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Hmm, not so for me...I certainly was not taught there was a God...but I remember
awareness of a consciousness looking out of my eyes that was not 'me'....
It was BIG...I was in a playpen still.
I know, I know, I'm different.
Oh, and then I read more:
I understand why you are saying that because blind faith abounds!
I'm so sorry I don't fit that mold of yours...I have been 'zapped' with Divine Visitations...
there is no believin' for me....or any faith involved, no siree! Wowsa!
I do, as I hope you know...see no reason for anyone to believe in a God.
I am a firm believer that seeing is believing.
You are a unique and fascinating individual Miss Hepburn.
Agnosticism (gnostic) refers to knowledge, while thesim/atheism refers to belief. A true dichotomy is either A or not A. In this case one either believes in a God(s) or one does not believe in a God. Most atheists describe themselves as agnostic atheists, having no belief in a God but not knowing whether a God exists or not. One can be a gnostic atheist (hard atheist), a gnostic theist, or an agnostic theist as well.
Good explanation. I agree. I have a real problem with people who use the phrase "I know...." And believe me, that's a phrase that Mormons use a lot! I can say, "I know that God exists," but it wouldn't be accurate. It would make a whole lot more sense for me to say, "I have a 99.999999999999999999% conviction that God exists." I could be wrong; maybe there is no God. I guess I'm really just a agnostic theist with a very, very, very strong belief in God. (Furthermore, I think we're all sort of agnostic. Most just don't like to admit it.)
Good explanation. I agree. I have a real problem with people who use the phrase "I know...." And believe me, that's a phrase that Mormons use a lot! I can say, "I know that God exists," but it wouldn't be accurate. It would make a whole lot more sense for me to say, "I have a 99.999999999999999999% conviction that God exists." I could be wrong; maybe there is no God. I guess I'm really just a agnostic theist with a very, very, very strong belief in God.
I'm sorry but I have a very hard time believing anyone who says that they were once an atheist are now are no longer an atheist. I just don't believe they were ever really an atheist.
(I don't mean to offend anyone by that... see below).
Ah, Cruithne. Let me assure you that for 30+ years I was definitely an atheist. My encounter in deep meditation instantly changed all that and it took decades to convince my intellect that there is a solid plausible scientific basis for it.
Would it be correct to think of you as an irreligious Theist, then? That is a "God" (not religion -specific) believer with no membership of any religion? Or have you sorta cottoned onto the gospels?
I have no religion, and can't imagine ever finding any use for it for myself, again. But, I'm not anti-religion for anyone else. I think any flavor of fundamentalism, religious or otherwise, can be quite a treacherous beast, but I don't know if fighting against it does much good.
I'm rather glad you did. You are doing us more good as a Christian than you could ever have done as an atheist.
I just took my pad out and I am pulling the red crayon to write your name down this time. This makes 2 marks again you, you don't wanna see Hannibal after a third. You will be as scared of me if I was a big black bear.
I have no religion, and can't imagine ever finding any use for it for myself, again. But, I'm not anti-religion for anyone else. I think any flavor of fundamentalism, religious or otherwise, can be quite a treacherous beast, but I don't know if fighting against it does much good.
It does. Fighting can be just telling your story. I think you do a great job of describing belief post fundamentalism.
Good explanation. I agree. I have a real problem with people who use the phrase "I know...." And believe me, that's a phrase that Mormons use a lot! I can say, "I know that God exists," but it wouldn't be accurate. It would make a whole lot more sense for me to say, "I have a 99.999999999999999999% conviction that God exists." I could be wrong; maybe there is no God. I guess I'm really just a agnostic theist with a very, very, very strong belief in God. (Furthermore, I think we're all sort of agnostic. Most just don't like to admit it.)
Why is your confidence so high? Is there anything that would make it 100%?
I'm sorry but I have a very hard time believing anyone who says that they were once an atheist are now are no longer an atheist. I just don't believe they were ever really an atheist.
(I don't mean to offend anyone by that... see below).
Contrary to what many people may think, arriving at the realisation that you absolutely do not believe in god is no easy thing. You are going against what society expects and what most other people believe. Also you are letting go of any shred of element of doubt that you may have had. As far as I'm concerned, if you harbour any inkling that there may be a god, however small, you're not really an atheist. I've had this discussion many times on the atheist forum.
When you come to the realisation that you don't believe in god absolutely, it is a truly liberating thing. You realise that your life is what you make it yourself and you set your own purpose. When horrible things happen like a death or illness, you realise that nobody is being punished or tested, it's just life. And when good things happen they are to be cherished and marvelled at. You also get to see the full wonder and marvel of the universe that took billions of years to grow and develop. The whole universe becomes this beautiful, wondrous, natural web of cells and stars and gas and matter of infinite complexity. And you get to see the earth and everything on it being here only being possible due to a long series of chance encounters in space and time, which is a far more powerful and wondrous concept to me than the alternative that it was 'created'.
I would not want to swap any of that with this over simplified idea that 'god did it' and bring with that all of the baggage these gods bring with them.
I also do however accept that my difficulty with accepting that people who say 'they used to be an atheist' could well be a big failing on my part being able to fully understand that persons experience.
I can understand it. I've had experiences that could have convinced me and did for awhile. Then I researched it from a skeptical point of view and came to the conclusion that is was psychological phenom. I'm not talking anything extreme like visions or anything but just they way our minds work, especially under stress. If it had been extreme I would have immediately questioned it. This was different. It was actually very healing. Miss H mentioned doors of perception. It was like that.
What changed your thinking?
Thanks ....I might think Buddhism or other Eastern religions...
more than the Bible...just guessing.
Then, you always have some dawning Revelation that befalls you and opens
the Doors of Perception. Maybe a death happened...or some crisis...a baby born....
even a profound dream?
I was Atheist for 40 years.
Then...I came to this board back in early 2010.
I read posts by a "MysticPhD" that I found intriguing.
I directly inquired of him...and after a time he was generous, benevolent and patient enough to explain and teach.
From that, I came to greater understanding. I learned from him that "God" is not limited to just Religious Deities & that God certainly exists...and I can show this to be objective, unequivocal, and irrefutable.
Of course...this objective existence of God renders Atheism null & void. But it was/is an illogical concept that is based upon a flawed premise anyway...so I'm not really missin' anything.
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