Believing in a graceful and merciful god when you're watching some suffer? Can you see the rather twisted logic there?

They lost me at Abraham and Isaac. Then they want you to believe God has this personality change in the New Testament. The meanest people, most hateful I know are Christians.

Once I was out of the Realm of god... I was all out. Before my communist phase I was already atheist so... as the old soul I am... the whole thing disappeared in front of my eyes... I was out at 13-14. And Never Looked Back!

It a really good question. Wanting to believe in a big cosmic daddy in the sky that will just everything right appeals to the human inner child, regardless of age. It's a fool's errand. What gets me is why humans have to invent a God that is vengeful, vindictive, moralistic, and judgemental while being indifferent to human suffering. It reflects the human mind that created it I suppose. I agree with you totally about the bitter realities of life just have to be faced. No point hiding behind ancient fairy tales. Oddly enough it is kind of comforting to stay true to reality, as you well put it. It's an adult comfort that the religious often just don't understand.

Have no desire to believe in something that doesn't (to me) exist.

Graceful????

No. I am in love with the truth so much to even want to beleive in any of the gods anymore

Indifferent Universe? To me, Nature and The Universe are just two different terms for the same thing. What beats my heart, digests my food and regulates all the chemicals that make up my body? Certainly not my conscious mind. Whatever it is that does all that does not strike me as indifferent. Nature is not forgiving because nature never blamed me in the first place. I find that comforting. Nature doesn't give me everything I want, but it does give me so much to be grateful for. Nature / The Universe is my graceful loving god.

To believers and non-believers, ignorance and tragedy are both observed more often than necessary. The existence of these things makes me think I could never be one of the religious kind. I envy the camaraderie the religious seem to have but to much of life is spent with such a thing being completely frivolous or unnecessary.

you only get what you give away

No I can't tell if a god exist and judging by is worshippers I would never believe in him if it means I would be associated with these hatful people I don't question the idea of a god I question its follower that would kill to prove he exists. I had 2 random people at work pretend to try and run me over in a attempt at scaring me into some sort of appifiny, but the truth is even if it did work I wouldn't experience what they wanted since I wasn't raised in the bible belt.

He's not graceful. He's depraved.