Hey! I have never used my account here, so I decided to make a question for a start. Consider me to be new.
Edit: Holy shit, I was not expecting such feedback. Thanks guys!
I went to a catholic private grammar school... and an all girl catholic high school...so, creative thinking skills kicked in in sophomore year... and it was over.... especially after a particularly disturbing sermon asking for more money by a priest that looked like a sow, and wore a toupee. My mom got her money's worth after all!! ??
 UltraViolet76
                                                
                                                Level 4
                                                Feb 12, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    UltraViolet76
                                                
                                                Level 4
                                                Feb 12, 2019                                            
                                        @Bierbasstard Yeah... and unscathed by all the abuse. But then I was the ultimate nonconformist... so I was a predator's nightmare with my strong personality. Because t recently I watched The Keepers..... and now simply loathe ANY religion... because it's not only catholics that victimize children... and the weak... it's all religions. They look for products of parents that teach their children to never question church "teachings."
@Bierbasstard I'd hazard to say they'd be the second best coming in behind those who were educated but not indoctrinated from birth.
@Bierbasstard Jeez mate, you only got the 'pagan' bit, you mustn't have trying all that hard then...LOL.
I copped everything from Pagan to Heathen, Devil's Spawn, Heretic, Anti-Christ and heaps more besides BUT hey I got EXPELLED from every Sunday School my 'mother' forced to go to, plus every School Scripture Class as well and all because I asked questions they couldn't/ wouldn't answer.
@Bierbasstard My family celebrates holidays and traditions. one ever shoved down my throat; I merely learned my parents following traditions... and i still love celebrating Easter, Xmas and.... that's it. lol We cook and drink... and catch up on life. the old folks go to . ?
God fails me and many others, ignoring injustice, and allowing suffering of many while few live in opulence.
If he/she/they are/is real they are not worth worshipping, but logically deities are just not practical to believe in for any reason.
 MelanieSheldon
                                                
                                                Level 5
                                                Feb 20, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    MelanieSheldon
                                                
                                                Level 5
                                                Feb 20, 2019                                            
                                        Every religion seems to be a business, some obvious and some more subtle. I was raised in the Roman Catholic religion, one of the worse. When I visited Rome, I went to Vatican City State. While their art was truly beautiful ... I was struck by the fact that, if they were REALLY Christians, they could use their opulent wealth to end poverty worldwide. The gold in and on St. Peter's Basilica, stolen in wars centuries ago, alone could help millions of people.
 Grayghost
                                                
                                                Level 6
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    Grayghost
                                                
                                                Level 6
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        To quote one of my heroes "Faith is the excuse used to justify a position when there isn't any evidence" (Matt Dillahunty). To be expected to believe in a sky daddy that will punish you forever for not believing in something for which there is no evidence at all is ludicrous.
 davers
                                                
                                                Level 7
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    davers
                                                
                                                Level 7
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        Carlin in one of my favorite. He claimed he had as much authority as the pope, just not as many followers.
It's how christains treat the gay community, the contridictions in the bible, how screwed up the world is, and a family member telling me I was going to hell if I became an catholic(I was baptist). SO, I decided to free myself from the bs. I have been happier since.
 freedom41
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    freedom41
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        When I was young I didn't give it any thought so I can't say that I was a believer but as I got into my teens and started thinking about it I found that it made no sense.
 RileyStevens
                                                
                                                Level 7
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    RileyStevens
                                                
                                                Level 7
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        I was born into a Mormon family and raised to be a Moron (oops, Mormon). As an adult I decided to study the prophecies of Joseph Smith (founding prophet of the Moron church), in order to convince others that he was a true prophet. Instead, the more I studied, the more I discovered that his prophecies did not consistently come true. (Even a false prophet can guess right part of the time.) I found several false prophecies, and concluded that Joe Smith was a fraud. At that point I left the Moron church.
Later, I put the biblical prophets through the same test, and got the same results. Every major prophet in the Buybull made some predictions that failed to come true, and the time for their fulfillment has passed. Therefore, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel are all as fraudulent as Joe Smith. I also found quite a few contradictions in the Bible, and evidence that parts of the Bible (notably Matthew, for example) appear to be satirical. Christian friends and family had me reading various books on apologetics, but all the arguments were flawed or weak. Seeing no good evidence that any gods existed, I became an atheist.
 BestWithoutGods
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    BestWithoutGods
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        Because through out history, Religion has caused nothing but pain and suffering.
 PatrickKerr
                                                
                                                Level 6
                                                Feb 12, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    PatrickKerr
                                                
                                                Level 6
                                                Feb 12, 2019                                            
                                        Belief is irrational when held for any other purpose than to avoid cognitive overload during a normal day. Even the moderately curious human being will realize soon that there is only one rational position to hold. Believe nothing other than the mundane (explanation available on request). Accept nothing without sufficient supporting objective evidence and when one does accept anything, one should always allow for the future possibility that it may be wrong. Think critically about and question all things.
 evidentialist
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    evidentialist
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        I could write a book on that one, it is a huge part of my autobiography. Long story short - I had doubts for so long that I ignored because being a good christian mom/wife was what I needed to be for the life I had. When the disconnect between who I was and how I was living started to get increasingly uncomfortable, and I could no longer stuff down the truth I had to make changes. I got a divorce and then had to acknowledge the Xian church does really not have a role for middle aged divorcees. They just don't fit in the picture. So being away from the weekly brainwashing allowed all the truth to surface and I had to find a new identity and I embraced my heathen side.
 HippieChick58
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 17, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    HippieChick58
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 17, 2019                                            
                                        A friend of mine told me his mother made him an atheist, and that if I gave her the wool she'd make me one too.
 LenHazell53
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 12, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    LenHazell53
                                                
                                                Level 9
                                                Feb 12, 2019                                            
                                        Because no just god could allow the same question to be posted so frequently.
And, welcome, of course.
 CallMeDave
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 12, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    CallMeDave
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 12, 2019                                            
                                        @angelotzovanis "Schellenberg argues that, since there are nonbelievers who are capable of a personal relationship with God and who do not resist it, there is no perfectly loving God,..."
Who says there are nonbelievers who are capable of a personal relationship with God? Who says they don't resist? goobly gook? If this is science I am going over to woo.
I was born this way
 Amisja
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 12, 2019
                                            
                                                
                                                    Amisja
                                                
                                                Level 8
                                                Feb 12, 2019                                            
                                        Best answer ever!!!!
Me, too. I was not indoctrinated, either.