If You CHANGED your Religion, What Lead You to Do So?

[GCSTroop]

I suppose this is the mentality that ultimately led me to change to an atheist stance but a lot of it was just plain old logic and reason.

"When I was a kid I used to pray to God for a bike. Then I realised God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike, and prayed to God for forgiveness." (Emo Phillips)

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by june 7th

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "willful ignorance" b. frank,

By "willful ignorance" I mean: cutting oneself off from knowledge - on purpose.
In terms of religion, I think that it is a great disservice to oneself and to the world community when one chooses not to know what others believe and why.
I could never feel validated in my beliefs and ideas (not just religious, but all ideas) if I had not devoted time to understanding what I DON'T believe, why I don't believe it, and why others do. Same goes for what I DO believe. I need to understand where it comes from and truly know WHY I feel the way that I do about it.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by b. frank

By "willful ignorance" I mean: cutting oneself off from knowledge - on purpose.
In terms of religion, I think that it is a great disservice to oneself and to the world community when one chooses not to know what others believe and why.
I could never feel validated in my beliefs and ideas (not just religious, but all ideas) if I had not devoted time to understanding what I DON'T believe, why I don't believe it, and why others do. Same goes for what I DO believe. I need to understand where it comes from and truly know WHY I feel the way that I do about it.

Yes. We find ourselves conscious and alive on the surface of this planet. We may as well use all the tools at our disposal to explore what that means.

This is how we find our purpose for being.

The thing is, it is not wrapped up in a small, secure, tidy little box with written instructions. You have to figure it out yourself. Through living your life.

Breaking out of that box takes courage and the willingness to stand alone against the masses, if need be. But to stay in that comfortable box, with the support of friends, is betraying your very essence. Maybe breaking from the box is the true meaning of having a personal relationship with god, because that is all there is; you, and god, and the universe.