Whether you are religious or not, what led you to your current state of (non)belief? And how long did it take you to decide you are going to stay this way?
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What led you to your current religion/lack thereof?
- Thread starter Debater Slayer
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Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
My inherent drives for rationality, knowledge, understanding, honesty, and consistency.
I go where the facts, truth, and knowledge lead. Always will.
From a young child, I grew up in the church. It was fun and all, but the church, nor the bible, sufficiently answered my questions. Once I got out on my own, I experienced a lot of situations, people and religions that enhanced my questions and created new ones. Being a member of religious forums such as this one, and my history of questions and personal experiences I was able to come to the conclusion that there may be a god of sorts, but the christian god, as outlined in the christian bible, is pure man made bunk.
Songbird
She rules her life like a bird in flight
Going backwards first, I haven't decided on staying this way, or what way I may be. Wherever wanderings lead I may go. And I don't really know what led to my current state of birdhood. It was gradual.
Caladan
Agnostic Pantheist
I was always an atheist by default. I did not abandon any religion, but grew up in a secular environment with an affinity to Judaism as a culture or a religion to some degree or another.
radical amazement
Photonic
Ad astra!
My study of ancient egyptian theology and my studies in astronomy and physics.
Ancient Egyptian theology... that's interesting. In what way did it affect your beliefs? Did you find any of it to be moral and/or useful?
outhouse
Atheistically
knowledge through education.
its a awakening, you cant take back knowledge so its permanent
Well as a kid I was very interested in UFOs, bigfoot, etc things like that, and I was pretty big in it. One night I went to the religion and spirituality section of yahoo answers and I saw someone say "God exists because the world is so beautiful and unexplainable"
Then I was interested in religion and metaphysics, gradually the interest in that faded after 2 years, about by age 14 I was interested in mostly metaphysics without religion, then 15, now, I'm interested in philosophy and partially metaphysics.
I went through a ton of religious label changes, but when I started using reason in my beliefs I became Nihilist
Then I was interested in religion and metaphysics, gradually the interest in that faded after 2 years, about by age 14 I was interested in mostly metaphysics without religion, then 15, now, I'm interested in philosophy and partially metaphysics.
I went through a ton of religious label changes, but when I started using reason in my beliefs I became Nihilist
Photonic
Ad astra!
I was able to draw the parallels at the age of 7 and see that all religions are just a socially evolved pattern. That if humans can simply change than whatever deity they went from is just as equally improbable as the one they went to.
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I started off apathetic toward religion. I kinda got pushed into considering religion, which I did for years: I attended different churches and congregations, read different religious scriptures, read arguments for God, reflected... I did my best to give religion (several religions) a fair shot. It was this that led me to realize that I was an atheist and didn't believe any of it.
And I haven't made any sort of decision to stay this way. Looking at what I've gone through so far, I think it's unlikely that I'll encounter something in the future that will change my views in a radical way, but I try to stay open to following where the evidence leads, wherever that happens to be.
cablescavenger
Well-Known Member
I was an inquisitive child with an insatiable apetite for reading and finding out how stuff worked. My mum used to flip because virtually everything she bought me I pulled apart first, and then rebuilt it before I would play with it.
I wish I had more memory of the moment I became atheist; what religious folk might call revelation. Truth is I read the bible and dismissed it as untrue whilst reading it. I think to me it was such an easy decision I didn't give it any weight, nor did I understand how that decision would shape my life.
I had become atheist before starting secondary school, so I would have been around 10.
kerravon
Anti-subjugator
Well I was raised (ie unfairly indoctrinated into it as a child) a Christian, and bought it hook, line and sinker. I also bought the tooth fairy, easter bunny and santa claus. I stopped believing in the tooth fairy, then the easter bunny, then santa claus, then god. I remember still being a Christian when I was 12 years old when I went to live in Fiji and was suddenly exposed to Hindus who were peddling a completely different religion. When faced with explaining why theirs was wrong and mine was right, I realised I had simply been indoctrinated, and distanced myself from the whole thing and became a strong atheist, because I didn't believe a god would create a universe with so much evil in it.
I remained a strong atheist up until my late 30s, when the Iraq war was on. I had a chance to question some Iraqi Muslims via their blogs, and found out that they were as harmless as most Christians. The same way that Christians don't read the bible and start taking slaves or refusing to eat pork, these Muslims bore me no animosity and were on my side. After I had finally worked out (after basically a lifetime of searching) what was common between an Australian atheist and an Iraqi Muslim, and had put that into words (which happened to be message 666 on an Iraqi blog, and the date was Sept 11, 2004), I decided to become a Muslim just like them, so that people needed to be more selective when they said "Muslims are a threat to xyz" - as I could then ask them in what way I was a threat, as a Muslim myself, when I was actually falling over myself trying to protect the world from harm. I considered this to be an expression of "love thy enemy" too. I nominated to associate with the Mu'tazilah sect, as an Iraqi had pointed out that this was the one sect that officially put reason above the Koran (which is basically what most Christians do too). Any religion at all was inconsistent with my deep atheistic mindset though, so it was a case of "Ok, so I'll accept that there was a god who created the initial universe - but he sure as hell doesn't interfere with it, so atheism is still the correct way to analyze it". Shortly (hours I think) after adopting Mu'tazilah, something supernatural happened which shattered the "doesn't interfere" aspect, which I was forced to revise to "doesn't interfere in a scientifically-verifiable manner so atheism is STILL the right mindset to have".
When you experience something supernatural, you don't write it off to hallucinations, even though that's what the scientific community demands you do, for reasonable reasons. Plus I have half my life's work coming to a head in message 666 on 9/11, which is in fact verifiable. I don't dismiss this with Law of Large Numbers either, even though this is what the scientific community demands, for reasonable reasons. So the "decision" to stay a theist was made in a split second. The decision to be a Mu'tazilite is something that may change depending on circumstances. E.g. I was thinking of becoming a Jew so that I had more skin in the game when the Jews were being genuinely persecuted, unlike the Muslims who just like to act as if they are being persecuted (IMO).
BruceDLimber
Well-Known Member
My belief is the direct result of extensive reading, prayer, investigation, research, observation, and evaluation.
Since coupled with over 40 years as a Baha'i during which I have NOT ONCE found any reason to regret this decision!
And yes, the process took many months.
Peace,
Bruce
Since coupled with over 40 years as a Baha'i during which I have NOT ONCE found any reason to regret this decision!
And yes, the process took many months.
Peace,
Bruce
If you don't mind me asking, what led you to investigate the Baha'i faith in the first place? Were you raised in a different faith?My belief is the direct result of extensive reading, prayer, investigation, research, observation, and evaluation.
Since coupled with over 40 years as a Baha'i during which I have NOT ONCE found any reason to regret this decision!
And yes, the process took many months.
Peace,
Bruce
Orias
Left Hand Path
Not sure why this is in the debate thread but I'll give it a stab.
As a child I was never educated on any major religions, I just knew of God and the proverbial "Devil".
I used to speak to both of them in my head all of the time, and I used to ask them for childish things all the time (around 7-10 years of age).
Around the middle school era of my life I started considering myself a Satanist and would describe it as being opposite of religion and not God himself. I would write letters to Satan and tuck them under my bed, and the funny thing was when we moved out of that house about 5 years ago the letters were gone (my mom probably found them but never said anything).
Then at the end of my 8th grade year my cousin and I stumbled upon the same conclusion after he brought some of Anton LaVey's writing to me. From that day on, we both knew that we were Satanists (though back then we lacked almost everything we possess now).
Some years later I practiced writing (sometimes in esoteric ways) and began designing my own incantations and evocations.
Over the years I've gone from being an atypical atheist (one who doesn't realize they are?) to a strong atheist, to an "uneducated Satanist", to non-theism, to pantheism, Setianism, Luciferianism and even Christianity.
Through my years of experience (and albeit it ain't that much) I have finally reached the conclusion that I am in full a Satanist, and that God exists as an adversary and a brother.
Through competition we grow and strengthen each other, through competition we build and destroy each other.
Best regards and Xeper,
Orias