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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I grew up in a fringe pentecostal church with a big focus on hell and the rapture. We were encouraged to speak in tongues at a young age. At around age 7 I remember trying to speak in tongues and realizing that the only way I could was to make it up. At first I felt that something must be wrong with me, but I later realized everybody was making it up. As a teen we had altar calls and people would fall over like dominos. I went up once and thought I was just going to fall over too, but the minister put his hand on my forehead and actually tried to push me down to the ground. I have more stories, but that was a turning point for me. When I was 18, I decided that church wasn't for me. I tried mainstream and non-denominational Christianity for awhile, but what really turned me to agnosticism was traveling to non-Western cultures. I couldn't fathom that most people there were going to hell by default because they were Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu. I decided it was better to believe in no god than to believe in a god who would create people that were predestined to hell from the beginning. As an agnostic I recognize religion as a manmade institution that promotes social cohesion, but also social control and tribalism.[/quote]

It sounds like you're an agnostic (don't know) AND an atheist (don't believe)[/quote]

I really believe it's impossible to know if there is or is not a god. I don't actively believe, but I accept that it is a possibility. But I think if there is a god, whether or not we believe in it or worship it isn't relevant. I'm not sure exactly where I am on the atheistic/agnostic spectrum, but I'm definitely on it.[/quote]

Well, there's not exactly a "spectrum."  Some people do move from agnostic to atheist in their thinking and self-identification, but some people start out not believing (atheist) at a very young age, even though they are exposed to religion -- they just never believed it.   Some of the people in this thread fit into that category.

Others believe what they are taught about religion, then start questioning and doubting. Some stay there, or move between believing and doubting.  Others, though, keep going until they don't believe anymore.

Some people are not raised with religion, but then believe later on as adults.  It's very individual.

Of course, none of it proves one way or the other if there is a god, because god is supernatural -- i.e. outside of nature - like fairies and ghosts.  People can feel strongly that God exists and have deep faith, but there's no proving it the way we prove other things.

People who are very religious don't care about scientific proof, however, at least when it comes to religion.  It's a matter of faith and the positive feelings that some people get from believing and belonging to a religious community 
[/quote]

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