Question to Godless Heathens: What Made You Become Atheist?

[Northern Dominus]

I pray for your souls.

Well sure, if I could find it...I'm sure I grabbed it...

Dammit! I left it at home again! Well the dog is probably gnawing on it by now...

Not entirely true. You don't have to believe in God to pray to God. It's like standing outside a closed bathroom stall asking if anyone's inside.

No, it's not. You sketched out the question process, yourself - "you can pray to the infinite consciousness that created and sustains all existence and is infinitely more powerful than anything else that exists". You convinced yourself there was a godlike being, and then asked that godlike being if there were any godlike beings.

It's an entirely unreliable methodology, since it's entirely self-fulfilling.

There's also the problem of taking moral responsibility away from puny humans in that model.

I'd argue if there is any divinity in the world, all humans have a part it in at its our responsibility to be good to each other because of that inherent connection.

[Mavorpen]

I was a Christian, but then I realized the Bible is so bad, it could have been written by a five year old.

[Yahkima]

I didn't so much become an atheist as I realized that I was one.

I suppose there were factors that made it increasingly hard to take religion seriously, but I had already given up on any sort of religion long before I became an atheist.

[Bythyrona]

http://www.infidels.org/library/histori ... logue.html

Good ol' Bradlaugh with a pinch of philosophy and James Randi.

[Chinese Regions]

When the 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami happened, these pictures kept popping up all over the web with the caption "Pray for Japan". Then I thought: Hold on - Why should I pray, because if "God loves everyone", then why did he allow this to happen? And what about Haiti, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, etc... The list goes on. Also, why isn't he punishing the pedo-priests? And how did he create the world only a few thousand years ago when there is plenty of scientific evidence to contradict this claim? Again, the list goes on.

Its because they are lazy. Prayer is an easy way to "help" even though it does no shit.

[Krakosov]

i have always been an atheist.

Then explain me why you registered as member of this Church.

it wasnt me, it was flexo without the beard.
he was trying to tarnish my reputation.

[Genivaria]

I'd certainly like to be sure that such an entity wasn't in a bathroom stall before I went in.

God watches you poo.

*nods*

Thanks, now I can never poo.
And I thought public restrooms were bad, your telling me I'm ALWAYS watched?

[Farnhamia]

Yes... so to imagine.

You're really just looking for ways to support your own hypothesis in your explanation instead of reading what I've actually said. But that's fine, I understand. Off to a final.

When you get back, explain how we misinterpreted what you wrote. I took "so to imagine" as you mean, "so to speak." The rest of that post was a declaration that "you can pray to the infinite consciousness that created and sustains all existence and is infinitely more powerful than anything else that exists."

[Grave_n_idle]

God watches you poo.

*nods*

Thanks, now I can never poo.
And I thought public restrooms were bad, your telling me I'm ALWAYS watched?

Realistically, 'watching' is the least of your worries, if you think about it. Omniscience means you're always watched - but, it's the omni-presence which is really gonna grip your shit.

As the saying goes.

[Narmilia]

I never really had a belief in a higher power (actually in my "early days" I didn't gave a damn about the subject of theism vs. atheism), despite most of my family is religious and my father really hoped that I'd take up the catholic faith.
(Fortunately) they didn't force their beleifs on me, but we had sort of an agreement that I'll check out a few masses when I'll reach the age of 16-17. I did attend quite a lot of masses, and out of curiosity even some "Bible and religious studies for young people" lessons but neither christianity nor any other religion later was convincing enought for me.
Around the same time however evolution as a topic came up on biology lessons as a contrast and around that time did I become a "conscious atheist" (if such phrase exists).

[Fedeledland]

I believed in God for 14 years until I got interested in the bible and decided to read a few chapters. That fateful day I saw all the contradictions, and the nonsense, and the corruption the Bible had. So I became an atheist. And all it took was reading the Bible.

so why didn't you start following the religion of the san bushmen? did you at least check to make sure their system also was full of contradiction and corruption before dismissing them out of hand?

The same goes to you, chap.

[Samuraikoku]

Why? It keeps him off the streets, it keeps him quiet. It's not as if his praying can do anything.

It's horribly offensive. He's trying to alter my well being. I don't go around trying to change his life. Why must he get involved in mine? It's sick and wrong.

He believes he can try to alter your well being.

[The Alma Mater]

Nice troll. I am offended.

Why? It keeps him off the streets, it keeps him quiet. It's not as if his praying can do anything.

Still, he is attempting to direct the attention of a being that demands that nonbelievers be slaughtered and the house they lived in burned, whose souls are then cast down into a place of eternal torment, to the atheists posting here.

That is not a nice thing to do.

[Farnhamia]

Why? It keeps him off the streets, it keeps him quiet. It's not as if his praying can do anything.

Still, he is attempting to direct the attention of a being that demands that nonbelievers be slaughtered and the house they lived in burned, whose souls are then cast down into a place of eternal torment, to the atheists posting here.

That is not a nice thing to do.

He didn't say he was praying for that to happen. He was, I imagine, praying that Yahweh have mercy on us. Anyway, saying, "I pray for your soul," is like saying, "I hope Harry Potter and Aslan smile on you." It's meaningless and getting upset by it is silly.

[Coherent Imbeciles]

Thanks, now I can never poo.
And I thought public restrooms were bad, your telling me I'm ALWAYS watched?

Realistically, 'watching' is the least of your worries, if you think about it. Omniscience means you're always watched - but, it's the omni-presence which is really gonna grip your shit.

As the saying goes.

Oh, dear. This is just going from bad to worse.

[Samuraikoku]

That's not what they thought at Salem.

But this is NSG. Salem was a long time ago.

[Farnhamia]

He didn't say he was praying for that to happen. He was, I imagine, praying that Yahweh have mercy on us. Anyway, saying, "I pray for your soul," is like saying, "I hope Harry Potter and Aslan smile on you." It's meaningless and getting upset by it is silly.

That's not what they thought at Salem.

That's true. Luckily, the United States is not the theocracy that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was at the end of the 17th century. And we know how to avoid ergotism, too.

[Samuraikoku]

That's just what they want you to think

Suppose I say to you "May the Force be with you" (which I always say anyway).

[Samuraikoku]

WITCH! It's wrong because the Force implies that something controls my life. Implying that I exist. Implying that the universe exists.

But the Force doesn't control your life. For the most part, you make your own*. Also, if you don't exist and the universe doesn't exist... why are you talking to me, and why are you seeing my replies?

*Sadly not the case with mine...

[Samuraikoku]

Exactly. We exist because we do not exist. Suggesting anything contrary to this is offensive to me and my religious views.

I don't mean to be offensive, but I'm not sure I follow.

[Goldhill]

Mankind.

[Los Ireland]

So, what was it that pushed you over the line into atheism?

I believed in God for 14 years until I got interested in the bible and decided to read a few chapters. That fateful day I saw all the contradictions, and the nonsense, and the corruption the Bible had. So I became an atheist. And all it took was reading the Bible.

Have you read the Quran? Or the Toran. You can't dissmiss all religions just because yours wasn't right.

[Farnhamia]

That's true. Luckily, the United States is not the theocracy that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was at the end of the 17th century. And we know how to avoid ergotism, too.

Doesn't mean people stopped trying to be witches. I'm looking at you Jesus...

No one in Salem was trying to be a witch. It was a case of mass hysteria, most probably, originating from any number of psychological conditions.

[Genivaria]

But the Force doesn't control your life. For the most part, you make your own. Also, if you don't exist and the universe doesn't exist... why are you talking to me, and why are you seeing my replies?

Exactly. We exist because we do not exist. Suggesting anything contrary to this is offensive to me and my religious views.

Get over it.

[Farnhamia]

No one in Salem was trying to be a witch. It was a case of mass hysteria, most probably, originating from any number of psychological conditions.

Psychological conditions brought on by witches and Jesus

I wouldn't mind if you were actually funny. I could make you have to wrestle with President Reagan. Remember what happened to Gorbachev.