a question for athiests, please answer?

Question

two things

1. for athiest, what point in your life did you decide that you did not believe that there is a God and what made you decide this?

2. if you have any questions about christianity, i will be happy to answer all in my capability. please feel free to ask any questions (seriously) about my beliefs

Answer 1

When I was in college, realizing that the 'god of the gaps' was nonsense also these things:

How does one reconcile omnipotence, omnibenevolence and omniscience with this world and the life on it. And, why are there so many billions of people living in entire, huge countries whose culture has nothing remotely like the xian god and jesus. Here is a post I did before on the topic:

Because I look at what life was like for human beings for the past 40,000 years (maybe 6,000 for you). People lived for an average of 30-40 years. More than 50% of children died before age one (until about 100 years ago!). I look at thousands of children permanently blinded by parasites they get from playing in creeks in underdeveloped countries.

Then I look at children of modern developed countries, of any religion. I see that they live until their EIGHTIES!! Have all their teeth for a very long time. Have excellent health, etc... And I see that this has nothing to do with religion or god. It is medicine and science. So was it god's plan that hundreds of generations of people would suffer and die in their 40's and suddenly in the 19th and 20th century, everything would get better?

That's nothing other than sadistic.

I also look at all the different gods and interpretations of these gods for the past 4,000-5,000 years. I see how silly it is to point to one religion in the roman era and say "Ah, THIS is the correct one!"

I also posted this in answer to that question:
* The bible has many contradictions
* The bible shows the OT god to be violent and bloodthirsty. He also kills thousands of children.
* For thousands of years, man has had a lifespan of 30-40 years. 100 years ago in the US, 50% of children died before age 1. Modern medicine has greatly reduced this. During eras in western history when the catholic church was in charge and belief in god and church attendance was required, this did not change. So prayer seems not to have been the answer.
* The history of religions and gods seems to show that man has no consistent image or view of what god is or does.
* The bible is open enough to interpretation that if you walked into a church and asked 3 people questions about the bible or god's will, you would get probably 8 different answers.
* People kill each other in god's name every day and he apparently does nothing to stop it.
* 50% of conceptions do not result in birth
* 1 in 8 pregnancies result in twins and one twin is eventually reabsorbed.
* Children are born with no brains, with no limbs, retarded, blind.
* Children go blind from parasites every day, children suffer asthma, and other diseases

Answer 2

1. I don't think there was a time when I ever really believed it. Obviously as a child I was told about the idea of god. I didn't outright question it then, but I don't think I quite bought it either. I never gave it much thought when I was a kid, I didn't realize then the kind of impact *other* people's beliefs had on *my* life.

2. I've been to catholic school and read the bible myself, so right now I can't really think of a question that I don't already know the answer to.

Answer 3

I'm going to answer even though I'm not an atheist. I'm agnostic.

1. I knew in high school that god wasn't really a factor in my life. I couldn't agree with half of what I learned about Christianity, and trust me, I tried having a hardcore Baptist grandmother. It wasn't so much that I decided there wasn't a god, but I simply had no need for god in my life.

2. I appreciate your assistance and eagerness to help. I'm glad you asked questions rather than assuming this or that about atheists. Clearly, you mean well, and you should be commended for being mature about belief. Just remember that all of us come to our beliefs through self-reflection, and that we don't necessarily want or need god in our lives to be happy or healthy.

Answer 4

-Is the perception of God offensive? -- No, god does not exist. Are goblins offensive to you? -what's it about religious issues that makes you so mad or uncomfortable? -- there's no insanity or discomfort. We do exactly not imagine there is the style of problem. human beings banging on about them, and telling us that we are able to burn because we do not consider them - now that makes us mad (that's decrease back to human beings lower back, see?) -Christianity teaches: complete exceptance and forgiveness. grace. love from a community. a coaching guide that, if you're honest, is benificial for society mainly. i do not recognize what human beings communicate about at the same time as they say Christianity is equipped on hate in so forth. that's about as a procedures from the truth because it will be. --nicely, Christ himself became all correct. yet he's accumulated some exceptionally hateful followers who've picked an undesirable lot from both testaments that in structure them and skipped over an undesirable lot that do not. i imagine you misrepresent us besides - we do not say that's equipped ON hate. regardless of the indisputable fact that that's actual equipped an edifice of hate upon the starting off position.

Answer 5

1. I was raised a Catholic. I decided when I was in my late teens to question everything about religion and mythology. After much study and reflection, I became an atheist. I was probably around 22 or 23.

2. No thanks. I've heard all the answers. They never change. But thanks for the offer.

Answer 6

you have to admire an atheist they are able to create moral boundaries within their life not based on fear but based on logic

being Thelemic in this world we ascribe to the fact that there is no god but man so I can quite understand their view point and admire them for it

Just to clarify I do believe in the existence of a creator just not thats not comprehendible on this plane of existence

Answer 7

1. I studied mythology in high school. That was when I knew there was NO GOD.

2. No.

Answer 8

I occasionaly identify myself as an atheist. I can't disprove the existance of a god, you see, but neither can anyone else. The god of Abraham, however? Either he is fiction, or he is my enemy. I believe that he is fiction, truly. His agents, however, surround me nontheless.

Answer 9

questions about christianity? what the hell would we want to know

How would you feel if i said please email me if you want me to tell you what a Unicorn's horn looks like. Goddamm! You christians... geez.

A lot of atheists dont choose at all - its forced on them by being intelligent and educated and seeing through a nonsense fairytale designed to capture the ignorant. The people who lived in the middle-east 2000 years ago were pretty primitive - whats your excuse?

Answer 10

many times leading up to the grand decision and no I was raised in religion and rejected it