People who have become Muslim

[stingray]

I don't believe atheists are angry, they may be able to be described as frustrated, because they have to regularly deal with religious imbeciles, but I don't think they would ever aggressively take to the streets threatening violence and burning flags and effigies to make a point.  It is rather disingenuous for a Muslim to accuse others of being angry when Muslims are world renowned for there irrationality and angry outbursts.

And how would I know the religious make-up of the police force?  I am not a policemen.  I imagine in Australia it is predominately Christian with a sprinkling of other faiths making up the minority.

And whatever good works Muslims are doing they are keeping it well hidden.  You offered a few examples, mind you you had to look hard for them.  It is the Christian faith that can easily be seen to be doing the majority of charitable deeds.  Rather sad when you consider the Muslim Population.  Perhaps if they weren't so angry and destroying things, they might have more time to focus on what religion is supposed to be about.

Anyway, you never answered the question.  WHY ARE MUSLIMS SO ANGRY?

The atheist that converted to islam admitted he was a angry atheist, i did not make it up.

[a_ahmed]

Arnoud van Doorn Former leading member of Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ Anti-Islamic party who recently embraced Islam (in the middle) and Lawrence Brown and others waiting for Asr Prayer in Masjidi Nabawi (The mosque of the Prophet).

[stingray]

Arnoud van Doorn Former leading member of Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ Anti-Islamic party who recently embraced Islam (in the middle) and Lawrence Brown and others waiting for Asr Prayer in Masjidi Nabawi (The mosque of the Prophet).

Great find.

I havent been to the prophets mosque in 12 years.

[a_ahmed]

Another one bro

[a_ahmed]

[a_ahmed]

It took me 7 years to revert to Islam: Ayesha
Sunday, 21 April 2013


My name is Ayesha Lily rose. My birth name before reversion was Suzanne Michelle. It took me 7 long years to revert back to Islam and was a very important decision of my life.  I didn’t have any religion before I became a revert Muslim last month, Alhamdulilah (Praise be to Allah)

Salam Ale kum  ( May peace be upon you) Brother and sister,

I am 34 years old, female based out of Manchester, UK and working as a beauty therapist. I am a single mum with two teenage boys currently at college. I am still 8 weeks away to finish my course in beauty Therapist and then plan to be self employed/open my own business as a beauty therapist.

First interest in Islam

My first interest in Islam started when I came in contact with some Muslims in Manchester, UK around 7 years ago and saw that their behaviour and attitudes were far better than most of other people, hence I was interested more in Islam and just wanted to understand more about Islam. It was more of a curiosity. The more time I spent in finding and reading about Islam, the more I ended up thinking about Islam, but I did not convert or revert to Islam and took my own time in making my mind about Islam, Quran and the way of life. I was fascinated by the beauty of Islam. I took seven long years to understand Islam. I never wanted to rush things and made sure that I understood Islam very well and what it meant to be a Muslim. I took long time to make sure that my heart and mind was ready to accept Islam and be a Muslim.

Defining moment  to revert to Islam

The realisation happened after my mum past away from cancer then my nan 6 weeks later. It was a big impact in my life and was thinking about the purpose of life. I had a long conversation with a Muslim friend about Islam, my feelings. I also discussed about my existing beliefs and views about life. I already had a strong belief in Islam and how it was a way of life. It was then when I decided that it had been long enough and it was what I wanted in my heart so I got in contact with my local Mosque and went to see the Imam and took my Shahada there and then.

Reaction of family and friends

I have been quite lucky in terms of reaction among family and friends who care about me , as they accepted my decision without any problem and told me that it’s my decision and as long as I am happy then its fine  where as I know that the biggest challenge a revert has to face is from the Family and friends and  sometimes it can be hard to tell everyone due to disapproval and arguments and losing people close to you because of it .  I have been very lucky and praise be to Allah for making it easier for me
I did not face any challenge in work place as I will be self-employed beauty therapist , but feel  little  isolated as I don’t really see or know  Muslims near where I live and being a  new revert can make it difficult for making new friends with other Muslim sisters  especially when I am a new revert and do need new Muslims sister as friends. Moreover it is important for me as a revert to get some help and support  to become a good Muslim, as there is so much for a new revert to learn , only other thing is everyone stares at you cause of your colour and wearing hijab as if it’s such a strange thing to see an English girl who has reverted to being Muslim wearing a hijab it can make it hard to feel comfortable in going out wearing it .
As there are very few Muslims in the place I live and the nearest place to my house where Muslims are in larger numbers is little far away, but then I am very shy person , quiet type of person so going out is not me so I have just looked to find other Muslims on my own through places like Facebook/ networking sites, but from those Muslims I have made friends with so far have been very positive and giving lots of support and have helped me by giving me books , cd's , meeting up for chats and having tea or coffee which would be nice if there was a lot more of in places like Manchester town centre .

I would continue to be Muslim as I love being one and would expect lots more people join this beautiful religion and learn about. My advice to other non-Muslims would be to read the Quran without any prejudice and see how beautiful it is and it can only be from God/Allah.

Thank you very much for reading my Story and May Allah guide us all…..JazaK Allah Khair.

Source: http://revert2islamtoday.blogspot.ca/2013/04/it-took-me-7-years-to-revert-to-islam.html

[Radical Plato]

[ Invalid YouTube link ]

[a_ahmed]

^lol those actors were refuted a thousand times but who cares, like stingray said for every one so called ex muslim there's thousands of muslims who understand islam and accept islam

[Radical Plato]

The majority or Western Converts to ISLAM leave a few years after.   The only reason ISLAM is growing is because MUSLIMS have trouble keeping it in there pants and breed like rabbits.  This is the sole reason ISLAM is growing, the average Muslim has more children than non-muslims.

[a_ahmed]

Sorry e-fool, but you are wrong as usual.

Sure e-fool, that's why 50% of American Muslims are converts. Personally I've been Muslim 10 years now My parents around the same and my grandmother even longer, my uncle even longer he was the first to embrace Islam but he passed away. Why would I abandon something beautiful? Even if you are ignorant and hateful of it, good for you.

[Radical Plato]

Sorry e-fool, but you are wrong as usual.

Sure e-fool, that's why 50% of American Muslims are converts. Personally I've been Muslim 10 years now My parents around the same and my grandmother even longer, my uncle even longer he was the first to embrace Islam but he passed away. Why would I abandon something beautiful? Even if you are ignorant and hateful of it, good for you.

Oh, your experience constitutes reality. how typically narcissistic and ignorant of you.   75% of New Muslim Converts in the US leave Islam within a few years.  In Africa, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity every year.  Millions of people leave Islam every year, it is a dying religion for fools and terrorists.

[a_ahmed]

Yeah and 99% of people think you're a fool, it's statistically accurate. Because I said so  Oh e-fool

Arnoud van doorn stitching Kaaba kiswa (cover) with his hands ... It is Allah who change hearts:

[a_ahmed]

IT IS OFFICIAL, the British Government had released the census report that Islam is the fastest growing religion in UK. Islam has grown from 2.7% to 4.8% in last 10 years only. Whereas Christianity has declined from 71% to 59%. These are official Government results and all other reports are either based on small sample size or personal opinions or biased reports

British census: Islam is the fastest growing religion

London: New census data for last 10 years has been released in UK and it has some new facts as per the government ONS website:
-Islam is the fastest growing religion in UK
-Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity
-Indians are the largest ethnic minority
-Christianity declines from 71% to 59%

The census is held every 10 years in UK and the latest was conducted in 2011, whose results were made public a month ago. The facts are based on how people identify themselves in terms of religion and racial ethnicity. Although it is contested that not everyone may be what they identify themselves as especially when it comes to racial ethnicity.

The census was based on 56.07 million people, and 33.7 million people identified them as Christians, whereas the number of self-identifying Muslims rose to 2.7 million, that is a rise from 3% to 4.8% of the population in last 10 years.

The Muslim Council of Britain has welcomed the result, saying Muslims were playing “a significant part in the increasing diversity of Britain.”
Islam’s 2.7 million adherents make it the second-largest religion in England and Wales, far ahead of Hinduism (817,000), Sikhism (423,000), Buddhism (248,000) and Judaism (263,000). The other fringe religions are pagan, pantheist, wiccan, satanist, druid, “Jedi Knight” and others.


This comes after the latest U.S. Religion Census that was released on May 1, 2012, which also found Islam as the fastest growing religion in America. The data for the census was compiled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, and the results were released by the Association of Religion Data Archives.  From the year 2000 to the year 2010, the census found that the number of Muslims living inside the United States increased by about 1 million to 2.6 million – a stunning increase of 66.7 percent.
Thus Islam is the fastest growing religion in both US and UK according to the latest  census reports announced this year. No wonder Barack Obama had recently said ’we are no longer a Christian country’. He wasn’t much off the mark.

The biggest surprise of UK census was the phenomenal increase of people who said they do not follow any religion and they increased from 7.7 million to 14.4 million almost doubling in last decade, which means more then quarter of people identify themselves as adhering to no religion. The assumption is that majority of these people identified earlier as Christians. This resulted in decrease in Christian’s population from 71% to 59% in last decade alone.

In the U.S., by contrast, a 2007 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey found 16.1 percent of respondents identified as “unaffiliated” with any particular religion.

Major Christian denomination put up a brave face saying that most of the people who identified as Christians are practicing one rather than the ones who associate themselves as ‘cultural Christians’.

The results of the UK 2011 census released this week apply to England and Wales only. Separate data from Scotland will be published shortly.

Source: UK office of national statistics- www.ONS.gov.uk

[a_ahmed]

Ex-Islamophobe to produce film on Prophet



Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, delivers a copy of the Holy Qur’an to Arnoud Van Doorn during a reception in Makkah on Sunday as Shahzad Muhammad (right), head of the Canadian Dawa Association (CDA), looks on. — Okaz photo by Abdul Majeed Al-Dowaini

Majed Al-Sugairi
Okaz/Saudi Gazette


MADINAH – Former Dutch Islamophobe Arnoud Van Doorn unveiled plans to produce an international film on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islam.

In an exclusive interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Doorn, who reverted to Islam last month, said that he will devote his life fully to spread the true message of Islam and the Prophet of Mercy through promoting the film across the world.

“I will spare no efforts to protect the rights of Muslims in all European countries as well as to serve Islam and its followers throughout the world. I will try my best to repair the damage that I caused to Islam and its Prophet (peace be upon him) through the film ‘Fitna’,” he said. 

Doorn, a former leading member of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ party, visited Saturday the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah to pray and say sorry for becoming part of the blasphemous film. Doorn was among the Freedom Party leaders who produced the film, Fitna.

After visiting the Prophet’s Mosque, he arrived in Makkah Sunday and performed Umrah. Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, and other presidency officials received him.

In the interview, Doorn said that he regrets being a part of such an offensive film. “However, now it is a closed chapter and absolutely I don’t want to recall about it. The film that sparked widespread reactions was a totally wrong step on our part as it contains a lot of misleading and incorrect information that are nothing to with this noble divine religion and its Prophet (pbuh),” he said, adding that he wants to do some remedial work so as to minimize the damage caused by ‘Fitna.’

Doorn said he decided, in cooperation with the Toronto-based CDA, to produce an international film aimed at removing misgivings about Islam and its Prophet (pbuh).

“I will use all my experience in producing an alternative film, which will speak about the true image of Islam and all aspects of the personality of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as his great qualities.”

Doorn repented for his involvement in the blasphemous film. “It was unfortunate that I did not make any efforts to know what really Islam is and who is the Prophet (pbuh) before blindly believing in the misinformation campaign being unleashed by the anti-Islamic forces. When I came to realize that it was not Islam, I decided to study about the religion and that led to my conversion,” he said. “Now, I am really enjoying the beauty of Islam and am extremely delighted in Allah’s great blessing to guide me onto His path. It is an explicable experience for me,” he said adding that his former colleagues in the Freedom Party are angry at his acceptance of Islam, which is still a bęte noire for them. “The party stands against Islam and its spreading in Europe. Some of them now consider me as a traitor.”

Doorn has a message to those who oppose his reversion to Islam. “Let me tell them that this is my personal decision and I see a new life in Islam that I don’t want any way to give it up. I happened to see on social networking sites several comments, expressing feelings of antagonism and hatred toward me,” he said adding that all these sprang out of ignorance, contempt and animosity against Islam and the Muslims.

He also thanked all those who supported him and commended him for beginning a new life as a Muslim.

Referring to his visit to the holy land, Doorn said: “Had anybody mentioned me about visiting the land of the two holy mosques earlier, I would have called him a lunatic.

“But what happened now is realization of a dream and it is still unbelievable for me that I am now in the holy city that hosted the Prophet (pbuh).” He continued saying: “I couldn’t control my feelings when I stood in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as in Rawdah Sharif, near the pulpit used by the Prophet (pbuh). When I prayed at Rawdah Sharaif, my eyes were full of tears as I had the feeling that I am in a part of the Paradise.”

Doorn said that he was amazed to see the intensity of love and affection the Muslims have for their Prophet (pbuh). “I also realized the intensity of hatred that some Westerners have against Islam and the Prophet (pbuh) and that was based apparently on their ignorance and prejudice.

“Therefore, I decided to make endeavors to repair the damage caused by the offensive film, which was produced with an ulterior motive of creating sedition in between Muslims and non-Muslims,” he said, adding that he took a pledge in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) that he would strive to spread his true message and his great qualities that are instrumental in promoting peace and harmonious relations among the people worldwide.

While thanking CDA for introducing Islam to him, Doorn unveiled his plans to associate with its Dawa wing, which is comprised of several well-known Islamic preachers and scholars.
 
See Also: ‘I am sorry, O Prophet…’

[Man of Steel]

IT IS OFFICIAL, the British Government had released the census report that Islam is the fastest growing religion in UK. Islam has grown from 2.7% to 4.8% in last 10 years only. Whereas Christianity has declined from 71% to 59%. These are official Government results and all other reports are either based on small sample size or personal opinions or biased reports

British census: Islam is the fastest growing religion

London: New census data for last 10 years has been released in UK and it has some new facts as per the government ONS website:
-Islam is the fastest growing religion in UK
-Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity
-Indians are the largest ethnic minority
-Christianity declines from 71% to 59%

The census is held every 10 years in UK and the latest was conducted in 2011, whose results were made public a month ago. The facts are based on how people identify themselves in terms of religion and racial ethnicity. Although it is contested that not everyone may be what they identify themselves as especially when it comes to racial ethnicity.

The census was based on 56.07 million people, and 33.7 million people identified them as Christians, whereas the number of self-identifying Muslims rose to 2.7 million, that is a rise from 3% to 4.8% of the population in last 10 years.

The Muslim Council of Britain has welcomed the result, saying Muslims were playing “a significant part in the increasing diversity of Britain.”
Islam’s 2.7 million adherents make it the second-largest religion in England and Wales, far ahead of Hinduism (817,000), Sikhism (423,000), Buddhism (248,000) and Judaism (263,000). The other fringe religions are pagan, pantheist, wiccan, satanist, druid, “Jedi Knight” and others.


This comes after the latest U.S. Religion Census that was released on May 1, 2012, which also found Islam as the fastest growing religion in America. The data for the census was compiled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, and the results were released by the Association of Religion Data Archives.  From the year 2000 to the year 2010, the census found that the number of Muslims living inside the United States increased by about 1 million to 2.6 million – a stunning increase of 66.7 percent.
Thus Islam is the fastest growing religion in both US and UK according to the latest  census reports announced this year. No wonder Barack Obama had recently said ’we are no longer a Christian country’. He wasn’t much off the mark.

The biggest surprise of UK census was the phenomenal increase of people who said they do not follow any religion and they increased from 7.7 million to 14.4 million almost doubling in last decade, which means more then quarter of people identify themselves as adhering to no religion. The assumption is that majority of these people identified earlier as Christians. This resulted in decrease in Christian’s population from 71% to 59% in last decade alone.

In the U.S., by contrast, a 2007 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey found 16.1 percent of respondents identified as “unaffiliated” with any particular religion.

Major Christian denomination put up a brave face saying that most of the people who identified as Christians are practicing one rather than the ones who associate themselves as ‘cultural Christians’.

The results of the UK 2011 census released this week apply to England and Wales only. Separate data from Scotland will be published shortly.

Source: UK office of national statistics- www.ONS.gov.uk

I firmly believe the Christian population will continue to diminish in numbers.  From a perspective of biblical prophecy it makes absolute sense that other non-Christian religions will continue to gain momentum....tremendous momentum.  I expect folks will leave the Christian church and more current unbelievers will not adopt Christianity and either remain in their unbelief or practice a non-Christian faith.  The level of Christian persecution will eventually reach an all-time high and the early stages of the decline of the population of Christian church completely indicates this prophetic situation.  It will be a very difficult time for Christians in the future.  Slowly but surely local governments (worldwide) are implementing small policies to prevent private Christian gatherings, public carrying of Christian literature and public speaking concerning Christianity; further, local US state governments are beginning to permit same sex marriages that stand opposed to biblical scripture (most likely more of these types of laws will be enacted).  It simply doesn't come as a surprise to me that these events are happening.  I believe these practices are currently in the infancy stage, but we've seen how quickly modern man makes extreme, paradigm shifting advances in very few years.  Don't know if extreme Christian persecution will occur in my lifetime, but it very well could.   As the numbers of Christians decline the level of persecution will increase.  I fear for my family and our young children today, but will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that their salvation in him will be secured no matter what persecution they will inevitably face.  Many will fall from the faith when tested and if faced with an angry group of folks that hate Christians it will be a tremendous test of faith.  Christ wasn't playing when he said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."


        

[a_ahmed]

Not according to what we believe. We believe Jesus (peace be upon him) will return and destroy the cross (church and trinity) and it's false teachings and rule by God's law instead and people will accept Islam and follow him. Islam after all is submission to God, not any man or church or idol or desire, but God alone. It has nothing to do with persecution of Christians. The only real time Christians were truly persecuted was in the beginning by the pagan Romans.

[Radical Plato]

Not according to what us agnostics/atheists believe.  We believe it's all bullshit and nothing is going to change, Jesus isn't coming back, Allah doesn't exist and people of faith will continue to war with one another indefinitely until potentially World War 3 and the end of man as we know it.  Religion rather than offering salvation is more than likely to bring man made Armageddon.  Thanks religion, Great Job.  And why?  All because insecure and neurotic people need imaginary father figures to comfort them because they can't comfort themselves.  To think of how wonderful life is and yet the majority of people spoil it by becoming religious.  It makes the mind boggle.

[Man of Steel]

Not according to what us agnostics/atheists believe.  We believe it's all bullshit and nothing is going to change, Jesus isn't coming back, Allah doesn't exist and people of faith will continue to war with one another indefinitely until potentially World War 3 and the end of man as we know it.  Religion rather than offering salvation is more than likely to bring man made Armageddon.  Thanks religion, Great Job.  And why?  All because insecure and neurotic people need imaginary father figures to comfort them because they can't comfort themselves.  To think of how wonderful life is and yet the majority of people spoil it by becoming religious.  It makes the mind boggle.

E, I'm surprised at you.  Reducing it all to a cliche such as "All because insecure and neurotic people need imaginary father figures to comfort them because they can't comfort themselves."  Thought you were above statements like that.  

Do I truly seem insecure and neurotic to you?

[Radical Plato]

E, I'm surprised at you.  Reducing it all to a cliche such as "All because insecure and neurotic people need imaginary father figures to comfort them because they can't comfort themselves."  Thought you were above statements like that.  

Do I truly seem insecure and neurotic to you?

Do you really want to know?  It's a one liner, it's hard to condense down into a sentence the many reasons people choose religion as an option for their lives.  But yes, I do think a lot of it is to reduce the anxiety and angst that comes from the inevitable philosophical questions about existence.  For me, even if GOD does exist, it makes no sense to make a religion out of it, it should much rather be like any other phenomena of the natural world, say like lightening or gravity, just something that is part of nature.  No need to obsess about it, always think about, pray to it and build a life around it.  That concept just seems absurd to me.  

I have always seen the NEED for a personal GOD as somewhat a sign of disrespect to the creative force, here we are, we have been giving everything we need to live a full and happy life, and yet for the Religious people that's not good enough, they pray for what they don't have, they desire a stronger connection, they obsess about God etc etc.  I think if they actually wanted to show gratitude to the creative force responsible for life, they would simply live a good full life, forget about God and get on with it.  I often imagine GOD looking down on these type of people, feeling disrespected and saying "Stop bothering me, stop thinking about me, just get on with it, I have already giving you everything you need to live a great life, what more do you want?, just get on with it and forget about me".  

The people who are devout religious people appear to have the type of relationship with God that would get them locked up in real life, if they related that way to any human being .  It's kind of stalker like and obsessive.  Admittedly GOD being so aloof doesn't help, but I personally don't believe such an aloof GOD would want a one on one relationship with what he has created, I am sure he has better things to do.

[a_ahmed]

It seems like this all relates to your own poor personal experiences with family and your father abusing you. This is where your hate and denial seems to stem for.

You said forget about God and just you got it all live life.

Well, if that were the case forget about your parents even though they gave birth to you, fed you, clothed you, cared for you. But since you didn't get that you see an evil sign in it.

Most people got that and think of that. Your own poor experiences just fail for you to see that in the general population. It has nothing to do with a 'father figure' but rather, someone above you.

God gave us life, gave us everything we should be GREATFUL to Him. He is not a 'father' or a 'mother' but our creator.

Imagine you spend all your efforts as a human on a single being and that single being curses you, disses you, disrespects you, gives you no credit for any of your good to him and even slanders you. In the end you are not dependant on that person but they were on you. The least they could do is have some gratitude but instead they do the very opposite. The same thing applies.

[Man of Steel]

Do you really want to know?  It's a one liner, it's hard to condense down into a sentence the many reasons people choose religion as an option for their lives.  But yes, I do think a lot of it is to reduce the anxiety and angst that comes from the inevitable philosophical questions about existence.  For me, even if GOD does exist, it makes no sense to make a religion out of it, it should much rather be like any other phenomena of the natural world, say like lightening or gravity, just something that is part of nature.  No need to obsess about it, always think about, pray to it and build a life around it.  That concept just seems absurd to me. 

I have always seen the NEED for a personal GOD as somewhat a sign of disrespect to the creative force, here we are, we have been giving everything we need to live a full and happy life, and yet for the Religious people that's not good enough, they pray for what they don't have, they desire a stronger connection, they obsess about God etc etc.  I think if they actually wanted to show gratitude to the creative force responsible for life, they would simply live a good full life, forget about God and get on with it.  I always imagine GOD looking down, feeling disrespected and saying "Stop bothering me, stop thinking about me, just get on with it, I have already giving you everything you need to live a great life, what more do you want?, just get on with it and forget about me".  The people who are devout religious people gave the type of relationship with God that would get them locked up if they related that way to any human being.  it's kind of stalker like and obsessive.  Admittedly GOD being so aloof doesn't help.

You've answered the question.

[Radical Plato]

It seems like this all relates to your own poor personal experiences with family and your father abusing you. This is where your hate and denial seems to stem for.

You said forget about God and just you got it all live life.

Well, if that were the case forget about your parents even though they gave birth to you, fed you, clothed you, cared for you. But since you didn't get that you see an evil sign in it.

Most people got that and think of that. Your own poor experiences just fail for you to see that in the general population. It has nothing to do with a 'father figure' but rather, someone above you.

God gave us life, gave us everything we should be GREATFUL to Him. He is not a 'father' or a 'mother' but our creator.

Imagine you spend all your efforts as a human on a single being and that single being curses you, disses you, disrespects you, gives you no credit for any of your good to him and even slanders you. In the end you are not dependant on that person but they were on you. The least they could do is have some gratitude but instead they do the very opposite. The same thing applies.

a-ahmed, I know you like to latch onto the idea I have talked about personal Child Abuse and use that to create some elaborate theory you have of why I am an agnostic or hate filled or whatever you want to call it.  But relatively speaking, I had quite a privileged upbringing, I was raised in a large family with my mother and father who both had successful professional careers.  One an Engineer and the other a Midwife.  I never went without and both my parents were always available and for the most part showed good judgement.  Like a lot of families, their was some dysfunction and some inconsistency, but this is something that I don't consider a big deal and in comparison to a lot of families I considered myself way better off.  

And your depiction of GOD is a very childlike one, you paint a picture of him as if he was a narcissistic parent, needing constant admiration from their children.  Hardly the picture of an all powerful being.  I am sure if a force is capable of creating something as complex as LIFE and a universe he sure won't be bothered by human rebellion.   The picture you paint of a GOD is quite a pathetic and sad one, many adults experience their children to grow up and not appreciate them, the hard work they did, the sacrifices they made and they still love their children, they appreciate this cycle, the selfishness of the young.  And even humans are capable of this, and yet the GOD you worship isn't even capable of a similar feat.  My idea of an all powerful creative force isn't one that is petty, needy and resentful.

One of the core tenets of many religions is the act of selfless giving, to give without expectation of receiving anything in return, and yet you believe a all powerful Creator isn't even capable of this basic tenet.  That he gave life to humanity but on the condition they showed the appropriate level of appreciation.  The personality of your GOD would be considered a shitty human if it was in such a form.  I think the big problem with RELIGION is that it destroys Imagination, you seem to have trouble envisioning how powerful the CREATIVE FORCE would have to be in order to create LIFE and the Universe.  This is where the study of science and the Cosmos comes in, it actually paints a bigger and better picture of everything, far better than any religion, it deepens ones appreciation to levels a religious person could only dream of.

[a_ahmed]

Oh that's not my depiction I was just elaborating on your 'father figure' explanation and your response.

I believe in God as the creator and we should be thankful to Him for creating us, amongst other things. We are dependant on Him not the other way around. God's power and glory does not increase or decrease by our actions. God who created us would know also what's best for us and how our lives will be best. If we were to randomly follow men, we would all be misguided. You may disagree with that but that's what I believe. As men often follow their desires even if their desires are highly misguided or twisted.

For example how is it that homosexuality is suddenly acceptable and even being enforced by law? It wasn't always so and people understood why not. How about beastiality or necrophilia? All of these can be 'argued' just as homosexuality. In the end it comes down to what a majority of people accept based on desires.

What God outlines for us is quite clear. That men and women are made for one another and to live kindly with one another, produce children, etc... Nothing very confusing about it. Furthermore God instructs us to abstain from loose sex like animals, why, it would create chaos and a disorderly society. I am just talking in simple terms here it's more elaborate than that. Just tiny examples.

One of the core tenets of many religions is the act of selfless giving, to give without expectation of receiving anything in return, and yet you believe a all powerful Creator isn't even capable of this basic tenet.  That he gave life to humanity but on the condition they showed the appropriate level of appreciation.  The personality of your GOD would be considered a shitty human if it was in such a form.

So you think God is not giving you anything? What an arrogant and selfish response. You don't even realize it. You are breathing and living. If you lose a finger or a leg. That does not mean you curse God. It means you understand this life how it is. God gave you much in this life but you are only seeing the negative.

Can you repay God for your eyes with which you see? No. Okay if you don't have eyes. You still have something else? And then what? Do you see how you are perceiving things in an evil manner and ungrateful manner.

How about the muscles you have? Without them you are an immobile doll. People are tested differently. You had a troubled youth with your family, that does not mean God hates you yet it seems you hate God because of your poor experiences.

I had troubled experiences too, not the same, but we all do in life. Mos did too. However it makes me think and instead opens my eyes to the reality of this world and our place in it.

We are not independent, we are not invincible, we are not perfect, we are certainly dependant on God even if you don't want to ese it.

Do you realize each second how you breath? What if you suddenly could not breath? There is so much intircate things in the human body minute second things which we take for granted.

[Man of Steel]

Oh that's not my depiction I was just elaborating on your 'father figure' explanation and your response.

I believe in God as the creator and we should be thankful to Him for creating us, amongst other things. We are dependant on Him not the other way around. God's power and glory does not increase or decrease by our actions. God who created us would know also what's best for us and how our lives will be best. If we were to randomly follow men, we would all be misguided. You may disagree with that but that's what I believe. As men often follow their desires even if their desires are highly misguided or twisted.

For example how is it that homosexuality is suddenly acceptable and even being enforced by law? It wasn't always so and people understood why not. How about beastiality or necrophilia? All of these can be 'argued' just as homosexuality. In the end it comes down to what a majority of people accept based on desires.

What God outlines for us is quite clear. That men and women are made for one another and to live kindly with one another, produce children, etc... Nothing very confusing about it. Furthermore God instructs us to abstain from loose sex like animals, why, it would create chaos and a disorderly society. I am just talking in simple terms here it's more elaborate than that. Just tiny examples.
So you think God is not giving you anything? What an arrogant and selfish response. You don't even realize it. You are breathing and living. If you lose a finger or a leg. That does not mean you curse God. It means you understand this life how it is. God gave you much in this life but you are only seeing the negative.

Can you repay God for your eyes with which you see? No. Okay if you don't have eyes. You still have something else? And then what? Do you see how you are perceiving things in an evil manner and ungrateful manner.

How about the muscles you have? Without them you are an immobile doll. People are tested differently. You had a troubled youth with your family, that does not mean God hates you yet it seems you hate God because of your poor experiences.

I had troubled experiences too, not the same, but we all do in life. Mos did too. However it makes me think and instead opens my eyes to the reality of this world and our place in it.

We are not independent, we are not invincible, we are not perfect, we are certainly dependant on God even if you don't want to ese it.

Do you realize each second how you breath? What if you suddenly could not breath? There is so much intircate things in the human body minute second things which we take for granted.

Good post!

[Radical Plato]

Oh that's not my depiction I was just elaborating on your 'father figure' explanation and your response.

I believe in God as the creator and we should be thankful to Him for creating us, amongst other things. We are dependant on Him not the other way around. God's power and glory does not increase or decrease by our actions. God who created us would know also what's best for us and how our lives will be best. If we were to randomly follow men, we would all be misguided. You may disagree with that but that's what I believe. As men often follow their desires even if their desires are highly misguided or twisted.

For example how is it that homosexuality is suddenly acceptable and even being enforced by law? It wasn't always so and people understood why not. How about beastiality or necrophilia? All of these can be 'argued' just as homosexuality. In the end it comes down to what a majority of people accept based on desires.

What God outlines for us is quite clear. That men and women are made for one another and to live kindly with one another, produce children, etc... Nothing very confusing about it. Furthermore God instructs us to abstain from loose sex like animals, why, it would create chaos and a disorderly society. I am just talking in simple terms here it's more elaborate than that. Just tiny examples.

Homosexuality seems to be of great interest to Muslims (lol).  And it isn't being enforced by LAW, I think what you mean is there is more of a push in some societies for homosexuality to become more accepted, to have the same legal and political rights as heterosexual couples.  And just because something wasn't always so, doesn't mean society should continue on the same path.  If society had have used the argument that it has always been so, therefore we shouldn't change, slavery would still be legal.  Admittedly, I don't understand homosexuality, from an  evolutionary perspective, but then again, I don't understand why people get sexual thrills from wearing latex, or being dominated or many of the other strange sexual practises people have.  But who gets to decide how people should behave sexually, I mean you come from a religion that openly endorses paedophilia, a questionable sexual form of deviancy as recognised all over the world.  

And just because something becomes law, doesn't mean it is acceptable, their are many laws I find repulsive, and they serve the interests of minority groups, and I for one will never except those laws or the people benefiting from them.  The LAW doesn't equal MORALITY.  The Law is a complex organism that is essentially created by those with vested interests.  Some of those Interests might be religious, economic or just personal preference, but in no way does it reflect morality.

And the Muslim fear of atheists openly fornicating in mass orgies in the streets always brings about a chuckle from me.  And I don't know if you have noticed, but not only is society disordered, the whole world is.  So whatever it is that you religious people are doing, it certainly isn't bringing order, the world is deeply chaotic and possibly becoming more so. (and one might argue as a direct result of religion).  So not only is religion not a force for good, it may indeed be a force for great evil and suffering.