Did anyone become an atheist late in life?

[Anonymous]

RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

Our physical life on earth is a very minor step in our spiritual evolution. It's not god's fault someone stubbornly refuses to understand the lessons they're supposed to learn

[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.

What a strange train of thought- catholic priest do bad things therefore the church too is bad and therefore god never existed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a strange train of thought- catholic priest do bad things therefore the church too is bad and therefore god never existed

that's not the train of thought I heard. It sounded more like -- After I became an atheist, I was sickened to see the role that religion played in my parents' lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a strange train of thought- catholic priest do bad things therefore the church too is bad and therefore god never existed

that's not the train of thought I heard. It sounded more like -- After I became an atheist, I was sickened to see the role that religion played in my parents' lives.

I heard pp train of thought too. Priests molested children! The basis for all god is therefore false!

Hardly a convincing argument

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a lapsed catholic but started back to Mass on a regular basis after my child died. Did so for 7 years and found comfort and healing there and then had a second child/daughter die of totally different cause. I don’t know if I’m an aethiest but all I hear now in my mind on the rare occassions I go to church is a numbing background static.

Oh, PP. No parent should have to suffer what you went through. I hope you can find peace and have some joy in your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a strange train of thought- catholic priest do bad things therefore the church too is bad and therefore god never existed

that's not the train of thought I heard. It sounded more like -- After I became an atheist, I was sickened to see the role that religion played in my parents' lives.

I heard pp train of thought too. Priests molested children! The basis for all god is therefore false!

Hardly a convincing argument

Not convincing-- and not what pp said. It makes for a way to write off that pp "quietly" became an atheist in his/her 30's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

Our physical life on earth is a very minor step in our spiritual evolution. It's not god's fault someone stubbornly refuses to understand the lessons they're supposed to learn

This assumes a belief in "spiritual evolution" and that there is a god who is trying to teach us lessons during our time on earth - and that people who don't get it are stubborn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

Sure, if you believe all that stuff, then you can think about the happy eternity that awaits you. A lot of people find it hard to believe. And Christians believe those people are destined to an eternity of suffering just because they couldn't believe that story. They could have led an exemplary life and maybe even tried to believe, but couldn't, but according to the Christian story, they are destined for eternal hellfire. This is not a failed Santa -- this is an ogre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

Sure, if you believe all that stuff, then you can think about the happy eternity that awaits you. A lot of people find it hard to believe. And Christians believe those people are destined to an eternity of suffering just because they couldn't believe that story. They could have led an exemplary life and maybe even tried to believe, but couldn't, but according to the Christian story, they are destined for eternal hellfire. This is not a failed Santa -- this is an ogre.

Well, I don’t have a fear based belief. I don’t go to church because I’m afraid of hell. I go because I want to be near Jesus, and to be like Jesus, while I am still alive. Fear does not really play into the equation. Honestly, I believe that hell is something we create for ourselves. It is a fair criticism but I don’t think nonbelievers are necessarily condemned for no real reason. I know that God is good and in any event, I am not in charge of what happens to other people. My only calling is to love others.

[Anonymous]

being totally serious.. that movie bruce almighty made me understand the idea that it would be hard for a god to handle everyone's requests without some unexpectedly bad consequences

Yeah, dumb, I know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RE: suffering, which is a frequent reason people express that they become an atheist

Everybody goes through really bad experiences in their life. Being a Christian is supposed to better equip you to handle the ugliness in the world. It is not magic fairy dust that will make all your problems go away.

For some people, this just doesn't work. And that's fine. If belief in God gives you no comfort or guidance in life, it's probably not for you. And that's ok.

But a lot of atheists on this board seem to believe that Christians think God is some sort of failed Santa and that the mere existence of suffering means there is no God. This is not as sophisticated an argument as you think it is, guys. The world can be an awful place, but in the context of eternity (which is what Christians believe in, an infinite period of time), our problems, no matter how terrible they feel to us, are very small. Christ defeated death, and we believe that the afterlife has no pain, suffering, or mourning.

So why would God create this world that is so imperfect, and that we live in right now? I don't know. I don't know why the conditions of this world, which include suffering and free will, exist. Why am I suffering? is not really my personal focus. How can I be more like Jesus? is my focus.

Our physical life on earth is a very minor step in our spiritual evolution. It's not god's fault someone stubbornly refuses to understand the lessons they're supposed to learn

This assumes a belief in "spiritual evolution" and that there is a god who is trying to teach us lessons during our time on earth - and that people who don't get it are stubborn.

Think over your life. Why do certain events keep happening over and over. What is the common thread going between them. Honestly this is something middle school students learn to do in English class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What a strange train of thought- catholic priest do bad things therefore the church too is bad and therefore god never existed

that's not the train of thought I heard. It sounded more like -- After I became an atheist, I was sickened to see the role that religion played in my parents' lives.

I heard pp train of thought too. Priests molested children! The basis for all god is therefore false!

Hardly a convincing argument

Not convincing-- and not what pp said. It makes for a way to write off that pp "quietly" became an atheist in his/her 30's

3rd pp. If you’re saying that atheist pp’s comment on priests is an ex-post thing, then you must also be saying that atheist op is unable to stick to the topic of becoming atheist. This is what happens when atheists throw random insults into threads on different topics.

[Anonymous]

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.

I am struggling so much with religion right now. I’m not religious and this is exactly why I am not. Religious people pretend to know exactly what god is. It’s not faith if you act like it’s truth. You are just brainwashed. I can’t stand people telling me how to view god. You all have no idea!

[Anonymous]

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.

I am struggling so much with religion right now. I’m not religious and this is exactly why I am not. Religious people pretend to know exactly what god is. It’s not faith if you act like it’s truth. You are just brainwashed. I can’t stand people telling me how to view god. You all have no idea!

Well, the pp you are responding to is full of nonsense, from a very basic theological perspective. There is no basis whatsoever for the idea that God will only answer prayers after you have reached some sort of spiritual enlightenment. Certain types of prayers, maybe, but it isn’t like God will ignore you in your hour of need. Look at the people Jesus helped- they were not all spiritual giants.

Don’t judge religious people from this forum, which has some of the least informed people possible. The atheists are extra basic, the religious people have no idea what their own religion says, and literally none of these people appear to have read the Bible that some of them believe in so fully. Read the gospel for yourself, read the book of Matthew, and see what you think then.