Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Albert Terry on March 3, 2011 at 9:53pm

And I love how people claim to be blessed and highly favored, and then when something bad happens "it was God's will." If you were so blessed and highly favored then why is God putting you through these trials to test your faith? Nothing about any of it makes sense, but people are too hypnotized to realize it, it's really frustrating?

 

Also, are you openly Atheist? If so do people bug the shit out of you about it? 

Permalink Reply by Jessica Booker on March 3, 2011 at 11:09pm

I haven't set foot in a church in 13 years but I just realized I was atheist last year. lol. I usually say that I'm a free-thinker. I considered witchcraft but again, too much praying to something thats not there. I don't think my mom could handle it if I said atheist. She believes in god but she was never a fanatic with it. She's afraid to say that there is no god. However, she doesn't like whats going on in the church. I was never comfortable at church. Even as a child I found the whole vibe to be strange and scary. People would be crying and passing out. I was terrified.

 

Permalink Reply by Robert Moore on March 3, 2011 at 11:14pm

Haha. I remember the congregation had a few members that would stand up and start yellin and everything. I was less scared and more annoyed. One lady had foot problems, but on sundays, she'd stand up and smash the floor with it like she's mud-stomping a wrestler.

Permalink Reply by Albert Terry on March 3, 2011 at 11:50pm

Ikr people just get crazy with very little provocation.

Pastor: "How my brothers and sisters doing this morning?"

Lady wearing large hat/ex-drug addict/mother of a prisoner: "Ooh Lawd, thank ya Jesus!!! THANK YA!! THANK YA!! (runs down the aisles doing cartwheels and handsprings, then sits down calmly)

That evil looking deacon: (piercing glare)

Pastor: "Umm, let the church say amen."

Same lady: "Amen!! Thank ya!! (restarts routine)"

Every week, never fails.

Permalink Reply by Jessica Booker on March 4, 2011 at 8:24pm

That reminds me of old Mother Humphrey. She was like the church heckler. She would talk shit in the middle of the preachers sermon. I cant remember what she was saying because I was so young. Then at some point EVERY sunday, she would stand up and run a full lap around the church. This was an old woman. It was hilarius and I would crack up. My mom would be trying to shoosh me while she was trying to keep from laughing. I gotta ask mom if she remembers that.

Permalink Reply by DF Sparks on March 16, 2011 at 4:20pm

a ha ha!  We had a mother who would run every Sunday service right around 12:20

Permalink Reply by Albert Terry on March 3, 2011 at 11:43pm

 I'm the same way about my grandmother, she might die if I told her I was an Atheist. Or worse, she might stop cooking for me. That can't happen!! Lol

Permalink Reply by DF Sparks on March 16, 2011 at 4:20pm

yeah, dont get crazy and give up food! lol

Permalink Reply by De Mush Doctor on April 16, 2011 at 4:46pm

Yes, we as black people are highly favored to keep on kissing slave Massa's ugly behind forever in heaven. I tell you now, us black folk are a total mess. I hope that we wake up and see the "light" before it totally leaves us in the dust of oblivion. The bible is the black man's blue print towards self-destruction and degradation.

Permalink Reply by Donald R Barbera on March 3, 2011 at 6:13pm

First I must say I am not blessed or highly favored, BUT--I do all right. You hit one note that resonated me for sure. I've seen too many people bust their ass and then "give God all the Glory." Do they have a mouse in their pocket?I got where I am today, good or bad by myself. I had a little help along the way from friends, family and even enemies, but certainly not from God. I'm sure Michael Jordan thanks God for his basketball talent, when it should be his genes and his work ethic. I thank my mother and father for all the help they gave meeven though they probably thanked God for being able, whereas I see two talented people with determination and family support. I don't see the hand of God in anything, much less any accomplishments. I'd be more inclined to believe the devil made me do it, becasue the list of bad shit that happened is too too long to enumerate.

Permalink Reply by Albert Terry on March 3, 2011 at 9:59pm

Haha I'm the same way. The Devil has certainly had some fun with me.

It's a self-depreciating system to say the least. People work hard and succeed only to credit some God, and when they fail they blame themselves for not praying enough or letting the Devil deter them. That's definitely not good for the mind.

Permalink Reply by John Salters Jr. on March 4, 2011 at 5:45am

 

I too get depressed when I think about the condition of blacks in America; even now in 2011. We suffered at the end of the slave master's whip for 2 centuries, but now we suffer at our own hand. After much consideration, I've identified our #1 problem. Wait for it... IT'S FEAR! It is not by any means our only problem, but it is the biggest. Fear is the single most powerful tool in the arsenal of those who would aspire to rule over others. What makes it so powerful is that it only need be firmly established in the mind of the subjugated, after which it becomes a self-sustaining control mechanism. Whether you are a slave master, a fascist dictator, a gang leader, an abusive spouse or a schoolyard bully, fear is your weapon of choice. So don't think for a moment that religion hasn't leveraged this most powerful tool to further its own ends.

The genius of religion is that it doles out the fear with equal portions of divine love and hope for a post-mortem celestial reward. The fear of hell or other punishment keeps parishioners in line, while the love and rewards only serve to validate ones belief in a particular dogma. Without the fear, the whole system collapses under the weight of the BS that is religious philosophy. Could you imagine Christianity without the concept of hell? How powerful would it be then? If you answered not at all, you're right! In his 1971 hit song Imagine, John Lennon taught us to imagine exactly that; a world without the concept of hell.  "It's easy if you try". Wow, this simple little song has done more to break up the powerful effects of fear than volumes of written material and decades of speeches.

If you were born in Saudi Arabia, chances are, at some point, you prayed 5 times a day? If you are a black man born in 1950s Mississippi, chances are you didn't take a white girl to prom. My point is that the experiences that have defined our lives, can and often do, subconsciously inform our thoughts and behaviors because fear has been so deeply ingrained in us. This is why I think that people who had previously been believers and are now atheists are extremely courageous. Apostasy carries with it some major emotional and psychological consequences. To liberate ones self from mysticism in spite of all of the implications takes tremendous courage.

Slavery and religion are indeed built on the same foundation of fear. The Inquisition was the same sort of mischief as Willie Lynch's guide to making a slave. It was the establishment of fear into the minds of the subjugated. Today’s manifestation is Taliban-style religious rule. Without the fear, all these institutions would be relegated to the scrapheap of history. In my humble opinion, we (African Americans) need to overcome the fears that keep us trapped and suffering on the fringes of society. Once we conquer our fears, then we can courageously address the other problems that hold us back. So let's all sack up and grow a pair for the cause.. Ya dig! Liberate yourself!

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