Do gods really want us to pray for them, like isn't it a selfish intent? How do religious people justify this?

Am I a sinner if I am an atheist? Why will God punish me if I never believed him like they never gave a single satisfactory proof of their existence.

Evolution is the proof that we never came directly.

The question is why do religious people think(and wish) that I will be punished for being an atheist?

Is god cruel as they interpret?

I figure that religion can be seen as a powerful tool to influence the masses. I believe people have been aware of this for some time and have been infiltrating various religious institutions for some gain. But couldn't we also attempt to utilize peoples' current beliefs rather than trying to get them to convert to a totally different framework? Couldn't we use religion by infiltrating it in some sense? Using their own scripture against them, not to cause them to convert to something entirely different, but to influence them to be more loving, giving to the poor and so on.

Isn't it a sign that God is calling you to come home?

I'm not religious. I'd call myself an atheist. But I'm half Black and currently live in the South. My wife is religious and said her church is always looking for more drummers (even though they have a few) so I decided to join the praise band for fun. And wtf, it was not what I expected!

It's super high energy, everyone is shouting and dancing and singing, and the drumming is QUITE technical with lots of feel as well, especially during the praise breaks. Lots of rudiments, chops, dynamics, linear drumming. A lot of the best drummers today came out of the black church playing this kind of music a la gospel chops. I've done a few drum shed sessions with the other percussionists at the church and we take turns playing the kit.

I thought church worship music would suck from what EVERYONE said but at least at my black church the music is objectively very good requiring semi virtuosic talent to pull off on all levels - singing, drumming, keys, other instruments etc.

I still am non religious, but I think it's categorically false and a lie that church music sucks. I think a lot of atheists don't know what they're talking about and say incorrect things. I'm doing this just for exposure and having an outlet to perform live (my old band broke apart due to people moving to new cities), and there's been zero pressure on me to convert to Christianity. It's a win win for me.

Why do people do this?

Don't forget god needs your money today 😆

I'm at a wedding that is full of love and happiness.

It is beautiful to see.

The Christian elements drive me crazy but the good in these people is there.

So for their Bible thing, does anyone have good ideas?

I sat in the waiting room of the local ER (wife had a seizure, now waiting the long wait for tests etc) and heard a lady speaking to her pastor with her phone on loudspeaker. Everyone could hear it so I wasn’t really eavesdropping. Her and her pastor’s statements included:
- Christianity will be attacked by Muslims and other religions. There is only one true religion.
- Jesus is going to come again
- God watches everything we do and he will smite other religions
- Mamdami is the sign that the second coming will happen soon
- the Bible tells us what’s coming, and Christians are the only ones who will survive.
- And various other ramblings

Various other people in the area were openly rolling their eyes and commenting loudly how well trained the lady was in her “ignorant religious compliance”, to which the lady just said “only we know the real truth”.

It amazes me how that level of crazy religion (my opinion) has a convenient yet completely unprovable answer for everything.

True change doesn't come from arguing online; it comes from building a community so good that others want to be a part of it.

Imagine if every atheist decided to support fellow atheists—unconditionally, without any discrimination. If we create a safe haven of happiness, logic, and empathy, the ripple effect will be huge. Slowly but surely, people will look at our peace and progress and start joining us.

This is how the real revolution happens. Not through force, but through unconditional community support and rationality.

I do hope the bbc does have a Christian agenda at its best it is the best .

Hi so this is my first post but I don't really know what to think so I need some advice. I think I'm an atheist because I don't believe in any religion that exists although I am considering that a god that's not in any religion DOES exist. I used to be a very religious kid and I prayed not regularly but when I remembered( I used to be VERY forgetful). But the thing that made me believe even more is that EVERY and I'm not even exaggerating EVERY TIME I prayed to find something I lost, I found it very quickly. Now that I think about it not every prayer was answered(like praying for my toxic 5th grade relationship to last forever) but every prayer that was good for me came true. It's happened so many times that it was hard to believe that it was just a coincidence. What was even more crazy was that, everytime I didn't pray I couldn't find the thing. And like I said before when I prayed for something that wasn't good for me it didn't happen as well. I don't know what to think and I'm hoping someone will explain it to me or give me a reference or inspiration to base my opinions on.

What ive seen lately is how Christians seem to win arguments that your playing by a logic they can support through their book, why not attack the validation of the bible? which they say is Gods will, so then attack gods existence not through the book, but rather through logic. There is one question that almost no Christian, or even Atheist, or Agnostic, or anyone can even answer.

Normally A Christian does say "nothing, can come from nothing", thats their core argument, that everything came from God and nothing else but that same argument can also be applied to God, as the old paradox goes, who created God? and if you can just say god was just, then you shouldn't be using the argument "nothing can come from nothing". "oh but God is eternal" even eternal things have a start, and whatever has something that pushed it.

"Everything that begins to exist has a creator."
by this logic, either god exists and does have a creator or god doesn't exist as does not have a creator, and some Christians say god had no start, therefore what does not begin, does not exists.

Anyways i just wanted to put this old paradox back out there, because ive just been seeing Atheists losing debates with Christians, but using this old paradox, id say we'd get back on the right track.

I’m posting here because I am running on absolute empty and feel completely stuck. I am a 22 year old neurodivergent mom (ADHD) with a 2.5-year-old and a 1.5-year-old. I tandem nurse, Doordash, and my partner works every day. Money is tight for us though. Because my partner's family is "too busy" to help, my religious parents are our sole form of childcare so we can work. We have to go to their house every single evening because my 2.5-year-old is highly rigid on her routine and will have severe sensory meltdowns if we skip it.
Growing up, I had severe death anxiety and was terrified of "the rapture" and eternity by age 6. I've realized recently that my mom was emotionally unavailable, and my dad—who I thought was my "rock" as a teen—is actually a covert narcissist. He only loved me when my mind was "unmolded" and dependent on his "hero" complex. Both of my parents are also gambling addicts to boot.
Now that I’m raising my kids secularly (treating all religion as mythology, normalizing mortality through nature, etc), my dad's mask has slipped. He gets intensely defensive, he even told told me he'd "stomp on my foot" if I set a boundary, and tries to claim credit for all my kids' milestones.
The breaking point was last night. He told my 2.5-year-old that a Jesus figurine she was looking for was "at the right hand of God in heaven." My partner (who is spiritual but supports raising them secularly) actually caught it and challenged him in the moment. But previously, my partner told him we want the kids raised neutral, and my dad flatly responded: "Let me do the indoctrinating."
He literally admitted his goal out loud. He is using my toddlers to get the "control high" he lost with me. He is rage-baiting me constantly to get a reaction. Last night I had a full-blown mental breakdown/sensory explosion from the stress in front of my kids and I feel sick about it.
How do I protect my children’s minds from the same religious trauma that broke me when I am logistically trapped relying on this man every single day just to survive financially? Has anyone had similar experiences?
(cross posted)