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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I grew up in an atheist country (USSR), flirted with the idea of being religious when we moved here, but it never clicked.

I don't discount some sort of higher power/things we don't understand, but the idea that there is a human-like God "up there" who requires adoration and obedience seems laughable to me. Either there is a God that is all-powerful and all-knowing, in which case why would he/she even bother to care about individual humans, in which case in turn why would I bother to care about him/her, OR this deity is somehow not all-powerful and dependent on us for existence, but that's not what most religions teach us, so it seems like a weird logical lapse.

In any case, I take comfort in the material world, in treating other people around us with respect and humanity, not in the idea that there is something out there that personally cares about me, yet has created a world full of suffering and injustices.[/quote]

PP, may I respectfully (and I mean that) suggest that one does not "flirt with the idea of being religious." Perhaps that is where you got off on the wrong foot.

And how sad to have to take comfort in the material world.[/quote]

Not pp. but you are quite clearly projecting your own fears and anxieties on atheists - or at least this atheist in particular.

It was incredibly freeing and liberating for me when I finally acknowledged that there were no gods, no religion, and no afterlife. It made me feel comfort in my own capacity to try and have greater control over my life. It brought me peace that while there are some unsavory people (due to their own choosing, not blaming it on "the devil"), there are also many wonderful kind, generous, and loving people - of their own choosing and volition (not because of some god). People are capable of creating a tremendous amount of good in this world - we're complicit beings in our life. And that's all we have- the here and the now - so it encourages me to make it count in *this* one life.

It was hugely freeing to me to come to this realization, and brought me a tremendous sense of peace. Not sadness in the slight![/quote]

This is my experience as well.

I take Christians at their word that they experience peace and joy in their faith. However, I see their faith as a chosen practice. and there are many practices that lead to a state of joy and peace. It's the practice of letting go. For Christians the letting go means letting God handle it, for Buddhist it's letting go of the attachments that lead to suffering. Nearly all religions share similar guidelines of how to go about doing that, which to me shows the common thread of humanity. When we tap into that, however we get there, we can find peace.

The difference with religions is that the consequences of not accepting the path comes with stiff consequences. Which begs the question for me, how much is belief really just fire insurance? [/quote]

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