Agnostic.com

12 10

To Atheists: What made you realize you didn't believe in god(s)?

Shortly after I separated from my ex-wife, I was talking to my daughter who was 7 at the time. She was going to church every Sunday and started the conversation by telling me how much she liked it. Then she was telling me about things the bible says.

After she explained that they told these children that god was really her father; Jesus died for her, but came back to life; etc., she asked me if I believe that. I explained that she should decide for herself and it didn't matter what anyone else thinks. I had never really thought much about religion, never attended church, and hadn't really contemplated my own beliefs until she asked.

She thought about what I said quietly for a few seconds and said, "it's crazy. I can't believe grown-ups believe that crap."

I reminded her that she just told me she liked church. Her response was, "Oh yeah, I like to sing in the choir, that part is fun.

I was so proud of my baby girl at that moment. Not only had she come to her own conclusions, but she pushed me to realize where I stand.

JimG 8 Mar 5
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

12 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

I [realized] I didn't believe when a motorcycle accident left me paralyzed from shoulders to feet

0

Sounds like you have an extremely intelligent child, kudos to both of you.

1

I knew I didn't believe in God when I first was told that there is an all powerful magic space wizard who loves me, but will send me to suffer for eternity in abject torture. It didn't make sense when I was three, it makes less sense now 27 years later.

1

The fact that the only proof was the Bible and nothing I could lay my hands on. The mass confussion of all religions . The free dom of choice that man has. This just seems that if there were a loving god he would keep people on the right path and not allow so much discourse in the world.

2

I had been working towards atheism for years. I was loosely raised in the LDS (Mormon) religion and had pretty much given that up for a generic Christian belief system. While dealing with my own mental health issues, depression, I was brought face to face with my brother's scziophrenia and started contemplating the amount of mental health problems I saw around me.
It hit me that most of the "prophetic" episodes related in the Bible, The Quran or by many other religious individuals would be described today as schizophrenic breaks with reality and the major difference was the passage of time. After all if someone today would see a psychiatrist and sat they were Jesus or the Savior of mankind they would be labeled with a Messiah complex and most likely medicated, so why should Moses, Elijah, Joseph Smith, Jesus or Mohamed be diagnosed any differently.
Most religious traditions are based upon visions that occur spontaneously or altered states of consciousness induced by fasting, drugs or even hyperventilation. We can induce most of these "religous" states ourselves without regard to our spirituality.

1

From the first moment I’ve thought about it and everything I’ve seen and learned since only confirms that there is no God and certainly no god of anyone’s description that I’ve ever heard. Your daughter said it perfectly. I can’t believe grownups believe that crap, either. I spent a couple of years going to church intermittently with the lady next-door whose husband died. She was thrilled to have someone to go with. I even took communion. She asked me why if I’m atheist. I told her I wanted to be struck dumb with Jesus. Didn’t work. It’s not real and there is no harm in the experience. I suspect I bring the wrong attitude to the whole thing. She was glad my soul was saved. She is a sweet lady.

1

Realizing that the attitude of this god was always claimed to be all-powerful but failing to see any power at all or just plain indifference if the dude exists.

1

In my teens. Long ago.

2

I had doubts at 5 years old when the preacher tried to tell me I was a sinner. Even at 5 years old, I prided myself as a good boy. Telling me I was a sinner and that someone else died for my sins. I was thinking bullshit already at 5 years old

2

As a kid I always ask the “wrong questions” seems like I always had some kind of doubt. I was raised in a catholic household, half of my teens in a pentecostal home. I was a believer, more by fear that by conviction and I wanted to believe. The more I got into the Bible and the more I learned bout history, the more I could see that it was bullshit. It took me a long time but finally got to the point where I don’t see where gods fit into reality.

2

My father was a devout Catholic, he had me baptised and everything. When I was seven years old, I had already read the bible a multitude of times. Unbeknownst to my father, I was learning about Judaism and Hinduism on the side; from my mother and my friends father.
I first realized that all these stories were very similiar, and that the differences were really the personas of the believers. My father was a sad man, and my mother a hysteric; I saw this sadness and hysteria in their beliefs and values. As for my friends father, though he was born Jewish and spent a great deal of his life studying and following Judaism, he made it very clear that he didn't believe in god, or anything supernatural. There are only things in this world which we don't understand. So, since he was the happiest and most successful of all my guides, I found it easiest to follow a life without belief.

Even better, years later when I was 16, I took psychedelics, and got lost in a trip where I spoke with satan and god for an eternity. They told me a lot of things I will never remember, but it all ended with them both laughing at me hysterically, questioning what fool would ever truly believe they existed!

2

I think I was 8 when I came to the same conclusion as your daughter. It intensified when I kept hearing people say that pain, suffering death, and bad things were god's will, I wondered how anyone could worship some one so mean!

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:32947
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.