Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" like belief in tooth fairies, Santa Claus, ghosts, and gods.
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" like belief in tooth fairies, Santa Claus, ghosts, and gods.
It was easy to put away tooth fairies and Santa Claus, because adults didn't really seem to believe. God was a whole different kettle of fish though. Adults did seem to believe, which seemed ( to me) like a form of acceptable insanity.
Nothing. I never was a "believer" to start with. In Ireland where I am from between the age of 6 and 12 the teacher would have to spend a certain amount of time each day reading from the Bible.
At those ages I was a reader myself and read book after book after book. So Bible Time in school was just "Story Time" for me. I just thought it was the teacher reading us some stories.
I think I was around 12 or 13 before it dawned on me that people actually believed that stuff! My mouth likely dropped open in surprise and I am not sure it has metaphorically shut yet. From that age until now I have been shown nothing.... literally nothing.... to suggest that all the other books I read were fiction but this one book somehow was "true" or "real". It seemed like fiction to me then, it still appears to be fiction to me now. I have no idea why people think otherwise.
Nor has anyone on here been capable of explaining why either.
I don't think "want" is the right verb for 'me'.
I didn't 'want' to become an Atheist......and i'm sure some of my fellow Atheists would disagree with me, but I almost wished there was a loving god and an afterlife (i think this life is way too short).....
But once i opened my eyes, read the evidence, listened to the arguments on both sides of the table (specially Richard Dawkins), there was no way i could return to my 'faith'. My version of the muslim god was proven to be non-existent.
I was a voracious reader from a young age and I read a lot of science. The more one learns about the world, the more mental and logical gymnastics it takes to square that knowledge with ancient myths.
It was really no different than reaching the conclusions that there are no leprechauns, no ghosts, no Bigfoot, no Easter Bunny, and that I couldn't fly by flapping my arms (when I was five I was convinced this was possible if I simply honed my 'flapping' technique).
I don't think "want" is the right verb for 'me'.
I didn't 'want' to become an Atheist......and i'm sure some of my fellow Atheists would disagree with me, but I almost wished there was a loving god and an afterlife (i think this life is way too short).....
I think you are right on two counts. The first is that many atheists will disagree with you. I for one am glad none of the gods exist that have been described to me as none of them sound pleasant at all. I am also glad there is no eternal afterlife as that would only cheapen the value of THIS life. You say it is too short, but remember gold is precious because of it's rarity.
Secondly I am surprised I did not pick up on the word "want" myself and you are right this is a bad choice of words. Most atheists do not lack a belief in god because they WANT to be that way. They lack a belief in god because the idea that there is one appears to be ENTIRELY unsubstantiated. It is not about "want" at all. If there is no reason on offer to think something is true then I can not choose to think it is true. Or choose to think it is not true. If there is no reason to think something true then I can not think it is true. Simple as that.
Should some theists finally, after 100s of years, get the finger out and give us some reasons to think there is a god entity, THEN we can talk, but alas they appear to be consistently unable to do so.
I don't think "want" is the right verb for 'me'.
I didn't 'want' to become an Atheist......and i'm sure some of my fellow Atheists would disagree with me, but I almost wished there was a loving god and an afterlife (i think this life is way too short).....
But once i opened my eyes, read the evidence, listened to the arguments on both sides of the table (specially Richard Dawkins), there was no way i could return to my 'faith'. My version of the muslim god was proven to be non-existent.
Oh, I agree -- life is full of obvious things that are less palatable possibilities than others.
I'd like to believe there will be $10,000,000 in my checking account when I check it later... but I don't believe there will be.
I'd like to believe my teenage children are immune to all sorts of perils... but I know better.
I was too young to witness the Apollo missions, and I've long hoped that I would live to see the first manned mission to Mars. I might, and I certainly want to, but each passing year increases my doubt that this will actually come to pass before I pass.
Now, with regards to God, I didn't 'want' either way. I never had enough indoctrination to want to believe, nor when I was young was I able to formulate any particular desire not to believe. A steady youthful literary diet of Sagan and Asimov -- basically, observations of the way things are, not the way those authors want things to be -- probably helped me along the way.
I never became a non believer i was born a non believer and nothing ever came along to make me want to change, in fact my being a non believer has just as much relevance as you being a believer, difference being i'm not trying to talk everybody i meet into becoming non believers.
Atheism is NOT a choice. When I was a Christian it became impossible for me to believe in the impossible.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
