What made you stop believing in God?

krudler

Its simple for me, my aunt. This was a woman who was a staunch catholic all her life, went to confession twice a week and mass every day, her whole morning routine revolved around mass, sometimes she even went twice a day. She was always sending mass cards to people no matter how small their news was, new baby, new job, got fired, got sick etc etc and constantly praying for forgiveness for herself and for us.always inviting the local priest around for tea and donating money to the parish. She knew I didnt quite believe in all this when i was growing up and more so once I decided religion wasnt for me, but what really enforced it was her later years, she was hit with a string of bad luck and terrible incidents, first off her house was broken into and she was terrorised while in bed as a few guys ransacked the place, of course her answer to why they left her alone was that god was looking out for her. Then her place almost burnt down after a chip pan fire in her kitchen, again god was watching out for her. This made her even more religious if that was even possible, then she fell and broke a hip, meaning months of agonising treatment and recovery, she was told not to walk to and from mass every day but she did it anyway, in tremendous pain all because she didnt want to miss mass and have to go to confession an extra day for sinning by not attending the church. Then, to top it all, she got cancer, had most of her bowel removed and spent the last 2 years of her life in complete agony, in and out of hospital all the time. Want to know how many times the priest who she invited over for tea every week and spent hours confessing her "sins" to visited her in hospital? once. Once in 5 months did he bother to come see her. She basically spent the last few months in an out of consciousness due to the pain and high volume of meds she was on, and she died completely alone in her hospital bed in the middle of the night.

It was right then and there that I stopped believing in god, how could I? the priest who gave her funal mass kept referring to her as a sinner "as all of us are" this woman neved said a bad word to anyone in her life. If it was a test of her faith or something then it was uncalled for, for someone who spent most of their life worshipping and begging forgiveness from god who then repays her by cruelly subjecting her to 2 years of suffering and dying alone. what kind of god repays his worshippers like that?

It was then I realised, its not whether I'm worthy to be loved by god, its whether god is worthy to be accepted by me, and he isnt, being that to his most ardent followers hes a masochistic bastard.

Daftendirekt

I have a feeling this might have been done before, but what the hell. It's Friday!

Nothing in particular made me stop believing. I was raised Catholic and genuinely believed it for a while. Gradually it dawned on me that there are so many other mutually contradictory belief systems out there claiming to be the 'one true faith' that it was highly unlikely that I just happened to have been born into the one correct religion. So I moved on to a vaguer form of theism, involving a much less anthropomorphic deity.

Then one night when I was lying awake in bed, the silliness of my newfound beliefs hit me and I became an atheist. Good times.

Turtwig

krudler wrote: »

hes a masochistic bastard.

I don't think you knew God. What your aunt went through was tragic no doubt, but I've no doubt that the hardships she faced by God were part of his extraordinary plan for her (and you!). The gift of life our Lord has given us is so infinite, so majestic, that we could not possibly hope not to fathom. God loves each us and everyone of us for what we are - I'm sure that in the times of need He provided solace and strength to your Aunt. She was a brave woman, to endure so many hardships and still retain her faith. I've got no doubt that God will reward her kindly for it.

God Bless,
Malt


It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything.

Zillah

An atheist is not angry at God, by definition. You sound very angry at God. There are many reasons to not believe in a God, but being angry at him doesn't really make sense. God could still exist, it's just that he is a feckless thug, to borrow a phrase from The West Wing (as a random aside, for anyone who remembers this post, imagine my surprise watching that episode last night).

For me there was no moment where I stopped believing in God. I went through the motions as a child, not really understanding what it was about. I felt silly saying prayers and bored during services. As soon as I was old enough to understand the concept it was clear I thought it was ridiculous. A combination of there being no evidence for his existence, and there being very good arguments as to why any God man believed in had been invented by man.

Bootsy.

Common sense.

Although I don't think I ever actually believed.

Turtwig

krudler wrote: »

hes a masochistic bastard.

I don't think you knew God. What your aunt went through was tragic no doubt, but I've no doubt that the hardships she faced by God were part of his extraordinary plan for her (and you!). The gift of life our Lord has given us is so infinite, so majestic, that we could not possibly hope not to fathom. God loves each and everyone of us for what we are - I'm sure that in the times of need He provided solace and strength to your Aunt. She was a brave woman, to endure so many hardships and still retain her faith. I've got no doubt that God will reward her kindly for it.

God Bless,
Malt


It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything. That, and a love for the natural world.

Zillah

Those posts were ten minutes apart, how did you do that?

krudler

Malty_T wrote: »

I don't think you knew God. What your aunt went through was tragic no doubt, but I've no doubt that the hardships she faced by God were part of his extraordinary plan for her (and you!). The gift of life our Lord has given us is so infinite, so majestic, that we could not possibly hope not to fathom. God loves each and everyone of us for what we are - I'm sure that in the times of need He provided solace and strength to your Aunt. She was a brave woman, to endure so many hardships and still retain her faith. I've got no doubt that God will reward her kindly for it.

God Bless,
Malt


It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything. That, and a love for science and the natural world.

Thats pretty much summed it up, the "we can twist anything to mean something from god" bullsh1t that religious types spout. god seems to be either malevolent or incompetent, either way isnt good enough for a supposed deity.

An atheist is not angry at God, by definition. You sound very angry at God. There are many reasons to not believe in a God, but being angry at him doesn't really make sense. God could still exist, it's just that he is a feckless thug, to borrow a phrase from The West Wing (as a random aside, for anyone who remembers this post, imagine my surprise watching that episode last night).

I wouldnt label myself as an atheist though, non believer is more apt.

TheBigLebowski

Malty_T wrote: »

I don't think you knew God. What your aunt went through was tragic no doubt, but I've no doubt that the hardships she faced by God were part of his extraordinary plan for her (and you!). The gift of life our Lord has given us is so infinite, so majestic, that we could not possibly hope not to fathom. God loves each us and everyone of us for what we are - I'm sure that in the times of need He provided solace and strength to your Aunt. She was a brave woman, to endure so many hardships and still retain her faith. I've got no doubt that God will reward her kindly for it.

God Bless,
Malt


It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything.

Reading that shit makes my skin crawl.

strobe

Zillah wrote: »

Those posts were ten minutes apart, how did you do that?

God did it.

For me, looking back now I don't think I ever realy realy believed. Although it's hard to say because I "stopped believing" when I was about 7 or 8ish. Can't put my finger on the exact time, but I have memories of praying to God around the time of my first communion, but I certainly wasn't doing that by the time I reached my comfirmation. There was no one "moment of clarity" or anything like that, I think it was just the same as what I can remember about losing my belief in Santy. Just gradually over a short period of time as I realised nothing about it made any sense. I never found the presents in my parents room in terms of God or Santa Clause, but there was never a need for a smoking gun, I just stopped deluding myself, as most children do about most things they would like to believe but that clearly aren't true.

hiorta

Perhaps an award or other recognition for any religion, sect or similar organisation, who can demonstrate the existence of their particular god, then show that their god is irrefutably the 'one, true' article.
Take your time and get it right.

Galvasean

I don't believe in Superman God because when you read all of the comics Bible you find all of these retcons contradictions in relation to his origin/character/story. If the source material can't even get it right...

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

was shopping for an xmas turkey with my mother when i was a child, I think i was nine or ten and she was trying to get the butcher to accept out of date coupons. she said she'd pray for him and he replied he was an atheist. She got the turkey anyway, and as we were walking towards the till I asked her what an atheist was and she said 'someone who doesn't believe in god'. Before that, I didn't even know not believing in god was an option. I can remember thinking 'that makes sense', but i'm not sure if I actually did think that or if it's just something i've created in my head since it happened.

kelly1

krudler wrote: »

....If it was a test of her faith or something then it was uncalled for, for someone who spent most of their life worshipping and begging forgiveness from god who then repays her by cruelly subjecting her to 2 years of suffering and dying alone. what kind of god repays his worshippers like that?

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find that generally the ones who were closest to God suffered the most on this earth. They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God and pays the price of sins commited by others thereby making it possible for God to grant them the grace necessary to repent. Those who suffer most for Christ can expect a greater share in His glory. I'm not making this up, it's biblical.

In all probablility, your aunts suffering lessened or eliminated her time in Purgatory and allowed her to go straight to Heaven with rewards commensure with her suffering. She may also have saved many souls.

To get some idea of what I'm talking about, you could read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

God bless you and your aunt!
Noel.

Goduznt Xzst

krudler wrote: »

Its simple for me, my aunt.

Ah well the answer is simple, your Aunt was following the wrong Religion so God was punishing her for her hubris. That's no reason to stop believing in God, but a reason to start believing in the right one. Now, which one was it again? I wrote it down somewhere... give me a second, it was on that piece of paper I had in my wallet.

bnt

I don't know if I really believed when I was a kid, because, after all, I was a kid, and kids believe whatever crap they're told. If I did, the answer to that question would be: I grew up. :pac:

kelly1

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find that generally the ones who were closest to God suffered the most on this earth. They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God and pays the price of sins commited by others thereby making it possible for God to grant them the grace necessary to repent. Those who suffer most for Christ can expect a greater share in His glory. I'm not making this up, it's biblical.

In all probablility, your aunts suffering lessened or eliminated her time in Purgatory and allowed her to go straight to Heaven with rewards commensure with her suffering. She may also have saved many souls.

To get some idea of what I'm talking about, you could read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

God bless you and your aunt!
Noel.

Malty_T wrote: »

I don't think you knew God. What your aunt went through was tragic no doubt, but I've no doubt that the hardships she faced by God were part of his extraordinary plan for her (and you!). The gift of life our Lord has given us is so infinite, so majestic, that we could not possibly hope not to fathom. God loves each and everyone of us for what we are - I'm sure that in the times of need He provided solace and strength to your Aunt. She was a brave woman, to endure so many hardships and still retain her faith. I've got no doubt that God will reward her kindly for it.

God Bless,
Malt


It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything. That, and a love for the natural world.

Wow Malty you're scarily accurate with that.

iUseVi

^^^

Bravo Malty, not bad at all.

Dades

kelly1 wrote: »

They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God...

Catholicism in a nutshell. Absolutely crackers.

Sea Sharp

For me it was the realization that at no point from the beginning of time (Big Bang) to us 21st century humans sitting here do we require a God to explain any stage/step in this process.
In my opinion people have very little control over what type of person they will become so to suggest that this world is some sort of test is just dumb.
A better understanding of human psychology and sociology has helped convince me that superior beings couldn't be dumbed down to some sort of 'good vs. evil' Hollywood movie as implied by most religious beliefs.

Ickle Magoo

Malty_T wrote: »

It was that sort of claptrap that turned me off more than anything. That, and a love for the natural world.

Same, well, I never had a belief in god but it's the sickly, condescending articulation that seems to abound and the smug, self-appointed specialness and clearly disingenuous tenderness which makes the thought of having to be in contact with some religious people really unattractive - it gives me the creeps tbh. *shivers*

aidan24326

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find that generally the ones who were closest to God suffered the most on this earth. They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God and pays the price of sins commited by others thereby making it possible for God to grant them the grace necessary to repent. Those who suffer most for Christ can expect a greater share in His glory. I'm not making this up, it's biblical.

In all probablility, your aunts suffering lessened or eliminated her time in Purgatory and allowed her to go straight to Heaven with rewards commensure with her suffering. She may also have saved many souls.

To get some idea of what I'm talking about, you could read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

God bless you and your aunt!
Noel.

Noel, your brain is broken. That's all.

Myksyk

As evidenced by Noel's ramblings ... the incandescent nuttery of it all!

krudler

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find that generally the ones who were closest to God suffered the most on this earth. They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God and pays the price of sins commited by others thereby making it possible for God to grant them the grace necessary to repent. Those who suffer most for Christ can expect a greater share in His glory. I'm not making this up, it's biblical.

In all probablility, your aunts suffering lessened or eliminated her time in Purgatory and allowed her to go straight to Heaven with rewards commensure with her suffering. She may also have saved many souls.

To get some idea of what I'm talking about, you could read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

God bless you and your aunt!
Noel.

Thanks for proving exactly why religious types are crackpots, Im sure she was revelling in Gods love as she was defecating into a bag hanging out of her side and wetting herself in a hospital bed, is thats the extent of a so called all powerful deitys love then he can cram it.

Its the "suffering is good mmkay" brainwashing idealogy thats the scariest part of religion

kelly1

krudler wrote: »

Thanks for proving exactly why religious types are crackpots, Im sure she was revelling in Gods love as she was defecating into a bag hanging out of her side and wetting herself in a hospital bed, is thats the extent of a so called all powerful deitys love then he can cram it.

Its the "suffering is good mmkay" brainwashing idealogy thats the scariest part of religion

I know you're angry about this situation but there's no need to call me a crackpot. I'm offering my view and I'm entitled to it.

It's not clear to me whether you believe in God or not. You said you stopped believing in God and then you curse Him!

So do you believe that your aunt's suffering had no meaning? Did she suffer in vain? Was her agonizing death down to bad "luck"?

kelly1

GaNjaHaN wrote: »

For me it was the realization that at no point from the beginning of time (Big Bang) to us 21st century humans sitting here do we require a God to explain any stage/step in this process.

Did the big bang cause itself? Can matter produce consciousness? What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity. What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass? Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

iUseVi

kelly1 wrote: »

I know you're angry about this situation but there's no need to call me a crackpot. I'm offering my view and I'm entitled to it.

Yes you are untitled to your view of course, but that doesn't change the fact that it is madness.

Kai

Zillah wrote: »

An atheist is not angry at God, by definition. You sound very angry at God. There are many reasons to not believe in a God, but being angry at him doesn't really make sense. God could still exist, it's just that he is a feckless thug, to borrow a phrase from The West Wing (as a random aside, for anyone who remembers this post, imagine my surprise watching that episode last night).

For me there was no moment where I stopped believing in God. I went through the motions as a child, not really understanding what it was about. I felt silly saying prayers and bored during services. As soon as I was old enough to understand the concept it was clear I thought it was ridiculous. A combination of there being no evidence for his existence, and there being very good arguments as to why any God man believed in had been invented by man.

^ That. Almost exactly the same. I can remember being in 3rd class at school during religion class. I turned to my friend beside me and said "This is rubbish sure there is no such thing as god" and promptly got given out to and punished with lines from the "teacher". My parents were religious i guess, my dad still is but i think its mostly for show. I cant remember a time when it dawned on me or anything simply because i can never remember actually believing in all that was said about it. I dont think i ever accepted it as truth, it always seemed like a pack of lies but as a kid i couldnt get my head around the enormity of it and why so many people went along with it. it seemed like a game almost.

Of course when i got older i realised it really is all a game. I honestly think most people believe in a kind of tongue in cheek Father Ted style of religion but dont want to rock the community boat too much by saying it out loud. Normally the people i see who "Truly believe" have a hidden agenda so its questionable if they really believe either. I think everyone at some level knows its a sham but they continue to play along anyway.

Sorry for the rambling post.

robindch

Folks -

aidan24326 wrote: »

Noel, your brain is broken. That's all.

krudler wrote: »

Thanks for proving exactly why religious types are crackpots

Rationalizing pointless suffering is an unpleasant pastime and irritates me as much as creationists do. But while you're acknowledging the power of religion to subvert thought and erode sympathy to nothing (which isn't against the forum charter), you're also being rude about another poster (which is).

Keep it non-personal, please.

kelly1

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself?

Possibly.
Did God cause himself?

kelly1 wrote: »

Can matter produce consciousness?

If it is arranged into a functioning brain.
It has already happened.

kelly1 wrote: »

What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity.

What makes you think that laws of physics where "determined" at all?
What determined that all the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees?

kelly1 wrote: »

What determined the mass of the electron and

See above.

kelly1 wrote: »

why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass?

Your question is tautological.
An electron is defined by mass and charge.
An electron is what we call a particle with that mass and charge.

You may as well ask why do all birds have feathers and beaks.

kelly1 wrote: »

Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Such as?

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

Atheists aren't a singular block so some probably don't ask the difficult question.
Most rationalists (especially scientists) do all the time.

The difference between me and you is when I don't understand something or don't have the information I don't give up an plug the gap with "it was magic."

robindch

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself? Can matter produce consciousness? What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity. What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass? Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

I don't quite see the link between "Something that wasn't the Universe caused the Universe" and "A first-century itinerant Rabbi in Palestine got himself executed by Roman soldiers so that he could seal a deal he made with himself to prevent all future inhabitants of earth from falling victim to a design-flaw implemented by the Rabbi and the other two-thirds of an invisible god". Frankly, the link is anything but clear.

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

Given that you spent half the week avoiding answering a series of questions about these topics, I think there's more than a touch of the kettle and the pot here.

Mark Hamill

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself?

Possibly. How many times do you need to be told that the word "cause" as you are using doesn't necessarily apply to the big bang?

kelly1 wrote: »

Can matter produce consciousness?

Evidently, as we are all made of matter and we have consciousness

kelly1 wrote: »

What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity.

Dont know. Possibly they are randomly approached during the initial stages of teh big bang, possible the initial condition of the universe (that was expanded into the universe by the big bang) has other spontaneously extant "laws" that drove the creation of the laws we experience.

kelly1 wrote: »

What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass?

The laws of physics.

kelly1 wrote: »

Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Only two assumptions. That the universe is consistent and that it can be measured (at least I think thats what it boils down to), and these assumptions are tested with every scientific descovery.
Religion, on the other hand, is based not only on unprovable assumptions, but on contradictory assumptions.

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

In generally atheists dont avoid the difficult questions, we just avoid the easy answers, as they are usually wrong.

ColmDawson

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself? Can matter produce consciousness? What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity. What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass? Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

No matter how many questions science can't yet answer, there is no reason to construct or believe in alternative answers based on magic.

Honestly, what's wrong with saying "Well, we haven't figured that one out yet."?

Kai

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself? Can matter produce consciousness? What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity. What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass? Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

Interesting, you seem to believe that because something is unprovable that that somehow takes away from its credibility. In purely scientific terms Theory's are never proved, they can only be disproved. And when one is disproved the Theory is altered to accept this new change; the theory is improved upon with our new findings to better match our understanding of the universe.
Can you explain to me how that is a bad thing?
Why do you consider the purely faith based non provable and immutable laws of your chosen religion to be superior?

I'm sure you can pick holes in the semantics of the statement but you must agree that without the drive to understand the world around us through science we would still be running around in bear skins doing rain dances. Religion had little to do with technological innovation which use the laws of physics you mention in your post. You should accept that without them you wouldn't be reading this post.

In any case this the argument about science vs religion is a waste of time. Science in its purest form seeks to make sense of what we see around us. Religion in its purest form has never been anything more than a way to control the masses.

Fair warning, if your going to quote scripture or something from your religious book written thousands of years ago, then don't bother. I'm interested in why you think the way you do rather than what you have read and absorbed from others.

Goduznt Xzst

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

5 pages from now, we will look at the title of this thread and look at the current topic being argued/discussed and wonder where it all went wrong. I'm sticking a pin in this post

It recieves my official Jean-Claude Van Stammp

ColmDawson

Ok, let's get back on topic.

My journey from belief to unbelief was fairly gradual. I believed in god because that was the tradition in which I was brought up.

When I reached my teens and started to notice homophobia, sexism etc. in Catholic doctrine, I decided that, while Jesus was a good guy, I didn't buy into the idea of the pope or of god as the Bible depicts him.

From then until now, my belief in god turned into a vague sense of some good force in the world and eventually, around the time of the Murphy Report, I started confronting my own beliefs ("What do I really think is true?"; "Am I only going along with Christianity because it's the tradition where I live?"). I quickly shed my beliefs, vague as they were.

Thank you, Messieurs Dawkins, Fry and Hitchens.

krudler

kelly1 wrote: »

Did the big bang cause itself? Can matter produce consciousness? What determined the laws of physics and their rationality/regularity. What determined the mass of the electron and why are all electrons identical in their electrical charge and mass? Science is based on a set of unprovable assumptions (axioms)!

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

Thats why its called the big bang THEORY, its not been proven, but its not pretending that it knows everything about how the world was created either, unlike a certain book that proclaims it was done in a week, which one seems more logical, that an energy that we havent discovered yet that has been around longer than our reckoning of times itself created life, or that a man in the sky who was sitting around on his tod for a few trillion years decided to play The Sims for real and create a planet and some people for himself, then sit back and chuckle while we all debated his existence?

Dades

Goduznt Xzst wrote: »

5 pages from now, we will look at the title of this thread and look at the current topic being argued/discussed and wonder where it all went wrong. I'm sticking a pin in this post

If this topic hadn't been asked a hundred times it would be worth keeping on track. Go figure!

Zillah

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find that generally the ones who were closest to God suffered the most on this earth. They had the special privilege of suffering for the sins of others which glorifies God and pays the price of sins commited by others thereby making it possible for God to grant them the grace necessary to repent. Those who suffer most for Christ can expect a greater share in His glory. I'm not making this up, it's biblical.

In all probablility, your aunts suffering lessened or eliminated her time in Purgatory and allowed her to go straight to Heaven with rewards commensure with her suffering. She may also have saved many souls.

To get some idea of what I'm talking about, you could read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

God bless you and your aunt!
Noel.

You literally make me feel ill. To think that Catholic priests have served as counselors and advisers during times of grief and stress for centuries. Tragic.

Zombrex

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

No, atheists have a tendency to say "I don't know"

Theists say "I don't know, that troubles me, lets invent God"

You can see that by the fact that every time an atheist says "I don't know" a theist seems to take that as some how great support for the existence of God, as if not knowing something requires us to insert "God did it" in order to comfort ourselves.

dunnaman93

On Topic

My father passed away when I was 7 and I really lost most of my faith at that time(It might seem young but I can remember thinking "why me", "why did this happen if God is so good")

Before that I can remember praying nearly every night and trying to ask forgiveness for all my sins.

Then the day of my conformation I went to visit his grave and I started balling and just thinking F*ck that wanker God its a load of balls.I have thought about is god real, why are we here stuff occasionaly but I really dont have any faith at the moment anyway.

Zombrex

My grandmother dying.

Not because I thought "Why her God! Why me God" or any of that (Christians have what they think is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that that they use to counter anyone giving that as a reason they gave up on God)

Rather the whole experience really opened my eyes to the delusions people put themselves in, including myself, believing versions of reality that are nothing like what is actual happening.

Egotistical versions of reality centered around what they wanted, as of the universe is some how bound to turn out as we would like it to.

It was this (some what crushing) realization that what we want and what happens in real life have absolutely nothing to do with each other yet humans have such a difficult time accepting this that pushed me towards atheism and skeptism.

Later in life this view, which originally was quite my own lack much external confirmation, was confirmed by scientific research into how our brains work in times of confusion and stress.

Undergod

OP answer:

I realized there was no good reason to believe.

kelly1

Zillah wrote: »

You literally make me feel ill. To think that Catholic priests have served as counselors and advisers during times of grief and stress for centuries. Tragic.

What exactly don't you like about what I wrote?

Zillah

Zillah wrote: »

You literally make me feel ill. To think that Catholic priests have served as counselors and advisers during times of grief and stress for centuries. Tragic.

It's easy enough, right. Good life - god's looking out for you. Bad life - god's looking out for you.

><

kelly1

kelly1 wrote: »

Theists are often accessed of not thinking or growing up but from what I see, athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions.

And this is one of the big reasons that made me question God.
The inherent hypocrisy in religion and religious thinking.

So after atheists are accused of not asking difficult questions, then a good few atheist answering those questions directly, the only one avoiding any questions (and the answer) is the accuser.

And I'll bet that he'll still use the line "athiests have a tendency to avoid the awkward/difficult questions."

strobe

kelly1 wrote: »

What exactly don't you like about what I wrote?

I think it was the whole "special privilege of suffering" pig manure.

narwog81

the Terry Pratchett book "Small Gods"

Flamed Diving

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Krudler, you actually have no idea how God has repaid her.

Exactly. No one can really claim to know what happened...

kelly1 wrote: »

read the Diary of St. Faustina or "The Way of Divine Love" by Sr. Josefa Menendez.

Oh, except these guys... :rolleyes:


Furthermore, I stopped believing when I reached the age to question such absurdities.

Around seven years old.

Stercus Accidit

I have been lucky enough to have been raised without a religion, my parents said I could make my own choice about it all.

My school on the other hand and all the other kids who were brainwashed still exposed me to a massive amount of catholic rubbish, our father, who art in heaven... I can recite this chant from memory.

The religion itself though, and its adherents, let alone my own interest in science and rationalism, have cemented my rejection of faith as the false 'quality' that it is.

Zillah

kelly1 wrote: »

What exactly don't you like about what I wrote?

Really? Ok...

I don't believe in God, especially your ridiculous Bible-God, so all I hear is a person cheering on the pain, desperation and loneliness of a dying old woman. It's not that her pain is sad but you won't help her, it's not that her pain is an unfortunate tragedy...it's that her pain is to be celebrated. It is the twisted and evil belief that she is better off for having endured the indignity of that living nightmare. It is a sad and pathetic mentality, the result of ignorant old men trying to rationalise a heartless universe. Your religion is a monstrous, inhuman and ongoing calamity. You make me sick, not only because you've dominated the planet for centuries, but also because you're so damn smug about it too.