As an atheist, I understand that everything that happens is controlled by the law of cause and effect and not by any God ruling supreme from heaven.

However, in times of troubles and adversaries, who do atheists look up to for help? You know the way religious people run to their place of worships for spiritual and moral help from pastors, elders and all that. Is there an organization where atheists can also get help (moral help not spiritual).?

Especially in a country like Nigeria where you can't openly let people know that you don't believe in God. How do you get help?

Please, fellow atheists in the house, I need some answers. Thanks in advance.

No african has the power to question the existence of GOD

Atheism is for the cowards in faith

Instead of begging an imaginary being for strength in a crisis, I reach out to others or rely upon myself. During times of crisis I do not plead, “God please help me!” or “God give me the strength!” I simply tell myself that I can do it or that I can make it through it. Often I reflect on the fact that I’ve been in worse situations and fared just fine. I can also turn to my family and friends for help and advice. And in extreme cases I rely on the assistance of trained professionals, such as firemen, police officers, medical doctors, etc.
I analyze each situation logically instead of emotionally. I figure out the best way to get out of the crisis. I walk into a hazardous and dangerous situation, take charge of it, and think it through. I take control of all the assets available to me, solve the situation, and get myself out of danger. I have fought fires, chased criminals and been in some desperate situations. Each time I was able to gather my own inner strengths and battle the situation head-on.
That is not to say that I am not emotional or that I do not react emotionally. It is hard not to react emotionally since our biology evolved to do such. Our emotions help us survive.
.
Another thing that helps me get through situations like that is my own body with the chemical reactions and processes that take place inside it. Adrenaline will do wonders in an emergency!
I also seek help from people and things that can really help me. I do not seek help from imaginary beings and invisible friends that theists give credit to for doing something themselves. I find strength and help from some of the following:
My children, family, and friends
Music
Laughter
Adrenaline (Yes – I am an adrenaline junkie!)
Prayer and gods do not cure our diseases or solve problems during times of crisis. Where prayer and faith help is by calming the fears people have because prayer acts as a form of meditation and can have a therapeutic influence (even a placebo effect). Prayer and faith may give people the courage and emotional strength to continue, but they do not solve the problems that people face.
We, as human beings, solve those problems ourselves. Imaginary beings do not give us the answers. We come up with them. Why do theists give their gods credit for their own actions? Why do theists deny themselves the credit they deserve for being human beings with the ability to think on a higher level? Give yourself credit where credit is due.
I do not know how many times I have heard theists say to people suffering from clinical depression, “Pray to god, and he will help you.” God and prayer do not cure clinical depression. Clinical depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain that prayer cannot cure.
If you are a theist and have ever told someone to pray to get rid of his or her depression, you owe that person an apology. In addition, you should advise that person to seek medical help for their condition. When Pat Robertson tells people that they have to take mental health medication because their faith is not strong enough or Tom Cruise lambasts against mental health medication because his Scientology beliefs are medically ignorant, those ideas cause harm and additional suffering to those that believe them.
Often we find this argument being used in the “there are no atheists in foxholes” statement. There are atheists in foxholes. I
If anything, I would aver that there are no theists in foxholes. When we are in the heat of battle, our training and experience take over and we do our jobs. It is not until after the battle is over, when we have a time to reflect upon what happened, and upon our morality, the theists begin to thank their gods and prayer.
When someone chucks a grenade into your foxhole you do not pray that god gets rid of it: you grab it and chuck it back out. You may pray latter if you are a theist – but when your life was in danger you relied on your training and your instincts – you saved yourself.
Talking to fellow sailors and soldiers, I have learned one thing about god during a crisis: people forget about him. During a battle or major crisis, people forget about god most of the time. They attack the situation head-on and either save themselves or dig themselves into a deeper hole or cause their own death. Only afterwards, do people start reflecting on the situation and thank a god for saving them. God did not save them – their quick action and ability to think during a crisis saved them.
My father served in Vietnam. Vietnam made him realize that there was no god and he became an atheist in the foxhole. The foxhole made him an atheist.
Several friends of mine served time during war and each of them found strength in their atheism instead of finding a god in their foxhole. War to him or her was proof that there was no god.
One of the things that I have noticed during times of major crisis is that the hyper-religious often served as a hindrance to getting the job done and saving our butts. The hyper-religious would start to pray and cower to their god while the non-religious or the lightly religious would accomplish the mission or objective.
Often after a major catastrophe, we hear people say, “I had a guardian angel watching over me” or “God saved me from dying.” That is nice that they think their god saved them from death – but what about the other people that died. Did they not pray hard enough? Did their god not listen or were they not worthy? And why did their god put them in that situation in the first place?
When engaging in a protest in Tennessee a woman approached me and told me god cured her cancer. I told her it was amazing that her cancer went away with prayer only and without any medical doctors, drugs, chemotherapy, etc. Of course then she admitted that she went through all that. But her god got the credit: not the medical science. She droned on about how god helped her through her crisis and how thankful she was to her god for getting her through and curing her. I asked her if she thanked her god for giving her cancer in the first place. Deer in headlights look followed and she left without answering my question. I guess she had not thought of that before.
When you hear about people that were praying to a god during a time of crisis it is important to pay attention to their story. Often you will find that those that were actively praying during a crisis were in a stagnant mode. They were hiding under a desk (as we witnessed at Columbine) or were hiding in a basement or bathroom (such as in tornado activity) or were doing something else that left them inactive during the crisis. Those that were taking action talk about thanking their god after-the-fact. The atheists, on the other hand, thank the firefighters, police officers, rescuers, medical doctors, etc.
The last decade of my life has found me in several crises. In each of these cases, I turned to my family, my friends, and myself for the strength to tackle each situation. Together with my family and friends we pulled through each crisis without any help from imaginary beings. We came out of each crisis stronger and closer than ever before.
To our theist friends, the next time a fireman pulls you out of a burning building, thank him – not your god. The next time a doctor cures your ailment, thank her – not your god. Give credit where credit is due.

jmichlins:
No african has the power to question the existence of GOD

But the whites do?

Are you saying Africans are a lesser being?? Please try and elaborate.

hopefulLandlord:
Instead of begging an imaginary being for strength in a crisis, I reach out to others or rely upon myself. During times of crisis I do not plead, “God please help me!” or “God give me the strength!” I simply tell myself that I can do it or that I can make it through it. Often I reflect on the fact that I’ve been in worse situations and fared just fine. I can also turn to my family and friends for help and advice. And in extreme cases I rely on the assistance of trained professionals, such as firemen, police officers, medical doctors, etc.
I analyze each situation logically instead of emotionally. I figure out the best way to get out of the crisis. I walk into a hazardous and dangerous situation, take charge of it, and think it through. I take control of all the assets available to me, solve the situation, and get myself out of danger. I have fought fires, chased criminals and been in some desperate situations. Each time I was able to gather my own inner strengths and battle the situation head-on.
That is not to say that I am not emotional or that I do not react emotionally. It is hard not to react emotionally since our biology evolved to do such. Our emotions help us survive. I have seen lots of blood and damaged bodies in my time and I have never reacted emotionally.
.
Another thing that helps me get through situations like that is my own body with the chemical reactions and processes that take place inside it. Adrenaline will do wonders in an emergency!
I also seek help from people and things that can really help me. I do not seek help from imaginary beings and invisible friends that theists give credit to for doing something themselves. I find strength and help from some of the following:
My children, family, and friends
Music
Laughter
Adrenaline (Yes – I am an adrenaline junkie!)
Prayer and gods do not cure our diseases or solve problems during times of crisis. Where prayer and faith help is by calming the fears people have because prayer acts as a form of meditation and can have a therapeutic influence (even a placebo effect). Prayer and faith may give people the courage and emotional strength to continue, but they do not solve the problems that people face.
We, as human beings, solve those problems ourselves. Imaginary beings do not give us the answers. We come up with them. Why do theists give their gods credit for their own actions? Why do theists deny themselves the credit they deserve for being human beings with the ability to think on a higher level? Give yourself credit where credit is due.
I do not know how many times I have heard theists say to people suffering from clinical depression, “Pray to god, and he will help you.” God and prayer do not cure clinical depression. Clinical depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain that prayer cannot cure.
If you are a theist and have ever told someone to pray to get rid of his or her depression, you owe that person an apology. In addition, you should advise that person to seek medical help for their condition. When Pat Robertson tells people that they have to take mental health medication because their faith is not strong enough or Tom Cruise lambasts against mental health medication because his Scientology beliefs are medically ignorant, those ideas cause harm and additional suffering to those that believe them.
Often we find this argument being used in the “there are no atheists in foxholes” statement. There are atheists in foxholes. I served in the Navy for almost ten years and encountered several life-threatening situations. Not once did I pray to a god to get me through the crisis.
If anything, I would aver that there are no theists in foxholes. When we are in the heat of battle, our training and experience take over and we do our jobs. It is not until after the battle is over, when we have a time to reflect upon what happened, and upon our morality, the theists begin to thank their gods and prayer.
When someone chucks a grenade into your foxhole you do not pray that god gets rid of it: you grab it and chuck it back out. You may pray latter if you are a theist – but when your life was in danger you relied on your training and your instincts – you saved yourself.
Talking to fellow sailors and soldiers, I have learned one thing about god during a crisis: people forget about him. During a battle or major crisis, people forget about god most of the time. They attack the situation head-on and either save themselves or dig themselves into a deeper hole or cause their own death. Only afterwards, do people start reflecting on the situation and thank a god for saving them. God did not save them – their quick action and ability to think during a crisis saved them.
My father served in Vietnam. Vietnam made him realize that there was no god and he became an atheist in the foxhole. The foxhole made him an atheist.
Several friends of mine served time during war and each of them found strength in their atheism instead of finding a god in their foxhole. War to him or her was proof that there was no god.
One of the things that I have noticed during times of major crisis is that the hyper-religious often served as a hindrance to getting the job done and saving our butts. The hyper-religious would start to pray and cower to their god while the non-religious or the lightly religious would accomplish the mission or objective.
Often after a major catastrophe, we hear people say, “I had a guardian angel watching over me” or “God saved me from dying.” That is nice that they think their god saved them from death – but what about the other people that died. Did they not pray hard enough? Did their god not listen or were they not worthy? And why did their god put them in that situation in the first place?
When engaging in a protest in Tennessee a woman approached me and told me god cured her cancer. I told her it was amazing that her cancer went away with prayer only and without any medical doctors, drugs, chemotherapy, etc. Of course then she admitted that she went through all that. But her god got the credit: not the medical science. She droned on about how god helped her through her crisis and how thankful she was to her god for getting her through and curing her. I asked her if she thanked her god for giving her cancer in the first place. Deer in headlights look followed and she left without answering my question. I guess she had not thought of that before.
When you hear about people that were praying to a god during a time of crisis it is important to pay attention to their story. Often you will find that those that were actively praying during a crisis were in a stagnant mode. They were hiding under a desk (as we witnessed at Columbine) or were hiding in a basement or bathroom (such as in tornado activity) or were doing something else that left them inactive during the crisis. Those that were taking action talk about thanking their god after-the-fact. The atheists, on the other hand, thank the firefighters, police officers, rescuers, medical doctors, etc.
The last decade of my life has found me in several crises. In each of these cases, I turned to my family, my friends, and myself for the strength to tackle each situation. Together with my family and friends we pulled through each crisis without any help from imaginary beings. We came out of each crisis stronger and closer than ever before.
To our theist friends, the next time a fireman pulls you out of a burning building, thank him – not your god. The next time a doctor cures your ailment, thank her – not your god. Give credit where credit is due.

Am going to have to document this. Awesome.
You knew exactly what I was asking. What a brilliant mind.

accountbalance:


But the whites do?

Are you saying Africans are a lesser being?? Please try and elaborate.

there are things that happen here that not even the whites can explain. Over there, life has been made so simple and straight forward but down here things are so complicated even to sleep and wake up are trouble

accountbalance:


Am going to have to document this. Awesome.
You knew exactly what I was asking. What a brilliant mind.

you're welcome bro


http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/religion-society/no-god-where-do-atheists-turn-times-crisis

jmichlins:
there are things that happen here that not even the whites can explain. Over there, life has been made so simple and straight forward but down here things are so complicated even to sleep and wake up are trouble

I get your point but I think most of those things are complicated because we Africans were manipulated by these so called simple and straightforward whites when they brought religion and all that.

I strongly believe that all our inabilities and seemingly complicated life resides in our mind, we are just programmed wrongly, not that they are better.

accountbalance:


I get your point but I think most of those things are complicated because we Africans were manipulated by these so called simple and straightforward whites when they brought religion and all that.

I strongly believe that all our inabilities and seemingly complicated life resides in our mind, we are just programmed wrongly, not that they are better.

we were complicated and warped even before the europeans and the arabs

Op, That's a misconception, That you atheist don't mean you gonna be immune from life challenges, something else, Atheist don't have no place or location of solitude like the believers folks.

When life challenges gets to you, USE your BRAIN, the reason you turned Atheist in the first place was critical thinking.

Logic and science are what guide athiests to live to shape their life after disbelieving in a sky daddy. Another thing is that, you an Atheist doesn't mean you should see the believers as complete moro n, many of them are even smarter than Atheists but choose to stick with religion for psychological reason of "bandwagon effect" and others can't just challenge their belief.

If you helpless and hapless, Ask favour from them, Human evolve to this level because we have compassion and empathy for each other. You being Atheist doesn't mean you would be condescending to them, that's hypocritical.

To survive in Nigeria, blend in with religious folks just for common sensical reason, Accept them, Love them and that same gesture would be returned to you.

Me for one, I love everybody I hang with regardless of religion, if I can't hang with you, chances are you too loud mouth. Again, my circle is so small that sometimes I don't even f uck with myself.

There's no organisation. I don't believe the average atheist sees himself as categorised or tagged in one box the way muslims, christians and people of faith do in general. I see myself as human and the actions of any other human will be commended or reprimanded by me regardless of his belief or lack of.

And if I'm desperately in need of help, I simply ask my family, friends, colleagues or business partners whether atheists or not. I see it as human A helping human B

aaronson:
Op, That's a misconception, That you atheist don't mean you gonna be immune from life challenges, something else, Atheist don't have no place or location of solitude like the believers folks.

When life challenges gets to you, USE your BRAIN, the reason you turned Atheist in the first place was critical thinking.

Logic and science are what guide athiests to live to shape their life after disbelieving in a sky daddy. Another thing is that, you an Atheist doesn't mean you should see the believers as complete moro n, many of them are even smarter than Atheists but choose to stick with religion for psychological reason of "bandwagon effect" and others can't just challenge their belief.

If you helpless and hapless, Ask favour from them, Human evolve to this level because we have compassion and empathy for each other. You being Atheist doesn't mean you would be condescending to them, that's hypocritical.

To survive in Nigeria, blend in with religious folks just for common sensical reason, Accept them, Love them and that same gesture would be returned to you.

Me for one, I love everybody I hang with regardless of religion, if I can't hang with you, chances are you too loud mouth. Again, my circle is so small that sometimes I don't even f uck with myself.

I actually went through your profile and I see you are a true atheist. Thanks for the advice, I also don't discriminate against theists.

The truth is that I have not come out to my family and friends like you did, don't know how they are going to take it. So if I ask them for advice of any sort, most times they ask me to pray about it, thinking that am still a theist, so you get my point now.

kevoh:
There's no organisation. I don't believe the average atheist sees himself as categorised or tagged in one box the way muslims, christians and people of faith do in general. I see myself as human and the actions of any other human will be commended or reprimanded by me regardless of his belief or lack of.

And if I'm desperately in need of help, I simply ask my family, friends, colleagues or business partners whether atheists or not. I see it as human A helping human B

Nice one bruh. I really like the way you conceptualized the fact that atheists don't see themselves tagged in a box. It's alright.

accountbalance:


I actually went through your profile and I see you are a true atheist. Thanks for the advice, I also don't discriminate against theists.

The truth is that I have not come out to my family and friends like you did, don't know how they are going to take it. So if I ask them for advice of any sort, most times they ask me to pray about it, thinking that am still a theist, so you get my point now.

To be frank with you bro, It aint gon go good especially when your family are the religious type. They would think the worst of you, just like my parents and folks did to me.

But

The day I shamed a pastor in church, they begin to let me be and accept me for who I am not what I believe....... If you can't shame a pastor like me, just blend in with them and be a closeted Atheist, that should help. And to read the full story of how I shamed a pastor, Go back to my profile, its on one my thread. I had to create a thread for it lol.

I think when you become an atheist, you will be immune from problems. When we become atheists, things will get better. When Nigeria becomes an atheist country, we will progress.
Lol! At least this is what atheists on nairaland want us to believe.

Touchnot01:
I think when you become an atheist, you will be immune from problems. When we become atheists, things will get better. When Nigeria becomes an atheist country, we will progress.
Lol! At least this is what atheists on nairaland want us to believe.

Then both you and those atheist need serious help as soon as possible..

it's either you misconceived or misrepresented their points to score cheap points

or

they are starkly deluded.

johnydon22:


Then both you and those atheist need serious help as soon as possible..

it's either you misconceived or misrepresented their points to score cheap points

or

they are starkly deluded.

But they blame the woes of Nigeria on religion, even the woes of the world. In short, you people blame anything on religion. It does not take much to know that this is what atheism stands for.

Touchnot01:
But they blame the woes of Nigeria on religion, even the woes of the world. In short, you people blame anything on religion. It does not take much to know that this is what atheism stands for.

Nope it's a reverse argument just like the situation buhari and APC are in right now; Being caught in the jail of their own words.

That is the argument, once religiosity claims to be 'center of human morality and ethics' people tend to give examples with overly religious countries like Nigeria to show this isn't always true.

Touchnot01:
I think when you become an atheist, you will be immune from problems. When we become atheists, things will get better. When Nigeria becomes an atheist country, we will progress.
Lol! At least this is what atheists on nairaland want us to believe.

You know the way religious people run to their place of worships for spiritual and moral help from pastors, elders and all that.

Uhm have you heard? Church no go give charity. http://www.afriqhub.com/post/8/Church_no_go_give_charity

Touchnot01:
I think when you become an atheist, you will be immune from problems. When we become atheists, things will get better. When Nigeria becomes an atheist country, we will progress.
Lol! At least this is what atheists on nairaland want us to believe.

You have just invaded an atheist thread. When they retaliate you would start calling Seun.

Recently, I got to test the "atheist in a foxhole" theory, unfortunately





My little cousin had a case of convulsion. He just shut up and started foaming in the mouth. All my uncle and aunt could do (in their defense, they both studied the arts) was watch helplessly in horror............and pray, of course.
It was 3 am and there were no near hospital in sight. Fuel was not in both their cars...

And they prayed.

I put my hand to his mouth, forcing them to stay open because I knew if they closed, he would be axsphyiated. He almost bit my fingers off..

And still they prayed.

While struggling to keep his mouth open, he started foaming, saliva pouring from his mouth and frothing on my cloth...

And still they just watched......and prayed


He finally stopped gagging; and finally went limp...


Yet they watched, still too stunned to move, hoping I would somehow magically revive him.... And kept praying, of course.


When he went limp, I finally told them (shouted at them actually) to go open the door so I could carry him.

They finally burst into action and opened the door.


We ran to the neighbour's house, shouting liked castrated baboons for help...


They still muttered prayers,


we finally found a good helper and sped off to the hospital, where they stablilized him


The family started prayer in earnest and asked me to join. I couldn't really say no to something like that.



He survived the convulsion.......and the doctor complimented me especially for keeping his airways open.


To my relatives, it was God's work.



They did the testimony in church, of course.



It was god that did it


Draw a conclusion, that's all I will say

SirWere:
Recently, I got to test the "atheist in a foxhole" theory, unfortunately





My little cousin had a case of convulsion. He just shut up and started foaming in the mouth. All my uncle and aunt could do (in their defense, they both studied the arts) was watch helplessly in horror............and pray, of course.
It was 3 am and there were no near hospital in sight. Fuel was not in both their cars...

And they prayed.

I put my hand to his mouth, forcing them to stay open because I knew if they closed, he would be axsphyiated. He almost bit my fingers off..

And still they prayed.

While struggling to keep his mouth open, he started foaming, saliva pouring from his mouth and frothing on my cloth...

And still they just watched......and prayed


He finally stopped gagging; and finally went limp...


Yet they watched, still too stunned to move, hoping I would somehow magically revive him.... And kept praying, of course.


When he went limp, I finally told them (shouted at them actually) to go open the door so I could carry him.

They finally burst into action and opened the door.


We ran to the neighbour's house, shouting liked castrated baboons for help...


They still muttered prayers,


we finally found a good helper and sped off to the hospital, where they stablilized him


The family started prayer in earnest and asked me to join. I couldn't really say no to something like that.



He survived the convulsion.......and the doctor complimented me especially for keeping his airways open.


To my relatives, it was God's work.



They did the testimony in church, of course.



It was god that did it


Draw a conclusion, that's all I will say

So what would have happened if you weren't there?

visita:
So what would have happened if you weren't there?

2 hands in action is better than a thousand clasped in prayer; that's all I will say

SirWere:
Recently, I got to test the "atheist in a foxhole" theory, unfortunately





My little cousin had a case of convulsion. He just shut up and started foaming in the mouth. All my uncle and aunt could do (in their defense, they both studied the arts) was watch helplessly in horror............and pray, of course.
It was 3 am and there were no near hospital in sight. Fuel was not in both their cars...

And they prayed.

I put my hand to his mouth, forcing them to stay open because I knew if they closed, he would be axsphyiated. He almost bit my fingers off..

And still they prayed.

While struggling to keep his mouth open, he started foaming, saliva pouring from his mouth and frothing on my cloth...

And still they just watched......and prayed


He finally stopped gagging; and finally went limp...


Yet they watched, still too stunned to move, hoping I would somehow magically revive him.... And kept praying, of course.


When he went limp, I finally told them (shouted at them actually) to go open the door so I could carry him.

They finally burst into action and opened the door.


We ran to the neighbour's house, shouting liked castrated baboons for help...


They still muttered prayers,


we finally found a good helper and sped off to the hospital, where they stablilized him


The family started prayer in earnest and asked me to join. I couldn't really say no to something like that.



He survived the convulsion.......and the doctor complimented me especially for keeping his airways open.


To my relatives, it was God's work.



They did the testimony in church, of course.



It was god that did it


Draw a conclusion, that's all I will say

You are God.