How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? - Religion - Nairaland
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? (1005 Views)
Samuel Akinbodunse: "Why God Changed My Prophecy On Buhari’s Death" / I'm An Atheist That Thinks That Premarital Sex Is Wrong. Is This Unusual? / As An Atheist Would You Circumcise Your Male Children? (2) (3) (4)
| How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by neonbash0: 7:04pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
I was raised culturally Christian. Religious rituals were not very important in my life, and my immediate family did not attend church. In fact when I started going to church with an aunt at age 8, my mom refused to give the church permission to allow me to be baptized until I was 12. She insisted that I would be making a huge commitment, and I needed to be at least 12 before I’d have enough knowledge to make that decision. I recall the church leaders being very disappointed in my mom, as if she was risking my life by not allowing me to commit myself to Christ and be “washed” of my sins. Fast forward to age 16. My dad had terminal cancer. I had never had a great relationship with my dad, but I didn’t want to lose him. I prayed daily, I made promises to God, if he’d just spare my dad. He didn’t. After my dads death, I was pretty angry with God. My church family welcomed my mom to have my dad’s services at the church, since my mom had no church home. My mom was so impressed with their welcoming that she became a faithful member. I was so angry with God, that the funeral was my last time in the church. I was angry, but I still believed. This was my state of being for the years that followed. It was around this time that I met my soon to be Husband. He was a devout Catholic, though not a church goer. It was during this time that my husband and I did a lot of international travels. In our travels, we always went off the beaten path and met folks from all different cultures and religions. It became clear to me that who you prayed to was more closely related to where you were born than to any truth in a particular religion. Now all this time I held a grudge against God, but had considered it blasphemy to doubt his existence. Until I realized that there were folks all over the world who held the same feelings for some different deity, or the same god but believed widely different things about what he wanted. I believe that this was the first time that I used my critical thinking in relationship to religion. I should mention that I’m a physician, so I’m trained in science and logical thinking. It didn’t take me long to conclude that all of these different folks couldn’t be right yet All be contradictory. I began to read the Bible with an open mind and researched different religions, and I realized that every one that I studied was hollow and circular. I didn’t accept circular reasoning in any other area of my life, why was I accepting it for something that purported to be reverent? I finally, slowly realized that religion and God were man made. I cannot tell you the relief I felt when I realized that there really wasn’t some deity in the sky wanting random things from me, or needing me to see myself as subservient because I was born female. No one would give me everlasting life because I accepted his son as my personal savior, while innocent people who had never heard his word were doomed to everlasting torture. Once that veil is pulled back, and you realize there is no hereafter, you realize that life is finite. You eventually understand no one is in the sky looking out for you and you are responsible for your actions. You begin to feel both great freedom and great responsibility at the same time. You want to have every good experience you can before it’s too late, you want to tell your family how much you value them every single time you speak to them (I do this still—every single time—they thought it was strange at first and now they just see it as my quirk); I began to resent the restrictions that religion had put on my life and I vowed to make up for all the things I had denied myself before. I began to see myself as my brother’s keeper (and the keeper of animals and the earth). It made me vigilant about social justice, racial and gender equality and basically protection of my fellow living beings. I’m so much happier, I do my job better because I know that no one is guiding my hand and the buck stops with me and so I need to always be up to the task. I study harder, I read voraciously and I always try my very best. I never put off things that I think I’d like to do, I never take my wife or friends and family for granted because I know that once they are gone, I’ll never see them again. The hardest part was dealing with the certainty of death, but I think the lack of worry about hell also helps with that as well. I think my life has become richer (in all the connotations of this word) and my anxiety has virtually vanished. I no longer yearn for answers to the meaning of life. I just try to really enjoy life every day as if it is my last. 4 Likes 1 Share
|
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by LordReed(m): 7:15pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Internally, my mindscape has changed quite a bit. Externally, not much has changed. One of the things people say about leaving faith is that you become more susceptible to the attacks of the devil, I of course anticipated that nothing of the sort would happen because there isn't any devil in the first place and my experience has borne it out. 8 Likes |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 7:20pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
don't be fooled to think there is no God ... take a look around and you will see that there is intelligent design in all things in nature even to the atom .. Athiesm is another religion in if itself ... I was an atheist for almost 20 odd years until it finally dawned on me ... that even being an atheist I had to believe in not believing one secret I kept was .. there was a hole in me that nothing could fill ... an emptiness that being disconnected brings ... now let me tell you my view at the moment ... God is my friend ... not from any world religion but from the perspective that I see God everyday everywhere both in good and evil ... |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Kobojunkie: 7:24pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake: Enough already! Stop pretending to speak on behalf of God abeg! 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by joviegghead: 7:27pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Kobojunkie:Are you minding him? 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 7:30pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Kobojunkie: there are over 5 million post on this site if my comment causes you discomfort.. it will not hurt for you to move along and find something that suites your self ... you don't believe is God your problem I believe in God my problem so what seems to be the issue here I guess some people just can't help themselves but ...I have anticipated your type already . as you don't believe In God nah make I tell you say GOD punish you there hahahaha .. if you vex hahaha you believe in God be that hahahaha .make I con dey go hare 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Kobojunkie: 7:33pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake:Your post does not cause me discomfort, and I do believe in God. Only I believe in OBEYING the commandments of God as well. Something you go against when you continually try to shove God at people who obviously don't care to know of your God. Living in disobedience of God makes you a liar. 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 7:43pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Kobojunkie:now we are getting somewhere so you believe in God and obeying the commandment yeah ... well good for you... that is your belief and I totally respect that .. but does it make any sense to you that you have to shoot down any other belief that come your way.. if I decide to believe in a stone ... as God, who are you to tell me other wise ? but then as is the norm on this forum there is always no shortage of Mr smarty-pants to come ramble about stuff that holds no stuff .. so I guess we better end this by agreeing to disagree .. hold your belief and let me hold mine in peace ... have a wonderful day and God bless you 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Kobojunkie: 7:45pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake: Well, as long as you don't pretend to believe in the same God that I do, then i guess you are right. But the minute you start.to pretend to speak for the same , be sure I will not sit back and watch you lie in His name.  You can keep the blessings of your God away from me since i don't think i like what he is selling from what i have read so far from you. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 7:57pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Kobojunkie:a small mind is always evident ... but what do I know ... enjoy your evening sir. at least I understand you and I guess you understand me so ..do you believe your God is a white bearded white MAN in the clouds .. who is so confused that he creates man in his image and likeness and the regret creating man ... after the bible dubbed HIM the one who knows the beginning from the end ? do you believe in a God who after freeing the children of is real from 400 years of bondage leads them through the wilderness without knowing that they will still ask for their old gods like Baal and the rest ? do ... nah ain't worth it ... believe is fairytales it is you God given right 3 Likes |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Kobojunkie: 7:59pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake: BakedCake:No, i don't BakedCake:No i don't BakedCake:Well, i am glad you know it is every human's right to believe, even if in stones |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nairalandmonika: 8:00pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake:Enough of this bullshit, someone has travelled round the world meet different people from different religion and culture has studied the Bible and other religions, and has concluded that there's no god u dey your village they type rubbish. 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 8:04pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Nairalandmonika:who is the someone ... you? when you express yourself please it will do you good to realize this is an intellectual discussion not the price of garri in the market ... who is the traveller who came back from their journey and told you that there is NO God ... educate me please and stop commenting like an uncouth degenerate. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nairalandmonika: 8:10pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake:I don't need anyone to tell me there's no god, I don't even need to be an intellectual or a scientist to know there's no god. If u are open minded enough and you think critically the answer to if god exist or not is right in from of u. Were u alive b4 u were born? 1 Like |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 8:15pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
Nairalandmonika: even if I explain to you..you won't understand.. because you are already set in your ways ... I used to be like you once ...always willing to argue and not discuss ... if you can explain the existence of the golden ratio ... out of randomness then you can really get my attention on the topic of God ... until then we will both just be guessing ... and to assume will only make an ASS- of -U and -ME. you get . |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nairalandmonika: 9:14pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake:I am not even arguing with you. If u can explain this so call golden ratio and use it to prove the existence of the abrahamic god beyond reasonable doubt please go ahead. Lemme all atheist read and see that god exist. Am waiting. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by LordReed(m): 11:54pm On Jun 27, 2020 |
BakedCake: LoL. Well I am glad to say I have no holes in me that need this type of filling. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by saintvc(m): 1:51am On Jun 28, 2020 |
internally, less fear,less conformity to authority and more responsible for ones life |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by saintvc(m): 1:53am On Jun 28, 2020 |
LordReed: Christians think much of devil,hence create them. atheist do not think of devil,so devil does not affect them |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 5:25pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
Nairalandmonika:yeah I have been alive Since eternity .. I am God ... and so are you |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 5:29pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
LordReed:haha you no well guy ... you spend too much time on xvideos lately |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by LordReed(m): 5:34pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake: They make more sense than bible stories and lots of enjoyment to be had.  |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 5:39pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
LordReed:carry go .. nah you get you...haha I don't believe the tales in the bible but I know there is God .. not in the way you understand God ... but in my own way |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by LordReed(m): 5:55pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake: So how do you know? |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nairalandmonika: 6:14pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake:Explain |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 6:41pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
LordReed:fine... how I know ? God made me understand what life is why everything exist.. see all I will tell you is not an attempt to make you believe in the slightest ... I am only talking about how I found my way to MY enlightenment. now I will start by saying every living thing every where is God ... I am God and so are you and so is that chicken you ate with wreckless abandon.. and so is every living cell in your body and the trees and the birds everything is God ... do you believe in astral projection? the first time it happened to me I couldn't understand what it wasandt I still remember ... i was in my room sitting an suddenly I was sitting in a grassland under a tree and watching the sunset against the most beautiful mountain backdrop ever... now what really freaked me out was ... I could leave my body in that place and hover like a camera seeing myself seated in that grassland observing the sunset and I suddenly returned back to reality and began to wonder what happened .. I was 5 or six then .. now as time went I started to realize my mind was independent and there was a consciousness about my mind and what I mean is ... questions that regular folks won't even think of will just materialize in my head and it will be so clear that I will be compelled to find answers... but to no avail... questions like is God male or female ... why are there no female angels ? there are some truly bizarre ones I won't really ask here but I hand questions that seasoned pastors will never have answers to... and as a child I lost interest totally in Christianity .. cus I realized we all just go to church to hide the evil that we do. in the bible it is written that God said your either be Hot or be cold ... if you are lukewarm God will spit you out ... God hates the Luke warm folks especially... cause it is impossible to decieve God. but 99.99999% of all religious folks are lukewarm fellas.. and so I prayed a prayer and said God .. there are over 100 diffent branches of Christianity and all believes they are the way ... how would I know which way is the right way ... God show me the right way and I will follow ... but till then... I remain cold. so I left and never looked back ... mean while I kept reading the bible cover to cover why? to seek out ammunition to argue with so called evangelist and humiliate them by showing how shallow they are in the understanding of their beliefs ... and boy was I kicking their ass ... both here in Nigerian and abroad .. but to be honest deep down I have always felt empty ... disconnected .. incomplete.. now in my quest for fulfilment .. I have researched on every and any topic you can think of ... I have read books that will marvel even the deep occult minded ... I am old wood. and in all my journey I still found emptiness.. until I fell into a trance and I understood everything. what I saw was this... I saw a flowing river and In that river what waves and some waves produces splashes and those splashes mades up of millions of individual particles (drops) rise above the water and I could slow down time and see to the micro level.. and I saw a single droplet from the splash of water and it was an individual.. even for the short period it was moving alone through the air .... it was ... an individual ... and during the course of its life away from the river it had its own experience unique to only it.. it picked up dirt particles from the air as it traveled through it ... an experience that no other drop will have they can have similar but its own is unique in time and space... and gradually time passed and this droplet fell back into the river and became the river once again ... contributing the knowledge and experience it gathered when it was an individual back into the river as a whole ... then I regained consciousness and it was clear to me ... we all are droplets in the river of consciousness. it still goes deeper than that but will urge you to read about the akashic records which I discovered a little while later ... nowadays I don't feel that emptiness anymore because I figured out my why? also take the time to listen to a man called Allan watts you will be amazed ... that is if you truly are open minded. now how do I know you ask ... I can't really say I do ... but I believe ...2+2is 4 anywhere and that right there is not random. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 6:50pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
Nairalandmonika: I just did above ... but if you want to know more I still can take it further but as long as you have an open mind and are willing to discus and not argue ... |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by LordReed(m): 7:34pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake: So for you god is not an anthropomorphic figure sitting down somewhere watching what humans do, right? |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by CAPSLOCKED: 7:55pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake: YOU'RE RUNNING MAD GRADUALLY. I'M SURE YOUR PASTOR TOO WILL AFFIRM THIS. |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Kobojunkie: 8:20pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
BakedCake:So does God even have a gender like man does? Does God need reproductive organs for to be male or female?  How do you know that there arent any female angels? Do angels even have reproductive organs for to be classified as either male or female? BakedCake:God didnt say that about the lukewarms, i believe one of the apostles did. And yeah, the many doctrines and traditions ,all of them created against God's commandment, is the reason for the divide in Christianity. But Jesus Christ already told us to follow Him. If you know God how come you don't know Him directly? BakedCake:I did that too but a long time. BakedCake:That as well... BakedCake: BakedCake:pray tell, what is this why you speak of? BakedCake:I am very open-minded but have questions still. So you found God and then God sent you to listen to Allan watts? |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Nobody: 8:36pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
CAPSLOCKED: |
| Re: How Has Your Life Changed Since Becoming An Atheist? by Bojack(m): 8:42pm On Jun 28, 2020 |
Same old same old |
How To Receive The Remission Of Sin In The Old Testament: The Day Of Atonement / The Law Of Attraction Will Attract Anything That You Mostly Think About / How Can I Break This Family Spell?
(Go Up)
| Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 132 |