If you were a theist at one time, was there one thing that brought you to atheism or a combination of things?
I don't remember ever believing in God, even though I went to church and Sunday school.
I expect this question to be deleted for "chatting", but that's OK, I'd still like to hear your answers.
2006-11-13 07:42:33 · 20 answers · asked by Kathryn™ 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Great answers all! Thanks so much for your time on this.
2006-11-13 07:58:13 · update #1
I believed in god very much. Bible camp counsellor. On the bible quiz team. Memorized books of the bible. I went to a Baptist Bible College to study the bible in depth. Imagine my surprise when the "small little holes" in the bible became huge GAPING holes when studied in the original languages. It was the last thing I expected to happen at bible college.
After a few years of trying to hold onto my faith, it vanished all together. I tried shutting myself in a closet and praying every night. To stop "thinking" and just will myself to believe. Nothing worked.
Basically, the first thing to go was "the bible isn't correct." After that it was the morality of god (eternal punishment for a finite sin? All of humanity being punished for a chick munching on fruit?)
Eventually, getting a degree from a "secular" university in history helped me think my way out of religion.
Hope that is what you were lookin for.
2006-11-13 07:47:38 · answer #1 · answered by Black Parade Billie 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I remember going to Catholic Sunday school and not understanding how the things they taught us could possibly have really happened. I kept asking questions like how did Noah stop the Lions from eating all the other animals, which not surprisingly went over pretty bad with the nuns.
So to answer your question which is not a chat, yes I was a theist because my parents wanted me to be, but logic got the better of me and now I am an atheist.
2006-11-13 15:47:22 · answer #2 · answered by barter256 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I started off absolutely convinced and convicted of Christ Jesus. I would wake each day with praise in my mouth and would live my entire day to glorify him, and would go to bed giving thanks.
The more and more I learned of science, math, and logic though, the less and less the Bible made even the slightest sense at all. For about two, maybe three years, I lived in a constant state of crisis of faith, never giving up praying, begging desperately for some small scrap or sliver of evidence. It never came.
Strangely enough, it was when I finally closed my bible for the last time as a believer and reopened it as an athiest that I finally felt strong and stable again, ready to face the world.
2006-11-13 15:49:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
A high school education is what made me an atheist, followed by personal studies (on the history of religion and philosophy) afterwards. But I was a devout Baptist until the age of 13 or so. I fought and struggled to maintain my faith as a Christian until I was about 16. Eventually, common sense would not allow me to continue in that delusion, no matter how comfortable it made me feel.
2006-11-13 15:47:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
If you count believing when I was a child? I also believed in Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, ghosts, devils in my head, UFOs, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, magic, telekinesis, psychics, Tarot Cards, and more. Once I became aware that all the "pagan" gods like Zeus and Thor were actually worshiped by real people, I quickly figured out the whole mess and by age 13 was highly dubious of any of it. It took reading Nietzsche at age 19 to finally rid myself of any lingering thoughts of supernatural nonsense.
2006-11-13 15:49:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
When I was 8 we were taught about Noah's Ark and I thought, "Wait a minute, that's just not possible." So I started reading the Bible more closely,especially the areas I was steered away from by the leaders and low-and-behold, I lost my faith and it never recovered.
Mt Bishop took me in his office, told me I was a sinner and asked too many questions so I refused to go back to church and was grounded by my parents from 9 years old until, oh, about 11 for my lack of faith.
2006-11-13 15:56:27 · answer #6 · answered by Da Vinci's Code 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Looks like a valid question to me.
I was always skeptical, but I did go to church for many years. I didn't become an atheist until I took the time to start reading the bible
2006-11-13 15:45:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hope it's not deleted - it's a fair question and I'd be interested in the answers.
No, I think I was much like you. Curious, but never a believer really. Then I found out more and realized how silly it would be to believe.
2006-11-13 15:44:49 · answer #8 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
When I was a youngster I wanted to be a Christian. I asked my mom to buy me a bible and everything. Then I read that bible. Now I'm an atheist. Anyone that tells you that book contains 'all the answers to every question' obviously doesn't think very critically.
2006-11-13 15:45:42 · answer #9 · answered by Chris J 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I used to be baptist. It was a combination of things, like finding answers to things other than just believing what the religious told me to believe.
2006-11-13 15:52:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋