Do atheists actually study other religions to rule them out or....?

Question

Just come to quick godless conclusions based on personal theory?
Those with Parkinson's disease (like my Mom and her doctor) only know they have it by ruling out every other dibilitating disease of it's kind.

No simmer, I believe God works through science.

Some of these are very insightful. Thanks!

Answer 1

What kind of "personal theories" did you have at the age of ten? That is when I first realized that god was a bunch of nonsense.

Before a human is made to feel guilt, shame, delusion, awe, gratitude, and all the other compulsory feelings required by religion, they face life with a wonderful sense of innocence that allows them to simply take things for what they are. Rain falls. Wind blows. Stars twinkle. Children are inherently atheistic.

It's HUMANS who assign things they don't understand to god, and it's HUMANS who teach these aberrant beliefs to other humans... particularly children. God never appears and implants religion in people's brains. We do this to ourselves.

When a child starts to question, they are a blank slate, and can be filled with anything we want. You can guess/lie/whatever and tell them sugary sweet fantasies like grandma died and went to a place called heaven, or you can be honest and tell them that grandma died and nobody really knows what happened to her. Delusional thinking proliferates because it makes people feel good. It helps take away the pain of reality, and people always avoid pain, even at the expense of their own growth.

When does delusional thinking first start? In childhood, before a human being knows any better, or can protect themselves.

I was extremely fortunate that I was a very intelligent child, and that I learned to READ at a very young age. By 10 years old, I was able to read high-school level books. This meant I wasn't limited to getting my facts from ignorant (but well meaning) adults. When I wanted to know something, I researched it. I learned very early on that EVERYTHING was relative. Facts could change. People could be MISTAKEN even when they were ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of what they were wrong about! I learned that religion was just one of mankind's many endlessly debated belief systems, and depending upon where you were born, you could be Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Pagan, Buddhist, Shinto, etc, etc. and never have a choice in the matter!

At the same time, I also learned of concepts like REASONING, LOGIC, CRITICAL THINKING, THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, and so on. It became clear to me that while mankind certainly didn't have answers to many difficult questions, the default position throughout history was that whatever we couldn't explain naturally, had to be supernatural.

This made no sense at the age of ten, and it makes no sense thirty-one years later. I will gladly take, "I don't know" over, "god did it." any day of the week because "I don't know" is not the answer that makes me feel comfortable, it's the answer that makes me feel I'm being honest with the ten year old child.

Answer 2

I am called an Atheist by Theists and a Theist by Atheists so I will tell you why I came to the conclusions I did.

I was open to all possibilities because I needed to be. I needed help from something more powerful than myself because I am an addict (recovering for 9 years now) and my willpower alone wasn't enough (2 suicide attempts to end the pain). NOTE: This is the short version so please do not think that it was as easy as the brevity of this paragraph suggests.

I studied several religions and did a tremendous amount of soul searching (getting to know who I really am). During that time I started to see the similarities that all true religions have and from that drew my own conclusions. The conclusions I arrived at have not been wrong in over 5 years and I have tried to find holes in them.

That is why I am here.......not to answer questions in a way people will like but to find flaws in my own beliefs.

Answer 3

Ummm, ok I don't really see a connection between those two things but....

I'm not entirely an athiest, I believe sorta-kinda in a "higher power". I am 17 years old and grew up as a Unitarian Universalist, I love this religion because it allows you to explore all religions and follow whatever beliefs you so chose, as long as you believe in:
1). Love
2). Truth
3). Helping others
4). Sacredness of life
"...to the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with the divine [whatever that may be to you]" ~end of our affirmation

I personally have explored the Hindu religion, Jewish religion (my dad was brought up jewish), Episcypallion (ok, can't spell it, it's all good...this was my mom's religion growing up), Catholic/Christianity religion(s) in general, and I just over all don't really believe in the whole "God created Earth and everything on/around it" theory. However, I respect all religions and love to find out knew things about other religions and cultures than my own. It's always important to learn/try new things in life. Hope this helped you!

Answer 4

I don't attack religion. I only attack when attacked. As should the others on this forum. I only respond to a question when its directed to my group. "it's brought law and order to a world of roaming neanderthals" You forget that we were neanderthals until those who had the balls to be skeptics came around. Ignorant people back then thought the earth was flat, and skeptics proved them wrong. Ignorant people, to this day, believe in God because the explanation for our existence hasn't been found yet. "it gives people hope and faith and it provides guidelines which allow us to lead healthy and morally good lives. Without it, the world would have been in chaos" This is a disturbing thought. So, you're saying that masses of atheists are running around naked, killing and raping people, outside your door right now? How many atheists can you count are violent criminals? Now compare that number to how many religious criminals there are and have been in this world. Its funny how you talk of religion bringing law and order when all religion has done is start wars or other random forms of violence in the name of god. I highly doubt the the witch trials were over money, power, land, or vengeance. It was about persecuting those who did not pray to the same god as those in power. And I'm not an atheist to impress others around me. If I wanted to impress the people around me, I would be a christian. I am not the way I am in order to stir up controversy among my family and friends. I accept them for who they are, and they accept me for who I am and it makes for some interesting debates in the meantime. By the way, I hate word of warcraft.

Answer 5

Oh my dear...

You must be fairly young! My father died from Parkinson's... and indeed I have studied, ruled out, wished, prayed. Your correlation is valid... we often look for reasons about why something exists. And we wish for answers that would fix the problem. I would have loved to have had the power to wish or pray Parkinson's away.

I am an atheist. I know most forms of christianity inside and out. I am familiar with eastern religions, although lacking in knowledge of Islam. I have taken college classes, questioned those I've met (around the world), and still...

No one comes to a quick conclusion about atheism).

Atheism is not a disease... it is a conclusion drawn from years of internal controversy. And once concluded... difficult to release.

Answer 6

You shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that atheists are all alike. We're not. Some of us have indeed made a broad study of many religions; some have made an intensive study of just one religion (many of my atheist acquaintances are thoroughly familiar with Christian doctrine and have read the bible several times); and others may never have engaged in such study at all.

The one thing atheists have in common is lack of belief in any god. You can call it jumping to conclusions or even an unfounded belief (as you're implying with this question) but that doesn't make it so. Atheism is not something that you try on like this season's latest fashion; it requires a minimum of serious thought about the nature of reality.

Happy to help.

Answer 7

I'm not an atheist, but I have studied other religions (I was a religion major in college). I don't just rule them out. For example: I like to think that Buddha was very wise, but Buddha himself was an atheist and his followers made a god of him. I do not believe in "revealed" religions because I do not believe God contacts this world or even has a reason to. I see no support of this beyond the very revealed texts themselves. And yes, I've read a great deal of these "revealed texts".

Answer 8

You are trying to correlate Parkinson's disease with atheism? That's like comparing toasting marshmallows to washing my dog! There is NO LOGICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO other than you doing so. Your point is completely lost.

When you can come up with a presentable debate stance, you might get a worthwhile response.

Answer 9

Quick? It is the natural state of man to be atheist. Religion, all beleif in god[s] is taught. No baby comes to the world believing in god. However I find it fitting to equate god beleif with a debilitating disease... I am never that harsh though...

Answer 10

Wow, this has been asked alot today!

In university I studied: Christian, Buddhist, Wicca, Hindu, Judaism and Paganism

Practiced athiesm 28 years. Now I am a born again Christian because G-d showed me miracles, saved my life and changed my heart. Hope thats good enough! lol

David