Atheists, I seriously want to understand, what experience did you have...?

Question

that put you on the path of being an Atheist, or is it all just a head trip?

Someone define 'head trip'?

HOW is it judgmental and insulting? I'm asking an honest question...

Harry..I've answered that twice in other questions...look if you really want to know.

Man, you guys can fling it to us, but some can't even handle an honest question...

Hey Dude, I just proved you wrong...

BRAVO! Roxy!

BRAVO! Roxy!

Some atheists answering are really unhinged..it could be a head trip. If the shoe don't fit, don't wear it. k?

I don't mean answering this question...I mean answering questions in general.

Answer 1

For me, it's not about experience - it's simply about not believing in something that to me, is so far fetched. I think religion was created because people are afraid of going from a state of existence and awareness to a state of non-existence and non-awareness. And I don't blame them - I wish I did believe in God because I don't like the idea of simply ceasing to exist - with everything I know and everything I am just disapearing as though it was never significant. But to me, believing in God isn't a choice - your brain just believes it or it doesn't. It's not a "free will" thing - it's something I can't help.

I had all the normal religious experiences a child could have growing up. Went to Sunday school and church every Sunday, went to a religious summer camp every Summer, prayed every night before bed and before every meal, took communion, became baptized, etc. I did all that until I was 16 when I started asking questions that no one in the religious community could answer - usually "why" questions: why this, why that. The answer was always, "Well, God works in mysterious ways." And then college expanded my awareness and knowledge of issues I didn't even know existed. In the end, the idea of the existence of God just stopped making sense to me. As Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't make sense, then it's not true."

I said at the top that being an Atheist wasn't really about my experience. Based on my previous paragraph, I take it back.

LATER
I agree with Roxy. I'd like to add this: I don't understand why other Atheists get so offended by the word "God." It is because I am an Atheist that the word "God" isn't offensive to me - I'm free to make it symbolize anything I want or think is important. Or maybe in some cases it simply doesn't mean anything to me at all. So I really could care less if kids pray in school, if we have "In God We Trust" stamped on our money, or if we leave the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. There are too many more important things to worry about than to worry about who gets offended by a word.

Answer 2

I think it was the lack of the "experience" that put me off...

Seriously, there was no experience. It was simply a matter of thinking for myself. ASking questions to which I was told that I either shouldnt be questioning God, or that I should just take it on faith. Im not a sheep, I cannot swallow something simply because everyone esle believes it to be true - if we did that, we'd all still believe that Aristolte was right when he said the earth was flat and resting on the backs of elephants standing on a turtle... Also, I was raised in SE Asia, where preists told me that I would go to hell if I didnt believe. When I asked about whether or not there were chinese people in heaven, I was told yes - the few that have converted. All others are burning in hell. I found it quite hard to swallow that - an entire culture, who lives a good, productive, morally upstanding life - andd they are doomed to hell for it?? Whatever. I left the church.

Since then, Ive been much happier. No guilt, no forcing to give my money. And what do we see today, but the church coming under fire for sexually abusing children and hiding it - for DECADES. Im glad I am no longer a part of that.

Answer 3

You know you might get better answers if your question was not so judgmental and insulting.

I have always been an atheist. I have been to church, I have been to religious schools, I have read much of the Bible and listened at length to what Christians had to say. When all is said and done I felt no difference hearing a story about Jesus as I did hearing a story about a fairy or Santa.

To me it all seemed like an unlikely story. As I got older and read more of the Bible I found it to be full of contradictions and nonsense. Through all of this I never encountered any intelligent reasoning as to why I should believe or proof that God exists.

So I chose not to be a believer. In fact I can remember no time in my life when I actually believed in God.

I live a moral, productive and successful life. I enjoy my life and I am completely happy. I have no desire to go on any kind of spiritual quest to find a god or religious sect to join.

Answer 4

Well after being forced to attend Southern Baptist services 3 times a week till I was 12 it dawned on me that I didn't believe what I was being told. I wanted a belief that I found not that was forced on me. And of course it is a head trip that's where it all happens whether you are Atheist or Baptist or what ever. Actually, I am an Agnostic because I don't know.

Answer 5

Ne head trip here just don't want my life ran by a bunch of old, sexist ( they are sexist they just lie about it to everyone..how tipical of a Christian), only reason they are so religious is because they so old they are all about to pass on. I feel no need to live in fear of something that was made up because the WHITE man wanted to put fear into everyone that was of color. I feel that calling someones choice of religion, or lack of, a head trip is absurd,childish,disrespectful and pretty much what a Christian would do, just to let you know. Live Free, Die Happy, PEACE!!!

Answer 6

In my teens I first realized that people from all sorts of other religions were just as moral and loving as any Christians I knew. I couldn't see a loving god sending them to hell just because they chose the wrong religion. So, that's when I first started questioning Christianity. I didn't go straight to being an atheist, I was kinda non-religious then agnostic then atheist.

Answer 7

there was no "event" really. I just grew up. No, seriously. When i was a kid, I believed in Santa Claus. But when my brain matured, I realized that belief was false.

Same thing with talking serpents, a woman coming out of a man's rib, and the easter bunny. I just....grew up and started using my god given brain.

I'm not an atheist though.

BTW Roxy, you can grow up believing there is no God. it depends on how you were brainwashed when you were a kid. What if you grew up with parent atheists and were homeschooled?

Answer 8

I chose to believe when I see actual proof.
The bible has no proof in it that God or jesus ever actually existed.
it could be a complete work of fiction, yet people choose to believe.
It also has no author at least no one that has signed the book.
it is not possiable to trace any living relative of the original author.

The painting of the last supper is now being pulled apart by those who question their faith.

Our universe is but one small universe suspended somewhere amongst a possiable million other universes, if there was some kind of overseeing God then he /she would definately have his/her work cut out to create that lot.

We have only just discovered the technology to clone animals and now we are heading toward the possiability of creating human beings, if God had the power to do this thousands of years ago why are we only now discovering how to do it ourselves?

I want to believe that there is some kind of higher power, after all i look at a tree with its beautiful leaves blowing in the wind, I have respect for that tree in all its splendour and i marvel at the night sky and cannot help but wnder how it was all created.

Jesus in my mind was a mere profit telling his world what he believed a bible puncher many might call him, all this rubbish about he died for our sins is absolute garbage I wasn;'t even born until a few thousand years after he died. so how could he die for my sins impossiable.

yes i suppose I am a bit of a hypacrit because i celebrate Christmas and easter but so do many other atheists besides its all about making children happy and rewarding them for bringing so much happiness and laughter into our lives.
I have always said |i would like to go to midnight mass on Christmas eve but i never seem to manage to get there and I supose I never will.
We are confused about what we want to believe as atheists and you deal with your life the way you see fit by needing some assurance by leanning on the belief that God exists and good luck to you all perhaps it is the need for dependance that leads us to the path of religeon I know that certain members of my family have started to turn to the church for comfort now that family members have been recently lost due to cancer or old age, the church also offer comfort in the way of companionship where other people gather to meet for coffee mornings and such like activities.
Personally i am still not fully convinced that we have a so called God in civilised countries where we can all sit down to a slap up meal tonight while dear sweet inoccent little children die at an alarmming rate somewhere on the other side of the world because this all powerful overseeing God allows it to happen.
Why would our create'er want to destroy our children futhermore why would anyone who knows he allows this to happen want to worship him?

Answer 9

Try looking at some of the ways that the stereotypical Christian in the US acts. It turns off people like crazy. Plus, for some, it just sounds stupid. I bet to you Islam or Hinduism sounds stupid, but to the people who practice those religions think Christianity is a bunch of bull as well. Also, take a look around at all of that garbage in this world. Would "A God who so loved the world..." actually let all of that happen. There are so many things that turn people off, it amazes me that so many Christian's are blind to this sort of thing.

Answer 10

At 22 years old, after a very religious upbringing, I finally read and studied the bible completely. I had many doubts prior to this but after doing that I was firmly convinced it is all a great con. Always has been, always will be. So it was the bible itself that finally pushed me towards being a atheist.