Atheists, about brainwashing?

Question

I consider "brainwashing" to be nothing more than being deceived regarding the truth of a matter.
Have you never considered that YOU are the ones that have been deceived into believing there is no God?

Answer 1

I consider brain washing to be when you deprive an individual of sensory input for an extended length of time. Then after wards you tell them what to think and believe.

Answer 2

Atheists generally become atheists after a long spiritual journey searching many belief systems trying to find one that fits. When I became an atheist (well, agnostic actually), no-one benefitted from my decision. I didn't give anyone any money, or become part of a community of atheists, or decide to spend my spare time trying to convert theists into atheists. What would be the point? Someone somewhere has to gain something for there to be a point in brainwashing....what does anyone have to gain by brainwashing someone into being an atheist?

Answer 3

Brainwashing is not being deceived regarding the truth of a matter. You might "consider" it to be that, but you "considering" that to be the definition of "brainwashing" does not make it fact.
We do not have to be brainwashed to not believe someone else's claim that there is a magical, invisible, supernatural being, especially when there's no evidence to show for the existence of that being. That would be like saying that you're brainwashed for not believing in leprechauns. (And there's no more to show for truth of a "God" then there is for leprechauns.)
If you didn't have people filling your head with stories of "God", and telling you that you need to believe in it, and threatening you with eternal punishment for NOT believing in it, you would be atheist, too.

Answer 4

From who? Atheism is something you stumble across basically on your own after a long, knowledge thirsty, desire hungry, and spirit busting personal journey. For me I literally started out and researched Atheism and passed it up a few times before I decided that it fit how I felt and converted on my own without someone pointing me in that direction.

In contrast as a theist I felt totally brainwashed and forced, when I had any objections I was told, I was threated with not going to heaven and tortured in hell, I was promised a spot in heaven for just doing a little one week and told more rules, regulations and requirements that even if I followed religiously it might get me into heaven the next. Meantime the preacher always had his hands out reaching and I was living in a crappy, leaky roof hovel and him and his family just had a 7 bedroom home custom built with a pool and a 5 car garage to park his brand new Cadillacs in. I would say that some churches where good but it still left me void at the end.

Answer 5

First of all... I have had no one preaching anything to me. I do not rely on one source for my information. I tend to be very analytical and critical. I am pretty sure I am not brainwashing myself. I started my search with an open mind... in fact, I was Christian when I started searching. If anything, you'd think I would be leaning toward proving that Christianity was right.

I did some of my Theological and Philosophical studying at a Catholic University.

No... I just don't see the brainwashing here.

Answer 6

When I was born...I had no thoughts of God, Heaven, being "saved" In order to be brainwashed into thinking there is no "God" I must have been born brainwashed? Belief in God is something taught, not inherent. So therefore religion is the forced issue, not the situation of choosing to not believe in it.

Answer 7

Yeah, I got brainwashed by the Sunday morning atheist shows. Also, Sunday atheist school and Sunday atheist church. Oh, and Wednesday night atheist study. Plus, everyone in my neighborhood is atheist. So many are atheist that people are afraid to say they're religious because of all the bullying that atheists would give them. Me, I go door to door in my white shirt and tie and try to get people to convert, or at least give me some money. It's not anything like you christians at all. We're inundated with it while you guys rarely have anything at all.

Answer 8

There is nothing that empirically proves christianity to be truth. How do you know your deity is proof and not another beliefs? I've studied, I've talked to professors of theology, I've read a lot of material and I've come to the logical conclusion given the glaring lack of empirical evidence that deities were created by man and not the other way around. In essence, they aren't real.

My christian parents are the ones that encouraged me to look and question because they feel everything in life should be questioned and not followed blindly.

Answer 9

Fortunate for society, what you consider does not replace the actual definition of the word.
Pick up a dictionary, find brainwashing, then we might be able to talk.

Answer 10

Maybe I was brainwashed to believe that I was not brainwashed. So what of it? I accept that possibility but would like to see evidence before believing in it. Do YOU have any?