Everyone's response is welcome!!
Please share the history of the events that lead you to either be firmly aetheist or firmly religious. Perhaps you were tired of hearing the nonsense of religion, or perhaps you sought religion to escape all the nonsense that goes on in our world. Either way, it seems both aetheists and religious people have extremely strong opinionated views for their beliefs, and these views don't just manifest on their own. So please, share your experiences that have lead you to be what you are today. I don't plan on criticizing anyone's ideas here; my goal is just to learn where others are comming from. Any questions for further understanding from either side are welcome.
(feel free to stop reading and answer now, this is just my story:P)
All throughout my life up until the end of high school I considered myself agnostic. For me, there could or could not have been a god. Either way, I certainly was not religious and gave the bible no credit. I recall my main reasons being that the story of creation along with other stories had been proven wrong by science and fossils and evolution, etc., and that was enough for me to say religion served no purpose.
Im in college now. My first year was really rough. I was miserable with my major and with what I was doing with my life. It felt utterly pointless and insignificant. When I had little else to turn to, I somehow ended up seeking religion. I started reading the bible. I let go of all scientific objections that prevented me from ever giving it a chance. I learned that not everything is to be taken completely literally, and mainly just started looking to the bible and religion as means to help me better my life and live a more meaningful one.
I can honestly say now that I would be lost without religion. It has given me direction and positive morals and goals. I have a purpose now, to do good, help my fellow man, and live a righteous life. I know how to make my life fulfilling now, and I think that without religion I would probably be in a really hopeless situation. This is just me though, it could be way different for others. Well, that's my story, lets hear yours!
How did you become aetheist or religious?
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FinalEnigma
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Post #2
I am an atheist. Throughout most of my life up through high school I was agnostic. I think I became atheist around the time I was discharged from the army a year ago. I had really not looked into religion at all, and knew almost nothing about any religions. I started really looking into Christianity while I was in basic. (Attending services and reading the new testament (the bibles they had didn’t have the old testament)) as I became more and more aware of the claims Christianity was making it seemed less and less likely that there was a God (not just a Christian God, but any other one either). (Extrapolation)
I highly doubt a God exists, but I do not rule it out completely. On Dawkins scale of belief I would be a 2. I do not deal in absolutes.
If I am wrong, and there is a God, I cannot forgive him for what he has done, and what he continues to do.
I have been suffering depression for at least the last 10 years; I am not sure before that. I was discharged from the army (the one place where I was relatively happy and quite successful) for a knee injury that will not heal. I thought the only thing I had left to me was my mind, because God had taken everything else away. I was wrong, my mind has been betraying me my entire life. I have Asperger's Syndrome. I have been trying my best to fight my depression and overcome the limits of my AS for a few months. It has not been working. I have rare moments of optimism, where I feel that perhaps I am not horribly screwed for the rest of my life, but then I come back to reality. I will never be happy because everything that is important will forever be denied me. I used to love martial arts, but I cannot do it anymore, no matter how hard I try or how much I train. Whenever I try, my knee, after a short time, completely gives out and I cannot stand on that leg. My knee literally will not hold me up. For approximately the last month, I have been beginning to feel even worse than I used to. I feel as if I'm losing it, like I’m falling apart. I am tired, and lonely, and am constantly being overwhelmed by my senses, and my family acts as if nothing is wrong, as if I’m normal. I am normally a very placid, disciplined person; over the past month I have been losing control of myself. I am constantly frustrated, or angry, and am sometimes snapping at my family when it is unwarranted. It has at times taken a great deal of discipline recently to resist the urge to do things that are obviously harmful to myself, like banging my head into a wall over and over (a common autistic behavior), digging my fingernails into my hands until they bleed, or biting my tongue. Were it not for my time in the army, I probably would have failed. I am hardly sleeping now, which is likely just making things worse. Life is not about breathing, or your heart continuing to beat, it is about all the things I cannot have. I am not alive.
Presuming God exists, it is not solely for me that I cannot forgive him; it is also for the many others who must be suffering the same.
My stance on God is thus:
It is unlikely that any sort of God exists. It is VERY unlikely, nigh impossible, that any sort of God as described by the Christian religion (or any other religion I know of) exists. If a God does exist, he would seem to be a sadistic bastard, and disregarding further, very enlightening information, I cannot forgive him for what he has done.
I highly doubt a God exists, but I do not rule it out completely. On Dawkins scale of belief I would be a 2. I do not deal in absolutes.
If I am wrong, and there is a God, I cannot forgive him for what he has done, and what he continues to do.
I have been suffering depression for at least the last 10 years; I am not sure before that. I was discharged from the army (the one place where I was relatively happy and quite successful) for a knee injury that will not heal. I thought the only thing I had left to me was my mind, because God had taken everything else away. I was wrong, my mind has been betraying me my entire life. I have Asperger's Syndrome. I have been trying my best to fight my depression and overcome the limits of my AS for a few months. It has not been working. I have rare moments of optimism, where I feel that perhaps I am not horribly screwed for the rest of my life, but then I come back to reality. I will never be happy because everything that is important will forever be denied me. I used to love martial arts, but I cannot do it anymore, no matter how hard I try or how much I train. Whenever I try, my knee, after a short time, completely gives out and I cannot stand on that leg. My knee literally will not hold me up. For approximately the last month, I have been beginning to feel even worse than I used to. I feel as if I'm losing it, like I’m falling apart. I am tired, and lonely, and am constantly being overwhelmed by my senses, and my family acts as if nothing is wrong, as if I’m normal. I am normally a very placid, disciplined person; over the past month I have been losing control of myself. I am constantly frustrated, or angry, and am sometimes snapping at my family when it is unwarranted. It has at times taken a great deal of discipline recently to resist the urge to do things that are obviously harmful to myself, like banging my head into a wall over and over (a common autistic behavior), digging my fingernails into my hands until they bleed, or biting my tongue. Were it not for my time in the army, I probably would have failed. I am hardly sleeping now, which is likely just making things worse. Life is not about breathing, or your heart continuing to beat, it is about all the things I cannot have. I am not alive.
Presuming God exists, it is not solely for me that I cannot forgive him; it is also for the many others who must be suffering the same.
My stance on God is thus:
It is unlikely that any sort of God exists. It is VERY unlikely, nigh impossible, that any sort of God as described by the Christian religion (or any other religion I know of) exists. If a God does exist, he would seem to be a sadistic bastard, and disregarding further, very enlightening information, I cannot forgive him for what he has done.
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jgh7
Post #3
FinalEnigma:
I'm sorry to hear what has happened to you. I don't know much about Asperger's Syndrome, but if its any consolation I can tell you that my brother is autistic and I've grown up with him my whole life.
It's awful when an injury prevents us from doing what we love to do in life. I guess right now things must seem rather hopeless to you, and life apears to just be going in a downward unescapable spiral. I want you to know however that I'm not giving up on you, and I still think there is plenty of hope for you, and you can live a happy life.
First I want to thank you for at least taking some time to read some of the Bible before you passed judgement on it. I know youre going to hate me for the rest of this, but I'm gonna say it anyways because i truly want to help you and I think this is the only way since youre in a desperate situation.
If youre feeling lonely or overwhelmed, know there is always a place you can turn to in order to feel welcome. Yea, I'm talking about a church, or synagogue, or similar place. Anyone is welcome to come here, including none-religious people. You will not find hostility in the air; people are there to find peace and happiness and friendship. The most important thing though, is that you can go there to talk to the Priest, Pastor, Rabbi, etc. for help. It is their job and responsibility as leaders of the faith to respect its most important rule, love for thy neighbor. Tell them all of your sadness and sorrow that you feel. Tell them all of the troubles you have gone through in your life and how things feel hopeless.
They will listen with open ears and an open heart. If nothing else, know that they care and are worried about you, and that they truly want to help you get better and be happy. They can help you to get involved with your community. Know that there is still an infinite amount of service you can do for your country even if you can't be in the army, and there are millions of suffering people out there who need your aid and charity. Know that you can be the most important person in someone's life and that they will depend on you to help through situations that seem hopeless to them as well.
I know things can seem unfair. It can seem like what is most important to you has been taken away, and now you have nothing. Know that you are capable of so much more, and that there are so many other things you can do to make your life fulfilling, believe me there are. But you can't do all of this on your own, there are people at the Church, synagogue, etc. who will be more than happy to help you get on the right path again.
It's late where I am, and I know Ive been writing for a while and probably not making much sense, but I'm trying my best to help you see what you can do to make your life fulfilling again. I'm not saying that you have to become religious, you can stay aetheist, but know that because of their religious beliefs, Priests, Pastors, Rabbis, etc. will dedicate their time to help you; they will not judge you if you come to them seeking help.
I wanna finish this by telling you that my heart goes out to you. Obviously by the eloquence with which you write, you are a very smart person. This AS doesn't seem to hinder you in that department at all. Know that if after all this you still feel alone and like things are hopeless... you can always pray to God, and God will always listen. I know you think that God is unfair and that you can't forgive him for what has befallen you, but I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that he loves you. He loves you more than you can ever imagine. He will never abandon you and never give up on you. He will always be there with you through the good times and the bad. He feels your pain and he feels your happiness. Pray to him for help and guidance, pray to him for support and comfort. Believe me, if you truly seek God with all your heart and passion, he will give you the strength to get through the hardest of times. Remember, God will never give up on you, so don't give up on yourself. Good luck.
I'm sorry to hear what has happened to you. I don't know much about Asperger's Syndrome, but if its any consolation I can tell you that my brother is autistic and I've grown up with him my whole life.
It's awful when an injury prevents us from doing what we love to do in life. I guess right now things must seem rather hopeless to you, and life apears to just be going in a downward unescapable spiral. I want you to know however that I'm not giving up on you, and I still think there is plenty of hope for you, and you can live a happy life.
First I want to thank you for at least taking some time to read some of the Bible before you passed judgement on it. I know youre going to hate me for the rest of this, but I'm gonna say it anyways because i truly want to help you and I think this is the only way since youre in a desperate situation.
If youre feeling lonely or overwhelmed, know there is always a place you can turn to in order to feel welcome. Yea, I'm talking about a church, or synagogue, or similar place. Anyone is welcome to come here, including none-religious people. You will not find hostility in the air; people are there to find peace and happiness and friendship. The most important thing though, is that you can go there to talk to the Priest, Pastor, Rabbi, etc. for help. It is their job and responsibility as leaders of the faith to respect its most important rule, love for thy neighbor. Tell them all of your sadness and sorrow that you feel. Tell them all of the troubles you have gone through in your life and how things feel hopeless.
They will listen with open ears and an open heart. If nothing else, know that they care and are worried about you, and that they truly want to help you get better and be happy. They can help you to get involved with your community. Know that there is still an infinite amount of service you can do for your country even if you can't be in the army, and there are millions of suffering people out there who need your aid and charity. Know that you can be the most important person in someone's life and that they will depend on you to help through situations that seem hopeless to them as well.
I know things can seem unfair. It can seem like what is most important to you has been taken away, and now you have nothing. Know that you are capable of so much more, and that there are so many other things you can do to make your life fulfilling, believe me there are. But you can't do all of this on your own, there are people at the Church, synagogue, etc. who will be more than happy to help you get on the right path again.
It's late where I am, and I know Ive been writing for a while and probably not making much sense, but I'm trying my best to help you see what you can do to make your life fulfilling again. I'm not saying that you have to become religious, you can stay aetheist, but know that because of their religious beliefs, Priests, Pastors, Rabbis, etc. will dedicate their time to help you; they will not judge you if you come to them seeking help.
I wanna finish this by telling you that my heart goes out to you. Obviously by the eloquence with which you write, you are a very smart person. This AS doesn't seem to hinder you in that department at all. Know that if after all this you still feel alone and like things are hopeless... you can always pray to God, and God will always listen. I know you think that God is unfair and that you can't forgive him for what has befallen you, but I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that he loves you. He loves you more than you can ever imagine. He will never abandon you and never give up on you. He will always be there with you through the good times and the bad. He feels your pain and he feels your happiness. Pray to him for help and guidance, pray to him for support and comfort. Believe me, if you truly seek God with all your heart and passion, he will give you the strength to get through the hardest of times. Remember, God will never give up on you, so don't give up on yourself. Good luck.
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Furrowed Brow
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Post #4
I’ve been an atheist from just as soon as I started to think things through for myself from around the age ten. I was not brought up in a religious household, so prior to that I can’t say was a believer., or even an agnostic. It was mostly a non subject. When I realised there was no God I was not rejecting Christianity, Just the general notion. However there is one thing I am absolutely clear on. The resurrection did not happen - because that ain’t the kind of universe I find myself living in.
I’d place my self on the extreme end of the spectrum of atheist’s. Some atheist’s might say they don’t believe because there is no evidence of God. I think that confuses the nature of what is needed to believe. I believe that metaphysics, the supernatural and all the conceptual paraphernalia that goes with religion is nonsense. That is to say it might superficially look like it makes sense but when you pick away at it, it is about as substantial as…well…spirit.
As I’ve got older I’ve got better at articulating why I’m an atheist and why theism is nonsense, but if you cut through all that the bottom line is I don’t feel there is a God. Purpose, meaning, reason for getting up in the morning? I’ve got those. Maybe not in the same way a theist thinks they have them.
Have I ever doubted? Not really. I’m always mulling over things. Questioning. Testing my own presumptions. I see that has healthy. In fact I kind of embrace perpetual doubt as to whether the last thing I said was true or makes sense. I’d would say this gives me an outsider looking in perspective on life. I question and analyse just about everything that catches my eye. This includes emotions and beliefs. I did an online personality test a few years back and it said that I don’t trust emotions. I’d say that is about right - or rather I don’t trust the narratives we spin to explain, understand and justify how we feel. I believe human nature with its conceits and self deceits as being entangled in a dense language thicket. Sometime to get things done, or work toward an end you need to keep things simple. But I tend to see that as being simplistic. Likewise with religion - it offers a simple but simplistic answer to life that does not suit my nature.
I’d place my self on the extreme end of the spectrum of atheist’s. Some atheist’s might say they don’t believe because there is no evidence of God. I think that confuses the nature of what is needed to believe. I believe that metaphysics, the supernatural and all the conceptual paraphernalia that goes with religion is nonsense. That is to say it might superficially look like it makes sense but when you pick away at it, it is about as substantial as…well…spirit.
As I’ve got older I’ve got better at articulating why I’m an atheist and why theism is nonsense, but if you cut through all that the bottom line is I don’t feel there is a God. Purpose, meaning, reason for getting up in the morning? I’ve got those. Maybe not in the same way a theist thinks they have them.
Have I ever doubted? Not really. I’m always mulling over things. Questioning. Testing my own presumptions. I see that has healthy. In fact I kind of embrace perpetual doubt as to whether the last thing I said was true or makes sense. I’d would say this gives me an outsider looking in perspective on life. I question and analyse just about everything that catches my eye. This includes emotions and beliefs. I did an online personality test a few years back and it said that I don’t trust emotions. I’d say that is about right - or rather I don’t trust the narratives we spin to explain, understand and justify how we feel. I believe human nature with its conceits and self deceits as being entangled in a dense language thicket. Sometime to get things done, or work toward an end you need to keep things simple. But I tend to see that as being simplistic. Likewise with religion - it offers a simple but simplistic answer to life that does not suit my nature.
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otseng
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Post #6
Thanks for sharing your story.FinalEnigma wrote:Presuming God exists, it is not solely for me that I cannot forgive him; it is also for the many others who must be suffering the same.
This is an often used argument against God, but I think one easily refuted. But, I'll let that be for another thread.
I would like to share one story though. There was this athletic, attractive, young girl that went swimming one day. As she dived in, her head hit a rock. She became a quadriplegic. She could've blamed God. And perhaps she did. But, she was able to go on with life in spite of her severe handicap. And since then she has been quite an accomplished person.
Joni Eareckson TadaAuthored over 30 books.
Serves on several boards, including the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization as Senior Associate on Disability Concerns and the Board of Reference for the Christian Medical and Dental Society. She also serves in an advisory capacity to the American Leprosy Mission, the National Institute on Learning Disabilities, Love and Action, and Christian Blind Mission International.
Received The American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award; The Courage Award from the Courage Rehabilitation Center; The Award of Excellence from the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center; The Victory Award from the National Rehabilitation Hospital; The Golden Word Award from the International Bible Society.
Named "Churchwoman of the Year" in 1993 by the Religious Heritage Foundation and was the first woman to be honored by the National Association of Evangelicals as their "Layperson of the Year."
- An honorary Bachelor of Letters from Western Maryland College;
- An honorary Doctor of Humanities from Gordon College;
- An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Columbia International University, the first honorary doctorate bestowed in their 75-year-old history; and
- An honorary Doctor of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary.
My point is, life may deal you a bad hand, but that doesn't mean that you have to fold. Even a person dealt a pair of 2s can conceivable win the round of poker.
