Why Atheism....

[Ouroboros]

This is like asking, "When you stopped doing crack, why didn't do start using heroin?"

 

Excellent Answer. Brilliant!

[quicksand]

I smoke a tobacco pipe....

[Ouroboros]

I smoke a tobacco pipe....

 

And I picked up the cigars.

 

I thought now being atheist/philosopher, kind of went together...

[pitchu]

pitchu I am afraid I must steal this from you, it is EXACTLY my view.

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Steal away, dc!

[IAm_Lucifer]

I read through some of the "antimonys" in the other forum and I noticed that there are quite a few people who, the vast majority it seemed to me, who became atheists after repudiating Christianity. 

 

I'm curious as to why people chose Atheism when they rejected Christianity instead of another form of theism (Those of you who took another form of theism instead of Atheism can feel free to comment as well).

 

Specifically, I'm curious as to what exactly seemed to sour you to theism in general as well as Christianity specifically. 

 

Thanks,

guac.

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I have never been a Christian so I do not know if you are interested in my input. The reason why I have never been religious is because the first time I ever heard about Christianity, I was about 6, I just didn't believe it. Growing older I realised that many different religions existed. Growing even older I realised that they all claimed absolute truth. None of these religions I encountered seemed logical to me.

 

They still don't.

 

I "chose" atheism because that is how I feel. I do not believe in any god(s). They are all man made.

[Guest aexapo]

reply to original

 

For me, leaving Christianity wasn't like putting down a canalope and picking up a tomatoe -- it was going from belief in an idea, and then realizing that the idea was false. I know that Christians reject the analogy -- but it was the same experience I went through with the Santa Claus idea as a child. I examined my belief, and emerged an non-believer.

 

And, I was someone who actually liked the idea of a belief system. After my first bout of reactionary atheism (disbelief in Christianity not only because of my growing awareness, but also because of painful experiences), I desperately wanted another belief system -- and studied a lot of the eastern religions once I was no longer so "emotional" about my past experience. I found that the other faiths had many of the same problems, and that no discernable, measurable proof could validate the claims of their religion . . . and I desperately needed proof before I suspended disbelief again.

 

When I no longer "needed it" (mostly out of fear of my own mortality), and when I had forgiven those in my religious past, I found that I could approach the issue honestly -- and I have evolved into some sort of atheist-leaning agnostic, which to me means: "I don't know what can't be proven, but I know that Christianity (and other world mythologies) is/are false -- because it is disproven by science time-after-time."

 

For forum members who may be scratching their head -- this does not mean I'm still holding out on the God-idea . . . I'm not. I don't believe that anything can transcend the laws of physical science. My "belief" simply accepts that we haven't discovered or even hypothesized everything yet, and that we may one day that life was "planted" here by advanced aliens, or that the universe is simply a big pocket of gas inside some mega-sized turd somewhere -- who the heck knows?

 

My money's on the turd theory.

[Guest aexapo]

A  lot of the atheists that most people who are not atheists are exposed to are what I would refer to as "emotional atheists"  they were hurt by religion and they now adamantly run around shouting "there is no god."

 

More thoughtful atheists, seem to have really thought it out and know why they think that.

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Ha! I used to be this person! I loved the expression on people's faces -- those were the days. It wasn't so cut and dry, though -- I had plenty of emotions against my faith before I abandoned it -- and it was my exposure to liberal arts and philosophy in college that allowed me to grow away from it.

 

I'm older now, and the emotion is gone -- I don't wear it on my sleeve anymore. In fact, my mother was a bit shocked the other day when I mentioned it off-handedly when she was rambling on about "the truth." I said, "Uh, mom -- you know I don't believe that stuff anymore!" Her "What ?!?!?" was just as shocking to me.

 

I thought she had known for years -- maybe I forgot to tell her, or maybe she didn't want to believe it when I was going through all that dog-dookey . . . dunno.