Call me batshit crazy but there is No God!
No God - No Satan - Just Us - Game Over
American here.
In high school, I refused to stand up for the flag/pledge of allegiance. I don't recall my specific reasoning back then, I think it was because I felt like allegiance to country and allegiance to government are not mutually exclusive and the flag represented the government. And I was also questioning Christianity at the time and didn't want to stand in reverence to something that I didn't believe in.
Mind you - it's optional. It's not really a requirement.
My bat shit crazy first period civics teacher ranted and raved about it. I said I didn't care.
She overextended her reach as a teacher to contact my Christian veteran father to impose his religion and love of country on me. So he'd sit there in the classroom to make me recite the pledge in the morning.
Mind you, he couldn't do that everyday. And I wasn't about to do that everyday. So she gave up eventually.
But that's how crazy some people are about this. It was refreshing to go to a HBCU for college because we would put our fists in the air and not recite anything instead of our hands on the heart and I felt more respect for the civil rights movement and the unity of the people of America than allegiance to a government or a false ideal system based on symbols such as flags.
I grew up in a poor welfare/food stamps family, my Parents were both very Religious and made us go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays.
I always resented this and was angry that we were poor.
Looking back now, it was really a good thing.
Because we were poor and the Church knew this, they pretty much ignored us, thanks Mom and Dad.
There's no tips or tricks. Once you are free of your religion, you no longer have a fear of something you know does not exist. You first need to do some research on your own religion.
I grew up with stories of hell in Christianity. I do not fear hell because i now know it's a fictional concept.
If you're following one religion to make sure you don't go to the hell described in that religion's texts;
How do you know you're not sending yourself to another religion's hell? Or 3 other religions' hells? How do you know which hell is the one that exists that you need to avoid? How do you tell which religion is right? They all have a book saying they're right, but now you have to logically figure which one really is so you can escape proper hell. Unless you think your conscious could be split up in the afterlife and be sent to multiple hells at the same time...
And all of those questions only make sense if you actually believe those religions are really real and not a made up fear fairy tale to control people / rationalise the world. The hell is part of the religion. The religion is a fable. The hell is a fable.
It was cloudy and there was lightning off in the distance. We had to go home soon because of the storm although we didnt want to leave the playground we had to. We sat in quiet conversation about the nature of god and the universe, and introspective moment because of the dark clouds coming and the ending of our playing for that day.
I said there is not god. Because I AM SATAN. AND GOD IS POWERLESS TO STOP ME. I DARE HIM TO STRIKE ME NOW WITH LIGHTNING BUT HE WONT BECAUSE HE IS A DISGUSTING FUCKING COWARD!
My friends instinctively backed away a little. And also looked away. Hoping the lighting that was going to come down didnt hit them as well. What kind of a nutcase would dare god to strike him with lighting while there was a lightning storm on the horizon ?
Well either god didnt care, didnt exist, or I dont have enough iron in my blood, but no lightning came. Oh and I later found out that I wasnt Shaitan either, if I was I would be a lot more handsome and have a lot more money.
