Atheist can you....?

Question

Remember when you really chose to become an atheist? Where you born in a religious family or non-religious? Mainly just what made you really believe there was no God?

I'm an atheist. When I was a kid I always remember thinking the existents of God was an odd idea but I still believed. I went to church with my best friend for 3 years. I realized in that time how corrupt the Christian people and the religion is. I lived in a awful household... I've been through so much. That really turned me against God... if there was a God why was I going through so much? Once I stopped believing things cleared for me everything with evolution made sense. So please tell me your story.

Answer 1

It took me quite a while. I was raised in a very sincere Catholic family who tried hard to live according to the precepts of the Gospel and the Church. I learned the impotance of loyalty, and even though there were some things about Christian theology that didn't make sense, I tried hard to conform to the requirements in order to avoid hell, but much of it seemed like pointless rigmarole.

It was in Catholic high school that I encountered the precursors of doubt. Some teachers talked about the "Documentary Hypothesis", a critical analysis of the composition of the Bible that didn't match ancient traditions. Others contrasted mandatory Church teachings with the low compliance in the general Catholic population. They were trying to get me to think more maturely about my faith and not just take everything for granted. I was still loyal, but learning to live with uncertainty.

In Catholic college, I got an even stronger message. Religious studies professors presented even more divergent images of Christianity, challenging their students to sort between what was important to believe and what was just added on for convenience. I was told to major in Philosophy rather than Theology because revelation was a crutch. The mind needed to be able to reason through invalid arguments or it would not be able to defend itself against them. I began to see what they meant, and I investigated alternate visions of Christianity and other faiths. I still found the Christian social model of a compassionate community the most comprehensible to me, but I could clearly see the arbitrariness of Christian doctrines. The number of things that HAD to be believed dropped to two: the virgin birth and the resurrection of Jesus. Both of these were scientifically inexplicable but they could not be discarded without completely undermining Christianity.

But, in time, I recognized the desperation in my reasoning. Why, I asked myself again, do we have to believe Jesus was born of a virgin? Did "God" truly need a "pure" vessel to incarnate in? Down to one. Surely, without the resurrection, Jesus could not be divine! Then I looked more closely at Christianity's oldest texts, the letters of Paul. Repeatedly, they referred to Jesus who had been "raised" from the dead. Passive voice. The ancient theology understood that Jesus had been "adopted by God" because of his sacrifice. This threw a monkey wrench into the doctrine of "atonement", but that had always struck me as a disingenuous interpretation of the crucifixion. Jesus had sacrificed himself in witness to the truth of injustice, not in place of the sins of humanity. Mark's gospel moved Jesus' adoption up to his baptism. Matthew and Luke moved it to his birth. John made it the beginning of time. Clearly people had been uncomfortable with the late-adoption idea and had been tweaking it in order to deify Jesus more securely. No wonder there were doctrinal riots in the streets of Antioch and Damascus!

But the Jesus message was still good. Do unto others. Love your enemies. When Christianity was acting like "Jesus", it was at its best. Was it all a deception designed to trick people into doing good? Unfortunately, results were obviously not guaranteed, as "Christians" fell in love with the images, symbols and stories but forgot to put it all into action. I lost all tolerance for people who preferred to look "Christian" but didn't actually live out their faith in the needful world.

My departure was gentle and respectful. I continued to go through the most obvious motions, but my only interest was in promoting social justice and that "mature sense" of the faith that had slowly awoken me. I still allow that there could be something that makes the ethical universe work counter-intuitively, but it resembles nothing like the petty personality most people call "God". Belief is not required. Progress can only be made by owning life and humanity and doing one's part to better its lot. Bad times are a product of ignorance, mine and others'. I was never seriously angry with God, I just came to realize "God", and eternity, weren't necessary to live a good life.

Answer 2

I guess you asked for atheists' stories. Well, for a while I had serious doubts about God, too. I went through some really tough times and struggled even to find a reason to live. And I'm still alive, and this time free, thanks to God and His eternal love. Evolution can make a lot of sense. Still, there are some things it just can't explain, such as the origin of life. If you'll allow yourself an open mind, step back and take a really good look at evolution. There are numerous holes and even deceptions. If it's truth you're after, try visiting http://www.scienceagainstevolution.org/ As you know, not all scientists are for the theory of evolution, and it's not because they're any less intelligent than other scientists. They have their reasons, and it's fascinating stuff.
Most atheists turn to science--and it's not like science disproves the existence of God, either. See http://www.godandscience.org/ for example. Another site worth looking into is http://www.allaboutthejourney.org/
which was written by someone who shared your atheist mindset, and who found answers to the most skeptical questions. I know I've found answers, and it's not blind faith, either.

Answer 3

Growing up a little girl my entire family was religious, though we were not devout church attenders. When I was around ten I started going because my Christian "friends" would tease me about not going. I went for a few years because I thought that was the "right thing" I prayed at night, cute little meaningless prayers. Around the age of thirteen I finally realized how everything can still fit together without a God. Everything just clicked and made sense. It took a while to comprehend, and I must admit that at first the world seemed darker without knowledge of a greater being. I love the theory of evolution. I love science and how much more we know about the world. I wish that more people were about to see the light the way that I do. My story.

Sarah

Answer 4

I tried when i was a kid, ive danced at a church since i can remember, so i used to go to all the services and things like that. I tried to believe, even went to a christian club at school.
My parents wern't religious but they didn't force me to believe what they did, i even used to pray before bed time, and not stupid things, just things like, help me through my exam, help my friend to be happy, etc.
But when we properly learnt about God in secondary school, and how he's supposed to be benevolent, and omniscient, i just couldn't make it fit.
If he was all knowing, he wouldn't have put that tree in the garden, because he knew Eve would take it, also he wouldn't have created the snake because he knew the snake would temp Eve. And if he is all good, why didn't he forgive her??
And in not doing that he let the whole human race suffer, some a lot more than others.
And if he was omnipotent, he would have seen what would happen before it was done, and thus would have had the power to stop it.
I can't believe in something said to be all good, knowing and poweful, when there is so much to contradict it.

(Sorry its so long, but i got carried away....)

Answer 5

I was raised my Christian missionary parents, though I admired what they did ( may they R.I.P. ) I never felt a connection with what they preached, the Bible, God, Jesus and what not.
I saw that this made other people happy but not me.
So to make a long story short I found my path in Buddhism.
I´m not an atheist, I'd be better classified as an agnostic.
And that´s my story.
I simply don't believe in God because I see no reason to.
Yes there were other factors in my decision making, lack of proof being among them, but they truly were minor in the beginning stage.
I just didn't´t see the point of worshiping I God whom I didn´t know about .


--Buddhist.

Answer 6

My Mum is christian my Dad atheist. My brother at one point was a goth black witch.

I stopped believing because i grew some brain cells and did some research. Once i opened my mind to the possibilities and science i realised there was no proof of a god. Also i went through some c**p that made me think if there was a god why is there so much c**p going on in the world.

Answer 7

Yes, because it was quite recent. For about 25 years, I have considered myself a witch. But when my High Priest committed suicide, I had to re-evaluate everything. Frankly, I think one of the reasons he quit so decisively was that he wasn't getting any results from his ceremonial magick and intense spells and charms. And once he was dead, I didn't find any consolation in the local witchcraft community, because they had gone on without me into formalizing Wicca as a religion from what we had called Gardnarian witches. They had other styles too, of course, but none that welcomed the likes of me.

Anyway, as I worked with people here in St. Louis who were more seriously pagan than I, and saw that they took seriously the gods and goddesses I had been treating as metaphors, I realized it was misleading to call myself a witch. So just a couple of months ago, I began referring to myself as an atheist. In fact, if you don't count the "metaphor phase," I had been an atheist ever since I found that Steve did not get in touch with me to tell me what happened after he died. He had promised a long time ago that if he could, he would.

Answer 8

I'm not an atheist, but I can't identify myself with a religion either. I never believed the Jesus story. As a child, I was 100% sure that it's just a story and I could not understand why we learn such supernatural stories in school. I was amased to find that people (especially grown ups) are taking it serious.

I finaly walked away from religion when I listened to some people, telling me that it's not important what you do, you just have to believe in jesus and "accept him". That is so far from my idea of religion! I thought it was suposed to bring morality into people's lifes, to be a guide, not to make them overproud and to rub it into other people's face that they are "saved".

Answer 9

When I was eight, it had become clear that the biblical tales could not be reconciled with science, and since science is obviously right (it works!), the bible had to go. I have subsequently looked for any evidence of the existence of any sort of god, and have never seen any; there is indeed a fair amount of evidence that no such thing exists. For details:

Answer 10

I was born into a non-denominational Christian family. I first became agnostic after questioning the Bible and not getting any answers and eventually became an atheist after realizing there's no point in believing in God.

Answer 11

My family wasnt really religious. We rarely went to church and my parents were smart unlike several catholics in that they used protection so I have only one sibling as opposed to several. But me I never really believed in anything. Nor god nor the easter bunny(although I love saying these two words) nor the tooth fairy nor santa. So I never really went from atheist to catholic. I just went from atheist to agnostic in that I can admit or am not sure if I believe god exists. And plus with school telling me to question the sources or validity of things and with my own questionings, well you sort of get the rest.