The Abraham/Isaac story started me on the road to atheism when I was circa 7-8 years old. My father was almost 50 when I was born & he had more time for me than most fathers. Compared to other families, there was a much stronger than usual bond between us.
I was appalled by the request that Abraham kill his son. I was certain that my father would have considered the source of such a request to be demonic. The more my Sunday school teacher tried to justify the request, the more convinced I was that her views were wrong & that religion was suspect.
For years, I called myself an agnostic. When circa 13-14, I read the following probably from the Reader's Digest.
While I consider theists deluded, I envy them for being able to sincerely say
I was never an evangelistic atheist. If the subject of religious belief was being discussed, I would mention my POV & defend it if challenged. I never started such discussions.
Atheists are a rare breed & I have encountered few of them. I have often wondered about how others came to such a POV.
I was appalled by the request that Abraham kill his son. I was certain that my father would have considered the source of such a request to be demonic. The more my Sunday school teacher tried to justify the request, the more convinced I was that her views were wrong & that religion was suspect.
For years, I called myself an agnostic. When circa 13-14, I read the following probably from the Reader's Digest.
From that time on, I called myself an atheist.An agnostic is a cowardly atheist.
While I consider theists deluded, I envy them for being able to sincerely say
It took me a while to make peace with my mortality. Their erroneous belief in the after life provides an easy coping mechanism if/when they think about their inevitable death.In the after life, I will be able to say "I told you so."
I was never an evangelistic atheist. If the subject of religious belief was being discussed, I would mention my POV & defend it if challenged. I never started such discussions.
Atheists are a rare breed & I have encountered few of them. I have often wondered about how others came to such a POV.