"The coffee is good.My body says sleep.Huh."
 |
The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!
So What Made You First Start To Doubt?
As weird as it is, I think it was the attitude of my former "fellow" Christians that started me on the road to doubt. Even though I've got a bachelors in Physics and have generally held a belief in evolution and big bang cosmology for most of the believing stage of my life, it really wasn't science that brought up questions(cognitive dissonance at its best). I think I've always generally never had a connection with anyone in any church I had ever attended. Mainly since most Christians, especially in the south, are non-intellectuals. But I think it really started when I began listening to extreme metal. I couldn't understand how anyone could look down on something that I loved so much and felt so natural to listen to. I can't tell you how many people have told me that its "the devils music"(even though most of the lyrics are socio-political).
Of course later on I did my research and discovered how ridiculous my former beliefs were. So who or what started you on your path to disbelief?
Of course later on I did my research and discovered how ridiculous my former beliefs were. So who or what started you on your path to disbelief?
- Attachments:
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Angie Jackson on -
(Psst - call yourself whatever you want, but FYI agnosticism/gnosticism deals with matters of knowledge and atheism/theism deals with areas of belief. So, I'm an agnostic atheist - I don't believe there is a god, and I don't know there is a god. At this point, I'm probably a positive atheist - I believe there is NO god, but not all atheists take things as far.)
-
Permalink Reply by Josiah Allen on -
While I'm sure many events led up to me be brave enough to ask this question, but what I finally said to myself was 'How can I know the Methodist church is right when there are so many others?'
That led to 'How can I know Christianity is right when there are so many others?'
Which led to applying Occam's Razor before I knew what it was. The simplest solution, was that they are all man made.
I dabbled around in deist type philosophies, but slowly the emotional attachment to having a 'special purpose' faded and I accepted the natural universe for what it is empirically observed to be.
-
Permalink Reply by lee on -
1. you go to hell if you don't worship Jesus
2. god gave us no evidence to chose Jesus over other gods or no god
3. God is loving
(all 3 cant be ture)
and stuff like this
1 Timothy 2:12 (New International Version)
12:I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
also biology class/geology class/ psychology classes/ and reading peter singers books
Also for those of you who doubted as kids, im so impressed by that you people are my hero's.... took me until college to muster up the brain power to see what a sham it all was, its embarrassing
-
Permalink Reply by jim mcgann on -
Don't think I ever really bought the Catholic doctrine despite 12 years of nuns and brothers. I gave basically the same confession until I stopped going at around 21...lied twice, swore once.
When I got divorced in the seventies it was still pretty taboo and the church's attitude was that I was either ex-communicated or later that I could never remarry and later that if I did remarry there could be no marital sex because it would be infidelity since I could never be really divorced in the eyes of the church. That's when I started to look at the church with a jaundiced eye and eventually decided that if you don't want me then I don't want you, so fuck off. After that it was easy to pick apart the hypocrasies that they had indoctrinated me with without the built in guilt about questioning any of the church's truths under penalty of eternal punishment. Smoking pot really helped because I was able to look at the church in a cold blooded realistic light without the guilt. That's probably one of the reasons that marijuanna will never be legalized. Both the government and the world's religions know that even though it is not really a gateway drug to other drugs it can lead people to question their beliefs. Worked for me obviously.
-
Permalink Reply by Athianarchist on -
Yeah, it took me till college as well. But its nothing to be ashamed of, religion has an extremely emotional hold over humans. Especially since my parents are some of the most religious out there(Texas fundies), there really wasn't a chance that I would have ever doubted while still in their house.
-
Permalink Reply by Angie Jackson on
-
I feel like you do about the early-atheists, but then I remember HOW brainwashed I was. Even within my *own* christian fundamentalist family, I was chosen for special extra indoctrination over my siblings. My brain was more myth than reality, and it made life scary and painful. It's hard to make rational decisions or look at things critically under those conditions. College got you physically away from church, family, and indoctrination long enough to think things through, and also exposed you to bookoo knowledge. Glad it worked then.
I met a guy online the other day - he's 70 and just became an atheist this summer!
-
Permalink Reply by Jaime Paredes Muñoz on -
In my High School priests were effeminates(Jesuits),only favoured the rich,and there was lots of gays around them.Compared to the school I was before ,that had girls,the Jesuit School was abnormal.
-
Permalink Reply by Donald Wayne Smith Jr. on -
I never really cared. Then I went to religious ed (and I'm still forced to cause my mom doesn't know I'm atheist) and they were talking about praying before you sleep. Well, I prayed nightly for about a month, then I realized that my prayers were half-hearted. Then my cousin started being open about atheism and I just noticed, "Hey, I don't give a shit about god either!"
Well I tried to be openish about it at school. Told it to a friend and he became all super-Christian on me. Everytime I prove him wrong in ANYTHING he just yells, "Shut up you atheist bastard, you'll go to hell" or something similar. Now I try to hide my atheism because of zealots like him.
-
Permalink Reply by Angie Jackson on
-
That guys not a friend anymore, right?
-
Permalink Reply by Emekan A'dem on -
I'm pretty sure I was born atheist. When I was little, I'd ask lots of questions of my Sunday school teachers and, when given bullshit, my chances of believing went from 1 in 100 to -1 in 100. The first major defining moment for me was when I was 11, when the Harry Potter series was met with intense Christian resistance. My Sunday School teachers forced my class to watch this hour-long propaganda film about how the series was a work of the devil in an illustrious attempt to lure children. Even then...I realized how crazy the people sounded. The next week I bought a book written by a priest about how, really, Harry Potter is a great example for Christianity in understanding morality. I tried giving this book to my teachers.
They rejected the book, and refused to even touch it on the grounds that looking at the words of evil would be blasphemous. And then proceeded to chastise me for presenting another viewpoint.
My final confirmation literally came with...confirmation. My parents pressured me - and I tricked myself - into joining my mum's baptist church at 13. After officially joining/enrolling in pre-baptism classes, I went home and cried my eyes out. My parents thought I was happy; I later realized I was crying out of sheer sorrow because it felt entirely wrong, and would be crying again during and after my baptism. Little did my pastor know that the baptism worked in reverse - it solidified my atheism rather than pull me into the "fold." I also looked at other religions and realized they were practically the same message in different manifestations. And even way back then (ha, I'm 19, it's not THAT way back) I was NOT cool with how women are viewed in general religion - no one could tell me why both men and women couldn't be equal, and no one could produce biblical evidence against homosexuality or interracial dating.
Sometimes, religion does us as atheists a favour in pointing out the contradictions and bullshit FOR us.
-
Permalink Reply by Scott Henderson on -
In college I was given an assignment to argue on the side of the atheist. I came up with how ridiculous it was to think you were created by an ALL POWERFUL god, without asking you whether you wanted to be created or not, then given the choice to either love him or burn eternally in hell (the last part he sadly can't control.) I couldn't get it out of my head and I never had. Why would you create something you love if more likely then not they'd end up eternally suffering. Comes off more like a 16 yr old girl who has a baby because she feels lonely then an all loving god....
-
Permalink Reply by Angie Jackson on
-
Great question. For me, it took about ten years before first questioning (when a child in our cult died from medical neglect) till I disbelieved (after watching the Optical Illusion/Milk Jug video on YouTube, and visiting the site WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com.
In between those two events, I was never close to Christians because they were sanitized and fake, and looked down on me. I also got married (*shudder*) and had my son. My son convinced me Original Sin was a sham. When I went back to college, I realized evolution is true (d'oh!). I also spent a lot of time with Muslima and discovered that - while I didn't believe a word of the Koran - their attitudes and beliefs were so similar to Christians! Finally, in history class we studied early American cults, and my classmates' reactions to odd fringe religious sects made me realize I belonged to one. I googled my cult that night. Within a couple months I was an atheist.
CONNECT WITH ATHEIST NEXUS
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
Joan Denoo commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"11:00 PM had my first bout of nausea; Rx took care of it. I feel wonderful. Absolutely no pain, I can't finish a sentence or remember words so Cary, Laura and Laurie did their best to understand what I am trying to convey. I usually get enough…"
John Hutcheson posted a blog postAre the media too giddy over the Pope?
With all the media attention the on the Pope, important stories are being missed, human rights violations, Monsanto protection act, Russia march to blasphemy laws, and of the big story this week did Harry Potter vanquish dementors?See More
Ian Mason commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"The medical profession seems to have improved in some areas at least. Personally I think some of that is due to the higher level of education of society as a whole. We know too much to put up with bad treatment now. I saw a documentary last year…"
Nerdlass replied to Ruth Anthony-Gardner's discussion Cicadas taste like asparagus in the group THE KNIFE & FORK"Thanks. Now I have "Glory of Love" stuck in my head. ^^;
I'm not sure if I could get used to eating bugs. It's like... if they're mudbugs or sea-bugs, that's one thing, but it's hard to imagine them tasting good…"
Nerdlass commented on Debra Stevenson's blog post Some Wiccans and their seeking approval from Christians"I converted to paganism (through wicca, but didn't stay there) from xianity. During that conversion period, I tried to reconcile the beliefs, which ultimately, I couldn't. There are some who find a way (probably used to cherry picking, so…"
Hiram replied to Hiram's discussion Epicureanism: a Secular Doctrine for Happiness"There are currently two Gardens of Epicurus: one in Chicago and one in New Jersey. Please visit if you're in the vecinity!"
© 2013 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: Richard Haynes.
