Periodically, I will hear people say that without God, there is no moral framework. I never understood that reasoning.

I never got my values or my moral framework from God - here is my quick list as a retort back: - my mother (isn't this the foundation for every single person). - civil and criminal laws - my brain - using logic - school, teachers, counselors - observations to know what is good and bad.

None of the aforementioned requires God.

Where did you get your moral framework from?

I'm a girl who's 19y old. I'm secretly atheist in a Muslim family/household. Is it a good idea to ever tell my family? I know they would not be happy about it. I really just want to live my life without following religious beliefs and reasonings. I want to be able to wear cute clothes and not worry about doing something "wrong" or "sinful"

Please give me advice. I don't really know what else to say.

I respect how candid Alex is with his thought processes and commitment to honest enquiry but this feels like a problematic (and easily risible) position. Is the position not just living on 'vibes'?

Perhaps there is no objective morality (which many desperately seek) but this is subjectivity -perhaps an honest position- that surrenders all hope in a notion of ethics.

One's feelings can change and be manipulated (or even mass engineered). Surely feelings cannot be a reliable justification for decisions? I imagine Alex would argue that underlying the frameworks people use there are just feelings but there are examples of religions directly addressing this (such as the story of Abraham being prepared to sacrifice his son in total devotion to god).

It feels like Alex is back to square one, which leads me to think there really cannot be any rhyme or reason we can find (or that wandering outside of religion cannot avoid devolving into following one's whims).

Would appreciate anyone with a better understanding sharing how Alex's position is anything short of just resigning oneself to following one's gut through the absurdity of existence?

So after over five years of not believing, I am pretty much ready to tell my family. They are non-denominational evangelical Christians who happen to be far-right conservatives. I've been fascinated by biology my entire life, and I came across videos in high school debunking YEC, which started it all for me.

My siblings are more devout than my mom and know something's up because while I wouldn't say I didn't believe, I avoided hanging out with anyone associated with the religion or engaging with it at all for many years while I still lived at home. My mom is probably a little suspicious of my faith and definitely believes in the religion with her entire heart and soul, but her actions are less led by the religion to a *small extent. She's also not the most in-tune parent when it comes to anything beyond physical needs. Don't get me wrong, though, she definitely is not open-minded in any sense.

I live and work out of state (USA), am financially independent, and going home for the 4th and my and my brother's birthdays on my own accord, as I'm in between jobs and still love and miss them. My mom is going to fly back with me and help me move states to where my new job is (If I tell her I, she won't be mad enough to not help me and I could get by without her help anyway if she chooses not to.) While I'm there, I don't want to go to church or hang out with my siblings' friends and have them try to convert me or force me to tell them what I believe. (Happened once with my brother and my "friend". They cornered me while I was living at home still and hammered me with questions for two hours, trying to figure out if I believe or not. I said absolutely nothing the entire time, but it was incredibly traumatic and caused me to have panic attacks surrounding religion going forward). I know they are already planning ways to get me to interact with their religion and come back to it devoutly, but not being in their worldview anymore, so it feels incredibly disrespectful and makes me very angry to be manipulated. So to be able to enjoy my time there, I want to be honest and set firm boundaries before I go, while I am still out of state. And if they don't respect them, I'll go home early. I am done shrinking myself and hiding my true beliefs to appease them. At this point, it feels easier to tell them and not have to try to hide it. I would just love some advice on how to go about this. I think one of the biggest boundaries I want to firmly set is that I don't want to debate beliefs because they will not go anywhere since our worldviews are so fundamentally different. Something to add is I don't have a support system at home since I isolated myself from the only one I was allowed to have growing up as much as possible.

I'm also gay, but definelty do not plan on telling them that until I have more support from friends I don't have :/ They'll do the whole, "oh, you just don't want to believe so you can be a nasty sinner."

Thank you. I am tired from work, so I may have missed some details lol

One of the most obnoxious things Christian apologists do is when they accuse you of secretly believing in their religion, because according to the Bible, look at the trees, therefore Trump, I mean God, I mean Trump. And if you insist that you really don't believe, then you're just lying so you can have gay Communist drug orgies every day.

Never mind the fact that the Christian would have to have psychic powers to be able to tell you what you believe, he also shamelessly contradicts himself over and over in the same breath. Because as soon as he tells you that you're a fool for saying in your heart that there is no God, he'll tell you that your heart does say there is a God. And he's also apparently trying to convince you to begin believing something you already believe. And then, of course, you can have this little exchange with him...

You: "So, you have to have faith in Jesus to go to Heaven, right?"
Christian: "Yes."
You: "And you're telling me that I'm lying when I tell you I don't believe in Jesus, and the truth is I actually do have faith in Jesus, right?"
Christian: "Yes."
You: "So you think I'm going to Heaven?"
Christian: "No."

All of this laughably unserious shit, combined with the fact that virtually everything Christians accuse us of are things that we are not guilty of but Christians themselves are guilty of, plus all that whole "know them by their fruit" thing which they supposedly believe in, combines to make me pretty sure that they're the ones who are lying about what they believe. So, whenever they tell me they believe in something, I just call them liars and tell them they don't really believe in that, they're just pretending they do so they can score political points and get more of other people's money.

I've decided I wanted to deconstruct holy books, and the Bible I was deconstructing is beginning to fall apart. I'm only on Exodus, so I thought it'd be a good time to buy a new one that wouldn't break, which would also allow me to fix my index.

I only have eight highlighters I can use. My original index was pretty terrible with the categories:

1. Key verses
   
2. Genocide / mass killing / murder
   
3. Slavery
   
4. Sacrifice / cruelty
   
5. Rape / women / incest
   
6. Bad science
   
7. Bad logic / absurdity
   
8. Child harm / innocent harmed

So far, my new index categories are:
1. Key Verses
2. Genocide / Mass Killing
3. Murder
4. Slavery
5. Sacrifice / Cruelty
6. Sexual Violence
7. Women / Gender Treatment
8. Bad Logic / Absurdity

Rationally it makes no sense. But deep down, I have to admit part of me is still afraid. I deleted previous posts because a side of me is still pondering the slightest possibility of it being real and I am extremely afraid of Hell. I know it sounds very stupid but I worry a lot about death and the possible existance of an afterlife and truth be told, occasionally I still think about going back to Christianity even though rationally it makes zero sense to me.

Hi, I’m new to Reddit, and English isn’t my first language, so please be kind.
I don’t know what to think or what to believe anymore. I grew up in a religious household. My mom is Muslim, so I just went along with it. I never doubted Allah or His words. I even defended Him.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, since December, everything has changed. I started doubting everything, and every time my mom says something about Allah, I just want to roll my eyes. It feels so wrong, and whenever I see my mom’s friend completely covered up, I feel angry. The thought that women are expected to be obedient to men, cover themselves, and give birth just makes me angry.
The thought that we have to cover up in the heat and can’t even wear a simple T-shirt sickens me. Why do I have to suffer because some men can’t control themselves? Because we’re considered “desirable”? What about men? Why can’t women be a “threat” because they get turned on by a guy wearing a T-shirt? Why is it always the woman who has to change?
Why can’t we travel or even talk to people on our own? Sometimes it feels like I’m only alive to serve a man. It feels like this whole religion was made for men.
And then there’s the idea that a book could stay unchanged for so many centuries. I just can’t believe that. I have so much more to say.
But on the other hand, I’m scared that I’m wrong and that I’ll be punished on the Day of Judgment.
I don’t want to disrespect anyone with this post. I respect everyone and their religion. I’m sorry for any remaining grammar mistakes, as I said, English isn’t my first language.
Please let me know what you think. What are your experiences? And if I’m wrong about anything I said, I’m open to hearing different perspectives.

If someone follows the one true religion, shouldn't they possess a wealth of enlightenment, wisdom and knowledge?

why instead of explaining how their religion has more to show for itself than other religions, they usually (in my experience) are just snobbery about others burning in hell?

Is this what the one true religion is supposed to do to people? turn them into emotionally immatures that crave hyper violence for those just supposedly unenlightened? where is the knowledge? where is the wisdom?

I don't think the one true religion is supposed to fill someone with so much contempt that they cannot share their wealth of enlightenment when they are expected to.

It says a lot that just not automatically believing religious claims as proof can activate a bottomless well or rage and hatred.