If you are athiest/agnostic, when/why did you convert, or was it always your belief?

[Princess Gheyfu]

This is not a topic for debate, just a sense of curiosity from myself and others.

I am athiest, but converted over to the belief of not believing in God around this time period (2004+) because of my hatred and realization that if there was a God, how could he have been so cruel to so many? I wasnt born with this train of thought, I was born to a family of mostly, around 80% catholics, with a hint of Christian and Jewish. Only me and my grandmother are athiest because of the same realizations.

So, if you are agnostic/athiest, when and why did you adapt this belief?

[db]

God doesnt help the evil? :P

Or one must suffer to gain happiness.

[Princess Gheyfu]

I'm confused over your comment. O.o I meant people who dont even deserve cruelty get it, and thats when I lost faith. =/

[db]

Some people believe that one must suffer to gain God's "hand." Believe what you want to believe :P

[Princess Gheyfu]

I thought the first line of this thread was that this was not a topic for debate? :P Also, according to the topic title, this thread is for athiests/agnostics only, so giving opinions is not counted as pushing religious beliefs on others. It isnt like I was reading the bible to a Muslim.

[Guy]

I was born a Christian, but I later realized the true sufferings of life and lost faith in God. Books of the Bible such as Ecclesiastes didn't help, either.

I'm not atheist; I'm agnostic. I believe that there is a God, but I just haven't found the right god... or maybe there is no religion on earth for me.

PS: I know this is a really sensitive topic, and I hope both Christians and atheists will respect my point of view. I really hate debating about religion, and I try to avoid it as much as possible.

[Princess Gheyfu]

@Guy: Thats a really nice view. There is hope in everyone, you just need to find what to hope in. :) Good luck on soul searching. ^^

[Guy]

Lol, thanks, and if all else fails, I can just make up my own religion, lol.

[Princess Gheyfu]

Cult? xD

[Guy]

Cult? Nah, probably not. I don't feel like starting a new religion anyways. I've reconsider, lol. So far, though, soul searching hasn't gotten me anywhere far. Most of my moral backgrounds come from Christianity, although I have started to adopt the Chinese philosophy of Confucianism (although that is technically not a religion). I think I'm probably going to stay agnostic throughout my entire life.

[Silhouette]

I've already started my own religion; Antiology. We're against everything, and hate everyone equally.

lawl.. Kidding, sort of.

Anyway, yeh, I'm an athiest. I don't believe that there is any god(dess). I don't think I ever did, which is odd considering that the majority of my family is Cristian or Catholic. Can't be bothered/don't care to ask which one. My uncle took me to church twice when I was young. Never grew on me I guess..

And I won't really get into why I believe what I do, for the same reason as Guy; I hate "debating" on this topic.

[obvious troll]

was pretty much what I always believed, even though my whole family is catholic.
I'm a very skeptical (sp?) person, the idea that there is a higher being that created everything just goes against my common sense; for:

1. there is no solid proof that a god exists or existed, nothing but a bunch of story books and fairytales.
2. the whole concept and teachings of the churches of modern religions, hell, heaven and stuff, was used many times throughout history to scare people into doing the biddings of those of a higher hierarchy. it justs seems like it was a bit too convenient for some people.
3. if there is a god, he's a sadistic asshole. why **** so much with the lives of people, go create yourself a goddess and get laid. :P

[Nicole]

I was born Protestant, baptized Methodist. I was almost Catholic, but my dad's not Catholic and therefore, my parents couldn't marry in a Catholic church. Because of that, I couldn't become Catholic. But yeah, I digress.

Anyway, it was around the age of 13-14. I was a believer, prayed to God every night, etc etc. Then I started learning about evolution, and it sounded pretty believeable to me. So I tried to find ways to mix the two together. Eventually, for some reason, the concept of there being a higher being became less and less appealing to me.

But as I am agnostic, I don't completely disregard the idea of there being a higher being. I believe that there is no way to really prove that there IS a higher being. In my opinion, you don't really know until you die. Either you go to heaven or hell, or you just don't exist anymore. =\

In general, the idea that there was a God who created the earth and everything seems preposterious to me. There is more evidence in evolution than there is in there being a higher being, IMO.

But then again, for all we know, when we die, there may be some guy in some dimension greeting us at the gates of Hell :P

Also, I'd like to add the theories of a psychologist named Erich Fromm.

He proposed some interesting ideas about conformity, forming groups, and detaching from nature.

As humans developing intelligence, they slowly detached themselves from other animals and nature. But because humans don't like the unknown, and longed for security, they formed religion to gain back that bit of security they lost due to their detachment. Also, it is because of this detachment that humans formed groups, common language, etc.

I just thought it was interesting :P

</end psychology nerd mode>

[SLVR]

I have always been a athiest because I was never pressed to going to church and stuff. My dad is to but the rest of my family is buddhist or Christian. Me and my dad have always looked at it like "Im not going to believe in God just because things are unexplained" like who made man, animals, earth, universe. We just are not going to put God in front of a sentance like "God made you, or God made earth or space" just because we dont know how it came to be.

[Mighty Aramir]

Since bout 2003, never really cared for church or suchs... My life is my own, so is my mind.... religion takes that away...

[Envy]

What converted me was a combination of these things:

- Life. My life. Others lives. It's too cruel. I can't "pray" for things to get better. When things are so bad why would I look up to the thing that made them so bad in the first place?

- The world/universe/life doesn't need the existence of a higher being to have formed. There are several good theories out there that actually make sense.

- I was shown contradictions to the existence of God, specifically the Christian God, but others as well. It was enough to make me stop believing.

- Religion. (let me say it's a small factor, as one can still believe in God and not religion.) I've seen what religion has done to this world.

It was the top three which really made me stop believing, though. I eventually realized the bad that religion (or Christianity, at least.) have done.

[Draffut]

I was a Roman Catholic until I left home after High School. Now I would be Agnostic.

I think I finally just came to the simple conclusion that, if god is perfect and all powerful, why is he so egotistical that he expects us to believe in/worship him unquestionally. Isn't that "pride" one of the 7 deadly sins?

There were a fw other questions, but this is my main one. If there is a god, I doubt he cares what we are doing and if we worship him. He's probobly on the other side of the galaxy/universe making other intelligent life that doesn't kill it's habitat like Humans.

I guess that was about it.

[Angelus]

I was born and raised a christian. When I was 14 I decided that religion makes no sense. I pondered the mysteries of the universe to realise that nothing, not even my own existance, makes any sense whatsoever.
For a while, I thought I didn't actually exist. But then how am I here? The way I see it, things are here all because we think they are here. The universe revolves around thought.
Right now, I don't really care. Martial arts gave meaning to my seemingly pointless existance. In the end, giving meaning to one's existance is what it's all about.
I can't remember what it is ( it begins with an a) but it's a theory that's pretty similar to what I was talking about.
I am glad I was born Christian. The religion had good values, and it made me a good person I almost wish I hadn't questioned religion. Having a religion seems to make things simpler.
Just to make things more fun, I worship Sephiroth on the side. :redbiggri

[pylar]

My parents wanted me to choose my belief system, and were very understanding when I would go to different friends' churches, and did a lot of research into the beliefs of different religions... in the fourth grade :P I'm an anthropologist (sorry, I love being able to say that since I graduated :P no longer just an anth major!) and for me, i like studying the different religions of the world. Its utterly fascinating to me the beliefs that have developed in different areas.
Basically, I believe man made religion, not the other way around. I feel I am a moral person, even if my personal ethics code is not centered in a specific religion. I'm really glad that my parents are very understanding. My dad is Buddhist and my mom is more apathetic than anything, but I grew up in the Midwest of the US, so pretty much everyone I knew was christian of some base or another.
I never had a strong belief in god. I tried, I really did. You were shunned in my high school if you didn't go to church, or weren't in the christian athlete's club. Then I realized it was ok for me to not believe, and I was much happier after that.
THough its not like I announce it.
"Hi, my name is Jessica and I'm an athiest! Nice to meet you!"

[phantom_ko]

Lets ask first why people wants to believe in God? Maybe it is to rely on someone? to obtain self confidence or self assurance? Hope other people won't be cruel to one's self?

If you realise it, more people in poorer countries believe in a 'God' than rich countries. People pray for more rain for the crops, but people who are educated knows why and does not pray, therefore religion in rich countries will wear out soon.

For myself I've always been rather scientific in my views, so I belong to the category of educated and so I know the root of many things. At first when I was small I prayed and hoped for many things, but each time I end in distasteful disasters; gradually my faith wore and I am who I am.

Funny Fact: If Jesus rose again and started to ressurect people, there would be overpopulation and the world would be in trouble. If Jesus were to make food from nowhere, would that not mean Jesus is creating matter? Soon there would be more matter than the matter of the Earth.

[diamondedge]

No idea how could I miss the topic!

I was raised Christian. Once i started 5th grade primary school we were told that everyone has a choice to believe whatever he wants to believe. I went to church every week then and i asked the God to protect and guide me, because that's how I was raised and I believed that id i try hard enough, everything will be all right.

I was 11 at the time, and my life changed in one damn afternoon. Forced to grow up before my time, seeing and experiencing things, and there was no God to rely on but myself. I no longer bought the bull that if i have to suffer in this life, the eternal life in heaven will be granted. I LIVE NOW and this God doesn't help at all. I am doing fine without him, so one day i decided, that I will no longer cling to such nonsense as faith in God. For nearly half on my life, I don't believe in God anymore. Can't say things are better. Can't say they're worse either. At least I can say I messed up myself, or did something by myself without relying / blaming the religion and God.

Life has been a real bit*h to me. God never came. I stopped hoping he ever will. And I do feel better about it.

[mooks]

Lets ask first why people wants to believe in God? Maybe it is to rely on someone? to obtain self confidence or self assurance? Hope other people won't be cruel to one's self?
If you realise it, more people in poorer countries believe in a 'God' than rich countries. People pray for more rain for the crops, but people who are educated knows why and does not pray, therefore religion in rich countries will wear out soon. For myself I've always been rather scientific in my views, so I belong to the category of educated and so I know the root of many things.

I think you are so right and wrong at the same time!

First of all,religion and education are not related... Some of the most educated people are religious.
Charles Darwin was a devout christian for example. Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawkings and Einstein were all religious- not is a church-going, choir-singing "praise the lord" kind of way- but they would not refute what they constituted as religious. This is not a reason for being religious. But an example of how the two can co-exist and how religious belief is absent within the educated.
It is those overly-religious and powerful pests that undermine their outtake, faith or whatever you want to call it... and want to preserve their backward and ancient ways to further exploit their religious agenda (Every major religious figure in the USA, Germany, Southeast Asia and the Middle East)


At first when I was small I prayed and hoped for many things, but each time I end in distasteful disasters; gradually my faith wore and I am who I am.
Funny Fact: If Jesus rose again and started to ressurect people, there would be overpopulation and the world would be in trouble. If Jesus were to make food from nowhere, would that not mean Jesus is creating matter? Soon there would be more matter than the matter of the Earth.

You are taking metaphorical texts, taking them literally and applying logical science to it! Careful, if you continue down that path- you might end up with Creationism!


I went through the same dilemma when I was around 12, and I started noticing how cruel and unusual this world is. And this was ulitmately the reasoning for my disbilief religion.
Why is the majority... of the world suffering, if God really exists?
Why does injustice determine the scope of our world?
And why, oh God why.. more importantly WHERE were you when I got beaten up to a pulp that i was hospitalized for 5 days?

It wasn't until my final year in college, that a good friend of mine who happened to be Muslim (yeah! i know!) encouraged me to pursue theology on my own understanding. And helped me throughout the process.

And that was when I realised, they teach the religion wrong. At sunday schools the only subject of focus are fables; mostly metaphorical, and mundane preaching from pastors who disguise opportunity as divine intervention.

I do not encourage anyone to heed my words, they are a personal reflection of what i think/feel. If you are Atheist, atleast you are sure in your beliefs- which is what we all want.

BUT if you are at a state of uncertainty, I urge you to study the religion at your own accord. AND ABOVE ALL, do not rely on pastors, reverends and the like- organized religion is merely a reflection of human tendencies (good or bad)

[Riw]

I was born to a protestant family, but my parents didn't really push the faith on me - I said a prayer each night before going to bed, but that was about all the religious practice in my life as a kid, in addition to going to church a few times a year on festal days.

I was always pretty interested in religion, though. I thought about it a lot, read the Bible before the age of twelve and tried to acquire true faith priests were preaching about. I felt that my prayers were only pretense, and not heartfelt enough. Try as I may, though, I never felt the presence of God and never achieved any kind of solace from the holy book, and I kept finding it very hard to combine Christian belief and science and my ethical notions together. This disturbed me a lot.

At the age of fourteen I went to the confirmation camp (as most of the kids do), hoping that teachings there would shed some clarity to my conflicting thoughts about faith. Nothing of the kind happened, though. The whole experience was truly disappointing and nobody in the staff seemed interested in addressing my doubts. After that, I slowly stopped praying for faith and accepted that I'm just not a believer.

I still have a small religious crisis from time to time, but over and over again I reach the same conclusion: rationally, I can't believe no matter how much I wanted to (the reasons I've stated in the debates, I think, and no reason to go there here). So I'm an agnostic now, and probably ever will be. Not atheist, though. I don't think I have the makings of that in me, either.

[deto]

Why did i change? Because I'm not afraid of the devil.

[Allicat]

umm i was baptized and born a catholic but i think i am agnostic i believe there is a higher being of some sort whether it is god or something else i don't know. i do have respect for whatever it may be but i have no solid proof of its existence. so its a confusing thing for me.. yep and the same thing everyone else has been saying about the whole suffering thing its hard to believe in God when there are soo many things going wrong in this world..

[Twinky]

to be honest i have no idea what i was borned with, my dad is an athiest but he didnt ask me to be one i just figured that i'll believe in god when i see him my self, other wise no imagination tricks for me.

[Harley Quinn]

I'm agnostic bordering on christian, if that makes sense!?I was born christian but through the natural course of things I abbandoned it as a teenager, but now I'm starting to look into my beliefs more and more.I'm not sure what to call the maker of this world, but I do believe something exists.Aside from everything else I most definitly beieve in angels.
I look at the universe and all that is in it and I've decided that it's too complex, too well balanced, too beautiful, too WELL DEIGNED for it to have happend by accident.
Oh and one more thing-Too fucking right deto:headbang

[Youko Makuyo]

Well I wasn't baptised or anything, my parents let me just believe what I want. So I'm Agonistic, but ive been to catholic schools and church.

[yushin]

i beliv there is a god but i dont usually pray.
i go with gods will.

[GoddessofHate]

i'm pretty much atheist. i stopped goin to church when i was around 12 or 13 and aint been back since. i converted when i was around 14 or 15 i suppose b/c i started to question if there really was and god and if there was why he made people go through so much pain in their lives. i was actually raised in a christain home...they didnt take it very well when i came out with my religion which was about a yr. and a half ago. sometimes i think theres a god but the more i think about it i'm convinced there isnt.

[BeMused]

I was born a Taoist / Buddhist. Very much different from your well known God, yeah? :D

An atheist now. :)

Religion is a sensitive subject and if we are not careful enough this thread may turn out into a heated debate.

[I<3Yachiru53]

My mom and dad never pushed religion on me. They never made me go to church and im glad because i thought it was boring. Eventually I had friends to go with so it wasnt as boring and later on I was baptized. But then I finally opened my eyes to all the horrible things that happened in the world. Their was one thing especially that caught my interest and broke the final straw. My dad is aethiest I believe and he was telling me a story about a little girl on a field trip with her school and as the class was walking she saw a cardboard box. And on the side of the box were the words "My mom couldnt take care of me Can you?" The little girl opened the box to find a baby. The baby was still alive but the fact some high and mighty being with so much power could let someone leave a newborn baby on the side of a road just made me angry. Ive since given up my Christian faith and at the moment im not sure wether I should turn to another religion (doubtful) or just give up on religion all together. Just not really sure.

[Akiha]

I've always been atheist, I can say.

I was never raised with any religion, since my parents are nonreligious, and I always grew up on technology and "seeing is believing" basically.

I have gone to church, which I found very unproductive, and boring, in my opinion, and I've also had my very Christian grandparents try to push Christianity unto me, unsuccessfully. They know it as well, becuase of my fashion sense and the way I think and speak my thoughts.

But atheist.

[Tablo.]

atheist.

I've been one since 2006. Still recent, but quite thick.

I just thought that everything could be explained in scientific way. God is made up. (Yes, I use OMGs etc. But I'm used to it. Once I got a habit, can't get rid of it. [good news that all my habits are misc. and good])

I never went to church, but if going to a Christian school count, then I probably went to church for.... 5 years. (and then I moved to US, to public school) So, yeah. 'Nuff said, I guess.

[GoldenFire]

Always been an agnostic or just believing in what I want to... religion was never pushed onto me and I am very glad for it.