Were you always an atheist? (experience, fanaticism, attend, church)

[camping!]

I never recall anything but boredom when at church as a child. I went to catholic school from K-8, and it just didn't take. There was no horrible incident that turned me away. I recall being 8-9 years old sitting in church and thinking to myself 'there is no such thing as a free lunch'. It made no sense. So, I actively identified myself as an atheist from about 13 till 25. Then, I had my first child...and when she was laid on my chest and I saw intelligent life behind her eyes that is when I realized that I couldnot discount the existence of god/higher power/whatever, for as cliched as it sounds, for me birth was really a miracle. However, if there is a god, I do believe that it is like watching LOST -- you might scream at the television, but you can't make the charectors act the way you would like them too.

[Darwin Rules]

Although I did not attend church very regularly after the age of 12, I still believed in god until I was 59. At that age I decided that I didn't want to burn in hell for an eternity and needed to repent. Being in a rural area I decided to use the Internet to find the best road to salvation. Funny thing is when I searched on "religion" in Google, these atheist sites kept turning up as well. Being open minded and curious, I started reading them. To make a long story short, I don't worry about eternal damnation, salvation or the magical sky fairy, I just enjoy my life and try to be as happy as I can be and the best person I can be.

[Snaefell]

Hi:
I've just read a lot of the responses to the question, 'Were you always an Atheist?' I always enjoy reading the responses to questions asked, whether I am a believer of the pro or the con. Thanks to all of the writers. Personally though, I don't understand the question. The reason I don't understand is because I think the question might have been better, asked in a slightly different manner, such as "When did you decide to become an Atheist?" My reason for this is, because I presume we are all born as thoughtless entities. As we mature we first accept some of the propaganda preached to us by parents and elder siblings and others, and normally accept almost all of the propaganda of whatever thoughts are dispensed. As we learn to read and learn to doubt written thoughts and verbal thoughts of others, we learn to discern there are differing thoughts about the same subjects, and eventually we learn how to analyze. This is the beginning of what makes for enchanted living. Learning to create, and live by one's personal thinking. A short letter does not have time to bring into this treatment the benefits or the disruptions brought about by the milieu of one's upbringing. Thus they will not be examined except for a short presumption. My point is, although I think we are born thoughtless, I think there is a period where we observe, but have no thoughts about a god idea, thus we are Atheists, and it is the Atheism that is stolen intentionally, or accidentally, because of our milieu. I have no comprehension of why many believers in non proven attributes of religous thoughts, seem to automatically presume to think religious thoughts are something with which one is born. It sounds childish or even idiotic for an Atheist to ask the question, 'Have you always been Religious and a believer in Faith? As previously stated, I think we are thoughtless when born, and not programmed by evolution to come with an understanding of 'Faith' ideas, over 'Faithless' ideas. When one decides to ask about the very beginning of childhood, and not after the acceptance or the disregarding of ideas, I think one can come to a better understanding of humanity. It is much easier to accept the humanity of young babes, than with biased belief systems, trying to understand the humanity of what might be mistakenly thought of, as a group of dirty uneducated ruffians. I accept that all thoughts made public, and not made public, are the thoughts of humans, and not thoughts from proofless beings, stuffed into our heads for further propaganda, or prozeltyzing. What do you think? Snaefell.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by REFORMED

The fact that you are on this forum could mean something. The experiences you had with religion could have also been a test to determine your strength with God

You gotta be kiddin' me, Right? Does this mean, that, if you don't know the secret handshake you can not be a christ-er? Like the first part of life is the "Pledge process" just as they do in fraternities? As if this thing out there cares enought about me, or whomever, to give me a secret test because I, or They, are special enough to become one of them, while the millions of others in the world die of starvation and disease.......Surely does sound like a bizarre ego trip to me.

[forkpower]

Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes

You gotta be kiddin' me, Right? Does this mean, that, if you don't know the secret handshake you can not be a christ-er? Like the first part of life is the "Pledge process" just as they do in fraternities? As if this thing out there cares enought about me, or whomever, to give me a secret test because I, or They, are special enough to become one of them, while the millions of others in the world die of starvation and disease.......Surely does sound like a bizarre ego trip to me.

Sorry to branch of subject, but i had to point out that this is Dusty Rhodes 666th post

[Rhenzanite]

I've been an atheist as long as I can remember... I got kicked out of Sunday School (my great-grandfather was a pastor) when I was around 6 for being a 'heretic'. Lovely.


My parents only put me in the Sunday School so my GGfather would be happy and quit sending us nasty letters. Showed him

[Jackyfrost01]

Coupled with parents that were too over the top in their beliefs (shoving it down my throat before I had a clue what they were talking about) and watching too much SciFi as a kid and living in the 21st century, I never really had a chance to think about what I beleived in until I was an adult and had already been thru all the garbage my parents put me thru as a kid.

No offence to anyone, but any God's existence is as hard to swallow as unicorns and fairies (for me).

[brianrees]

Originally Posted by sergeyn

I'm not quite an atheist-- I do reject personal gods of organized religions who interfere with our lives but I do think that there is a sort of universal energy and universal truth. I just doubt it can be understood by human minds or described the way religions describe their gods.

Anyway, I grew up in a non-religious environment but I had a rudimentary belief in God since I was about 10, I think. I'd ask for things and found some hope in my god.

In my mid-teens I took active interest in religion and spirituality and believed that that was where all the answers were. I was just an explorer, though, I never really subscribed to any one religion.

Then in my late teens I got really interested in a certain kind Indian spirituality and that took me to some interesting places, not all of them good. After a few years of ecstasy interspersed with intense depression and anxiety, I gradually walked out of that.

After that, for a few years, I was looking into Christianity as I found myself distressed over existence and my role in it. That Indian stuff left me in a pretty messed up state, you see...Little by little, Christianity and organized religion lost its appeal to me due to dogma and intolerance of other views.

Now I consider myself godless in that I don't believe in "salvation" from outside. I found some meaning in Buddhist philosophy and try to practice it. I think that the basis behind spirituality is real but it doesn't come from any sort of Higher Intelligence.

Of all the threads I have read, this one possibly comes closest to my own conclusions. I have total empathy with what you say, sergeyn, and I too have found much subtlety in Buddhist concepts, if not in Buddhism as an 'organised religion' - which is something quite different.

I, too, think it possible to at least ponder on the existance of some kind of nameless Universal Force, but one that is totally impersonal, probably AMORAL in the ethical sense, at least in terms that would make sense to our human preconceptions of ethics.

God forbid that this should be equated with 'god', of course - the two concepts are totally irreconcilable.

Brian.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by forkpower

Sorry to branch of subject, but i had to point out that this is Dusty Rhodes 666th post

Actually it was not, the counter tells how many cumulative posts anyone has, if you look again, it will give you a different number.

[dacx]

I have pretty much always been non-religious but it wasn't until my early teens that I started to openly deny God and Jesus. Nothing in particular happened, I just started realizing that "God" is for the weak-minded and people need to start relying on ourselves more instead of some fictional character