question directed to athiests?

Question

ok im a christian and i was the one who posted the statement about how christians should accept athiests and all that

but just curious

what makes you want to be an athiest?

im not going to get in your face or throw holy water on you im just curious.

thanks.

im sorry i worded that wrong

i meant what made you an athiest

Answer 1

Simple honesty, and my natural curiosity.

I'm much more interested in learning the truth than in claiming that I already have it.

Answer 2

It isn't a matter of "wanting to be an athiest".

Religions and their dogmas make no sense. The Bible, while an interesting read, is NOT based on fact but rather by mans observation which is limited by his knowledge.

Religions are viscious, intolerant, unforgiving, warmongering, cruel, selfish and money hungry. Why would I believe in any of the doctrine spewed by the "religious" people.

While there may some truth in the legends of different religions, I don't for a minute believe that some mystical, mythical being snapped everything into existence.

Science, astronomy, physical science, anthropology all disprove that theory. And, I would refuse to give honor to a god that is full of vengence and who expects you to "be good or else".

I also don't like people who wear their religion on their sleeve...they are the worst of all - and the least likely to follow the tenents of their church.

Answer 3

I've been an atheist since birth, even though I was forced to go to church. No defining moments- not one day in Sunday school made sense, scientifically or logically. I just kept my mouth shut and went along to get along, since my family was by and large very happy. My parents thought they were doing the right thing, but having a scientist/Christian father led to more scientific than religious discussions at home. Three of my siblings are atheists like me, one is a cultural Christian and the other is something of a busy, busy Deist raising young sons.

Answer 4

I don't think anyone necessarily "wants" to be an atheist. I mean, in many ways I wish that I had belief in god. Existentialist Jean Paul Sartre wrote in an essay that once an individual accepts that there is no god, the result is a feeling of anguish. He meant this because it makes each person responsible for acting morally and essentially dictating a moral code in the absence of divine morality. I often see it, though, as coming from a lack of meaning that comes from not believing in god. If religion gives one thing, it is meaning the seeming chaos that is the world. You can take comfort in that, and for that I envy the religious. My athiesm, however, flows naturally from my study of history, science, and logic. That said, science cannot answer all questions, yet one cannot will themselves to believe something.

Answer 5

It's not really a question of wanting to be an atheist. I think I may be too left-brained to think in a religious way.

I mean I read a book like Guns, Germs and Steel and the dots connect for me. "Yeah... that makes sense... that makes sense... wow! This really makes sense. I never thought of it that way."

But I try and think about religion and it's more like, "wait a minute... catch me up here... you've lost me . God sent down his only son (who was really him...) to get around a rule that... he made? But before that he tried to flood the world to start fresh but that didn't work. Isn't "He" supposed to be omnipotent? So how... can "He" do something that.... doesn't work?"

And so on and so forth....

Answer 6

I was born without any knowledge of god(s) or religion, as are all humans.

I have never for a moment seen anything that would change that completely satisfactory state of mind.

I guess this may explain my morbid fascination with people who do have weird and wacky beliefs. It is very hard for me to imagine believing in invisible flying creatures etc. The separation is also fascinating, why for example, do you believe in Jesus but not Santa?

Answer 7

My studies of different faiths led me to believe that everyone was really worshipping the same thing, only different symbols/versions/definitions of it. Then I studied Taoism, and it seemed to say exactly what I thought:

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
--Tao Te Ching

So I realized I believed in something way more abstract than a deity. Still spiritual, but no deities - atheistic.

Answer 8

What makes me *want* to be an atheist. Let's see. First, I want to use my own mind to determine I will think, feel, and (gasp!) believe. I want to choose, and want to have that choice guaranteed to me in my civilization's governing documents (like the Constitution).
And then, I want to evaluate the world on the basis of a rational approach. I don't require or want or seek any supernatural explanations. Natural explanations are sufficient.
How's that for starters?

Answer 9

There's no "wanting" to be an atheist... I just am. It's not like I awoke one day and said, "I want to be an atheist today." I knew early that the bible didn't make sense. As I learned more and read more, it made even LESS sense. I realized I was an atheist and just said it outloud. So... I AM an atheist... it's not a decision to just be one.

Answer 10

Nothing made me "want" to be an atheist. Nothing "made" me an atheist. I just realized that I didn't believe in god and I never did. Therefore, the only thing I could be was an atheist.

Answer 11

What makes you want to be a Christian? I see no proof in god. I am an atheist because I have no belief in god. Just like I have no belief in fairies and unicorns.