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Has your outlook changed since realising there is no God?

  • 14-10-2012 08:43AM
    #1
    Gauss
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 550 ✭✭✭Gauss


    For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.


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Comments

  • #2
    jugger0
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,453 ✭✭✭jugger0


    How do you know?


  • #3
    Augmerson
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,162 ✭✭✭Augmerson


    Yes. I do whatever I want now since I know there will be no consequences or anybody to judge me in the afterlife. I go around selling heroin outside primary schools, ****ting on toilet seats and giving financial advice to Fianna Fail.


  • #4
    FearDark
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,425 ✭✭✭FearDark


    jugger0 wrote: »
    How do you know?

    Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.


  • #5
    Tweedle Dumb
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 102 ✭✭Tweedle Dumb


    There is No God, WHA?


  • #6
    oldyouth
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,754 ✭✭✭oldyouth


    I think the OP means Santa (and he's wrong)


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  • #7
    mhigh86
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 119 ✭✭mhigh86


    you would have to believe in a god first, so nothing has changed.


  • #8
    Ghost Buster
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 5,172 ✭✭✭Ghost Buster


    Yes my outlook has changed utterly with this realisation. I now understand that thunder and lightning is caused by the electrical build up in clouds being discharged toward earth as lightning (or somethin like that) rather than being caused by that big Australian surfer dude with the hammer in The Avengers. Ther Norse really dig him and his hammer.




    Or do you have another god in mind?


  • #9
    Mr.Crinklewood
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,037 ✭✭✭✭Mr.Crinklewood


    The icon for spell check has changed, I think that is all.


  • #10
    Tipsy McSwagger
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,077 ✭✭✭Tipsy McSwagger


    Augmerson wrote: »
    Yes. I do whatever I want now since I know there will be no consequences or anybody to judge me in the afterlife. I go around selling heroin outside primary schools, ****ting on toilet seats and giving financial advice to Fianna Fail.

    You can do those things anyway and still believe in God. Just go to confession and your slate is wiped clean.


  • #11
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    Why do you assume everyone that reads this has 'realised' there's no God?
    FearDark wrote: »
    Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.
    No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.


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  • #12
    philologos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,479 ✭✭✭✭philologos


    Gauss wrote: »
    For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

    (EDIT: Did you not think that posting this on the Atheism and Agnosticism forum would have been more fruitful?)

    My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007). That all is forgiven, and that I won't be condemned at the end of time for rebelling against my Creator, and that life has an ultimate meaning, purpose and goal. I found that while acknowledging this universe and the Creator who formed it, that this Creation started making a lot more sense than believing the vague notion that this all came about from absolutely nothing.

    The notion that non-believers appreciate the present moment more than Christians isn't really true I find. I acknowledge the here and now, and just because I acknowledge that this isn't the end doesn't necessarily mean I appreciate this Creation less.


  • #13
    FearDark
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,425 ✭✭✭FearDark


    Irish Guitarist wrote: »
    No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.

    Same as me so :)

    I love that feeling of knowing you're right.


  • #14
    FearDark
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,425 ✭✭✭FearDark


    philologos wrote: »
    (EDIT: Did you not think that posting this on the Atheism and Agnosticism forum would have been more fruitful?)

    My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007). That all is forgiven, and that I won't be condemned at the end of time for rebelling against my Creator, and that life has an ultimate meaning, purpose and goal. I found that while acknowledging this universe and the Creator who formed it, that this Creation started making a lot more sense than believing the vague notion that this all came about from absolutely nothing.

    The notion that non-believers appreciate the present moment more than Christians isn't really true I find. I acknowledge the here and now, and just because I acknowledge that this isn't the end doesn't necessarily mean I appreciate this Creation less.

    Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?


  • #15
    gbee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,384 ✭✭✭gbee


    Bringing up children in religion, any religion is child abuse, pure and simple.

    I was a sponge as an impressionable baby in the 50's and 60's, I did not take the vow or pledge at Confirmation circa 1965/6 and I went through a torturous time and felt very much alone with the realisation that my parents, whom I've never forgiven, had lied to me.

    So had my teachers, the priests, the nuns, the Gardaí my neighbours and friends. They all had lied. The most important thing in life, imo, is honesty and trust, I was denied that.

    What one believes should be theirs, it's such an important thing that it should be an adult decision, an enlightened decision at that too, not 'just taking over the family business' AND to top it all there are many, many religions.


  • #16
    3ndahalfof6
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,184 ✭✭✭3ndahalfof6


    I have not realized yet, but ill let you know when I do.


  • #17
    Wabbit Ears
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,065 ✭✭✭Wabbit Ears


    For a long time I was sure there was no God but there is always the 'what if'.
    Now I think there might be a God but the God of Judea is a complete d1ck.


  • #18
    frag420
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,161 ✭✭✭frag420


    If your outlook has changed then go into Tools and then account settings and religious beliefs and you can change it back. Of just change email provider maybe?


  • #19
    philologos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,479 ✭✭✭✭philologos


    FearDark wrote: »
    Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?

    No I don't. God isn't imaginary and there are perfectly sound philosophical reasons for believing in Him as a necessary cause to existence.

    Secondly, concerning Jesus and the Gospel - we have eyewitness testimony of these events. This eyewitness testimony mentions specific, places, events and people, and this could have been examined by anyone in the first century, and if it didn't hold up, it could have been widely refuted in the first century also. Yet we see no such accounts of this.

    Thirdly, the New Testament text is the most authentic in the ancient world, it has more manuscript evidence to show that it wasn't significantly altered. If I can't trust the New Testament then it's likely that I can't trust any other text in ancient history either. If you look at my "Why trust the Bible?" link in my signature you'll see exactly why I can trust the Bible as a reliable source?

    Fourthly, the Biblical narrative concerning creation, sin / wrongdoing and the ultimate restoration of Creation makes much better sense than any secular explanation of morality that I've seen which takes the relativist / postmodern approach of saying "what's right for you is right for you, and what's wrong for you is wrong for you" rather than saying that things are objectively right and wrong. The whole atheistic relativist morality falls apart at the first hurdle. What about fieldshooting people in a city centre for a Sunday lunchtime activity? Who are you to say that this is wrong, after what's right for you is only right for you, this could be right for me? Unless of course there is an objective law giver and an objective judge.

    Fifthly, I've seen the impact that Jesus has on both me and others.


  • #20
    gbee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,384 ✭✭✭gbee


    FearDark wrote: »
    Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?

    I brought my children up with no God, no Santa.

    Recently we had a family reunion and the subject came up, my children said they felt superior to the others who believed and the teachers tried to make them lie, after that failed they asked them not to say anything.

    My daughter admitted to having believed in the Tooth Fairy as I had not expressly included the Tooth Fairy as non existent.

    We had an otherwise normal time, Christmas had both the Crib and Santa, they were not #banned# it was a bit of fun and a nice thing to do as wanted.


  • #21
    philologos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,479 ✭✭✭✭philologos


    Wabbit Ears wrote: »
    For a long time I was sure there was no God but there is always the 'what if'.
    Now I think there might be a God but the God of Judea is a complete d1ck.
    You know, I had a guy say that to me at the pub before. I asked him, what would you expect God's standards to be if He did exist?

    It largely came down to be true to yourself, and don't be a tool to another?

    What does that look like, in a universe where there is a God? Well, being true to yourself involves acknowledging your place within God's creation, and don't be a tool to another by and large would involve living by His moral law.

    So essentially we have what Jesus said - Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.

    How exactly is the God of Israel a "dick"? :confused:


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  • #22
    9959
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,785 ✭✭✭9959


    Gauss wrote: »
    For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

    Couldn't agree more.
    However, I sometimes envy people who 'have religion', it must give them great comfort when someone they love passes away, to believe that they'll see them again at some future date.
    Perhaps that's one of the reasons why man invented God, for some - even atheists like myself - the concept of eternal 'nothingness' is a difficult one to accept.


  • #23
    Gauss
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 550 ✭✭✭Gauss


    Irish Guitarist wrote: »
    Why do you assume everyone that reads this has 'realised' there's no God?
    FearDark wrote: »
    Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.
    No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.

    There is absolutely no arrogance or smugness on my part. I don't subscribe to concepts of inferiority or superiority. I simply realised God didn't exist.


  • #24
    Ellis Dee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,510 ✭✭✭Ellis Dee


    philologos wrote: »

    My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007).

    The question asked in the OP was essentially how your outlook might have changed once you realised that all the claims the various religions make are hogwash, not how you voluntarily abandoned reason as an adult and replaced it with blind, unquestioning belief. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

    But, as they say, where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise, so I'm just glad you are happy in the delusion you have woven for yourself. :)


  • #25
    Rasheed
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,117 ✭✭✭Rasheed


    gbee wrote: »
    I brought my children up with no God, no Santa.

    Recently we had a family reunion and the subject came up, my children said they felt superior to the others who believed and the teachers tried to make them lie, after that failed they asked them not to say anything.

    My daughter admitted to having believed in the Tooth Fairy as I had not expressly included the Tooth Fairy as non existent.

    We had an otherwise normal time, Christmas had both the Crib and Santa, they were not #banned# it was a bit of fun and a nice thing to do as wanted.

    You never let your children believe in Santa? I think that's mean to be honest.


  • #26
    philologos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,479 ✭✭✭✭philologos


    Ellis Dee wrote: »
    The question asked in the OP was essentially how your outlook might have changed once you realised that all the claims the various religions make are hogwash, not how you voluntarily abandoned reason as an adult and replaced it with blind, unquestioning belief. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

    But, as they say, where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise, so I'm just glad you are happy in the delusiuon you have woven for yourself. :)

    My outlook changed. I was an agnostic, now I'm a Christian.

    My faith isn't blind either, it's the result of evaluating the Scriptures, evaluating the evidence, and evaluating the world around me. It's a far more rational approach than presuming that people are deluded without providing any good or sound reason as to why you think that is the case. Making absurd claims about people who believe in God being deluded are worth nothing unless you have a reason for thinking so.


  • #27
    getzls
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 806 ✭✭✭getzls


    Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »
    You can do those things anyway and still believe in God. Just go to confession and your slate is wiped clean.

    I can't. im Protestant, and their is a God.


  • #28
    smcgiff
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,943 ✭✭✭smcgiff


    Stop derailing the thread plilologos, sell crazy somewhere else.

    Similar to the op - actually, I've a memory of believing in santa clause, but cannot ever remember believing in a god, though I must have at some stage as it what i was told to believe.

    As i can't remember believing in a god I can't say how I've changed, but i would have a strong moral compass and high level of empathy.

    Having a belief in a judging god might moderate the behaviour of a sociopath which would be a tick in the favour of religion.


  • #29
    philologos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,479 ✭✭✭✭philologos


    smcgiff wrote: »
    Stop derailing the thread plilologos, sell crazy somewhere else.

    It's not derailing the thread. If the OP is entitled to advocate atheism here, then I've got every right to respond to him and say that my perspective has changed as a result of Jesus? Or is that anathema?

    If you have an issue with any of my posts, click the report post button which you'll find under my avatar and a mod will sort me out.


  • #30
    Fiery mutant
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,547 ✭✭✭Fiery mutant


    I am a Jedi, like me father before me.

    We should defend our way of life to an extent that any attempt on it is crushed, so that any adversary will never make such an attempt in the future.



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  • #31
    gbee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,384 ✭✭✭gbee


    Rasheed wrote: »
    You never let your children believe in Santa? I think that's mean to be honest.

    Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

    It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.


This discussion has been closed.
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