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I really didnt know what to put this under so im sorry if its in the wrong catagory.
k well iv wanted to ask this qurestion for a while now but have been too hesitant. im 19 female if you need to know.
iv really been questioning religon lately. both my parents have their own religon, which i wont mention what it is because thats not the point. they feel very strong about it and believe in it. They think i should believe in it to because they think its the only way i will go to heaven or have a happy life etc.
when i was 4 i was continuously molestered to some random bastard,iv always been blamed for everything that happens within the family like arguements etc,i had a tumor which was cancerous,my bf proposed to me but found out that he only did it so he could get the green card etc (very long story).
my parents say that things happen to me because im not a good person i do bad things then bad things will happen to me so they assume im a bad pperson.this has really made me question things like what do i really believe in?i dont think i believe in my parent's religon.how do i know if this is the right religon to follow?i mean theres soo many religons out there which one is right?im so confused because i guess i want to believe in soemthing and im scared that if i dont believe in my parents religon then ill go to hell or bad things will happen to me in this life.its made me really depressed and emotional.i cant talk to my parents about it because they will be so angry (they think their religon is the way to go)but what if its not?i mean i was 4 years old for crying out loud how would i know what God is or what hell is etc and i still got molestered over and over again.am i really being punished?i just dont know what to think,im afaraid and i dont want to die not believing in anything :( but i dont want religon to be forced down my throat either.
I dont exactly know what im asking but what ever your thinking i guess id like to hear it.
Thank you, please please dont judge me.i cant help the way i think
You are not being punished. Your parents reaction is not atypical of many religious believers.
The fact is that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Similarly good things can happen to bad people. Its an unfortunate side of life. I feel very sorry for what you had to go through, but I am quite sure it had nothing to do with your religious inclinations.
The problem with religious argumentation is precisely what you describe above. Everything is twisted to fit their world view (and btw I also have religious relatives, so I have been through this first hand).
If something bad happens its because you dont beleive. If you do believe, and something bad happens, then its either the devil or because you dont believe enough. If you are evil and something good happens, they will pay in the after life. In other words, NOTHING can happen that is considered a counter argument.
Karl Popper, a renowned philospher once said (more or less, this is off memory) that for a theory to have any value it has to define the terms by which it can be disproven. I.e. it must be falsifiable.
Think about it, thats why people of different religions have killed each other for centuries.
Have a look at this short video about some of the statisical correlations with atheism. After all, if God was directly punishing us like your parents imply, you would expect atheists to be up a creek without a paddle...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T27kB4BjbEg
In the end whether one chooses to believe or not is a personal decision. However, do weigh in all the evidence, all the proof (or lack of it), and do not let yourself be intimidated or scared by anybody.
I am truly sorry about everything you had to go through, and I cannot say that I can even imagine what that was like. Clearly you have a great deal of personal strength to stand up for yourself after all that, and to question what you are being taught. I commend you on that.
I am not sure how helpful this answer was, but I hope you can use it for something.
Good luck.
(Rating: 5) thank you so much that was very helpful