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Just trying to get a head count here. Who's an atheist and who isn't, and why?? Tell me your story, I'm all eyes.

FiliusInfernum 5 Dec 19
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I am an atheist. In my early 30's I decided to educate myself by reading the bible, Koran and the book of Mormon. By the time I got through Leviticus I changed to the Koran than to the book of Morman and learned that the people preaching had power because the people they were preaching to Were too lazy to actually read and learn for themselves so they are easily led and can be told anything and will believe anything as long as it includes how wonderful they are for suspending all rational thought. Much like those who watch Fox news so obediently to this very day

@M12bfree MSNBC and CNN do not brainwash and promote hate and outright lies like Fox Noise.

9

It all started when I ate my first baby...

Ok Chronus tell us how you really feel. 🙂

cluck

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I don’t give a shit about labels, all this does is cause arguments. Non believer is the term I prefer. As an example look at what all the labels on different religions has caused .

6

I was raised in a religious family. I was brainwashed to listen to church authorities and blindly accept and obey whatever they said. But I studied the scriptures in order to help me convert thinking people, and discovered that the prophets were false, the scriptures were full of contradictions, and many scriptural stories were scientifically unsound. For years I studied both sides of the issue -- the religious side and the scientific side of the argument. The evidence pointed toward atheism. There are no gods. Religion is a scam based on mythology. I am happy to be free from such a scam.

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I'm an atheist because I just am.

4

I am an atheist who was once a believer. My journey from believer to atheist took a little over a decade.

Actually reading all of the Bible, and learning more about how it came to be, caused me to realize it is not the word of any god; and that the god described in it is too human--and too contradictory--to exist.

Learning more science caused me to realize that there is no evidence for a god, of any kind; and that there is no need for any kind of god for the universe to behave as it does.

4

I'm an agnostic atheist, and I the main reason I do not believe in the vacuous claims of theists, is just that. There is nothing they can point to that supports their claims, and you can really see how pathetic it is when they start "arguing" 'then where does love come from?' or 'how can you tell right from wrong if you don't believe in god?'
They say absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but if the very people who proclaim a particular hypothesis is true can offer NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER, that says something. Especially if they have been trying for thousands of years.

Frankly, the "holy scriptures" are strong support that there are no gods as well. 1) it is internally inconsistent; if a supreme being really sent it down to us because it's important, then why let human writers screw it up and render it useless? 2) No one really follows it. 3) it was given a small brutal desert tribe instead of the whole world. 4) It doesn't tell us anything useful. (and don't tell me it tells us to be charitable and loving; that would be the dumb non-argument I mentioned above)

4

Go rattle someone else’s chain
Slink back to your cult and worship the magical Astro zombie and hump someone else’s leg

4

I'll let Mr. Huxley say it for me.

But those whiskers

@Archeus_Lore this says it for me

The problem I have with hardline Atheists is first, that most of them assume that Agnostics believe there is a possibility of there being man-made gods, when most of us don't, and secondly, the Atheists are much more like the christians than they would like to admit, because they claim something that cannot be proven one way or the other. [astronomy.swin.edu.au] The whole universe has basic building blocks of energy, runs off of energy . . . just like our brains.

@JohnnyQB - Wrong . . . . . Definition of atheism. 1a : a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods. b : a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods. 2 archaic : godlessness especially in conduct : ungodliness, wickedness. (From Merriam Webster)
.
Atheism etymology:

@JohnnyQB - What part of this do you not understand? "a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods."

@JohnnyQB - And what part of this do you not understand?

Sorry I do not discuss matters like this with people who lack reading comprehension skills.

It is all there, you are simply a troll . . . in fact, if you were not making a claim, you would not be so insistantly obtuse.

@Archeus_Lore Thank you. As a fellow agnostic
I'm mystified when some people insist we are "hedging our bets!" Like our position is a strategic stance designed to mollify god if/when he/she/it turns out to be real after all!
They just can't seem to understand ours is a permanent stance based on the only rational, reasonable, defensible grounds in existence: we just don't know and probably never will, unless 'god' comes out of hiding and 'reveals'
himself/herself/itself.
I for one am not holding my breath!

I do not see the universe as teleological, as religions do, but we have puny brains that are in essance, nothing more than energy, when you consider the physics behind it all . . . . so to is the rest of the universe . . . packets of energy . . . that does not mean that I see the universe as ruled by some authoritarian prick like the religions do, if I were to venture out on a limb, beyond what the facts can reveal, I would be closer to a pantheist, the notion that we are all part of the one, and the only thing that supports it is a vague intuition and awareness of the mystery of existance, somewhat in the characterization Einstein used. That said, it accomplishes nothing to try to maintain a view that is no less provable than a whole slew of other shit people adhere to.

4

Atheist, don't believe. Not sure I ever did.

4

I'm agnostic because there is no proof either way. But I'm also an atheist because skepticism is my default rather than gullibility.

Has anyone ever told you that you look like Mr. Rogers?

@CallMeDave 😀 No. Maybe it's the neck tie in this picture. (I usually wear T-shirts.)

4

I feel tired of answering this question over and over. Please read the posts.

My answer (below) was copied and pasted from yesterday.

You won't get a head count. Not all members read or reply to posts.

Many atheists roll their eyes, thinking: "Not again."

Nobody's forcing you to participate in any way. Your choices are your own.

found your tribe

@FiliusInfernum

I wanted you to know your question is asked every day. It's tiresome.

Read the posts before asking a question.

4

Atheist. My feeling is that the idea of God is a human invention, and not a very good one. Better to rely on our own collective human intellect and reasoning skills, to solve the problems we face in the world, rather than leaving it to an outside supernatural power to come to our aid.

If there is some supernatural God watching everything going on, and not doing anything to help us out, he surely would be expecting us to learn from our mistakes and help ourselves.

you look Mahvehlous

3

Antitheist atheist. But you can mark me down as atheist. 👍😎

3

I'm an atheist and a nihilist and I've never been happier.

3

Proud to wear the scarlett letter 'A'. Recently seen a clip of Bart Erhman who stated that he is an atheist agnostic. He defined his position this way: atheist-no belief in a god. Agnostic-no knowledge of a god. It seems to me that if there is no evidence for a god then there is no knowledge of a god so no belief in a god. Hence the logical position is atheism until such credible proof is submitted to the contrary.

Very reasonable stance.

3

Im an atheist, i became one at fourteen. I stopped identifying as a Christian at thirteen but i still desperately held onto my faith for a year because i didn't want to let it go and i thought that it was a ''phase'' that i would outgrow. I identified as an agnostistic for a while but i eventually let it go completely, i realized i had no good reason for being a Christian and that their was no substantial evidence. Im much happier now that i don't have the constant threat of hell hanging over my head and that i don't think that my non Christian friends are going to hell unless they convert.

3

I'm an agnostic atheist and that settles that. I became one when SantaJesus refused to bring me a pony.

3

I never use labels, you either believe in bullshit or you don't. I don't.

3

Atheist. Anything else is just a fairy tale.

3

I am. My parents were abusive and I did the only thing a 5 year old knew and that was pray. Although I never felt anything that people described as god and it never felt "real" to me, I still prayed for a new family. I prayed to find out I was switched at birth. I even prayed for death. I prayed for any way out that I could. I was a good kid by all standards (though ADHD made me a lot to handle) but I always felt that I was praying to nothing. I eventually stopped paying but I still had to fake it otherwise I would get beat by my parents.

To get me to be still at church my parents would let me bring my own books. I brought encyclopedias of the animal kingdom. They often talked about evolution and provided evidence, meanwhile the church would claim evolution was fake and had no evidence and often stated that the piltdown man was proof of science being fake (nevermind that science is what exposed the fraud).

I have always been very introspective. I would lose friends if I told them what cult I was in. I knew that it was for a reason I couldn't change and I didn't think that was right. Additionally I noticed that happens all the time for race and sexuality etc. I found it absurd that anyone would hate someone for something they couldn't control. I noticed that the church was doing it all the time. I never agreed with it but I had to sit in silence or I would get beat.

All of the previous things added up. So I held the agnostic position for my teenage years and a portion of my 20's until I finally realized that god has never been the answer to anything. The idea that a cognitive being would put together an indifferent and massive universe just to support the smallest percent of area that the life on our planet occupies, seemed incredibly stupid. So I took the final step and I began to proudly wear the badge of atheist.

Wow. Dreadfully sorry you had to endure such torment and oppression. Sincerely. I hope all is well and life is treating you much better these days.

@FiliusInfernum I wish it were. My life fell apart in 2018. My now ex-wife told me she never loved me but she stayed because I treated her well. I have only seen my kids twice since and I've tried to kill myself multiple times. I'm struggling really hard at this moment. I doubt I'll survive the day.

@Sansdeus Whoa. Easy there. Take a deep breath, it sounds like you just need a fresh start. I used to be severely depressed as well. It's tough, I totally get that. Honestly, professional help saved my life. I can't express how significant of a difference therapy made on my life. It had a HUGE impact. Hang in there. I wish there was more I could offer. Just knkw that there are many people in the world who will have your back if you reach out to them honestly.

@Sansdeus please seek professional counseling.
It's probably easy for me to say but it's the only way you can be helped than to try and kill yourself. Your life is worth more than the sorrows you encounter from time to time.

@TimeOutForMe Yes, please listen to her. You have a lot to offer, and people can learn much from you and your truths. You have value. The time will come when you will realize that. Every dog has its day. Ride the storm out. Life is an endurance race

@TimeOutForMe I have been institutionalized 5 times to the tune of 60k. I find life agonizing. I have a plan already in motion and it won't hurt. Thank you though.

@Sansdeus please spend time with people who do care at this moment. Don't lose or waste an opportunity at life. Grab at every straw of life.

3

I am atheist because I don't worship anything

3

Atheist. Born this way, just like everyone else.
Indoctrination didn't take. The catholic church was unable to brainwash me.
As soon as I could get away with it, I quit.

I always knew it was ALL bullshit.

@KKGator
...fridge magnets for xmas 🤣🤣🤣

@TimeOutForMe Is it sad that I saw the fellowship line and my first thought was about taking the hobbits to Isengard?

3

At age 13, I became an atheist when I realized the Bible is just a book of stories written by men. Like Grimm's Fairy Tales.

I chose rational thought, not magical beliefs.

Michigan had a hard winter when I was 13. Bored and restless, my little brother, 10, and I read the World Book Encyclopedias. I was inspired by rational philosophers Descartes and Spinoza, who were bravely anti-theist (anti-God), anti-church and anti-clergy in the 1600s when heretics were burned at the stake. They had to go into hiding.

Their writings inspired the European Age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries. It stressed reason, logic, criticism and freedom of thought over dogma, blind faith, and superstition.

3

Most of us have already answered this question ad infinitum in multiple threads. Even so, while you may get some interesting anecdotal information, you will get nothing resembling a head count. Most of us will say, if we even happen to notice this post, "oh THAT again."

g

3

I am.
Because.
Oh god, not again.

1of5 Level 8 Dec 19, 2019
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