Atheists/agnostics, why did you become atheist/agnostic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

and to choose not to have a spiritual life at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

It is pretty shocking if you actually think the stories in the Bible are truth. Like women have pain in childbirth because Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You believe that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

It is pretty shocking if you actually think the stories in the Bible are truth. Like women have pain in childbirth because Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You believe that?

What I believe is neither here nor there. I can believe Zeus sits on a mountaintop in Greece and throws bolts of lightning kept a clay jar beside his throne at those he wishes to punish.

Or I can choose to believe as many Indigenous peoples believe, that the world exists on the back of a large turtle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

It is pretty shocking if you actually think the stories in the Bible are truth. Like women have pain in childbirth because Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You believe that?

What I believe is neither here nor there. I can believe Zeus sits on a mountaintop in Greece and throws bolts of lightning kept a clay jar beside his throne at those he wishes to punish.

Or I can choose to believe as many Indigenous peoples believe, that the world exists on the back of a large turtle.

^ true. You can. Funny how the Christians call those things you mentioned "myths," but (some of them) see the stories in the Bible as TRUTH. See the difference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

It is pretty shocking if you actually think the stories in the Bible are truth. Like women have pain in childbirth because Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You believe that?

What I believe is neither here nor there. I can believe Zeus sits on a mountaintop in Greece and throws bolts of lightning kept a clay jar beside his throne at those he wishes to punish.

Or I can choose to believe as many Indigenous peoples believe, that the world exists on the back of a large turtle.

^ true. You can. Funny how the Christians call those things you mentioned "myths," but (some of them) see the stories in the Bible as TRUTH. See the difference?

Truly don’t care. People believe what they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're not raised religious, when you first hear of it you think people are joking. It all sounds so unbelievable, hypocritical, unreal.

And then the more you learn, the more that's all confirmed!

I never "became" atheist. I have never been anything else. Religion is learned.

+1

The rules of various religions are definitely learned, but religious tendencies i.e., thinking/feeling that there's "something out there" (or not) seem to be innate.

Agree ... I'm non-religious and my DW is Christian ... We've been married 25 yrs and I can tell you it's pretty hard-wired in with her ... If I projected my own temperament onto everyone, I'd assume there are a lot of religious fakers out there ... but I've known enough people who believe it all to their core ... that I have to agree some ppl just have the faith tendency. I say this respectfully since there are many great folks on both sides of the divide.

No, I disagree. What's common is trying to explain things we can't understand. "The God of the gaps". That's why there are so many different religions, all with different explanations for the same thing -- many of which we now know to be untrue.

I'd say that's part of it, but there are still people who just feel that there is something out there. They may or may not believe in the tenets of a particular religion, but they just feel it. Perhaps the same way other people feel that there is no God, despite being raised in a restrictive religion.

Can't prove it either way, but scientific evidence we have so far leans heavily toward no god -- and certainly no god of the Bible --- creating the world in seven days, etc

I can picture how that story happened...

Mom was busy making dinner.
Kid: “who created the earth?”
Mom: “I dunno...uh....a god?”
Kid: “oh! why?!?”
Mom: “I dunno...but we probably are too dumb to understand”
Kid: “oh....well how long did it take?”
Mom: “omg. I dunno...7 days? Can’t you see I’m busy pounding these grains with a rock? Go get some water from the stream.”
Kid: “ok....”

What a vividly accurate representation of Biblical culture and society. Ladies and gents, we have a verified scholar in our midst!

DP here. If you were a biblical scholar yourself, you might be able to comprehend what a metaphorical tale is.

But there are many people, some right here on this forum, that will tell you the tales in the Bible are not metaphorical, but the TRUTH.

Yes, people have their own religious and spiritual beliefs. It’s not shocking, nor forbidden. It’s how the world works when people are free to choose their spiritual lives.

It is pretty shocking if you actually think the stories in the Bible are truth. Like women have pain in childbirth because Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You believe that?

What I believe is neither here nor there. I can believe Zeus sits on a mountaintop in Greece and throws bolts of lightning kept a clay jar beside his throne at those he wishes to punish.

Or I can choose to believe as many Indigenous peoples believe, that the world exists on the back of a large turtle.

^ true. You can. Funny how the Christians call those things you mentioned "myths," but (some of them) see the stories in the Bible as TRUTH. See the difference?

Truly don’t care. People believe what they want.

True. Hard to argue with that