If You Do Not Believe In God Anymore Do You Believe In?

[Ross]

If you do not believe in god anymore do you believe in spirits? If not why? 

[JadedAtheist]

For me personally, once I realised Christianity was a lie it seemed very silly to make the same mistake I made prior; taking things on faith. Also, with my personality I am very black and white. Some people can believe in a religious system even though they know and recognise various flaws and issues but I cannot. It's all or nothing, and in my case I have settled with nothing (atheism). I don't believe in spirits, or ghosts or gods or demons for that reason.

[J.W.]

If you do not believe in god anymore do you believe in spirits? If not why? 

 

I do not believe in the immortality of an individual. The subject of spirits are a complicated one I am willing to explore.

 

I don't believe in ghosts-- or the transcendent. Multiple levels of one unified reality-- multidimensional maybe.

 

I think we are a symphony of different independent processes. Like our organs-- or three brains-- or subconscious vs conscious-- or layered emotion-- ability to change-- us, them, or me-- I think the word WE to describe myself is more accurate than I-- Our spirit I think is tied to our intuition and that might be tied to 'retained ancestral knowledge' passed on genetically-- I can't prove it, its just an intuition-- the things you just know.

 

I think the Earth is alive in a way we can't know-- maybe we are like the RNA and the Earth is a cell. We are part of a greater whole and yet separate, interdependent, and very mortal. When we leave the Earth [as astronauts] we have to take a canned version of it with us. Make no mistake of it, we are part of the Earth, we are one integrated body-- there is no surviving us without it

[Evolution_beyond]

No.  Because I'm a pantheist I do not believe in a separation between matter and spirit.  Matter and spirit are the same.

 

Or does being a pantheist disqualify me from answering this question?  I honestly find it hard to figure out whether my belief constitutes "believing in God" or not.   It's kind of inbetween.

[Noggy]

I am god

 

[OnceConvinced]

No. I started to realise that there is a natural explanation for everything and see no reason to believe that, in time, natural explanations won't come up for other so-called supernatural things. 

 

When you have gone from believing in God, angels and demons for a majority of your life and then one day discover it was all fantasy, you then have to question all the other so-called supernatural things as well. Ghosts, spirits, magic etc etc. I never want to make the mistake of saying "Goddidit" or "Satandidit" ever again. To me that is giving into ignorance. 

[MissingLink]

No.......since leaving christianity, I no longer "believe" in anything......I accept as fact those things which evidence has shown to be true.......

 

 

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
Douglas Adams

 

[Guest Pixie]

I have been studying (outside of what the Bible says) how the universe came into existance. If it is true what the scientists are saying, I will probably not believe in anything and this scares me. I want a God to exist. But if a God dosen't exist, then I will no longer have to fear Hell like I do. That would ne nice. I am still praying for God to give me a real sign of His existance. Watching and listening to the news in the past few months has weakened my faith even more. Maybe, I will end up becoming an atheist. I don't think I could ever say that out loud.

 

Thanks.

[NEWsong]

Wow...interesting answers so far...I tend to lean on the side of Jaded Atheist who said...

 

For me personally, once I realized Christianity was a lie it seemed very silly to make the same mistake I made prior; taking things on faith.

 

and JW who said:

 

 

I do not believe in the immortality of an individual. The subject of spirits are a complicated one I am willing to explore.

 

I understand your question Ross, but it seems to support the premise that we "must BELIEVE in" something.

 

I must question this premise and feel comfortable not labeling myself as ANY SORT of theist at all.

 

I do not fear "not believing that there is a god or gods"...

 

I BELIEVE IN SEEKING TRUTH and finding it where ever I can without the judgement that christians and other religions use to keep their people ignorant and obedient. 

[greylight]

In a transitional period where I went from believing in god, I did believe in the supernatural for a while. I needed something there, to fill the 'belief void'. Then after looking into it more, I realized there's no sufficient  evidence for the supernatural. It was a bump in the road for me, but now I'm content with saying that I'm a pantheist of the naturalistic variety. I also now identify with secular humanism. 

[Skankboy]

Same as some others of said - I no longer believe in anything I haven't found sufficient evidence to support.  While I'm open to the possibilty that there are "more things in heaven and earth than imagined in our philosophies", I've yet to see any evidence of it.

[TrueFreedom]

[BDPApostate]

I believe in evidence as the only way to "know" anything

The better the evidence, the more certain I can be that something is true and reflects reality.

[Akheia]

I don't believe in the least in an omnimax god, but I'm open to there being gods and spirits and whatnot. It wouldn't bother me if there were. The evidence points to them not really giving a shit about humans or what we do, and to them not really interfering much with this world, and it seems to me that if they exist, they're not going to hold it against me that I chose to back the wrong horse in this life, but rather, if they're at all reasonable, they're going to care far more about how I lived than what rituals I participated in. Since the evidence suggests that gods don't monkey with us much, I live life mostly according to what I perceive as the objective facts, not what a god might or might not want me to do. Until we know more about such beings, it doesn't make a lot of sense to worry about it, but rather to do your best.

 

I don't want to veer into the black-and-white thinking that seems so natural to some; to me, life is a lot of shades of grey and not just THIS or THAT. That's fundamentalist thinking and to me it'd just be trading one mistaken rigidity for another. If someone else is like that, I'm cool with it for them; it's how they are, and it sure isn't hurting them or anybody else to be that way. I value their objectivity. But to me, I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes of "the utter subjectivity of religion X" and "the utter objectivity of naturalistic methodology" (can't really call it "atheism" because we've got some really spiritual atheists around here). But functionally, I probably conduct my life much like the purely-objective crowd does, and back the same scientific and political horses. Life's complicated, and we're all crazy one way or another.

[MultifariousBirdLady]

I don't know what's out there, but I do know there are experiences that people have had which suggest different possibilities.  I'm OK with trying things "as if" there were spirits out there even if it's not clear that there are, as long as these actions aren't falling into some kind of fear-based pattern or something like that.  Sometimes doing these things can be helpful even if there is no "other" out there watching and listening.

[Ravenstar]

I used to believe all sorts of things but now I just don't know...

 

finding out, for me, that my religion was not supported (at all) has placed me in a position where I do not trust myself on this issue anymore... after being duped for so long I question my judgment in this area.

 

That said I am open to the possibility that there is more than we know - but now I think I would need more than an 'intuition', or a clever argument, or 'feel good' hypothesis to accept that there are supernatural beings.

 

I have had experiences that are unexplained - and I'm learning to be comfortable with not drawing conclusions, of saying, "I don't know".

 

My standards for accepting things, believing in things, are much higher now... I am way more skeptical.

[falemon]

My de-conversion revelation was that, there is no god. Simple as that. I didn't wrestle thoughts or derive god doesn't exist, I just intuitively knew it was all bullshit.

 

I kind of hung onto a few ideas like chi energy, but when a good friend reminded me of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_6-iVz1R0o'>The Patterns of Self Deception I pretty much dropped all of those ideas in a heartbeat.

[RankStranger]

I believe in peace, bitch.

[new2me]

For me personally, once I realised Christianity was a lie it seemed very silly to make the same mistake I made prior; taking things on faith. Also, with my personality I am very black and white. Some people can believe in a religious system even though they know and recognise various flaws and issues but I cannot. It's all or nothing, and in my case I have settled with nothing (atheism). I don't believe in spirits, or ghosts or gods or demons for that reason.

I definitely identify with this.  Once I realized Christianity was a lie, all the supernatural mumbo-jumbo just disintegrated for me.  I think that humans have very imaginative brains, and are capable of making up all sorts of crazy shit.  But I just cannot believe in anything like that now.  I'm not saying that I know for sure that spirits don't exist, but I see no evidence of it.

 

I also am on board with the statement below (although I can't seem to get my comments beneath the box) although I would say that the universe is alive in a way we can't know. There is an energy that exists that runs through everything.  I don't call it "god."  I don't know what it is.  So if somehow my existence goes on after I die, it would have to be in a way that I can't possibly comprehend.  Maybe I will be part of the universe somehow.  I just don't think what happens next has anything to do with my life on Earth right now.

I think the Earth is alive in a way we can't know-- maybe we are like the RNA and the Earth is a cell. We are part of a greater whole and yet separate, interdependent, and very mortal. 

[OnceConvinced]

 I will probably not believe in anything and this scares me. I want a God to exist. But if a God dosen't exist, then I will no longer have to fear Hell like I do. That would ne nice. I am still praying for God to give me a real sign of His existance. Watching and listening to the news in the past few months has weakened my faith even more. Maybe, I will end up becoming an atheist. I don't think I could ever say that out loud.

 

If you become an atheist, so be it. You might become an agnostic or a deist or anything else. No doubt you'll figure out what you are later based on what you believe or don't believe.

 

For years I wanted God to exist too and for years I begged him for at least a touch of his presence, but I got absolutely nothing. It made me realise that I was praying to a non-existant being, because if he loved me he would have made some effort to reach me in a way that I could fathom. Not some airy fairy way. If he is real, then he knows you better than you know yourself. He knows exactly the perfect way to reach you and because he loves you so much he would do it. It would be something obvious and tangable to you. We are not all the same so therefore the same method of reaching us would not work for everyone and God would be well aware of that.  If he doesn't reach you in a way that suits you as a human creation, then either he doesn't give a shit, is incapable of reaching you or he is non-exsistant. There's no other possible conclusion you can come to especially considering that he claims to love us so much. 

 

As for Hell. Even if God did exist, he would surely not be so malevolent to make someone suffer for all eternity. Only a sick twisted and sadistic being would do something like that. What really helped me to overcome the fear of hell is the realisation that it was simply the product of a sick twisted human mind. A mind of someone that wanted to control the masses. A mind that wanted people to give their time and money and to remain loyal to their causes no matter what. You want people to remain in your control? Threaten them with hell and damnation if they dare rebel against you. The whole concept of hell reeks of power hungry humans.

[VacuumFlux]

I believe that my life, as I know it, as this individual, ends at my death. And so it ends for everyone else. Life is frail, fleeting, and incredibly precious. I believe that humanity has no higher power to lean on and depend upon; all we have is each other. I believe that humanity is capable of great things and of terrible things and strongly hope for the great things to outnumber the terrible. I feel that we, as a species, should work for the good of each other and of other living things on our planet (note that I said the good of each other, not the good of the whole; making individuals miserable in the pursuit of what you've decided is a more lofty goal than their wellbeing is a pretty shitty attitude).

 

I believe that pursuit of arts and creativity is a worthwhile goal in life and often adds a little bit to others' capacity to enjoy life. I believe that scientific knowledge is a worthwhile goal in and of itself, but I also value technology. I am proud of what my species has accomplished even as I am nervous about our frequent harmful blundering around.

 

That's pretty much what I "believe in", in the sense of the things that motivate me and give meaning and purpose to my life.

[Deva]

Honestly and truthfully, I think somehow the consciousness or the person or whatever you want to call it, doesn't end with death.  I can't provide the scientific proof for this, but I do have an absolute conviction on it, although I have totally discarded the Christian dogma.

 

I also somehow have the conviction that we will all find some peace at the end.

[hereticzero]

I believe a person can be spiritual without believing in spirits.

[MultifariousBirdLady]

Pixie, many of us here know how bad the fear of hell can be. You aren't alone in that.

 

As for Hell. Even if God did exist, he would surely not be so malevolent to make someone suffer for all eternity. Only a sick twisted and sadistic being would do something like that. What really helped me to overcome the fear of hell is the realisation that it was simply the product of a sick twisted human mind. A mind of someone that wanted to control the masses. A mind that wanted people to give their time and money and to remain loyal to their causes no matter what. You want people to remain in your control? Threaten them with hell and damnation if they dare rebel against you. The whole concept of hell reeks of power hungry humans.

Hell was very frightening to me, too, and I overcame it a similar way. It also occurred to me that if God really WAS that sick and twisted, it wouldn't be right to worship him.

[Akheia]

OC, I agree completely.

 

For me, losing the fear of hell was something that happened kind of early on, before I even formally deconverted I think. It wasn't because I was just unafraid, but because I was so paralyzed by terror that eventually I lost my ability to be afraid. I sometimes get anxiety attacks at night and imagine I'm having a heart attack or something, and lay there in the darkness trying to control my breathing and get myself calmed down. Eventually, sheer exhaustion overtakes me and I drop off to sleep, thinking, fuck it, if I'm going to die then that's it, that's how it is, this is how I die, and at least I've had a good run, and in the morning I awaken alive and just fine (yes, I'm under a doctor's care for other stuff and I'm healthy as a damn horse aside from bad arthritis). That's exactly how being a Pentecostal was. Eventually I just decided to do the best I could, and if that wasn't good enough, then fuck it, I just couldn't do more or summon the energy to fear any more than I already did. I can't characterize my attitude about Hell as anything but that strange lassitude that overtakes me when even my terror isn't enough to override my sheer exhaustion.

 

Nowadays I wonder why I took the Bible's word for hell so seriously when clearly nothing else about it could or should be. God lied about prayer, about his son being real, about miracles happening, and about every historical event in the OT just about; why on earth did I imagine he was telling me anything near the truth about the afterlife?