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How many here think of themselves as skeptical thinkers? I ask because i know agnostics/atheists who came to non-belief the way many came to religious belief. Do you question god because of evidence, or because of a personal situation?

Cheri 5 Dec 16
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0

More like a lack of evidence, really. I don’t “question” the existence of any gods, because the people promoting such ideas have never been very convincing in the first place, and I see nothing to support the idea in my experience of the world in which I live.

8

A better way to ask the question is to state because of LACK of evidence

Evidence is evidence. I simply want to know who thinks critically and who goes on emotion.

7

I have always had an analytical mind. You could call me skeptical.

As a small child, I inwardly scoffed at Bible stories. They seemed far-fetched. Bible stories were like Grimm's Fairy Tales.

In the photo at age 5, I was skeptical of the man in a Santa costume. See the look on my face? I was trying to be polite. I remember it well.

At age 13, I realized I'm an atheist. I never believed in an invisible god.

I’m the same. I was born skeptical and it gets worse as I age! I never bought the Bible stories at church and was astounded that the adults DID. Plainly they were all crazy and to be treated with caution. In my 30-40’s I tried paganism because the nature aspects appealed to me, but the gods were still just myths.

@ToolGuy

Thank you! Caption that photo. I'll start.

"Where's the exit?"

6

A complete lack of credible, verifiable evidence.
Not to mention, just scads of contradictions and bullshit!

I don't "question" gods.
I flatly deny their existence outright.

6

I am just scientific minded. I am unable to believe anything that flies in the face of science. And honestly, I just can't grasp how many others believe things on faith.

3

Lack of evidence. In the end it is painfully apparent.

3

Well, speaking purely from a personal aspect here, since there IS absolutely NO tangible, Empirically tried, tested and Proven Positive Evidence of the existence of ANY God/Gods/Deities whatsoever having EVER been brought forward, then I'd state, categorically, that I am NOT skeptical but at least 100 % certain.
Though I can be quite 'skeptical' in my thinking, etc, on many and numerous other subjects but that, in my opinion, is quite normal since we are, for the most part, skeptical human beings UNLESS we find ourselves indoctrinated/forced into the situation of having to believe in and follow precisely what we are told we must believe or follow.

3

Both,Because my personal situation dictates that I have enough common sense to realize there is no evidence to believe in nonsense

3

I experienced something of a Jesus style God and had to research to understand what the supernatural attack was all about when I had believed Jesus was about shutting down the Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worshippers.

The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance." Isaiah 19:25

The "Lord" of Israel was Egyptian.

As to Osiris of Egypt:
But he did not just represent death in the physical world, also rebirth or what you may call being born again.

a)   John 3:3 

Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

As to Osiris of Egypt:
He was married to his sister Isis, who was goddess of the sky and love. Isis and Osiris had a child Horus, who is believed by many to be a reincarnation of Osiris.

Song of Solomon 4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!

John 14:9 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

Osiris is usually identified as the God of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is also called the King of eternity, King of the living, Master of souls; He who appears as ram in Mendes, and the Sovereign of Amenti.(1) Another curious title that you will find for Osiris is the “Morning Star.”

This same Morning Star of Osiris found in the Book of the Dead, appears to be the same Morning Star that we can find in the Book of Revelation, where Saint John says, “I will give him the Morning Star (Rev. ii. 29).

Lucifer (UK: /ˈluːsɪfər/ LOO-si-fər; US: /-sə-/; 'light-bringer'😉 is a Latin name for the planet Venus in its morning appearances, and is often used for mythological and religious figures associated with the planet. Due to the unique movements and discontinuous appearances of Venus in the sky, mythology surrounding these figures often involved a fall from the heavens to earth or the underworld. Interpretations of a similar term in the Hebrew Bible, translated in the King James Version as "Lucifer", led to a Christian tradition of applying the name Lucifer, and its associated stories of a fall from heaven, to Satan. Most modern scholarship regards these interpretations as questionable, and translates the term in the relevant Bible passage (Isaiah 14:12) as "morning star" or "shining one" rather than as a proper name, "Lucifer".[1] wikipedia

John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"beast" in the book of Revelations is metaphor for laws of government. Mark as in give a mark for identification: mark of the beast means identification for taxation and government control .

Written almost 2000 years ago in metaphor and riddles not always understood.

It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. Revelations 13:16-17

The uneducated with no interest in mystical traditions and the esoteric may regard Ancient Egypt as little more than a place of pagan worship, strange hieroglyphics, and monuments erected by thousands of Hebrew slaves. But those more learned, especially those having undertaken the initiative rituals of Freemasonry, will see a link between the Egyptian metaphysical tradition and modern mystery schools, of which Freemasonry is one. [gaia.com]

Lord of host Lucifer the devil leading the Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worshippers in the establishment of the mark of the beast 666 identification for taxation and government control. No justice for the innocent, more children can be trained to speak and act abused to wrongfully prosecute innocent people especially those that oppose there Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worship "my teacher made me touch her p.p ". Rape the original indigenous inhabitants of their land call it America call them such as Mexicans, Indians and native Americans.

Word Level 8 Dec 16, 2019

@JohnnyQB please share your research that you think makes sense.

3

I was raised to find my own answers.To do that... I look at facts. With a god... there are no facts.. Only faith. So sorry... The last time I tried to have faith... I DID NOT hit the lottery!

3

E V I D E N C E ! ! ! ! !

It was evidence that proved to me that religion is a scam based on mythology. I am skeptical enough, though, to admit the possibility (not probability) that I have missed some evidence in favor of gods as real beings. Whenever a missionary approaches me, I ask for evidence. They generally present the Bible as evidence, so I ask for evidence that the Bible represents reality rather than mythology. At that point the missionaries usually abandon me. (Good riddance!)

2

I do not question that which isn’t real

2

I recognized the motivation behind religions of all kind seemed to be the fear of death. After that it was a short distance to recognizing that religion was a flashlight to help against the fear of the dark. Drawing in those who couldn't face reality. It definitely lost all its appeal after that...

2

I agree that there are two kinds of atheists in that regard (at least). I'm a skeptical thinker and came to the conclusion after many years of searching for truth and challenging authority. Others, like you say, were raised without belief and never had to give it much thought.

Both flavors are equally atheistic. But then, so are some Buddhists... It's not a very exclusive club. 😉

2

I’m very skeptical of most things. I never questioned the existence of a 🎁od. One day I just knew.

2

I do use scientific method in reason

bobwjr Level 10 Dec 16, 2019
2

I don't question god at all. There is no evidence. If evidence shows up, then I'll examine it. I won't hold my breath. And what is evidence? A superior being could be just that, a superior being.

2

I don’t question because for me the question doesn’t exist

2

i don't spend much time labeling myself. i didn't say "oh, i'm an atheist" when i was 15 and realized that all evidence pointed to gods' being made-up things and no evidence pointed to their existing at all. i wasn't following anyone. i wasn't even reading on the subject. i came to it on my own, and i promised myself then i would periodically question things i believed and/or took for granted for the rest of my life. i have kept my promise.

g

2

i would say both. i always had questions, but i was able to bury/repress them (along with a lot of “sinful” feelings) for a long time. a tragedy was what finally woke me up, and while it was of course very emotional, i’d say it was evidence against what i had been taught too. the idea of an all-powerful, omniscient being who loved me more than i could fathom didn’t make sense after i experienced such intense pain for the first time. it became really obvious to me that such an incredibly powerful being would have to be endlessly cruel to create a reality like this one.

then came the difficult task of unlearning the brainwashing and discovering how the world actually works.

1

I began questioning because the deity at the center of the religion in which I was being indoctrinated as a child was so ridiculous. Even at the age of six, I considered this god's "conditions" so unreasonable that they seemed embarrassing even on a child's level. I spent a number of years silently battling guilt and fear for these aspects of a supposed god that troubled me so much. Goodness only knows how much damage that all caused to my young psyche. It wasn't until I was in my teens and able to think more critically that I was able to comfortably reject it all for the nonsense it so obviously was.

Deb57 Level 8 Dec 19, 2019
1

I used to think of myself as a skeptical thinker, then I began to question it.

1

For me it was my parents. As a child, we would drive an hour to my grandparent's house. We would pass an extremely devout Amish sect on the way and my parents would comment on how silly that the Amish beliefs were. Then we would pass a Catholic church and my parents would comment on how stupid the catholics were. The same would go on for every church we passed. I couldn't see how their church was different. We would pass as many churches claiming that they were right as fake santas in the mall. So, I told the sunday school teacher that I knew that god was fake just like santa. The news that santa was fake upset the other 5 year olds and I was kicked out of church to protect the other kids.

1

ever since I was a preteen god has not been in any significant thought process for me... Anglican Sunday school did that for me.... I have always bee bored with people trying to hammer some idea into my head that I don't really care about... this is one of those things.....I am often surprised at how many atheists carry that anchor around for years...

blzjz Level 7 Dec 17, 2019
1

I grew up in an Evangelical setting. Around age 16, things just weren't adding up for me. I questioned others in the church and their answers did not satisfy. I moved away from being actively Christian, but could not choose one way or the other. I was stuck in the ingrained way of thinking that saying god/jesus dd not exist was not an option. It was like I never even thought about it being a possibility. (Kind of like what you don't know that you don't know).

Then one of those great coincidences of life occurred. I was at a used book sale and found "Holy Blood, Holy Grail: The Secret History of Christ. The Shocking Legacy of the Grail" by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. It was a tough read. Not because of the material but because the authors really did a lousy job of keeping your attention. 🙂 I almost stopped reading several times. It also didn't help that the authors presented their case in such a way that they basically built their case from the ground up with small details first and then finally at the end brought it all together.

BUT when they finally did put it all together, it blew my mind. I suddenly saw that NOT believing in god/jesus was an option in life. It took a few more years to shed the "what if I am wrong" doubts.

So basically mine was a combination of personal situation coupled with with logic. Thank you for the question.

1

I think god is everywhere and everything. No amount of "evidence" is enough. Any amount is too much.
I come to my state of conciousness from all the experiences I've ever had, yet no specific experience caused me to think the way I do.
The brain makes things up as it goes. Experiences combine and create ideas and images, which lead to others, and so on.
There is no "religion," no top-down hierarchy of tenets to describe my point of view.
The word 'god' itself is merely a concept without concrete form. All we have to go by ARE our experiences in the flesh-and-blood, three-dimensional universe.
So I don't "question" god. Rather I constantly wonder what the word could possibly MEAN, after I've read or learned about all the different ways people define it, in books and other media.
In other words, in a world awash in words, a "religious" text becomes simply one way to organize letters into words, but far from the ONLY way.
My personal situation, likewise, is not a static thing, but always in flux, so my ideas about 'god' are always in flux as well.

@sweetcharlotte Thanks. I could have answered that a billion different ways, so take it for what it's worth!

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