Godless Dave

I tried. It doesn't help.

brighid

Good to know! And your twain mind even works properly according to his theory!! What is a poor woman to do?

Brighid

Rusting Car Bumper

And that shouldn't bother you... but it probably will.

If god if worth believing then god should stand up to questioning.

No evidence. Not all at once of course. but gradually it became apparent that the concept of a god couldn't be justified.

This was particularly true in light of my physics education. Belief based on personal experience wasn't going to cut it because of the variety of experience. Abstract arguments like cosmological and fine tuning arguments simply didn't stand up to logical scrutiny as I became more educated with regards to scientific/physical laws.

BTW, don't get drawn into this atheist vs agnostic argument. The difference is purely semantic. Those claiming to be "Agnostic" because of no good answer to the "first cause" simply haven't understood that atheist is used in a very broad way that includes agnostics as well.

I had no problem there.

There is no reason to be depressed although I realize that is no comfort. Its not uncommon to have these sorts of problems when questioning any religion even if the questioning isn't turning you to atheism.

DC

brighid

If you haven’t already read the Atheist Testimony thread I would highly suggest it Blondegoddess. Many answers to your questions will be found there and also in the very good links others have provided.

I can’t say that I felt any deep void in my life when I finally decided to remove the mask of theism. Sometimes I miss the social aspects of the religious life, but I do not miss the intellectual and moral hypocrisy I felt while attempting to distort reality to fit the religious model I was taught was “true.” Most often I simply can’t even stomach the crap spewed on the pulpit to warrant any sort of feeling of void.

I filled my life with other endeavors and I realized that I was better off for having done it. I reached out into many different communities. I experienced the world through different and less judgmental eyes. I was often sought by many different religious types as a “neutral” mediator to help facilitate dialogue and I enjoyed some success with that.

Have I suffered any social ramifications? Sure. People falsely believe (because of their religious indoctrination) that people who lack a belief in God(s) are evil, misguided or without a conscience/soul. You will come to learn how wrong that is. You will also learn that many, many atheists are extremely charitable, moral, kind, compassionate and tolerant people. You will also learn that some are not, but is that any surprise? We are human regardless of what we believe or disbelieve in.

I have had some negative reactions when people find out I am an atheist. I don’t always share that specific info with everyone I meet because some people are simply not capable of viewing me for who I actually am when they already have false and very negative, preconceived notions about atheism and atheists. I even know many atheistic people who “wouldn’t go so far as to call themselves atheists” because of the social stigma attached to it.

You may loose friends over any loss of faith. You may be asked to leave your Church. You will be called names, accused of evil and vile tendencies and you will be met with hostility. Make no bones about it, at some point or at many points this will be the path you walk. Those people will simply prove themselves to be without a moral conscience and you should consider yourself honored that they have voluntarily left your circle. No ONE needs that negative energy and hypocrisy. It will be a lonely road. It will be a painful road, but if you are not capable of lying to yourself it will be the only road you can take.

My feeling is that IF there is something out there that can be defined as a God, one with an altruistic nature, capable of infinite love and compassion that it/she/he/they could not possibly overlook the honesty held disbelief of an atheist and prefer the dishonestly held belief of a theist achieved through manipulation, propaganda and cognitive dissonance. Surely an omnipotent deity would see through any humanly constructed façade? So why lie to myself or to my fellow man? I don’t believe, plain and simple. If my lack of belief makes me an evil person then it is not I who has the conceptual problems. If there is an after life I surely do not want to spend eternity with moral busybodies, hypocrites and their ilk. Now that would be HELL

Brighid

beth

Thank you. I checked out Leaving the Fold And Origin of Species yesterday. Leaving the Fold is actually quite a good book and I figured that for me to truly disbelieve in God, then I must be able to accept evolution. I will re-read that with an open mind and discern Darwin's work for myself.

beth

and Amos....
perhaps I read your posts wrong but are you saying that I'm a witch and I'm going to burn in the lake of fire? Just wondering...If you weren't then just ignore. I haven't had much time, I had to skim the posts.

beth

I have one more thing to add... while I was reading last night, I decided to pray again. I hadn't prayed in two days. I asked God to show me a sign if he was real. I also asked him to reveal himself to my atheist friend if he was real. ( I didn't think it was fair for me to know God and not my supportive friend.) You know what happened. My husband started showing signs of a heart attack. He asked me to pray with him, I could not. Then after I was "broken' I did pray, because I thought that I might have killed my husband by my earlier prayer. When we got to the hospital, his vitals were fine. He had had the worst anxiety attack that I had ever witnessed. So, either God isn't there, or, he is but he is cruel and has a sick sense of humor... So if this was from God, it has only hardened my heart toward Him even more....

Celsus

blondegoddess,

To be honest, Darwin didn't figure in my deconversion, and doesn't need to figure in any deconversion. It was a curio afterwards because I was an OEC agnostic for a while. If you have any specific questions, please do ask them. Don't read Origin, it's quite boring. Read The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins or something similar.

Joel

P.S. Sorry about your husband! Hope he recovers, and do take good care of him, don't wait for God.

Thieving Magpie

Yes, I would suggest that you do not bother with the Origin of Species..

Disbelieving in God does not necessarily equate with belief in evolution, and besides, much of what Darwin thought has now been changed by modern scientists a lot so that modern evolutionary theory is becoming less and less similar to what Darwin wrote about.

Also, it is important to realise that Darwin considered himself a Christian, and believed, apparently, that evolutionary theory was perfectly valid for a Christian to believe in. Many modern Christians feel the same way.

copernicus

I heartily agree. Dawkins' book really is about the scientific vs. religious explanations of life. Dawkins confronts religion head on.

Blondegoddess, this clearly isn't going to be an easy time in your life. My best wishes for you.