Do you think for yourself? (For the religious nutter's out there)?

Question

I'm making no assumptions here. I'm just curious. I'm an atheist (to put it mildly) and I just wonder how many of you religious types out there believe you think for yourself. How many of you can honestly say you would have chosen the religion you invest part of every pay check in (this is a joke mind you, so please, don't waste space in the answer field debating my stereotype, ok?) if it hadn't been for mommy and daddy telling you what to believe from a very young age? Or, in general really, if there is a God, do you really need to be told by anyone in order to think he exists (and if not, because somebody alllwwaaayyss tries to say "no", then give me a an actual logical answer with more to it than "cuz, God would burn a bush and tell me himself if no one else did")? I ask this for those who are going to say "well, i never used to be a Christian, but when a friend told me about it, I decided to be as silly as him and believe in it later on in life! Well, come on, give it a go now

Answer 1

first off you are being... as i say sometimes.. a religious racist.. i can honestly tell you, being someone of faith, that nothing you just typed fits me at all...

i was raised Catholic.. im not anymore. i used to be an atheist... now im not..
and i wouldn't invest anything other than my time into my faith. i KNOW that i might be wrong in my beliefs... and thats fine. nothing in this subject can be stated as fact.

Answer 2

I would not call myself the religious nutter, but since you are not respectful of something what you do not experience and you do not have I give you answer anyway.

I was born to a Christian family but we never talked about God, and rarely attended the church. I walked away from my childhood faith.

Jesus did not give up one me, and He knocked my heart's door. I found a wonderful non-denominational Christian church where the Bible is the center of the teaching and they lead people to a life changing relationship with God. I go baptized again because that is the decision nobody should do for others. My parents were thinking they did the right thing, but I felt I needed to be baptized again even though I felt I am going against what my family believes.

I asked the Holy Spirit in my heart and it made the difference. I believe the Bible is true and God communicates with me through His Word.

Yes, I think before the great I am

Answer 3

I was raised by an 'agnostic' and I was 'baptized' into the Methodist Church when I was 16 ... but I still had some 'big questions about God' then. I'm now 56 and I'm a good Catholic ... but I 'got here' by way of being an 'agnostic tending toward atheism,' then a Vedantist, a Vietnamese Buddhist, and an Episcopalian before I 'converted' to Catholicism. I still don't 'know for sure' that what I think of as being 'God' is 'real' ... but I am certainly one who 'thinks for herself' and I'm not 'done thinking' because I'm a Catholic now ... and while I do 'agree' on some of the 'major points' of Catholicism, I 'disagree' on others ... and that is why I am a Catholic, by the way ... it's not a 'perfect fit' and where it 'rubs me the wrong way' is the way I find works easiest to 'learn more' about 'God' and 'religion' ... and I'll do that until the day I die ... and maybe, in the end, GOD will 'give me the FINAL answers' to all of my questions.

Answer 4

No. Of course not. You do not need to be told by anyone that God exists. The whole of creation shouts it. Nature is too intricate to have just 'happened'. There must have been some creative force or person carefully guiding the process, The odds of the beauty of creation just evolving and big banging- the conditions for the combination of particles at the most fundamental level is so precise it couldn't be chance.
God can even tell you himself if he exists or not. Pray honestly without prejudice and you just might get the shock of your life!

Answer 5

I am sorry that you do not understand what it means to experience God and because of your lack of understanding choose to poke fun at those who are different than you. It is hard to explain what it means to experience God to someone who isn't willing to be open to the possibilty that God does exist. I wasn't taken to church as a child and yet at the age of fourteen I had an experience which left no doubt in my heart and mind that there is a God and He loves all of us very much. Saying that Christians can not think for themselves is like saying anyone who accepts any scientific theory as fact can't think for themselves. They can only accept what the scientist theorizes to be true. If I can be open to scientific possibilities and acknowledge the fact that I do not have all of the answers -can you? Can you accept that there may be things about God that you can not possibly understand because you choose not to believe. Please understand that I am NOT trying to 'put down or ridicule' your unbelief. I just get tired of hearing about how close minded and unthinking that I am as a Christian by people who are equally close minded when it comes to my beliefs. Can't we all just debate in a civilized and intellectual way ,accepting that none of us have all of the answers?

Answer 6

what ever you hear about being an atheist is there problem actually atheist have a better understanding of the planet because they have the time to bond. the christian faith to me and no offense to anyone is hypocritical. i have been to too many churches and yes maybe the timings were all wrong but its still no excuse to be ugly and harsh to other religions.... practice what you preach like love thy neighbor???

you are made to believe rubbish because the bible today is NOT the same in any way to its Very first publication... What is true now a days with re-written and revised brainwashing words...

i don't doubt that there is a possibility that something is out there but i don't want to know because i love me for me i think with my head and heart. i refuse to believe that any can change me or MY thoughts...

Answer 7

Yes I do think for myself. It's call Free Will. That is the beauty of most religions, you can accept it or not accept it. God gave me a brain and I use it in every second I breath, awake or sleeping. I don't expect anyone to agree with what I believe and I don't much care what other's believe. Belief in a higher power is supposed to be a choice you make, not one that is made for you.

Answer 8

I actually do think for myself. I was 32 years old before I read the bible. From this reading questions arose that led me to read other books. When I was young I never went to church, my dad always told my mom that when the kids get older they can choose there own religion. So we where not made to go. I'm thankful for the gift of the first bible I read. It has been life changing for me. Before this I did every type of drug I could drink, smoke, eat, or snort. Not to mention my addiction to alcohol, Loved Korbel no need for any wash it was good just the way they bottled it. But now as it should be I read to educate myself. From my reading I formulate my opinions. I hope to never stop learning. Thanks for asking.

Answer 9

There is no question that God exists. The question is whether he is here now and an active part of our lives. I have studied science and religion for thirty years and find them to agree on most points regarding the creation and evolution. My belief in a "personnal" God is based on my experiences and on faith as well.

Answer 10

Dude. Check it.
People start reasoning at certain ages and tend to start exploring what is and what isn't for themselves. I have gone through that process and have discovered for myself that the way I was raised seems contradictory to what the Bible teaches.., and in some respects, right on the mark.

Does that mean I quit believing in God? No. It means I found discrepancies between what i was told and what the Bible actually says - not discrepancies in the Bible but by men.

So I also find people like you who are hell bent to do our thinking for us and use crap like "You let your religious nuts do your thinking for you! Stop believing in a God who does not exist..."

It appears that you want us to follow your lead and let you do our thinking. I did not need you to do my thinking for you when I did so for myself.., and I don't you telling me what to think or believe now.

Its hard for you to swallow and admit it, but the irony is, you're doing what you accuse us of doing. You follow a certain mindset (directly or indirectly) that told you there was no god. And you pass your atheist dogma onto us and get really terse when we do think for ourselves and choose God.