Do you feel you were influenced by others very much regarding what you believe today?

Question

As a Christian I remember feeling very influenced by others to believe as I did. In fact I looked for others that believed what I wanted to believe so that I could validate my own beliefs.

I'm now an atheist, and the journey here was deeply personal, and I do not feel that it was influenced much by others. Rather, I had to find the courage deep within myself to face questions that I avoided my entire life because they scared me.

Your thoughts?

Shell, you make a really great point. I guess my question wasn't worded exactly right. What I really wanted to get at was the issue of who we allow ourselves to be influenced by, I suppose. For instance, I was choosing to only surround myself with people who believed what I wanted to believe as a Christian. I was a total coward. I am NOT saying all Christians are. I am only talking about ME. Becoming an atheist was the one thing I've done in life where I honestly felt alone in doing it. Where I live, there are ZERO atheists. There was no one to be influenced by, you know? So I would argue that the ideas to start questioning my religion were originally mine, and not created by influence of someone else. However, once I found other atheists, I'll admit their knowledge probably influenced me.

(((Shell)))

Answer 1

I think that the events, people and circumstances around us have no choice but to influence who we are - even in an indirect way. They may not influence what we think or do, but there is some relevance to their existance on the personal journies we all take.

You say that the personal journey wasn't influenced much by others...but wasn't it the beliefs of others that led you to the tough questions? YES you have the courage and should continue on your quest for knowledge, and YES this was a personal journey where you came to your own conclusions, but had others around you not had a specific belief, would you have had the knowledge to question it?

Just a thought!

((((((Layla))))))

Answer 2

I am influenced a lot by Jesus, but not at first. Regardless of what we believe, we are influenced by others. In my early years as a Christian I was like you were. I had a particular theology, and anybody who contradicted me was wrong. People who are influenced by man will act that way, and they will drive people away. They are probably the reason why you don't believe today, even though you don't realize it. There were probably errors in their theology that you mistook as proper Christian belief, knowing that it was wrong.

I continued like this for a lot of years, but about six years ago I had an epiphany, that caused me to press into The Lord. Now I am more interested in a relationship with him than in theology. This is when He starts influencing a person. Then if we press in enough we start seeing the signs, miracles and wonders that he promised us. I have started seeing these, and I am well influenced. I now know by experience that he is real.

Answer 3

Religions set out images and rituals that define how we experience what would otherwise be nameless. They make these experiences more accessible because they tell us they're out there to be had, but they also limit the way we can experience them because we will take the experience to verify the way it was told to us. It's a pickle!

Additionally, the Judaic religions make a big point of limiting individual do-it-yourself spiritual searching. As Christianity moved northwest and came into contact with the individualistic/heroic religions of the Norse, Gallic, and Celtic peoples the whole mindset was changed from each individual having their own spiritual experience to having a communal experience of which you are a part. Obviously Western culture has become more individualistic again and so we don't particularly dig on being told what we should experience and getting judged for not experiencing it this way.

Ultimately, I was only able to be Christian after first experiencing things without the images and words and then seeing that the images and words of Christianity are how one set of people have named the ubiquitous religious experience of humanity. I think it would be hard for someone who empathizes with others, and so can see things from their point of view, and who thinks critically not to have this sort of distaste for being controlled and told it's this way or no way at all.

Answer 4

My path from christianity to atheism was quite scary at first but the more I accepted the fact that we are essentially on our own in the universe with no big sky tyrant the more I felt at peace.It is good to have the reassurance that you are not alone in coming to these conclusions,so it is good to read peoples opinions that are similar to your own.Atheism is not a topic of conversation that comes up in the normal day to day and there are obviously no atheist "churches" to meet like minded people.I don't really get influenced by opinion, only facts,and if someone includes some interesting facts in their answer or question then it may influence me.

Answer 5

I was influenced by others in believing in God. But my beliefs are strictly my own through study, logic, reason, experience, age, understanding, wisdom.

Most people, including atheists seek like minds to validate their own beliefs. It's a very human trait. Not just confined to religion.

No matter your faith or lack thereof you should have courage to face your doubts & questions. What I believe today is worlds away from 10 yrs. ago. But my faith is stronger because that courage made me seek real answers, not just deny what I couldn't understand or I feared.

Doubt isn't a lack of faith but what spurs you into wanting to know. Blind faith isn't faith at all. An atheist doubts because he can't find proof. Faith believes but seeks to understand. I don't know why I feel cold sometimes when it's warm outside but just because I can't find the reason doesn't mean I quit believing I'm cold.

You don't say what the questions were that you are afraid of but how has denying there is a God made you less afraid? What courage or comfort from fear for that matter has there been in denial?

You wanted my thoughts. Feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss it further.

Answer 6

In my case, I was influenced to think critically by professors in college. I started the process in an African-American History course, where we studied the mythologies built around the founding of our nation and the history presented to us in highschool history, and comparing it to the diaries kept by Christopher Columbus, the accounts of Native Americans, and the actual histories and tangible evidence that could be studied. I learned that we are taught one thing, when the reality can be something else entirely. I learned to look beyond the story, and to not just accept that something is true without verifying its accuracy. I learned to check sources, to distinguish between biased and non-biased information, to identify who benefits from a particular train of thought.

Once my eyes were opened to deception in modern history, I was naturally led to question all of my beliefs. Doing the research on my own, I came to my current world view. I can honestly say that no one gave me my world view, I was simply taught to analyze the information presented, and find out for myself what is true.

Answer 7

lol Not hardly. When I was a Xian, yeah. But, like you, the journey to Atheist was a very personal and pain filled experience. The fear was so hard to conquer to be able to let go of god. Once I did, my life became a wondrous experience. I wasted so many years. But, no more regrets. I have a wonderful god free life ahead of me. Thank you. You made my day.So many of us in the same boat.

Answer 8

No. I'm not really sure how I ended up an atheist. Any religious influence in my life has been all Christian.

Answer 9

i feel that i have only been influenced in a positive way to get me where i am now at with my beliefs. without any influence whatsoever since childhood i would have missed out on all of the wonderful things i know now and continue to learn.

Answer 10

I'm solitary. Who's going to influence them, the invisible, intangile dragon under my bed? :-D

I read books, which cause me to think and influence my beliefs. A few people have influenced my religious beliefs directly. Otherwise, they tend to be a result of meditation and reasoning.