Why did you Change your world view?

[leroy]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

 

[Nakosis]

God told me I ought to be an atheist.

 

[sun rise]

I started off life as the kind of atheist who did not consider religion to be worth any sort of attention beyond making people happy by going to Hebrew School, Temple when there was a marriage or funeral etc.

But even then, there were certain things that attracted me that I did not further examine such as the Shema (Hear o Israel, the lord is One) and a story about the Messiah. But that was to me a vague interest for a reason not worth exploring.

During the 60's, ah the 60s, I had some experiences which caused me to focus on the spiritual and to start looking for a path in life. I read widely, visited Tibetan and Zen centers and became consumed with the thought "If there is a God, then how can I answer the problem of suffering etc". So reincarnation and karma became a fundamental part of my belief.

Even then, a superficial belief in karma was to me limiting. Thinking that if I whack you on the head in one life, you'll inevitably whack me on the head in another might or might not be true. Maybe I saved your life this time because I took your life in another time and place.

I also found that the root messages about love, truth, beauty, kindness, justice etc were the same in every religion albeit expressed in wildly different ways sometimes.

So that is the outline of how I got to today.

 

[metis]

I grew up in a fundamentalist Protestant church that taught against "evilution" but realized even when I was in high school that this was untenable. I went on to get a graduate degree in Anthropology, and then changed churches to one that doesn't see science as some sort of threat.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I'm a turnip, and I just absorb what I am told and roll down hill when pushed. Here I am, the product of a series of strange events and encounters. I'm like something that went down too many conveyor belts and then got run through a polishing machine.

 

[Secret Chief]

I never gave a thought to anything religious or spiritual until my late twenties when I happened to see an advert for an introductory course on Buddhism (I wasn't searching for anything; well I was - I was browsing in a outdoor food market). So I toddled along and that was.....several.... years ago. (I cannot recall why it piqued my interest).

 

[Secret Chief]

I'm a turnip, and I just absorb what I am told and roll down hill when pushed. Here I am, the product of a series of strange events and encounters. I'm like something that went down too many conveyor belts and then got run through a polishing machine.

That's a fairly unique account I should think.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I'm just winging it.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

I have changed views multiple times. Raised catholic till 13. Decided that was boring and i had no reason to believe in a God. Then became atheist. Later on I watched a revelations seminar by a 7th day adventist and was convinced there was truth in the bible to be found. I also became a conspiracy theorist as a result believing in the illuminati and that freemasons are trying to take over the world which is what that seminar was partially about. In the meantime i studied religions and met a Jehovahs Witness and started studying the Bible with them. I got baptised as one. I spent 7 years a JW until last year when i disagreed with some of their doctrines. I left and just was a Christian still believong in the Christian God. I started being honest with myself and started to address and examine doubts I had about the faith, doubts which were actually in the back of my mind as a JW. Then through studying indoctrination and cults I figured out a certain method of deciding what is true and what is not. Now I am back to being an atheist, but for the right reasons this time.

In wouldn't say that there isn't a god. My viewpoint is that there could be but I have no solid evidential reason to believe one exists yet.

In summary, i am a serial turncoat...

 

[Left Coast]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

I'm curious how you identify now, if you are no longer YEC?

 

[Secret Chief]

In summary, i am a serial turncoat...

A professional backslider

 

[bobhikes]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

.

During my youth I got dissatisfied with being told what to believe and what was right. I decide that I would find the truth myself. It was not all consuming I would get times where I would drive hard and then times when I couldn't care less. I found some false truths but eventually I got my answer if I had to guess it was probably 2011.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Being MtF trans and growing up evangelical made things hard enough. But when I went to highschool, I was exposed to facts not I censored and approved by the church, cracks were made in the foundation of my faith, things kept getting harder for me, and my faith collapsed. In the process, the church pretty much killed my soul, as a few years after I quit believing all together one I realized I only believed as a comfort thing. And then I had an experience--spiritual or mystical experience is the word some use--I don't know what it was but it felt like I felt something. And sense I have been very adamant I am neither theist nor atheist. I'm a confused ape just like the billions of other confused apes.

 

[Left Coast]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

How long do you have?

I grew up a devout conservative Christian, of the Baptist/Evangelical variety. Despite my conservative upbringing my father always encouraged me to read the Bible for myself and form my own opinions. And so I did. I slowly began realizing that some of the doctrines my church was teaching did not match what the Bible said and in some cases didnt even really make sense. Then I came across some Catholic apologetics for the first time and that really threw me for a loop, since I was the kid who thought he had all the Bible answers. I realized my faith in the Bible was really predicated on faith in a Church that preexisted the Bible and canonized it. So super long story short, I became Catholic . After a few years of that my reading and studies continued and expanded, and I realized just how flawed and human the Bible actually is, and that a number of the Church's teachings, such as around sexual ethics, really did not make sense to me anymore. I started reading secular and atheist perspectives more seriously, and realized they actually made a lot of sense and that I didnt have good reasons to believe anything supernatural or divine with regard to the Church or the Bible. So, I Ieft the Church. I missed many elements of my faith despite having basically lost faith itself. I stumbled across some Buddhist writings and videos and appreciated that it was a very pragmatic kind of spirituality that didnt require belief in anything supernatural to benefit from it.

So here I am, an agnostic atheist with Buddhist tendencies.

 

[Wandering Monk]

When I discovered that the Bible wasn't inerrant.

 

[osgart]

When I was 7 years old I wanted to know what God thought, so I opened a Catholic Bible and read about damnation hell. I was hoping for wisdom and explanation of reality.

When I graduated from high school my father became a born again Baptist. And would bring home preaching tapes and play them for the whole house. I tried getting saved but didn't sense there was anything happening nor anything factual going on. So I became atheist.

Being atheist was difficult because of the family pressure to convert. My over arching desire was to discover reality for myself and not fear what people teach.

I thence came to the conclusion that we are created beings and the source is unknown. Whatever created us wasn't supreme or reliable, and certainly wasn't personal. But this path leads to unusual results. Namely a spiritual realm beyond observation.

So to end the quest I have become agnostic. I don't Know is the most honest answer I have. We may be created, or it doesn't matter. Absurdities and miracles of wonder exist either way;Whether created, or some naturalist explanation!

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

I never believed in god. Wasn't raised in a abrahamic environment. Mother practiced more the witchy stuff. Father was athiest-in confirmation and in deed.

Met a former best friend who was catholic. I read a lot of religious books and philosophy when I was young (and other books and books). So, I liked her devotion and went with her to Mass.

Jump the gun for "the cover of the book" reasons. Became catholic. Learned about spirituality and experienced it that I would have never had if I didn't join the church.

Then, after trying to reconcile that I did not believe any of christian (and any deity religions), I sat in front the Eucharist, said hey. My last Mass. That's it. No lies.

If I do go to Mass, it's to see other people confirmed on Easter Vigil. That, or I visit if I'm walking distance since it the solace in prayer is something I missed.

My worldview changed because I did not want to lie to myself. I read the bible, and was still indifferent to it. Then I found out my friend wasn't my friend at all and she called me a stalker cause she couldn't figure out another way to handle my being lesbian. Among other things she said to me.

The only time I'm not indifferent to christianity is when I see and hear (and read) how people harm others based on the expressions of their beliefs. If I can change that, I would. But since I'm little ol' me, all I can do is like Vegetarians do, we can't stop people from killing/eating meat but that doesn't mean we have to contribute to the problem.

 

[Samael_Khan]

A professional backslider

YES!!!!!

 

[ChristineM]

Why did you Change your world view?

This forum is full of theists that used to be atheist, atheists that used to be theists, Christians that used to be Jews, Creationists that used to be Evolutionists, etc.

So if you have changed your religious world view I would like to know what was the “thing” that convinced you that you where wrong,

In my particular Case, I used to be a YEC, in my mind the strongest and irrefutable argument for a flood was the fact that there where flood legends with parallels all over the world, to me it was obvious that all these legends had a common source, and this source had to be the actual event (a global flood)

Then I realized that the supposed parallels where vague and that the stories were in no way similar to the story reported in the bible. The exception would be Flood Legends in the middle east, but that can be explain by claiming that both legends where “quoting” from a common legend (not necessarily the event)

Then slowly but surely I began to notice that I was using the same logic that fanatics atheist use to support YEC. Things like “avoid the burden proof at all cost” “reject scientific consensus just because there are a few small holes u}in our knowledge, contradictions, conspiracy theories, raise the bar unrealistically to high when it comes to evidence that contradict my view, etc.

Then I simply decided that this logic was flawed. And had no option but to reject YEC.

I used to be christian, of the church of England variety. I got out of that because of christians. i then read the bible to try and find out why Christians can be such ****s. As a consequence of that study i became atheist

 

[leroy]

In wouldn't say that there isn't a god. My viewpoint is that there could be but I have no solid evidential reason to believe one exists yet.

t...

What about the arguments typically given by theists (cosmological argument, fine tuning argument, moral argument, resurrection, etc.? are you familiar with those arguments?, do you have good reasons to think the arguments are wrong or fallacious? Do you think that the arguments for atheism are better?

To me it seems that many atheist (not sure if this includes you) operate by the logic “there is no 100% conclusive evidence for God, …… therefore I am an atheist. What I am trying to say is that many times, atheist raise the bar unrealistically to high (which is also what YEC do when it comes to evolution)