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After you became a non believer, did you also go back through all the other supernatural claims out there as well?

I ask , because I have seen a lot of post on here, where nonbelievers are still struggling with other woo claims. ranging from afterlives, ancient aliens, souls, spiritual, etc.

MichaelSpinler 8 Jan 5
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0

I tried to remember where Satyr was found in the Bible and had to look it up:
Isaiah 13:21 references these creatures by writing “wild beasts of the desert shall lie there….and satyrs shall dance there.” Isaiah 34:14 reads, “The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.”

gearl Level 8 Jan 5, 2018
6

When you finally figure out that what you believe has to have a foundation of evidence it makes things so much easier. No evidence then I don't believe or even worry about it.

gearl Level 8 Jan 5, 2018
3

I used to believe in karma. Then I learned it was BS.

3

Yes, but I'm finding it's really a never-ending project. I am constantly finding attitudes that I formed under a different worldview, that I have to re-examine. And since my worldview is constantly changing, I never run out of old ideas that need refurbishing.

skado Level 9 Jan 5, 2018
3

I never really believed in any of it (well, apart from sometimes if I'm on my own in a spooky place at night - then I might start wondering....)

Except Gef The Talking Mongoose. I totally believe in him. 😉

Jnei Level 8 Jan 5, 2018

What about the FSM?

2

Who me? I've never believed in any supernatural -- knock on wood.

1

When I reached the "age of reason", nothing supernatural was worth considering. I mean, ghosts, an after life, and all that jazz would be cool if there were any proof of it. Pretty much easy to discard all superstitious things when the only proof I could ever find was a bunch of loopy people on tv making dubious claims.

1

No. If casting spells don’t work, right along with prayer, I don’t take any of it seriously. It’s all woo.

1

Not systematically nor consciously, but I have ultimately reached the point where I reject all claims of the existence of any supernatural entity.

Yes. Karma is nothing more than a manifestation of the law of averages. I do not believe in ghosts. I do not think of reincarnation and life after death like most people. My consciousness, thoughts, dreams, regrets -- everything that is "me" will cease to exist upon my death, but my body will be broken down by natural forces, be recycled, and parts of it will be utilized by other life. In that sense I will continue to participate in the "circle of life," although my consciousness will be long gone.

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Didn't really go back through them. Not consciously anyway. I just realized when one came up that I don't give it the credence I once did. When I was a kid I was obsessed with the paranormal. Ghosts and all that. Thinking about it now feels like thinking about god does (though I'd give ghosts more credence; god actually makes less sense than disembodied spirits to me).

I'll be honest though: life was more interesting when I could believe in ghosts and demons and all that stuff. I kind of miss it. I don't miss religion for a split second, but all those creepy little X Files things added some fun mystery to my life.

But the sciences haven't lost their sweetness, so it isn't all bland.

1

Yes, but only because my psychic said it would align my chakras while Mercury was in retrograde.

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I noticed the same thing - there's quite a variety of "interests" here! Many of us fell for religion because we thought it answered questions and filled in blanks. So, depending on what those questions and blanks are, I think it's prudent to do a personal inventory when leaving religion to be honest if we still have those same concerns.

Maybe that's all we're doing, is looking for plausible explanations for "woo" experiences we've had. And/or answers to questions science hasn't yet provided.

1

I was a young earth, fundamentalist. After I realised there was no Christian God I did not go God shopping. The reason is simple. All gods proffered by man require faith. If they require faith it is because they are not real, that is they have no empirical evidence for their existence. No other religion had gods that actually did answer prayers or preform miracles or we would all know about it. There simply was no other religion or God that had any more credibility than any other mythology.

1

I would put god into the group of "non truths" that are told to children. Santa, easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc. When I started questioning god, it was the last one for me.

1

I used to believe in some sort of spirit world, but when I stopped believing, it all went away.

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Some things I have to believe because I've experienced them. But yes I've wondered about certain "Woo woo" things that used to ring true. Others still do. Not going to have a fit that I haven't lost every bit of my upbringing! 😉

1

Yes, and to some extent I am more agnostic about lesser Supernatural claims than I am about some deity that created existence.

Nothing can exist outside of scientific explanation.
If it is seen, then it must emit photons.
If it is felt, then it must have mass.
If it is heard, then it must interact with a physical medium.
If it is tasted or smelled, then it must exist as a physical medium.
If it moves, then it must utilize energy.

From those guiding tenants I believe that if ghosts exist, for example, we should be able to explain them. As of right now I don't believe in anything I cannot prove or come to understand.

The soul is something I am hung on because even with neuroscience you have a chicken & egg problem when scientists watch to see what part of your brain reacts to certain stimulus/thoughts I don't feel we can state that that part of the brain created that thought because the thought seems to come before the brain reacts. I don't discount that the brain influences one's thinking, but is one's thinking confined entirely to the brain? Not saying a soul is the answer there because we may come to learn in some years that some 'thoughts' are coming out of some other organ we're not looking at for such a thing.

1

And I didn’t any other supernatural claims.

1

I was never that big on religion to start with so when I came out of the closet as an open atheist the only problem I had was the family didn’t like it and didn’t want me to talk to my grandchildren about my lack of beliefs.

0

Yeah like the belief that there is 'someone out there for you'. Are some people more compatible with each other than others? Yes. But when critically examined there are problems with the idea that a person is destined to be with another person.

First off, think of how many people in the world and throughout history where they died before they ever met their significant other. Yeah there was someone out there for Anne Frank. The Gestapo!

Also if it were really true that someone was destined to be with me then in theory I wouldn't have to do shit to find them. I could sit on my ass, eat potato chips, drink beer and don a wife beater for the rest of my life. And because it's destiny, I could reasonably expect to see her knocking at the door.

Finally I think of all the breakups and divorces there are and this seems to contradict the idea that someone is destined for another. If that was the case, why do people get it wrong all the time?

0

When I stopped believing in a god, all of my supernatural beliefs went with it. Humans are their own worst enemies, we create boogey men or banshees (😉) to explain our own horrendous behavior towards each other. I quietly believe in the "magic" that we can spread through kindness and love. I believe in the in the good of humanity. Optimist? Maybe. Deluded? Probably. But it is better than thinking I am going to burn in hell.

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I was always interested in science especially physics. If I hadn't been brought up Catholic I don't think I would have believed in any supernaturalism. While I was still a (sometimes) practicing Catholic I took a course in Parapsychology taught by a Irish ex-Catholic. I had no trouble supporting the findings that all was nonsense.

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I had pretty much seen through all else, coming from a religous background, it was harder to get rid of.

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I never believed in any of the other crap.

0

I had never gone back.

0

Can't really say, I'm 58 and cannot remember when I was a believer, I probably quit believing in the magic man in the sky at about the same time I quit believing in Santa Claus.

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