Non Believers

[emjbulls]

I guess I was wondering if an event had influenced a person's belief one way or another.

As someone who is uncertain, the one thing I am sure about is that no religion is right. They all claim to know this or that about god, but the reality is that no one religion knows more about the truth of a higher being than another based on fact. Therefore for me, from a religious standpoint, I cannot believe in any one religion and I think people that say their religion is the right one, or try to legislate their religion, are full of hooey because they know no more about God's intentions than anyone else. They are just louder in their guesses and less inclusive of people who do not believe in their guess of what life means.

More than anything, I am turned off by absolutes that most organized religions purport to know.

[solidsquid]

I cannot answer for MG but I have and many other atheists I know have as well. Many of us growing up in religious households read it as part of church services and Sunday school and some on our own as adults (and some did both).

I personally have three versions of the bible - the KJV, NIV, and the New American Bible. I also have the Tao Te Ching, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Younger Edda and the Koran - with only the last two being unread as of yet.

I'm looking to getting a copy of the Book of Mormon, translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls for comparison, and I may even read Dianetics for the hell of it.

[stretch00]

I can't say that there was one particular moment or person. More like there were lots and lots of little moments that all added up.

[MontanaGuy]

lpdsag wrote:

have you ever read the holy bible?

Yes, when I was in my early teens I actually read the entire thing. It took me over a year. I was going to Bible study classes mainly because my Mother is very religious and a few of my friends were going. It didn't really take hold though and at about eighteen I realized some of the stories were just not realistic.

[pladecalvo]

No particular event or happening here...unless you count my elder brother threatening to duff me up if I didn't think for myself and ask questions about things I was told! Like another poster, I read books about early religions such as Mithraism and that really sealed it. There were so many religions that proceeded Christianity with virtually the same stories...only the names were changed in Christianity.

[jabogitlu]

I grew up in a sorta religious household, my mom took me to church off and on when I was small, no one else in my family is all that religious except one aunt who is pretty Fundamental in her beliefs. My Dad and his dad seem sort of agnostic, but it's not something we've ever discussed.

For me, too, it was never a flashpoint of "Oh, none of this is real;" rather, it was more like a gradual awakening, a reading of lots of different religious texts and looking at them comparatively, first through agnosticisim, then backwards into deism, then into atheism.

[june 7th]

I became a nonbeliever through academia and personal experience...In high school I discovered existentialism, in college one of my degrees is in Comparative Religion/Philosophy, after college practiced Buddhism for a whle, spent alot of time in Buddhist and Hindu temples, spent much time with similiar, likeminded people...Experience, however, was perhaps the greatest instructor/indicator for me, personally...

Take gentle care,

[little_thirsty]

Thank you all for sharing. I seriously was looking at a situation through my own eyes and this really helped me to look at it differently. I appreciate you all and thanks for posting. Rep points all around !

[jason1117]

Originally Posted by little_thirsty

I am curious....
For those who are non believers (of any religion, not just Christian) is there an event in your life, a person, an expereince at a religious institution....that made you walk away and never look back?

No event.
I have even never walked into a religious institution,how can I walk away?And my family is non believer,too.But religious discussion on the board makes me curious about religion,ahh,maybe I'll try to go to a church.