess with her.

“The Hindu goddess Kali. She’s just a total bad b**ch.

Divine femininity, cutting off evil dudes’ heads left and right.

Inspired The Rolling Stones tongue logo and the Beatles centered a plot to one of their movies around a cult of her followers.”

9. Fascinating.

“Persephone, as sad as her story is.

Getting kidnapped and taken into the underworld. Her story always fascinates me.

Nowadays though I see many people romanticize her story which I find kind of weird.”

10. Baphomet.

“Baphomet.

The symbolization of equilibrium of opposites is really neat, and I love how the imagery is very representative of that symbolism.

Plus, people think it is Satanic so it is fun to watch people get wide eyed when I mention Baphomet.”

11. A titan.

“Prometheus. He’s one of the titans in Greek mythology.

When I heard his story, I was surprised at how ungod-like he was. He actually cared for his creation and prioritize us gaining knowledge over worshipping some deity. He tricked zeus for the benefits of humanity. Stole fire for humans despite zeus not allowing humans to have fire anymore.

Zeus found out and sentence him to be tied to a rock where his liver would be eaten by a vulture. He would heal every night only to be t**tured again. To top it all off Zeus offered freedom in exchange he would hide the knowledge of fire from humans. Without hesitation he refused.

Despite being an atheist and not actually believing he exists, he has been my go to god to ask for help in times of desperation and when I just feel lonely (especially when flying and the plane shakes a little). I also use his sacrifice to get myself motivated.

For those of you who’s wondering what happened to Prometheus next. When Hercules was doing his 12 labours, one of those labours was to k**l the vulture that is the same vulture that was in charge of torturing Prometheus.

Hercules k**led the vulture and decided to just set Prometheus free.”

12. Old school.

“Gotta go old school.

Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and war that became Ishtar to the Assyrians, Astarte to the Canaanites, Astoreth to the Semitic, and Aphrodite to the Greeks and influenced another half a dozen goddess mythologies throughout the ancient world – the Hindu Durga, Ainina and Danina to the Iberians, Dali to the Georgians, and even early Christian’s with the Virgin Mary and the Jews with the unnamed “Queen of Heaven”.”

13. Respect it.

“Antinous, the deified lover of Hadrian.

He is the third most known statue subject. Of all Roman statues of a formerly living perso , we have the most of Augustus. Second most of Hadrian. And third most are of him. If you’ve been to a greco Roman section in an art museum, you’ve probably seen a statue of him.

How did he die? He drowned. Why? We don’t know. An accident, suicide, a sacrifice? No idea really. We know very little about him as a person. He’s very much an enigma.

But he also d**d as a young man and was then worshipped and so I like him because if I prayed to him I can imagine him just being like…. F**k if I know, Hadrian and I didn’t exactly discuss this part of my afterlife, I can’t help you with your problem.

And if I was a god I’d be about that clueless too. So I can respect it.”

14. We need it.

“Siva. God of destruction.

Because destruction allows creation and this world needs both (in that order).”

15. Totally emo.

“Satan.

Emo, free-thinking angel, getting people to embrace knowledge, being all about questioning and rebellion.

What’s not to like?”

16. The first rebel.

“Lilith.

The devil’s mistress and the 1st wife of Adam. She is said to be the first rebel and she’s the mother of all witches.

“Lilith” in Hebrew means “screech owl” because in legends, she is depicted as an owl-lady.”

Do you have a favorite god?

If so, please tell us all about it in the comments.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post Non-Religious People Discuss Their Favorite Gods appeared first on UberFacts.

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What Small Ways Has Society Progressed in the Last 20 Years? Here’s How People Responded.

You blink and you’ll miss it.

An older gentleman told me that when I graduated from high school. I kind of shrugged off his words of wisdom but it turns out he was right…

And things are always moving forward, which is good news for all of us here on planet Earth.

In what small ways has society progressed in the last two decades?

AskReddit users shared their thoughts.

1. That’s nice.

“My grandfather has been blind for forty years.

He says people are way more friendly than they used to be, especially younger people are eager to help.”

2. Much more aware.

“I think the majority of the world knows a lot more about other cultures and countries.

Thanks to the internet and learning facilities and the vast possibilities of travelling, people can really get into these topics if they want to.”

3. Progress.

“Infant mortality rate in Africa is now the same as it was in Europe in the 1970s.

Absolutely amazing progress.”

4. Knowledge is power.

“Think about the public’s access to information.

Just Wikipedia is equivalent to thousands of dollars of encyclopedias and almanacs in the 1990s.

And it’s way more valuable than that because it’s constantly being updated.”

5. A good thing.

“The rapid skill increase across all forms of gaming/sports, art, leisure activities, etc.

The internet really has allowed niche-activity folks to learn the most effective practices collectively, as opposed to independent and un-structured learning.

Hobbyists can (and are) now able to quickly get really good at nearly everything, at a ridiculous rate. Poker, paintball, video editing, computer games, etc…. doesn’t matter what it is, it’s easier now to jump from “beginner” to “pretty good” in nearly anything.”

6. You can learn anything!

“The intermet has made it easier to learn almost anything.

When something in my house/car breaks or needs upgraded, I can generally diagnose it with Google and then watch how-to videos on youtube to decide if I should do it myself or just save time and contact a professional to complete the repair.”

7. Click it or ticket.

“Stressing the importance of seat belts and helmets.

Old TV shows commonly depict no helmets and seatbelts.”

8. The little things.

“I took my grandparents to my Grandpa’s sister’s funeral, on the drive back home I had to buy a Pepsi and a coffee because I was tired.

I finished the can of Pepsi, and put the can in the cup holder.

Grandpa said “you know son, 10 years ago that would have went right out the window.””

9. More opportunities.

“Giving more opportunities to people with disabilities.

And this doesn’t mean just work either, but designing more building to universal design so that people with disabilities can access more spaces unassisted.

It’s really great!”

10. You see it less and less.

“Way fewer people smoke these days.

Honestly, in my extended family it’s maybe only one of my distant cousins.”

11. No more stigma.

“Wearing glasses has all but lost the negative stereotypes surrounding it.

They often used to make kids suffer through school unable to see.”

12. Normalizing.

“We’re normalizing openly discussing miscarriages. It use to be uncouth to discuss in social settings and was more something that couples had to suffer silently to themselves.

After recently experiencing one, the outpouring of support has been amazing and such a pillar of support for us through this tough time. We were thankful to have others to mourn with us.”

13. Preservation.

“In my country several efforts have been made to save our only remaining native indigenous language from being extinct.

A decade ago less than 1,000 people could speak it, now I believe the number is closer to 10,000.”

How about you?

What progress do you think we’ve made in the last two decades?

Sound off in the comments and let us know!

The post What Small Ways Has Society Progressed in the Last 20 Years? Here’s How People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Admit Why They Stopped Going to Church

I haven’t been to church in a long time. Many years, actually.

I grew up in a Catholic household and I didn’t have a choice whether I was gonna go on Sunday or not: it was a requirement.

But I eventually just stopped going after I became an adult…and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. I guess it’s just not for me…

AskReddit users talked about why they stopped going to church.

Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Can’t make it.

“My father lost his job and the only work he could get involved travel, which meant he couldn’t make the Sunday service. Even though my parents gave to the church monthly, all the support we got was ‘prayers that he found a job closer to home’.

As a teen I was also asked by church elders why father thought making money for his family was more important than attending the church.”

2. Very awkward.

“I moved to a new city for university and was doing a bit of church hopping with a religious roommate to see if we could find a church we liked.

At one of the churches I had a “once you see it, you can’t unsee it” moment where I suddenly thought… this is a cult. The church we went to was a really boisterous hallelujah type place and it was very overwhelming so I had gone to the bathroom to try and avoid a full blown panic attack.

When I was in there a few ladies crowded me and were saying I should take the panic as a sign that the Lord was flowing through me. Like… no this is anxiety, it’s a physiological thing.

They really, earnestly believed that I was being touched by Jesus and I couldn’t help but feel like they were brainwashed. It was so awkward and off-putting I lost my faith and haven’t really gone back since.”

3. Bad experience.

“The priest I confessed my sins to was a kiddie diddler and fled the country.My sins were hella tame compared to whatever he had going on behind the scenes.

I didn’t feel cleansed. I couldn’t in good conscience be associated with a religion who refused to protect its own children.

So those hypocritical sickos can all f**k off.”

4. Scandalous.

“My spouse was raised catholic, she’d go to church at least once or twice a month, and would feel guilty if we didn’t go for longer than a month.

Then the scandals happened and she’s had zero interest. She still has her faith in God and Jesus, but has none in religion as an institution.

Which is pretty much where I always was.”

5. Not into the teachings.

“I started to realize the teachings of the church weren’t Biblical. Every Sunday the pastor would talk about righteousness that was really nationalism, and being free from those who are filled with sin, but very specific sin.

We had divorcees in the church and overt racists, but not gay people or former inmates. There were teachings of love, but it was very clear that love was only meant for certain people.”

6. Wasn’t accepted.

“I never felt truly accepted. Everyone was super friendly but it seemed that I couldn’t be accepted in their bubble.

I also felt I didn’t need to go to church to be a religious person. I’ve also been bullied in a church retreat when I was in grade school.”

7. Words of wisdom.

““You don’t need the church to be faithful to god, your body is the church. As long as you to talk to god on your own time and it’s genuine you’ll be fine.

Besides, the church is only there to collect money but when you need money for rent, food, clothes or anything else they’ll tell you ‘it’s god will.’ F**k those thieves.”

My grandmother.”

8. No evidence.

“The moment I realized that in the absence of miracles the proof of Christianity is supposed to be in the lives of those who follow it.

The avg person I saw in church generally was no better than the avg non believer.

So where is the evidence of there being anything to it?”

9. Rather be elsewhere.

“I’d rather spend my Sunday mornings elsewhere.

I also had a hard time the first Sunday after the 2016 election. The person reciting the “prayer needs” said something about the “new era” and I was not a fan of how they said it.

Made me realize that I wasn’t sure I was in the right place anymore.”

10. Messed up.

“My church growing up was kinda messed up. Southern Baptist.

We brought an African American friend to Wednesday night “youth group” and the youth pastor took him aside, told him to leave, and asked him not to come back. That’s just a tidbit into how things operated there.

In college, I just didn’t have time and was kinda turned off from my childhood experience.

I moved out of the south and was invited to a more progressive church by some friends from work. I went but the ritualistic aspects of it—singing, reciting scripture, standing, sitting (I guess bc I was away for ten years) just felt creepy. Also, the people there seemed fake and it felt more like a yuppie social club.

I still consider myself a Christian but have my own personal sense of spirituality and religion. The externalizing of it just feels weird and full of pretense to me.”

11. Toxic environment.

“Because it was a toxic environment full of people who thought they were better than everybody else because they went to church every Sunday.

Despite the fact that they’d beat their wives, get drunk and abuse their children, lie, cheat, and steal. It drove me away from religion all together. Now what’s going on with my brother’s church only reinforces my position.

They’re so quick to preach love and kindness but don’t bother to actually be loving and kind unless it benefits them in some way.”

12. Lots of reasons.

“I hated having some preach AT me telling me my role in life according to the Bible.

I decided I didn’t want someone determining my relationship with God and what it should be.

I got tired of people believing their interpretation of the Bible was the only correct one.

I don’t think it’s a great idea to base morals solely on THE most edited book in all of history.

There are a lot of churches with big scandals like stealing from parishioners, or just being downright super controlling.

It feels like a lot of churches (people too) use the Bible/religion as an excuse to spread hate.

I feel like all religions have something to teach us and are just as valid as the current mainstream ones.

Anything they don’t agree with is, ” the work of Satan” while everything else is either God’s will/test.

Cherry picking what they want out of the Bible.

There are more nit picky reasons, but those are the main ones.”

Did you ever go to church and then stop?

If so, tell us why in the comments.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post People Admit Why They Stopped Going to Church appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Who Used To Be Atheists Share Their Conversion Stories

I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian community and around high school essentially started a very slow “deconversion” process that eventually led to my comfortable adoption of the word “atheist” several years later.

I’m very familiar with what it’s like to go from a believer to a non-believer, but I have often wondered what it must be like to go the other way, and even whether it could happen to me at some point.

Former atheists of Reddit, what made you turn to religion? from AskReddit

So why do the skeptical find themselves entering the fold? Let’s hear from some self-professed former atheists of Reddit.

1. At death’s door

I wouldn’t say I was ever an atheist as most would describe. I never actively denounced religion or Christ. But I never really thought of it a whole lot growing up or thru my 20s.

Almost two years ago I set next to my grandfather basically my father as he was the one who raised me while he passed from a long battle with cancer. He was on hospice for 2-3 days at home before he finally passed. I was there right beside him the whole time. The whole experience was so profound. One thing that stood out to me was how he kept calling for his mother and reaching out like he was trying to grab her hands.

She had passed about 7-8 years prior. He would call to her screaming her name. This was steady for 2-3 days before he went.

I know without a doubt there has to be an afterlife after that experience. She came to get her son. And I have no doubt she was in that room with us. You could feel her. The whole family could.

– jb_run29

2. The experience

Not me, a friend of my parents. He suffered a minor heart attack during a business trip, and the moment he arrived at the hospital, he got a massive heart attack.

He was clinically dead for about 2 minutes before he was brought back.

He hasn’t told anyone what he saw, and whenever someone asks, he just says “I really don’t want to talk about it”.

But from that day on, not a Sunday goes by that he doesn’t show up for mass.

– TheDangerHeisenberg

3. Regaining control

I was raised Catholic and was very strong in my faith until I was 26. I don’t think anything took me away from God, I just got busy and wouldn’t go to church, or wouldn’t pray more and more. Then, I found myself agreeing with some atheist thoughts.

It’s weird because the more I parted from the God, the harder life was, and the harder life was, the more I parted from God. It was like a terrible positive feedback loop. By the age of 32, I stopped calling myself Catholic and life was the lowest (loneliness, finance issues, depression, health, anxiety, relationship issues, etc).

About a month before my 33rd birthday, I surrendered my life to God. I told God, I can’t bare the load on my own. I thanked Him for everything and prayed for strength, wisdom, and to guide me on His path. I felt like God told me He was with me through all my suffering and never left my side. He was just kind of waiting for me to come around.

I have been praying again daily. I’m not exaggerating, so many things bad things reversed and I feel better. I’m going to church for the first time today in… years? I like having God in my life—much more peace and happiness.

– Environmental-End115

4. In honor of her

My great uncle was a lifelong atheist til his wife of 50 years died.

She was always begging him to go to church and he would never go with her. When she died he was so devastated he started going to church to feel closer to her. That naturally resulted in him converting.

He loved and missed her so much that he was willing to believe anything that would reunite them. He was a tough man but her death broke him.

He always gave me sh*t for not going to church and it annoyed me but I respected how deeply he loved my aunt. On occasion I would go with him and he was grateful I humored him.

– valerieswrld

5. The how and the why

To be honest? Because I separated the “how” and the “why”.

I accept science explaining the “how’s” (evolution, Big Bang, etc), but they never explained the “whys” for me (and, as an objective tool, science was never intended to explain it regardless).

Religion and science answer different questions, and both are incredibly fulfilling to me.

– Jforest99

6. The phantom radio station

My sister became born again later in life. I had always believed in God but didn’t really have a relationship with him. She became so pushy and changed so much it turned me off to the whole idea of christianity.

She had a son who I was very close with and for a few years after he turned 13 lived with my family. Unfortunately at 17 he got into drugs and ran away. For months we didn’t hear from him then one day he popped up at my sister’s house. Pretty much completely worn down. He looked and smelled terrible.

On my way out to my sister’s I was at such a loss on what to do that I prayed out loud to God to help guide me. I decided to find a worship station and there was a sermon playing that felt like it was directed right at me. Everything that preacher said felt like he was talking to me. A commercial came on and as an inpatient person I looked at the station number and decided to go back in a few minutes…I went back and that station was nothing but static. No music, no sermon it just didn’t exist.

I tried going up and down thinking I mixed up a number but still nothing. I know have a much close relationship with God. Not a full fledged every Sunday at church relationship but a good one.

– littlefootrac

7. Hope is good

I’m starting to realize that it might be actually incredibly good for humans to believe that everything will be ok. Like, in general. Having a purpose and believing that there is a point produces positive brain chemicals.

I’m getting into a specific religion now, including aspects that I don’t necessarily believe are true. Take prayer for example- it doesn’t matter if there’s a beardy dude in the clouds taking notes. It’s not the point – regularly contemplating community and loved ones is a good thing to do. If you need to frame it as talking to a fella in the sky, well then do it to it. To me, faith is more about believing that living a certain way is the best way to live. Whether it’s true or not is besides the point.

That being said, religion is not an excuse to treat others poorly. If someone uses their religion to treat other people poorly, I still look at them the way I look at anyone that treats people poorly.

– lovegiblet

8. Overcoming addiction

I was raised Christian, became an atheist in college and was atheist for more than a decade, but became a Christian again about three months ago.

I fought a war against everything I hated most about myself and lost. When I had lost all hope of ever being able to overcome depression and addiction, I tried praying and, to my great surprise, I received an answer.

In that moment I surrendered my life to God. I will never be able to explain my experience, I don’t have scientifically conclusive evidence, but I will never doubt that God is real after what I experienced. I have overcome my addiction and depression and, while I still have a long way to go, am doing much better than I ever dreamed possible.

– CitizenReborn

9. Less a believer, more a student

Instead of being a Christian, I chose to follow the teachings of Christ. That changed my entire opinion about religion.

I was an atheist throughout college. My major was Philosophy/Religion. Most of what I learned, I used to justify my atheist beliefs. The more I studied, the idea of a creator became more and more intriguing. The ontological perspective just makes practical sense to me.

I dont think I believe the way most people believe, but that’s okay. I’m happy with my worldview and it gives me purpose and meaning. It inspires me to be a better person. No matter your beliefs, if you are striving to do that, and whatever helps you do it everyday, must not be so bad.

– headrons

10. Practices are bigger than truth

I was raised atheist but have always been very open minded. A friend invited me to their church one day. It was a pretty progressive church but also they were serious about faith.

I decided to participate fully in the church for a year regardless of my belief.

As I took part in the practices of christian faith I realized they were as true and something can be true. In the sense that with discernment and rational thinking participating in the Christian faith leads to being a more forgiving, loving, other-centric way of living.

The actual stories in the Bible may be historically true or not true, who really knows. But the practices are bigger than historical truth. They are a deep truth that rattles down in the part of my soul that expands beyond my personal awareness.

So I got baptized and committed to Christianity flaws and all 🙂

– zakmcdonald

11. The slow dawning

I was staunch atheist who hated all religion until I had a professor (also an atheist) who convinced me to respect people’s religion.

Around the same time I had a lot of Muslim friends and started learning about Islam and came to appreciate a lot of the “why” behind the practices. I tried fasting and joined in some daily prayers and appreciated the benefits of it.

One day as I was joining in the prayer I realized I was praying and I felt a connection to God that I’d never felt before in my life. I realized I was a believer, and the rest is history.

– cpleasants

12. Finding light

Depression.

I’ve been going to church for a little over a year now and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.

– Foxtrot4321

13. The struggle

Raised atheist, and born gay.

My ex boyfriend taught me all about the Gospel and how Jesus died for me on the cross, all about God’s love and all about Christianity. We stayed together for a bit over a year (my longest relationship), and now we’re not together anymore, because he believes homosexuality is something that can be “resisted” like any other sin.

I’m still lost and confused, but I’m clinging onto my faith more than ever right now because it’s all I have left that’s keeping me up

– rattboy74

14. I agree with the lifestyle

I realized that in my ancestral region of the Maghreb (tamazigha), virtually everyone identifies as Muslim. The idea of atheism just doesn’t process in their minds.

Therefore, I converted to Islam, not because I believe in god but because I agree with the lifestyle.

I enjoy fasting for Ramadan, praying (meditating) 5x/day, abstaining and giving back to the community, et al.

– freedrako

15. Weighing the options

The philosophical answer: I could no longer defend the decision to choose “lack of evidence” over “actual, tangible, and profound impact in my life.”

The religious fanatic answer: I found a religion that’s right for me (Buddhism).

– fonefreek

It’s important that people be allowed to follow the truth where it leads them and to find happiness. So long as your faith is not used as a weapon, I say live and let live.

Do you have a conversion/deconversion story?

Tell us about it in the comments.

The post People Who Used To Be Atheists Share Their Conversion Stories appeared first on UberFacts.

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Church Signs Sure To Bring You Closer to Heaven

There are roughly 380,000 churches in the U.S.

To put that into perspective for you, that’s about one church per 800 people. It’s 27 times the number of McDonald’s locations, and those things are everywhere.

So, how do you make your church stand out among the crowd? Easy. You come up with a funny sign and let the internet do the rest.

15. Hot and cold

It’s even hotter than the bad place out here.

Sign at local church from funny

14. East and west

I didn’t know such a level of affection was even possible.

This sign at my local church from funny

13. A clean start

It’s not in the original Bible but it’s in the extended cut.

This sign a local church put up. from funny

12. A balanced diet

Thank you.

This has to be the best church sign I’ve ever seen. from funny

11. No cheating

Ok, not gonna lie, it took me a second.

This church sign is going hard on the puns from funny

10. Buzz off

“Hey God, are we totally sure we need these things?”

My personal favorite church sign. And I agree. from funny

9. Let the rain fall

That’s enough blessings for now, thanks.

Sign at a church in Colorado from funny

8. Spot heroes

And this commandment is to be held above all else.

Sign at a church in Salem, MA from funny

7. Now you see me…

…now you don’t.

The Sign Outside a Church in my Town from funny

6. Closer to thee, Oh Lord

BRB, heading to Heaven.

Never thought I’d see one, but the church sign near my house made me laugh hard today! from funny

5. Cut to the chase

I shouldn’t have to sell this to you.

Church sign guy hates his job from funny

4. The golden ratio

It’s actually not a bad bit of advice.

This church sign in CC, TX is winning the sign game. from funny

3. Grace under fire

This is so cringey it loops back around to funny.

A church sign in my home town… from funny

2. Oh God

Well, that’s a spicy take for a church.

The sign in front of my friends church … is doing it right! from funny

1. Special perks

I’m in, you win, I’m done with heat and sin.

Church signs in Phoenix. from funny

Pretty good. Almost makes me wanna start going back to church.

What’s the funniest sign you’ve seen recently?

Tell us about it in the comments.

Thanks, fam!

The post Church Signs Sure To Bring You Closer to Heaven appeared first on UberFacts.