What made you stray from religion?
April 28, 2009 12:06 PM Subscribe
What was the catalyst behind your change to atheism?
(or agnosticism, etc.) For me it was looking at how vast the universe is. I choose not to dispute the fact that light travels at a constant speed and I believe that certain stars are millions of light years away. Once I put those together, I had to agree that the light I see from these stars is millions of years old. That was the tipping point that forced me to examine my religion and admit that I really didn't believe at all.
Not looking for another atheism vs religion debate; that has been done to death.
(or agnosticism, etc.) For me it was looking at how vast the universe is. I choose not to dispute the fact that light travels at a constant speed and I believe that certain stars are millions of light years away. Once I put those together, I had to agree that the light I see from these stars is millions of years old. That was the tipping point that forced me to examine my religion and admit that I really didn't believe at all.
Not looking for another atheism vs religion debate; that has been done to death.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is very I'll Go Firstish; not really a great way to use askme. -- cortex
One morning, I woke up and decided that God wasn't going to flag chatfilter questions for me, and that I had to do it myself.
posted by box at 12:10 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by box at 12:10 PM on April 28, 2009
I was an agnostic for quite a while, and then, one day, I just realized that I was empty of any belief in God. There wasn't any there, and hadn't been any for as long as I could remember, and I was just hedging my bets by saying that I was agnostic. I see no evidence of God in the world, and I might as well call myself what I am.
Also, I like the character Esqueleto in Nacho Libre, and love the moment when he tells the main character "I don't believe in God; I believe in science." That moment just tickles me.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:14 PM on April 28, 2009
Also, I like the character Esqueleto in Nacho Libre, and love the moment when he tells the main character "I don't believe in God; I believe in science." That moment just tickles me.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:14 PM on April 28, 2009
In before the Chatfilter deletion:
I was pretty much always agnostic/atheist, really. I occasionally would say some things that might have resonated as "religious" with adults when I was very young, but it was mostly for the approval that all kids seek. I recall some time before the age of 10, my Mom offered an argument similar to Pascal's Wager, which I decided against, since "just in case" didn't make sense since God clearly didn't exist.
The nail in the coffin was definitely when some family members saw Jesus or Mary in a mud splatter on the side of my Dad's house around age 10. It was clearly shapeless, and they were clearly out of their minds. To my 10-year-old mind, that pretty much proved that religion was "dumb."
I've since matured, and better understand why people need religion and cleave to it, and so I'll never call someone "dumb" for believing in God, but it's just always seemed clear to me that God as described in Biblical terms does not, and cannot exist. Kind of like Santa or the Tooth Fairy, really.
posted by explosion at 12:20 PM on April 28, 2009
I was pretty much always agnostic/atheist, really. I occasionally would say some things that might have resonated as "religious" with adults when I was very young, but it was mostly for the approval that all kids seek. I recall some time before the age of 10, my Mom offered an argument similar to Pascal's Wager, which I decided against, since "just in case" didn't make sense since God clearly didn't exist.
The nail in the coffin was definitely when some family members saw Jesus or Mary in a mud splatter on the side of my Dad's house around age 10. It was clearly shapeless, and they were clearly out of their minds. To my 10-year-old mind, that pretty much proved that religion was "dumb."
I've since matured, and better understand why people need religion and cleave to it, and so I'll never call someone "dumb" for believing in God, but it's just always seemed clear to me that God as described in Biblical terms does not, and cannot exist. Kind of like Santa or the Tooth Fairy, really.
posted by explosion at 12:20 PM on April 28, 2009
I realized that it was insane for me to panic and apologize whenever I would think "What if there is no God?"
posted by Damn That Television at 12:26 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by Damn That Television at 12:26 PM on April 28, 2009
Lack of evidence for the God camp's claims.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:28 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:28 PM on April 28, 2009
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posted by exogenous at 12:07 PM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]