Why is it that the older people get, the more susceptible they seem to be to God!!!??? (believe, delusion) - Atheism and Agnosticism - - City-Data Forum

Kleenex · 11-19-2009, 01:52 PM

ok, this is obviously NOT true for 100% of the cases....but it just seems like the older people get, and the closer they get to the ultimate doom, the more likely it is for them to turn to seeking a relationship with a higher power! i think it's fascinating and says alot about humans and human nature!

Ever since i stopped believing in fairytales not too long ago, i often ask myself..."will i ever go back to believing something....without a shred of evidence?" and my answer is always a resounding "Moderator cut: deleted NO!" i can't imagine someone just going back to "choosing" to blindly believe in 'a' God, just because they're afraid of the inevitable death.

Any thoughts?

Reading the first few posts from some of you, i better mention this:

IF YOU ARE NOT AN ATHEIST, PLEASE DON'T BOTHER REPLYING. I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT ATHEISTS THINK ABOUT THIS FENOMENA!

I don't need to hear about how you believe in a delusion.

sanspeur · 11-19-2009, 01:57 PM

In my case that is just not so. The older I get the more I know, and the more I know, the more certain I am that gods are nothing more than delusions.

Credo · 11-19-2009, 02:13 PM

Maybe they now have more time to dedicate to their religion? Maybe they think more about their mortality and where they would like to be spiritually when the time comes? Good question.....

Miss Blue · 11-19-2009, 02:14 PM

Well, I am old and getting older by the minute

..
I have always believed in God ever since I can remember

Over the years I have matured in my faith of God, His Son and the Holy Spirit that dwells within me to guide, teach and bring me peace with those beliefs..

I have no fear of death.. I have no fear of God.. I have no fear of what He has prepared for me beyond the threshold which I hope to peacefully and with dignity cross over some day..

I believe as some of us who have strong faith, that God in all his compassion removes whatever fear may be there of the unknown.,.

The above is of course just my opinion, my belief and faith brings me peace and happiness..

Reverend1111 · 11-19-2009, 02:14 PM

From what I understand, it's the soul that longs for something it doesn't know of yet. That is the prompt we get, or urge, that there might be something more out there. It is then that we start some search for God or "something". Most women do it in the late thirties to early forties. Most men are later, towards their sixties. My own urgings started in my late thirties.
I don't know how true that is but you never know.

cncracer · 11-19-2009, 05:44 PM

I think I am old enough to answer this question. Some days I feel really old, and this is one of those days. As an Atheist in my 50’s I would say we grow stronger in the views we have grown to accept, and we are less likely to hold back if our values are questioned. It works for both Atheist and religious. I look forward to the time when I can retire and devote more time to the National Atheist movement, and even now I am building my network within their groups. My goals are to make the last phase of my life as productive as the first phases, and that includes bringing atheist into the accepted mainstream of society.
I am sure the bible beaters are the same, but have to just guess what they do in their old age. They get old, fear death, pray a lot, read what the church thinks is safe for them to read, and color your hair blue, eat fish on Friday, and than just fade into darkness.

Miss Blue · 11-19-2009, 05:58 PM

Cncracer, I don't do any of that and know very few people my age that do..Most of the people my age are traveling, and having a good time doing what they were too busy or couldn't afford to do while they were younger..I do know a few "bible beaters" as you call them, but I have sympathy for their dilemna and do what I can to bring a little happiness to them..

Dusty Rhodes · 11-19-2009, 06:21 PM

Well now, let's see now.......Hummmmmmm, I quit believing in the god myth in 1962, I am in my 60's now and still believe that for a 15 year old, my reasoning was/is quite sound, over the years I have read more, read the bible twice because, if I am gonna go contra to mainstream thought, I had best know what I'm up against. It didn't really save me any money for the first 10 - 15 years, it was the 60's and 70's and any money I may have saved by not tithing, I spent on Marijuana, wine, women, and song, any other money, well......I guess I just wasted it.

InsaneInDaMembrane · 11-19-2009, 09:10 PM

This is quite evident on Facebook where I have stumbled into at least 200 friends from school and/or my old neighborhoods that I interacted with 20 years ago. When I was a Christian in high school, none of these folks wanted to make a commitment to god when I used to ask them about it. Now into their 40s, quite a bit of them are now posting daily scriptures in their Facebook statuses. Heck, some of them NOW wonder what the heck is wrong with me, being an agnostic and all, as if I am so lost and wrong for not believing in THEIR version of god. Go figure!

MaggieZ · 11-19-2009, 10:12 PM

People tend to fear dying so their belief is something to give them something to look forward to, be reunited with loved ones, to have a place to go after death! It's just like how they all of the sudden find god on death row. They seem to need to think that tough times here on earth will be rewarded or that things will be easier after death...god will take care of them forever ...
I have to admit that at first when I realized god was a myth, I kind of was scared of dying and not having the hope to get into heaven but the older I got, the more I left go of that 'safety net' ...Now I have no fear of dying and no fear of the fact that that will be the absolute end. This gives me even more reason to do the best I can while alive and to be true to myself and those around me and also to enjoy whatever time I have left.