What happens when you spend six months or a year or five years wondering about the existence of God and concluding that there is, at best, no compelling reason to believe? In particular, what happens when you experience this loss of faith after having been born into and continually immersed in religious life? In the midst of exploring arguments for and against the existence of God I very early on began asking a question which, in my case, is far more important:What do I do now?
To listen to some atheists, you would think that the consequences of not believing in God are on the level of starting a new job or moving to a new house. Disruptive, sure, but not too difficult. Some feel that Christians have been pretending this whole time anyway so the admission of unbelief should come as a huge relief. And for many, it does. I certainly experienced a sense of relief at no longer needing to hold together incompatible ideas that I felt mustfit together somehow. But for most there is also a deep sense of loss and lostness. Sincerely held religious beliefs are not a surface level trait that can be discarded without affecting one’s entire psyche and worldview. These beliefs are an integral part of the scaffolding of the believer’s life. In my case, my faith informed my social ethics (“forgive your enemies,” “do not lie, cheat, and steal”), my communal obligations (“you belong to one another”), my politics (we are citizens of God’s kingdom), my vision for the future (the promise of a new earth), and so much more. Removing religion and faith from my life was more like a surgical process than a snake shedding its skin. The roots run through everything including family, friends, community and neighborhood.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/2015/08/31/introducing-life-after-god/
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To listen to some atheists, you would think that the consequences of not believing in God are on the level of starting a new job or moving to a new house. Disruptive, sure, but not too difficult. Some feel that Christians have been pretending this whole time anyway so the admission of unbelief should come as a huge relief. And for many, it does. I certainly experienced a sense of relief at no longer needing to hold together incompatible ideas that I felt mustfit together somehow. But for most there is also a deep sense of loss and lostness. Sincerely held religious beliefs are not a surface level trait that can be discarded without affecting one’s entire psyche and worldview. These beliefs are an integral part of the scaffolding of the believer’s life. In my case, my faith informed my social ethics (“forgive your enemies,” “do not lie, cheat, and steal”), my communal obligations (“you belong to one another”), my politics (we are citizens of God’s kingdom), my vision for the future (the promise of a new earth), and so much more. Removing religion and faith from my life was more like a surgical process than a snake shedding its skin. The roots run through everything including family, friends, community and neighborhood.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/2015/08/31/introducing-life-after-god/
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