NationStates Jolt Archive

As the title suggests, I'd like to know how you atheists out there chose this spiritual point-of-view? Did you choose it by examining the evidence, or is it just a personal choice? I'm not going to argue, nor question what you have to say- I'd just like to hear your side of the story. (Because I'm certain the question will come up, I'm a Christian, but I'd like to hear the responses/stories of peoples' opinions).

cant you just go read one of the millions of threads just like this one?

I chose my athiestic point of view when some very religious people I knew screwed me over intentionally. I did it because I dont' want to be part of any orginization that puts recruitment before the way people are treated.

I was raised as a committed Baptist. I was active in the youth group and went twice a week, and participated in church activities.
At around 16, I began to think for myself and decided that I had been brainwashed so to speak, and wasn't aware of many other spiritual options out there. I discovered Buddhism, which filled a spot left long empty by Christianity.
So I'm both an atheist and a Buddhist (we don't believe in any big guys in the sky).

cant you just go read one of the millions of threads just like this one?

I second that.

Here's a few handy links, though.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=452957&highlight=atheism

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=451773&highlight=atheism

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=452259&highlight=atheism

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=452778&highlight=atheism

I stopped believing in God about the same time I found out anout Santa Claus. Oddly enough, they are both about as provable to me.

I more or less decided that there wasn't any reason to believe in a god given the evidence, so now I tend to take a position of neutrality.

As the title suggests, I'd like to know how you atheists out there chose this spiritual point-of-view? Did you choose it by examining the evidence, or is it just a personal choice? I'm not going to argue, nor question what you have to say- I'd just like to hear your side of the story. (Because I'm certain the question will come up, I'm a Christian, but I'd like to hear the responses/stories of peoples' opinions).
I just fell into it

After years of being hardcore catholic I started to relize things just did not make sense (at least their explinaiton) then I have found that I just dont have faith in said fairytales

In the end it was a slow process

But I ended up (at this poing) an agnostic/implicit atheist

I didnt choose to not believe that there is a particular deity or set of deities, or that there must be one or more such of some unspecificied kind or other.

I'm not aware of any doctrine regarding a deity or deities that (to me) is consistent with good sense.

Series of realisations. The more I started reading and investigating and seeking out truth objectively, the less tangible religion became.

I stared out in hindu/agnostic wishywashiness... Then I became agnostic because I didn't see any evidence of god but I was too lazy to really question anything.

Then I started university and actually started thinking about important things like that, and how they affect my worldview. When it became clear to me that there was no evidence of god around me, and by reading up on science (Hawking, Dawkins) I realised that existence is entirely possible without a creator, or even some kind of distant figure who just got things started, (I never believed in all out creation) I realised that I was just a lazy atheist. :p

My parents werent particularly religious (one a nominal catholic) and though I was raised believing in god, I ceased to at some point when it struck me that there was reasonable argument to do so.

I read Nietzsche when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, also solzhenitsyn and hesse.

I am fortunate to have very literate parents who gave me wonderful books.

Also, I bought a book called "understanding zen."

I consider myself a buddhist, if I had to pick.

Certainly, the books which have most strongly influenced me were:

Hesse's Siddhartha, Steppenwolf and Narcisuss and Goldmund
(which shaped the way I think about the universe and myself)
Solzhenistsyn's The First Circle (which I credit with my morality and ethics)
Nietzsche (his Antichrist shaped my ideas on religion, chiefly)

There is much else also.

I was raised in a traditional Catholic family and grew up being taught the Catholic religion and its views. I always had some issues with the logic the church presented and I hated sunday school and getting up to go to church early on Sundays. Eventually I went to a Catholic Highschool which didn't help make me want to be Catholic. Then in college I took a course on the different arguements in theology and just came out believing there wasn't enough evidence for either the theist side or the atheist side so I became and agnostic.

Brought up atheist, never saw any rhyme or reason in theism. I'm now an atheist Pagan eclectic witch, which means I celebrate nature, the transition of the year, and all life. Go life! :D

As the title suggests, I'd like to know how you atheists out there chose this spiritual point-of-view? Did you choose it by examining the evidence, or is it just a personal choice? I'm not going to argue, nor question what you have to say- I'd just like to hear your side of the story. (Because I'm certain the question will come up, I'm a Christian, but I'd like to hear the responses/stories of peoples' opinions).It was mostly by examining the evidence, but nobody changes their over-arching belief system through reason alone. It was also a bunch of personal and emotional stuff. I was disappointed at the absence of God through all my hard times.

Well, I'm not an atheist so much as an agnostic.
I was raised catholic, and attended a catholic grammar school in Germany. It was a positive experience, and I know how lucky I was and how easily it could have been oppressive and horrible. But I never had any big issues with the catholic chruch, and I never once had anybody in my school or at home telling me outright what I have to believe in. Rather, the teachings of the church were presented and were then open for discussion.
While I still believe that there probably is some sort of god, I don't believe that anybody or any book know for certain who or what this god is. He/she can't be proven, anyway.

The reason I started to distance myself from the Christian faith are Christians. I met a large number of individuals (especially on here) that made me turn away from this form of organised religion.

I was raised in a christian home. However, upon examining many points of view closely, the idea of religion seemed silly to me. Believing in a god is like believing in santa clause. As I like to call it, a god is a fools best (imaginary) friend.

Well, I was raised a Catholic; I found that when I realised I was gay, the church no longer accepted me, so I decided to become a Buddhist - that, and the fact that I don't believe that Jesus is the son of god etc. etc.

I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, the type you'd invite to a BBQ, but that doesn't mean they're the son of god.

I was raised as a Christian, but as I reached adolescence and gained more intelligence I began to question the teachings in the Bible, which I now believe spawns multiple, ambiguous meanings through the use of parables and other figurative techniques used. I also believe the Bible fails to adequately explain how the universe was created and how it operates. Being someone who seeks solid explanations, this reduced the credibility of the Bible in my eyes.

I was raised Catholic. And then I started thinking for myself. I'm not an agnost, I am 100% atheist.
In math, logic and science, one of the most important rules, is not to introduce an axioma/assumption that a) one can't back up and b) is not needed to explain the world around us.
Obviously, a has never been true, therefore, believing in god can only rely on b. B has been true for a long while, untill darwin found out that there's something called natural selection. Natural selection is not an assumption (test it yourself on fruitflies).
Logicly speaking, there's no god. I believe in logic, therefore I believe not in god.

As the title suggests, I'd like to know how you atheists out there chose this spiritual point-of-view? Did you choose it by examining the evidence, or is it just a personal choice? I'm not going to argue, nor question what you have to say- I'd just like to hear your side of the story. (Because I'm certain the question will come up, I'm a Christian, but I'd like to hear the responses/stories of peoples' opinions).

I've looked at the evidence and found that there isn't a hell of a lot of it. When I ask questions about Christian theology all I get is 'mystery'. How is riginal Sin transmitted? 'Mystery'. If God is powerful enough to make a world with no pain and suffering but still allow us to have free will, why doesn't he? 'Mystery'. God's powerful enough to let us keep our free will and still show to us that he actually exists, why doesn't he? "Ask God" I'm told. I just can't live with so much uncertainty. In my opinion God is only around because we, as humans, need structure and rules to live by. God provides rules, he gives us an afterlife, removing our fear of death, and he gives us hope. There is no need for God other than a spiritual one. We don't need him for design, don't need him for first cause, we just need him so that we have a sense of purpose in our lives.

I have absolutely no problem with this. It's only human. I do have a problem however when Christians start enforcing their morality and beliefs upon the rest of the world.



By the way, I'd rather you did question my beliefs. I don't want you to just accept what I believe, I want you to analyze it and find any logical flaw in it which I may have missed.

I was raised Catholic. And then I started thinking for myself. I'm not an agnost, I am 100% atheist.
In math, logic and science, one of the most important rules, is not to introduce an axioma/assumption that a) one can't back up and b) is not needed to explain the world around us.
Obviously, a has never been true, therefore, believing in god can only rely on b. B has been true for a long while, untill darwin found out that there's something called natural selection. Natural selection is not an assumption (test it yourself on fruitflies).
Logicly speaking, there's no god. I believe in logic, therefore I believe not in god.
God exists outside the realms of logic. There's no reason to believe God would have to obey man-made laws; logic, science or otherwise. Fruitflies rock! God love us agnostics!

i was bought up as a christian attended sunday school on the odd occasion but somewhere between the age's 12-18 with all the turbulance goin off in my life i found no matter how i prayed or screamed bled or cryed he egnored me,
Im 25 now and have looked at other faiths i still belive there is something outthere but its not as stupid as to give a name to itself and man is far to young in its existance to understand or even name such a power.
Now i class myself as an aithest even though i sometimes pray/do taro/ stamp my feet as such lol i stick to no set religion i just do whatever makes me feel better besides if a ''god'' wanted subserviance why give us the mind to think otherwise its my thought a power (non male/female) would just wish for good behaviour as any adult would ask of its children

As I think about I don't think I've ever believed in a god.

When I was younger I'd pay lip service to the idea of a divinity, primarily because I went to a Catholic school, however even early on, I didn't think of 'god' as being real, more like a magical imaginary friend. About 8 years later I had a brief flirt with Wicca before deciding that I would stop paying any sort of lip service to the idea of god.

I was a militant pre-teen atheist. :D

Because I'm evil and I hate everything.

I got to questioning the bible. Jesus prophecy fell apart than everything else did. I found out there isn't a single legitamate Testament Prophecy of Jesus. Oh there tons of illegitamate ones. I've seen some webpages with over 100 but not a one is legitamate. Try looking up Messianic Prophecies and you may see what I mean.

Because I'm evil and I hate everything.

Seconded, Atheism is the only belief system where being a cold, uncaring bastard isn't just permissable, it's actively encouraged!:)

I look around and I do not see any proof for a god, a goddes, gods. Therefore: I believe God does not exist.

I someone else believes God(s/des) exists, it's cool with me.

Although...
I met some pesky little kids the other day which were proof that the devil is truly amongst us....
Pure evil, I tells you!!
Pure evil!!
aaaarrrggghhhh!!!!!!!!!

Its difficult to say. I think Religion makes many people happy but I can't accept God without doing some kind of "doublethink". It occurs to me that God does not need to exist, if we assume he is eternal then why not assume then the universe is. In responce to this people have told me he existed before time and then created it, but how can the concept of before exist if time does not? Considering then God is unlikly then the chances of him interfering in human affairs is even smaller. Why would a God care to answer prayer or send jesus or create heaven and hell or write a book or write several books and give them to different people around the world. It seems to be highly illogical.

As the title suggests, I'd like to know how you atheists out there chose this spiritual point-of-view?
I chose nothing. After examining the information available, I came to the conclusion that it is insanely unlikely that any religion have got it right, and that it it is equally unlikely that any belief on my part would make a positive difference for me or anyone I care about.
Did you choose it by examining the evidence, or is it just a personal choice?
It's primarily the former, although nearly all religions I know of, is at odds with how I choose to live & what I consider freedom.
I'm not going to argue, nor question what you have to say- I'd just like to hear your side of the story. (Because I'm certain the question will come up, I'm a Christian, but I'd like to hear the responses/stories of peoples' opinions).
I have nothing against most Christians. However, I consider religion on par with believing in The Star Goat or The Pink Unicorn. And honestly, if half the stuff in the Bible is even remotely true, then God needs killing.

Don't take offence. You asked. Besides, I know the vast majority of Christians aren't anything like the sick bastard God they pay homage to.

I have nothing against most Christians. However, I consider religion on par with believing in The Star Goat or The Pink Unicorn. And honestly, if half the stuff in the Bible is even remotely true, then God needs killing.


bbhhh! mhhnbs!

I'm not an Atheist as such; I just believe that no God that anyone has yet described exists as they describe them, which probably tends more towards Agnosticism. I arrived at that conclusion after studying multiple perceptions of an almighty being and found them to be lacking in a majority of areas. Religion is all about putting explanation to the supernatural; I feel that a natural (as well as beautiful and exciting) explanation exists for every "supernatural" phenomenon, including the existence of a higher power.

i'm a socialist and a biology student

I've looked at the world seen that it doesn't need god or a god/gods or whatever to cause all that happened

so i'm an athiest

well actually if you live in the country where I live and you don't practise a religion then you are by default an athiest (yay living in a secular state rocks)

For me I just sort of fell into a sort of passive atheism. My family were sort of Christians, I guess, because when I was young I went to church and Sunday school... but I know my sister stopped going when she was fairly young, and in the last years that I went, it was just myself and my mother. I also think that the only reason my mother really went was to being be, as I'm quite sure she stopped going when I did.

For me as a child, the Christian religion wasn't any more real to me than other stories, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I believed in them, but only in the manner a child believes in things. I prayed to God sometimes in the same manner that I'd write letters to Santa and leave him cookies and milk. As a result, when I was 10 or younger and I got bored of going to church and stopped going, I fell out with the whole God idea, as I'd fall out with the whole Santa Claus idea.

I think I went through a few years of randomly making up ideas of my own gods, or about all gods of all religions existing and such, but I never held to any of them with real conviction. Now, I just don't believe in any gods. I suppose I'm somewhat agnostic, as I'll admit that there probably could be a god of some sort, but I honestly just don't care.

I guess you could say that the main reason for my atheism is that I'm just too lazy to bother believing in and worshipping some omnipresent being when my life is well enough without doing so.

I am an atheist because I quite simply don't believe. This lack of belief was not a concious decision, it has always been the case, long before I could articulate it. I was an atheist long before I heard any anti-religious arguments. I've always found other people's apparent belief incomprehensible, just as many religious people find my lack of belief as such.

I assume this is the case for most atheists also.

I'm not an Atheist as such; I just believe that no God that anyone has yet described exists as they describe them, which probably tends more towards Agnosticism. I arrived at that conclusion after studying multiple perceptions of an almighty being and found them to be lacking in a majority of areas. Religion is all about putting explanation to the supernatural; I feel that a natural (as well as beautiful and exciting) explanation exists for every "supernatural" phenomenon, including the existence of a higher power.
So do you actually believe in the divine or what?

It's pretty simple really. When the time came to pick out my theism I did what most of us do and headed down to "Beliefs R Us" to look over my options.

Now, I looked into Christianity however found that their expected donations schemes were generally unaffordable to me, and also felt that derivative works tended to be inferior to originals.

So I put down the Christianity and wandered down the Judaic aisle. Same original book (although admittedly without the bestselling sequel as a bonus tome in the selection), however I gave it up as an option when they started talking about genital mutilation. If I am, after all, made in their God's image then I must wonder why we have to hate the end bit of our tallywhackers to please him.

Next Aisle, Islam. More of the same really. Same God. Same basic premise. Just there as an excuse to argue with the first two options, near as I could tell. Plus I've never really been fussy on virgins anyway. Promise me 30 or so EXPERIENCED ladies for the afterlife and maybe I'll get back to you.

More aisles, more of the same.

But down each one I went. Each with their own variations on who made the world the way it is and why, what they expect of me in exchange for my beliefs, what the possible payoff is, and what the punishment.

Frankly, after 30 or 40 of them they almost become indistinguishable. A blur of rules to live life by which really - when yu dig deeper- seem pretty consistent as far as being a set of rules for fair and honest dealings with your fellow man plus a restrictions of use clause in the TOS. Other than that, they just varied on diet plans, health coverage, and other sundry details.

I mean, even down in the bargain bin where I could opt to wear orange and dance around airports chanting and distributing flowers as a path to the next plane of existence if I wanted to go with the Hare Krishnas. Well, it gets too damn cold up here to wear THAT outfit in winter, and besides - with the changes to airport security post-911 I think that probably having to endure weekly cavity checks as part of the process made it seem less than attractive.

So I went home to think about it for a bit. All the options so different. All so much the same.

And I decided that there were too many options to choose from for me to possibly be able to tell who of all the fervent believers was right. And the idea of someone with the power to create the univers and who loved me so but still after all this time needed regular affirmation that we apreciated it by way of prayer and sacrifice was an unlikely combination. Plus who wants to spend their life wondering if you picked the right one from the shelf? The exchange policy at Beliefs R Us seemed terribly onerous, and with the price tags attached it seemed a sure start downt the road to buyers remorse/.


So fuck it. I'll keep my Sunday mornings for the kids and leave any worries about why lobster is so tasty on my plate but so forbidden to others to contend with.

I'm a good person. I don't need a God in my life to be that. Nor would a God need me in his if he were to exist.



Oh yes, and frankly the whole idea is really pretty silly on the face of it if you step back and look at the idea with complete dispassion.


So here I am. Atheist. Honest. Moral. Happy.


No regrets.

I am an atheist because I quite simply don't believe. This lack of belief was not a concious decision, it has always been the case, long before I could articulate it. I was an atheist long before I heard any anti-religious arguments. I've always found other people's apparent belief incomprehensible, just as many religious people find my lack of belief as such.

I assume this is the case for most atheists also.
I've argued before that athiesm isn't a choice. Think of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (May Her Hooves Never Be Shod). You couldn't make yourself believe in her, could you? It's a shame. Most Gods will condemn you to hell for being what you are.

It's pretty simple really. When the time came to pick out my theism I did what most of us do and headed down to "Beliefs R Us" to look over my options.

Now, I looked into Christianity however found that their expected donations schemes were generally unaffordable to me, and also felt that derivative works tended to be inferior to originals.

So I put down the Christianity and wandered down the Judaic aisle. Same original book (although admittedly without the bestselling sequel as a bonus tome in the selection), however I gave it up as an option when they started talking about genital mutilation. If I am, after all, made in their God's image then I must wonder why we have to hate the end bit of our tallywhackers to please him.

Next Aisle, Islam. More of the same really. Same God. Same basic premise. Just there as an excuse to argue with the first two options, near as I could tell. Plus I've never really been fussy on virgins anyway. Promise me 30 or so EXPERIENCED ladies for the afterlife and maybe I'll get back to you.

More aisles, more of the same.

But down each one I went. Each with their own variations on who made the world the way it is and why, what they expect of me in exchange for my beliefs, what the possible payoff is, and what the punishment.

Frankly, after 30 or 40 of them they almost become indistinguishable. A blur of rules to live life by which really - when yu dig deeper- seem pretty consistent as far as being a set of rules for fair and honest dealings with your fellow man plus a restrictions of use clause in the TOS. Other than that, they just varied on diet plans, health coverage, and other sundry details.

I mean, even down in the bargain bin where I could opt to wear orange and dance around airports chanting and distributing flowers as a path to the next plane of existence if I wanted to go with the Hare Krishnas. Well, it gets too damn cold up here to wear THAT outfit in winter, and besides - with the changes to airport security post-911 I think that probably having to endure weekly cavity checks as part of the process made it seem less than attractive.

So I went home to think about it for a bit. All the options so different. All so much the same.

And I decided that there were too many options to choose from for me to possibly be able to tell who of all the fervent believers was right. And the idea of someone with the power to create the univers and who loved me so but still after all this time needed regular affirmation that we apreciated it by way of prayer and sacrifice was an unlikely combination. Plus who wants to spend their life wondering if you picked the right one from the shelf? The exchange policy at Beliefs R Us seemed terribly onerous, and with the price tags attached it seemed a sure start downt the road to buyers remorse/.


So fuck it. I'll keep my Sunday mornings for the kids and leave any worries about why lobster is so tasty on my plate but so forbidden to others to contend with.

I'm a good person. I don't need a God in my life to be that. Nor would a God need me in his if he were to exist.



Oh yes, and frankly the whole idea is really pretty silly on the face of it if you step back and look at the idea with complete dispassion.


So here I am. Atheist. Honest. Moral. Happy.


No regrets.
:D That was marvelous.

bbhhh! mhhnbs!
I bet that made sense to seomeone. Alas not to me. So what is it supposed to mean Zero Six Three?

I bet that made sense to seomeone. Alas not to me. So what is it supposed to mean Zero Six Three?
Blessed Be Her Holy Hooves! and May Her Hooves Never Be Shod! Is it not obvious?

I consider myself athiest in that I do not believe in an established god, and certainly not the christian version of him.

For years I went to mass, and said the creed and everything. Then I got lazy, as all kids do, and became less interested, but still believed in the god in my own half-assed way. However, as I progressed through university, I read up on the history of the catholic church, and found that much of what I had been told to say at mass was a result of a long series of complex political struggles during the later Roman empire and early middle ages. Many alternative christian viewpoints emerged in those years, but these were crushed completely because the church leaders, backed by the ruler of the most powerful state in the west at the time, managed to suppress them because they went against official doctrine, on the assumption that god spoke through the Emperor, usually a mass murderer, and the Bishop of Rome, a position which would evolve into the modern papacy.

This fact made me question the whole legitimacy of the thing, and the sheer brutality of the counter-reforms throughout the ages only contadicted the idea of a merciful, just god. It is the same with any centralised religion, so I stopped seeing god in the church, and all of its doctrines became suspect to me.

This is not to say I don't believe in god. I still believe in some form of higher intelligence, but I find my proof in the sheer complexity of science and the world around us, not in the pronouncements of men.

:D That was marvelous.


Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week....

Matinees half price, two drink minimum for the evening show.

:D

I just find the idea of God ridiculous. Like santa claus or the tooth fairy. Or anything else that someone has obviously just made up that is totally implausible.

Very simple in my case. I thought for myself, and I came to an atheist conclusion.

I've argued before that athiesm isn't a choice. Think of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (May Her Hooves Never Be Shod). You couldn't make yourself believe in her, could you? It's a shame. Most Gods will condemn you to hell for being what you are.

I know. I took some flak off santa and the tooth fairy after I doubted their existence, they haven't sent me a birthday card for a few years which upsets me greatly. To be honest though I'm more worried about the overly religious folks condemning me to death for my lack of faith in their mysterious ways... love 'em. Fortunately I'm not living in a theocracy.

I was raised in a lacky relgious family. My mother and father both believe in god, and I went to Sunday School and bible School in the summers. But science was my first love, and the more I learned about the bible and the stories they less it made sence. To me, God sounded far too human to be a god. Demanding to be worshiped, "good" christians being refered to as "god fearing", Genesis being wrong in almost every way, ect. Then, looking around at church and watching the pettiness going on, how these people would just pick each other apart behind each others back. That, and the fear that most people have about dieing and not having a soul to go to heaven doesn't scare me like it does alot of people.

Personally, it is not for me. A supreme being that created himself out of nothing, caring about us like we mean something in a universe so vast we can't even comprehend the size of it, and then demanding we worship him or be damned doesn't fly. Sounds like a form of control.

Some people benefit from it, and I have friends who I actually encourage to go to church because it keeps them from being self-destructive. I don't have any problem at all with religion, as long as people dont' try to shove it down my throat, or try and tell me that it is "science". :)

Just the whole idea of a 'god' just seems kinda out there for me

I was raised in a lacky relgious family. My mother and father both believe in god, and I went to Sunday School and bible School in the summers. But science was my first love, and the more I learned about the bible and the stories they less it made sence. To me, God sounded far too human to be a god. Demanding to be worshiped, "good" christians being refered to as "god fearing", Genesis being wrong in almost every way, ect. Then, looking around at church and watching the pettiness going on, how these people would just pick each other apart behind each others back. That, and the fear that most people have about dieing and not having a soul to go to heaven doesn't scare me like it does alot of people.

Personally, it is not for me. A supreme being that created himself out of nothing, caring about us like we mean something in a universe so vast we can't even comprehend the size of it, and then demanding we worship him or be damned doesn't fly. Sounds like a form of control.

Some people benefit from it, and I have friends who I actually encourage to go to church because it keeps them from being self-destructive. I don't have any problem at all with religion, as long as people dont' try to shove it down my throat, or try and tell me that it is "science". :)


Just so you know, 'god-fearing' means 'scared of being judged and going to hell'. And no, it's not science. That's what you learn at school.

So do you actually believe in the divine or what?
I trust people when they say they have experiences of it. I don't trust the explanation they put on those experiences, but my little spiritual model does permit the experiences people claim to have in divine revelation or encounters.

Ultimately, the "divine" I believe in is much more close to earth than what some call God. It's more like the Buddhist idea of the Ultimate; higher levels of "soul" that influence our own and are also dependent on our own.

You can call that God if it makes you feel better, in which case, yes, I do believe in the divine. That's semantics though, and I feel that the term God is misleading. What I believe in isn't a creator (in the sense that he existed prior to the universe and caused it to begin), or someone who lives in some other dimension. It's just what you get when you sum everything up and get it all working together. Though I hesitate to use the term Just there; it's a fascinating train of thought if you can get lost in it.