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What in your life has brought you to being Atheist & Agnostic~? Did you have a religious upbringing in a faith that caused you to leave what you once believed in~? Or you came from a strict family of religion~? I'm curious. I do have a friend who is one of these, I forgot which. He's an animal activist and vegetarian of which when he came into being both his faith no longer seem to click, or it sounded like to me. Plus, he told me that faith fight wars and always fighting over something which bothered him. I kind of agree on this since many countries fight due to faith. Also, he didn't have such a religious upbringing either.
No religious upbringing for me. The idea of god(s) makes no sense to me.
I'm also a happy meat eater.
We all make choices in life and what works for one may not for another. I've been vegetarian for like 30 years and it works for me. BTW, I see your from Kentucky. I am too
What in your life has brought you to being Atheist & Agnostic~?
Your question assumes that some of us have been anything but. I was not brought to a position of not believing there is a god. I was never IN ONE in the first place. I simply never, at any point in my life, thought there was one.
So for me at least your question makes as much sense as walking up to a Black Man and asking him what turned him Black.
I was raised in a somewhat religious household, some times were more strict than others. I went to Catholic school when I was really young, but then public school for the rest of my time. I could never completely reconcile some Christian beliefs with reality, fairness, reason, or personal morality. The grip was less and less as I became more educated, but it felt wrong to let go because I was raised to believe in Jesus and God. An intro to religion class in college was a real eye opener. Still, why would my loving and wonderful mother mislead me? How could I question something that millions of people knew to be true? Plus, who would keep my car from crashing on a stormy night or take the blame when things go wrong in my life? If I don't believe, how will I see my family after we die? I really want to see them again.
In my late teens, my parents started attending a very conservative Baptist church with a very conservative pastor from our neighbor to the south, Kentucky. I was expected to go when I was home from college. Nice jeans/trousers and a nice top were unacceptable; I had to wear dresses (which I was NOT okay with) to conform to some unspoken rule. I tried to escape to my boyfriend's Methodist church on Sundays when I could, as they were all very kind, loving, and uplifting.
Sitting in the Baptist service made me extremely uncomfortable and the words coming out of the pastor's mouth just seemed plain WRONG. They were filled with more hate than love. Catholics were spreading lies and they were going to hell. Gay people were going to hell. Women WILL recognize and obey the head of their household, which was always the man. Not baptized by full immersion? Hell. Didn't take the Bible (KJV ONLY) literally and dare question it? Hell. I was DONE with any form of church after hearing this vile man speak, but still I remained spiritual and believed in some form of loving non-judgmental God/Jesus combo.
One night a few years after I stopped attending that sad, backwards, pathetic excuse for a church, I just snapped and realized how dumb it was to contort and twist and make excuses for a belief that had really given me nothing; no joy, no answers, no practical guidance -- just questions and doubt in my own self and my own goodness. It was after watching Ricky Gervais talk about the moment he know God wasn't real. He was 8 years old, I believe. I thought, "He's right!" and TA-DA! I was free!
Never been happier, never doubted my change of heart, never really missed it (the only thing I miss is the happy belief that I'll see my loved ones again in heaven), and never had such a clear conscious. I wish I had been raised as an atheist; it would have saved a lot of doubt and confusion on my part.
Last edited by Ohio Hello; 11-20-2013 at 02:24 AM..
I'm puzzled that otherwise smart people can believe in such foolishness because there is zero evidence pointing to a god or an afterlife.
It goes against science and reason.
Quote:
What in your life has brought you to being Atheist?
The answer is I grew up and became an adult. The fairy tales that I was brainwashed into believing as a child no longer made sense to me. I'm embarrassed to admit that I once considered myself a Christian. I should have been smarter than that. That entire episode was the most humilating experience of my entire life.
Last edited by John13; 11-20-2013 at 04:51 AM..
Reason: typo
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