Are there any athiests out there who have tried to believe in God?

Question

I was raised Southern Baptist and I have prayed and prayed for faith, but I just don't believe in all of it. I would like to because I do have a fear of "what if I am wrong" but I can't just say I believe just to be safe. I don't think that is authentic. I continue to read the Bible and many things concerning religion. I attend many churches seeking answers. I do appreciate spirituality, but i just don't buy the whole Jesus thing. Anyone else have any ideas???

Answer 1

Slap yourself!

Answer 2

I was raised in a Methodist church and tried and tried the same thing. Even at an early age though I knew I was different. I just didn't hear or see the same things, I saw something else. The big moment was for me and when I was 6. I vividly remember watching Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" with my Dad. I remember the things he talked about were so beyond anything that the bible or that matter, god, could touch.

However I continued to go to Church, as my parents insisted. I just went along with the program, knowing that I believed in something different and in most cases, more beautiful. After 9/11, I finally saw the evils of Religion and our beliefs in a god. Throughout history, the biggest cause for war among humans was religion. How reason and logic is pushed aside, in favor of faith. And faith is believing some thing is true with no actual proof.

So, in the last few years, I have rediscovered "Cosmos" and begin to understand the awesome power of Science. That there doesn't need to be a creator, we place the creator in the picture. Having a god as the "prime movier" it helps us to better understand the universe. But we have found out that there is a better way to understand the Cosmos, it is called science.

I have found a comfort in the knowledge that we get from science. The humbling thought that we have survived 4 billion years of evolution to achieve some sense of consciousness and awareness. How science can begin to raise your self-consciousness to a higher lever. You begin to understand and find your place in this Universe. Something that religion could never do.

Try reading Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" that might provide some answers.

Answer 3

I had a similar experience. I was raised Jewish and attended services regularly. I also went through Hebrew school and was bar mitzvahed and i can remember at a few points in my life actually believing. For most of my life however it was a struggle. I couldn't make sense of all of these fantastical stories being told as history, and the idea of god being a real entity (especially after learning the truth about Santa) became less and less reliable. From the time i was 15-20 i was pretty much an atheist but i held on to an existential spirituality. By the time i was 21 or 22 i had let go of the spiritual beliefs after researching religious phenomena and really trying to make sense of the world i live in. These days i try to be aware of my emotions, think logically, and make evidence based decisions.

Answer 4

You don't buy the Jesus thing because it is false. It has truth, though. Like I said, he went to explore India and came back a new Holy man. The government saw this threat that Christianity was getting so popular everyone might start to believe in God; this would take away almost if not all of their money and programming they've gotten and done from and for people. Not to mention the prophets they would receive in the future...

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED ALL, OR ALL MAJOR RELIGIONS YOU ARE NOT AN ATHEIST. IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIM OR WHY OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVE HIM WHEN THEY COULD HAVE HAD THE SAME QUESTIONS AS YOU HOW DO YOU KNOW HE DOESN'T EXIST? YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ATHEIST, YET THIS IS A FANCY WORD FOR SUCH AN IGNORANT AND NARROW MINDED SOUL WHO BELIEVES WHAT HE OR SHE WANTS, AND DOES NOT WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO EVEN CHECK IF THEY THEMSELVES ARE RIGHT, SO YOU HAVE NO MIND OR INTELLIGENCE TO THINK PROPERLY. YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED RELIGION AND YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED THEORY; HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE? YOU CAN'T. YOU HAVE TO WORK TO GET SOMEWHERE AND -THINK- TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND. THIS MATTER IS NOT BASED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO BELIEVE. WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE GOD, PUNY "HUMAN?"

Answer 5

It took me 10 years to get over the conditioning to believe in the jealous and vengeful god of the Bible. If you are raised believing in God, the deep wiring of your brain is set before you had any chance to have do anything about it. It's hard to undo that deep wiring.

I suggest you read some of Bart Ehrman's books (or better yet listen to his lectures available from the Teaching Company ). They will give you a better understanding of how myths became deeply rooted cultural beliefs.

Answer 6

I'm more agnostic than athiest, but I tend to lean to the athiest side simply because the mindless dribble that comes out of the mouths of most religious people makes it impossible to even meet them halfway. I do think it is possible that there is a supreme being of some sort and it does take as much faith to disbelieve as it does to believe. I just need something more intelligent than the "proofs" most religious people claim they have.

Answer 7

I was a Christian for 20 years. I did believe until I was more educated and was able to see the religion for what it is.

Remember that the truth is not afraid of scrutiny.

Good book - The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

Answer 8

i replaced into raised in a Christian better half and teenagers and went to Church with the family on maximum Sunday as a newborn. whilst greater reasoning skills kicked in, I easily discerned Christianity and another practiced faith on earth as culturally-synthetic mythology & folklore - basically like Zeus, Odin, Santa Claus, Magical Unicorns, etc. right this moment i'm an atheistic-leaning Agnostic Humanist, as I nevertheless evaluate the undemanding premise of precis Deist philosophy (in some variety) to be a minimum of a good, long-shot, extremely-distant threat.

Answer 9

I started off Christian too. Once you reach a certain critical knowledge and capacity for logic and reason, religion becomes impossible for you. Instead of fighting it, just let go and realize what the truth is -- this is it. One life, then you're done.

Answer 10

Check out any of Josh McDowell's books. he was a non believer until he did his homework....and I mean ALL of his homework.