• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Atheists Chose to be atheists?

Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Nakosis said:
So in my case, there was plenty of evidence for a God/supernatural controlling entity. Prayers get answered, dreams/vision come. Signs that direct you to a truth or understanding. Lots of seeming coincidences. Plenty of "spiritual" experiences occur often enough to be convincing to the individual to believe.

My problem was I invested too much into too many beliefs. Reality seemed to cater to my belief, whatever it happened to be. So many religions, sure especially when the world seems to provide you with a reason to believe in whatever you happened to believe. Whatever my belief, whatever I happened to believe, the world provided reason to keep believing, to invest more belief.

I realized what was controlling my experience was my belief. :eek:

I didn't think my belief should have that much control over my experiences. The truth shouldn't be dependent on what I believed. I decided the only way I could know the truth was to stop believing. The truth should be the truth whether I believed in it or not.

So here I am, waiting for the truth to reveal itself without my belief getting in the way.
Click to expand...
I guess you mean that you had so many different beliefs that you could not figure out which one was true, if any, or differentiate between them.

It also sounds like you are saying that you were allowing the different beliefs to control your life experiences, so you were believing rather than living life. I can understand that. I try to live my life according to my beliefs but sometimes I take them so seriously that I lose sight of everything else.

You said that the truth shouldn't be dependent on what you believed.
I do not think the truth has anything to do with what people believe because beliefs do not determine reality.
Beliefs can be in accordance with truth/reality, or they might be a fantasy. The goal as I see it is to determine what beliefs are true/represent reality. That requires a lot of curiosity and sincere desire to know the truth. In the Baha'i Faith such people are called true seekers.
 
1

12_13

Member
PureX said:
Religions are a collection of tools: rituals, ideals, practices and traditions that people use to help them live according to a theological proposition. I don't think it's your place to decide for them which tools they need, or want to use.
Click to expand...
You can deny those tools and not worship
 
Valjean

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
12_13 said:
You can deny those tools and not worship
Click to expand...
If only religions were just used as tools, but many people insist they're ontological truths that must be acknowledged, respected or believed. They often dictate laws and behavior.
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
12_13 said:
You can deny those tools and not worship
Click to expand...
We can do whatever we want with them. But just because you don't happen to need a "hammer" right now doesn't mean no one else should need to use one (let's call the hammer "worship", as an example).
 
Last edited:
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Notanumber said:
The times are changing and so should religion.
Click to expand...
Religion has changed, in fact it has been renewed. The renewed religion is called the Baha'i Faith.

“And now concerning thy question regarding the nature of religion. Know thou that they who are truly wise have likened the world unto the human temple. As the body of man needeth a garment to clothe it, so the body of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom. Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God. Whenever this robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it. For every age requireth a fresh measure of the light of God. Every Divine Revelation hath been sent down in a manner that befitted the circumstances of the age in which it hath appeared.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 81
 
1

12_13

Member
PureX said:
We can do whatever we want with them. But just because you don't happen to need a "hammer" right now doesn't mean no one else should need to use one (let's call the hammer "worship", as an example).
Click to expand...
I agree that people can worship gods
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
12_13 said:
I agree that people can worship gods
Click to expand...
So let's take the analogy further; why would one reject the value of a tool just because they don't personally need the use of it? Why would one condemn a tool as "bad for humanity" just because some people misuse it and do bad things with or in the name of it? And yet atheists do this with religion all the time. They blame the religions for people's misuse of it, and they reject the usefulness of religion categorically just because they, themselves, have no immediate use for them. And then they belittle (as weak or foolish) anyone who does.
 
Nakosis

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
pingpongpal said:
You should choose the best God, actually the God who over all the other gods and that is the God of the Bible. But to know the truth about Him, you need to repent and then you will come to the truth as II Tim. 2:24-26 says, "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will." God has given us free will but because of Adam and Eve's sin, God cursed the whole world including our minds so that we cannot come to Him on our own. We choose according to our nature which is to choose to serve ourselves instead of God. So we freely choose but we choose according to our nature which against God because of the curse. The good news is that when we repent and make Jesus Lord of our lives, we come to the truth and get to have a relationship with the one true God.
Click to expand...

Repent of?
I mean what are we supposed to be repenting of?
 
1

12_13

Member
PureX said:
So let's take the analogy further; why would one reject the value of a tool just because they don't personally need the use of it? Why would one condemn a tool as "bad for humanity" just because some people misuse it and do bad things with or in the name of it? And yet atheists do this with religion all the time. They blame the religions for people's misuse of it, and they reject the usefulness of religion categorically just because they, themselves, have no immediate use for them. And then they belittle (as weak or foolish) anyone who does.
Click to expand...
I meant that as from a democracy standpoint, the freedom to worship is necessary for a stable society and is pillar of democracy. Atheists dont need relgion as they already have the answers presented to them in a scientific way without a god
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
12_13 said:
I meant that as from a democracy standpoint, the freedom to worship is necessary for a stable society and is pillar of democracy. Atheists don't need religion as they already have the answers presented to them in a scientific way without a god
Click to expand...
Well, that's what they 'believe'. Just as the theists 'believe' they have all the answers they need, via religion. What matters is that they have what they need/want relative to their own experience and understanding of being, and their subsequent needs and desires. And yet the two camps battle endlessly over who is "right".

And I find this idiotic, as righteousness in this instance is not knowable. What matters is the relative, positive functionality of one's choice, and the willingness to change if that choice comes up lacking.
 
1

12_13

Member
PureX said:
Well, that's what they 'believe'. Just as the theists 'believe' they have all the answers they need, via religion. What matters is that they have what they need/want relative to their own experience and understanding of being, and their subsequent needs and desires. And yet the two camps battle endlessly over who is "right".

And I find this idiotic, as righteousness in this instance is not knowable. What matters is the relative, positive functionality of one's choice, and the willingness to change if that choice comes up lacking.
Click to expand...
All the answers are not tested, they are not demonstrated nor proven. Dawkins put it best, while religion might explain something doesn't mean that we shouldn't stop searching for a scientific answer to test,demonstrate and prove.Atheism has had 3000 years of science to develop in it's favor

Also I know you- you were at DDO
 
Valjean

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
12_13 said:
I meant that as from a democracy standpoint, the freedom to worship is necessary for a stable society and is pillar of democracy. Atheists dont need relgion as they already have the answers presented to them in a scientific way without a god
Click to expand...
Maybe it's not a question of science vs religion providing answers. Maybe atheists are just more comfortable without answers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top