krayzieklay: Well,I will but not now... The thing is; my parents know dat I'm not a religious person right from when they forced me to go for Arabic/islamic lessons during my teenage days. But like u rightly stated,they may attribute it to being young,blind and stuffs.. O.k,now I'm in my twenties, and its still d same stubborn,blind boy(according to them) . I really don't av probs with pops tho coz we don't get along... How to tell my mum iz d hurdle I need to scale through..


So wat was their reaction when u opened up?

I think if I would've just said something outright, out of nowhere, it would have been too shocking/confrontational. It wasn't planned.

Their initial reaction was a lot of discussion, particularly about prayers and God-consciousness. A lot of religious books and leaflets thrown my way, even "western" literature that showcased the importance of faith. My father is science-oriented, so that approach was also taken. My mom was more emotional about it: fear for the nafs. Eventually it drizzled down, but I know they're still disappointed at times.

Are you a complete atheist?

EnlightenedSoul:

I think if I would've just said something outright, out of nowhere, it would have been too shocking/confrontational. It wasn't planned.

Their initial reaction was a lot of discussion, particularly about prayers and God-consciousness. A lot of religious books and leaflets thrown my way, even "western" literature that showcased the importance of faith. My father is science-oriented, so that approach was also taken. My mom was more emotional about it: fear for the nafs. Eventually it drizzled down, but I know they're still disappointed at times.

Are you a complete atheist?

Yh,d emotional ish iz wat weakens me.. Cnt stand my mum bin sober,moody or gloomy bcuz of me and my belief.


A complete atheist? Well for now, I'm not.. Still doing loads of research, reasoning and exploring. I av a feeling I will become one anytime soon. For now though, I stick with agnosticism.

Did u give them a concrete and well articulated reasons on why u wanna go that path?

Ok, atheists, I have a few questions for you.

What if you died and discovered that we were right about the Bible, Jesus and God; what choice do you think will be left for you?
Don't you think you would have blown your chance?

Think about this.

Cococandy I have some questions for you.

You are Christian and that means you believe in Jesus Christ and all that he commanded.

These are just a few reasons Why I think God of the Bible doesn't exist:
In Matthew 19:21 here Jesus is giving a direct instruction to those that want to be "perfect" remember we are told to be holy because God is holy,and it takes perfection to be holy.
In Matthew 19:21 we are told that we must sell all our possession and give the money to be poor in order to be perfect and hence make treasures in heaven. Cococandy,Why do you still live under a roof? Why do you still have ur smartphone? Why do you still have money with u? Weren't you instructed by Jesus to sell ur properties and give the money to the poor before u can be perfect and make treasures in heaven?
Matthew 18:3-4 here Jesus is giving another requirement to make heaven,Jesus clearly states that we must behave like little children,Cococandy Why don't u behave like little children? Don't u wanna make heaven?
luke12:33 reinforces the same instruction telling those that want to be perfect to sell their possession, Cococandy Why do u still have ur possession? Don't u want to make heaven?

What about James:22-23 here we are told not be just the hearer of the word But the doers of the word,Cococandy,do u know u have disobeyed this instruction from God by the mere fact that u still have ur possessions with u and u are not behaving like a child.

Why do u ignor these instructions?

Answer: because u know how ridiculous this instructions are,But u chose to act like u didn't see it just So it may not seem like u are rebelling against ur faith. And because Christians don't obey this verses,it means dey kn subconsciously that the God of the Bible doesn't exist,they don't just want to risk "hell".

That is just one out of more than 50 reasons Why I think the God of the Bible doesn't exist.
If u think God of the Bible exist oya tell me Why u still have ur possessions with u and Why u don't behave like a little child?

BraveGuy: Ok, atheists, I have a few questions for you.

What if you died and discovered that we were right about the Bible, Jesus and God; what choice do you think will be left for you?
Don't you think you would have blown your chance?

Think about this.

What If you died and discovered that Muslims were right about the quran,Mohammed and Allah; what choice do you think will be left for you? Don't you think you would have blown your chance?
Think about this.

BraveGuy: Ok, atheists, I have a few questions for you.

What if you died and discovered that we were right about the Bible, Jesus and God; what choice do you think will be left for you?
Don't you think you would have blown your chance?

Think about this.

What if you die and see Ogun or Sango?
you'll go to hell with we atheists.

You do know that those passages of the bible means that as a christain be sacrificial and give your best to anyone in need around you. Don't you?
You make it sound simplistic and shallow the way you put it.
And how do you know I don't that?
Anyway just pick any of the question on the first page and help me understand your opinion on some of them.
This thread is about atheists. I don't want us to start the christainity talk here so that it won't become the us versus them kind of thread.

I'm sorry if my tone offends you.

Dapo777: Cococandy I have some questions for you.

You are Christian and that means you believe in Jesus Christ and all that he commanded.

These are just a few reasons Why I think God of the Bible doesn't exist:
In Matthew 19:21 here Jesus is giving a direct instruction to those that want to be "perfect" remember we are told to be holy because God is holy,and it takes perfection to be holy.
In Matthew 19:21 we are told that we must sell all our possession and give the money to be poor in order to be perfect and hence make treasures in heaven. Cococandy,Why do you still live under a roof? Why do you still have ur smartphone? Why do you still have money with u? Weren't you instructed by Jesus to sell ur properties and give the money to the poor before u can be perfect and make treasures in heaven?
Matthew 18:3-4 here Jesus is giving another requirement to make heaven,Jesus clearly states that we must behave like little children,Cococandy Why don't u behave like little children? Don't u wanna make heaven?
luke12:33 reinforces the same instruction telling those that want to be perfect to sell their possession, Cococandy Why do u still have ur possession? Don't u want to make heaven?

What about James:22-23 here we are told not be just the hearer of the word But the doers of the word,Cococandy,do u know u have disobeyed this instruction from God by the mere fact that u still have ur possessions with u and u are not behaving like a child.

Why do u ignor these instructions?

Answer: because u know how ridiculous this instructions are,But u chose to act like u didn't see it just So it may not seem like u are rebelling against ur faith. And because Christians don't obey this verses,it means dey kn subconsciously that the God of the Bible doesn't exist,they don't just want to risk "hell".

That is just one out of more than 50 reasons Why I think the God of the Bible doesn't exist.
If u think God of the Bible exist oya tell me Why u still have ur possessions with u and Why u don't behave like a little child?

BraveGuy: Ok, atheists, I have a few questions for you.

What if you died and discovered that we were right about the Bible, Jesus and God; what choice do you think will be left for you?
Don't you think you would have blown your chance?

Think about this.

Atheists were never given a chance. The contents of the bible are silly enough that they represent an insult to the average human intelligence. Insulting someone is not the same as giving them a chance. Secondly, all non Christians, would have missed this 'obvious chance' to pick Jesus and would thereby find themselves in the exact position as the atheist. So enjoy heaven, you and the few Christians who end up making it, everyone else will be in hell, including your ancestors.

cococandy: You do know that those passages of the bible means that as a christain be sacrificial and give your best to anyone in need around you. Don't you?
You make it sound simplistic and shallow the way you put it.
And how do you know I don't that?
Anyway just pick any of the question on the first page and help me understand your opinion on some of them.
This thread is about atheists. I don't want us to start the christainity talk here so that it won't become the us versus them kind of thread.

I'm sorry if my tone offends you.

Ok, Am a Christian for d same reason that u are. But my confussion is Dis:
Why do Christians take some parts of d Bible literally,some parts poetic,some parts figuratively,some parts contextually? How do we know how. to interprete each verse the right way?

If Jesus meant that u should be sacrificial,then Why did he mention giving THE MONEY to the poor? Could that be poetic or figurative also?

Something tells me you are already an atheist/deist at heart,But u need someone to convince u.

You shall kn d truth and d truth shall set u free,I promise u If u continue Dis thread atheist here would shake ur faith But u just wouldn't admit it.

Goodluck.
Sorry for derailing.

krayzieklay: Yh,d emotional ish iz wat weakens me.. Cnt stand my mum bin sober,moody or gloomy bcuz of me and my belief.


A complete atheist? Well for now, I'm not.. Still doing loads of research, reasoning and exploring. I av a feeling I will become one anytime soon. For now though, I stick with agnosticism.

Did u give them a concrete and well articulated reasons on why u wanna go that path?

Yh, I know

I simply acknowledged the fact that I don't have any faith, and that I didn't want to be hypocritical and blindly go through the motions.

I could describe myself as an agnostic. I'm not anti-religion, and I don't think I could be an atheist. My path? I don't yet know where I'm headed, and I'm no hurry to get there. Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error

Deist or atheist? Which is your guess.
Those are the broad opposite ends of the spectrum. One can't be both at a time.

Don't worry my belief in God. It is solid.

Now to your questions. Am I search of answers too. Definitely.

Dapo777:

Ok, Am a Christian for d same reason that u are. But my confussion is Dis:
Why do Christians take some parts of d Bible literally,some parts poetic,some parts figuratively,some parts contextually? How do we know how. to interprete each verse the right way?

If Jesus meant that u should be sacrificial,then Why did he mention giving THE MONEY to the poor? Could that be poetic or figurative also?

Something tells me you are already an atheist/deist at heart,But u need someone to convince u.

You shall kn d truth and d truth shall set u free,I promise u If u continue Dis thread atheist here would shake ur faith But u just wouldn't admit it.

Goodluck.
Sorry for derailing.

BraveGuy: Ok, atheists, I have a few questions for you.

What if you died and discovered that we were right about the Bible, Jesus and God; what choice do you think will be left for you?
Don't you think you would have blown your chance?

Think about this.

Personally, i do not have any problem(s) with any god or gods. If i meet any god/gods after death, a conversation as this will ensue:

God(s): Boy, you're welcome.

Me: Ah! Ese jare!

God(s): You forgot to acknowledge us/me when alive.

Me: O my bad. Which of the Gods are you? So much noise i couldn't decipher the truth from the lie. So, i decided not to fall for any, in order not to be deceived.

God(s): Hahaha. I am/we are the force behind the universe. Actually, I/we permitted those noises. We/I don't interfere with the workings of the institution I/we set.

Me: Ok, so which side will i go to now? so many hells. Over 4000hells.

God(s): Oboy, go rest/sleep, abi you no dey tire?

Me:

Martian:
The similarity in the stories is probably because the scope of knowledge possessed by these cultures were the same at that stage of human development.

That or they practiced religious rituals using the same plants. Entheogens usually grow in the same geographical area.

JerryBerry:

Ever heard of apatheistic agnosticism?

Pls, forgive my hurts. Peace.

Ok

If there is one person who should deny the existence of GOD,that will be me but i dont want to go into details cos i may start shedding tears.

Nevertheless,i believe there is GOD who brings out good out of bad situations.

Seun,today you are knownall overthe wrld because of those same reasons you stoped believing inthe existence of GOD.

What does that tell you?

It simply means there is aGOD whose ways are never our ways. A God who manifests himself in a seemingly hopeless situation.

A GOD who puts a coma where the world puts a full stop.

Toks2008:
Nevertheless,i believe there is GOD who brings out good out of bad situations.

Seun,today you are knownall overthe wrld because of those same reasons you stoped believing inthe existence of GOD.

What does that tell you?

It simply means there is aGOD whose ways are never our ways. A God who manifests himself in a seemingly hopeless situation.

So denying the existence of your God has brought him fame and fortune? Smh. You are referring to your particular God right? Is it Allah or Jesus?

cococandy: Deist or atheist? Which is your guess.
Those are the broad opposite ends of the spectrum. One can't be both at a time.

Don't worry my belief in God. It is solid.

Now to your questions. Am I search of answers too. Definitely.

Cococandy,this was what I did too before I lost my faith in God,I thought my belief in God was solid and nothing can shake it,I was searching for the truth,to my disappointment every truth I got pointed to the opinion that God doesn't exist,even the Christians can't prove otherwise all they would tell u is to have faith,some would use DNA to prove he exist,But that is a weak argument because anything apart from God could as well designed us.

If u want to remain a Christian leave logic aside,logic and religion don't go hand in hand,it's like fire and water.

Don't be surprised If u go to the Christians and ask them these questions, they would either insult u or query u for questioning things "beyond" u.

They would tell u not to worry urself about things like this,they would tell that they are other important things to do like serving God rather than asking questions. If u continue to ask, they would conclude that u have lost ur faith even when u haven't and that would push u into losing it. These are some of the reasons Why I lost my faith,Christians behave contrary to their Biblical teachings.
A Christian can quote a Bible verse now and do the opposite the next minute.

EnlightenedSoul:

Yh, I know

I simply acknowledged the fact that I don't have any faith, and that I didn't want to be hypocritical and blindly go through the motions.

I could describe myself as an agnostic. I'm not anti-religion, and I don't think I could be an atheist. My path? I don't yet know where I'm headed, and I'm no hurry to get there. Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error

Yh,true.. All d best. Remember this tho: Always ask questions.

thanks for your concern.
One question though: do you regret losing your faith?.

Dapo777:

Cococandy,this was what I did too before I lost my faith in God,I thought my belief in God was solid and nothing can shake it,I was searching for the truth,to my disappointment every truth I got pointed to the opinion that God doesn't exist,even the Christians can't prove otherwise all they would tell u is to have faith,some would use DNA to prove he exist,But that is a weak argument because anything apart from God could as well designed us.

If u want to remain a Christian leave logic aside,logic and religion don't go hand in hand,it's like fire and water.

Don't be surprised If u go to the Christians and ask them these questions, they would either insult u or query u for questioning things "beyond" u.

They would tell u not to worry urself about things like this,they would tell that they are other important things to do like serving God rather than asking questions. If u continue to ask, they would conclude that u have lost ur faith even when u haven't and that would push u into losing it. These are some of the reasons Why I lost my faith,Christians behave contrary to their Biblical teachings.
A Christian can quote a Bible verse now and do the opposite the next minute.

kayustones: It is because of God's mercy that you atheists are still alive.

It is because of Zeus' mercy that you "Christians" are alive.

Have you ever given him a chance to talk to you?
Humble yourselves therefore before Zeus, search within and you shall find him.

Again, I repeat, it is because of Zeus' mercy that you are alive.

cococandy: thanks for your concern.
One question though: do you regret losing your faith?.

I have no regrets in the truth,Since the time I was a little boy,I have always asked questions, not always do I get satisfactory answers,I Am naturally a truth seeker,I was born that way,u won't believe me If I told u I performed experiments even as a kid to understand things,That's me,I was born this way,I can't settle for anythin less than the truth,So I have no regret because I know the truth now and Am free Co's the truth shall set us free.

I believe you.

Dapo777:

I have no regrets in the truth,Since the time I was a little boy,I have always asked questions, not always do I get satisfactory answers,I Am naturally a truth seeker,I was born that way,u won't believe me If I told u I performed experiments even as a kid to understand things,That's me,I was born this way,I can't settle for anythin less than the truth,So I have no regret because I know the truth now and Am free Co's the truth shall set us free.

Martian: I'm not an atheist because I don't have a reason to affirm or deny the existence of mythical creatures.
God or Gods are only found in the myths and legends of cultures, and every god that I've ever heard of is always partial to the culture that worshipped or worship it.

As is well known, the ubiquitous nature of the three desert religions is the result of wars, slavery and colonialism.
After performing the resurrection trick in ancient Israel, Jesus didn't crawl out of another virgin's a$$ in Umuahia and repeat the trick for the Igbos. No! Some europeans had to get the story first, then bring it to Africa at the point of a sword. Likewise, the Europeans didn't know about a God named Chukwu before they met the igbos.

Each story about a god sounds as far fetched as the next, so why place one culture on a pedestal and call their bullshit story factual??

Afterall, Obatala created humans from the mud in Ile-Ife, Yahweh created the first human from mud in the Garden of Eden, Zeus and the Olympians lived on Mt. Olympus, which just happens to be the biggest mountain known to the ancient Greeks.

Why should I consider Yahweh a Jewish myth, Zeus a Greek myth but Obatala has the creator of the world and everything we see?

Why do people take Obatala as a god created in the minds of ancient Yoruba spiritualists and why do people view the Greek gods as creations of clever Greek writers; but Yahweh is not the creation of some ancient Jews??

In my opinion,if there is a being responsible for what we call the universe, that being would be out of the scope of our intellectual abilities. We won't be able to discern its existence unless it makes itself or themselves known.

lovely put brother... to add to ur wonderful piece..if there is such a being, it will beyond existence cos as far as i know existence is for that which is governed by time and space

Am so happy seeing atheists here having a discussion about atheism

Why?

TheBigUrban2: Am so happy seeing atheists here having a discussion about atheism

cococandy: Why?

because its cool

Ok.

TheBigUrban2:

because its cool

So are u saying dat cos many cultures talk abt god creating man from mud and similar things probably shows god exist then u are damn wrong cos many people from different cultures believe dat d earth was flat so following ur logic dat means d earth is really flat,as many people from different culture believed dat.nonsense

5minsmadness:
Wait, what? This your analogy makes no sense. Why didnt they just say people came out of the water or a great beast birthed them? Why the mud and the breathing of life?






So I clicked your link and looked through some but not all of the topics at random as there were too many. Earth, mud, land, rock, they all point to the same thing. Can't you see the similarity? Why didn't someone make man from water? Or air? There is a similarity in the creation story concerning man, (not the gods) no matter how bizzaire other parts of the story gets. Unless you deliberately don't want to see it.



And what do you know is "The Great Leprechaun?" If such a thing existed wouldn't it have beenemtioned in man's history? Can't you see such examples are given by atheist bodies to ridicule the idea of a supernatural being solely and so shouldn't be taken seriously?







And then what? You'll come on your knees to worship him if he does that? I doubt it. You'll probably go on about how its a hoax and how the Americans have devised a means to brainwash the masses. Besides God tried numerous times in the past to communicate directly with man, man simply goes 'wow' and then forgets after some time.

All religion, although diverse, have a common similarity. There is a God. That God may have demigods under him or send out emmissaires or have a Son but it still remains that there is a God. The last major spiritual upheaval is God sending his Son to die so that you can inherit eternal life in heaven. You don't need to do anything extra special like the Jews or Buddhists or Pagans. No need for any special atonement. Just believe in the salvation of God's son and be saved. So simple. Yet so difficult to follow for so many. Personally I think God has tried and if He has decided to leave us to rot in our ways I won't blame Him one bit. The bible actually warns that days like these will come when there will be a loss of faith on earth and people will be full of themselves, beat their chests and say 'there is no god.' and that the faithful should beware of those days.


I don't intend to preach or convert you to the Christian faith. I think most atheists on this forum are not angry at God per se, how can they be angry at someone they don't believe even exists . I think they are angry at the behaviour of Christians they have come across at one point or the other in their lives, or because they prayed for something and didn't get it. Is that disappointment really enough to risk your soul for?

In your search for truth through science, remember to keep an eye out for things that science cannot explain. Try not to build on science so much as it tends to shift like the wind with new evidence. Be mad at Christians and pentecostal zealots with their fire and brimstone judgmental, holier-than-thou attitude but give God himself a chance by keeping your mind open to possibilities.

EnlightenedSoul:

Yh, I know

I simply acknowledged the fact that I don't have any faith, and that I didn't want to be hypocritical and blindly go through the motions.

I could describe myself as an agnostic. I'm not anti-religion, and I don't think I could be an atheist. My path? I don't yet know where I'm headed, and I'm no hurry to get there. Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error

maybe u should join me in my OBSERVATION LAB...no label suited me so i settle to being an OBSERVER...by the way I was born a muslim too and kinda versed in islamic teachings.... read the whole volumes of sahih buhari, muslims and the hadith of dawood but then they all looked so silly to me and absurd and the so called tafsirs like the tafsir qurtubi is kinda childish.. what resonate with me a little is the work of RUMI (u could talk a look on it and if u get the chance get this book "MYSTICS of ISLAM"

All these cock and bull bruhaha.

I have read about many so called athiests,99% of them acknowledge God exstence at the moment of their death so save urselves all these rhetorics.

If you doubt me, please google the phrase Athiests who changed their beliefs before they died nd u wl b srprsed to find many who made the most noise about the non existence of God.

Most if not all of you claimn to b athiest will likely change your beliefs too.

There is a consiousness of God in everyone put in us by GOd himself. You cant fight it.

cococandy: thanks for your concern.
One question though: do you regret losing your faith?.

yeah sometimes t regret it alot..the worst is that i cant go back to it cos it makes me go insane (how can i go back to eating shiit after knowing that i have been eating shiit all along)...seriously ignorance is bliss sometimes and this is one of those times

Toks2008:

There is a consiousness of God in everyone put in us by [size=14]GOd[/size] himself. You cant fight it.

Which of the Gods?

Too much errors, typo and shorthand in your post.