Did anyone become an atheist late in life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God does not respond to prayers on demand. This is one of the biggest mistakes that all Christians, irregardless of a denomination, make. We should pray to God for wisdom and discernment to understand His message and to become more faithful and more like Christ in our conduct.
God already knows what you need, even before you ask him. He is not looking for prayers on demand, He is looking for a humble heart and discernment of His message. He is looking for disciples. He is looking at your heart to see if you have turned away from your sins, if you have crucified your flesh and denied yourself earthly, fleeting pleasures. Only after you have done all of that can you call upon Him in your hour of need. That's how God works. And He does not respond to every prayer and when you want Him to, He responds in His own time, on His schedule, and according to His will.

Barf.

This explanation of god is really just a way of explaining away all the bad stuff that happens in the world.


NP here. I was raised Christian (my parents are evangelicals) but I became atheist in middle school. I was always skeptical, even as a young child. But right around 6th-7th grade was when I just stopped trying to believe.

Sorry to break it to you and PP - Christianity is simply not a religion on-demand. You might have better luck elsewhere.

Double barf -- This point of view is usually stated (as above) in such a sanctimonious way, as if the person is speaking on behalf of this omnipotent being who sometimes uses its powers to make, or let, people suffer.

Sorry - really? You don't sound sorry at all - sounds more like another sanctimonious attempt to defend a religion with a deity who is sometimes cruel or insouciant.

Or maybe just trying to convince yourself that it's OK for god to sometimes (appear to) turn down heartfelt requests from sincere believers

NP. To me the sanctimony and condescension here is coming from the atheists.

The nerve of them - talking back to Christians

Wooosh... the hypocrisy of them, sanctimoniously accusing believers of being sanctimonious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, quite the opposite. We never went to church or temple as children (mixed marriage). I considered joining one when I got pregnant with my first, but kept it in house instead.

It started with teaching my DS Greek mythology, then the Egyptian gods, then we landed on the Unnamed God, God. He comes up a lot in our house, routinely. We pray for friends, but not before meals or bed.

I teach them the social justice messages from the Bible. They also know that just because someone looks like they follow a religion, like wearing religious attired or talks about attending church, or celebrating a religious holiday, doesn't mean that they follow the good behavior as the religion guides them. We focus on the behavior and feelings, with occasional quotes thrown in to give it life.

FWIW, we weave Science and God together. He gave us this great Earth and look at how it evolved. Stuff like that.

I take comfort in the children having something larger than me to inform their moral behavior. We practice our faith by being good neighbors, gratitude, and compassion.

That's quite nice, but OP didn't ask for stories like yours.

[Anonymous]

I spent my college years and my 20s telling everybody I wasn’t religious. Then I came back to church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that atheists, especially those that were formerly Christians, have a a place in the history. They are essential to God's prophecies as written in the Bible, especially in end times (which can last thousands of years and in which we are living).

"At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other" Matthew 24:10

I never try to convince an atheist to change his/her mind because they play an important role.

Do you also want the Jews to re-build the temple to precipitate the end times, after which the Jews will burn in hell but all the christians will go to heaven?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, quite the opposite. We never went to church or temple as children (mixed marriage). I considered joining one when I got pregnant with my first, but kept it in house instead.

It started with teaching my DS Greek mythology, then the Egyptian gods, then we landed on the Unnamed God, God. He comes up a lot in our house, routinely. We pray for friends, but not before meals or bed.

I teach them the social justice messages from the Bible. They also know that just because someone looks like they follow a religion, like wearing religious attired or talks about attending church, or celebrating a religious holiday, doesn't mean that they follow the good behavior as the religion guides them. We focus on the behavior and feelings, with occasional quotes thrown in to give it life.

FWIW, we weave Science and God together. He gave us this great Earth and look at how it evolved. Stuff like that.

I take comfort in the children having something larger than me to inform their moral behavior. We practice our faith by being good neighbors, gratitude, and compassion.

Even if it's imaginary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No, quite the opposite. We never went to church or temple as children (mixed marriage). I considered joining one when I got pregnant with my first, but kept it in house instead.

It started with teaching my DS Greek mythology, then the Egyptian gods, then we landed on the Unnamed God, God. He comes up a lot in our house, routinely. We pray for friends, but not before meals or bed.

I teach them the social justice messages from the Bible. They also know that just because someone looks like they follow a religion, like wearing religious attired or talks about attending church, or celebrating a religious holiday, doesn't mean that they follow the good behavior as the religion guides them. We focus on the behavior and feelings, with occasional quotes thrown in to give it life.

FWIW, we weave Science and God together. He gave us this great Earth and look at how it evolved. Stuff like that.

I take comfort in the children having something larger than me to inform their moral behavior. We practice our faith by being good neighbors, gratitude, and compassion.

Even if it's imaginary?

C’mon, you know how childish you look, and how silly it is to project your beliefs onto everybody else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No, quite the opposite. We never went to church or temple as children (mixed marriage). I considered joining one when I got pregnant with my first, but kept it in house instead.

It started with teaching my DS Greek mythology, then the Egyptian gods, then we landed on the Unnamed God, God. He comes up a lot in our house, routinely. We pray for friends, but not before meals or bed.

I teach them the social justice messages from the Bible. They also know that just because someone looks like they follow a religion, like wearing religious attired or talks about attending church, or celebrating a religious holiday, doesn't mean that they follow the good behavior as the religion guides them. We focus on the behavior and feelings, with occasional quotes thrown in to give it life.

FWIW, we weave Science and God together. He gave us this great Earth and look at how it evolved. Stuff like that.

I take comfort in the children having something larger than me to inform their moral behavior. We practice our faith by being good neighbors, gratitude, and compassion.

Even if it's imaginary?

C’mon, you know how childish you look, and how silly it is to project your beliefs onto everybody else.

Even if it's invisible?

[Anonymous]

I became an atheist, quietly, in my 30s. It’s been perplexing— at times sickening— to watch my hardcore Catholic parents ignore the rampant sex abuse the church has been convicted of. They’ve gone as far as saying either, “so what, never happened to me” or insisting most of the accusations are lies. This behavior has convinced me they care more about the religion and receiving the blessings than what is simply right and wrong.

No surprise they are ardent Trump supporters — way beyond simply “I like the tax break” and insist the accusations against him — they talk about him as if he’s Christ returned—are all false, fake news. Same mindset.

[Anonymous]

I became an atheist, quietly, in my 30s. It’s been perplexing— at times sickening— to watch my hardcore Catholic parents ignore the rampant sex abuse the church has been convicted of. They’ve gone as far as saying either, “so what, never happened to me” or insisting most of the accusations are lies. This behavior has convinced me they care more about the religion and receiving the blessings than what is simply right and wrong.

No surprise they are ardent Trump supporters — way beyond simply “I like the tax break” and insist the accusations against him — they talk about him as if he’s Christ returned—are all false, fake news. Same mindset.

This is exactly how I feel sometimes! I'm so fed up with Christian culture even though I would still like to believe in biblical principles and morals. I think there's a saying, "I like your Jesus, I just don't like your Christians."

And even if we can look past the abuse from the church, most Christians act just like non-Christians before and after the Sunday service. So why bother with Christians when non-Christians are so much easier to talk to and a lot less judgemental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I became an atheist, quietly, in my 30s. It’s been perplexing— at times sickening— to watch my hardcore Catholic parents ignore the rampant sex abuse the church has been convicted of. They’ve gone as far as saying either, “so what, never happened to me” or insisting most of the accusations are lies. This behavior has convinced me they care more about the religion and receiving the blessings than what is simply right and wrong.

No surprise they are ardent Trump supporters — way beyond simply “I like the tax break” and insist the accusations against him — they talk about him as if he’s Christ returned—are all false, fake news. Same mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I became an atheist, quietly, in my 30s. It’s been perplexing— at times sickening— to watch my hardcore Catholic parents ignore the rampant sex abuse the church has been convicted of. They’ve gone as far as saying either, “so what, never happened to me” or insisting most of the accusations are lies. This behavior has convinced me they care more about the religion and receiving the blessings than what is simply right and wrong.

No surprise they are ardent Trump supporters — way beyond simply “I like the tax break” and insist the accusations against him — they talk about him as if he’s Christ returned—are all false, fake news. Same mindset.

This is exactly how I feel sometimes! I'm so fed up with Christian culture even though I would still like to believe in biblical principles and morals. I think there's a saying, "I like your Jesus, I just don't like your Christians."

And even if we can look past the abuse from the church, most Christians act just like non-Christians before and after the Sunday service. So why bother with Christians when non-Christians are so much easier to talk to and a lot less judgemental.

The quote about “I like your Christ but not your Christians” is from Ghandi.

And ahem. You just have to spend 10 minutes in the religion forum to know that atheists are among the most judgemental people anywhere, plus they feel they just have to share their opinions with you.

[Anonymous]

God reveals himself in whatever way you are prepared to receive him so if that means being an atheist that respects people, the environment, etc that is fine too.

[Anonymous]

No doubt there are judgmental atheists but at least they don't profess to believe in a God who is all loving and all forgiving. In that way, you could say that atheists, or just non religious folks in general, are living more authentically than some of their religious counterparts. There is a song, "They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love". Is love the first word that comes to mind when someone says "Christian"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No, quite the opposite. We never went to church or temple as children (mixed marriage). I considered joining one when I got pregnant with my first, but kept it in house instead.

It started with teaching my DS Greek mythology, then the Egyptian gods, then we landed on the Unnamed God, God. He comes up a lot in our house, routinely. We pray for friends, but not before meals or bed.

I teach them the social justice messages from the Bible. They also know that just because someone looks like they follow a religion, like wearing religious attired or talks about attending church, or celebrating a religious holiday, doesn't mean that they follow the good behavior as the religion guides them. We focus on the behavior and feelings, with occasional quotes thrown in to give it life.

FWIW, we weave Science and God together. He gave us this great Earth and look at how it evolved. Stuff like that.

I take comfort in the children having something larger than me to inform their moral behavior. We practice our faith by being good neighbors, gratitude, and compassion.

Even if it's imaginary?

C’mon, you know how childish you look, and how silly it is to project your beliefs onto everybody else.

You realize that money, law and nations only exist through collective belief right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God does not respond to prayers on demand. This is one of the biggest mistakes that all Christians, irregardless of a denomination, make. We should pray to God for wisdom and discernment to understand His message and to become more faithful and more like Christ in our conduct.
God already knows what you need, even before you ask him. He is not looking for prayers on demand, He is looking for a humble heart and discernment of His message. He is looking for disciples. He is looking at your heart to see if you have turned away from your sins, if you have crucified your flesh and denied yourself earthly, fleeting pleasures. Only after you have done all of that can you call upon Him in your hour of need. That's how God works. And He does not respond to every prayer and when you want Him to, He responds in His own time, on His schedule, and according to His will.

Barf.

This explanation of god is really just a way of explaining away all the bad stuff that happens in the world.


NP here. I was raised Christian (my parents are evangelicals) but I became atheist in middle school. I was always skeptical, even as a young child. But right around 6th-7th grade was when I just stopped trying to believe.

Sorry to break it to you and PP - Christianity is simply not a religion on-demand. You might have better luck elsewhere.

Double barf -- This point of view is usually stated (as above) in such a sanctimonious way, as if the person is speaking on behalf of this omnipotent being who sometimes uses its powers to make, or let, people suffer.

Sorry - really? You don't sound sorry at all - sounds more like another sanctimonious attempt to defend a religion with a deity who is sometimes cruel or insouciant.

Or maybe just trying to convince yourself that it's OK for god to sometimes (appear to) turn down heartfelt requests from sincere believers

NP. To me the sanctimony and condescension here is coming from the atheists.

Why all the pride in "discovering" that god doesn't exist when they were in hs. I am embarrassed by what I believed at that age and know my parents were right for the most part.