2006-06-20 06:47:10 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I liked several answers, so, we vote!
2006-06-21 11:34:40 · update #1
I qualify for this more every day... so I'm answering.
I was a Christian for 20 years. I tried my best to ignore or explain away things that went against it in my mind. Didn't work.
I absolutely knew plenty before making my decision to leave religion.
2006-06-20 06:51:16 · answer #1 · answered by Snark 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am in the process of reading some religious works, including the Bible, the Koran, the Tao Te Ching, and the Bhagavad Gita. However I do feel like I know enough to confirm my opinion that religion is generally archaic and deficient.
Even if I'm not familiar with the finer details of the religions I know what people believe. I have been "witnessed" on several occassions and it becomes blatantly clear to me that these men know less about Christianity than I do.
2006-06-20 07:07:53 · answer #2 · answered by Irony 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the problem was I knew too much about it. Growing up in a religious family tends to make you see the hypocrisy of religious belief.
I'm reading the bible all the way through now. It's the most valuable ammunition an atheist has for showing what a joke Judeo-Christianity is. (The Koran is next, then the Mormons, and if I don't die from laughter, Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.)
2006-06-21 04:08:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not. I was raised Christian and attended church and bible school. I think education, extensive reading, and the development of independent critical thought is what brought me to my nonreligious state. I've read a lot of biblical scholarship over time and I continue to listen and read. I'm not saying though that some educated and thoughtful people aren't religious, I think it becomes also a question of personality type. Some people really need that structure in their lives. Other people are just brought in by the fear factor or need for an absolute promise of immortality. It boils down to a matter of faith not fact. I do think facts trump religion if you are honest and investigate though. I'm not trying to convert anyone, so long as you aren't forcing your beliefs or trying to control others believe what you want. My journey has led me to reject religion as manmade but I'm agnostic since I think God can neither be proved nor disproved.
2006-06-20 07:03:33 · answer #4 · answered by Zen Pirate 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. I go to a Church of England school. I have taken RS for my GCSE's (If your from the US then they're our first lot of major public exams and RS is religious studies). In this i study the religion for half the course, and its viewpoints and ethical questions for the other half. I have also taken an extra course which deals with arguments for and against God. I study sciences. I have made my decision about what I believe from studying religion against science. I also believe that why believe in something that isn't proven and the story sounds like something our ancestors would have made up to explain what they couldn't, but what we can now. I believe that religion continued even when science could find answers as in the past so many had turned to it.
2006-06-20 07:39:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was raised a Christian, but became an atheist. I have actually read the bible in my spare time (at the time I was an atheist, but wanted to know more about Christianity) and have done much research into Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek "mythology" Roman "mythology" Egyptian "mythology" and Norse "mythology" I don't think I've dismissed much without knowing anything about it.
2006-06-20 07:08:11 · answer #6 · answered by Joe Shmoe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not. I had read several holy books and read about many different religions - all of which I was willing to give a chance to.
If I hadn't read up on religion, I might have never learnt to question accepted 'truths' - when you learn that one way is not the 'only' way, then you begin to understand that religious faith is not absolute. In short, you begin to accept alternatives. If I hadn't read up on other religions, I might still be a theist today.
2006-06-20 06:57:39 · answer #7 · answered by XYZ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have read most of the Bible. Hell, I know it better than most of my Christian friends. Before I read the Bible, I was an agnostic. Now, however, I am 100% atheist. But I did not become one without learning about Christianity. I've also read parts of the Torah and Koran.
2006-06-20 06:52:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No,I've tried studying Christianity tirelessly several times in my life, not to mention going to catholic school as a youth and being raised Baptist. I just can't seem to make the teaching relate to my real life. At this point in my life I'm fine without having a religion.
2006-06-20 06:54:00 · answer #9 · answered by Derrick T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. I was a catholic for the first twenty years of my life; I've done some reading on my own; and I've had a mild news addiction for most of my adult life, so while I'm far from an expert I'm at least reasonably well informed.
Besides, when the godidiots complain "but you don't understaaannddd!" they mean "but how can you not believe what I believe?"
2006-06-20 14:10:57 · answer #10 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not I. I know enough about christianity and most other religions to know it isn't my Path to take at this time of my life. I continue to learn new things about these religions, regardless of my choice. That goes for other religions and philosophies too. I did read the NT front to back years ago, so no one can accuse me of "never having read the bible".
2006-06-20 07:21:38 · answer #11 · answered by Nikki 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋