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Conclusion : Atheism Is So Illogical , The Atheist Delusion / The Four Types Of Fear I Faced on my journey To Atheism / From Atheism To Jesus: My Testimony (2) (3) (4)
Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 1:51pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
About 172 million people worldwide consider
themselves atheists, adding those who call
themselves "unaffiliated" or "nonreligious" brings
the number to around 1 billion. Atheism
represents a variety of people with equally
varied journeys. Some "found" atheism, others
have been atheists since childhood. Many
people easily transitioned into non-belief but
many others found the journey difficult and
heartbreaking. Some atheists are vocal activists
while others aren't safe to live openly as
nonbelievers. Let's celebrate our diversity! The
labels don't matter, but our stories do. 4 Likes |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 1:52pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
1. The Lifelong Atheist : Lifelong atheists grew up in atheist, or otherwise nonreligious families. They were born atheists (as are we all) and for the most part, have never been interested in religion beyond the academic. Most lifelong atheists find religious people perplexing. Having never been exposed to religious communities, they may find it difficult to understand religious people. When Corey Evans was young, his parents allowed him to make up his own mind about religion. When invited to church, he was curious and went. He continued to go, but not as a believer. He asked a lot of questions and marveled when the people didn't have answers or gave him answers that were trite. Corey was told that it wasn't his place to ask questions. Once he asked the pastor why they would not accept gays and why they always condemned others for being wrong even though they couldn't prove that other religions weren't right. The pastor basically told him that he's not the one who is allowed to make those choices, it was God who was the judge. It didn't take Corey long to realize church wasn't where he belonged. When he was nine or ten he left and never returned. "I've always felt that religion is holding us back from accomplishing something greater. It's time for God to die, the universe is too big to be concerned with the mythological standards of religion." 4 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:11pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
The Atheist-at-Heart :
The atheist-at-heart is very similar to the
lifelong atheist but they didn't have the benefit
of a supportive atheist community. Even though
they might have been forced to participate in
religion as a child, deep down, they never fully
bought into it.
Jessika Yamily Pardio started off her young life
in Mexico in a very eclectic family with no strict
religious beliefs. After moving to America when
she was six, Jessika's mother (then divorced
from her father) remarried. Her stepfather was
a fundamentalist Christian so her family began
attending a Baptist church. She was reluctant at
first to accept her stepfather's religion - after
all, her grandfather was an atheist and told her
"don't believe everything anyone tells you,
especially if they are trying to get you to think
the way they do." But over time, the influence
of the church youth group wooed her into the
fold, and at 12, she became a devoted Christian.
When she was 14, Jessika began to feel the
oppression of Christianity. She had always felt
fluid in her sexuality and her first crush in fifth
grade was on a female classmate. At the same
time, she was hearing the church condemn
homosexuality while demonstrating blatant
hypocrisy
by hiding the indiscretions of church leaders. At
15, it became clear to her that Christian ideology
was a failure and she left the religion. Jessika's
atheist grandfather recently passed away and
she is forever thankful that he planted the
seeds of critical thinking. |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:19pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
3. The Waffler : The waffler has shifted between religion and non-belief in a variety of forms and for a variety of reasons - sometimes multiple times. Some people started out secular then sought out religion in times of crisis or (re)turned to religion because of marriage or children and later find their way to atheism. Raised in a secular family, Armin Navabi was surrounded by religion in the Islamic Republic. Even though the ruling clerics were generally despised at the time, most people still would never think to question god or the prophet Muhammad. Around 9 or 10, he became very worried about hell, especially for his parents since they did not pray or fast, a requirement in Islam, for one to go to heaven. In his school, children were taught that boys couldn't sin before age 15 (for girls, it was 9); no matter what they did, they would go to heaven if they died before 15. So he reasoned that he had a solution to his worry about hell - he would kill himself before he turned 15. When he was 12 years old, Armin jumped from a school window. He broke his left ankle in nine places, his right leg, his left hand and his back without cutting the spinal cord. He was in a wheelchair for seven months. After his failed suicide attempt, Armin determined to live as a perfect Muslim. He became very zealous, even trying to get his parents to pray, which only served to annoy them. He developed a fascination in god, and a curiosity about all things related to god, including other religious views. While studying the history of religion, the more he thought about it, the more god seemed to be fabricated by man. Armin prayed many times, asking for a sign or direction to a logical proof of god's existence, but to no avail. By 16, Armin was an agnostic searching for proof. But the fact that it was so hard to find evidence of god, turned him into an atheist by 18. His experience has given him an understanding of religious people as well as a conviction about the dangers of superstitious belief. |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:23pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
4. The Seeker :
Seekers are often deep thinkers, hungry for
answers. Some seekers explore and experience
many different spiritual paths as they journey
through life. Others have never considered
themselves spiritual, but have always asked the
hard questions, demanding to know "why?". As
atheists, seekers often make great skeptics.
Fiona Owens was born to a single mom who is a
Wiccan. Early on, Fiona was the one always
asking "why?", never just accepting what she
was told by anyone. When she was curious
about the Christianity of her neighbor, her mom
allowed her to visit a Sunday School class. After asking one too many difficult
questions, Fiona was told she was no longer
welcome. At 14, the concerns she had about her
mother's coven and the lack of answer from the
church led her to reject religion for good. As an
adult, she confronted her alcoholism and was
told that without a higher power, she would fail,
which made her think,"if I get the blame for
drinking why should a higher power get the
credit for my hard work while getting sober?"
Facebook opened up the atheist community to
her and she is glad she is no longer alone. 1 Like |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by Anas09: 2:30pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
Okay, that's very good. |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by Anas09: 2:31pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
Okay, that's very good. But I wish you guys can be content to stay over there and not look in throw the window at what we do in Christiandom. |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:35pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
5. The Rogue :
The rogue most likely grew up in a religious
family (or came to religion at some point),
conforming to the religious community and
experiencing and expressing religion with sincere
conviction. A combination of compelling atheist
arguments and internal self-doubt led the rogue
to abandon his/her religious convictions, often
with a lot of hurt feelings and resentment.
Rogues tend to become the most outspoken
activists after having seen first-hand how much
damage religion can cause.
April White Ward grew up in a fanatical Christian
home. As a sensitive, creative child, the details
of hell and sin forged deep-rooted fears that
have followed her into adulthood. Convinced she
could never make a right decision, that she was
a horrible person and that she would be
punished if she stepped out of line, April
descended into a dark sea of self-loathing and
self-punishing behavior. On the edge of a
mental break, she decided to start reading the
Bible at Genesis and write down all her
questions. When her father got frustrated with
her questions, telling her she couldn't
understand because she was a woman, her eyes
were opened to the flaws and contradictions.
She began to see how she had been
manipulated and controlled, leaving her
helpless, trapped and scared. She became
furious. It was out of this fury that a desire to
prove her worth took hold. Her mind kept trying
to return to her old beliefs but the more she
read the
Bible, the clearer it became that it was all a lie.
April now considers herself an atheist. There is
nothing left of Christianity in her. She is a
strong, capable woman. Even though her family
thinks she is demon-possessed and is pushing
her away to the point of asking her to remove
her maiden name from her Facebook account,
she stands strong. "The scared little girl is still
there, but she is a little less afraid. I will have to
work on the esteem, but at least now I am
searching for a way to feel whole. I'm certain
that I will grow up and find my place in this
world. I will fight for all the other scared little
girls, and if I can help one to feel loved and
whole, then I will deem my life a success." |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:41pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
6. The Conscientious Objector :
Like the rogue, this person chooses to leave
religion as an adult, often to the chagrin of
family and friends. The Conscientious Objector
might actually desire to stay in religious
community because they don't want to hurt
their family, but they cannot, in good
conscience, continue to participate in things they
don't believe. They understand the religious
impulse and are sympathetic to their religious
friends and family.
When the Jehovah's Witness missionaries would
come to Natalia Sali's door, her mother would
respond, "We're born Catholics, we will die
Catholics," right after offering them drinks and
biscuits. Her father didn't care about religion
much until a few months before he died. Like
many Catholics, they were regular churchgoers
with very little knowledge of the Bible, not
reading it much themselves. In college, she was
focused on her studies and local activism to oust
corrupt Philippine presidents, dismantle
American military bases, getting health bills and
welfare legislation passed, etc. When she was
24, she married a man from a Muslim family but
because her family wanted to see her married
in a Catholic church, her fiancé underwent
baptism and confirmation.
After college, she worked for a Christian
organization that helped the poor. During that
time, she became a feminist and found it
difficult to reconcile Christianity with feminism. After moving to
England, Natalia joined a Filipino Evangelical
Church. There were many elements of the
religion she found absurd but she still believed
in a God who was good and wanted to answer
prayers. After being in England for two years
which included much soul-searching, finding
discrepancies in the Bible, reading books like In
God We Doubt by John Humphrys, and using common sense,
Natalia became a closet atheist. Coming out in
England was easy but back in the Philippines,
her family was heartbroken. Natalia is very
understanding of the impulse to turn to religion
when people don't have hope and
works with many religious people in charity
organizations. She is not keen to debate and
really would like to be seen as a nice person.
She wants people to see that that "atheists can
be good, happy, decent, helpful, and successful
without a god." |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 2:48pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
7. The Reluctant Nonbeliever :
While most atheists are content in their non-
belief, some come by it kicking and screaming
and may continue to pine for the days of
certainty and religious community. Reluctant
Nonbelievers may continue to consider
themselves "spiritual" while maintaining a
disbelief in any kind of higher power or mystical
element to the world, or they may just wish they
could believe for whatever reason - often
thinking it would be "easier". Some reluctant
nonbelievers are atheists who live in very
religious communities, finding atheism to be a
very lonely path or think they "should" be
religious.
Susi Bocks did not grow up in a religious home,
but she still thought she was "supposed" to have
religious conviction, or at least believe in god.
When she was younger, Susi's thoughts revolved
around a feeling that there had to be a creator.
She tried for years to find the creator. She went
from church to church hoping for answers. One
day, she stopped going to church for answers
and just asked people questions. She
experienced an epiphany after watching a movie called "The Rapture", realizing
that she could never follow this egomaniacal god
that so many people wanted her to believe was
real. She realized if there was a god, he was a
dick. From that time on, having no evidence for
a god, she called herself an atheist and feels
free to experience the love of a husband,
children and friends, not worrying about belief
in the supernatural or the guilt and shame it can
bring. Whatever your path, finding your voice and telling your story can be a liberating experience, even if all you can do is start by telling it to yourself. Is now the time to share your personal pathway to atheism? 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by braithwaite(m): 2:56pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
You get mawt valentinemary.. come hia ma giv you kiss |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 3:37pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
braithwaite:I'm not gay sorry. |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by braithwaite(m): 3:41pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
ValentineMary: so na onli gay-briels dey give kiss..smh.. Oga oo..I dey show appreciation ni ooo |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by ValentineMary(m): 4:01pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
braithwaite:Lol. Thanks bro |
Re: Pathway To Atheism. by theoneJabulani(m): 5:23pm On Jun 01, 2016 |
Bloody brilliant |
(1) (Reply)
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