Did you fall to your face in awe of the grace and love of the truth you had just found, and were you grateful for what scientists have done for you?
Were you filled with eternal joy and peace that passes all understanding?
Did you surrender your faith and heart to logic and reason?
2007-02-13 06:58:24 · 24 answers · asked by Doug 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No thanks Jim.
2007-02-13 07:02:27 · update #1
oh. Interesting. This is what it was like when I allowed Jesus to save me. (that is disregarding the words I replaced for 'God' and 'Jesus'...
Did you notice that?
hehe.
2007-02-13 07:03:33 · update #2
Red, if no one cares... why do you bother answering?
2007-02-13 09:23:00 · update #3
Yeah pretty much, it was like the slave being free of the shackles of slavery.
Do you want that freedom?
2007-02-13 07:00:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
It was a greatly freeing experience when I realized other people also didn't believe in God and that was okay. I had been struggling for years to explain and understand the world and my life through this construct of religion, and when I finally was able to let go of all that, it was very peaceful, like everything just clicked into place and it all made so much sense. I probably sat quietly for some time. No falling down, though.
2007-02-13 07:48:36 · answer #2 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I surrendered to what I really believed in and always had. I was filled with immense relief that I could stop pretending to believe in something I knew wasn't right, I could stop trying to make something fit that didn't.
There's more to atheism than just science. There are actually higher spiritual concepts than deities.
As opposed to falling over in awe of grace and truth, I felt a little dizzy and disoriented because I knew I was in uncharted territory. That I would have to decide for myself what was right and wrong, and why. It's a bit scary... but over time I came to trust my own judgement and it's serving me extremely well. They are MY morals, not someone else's that were handed to me.
I expect this to pass your understanding, but that's okay. It's not your journey. You've arrived at your destination and that's great. I'm still going.
2007-02-13 07:12:54 · answer #3 · answered by KC 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, I surrendered my heart to the beauty of the world, and gave up thinking that man and nature are fundamentally depraved. I felt enormous relief at unburdening myself of a psychotic and pathological worldview. I was liberated to live, instead of thinking that the basic purpose of life was to die to "this world." I made my home here, instead of an abstract transcendent supernatural realm.
And BTW, not all non-Christians are reductive materialists; not all non-Christians subscribe to dogmatic scientism. I know enough about the frontiers of quantum theory to realize that the natural world has unplumbed depths. And I also don't believe that those depths can only be explored by means of the intellect; I esteem many modalities of knowing: through the mind, through the body, through dreams, through intuition, through emotion, through art, etc. etc.
And yet with all that, I am not a Christian, because I find the Christian worldview to be fundamentally perverse and destructive. A good, elemental heathenism is infinitely preferable.
2007-02-13 07:05:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Actually I never had to fall on my face .. nor was I grateful to science.
When I first came to the realization that Jesus never existed, it was a shock.. after that, I began to slowly feel that peace and eternal joy in knowing that there is no one right way to God, and that I am a child of the Universe and am loved just for being me.. the absolute freedom in knowing that I didn't have to worry about sin and repentance and all of that guilt-ridden crap was amazing.
2007-02-13 07:06:37 · answer #5 · answered by Kallan 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, actually, I *was* grateful for what scientists had done, for their work that allows me to make sense of the world without having to accept the judgmental doctrine of Christianity.
And yes, it actually was a freeing experience, and I did feel joy and peace, knowing that I don't have to live in constant self-condemnation.
Now that you mention it, I got everything from atheism that Christianity promised and couldn't deliver.
2007-02-13 09:30:23 · answer #6 · answered by Surely Funke 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I feel like I'm not trapped by doctrine, that I am free to experience the world as I deem fit for me. I appreciate the beauty in the world around me every day, I just don't believe it was brought into existence by some old guy with a beard. I am grateful every day for my own existence, and that of those I love. I embrace whole- heartedly our ability to think for ourselves and believe what we choose to believe. Oh wait.... I guess I mean MY ability to think for myself.....
2007-02-13 07:09:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Doug, you used to ask questions that made sense.
I felt totally free. I felt very humbled by having a turn on this little ball in the middle of the universe. One morning, right after losing my faith, I was brought to tears at the concept of how much there was to "know" in the universe, and that nothing was forbidden to me any longer.
Don't be a jerk Doug. Atheists have faith and heart. We just don't base our faith on a sky fairy. We have faith in the goodness of our fellow man. We give our whole hearts to making the world a better place. We love our families and feel fortunate to have a turn at life.
2007-02-13 07:06:06 · answer #8 · answered by Laptop Jesus 2.0 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
No, just a peaceful understanding. And just because an Atheist believes in logic and reason doesn't mean they have no emotions. They just don't let those emotions rule them.
2007-02-13 07:04:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why don't you just come out and say it?
"Did you know that I believe being a Christian is better than being an atheist?"
No one cares, Doug. This isn't a question that you want to gain knowledge from... it's nothing more than you seeking vindication. Not everyone subscribes to your wacky superstition and not everyone needs to. People can be content and upstanding people without belief in your god.
2007-02-13 07:11:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
hmm my change of mind came about due to logic and reason. ive got more mathematical mind. im sceptical about most anything that may or may not be likely until its proven.
u know the moon landing was shot in a studio. those pictures and videos are fake
2007-02-13 07:03:23 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋