When did you become an atheist?

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Just Jack

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When did you say to yourself, " I do not believe in god."

I always wondered this about certain people. It seems to me that most people leave their religions in their teenage years, like I did. However, there are always exceptions.

But I would like to ask, when did you leave your religion? (If you had one in the first place)

Most of us are taught religion when we are young. I think breaking those chains is a very important event in the life of an atheist.

So please, share your experience.

(Warning: Lets not get this one locked. The threads I post have a bad habit of turning into massive arguments. I don't want this to dengenrate. So please, if you debate, please keep it civil. Thank you)
 

Just Jack

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You do understand you're going to hell, right?

I guess my reccomendation went right out the window.

I was raised a christian, but I was never blessed or anything. Does that mean I'm going to hell too?

Why I'm sure it does.
 

Disa

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I wasn't raised with religion but I had some cousins who were. My cousin used to tell me when I was 4 or 5 to do these stupid things or God would strike me down. I went and asked my mom what God was, she said, "It's something man made up to explain why we are here and why things happen."

I spent a lot of my life feeling like something was missing because all of the believers glowed with a halo of "purity". I asked everyone I knew what God was because I really wanted to know why so many people believed in "HIM".

Anyway, later I came to my own realization of what God is to me, so I don't figure I'm atheist anymore. I don't believe in organized religion.
 
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Just Jack

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From now on, lets leave hell out of here.
If your not an atheist, and don't have anything to post regarding the topic, then please don't post at all.
 

escritora

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I can't remember a time when I did believe in God.
 

benbradley

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This thread has me more convinced than ever that My Purpose In Life is to write my memoir, in which this very question will be thoroughly answered.

Is that enough of a teaser?:)
 

rugcat

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From now on, lets leave hell out of here.
If your not an atheist, and don't have anything to post regarding the topic, then please don't post at all.
If you weren't relatively new, you might realize both Veinglory and myself have been on this board for a few years and are familiar with each other. And you might then recognize a joke when you see one.

It's also considered impolite to direct a fellow poster to stop posting if the content does not please you. If you feel there is a problem, the proper course is to PM a mod (Like Veinglory) with your concerns.
 

Just Jack

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If you weren't relatively new, you might realize both Veinglory and myself have been on this board for a few years and are familiar with each other. And you might then recognize a joke when you see one.

It's also considered impolite to direct a fellow poster to stop posting if the content does not please you. If you feel there is a problem, the proper course is to PM a mod (Like Veinglory) with your concerns.

I admit defeat

sorry
 

Zoombie

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Uuuh...

My parents taught me about each of the major religions, just to show me what my options were. I looked at them all, shrugged, and kept reading the book I actually wanted to read...A Spell For Chameleon, by Peris Anthony...
 

jillbrenna

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If it's interesting to you at all, I "got" religion when I was 15 - leaving the atheistic bent of my upbringing - and promptly left it at age 30, when I read some books by Dawkins and Hitchens (The God Delusion and God is Not Great, respectively) and after some major upheavals in my life - a divorce from an abusive and religious guy, for one thing.

I am working on a novel right now about my experiences, with some specifically atheistic themes, so I'm interested in this topic. If anyone is interested to hear more about why I left Christianity and/or my thoughts on the topic, I'm totally open to questions.

Thanks for asking this (I think very important) question!
 

rugcat

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I admit defeat

sorry
No problem. Sorry I was a bit snarky in reply.

One of the problems is that different people define atheism differently. They even have different ideas about exactly what "belief" entails.

So, I do not believe in the concept of God as it's commonly used. Never have, but I was a lot more militant about it when I was younger. I don't believe in a being who takes an active interest in humankind, or has concerns about our moral actions. I don't believe in heaven. (Although I admit, the concept of Satan has some appeal. It would explain a lot.)

But do I assert there is nothing beyond the random convergence of electrons and quarks? I can't go that far -- I simply don't know.

My favorite quote is from JBS Haldane, (who also wrote my favorite children's book) the British geneticist:

"My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose."
 

Mandy-Jane

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I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and fiercely believed all I was taught about being a good girl and going to heaven, and if you're bad you'll burn in hell etc, etc. I can't even remember the number of times I spent as a child and teenager praying to God to look after my family, especially my mum who had lots of health issues.

Then when my 6 year old daughter came home from school and said they'd been taught that they need to be good catholics so that they'll go to heaven when the world ends, I just thought "that's enough."

Now I don't buy into it. I don't pray and I don't believe in the god that I was brought up to believe in. I do believe in a higher power. I don't know what or who or where that is. I just believe that there's something greater.

But I don't call it god.
 

escritora

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Mandy-Jane,

Did you take her out of Catholic school?

I'm an atheist. My sister won't say she is but calls the concept of God bullshit. She did, however, want to send my nephew to Catholic school because the district that she was in wasn't A rated. I was so upset, but didn't say anything.

One day I read in the newspaper that a Catholic school teacher was giving extra credit to students who protested in front of abortion clinics. I got in my car so fast to drive to my sister's house. I knew that when she read what was happening she would change her mind. And she did.
 

Just Jack

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It irritates me when people define atheism as some sort of "opposition" to religion, or god. Like the age old question, "do atheists hate god?"

No, you can't hate something you don't believe in.

The definition of atheism changes depending on your perspective. If you were raised in a very faith based home, then it would seem evil to you, as an atheist would represent a polar opposite.

I think that's why the religious majority don't trust atheists, for the most part.

just an observation...
 

Mandy-Jane

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Mandy-Jane,

Did you take her out of Catholic school?

quote]

I thought about it very strongly, but apart from this, it's a great school and she's thriving there. We felt that it may do her more harm than good to take her out. She also talks a lot about god and I think she finds comfort in it. It would be wrong of me as a parent to force my views onto her.
 

Ruv Draba

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I started becoming an atheist as a kid, when religious adults couldn't answer my questions satisfactorily. At first I thought that there was something wrong with me that I couldn't understand their answers. After a while I realised that the people I'd talked to were entranced by their faith. They couldn't see the holes I saw because their minds simply wouldn't ask the necessary questions or explore the full gamut of answers.

Meanwhile, I'd absorbed a bunch of prevalent myths about atheism. Particularly, that:
  1. Atheists are atheists because they believe that gods don't exist;
  2. Because atheism is uncommon, it is somehow deviant;
  3. Atheists must seek to prove that gods don't exist to justify their position;
  4. Atheists want to see all religions disappear; and that
  5. Atheists are all materialists or hedonists.
It took me years to discover that:
  1. Atheists don't need to form views about statements that have no meaning;
  2. IQ is a predictor of atheism;
  3. Because there are more lies than truths, it is the job of theists who are trying to propagate belief to justify its validity; not the job of skeptics to justify their skepticism;
  4. As an atheist I can love theists even while realising that I can't help them; and that
  5. Atheists can be as spiritual as any theist - and that atheism is beneficial if you want to stay spiritually informed.
 
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escritora

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Ruv Draba,

What do you mean by #5 - spiritually informed?
 

Higgins

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No problem. Sorry I was a bit snarky in reply.

One of the problems is that different people define atheism differently. They even have different ideas about exactly what "belief" entails.

So, I do not believe in the concept of God as it's commonly used. Never have, but I was a lot more militant about it when I was younger. I don't believe in a being who takes an active interest in humankind, or has concerns about our moral actions. I don't believe in heaven. (Although I admit, the concept of Satan has some appeal. It would explain a lot.)

But do I assert there is nothing beyond the random convergence of electrons and quarks? I can't go that far -- I simply don't know.

My favorite quote is from JBS Haldane, (who also wrote my favorite children's book) the British geneticist:

"My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose."

I've never bothered being an atheist because...for me personally...the bare idea of a being that fills everything but isn't there at all is a non-starter. Ie. its not even really an idea, ie not a concept coherent enough to not believe. The weirdest thing about the universe is not that it is queer, but that there are people in it that like to start the day with a bad idea and then apply it to everything. For example: suppose the universe is not queer at all, it just is and it is right there in front of you all the time. Is that a bad idea? No. at least it is coherent and suggests that personal experience of everyday things really is cosmic and really matters. Another choice is to suppose that something you don't see and know nothing about is everywhere all the time dumping His pure love and awful wrath on you constantly for no discernable reason at all. That definitely seems like something not worth considering. I did not even give it more than about 5 seconds thought at the very young age when I decided God was less cosmic than saying please and thank you and one did not have to be all that polite about it. Everyone I knew believed in God when I was a kid, but they all also wore rather ugly shoes so I had a low opinion of their mental abilities anyway.
 
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escritora

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Everyone I knew believed in God when I was a kid, but they all also wore rather ugly shoes so I had a low opinion of their mental abilities anyway.

I don't know if you are joking. But the above is true for me. In fact, I have a scene in my WIP that deals with that very subject.
 
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