Atheists: Did you have a "conversion" experience?

Question

As a Christian I know how I came to know the LOrd, and I was curious as to what made you atheists believe that there is absolutely no God. Did you "de-cobvert from an existing organised religion? Were you raised atheist? Did you come to the conclusion based on observations? What?

Please note that I am being serious here, this is not meant as a joke. I just wondered about it.

Ok, maybe I wasn't clear enough in my details. Was there a specific event, or series of events that led to your conclusions?

Scratch 1 add-on, I only looked at first couple of answers, sorry, most of them (approx 10) were EXACTLY what I asked. thanx

Answer 1

I didn't have a particular conversion experience. I was raised by Christian parents, but we were never regular practitioners. We did have spurts of going to different churches though, and I was baptised when I was around ... 8 or 10, I think.

I never cared a great deal for attending church even as a child, though the idea of religion was not boring in itself. Around 11 or 12 I became interested in learning about other religions and studied them quite a lot. I studied for many many years. I still study. It's all intreguing.

As I learned more about beliefs, I observed that they all seem to be much the same - the attempts of various social groups to explain what we do not know, and to give a deeper meaning to life. Attempts to find a set of all encompassing rules and a sure morality. Attempts to ease suffering and pain by giving these burdens some reason. Attempts to ease the fear of death by hoping for an afterlife. There's nothing wrong with all of these ambitions.

As I studied and realized the similarities in most religions, both in their doctrines, parables, and rules, as well as in the faith of the believers, it became an impossibility for me to believe that one religion is correct while all others are wrong. There was nothing that obviously seperated one set of intangible, supernatural beliefs from another - nothing that made any particular religion stand out as right while discrediting others. I began to think - these people are not different from me. I believe in Christianity, but what if I had been born into a different family? I'd believe in whatever my family had taught me, and what I had always known. My faith withered in the face of reality.

Over time we've learned new things that disprove some old religions, mainly based on scientific and otherwise observable facts. There are no gods of Olympus, the sun and the moon are not divine beings, the trees and rocks do not hold sparks of intelligence. Many of the tribal religions, pagan religions and nature based religions are generally considered to be uneducated myths. Superstitions and rituals are generally believed to have no effect aside from easing the psyche of the practitioner.

But that still leaves many widely believed religions today. Chrisitanity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism are some of the most prevelant - the religions that haven't been disproven outright by science or observable fact. Is one of them correct?

If someone is not born into a religion, and is not desperate to fill a void in their lives, then if all religions are laid out in front of them, which one would they choose to believe? And why? How could they pick one as right, while saying the others are all wrong? Based on facts? There are few facts in religion, religion is based on faith, and the study and belief of parables and ancedotes, written in books by people we don't know who may or may not have lived thousands of years ago. There's nothing factual about religion as it is laid out. There is constant argument today over the validity of the holy books. What parts are fiction and fact, what parts are metaphorical, which books of the time should really be included in a canon and which shouldn't. Why some books were left out. Whether or not books were really eye witness accounts, whether or not the writers were biased or trying to skew information. Questions about how the books were "fleshed out" to make the stories more cohesive, understandable and compelling.

Even Christians today cannot agree on the truth of their religion. There are many denominations that disagree, and even those among the same denominations cannot always get along. There are no facts, there are interpretations, opinions, hopes, and the desire to be right. So religion cannot be based on fact.

Some say that religious people should lead by example. Apparently it will draw others to believing the religion. All religions include people who are charitable, faithful, kind, intelligent, and otherwise people who claim that the religion makes them good happy people.. All religions also include those who are hateful, cruel, full of vice and depravity, liars and con artists, and those who are unhappy. I'm not drawn to or away from a particular religion from seeing the example that the members set forth. People are all different.

And then we have feelings. Many people come to a religion, or stay with a religion, based on their deep feelings toward that religion. I find no difference in the faith or the goodness of people of any religion. I can completely understand how their faith is deeply, intricately intertwined in their very being and in their understanding of life. There is something very nice about the idea of a religion lifting a person's spirits and keeping a person on the right track. But people of all religions can be spiritually or emotionally lifted and guided. I don't think it's the particular religion that does it, I think it's the faith and will of a person that does it, regardless of the religion. Buddhists are often peaceful and happy, charitable and goodwilled. Many Christians are kind and content. I've met some great Muslims and Jews as well, people who lead really good lives. Exemplary lives. They all believe completely and without reservation that their religion is right. They all -feel- it in their hearts. They all "just know."

Feelings are subjective. I've heard Christians tell people to listen to their hearts and follow their true feelings, and it would lead them to Christ. But why are people so drawn to other religions then? Feelings aren't reliable. They can change with the wind, they can be stubborn, they can be irrational and violent. They are different in everyone. They are not a guide for truth. Who can say that one person's feelings are correct while all others are wrong? How can it be said?

This is all just explaining why I can't believe in one religion over another, without even getting into whether or not it's possible that a divine being could exist in and of itself. I don't believe in a god, for many reasons. Though I'll try to wrap this up and be brief -

There is no evidence of a god, and no reason to believe in a god. It is really the same feeling as beliving in faeries or elves or other mythical creatures. I can't believe in them, I know they don't exist, and I have no reason to believe they exist. Would it be nice? Sure. I'd love to walk up on a unicorn or play with sprites. But it's fantasy. And I feel that religion is also fantasy. Nothing persuades me otherwise.


One quote always sums it up the best for me -

"I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other gods you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts

Answer 2

I used to believe in God. Then I studied my religion. (I actually started classes with the intent of studying for the ministry.) I realized that people were making up the things they said about God. When you think about it, how does anyone KNOW anything about God? Everything people supposedly "knew" about God was taken from the Bible, which was written by other people (ignorant, uneducated Bronze Age people) who also just made it up. A lot of it was based on even older myths and stories about god or gods. I read some books which explained the origins of the bible. Also read the NT apocrypha. You can see that these stories are all part of a continuum of fictional stories about Jesus.

I realized that answered prayers happen about 50% of the time. Which is about random. The rest of the time you tell yourself "god wanted something different," right? But there's really no one there answering your prayers. Try an experiment: don't pray for a week. See if your life changes drastically or if some things still work out for the good and other things don't.

I also read enough about the brain to realize that there is no "soul" - YOU are just a product of your physical brain. When the brain dies, so do you.

There's a lot of information out there if you are interested in why people don't believe in God. See the link below for some good food for thought. Read it and ask your pastor about the questions he raises.

To be honest, I did not expect that my religious studies would lead me to become an atheist. I liked my religion...it was a very positive and uplifting one in general. It did not teach that people would go to hell and I had no negative experiences with it at all. In fact, I still am somewhat involved in the church as the people there are nice, even if I don't agree with their theology. I was quite shocked at the idea of life without a god or an afterlife, but that's where the evidence led me and I am happy now that I have gotten over the surprise.

Sorry this has gotten so long. I hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

Sorry I wrote so much:

It didn’t happen over night. I didn’t just wake up and decide I was going to be a staunch atheist. The fact that NOT believing in god was an option first came to me when I was twelve. I became agnostic when I was about 20 and I can honestly say it was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. Like the universe was being opened up to me. Years later, my idea and views of the world had changed as much that I realized that I was really an atheist. The universe is a mysterious place, filled with wonder and I can experience at a level that I couldn’t as a Christian. Of course, I didn’t become an Atheist for emotional reasons. I did it by studying everything around me and asking questions and not being afraid of the answers. The truth is important to me and it’s more beautiful than anything that the Christian bible has to offer.

Answer 4

I guess that was once an terrific enjoy. The closest I have come to non secular reports were whilst I had a prime fever. And in a while after the entrance wheel broke off my bicycle inflicting me to plow head first into the avenue. Most men and women ought to paintings tough to get their brains into the state that a prime fever or concussion will positioned you. Edit: I am an excessive amount of of a realist to get religious approximately those matters. Flown a glider (experiment flight with a professional pilot) - was once worried approximately seeking to keep up instead than having fun with the journey down. Seen the Grand Canyon. The sunsets across the lighthouse in my avatar snapshot may also be beautiful amazing, however then I am involved that I would not have my digital camera, or if I do, getting the publicity correct or the quantity of men and women within the shot. I have by no means scuba dived. the private I have got might be approximately 30ft down in lovely transparent blue waters of the Caribbean, and that was once best happening, however a horrifying enjoy getting again up at the same time resisting the urge to respire (water!). Sometimes I particularly desire I might disengage the rationalistic aspect of my mind and simply benefit from the enjoy.

Answer 5

Up until I was about 7 I was raised in a secular home. I didn't know anything about religions or God. When I was about 7 or 8 my mom started taking me to a Christian church and even at that age it didn't make sense to me.

We only went for a few years and after that I went back to living in a secular home. As I got older and grew more curious about religion, the origins of life, science, etc. I started to realize that the concept of a God made absolutely no logical sense. After doing some research and learning more about religion and science I came to the conclusion that God is illogical, unnecessary, and doesn't make sense.

Answer 6

I was raised in a fundamentalist non-denominational Christians sect known as the Christian Brethren or Plymouth Brethren. My father was an elder, and regularly gave sermons, as all the "gifted" men of the congregation did.

I accepted Christ as my personal saviour first time when I was 8, but the only reason at the time was I was terrified of the stories of Hell, and being left behind in the Rapture. It was a bit of the old fire and brimstone kind of church.( I still recall a horrible recurring nightmare about being "left behind")
I became saved again at age 12 to be on the safe side and rededicated my life to Christ at a crusade.

However, I must admit I was never all that "into it". I was a not a very good Christian. I always asked difficult questions in Sunday school, right from an early age. I was always a bit embarrassed at having to go to church all day Sunday. I refused to memorize scripture in order to win a fancy Bible. I never really participated in the youth group activities. I never got baptized, and in our church we did full submersion in front of the congregation after sunday night service....and I just didn't think I believed it enough to say it to a crowd...I would have felt like a fraud.

I was an avid reader of science, science fiction and fantasy, mythology, and history. I began to recognize common themes in the mythology I read of other cultures, and the stories in the Bible

As I got into University (pre med) I do remember being offended at my Zoology professor talking about evolution, and I wrote that it was false on an essay exam, although I answered the question "correctly" to get the marks. I still sort of believed in God, even if I thought the Bible was mostly allegorical. However that was about my last kick at it.

I gradually just read more philosophy, and studied all the sciences. I went from Fundy Christian...to Christian...to Deist...to agnostic withing about 2 years. No single event, just a natural dwindling. I was disappointed at first that god didn't exist, because I did like the idea of an afterlife and all. But, it was so obviously just wishful thinking organized into dogma.

Atheist last 20 years, though really only been out of the closet about it the last 5 years. All my family are still "of the church" and we mostly get along fine. My sister asks me " so are you still an atheist?" every few years, I say ya, and that's it. They've seen my life has gone well, I'm a happy and moral and succesful person. I am the "good son" of my 2 brothers who are devout Christians. They have also seen horrible disasters and misfortune occur to their circle of "true believers" and I think they question their belief, but playing it safe with the Pascals wager gambit.

Answer 7

I'm an athiest and I was raised to believe there can't possibly be a God. Once, I was looking into Christianity and becoming a Christian, when I was in a lonely period of life. But I just though about all that I've learned and just figured there couldn't be a god.

I didn't begin overnight, but I did decide to stay an athiest over night

Answer 8

As a child, I attended church every week with my family. My father was a deacon and my grandfather was pastor at a different church, so I have extensive knowledge of Sunday School lessons on peace and love and serving thy fellow man. There was not any teachings of hate or intolerance whatsoever.

I stopped going long before the religion was pushed it into its current, more hostile stance. For me and both my sisters, church just didn't stick. I never really believed that they could know God so definitively. I studied basic principles of biology, physics, history, psychology and sociology, and I gained a clearer perception of how the world functions, and how God may relate to it.

My father retains his religious beliefs, but he is deeply upset at the manner in which his religion has been hijacked for political purpose. Today, the impression I get from Christianity in general is much different than the one I remember hearing in Sunday school. Their current stance seems alarmingly militant. It takes great courage to go against a pastor who follows a president, because it will be portrayed as not just going against a political party, but as going against God Himself.

Answer 9

I used to be a christian. I went to church, and bible study. I tend to remember there always being a puppet show at bible study...it was weird. But when I was about 12 and dealing with some very personal medical problems, I asked god if he could possibly help me in any way to fix the problem. Nothing happened, and I drifted away from my beliefs. I then got into high school and started learning about science and biology and evolution, and decided that it seemed to make more sense to me than believing in a god.

Answer 10

I was born an atheist like everyone else on this planet, I became a christian through passed familty traditions, then maturity came along and I began to deeply be involved in personal freedom, thus becoming an atheist once again.

Answer 11

I once gave myself to Jesus... but he never returned my phone calls.

No, actually, I was born atheist (although not explicitly raised atheist, I'm the only in my family that doesn't believe in god, actually), I had no reason to start believing in a god at any time, except perhaps that phase kids go through when they believe in all kinds of crap like werewolves, angels, ghosts, faeries, and I grew out of it just as quickly. I just saw no need for it. "God's" followers simply reinforced my intuition with their ignorance, gullibility, and lack of morals or inner integrity.