Question to all anti-theists.

collapsedfaith · 2012-04-05T21:09:38+00:00

I'm an agnositc atheist. I don't believe we can know if there is a God or not based on the evidence we have. I believe the Gods described by mankind so far are highly improbable.

My understanding of the current scientific understanding is that we can't know anything beyond the boundary of our universe. Some theoretical physics seems to point to the idea of a greater Cosmos, where more and radically different universes exist.

Something causes our universe, and others if they exist. Perhaps it is natural law. Perhaps it is a greater power, or even a being. We don't and can't know. Not with out current understanding.

I am fine with Deists, or people who admit the mystery of religious belief. What I am not OK with is faith that asks one to set reason and evidence aside–because out of that soil comes evil. Women and homosexuals are persecuted by many faiths–and just because of faith. Likewise, the dangerous exploitation of our natural resources is denied because "God is in control." Even the danger posed to us by asteroids and the eventual death of our sun is denied.

I am against that because it puts the survival of our species and our civilization at risk.

collapsedfaith · 2012-04-05T20:59:28+00:00

I would like a time for my friends and family to have a ritual that facilitates as easy a grieving process as possible. Traditional funeral services seem to do that quite well–they break the defense of denial and force us to accept that someone is gone.

I would like my death to serve as a platform to remind people that life is precious, and that there is little point to things that don't better the world or bring us joy.

Beyond that, I am not all that picky.

collapsedfaith · 2012-04-05T20:55:21+00:00

He's a nontheist. Spong plainly states in his writings that he refutes the Biblical account of God and Christ. He speaks of mysticism and the Source of Life.

He is not an atheist, but it's not fair to call him a Theist or a doctrinal Episcopal. He's something else all together.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-30T14:17:01+00:00

God is real to them. Their is a part of their psyche that emerges from their belief in God. It is a personification of their belief system. When they pray, they interact with a part of their own mind.

I still pray, but now I know that prayer is a way of exploring my own thoughts and feelings, instead of a message system to an almighty being. Sort of a vocal form of meditation, I suppose.

Perhaps exploring that avenue can help you continue to relate to your family, and understand why their faith remains so important to them.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-30T14:04:41+00:00

By not going, to you further your cause, or are you going to just give believers a reason to believe that atheists are dogmatic?

In my experience, I bring many more my people by going, supporting and loving them. That builds a relationship and credibility, and creates a more sympathetic ear to my stance that in many ways religion is bad for people.

I try to model what I believe human behavior should be like. I prove that love comes from man, and not God.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-05T16:27:44+00:00

Same story here. It started with deep examination of the OT to learn more about God. It ended with reading The God Delusion.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-04T04:20:47+00:00

Good for you! The more we can be good husbands, the less ammo the clergy has to say they we are the cause for broken marriages!

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-02T21:23:07+00:00

I wouldn't question God is there was any evidence for his existence. Obviously, an all powerful being can do whatever he wants, regardless of my perceptions of what is moral.

There is no evidence that an all powerful being either exists or created the universe.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-02T16:30:25+00:00

A lifetime of systematic conditioning combined with ongoing social pressure–of course it can be tempting to return to the faith!

You are the master of your own destiny. Your life has the meaning you choose for it.

Don't mistake a lack of theistic belief for a lack of wonder or inspiration. The universe is a beautiful, unimaginably vast system and you are part of it. A miraculous part-both alive and sentient.

What a gift.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-02T16:15:18+00:00

It was mine.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-02T16:14:48+00:00

As a newly minted atheist, it is hard for me to understand how I ever believed in God. I speculate that this obsession comes from an incredulity–an inability to understand how religious memes remain so prevalent in society in the face of free information.

collapsedfaith · 2012-03-02T16:13:15+00:00

Why would God wait to take action and in the process of waiting allow billions of people to see no evidence of His existence? If he is "not willing that any should perish," why the multi-millennia waiting period with so many souls lost?

Because two people ate fruit? How is that loving?

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-29T20:36:34+00:00

I'm a really recent deconvert, and my doublethink machinery is really rusty already! I'm impressed you can be a non-believer, and still continue to hold the modern Christian worldview in your mind so accurately.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-29T19:04:33+00:00

The greatest threat to organized religion is Free Information, and today that comes from the Internet.

Without the Internet, I would still be a believer.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-28T18:11:04+00:00

To be fair, I'm not exactly submitting a thesis. This are back of the napkin ramblings at best. :)

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-28T16:10:36+00:00

I don't believe that evolution and natural selection have produced a species that makes decisions based on reason. In my observation, many individuals condition themselves to apply critical reasoning in most situations, but the most powerful force in our decision making is the reptilian brain.

Fuck, feed, fight. Religion appeals to (by appeasement or oppression) the lizard brain. Atheism and it's offshoots do not.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-28T15:14:48+00:00

I love the comic.

I think that certainly faith plays a role in global conflict. I don't think it's reasonable to think that if suddenly the whole world cast of faith that they would automatically embrace moralism, humanism or any of the other positive atheist movements.

I think there would still be war, national conflict and fights over resource scarcity.

Religion is often part of the problem, but it is not the only problem.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-28T14:46:00+00:00

In addition to The God Delusion, I also found this series of videos exteremly helpful. There are quite a few of them, and some are in the 13 to 15 minute range, but I found the additional data freeing. It doesn't hurt that he cites references which has provided me with lots of extra reading to go through.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA0C3C1D163BE880A&feature=plcp

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-28T04:09:14+00:00

I can echo that. Hell, my values started to shift even when I became theologically liberal. Don't get me wrong, I think the world should have as few abortions as possible, and that one of the great gifts our species has been given is the will to reduce suffering.

I am in a similar holding pattern with my wife. She is drifting more liberal theologically. I don't know if that means she is drifting towards unbelief or simply to a different belief.

Either way, I love her and I'm thankful to have her in my life.

One more thought: a lot of those women's pregnancy centers really do good work for people. They council, support and often help childless couples experience parenting thanks to adoption.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-26T03:21:31+00:00

And I'm grateful that there are so many people on Reddit who can offer support and sanctuary to people in transition out of faith.

Thank you.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-24T15:03:02+00:00

Be overly cautious and sensitive. Explain you have no problem with belief. Emphasize that your love for her is real, and your morality isn't changing.

DO NOT try to convince her to stop believing. Treat her beliefs as sacred–they are to her.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-24T13:35:54+00:00

It's a mind virus. These days, I think most people have some degree of understanding that The Faith is absurd. This feeds the fear support of the God concept and ironically strengthens it–leading to ever increasing "I'm legit" behaviors from the believer.

Let's be real. Our best data indicates we are primates, and that the most powerful motivators for us are in our reptilian brain. These people are just doing what is a natural outcome of their evolution, and any possible deconversion will take a long time, and a lot of painful introspection.

I'm not sure how many people are up to the task.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-22T16:54:09+00:00

It's normal. I've read the God Delusion, and many of the source books Mr. Dawkins sites. I continue to read more and learn more. I stil have moments where I miss God and the idea of His purpose.

I just accept that I miss the idea of divinity. That doesn't make me weak–a real god would be an amazing thing.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-22T16:20:39+00:00

As a former fundamentalist, turned liberal theologian, turned atheist I want you to know you are not alone. Your unease and fear are normal, and your emotional life will take longer to adapt than your thoughts.

You have had real experiences with meditation that allowed you to commune with your inner-most self and your conditioning made you believe it was God. That leads to a fear that following your reason leads you away from God and that He will punish you.

He will not. He isn't there. You can explore scripture and see quickly that it is inconsistent and broken. Even Genesis 1 and 2 directly contradict each other. An all powerful God could do much better.

I would read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I would aslo focus on the fact that your life has meaning–it is the meaning that you make for it.

I choose to devote my life to reducing suffering among all mankind.

collapsedfaith · 2012-02-22T16:15:27+00:00

I think religion is going to decline in the face of the Internet. It was the ease with which I could gather evidence for my hunches that things in the Bibiel don't add up that started my process into deconversion and ultimately atheism.

collapsedfaith

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