Any atheists here who were once believers?

[Jan Ardena]

Sarkus,

If you believed in God, why are you now an agnostic? jan.

I think it was realising that there was more than one religion, and there was no way the benevolent God I was taught about and believed in would consign all those souls to limbo just because they were born into a different family and religion than I was.

Did you believe in Him because you heard about Him, or did you believe in Him Despite what you learned??

At first I'm sure it was just an extension of the idea of the God I believed in, but then I began to question all aspects of my religion: if one aspect was wrong, which others might also be, and why not all of them?
So I dropped the notions I had been taught and went back to the notion of a universal: if God exists then he is surely the same for all - lest we end up with the Roman/Greek pantheon that I had been learning about at school.

But from there, how could I possibly know which religion was being accurate about which aspect, if any at all?
And then from there I questioned how anyone could possibly know anything about God at all... and I became an agnostic (before I became a self-confessed atheist).


And from there I questioned whether God even existed, and whether God's existence or not impacted the way I lived my life (given that I had already dropped religious trappings).

And so I dropped my belief in God's existence... I was an atheist.

A potted history, but I hope it conveys the journey, even if my memory of the specific thought processes is lacking.

So you believed in an idea of God, an idea that was taught to you, and then at some point you decided that what you were taught wasn't real?

jan.

 

[Robittybob1]

Why would you worship someone who tortures people?
If you really believe that, then have courage. Do the right thing. Spit straight in his eye!

If it wasn't for you Kremmen I'd have left this Hell Hole long ago.

 

[Captain Kremmen]

Cap'n are they orange? If they are purple no, but the orange ones seem believable.

Are you sure you know what an Orb is?
Here's the true story.

On April 23rd 1936, a little baby was born. His parents called him Roy.
That baby was Roy Orbison. Orbs.
This is him a bit later, when he wasn't quite so small.

Time passed, during which he became a great Rock Star.
Then, in 1988, he died of a heart attack.

Since that day, many people have seen Orbs in photographs of graveyards and other creepy places. Like this:

Orb appearing in a spooky old jailhouse

 

[wegs]

No, not really. It was a gradual change, and I adapted with the change. Frustration more at having to still abide by the religious practices of the school I was at, which became a chore rather than anything particularly in-/cons-tructive.
Besides, I used to believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy et al, and I'm not angry at believing in those either. Although I dropped those beliefs somewhat earlier, as they weren't perpetuated in the same way.

I see, ok. That makes sense.
It has been a gradual change for me too.

Did you experience anyone shunning you? I have a Christian friend who won't see me anymore. And it hurts.

 

[Robittybob1]

I see, ok. That makes sense.
It has been a gradual change for me too.

Did you experience anyone shunning you? I have a Christian friend who won't see me anymore. And it hurts.

I have a Christian/atheist friend who won't talk to me anymore. And it hurts. Funny that! Is that Karma?

 

[wegs]

Are you sure you know what an Orb is?
Here's the true story.

On April 23rd 1936, a little baby was born. His parents called him Roy.
That baby was Roy Orbison. Orbs.
This is him a bit later, when he wasn't quite so small.

Time passed, during which he became a great Rock Star.
Then, in 1988, he died of a heart attack.

Since that day, many people have seen Orbs in photographs of graveyards and other creepy places. Like this:

Orb appearing in a spooky old jailhouse

Lol!
Doesn't look convincing.

 

[Robittybob1]

I have a Christian/atheist friend who won't talk to me anymore. And it hurts. Funny that! Is that Karma?

What about Fairies? And the prayer requests, and the Christian song links were they all BS?

 

[Captain Kremmen]

Lol!
Doesn't look convincing.

Not the plastic statue, donkey. The purple round thing!

 

[wegs]

Not the plastic statue, donkey. The purple round thing!

I know, I know. It reminds me of you all going round and round with magical realist when he put up vid clips of orbs.
:roflmao:

 

[(Q)]

(Q),

So what's your point?

Your irrational religious beliefs have nothing to do with common sense, by definition.

Are you a psycopath?

You're asking me if I'm a psychopath because I gave you the definition of common sense?

 

[Billy T]

Billy T, How did it make you stop believing in God? ... I'm not talking about religion, just belief in God. Did you actually believe in God, or did you just go along with something? jan.

Yes I believed - prayed silently to him most days, often for selfish things I wanted. I can still remember "Please God let me win" as I continuously repeated it while my soapbox derby rolled down a long hill. I didn't win but my faith was strong so I assumed the other driver's needs were greater than mine.

What Sarkus said and I in other words was enough alone:

"... realising that there was more than one religion, and there was no way the benevolent God I was taught about and believed in would consign all those souls to limbo just because they were born into a different family and religion than I was."
In my case that was personified in my good friend, the Rabbi's son - how could he be damned to burn in hell for all eternity by an accident of birth?

 

[Robittybob1]

Yes I believed - prayed silently to him most days, often for selfish things I wanted. I can still remember "Please God let me win" as I continuously repeated it while my soapbox derby rolled down a long hill. I didn't win but my faith was strong so I assumed the other driver's needs were greater than mine.

What Sarkus said and I in other words was enough alone:

"... realising that there was more than one religion, and there was no way the benevolent God I was taught about and believed in would consign all those souls to limbo just because they were born into a different family and religion than I was."
In my case that was personified in my good friend, the Rabbi's son - how could be damned to burn in hell for all eternity by an accident of birth?

I always found you a pain Billy when we argued science, but now you have me listening!

 

[Billy T]

Why would you worship someone who tortures people? .f you really believe that, then have courage. Do the right thing. Spit straight in his eye!

I will here admit, that at the end of my post 1373, after telling my "agnostic religion" I was tempted to end with:

If god and hell do exist and he is not pleased by POV as to how one should live, then he can go to hell.

 

[Sarkus]

Did you believe in Him because you heard about Him, or did you believe in Him Despite what you learned??

Both. Being in a religious household I heard about Him from as far back as I can recall... then as I grew up and still believed it was despite what I learned, as I figured no smoke without fire.

So you believed in an idea of God, an idea that was taught to you, and then at some point you decided that what you were taught wasn't real?

You do like only taking the bits you want to hear, don't you.

I didn't think that God was not-real, just that some notions put forth by the religion I was indoctrinated in didn't make sense. And that got the ball rolling in terms of thinking more critically about what I was being asked to belive in. I stripped back the notion of God to just being the original cause, and worked outward from there... and found nothing convincing, and still don't.
And within that (ongoing) exercise I also questioned whether there was value in even holding on to the belief of the existence of God... would my life be any different without?

I am now an atheist.

 

[Billy T]

I always found you a pain Billy when we argued science, but now you have me listening!

Then read this link:
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread...ce-believers&p=3115386&viewfull=1#post3115386

My asking if you believed the sun stood still, etc. was not, in my POV, arguing about science - God, if existing is not provable (or disproved able) by science - I would not argue that way.

I firmly believe that the absence of proof is NOT proof of absence. At best it is grounds for doubt - that is where I am as an agnostic.

 

[Sarkus]

Did you experience anyone shunning you?

No. The only thing was my grandmother, a devout Catholic, kept telling me she was disappointed I had lost my faith, that she was still praying for me, and that she was sure I would return.

I have a Christian friend who won't see me anymore. And it hurts.

And she still considers herself Christian?

 

[Robittybob1]

No. The only thing was my grandmother, a devout Catholic, kept telling me she was disappointed I had lost my faith, that she was still praying for me, and that she was sure I would return.
And she still considers herself Christian?

The "shunning" - it happens and is practiced by Christian-Atheists too.

 

[wegs]

No. The only thing was my grandmother, a devout Catholic, kept telling me she was disappointed I had lost my faith, that she was still praying for me, and that she was sure I would return.

Aw.
Well, that's nice I guess. Comes from a good place you know?
I appreciate you sharing like this, Sarkus.

And she still considers herself Christian?

He's referring to me. Lol

Please just let it go, Robittybob.

 

[Captain Kremmen]

Look on the bright side.
At least there's no children to worry about.

 

[Captain Kremmen]

I will here admit, that at the end of my post 1373, after telling my "agnostic religion" I was tempted to end with:

If god and hell do exist and he is not pleased by POV as to how one should live, then he can go to hell.

How can someone worship a God that they think tortures people?
They might as well worship Hitler, or the Devil.

If there's a hell, God can stick heaven up his arse.
I'm not worshipping a Hitler.