Anonymous wrote:I lost my faith my senior year of college. Prior to that I considered myself an evangelical Christian. I read the Bible every day, prayed and talked to God all day, etc.

Then one day I was watching a documentary on cults, and these people were explaining the really insane-sounding stuff they had believed, and all of a sudden my brain asked why my beliefs were any more logical than theirs. And I was like, "Oh Sh*t." And the God that went around in my head with me just went poof! It was very whiplash-inducing.

Thankfully I was already at a transition point in my life, so when I graduated and got a job I was able to make friends outside of religion, but it did suck to have friends reject me. My college bestie told me that her relationship with Jesus wouldn't allow her to be friends with me anymore. That rejection certainly didn't make me think they were repping the one true God.

I'm a member of a progressive mainline church now. I believe that humans need close knit communities, ritual, shared awe, mechanisms for service, etc. There's no little God living in my head anymore but there is a lot of wonder and goodness in the universe for me to contemplate.

I've done it both ways, and I've got to say that it feels so much healthier to choose a religious community based on my values rather than to allow a community to dictate what my values should be.

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Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

God can't be responsible for anything if you think he doesn't exist.

DP. You have that backwards. He either exists or he doesn't. If he exists, then as most religions define him, he is 100% responsible. This is the best evidence for why he likely does not exist.

Sounds like you're still a believer who is currently angry with God for, in your opinion, doing something bad and ungod-like to you. Please think of your husband. If he was religious, he is happy with God in heaven right now.

You're kind of a dick for saying that to this woman.

That's what many religions teach, right? When you die, assuming you were a good religious person, you live forever with God in heaven. what's dickish about it?

“If you gotta ask…”

Can you say what dickish about it?

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

God can't be responsible for anything if you think he doesn't exist.

DP. You have that backwards. He either exists or he doesn't. If he exists, then as most religions define him, he is 100% responsible. This is the best evidence for why he likely does not exist.

Sounds like you're still a believer who is currently angry with God for, in your opinion, doing something bad and ungod-like to you. Please think of your husband. If he was religious, he is happy with God in heaven right now.

You're kind of a dick for saying that to this woman.

That's what many religions teach, right? When you die, assuming you were a good religious person, you live forever with God in heaven. what's dickish about it?

“If you gotta ask…”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

God can't be responsible for anything if you think he doesn't exist.

DP. You have that backwards. He either exists or he doesn't. If he exists, then as most religions define him, he is 100% responsible. This is the best evidence for why he likely does not exist.

Sounds like you're still a believer who is currently angry with God for, in your opinion, doing something bad and ungod-like to you. Please think of your husband. If he was religious, he is happy with God in heaven right now.

You're kind of a dick for saying that to this woman.

That's what many religions teach, right? When you die, assuming you were a good religious person, you live forever with God in heaven. what's dickish about it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

God can't be responsible for anything if you think he doesn't exist.

DP. You have that backwards. He either exists or he doesn't. If he exists, then as most religions define him, he is 100% responsible. This is the best evidence for why he likely does not exist.

Sounds like you're still a believer who is currently angry with God for, in your opinion, doing something bad and ungod-like to you. Please think of your husband. If he was religious, he is happy with God in heaven right now.

You're kind of a dick for saying that to this woman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

God can't be responsible for anything if you think he doesn't exist.

Sounds like you're still a believer who is currently angry with God for, in your opinion, doing something bad and ungod-like to you. Please think of your husband. If he was religious, he is happy with God in heaven right now.

Anonymous wrote:After my husband died I stopped being religious. I guess I’m mad at God for taking him.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We quit religion and thought it was great at first. But now our kids lack motivation/inspiration and we're thinking about going back, if only to give our kids some direction. It's hard to just give your kids the classics and some weights and expect them to figure things out.

Seriously? Does going back to religion involve believing in the supernatural again? How would you and your partner do that? How would it be good for your kids to start believing in God? what does "figure things out" mean to you? hopefully it does not involve believing in things that aren't real.

DP
What makes you more real than God ?
You might be just AI bot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We quit religion and thought it was great at first. But now our kids lack motivation/inspiration and we're thinking about going back, if only to give our kids some direction. It's hard to just give your kids the classics and some weights and expect them to figure things out.

Seriously? Does going back to religion involve believing in the supernatural again? How would you and your partner do that? How would it be good for your kids to start believing in God? what does "figure things out" mean to you? hopefully it does not involve believing in things that aren't real.

Anonymous wrote:We quit religion and thought it was great at first. But now our kids lack motivation/inspiration and we're thinking about going back, if only to give our kids some direction. It's hard to just give your kids the classics and some weights and expect them to figure things out.

Anonymous wrote:I know someone who changed his belief.
Now he trolls religion discussions full time.
I think something is missing in his life.

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Anonymous wrote:I always had doubts and questions, but believed because that's what you're supposed to do.

Then I took a "Religion 101" class in college (taught by a practicing minister), and it clicked - ALL of it is so obviously made by up by humans. It's let myself accept the doubts and it was crystal clear. That was 25 years ago, and it's still crystal clear to me today that religion and gods are completely made up.

THanks -- I wonder how much effect you think your non-belief has had on your life. For instance, under what circumstances do you talk about your lack of religious belief? Do you talk about it much ? Did it affect your choice of partner? If you have kids, how are you raising them?

DP, but I could have written what you responded to.

I actually speak about Christian values quite a bit, because I still have them even though I don't believe the stories any more than I believe in the tooth fairy. There is nothing wrong with celebrating good values and culture that binds us together. I actually think it's healthy. Yes, I chose a partner who shares my values. He was also raised in a Christian home and is not anymore. We raise our children to be good people with the values we were raised with. I send them to a Christian school and I tell them to figure out what they believe and I will support them. One is atheist (15), the other doesn't know what to believe and asks so many questions. She's 10. The younger one has friends who are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, agnostic, and Christian. To her its a bit more like belonging to a set of traditions and celebrations. Eventually she's going to have to think harder about all this. And yes, I tell them we are cultural Christians, because we are.