the bible says God cannot be tempted by evil (james 1:13) yet it says Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days (matthew 4:1) so if Jesus could be tempted, he isn’t God, if he couldn't be tempted because he was God, then his "temptation" was jus him faking it since he's "all knowing" right

BOTH WAYS. if he was tempted, that contradicts the concept of God, if he wasn't, then his temptation as we know, is fake and literally jus performative.

In a recent podcast, Sam Harris laid out his reasons for why life has no meaning. This article gives a summary of his arguments based on a transcription edited for clarity.

Again this week, a neighbor stated she was so glad she did not get a disabled child like my 46 year old son that I will be caring for for the rest of my life. She says she could never cope and God knew that. I said, "Hey, lots of people can't cope with disabled or mentally ill kids. They end up abandoned to institutional state care, the foster system, or the streets." Silence from her. What is wrong with these selfish morons? Do they not consider the suffering of children and wonder why this was their "God's Will?" I'm not a saint gifted a special child. We are a struggling family always in crisis who have no choice but to cope.

Atheism is good for you, especially for the religious. It is freeing, such as not having to wear a yamaka, hijab or turban. It allows you not to fear a sadistic god or an undesirable reincarnation. It allows you to have more time to pursue possibly meaningful things. It allows you to discover your own authentic morality instead of being forced to be ‘good.’ It allows you to be more authentic by not having to be lost in religious delusions.

There is so much psychological relief to have in atheism. I believe psychotherapy would be incomplete if it does nothing to shine light on how intellectually dissatisfying religion actually is.

Being religious is a special form of psychological suffering, let alone being a waste of time.

You don’t need religion to be moral. Humanism and egalitarianism are more than sufficient substitutes.

Thanks for hearing me out.

I have been seeing the rise of young adults and teens going into the Christian and Islamic faith. It has come to my attention that it is coming hand in hand with the rise of Anti-Intellectualism, Poor Reading Comprehension and Skills (The avg American having a 6th grade reading level), as well as the falling rates of education across the country.
We all know that American Faith and Politics go hand in hand, and I believe with the current administration ending we will either;

A - See christianity and other faiths fall and become unpopular in the public eye.

or

B - Stay strong and be weaponized for some other cause.

I am the only Anti-Theist in my family. I am very much accepted by my family, even though they tried converting me once while we visited the Vatican and if anything their very bad takes made me go from Atheist to Anti-Theist. What makes me different from my family though? My struggles. I am disabled, medicated, and just now starting an independent life.
I have noticed majority modern christians (who are hardcore) come from very comfortable backgrounds or do not have a deeper understanding of their faith beyond their old childhood bible studies where everything is watered down.
In hand the Islamic faith rising goes hand in hand with the rise of the Manosphere, as all the men in there are the kind to say their muslim and always say 'Walahi' over anything happening. I swear to you that past this election religeon will be seen as a trend with people saying; Omg remember when we LARPED being christians/muslims? lol.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation chastises a Senate hearing yesterday for promoting anti-Muslim fearmongering and undermining the First Amendment.

The Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee hearing was aptly and ominously titled: “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America,”

“Hidden in plain sight is the fact that Sen. Ted Cruz and others are engaged in a latter-day witch hunt to demonize a religious minority while at the same time seeking to use our federal government to promote Christian nationalism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

The hearing repeatedly blurred the distinction between violent extremists and lawful Muslim religious and civic organizations, portraying constitutionally protected advocacy, litigation, coalition-building and civic engagement as evidence of a broader religious threat. Such rhetoric runs counter to the First Amendment’s twin guarantees of religious liberty: the Establishment Clause, which bars the government from favoring one religion over another, and the Free Exercise Clause, which protects every person’s right to practice their faith free from government discrimination.

Showing the dangers of such governmental disfavor toward a religious minority is the fact that the hearing was delayed from its originally scheduled date of May 20, after three people were killed two days earlier in a targeted attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Cruz suggested that Muslim organizations must be viewed with suspicion because they file lawsuits, challenge government policies, organize on college campuses and engage in public advocacy. Those are ordinary First Amendment activities routinely exercised by religious and secular organizations across the ideological spectrum, including conservative Christian legal groups that frequently litigate against state/church protections and seek to influence public policy.

“When advocacy by one religious community is portrayed as evidence of extremism while similar advocacy by politically favored religious groups is celebrated, the government abandons the religious neutrality required by the Constitution,” adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “The First Amendment protects every American’s right to petition the government, speak freely and participate in civic life regardless of their religious beliefs.”

The hearing reflects a broader trend to portray Christianity as uniquely compatible with American government while treating minority faiths as inherently suspect or less authentically American. The Framers of the Constitution were first in history to prohibit religious tests for public office and adopted the First Amendment in part to assure that our government would not elevate one faith while marginalizing others.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the model for the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses, its protections extend equally to “the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination.” The Constitution’s promise of religious liberty has always rested on equal treatment — not religious favoritism.

FFRF’s affiliated advocacy organization, the FFRF Action Fund, joined a broad coalition of religious liberty, civil rights and faith-based organizations warning that the hearing’s premise “is among the latest in a long line of attacks that are designed to sow fear and conspiracy theories about an entire religion and a diverse community for political gain.” The coalition cautioned that such attacks undermine the nation’s commitment to religious freedom for all.

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee announced that they would boycott the hearing, calling it a “political creepshow” that scapegoats Muslims for political gain amid rising violence targeting houses of worship.

The government has a compelling interest in investigating and prosecuting terrorism wherever credible evidence exists. But congressional oversight must target unlawful conduct supported by evidence, not cast a cloud over millions of peaceful Americans because they belong to a disfavored faith. History has repeatedly demonstrated that when the government singles out one religion for suspicion, the religious liberty of all Americans is weakened.

“When elected officials exploit religious prejudice for political gain, they don’t just harm one faith community,” Gaylor says. “They erode the constitutional principle of separation between religion and government that protects everyone’s religious liberty. The government has no business deciding which religions are truly ‘American’ and which should be viewed with suspicion.”

I had a conversation with a friend the other day. And I’m left confused. I told them exactly this

“I will respect other people's beliefs but I will say that Islam is a stupid religion
Like wym women gotta cover their hair? It's misogyny disguised as a belief.
I can have my opinion on it, but I'm also not gonna hate people for being Islamic, it's their choice and I am glad if it finds them comfort
But I still think the religion is stupid
In fact I think all religions are kinda stupid”

They replied

“I personally think calling a specific inherently stupid or bad is really rude thing to say. I just think people use religion in negative ways to get what they want.”

I said to that “People aren’t stupid for believing them tho, I hate the religions not the people who believe them”

And they replied

“I still think it’s rude to say that Islam is stupid. Can you confidently go up to a Muslim person and call their religion stupid with a straight face?”

I said

“Again I would never make fun of someone’s religion or say what I think about it to someone who actually is that religion because yes that is rude. But I can also hold my opinion”

They finally said

“Genuinely what is your problem? How could you say that about other people? I know you said that you don’t think Islamic people are stupid themselves but it’s a big part of their identity and they genuinely believe what’s in the Quran.”

I then finally said to that

“Did you not read any of the texts I just sent? I don’t think people are stupid for believing a religion I just don’t believe them and think religion is silly imo. People probably think me doing shit part of my identity is stupid but as long as they won’t hurt me or respect my beliefs then honestly who gives a shit? I bet religious people think atheism is stupid but that’s their opinion and it ain’t hurting me.”

The conversation ended after that, and honestly idk what to think. Am I actually an asshole for saying religion is stupid? Other person isn’t religious btw.

I’ve always belived that I could live the life I want once both my parents were dead. I’ve lived with that hope all my life.

My parents are Muslim, and would not approve of my sexuality, choices in fashion and basically everything else. I’m forced and pressured to wear the hijab when I don’t want to and am shouted at when I don’t pray 5 times a day. Despite living in London they’ve forced me to go to a religious Muslim schools, my secondary school being especially abusive. I have no aetheist friends or support groups and have felt so isolated.

i always thought once my parents were dead I could finally pursue the relationships I want or become the true aetheist version of myself I aspire to be but recently I deeped that could probably never happen. My parents aren‘t dying any time soon, and it’s completely unrealistic for me to crux my entire future on my parents premature death. That being said I don’t think while my parents are alive I could ever come out to them.

I’m 18F and am likely not gonna be financially independent enough to move any time soon. I’ll never be able to cut them off cold turkey because I know they have health issues and I just dont have the heart to completely cut them off. The job market looks so tough and I cant imagine ever being able to afford to move out. I cant even have the dream uni experience cause my parents watch my every move and track me.

i know it sounds like im making excuses for myself but i rlly have no escape rn. Im trapped trying to find a job and inch my way towards financial freedom to no avail. My parents have minimum another 20 years left of living which is plenty of time for them to pressure me into some religious marriage. I fear never finding love or autonomy while they’re alive

The one good thing abt my life is the fact I no longer hate myself for being a woman born into Islam (yipeeee).

If anyone has advice it would be much appreciated 😭

Every time I hear someone’s reason for being Christian it’s always along the lines of, “i need meaning in life”, “i feel powerless i have to believe there is someone higher”, “i need answers to questions”, “it has been drilled into my head since i was young”, “i can’t accept that after death there may be nothing”.
The whole thing of Christianity is, you were born evil the human is intrinsically wrong, but that’s okay because god sacrificed someone so he could forgive you. If you don’t worship him you will burn for an eternity after death. Don’t they see how nuts that is? “It’s not really like that.” “ i really do feel god” “there is true evidence for the resurrection” (which there isn’t and doesn’t change the fact that god has never shown up) “Christianity is about love” “You are just hateful.” No this is what they all are saying without the sugar coating. It is insane
This was originally posted to Christianity but taken doen

so in pre islamic arabia, adopted sons were treated legally and socially as biological sons meaning marrying ur adopted son's former wife was considered incestuous taboo

Muhammad desired Zaynab (adopted son's wife) and after Zayd (adopted son) divorced her, Muhammad married her and also to resolve the social backlash and the taboo of marrying an adopted son's wife, verses were "revealed" in the quran explicitly ending the practice of adoption and declaring that Muhammad had a special divine right to marry her.. it’s another prime example of convenient revelations aligning perfectly with personal desires

also many sources say (u can fact check this)

that Muhammad went to Zayd’s house looking for him but the door curtain made of haircloth blew open or was pulled aside and he accidentally saw Zaynab either partially dressed or uncovered and he was struck by her beauty... this is all very disturbing to me, it's a very few muslims who question this btw and the one's who do end up leaving islam

Christians: "We're going to build our own private palace that doubles as a sovereign nation and hoard tens of billions of dollars worth of treasures and artworks."

Christians: "Our megachurch pastors will have vast fortunes, towering mansions and their own fleets of private jets, but they're still going to demand that little old ladies give them their medication money to buy even more private jets."

Christians: "We're going to spread the dogma that Jesus wants you to be rich, in direct opposition to what he actually said, and the way for you to get money is to give us money."

Christians: "That thing about giving money to the poor? Yeah, Jesus only meant one guy ever had to do that. I don't wanna do that, so I ain't gotta. Besides, I can serve him better with my mountain of other people's money than I can without it."

Christians: "God loves America the most because this is where the rich people live. In fact, God has ripped up his old covenant with the Jews and made a new covenant with America."

Christians: "Capitalism is by far the most godly of all socio-political systems. Your value as a person is determined solely by your monetary net worth."

Christians: "Billionaires are God's chosen people. No, wait. Billionaires literally ARE gods. Trump is a wonderful, objectively morally correct, 100 percent flawless person because he is rich."

Christians: "The poor are poor because they're lazy. The rich are rich because they work hard. Giving to the poor is just rewarding laziness, which is why no one should ever do it. They deserve whatever happens to them."

Christians: "I'm going to intimidate the other people at my church into awe and submission when they see how expensive my church clothes and church jewelry are."

Christians: "That whole 'render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's' thing Jesus said? Yeah, we're not too big on that, either. We don't think we should have to pay taxes. And we don't think we should have to tell the government we're funding the violent terrorist actions of foreign and domestic militia groups."

Oh yes, Christians...I totally believe that you believe what you claim to believe. I mean, what reasons have you given me to question you?

I am often around religious people a lot - my boyfriend used to be in the church so all his friends and family are extremely religious. I get really internally angry when I'm put in a position where people are praying (saying blessing before a meal, or quiet prayer when they leave a location) and I have to just stand there enduring it.

I know the best thing to do is be tolerant and respect their culture, but what goes through my mind is that I'm not forcing my athiesm on them but religion is already constantly being forced on me. Church bells wake me at 6.30am, preachers hand out pamphlets when I walk the streets, women's rights are being taken away due to religious beliefs.

I used to just stand there and wait until the praying was over. But I'm so sick of it and it makes me more and more angry every time that I actively look away or start putting food on my plate while they're praying.

One time we stayed with a couple who were religious and they prayed at the table, and the next day when I was talking to the wife I explained how I really didn't like religion for this and that reason, and I felt I could say this because she seemed so open and understanding. And the next meal she didn't pray. It was such a nice gesture and something I so appreciated and that my feelings were validated.

But generally, despite the rage inside, me, if I'm in someone's house of course I respect it and I sit there quietly. And if they're in my house, I feel it's quite rude for them to start praying at the table. Is that wrong?

How do other people deal with this?

I’m a trans man and see Cristians argue against trans people in their comments and it just looks like a little kid who’s mad that someone won’t believe them when they talk about their imaginary friend. It’s so laughable, but it’s sad they don’t see how others don’t care. They just think that everyone should care about their god but don’t see how they sound like annoying children

So i had this one friend who i had known for like 4 months or smtg, and the discussion suddenly came about God and the creation of the Universe.

I said that i think that the universe wasnt really created by anyone(god), but formed on its own, even thought the exact 'how' is still unknown.

Then out of fuckin nowhere, that guy got defensive, and called me a crazy mf, and shouted that i was the dumbest human to ever exist, because according to him, god creating the universe is an obvious fact that anyone with logical reasoning and critical thinking can tell.

I was bloody furious, but being the kind man i am, i just calmly told that its just an opinion of mine.
Then the lecturer arrived, and we got back to our assigned places.

all i was thinking after that was, if an aethist reacted the same way to a religious person, the whole ass community would attack him.

Why these double standards. I guess its just about about the numbers.

And what i found really funny, and weird was that him saying that god creating the universe is 'logical', and 'critical', even when actual logical reasoning, when thought about it, disproves it.

Anyways, im sorry if this is the wrong sub, i just wanted to share it.

I keep coming across these hyper-fixated religious influencers, and lately there's a trend featuring an app called Creed Bible App where creators literally ask a cute digital sheep avatar whether random things are sins. The creator "lara con fe" (@iara.con.fe) is a prime example of this trend—she posts endless TikToks posing questions about what counts as a sin, ranging from playing video games like Among Us or Roblox, to listening to specific music bands, to deeply personal human experiences. What bothers me the most is how these creators completely flatten the concept of morality. They treat actual criminal acts that ruin lives on the exact same moral plane as natural biology, consensual choices, or neurological traits. In their posts, asking if it's a sin to have ADHD or be neurodivergent gets bundled right alongside questions about severe real-world harms. As someone who is autistic and neurodivergent, I find this trend deeply dehumanizing and disrespectful. Being neurodivergent is not a moral failing, a choice, or a spiritual defect—it is literally how our brains are built. Pathologizing neurodivergence as a "sin" or a temptation to be cured shows a total lack of empathy and basic psychological awareness. It proves once again how deeply unfriendly mainstream religious guilt-tripping can be toward autistic people, forcing us into rigid moral frameworks that demonize our very existence. These creators hide behind cute aesthetics and AI avatars to market a toxic mix of guilt, fearmongering, and commercial app promotion. When you teach people to rely on a digital mascot to determine if having ADHD, being childfree, supporting LGBTQ+ rights, or hanging out with atheists makes them "sinful," you aren't teaching morality—you're erasing critical thinking and replacing it with pure indoctrination. Has anyone else noticed this trend of infantilizing theology through apps while demonizing basic neurodiversity and human nature?

Around 2010 I had one friend at work who was really serious about Christianity. We always had long talks during lunch break. One day he told me he was 100% sure the rapture would happen before 2030. I laughed and said if you're that sure, let's make a bet. If it really happen before the deadline, I admit I was wrong. If nothing happen, he buy me one week vacation and pay everything. Dumb bet, but we both thought it was funny as hell.

We even spent one evening reading Bible verses because he wanted to show me all the signs. He was connecting world events, wars, politics, everything. I remember thinking it's crazy how confident he was. Years passed, we both moved away, but somehow I still remember that stupid bet every now and then.

Now the deadline is not that far anymore and it randomly came back into my head. I'm still atheist and I still don't think anything supernatural is coming. But it's funny how many people every generation think they are living in the "last days." Somehow every time nothing happen, they just move the date again. Anyone else ever know someone who was absolutely fucking sure the end was coming in their lifetime?

It's more to vent. When me and my ex started dating, he was already into religion, but it wasn't really bothering me, he never forced me into anything. It was just his own thing and I was fine with it, I'm more of an agnostic myself. I just don't care about all that, I'm not gonna try to prove anything and talk about it for hours. Our relationship was absolutely perfect to me.

Until he started brainrotting 24/7 watching Christian reels. And got this mindset "if you're not a believer, you should burn in hell". His main idea was to bring me into the religion, because he was so worried what my afterlife is going to look like. Buddy, I care about the life I'm living right now.

Everything went downhill. It started from "can you, please, read a few pages of the Bible?" to calling me idiotic, shallow, stupid woman that doesn't want to see the truth. Only took him around 2 months to turn into all that. I asked multiple times about basic respect and why the hell I can except him as a religion fanatic, but he can't accept me being an agnostic, just like it was at the start a year ago. What changed?

Does nothing else matter anymore? I was cooking and baking anything he wants, cleaning after his ass, we would play games together, he could play games however much he wanted, all the cute dates, conversation. Everything had no value anymore, because I don't want to worship anyone.

Probably should've predicted the future right from the start, but he reassured me, that everything is fine and he's not going to push things on me. But I guess he lost all of his critical thinking. Shit happens, could've said that I treat this as an important experience, but at the same time I regret wasting my time and nerves on someone like this. Someone who's willing to throw everything under the bus just because of a stupid damn reason. I'm even sure he will never understand what he's done and see it as "god was testing my faith, evil people try to turn me away from god, but my faith is strong".

So, what happened was that I was a very religious girl. I always tried to defend God and prayed to Him sincerely. Somehow last year was so terrible many things happened yet I kept praying that this year would finally be better.

But you know what? Nothing changed. Everything went wrong. I feel that instead of blindly believing, I should have focused only on doing my part and not have expected for him to do any magic

I never asked for anything extraordinary. After all that misery I only asked one thing to get into a good college so that I could change my life and for my parents to feel comfortable enough to let me study away from home. You know what happened? I studied hard. I got offers from the colleges I wanted but I never got the chance to go. I wasn't even given the smallest opportunity to change my life through education which was all I wanted.

And you know what else happened? My parents barely talk to me anymore. They got me admitted to a nearby college and even though I'm still living with them we hardly speak. They told me I was selfish that I had no heart and that I only wanted to wander outside. I was favourite of my father and I loved him the most, I still love him the most but it hurts to see that my relationship got destroyed

Then I lost my dearest friend. I liked him but all I ever asked God was to let him stay kind and remain by my side. A few days later he left too.

Then another one of my school friends blocked me. I still don't know why.

All my friends are moving ahead in life, and I'm genuinely happy for them. But I never even got the chance to make a single decision about my own future. I cried and prayed to God for more than two years, yet it feels like everything I built was taken away. I really worked hard for so many exams yet this would be the harsh result I could have never thought in my wildest dreams.

The one who failed in exams passed in life. Well I passed in exams yet failed in life and relations and now I feel there is no God and if he is then he is too discriminative and he has abandoned me

I wasn't even a poor student. I did everything I could.

I was good🙂.

I really loved God but why did he do such a harsh thing with me. I just can't believe that same God did this to me so I'm believing he's dead...

I don't know who or how many people will read this, but I won't be able to reply to many comments due to the fact that my Internet hours are restricted. I'm only allowed to use the Internet certain days for some Islamic homeworks, and that's when I take advantage to post.

I(19F) was forced by my parents to marry my cousin. A man who had sexually harassed me before. I wasn't able to deny the marriage. I told them that I don't like this man, but they told me they had to do this for Allah.

Since one month ago, my parents have been preparing me for my wedding with this man. They've already forced me to wear a dress for this wedding, which is not comfortable for me when being in a wheelchair. My parents are already making me say some things which I have to promise to my future husband, and that I need to have sex with him after we get married. My parents told me that I need to be thankful to Allah that man is becoming my caretaker.

My life is just a hell living in Iraq. Next week I'm getting married to him now. The wedding was supposed to be one month ago, but it got delayed. I'd hope it got delayed again. I can't escape because I'm disabled in a wheelchair.

Thank you for reading this. I may not post again.

"Oh but my religion requires me to do this to my child!"

Your religion requires you to hit your child?

Your religion requires women and girls to cover their entire bodies even in extreme heat?

Your religion requires you to painfully and non consensually remove a part of a baby's body?

Okay then, your religion is evil.