2007-12-15 00:37:38 · 26 answers · asked by (◕‿◕✿) 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hey, all babies were born atheists until they were taught theistic concepts. So, shouldn't the question be "how does a believer choose to become a believer?" :)
But.. Okay.. I first became an atheist thru logic and reasoning that the concepts of god(s), supreme being, soul, afterlife, etc. just cannot be proven scientifically. Plus different religions bizarrely explain all kinds of cosmic concepts differently, which weakens the overall family of thoughts that "there is something after death".
Science presents better answers to me. Science has its limitations and acknowledges it. But, within what it has offered, it does provide explanations that make sense and with proofs to back them up. So I am totally pro science.
Then I became a strong atheist after studying deeper on the mechanics of human brains, philosophy, and history (of religions). To me it is NOT even possible for any god(s) to exist. And I have no doubt that religions are man-made concepts developed to control mass from self destruction and chaos. Most people break down from fear of being nothing after death. It is easier to tell them lies so they live in peace.
2007-12-15 17:45:23 · answer #1 · answered by Russ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When you decide that you dont need a mystical being to achieve happiness, fufillment.
If you are christian say atheists may go into the science, stating that God cannot have existed, choose not to have a God, because they fell they do not need one, or simply raised in a atheist family.
I read this quote on YA some time ago:
God - A being who is all powerfull; yet needs people to do his work, and rests on a sunday
A being who is all knowing - yet puts people to tests to see if they are telling the truth
etc
Sorry if this has upset you
2007-12-15 08:45:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think that I speak for many atheists (not ALL) when I say that you don't choose to be atheist, you just discover that you are one. You wake up one day and realize that all this talk of gods and spirits and eternity is just nonsense. As a sensible person, you then come to the realization that you are an atheist.
2007-12-15 10:46:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I agree with MollyMac13 and Kevin M. I was raised in a catholic house. I was baptised, I went to communion, I attended catholic schools for several years as a kid. Through my teen years, I sorta believed, but only went to church when I had to. I never got much out of it, except a random education in latin, and an appreciation for the music. Some of those composers could spin a great song!
But as an adult, I came to realize that I didn't believe in a supernatural god. I saw no evidence whatsoever that any such being (or creature, god, whatever you want to use to describe it) exists. I have seen no miracles. Prayers, when I bothered to try, never worked for me. As I learned more about science, especially psychology, geology, biology, and paleontology, I reasoned that religion was more likely how early man explained things that were otherwise unexplainable. I expect it probably went like this:
If Ogg the caveman next door doesn't like me, he hits me. If I give him half an antelope, he likes me again.
If the earth suddenly shakes, and half the caves collapse and kill most of my tribe, something bigger than Ogg doesn't like us. Whatever it is must be very powerful to shake the whole earth. Maybe we should give him something to make him happy. How about Ogg's daughter? The earth stops shaking, so it must have worked, right? And so a religion is born.
2007-12-15 08:53:15 · answer #4 · answered by Ralfcoder 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
After questioning, and studying objectively, all religions and nonreligious ideas, a person must come to the only conclusion possible. Mankind created their own gods in their own image because they feared the dark and the unknown. Mankind created religion to control other people. Religious people brainwash the young so their religions can flourish and multiply.
I became an atheist at age 21 and I have never had a reason to go back to religion.
2007-12-15 08:49:10 · answer #5 · answered by Lionheart ® 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm not Atheist, but I catch as much hell about being Agnostic as an Atheist probably does about their religious decisions, so I feel that I may be able to contribute an answer to this question.
In my decision to be Agnostic, I took many things into account...scientific evidence or lack thereof, what actually makes sense to me and what I find to be believable, and things of the like were all things I considered. I'm guessing it is probably the same for someone who is Atheist, they took what they know, analyzed it and based their decision on their outcome.
Not everyone is capable of believing in "one all knowing all seeing higher power", and some people can't make themselves believe in something that they can not see.
I have several friends who are Atheist, and their reasoning is that there is no evidence yet that has persuaded them to believe that what Christianity follows is 100% the truth and not something that started out as a great tale passed down from generation to generation before King James decided to put it down in his version of the bible. Yes, the bible was decided upon by a King, who had the choice of putting what he saw fit to be in it, in it, and leave out what he didn't like. So there is no way of telling how much of it is truths and how much of it is "embellishments" considering no one can ask him how he decided what was written and what wasn't since he is not living.
Discussing religion is like discussing politics, everyone has an opinion and opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. People choose to believe in what they believe in because they have the freedom to make such decisions on their own and choose to be what fits for them.
2007-12-15 09:12:24 · answer #6 · answered by smithsalbabe (PiercingsByJulie) 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
One way is to actually read the Bible rather than reading the summaries given in Sunday schools. Start with the books Joshua and Judges. If you still see the Bible as the work of a benevolent deity, you will probably end up very confused about what real morality is.
2007-12-15 08:49:20 · answer #7 · answered by Graciela, RIRS 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We just put some numbers in a hat and the smallest number has to be the atheist. That answer is on the same level of intelligence as your ridiculous question.
2007-12-15 08:41:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's not something I consciously chose, it is something I've always been. Even being raised as a christian I never had a belief in the deity or the religion. When I got old enough to explore other deities and religions I found I held no belief in them either.
2007-12-15 08:41:23 · answer #9 · answered by genaddt 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I was an altar boy and even then was never brainwashed into this stuff, it's just so silly to me. A magical man in the sky, who tempted us with talking snakes and magical apples? Cmon, is this the bible or a Disney film?
2007-12-15 08:45:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋