What changed your mind about Religion?

[Pugilistic]

For me, the sense of freedom, the feeling of love, and empowerment that for some may come from their belief in religion, came from deciding to not be religious. It wasn’t so much that I was free from Christianity, but I was free from a dogmatic belief system. I was free from attaching my identity and self-worth to an abstract ideal. If you have replaced Christianity with anything else, from Libertarianism to Nazism to Juche, I would have been just as trapped. In fact, I have felt increasingly free as I shed away all the “isms” or “shoulds” of my life. My ideals on masculinity, on morality (and moralism), national identity, etc.; all of it have no longer any hold on me. I am obviously atheist in practice, but I don’t attach to myself an identity as an atheist. I have Libertarian leanings when it comes to politics but I am reluctant to identify as a Libertarian.

I believe a Christian or Muslim can be believe in the love of their supposed god but still be free from the dogmatism of organized religion. They may truly be at peace and full of love of life and of the earth. I shy away from it because of the nature of organized religion, and their appeal to spiritual authority (like believing in iron-age text as holy scripture) puts them more at risk of dogmatism and end up spewing hatred disguised as love.
Not to mention I can’t logically wrap my head around a lot of what they say.

 

[forum poster]

I can't exactly remember when or how. But I do remember reading a book called "Conversations with God" which was rated really highly by religious people and recommended to me. Basically it was a guy having a dialogue with god and I found it so hilarious that people believed it. God came across as such a dumbass in that book so I guess he never really recovered in my eyes. It was a NYT best seller and has thousands of flattering 5 star reviews. It's pretty funny reading the reviews, even the low star review's most of the time are not rating the book down because it's obviously a bunch of new-age gibberish, but because they feel god was misquoted and edited.

I was also of the opinion that most people are religious in general but when really pushed, they don't actually believe that stuff happened, until I met some true believers and it kind of disturbed me. They come across as mentally ill to me. I thought that these days all it would take is an internet connection and an inquisitive mind to lead you away from religion.

The faith it takes to be a suicide bomber that has absolute certainty in his beliefs is really scary. I think those types of true believers will become less and less as society advances.

 

[smithwick]

Christian testimonies are always personal. Using personal experiences that sound like delusions to everyone else isn't a good argument to use for religion. It's an argument against religion for everyone else. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and 100% of the time the evidence is inept.

This quote always resonated with me, it fits with people like colby and ripskater.

"Ignorance is the soil in which belief in miracles grows"

 

[Mike]

Christian testimonies are always personal. Using personal experiences that sound like delusions to everyone else isn't a good argument to use for religion. It's an argument against religion for everyone else. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and 100% of the time the evidence is inept.

This quote always resonated with me, it fits with people like colby and ripskater.

"Ignorance is the soil in which belief in miracles grows"

I've heard so many people describe their religious epiphanies, or conversations with god. Always sounds like either wishful thinking or hallucinations.


It's hard to take these things seriously when they're reported as some kind of evidence.

 

[DoomPatrol]

I honestly wish you could live what I've lived and see for yourself. But one man can't give another man his faith.

I honestly wish you would read a science book (or twelve), and stop pretending like ordinary life experiences are something special. Because when you say shit like "god spoke to me" over a stupid mundane situation, I just want to go puke. Maybe that's why he let those children in Syria die horribly. He was too busy helping you with stupid shit to prevent undue suffering of children in countries that don't matter as much.

You are right. I don't have faith. Faith gets you fucking nowhere. For every experience you say faith pulled you through, I can find dozens of examples of faith doing jack shit for people. There's no rhyme or reason behind why some people get lucky and others don't. It's sure as hell isn't the god you believe in picking favorites.

You say god spoke to you, but I've never once seen you provide an example of him giving you information that you couldn't have come up with on your own. You attribute your own successes to an imaginary all powerful being.

 

[ripskater]

I honestly wish you would read a science book (or twelve), and stop pretending like ordinary life experiences are something special. Because when you say shit like "god spoke to me" over a stupid mundane situation, I just want to go puke. Maybe that's why he let those children in Syria die horribly. He was too busy helping you with stupid shit to prevent undue suffering of children in countries that don't matter as much.

You are right. I don't have faith. Faith gets you fucking nowhere. For every experience you say faith pulled you through, I can find dozens of examples of faith doing jack shit for people. There's no rhyme or reason behind why some people get lucky and others don't. It's sure as hell isn't the god you believe in picking favorites.

You say god spoke to you, but I've never once seen you provide an example of him giving you information that you couldn't have come up with on your own. You attribute your own successes to an imaginary all powerful being.

Look man, faith, hope, love, gratitude.... All those things are essential. If you want to make the best out of your life with the circumstances you face, there is no better way to do it that to have those things as pillars to how you live.

I know we argue all the time, but man I really hope you kick some tail this week with whatever you're doing in life. All the best to you man.

 

[Striderxdj]

I think the final straw for me was when I was around 13 years old living in AZ.

Me and a friend would go into the desert area by our house and catch snakes/lizards, and one particular hot day we got pretty exhausted/ dehydrated and went to the church next to the field as it was closer than either of our houses.

We walked inside and in the main lobby area were two drinking fountains, but before we could use them some guy walks in from an adjacent room and asks if he could help us (lol), I say "were just really hot, could we please get some water?"

He refuses. Im thinking hes joking at first but he wasnt. I say "Seriously? You have 2 drinking fountains right there"... he says that those are for church members and that we need to leave.

Thirst turned into anger and we laughed at the idea of so called followers of jesus refusing to help kids in a manner that costs them nothing on the walk to his house.

While it clearly is not how all churches would have treated us, that experience shaped both of our viewpoints to the church and religion for life.

 

[King Richard]

Christopher Hitchens

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Grew up as you standard Catholic that never went to church.

The change started when I took a Sociology of World Religions course in colelge. It outlined really nicely how all religions and beliefs basically grew out of one another and how society shaped each religion. It made it clear that god was a human invention and there was absolutely nothing sacred or supernatural about it.

By the time I graduated I was a full blown atheist.

 

[DoomPatrol]

Look man, faith, hope, love, gratitude.... All those things are essential. If you want to make the best out of your life with the circumstances you face, there is no better way to do it that to have those things as pillars to how you live.

I know we argue all the time, but man I really hope you kick some tail this week with whatever you're doing in life. All the best to you man.

That's nice and I've always wished the best for you and anyone else I disagree with, but that's nothing to do with this topic of conversation. You can have hope, love, and gratitude without believing in silly archaic human belief systems. In fact, I would argue that scientists love this world as much as anyone else. That's why they spend their lives solving the most complicated questions about the universe we live in. If we accepted the world as Christians wanted us to in the past, we would be way behind on the science and technology that's brought us to this point.

 

[ralphc1]

well if i've prayed to Jesus Christ and God has responded to my prayers speak to me through his Word, and i've had prayers answered then i think it's safe to assume that God did create the heavens and the universe. It's obviously faith as i do not have all the answers in life but i know God does.

I"m going to spit a bible verse at ya by why not?

Hebrews 11:1-Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

AND a little down in Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

So yes it takes faith, but it also takes faith for whatever it is that you believe in as well. But i've had so many experiences and interactions with God in my life at this point that i'd be an idiot to deny Jesus and say He did not exist.

There was a man in town that prayed to God and God answered him, telling him to kill the woman next door so he went and shot her multiple times in front of her children.

 

[Phlog]

I grew up and realised that what religious people are trying to explain is explained without a leap of faith, by science.

 

[Devout Pessimist]

Alain De Botton being interviewed by Chris Hedges. Botton gives some excellent insight into the usefulness of religion and the practical ways it can be infused into out lives.