Praise to the man (or woman)

I was taught growing up that I should praise God for all the good that happened in my life. The bad that happened where lessons from God and all the in between was still attributed to God in some way or another that put him in the best light. Since this thought process had always been drilled into me, I thought it was normal. When I moved away from home I went through a time of great loneliness and I called on God to comfort me and I praised him when that loneliness went away. As I look back I can see that my de-conversion happened over the past 10 years. When I started working hard to figure out who I am and what I want in life, I started realizing that the good that came to my life was because of MY hard work or the help of other fellow humans, but what I still did for the longest time was continue to give the praise to God. I honestly went through phases, I tried for the longest time to push myself back into church and then I would feel empty again, then someone would reach out to me and get me involved again. I wanted that security that religion brought to me, after all it had been a part of my life since I could remember. I hadn't experienced patting myself on the back for my own accomplishments. Now, I am not trying to say that we as human beings shouldn't practice humility. What I am trying to get at is that when we accept that our choices are our own, that things happen in life because of those choices, then we start not only taking accountability for our own choices and consequences more, but we also start giving ourselves (and other people) the praise that it takes to step it up a notch a become truly happy. When I decided to leave the church, I started to take inventory of all the good that had happened in my life. I feel that I have accomplished a lot in my short life and I have (and do) experience an extreme amount of happiness. This happiness is due to learning from my mistakes, taking accountability and constantly challenging myself, working hard to attain the things in life that bring me joy. I am sorry, but I can no longer give praise to the man upstairs. I give that praise to myself and my fellow human beings. There is good out there and it is because of good people and their good works. Part of saying goodbye to God for me has been accepting and realizing the many PEOPLE and experiences that have influenced my life and made me who I am today. I wouldn't change any of my life experiences because they have made me who I am today and I love who I am ;).

Why We Believe in Gods video

This is a great video featuring Andy Thomson at the American Atheist convention in 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMmvu9eMrg&NR=1

I would suggest watching it!

Quote of the Day

Gullibility and credulity are considered undesirable qualities in every department of human life - except religion...Why are we praised by godly men for surrendering our "godly gift" of reason when we cross their mental thresholds?
-Christopher Hitchens

Quote of the day

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
-Thomas Jefferson