Doubt?

[ChristineES]

There are times when a man/woman of faith will go through periods of doubt. I think it is a normal thing for any person of faith to have some lapses into doubt. I am wondering if the same thing happens to atheists- Do they (you) go through brief periods of the opposite of doubt? Is there a time when you briefly, for a moment to up to a week believe that maybe there is a God? I would like to hear about it if you do, not for any reason except it would be interesting to read. :candle:

 

[whereismynotecard]

Honestly, I don't ever have any sort of doubt. Maybe that means I'm stubborn and have a closed mind or something, but there hasn't ever been anything that made me think hmmm... maybe I'm wrong; maybe there is a god. maybe when I was younger I might have, like when I first decided I didn't believe in god, but I don't remember it if it did happen.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I've gone through a period of atheism, but always there was a nagging little doubt that there may just be some conscious force out there directing life. For now, agnosticism is the closest thing for me, though sometimes I feel I really am a theist, and times when I feel I really am an atheist.

So I guess I'm just a doubtful sort of guy.

 

[DarkMaster24]

The only time I've wanted to believe in god again was when I had a positive experience happened to me that slightly made me want to believe that god had done that for me. Then the feeling went away, and things went back to normal. Allthough, if the experience had been stronger it just mgiht transform my beliefs. But it'd have to be very meaningful and profound.

 

[BucephalusBB]

I am stuffed with "what if"s..
But as I have never "felt" God before, for me to change to theist would mean a change in my theories. So far the changes in my theories have not let me towards theism.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

There are times when a man/woman of faith will go through periods of doubt. I think it is a normal thing for any person of faith to have some lapses into doubt. I am wondering if the same thing happens to atheists- Do they (you) go through brief periods of the opposite of doubt? Is there a time when you briefly, for a moment to up to a week believe that maybe there is a God? I would like to hear about it if you do, not for any reason except it would be interesting to read. :candle:

I'm constantly open to the possibility that "maybe there is a god". Without any objective evidence, I can't just force myself to believe that this is true though.

Although, I never think that any of humankind's conceptions of god may be true. If there is an entity which could somehow be defined as 'god', it most likely would be so far beyond our understanding, that any speculation on its purpose or attributes would be meaningless.

 

[sandandfoam]

I was an atheist for a long time. I thought the whole God thing was just utter nonsense, fairytales for those who couldn't confront reality. Ironically enough reading 'The God Delusion' was a push back towards theism.
There have been several highlights for me on my way back. I would have to say that fasting with our Muslim friends last Ramadan was when I came to the point of no return.

 

[S-word]

There are times when a man/woman of faith will go through periods of doubt. I think it is a normal thing for any person of faith to have some lapses into doubt. I am wondering if the same thing happens to atheists- Do they (you) go through brief periods of the opposite of doubt? Is there a time when you briefly, for a moment to up to a week believe that maybe there is a God? I would like to hear about it if you do, not for any reason except it would be interesting to read. :candle:

Well I have my doubts as to whether any Atheist falling from a plane at 20,000ft, would not say one little prayer before they are splatterd over the face of the earth. But that's only my opinion.

 

[Father Heathen]

I don't "doubt", but I ponder and entertain possibilities. But like I've said in another thread, even if there was a god, I would simply become a deist and my philosophies, morals, ethics, etc. would remain unchanged. So it's nothing that worries me.

 

[Father Heathen]

Well I have my doubts as to whether any Atheist falling from a plane at 20,000ft, would not say one little prayer before they are splatterd over the face of the earth. But that's only my opinion.

Well, in times of desperation and panic it's simply human nature to grasp for straws regardless of how remote or absurd they may be.

 

[Bishadi]

There are times when a man/woman of faith will go through periods of doubt. I think it is a normal thing for any person of faith to have some lapses into doubt. I am wondering if the same thing happens to atheists- Do they (you) go through brief periods of the opposite of doubt? Is there a time when you briefly, for a moment to up to a week believe that maybe there is a God? I would like to hear about it if you do, not for any reason except it would be interesting to read. :candle:

my first question is, what's an atheist?

otherwise, you would think each person is of self reflection (doubt) since not a human being alive has ever seen a god, that is unless they see nature (the garden) as god or some derivative there of. Eg.. 'the burning bush' spoke and it was god

in that case, then my computer putting up all these words......could be god. (if that is what i believe)

every person alive has had a dream of monsters, dragons or even the cute redhead down the block; doesn't mean i go to her and give her gifts. Leaving them on her front porch and say, 'thank you, you saved me from self abuse'...............

Now to believe that a man on a thrown, with a magic wand is saying 'be' and it be or saving souls, or even taking them......... can never be proven, nor ever has. There in, any who believe them rendition are not self reflecting but believing what another person tells them to believe. Then add that with suggesting, 'you can't know god, but you can have him as a personal buddy who will grant you your prayers', when not a one can actually say "he did it" and be telling the truth...........

now the whole issue is based; not on beliefs or whether god exists, but how honest people are with themselves and to others when they speak (share) renditions of god.

No matter how many side, one way or another, to be truly honest, then each must represent what is pure, rather than what is believed. As EVERY religion shares that misrepresenting or of false witness is not doing anything good by god; it is of self preservation rather than caring for others over self (LOVE)

find them who LOVE others and care to self-reflect over 'believing' to be accepted, then see them of GOD (existence/truth/reality).

All of existence, and all her time, all her nature, and all her beings; are whom to appreciate at every moment of life: Love God as all that is, and then no separation, no division, you have that 'buddy' in all things you experience; then each choice is being responsible to GOD.

Find the humilty to being absolutely honest and that is how to find the ONEs who truly believe in God. (i like to call em "the man upstairs"... the 'boss', 'pops'... the badest of the bad, the guy who runs this taco stand)

but he sure aint talking to me about it as it is my choice to serve (existence) HIM, not that he owes me anything, not that i will be given 'eternal life' or be forgiven for being an idiot........... it seems to just do what is right at every choice, then i know inside; i support life to continue......... and will live in what i do, by God, within God, Of God, for God.

So if an atheist is the straight shooter who is honest without ever having to claim the god's defined by the religions; then i guess the good guys are the atheist and the rest are anti-good.

Find the beauty and the beasts as the honest and the rest!

 

[J Bryson]

I was an Atheist at one point. Then I felt like I was denying an aspect of myself that wasn't adequately explained by the rationalist worldview, that I was denying the evidence of one of my senses, though not one of the five. Like I was blinding myself because others couldn't see, or plugging up my ears because they couldn't hear. So I began to investigate, and interpret using my own reasoning abilities, and eventually believe...although I still wrestle with uncertainty from time to time.

And yes, the whole thing could be a delusion, but if it is, I'm rather happy with it.

 

[GiantHouseKey]

Greetings

Well I have my doubts as to whether any Atheist falling from a plane at 20,000ft, would not say one little prayer before they are splatterd over the face of the earth. But that's only my opinion.

Why? If I said one prayer whilst plumetting to my death, if God does exist, I doubt that'd make up for the years of 'denial'. To be honest, if you're talking about the Judeo-Christian God, I doubt i'd want to be with him for eternity anyway.

RE: The OP, yeah there's plenty of times in my life that for a moment 'Maybe God does exist'. I even went through a patch of being a christian. But when I realised that I was only kidding myself and that it was a little bit more complicated than that, I started my journey.
My first religious experience made me re-consider myself as an atheist, but it didn't transform me into a theist.
So yes, I have considered the possibility of there being a God, but now i'm pretty convinced against the motion. And to be honest i'm pretty glad.

GhK.

 

[Wandered Off]

I definitely have gone through periods of 'doubting my doubt.' They were much more frequent shortly after the faith of my youth crumbled, but even now I don't pretend to "know" anything with certainty.

That said, I'm pretty comfortable with my doubt after being immersed in it for nearly two decades now.

If there were some kind of deity, I would echo ATS and FH in expecting it to be some kind of deistic entity whose existence would not impact my world view significantly at all. I spent many years considering myself a deist, and the fact is there's not much practical difference.

Actually you could say I do believe in god, but I consider it an ideal to which I can strive rather than a distinct, external entity. I now find trying to personify it as confusing and unnecessary as it would be to personify justice or truth. To steal an idea from Bishop Don Cupitt, "God is imperative, not indicative."

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Well I have my doubts as to whether any Atheist falling from a plane at 20,000ft, would not say one little prayer before they are splatterd over the face of the earth. But that's only my opinion.

This fact demonstrates that we humans have a tendency to believe in prayer/gods out of fear of our own mortality, not on evidence or reason. All the more reason to treat such ideas with skepticism (if we are interested in the truth, that is, not comfort).

Christine,

To answer your question....to be honest, since I realized I was no longer a Christian, I haven't seen anything which caused me to think there are intelligent forces interfering with nature/human affairs, in my favor or otherwise. There have been a few times when things were very difficult, and I wished I could make a deal with God, or 'someone' to help me get through it, like I used to do.

One thing that helped me, and maybe it will help you too, is when I realized that a lot of Jesus' teachings would still be good teachings even if none of the miracle stories were true; and life would be worth living, The Simpsons would still be funny, ice cream would still taste good, etc. even if there was no divine overlord which created/supervised them. And if you crave the mystery and profundity and awe that the concept of God seems to provide....try reading about black holes, how the universe began and how it will end, or the evolution of life on Earth, or look at an image of 10,000 galaxies from the Hubble telescope. You can't read a single page of Carl Sagan for example and not be awed by the mystery of the universe (controlled by a god or not).

 

[Nepenthe]

One thing that helped me, and maybe it will help you too, is when I realized that a lot of Jesus' teachings would still be good teachings even if none of the miracle stories were true; and life would be worth living, The Simpsons would still be funny, ice cream would still taste good, etc. even if there was no divine overlord which created/supervised them. And if you crave the mystery and profundity and awe that the concept of God seems to provide....try reading about black holes, how the universe began and how it will end, or the evolution of life on Earth, or look at an image of 10,000 galaxies from the Hubble telescope. You can't read a single page of Carl Sagan for example and not be awed by the mystery of the universe (controlled by a god or not).

Agreed and well said.

Sure I have doubts, but only in the sense that my denying any possibility of changing my views is dogmatism, and dogma is anathema to inquiry. So I doubt in that I want to be challenged, I want to be shown where I'm wrong, I want my beliefs to be falsifiable. I'm always wondering, what, if proven true, would invalidate or at least alter my views. It's the foundation of learning, it's why religious dogma is stagnant, unchanging and unlikely to offer anything of value beyond the tribal needs of early hominoids.

 

[Ozzie]

There are times when a man/woman of faith will go through periods of doubt. I think it is a normal thing for any person of faith to have some lapses into doubt. I am wondering if the same thing happens to atheists- Do they (you) go through brief periods of the opposite of doubt? Is there a time when you briefly, for a moment to up to a week believe that maybe there is a God? I would like to hear about it if you do, not for any reason except it would be interesting to read. :candle:

There are times when I might feel connected to hidden forms behind apparent reality. This happens regularly. These episodes are not doubt, but then again they are, as they lack the clarity of my usual perception of the world.

 

[ChristineES]

I have read some great replies! Thanks for responding.

I noticed that is appears to be easier for a theist to become an atheist than an atheist to become a theist. I also noticed that there are as many reasons to be either be a theist or atheist as there are people. I would think it would be easier for an agnostic to "get faith" than an atheist, but I really don't know.

I wonder how many atheists on this board have always been atheists compared to those who used to believe in God, too.

One more thought: I noticed that it appears the theists with the most faith used to be agnostics or atheists. (but I really don't know).

 

[Willamena]

I wondered once (just once that I can remember) if there was a god. That instance happened the first time I realized what god "is". I would consider wondering a wasted effort now.

 

[bobhikes]

When I was younger I doubt a lot and kept pursuing it. Pushing for a correct answer. Now I feel I have proved the answer. Since I found my answer I have no more doubt about the answer. I doubt a lot of other things and still test my answer it wouldn't be right not to but no more doubt about how I was created and what is my meaning.