MAYOWAAK: I had wanted to title this confession "my journey into Atheism". But then I felt that this one was going to be more appropriate. As it is, the Atheist I am today did not happen in a day. I went through three different stages of atheism and that process is still continuing. As I describe my journey into becoming the Atheist I am today, I will briefly touch on these three stages. STAGE ONE
How did I become an atheist the first time? To start with, let me quickly define what Atheism is. Atheism is the lack of belief in God. This is simply what Atheism is. And I will tell you how I first became an atheist. It was a while ago, a young man met a young lady, they fell in love and married. Of course, after a while, she got pregnant. 9 months after this, an Atheist was born! That young man was my father and the young woman was my mother. And yes you guessed it, I was the Atheist they gave birth to. You see, during that period, which comprised the first 12 months of my life, I didn't believe in God; any God for that matter. I was a pure Atheist! STAGE TWO
This confession may come as a shock to many, but it is true! My second stage of Atheism was due to my parents. Yes, my parents turned me into an Atheist. I was brought up in strict Christian upbringing and soon gave my life to Christ and entered into the then SU movement. During this time, I was taught how God is different from Allah and how Allah is an idol in Mecca. So yes, I didn't believe in Allah and in our local deities like Ogun, Sango and Obatala! You see, Atheism is the lack of belief in the "existence" of a deity. So of one deity or the other, everyone is an Atheist. But I was worse than many others, because I did not believe in Allah, nor in Obatala, nor in Buddha or Krishna. My strict Christian upbringing required it. And so whilst I was a Christian, to all other deities, I was an unbeliever. I didn't believe they "existed"! Of those deities therefore, I was an Atheist!
STAGE THREE
I grew therefore a Christian. And I thought Christians believed in one God. Until I found out that even within Christianity, there were many gods! This is one reason why there are many Christian sects and each one believes the other is in error and going to hell. You see, God is a personality, but also an idea, a concept and a perception. If the name changes will it still be God? I say no. If the definition changes, will it still be the same deity? I think not. And if the perception changes, will it be the same deity? I say no! That was how I became a full blown Atheist. I began to reject the existence of the Christian gods. I lost belief in the confused god, the vicious god, the greedy for money god, the do-for-me-before-I-do-for-you god, the corruption enabling god, the bloodthirsty irrational god, the man of god (yes that one is a god too), the wear ear ring and go to hell god, etc etc. As different descriptions and definitions of God inherent in my faith became evident to me, I had to decide which God I wanted to believe in and which I wanted to drop. I therefore became an atheist of so many gods within my faith. This I believe explains why many Christians see me as an atheist. And they are right. Of many of their gods, I am an unbeliever. For example, if your god doesn't bless you unless you bribe him first, I'm sorry, I can't believe in that one. Or if your own sends a devourer after you for missing taxes, (sorry tithe), well, you're not talking about the same God I know. The same goes for the hundreds of gods people peddle in Christianity, these days, too numerous to describe. Once I see we are talking about different deities, I will respectfully reject yours and hold on to mine. My lack of belief in your god therefore, makes me an atheist of your deity! I believe heaven exists. What it is, I don't know. I doubt its streets are laden with gold, that is rather ostentatious. I doubt it will have large breasted virgins waiting either. That is so depraved. However, I do believe it will be a spiritual plane. Heaven won't be a place for christians, muslims, or any other religion. Only children of God will go there. And I am one of them. Until I transit therefore, I will continue to reject deities that do not make sense to me, whoever is peddling them! BY:ROLU ADEBOLA

Image123:

Humble pie in the sense that you kept quiet about making ridiculous claims of a pastors gospel that tithe works all the time. i've given what you need, that is a popular tithe preaching pastor, stating in every chapter of his book that tithe does not work all the time. It's not a magic thing. Knowledge is power,

JMAN05:
op.
Many atheists are not sincere. they just like to remain atheists, not that no evidence of a creator exists, no. but they just want to be blind over the evidence of their brain so as to remain atheists.

Point at a robot and they will shout "of course somebody made it", but point at them, they ll say "they caim by chance". Prove how life came from nonliving thing, no prove. but they believe it happened, but wont believe God exists without prove.

just tell me how serious they are?

Logicboy03: This is what we call fallacious thinking...


Are robots and human beings the same material? One is organic, the other isnt. Common sense will tell you that they didnt and wouldnt arise from the same type of source or with a similar mechanism.


My body is proof of evolution not God. If God created me, then he is foolish....for I was born foolish as a baby, not knowing anything until i was taught by my parents and other teachers, just like every other human being. You god is the father of all foolishness if he created everything. He created foolishness.

OLAADEGBU:

Thank God you're not JW.
www.nairaland.com/attachments/1394842_Thankgod_081989_3832182_jpg787b97b17731ce34d44978d8d89e4d06

Candour:

ROM 8:32
'He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'

God bless you my brother. The above verse opened my eyes to the immeasurable love God has towards me and proved that I don't need to pay him to get my needs met. If I didnt pay my earthly parents to get their love, why should I pay God almighty the father of love? God demands I share my abundance with the needy, whether clergy or laymen, Christian or pagan. This is the giving that pleases him. Read Matt 25:35-40 to know more.

Getting this truth into my spirit helped obliterate the lie that things will be tight for me if I stopped succumbing to extortioners on the pulpit. Then it dawned on me that if they lied about this, then there might be other lies I've been told that needed to be corrected. So started my resolve to embark on intensive personal bible study. The rest as they say is history.

Christ didn't save me from the clutches of sin to now put me in bondage to my fellow men whose only qualification is their boldness and lack of conscience in twisting scriptures for financial gain.

God bless you as you continue to study his word.

ghostofsparta: Logicboy na WA o! U just ran away from the interview: https://www.nairaland.com/1503638/one-one-logicboy-why-regard I suspect you suspected where I'm going with that One on One. You atheists should let be all these rigid minded religionists and focus your intelligence on African super sciences. The other time at a cafe, people ganged up against me for thinking I'm the anti-Christ for having images of atheistic reasoning and logic changing on my laptop's wallpaper, all because someone asked a question if I believe in God, and I ask which God? That's where it all started. I was bounced off the cafe eventually for asserting my stand in matters of faith. Ironically, I was even attacked by several yawu boys (bad deeders) for saying I don't believe in Hell, Jesus and the Christian God: Jehova or. Allah or Vishnu or Loki. Without letting me to land on where I'm driving at, I was labelled and before you know it......*gboa*. My point is, you atheists here on Nairaland have my admiration. And just like I was once like you anti-theism...I have long seen and witness what it takes to convince an unbeliever of African capacity to effect the supernatural, hence reason to believe there is God. But not the Abrahamic one, but the Yoruban which is the same as that of the Igbos and other native Africans. For spaghetti monster sake, we are not Jews or Arabs, so why should we subscribe to the middle eastern belief system wherein people from such origin (Sam Harris) denounces it. We are blacks. We are superior. We have more than nuclear power. We have ultimate technology. But many don't know. And those who know are not given support or a continually ridiculed. Those who still possess some of these esoteric knowledge are not enlightened and uninformed that the world need to see what we've got down here, it's high time the world stop looking down on us. I have seen a superscientist engaged someone writhing in pain after managing to jump-escape out of an accident whose hands to arm is bloodied and bruised. The Babalawo cursed (se ekpe fun) the wounds to heal back and it began so, instantly and immidiately. These and several others are what still gives me hope that one day, we blax are going to be respected before the world. And that's why I expect you Nairaland aheists to ignore these hardened religionists whose pastors or afas might have been decieved with bedazzling feats not knowing the source of such of energy (if not trick) is still from native powers. I am aware you nairaland atheists need evidential proof for the supernatural, Haba! there are so many such that I even shed tears almost everyday knowing that these things exists amongst our village folks and yet the whites think its not possible to vanish/invisible when you are not Nomad in Crysis, and that's it delusion to believe one can stop bullets when you are not the man of steel or walk on water. In the village where I am, one of the pal I befriended told me someone walked on their river, and I said 'gbagbe ko possible jo' (forget it's not possible) unless he used some sort of plexi-glass and y'all know what he told me? he said the guy whom he saw did it never attended primary school talkless of knowing about any science or technology called 'plexiglass'. I need not to believe him because I have seen other feats too myself. Yesterday in my quest to know, some folks who have always misunderstand me as one of yoU guys who say 'kosogun' (nothing like charm/juju/jazz) almost tried to harm me when he went inside to bring several offensive YAS, because they have been telling me not to quote you guys again instead I should go bring or invite anyone of you to confirm with your eyes. So I'm using this opportunity to invite any of you now or bunch of tou can even cone together with HD cameras. And after you have seen and believe, then we can focus on how to properly plot a way on how to tehnologize them into a modern society. Kanoko for instance can be an alternative to motor vehicle since it shortens long distance, so those who are late for work or appointment can just press a button and it does it trick. Egbe in its many versions can be used to teleport death-bound passengers in a soon-to-crash airplane or accidenting bus to a safe spot. I have so many ideas of how ABP(African bullet proofs) and many other Yoruba Advanced Sciences can be adapted to modern use. It's very unfortunate of the kind of government we have in Nigeria and Yorubaland, otherwise these are areas heavy researches should be funded to. Not sport and pilgrimage. I have stopped trying to convince my black Christians and Muslims Yorubas to see that our native belief system is far better and much more provable than what we have been indoctrinated with but it has only fetch me disdain and labels, few time almost violence. So it's up to you Nairaland atheists to rechannel your energy towards how can we.....and not who do we argue or sharpen our intellect with. They have been brainwashed and its not easy to be re fine tune back.

jayriginal: And for those who say that people are afraid that their "beliefs" may be shattered, nothing could be further from the truth.

For one, the claims made are unlikely.
These things just do not happen.

People do not turn into goats, yam or vanish. Palm oil does not turn into blood. People do not teleport from point A to point B.
These things just do not happen.

Swallowing a leaf does not render people invulnerable to bullets, knives or other things that break the skin and threaten mortality. Rings do not make people fall in love or "touch and follow".
These things just do not happen.

Clothes do not suspend in mid air, people do not hold meetings in transformers or trees and certainly do not change to owls or bats or cats.
These things just do not happen

Whenever something seemingly out of the ordinary happens, it is only an insufficiently enlightened mind that will say "God did it", "its a miracle" or "na juju" depending on your religious persuasion. Its far better to consider and exhaust all natural and logical possibilities. Its not only fun, it broadens your scope. Thats how we learn.




Oh and demons do not send text messages.
That just does not happen.

Uyi Iredia: Given your reasoning I would hate to become someone you think reasonable: some Stockhol syndrome may be at play here, preferring an opponent remauns so as to being a comrade.

banom: This morning, i woke up with a different mind set, the type i never had in my life, I started thinking about my life, God , religion, Jesus Christ, life in general and many other things,  I realized i was mistaken in my idea that there is no God or creator, while there could be enough reason for me to say there is no God, there is also a Super evidence that there is God , ( For God's sake i didn't create myself , and who ever that created me is my God)  the thought actually came to me that i am a natural being, and my creator must be Super natural in other to have created me,  and just as artificial things like Cars and airplane  that  we human beings invent and create on earth don't have the ability to comprehend any thing about us, so i do not have the ability to comprehend any thing about God,  while i was thinking of all this things, i really felt sorry and i prayed and apologized to God to forgive me,  On the issue of giving my life to  Jesus Christ and becoming a born again christian, i thought over it so many times , and it was a very hard thing to do, but i finally decided to do so because i have to believe in him first and seek him to manifest himself in my life ,  I just want to use this medium to let every one know that i have giving my life to Lord Jesus Christ, I am no longer an Atheist, i now believe in God and also in Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior, those who regard me as an atheist should no longer do so, i am no longer an atheist I am now a child of God, Though I must make it clear that i do not and will never subscribe to the type of Christianity practiced by Nigerians,  the type i described on this thread, https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-332207.0.html , no i do not intend to open my self up for any hungry Nigerian to deceive and exploit me in the name of God, or to worship and adore a person in the name of man of God,  and i am still thinking if i should actually start attending any church or just do my thing alone,  Finally, I want to openly apologize  to God here, and to any one of you i might have insulted and also for God to forgive me in any way i might have  insulted some true men of God in Nigeria, I am very sorry , i will not do it again by the special grace of God, I am now a changed person, Christ now lives in me. God bless you.

Ascony:
i was born a christian, i became an atheist since 2006 when doubts about the existence of God began to creep in, now after years of atheism and deepthoughts i can confidently say that i believe that there is a Godnow.i dnt really know to explain it but it happened in a twinkle of an eye, God may not be a big white male with overflowing bears sitting on a throne in the sky, but God surely exists, he lives in every one of us, he is everywhere, he is everything, he is the "source code" for creating the universe, he is that energy from which everything emanated,the mistake that atheists make is trying to personify God, "why did he do this and that? why is he even called a HE and bla bla bla"", but we fail to realise that God cannot be put in a box, how can we tell him how to run his own world, life is exactly how God wants it to be whether good or bad, we should realise that it could have been worse you know. God is not man, God is not a thing, God is everything!
There is so much i wanna say but let me stop here for now,FYI; as of the moment, i dont call myself a christian, i call myself a believer,
God is bigger than religion
Goodday!!!

Kay 17: If we condemn Reason and Faith, with their lofty standards and fantasy, how well can we trust our senses? What connection exists between reality and our senses, there isn't any means of verifying the authenticity of our sensual perception. Although we are reliable on them for our everyday experiences, and so familiar with them that we take their validity for granted. NOW of what substance or character would the validation of sensory perception have? Will it be a physical phenomenon?

obadiah777: Goshen done led more people into the bottomless pit than anyone since the history of nairaland. i believe he deserves a guiness book of record. we need a nairaland guiness book of record.

AWARD

This award goes to the person who has led the most people into the bottomless pit and the nominees are

1-Alfa seltzer
2-Logicboy
3-Goshen
4-musKeeto
5-pagan 9ja

*opens envelope*

and the award goes to GOSHEN

Mr Troll: hahahahaha.

See this liar exposed...


http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/11/10/contradictions-seeds-of-dissent

Now compare this to this your response:

https://www.nairaland.com/1432029/illiterate-jesus-exposed-false-prophet/1#18020263

Can it be a coincidence that the wordings used are an exact match? Joel Liar exposed!!!

See man, I know your type. You guys lack original thought and always run to christian apologist sites to copy and paste. And to further show your dubiousness, you couldn't even ackknowledge the source. Shame on you

texanomaly:
No point...as I said, just an observation. Interesting reading though.

alfa seltzer: So you just copied and pasted another person's personal views in oeder to not make a point? Are you a christianpar hasard?

manfromuranus: And then what is the point of accepting jesus if at the end, you are swept away by storm like everyone else.
I might as well play lottery and cast my lot with ancestral gods, or even Hindu gods, or even Allah.

Christian god takes 10% of my income and bails out when it's time to perform his obligations.
Sounds like Nigerian insurance companies

mavister: A few of the many other heresies:
*.In much of the third worldCatholicism has been integrated with pagan witchcraftand no major correction is coming from Rome. Yet the Vatican rails against those who teach true Christianity to those doing such things.
*.The scapular is worn by some Catholics who believe that salvation can come from something they hang around their neck.
*.Expecting power by using Holy water, medals, holy pictures and objects blessed by a priest is simply belief in the occult. It simply is witchcraft.
*.Many Catholic churches allow gambling and drinking on the church premises to raise funds.
*.The Pope as the vicar of Christ is not scriptural and many Popes have been anti-Christ.Peter was not the first Pope. The first real Pope was Leo 1st about 400 years later.Peter was an apostle to the Jews. Paul was the apostle to the gentilesfrom which most post first century Christianity descended.
*.The former Pope called Moslems brothers, kissed the Koran and said that Moslems are on a path to God. He had a close friendshipwith the top leader of Eastern Pagan religion and said they were on the same path. He told Catholics that salvation of the earth comes through Mary. Further, hewarned Catholics about the dangers of Christian evangelicals that teach the Bible. He welcomed non believers in Christ as brothers but did not rescind the one hundred anathema's made by the Catholic Church against all Protestant believers. (In catholic theology the anathema's mean all Protestants will go to Hell. The anathema's came from a infallible papal decree so it can never be rescinded. Thus, the only hope of salvation for Protestants within the Catholic theology is for Protestants to return to the Catholic Church).This is not Christian leadership it is the type of anti-Christ leadership that Paul warned true Christians to beware ofbut this church wants to declare this Pope a saint. The present pope is apparently is no wiser about salvation theology he seems to think that all people of good will are saved and many religions like Islam worship the same God as Christians even though Islam doctrine says that God has no Son. Some Catholics are now calling him an anti-pope because some of his views conflict with the views of other infallible popes. Oh, the Joy of blind Religion!
*.The Catholic Church has a wretched history and continues countless heretical teachings. Read " The Women Rides the Beast"by Dave Huntfor detailed information on the history and practices of this church in apostasy.

mavister: since you clerverly avoided telling me your church history. Let me tell you a bit. Pls i dnt hate you oh. . Dont be so pathetic. The membership of this church is more than half of all that are identified as Christianity (over one billion people) but the majority of Catholics baptized into the denomination do not even regularly practice their religion. Additionally, many Catholics know little about their own beliefs or they ignore the doctrine. Many integrate it with native pagan religions.
This denomination teaches that you are saved by grace, faith and works of merit. God's grace is something you must earn by keeping the church sacraments, traditions and rituals and by doing good works. The priests of the church are successors of the apostles and have all of Christ's authority on earth. The priests are grace dispensers and the church is infallible . If you accumulate enough merit you will go to heaven. Otherwise you will have to go through the fires of purgatory or to hell. The writings of the church fathers and the traditions of the church have equal weight with the holy scriptures. The members of this church are in the process of being saved by their works of merit.
Problems:
Many of the church's traditions and practices are contrary to scripture proving that this church is far from being infallible. Satan with his wolves in sheep's clothing has infiltrated this church and corrupted it. The Catholic Church has become like the corrupted Judaism that Jesus condemned. It is largely a church of Pharisees and of blind ritual -- a church of idolatry, rote prayer, and traditions of men. To rid most of Christianity of apostasy in the Church we first would have to go to the root of apostasy and purge out most of the doctrines that have infiltrated the Catholic Church.

Sknda: A daily morning devotional for you www.gospelshower..com

yemmytcm: >>>>Learn,grow and shine. Visit : www.walkactive. today. Get to Read up articles and poems about grace,faith,love,selfrighteousness,addictions,christianity. #Jesus_reigns

Reyginus: Guys, please this is not a thread for this.
Use the exit door.

Joshthefirst: lol. I was expecting another mind blowing or rib cracking quote sir.




Use the report button so their posts will be hidden?

Alfamann: This ooman is really an olodo. A mazamaza goat seller.

I came here expecting a reformed atheist a la Annony, that refound god after dealing with his mental incapabilities. But what do we get? Just an atheist that disagrees with other atheists. And your goat herding brain made you call established fools like ihedinobi and striktlymi as your witness.

Can't you see your position? Even those fools ignored your call for help because they realise you may be even more foolish than them.

In fact, I suspected your folly when you decided to open a thread and announce that you have changed your name, (because of one ocman) only to announce 2 pages later that you didn't change it afterall. How you cannot differentiate between ooman and ocman beats me. And now you a thermodynamics expert because you can copy and paste diagrams. SMH. Even the ocman didn't complain but you had to twist yourself into parts first.

Please go all the way and rebecome a christian because you actually fit with them.

mumumugu: On tuesday, I decided to commit suicide. I added rat poison to my soup. Suddenly I felt my phone fall from my pocket. I quickly picked it up and decided to deactivate my nairaland accout.just then i noticed a new thread, from you logicboy, after I read it, I decide to live. You are really an inspiration for me. When senceless people like you are still alive why I should I die. Thks

plaetton:

Bros,
I do a lot of introspection, and ask myself that same question everyday.
Am I a bigot, an opinionated hater?

When abroad, I lived with, schooled with, worked and befriended people from every corner of the Earth, with different histories, different cultures and different religions.
At no time, did the beliefs or religions of the people I came into contact with ever become a contentious issue. It never ever mattered and was hardly ever discussed. Religion was only sparingly discussed when my ever curious self would ask people questions about their religion for the purpose of learning.

In an ideal society, the religion of your friend or neighbor should never be a problem or concern to you.

However, when I cam back to Nigeria, I was shell-shocked at the level of havoc religion was causing in Nigeria.
I felt( and I am not kidding) as if there had been some kind of mass surgery where critical portions of the brain had been removed, mass lobotomy of sorts.
Even my grandparents and great grand parents did not match the level of superstition that had engulfed the whole land.

At that time, big churches had taken over closed factories and warehouses, and everyone was shouting Halleluyah!.
As someone who had very solid understanding of the principles of economics, I thought everyone, including the leadership , had gone crazy. Where will the prosperity being preached come from?

I said to myself and everyone else cared to listen that Nigeria was in deep deep trouble.
With minds actively involved with the "New magical thinking" in the form of pentecostal revival, the future looked terribly bleak .
I was in my late twenties and this was about 15 years ago.

So, bros, I have predicted, cried and mourned my beloved country as I have sat and watched the wide scale destruction of our national IQ, the widescale descent of reason, the dearth of intelligence and the epidemic of s.t.u.p.idity turn a once promising people into unthinking zombies.

How can anyone ignore religion in Nigeria, especially when a new breed of scoundrels and parasites advertise our gross national lunacy on television every single hour?

I truly wish I can ignore my neighbors turning their houses from one night fellowships to daily fellowships, and finally into full blown churches?
How can I ignore every shade of clowns walking into my office on a busy weekday to preach the word of a god that just conveniently happens to be invisible?

How can I ignore religion while when people meet me, instead asking sensible things about me, they first ask "which Church do you belong to?" .
I beg your pardon sir?
I don't belong, I am a free man.

How can I ignore the irrationality of religion religion when business associates insist on prayer before a business deal is consumated?

Sometimes it takes a trip abroad just to assure me that I am not the insane one.

Do you want to talk about Boko-Haram and their holy blood lusts?

Anyone who is not religious cannot simply look aside and let things be.

I often ask myself whether I am fighting people because of their religious beliefs, or because of the irrationality that they bring to bear on everyone who interacts with them.

I, and I can speak for most Nl atheists fight the irrationality and what it portends for the future if left unchallenged.

Gombs: And if I'd take on this debate I'd want some rules enforced

1. Short and precise questions and the answers in like manner.
2. No recycling of questions
[s] 3. No interference from other posters except from the post of each of the debaters and the question must be intelligent. [/s]
4. No form of insults
5. No personal attack
6. Quoting a debater from archives of his past posts are very allowed
7. The audience members shall not ask follow-up
questions asked by the audience or the answers of the
candidates during the debate."
8. HBG would moderate
9. I wanna debate with Goshen
10. I'd not hesitate to pull out when audience use insults or get personal, or when the opposing debater gets insulting.
11. Scriptural blunders will be a nice way to invalidate a debater
12. Each debater is allowed to choose an active ally only used when invoked. I choose Bidam
13. A debater can ask a max of only 3 questions at a time, of which he'd wait for the other to answer and conversely ask his.
Other rules would follow in due course

...and I can't debate on wednesday... Lunch hour service and mid week service.

Cheers

Ignore No 3... I amended it in No 7

Gombs:





Prov 23v9 ESV

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.


We do wanna speak, but the love of God constrains us. I don't hope you'd understand.


Leave the tithe issue alone.


James 3:17 ESV

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and
good fruits, impartial and sincere.


Your post sire does not inspire confidence in the honesty of this thread.

From James above, your wisdom is certainly not from above...hence not peaceable, nor gentle, nor open to reason, nor full of mercy and good fruits nor impartial nor sincere.

Zikkyy:



The average tither would avoid any discussion on tithe, and i can tell you that debate is not something they want to do. For them the less they(people) know about tithe the better for them.