Atheists: When you were a child, did you believe in...?

Question

1. Santa?

2. Did you also believe in God as a child?

3. When did you stop believing?

Noressa S, Your answer is the most touching, and feel sorry for the little girl and others like her, and I am saddened for you. Sometimes we may never know why God puts people through such suffering here on earth, but He has provided us with an escape from eternal suffering, and that is to accept Christ's gift which He freely gives to all who desire it. I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of hypocrites within the relm of Christianity, just as in every other belief system. No offense, but if hypocrites are standing between you and God, then they are closer to God than you are. Evolution is faith-based just as Creation is, as you cannot prove it by rigorous scientific expermenation, and neither can the exsistense of God be proven by these same methods, but everything in nature points to a young earth, and an instantaineous creation by an intelligent Designer, whereas Evolution gets it's proof by expounding on the work of other evolutionists, not by the things in nature.

DocDnStLouis
So, in other words, you are a Jewish atheist that believes that Hashem is your god? Or do mean that you are an atheist in that you believe in a spiritual world but do not adhere to a system of rules that define religion as such? I do not believe in religion of this manner. It is more of a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. The joy I have is of Him, and the good works I do are not to get me into heaven, but are done out of a love for Jesus, and because I want to please Him, and because I want to make the world a better place, therefore, I don't believe in religious rites to earn my way to heaven.

Answer 1

By the sounds of your question it seems as if you are trying to pinpoint the exact time an athesist made the decision to indepently think for themself...is that right?

Santa is a fantasy character created for god only knows what reason...I'm jewish so I don't get it...Supposedly christians push upon their children this image of a fat bearded old man lugging gifts from location to location bringing joy everywhere he goes. When kids get a little older they get exposure to more ideas from outside sources and they get wise to the present game and they figure the fantasy out. It is at this point they stop believing in the fake santa story. Contrast this disturbing illusionary world with the true life and world of the jewish people worldwide...athesist and beliver alike...yes you can be a jew and be an atheist...how? Spirituality is a huge concept with the jewish people that has nothing to do with religion...many/most christians to this day don't get this simple concept...as it has nothing to do with god, and yet has everything to do with just being a good human being and being good to each other everyday.

Jewish children are taught the following(read the proceeding paragraphs as you may learn something about the struggle and survival of the jewish people) ...instead of worrying about the fat old man bearing gifts.

There have been many times that oppressive nations sought to destroy the Jewish people, and we were miraculously saved from their designs. Upon two of these occasions, the Rabbis saw fit to establish an annual holiday commemorating the miraculous salvation, providing us with an opportunity to remember Hashem's kindness to us, and thank him for saving us. These holidays are Purim and Hannuka.

The Shulchan Aruch, in describing how Hannuka is observed, notes that although it is permissible, and has even become customary, to have a festive meal in honor of Hannuka, this custom is not part of the observance of Hannuka, as originally ordained by the Rabbis. Instead, Hannuka is observed in a more spiritual way, with expressions of thanks and praise of Hashem. This is in contrast to the holiday of Purim, when a meal, and the exchange of gifts of food are intrinsic to the rabbinically instituted observances of the day.

The Levush (quoted by the Mishna Berurah 670:6), explains this incongruity as follows: Purim commemorates the time that Haman, minister to King Achashverosh, enacted a decree calling for the extermination of the entire Jewish people. Had the Jews agreed to renounce their religious practices, and adopt the customs of the nation amongst which they resided, the murderous Haman would not have been satisfied, and would still have called for annihilation of the Jews. Thus, when Hashem miraculously caused Haman's fall from power, and the subsequent salvation of the Jews, it was a salvation of their physical beings; their spiritual existence was never in danger. The most appropriate way to express our thanks to Hashem for saving our physical beings is by demonstrating our freedom to enjoy the physical gifts he has provided us with.

The oppressive acts of Antiochus and the Syrian-Greeks, were of a different nature. Had the Jews agreed to abandon their own customs and beliefs, and become integrated into the Greek lifestyle, they would have been left alone. Their oppressors sought only to destroy them spiritually. And so, when Hashem granted Mattisyahu and the Hasmoneans victory over the Syrian-Greeks, he was preserving the spirituality of the Jewish nation. Our appreciation for this gift, the opportunity to serve Hashem and recognize him as our G-d, is best acknowledged through spiritual expressions of Hashem's praise.

All of our holiday-related activities on Hannuka should carry this significance with it. We should take the opportunities we are granted to praise Hashem and re-affirm our committment to Him. Indeed, as we see by Purim, even a meal, a normally mundane activity, can take on a new meaning when done with the proper intentions and thoughts. While our observance on Hannuka is mainly of a spiritual nature, we should let this holiday and all oberservances connected with it, whether physical or spiritual, be a point of inspiration to carry us through until we reach the next holiday which celebrates our physical salvation - Purim.

I have known jews that were atheists that were some of the finest people I have ever known. They believe in loving everyone equally and justice for all. This is a great message that I hope others will read and understand...I fear that this level of knowledge may be a bit much for this simple group on The Yahoo Answers community boards...I mean it isn't a one line or one word response...I am just trying to educate the masses about the choosen people...and yes there is a very good reason jews were choosen by GOD....Read the old testament and find out more...Its all in there, this isn't my opinion, but written fact...

Answer 2

1. I think I believed in Santa about the same way that I believed in Ronald McDonald or such.
2. As of 1. Some people talked about god so I assumed that they talked about something real.
3. Religion was never a big issue in my life, not at home, not in school, so I did not care very much, but as soon as I put any thoughts into it I knew that it must be nonsense.

Answer 3

I believed in both. I stopped believing around the time I started college and realized that so many of the beliefs I had been taught as a child just didn't add up to what I was seeing in the real world. I was a little depressed for a long time over that. But now I've realized that success is more satisfying when you do it YOURSELF, instead of giving all the credit to God. And doing something to make the world a better place is satisfying whether you're doing it for God, or whether you're just doing it because you owe it to the world to give something back.

Answer 4

Did I believe in santa, I got over him the moment I knew he didn't exist.

I tried to believe in god because my mother said I had too but something did not seem right.

I stopped believing @ 6 when I learned people have been waiting for god for centuries upon centuries and god has been a no show and things kept getting worse while everyone kept sticking their heads in the clouds while churches and such robbed everyone blind.

Answer 5

1. Santa?
Up until around 5-6 years of age.

2. Did you also believe in God as a child?
Yes

3. When did you stop believing?
When I was in Middle School I became skeptic, and now I am atheist, upperclass in High School. When I was a child I just listened to my mother. Now I think with my own mind. :)

Answer 6

I did believe in God as a child, I was raised in Southern Baptist Church.

I did not believe in Santa (I caught my parents at the age of 3 putting together my play kitchen set...kinda killed the Santa Clause thing).

I stopped believing in God at 13-years-old.
I couldn't sleep one night, so I got stuck on this Christian infomercial on child suffering in Africa. The story highlighted a 7-year-old girl who had lost her entire family to Malaria. At the time my brother was the same age, and I cried for the little girl. It was so difficult for me to accept the idea of a 7-year-old girl living 100% independantly, in a clay hut, feeding off of rats neightbors gave her for carrying their water over a mile for them. It literally broke my heart. At that point I began questioning the amount of love God really has for his children. How could he allow this completely INNOCENT girl to suffer in the way she was?

Since then I have found so many compelling reasons to believe in science. It is not just this little girl's story that makes me not believe, it's the Bible itself and the people who follow it. No offense, but I find that most Christians are so judgmental and hypocritical. I also find the bible to be too scientifically inaccurate to live my life by it.

I have at times in my life wanted to feel the powerful movement that is religion and true belief. I have wanted to be moved by faith, and feel that 'love'...but unfortunatly I can't. I can't believe it anymore than I can believe 2+2=3.

Answer 7

I did belive in Santa, but I had the gifts that "magically appeared" as proof of his existence.
I never really belived in god, because no one gave me right answers about anything in the bible, and I had no proof.
I actually can't remember a time when I did belive in god, I just never really bought it. I was strange like that as a kid. I just went along with everyone and said that I did belive not to be left out. But it was just one of those things that I never felt.

Answer 8

This is actually a great question...some very funny responses...some just very interesting. I see some who said they stopped believing in God when they grew up and not a child anymore (said by a high school kid), LOL. And then someone said they believed in Santa but never in God...nothing funny about that...I just found it very interesting.

Answer 9

Yes and yes. I stopped believing in YHWH at about 12, about 4 years after I stopped believing in Santa because the adults seemed to sincerely believe in YHWH.

Answer 10

1. I figured out Santa wasn't real by age five.

2. & 3. No I didn't and I never did believe so I didn't have to stop.