All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? - Religion (2) - Nairaland
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| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by urahara(m): 11:56pm On Jun 24, 2016 |
SirWere: Concise and sublime. I love this  1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by urahara(m): 11:58pm On Jun 24, 2016 |
Johnydon22. Aunt free cocoa Aunty cloud goddess. Come and tell us ur story na  Egbon hard mirror don't come o. The whole world already knows about ur story 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 12:26am On Jun 25, 2016 |
urahara: |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Emeskhalifa(m): 1:02pm On Jun 26, 2016 |
Truth is there are so many atheists who are scared of revealing themselves.  6 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by ValentineMary(m): 2:40pm On Jun 26, 2016 |
[b] I came from a very religious catholic family (at least my moniker depicts that) my cousin a catholic priest, another a nun, another a seminarian, another a charismatic leader. and me a block rosary president and devote catholic. I think my journey to atheism started when I met some of them on facebook, I felt absolute pity for them because I thought they were all going to hell. The first thing I said to them was "I pity u atheist in this group" (They were mostly American though). Until I got to know them better then I realised they were good guys and not bad as the bible depicts them to be. Then I asked myself why did Jesus say "Those who don't believe in me shall not have eternal life". I then began to doubt some of Jesus message. Being a catholic, I learnt about their killings in the past but I tried to overlook it but I could not. Why would the pope (who we were taught was Jesus rep here on earth order killing of women and kids?). Also I developed great devotion to the Blessed Mary and I made sure I prayed 20 decades of the rosary daily (catholics know how long this is) and I also constantly wore my scapular of mt Carmel because we were taught those who die wearing the scapular can't go to hell. I also became a block rosary president and hoped one day to be a catholic priest. I was so vested in the catholic faith and belief that people thought I was a seminarian. But after some time, I could not overlook the killings in the bible and church history. It just did not make sense. If God was love why allow so much killing, why be oblivious about certain thing eg thinking that if some dudes build a tower till it reach d sky; they might find him, causing pharoah to sin just to punish him, etc. It did not sum up. So I called myself a religious skeptic and I still believed in a God. Until I began to ponder more, I saw so much errors than I expected.How could a cause that claims to be good like religion cause so much suffering, discrimination, and disaster  Then I migrated to being a deist but now an agnostic atheist. [/b] 9 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by cloudgoddess(f): 5:33pm On Jun 30, 2016 |
It was difficult for me to make this post because so many things have happened along my "journey to atheism" that I could write a book on it. I'll try to focus on the most important points to keep this from being too long. ~~~ Before my teenage years, I never questioned Christianity. I was very convinced that it was all real and true (as any indoctrinated & blissfully ignorant child would be), despite not having read much of the bible or knowing anything about other religions, history, or science. I had nightmares about hell or demons on a few occassions, which made me terrified of eternal damnation. I don't think I ever desired heaven nearly as much as I feared hell -- and I think that might be the case for many Christians/religious people. Subconscious fear is a stronger motivator than most of us imagine. A memorable catalyst for deeper investigation of my religion was around age 13 when, in the car on the way home from church one day, I opened my bible to a random page and started reading. Prior to that moment, as I mentioned above, I hadn't read very much of the bible outside of the verses chosen by pastor during service. I landed on the story of Lot's daughters. To recap, the story basically describes in excrutiating detail, two young women getting their father drunk, and then impregnating themselves by sleeping with him. While reading it (remember, I'm 13 years old, and my father is in the front seat  ) I felt such an overwhelming sense of disgust and horror. I wondered why this story was never mentioned in church, why children would be directed to read a book that contains this kind of weird sh*t, and what other questionable things might be in the bible.I started reading more bible stories. I read about the genocides God carrys out in the bible, the slavery he permits and even poses regulations for ("It's all good if you whip them as long as they don't die " ), the rape he allows, the unequal treatment of women he dictates. After some amount of sincere reading, my skepticism became too uncomfortable to ignore. I took to the internet for answers, and inevitably stumbled upon websites that eloquently, boldly, and coherently stated the same criticisms I was secretly thinking while reading the bible, but too afraid to share with anyone ("Why was god so cruel even though he claims to be loving? How can a God that's supposedly all-knowing, punish people with such fierceness and anger as if he didn't see it coming?" )Of course, I became obsessed. As the months went on I started to spend more and more time on websites that pointed out the flaws in Christianity. I stumbled upon youtube videos by atheists, science videos explaining evolution, and videos questioning the validity of biblical ressurection/Noah's ark/etc. Soon I realized that I could not honestly call myself a Christian anymore. I hadn't yet ruled out the idea of a God completely, but the bible's flaws were too glaring at this point for me to still hold Yahweh in my mind as true. Of course, I kept this all to myself and continued to go to church with my family. A teenager in a highly religious Nigerian household doesn't have much of a choice. Equipped with this new knowledge however, I started to notice more flaws, contradictions, and moral issues with what we were being taught in my youth group & during sermons. When I asked questions, the answers I recieved were very insufficient and unconvincing. Many times they just seemed like bad excuses that only a small child would fall for. It also became more obvious to me that prayer was ineffective. The "God's time" explanation that I had accepted so readily before, now appeared to be a clear cop-out -- If God is going to do everything on his time anyway, what's the point of praying? I also noticed that a lot of effort was put into making it "feel real". During prayer time everyone would be made to hold hands, and the most emotionally moving tracks would be played very loudly. I started to ask myself, if something was truly happening when we prayed, why did we need all of this emotional manipulation? Why couldn't God just talk to people casually and directly, without a need for all the extra noise? As I continued to be an avid internet user, and my interests in science grew (biology and psychology in particular), I couldn't help but stumble upon more and more reasons to reject Christianity, and Abrahamic religions as a whole. Due to fear and denial, I didn't admit to myself that I was indeed an atheist until perhaps two years ago. I am now in my 20's. I can honestly say that my life without religion is much better. I don't have to lie to myself, keeping contradictory ideas in my head out of fear (cognitive dissonance is REAL). I don't have to adhere to ridiculous and outdated views. I can think for myself, and freely explore science without defending myself against everything I discover ("But but but, the bible says...!" ). I mean there's just so much inner freedom now. Nairaland has helped me be much more comfortable, and even proud of, my atheism. It feels great to know that there are other brilliant & brave Nigerian thinkers out there, even if most of us are in hiding (for now). I have no doubts that in the near future more and more people will be leaving religion behind, in part, if not mostly, due to enlightenment via the internet. ~~~ cc BeastAmbition urahara  35 Likes 11 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by spacyzuma(m): 6:13pm On Jun 30, 2016 |
I was raised as a Roman Catholic. I started reading the Bible when I was 6/7 years old after my parents bought me the Good News Bible (that green and white colored version). At that early stage, I was already reading everything I could come across. I read most of that bible before I entered JS1. Even though I didn't understand much of the later books after the historical ones (Genesis to Job), I was already confident enough to show of my knowledge in public places. My mother likes to say that there was a time I was preaching in a hospital at 7/8 years old, although I barely remember it. In secondary school, I joined Legion of Mary, and was quite active in it. I grew more in the Catholic faith, learning all sorts of new prayers and doctrines. Around JS3/SS1 I started questioning some things that didn't make sense to me. 1) Why do Catholics pray to Saints? Aren't they dead? Once dead, don't all humans stay dead until Judgement Day? 2) Why pray to Saints when the only way to God is through Jesus? 3) Why did God only revela Himself to people in that small area of Israel? What about the other regions in the world? It would take thousands of years for the 'good news' to spread to all regions, so what would happen to the millions of people who lived and died without ever knowing about Jesus? 4) Why did God allow so many Christian sects to form? Why did he allow many versions of the Bible to be published and confuse many people? 5) When Adam and Eve bleeped up, why did God decide to punish billions of humans over the next 5000-7000 with original sin? Did we eat the fruit with Adam & Eve? Why didn't he just cancel the entire human/life project and make better, improved upgrades of Earth, Eden, Adam, Eve, etc? ...and many other questions. I couldn't get satisfactory answers from elder students in our Catholic Community. At this time, I also became aware of 'extra' books in the Catholic Bible (Tobit, Maccabbees, etc). I wondered why there were different versions of Bibles. Surely if God wanted all Christians to get to heaven, he'd ensure that we had one solid, unifying, unquestionable Bible? I also learned more about other Christian sects: Protestants, Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc...and their differing beliefs. By my SS3, I had decided that the Catholic church, though the oldest Christian sect, was not the true one. I didn't like any of the other christian denominations, but I still believed in God. Before I entered university, I started collecting and reading a lot of Awake & Watchtower magazines. They impressed me, and soon I started to believe that they were the true Christian sect. Until I realised that they had some ridiculous beliefs too. For one, they are profoundly against blood transfusions. Also, they have been silly enough several times trying to predict when Jesus would return to earth and each time they have been proven wrong!  . Didn't the Bible say that no one, not even JEsus, knows when He would return? rme.By my 300 level, I had confronted my parents that I no longerbelieved in Catholicism. It caused a huge scene, with my dad being a Catholic Knight. He was furious. My mom just wanted the family to be at peace. I continued to go to Mass with them when at home, but I had no desire or faith to. When in school, I almost never went to mass. By then, even my interest in Jehovah's Witnesses had started to erode. I had always been interested in science too. I loved scifi novels and enjoyed reading any scientific magazines or books (non-academic) that I could fine, and this was before I knew about the internet. I also two amazing books: "The Human Zoo" by Desmond Morris... "The NExt 10,000 Years" by Adrian Berry. They deeply changed my way of reasoning. I started using scientific knowledge to cancel a lot of inaccuracies, inconsistencies and falsehoods in the Bible. By the time I graduated, I was a non-theist, but I had not yet admitted it to others. But my closest friends knew that I was no longer into any religion and was now a "free-thinker"  . Knowing how Nigeria is, and how Nigerians react towards people who dont believe in God/Allah, and realising that I was still living under my father's house and protection, I didn't show I was atheist. I would follow the family to church when they insisted, but I never offered to pray, or I always resisted contributing during prayers. It was only after I came to UK and was fully independent that I became open and Vocal about my atheism. Now, this is what I believe: 1) I know that I exist. 2) All the deities that humans know and worship are man-made and imaginary. None of them exists. 3) There might be a Creator, who caused the Big Bang, or (at least) who initiated life on this planet. 4) If that Creator exists, it doesn't care about us. It's not emotional. It didn't give us any moral rules to guide humans. 5) Morals and laws are formed by humans for the society that suits them. 6) The only thing special about humans is that homo sapiens happens to be the most intelligent species on this planet in this era, and also has the unique ability to believe very strongly in abstract and imaginary things. 7) The closest word to describe me is"Agnostic". While I'm sure that there is no religious/emotional Creator/deity, I do hope that life on this planet was caused some extraterrestrial entity. This comment was written impromptu. Like Cloudgoddess said, so many things happened on my path. I can't remember everything now. It will take a long time to gather all my thoughts and experiences and cohesively write them down. Cheers. 14 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by spacyzuma(m): 6:22pm On Jun 30, 2016 |
CAPSLOCKED: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL I like this!!!!CAPSLOCKED: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I totally understand this. That fear, that intense fear deep in the psyche...that fear of suffering in hell forever... 3 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Ranchhoddas: 6:52pm On Jun 30, 2016 |
spacyzuma:That fear of hell is terrible I swear. 2 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Ranchhoddas: 6:53pm On Jun 30, 2016 |
[quote author=cloudgoddess post=47077102]It was difficult for me to make this post because so many things have happened along my "journey to atheism" that I could write a book on it. I'll try to focus on the most important points to keep this from being too long. ~~~ Before my teenage years, I never questioned Christianity. I was very convinced that it was all real and true (as any indoctrinated & blissfully ignorant child would be), despite not having read much of the bible or knowing anything about other religions, history, or science. I had nightmares about hell or demons on a few occassions, which made me terrified of eternal damnation. I don't think I ever desired heaven nearly as much as I feared hell -- and I think that might be the case for many Christians/religious people. Subconscious fear is a stronger motivator than most of us imagine. A memorable catalyst for deeper investigation of my religion was around age 13 when, in the car on the way home from church one day, I opened my bible to a random page and started reading. Prior to that moment, as I mentioned above, I hadn't read very much of the bible outside of the verses chosen by pastor during service. I landed on the story of Lot's daughters. To recap, the story basically describes in excrutiating detail, two young women getting their father drunk, and then impregnating themselves by sleeping with him. While reading it (remember, I'm 13 years old, and my father is in the front seat ) I felt such an overwhelming sense of disgust and horror. I wondered why this story was never mentioned in church, why children would be directed to read a book that contains this kind of weird sh*t, and what other questionable things might be in the bible.I started reading more bible stories. I read about the genocides God carrys out in the bible, the slavery he permits and even poses regulations for ("It's all good if you whip them as long as they don't die " ), the rape he allows, the unequal treatment of women he dictates. After some amount of sincere reading, my skepticism became too uncomfortable to ignore. I took to the internet for answers, and inevitably stumbled upon websites that eloquently, boldly, and coherently stated the same criticisms I was secretly thinking while reading the bible, but too afraid to share with anyone ("Why was god so cruel even though he claims to be loving? How can a God that's supposedly all-knowing, punish people with such fierceness and anger as if he didn't see it coming?" )Of course, I became obsessed. As the months went on I started to spend more and more time on websites that pointed out the flaws in Christianity. I stumbled upon youtube videos by atheists, science videos explaining evolution, and videos questioning the validity of biblical ressurection/Noah's ark/etc. Soon I realized that I could not honestly call myself a Christian anymore. I hadn't yet ruled out the idea of a God completely, but the bible's flaws were too glaring at this point for me to still hold Yahweh in my mind as true. Of course, I kept this all to myself and continued to go to church with my family. A teenager in a highly religious Nigerian household doesn't have much of a choice. Equipped with this new knowledge however, I started to notice more flaws, contradictions, and moral issues with what we were being taught in my youth group & during sermons. When I asked questions, the answers I recieved were very insufficient and unconvincing. Many times they just seemed like bad excuses that only a small child would fall for. It also became more obvious to me that prayer was ineffective. The "God's time" explanation that I had accepted so readily before, now appeared to be a clear cop-out -- If God is going to do everything on his time anyway, what's the point of praying? I also noticed that a lot of effort was put into making it "feel real". During prayer time everyone would be made to hold hands, and the most emotionally moving tracks would be played very loudly. I started to ask myself, if something was truly happening when we prayed, why did we need all of this emotional manipulation? Why couldn't God just talk to people casually and directly, without a need for all the extra noise? As I continued to be an avid internet user, and my interests in science grew (biology and psychology in particular), I couldn't help but stumble upon more and more reasons to reject Christianity, and Abrahamic religions as a whole. Due to fear and denial, I didn't admit to myself that I was indeed an atheist until perhaps two years ago. I am now in my 20's. I can honestly say that my life without religion is much better. I don't have to lie to myself, keeping contradictory ideas in my head out of fear (cognitive dissonance is REAL). I don't have to adhere to ridiculous and outdated views. I can think for myself, and freely explore science without defending myself against everything I discover ("Your posts are always 'sweet' to read. 4 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by babysmart(f): 12:52am On Jul 01, 2016 |
I tried to be a good Christian but I wasn't good enough. I never felt like the new creature the bible says Christians should be. I was tired of churches and their doctrines, sermons and hypocrisy. I was tired of the bible and it's confusions. then I thought: if Christians claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven, does it mean people who practice other religion will go to hell? nothing made sense anymore I've not reached my destination yet. Still searching for answers. Doesn't seem like I'll ever go back to Christianity though. 10 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by babysmart(f): 12:59am On Jul 01, 2016 |
life truly seems less complicated without the feelings fear and guilt that religion tends to bring. but I get pissed when people say 'how can you sit at home doing nothing and not go to church. you need deliverance' 9 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by cloudgoddess(f): 5:46am On Jul 01, 2016 |
Ranchhoddas:Thank you so much! I am flattered 5 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 6:23am On Jul 01, 2016 |
Dekatron, coolusername, plaetton, hahn, johnnydon22, vcode, seun, etc please grace this thread with your stories. 1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by wirinet(m): 7:40am On Jul 01, 2016 |
Zzyco:What are we to bläme the devil for? How many humans had ever been killed by the devil? What evil thing has the devil done to humans? Bible references please 1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by ValentineMary(m): 9:47pm On Jul 01, 2016 |
Joshuabase:Na me be vcode. lolz 1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by plaetton: 10:58pm On Jul 01, 2016 |
Though I have told my story before, no harm in repeating it here. I , like many southern Nigerians, was born into a religious family. My father's side of my extended family are Catholic, some white garment, though my dad never showed much interest in religion. My mom's side are Methodist and some Catholic. So, naturally, I was pulled into the different churches by all sides. Catholicism never never had any appeal to me. Everything about it seemed weird. I gravitated towards the Methodist Church. However, right from childhood, I had always questioned everything about religion since about 5yrs of age. Unlike most people here who say they were once religious, I had NEVER had a religious feeling in my life. It actually scared me while growing up that I tended NOT to like or do what everyone else did. I thought something was wrong with me. Yes, I believed everything initially about Jesus, Yahweh, the Israelites ,etc. But I also, quite early on, felt that some things were odd about the entire narrative. As I grew older, between 8-12yrs of age, I still wondered what all that big story had to do with me , an Igbo boy, in Nigeria, Africa. The entire narrative was supposedly about a people, far far from Nigeria, long long time ago. Jesus, who lived long long time ago, dying to save me , an African,from what I didn't understand, and still don't understand, resurrecting and ascending to heaven, made NO sense then, and still hasn't made an iota of sense, even in this day. So by the time I entered secondary school, I had stopped going to church for religious reasons, except to see my then heartthrob who was in the choir. What was very interesting though, was that even though I was apparently born with NO religious bone in my body, the fact that majority of people around me were obsessed with it, made it a subject of great curiosity and intense interest. I needed to see what others saw that I couldn't see. It was in my late teens that I actually realized and accepted that I was a Contrarian ( one who goes against trends, against the herds) for a reason. In Sunday school, I was always rooting for the Philistines to conquer the Israelites. Religion never made sense to me because it never makes sense , anyway you view it. I still believed in God and Jesus, even after discarding the virgin birth. But I as I started reading history, philosophy and scientific rationalism, I stopped going to church entirely. Church sermons became annoying and irritating because of the their inherent contradictions. As time went on, I began to search for Jesus and God outside of religion. And I found them both . I found God in the evolving human mind. I found Jesus in the manger of ancient religious archetypes. It shocked me and took me a small while to ACCEPT what I had found. Thereafter, I ACCEPTED that God was a product of the human mind. It had been a long journey, a long search. Everything about religion now made perfect sense. Therefore, atheism is an ACCEPTANCE, rather than a rejection. N:B It's important to mention that I also spent part of my formative years abroad. No doubt, that added to my outlook and worldview on religion and it's role in society. The fact that Africans cared a lot more about Jesus , a non African mythical hero, while Caucasians cared less about him, troubled me and made wonder whether it was the same God and Jesus that Africans worshiped. 22 Likes 10 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Jayphizzy(m): 7:53am On Jul 02, 2016 |
We're The Cause Of Our Own Problems..... |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by hahn(m): 6:36pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Joshuabase: I am just seeing this thread o. I guess Jehovah didn't want me to read it  1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 7:35pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Like Murray Bruce always says " I just what to make common sense" |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Seun(m): 8:24pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
It happened at a time when I had many problems in my life and I decided to skip sunday fellowship because frankly, the fellowship hadn't done anything whatsoever to help me with my problems. Over the next week, I tried to examine the impact of my personal relationship with God on my life and I could only conclude that it had a negative impact on my life. If I had relied on my own understanding to make decisions, instead of doing things I thought God wanted me to do, my life would have been so much better. So I told my roommates that I'd be an interim atheist until I got some strong evidence of the existence of God and the truth of the bible. I'd no longer give Christianity the benefit of doubt. (I could do that because in my quest to be a better Christian, I learnt exactly how the bible was put together, which was a mess. I'd had to think about the contradictions in the bible. I'd tried to convert a muslim who was able to defend the flaws of Islam as well as I could defend the flaws of Christianity, which made me realize that the only reason I was a Christian was by choice, due to being born into it. My quest to witness the pentecostal promise of signs and wonders had been fruitless. Even speaking in tongues had turned out to be not supernatural at all) As an atheist, I started the process of rethinking my life, and everything now made so much more sense. All those 'difficult questions' I used to struggle with as a Christian who actually read the bible and tried to make sense of it were easily answered thus: "because there's no God". 23 Likes 8 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Mediapace: 8:46pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
SMH One question : what was your parent's reaction when you decided to be an atheist cos am very sure they must send you packing Seun: |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Lagusta(m): 8:57pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Seun: I would appreciate if you open a thread showcasing the flaws of islaam the way you opened one showing that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was one big science fiction movie..... Thanks |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 8:57pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Mediapace:do you think seun is a baby like you, that still sucks breast from your mum |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Blaqsmith(m): 9:01pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
I had a brother. He was ill for many years and died. My mother is a deeply religious person. She prayed all she could and go so spiritual just to save my sick brother. She was deceived by pastors,alfas and traditionalists. I know she was deceived. Why would a loving God let such a young boy suffer so that he could speak in different tones to different men to save him? It was all a lie my Mum was being sold. She swallowed everything hook, line and sinker. Perhaps my brother would have lived if my Mum listened to doctors more than she listened to pastors and other men of god. I'm not only an atheist, even if the proof surface today that there is god, I'd rather burn in fire than serve him. I cannot serve a god that watches while innocent children die. I cant! 12 Likes |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Mediapace: 9:24pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Bro is something wrong wif you upstairs. Were your eyes blind to see that i typed "was" not "is" Btw boda were you the one i was asking question stephenmorris: |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 9:32pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Mediapace:sorry bro i didn't read properly 1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 9:32pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Mine was borne out of curiosity. First, I never liked going to church, Sundays was my most hated day of the week because I had to be forced to go to church. Then I gained admission into Uniben, BAM!!! My curiosity grew and had no limit, first, I use to read whatever I laid my hand on then I stumbled on philosophy, Just one class I attended, I kind of realized so this my inner thought of God is even taught in school. So, I got a material from a lecturer in philosophy dept and begin to read, it was RUBBISH because it didn't answer no question, Philosophy NEVER gives you answers rather it teaches you to ask questions and THINK and that was how I started my quest for knowledge. Started with philosophy, couldn't get relevant answers, Then went to the sciences especially Physics, Chemistry and Biology then I found relevant answers but I wasn't satisfied, reason being that, lots of intelligent people and even professor don't turn atheist despite the fact that they also vast in the sciences, then I took science and still went further and discovered Psychology & Social psychology, funny enough, psychology was where I determined why people still choose to be believers eventhough the truth is in the sciences, I wasn't even still satisfied after that, I went further and stumbled on History, In History, sociology and Anthropology is embedded in it, My curiousity paid off as its still work in progress because I'm not yet satisfied but religiously I'm proud Atheist and reason am not satisfied is that, when you know one, it leads you to Two and if you study further you would actually understand why One started in the first place and how you can connect with three and possibly bring about four to manipulate five. That's why I feel there's still a lot of work to do and a lot to study. 6 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Nobody: 10:54pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Well, for me, there are a few key factors. * The story of Lot and his daughters. I think that really triggered the change. It was the kick that jarred me from theism to misotheism and forced me to think about what was really going on. * "Prepare To meet Your God." A book by an Angelica Zimbrano character or something. two things put me off. they said she was practically dead for 23 hours and for some reason, her mother didn't take her to a hospital, and she had "faith" that her daughter would be returned. second, an eleven year old Kid that died while crossing the road and went to hell for being disobedient. not only that, he was being tortured by cartoon characters. * The incredibly hypocritical behavior of most Christians. Most Christians do not read their bibles, they do not go to church, and yet, they have the effrontery to condemn atheists to hell. * Science. As I studied more science, I understood why many things in nature worked the way they did, and I discovered many contradictions of the bible with the real world. so many illogical events and happenings. * I had to make a choice; Science was wrong now, and the bible was Ultimately right. Or, the bible was wrong, and Science was right. * I Implored God to help me out. It didn't work at first, but I persisted. and soon, I began to hear a voice that was different. that seemed wise, seemed distant. seemed divine. It had to be God. but later, I discovered that it was just my brain trying to help me out after I asked the voice to tell me something I didn't already know, and it failed. I have since created more artificial "persons" in my head. and they all argue with each other in there. it turns out that the brain can simulate a "holy spirit" talking to you if you desperately want it to be so. * I decided to shift the perspective of narration of the bible. I decided to see things from the philistines perspective, the egyptian perspective, the gibeonite persepective, the assyrian perspective . . . and I discovered that they were all the same. tribalistic, cruel, racist, deeply religious, primitive, and unworthy of consideration in a modern perspective. And those are the key points to how I got here. 8 Likes 4 Shares |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by ireneony(f): 10:57pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Seun:this made sense "the only reason i was a Christian was by choice".. I think so too. I'm starting to dislike Christianity. . But for now i still believe in God. 1 Like |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by Firstlieutenant(m): 11:04pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
ireneony: Join Hindu, e go fit u |
| Re: All Atheists, Why Did You Become An Atheist? by ireneony(f): 11:25pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
Firstlieutenant:lol ..funny. ..nah.. I basically don't like any religion. ..for the time being...i will stick with Christianity (passive Christian ) 1 Like |
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