Atheists who are former Christians that have read the bible cover to cover, why are you an Atheist today?

Question

There seems to be this misconception among the christian community that Atheists haven't read the bible, were never christian, or were never true chrisitans. I myself am living proof that these statements are false, but are there others? If so, can you give a brief synopsis of your religious experience and tell us why you are an Atheist today?

Thanks in advance for your participation.

Answer 1

Well I read the Bible right after I realized that the creation story that was presented in Genesis was flawed. They told me in Sunday school that plants were created before the Sun and that just wasn't right.

Reading the Bible only solidified that. It is full of scientific errors and self contradictions.

"When one reads Bibles, one is less surprised at what the Deity knows than at what He doesn't know."
-- Mark Twain

Answer 2

I was never a xian - I just figured I musta missed something with all these 'happy' people running about saying they believed in an invisible sky critter.
I thought they were delusional, psychotic.

I've read the The Goat Herders' Guide to the Galaxy, Genesis >> Revelations, twice; once in my 20s and once in my 30s. Even though the begets and begorrahs were tough going, after the first time I thought I musta missed something cos I found no reason to believe in an invisible sky critter.
After reading it the second time I knew I'd missed nothing - it was just a crock; it's a badly written book and about the only bit of beauty within its covers, other than the Song of Solomon, is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount with which Horus did a fair job many centuries before.

I fully concur with Richard Dawkins summation when he says in The God Delusion: The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pesilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

Obviously, now in my 60s, I've still found NO evidence of the invisible man and therefore I'm still a happy Atheist with no fears of Hell existing other than for Hell, Michigan, 48169.

And, I still think Theists are delusional, psychotic.

[edit]
I just read Light's post.
"I truly don't believe that any of you know why you are an atheist....and this is very unfortunate. Atheist fight so hard not "believing" in something that they claim don't exist...."
She believes we missed something. I'm a funny critter - I'm sure she's missed heaps.
If she has read and MISunderstood or just didn't get what we have written it makes it quite obvious why she believes in the invisible man.
She doesn't understand that Atheism is a conclusion come by NOT suspending Logic and Reason.

Answer 3

I read the Bible cover to cover thrice during my late teens. It made me an agnostic ex-Christian until I was thirty. then, when my son was conceived, I wanted him to have the same kind of upbringing I'd had, and I went back to the unthreatening, mainstream church I'd been raised in, and learned to look at the Bible differently.

when one studies the Bible like a karate student studies anatomy, there are plenty of weaknesses. If one chews the hay and spits out the sticks, there is plenty that makes sense. Right now I am studying Romans, and am sick to death of the word "circumcision" (hope I misspelled it).

by the way, Gazoo, there was a Sun, and day and night before the plants were made. Perhaps the atmosphere was so dusty/smoky that stars could not be seen. And how did people know so much 10,000 years ago to really describe fairly accurately what we now call the Big Bang? I don't believe that the Earth was made in six days as we understand days, but I do believe it was created, perhaps in a similar way that we describe the big bang. And life did not spontaneously generate---it was created, slowly. Some call that evolution---I call it some darned fine engineering.

The English Bible is a metaphorical book translated into a precise, literal, Germanic language. It describes a warlike, nomadic tribe trying to come to grips with and communicate with One God. There are contradictions and flaws aplenty. But when one studies it to find the truth, the Truth is there.

Answer 4

I am a former christian. I read cover to cover. I almost became a minister. I used to spout the same rhetoric. Then I told myself the truth; even if God exists, christianity as practiced today is a bastardized rip-off of judaism. An objective look at Christianity makes it pretty clear that much of it has little to do with what Jesus actually taught.

Answer 5

A thorough reading of the bible will make even the most rabid christian an atheist. Problem is, christians don't read it, and simply take the bits a snatches out of it that are sweet, and nice, and support their views. The god of the old testament is one bad dude, and if they new that, they'd be questioning more than they do. They give lip service to "oh well, that's just a story" and total belief to other parts... hey, and the rule is all or none.... it is the word of god, or it is not.

In my own experience, I have met few truly intelligent fundamentalistic christians. I have never met an uneducated stupid atheist.. And I have NEVER met one who was atheist who then became a christian.. NEVER. Interestingly, last week I had a conversation last week with one who believed more in the supernatural than in gravity..... now, go figure.... Is this person a true brainwashed idiot, or what? He claimed to have had out of body experiences And his argument was, that since most of the history of man had beliefs in god, therefore they exist..... amazing.

Answer 6

For me the bible was the last step in the process. Because I was raised catholic, the priest always interpreted the bible and we were not encouraged to read it for ourselves. I figured it out through pure logic. None of the teachings seemed logical or relevant, other christians seemed like hypocrites, and I figured god had to be a made up entity because there are too many bad things happening to people who pray all of the time.

That's when I read the bible and decided that religion is a bunch of manmade nonsense used to control the masses as well as extort money from us all. I was always bored in church and had never seen god, so I said I would stop with all the superstition. Ever since then, my life has improved and I am glad that I have used my reasoning skills to create a more peaceful environment for myself.

Now that I can step back and see how it all works, I can see the great harm that religion causes in families lives.

Answer 7

I've been an atheist for over 43 years. As boys, my brother and I went to church with our mother. Sadly, she died when I was 15 and my brother was 16. I sometimes wonder if I ever really was a christian at all. I didn't read the bible until I was in my 30's. (Admittedly, I skipped over some of the "begats") God has just never been real to me. Nor my brother...or my wife, for that matter. I've sincerely asked any creator to reveal himself to me on many occasions. But all I've ever found is a stony silence.

Answer 8

Agnostic here.

I started having doubts when I bought a bible at a garage sale and actually started reading it, without a religious teacher with an agenda, "interpreting" it for me. I couldn't get through the whole book. As I read it, I found myself thinking that "this God person" sounds like a real "ashpole". Angry, tyrannical, throwing murderous little hissy fits if someone wasn't "religiously correct"

That didn't stop me from believing in the possibility of a God, but I definitely don't think that muderous dictator as portrayed by the bible is he/she/it/ or them. In fact, if there is a God, I think the bible is a work of lible against him/her or them.

Answer 9

~Atheist

yes i have read the christian bible, probably about 20 times, thoroughly, give or take a few times...

i use to be a sunday school teacher, youth group leader, worship and praise leader...even went and got my ministers license..

the reason i am an atheist today, has to do alot with the christian religion, the belief verses common sense, the belief didn't add up as much as the common sense did. with common sense i got answers, with belief all i got was "ask god" or "pray" or even a good old "your faith is weak"...

i will remain an atheist until the day i die...

Answer 10

Because I read the Bible from cover to cover.