creating sickness | recovering from religion [cc]

This video is dedicated to those recovering from religion.
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opening quote:
Oh wearisome Condition of Humanity! Born under one law, to another bound:
Vainly begot and yet forbidden vanity, Created sick, commanded to be sound:
What meaneth Nature by these diverse laws? Passion and reason, self-division cause.
Is it the mark, or Majesty of Power To make offences that it may forgive?
—Fulke Greville, from ‘Mustapha’

end quote:
When my eternal happiness is involved, have I not the right to examine God’s own conduct?
A despot to whom men are subjected but through fear, a master whom they can not interrogate, a totally inaccessible sovereign, can not merit the homage of intelligent beings.
—‘Superstition in All Ages’ (1732)
attributed to Jean Meslier and Baron d’Holbach
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subtitles
Bulgarian: Djeitko
Slovak: Peter Ščigulinský
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references
Asimov, I. (1942) Runaround. Street & Smith.

McDowell, J and McDowell, S (2013) The Bible Handbook of Difficult Verses. Harvest House Publishers.

Winterson, J. (1985) Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Pandora Press.
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Todorov studies:
Engell, A.D., Haxby, J.V. and Todorov, A. (2007) Implicit trustworthiness decisions: Automatic coding of face properties in human amygdala. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 19, pp.1508-1519.

Todorov, A., Mandisodza, A.N., Goren, A. and Hall, C.C. (2005). Inferences of competence from faces predict election outcomes. Science 308, pp.1623-1626.

Willis, J. and Todorov, A. (2006) First impressions: making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychological Science 17 (7), pp.592-598
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music © TheraminTrees — excerpt from Schubert's piano trio in E flat, op. 100.
Full original music tracks used in videos are available to patreon supporters who pledge at the $1 per video level.

[MegaChickenfish]

As I grew up I was taught that there was a "hole in my heart" shaped for God.

What they neglected to mention was *they carved out that hole*, straight out of my self esteem, then stuffed God in there so my sense of self worth would form around it. I've had mental issues ever since. It's been a very slow heal.

[sensen]

Someone once told me

"atheists are kinda bad. If you noticed, many people who were once religious and no longer are now have serious mental illnesses. That's god's way of condemning them"

Sure Janet, sure.

[audeamus]

I am a 16 year old apostate (was Muslim) in the east. And shortly after leaving my religion (2 months ago) I was linked by a friend to your videos. They really helped me understand what I went through. The punishing doubt one was really helpful. I left religion because of childhood indoctrination and its effects (I could literally identify them on myself) I thought it was child abuse. Thank you theramintrees.

[taynahibanez]

My best friend is extremelly christian, but when she noticed how traumatized I was by religion, and after me having a panick atack, she stopped a moment to think then said

"You know what? Let's not discuss god, heaven, or hell. You ate hurted, you need time to heal, to recover. So let's talk about sonething else"

And she bever tried to convert me ever again. That were the most beautiful action a christian did for me. Respecting boundaries, aknoledging other's pain, and noticibg god's name CAN hurt people.

[AmalgmousProxy]

Reminds me of a quote from Epicurus - “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

[jilliansmith]

"Thrones _are_ built for asses..." 

A majestic quote indeed, thank you!

[benbebop]

“A man I’ll call Ben, ”
Hey, that’s me-
“Who presented with depression.”
Oh.

[madeline_raine_sings]

Just went to a sermon where they said that suffering is for God's glory. I watched my grandma die slowly from ulcerative colitis and I might have inherited that disease. Needless to say it wasn't a comforting sermon lmao

[George]

I was watching this again, and I noticed the analogy you used between The Wizard of Oz and God.

The story L. Frank Baum wrote can be interpreted as a lesson in self-sufficiency. The Lion wants courage, yet routinely conquers fear. The Scarecrow wants a brain, yet is cleverest of them all. The Woodman wants a heart, and is already the most caring. And Dorothy already has the means to get home right there on her feet. The Wizard, the savior, is a fraud; he was unnecessary all along.

[sketchyskeptic]

When I was a Christian, I never felt like I 'loved' God enough. In Christianity, God is supposed to be the center of your universe, and if he's not you're guilty of idolatry. Because of this I was so incredibly terrified of hell throughout most of my teenage years. I was afraid every day, and I'd pray to God to help me love him enough, or to give me some assurance that I'm not going to hell.

As an atheist now I'm not (usually) afraid of hell, or God. Comparing religion to an abusive relationship really is spot on. I've only just begun to realize how incredibly fucked up the whole thing is.

Thanks for the great content, as per usual.

[ndLife]

Free choice, a gift so magnificent that the recipient of said gift must be punished every time they use said gift. Sounds like a load of crap to me.

[lily_littleangel]

Me: *Watches atheistic videos*

Youtube ads: HAVE YOU PRAYED TO JISES?!

[Zeeno]

The irony of every ad on this video being religious isn't lost on me... 😂

[-book]

This is EXACTLY what I used to have. I remember as a child having what I called “guilt attacks”. I felt like I had just murdered someone despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything.

[alternatevessel]

“Created sick, commanded to be sound” that one really got to me

[yancho]

"He works in mysterious ways" is what you will hear them say. I say he works in delirious ways

[GodEqualstheSquaRootof-]

'Sin' is an imaginary disease, meant to sell you an imaginary cure.

[aishalittle]

After reading the Koran I became a full blown atheist! Absolutely no regrets and no temporary lapses! I was truly and forevermore changed!

[dylanb]

Never have been religious, but your videos on the psychological effects of religious indoctrination consistently bring me to tears. I guess it's just a matter of realizing the cruelty that's out there.

I've got a friend who's an ex-Catholic. And he makes jokes about Catholic guilt creeping up on him whenever he fails in some way. But he's told me honestly how much of a burden it is on him and how it makes him paranoid about avoiding failure at any level as if its a moral indictment. That sort of deeply self-deprecating response to failure is something I can only imagine coming from an abusive dynamic.

[vandrare]

‘When we turn the spotlight on the abusers we see that not only that they dont come to the standards they set for others but they also operate on a different set of rules, one that shields them from all the hardships their targets are expected to endure’