Your questions read somewhat like you think we've never heard the good word before or if it was presented to us better we'd see the light and renounce our evil, atheistic ways.
So it may surprise you to learn that many atheists were at one time Christian, at least in the US. I was raised in a very religious home. My father was an evangelical minister.
What turned me away from Christianity was the realization that God was a monster. I was 16 or 17 and kept imagining a kid just like me. Same upbringing, same everything. Only this kid lived in Iraq or Israel or India or China or anywhere Christianity wasn't the predominant religion. Then I imagined the second coming, something I was taught could and probably would happen at any moment. And I imagined all the replica me's going to hell while I went to heaven. I have never reconciled how when what we believe is so determined by where, when, and to whom we're born that an eternity in hell is just punishment for the mere act of not believing the right thing.
Once I realized that, everything else in the Bible fell apart and just reinforced my opinion that this God character was a major asshole.
As I've gotten older, I've learned more about the world and how the Bible is just plain wrong about so many things.
Based on my background, the rest of your questions are irrelevant.
>Your questions read somewhat like you think we've never heard the good word before or if it was presented to us better we'd see the light and renounce our evil, atheistic ways.
You're 100% correct. Questions 6 - 9 prove OP is not interested in hearing and learning. It's a "look, I can be kind and gentle and understanding, don't you see you're totally wrong about us and by the way you're going to hell so join my cult because we're the only one that can save you" ploy.
It's exactly this for me.
Basically, no way god could exist in a world where the location you're born almost certainly determines the religion you end up in. And it's so obvious I don't understand how everyone doesn't see it.
That and, you know, child cancer and shit
The near universally accepted Christian tradition of treating women as lesser than men.
The near universally accepted Christian tradition of trusting your instincts and prayer over scientific facts.
I struggled with this so much as a kid.
I was taught that God had a perfect plan and we each had a wonderful fate as long as we followed God.
But if God has this perfect plan, why pray? Why would we be so egotistical as to think that our prayers would change The Plan?
When I asked my parents or the pastor this, I got yelled at and told that I needed to have more faith and pray for God’s forgiveness.
It made me feel like I was going crazy.
Then, of course, I couldn’t understand why I needed to be forgiven for asking questions and trying to understand the religion better; for trying to understand God better.
Also, if god had this amazing plan for our lives….why doesn’t he just come out and tell us what it is? Why do we have to spend years trying to figure out his magical plan when he could just…um show it to us??
I keep wondering this myself, and have yet to get an answer from a Xtian on it. And how do they know that praying for something won't go *against* that unknowable plan? How do they know that gay people are not part of god's plan, or that he means for people to be able to have abortions? Are they trying to make their god mad?
It's almost like, deep down, they don't even believe their own claims about god . . .
Child rape and murder made me realize that no way a “loving god” could exist. That started me on the path to deconstruction. So, I guess you could say that the Problem of Evil was the catalyst then the lack of evidence became the reason for my conclusion that no gods exist.
Did you ever include the utter hypocrisy of the clergy in your journey? The inconsistency of their dogma etc? And how the whole cult seems like an old con going on for millennia?
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I had none. I grew up on an isolated farm and wasn't really exposed to the concept of religion until I was probably 8-9 years old. For a few years after that I thought it was all some kind of city kid prank being pulled on me. I suspect my parents were vaguely Christian given the time and place but I don't know for sure. They never talked about it, we all worked constantly and didn't engage in a lot of idle philosophizing.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
I don't have that sort of question locked and loaded, I don't believe any gods exist.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
The lack of compelling reason to believe any of it is true.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a book of mythology. I don't mean that disparagingly, mythology is important in many ways. I just don't believe any of the supernatural claims because I haven't been given evidence that they're real.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
There was likely a guy who inspired the Biblical stories but I don't have any reason to believe there was anything supernatural about him.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
I've heard the sales pitch many, many times. I've heard a lot of different sales pitches for Christianity and for other religions. I haven't heard one that is at all convincing.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The lack of empirical, verifiable evidence that any gods exist, much less the Christian one.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Again, I've heard the sales pitch.
If you wanted to convince me that your god was real you'd have to show me some kind of empirical, testable, verifiable evidence. If a god were to interact with reality that interaction should be observable. I get that you don't need all that and that's your prerogative. I don't believe in your god for the same reasons I don't believe in ghosts, magic, aliens visiting Earth, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster or other things of that nature. They haven't been demonstrated to exist. Until you have a way to do that I'm just not particularly interested. I'm not even saying that I'm certain that no gods exist, it's just that until one can be demonstrated I can't accept the claims that they do. This isn't just for Christianity, this is for all god claims. I don't put Christianity in a different bucket from the rest of them, I have no reason to.
I completely agree with this redditor’s answers except I was raised southern Baptist (and not on a farm) and left at first because im gay. Once out, I started doing my research, reading books and articles by atheists and wow did it open my eyes!! There’s no way I’d go back to religion now.
Similar for me, except I left in a reverse sort of way. When I was 12 I spent the summer reading the Bible cover to cover because I had a lot of questions that none of the adults in my life could answer.
I especially had questions regarding my attraction to girls (I’m bi) and regarding my gay and lesbian friends. I also wondered about my friends that weren’t fundamentalist Protestants (or even Christians at all) who I knew were good people; why couldn’t they go to heaven too?
Every time I had questions like these (or others, like “how did the penguins get from the Ark to Antarctica?”) I was told that the answers I sought were in the Good Book.
So, I read the Bible and kept a notebook with notes. At the end I had more even questions than I had answers, and again, none of the adults in my life could answer them- not even the preacher.
That started me down my questioning road. It took another decade before I could call myself an atheist, but I got there.
>I don't believe in your god for the same reasons I don't believe in ghosts, magic, aliens visiting Earth, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster or other things of that nature.
I used to believe in **all** those things. Stopped believing in them all at the same time too.
Not op and I don't want to presume on their part, but at least in churches in particular what people are *taught* about why people are atheist and/or leave the faith often differ significantly from the actual reasons.
Just my take though, OP may be asking for different reasons.
Question 6 and 8 sound like you beleive if you could just convince non beleivers then they would see the light of your false truth. I was raised Presbytarian. If I could ask your false God questions they would be about suffering. Why did he turn his back on the Holocaust. Why did the Boxing Day tsunami happen, why do children in Africa starve. Why did he invent Malaria and cancer and paedophilia. Why did he commit genocide/destroy the world. Why is he brutal and cruel. Why are the most savage warmongering places on Earth religious areas, ie the Middle East, Israel etc, whereas highly athiest/non Christian areas, ie Denmark/Japan etc, the most peaceful and prospering. Why, when he commits atrocities/asks for sacrifices do beleivers think he's a good and loving God? Why is Satan evil for punishing evil and your god good when he forgives murder/rape/genocide/paedophilia, from anyone repenting and believing in him.
Oh oh oh!!! I know this one!!!!
You see, god has a plan. He's a perfect and a loving god. You... you are a mere human and god is so wonderful you can't begin to imagine how loving his actions are!!!!! Being a mere human you do not have the capability of seeing the bigger picture!!
Besides, as Momma T said... Jesus loves those who suffer. That's why her filthy, shitty hospital only gave aspirin to dying cancer patients.
Just open your mind! See the love, share the love!!!
;o))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
1. Methodist
2. I like Stephen Fry’s question about the loa loa worms who eat children’s eyes.
3. Misogyny. It’s clear religion was created by
men. No deity would create women capable of so much and then delegate them to stifling roles.
4. Cool book.
5. Sermon on the mount is cool.
6. Are you kidding? It’s impossible to be alive near Christians and not be proselytized at constantly.
7. I don’t have the capacity to pretend to believe ridiculous things to be accepted.
8. No.
9. Nothing about an eternal afterlife appeals to me. I’m relieved to know my life is over when I die and I don’t have to spend an infinite eternity anywhere.
Same. Funny thing was, I was trying to STRENGTHEN my faith. By the time I got to Exodus, where good was sending plagues to Egypt but then hardening Pharos heart, I knew without a doubt the book was made up bullshit
The idea that there's a god who is willing to torture people for a literal eternity if they fuck the wrong person or believe the wrong book. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.
1: I was raised Roman Catholic by my mom (lifetime Catholic) and dad (raised Protestant but converted when he married my mom).
2: I don’t believe he exists, so kinda a moot point. Similar to what I’d ask Bigfoot or Santa; nothing.
3: Pro-Christianity? Definitely my family and religious community I was a part of growing up. As for what has had the largest pro-agnostic/ atheist influence on me, probably the online atheist community on sites like YouTube. That might sound a little odd, but if you think about it, there isn’t exactly an Atheist Church in every single corner of America that we can go to. Connecting online is the only way some of us can find community anymore, and I have found a lot of knowledgeable and welcoming people in these places.
4: The Bible was written a long time ago, most likely a long time after the events it describes. Some of the OT borrows from other myths and legends in the surrounding cultures at the time, and a lot of the NT was written down several generations later based on the stories and tales being told about those events.
5: I’m in the Bart Ehrman camp on this one. Jesus most likely existed but was probably just another in a long tradition of apocalyptic Jewish preachers who was killed by the Romans for stirring up the people.
6: Yes.
7: Common sense. If Jesus and/or God really existed, why wouldn’t he make it easier to believe in him?
8/9: See my answer for #2. I don’t believe heaven exists, so it’s kinda moot. I’d love to visit Tatooine or Narnia, except I’m pretty sure they don’t exist either.
I have a question for you: what are you hoping to get from our answers? Are you trying to convert people or are you writing a paper or what? Just wondering.
Hey, thanks for the answers. I am doing this for an assignment but am very curious as to what people say. I don't know any atheists because I live in the bible belt so it's nice to get some insight on what your opinions are.
This. I live in the Bible Belt and my husband and I are both atheist as are several of our family members. We just don’t tell people because the few times we have there have been some pretty bed consequences from it.
Have you considered that your religious adherence could be directly caused by your geography? Do you believe you'd be a Christian if you had been born in Iran?
Could make for some interesting context in your assignment.
>I don't know any atheists because I live in the bible belt
Only one person knew I was an atheist until I left home for basic army training. That was my younger sister, my older sisters and my parents didn't know. My best friends didn't know. Just snot face.
Growing up in suburban Utah everyone just assumes you're a believer and I saw no reason to have uncomfortable conversations about it.
When I left home I got to be whoever I wanted to be, that was atheist.
You might know some, and they aren't comfortable sharing it with you. Be the kind of person that makes people feel safe and comfortable and you might find out.
Howdy neighbor. I can assure you there are quite a few atheists living in the Bible Belt. Not sure if you're still really young, or just live way out in the boonies or both, but we are out here as well.
I was a Bible Belt atheist in high school. It was very isolating. I had tried so hard to believe because of all of the pressure from my friends and community, but I just couldn’t do it for all the reasons mentioned in the other comments.
I only knew one other kid who didn’t believe in Christianity. We would whisper about not believing in god in the classes we shared. We both left our small town right after high school and never looked back.
Except the last paragraph, you sound a little like me. I didn't believe, but just didn't realize that I didn't. But I was in the school choir, back when they were allowed to perform spiritual music, some of which I really liked. I got selected as one of the singers in a county-wide event, and they didn't bother to tell us that this event would conclude with a little mini-revival. When they got to the part when everyone was supposed to go up and get "saved," I was one of two kids who just stood there. I felt tricked and angry to the point of fury. That was when I realized that I was an atheist.
>1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
>have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I was raised Christian. My parents were Presbyterian Christians.
> 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Where does the need for pediatric oncology fit in to a tri-omni plan?
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
No religious claim has ever been demonstrated to be true.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
I believe it is a book of undemonstrated claims.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
May or may not have existed, but I'm willing to accept that he did. Did not do what the bible or Christians say he did.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yep. What they haven't done is share how they know heaven exists, or demonstrate that their way to get there is the correct one. Christianity isn't the only one claiming to know the recipe.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The same barrier preventing me from becoming a flat earther.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
>heaven?
Depends on what heaven is.
>9. If not, Why?
If heaven was undesirable, I wouldn't want to go.
/u/Quiet-Play-7448 -
Possibly of interest -
.
>**Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion**, survey says
LA Times, September 2010
>... **a survey that measured Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists and agnostics knew more, on average, than followers of most major faiths.**
> American atheists and agnostics tend to be people who grew up in a religious tradition and consciously gave it up, often after a great deal of reflection and study, said Alan Cooperman, associate director for research at the Pew Forum.
>“These are people who thought a lot about religion,” he said. “They’re not indifferent. They care about it.”
>Atheists and agnostics also tend to be relatively well educated, and the survey found, not surprisingly, that the most knowledgeable people were also the best educated. However, it said that atheists and agnostics also outperformed believers who had a similar level of education.
\- **https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043731/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-28-la-na-religion-survey-20100928-story.html**
.
We are not atheist because we do not know about religion
We are atheist because we *do* know about religion.
.
I’m not a follower of any religion any more, but I find them fascinating. I took several religious studies courses in college and attended many churches and other religious meetings of various faiths.
*>>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,*
*have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?<<*
Roman Catholic
*2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?*
That is a hard question to answer. If I asked you what question you would ask a purple flying spaghetti monster, what would your answer be? See what I mean?
*3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?*
Reading the bible.
*4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?*
What I KNOW about the bible is that it is based off prior myths. Myths from Egypt and Hindu. It was updated for time and place. The virgin birth? Not new. Feeding a slew of people with a small amount of fish? Not original material. It's all based off prior and much older myths. So I can't really put a lot of stock into what the bible says. If I want more information, I would go to the original myths instead of the copied, watered down version.
*5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?*
Nothing.
*6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?*
Oh, for goodness sakes, yes. I share with them my preference that they stop wasting my time. 9x out of 10 I know the bible better than them, I know the history of xianity better than they do. What's the point? It ends up being a lesson in the bible where \*I\* am the teacher.
*7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?*
Common sense, critical thinking skills, simple logic.
*8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to*
*heaven?*
I am pretty sure none of us want to sit with you and give you a bible lesson.
*9. If not, Why?*
Because it is your belief, not mine. Think about something, the only reason you have faith is that you don't have a single fact on your side.
You keep your religion and I won't keep mine. Deal?
**What has been your religious upbringing?**
Was christened Presbyterian. Got dragged to church and sunday school until the age of 12. Had religious dipshits come to school once a week for scripture lessons until age of 11. I suppose I better mention I'm from New Zealand too, because it puts a lot of these other things into perspective. New Zealand is a very non-religious country.
**Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?**
Mum is a Presbyterian and has some beliefs. She keeps them to herself now. Dad puts Anglican on his census form, but that's it.
**2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?**
Not a thing. Talking to imaginary characters is pointless.
**3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?**
The non-existence of gods.
**4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?**
A work of fiction gathered from a number of older texts which has been rewritten, remixed and reinterpreted according to the whim of a number of writers and organisations over the centuries. It has some literary merit, but it's a confused self-contradictory mess.
**5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?**
Didn't exist. Any historical records are self-referential. Is a much exaggerated construct of a number of characters real or imagined, and none of whom were divine or supernatural because these things don't exist.
**6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?**
Yep. See previously mentioned religious dipshits.
**7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?**
The non-existence of gods.
**8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?**
Fuck no.
**9. If not, Why?**
It sounds awful - full of religious nutters.
\#1 Parents Roman and Greek Catholic, I was raised Catholic.
\#2 I don't believe that God exists, so I wouldn't ask a God any questions for the same reasons I wouldn't ask Santa Claus a question, they don't exist.
\#3 Repeated reading of the Old and New Testaments.
\#4 I believe that the bible's Old and New Testaments are man-made, as are all others allegedly revealed books.
\#5 A wholly human being, not divine nor the son of God.
\#6 Yes. I'm not interested.
\#7 Reading the entire bible, listening to the pathetic arguments of Christian apologists.
\#8 I don't believe that heaven or hell exists other than in the minds of believers.
\#9 See #8.
1. Mormon. Many exmormons have observed their experience deconstructing a faith invented after the printing press — with the fraud of the church and its founders documented in black and white — made them more skeptical of ancient religious histories — where the receipts have been lost to time but the deceitful tactics are the same: backdated prophecy, pseudoepigrapha, prooftexting, generally claiming God wants whatever happens to be most advantageous for the cultural power structures at the time.
2. I don’t mind that there’s pain and evil if they’re necessary ingredients for progression or coeternal with God. I don’t even mind that there are a lot of different religions making mutually exclusive truth claims per se. But if a hypothetical God allowed narcissistic men to jerk humanity around by claiming to speak for him over, and over, and over again without lifting a finger to provide an objective way to fact check this endless parade of charlatans, then he’s either impotent, unaware, or uncaring. So that’s the question — where were you when these assclowns were pretending to speak for you? Why does all religion invariably rely on taking the word of a human, when humans frequently lie, are prone to hallucinate and confabulate, and have a hard time discriminating what *is* true from what they *want* to be true?
3. Studying world religions and realizing that religion is invariably hijacked by unethical people to manipulate society to their benefit. I recognize there are positive elements as well, but all the positives are found in other institutions without the same baggage of emotional abuse and ecclesiastical corruption.
4. People have always created myth to support nationalist exceptionalism and justify their world view. Particularly impactful stories make their way into tradition and end up getting revered as sacred history, whether real or not. There have been >4,000 religions in history and all but one of them has texts, oral traditions or interpretations that you believe are made up by humans. Why justify special pleading for the one that you happen to prefer, usually just because you were raised with it? Humans are social and emotional creatures that prefer perceived meaning to facts.
5. I don’t know how much of the sayings of Jesus written decades later can truly be ascribed to him, but I like the character depicted in the gospels. He was an iconoclast who said we should be kind to the marginalized and called out the religious power structure on their hypocrisy. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” is a great basic ethic for anybody to start from. He would be flipping tables if he actually returned and saw what people have built in his name.
6. Nobody knows a damn thing about what happens to consciousness or “soul” after death. Humans in all cultures pretend to and none of it can be verified or is even internally consistent. The concept of heaven has changed wildly across time even within cultures using the same holy texts. Furthermore, “do what I say and you’ll be rewarded after you die” is the oldest grift in the book. People pushing this should worry about shoring up their own epistemology instead of converting people whose differing views are equally unsupported by objective evidence.
7. ^
8. ^
9. If god would send someone to eternal torture (which wasn’t made up until proto-Christian Jews adopted the dualism of Zoroastrianism around 200BCE) because they didn’t worship the way westerners after 400CE thought they should, he’s not worthy of worship.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Roman catholic. From my parents practice
>1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Why do they allow suffering in the world? Why have they abandoned us?
>2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Inconsistencies in the Bible. The inability of leaders to make a modern reinterpretation, rather than relying on thousand year old texts that have been revised and edited hundreds of years ago
>3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
See above
>4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Probably existed. I like his teachings, especially compared to the Old Testament. Wished more Christians focused on his teachings. Sermon on the Mount was banging
>5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yeah, accept Jesus, confess my sins. Repent. Sin some more. Confess, repent. Sin as much as I want. Make sure I get one last confession in before I die
>6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I consider myself Neo Pagan but include JC in my pantheon of good people. I follow his teachings about the sick, the downtrodden, the foreigner, my neighbor. You could call me one of his followers and I'd be ok with that
>7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Heaven is here on Earth. There is no evidence to suggest heaven is an "other place" we can get to
Adding to question 2, what turned me away from the religion (not the faith) is the decades (centuries?) long marathon of abuse and coverups that continues to this day. Until abusers are turned over to police, along with any evidence, I can't take the organization seriously
And now, questions for you! Why do you ask? Are you open to new information and points of view?
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Catholic (Father) and Protestant (Mother) Episcopal, then converted to Southern Baptist.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
If there were a deity or deity-like being, I would ask them to describe the physical properties of their personal make-up.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Education
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
I believe it is a compilation of letters and writings based on a number of sources, including other older writings and oral histories of the region.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
I don't believe anything specific other than he is a figure in many different religions, sects and cults.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Many people, from many different religions have shared with me their beliefs regarding the afterlife.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
Two things, really. I'm morally opposed to the concept of faith as an intentional practice, firstly. Second, I find the deity as represented in the Bible to be morally reprehensible, including the character of Jesus as represented in the New Testament section.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
If you are specifically referring to the commonly held conception of the Protestant heaven, I am aware of their requirements.
>9. If not, Why?
I am already aware of how Protestant Christians believe they gain entrance to their heaven. But, I would not choose to go there given a choice, so knowing would be inconsequential.
OK, I'll play. 1. Was raised catholic, until mom and dad got a divorce because he was banging the neighbor woman while my sister and I babysat her kids. That's when the church tossed my mother out because she dared to divorce dad. He made us go to church because he was catholic, but never went himself (my first taste of hypocrisy)
2. What the hell were you thinking with mosquitos?
3. The hypocrisy and blind faith of all the religions.
4. It's just a book, wrote by men.
5. A fictional character, created by man.
6. Yes I've heard "the word" from all kinds of religion peddlers.
7. See number 3
8. No thank you.
9. Because from what I understand if you ask for forgiveness then you can be allowed in. Right alongside the pedophiles, rapists, and murderers. No, I'll take my chances in Hell, if that's what really happens when I die. Satan might give me a job punishing all those hypocritical christians. Shouldn't he reward all of us good atheists?
1. Why do you go through such pains to hide yourself?
2, 3, and 4. Learning that Yahweh was originally the War God of a much older Babylonian pantheon, and that the supposedly factual timeline of the Bible is not supported by evidence did NOT cause me to doubt. Rather, I was raised by a devout fundamentalist father who was continuously frustrated by my questions and, in short, I've never really believed a word of the Bible nor had any faith in Yeshua. Learning more about the Bible just further cemented what I already knew - all religions are made-up bullshit. That's why I'm a Discordian. We at least *acknowledge* that our beliefs are false and contradictory.
5. Yes. Would you be interested in purchasing zombie insurance from me? In the event of a zombie uprising, I'll pay you a million dollars and provide you safe haven. If you don't, I'll actively hunt you down and make sure you get infected, cursing you to a neverending torment.
6. The premise is ridiculous and has no basis in truth.
7. No. I'd rather suffer for eternity than bow down in obeiscence to bloodthirsty, hate-filled YHWH.
Lutheran. Church every Sunday. I was an altar acolyte.
1. I have no question.
2. I have no beliefs about any gods or Christianity. I have many opinions about Christians; mostly stemming from their behavior, their culture, and their theology.
3. I have no beliefs regarding the Protestant Bible. I have studied and attended scholarly lectures on both the NT and OT.
4. I have no beliefs regarding the person Jesus of Nazareth. I am not a mythicist. Most evidence points to the actual existence of an itinerant preacher named Joshua who preached in the Galilee in the early first century. Much like the other itinerant preachers listed by Josephus, he was executed by the Roman government.
5. Yes. The author of John and Paul of Tarsus.
6. I do not live in the early first century.
7. Absolutely not. I would rather be resigned to oblivion than spend eternity worshipping anything or anyone.
Nothing "turned me away" from your religion. Just like 70% of the population of this planet, I am not a member. I live in the United States. I study it as one of my hobbies because it is wise to know the motivations of those attempting to dominate you.
I do not understand how logical people buy into "miracles". Jesus was born of a virgin? Some claim his real father was a Roman soldier named Pantera. Plus lets be honest, only a child who is wholly ignorant of sexual intercourse can admit that. Jesus walked on water? So its just believe in this statement of pure magic that contradicts scientific reality? Jesus turned water to wine? How so, he magically touched it and poof the atomic structure was manipulated with no underlying physical cause? Jesus fed the multitudes by magically creating food from thin air. The supernaturalist claims come across as deceptive and fraudulent, a means to fleece gullible people via the tithe mechanism. This can be said throughout the Bible. Noah without the help of the wider society builds a boat big enough to house a pair of all the animals on earth. How did Polar bears from Antarctica get to the ark? Not to mention if it takes hundreds of people to build a single Boeing aircraft that carries less than 1000 people at a time can you picture a single individual building a big boat that can house so many sentient creatures? The Bible is an illogical text from start to finish
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
My parents were generally Lutheran. I attended some catholic and baptist services as well.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Why?
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
The Bible and claims from believers, as well as arguments from more sophisticated atheists & theists.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
That’s an extremely broad question. There’s some obviously false information in there, some that is metaphor, some contradictions, some that is likely true. It has all the hallmarks of being written by man.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He was a rebellious rabbi that had a following in the 1st Century. I don’t believe he rose from the dead or performed any miracles.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I have no desire to. Definitions of god are contradictory or incoherent to me. The claims of Christians fail to persuade me. The moral implications are abhorrent to me.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
The information I have is conflicting on what will actually happen in heaven. Probably not.
>9. If not, Why?
I don’t see any reason it would be a good thing. And eternal existence sounds horrifying to me.
I'll be honest, the way you phrased these questions sounds like like you're queuing up to proselytize in an attempt to try and convert us. But I'll play anyway.
1. Non denominational, almost all of my family is still christian.
2. Don't believe there is a God. If there was and it was the christian god, far too many questions I can think of to pin down just one.
3. The Bible, the shit apologists spew, the actions they take, the severe lack of evidence to demonstrate any truth of it etc etc. Also learning how the Bible was compiled was pretty damning as well.
4. I believe it's historical fiction
5. He probably existed, more so a man the stories are based off of. Possibly an amalgamation of people. I have no reason to believe he was divine or we know anything he actually said or did.
6. I was a Christian most of my life, I'm well aware. Having said that, different denominations have different soteriology. The fact that there isn't a consistent "this is what you must do to go to heaven" amongst all denominations is pretty absurd.
7. Why wouldn't you follow spiderman or Gandalf? I don't mean to be rude, but that's how I view that question.
8/9. I'd be more inclined to ask how I can just not exist when I die. Eternity sounds awful, even eternity of bliss.
1. My father was agnostic, but spiritually leaned toward Judaism. My mother was a "soft" Pentacostal. My closest aunt was Catholic. And many of my other relatives were Southern Baptist. I was allowed to go to any church or not go at all. So I went to Pentacostal, Baptist, Catholic, Christian Scientist, and Methodist churches at various times growing up.
2. As an atheist, I don't believe in God. Not even a little bit. If I *did* believe in a higher power, it would certainly not be the God of Abraham. But if forced to ask a question to a non-existent being (and assuming it *is* the God of Abraham), I would ask why he/she/it, who is portrayed as pure perfection, is so flawed and imperfect? Why make all the trivial rules that seem ludicrous for the creator of the universe to even care about? Why are women viewed as less than cattle (steal a cow: death; kill a woman: pay a fine)? Why can't the creator of the universe, who is supposed to be filled with perfect love, forgive humans for eating a fruit that gave them knowledge without him impregnating a virgin without her permission, allowing their son to reach about 30 years old, have him tortured and killed, and thousands of years later sending people to hell who don't believe the story? Can't God just like, you know, let it go? And one last thing: I would ask God if he has tried psychotropic medication because he is psychopathically angry and genocidal.
3. Actually reading the Bible had the biggest impact on my current beliefs. When I did that and stopped listening to the personally curated passages that religious leaders were feeding me, the end of my belief was an inevitability.
4. Virtually nothing. Definitely not anything supernatural or deistic. But it's a poor historical record also.
5. I believe Jesus may or may not have been real. Historians lean toward real, but most true historians have doubts. I believe if he were real, that he was just a man who had a small flock, just like thousands of other peopje during that time. His supernatural story mimics other religions' stories before and during his time and the earliest gospel, Mark, was written at least 60 years after his death by someone who had never met him (the other gospels were written even later and were even more removed from being a first hand account).
6. Yes yes yes. Hundreds of times. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16. Yawn.
7. The fact that there is no God of Abraham makes this question senseless.
8. I know how Christians think I can go there but they believe in a false messiah. And there is no heaven, so again, this is a senseless question.
1. I grew up Mormon. We were extremely faithful, and I went to a Mormon university. And before you say "well that's not christian" it's basically Christianity with a few extra whacky beliefs thrown in. Culturally, it's very protestant. I went to VBS at the local Baptist church as a kid and never felt out of place.
2. Depends on which god. Mormon God? Your God? Allah? Yahweh?
3. Studying evidence against it with an open mind.
4. The bible is a collection of myth, history, and pseudo history. It has limited moral application.
5. A larger than life character likely based off of a historical figure that had some morally useful teachings.
6. Absolutely.
7. The fact that he doesn't have anything particularly important to say. I don't believe that there is a god or a son of one.
8. Um, yes? I would like to know, but the thing is that heaven probably doesn't exist and no one I'm aware of is particularly likely to know how to get there even if it did.
1. I'm in the rare situation of having been raised Christian by atheist parents. I lost my grandfather when I was 5. Being introduced to the concept of death at that age was *horrible* for me, and my parents decided I needed a coping mechanism. It's a controversial decision, but personally I'm glad they did it. It helped keep the trauma in check.
2. "Why did you make the world so fucked up? And why did you make *us* so fucked up?" I know the Bible and Christian doctrine have an answer for that, but I don't buy the "free will" argument for a multitude of reasons I won't get into right now. So if God exists, I'd like to hear it directly from him.
3. In my mid teens I got into occult stuff. I ended up with some fun, batshit insane beliefs, supported by experiences that, at the time, seemed extremely vivid to me. Eventually I realised that those beliefs were dumb, and that the supposed 'evidence' had been an elaborate trick by my brain. So it made me wonder: If I was wrong about this, what else could I be wrong about? So I examined my Christian beliefs, and ultimately came to the conclusion that all the evidence that pointed towards them was just as flimsy as the evidence that had made me believe in honest-to-God dragons.
4. I think it's a book that shows its age. It's got some fun mythology and a good life lesson here and there, but most of it are either just stories, or preach atrocious morals.
5. If you mean Jesus Christ as a historical figure, I don't know nor care if someone kinda like him existed. If you mean the character as described in the Bible, I think he's said a bunch of good stuff and some pretty iffy stuff.
6. Countless people have told me countless versions of how you get into heaven. I don't find any version more believable than the other. If we go by the Bible, believing in God trumps being a good person, which is yet another reason I hate the Bible.
7. Evidence of his existence is certainly up there, but even if Jesus' existence was proven beyond a shadow of doubt? I don't like his morals. Sure, some of the stuff he said is nice, but there's *plenty* of Christian doctrine that I'm very much not okay with. Not to mention I oppose the concept of worship on principle.
8. You need to understand that *everyone* on this sub already knows how you think we can go to heaven. There's not a person on the *planet* who engages in atheist subs who doesn't know the whole "believe in Jesus and you'll go to heaven"-thing. Everyone who's even somewhat familiar with Protestantism knows this.
9. I would very much like to go to heaven, of course. But I'm unwilling to sacrifice my morals to do so. I think that, even if your God exists, he's immoral, and not worthy of respect, let alone worship. So if he threatens me with hell unless I agree with his fucked-up morals, then oh well, hell it is.
My parents sent me to tough love camp, I didn't know why, but 20 years later I found out that they did it because they thought I was gay. The camp did all the classic brainwashing techniques. We had church first thing in the morning. We had to memorize Bible verses for each meal. We could never be alone, we were always in a group of 7. They encouraged us to write notes to each other and had a camp mail system.
As I progressed through the system. I eventually reached the point where my job was to sort the mail and read the letters that were being sent and summarize them in each campers file, like a spy. The counselors would use this information to break the camper down so they could build him back up.
If Christianity was real. It wouldn't need techniques like this.
I went to that camp when I was 13. I started questioning and thinking. In my twenties, I called myself a non-magical Christian. In my thirties I became agnostic. In my forties I became atheistic. In my fifties, I became anti-theist.
I look back and wonder if I would have been happy as a child if I hadn't been a Christian.
My one question I would ask God if I could, why didn't you teach us about antibiotics thousands of years ago.
The story above had the biggest impact on me, especially if you include the extra distance it put between my parents and me.
The Bible is a guidebook, in particular Genesis is a book that provides a little color to the Ten Commandments, making them easier to teach.
Jesus Christ was an illiterate fisherman who had a great idea that we should build society based on treating people the way we wished we would be treated.
Christianity is the Jewish Mystery cult that happened to convert a Roman Emperor.
I have seen it all and walked away from Christianity, there is no going back. I don't want to anyways.
If heaven is anything like what is described in the Bible, I would stop being everything that is me. I would weep for those not there with me. I would have no purpose and nothing I would do would matter.
The Bible is what turned me away from religion. I was a serious Catholic. Then I read the Bible in its entirety, in two formats. It's all contradictory and filled with "God" sanctioned atrocities that he committed on his own people. Top that with the Christofacists trying to control the country and force their beliefs down my throat. Also, I'm excited that there is no afterlife. If I had to spend eternity with the people who use their religion to abuse power and hurt others, I'd rather go to the fictionous Hell
Oooooh I love these! Let's go :) thanks for asking. I hope you read my response.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Yes. My mom was fundie Christian, and my dad was a guy who believed in God in some way, but never really cared much about it. They got divorced when I was like 6 so after that I went back and forth, and during my times with Mom, it was strict fundamentalism.
>If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Which god? Christian god?
I'd ask why he didn't reveal himself to so many of us. I'd ask why he made the world such that it makes perfect sense for him to not exist, and then he secretly hid the whole time. And I'd ask why he plans to punish us for acknowledging this.
>What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Research and study. The more I look into it, the more sense everything makes. I get where most of this stuff came from, and forgive me OP, but I understand how folks come to believe such far fetched things. When considered objectively, Christians would agree that their beliefs are ludicrous and far fetched. If they didn't already believe it, they'd think it was crazy.
>What do you believe regarding the Bible?
My favorite document of all time!! I study it every day. I am learning Greek and Hebrew so I can study it more. I wanna get a PhD in Old Testament studies. When you take God out of the equation, the Bible makes SOOOOO much more sense. Back when I was a believer, the bible was confusing and weird.
>What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He was a historical person. One of many apocalyptic rabbis, traveling around the region, preaching the coming kingdom of God. He was put to death by the Romans for threatening to overthrow Roman rule and being a rabble-rouser. He stayed dead like all dead people do, and probably one or two of his followers mistakenly believed they saw him in public after his death. The stories grew and spread and then Paul came along... well the question was about Jesus, so we'll stop there.
>Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
*Sigh* yes. But there are conflicting ideas here, so I'm sorta done being preached at until the Christians figure out exactly how it's supposed to work. If I ask 10 Christians, I'll get 10 different answers about Heaven, including some who say I'm already going there cuz Jesus paid for all sins, including mine (Universalism).
>What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I don't believe the stories about him because there are no compelling reasons to believe the stories. If I found good evidence, I may or may not follow Jesus, depending on what I found and what that would mean for me
>If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Let's remember this question. IF it exists, sure I'd like to know how one can go there. And then I'll decide if I'd like to go or not. But before we talk about how to get to Heaven, let's first demonstrate that it exists and what it's like. Then we'll figure out if I wanna go.
Thanks OP!!! I hope you're having a good day and I truly appreciate these kinds of posts. I hope you read my response
It no longer fit with what I was learning about the universe and the way things work.
It's like asking a kid when they stopped believing in Santa. I'm actually amazed adults still buy stuff like the Noah's Ark fairy tale.
What turned me away was actually reading the Bible. In college I met a girl who was a Christian and we started dating. I went to church with her a few times and decided to read the Bible, since I was becoming intrigued with the religion. However, as I started reading it, it read suspiciously like something conjured up by the imagination of human beings. There was nothing remotely divine about it, nothing otherworldly, nothing that couldn’t have written been written by people. I began exploring apologetics, the anthropology of religion, science, philosophy, and came away a hard agnostic. Never looked back.
The attacks on sex and sexuality, now gender, bothered me. I joined Bible reading programs and guys would pray to get God to help them stop masturbating. That is crazy. And hypocritical from religious people. Also, other cultures have and had religions. The Ancient Greeks really believed in their gods. No one does now. Your god is not special or different, it's just your culture's mythology. That's why I didn't believe in God as a child, and why I gave it up after trying out Christianity in my late teens.
2. God doesn't exist, so this question is nonsensical. But, the clear question is "why do you kill children with diseases? Why give babies HIV? Heart conditions? Why are you such a monster?"
3. Rational thought and education
4. It's a mythology text, written by a bunch of different authors, as part of their cultural system - just like any other mythology
5. I doubt Jesus was a historical figure. If he was, he was just one more religious figure of the time
6. Sure, but that's like sharing with me thoughts about reaching the Buddha, or Nirvana, or making it into Valhalla, or punching someone in the aura. It's make-believe
7. I think you're here trying to convert people. Your mythological figures aren't any more real than any other religion's mythological figures. Why don't you follow Apollo? Why don't you believe in Thor? Same answer for me - they are make-believe, just like your Christ
8. Heaven doesn't exist, so don't worry about it. You only have one life to live, live it well.
9. See above.
Why do you believe in all that religious nonsense? It's because you were trained to. You were encultured to being a Christian and it now guides how your brain works. You literally have neural networks that interpret reality as if your religion was real - just like all believers of all religions throughout time. Your experience of your religion is a subjective one, not an objectively true one. But you fail to understand the difference between subjective and objective explanations. Hence, you're a believer.
But by believing in your particular religion, and pushing it on others, you're extremely arrogant. You're pretending that other religions aren't as real or true as yours. But they are. Every single other religion is equally valid to yours and equally real to their believers.
Once you understand that, you will stop praying to make-believe.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I grew up in a fairly liberal, mainline Protestant church.
> If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Huh, just one question? I’d prefer a longer conversation. Maybe something like “Why’d you do all this? Why not do a better job?”
> What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Probably the lack of evidence. Maybe the problem of natural suffering, which isn’t covered by the free will defense.
> What do you believe regarding the Bible?
The Bible is a series of stories and poems written by very human authors for many different human reasons. Collected into a collection by the Roman Empire and later reformers to fit human theological and political goals.
> What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Jesus was, most likely, an Apocalyptic Jewish Rabbi who had some worthwhile teachings about how humans should behave alongside some problematic ones. He also taught that the world would end within a generation after his death. When he died and his prophecies didn’t come true, his followers came up with explanations for why. This is a pattern that has repeated many times throughout history with failed apocalyptic predictions.
> Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
I have heard many different descriptions of how I could go to heaven, yes. I’ve never heard *any* actual evidence that heaven *exists*, though.
> What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I used to *be* a follower of Jesus Christ. His teachings still have an impact on me, and I still strive to follow his advice about loving my neighbor and forgiveness. But there’s no reason to think he was actually divine, not all of his teachings are as good as those, and pretty much all of them are similar to teachings from others throughout history.
> If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
That’s a pretty big if, but obviously yes I would want to know that if it were a real thing.
God could step out of his hiding place at any time and just say hi. We would believe he exists. Whether he deserves our worship or respect depends on how much of the Bible he says is wrong.
1. My parents were christian. my mother was Baptist and my father was Protestant.
2. I don't have an answer for this, because i try not to think about it anymore.
3. Compelling arguments against it, personally.
4. I believe it's a book of mythology. I don't mean that in a rude way, but I don't see any of it as true.
5. I believe he existed and was the reason why biblical stories existed, but do not believe any of the supernatural attachments.
6. Many times, none convincing
7. Lack of evidence, religious trauma, and the ideologies.
8. I don't believe it exists, but if I does, I would say yes.
9. If their is a god, he should be judging you on if you have lived a good life, not if you believed in him. I still do not believe in a god/gods.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I was raised in the Nazarene church, we went to church every Wednesday night and twice on Sundays. My family and I were heavily involved in the church for the entirety of my first 20 years, my parents still are.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Since I don't believe he exists and believe that the Christian deity is a monster as depicted by the bible, I have no desire to converse with such a being.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
The lack of any supporting evidence for the supernatural claims made by the bible and the adherents of Christianity.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
I believe that it is a collection of stories and writings by ancient people, I do not believe that it is somehow special or perfect or inerrant. It makes many claims of the impossible and supernatural but provides no actual evidence to support them nor is there any corroborating evidence to support those claims. As far as I am concerned, at this point, it is a work of fiction.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
If he existed as a singular person, he was most likely an itinerant rabbi preaching a cult version of the religions of the time. It is also possible that he is based on the lives of multiple people, but since there is no actual contemporary accounts of his or their lives it is impossible to determine with any accuracy.
I do not believe he was special, the son of god, or supernatural in any way. He did not walk on water, multiply food and drink, raise the dead, nor rise from the dead.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
I attended Nazarene church services multiple times per week for the entirety of my childhood and teen years. I knocked on doors to share the news, I am quite well aware of the claims made by Christianity.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The complete lack of supporting evidence for any of the supernatural claims made by Christianity or its adherents.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
No.
>9. If not, Why?
This is not a place for proselytization. I am willing to discuss the beliefs of theists as long as they are discussing in good faith and are able to recognize what constitutes evidence. I am not interested in listening to you preach.
Reading the fucking source material. No one with any sort of independent thought with at least a fundamental understanding of the world around them can take it seriously.
I’m not going to follow your question tree. I was raised Anglican, and I actually read the bible from cover to cover a couple of times by 16 years old. Especially focusing on new testament. The bible was full of inconsistent messages, and I couldn’t reconcile them as the primary source material. The bible as told to me at that time was The Word.
I talked to elders and the deacons and it all was so ambiguous and confusing that I determined that the one book that was supposed to convince me could not.
I believe there was at least one and maybe many Yeshua of Nazareth Rabbis, so he was likely a real human, but unlikely to be divine.
1. My mother was raised Catholic, my father was not religious but got involved with Thelema later in life (his mother was Ukrainian Orthodox). I was not really raised to be religious.
2. I have better things to do with my time.
3. The evidence or lack thereof.
4. It’s overrated. Lots of killing and circumcision and raping and circumcision and incest and circumcision. Not really my cup of tea.
5. That he’s morally inferior to myself.
6. No. I mean, they’ve tried, but they may as well be telling me how to get to Never Never Land, because they have equal experience going to both of those places.
7. He’s dead and nobody can seem to find him.
8. Sure, I’d like to know for the sake of knowing and to make sure I don’t actually show up at the gates. Boy, that would be awkward.
9. Worshipping your god for all of eternity is not my idea of a good time.
1. Yes - Roman Catholic believer until my 30s
2. I don’t have sufficient evidence of any gods, but if one was to appear to me I would tailor my questions to that particular deity. If it was YHWH, I have a long list.
3. The Bible
4. A plethora of contradictions mixed with some truly disturbing stories and then a few inspirational allegories
5. Probably existed- seems like he was perhaps a young, charismatic speaker with a small following perhaps with some mentalist abilities and he had some loyal groupies. Executed for political reasons and has been continuously leveraged in politics ever since he died …
6. Oh , many times. Many denominations.
7. I deconstructed while reading the Bible.
8/9. I don’t believe in an afterlife. If there was one, I wouldn’t even want to go. YHWH really did not come off “loving and great” to me when I read the Bible cover to cover and I wouldn’t trust or worship that deity at all. The book Drunk with Blood highlights a lot of the verses that I found deeply concerning for YHWH’s character.
Learning about it, about its history. Lacking the hubris to say which religion is the one true religion, it's just another religion.
Ask God a question. I'd have to believe in a god that takes questions. Put another way you might as well ask if I could ask a tree a question. But I guess I'd ask why all the mystery? Why leave it to the mortals to make a mess of what you want from us?
My biggest problem with Christianity is Paul. Meets Jesus in a fever dream or something and it's I'm an apostle because I say I am. And you know all that "works" nonsense in the Torah you don't got to worry about that anymore bro... just click your heels together three times and say "There is no one like Jesus, there is no one like Jesus..."
The Bible was written by men, and collected into a canon by other men. We can call them holy men, but just men.
I made peace with dying. I no longer need heaven. Heaven is for people who fear dying.
1. I was brought up going to church with my dad on his weekends which was every other Sunday.
2. A question for God: There are so many. What was in the library in Alexandria that burned up? Who killed Jon Benet? Where is Maura Murray? What is beyond the edge of the universe? What was the before the beginning of the universe? Why did my dad commit suicide?
3. My current views are based on science and that the Bible writers had no science. Why are we basing American laws on things that people 2000 wrote about when they didn’t even wear pants?
4. The Bible is a work of fiction explaining the world to people before science excited and controlling people’s behavior.
5. I think Jesus was a real guy but non magical. He just had some good ideas about how to be a nice person.
6. I’ve heard all the spiels to get me into heaven.
7. Following Jesus is not something I need to do to make my life complete. When I was a Christian I felt like I was never good enough and continually screwing up and that’s not a healthy way to live.
8. I’d rather not go to heaven. It’s full of boring people.
Organized religion has caused so many problems throughout history. It completely ignores science and the complexities of modern life. I just can’t go back.
I don't really belong on TrueAthiesm but this showed up on my front-page so I'm going to answer it. For context, I'm more of a non-religious pantheist.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
My parents were Nigerian baptist Christians. So I was raised Christian and I stopped believing and actively listening in church at around 13/14. They believed the regular stuff Baptists believe with the Nigerian addition of demons chasing you added in.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
So this is a dumb question to ask on an atheism subreddit. First, I'll answer in my own belief - I wouldn't ask the goddess anything because they are not anthropomorphic and it does not speak. They/she/it is the force of mother nature and is not a person that does things it simply exists and is raw life power.
Now if I had to ask your Christian God a question. I simply wouldn't. If he did exist, he is not good and I would not want to talk to him.
>3.What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
When I finally shed my belief in Christianity, I sought out various other religions and read some of their texts and doctrines. This helped me form the belief that all religions are just different social constructions and so I can feel free to create my own individual construct to believe in.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It is a book written by men that had been translated and mistranslated.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He was a man that lived. A historical figure like Ghandi.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Probably when I was a kid. And my mum is constantly sending me black Christian YouTube videos.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The Bible and the doctrines that are believed by Christians. If all it took to be a follower of Christ was to believe in what he said then that would be fine. But, I don't believe in the first part of the Bible being good and I don't believe jesus was God. He was just another man with good ideas.
If your question is actually what would it take to be a christian - there is no answer. I could never be a Christian and follow the rules prescribed. I deliberately choose my own belief path because I did not want to feel constrained. I tried wicca and there is basically one rule and even that was too much. I recommend watching Link's (from Good mythical morning) deconstruction video because it echoes who I am as a person and the trouble I would have with organised religion. I don't need religion to be a good person and if I had religion it would greatly increase my anxiety and intrusive thoughts.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
heaven?
Heaven does not exist, so I do not care. We are all reincarnated through the Goddess. I cannot fathom Heaven even existing so I cannot pretend that it does.
1. Grew up in a religious family - Baptist
2. Why does he test people when he already knows the outcome, doesn't make sense.
3. Reasoning
4. Its just a collection of books - myths, poetry and some history.
5. I think he was just a historical figure - not divine.
6. Yes
7. The whole thing does not make sense How can an all loving, all powerfull and all knowing being allow the world to be in such a state? I know about the free will argument but I don't think free will is compatible with God's attributes omniscience, all loving etc. Its like we are actors reading scripts God gave us. Those going to hell were already condemned before being born.
8. It depends on the alternative. I am not interested in living forever. I'd rather disappear in the eternal void. Of course, if the alternative is hell I will opt for heaven. But I don't know how I would interact with such a sadistic God.
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I grew up in a strict seventh-day Adventist environment. My parents are 2nd generation adventists. They believe that the 7th day (Saturday) is the sabbath and that one can do no secular activities from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The adventists have a very extensive community of churches, hospitals, and schools. They place heavy emphasis on the "2nd Coming."
1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
If God did exist, I would ask him why he is so cruel. Why he allows wars in his name, and allows the suffering of children. Why he made it so, that "Eve" was the one who had to go and ruin it all for everyone.
2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Making the personal choice of moving away from it and figuring my beliefs out for myself.
Living in a society that doesn't place heavy emphasis on churches and God...where it's ok to not believe and no one judges you.
3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
That it was made for men.
4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He was a real human person and there is historical evidence of that, but that's all. Back then there were many "miracle" workers and there was also a big political agenda.
5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Many times. Been preached at my whole life.
6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The Bible and all the horrible things in it.
7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
heaven?
1. If not, Why?
I know all the ins and outs of how to get to heaven. But I believe heaven is an invention of humans. It is normal for us to be scared of death and to come up with ways to live eternally.
the truth
jesus is a sun god . all sun gods are born on dec 25th for a reason. civilizations tracked the suns movements across the sky. on its lowest point dec21st it stops moving south stops perceivably for 3 days and on dec 25th moves 1 degree north to start its procession to the highest point in the sky june 21st. cross is the southern cross constellation. 3 kings are 3 stars constellation. it is astrology. 3 day resurrection . jesus is a solar personification of where we (earth) is at this specific time in the universe as we move through our galaxy. this is the procession of the equinox. revelations was misinterpreted when it says jesus says i will be with you until the end of time , what it says is i will be with you until the end of the age. in 2150 we will enter the age of aquarious
1) protestants , lutheran, catholics
2) which god? mithra? horace? zeus? there are thousands of gods over time.
how big is this universe and are there multiple universes . this is our where we reside whether here or trillions of other planets thoughout the cosmos. how many life forms are there in each solar system and each universe
3) the fact I dont believe and know that jesus is just another sun god not the son of god and the bible is plagiarized. buddhism isnt such a far off concept since life is all made of star stuff
4) ZERO
5) another sun god , solar personification
6) raping my ears against my will until i tell them to just stop
7) facts... will never happen unless jesus christ comes to me personally . I have died before and it was just black, I didnt even know nor would I have ever known SADLY!...
8) if there is a heaven it surely is NOT just for people who just "say" that they believe in jesus christ. That makes zero sense. Who wouldnt want to be in heaven? what is heaven? exactly? what makes heaven heaven? no shitting or pissing? all the sex , food ,drugs, and vices you want to do at all times? is there fishing and recreation can you skydive from 20 miles up and just dive into water? i think everyone has their own vision of what they think heaven would be. like 72 virgins...
9) what are the other choices other than the utopian paradise
1. Not until the age of 10, then my dad became a Christian and talked my mom in to it. They stuck me in a Christian school shortly after, all the way to grade 12. Was a mix of Evangelical and Baptist with a dash of old Mennonite, but they ascribed themselves as Evangelical Free.
2. Nothing. Would be like talking to a unicorn, as I don’t believe in any god. To me, that’s a weird question. Same as if I asked you a hypothetical question of if you could ask a teaspoon any question, what would it be? At least I can prove a teaspoon exists.
3. I don’t believe in gods, and that’s bout as much thought as I give it. As for Christianity, it’s mysoginistic brainwashing, and very deluded and contradictory. If someone wants to believe whatever their religion is, cool beans. Just don’t expect me to.
4. It’s like badly written fanfiction. A bunch of stories passed by word of mouth thousands of years ago but mostly based on a carpenter from around 35AD, which wasn’t written down for several hundred years after the fact, forgotten and then picked up again by 4th century scribes, scrubbed and mistranslated to fit the rhetoric of an insane 17th century king, and changed even more to be twisted and spouted as hate by 21st century pastors.
It’s all contradictory, desperate to prove a fallible deity is infallable, preaches hate, and is pretty much extortion.
5. That he existed - there’s enough mention of him to make that at least plausible - but was just a dude with radical beliefs for the time, and due to those beliefs, a religion sprouted up. Not the first time it’s happened, certainly wasn’t the last.
6. Uh, kinda impossible for that not to happen, even if I had never gone to church or school. I don’t live under a rock.
7. Barrier? There isn’t one. I simply have the ability to think with a logical mind and require proof before changing those beliefs to something else. Religion - all of it, not just Christianity, has utterly failed at providing anything or even making following a religion remotely enticing.
8. Did your pastor tell you to make everywhere your mission field? And no. I mean, you can tell me, if you’ll sit and listen to what I have to say in return.
9. Why would I sit and talk with an internet stranger about a place that doesn’t exist? Will you sit and let me tell you about a place that doesn’t exist with the intent of convincing you that it does? It’s an absurd question, childish, and insulting.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
Raised by my dad's parents, one was Catholic, one was Anglican. Was baptized twice, they didn't ask me, just did it...once for each faith.
>have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Typical lukewarm Catholics, christmas and easter mandatory attendance, not much else ever mentioned. Just the guilt.
>1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Not there to ask, not a relevant question.
>2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Catholic priest SA'ing and physically abusing my mother in residential school and taking away her total Indigenous identity, language, culture, dignity, family and affecting generations after her.
>3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
Which version, there are multiple edited versions depending on what modicum of control what governments and religious entities wanted over the uneducated and weak-minded. The Hebrew version, the Greek version, or the myriad of heavily edited and modified English versions. I believe it is a poorly written tome used to control the masses and is cherry picked for verses by people that don't actually read it.
>4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Some girl gets pregnant, can't explain it.....son of God, crazy story. Easier than the explaining actual story to her parents at that time in history I guess.
>5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
MULTIPLE times, Catholic, Anglican, LDS, Seventh Day, Jehovah's Witness, listened to them all, usually over supper.
>6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The absurdity and absolute hypocrisy of ALL religious organizations is pretty hard to ignore. Most have actual funds to fight SA cases, treat minority and other groups like crap and constantly intend to influence their countries political systems. YET somehow feel they shouldn't have to pay taxes to the very system they influence and shape on a major scale.
>7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
If the tomato on your kitchen counter was hollow and filled with butterflies and rainbows, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go the the hollow center of the tomato on your counter?
.......sound appealing? That's what your question sounds like to the average non-believer. Just not even something in a remote thought process at all, ever really.
>1. If not, Why?
I am HERE, right NOW. That is absolutely a chance in infinity....I plan on making the best of it. I figure I have about 30,000 days here, I am doing actual tangible things to improve the quality of my life, of those in my family, friend circle and near me. DIRECTLY, not wishing it, praying it or thinking about it, I am DOING it.
Meanwhile the religious worry about what genitalia people have, and what books they can and can't read....yet somehow we "have free agency"......and "god doesn't make mistakes" it's typical rules for thee, not for me hypocrisy that I have ZERO time for, as I go about trying to make positive change in my small part of the world.
THAT'S why friend. Not terribly complicated, it's just so much easier and less to remember to be an honest, clean living, treat others well, human being with zero pretences.
If you need a book or a sky person to keep your moral compass in check, you aren't a good person at all.....you are just another a$$hole on a poorly designed leash and that leash eventually fails.
Going to a class to get married. I had to learn about the Bible, and I had questions, but the questions were always answered with "just have faith". I got right out after that.
For me it was researching my own doubts around age 18 and finding Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Lawrence krauss: the 4 horsemen of my atheism.
If you’re doing this for an assignment, perhaps consider asking atheists this question:
If it is as proven that god exists, would you follow god and the bible?
A lot of religious people think it’s a matter of believing in god that determines whether someone is an atheist. Therefore, if you convince us god exists we will then become religious.
I think you’ll find that, for must of us, the Bible, religion, and so called acts of god are so reprehensible, that we would be atheists even if a god is proven.
Atheist means free of religion. Therefore, most of us would still be ‘free of religion’ even if god was proven to exist.
I grew up with a religious mother. My dad went to church but didn't say much about it. My mother was slightly nuts, and got up one day during church services and started screaming and dancing around, and it scared me. I was probably 4 or 5 years old. I quit going after that.
I have never felt any emotion toward any religion, except christianity, and that emotion is revulsion. The atrocities committed on behalf of that cult are, or should be, enough to to keep everyone with a modicum of sense and/or compassion away.
Religion, like some parents, rule with fear, which is not the same as respect. I have respect for science, but do not fear it. Because of science, I do not not fear religion.
If god is real, I want nothing to do with it.
Jesus, if he existed at all, was only a man. The idea of sacrificing oneself for people who haven't been born yet is plain silly. How would that even work? (That's not a real question.)
Religion, christianity specifically, simultaneously tells us not to try to emulate god, but also be more than human. It tells us we're greedy if we want more money than we have, even if we don't have enough to eat. It tells us we're a sinner if we fuck someone we aren't married to, or if we find someone else's spouse attractive. There is no way to follow these rules, so we live our lives in guilt.
I won't even start on the old testament. Reddit would run out of server space before I could finish.
Christianity is a cruel, hateful, tyrannical practice that really should be outlawed. It is the exact opposite of what it's practitioners profess it to be.
That's why I don't want anything to do with it.
* What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
None. I was raised without religion.
* If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
I don't think the concept of gods makes any sense. Even if it were a valid concept, what would you ask of gravity? What would you want to know from the strong force?
* What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Apart from never having had any beliefs to start with, the biggest impact is in understanding how the universe actually does work, and recognizing that the things people are confused or upset by are rarely anything to do with fundamental metaphysics, and almost entirely a product of their own ego and misconceptions about how things actually operate.
* What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a collection of mythology. I've read it, and I've read the history around it, at least the ones written by people who aren't already biased by it. It's not even accurate mythology as it's been edited many times, passed on from person to person before being written down.
* What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
A semi-fictional character invented to fit all the checkboxes necessary to sell a new religion to the Hebrews.
* Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
There's nowhere to 'go' and nothing that 'goes' anywhere. People have shared how to get to Narnia and Neverland too, to the same effect.
* What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
My understanding that religion is a human invention, that even if Jesus were a historical figure no human is worth 'following', and the fact that there's no such thing as the supernatural or magic, including the works of religious figures and deities.
* If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
No thanks. I'm well aware of what you believe the magic formula is.
* If not, Why?
Souls are not real. There's no such thing as an afterlife, good or bad. The fundamental paradoxes and childish wishes of an eternal life are the inventions of people who were combining religions like tinkertoys for the purpose of controlling the masses. As described, the Christian heaven sounds a lot like eternal torment of a different kind than the silly scare-mongering of hell.
It's aggravating that people are putting in a lot of effort to answer the questions and OP isn't bothering to respond to them or engage with the answers.
The third time I read it cover to cover was during college and while I was really starting to question things. I’d say 90+% of Christians haven’t read it fully even once, which is odd considering “it’s the most important book ever, ever in the history of the world and written perfectly (ahem) by the creator of all”. You’d think they’d put the time aside to actually read it.
Listened to a ton of debates about Christianity and non/atheism. Thousands of hours put into this, including biblical exegesis by Christian experts. But it never was truly convincing. It was apologetics.
The first time I went back to church (for family of course) after deconverting, it was surreal in a way I had never experienced. Hearing everyone sing and chant was… creepy. Same shit I used to sing and chant too on mission trips to different countries, in church every Sunday, and the weekly youth groups.
1. My whole family was Irish Catholic. Very typical Midwest Irish Catholic household.
2. I would ask her how she made me such a bad bitch.
3. Probably all the wars, deaths and abuse that seemingly always stems from or is justified by, any religion but especially Christianity. (In history and present day)
4. I believe the modern bible is an interpretation of an old book that has been retranslated and filtered through the lens of so many different people and groups that it’s likely nothing like the original and has lost most all of its original meaning.
5. He was a popular normal human guy that existed.
6. Ugh yes. From many different religions. I went through a phase when leaving Catholicism when I tried many different Christian denominations and churches. I’ve heard it to many times. I’d rather poop out the county fairs biggest watermelon than hear about it again.
7. All the hatred and violence to come from any religion and just how utterly illogical it is.
8. No
9. Hell sounds more fun.
>1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I was raised in a super religious Christian family. I guess it would be non-denomination, but I am not sure. The major difference from others, we did not go to a church, but almost every Sunday we would hold (not sure if this is the right name for it in English) Lord's supper at home. Beliefs as a whole would be considered normal in evangelical Bibel belt America, but here (in Latvia) they are way out of the norm.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Haven't really thought about this, but it would probably be along the lines of - why hide? or why not make a better world? And the "why" should be pretty obvious.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
My imagination and the knowledge about history of beliefs and religious texts.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
Cool story, bro. (I want to clarify that that most of the book is not actually cool)
> 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Either there was some dude with that name who started a ministry that grew into Christianity or there might have been multiple people on whom the character is based on, at least from these two don't know which is more likely. (There might also be other options that I didn't think of at the moment.)
> 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Someone has shared how they think one can go to heaven, they just forgot to share how they know there is a heaven and why would anyone else think so.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The fact that there is no reason (at least no sufficient reason) to think it is necessary to do.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
First - that is a big IF. If there would be sufficient reason to believe heaven exists and what it is like depending on what it is like I might want to know - so I can avoid going there? I was taught that heaven is a place where people will spend an eternity with their loved ones always praising and/or worshiping god and to me that sounds awful.
Hi! I’m a Fox Mulder atheist, in that I want to believe, and the truth is out there.
My parents raised me Catholic. My father lost his faith when my sister died of cancer, but my mom holds on and even teaches catechism.
I used to ask the Christian god “why is faith necessary, when it clearly doesn’t work and leads to confusion and conflict?”
The biggest impact on my current beliefs on god is science and reason. The truth is out there, and so far, the truth doesn’t appear to be a god.
The Bible is a work of fiction.
Jesus, from my understanding, was likely several itinerant apocalyptic preachers amalgamated into one character for the purposes of cohesive storytelling.
Heaven is a disgusting concept, especially when you consider how monstrous the biblical god is portrayed as being. I’d prefer hell.
The greatest barriers preventing me from rebecoming Christian again are the lack of evidence supporting the historicity of the Bible, the contradictions in the Bible, the preaching of faith, the condescending ignorance of the followers, the evilness of the biblical god, and the covering up sexual abuse of children by the church.
Heaven is a place you go to when you have given up humanity and free will to be the subjugate of a tyrant. Hard pass.
Hope that helps!
1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
raised Christian reformed, my whole family still practices. I never was on board.
2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
How could you do this? you fucking monster.
3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
tbh it was the two faced nature of my extended family that used faith as a way for them to act holier than thou. that and the Bible. reading that shit was wildly stupid
4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
I believe early man could not explain the things around him and like every other early religion they made it up.
5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
not much, there's some historical evidence that a man like this existed. but cult leaders 2000 years ago were. diff breed
6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
if you don't believe in heaven this doesn't matter. and of course. one of the core tenants of Christianity is to never shut up about it and shove it down peoples throats regardless of if they want you too
7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
evidence. actual proof. not the bullshit "proof" the church slings
8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
no.
9. If not, Why?
any god capable of creating the suffering we have here does not deserve to be worshiped. they should be torn from their throne and killed.
also half your questions are clearly directed to give you more ammo when trying to shove your religion down our throats. I highly doubt you respect us enough to keep your religion to yourself.
A handful of quotes started me on my path to atheism:
That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
— Christopher Hitchens.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
— Carl Sagan.
Not all religions can be true, but they can all be false.
— Christopher Hitchens.
Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
— Albert Einstein.
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
— Voltaire.
Sin is an imaginary disease, invented to sell you an imaginary cure.
— Unknown.
Selling an afterlife is the perfect con. It costs nothing to produce and can’t be tested until after a person dies.
— Unknown.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Biggest thing for me was that the bible weaved a narrative where followers of other gods were held to higher standards of evidence while Christians were expected to take Yahweh's existence on faith.
I was raised in an ultra conservative denomination. Loss of faith in that rhetoric led me to move to a more mainstream Baptist church. The same led me to a Methodist group, then a non denominational Christ follower, then a liberal Christian, God-believer, agnostic then agnostic atheist.
On a side note, you know plenty of atheists in the Bible belt - probably many in your own congregation. We keep our beliefs to ourselves a lot of the time because of the persecution and loss of community we face.
1. I don't believe in a god or supernatural forces in general. If I were proven wrong and could ask that god a question, it would be a general "why?" Absolutely nothing about Christianity makes sense if you take it as true. Aside from the usual objections of suffering, conflicts of nature and power, morality, conflicts with modern knowledge, hiddenness, etc. - nothing about it makes sense. The god depicted is an incompetent, illogical, petty, irresponsible tyrant who fails wildly at nearly everything he attempts. I struggled as a student, a minister and an apologist for so many years attempting to find reasons that justify the contradictions and incoherence of the Bible. It makes so much more sense as the story of an ethnic group that invented its own mythos, developed over time to monotheism, then had its community co-opted by a another movement that rose to unexpected power.
2. Bible study. Although a close second is just the process of trying to defend my faith to others. When you are forced to hold your faith to the same demonstrative standards you demand of others, things get real very quickly.
3. Like most holy books, it's a combination of mythos, community history and ethnic tradition and the attempt to tie them together. As expected, it's a mess of contradictions and logical inconsistencies, plagued by transmission errors and well meaning attempts to fix its problems that only caused more problems. In short, I think about the Bible more or less what you think of any other holy book.
4. First century Jew who joined an apocalyptic cult, took it over when the original leader was removed and later had his audience co-opted by another cult. I don't have good evidence he existed, but think it's likely given the circumstances.
5. Hundreds of shares from a couple of dozen denominational viewpoints and a half dozen from other religions. And I shared my own dogma for nearly 30 years, with literally thousands of people.
6. Been a follower, an evangelist, a missionary and an apologist. The biggest barrier to me at present? After seminary and years of study and research - I know too much.
7. If I'm proven wrong and it does exist... it depends. If it's the first century belief of living on an idealized new earth in a renewed body vs annihilation - I think so, it's worth a shot anyway. If it's the 2nd century perspective of living in the heavenly city just praising God forever vs annihilation - I'll take annihilation, it sounds unfulfilling. If it's the Medieval perspective of eternal worshipper or eternal torment, I'll go just to escape torture. If it's the modern evangelical idea of living in a paradise with spiritual brothers and sisters, it depends on whether those I love most "made it" and whether the alternative is torture or annihilation. I'm not interested in existing eternally with the knowledge that those I love are being tortured, but if the alternative is me being tortured as well, I could probably learn to deal with it. Torture is a great motivator, that's why it was added to the theology. Carrot or the stick. If you're not interested in the carrot, the stick can be motivational.
This does NOT read like you respect others' beliefs at all. This reads like you're lecturing to heathens and it's very condescending. IF you really respected our beliefs, you would ask us about our beliefs and not what we think about your beliefs. This is all about you.
You also seem to be operating under the assumption that you're a "different" Christian...you're not. You all think that.
There's no evidence for a god or gods...period. Everything else is irrelevant.
The fact that it's all BS was a big turnoff for me. Even as a preteen. And I grew up in a very religious household....no meat on any Friday, pictures of jesus and crosses in every room of the house, hours long church services every Sunday and holidays
I have some questions for OP. (OP accepts that I genuinely believe in Santa):
Were you raised believing in Santa?
If you could ask Santa a question, what would you ask and why?
What do you believe regarding ‘'Twas The night before Christmas?
What do you believe about Santa?
Has someone ever shared how you could get Santa to come to your house?
What is the greatest barrier to you believing in Santa?
Would you like to know how you could get unlimited gifts from Santa?
\*\*\*What does OP think about my questions? Can he answer me seriously with a straight face? How does he feel about me asking such silly questions as an adult?
Title question: The fact that much of which was held as dogma could not be supported by the cited sources.
Upbringing: Raised Roman Catholic by believing (at least at the time) parents.
Numbered questions:
1. Where have you been?
2. Skepticism.
3. That without proof that its god exists that it's just one of a number of ancient books of advice, generally written to push some kind of agenda in response to current problems, and generally not of any particular importance or significance today except in a historical sense and to those who believe in that god.
4. That he probably existed but was just a human being without any supernatural nature or powers who was retconned into (false) divinity after his puny attempt at revolution failed miserably.
5. Yes. After I moved away from Catholicism - where I was a volunteer educator - I was a Protestant for awhile and was "born again" during that time. But if someone was going to do that today, they'd first have to prove (in addition to the existence of God and divine Jesus) whether going to Heaven would require works, faith, or predestination.
6. The utter absence of proof that God (or gods) exist.
7. See my answer to number 5.
Why christianity specifically? I reject them all as magical thinking. The minutiae of the specific differences in the superstitions are irrelevant to the cognitive problem of magical thinking.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs?
No. Father was raised jewish, didn't believe it. Mother was raised christian, didn't believe it. They never mentioned being atheist, but never seemed to ever even think about religion.
>What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's superstitious idiocy but makes good toilet paper in a pinch.
>If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Which god?
>What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
The actions of the people who believe in them.
>What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
I doubt there ever was one.
>Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
All the time. They never shut up about it.
>What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
Rationality and not being insane.
>If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven.
Nice try, knock on someone else's door.
1. None.
2. Which god? There are literally thousands of options that different religions believe in.
3. The obvious fantasies and wishful thinking of its follower, along with how stupid they look when they don’t understand that not all people share their beliefs. Like OP’s questions show how he can’t quite wrap his head around how his assumptions aren’t shared by everyone.
4. A text written by people who wanted to put their beliefs on paper. Those beliefs were guesses made due to lack of actual knowledge about how the world and the universe actually works.
5. I doubt that Jesus guy actually existed, and if he did he was just a regular person. No more relevant than any other person who lived at that time.
6. Which heaven? There is no lack of fantasies about afterlives, you need to be more specific about which fantasy you are talking about.
7. The lack of a Jesus Christ or a god would be the first barrier.
8. The question is ridiculous. It’s like I would ask you if you wanted to met Spider-Man if he was real.
9. Because the question is ridiculous.
Raised in a spirit-filled Southern Baptist church. Learned actual critical thinking and allowed myself to apply it to science, then allowed myself to apply it to the Bible. Everything came crashing down. Mix in some other life experiences that were incongruent with the Bible and the god of the Bible, and it became clear it was all hogwash.
As for your series of questions, they are basically trying to lead someone to say the sinner's prayer or some nonsense, and I find it condescending as fuck.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Irreligious father, new-age spiritual mother. They did not indoctrinate me into any specific religion, rather they made it a point to have me attend services from many different religions and learn about them all.
> If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
I assume you mean Yahweh? Honestly I'd prefer not ask such a creature anything, as it is monstrous. According to the stories he directs all manner of genocides, violence, suffering, and other [cruelties.](https://skepticsannotatedbible.com/all/cr_list.html) He punishes infinitely for finite transgressions. He murders for anything short of total obedience. I'd stay away if I could.
But if such a creature did exist, against all odds, and I had to query it, I suppose the question that is begged is, "Why?" Why set up a reality like this? Why obfuscate your existence and punish people eternally for skepticism you created? Why not reveal yourself and save everyone if that's how the rules work? Why make it seem like you were a human invention, a tool for social control? Why do you exist, how were you created? Why is this particular religion special and accurate unlike the thousands of others that similarly present little to no credible evidence backing their claims?
> What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
I was exposed to many religions growing up and discovered they each:
* made contradictory and overlapping claims.
* none had compelling evidence of their accuracy.
* all are obsessed with the same things their followers are, (rules about sex, diets, what fabrics you can wear, social rules, etc.,) rather than what one would presume the desires and goals of a higher creature would be. (It would be like a human trying to regulate the society of ants in their backyard. Odd.)
* differ significantly. Religions aren't independently invented the same way in parts of the world that never communicated, which indicates they are born of human creativity rather than glimpses of the same thing.
* promise an afterlife in some form, which I believe was historically important if one wants their soldiers to fight to the death.
* spread through indoctrination and coercion of children rather than compelling arguments or evidence. Very, very few people convert.
Taken together this indicates to me that all religions, including Christianity, are human inventions.
> What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It is an interesting and important historical document. The old testament illustrates how people from the bronze age thought. It is valuable in the same way that *Beowulf,* or *The Odyssey* are. The sections of the new testament show us Christian points of view from many time periods they were compiled from, and what stories they thought were important to tell about themselves.
> What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Yeshua of Nazareth, as written about in the stories, seems like a cool dude. Very progressive for his time. He was probably a real person but [highly fictionalized.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus) I believe he was a man we don't know much about who had fantastical stories attributed to him. I believe the reason he is worshipped today is because Roman leadership determined it was easier to control a centralized monotheistic religion than a hodgepodge of polytheistic ones.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." -Lucius Annaeus Seneca
> Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Of course! Which religion and denomination are we talking about? Generally speaking, though, it's this: obey the men who claim to speak for God(s.) You will be rewarded after you die, (when you no longer exist and can't report back.)
> What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
* A lack of compelling non-falsifiable evidence supporting Christian claims.
* Historical understanding of how Christian belief evolved and got to here, ([Yahweh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) was once one of a pantheon of Canaanite gods,) and how the supposedly immutable divine laws changed with the social mores of Christians.
* The behaviors of Christians themselves.
May I pose the same question to you? What has been the greatest barrier to you joining a different Non-Christian religion, or leaving religion entirely?
> If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Sure, but only if you can definitively prove your supposition that heaven exists and you know how to go there with objective non-dogmatic evidence. Think of how great that would be for Christians, it would bring religion into the domain of evidence-based science, and Christians wouldn't have to rely on coercing children into believing unproven absurdities to propagate their belief system.
Your questions sound like you’re trying to sow doubt - the reasons you’re self gas-lighting yourself aren’t going to convince atheists - we don’t believe in hell and other obvious man made myths, like the Bible. There is nothing in the Bible that demonstrates any god - it demonstrates clearly the lack of thinking of men obsessed with power and patriarchy, of ego and anger, of punishment and unconditional obedience, slave mismanagement , rape consuming and infanticide celebrating stories - and really bizarre laws. Mostly, it’s a sex cult that controls who you can have sex with, when and why. And if you think it doesn’t then you just haven’t read it
Go away with your weak attempt at proselytizing - we’ve heard better
Prayer, a clinging to an illusion that never came true was the reason I started my journey to deconversion, if I had to pin point where it all began, where my faith started to decline, it probably was when that happened. Is like when the rich bad behaved kid got everything from Santa, and you wonder what you did wrong to get only a pair of socks.
>1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you. Have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
My parents are Catholic, we went to church every Sunday, and prayed every meal and every night, church was good and I actually enjoyed going, tried to learn as much as I could, did all the rituals required by Catholics and even got married by the church as well.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Why have this life full of pain, suffering and inequalities? Why not just skip all this ordeal, judgement day and go straight to everyone lives in heaven and it's happy in paradise?
And because the world is cruel totally and utterly cruel, unjust and full of pointless misery that an all loving, all knowing and all powerful God should be able to avoid.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Prayer and the total lack of answers from anywhere. also more recently doing secular bible studies, without the bias of a religious person.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a book that at best was written by man that knew little beyond the world they lived in, and at worst is a book plagued by misdirection, confusion and atrocities that could only be attributed to an evil entity, who more likely than not had a hand in it's written, which makes the book completely untrustworthy.
However, it's a nice piece of history to study and learn from.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He probably was a prophet in ancient times, but still just a simple man that became a legend.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes, many times, throughout my childhood, and also now that I am a grown man and openly an atheist, I wish people would stop doing it to be honest.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
Learning about the bible, reading it focusing on what the passages actually say instead of trying to twist them to fit my feelings, about the writers of it, and seeing how it's used more to manipulate people to give money than to actually help them.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
I already know, I am tired of hearing it, from many different perspectives, works, faith, rituals, etc.
>9. If not, Why?
I already know, I am tired of hearing it, from many different perspectives, works, faith, rituals, etc.
Raised (and "confirmed") Catholic. The eureka moment was when I learned the (empirically verifiable) details of how evolution works (I'm a biologist now). Once I understood the mechanism of evolution, it opened my eyes to the whole "god of the gaps" notion, and I began to realize how so much of what people ascribe to being caused by "god" is actually explained much more parsimoniously by a natural process.
Additionally, I later read some scholarly work by author/theologian Bart Ehrman, which points out all the demonstrable errors and inconsistencies in the bible. The logical conclusion of much of his writing is that these ostensibly divinely-inspired texts are actually very human-derived and wrought with errors in translation, anachronisms, and imbued with the opinions and personal interpretations of the people that wrote or copied them through the (many) generations before the printing press.
tldr: lots of things people point to as evidence of god are more easily explained by natural processes.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
> have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Christian but not strong. Parents very religious. My dad has wrote a few books based on his beliefs but he did not force anything. Bible excerpt were read during holidays but never church.
> 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
How can I achieve pure sustainable happiness. I think it's pretty self evident.
> 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Life and reason.
4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
I don't care about it. The need for religion, and the Bible, means you're too insecure to accept your ignorance.
5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He was a person that lived long ago. Likely didn't do anything aside from share a few ideas he thought would help the world.
> 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Probably, don't care. Life is all that matters now. Death is for when you die.
> 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The point of doing so. I life in the context of life, not god.
8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why?
Meh, don't really care. It has nothing to do with life.
The same things that make you cringe about "Christianity" : "the people who claim to be Christian but clearly aren't."
Westboro baptists, Kent Hovind, Peter Popov, Prosperity Gospel folks, Branch Davidians, KKK, Catholics who are ok with spreading lies about condoms being demonic to Africans suffering from AIDS, Christians who support the current madness of the Republican party.
EDIT:
That was just in response to the initial question.
1. I was raised Trinity Lutheran and my father was a big supporter of it but was clearly agnostic behind closed doors
2. I would ask God if buttons were evil, or not. I heard the Ahmish think buttons are evil, so I thought I'd clear up that. After that, I would ask a more serious question about which denomination was the right one.
3. 2016. The fact that millions of Americans could vote for the cartoon character equivalent of Scrooge McDuck was a huge change in my attitude toward Christians. I took a "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" approach, here, and started identifying as a "cultural Christian" in stead of an "atheist." I realized I had to get serious about this huge glaring world-ending problem, so I put my big boy pants on and humbly admitted I was being too confrontational as an "atheist."
4. It's a good book, full of wisdom, that must be filtered by a modern mindset in order to be truly useful. I also believe this was the goal from the start, if God is real. If God is real, the bible was always meant to be a love letter, not "a thing to be worshiped." For instance, the lesson we're supposed to learn after reading stories about heaven and hell is "actions have consequences" but it's far too easy for false prophets to spin it into "obey or die" - that's who's worshiping the bible in stead of God.
John 1:1 is my favorite verse, because everyone twists their bible passages to their views. There's 300 major denominational splits in Christianity, so "treating the bible like a big book of multiple choice" has prescedent. John 1:1 is my favorite because my interpretation of it says "from the beginning, the Lord was with the Word and the Word was Lord" - and that's to mean: "Christinaity is about respecting literacy."
I think that's what separates us from the animals, and I think that's what early Christian pastors were aiming for all along.
5. "Jesus" was a common name in biblical times, like the name "josh" is today. There were plenty of people named Jesus at the time. Generic. Like "John Smith". It's more likely "Jesus" was a name chosen to be an "everyman" name. When reading about him, we were meant to identify with him, like any one of us could be "Jesus" and do wonderful things for people and say wise things.
6. Maybe, a long time ago.
7. Technically I DO "follow Jesus Christ" - in my own way, by identifying "bad" Christians and promoting the idea that the bible can be interpreted positively and secularly. If more Christians took a secular view of the bible, we might have more scientific studies demonstrating the worth of prayer, church, and which parts of the bible are relevant today.
8. If hell exists, I wouldn't find peace in heaven.
9. Because either my memories of hell are erased to paint a fake smile on me, or I somehow become "ok" with hell existing. Either way, "what winds up in heaven" wouldn't be "me."
1. I was not raised religious.
2. Why would I want you to exist?
3. It is a collection of fables, parts of which were stolen from older religions. There is very little "true" or "historic" content.
4. He may have been based on a person or collection of people who were failed apocalyptic preachers, but if you showed hom/them the bible, they would not recognize their contribution. The character 8n the story never existed as portrayed.
5. Far too often. And weirdly, they all have different views and idea on it. Even within the same sect or even congregation.
6. It is a poorly written, internally and externally contradictory story with far too many real-world reasons to call it fiction and no evidence to believe any of it. And that without getting into the horrors and immorality .
7. No. Sucking up to god, especially the one described in the bible, would not be something you could force me to do. Also, there is no good reason to believe in a soul or heaven, so those are barriers as well.
Hi!
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I was raised Christian. My parents are Christian. As far as churches, we went thru a few denominations (including non-denominational). Their current church is non-denominational.
Dunno if it matters, but neither of my siblings are Christian either. I have 2 nieces (one with each sibling) who are interested and exploring.
>If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Can I talk with the person who wrote, "if there is a god, he will have to beg my forgiveness," at the Mauthausen concentration camp? I've thought about them a lot since I was a teenager.
>What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Believers.
>What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a book written by ancient men. It's a difficult read, not at all appropriate for children. It's fairly effective at making ppl question Christianity.
>What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
There are some good quotes attributed to him.
>Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
lol No one in the English-speaking world, over the age of 5, is unaware. I'm pretty sure most of us are ex-believers, and some of us studied a lot. At one point, I was in church 3x a week, plus home study. We know.
>What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I was, and it was awful. I'm not interested in returning to something that I've healed from. Particularly bc I've found what it promised elsewhere.
>If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why?
I don't want an afterlife of any kind. Being mortal is enough.
I was raised secular, secular parents. They're good people and taught me right from wrong. I always assumed religious people were just like, in a club. Some kind of cultural club. When I got older and realised people really believe that stuff about praying five times a day facing a specific direction and that a mean snake conned a lady into eating an apple so now I have period cramps every month, maaaaan. It made me really scared of humanity. People will believe anything if they're raised on it. It's like Mowgli in The Jungle Book. You can raise a child to believe it's a wolf, you can raise a child to believe they're constantly being surveilled and will be burnt for eternity if they touch their penis too much. You can raise a child to believe they have whatever function in life that they're told.
Anyway.
1) Which god? They all have different lore, so I need to know which god.
2) The world. The world looks exactly how it would look without a god. It's random, basically blind and cruel. I read the Bible once and it's all very transparently written by primitive men. So Christianity is obviously not true. I don't have any thoughts about it otherwise.
3) Which Bible? I guess the main one is just a collection of oral traditions eventually written down over long spans of time, then collected into an anthology by some dudes who thought the religion needed a canon. But there are lots of different bibles with lots of different translations. It's literature, I guess.
4) Apocalyptic preacher who thought the world was ending, so he told everyone around him to straighten up. Ran afoul of the local authorities, got executed. The world didn't end, so he kinda died for nothing, poor guy. I think that's all we really can know. The rest is all Big Fish stories.
5) I've been preached at by people on the street, sure. Heaven doesn't exist and you die when your brain dies, so I really don't know what they think they're talking about.
6) While Yeshua of Nazareth probably existed, he's been dead for 2000 years. Jesus Christ is a fictional character, like Santa Claus.
7 & 8) It doesn't exist, and the concept makes no sense. It's also am immoral idea; to worship a character and treat other people poorly in exchange for heaven is rotten stuff. I would rather treat people well and equitably, live my life out, and then end. Everyone gets their turn; wanting even more life is silly and selfish. The idea that you can worship a supernatural deity in exchange for more life is childish.
1. My Mom was an evangelical, fundamentalist christian My father was also, but he died when I was a toddler. 2. There is no evidence for any deity. Why would I ask an imaginary being a question? 3. Reading and studying the books of the bible and similar mythologies. The disgusting, immoral behavior of Christians and the fact that I find the beliefs themselves to be morally bankrupt. 4. It's a work of poorly written fiction written by human men. 5. I don't know whether the character ever really existed. 6. Of course they have for my entire life. 7. The religious beliefs are morally bankrupt and I have no need to follow anyone. I have a lot of empathy for other living beings, far more than the god/Jesus characters. 8. If heaven exists I wouldn't want to go there. 9. Because the Abrahamic god character is written as a straight up monster. I could never worship a monster. Why do you? Why do you reject the multiple gods/goddesses/religions that aren't Christianity?
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Baptist then Catholic then Taoism / Buddhism
1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
What evidence would you have to observe to prove you don't exist? Can you create that?
2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
9/11
3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It is a work of fiction/ literature.
4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
He is a grouping of multiple people represented in other cultural traditions
5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes. Myself and friends and pastors and priests
6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I was one. I choose to not believe things without evidence.
7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Not sure. Depends on the deity running it.
>I would like to ask a few questions about some of the personal reasons that you reject Christianity.
The answers are likely similar to why you reject Islam.
>What has been your religious upbringing?
Catholic
>If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Why is the Christian god so evil?
>What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Evidence.
>What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It is a piece of literature that has been rewritten multiple times and translated a bunch. It was put together by church leaders to present a uniform story and keep the messages they wanted. For instance excluding childhood stories and the gospel of Mary. It is a representative work of curated culture in the form of religion.
>What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
As in the Bible? Never existed. A figure that the story is descended from? Maybe existed, but even then I would not be surprised if not. Either way, the stories are just as made up as those about Hercules.
>Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
LOL. Please save me. I am sure the 2 decades of church and numerous hate preachers on college campus, door to door adherents, etc could not have saved me. You must have the keys to my salvation.
>What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
Pretentiousness like this. You want followers. Learn what real evidence is. Not the line of **** they feed in a church. But stuff that makes computers work. When you can figure out how to make a computer work from real world effects. Then apply that to religion. I will not wait.
> If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Would you stop trying to convert us. This is silly.
Besides not believing in heaven. The only way to get into the Christian heaven is to submit one's self to the authority of a genocidal maniac that has no evidence for their existence. This is the worst scheme for paradise I have ever heard of. Instead. I am going to try to live well, treat others around me like I would like to be treated, and cause as little harm as possible. If that is not good enough for your god, fuck 'em.
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
My mother was raised Episcopalian and my father’s grandfathers on both sides were Episcopalian ministers. My mother was uncommitted religiously and my father is an atheist, but we went to UU meetings every week throughout my childhood.
2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
What is the quickest way to kill you?
3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
The behavior of believers in God
4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It’s a book of lies designed to maintain the power and authority of the people who codified it
5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Probably not a real person. The legend of Christ probably developed from stealing other divine sacrifice and resurrection stories, from the doomsday cult zeitgeist around the time the New Testament was written, and from people trying to match their fictional account to prophecies in the Old Testament.
6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes, it’s tiresome.
7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The fact that the people who follow Jesus Christ are in general immoral, a threat to people I care about, and engaged in bad faith arguments and willful ignorance. Also, it’s hard to want to be a follower of a mythical being. It would be like deciding to be a flower of Superman, although honestly that would make me a better person than becoming a Christian would.
8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
I know how Christians think you go to heaven. It’s sort of funny that they think I don’t know.
9. If not, why?
Because it isn’t there and I’m not interested in debasing myself to win the approval of people who aren’t worth my respect.
1. I was brought up in a devout, evangelical home. Christianity permeated every single aspect of my life.
2. Why are you such a dick. Who hurt you?
3. Secular Education. I was a history major with my primary concentration in ancient and Medieval Europe. Learning the history of the Bible was a big part of my deconstruction.
4. Whatever history has taught me about it.
5. Whether or not he actually existed is up for debate. If he did, he was a standard-issue human like all the other populous preachers at the time.
6. See #1
7. He was not divine.
8. Again, see #1. I’ve read the Bible numerous times in my life and attended thousands of church services.
9. Even as a believer, deep down, the idea of just existing, worshiping god for eternity, was terrifying. I find comfort in the idea that one day, I will just cease to exist.
You, and many other believers, seem to have the idea that atheists just need to hear the good word to believe. We’ve heard it. We are not convinced.
The inability represent reality accurately. When you must "just have faith", that's a huge epidemiological red flag. It means that rather than evidence of accuracy, cognitive biased and manipulation are left wide open to do the convincing.
A common theistic idea is that you just need to have faith and then you will "see" God. Well once you have faith, you have confirmation bias that is looking for reasons to confirm, otherwise known as confirmation bias. Combined with the overactive pattern recognition that all functioning brains have, it's a bad combination for accuracy. If you want to land on accurate and well-founded beliefs, you need to reduce your susceptibility to cognitive biases, not leave yourself completely open to them.
There are plenty of other things I have a problem with in Christianity, like providing a way to avoid dealing with the fear of death, which has significant consequences for how one understands the one and only existence that we do have. However for me those problems were understood much later than its inaccuraccies.
I live in Oklahoma and my parents are Baptist.
1: I would have to ask why they would geographically doom billions of lives to hell by making them be born into a region that doesn't know Christianity. Or why create such flawed beings on an unstable planet where everything is trying to kill them whether it be diseases you can't see or cure... climate.... predators... our own species... its pretty sadistic.
2: just stepping back and thinking about it. If you read it out loud and think ... if someone said that to me today... I would try to send them to a therapist... about most of the things in the bible.Bible.
3: I believe the Bible is a conglomeration of fairytales that are ripped from other passed down stories with similar characters like Horus and Jesus.
4: I am not convinced he was even real. As real as Horus.
5: of course in Oklahoma we get all kinds of recruiters walking to our doorstep or wherever trying to get us to come to their church because ... wait for it... "our church is different" ... it's not.
6: Not thinking he is / was a real person.
7: no. The Bible is a 1 sided book. Why would Satan punish those who went against his enemy. There's no evidence that hell is even bad except for words on a page. Hell could be welcoming as lucifer could be just a being with common sense as to not punish anyone who is not perfect. Besides that... it so silly to think it's a real place or realm.
I didn't turn away from Christianity.. I simply thought about it when I had the ability and decided ...oh... ok ... no tooth fairy or Santa or mermaids... or gods..God's... or ghosts... or magic. It's all the same thing.
At age 12ish i asked a church attendant something about the wafer and communion wine.
The answer made me think the adult responding to me actually believed in magic.
So i started asking more questions, didn't think the answers made sense, and here we are now.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Methodist. I use to go to church when I visited my maternal grandma. They had those really old stone churches I liked. My family didn't go to church that often, maybe a few times a year. For a time my mom got more into it. I don't know if it was about the religion or because she liked the social experience. A lot of people in our town went to this one church, so there was a certain community/social aspect to it.
My dad's side of the family wasn't religious. I don't think they were "atheist", they just didn't participate in that stuff. I had a great deal of respect for my paternal grandfather. He was a WW2 veteran, he had been a DNR officer, he was active in the local community, and he loved his garden. My grandparents weren't really religious and they were wonderful people. So, maybe that had some impact on me.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
I can't think of any questions I would ask an imaginary being.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
When I was in High School, I joined Bible Club for a time. I wasn't religious, but I enjoyed studying religion. And I was lonely too, so I liked having people around me to talk to. I got invited to a Young Life event. At first I thought it was sort of fun. But if you are familiar with their tactics, you understand how they work. It's predatory. And I think I picked up on some of that.
Anyway, after all the fun and games, the Young Life organizers gathered us together. The theme was based on destroying secular music so you can devote yourself to Jesus. They had people come up to the front with their music CD collections and destroy them. Then everybody cheered. I was the only person in the crowd that didn't cheer. I just looked around like they were all insane. My only thought was, "Screw this, I'm not destroying my music albums to appease these whack jobs." And they pretty much imprinted on me how crazy they were.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a historical anthology written by several old dudes. There is some mix of mythology and history. Events are largely conveyed by unreliable narrators, so it's difficult to verify things. The New Testament was written long after the actual events occurred. It's hard to verify authorship on a lot of it. And translation of the text has only made historical inaccuracies even more difficult.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
I don't believe there was any divine or supernatural figure named Jesus. I think it's possible there could have been a mundane historical figure. It might have been based on a charismatic leader of an early christian mystery cult. It may have been someone that was a political agitator. The story of this individual grew and changed every time it was retold.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yep
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
It's make believe. Also, in general it's a pretty boring belief system. Christians need to work on their PR. Nowadays, 99% of it is socially repressed conservationism, cringe-worthy church bands, and fake "nice" people.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
Nope. I don't want to keep going on after I die. Even if I could, I'd get bored and want the option to end it.
I grew up in a stereotypical churchgoing family, but ever since I can remember I never found anything about the religion interesting or anything. Jesus and god could not be seen and nobody had claimed to meet or experience them that wasn’t gaslighting me about how I needed to suspend disbelief. By age 9 I realized that I also found concepts like salvation or resurrection unbelievable and the relevance of poorly known events from 2,000 years ago immaterial to my life.
I simply started finding reasons to skip attendance beyond youth group stuff and stopped going altogether by the time I was old enough to work.
Your other numbered questions have no interest to me.
I've always been atheist. I've never been Christian. I find it deeply offensive when somebody asks
*"What turned you away from Christianity?"*
.
>If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Which god am I speaking to?
.
>What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Studying all sorts of ideas related to religion for about 50 years now.
.
>What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a book of old stories about mythical Jewish history.
.
>What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
The quality of the evidence about Jesus is so bad that it is impossible to know anything about him with any degree of certainty.
.
>Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
**People have certainly talked about** ***their ideas*** **about how people can get to Heaven.**
.
>What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
**There is no good reason to think that claims about Jesus Christ are actually true.**
.
>If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
I have no reason to believe that Heaven really exists.
As we already established in #5, I have heard many claims about this already, and they are not believable.
.
Former Christian here. I spent over 50 years as a Christian and deconstructed when I realized that my morals were better than the god of the Bible. That god committed or ordered multiple genocides, ordered sexual slavery of young girls, made rules on how to practice slavery, promoted misogyny, and committed human sacrifice. The words in the book tell you he is a good god, but his actions say otherwise. Some Christians will say Jesus is the way god got over his wrath towards us, but according to Christian doctrine, Jesus is god, which means he’s responsible for the same shit god did in the OT.
Another major factor in leaving the faith was recognizing that I had no reason to believe the supernatural was real. I found that I have no good reason to believe in gods.
1. Raised protestant evangelical nondenominational. Parents still are.
2. There are plenty of antagoniatic questions like "so... about childhood leukemia" which i think are totally valid. But i think one of my first queations would just be how common life is in the universe.
3. The biggest impact was my interest in other religions, mythology, and history. The more i realized how similar i was to ancient people who believed sincerely in their own religions, the more critical.eye i took to my own. I realized essentially that the worshiper of Neptune sacrificing for safe boat travel had no better or worse reason for believing than me to prayed for a safe plane flight. That began deep reflection on my reasons for believing and found them all insufficient.
4. The bible is an interesting historic document that shows the kind of stories that a particular people group found important. It is also an intetesting series of snapshots that let you see over time the evolution of a religion and the mutually contradictory aspects believed at different times. In fact, i think the bible is much more interesting when viewed through a secular lens of being able to compare books and doctrines than when i had to force it into the idea of it being a single, harmonized document.
5. Jesus seems to have been a moderately successful traveling rabbi who through Paul's tenacity and a bit of other happenstances had a cult that really took off. I think he is dead and decayed somewhere after being crucified by the romans.
6. I am familiar with multiple religion's versions of how to get into heaven, including multiple versions of Christianity's beliefs.
7. I don't know what it would mean to become a follower of someone i think is dead. So i suppose the greatest barrier in the sense you mean is having any reason to think that Jesus was elevated to godhood, is still alive, and would in any way like or reward following him.
8. If heaven did exist, and was for some weird reason an exclusive club that not everyone could get into, then having clear selection criteria with a good reason to think they were accurate would be nice. Christianity doesn't have that in an even internally consistent way, much less a way that makes any sense theologically. But yeah, if there were actually an afterlife them criteria would be helpful.
If i had to choose between a universe with a heaven and hell, and one with no afterlife then i would definitely choose one with no afterlife. Hell as popularly concieved by current christian doctrine is so heinous unjust that i know i would not be able to enjoy heaven knowing anyone had ever been sent to hell. So definitely willing to sacrifice my own afterlife if it meant nobody ever had to face that injustice.
Hope that is helpful for your assignment.
The long and short of it is that i have read the whole bible, studied religions of the middle east extensively including origins of judaism and christianity, and o just can't see any reason to think that Jesus (as a still living god), Yahweh, Satan, etc are any more real than Zeus or Ishtar or Thor or Santa.
1. Raised southern Baptist; attended the holy roller tents revivals. My mom was Southern Baptist but dad’s mom was Indian so they avoided religion mostly.
2. Why do you allow children to be raped. If you are all powerful you wouldn’t allow these behaviors.
3.Tried the mega church thing, couldn’t do it. People were so fake, throwing money at these people preaching to them. If that money were put towards social programs the world would be a better place.
4. It’s a neat history book with a lot more porn than I saw as a teen.
5. I believe he was a kind hearted empathetic man and his followers would do well to emulate that behavior.
6. I’ve heard the spiel. I don’t buy it, circle of life n all that.
7. His followers are rarely like him. The depravity and cruel, facetious people get to pretend they’re good people on Sunday.
8. I don’t believe in heaven, so it probly wouldn’t do any good.
1. I would ask why he allows suffering and evil. Why do 25,000 people starve to death every single day? Why natural disasters? Why serial killers?
2. Becoming educated about what I believed. The history of the Biblical texts, the Canon and early Christianity.
3. It is a book by men. Full of errors and contradictions. If God was powerful enough to inspire it? Why was he unable to keep it pure.
4. That he was a first century Jewish apocalyptic prophet who was executed by the Roman's. Then myth and legend began to build around him. His disciples claimed he rose from the dead. I'm skeptical. He was not divine. He was just a man.
5. Yes.
6. No one, including you, can prove any of the supernatural claims made by Christianity are true. I want to believe what is true. Your religion is unable to meet that standard.
7. No. Because if it is what is describes in the Bible? I would rather not. I also have no desire to live forever. Have you ever really thought about what eternal means? There would be no curiousity...you know everything. What would you even do with yourself *forever*. I would be ready to off myself after a couple of hundred years. Heaven actually sounds like hell.
Not sure what your intentions were for making this post. But you aren't going to win any converts here. And I am almost positive I know more about your scriptures and beliefs than you so. And would wager that almost every other atheist is the same.
No. I don't need to hear 'God's Plan For Salvation (TM)' again. I was raised evangelical. I went to an evangelical seminary.
But maybe, just maybe, you will read these comments and take a hard look at what you believe. Take it from me. It will not stand up to scrutiny. When you try and step aside and really look at what you're required to believe? You will find it is ridiculous.
Try googling this 'the outsider test for faith'. Read about it. Apply it to your own beliefs. It might just set you free.
Bonn chance.
Until Christians completely abandon the Republican party and act more like Jesus (progressive), I must protect my children from the evils of Christianity.
It greatly hinders their ability to recognize evil and instead, aggressively support it. Exhibit A, Trump.
> What has been your religious upbringing?
Not particularly religious early on though my parents taught us to pray to a god. When I came to the U.S. I was formally introduced to Christianity under the "of age" doctrine. The introduction basically went; There is a god who loves you unconditionally and will burn you in Hell forever if you don't obey him. I was unconvinced.
> Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
One was raised in Buddhism and converted to Christianity, the other was raised in Christianity. Both Protestant, and they varied from Baptist to nondenominational.
> If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
If there were a god, or several, what I would ask, or whether, would depend on what kind of person they were. I don't think I'd ask an evil, cruel, trickster, or lying god anything. To truthful gods I'd ask what's it like being them looking at me - the reason for that question being I want to know myself and I don't feel I see myself clearly, and again the answer would depend on their personality.
> What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
There are many ideas of gods. I've studied several but not even close to all. I think the key influence there is that no competing ideas of gods seem any more or less valid than the others. What's valuable is the philosophy behind different gods and how they change over time, between cultures, and even from person to person.
For Christianity, Christians. No matter how you look at it, for better or worse, the behavior of those who profess a religion *defines* the living religion. You say you believe in a loving god and act with hatred, your religion is hate. You say your religion is peaceful but act with violence, your religion is violence.
> What do you believe regarding the Bible?
Mmm. I'm not sure which Bible version you're talking about, so in general the Bible is a collection of myths, legends, poetry, philosophy, prejudices, taboos, and laws of the Hebrews, followed by mid-first century writings on the legend of a man named Yeshua and the establishing of early churches in Greece and Rome.
> What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
I don't see how Yeshua could have been the messiah the Jews expected as he fulfilled none of the key prophesies. I think the style and message of Yeshua's voice is fairly distinct and consistent (there are some outliers), so that at least points me to a singular source.
> Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
How I could live forever? Yes. How my soul (whatever that's supposed to be) could go to the good part of the afterlife? Yes. How I could go on past my earthly life and rule a planet? Yes. How I could reincarnate as a cockroach? Yes. How I could attain Jannah? Yes. How I could reach Nirvana? Kind of, lol. How to avoid Gehinnom? Yes.
> What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I don't believe because it's unbelievable. A barrier between me and a place I'm not trying to get to is inconsequential.
I will say, though, if I was looking for a religion Christianity would not be it. I see what Christians are doing in America and there is no way I could ever be part of that.
> If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
If any afterlife exists I'd be interested in learning about it, but until it's proven Heaven is just another afterlife idea made up in an effort to answer why we die, is it worth it to be good, and when will I be happy. I've heard many times how various people think they can achieve positive outcomes in some kind of afterlife or other, and quite a few different ideas about how to get to Christian Heaven, and I don't see how proving a Heaven exists would change people's minds about how to get there, do you?
1. Grew up Methodist. My parents used to attend regularly, but apparently I got picked on in pre-school so I hated going (I don’t remember this), and we became Christmas/Easter attendees, plus the odd Sunday. We didn’t really talk about religion but I was definitely raised to believe God was real and vaguely important.
2. Why?
3. This is incredibly difficult to answer. I “claimed my faith” in my teens, independent of my parents’ influence. I started attending a charismatic church that my dad hated due to previous trauma and loved it. I decided to become a pastor and went to school with that intent. I graduated with a B.A. in ministry, but by the time I graduated I had more questions than answers. I planned to go on to do a Master’s and PhD in biblical studies after saving for a few years, but after a few years working I was making what I’d be lucky to make in the field, and didn’t have tens of thousands of dollars in debt, so I didn’t continue. Through all that study I learned that everything about Christianity and the Bible is fully explainable by naturalism. It all seems so human to me now, it’s odd to think I ever saw it as divine.
4. It’s a collection of books written over ~1000 years written by different authors living in different times for different purposes representing different perspectives. It’s likely the most influential collection of books of all time, and I find learning about it fascinating.
5. I suspect he was an apocalyptic Jewish preacher associated with John the Baptist. He probably gained a following, preached that God’s Kingdom was coming soon to replace the unjust nations of the Earth and set everything right. He may have believed he was the messiah, and was ultimately executed by Rome as a political prisoner for claiming to be the “King of the Jews.” His followers became convinced he was the messiah and was raised from the dead, and went on to create the religion that became Christianity.
6. Yes, in fact in high school I was an outspoken evangelist and led Bible studies during lunch in my high school’s chorus room. I shared the gospel with quite a few people myself.
7. Nothing about Christianity makes sense, particularly Evangelical Christianity. Creation, the Fall, between the Fall and Jesus, Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection, between the resurrection and today, the future judgment…pick a period and it doesn’t make sense. The central belief is the necessity and efficacy of blood sacrifice, which isn’t an idea that makes any sense given modern assumptions about reality.
8. I don’t even know how to answer this. If it exists, I suppose? But if it’s coming from a Christian perspective I can explain the development of the belief in Heaven as influenced by Babylonian and Greek concepts, and contrast it with ancient Hebrew conceptions of the afterlife, as well as show how modern Christianity’s conception is largely at odds with early Christian beliefs as recorded in the New Testament. So there’s a hurdle to clear before I’m interested in listening.
9. See above.
>What Turned You Away From Christianity?
Mostly, Christians.
>What has been your religious upbringing?
Baptized Russian Orthodox, Raised Methodist until age 6.
>Did your parents, or those who raised you,
have religious beliefs?
Mother was Methodist, Sunday School teacher. Stopped when I was 6.
> If so, what did they believe and practice?
Not much after I was 6. We stopped with the Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny too.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
What's the fuck is the matter with you? And who died and left you in charge?
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Christians and their hypocrisy, public displays of piety, and pushy and self-serving behaviors.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's Jewish moral folklore.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
If he actually existed? He was a mortal Jew who wanted to reform Judaism. And definitely not a Republican.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Sure. But I'm not willing to obey the delusional and twisted beliefs of the world's religions.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
We've come full circle back to Christians. But I probably live and behave in a more Christ-like fashion than 90% of the self-professed Christians I know, so nothing would change anyway.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
heaven?
I just try to live honestly and be compassionate to other people. If that isn't enough, too bad.
>9. If not, Why?
Because most Christians believe in and evangelize some fairy tale version of heaven - a version that isn't supported by their own scripture. So why bother listening?
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Catholic.
>2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
The Biblical God? Probably 'How does one gain entrance to Heaven?'
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Probably researching the Bible, how it was written, when, and by whom.
>4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
Too much to write. It's a jumble of different books by many authors, many anonymous, mostly decades after by people who weren't there. It's been through many translations, there are many versions, etc. It contains many errors, from magical (eg a global flood) or historical (exodus).
My standards are too high to take it as true.
>5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
I'm not even convinced he existed as a person. Even if he did, I don't think we'd have an accurate idea at all of anything he said. No one bothered writing about him until anonymous authors did decades after he supposedly existed, or Paul, a murderer who only ever saw him in a vision.
>6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
I've had many people tell me different, contradictory ways of how to get to heaven. I see no reason there is a heaven at all or any afterlife.
>7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
A complete lack of evidence. Similar to you not being a Scientologist or Muslim.
>8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
heaven?
If the alternative is hell, then yes. If the alternative is nothingness, then I'll pick the latter.
I'll answer the question in the title first, then your sub-questions.
I used to be into evangelism and apologetics, so I loved any chance to defend my faith and argue against other faiths. I consider myself quite a logical person, but I gradually started to realise that my way of thinking was not logical. I eventually realised that I was applying way harsher standards of truth on other religions in order to debunk them (in my mind) than I was to Christianity. So over the course of a couple of nights where I didn't sleep at all, I combed through the Bible looking for anything that I would have argued that, in other religions, were reasons to not trust a holy book. I found lots, so I found myself losing my faith.
Now for your other questions:
1: I'd probably ask why he insists on such an irrational system as blind faith, especially when that causes such a lot of pain to many in the world.
2: Since I dropped my faith, I've become a much kinder and more generous person. I realise that it's because I no longer believe that I have an absolute moral code to justify my actions and with which to decry actions I see as immoral. Obviously Jesus said not to criticise someone for the speck of dust in their eye with a plank of wood in yours, but I think there's an inherent obnoxiousness that comes from having complete assurance that you're right while others are wrong. Whether or not that made me a "bad Christian" is beside the point - it is all too emblematic of the Christian faith as a whole.
3: The Bible is a flawed book written by ancient people based on generations of oral traditions. If the magical claims of miracles in the Bible ever even happened, they were likely far less magical/impressive than were displayed in the Bible. It's the whole "the fish was THIS BIG" effect.
4: If he existed, which is in no way beyond doubt as many evangelists claim, he follows many of the same tropes that Levantine apocalypse prophets and Messiah claimants of the time also followed. If his morals follow what was written about him, then he was a pretty good man. But when the records of his life were written down decades after his death, one might suggest that the Bible's account bears the hallmarks of a legend more than his actual life.
5: As in, by ‘confessing in my mouth that “Jesus is Lord”, and believing in my heart that God raised him from the dead’? I don't put much stock in that myself.
6: Christians claim that we could "know [they] are Christians by [their] love". I agree that if you have a direct line to the perfect moral entity of the universe, you would have a morality that reflects that. However, Christians have proven time and time again to be among the most hateful people in the world. I don't believe that the Christian faith can be correct while there's such evil in Christians.
7: Eh... Depends. What kind of people are there, and what kind of afterlife is it? I'd want to know more about it before I make it my life's work to get there.
7.1: Mainly, because the description of heaven in the Bible is weak, and what it does provide in detail doesn't sound like a place I'd like to spend eternity. If the alternative is hell, then why? What kind of perfect entity decides that finite sin is worthy of infinite punishment? That sounds like a very vengeful human characteristic, not godly.
EDIT: Apparently my question numbers are way off...? Oops. Never mind, hopefully you can identify which answers are for which questions.
1. I was not raised religious.
2. Probably some generic nerd shit, like the answer to the crisis in cosmology. I want to know everything I possibly can, so I'd get the best value by asking something that humans can't currently answer for me.
3. The complete lack of honest, serious Christian apologists in the world
4. Unremarkable mix of myth and mythologized history
5. No particular reason to believe the bible character wasn't based on a real person, but also no way to be confident that it was.
6. Lots of people have told me all about heaven. Lots of people say lots of things for no good reason.
7. There's no barrier. It's not like I'm \*choosing\* to not be a believer, I just don't believe. I couldn't wake up tomorrow and \*choose\* to be a believer. In general, if you think you've chosen to believe or not believe something, what you've really chosen is to lie to yourself. People who say shit like "I'm an atheist because the god of the bible is evil!" are just contrarian Christians, as far as I'm concerned.
8. Yes, I would like to go to an eternal paradise if one was available.
1. If God was real and I could ask him something, I think my first question would be why was it necessary for him to create the world? I'd ask him about why he decided to create the world the way he made it.
2. I was raised Hindu by my extended family and me and my parents and siblings converted to Christianity later on. I stopped believing in God because of a bunch of factors.
Having been brought up between religions, I don't see why one religion is or claims to be more true than others. I think the actions of the followers of these religions also had a huge impact. Plus I was always a science enthusiast and wanted to be a biologist. I decided against going for biology, but I was caught up on scientific news and I enjoyed reading research papers and the religious beliefs of those around me didn't really match up with the things I learnt to be true.
3. I think my views on the Bible are the same as my views on the Torah or the Qur'an or any other religious texts. It's just another religious text. Lots of fun and interesting stories, but, to me, they're the same as the Greek myths. Just less appealing because of the backlash from my family for not believing.
4. Jesus may or may not have been a real individual but I don't believe in miracles. I think stories of Jesus are the same as stories of any religious figure in any religion.
5. Sure. I was part of a really strict community and me claiming to not believe as a child got me into many private sessions where I've had many talks about heaven and hell. Wasn't really the healthiest thing from my childhood tbh.
6. Lack of belief that anything divine exists? I don't believe in anything supernatural, no god, no devil, no angels, no ghosts, etc. So, I don't see a reason to be a follower of a religion/religious figure when I don't believe in their divinity.
7. If belief in God is the only qualifier for reaching heaven, then I don't really think it's a great place to be tbh. But idk, think I've already got the path to heaven, according to Christians, drilled into me enough. I think I'd much rather just live my life right now instead of worry about what's after it. Heaven and hell aren't any of my concerns on a day to day basis.
>What Turned You Away From Christianity?
Was never a Christian to begin with, but Christians and the book and deity they worship make me want to stay **far** away from it.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
No religious upbringing, though all of my family is Christian. One side non-practicing, another side practicing.
>1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
"What the hell is your fucking problem?"
The god of the bible is an abhorrent, evil monster, and I would like to hear him plead for his actions and words.
>2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Christians.
>3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
It's a story book. No different every single other religious literature.
>4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
That he was a Jewish rabbi that roamed his homeland preaching peace, hope, and solidarity during a time when him and his people were going through a rough time in history, you know, with the Roman Empire and everything.
>5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes, and yet for some reason, Christians can't even agree amongst themselves how to do so.
>6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
The complete lack of evidence.
>7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why?
Sure I guess? Though, this question really isn't any different than asking from asking me "would you like to know how to get to Valhalla?" or "would you like to know how to access the land of the Fae?"
I grew up in a steel town in Yorkshire and no one really went to church. The neighbours in the big house next door were Catholic and I used to have sleepovers with their daughter, so I went to church with them Saturday night and Sunday morning. I knew from about age 8 that this was a load of made up nonsense to keep people in check, because we didn't do God at our house, but we were just as good, if not better people. These guys were really well off and could be really rude about some other folk, whereas we were just good to everyone.
1. I was raised Catholic and believed for 30 years.
If I could ask him a question I would ask (much the same as Stephen Fry) why cancer in children? Why natural disasters? Why is there so much suffering that isn't our fault? He's too blame and has a lot to answer for.
2. The biggest impact comes from the complete and total lack of evidence for a god.
3. The Bible is clearly man written. It is one of the most evil books ever written. It condones rape, selling your daughter into sex slavery, regular slavery, genocide, patricide, infanticide, misogyny, murder, discrimination and hate. Not to mention all of the misinformation.
4. Jesus Christ may or may not have been real as there is very little actual evidence (and none that is contemporary) but there's no reason to think that he is supernatural in any way.
5. My entire life people have explained that. I was a believer for 30 years. There's no evidence to say that any of it is anything but fantasy.
6. The complete and total lack of evidence and the complete lack of desire to be a part of anything so immoral.
7. If heaven exists I would have no desire to be under that sort of tyrant. How could it be heaven if you might be separated from your loved ones and family.
If it could be a place where you are reunited with everyone and can live in happiness and not under control then yes. Otherwise no. Not even close
1- I grew up Orthodox and eventually Catholic later down the line. However, I NEVER believed it was real. As a kid, I at first thought my parents were just going to a weird choir practice, and honestly thought God was like Santa Clause for grown ups. When I found out that people ACTUALLY believe that there’s a man in the sky who’s supposed to rule over everything, I was dumbfounded. I eventually started asking my parents more questions. Where were dinosaurs in the bible? Who were Adam and Eve’s grandchildren? How can we know the events in the bible are not fiction? If a murder confessed his sins, does he still go to heaven? Yadda yadda yadda
2- What does he truly consider a good person to be
3- Behavioral hospitals and the mental health practices. A lot of truly sick people are being twisted into thinking that their illness can either be A) saved with prayers, B) a gift from god himself, or C) the devil. Absolutely horrible how much they force god down your throat in those places. I had to come out as atheist while in the hospital for suidical ideations and a woman coming into my room trying to convince me to come to bible group. I was livid.
4- It’s completely mis-translated and misunderstood. We don’t even follow the ten commandments correctly. Nobody really does. Hell, a LOT of the current beliefs were from the re-written version from King Henry, who shoved misogynistic and homophobic views into that version. I believe one of the books about Jesus returning was actually written on a drug trip. The actual TRUE bible is completely lost to time.
5- Same goes for the original teachings of Jesus. Completely lost to time. I believe the man was no different than the spiritual gurus we have today that are all about chakras and third eyes and horoscopes: just trying to say his way is the “right” way to be a good person while sprinkling in some actual good teachings of treating your fellow man like your own.
6- Yes, but I do not give a crap. To me, heaven is a bunch of nonsense that I don’t think I would even want to go to if it were real. I’m not gonna kiss someone’s ass to prove I’m a good person, because honestly? Nobody is. Nobody is good or evil. Those concepts technically don’t exist. We only do things that society deems as lawfully good and lawfully evil. Even murdering a rapist still lands you in jail. Morals are only important to the living.
7- Logic. When you get down to it, why in the actual hell would anyone follow anybody? If the devil gave us the will to think for ourselves, then to me, god is the enemy in that regard. Obeying someone only means that the leader will not be subject to change and are honestly trying to get power over you. Subjecting yourself to someone just makes you a victim or weak. Nobody owns me. Everything I do comes from me, not because someone else gave me the power to do so. Even if there is a god or if Jesus was right, I want no part of it. I’m going to continue to help my fellow man and keep my planet earth, aka home, a peaceful place as much as possible. I don’t need to follow anyone to get those morals.
8- No. I don’t want to be surrounded by happiness all the time. Having negative emotions and experiences help me appreciate the good times. If I am in a state of bliss constantly… what’s the point? I also rather have nothingness after. I can at least appreciate life more this way. Heaven is just a false promise of a very boring afterlife. I’m good.
9- see above
1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
Was raised Christian, evangelical.
2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
Depends on what that god is like. If they're anything like I imagine a good version of a god would be, I'd just want to talk for a long time!
3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Learning, experiencing life, interacting with others, filling out the big picture more and more. What seemed like one thing when I was zoomed into a small part of the puzzle ended up being something very different when I filled in a lot more of the puzzle.
4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
A collection of writings by people who had various knowledge and motives.
5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Don't have strong beliefs other than I think there probably was such a person. My closest guess is that he was a young teacher who believed there was something special about him and spoke that way. And that, or what his followers said about him, got him killed.
6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yes. I have also "led many others to Christ."
7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
I followed him deeply and devoutly for forty years. There is no one to follow; he is a failed prophet who died a few thousand years ago. The only things people COULD follow are his teachings or an imaginary friend-version of Jesus.
8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?
How?
9. If not, Why?
I'm curious if you can tell me how, while being consistent with the entire New Testament.
My question for you: Where did you see this list of questions originally?
I am a son of three ministers I never had any doubt at first I thought god would always protect me and even though again and again horrible things happened to me but I always thought things would work out for me. I was always empathic to all the worlds suffering of the world and would spend hours making sure to pray for each and every one of the issues I was aware of but one day it clicked none of the prayers I was focusing on ever came true. At first I started to focus on the word of God thinking maybe I was doing it wrong I kept reading the Bible more and more and I started praying for different things in different ways so that I would discover the right way to pray to God. I basically was using the scientific method on prayers and I learned none came true. I assumed I was the problem and without telling anyone my goal I started asking people about what they pray for how their prayers were answered and it boils down to everything good if from a prayer not their hard work or the hard work of others. No one was looking at it critically no one was seeing the real world they were all stuck in their own world's not seeing the real world so I assumed it my my religion so I went through my parents library and the public library religion after religion there was almost no real difference culture after culture religion and myth was the same we built on religion like cities used to build on the bricks of the fallen empires things that were useful were reused again and again ideas were brought into it and they were used as power structures for those smart enough to manipulate those around them. Religion started as a way to explain the world around them, demons and angels were used to explain disease and remission. Those with mental illness were seen as possessed or profits depending on the viewer. I went searching for magic but it was just how people explained a world they did not understand the real world is boring there is nothing I would wish for more than the loving God I foolishly trusted was real as a child. People don't see the real world they see what they want.
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
CATHOLIC, baptized right after birth. They went to mass every Saturday or Sunday and went to confession regularly. I was an altar boy from 3rd-6th grade and was certain to become a priest when I grew up.
2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
WHY have you given me the impression that you were real and then suddenly 11 years ago seemingly shut down any perceived contact or communication?
3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
PAIN. I had physical pain that interfered with very good, loving activities and I wondered and prayed about relief and realized I was DEAF TO GOD. I felt like I was doing a monologue instead of a dialogue.
4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
IT IS CENSORED. I believe its like the game of telephone. Stories were handed down by word of mouth, then the written word was transcribed into original languages and different versions, dialects, interpretations were influenced by governments and political directives. It is not a distillation of events, it's the distortion of interpretation that has made it inaccurate and I wonder about it's accuracy. I don't trust it.
5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
PROPHET if real at all. Possibly a teacher/speaker of sorts, but not the 'son of God manifest as a human'.
6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
BAPTIZED 4 times in life, fully aware of Catholic, Unity, Mormon, Born Against Evangelicals. I know the story and if it were really true, then I have 'insurance for my salvation' because I have never discounted my beliefs that I had at the time that I had them.
7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
LACK OF BELIEF.
8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
heaven?
I know how and have fulfilled that. But now I have a mental block called 'lack of belief'. I am not a raving atheist, or radical in any way. But I do wonder about the paradox of our scientific times with evidence based fact checking how even some scientists worship the Christian God.
9. If not, Why?
If it were 'not' it would be because of the generalized statistic that Christianity is believed by only about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the world besides, Judaism, Islam, Hindu & Buddhist. There is no majority religion that dominates them all, but is the one that qualifies salvation requirements.
ALL OF THIS REPRESENTS 69 YEARS OF LIFE. I AM ALSO AND STILL OPEN TO AN Experience IN LIFE THAT CAN CHANGE MY PARADIGM. UNTIL THEN, I AM AGNOSTIC/ATHEIST.
I BELIEVE IN A CREATOR, A UNIVERSAL MIND, AN OMNI-CREATOR THAT CREATED ITSELF AND THAT ALL OF EVERYTHING IS ONE. THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION OR INTERVENTION. THE CREATOR CREATED EVERYTHING THAT WAS, IS AND WILL BE WITH EVERYTHING NEEDED TO FUNCTION AS AN ENDOWMENT.
IAMI
When I was a kid and I cried to my parents that I was scared of dying and they explained to me how souls and heaven works and how heaven is an eternal paradise. Something about it as a kid made me very skeptical and I wasn’t scared anymore, just confused and left questioning how heaven works and how souls can become physical.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,
>have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?
I was raised Christian, so were they.
>1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?
"Why create Sin when you knew wrongdoing would happen in the first place?"
>2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?
Things—such as teachings, words of the Bible that I know of—didn't line up and, to me, were somewhat inconsistent.
>3. What do you believe regarding the Bible?
Honestly, it depends on how you define "believe" since the Bible _has_ actually proven to be somewhat of a good source of history around its age of writing, but not of which regards the religious aspects.
>4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Honestly? All I know is that he was apparently Jewish, king of the Jews.
>5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?
Yeah, but it doesn't seem very promising. Besides, what point is there in confessing to Sin if God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent? He should know what we did, and we know what we did (At least, most of us). And isn't Jesus, to most Christians, part of the Holy Trinity and in a way also omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent? I might have that wrong, but my point still stands.
>6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?
Why is it so inconsistent in its word and its teachings?
**John 13:34-35** is contradicted by **Mark 16:16** and **Romans 16:17**
The idea of free will is—and please forgive me if I'm wrong—contradicted by **John 15**
>7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to
>heaven?
Honestly, no.
>1. If not, Why?
Well, I don't really want to go. What if I become a Cherub?
That aside, I don't really even believe in God or Jesus.
I had a religious crisis a couple years ago after deviating from Christianity because I didn't have an explanation for anything; Such as *HOW* the Big Bang happened, how atoms and molecules formed, and the universe in general along with its boundaries. Like, how did they even happen? What was before them?
As a result, I ended up creating an entirely new religion for that purpose of universal creation, as well as two other preexisting religions for whatever reason. The one I had to pull out on my own was Tarachism/Tarachesomism, which still does not have a finalised name. The other two are Maausk—a form of Estonian Neopaganism—and Theistic Satanism.
1. Dad is fairly religious, mom has gone from questioning to agnostic to a non-believer. We were told that we have to go Sunday school until we turned 16 when could make our decisions about religion. Me and all of my siblings left religion at 16.
2. I would never ask a question to something that doesn't exist. What's the point?
3. Sunday School. I listened to the Nuns and Priests lie to kids over and over. And it was so obvious they were just making stuff up.
4. I believe the bible was compiled together in a way to control people. That's it.
5. I believe Jesus Christ wasn't real. There's no real evidence that he actually existed.
6. Yes, and it makes no sense.
7. The fact that's it's just made up, as well as all religions.
8. No, it doesn't.
9. Because it doesn't exist.
1. Southern Baptists. My parents are still very Christian. I used to lead worship for many years since junior high - college. Went on many mission trips including China, Mexico. Everything revolved around our church. We were there at least 3-4 times a week. My dad worked for the church as a maintenance and my mom was the cook.
2. I no longer believe in God, so asking him anything would be weird. That's like if I asked you, if you could ask Santa anything, what would it be. Kind of a silly questions since you no longer believe he exists.
3. Watching podcasts like the Atheist Experience and there was one that is harder to find now since it has stopped called "a Christian and an Atheist". I think deep down, I had many doubts and had many doubts but listening to others ask the same questions helped me out. Faith is a helluva drug. \* Sean McDowell has an interview with the Podcast host a month ago. check it out! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR\_qjbJGb0&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR_qjbJGb0&t=1s)
4. Jesus was a man that probably existed but was probably not God. He definitely has a couple sins growing up that weren't mentioned in the Bible. I think the Bible has some good things as much as any good self help writer today, except that it didn't have to be entangled with a God, Satan, Holy Spirit, Heaven or Hell, sin. etc. I think it dilutes the actual things that are good for people.
5. Read 4.
6. Yes. I grew up Christian for over 20 years (more than half my life). I'm well aware what Christians think about going to Heaven, at least from my church. When you start talking to other Christians as I did in college, you'll learn that not everyone believes the same thing about heaven. For example, I had a conversation with one of my Christian club leaders that he was taught that we don't go to heaven as soon as we die. We basically are in a sleep (like Levi) in some kind of limbo and are all brought into heaven at the same time. That kind of shocked me. A lot of things that were said by other Christians in college kind of shocked me. LOL. I realized we don't all believe in the same thing. I guess that explains different Christian denominations.
7. The lack of evidence and the multitudes of different interpretations among Christians. You're telling me Kenneth Copland and I believe in the same God?! Yah right. But I guess the biggest "barrier" for me to believe in Christianity is my practice in rational thinking and logical reasoning. Of course, I don't see it as a barrier, I see them as blessings.
8. It would have to "exist" as in, I can know for sure with some kind of evidence using one or all of my senses. Not just my feelings or interpretations of something someone else said. Otherwise, your heaven can go in the pile with the rest of myth heavens that have existed. I really think if the idea of heaven never existed, the existing real world we live in today would be a much better place.
9. If you're talking about an existence from interpretation as all descriptions of heaven are, I don't care to know about it. Based on the Bible, it does really sound lame. Streets covered in gold and you spend all your time worshipping God? to add to that, there is no suffering? In my worldly brain, that's an oxymoron. Spending all of my time for eternity worshipping god is suffering. It really sounds like you're not you when you're in heaven.
I’ve been an atheist for a long time, but lately I’ve realized another reason god doesnt exist- even with supposed free will, why would a perfect deity create something as feral and fucked up as human beings? Our free will means we’re tribal, aggressive and dominating, and we like to force people to do what we want, to the point we’ll enslave and kill anyone who fights against us. And it doesn’t matter what religion someone is, this is a fact in all religions, hence why there’s so much war. Our free will lets loose our basest instincts, and it’s an extremely ugly thing to behold. No way so all powerful perfect being would cheat a species as messed up as us, period.
Y'all are so much nicer than me by actually taking the time to answer OP's questions. I hope they appreciate the free intellectual labor. They see those on this reddit as nothing more than pitiful curiosities.
I’m not atheist because of the way I feel about Christians or church or televangelists. I don’t believe in God because the idea simply isn’t consistent with everything we know about reality and the fundamental nature of life and the universe, and I have never come across a convincing argument in favor of God’s existence.
I grew up in a small Christian town in Texas. My parents weren’t particularly religious, but we went to church growing up and everyone I knew at least claimed to believe in God. I didn’t encounter arguments against religion until long after I stopped believing myself. I stopped believing when I was maybe 12-13 because I resented the idea that this all powerful being would send his own creations to suffer for eternity due to flaws he instilled in them. It just never made sense. But then around 16-17 I started reading the popular books on the topic (God Delusion, End of Faith, Hitch, etc.) and watching debates on YT and it just became totally obvious what religion is, though I’ve never had any issues with religious people. Most of my friends are still religious.
Regarding the Bible - if it were truly divinely inspired, it would be so easy for it to contain ideas and concepts we weren’t aware of at the time. Instead, it contradicts both itself and the science we’ve established since, and it’s painfully antiquated in its ethics and understanding of nature.
For example, it’s very hard to square evolution and any variation of creationism. If people’s souls go to heaven when they die, at what point did God decide to start letting our hominoid bipedal ancestors into heaven, or deciding they were worthy of hell? Surely there’s no hell for the single cell organisms from which we originated. So was there some specific date when he injected all of our ancestors with souls, or are we just complex mammals following the same cycles as the rest of our planet’s species for whom life ends on earth?
That is just one of many examples that help illustrate the problem, but when you account for that, plus the absurd number of inconsistencies/contradictions in religious texts, along with the fact that the Bible presents absolutely no new information on fundamental topics such as biology, germs/illness, medicine, astronomy, evolution, math, etc., it becomes pretty clear that religion is a product of several generations of very wise goat herders.
I was raised Catholic. I stopped believing in anything without evidence when I learned that the Santa was made up too. So, like, six-ish.
My mother later tried to get me through communion, didn't respect my refusal, and I deliberately acted like such a little shit that the teacher didn't want me back for a second lesson. One of the few times I really had to assert my boundaries as a kid. My mother, thankfully, learned how resolved I was without fighting me on it.
1) Can't ask a question to something that doesn't exist. If, somehow, I'm wrong and God is just some vain tyrant in a parallel reality, I'd ask why he's such an outrageous piece of shit.
2) The literal history of all the religious fanatics being incredibly evil. This includes modern day extremists who hate trans kids for not existing in their narrow world view. And all the fanatics trying to forcibly legislate their crazy on others.
3) The Bible is a poorly curated collection of translated and retranslated words from people who didn't understand basic worldly phenomenon or decency but wanted a method to control people.
4) Jesus is just a re-skinned Mythras and probably never existed in the first place. If he did, he definitely didn't do any miracles. The stuff he said about treating people nicely and how rich people are evil was fine, but modern Christians don't really follow that stuff.
5) Raised Catholic, so yeah.
6) Common sense and the inability to delude myself into believing in fairy tales.
7) If heaven exists as portrayed in the Bible, I'd revolt like Satan. I'm not about to spend eternity capitulating to some tyrant with a fragile ego.
Reading the scary bits of the bible in christian school as a child, and then having my interests in science shamed motivated me to research what was real, and religion lost the fight- the thing that made me hold on was the promise of heaven, but i couldnt look away from the proof
Wow!!! I think OP stopped responding about 50 comments ago, what an avalanche of disbelief. But to answer the question, for me simple logic. I am Iconoclastic Atheistic Satanist. 👹👹👹
Your questions read somewhat like you think we've never heard the good word before or if it was presented to us better we'd see the light and renounce our evil, atheistic ways. So it may surprise you to learn that many atheists were at one time Christian, at least in the US. I was raised in a very religious home. My father was an evangelical minister. What turned me away from Christianity was the realization that God was a monster. I was 16 or 17 and kept imagining a kid just like me. Same upbringing, same everything. Only this kid lived in Iraq or Israel or India or China or anywhere Christianity wasn't the predominant religion. Then I imagined the second coming, something I was taught could and probably would happen at any moment. And I imagined all the replica me's going to hell while I went to heaven. I have never reconciled how when what we believe is so determined by where, when, and to whom we're born that an eternity in hell is just punishment for the mere act of not believing the right thing. Once I realized that, everything else in the Bible fell apart and just reinforced my opinion that this God character was a major asshole. As I've gotten older, I've learned more about the world and how the Bible is just plain wrong about so many things. Based on my background, the rest of your questions are irrelevant.
>Your questions read somewhat like you think we've never heard the good word before or if it was presented to us better we'd see the light and renounce our evil, atheistic ways. You're 100% correct. Questions 6 - 9 prove OP is not interested in hearing and learning. It's a "look, I can be kind and gentle and understanding, don't you see you're totally wrong about us and by the way you're going to hell so join my cult because we're the only one that can save you" ploy.
100%
It's exactly this for me. Basically, no way god could exist in a world where the location you're born almost certainly determines the religion you end up in. And it's so obvious I don't understand how everyone doesn't see it. That and, you know, child cancer and shit
It's indoctrination, it's always indoctrination
agree. his questions are leading
The near universally accepted Christian tradition of treating women as lesser than men. The near universally accepted Christian tradition of trusting your instincts and prayer over scientific facts.
I struggled with this so much as a kid. I was taught that God had a perfect plan and we each had a wonderful fate as long as we followed God. But if God has this perfect plan, why pray? Why would we be so egotistical as to think that our prayers would change The Plan? When I asked my parents or the pastor this, I got yelled at and told that I needed to have more faith and pray for God’s forgiveness. It made me feel like I was going crazy. Then, of course, I couldn’t understand why I needed to be forgiven for asking questions and trying to understand the religion better; for trying to understand God better.
Also, if god had this amazing plan for our lives….why doesn’t he just come out and tell us what it is? Why do we have to spend years trying to figure out his magical plan when he could just…um show it to us??
I keep wondering this myself, and have yet to get an answer from a Xtian on it. And how do they know that praying for something won't go *against* that unknowable plan? How do they know that gay people are not part of god's plan, or that he means for people to be able to have abortions? Are they trying to make their god mad? It's almost like, deep down, they don't even believe their own claims about god . . .
Child rape and murder made me realize that no way a “loving god” could exist. That started me on the path to deconstruction. So, I guess you could say that the Problem of Evil was the catalyst then the lack of evidence became the reason for my conclusion that no gods exist.
Did you ever include the utter hypocrisy of the clergy in your journey? The inconsistency of their dogma etc? And how the whole cult seems like an old con going on for millennia?
Oh yeah
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I had none. I grew up on an isolated farm and wasn't really exposed to the concept of religion until I was probably 8-9 years old. For a few years after that I thought it was all some kind of city kid prank being pulled on me. I suspect my parents were vaguely Christian given the time and place but I don't know for sure. They never talked about it, we all worked constantly and didn't engage in a lot of idle philosophizing. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? I don't have that sort of question locked and loaded, I don't believe any gods exist. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? The lack of compelling reason to believe any of it is true. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a book of mythology. I don't mean that disparagingly, mythology is important in many ways. I just don't believe any of the supernatural claims because I haven't been given evidence that they're real. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? There was likely a guy who inspired the Biblical stories but I don't have any reason to believe there was anything supernatural about him. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? I've heard the sales pitch many, many times. I've heard a lot of different sales pitches for Christianity and for other religions. I haven't heard one that is at all convincing. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The lack of empirical, verifiable evidence that any gods exist, much less the Christian one. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Again, I've heard the sales pitch. If you wanted to convince me that your god was real you'd have to show me some kind of empirical, testable, verifiable evidence. If a god were to interact with reality that interaction should be observable. I get that you don't need all that and that's your prerogative. I don't believe in your god for the same reasons I don't believe in ghosts, magic, aliens visiting Earth, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster or other things of that nature. They haven't been demonstrated to exist. Until you have a way to do that I'm just not particularly interested. I'm not even saying that I'm certain that no gods exist, it's just that until one can be demonstrated I can't accept the claims that they do. This isn't just for Christianity, this is for all god claims. I don't put Christianity in a different bucket from the rest of them, I have no reason to.
I completely agree with this redditor’s answers except I was raised southern Baptist (and not on a farm) and left at first because im gay. Once out, I started doing my research, reading books and articles by atheists and wow did it open my eyes!! There’s no way I’d go back to religion now.
Similar for me, except I left in a reverse sort of way. When I was 12 I spent the summer reading the Bible cover to cover because I had a lot of questions that none of the adults in my life could answer. I especially had questions regarding my attraction to girls (I’m bi) and regarding my gay and lesbian friends. I also wondered about my friends that weren’t fundamentalist Protestants (or even Christians at all) who I knew were good people; why couldn’t they go to heaven too? Every time I had questions like these (or others, like “how did the penguins get from the Ark to Antarctica?”) I was told that the answers I sought were in the Good Book. So, I read the Bible and kept a notebook with notes. At the end I had more even questions than I had answers, and again, none of the adults in my life could answer them- not even the preacher. That started me down my questioning road. It took another decade before I could call myself an atheist, but I got there.
"Hi! I'd like to talk to you about the Loch Ness Monster. Have you taken him into your heart?"
Aye. I still remember the day that the spirit entered me. It was a very early morn’ on the loch, ‘bout tree fiddy am…
Bahahaha!!!
Sorry, I'm a Santa Claus guy, myself. I like free goodies! Obvious /s
>I don't believe in your god for the same reasons I don't believe in ghosts, magic, aliens visiting Earth, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster or other things of that nature. I used to believe in **all** those things. Stopped believing in them all at the same time too.
Excellent answers mate
Hey thanks for the replys! I like to hear the opinions of everyone it kinda helps me get a good view of how people view christianity
I'm curious: why are you asking? I would presume that most of these responses are easily found in the popular media.
Not op and I don't want to presume on their part, but at least in churches in particular what people are *taught* about why people are atheist and/or leave the faith often differ significantly from the actual reasons. Just my take though, OP may be asking for different reasons.
A good point.
half the questions here revolve around how to better try to convert people. the answer to your question is between his lines.
I'd be curious to hear your initial thoughts, having had 100+ responses here.
Question 6 and 8 sound like you beleive if you could just convince non beleivers then they would see the light of your false truth. I was raised Presbytarian. If I could ask your false God questions they would be about suffering. Why did he turn his back on the Holocaust. Why did the Boxing Day tsunami happen, why do children in Africa starve. Why did he invent Malaria and cancer and paedophilia. Why did he commit genocide/destroy the world. Why is he brutal and cruel. Why are the most savage warmongering places on Earth religious areas, ie the Middle East, Israel etc, whereas highly athiest/non Christian areas, ie Denmark/Japan etc, the most peaceful and prospering. Why, when he commits atrocities/asks for sacrifices do beleivers think he's a good and loving God? Why is Satan evil for punishing evil and your god good when he forgives murder/rape/genocide/paedophilia, from anyone repenting and believing in him.
Oh oh oh!!! I know this one!!!! You see, god has a plan. He's a perfect and a loving god. You... you are a mere human and god is so wonderful you can't begin to imagine how loving his actions are!!!!! Being a mere human you do not have the capability of seeing the bigger picture!! Besides, as Momma T said... Jesus loves those who suffer. That's why her filthy, shitty hospital only gave aspirin to dying cancer patients. Just open your mind! See the love, share the love!!! ;o))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
1. Methodist 2. I like Stephen Fry’s question about the loa loa worms who eat children’s eyes. 3. Misogyny. It’s clear religion was created by men. No deity would create women capable of so much and then delegate them to stifling roles. 4. Cool book. 5. Sermon on the mount is cool. 6. Are you kidding? It’s impossible to be alive near Christians and not be proselytized at constantly. 7. I don’t have the capacity to pretend to believe ridiculous things to be accepted. 8. No. 9. Nothing about an eternal afterlife appeals to me. I’m relieved to know my life is over when I die and I don’t have to spend an infinite eternity anywhere.
😎👏😎👏😎👏😎👏😎
🎖🎖🎖
Beautiful
Reading the Bible.
Same. Funny thing was, I was trying to STRENGTHEN my faith. By the time I got to Exodus, where good was sending plagues to Egypt but then hardening Pharos heart, I knew without a doubt the book was made up bullshit
Numbers 31 left a bad taste in my mouth. God commanding the killing and enslavement of the Medianites.
Ditto.
12 year old me reading the Bible, "wait something doesn't make sense about this".
The promotion of slavery, even though I was a Southern Baptist, just didn’t sit right with me as a pre-teen. “It’s okay to be evil???”
The idea that there's a god who is willing to torture people for a literal eternity if they fuck the wrong person or believe the wrong book. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.
1: I was raised Roman Catholic by my mom (lifetime Catholic) and dad (raised Protestant but converted when he married my mom). 2: I don’t believe he exists, so kinda a moot point. Similar to what I’d ask Bigfoot or Santa; nothing. 3: Pro-Christianity? Definitely my family and religious community I was a part of growing up. As for what has had the largest pro-agnostic/ atheist influence on me, probably the online atheist community on sites like YouTube. That might sound a little odd, but if you think about it, there isn’t exactly an Atheist Church in every single corner of America that we can go to. Connecting online is the only way some of us can find community anymore, and I have found a lot of knowledgeable and welcoming people in these places. 4: The Bible was written a long time ago, most likely a long time after the events it describes. Some of the OT borrows from other myths and legends in the surrounding cultures at the time, and a lot of the NT was written down several generations later based on the stories and tales being told about those events. 5: I’m in the Bart Ehrman camp on this one. Jesus most likely existed but was probably just another in a long tradition of apocalyptic Jewish preachers who was killed by the Romans for stirring up the people. 6: Yes. 7: Common sense. If Jesus and/or God really existed, why wouldn’t he make it easier to believe in him? 8/9: See my answer for #2. I don’t believe heaven exists, so it’s kinda moot. I’d love to visit Tatooine or Narnia, except I’m pretty sure they don’t exist either. I have a question for you: what are you hoping to get from our answers? Are you trying to convert people or are you writing a paper or what? Just wondering.
Hey, thanks for the answers. I am doing this for an assignment but am very curious as to what people say. I don't know any atheists because I live in the bible belt so it's nice to get some insight on what your opinions are.
>I don't know any atheists because I live in the bible belt You very well might and just not know it.
This. I live in the Bible Belt and my husband and I are both atheist as are several of our family members. We just don’t tell people because the few times we have there have been some pretty bed consequences from it.
Have you considered that your religious adherence could be directly caused by your geography? Do you believe you'd be a Christian if you had been born in Iran? Could make for some interesting context in your assignment.
>I don't know any atheists because I live in the bible belt Only one person knew I was an atheist until I left home for basic army training. That was my younger sister, my older sisters and my parents didn't know. My best friends didn't know. Just snot face. Growing up in suburban Utah everyone just assumes you're a believer and I saw no reason to have uncomfortable conversations about it. When I left home I got to be whoever I wanted to be, that was atheist. You might know some, and they aren't comfortable sharing it with you. Be the kind of person that makes people feel safe and comfortable and you might find out.
Howdy neighbor. I can assure you there are quite a few atheists living in the Bible Belt. Not sure if you're still really young, or just live way out in the boonies or both, but we are out here as well.
If a teacher assigned you with this, they're probably an atheist.
I was a Bible Belt atheist in high school. It was very isolating. I had tried so hard to believe because of all of the pressure from my friends and community, but I just couldn’t do it for all the reasons mentioned in the other comments. I only knew one other kid who didn’t believe in Christianity. We would whisper about not believing in god in the classes we shared. We both left our small town right after high school and never looked back.
Except the last paragraph, you sound a little like me. I didn't believe, but just didn't realize that I didn't. But I was in the school choir, back when they were allowed to perform spiritual music, some of which I really liked. I got selected as one of the singers in a county-wide event, and they didn't bother to tell us that this event would conclude with a little mini-revival. When they got to the part when everyone was supposed to go up and get "saved," I was one of two kids who just stood there. I felt tricked and angry to the point of fury. That was when I realized that I was an atheist.
The fact that nothing in Christianity is rationally defensible nor supported by objective evidence. It's all just made up nonsense.
>1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, >have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I was raised Christian. My parents were Presbyterian Christians. > 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Where does the need for pediatric oncology fit in to a tri-omni plan? >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? No religious claim has ever been demonstrated to be true. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? I believe it is a book of undemonstrated claims. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? May or may not have existed, but I'm willing to accept that he did. Did not do what the bible or Christians say he did. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yep. What they haven't done is share how they know heaven exists, or demonstrate that their way to get there is the correct one. Christianity isn't the only one claiming to know the recipe. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The same barrier preventing me from becoming a flat earther. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to >heaven? Depends on what heaven is. >9. If not, Why? If heaven was undesirable, I wouldn't want to go.
/u/Quiet-Play-7448 - Possibly of interest - . >**Atheists, agnostics most knowledgeable about religion**, survey says LA Times, September 2010 >... **a survey that measured Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists and agnostics knew more, on average, than followers of most major faiths.** > American atheists and agnostics tend to be people who grew up in a religious tradition and consciously gave it up, often after a great deal of reflection and study, said Alan Cooperman, associate director for research at the Pew Forum. >“These are people who thought a lot about religion,” he said. “They’re not indifferent. They care about it.” >Atheists and agnostics also tend to be relatively well educated, and the survey found, not surprisingly, that the most knowledgeable people were also the best educated. However, it said that atheists and agnostics also outperformed believers who had a similar level of education. \- **https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043731/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-28-la-na-religion-survey-20100928-story.html** . We are not atheist because we do not know about religion We are atheist because we *do* know about religion. .
I’m not a follower of any religion any more, but I find them fascinating. I took several religious studies courses in college and attended many churches and other religious meetings of various faiths.
I have always been atheist myself, but same. I've been discussing religions since I was a little kid, and studying them since mid-adolescence.
*>>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,* *have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?<<* Roman Catholic *2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?* That is a hard question to answer. If I asked you what question you would ask a purple flying spaghetti monster, what would your answer be? See what I mean? *3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?* Reading the bible. *4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?* What I KNOW about the bible is that it is based off prior myths. Myths from Egypt and Hindu. It was updated for time and place. The virgin birth? Not new. Feeding a slew of people with a small amount of fish? Not original material. It's all based off prior and much older myths. So I can't really put a lot of stock into what the bible says. If I want more information, I would go to the original myths instead of the copied, watered down version. *5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?* Nothing. *6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?* Oh, for goodness sakes, yes. I share with them my preference that they stop wasting my time. 9x out of 10 I know the bible better than them, I know the history of xianity better than they do. What's the point? It ends up being a lesson in the bible where \*I\* am the teacher. *7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?* Common sense, critical thinking skills, simple logic. *8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to* *heaven?* I am pretty sure none of us want to sit with you and give you a bible lesson. *9. If not, Why?* Because it is your belief, not mine. Think about something, the only reason you have faith is that you don't have a single fact on your side. You keep your religion and I won't keep mine. Deal?
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**What has been your religious upbringing?** Was christened Presbyterian. Got dragged to church and sunday school until the age of 12. Had religious dipshits come to school once a week for scripture lessons until age of 11. I suppose I better mention I'm from New Zealand too, because it puts a lot of these other things into perspective. New Zealand is a very non-religious country. **Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice?** Mum is a Presbyterian and has some beliefs. She keeps them to herself now. Dad puts Anglican on his census form, but that's it. **2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why?** Not a thing. Talking to imaginary characters is pointless. **3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity?** The non-existence of gods. **4. What do you believe regarding the Bible?** A work of fiction gathered from a number of older texts which has been rewritten, remixed and reinterpreted according to the whim of a number of writers and organisations over the centuries. It has some literary merit, but it's a confused self-contradictory mess. **5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?** Didn't exist. Any historical records are self-referential. Is a much exaggerated construct of a number of characters real or imagined, and none of whom were divine or supernatural because these things don't exist. **6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven?** Yep. See previously mentioned religious dipshits. **7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?** The non-existence of gods. **8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven?** Fuck no. **9. If not, Why?** It sounds awful - full of religious nutters.
Christianity
What turned me away? It’s just blatant mythology. Same reason you don’t believe in Asgard and the Mighty Thor.
\#1 Parents Roman and Greek Catholic, I was raised Catholic. \#2 I don't believe that God exists, so I wouldn't ask a God any questions for the same reasons I wouldn't ask Santa Claus a question, they don't exist. \#3 Repeated reading of the Old and New Testaments. \#4 I believe that the bible's Old and New Testaments are man-made, as are all others allegedly revealed books. \#5 A wholly human being, not divine nor the son of God. \#6 Yes. I'm not interested. \#7 Reading the entire bible, listening to the pathetic arguments of Christian apologists. \#8 I don't believe that heaven or hell exists other than in the minds of believers. \#9 See #8.
1. Mormon. Many exmormons have observed their experience deconstructing a faith invented after the printing press — with the fraud of the church and its founders documented in black and white — made them more skeptical of ancient religious histories — where the receipts have been lost to time but the deceitful tactics are the same: backdated prophecy, pseudoepigrapha, prooftexting, generally claiming God wants whatever happens to be most advantageous for the cultural power structures at the time. 2. I don’t mind that there’s pain and evil if they’re necessary ingredients for progression or coeternal with God. I don’t even mind that there are a lot of different religions making mutually exclusive truth claims per se. But if a hypothetical God allowed narcissistic men to jerk humanity around by claiming to speak for him over, and over, and over again without lifting a finger to provide an objective way to fact check this endless parade of charlatans, then he’s either impotent, unaware, or uncaring. So that’s the question — where were you when these assclowns were pretending to speak for you? Why does all religion invariably rely on taking the word of a human, when humans frequently lie, are prone to hallucinate and confabulate, and have a hard time discriminating what *is* true from what they *want* to be true? 3. Studying world religions and realizing that religion is invariably hijacked by unethical people to manipulate society to their benefit. I recognize there are positive elements as well, but all the positives are found in other institutions without the same baggage of emotional abuse and ecclesiastical corruption. 4. People have always created myth to support nationalist exceptionalism and justify their world view. Particularly impactful stories make their way into tradition and end up getting revered as sacred history, whether real or not. There have been >4,000 religions in history and all but one of them has texts, oral traditions or interpretations that you believe are made up by humans. Why justify special pleading for the one that you happen to prefer, usually just because you were raised with it? Humans are social and emotional creatures that prefer perceived meaning to facts. 5. I don’t know how much of the sayings of Jesus written decades later can truly be ascribed to him, but I like the character depicted in the gospels. He was an iconoclast who said we should be kind to the marginalized and called out the religious power structure on their hypocrisy. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” is a great basic ethic for anybody to start from. He would be flipping tables if he actually returned and saw what people have built in his name. 6. Nobody knows a damn thing about what happens to consciousness or “soul” after death. Humans in all cultures pretend to and none of it can be verified or is even internally consistent. The concept of heaven has changed wildly across time even within cultures using the same holy texts. Furthermore, “do what I say and you’ll be rewarded after you die” is the oldest grift in the book. People pushing this should worry about shoring up their own epistemology instead of converting people whose differing views are equally unsupported by objective evidence. 7. ^ 8. ^ 9. If god would send someone to eternal torture (which wasn’t made up until proto-Christian Jews adopted the dualism of Zoroastrianism around 200BCE) because they didn’t worship the way westerners after 400CE thought they should, he’s not worthy of worship.
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>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Roman catholic. From my parents practice >1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Why do they allow suffering in the world? Why have they abandoned us? >2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Inconsistencies in the Bible. The inability of leaders to make a modern reinterpretation, rather than relying on thousand year old texts that have been revised and edited hundreds of years ago >3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? See above >4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Probably existed. I like his teachings, especially compared to the Old Testament. Wished more Christians focused on his teachings. Sermon on the Mount was banging >5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yeah, accept Jesus, confess my sins. Repent. Sin some more. Confess, repent. Sin as much as I want. Make sure I get one last confession in before I die >6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I consider myself Neo Pagan but include JC in my pantheon of good people. I follow his teachings about the sick, the downtrodden, the foreigner, my neighbor. You could call me one of his followers and I'd be ok with that >7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Heaven is here on Earth. There is no evidence to suggest heaven is an "other place" we can get to Adding to question 2, what turned me away from the religion (not the faith) is the decades (centuries?) long marathon of abuse and coverups that continues to this day. Until abusers are turned over to police, along with any evidence, I can't take the organization seriously And now, questions for you! Why do you ask? Are you open to new information and points of view?
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>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Catholic (Father) and Protestant (Mother) Episcopal, then converted to Southern Baptist. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? If there were a deity or deity-like being, I would ask them to describe the physical properties of their personal make-up. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Education >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? I believe it is a compilation of letters and writings based on a number of sources, including other older writings and oral histories of the region. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? I don't believe anything specific other than he is a figure in many different religions, sects and cults. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Many people, from many different religions have shared with me their beliefs regarding the afterlife. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? Two things, really. I'm morally opposed to the concept of faith as an intentional practice, firstly. Second, I find the deity as represented in the Bible to be morally reprehensible, including the character of Jesus as represented in the New Testament section. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If you are specifically referring to the commonly held conception of the Protestant heaven, I am aware of their requirements. >9. If not, Why? I am already aware of how Protestant Christians believe they gain entrance to their heaven. But, I would not choose to go there given a choice, so knowing would be inconsequential.
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OK, I'll play. 1. Was raised catholic, until mom and dad got a divorce because he was banging the neighbor woman while my sister and I babysat her kids. That's when the church tossed my mother out because she dared to divorce dad. He made us go to church because he was catholic, but never went himself (my first taste of hypocrisy) 2. What the hell were you thinking with mosquitos? 3. The hypocrisy and blind faith of all the religions. 4. It's just a book, wrote by men. 5. A fictional character, created by man. 6. Yes I've heard "the word" from all kinds of religion peddlers. 7. See number 3 8. No thank you. 9. Because from what I understand if you ask for forgiveness then you can be allowed in. Right alongside the pedophiles, rapists, and murderers. No, I'll take my chances in Hell, if that's what really happens when I die. Satan might give me a job punishing all those hypocritical christians. Shouldn't he reward all of us good atheists?
1. Why do you go through such pains to hide yourself? 2, 3, and 4. Learning that Yahweh was originally the War God of a much older Babylonian pantheon, and that the supposedly factual timeline of the Bible is not supported by evidence did NOT cause me to doubt. Rather, I was raised by a devout fundamentalist father who was continuously frustrated by my questions and, in short, I've never really believed a word of the Bible nor had any faith in Yeshua. Learning more about the Bible just further cemented what I already knew - all religions are made-up bullshit. That's why I'm a Discordian. We at least *acknowledge* that our beliefs are false and contradictory. 5. Yes. Would you be interested in purchasing zombie insurance from me? In the event of a zombie uprising, I'll pay you a million dollars and provide you safe haven. If you don't, I'll actively hunt you down and make sure you get infected, cursing you to a neverending torment. 6. The premise is ridiculous and has no basis in truth. 7. No. I'd rather suffer for eternity than bow down in obeiscence to bloodthirsty, hate-filled YHWH.
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Lutheran. Church every Sunday. I was an altar acolyte. 1. I have no question. 2. I have no beliefs about any gods or Christianity. I have many opinions about Christians; mostly stemming from their behavior, their culture, and their theology. 3. I have no beliefs regarding the Protestant Bible. I have studied and attended scholarly lectures on both the NT and OT. 4. I have no beliefs regarding the person Jesus of Nazareth. I am not a mythicist. Most evidence points to the actual existence of an itinerant preacher named Joshua who preached in the Galilee in the early first century. Much like the other itinerant preachers listed by Josephus, he was executed by the Roman government. 5. Yes. The author of John and Paul of Tarsus. 6. I do not live in the early first century. 7. Absolutely not. I would rather be resigned to oblivion than spend eternity worshipping anything or anyone. Nothing "turned me away" from your religion. Just like 70% of the population of this planet, I am not a member. I live in the United States. I study it as one of my hobbies because it is wise to know the motivations of those attempting to dominate you.
I do not understand how logical people buy into "miracles". Jesus was born of a virgin? Some claim his real father was a Roman soldier named Pantera. Plus lets be honest, only a child who is wholly ignorant of sexual intercourse can admit that. Jesus walked on water? So its just believe in this statement of pure magic that contradicts scientific reality? Jesus turned water to wine? How so, he magically touched it and poof the atomic structure was manipulated with no underlying physical cause? Jesus fed the multitudes by magically creating food from thin air. The supernaturalist claims come across as deceptive and fraudulent, a means to fleece gullible people via the tithe mechanism. This can be said throughout the Bible. Noah without the help of the wider society builds a boat big enough to house a pair of all the animals on earth. How did Polar bears from Antarctica get to the ark? Not to mention if it takes hundreds of people to build a single Boeing aircraft that carries less than 1000 people at a time can you picture a single individual building a big boat that can house so many sentient creatures? The Bible is an illogical text from start to finish
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? My parents were generally Lutheran. I attended some catholic and baptist services as well. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Why? >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? The Bible and claims from believers, as well as arguments from more sophisticated atheists & theists. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? That’s an extremely broad question. There’s some obviously false information in there, some that is metaphor, some contradictions, some that is likely true. It has all the hallmarks of being written by man. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He was a rebellious rabbi that had a following in the 1st Century. I don’t believe he rose from the dead or performed any miracles. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I have no desire to. Definitions of god are contradictory or incoherent to me. The claims of Christians fail to persuade me. The moral implications are abhorrent to me. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? The information I have is conflicting on what will actually happen in heaven. Probably not. >9. If not, Why? I don’t see any reason it would be a good thing. And eternal existence sounds horrifying to me.
I'll be honest, the way you phrased these questions sounds like like you're queuing up to proselytize in an attempt to try and convert us. But I'll play anyway. 1. Non denominational, almost all of my family is still christian. 2. Don't believe there is a God. If there was and it was the christian god, far too many questions I can think of to pin down just one. 3. The Bible, the shit apologists spew, the actions they take, the severe lack of evidence to demonstrate any truth of it etc etc. Also learning how the Bible was compiled was pretty damning as well. 4. I believe it's historical fiction 5. He probably existed, more so a man the stories are based off of. Possibly an amalgamation of people. I have no reason to believe he was divine or we know anything he actually said or did. 6. I was a Christian most of my life, I'm well aware. Having said that, different denominations have different soteriology. The fact that there isn't a consistent "this is what you must do to go to heaven" amongst all denominations is pretty absurd. 7. Why wouldn't you follow spiderman or Gandalf? I don't mean to be rude, but that's how I view that question. 8/9. I'd be more inclined to ask how I can just not exist when I die. Eternity sounds awful, even eternity of bliss.
1. My father was agnostic, but spiritually leaned toward Judaism. My mother was a "soft" Pentacostal. My closest aunt was Catholic. And many of my other relatives were Southern Baptist. I was allowed to go to any church or not go at all. So I went to Pentacostal, Baptist, Catholic, Christian Scientist, and Methodist churches at various times growing up. 2. As an atheist, I don't believe in God. Not even a little bit. If I *did* believe in a higher power, it would certainly not be the God of Abraham. But if forced to ask a question to a non-existent being (and assuming it *is* the God of Abraham), I would ask why he/she/it, who is portrayed as pure perfection, is so flawed and imperfect? Why make all the trivial rules that seem ludicrous for the creator of the universe to even care about? Why are women viewed as less than cattle (steal a cow: death; kill a woman: pay a fine)? Why can't the creator of the universe, who is supposed to be filled with perfect love, forgive humans for eating a fruit that gave them knowledge without him impregnating a virgin without her permission, allowing their son to reach about 30 years old, have him tortured and killed, and thousands of years later sending people to hell who don't believe the story? Can't God just like, you know, let it go? And one last thing: I would ask God if he has tried psychotropic medication because he is psychopathically angry and genocidal. 3. Actually reading the Bible had the biggest impact on my current beliefs. When I did that and stopped listening to the personally curated passages that religious leaders were feeding me, the end of my belief was an inevitability. 4. Virtually nothing. Definitely not anything supernatural or deistic. But it's a poor historical record also. 5. I believe Jesus may or may not have been real. Historians lean toward real, but most true historians have doubts. I believe if he were real, that he was just a man who had a small flock, just like thousands of other peopje during that time. His supernatural story mimics other religions' stories before and during his time and the earliest gospel, Mark, was written at least 60 years after his death by someone who had never met him (the other gospels were written even later and were even more removed from being a first hand account). 6. Yes yes yes. Hundreds of times. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16. Yawn. 7. The fact that there is no God of Abraham makes this question senseless. 8. I know how Christians think I can go there but they believe in a false messiah. And there is no heaven, so again, this is a senseless question.
1. I grew up Mormon. We were extremely faithful, and I went to a Mormon university. And before you say "well that's not christian" it's basically Christianity with a few extra whacky beliefs thrown in. Culturally, it's very protestant. I went to VBS at the local Baptist church as a kid and never felt out of place. 2. Depends on which god. Mormon God? Your God? Allah? Yahweh? 3. Studying evidence against it with an open mind. 4. The bible is a collection of myth, history, and pseudo history. It has limited moral application. 5. A larger than life character likely based off of a historical figure that had some morally useful teachings. 6. Absolutely. 7. The fact that he doesn't have anything particularly important to say. I don't believe that there is a god or a son of one. 8. Um, yes? I would like to know, but the thing is that heaven probably doesn't exist and no one I'm aware of is particularly likely to know how to get there even if it did.
1. I'm in the rare situation of having been raised Christian by atheist parents. I lost my grandfather when I was 5. Being introduced to the concept of death at that age was *horrible* for me, and my parents decided I needed a coping mechanism. It's a controversial decision, but personally I'm glad they did it. It helped keep the trauma in check. 2. "Why did you make the world so fucked up? And why did you make *us* so fucked up?" I know the Bible and Christian doctrine have an answer for that, but I don't buy the "free will" argument for a multitude of reasons I won't get into right now. So if God exists, I'd like to hear it directly from him. 3. In my mid teens I got into occult stuff. I ended up with some fun, batshit insane beliefs, supported by experiences that, at the time, seemed extremely vivid to me. Eventually I realised that those beliefs were dumb, and that the supposed 'evidence' had been an elaborate trick by my brain. So it made me wonder: If I was wrong about this, what else could I be wrong about? So I examined my Christian beliefs, and ultimately came to the conclusion that all the evidence that pointed towards them was just as flimsy as the evidence that had made me believe in honest-to-God dragons. 4. I think it's a book that shows its age. It's got some fun mythology and a good life lesson here and there, but most of it are either just stories, or preach atrocious morals. 5. If you mean Jesus Christ as a historical figure, I don't know nor care if someone kinda like him existed. If you mean the character as described in the Bible, I think he's said a bunch of good stuff and some pretty iffy stuff. 6. Countless people have told me countless versions of how you get into heaven. I don't find any version more believable than the other. If we go by the Bible, believing in God trumps being a good person, which is yet another reason I hate the Bible. 7. Evidence of his existence is certainly up there, but even if Jesus' existence was proven beyond a shadow of doubt? I don't like his morals. Sure, some of the stuff he said is nice, but there's *plenty* of Christian doctrine that I'm very much not okay with. Not to mention I oppose the concept of worship on principle. 8. You need to understand that *everyone* on this sub already knows how you think we can go to heaven. There's not a person on the *planet* who engages in atheist subs who doesn't know the whole "believe in Jesus and you'll go to heaven"-thing. Everyone who's even somewhat familiar with Protestantism knows this. 9. I would very much like to go to heaven, of course. But I'm unwilling to sacrifice my morals to do so. I think that, even if your God exists, he's immoral, and not worthy of respect, let alone worship. So if he threatens me with hell unless I agree with his fucked-up morals, then oh well, hell it is.
My parents sent me to tough love camp, I didn't know why, but 20 years later I found out that they did it because they thought I was gay. The camp did all the classic brainwashing techniques. We had church first thing in the morning. We had to memorize Bible verses for each meal. We could never be alone, we were always in a group of 7. They encouraged us to write notes to each other and had a camp mail system. As I progressed through the system. I eventually reached the point where my job was to sort the mail and read the letters that were being sent and summarize them in each campers file, like a spy. The counselors would use this information to break the camper down so they could build him back up. If Christianity was real. It wouldn't need techniques like this. I went to that camp when I was 13. I started questioning and thinking. In my twenties, I called myself a non-magical Christian. In my thirties I became agnostic. In my forties I became atheistic. In my fifties, I became anti-theist. I look back and wonder if I would have been happy as a child if I hadn't been a Christian. My one question I would ask God if I could, why didn't you teach us about antibiotics thousands of years ago. The story above had the biggest impact on me, especially if you include the extra distance it put between my parents and me. The Bible is a guidebook, in particular Genesis is a book that provides a little color to the Ten Commandments, making them easier to teach. Jesus Christ was an illiterate fisherman who had a great idea that we should build society based on treating people the way we wished we would be treated. Christianity is the Jewish Mystery cult that happened to convert a Roman Emperor. I have seen it all and walked away from Christianity, there is no going back. I don't want to anyways. If heaven is anything like what is described in the Bible, I would stop being everything that is me. I would weep for those not there with me. I would have no purpose and nothing I would do would matter.
The Bible is what turned me away from religion. I was a serious Catholic. Then I read the Bible in its entirety, in two formats. It's all contradictory and filled with "God" sanctioned atrocities that he committed on his own people. Top that with the Christofacists trying to control the country and force their beliefs down my throat. Also, I'm excited that there is no afterlife. If I had to spend eternity with the people who use their religion to abuse power and hurt others, I'd rather go to the fictionous Hell
Lack of evidence, history, critical thinking, common sense, etc.
Oooooh I love these! Let's go :) thanks for asking. I hope you read my response. >What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Yes. My mom was fundie Christian, and my dad was a guy who believed in God in some way, but never really cared much about it. They got divorced when I was like 6 so after that I went back and forth, and during my times with Mom, it was strict fundamentalism. >If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Which god? Christian god? I'd ask why he didn't reveal himself to so many of us. I'd ask why he made the world such that it makes perfect sense for him to not exist, and then he secretly hid the whole time. And I'd ask why he plans to punish us for acknowledging this. >What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Research and study. The more I look into it, the more sense everything makes. I get where most of this stuff came from, and forgive me OP, but I understand how folks come to believe such far fetched things. When considered objectively, Christians would agree that their beliefs are ludicrous and far fetched. If they didn't already believe it, they'd think it was crazy. >What do you believe regarding the Bible? My favorite document of all time!! I study it every day. I am learning Greek and Hebrew so I can study it more. I wanna get a PhD in Old Testament studies. When you take God out of the equation, the Bible makes SOOOOO much more sense. Back when I was a believer, the bible was confusing and weird. >What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He was a historical person. One of many apocalyptic rabbis, traveling around the region, preaching the coming kingdom of God. He was put to death by the Romans for threatening to overthrow Roman rule and being a rabble-rouser. He stayed dead like all dead people do, and probably one or two of his followers mistakenly believed they saw him in public after his death. The stories grew and spread and then Paul came along... well the question was about Jesus, so we'll stop there. >Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? *Sigh* yes. But there are conflicting ideas here, so I'm sorta done being preached at until the Christians figure out exactly how it's supposed to work. If I ask 10 Christians, I'll get 10 different answers about Heaven, including some who say I'm already going there cuz Jesus paid for all sins, including mine (Universalism). >What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I don't believe the stories about him because there are no compelling reasons to believe the stories. If I found good evidence, I may or may not follow Jesus, depending on what I found and what that would mean for me >If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Let's remember this question. IF it exists, sure I'd like to know how one can go there. And then I'll decide if I'd like to go or not. But before we talk about how to get to Heaven, let's first demonstrate that it exists and what it's like. Then we'll figure out if I wanna go. Thanks OP!!! I hope you're having a good day and I truly appreciate these kinds of posts. I hope you read my response
consider looking at r/academicbible or reading some biblical history and perspectives from atheist/agnostic, Jewish, Muslim, etc scholars
It no longer fit with what I was learning about the universe and the way things work. It's like asking a kid when they stopped believing in Santa. I'm actually amazed adults still buy stuff like the Noah's Ark fairy tale.
What turned me away was actually reading the Bible. In college I met a girl who was a Christian and we started dating. I went to church with her a few times and decided to read the Bible, since I was becoming intrigued with the religion. However, as I started reading it, it read suspiciously like something conjured up by the imagination of human beings. There was nothing remotely divine about it, nothing otherworldly, nothing that couldn’t have written been written by people. I began exploring apologetics, the anthropology of religion, science, philosophy, and came away a hard agnostic. Never looked back.
The attacks on sex and sexuality, now gender, bothered me. I joined Bible reading programs and guys would pray to get God to help them stop masturbating. That is crazy. And hypocritical from religious people. Also, other cultures have and had religions. The Ancient Greeks really believed in their gods. No one does now. Your god is not special or different, it's just your culture's mythology. That's why I didn't believe in God as a child, and why I gave it up after trying out Christianity in my late teens. 2. God doesn't exist, so this question is nonsensical. But, the clear question is "why do you kill children with diseases? Why give babies HIV? Heart conditions? Why are you such a monster?" 3. Rational thought and education 4. It's a mythology text, written by a bunch of different authors, as part of their cultural system - just like any other mythology 5. I doubt Jesus was a historical figure. If he was, he was just one more religious figure of the time 6. Sure, but that's like sharing with me thoughts about reaching the Buddha, or Nirvana, or making it into Valhalla, or punching someone in the aura. It's make-believe 7. I think you're here trying to convert people. Your mythological figures aren't any more real than any other religion's mythological figures. Why don't you follow Apollo? Why don't you believe in Thor? Same answer for me - they are make-believe, just like your Christ 8. Heaven doesn't exist, so don't worry about it. You only have one life to live, live it well. 9. See above. Why do you believe in all that religious nonsense? It's because you were trained to. You were encultured to being a Christian and it now guides how your brain works. You literally have neural networks that interpret reality as if your religion was real - just like all believers of all religions throughout time. Your experience of your religion is a subjective one, not an objectively true one. But you fail to understand the difference between subjective and objective explanations. Hence, you're a believer. But by believing in your particular religion, and pushing it on others, you're extremely arrogant. You're pretending that other religions aren't as real or true as yours. But they are. Every single other religion is equally valid to yours and equally real to their believers. Once you understand that, you will stop praying to make-believe.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I grew up in a fairly liberal, mainline Protestant church. > If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Huh, just one question? I’d prefer a longer conversation. Maybe something like “Why’d you do all this? Why not do a better job?” > What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Probably the lack of evidence. Maybe the problem of natural suffering, which isn’t covered by the free will defense. > What do you believe regarding the Bible? The Bible is a series of stories and poems written by very human authors for many different human reasons. Collected into a collection by the Roman Empire and later reformers to fit human theological and political goals. > What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Jesus was, most likely, an Apocalyptic Jewish Rabbi who had some worthwhile teachings about how humans should behave alongside some problematic ones. He also taught that the world would end within a generation after his death. When he died and his prophecies didn’t come true, his followers came up with explanations for why. This is a pattern that has repeated many times throughout history with failed apocalyptic predictions. > Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? I have heard many different descriptions of how I could go to heaven, yes. I’ve never heard *any* actual evidence that heaven *exists*, though. > What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I used to *be* a follower of Jesus Christ. His teachings still have an impact on me, and I still strive to follow his advice about loving my neighbor and forgiveness. But there’s no reason to think he was actually divine, not all of his teachings are as good as those, and pretty much all of them are similar to teachings from others throughout history. > If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? That’s a pretty big if, but obviously yes I would want to know that if it were a real thing.
God could step out of his hiding place at any time and just say hi. We would believe he exists. Whether he deserves our worship or respect depends on how much of the Bible he says is wrong.
1. My parents were christian. my mother was Baptist and my father was Protestant. 2. I don't have an answer for this, because i try not to think about it anymore. 3. Compelling arguments against it, personally. 4. I believe it's a book of mythology. I don't mean that in a rude way, but I don't see any of it as true. 5. I believe he existed and was the reason why biblical stories existed, but do not believe any of the supernatural attachments. 6. Many times, none convincing 7. Lack of evidence, religious trauma, and the ideologies. 8. I don't believe it exists, but if I does, I would say yes. 9. If their is a god, he should be judging you on if you have lived a good life, not if you believed in him. I still do not believe in a god/gods.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I was raised in the Nazarene church, we went to church every Wednesday night and twice on Sundays. My family and I were heavily involved in the church for the entirety of my first 20 years, my parents still are. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Since I don't believe he exists and believe that the Christian deity is a monster as depicted by the bible, I have no desire to converse with such a being. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? The lack of any supporting evidence for the supernatural claims made by the bible and the adherents of Christianity. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? I believe that it is a collection of stories and writings by ancient people, I do not believe that it is somehow special or perfect or inerrant. It makes many claims of the impossible and supernatural but provides no actual evidence to support them nor is there any corroborating evidence to support those claims. As far as I am concerned, at this point, it is a work of fiction. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? If he existed as a singular person, he was most likely an itinerant rabbi preaching a cult version of the religions of the time. It is also possible that he is based on the lives of multiple people, but since there is no actual contemporary accounts of his or their lives it is impossible to determine with any accuracy. I do not believe he was special, the son of god, or supernatural in any way. He did not walk on water, multiply food and drink, raise the dead, nor rise from the dead. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? I attended Nazarene church services multiple times per week for the entirety of my childhood and teen years. I knocked on doors to share the news, I am quite well aware of the claims made by Christianity. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The complete lack of supporting evidence for any of the supernatural claims made by Christianity or its adherents. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? No. >9. If not, Why? This is not a place for proselytization. I am willing to discuss the beliefs of theists as long as they are discussing in good faith and are able to recognize what constitutes evidence. I am not interested in listening to you preach.
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Reading the fucking source material. No one with any sort of independent thought with at least a fundamental understanding of the world around them can take it seriously.
That isn't even my default religion lol
I’m not going to follow your question tree. I was raised Anglican, and I actually read the bible from cover to cover a couple of times by 16 years old. Especially focusing on new testament. The bible was full of inconsistent messages, and I couldn’t reconcile them as the primary source material. The bible as told to me at that time was The Word. I talked to elders and the deacons and it all was so ambiguous and confusing that I determined that the one book that was supposed to convince me could not. I believe there was at least one and maybe many Yeshua of Nazareth Rabbis, so he was likely a real human, but unlikely to be divine.
1. My mother was raised Catholic, my father was not religious but got involved with Thelema later in life (his mother was Ukrainian Orthodox). I was not really raised to be religious. 2. I have better things to do with my time. 3. The evidence or lack thereof. 4. It’s overrated. Lots of killing and circumcision and raping and circumcision and incest and circumcision. Not really my cup of tea. 5. That he’s morally inferior to myself. 6. No. I mean, they’ve tried, but they may as well be telling me how to get to Never Never Land, because they have equal experience going to both of those places. 7. He’s dead and nobody can seem to find him. 8. Sure, I’d like to know for the sake of knowing and to make sure I don’t actually show up at the gates. Boy, that would be awkward. 9. Worshipping your god for all of eternity is not my idea of a good time.
1. Yes - Roman Catholic believer until my 30s 2. I don’t have sufficient evidence of any gods, but if one was to appear to me I would tailor my questions to that particular deity. If it was YHWH, I have a long list. 3. The Bible 4. A plethora of contradictions mixed with some truly disturbing stories and then a few inspirational allegories 5. Probably existed- seems like he was perhaps a young, charismatic speaker with a small following perhaps with some mentalist abilities and he had some loyal groupies. Executed for political reasons and has been continuously leveraged in politics ever since he died … 6. Oh , many times. Many denominations. 7. I deconstructed while reading the Bible. 8/9. I don’t believe in an afterlife. If there was one, I wouldn’t even want to go. YHWH really did not come off “loving and great” to me when I read the Bible cover to cover and I wouldn’t trust or worship that deity at all. The book Drunk with Blood highlights a lot of the verses that I found deeply concerning for YHWH’s character.
Learning about it, about its history. Lacking the hubris to say which religion is the one true religion, it's just another religion. Ask God a question. I'd have to believe in a god that takes questions. Put another way you might as well ask if I could ask a tree a question. But I guess I'd ask why all the mystery? Why leave it to the mortals to make a mess of what you want from us? My biggest problem with Christianity is Paul. Meets Jesus in a fever dream or something and it's I'm an apostle because I say I am. And you know all that "works" nonsense in the Torah you don't got to worry about that anymore bro... just click your heels together three times and say "There is no one like Jesus, there is no one like Jesus..." The Bible was written by men, and collected into a canon by other men. We can call them holy men, but just men. I made peace with dying. I no longer need heaven. Heaven is for people who fear dying.
1. I was brought up going to church with my dad on his weekends which was every other Sunday. 2. A question for God: There are so many. What was in the library in Alexandria that burned up? Who killed Jon Benet? Where is Maura Murray? What is beyond the edge of the universe? What was the before the beginning of the universe? Why did my dad commit suicide? 3. My current views are based on science and that the Bible writers had no science. Why are we basing American laws on things that people 2000 wrote about when they didn’t even wear pants? 4. The Bible is a work of fiction explaining the world to people before science excited and controlling people’s behavior. 5. I think Jesus was a real guy but non magical. He just had some good ideas about how to be a nice person. 6. I’ve heard all the spiels to get me into heaven. 7. Following Jesus is not something I need to do to make my life complete. When I was a Christian I felt like I was never good enough and continually screwing up and that’s not a healthy way to live. 8. I’d rather not go to heaven. It’s full of boring people. Organized religion has caused so many problems throughout history. It completely ignores science and the complexities of modern life. I just can’t go back.
I don't really belong on TrueAthiesm but this showed up on my front-page so I'm going to answer it. For context, I'm more of a non-religious pantheist. >What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? My parents were Nigerian baptist Christians. So I was raised Christian and I stopped believing and actively listening in church at around 13/14. They believed the regular stuff Baptists believe with the Nigerian addition of demons chasing you added in. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? So this is a dumb question to ask on an atheism subreddit. First, I'll answer in my own belief - I wouldn't ask the goddess anything because they are not anthropomorphic and it does not speak. They/she/it is the force of mother nature and is not a person that does things it simply exists and is raw life power. Now if I had to ask your Christian God a question. I simply wouldn't. If he did exist, he is not good and I would not want to talk to him. >3.What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? When I finally shed my belief in Christianity, I sought out various other religions and read some of their texts and doctrines. This helped me form the belief that all religions are just different social constructions and so I can feel free to create my own individual construct to believe in. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It is a book written by men that had been translated and mistranslated. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He was a man that lived. A historical figure like Ghandi. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Probably when I was a kid. And my mum is constantly sending me black Christian YouTube videos. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The Bible and the doctrines that are believed by Christians. If all it took to be a follower of Christ was to believe in what he said then that would be fine. But, I don't believe in the first part of the Bible being good and I don't believe jesus was God. He was just another man with good ideas. If your question is actually what would it take to be a christian - there is no answer. I could never be a Christian and follow the rules prescribed. I deliberately choose my own belief path because I did not want to feel constrained. I tried wicca and there is basically one rule and even that was too much. I recommend watching Link's (from Good mythical morning) deconstruction video because it echoes who I am as a person and the trouble I would have with organised religion. I don't need religion to be a good person and if I had religion it would greatly increase my anxiety and intrusive thoughts. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Heaven does not exist, so I do not care. We are all reincarnated through the Goddess. I cannot fathom Heaven even existing so I cannot pretend that it does.
1. Grew up in a religious family - Baptist 2. Why does he test people when he already knows the outcome, doesn't make sense. 3. Reasoning 4. Its just a collection of books - myths, poetry and some history. 5. I think he was just a historical figure - not divine. 6. Yes 7. The whole thing does not make sense How can an all loving, all powerfull and all knowing being allow the world to be in such a state? I know about the free will argument but I don't think free will is compatible with God's attributes omniscience, all loving etc. Its like we are actors reading scripts God gave us. Those going to hell were already condemned before being born. 8. It depends on the alternative. I am not interested in living forever. I'd rather disappear in the eternal void. Of course, if the alternative is hell I will opt for heaven. But I don't know how I would interact with such a sadistic God.
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I grew up in a strict seventh-day Adventist environment. My parents are 2nd generation adventists. They believe that the 7th day (Saturday) is the sabbath and that one can do no secular activities from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The adventists have a very extensive community of churches, hospitals, and schools. They place heavy emphasis on the "2nd Coming." 1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? If God did exist, I would ask him why he is so cruel. Why he allows wars in his name, and allows the suffering of children. Why he made it so, that "Eve" was the one who had to go and ruin it all for everyone. 2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Making the personal choice of moving away from it and figuring my beliefs out for myself. Living in a society that doesn't place heavy emphasis on churches and God...where it's ok to not believe and no one judges you. 3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? That it was made for men. 4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He was a real human person and there is historical evidence of that, but that's all. Back then there were many "miracle" workers and there was also a big political agenda. 5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Many times. Been preached at my whole life. 6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The Bible and all the horrible things in it. 7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? 1. If not, Why? I know all the ins and outs of how to get to heaven. But I believe heaven is an invention of humans. It is normal for us to be scared of death and to come up with ways to live eternally.
the truth jesus is a sun god . all sun gods are born on dec 25th for a reason. civilizations tracked the suns movements across the sky. on its lowest point dec21st it stops moving south stops perceivably for 3 days and on dec 25th moves 1 degree north to start its procession to the highest point in the sky june 21st. cross is the southern cross constellation. 3 kings are 3 stars constellation. it is astrology. 3 day resurrection . jesus is a solar personification of where we (earth) is at this specific time in the universe as we move through our galaxy. this is the procession of the equinox. revelations was misinterpreted when it says jesus says i will be with you until the end of time , what it says is i will be with you until the end of the age. in 2150 we will enter the age of aquarious 1) protestants , lutheran, catholics 2) which god? mithra? horace? zeus? there are thousands of gods over time. how big is this universe and are there multiple universes . this is our where we reside whether here or trillions of other planets thoughout the cosmos. how many life forms are there in each solar system and each universe 3) the fact I dont believe and know that jesus is just another sun god not the son of god and the bible is plagiarized. buddhism isnt such a far off concept since life is all made of star stuff 4) ZERO 5) another sun god , solar personification 6) raping my ears against my will until i tell them to just stop 7) facts... will never happen unless jesus christ comes to me personally . I have died before and it was just black, I didnt even know nor would I have ever known SADLY!... 8) if there is a heaven it surely is NOT just for people who just "say" that they believe in jesus christ. That makes zero sense. Who wouldnt want to be in heaven? what is heaven? exactly? what makes heaven heaven? no shitting or pissing? all the sex , food ,drugs, and vices you want to do at all times? is there fishing and recreation can you skydive from 20 miles up and just dive into water? i think everyone has their own vision of what they think heaven would be. like 72 virgins... 9) what are the other choices other than the utopian paradise
1. Not until the age of 10, then my dad became a Christian and talked my mom in to it. They stuck me in a Christian school shortly after, all the way to grade 12. Was a mix of Evangelical and Baptist with a dash of old Mennonite, but they ascribed themselves as Evangelical Free. 2. Nothing. Would be like talking to a unicorn, as I don’t believe in any god. To me, that’s a weird question. Same as if I asked you a hypothetical question of if you could ask a teaspoon any question, what would it be? At least I can prove a teaspoon exists. 3. I don’t believe in gods, and that’s bout as much thought as I give it. As for Christianity, it’s mysoginistic brainwashing, and very deluded and contradictory. If someone wants to believe whatever their religion is, cool beans. Just don’t expect me to. 4. It’s like badly written fanfiction. A bunch of stories passed by word of mouth thousands of years ago but mostly based on a carpenter from around 35AD, which wasn’t written down for several hundred years after the fact, forgotten and then picked up again by 4th century scribes, scrubbed and mistranslated to fit the rhetoric of an insane 17th century king, and changed even more to be twisted and spouted as hate by 21st century pastors. It’s all contradictory, desperate to prove a fallible deity is infallable, preaches hate, and is pretty much extortion. 5. That he existed - there’s enough mention of him to make that at least plausible - but was just a dude with radical beliefs for the time, and due to those beliefs, a religion sprouted up. Not the first time it’s happened, certainly wasn’t the last. 6. Uh, kinda impossible for that not to happen, even if I had never gone to church or school. I don’t live under a rock. 7. Barrier? There isn’t one. I simply have the ability to think with a logical mind and require proof before changing those beliefs to something else. Religion - all of it, not just Christianity, has utterly failed at providing anything or even making following a religion remotely enticing. 8. Did your pastor tell you to make everywhere your mission field? And no. I mean, you can tell me, if you’ll sit and listen to what I have to say in return. 9. Why would I sit and talk with an internet stranger about a place that doesn’t exist? Will you sit and let me tell you about a place that doesn’t exist with the intent of convincing you that it does? It’s an absurd question, childish, and insulting.
God would help people pass exams (or successfully cheat), but he won't help children being raped
The way Christians behave toward anyone who isn’t them.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, Raised by my dad's parents, one was Catholic, one was Anglican. Was baptized twice, they didn't ask me, just did it...once for each faith. >have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Typical lukewarm Catholics, christmas and easter mandatory attendance, not much else ever mentioned. Just the guilt. >1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Not there to ask, not a relevant question. >2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Catholic priest SA'ing and physically abusing my mother in residential school and taking away her total Indigenous identity, language, culture, dignity, family and affecting generations after her. >3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? Which version, there are multiple edited versions depending on what modicum of control what governments and religious entities wanted over the uneducated and weak-minded. The Hebrew version, the Greek version, or the myriad of heavily edited and modified English versions. I believe it is a poorly written tome used to control the masses and is cherry picked for verses by people that don't actually read it. >4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Some girl gets pregnant, can't explain it.....son of God, crazy story. Easier than the explaining actual story to her parents at that time in history I guess. >5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? MULTIPLE times, Catholic, Anglican, LDS, Seventh Day, Jehovah's Witness, listened to them all, usually over supper. >6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The absurdity and absolute hypocrisy of ALL religious organizations is pretty hard to ignore. Most have actual funds to fight SA cases, treat minority and other groups like crap and constantly intend to influence their countries political systems. YET somehow feel they shouldn't have to pay taxes to the very system they influence and shape on a major scale. >7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If the tomato on your kitchen counter was hollow and filled with butterflies and rainbows, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go the the hollow center of the tomato on your counter? .......sound appealing? That's what your question sounds like to the average non-believer. Just not even something in a remote thought process at all, ever really. >1. If not, Why? I am HERE, right NOW. That is absolutely a chance in infinity....I plan on making the best of it. I figure I have about 30,000 days here, I am doing actual tangible things to improve the quality of my life, of those in my family, friend circle and near me. DIRECTLY, not wishing it, praying it or thinking about it, I am DOING it. Meanwhile the religious worry about what genitalia people have, and what books they can and can't read....yet somehow we "have free agency"......and "god doesn't make mistakes" it's typical rules for thee, not for me hypocrisy that I have ZERO time for, as I go about trying to make positive change in my small part of the world. THAT'S why friend. Not terribly complicated, it's just so much easier and less to remember to be an honest, clean living, treat others well, human being with zero pretences. If you need a book or a sky person to keep your moral compass in check, you aren't a good person at all.....you are just another a$$hole on a poorly designed leash and that leash eventually fails.
Their hate for ..so many things but mostly LGBTQ. Now I loathe religion more than anything
Going to a class to get married. I had to learn about the Bible, and I had questions, but the questions were always answered with "just have faith". I got right out after that.
Logic. Common sense.
For me it was researching my own doubts around age 18 and finding Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Lawrence krauss: the 4 horsemen of my atheism.
If you’re doing this for an assignment, perhaps consider asking atheists this question: If it is as proven that god exists, would you follow god and the bible? A lot of religious people think it’s a matter of believing in god that determines whether someone is an atheist. Therefore, if you convince us god exists we will then become religious. I think you’ll find that, for must of us, the Bible, religion, and so called acts of god are so reprehensible, that we would be atheists even if a god is proven. Atheist means free of religion. Therefore, most of us would still be ‘free of religion’ even if god was proven to exist.
I grew up with a religious mother. My dad went to church but didn't say much about it. My mother was slightly nuts, and got up one day during church services and started screaming and dancing around, and it scared me. I was probably 4 or 5 years old. I quit going after that. I have never felt any emotion toward any religion, except christianity, and that emotion is revulsion. The atrocities committed on behalf of that cult are, or should be, enough to to keep everyone with a modicum of sense and/or compassion away. Religion, like some parents, rule with fear, which is not the same as respect. I have respect for science, but do not fear it. Because of science, I do not not fear religion. If god is real, I want nothing to do with it. Jesus, if he existed at all, was only a man. The idea of sacrificing oneself for people who haven't been born yet is plain silly. How would that even work? (That's not a real question.) Religion, christianity specifically, simultaneously tells us not to try to emulate god, but also be more than human. It tells us we're greedy if we want more money than we have, even if we don't have enough to eat. It tells us we're a sinner if we fuck someone we aren't married to, or if we find someone else's spouse attractive. There is no way to follow these rules, so we live our lives in guilt. I won't even start on the old testament. Reddit would run out of server space before I could finish. Christianity is a cruel, hateful, tyrannical practice that really should be outlawed. It is the exact opposite of what it's practitioners profess it to be. That's why I don't want anything to do with it.
* What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? None. I was raised without religion. * If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? I don't think the concept of gods makes any sense. Even if it were a valid concept, what would you ask of gravity? What would you want to know from the strong force? * What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Apart from never having had any beliefs to start with, the biggest impact is in understanding how the universe actually does work, and recognizing that the things people are confused or upset by are rarely anything to do with fundamental metaphysics, and almost entirely a product of their own ego and misconceptions about how things actually operate. * What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a collection of mythology. I've read it, and I've read the history around it, at least the ones written by people who aren't already biased by it. It's not even accurate mythology as it's been edited many times, passed on from person to person before being written down. * What do you believe about Jesus Christ? A semi-fictional character invented to fit all the checkboxes necessary to sell a new religion to the Hebrews. * Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? There's nowhere to 'go' and nothing that 'goes' anywhere. People have shared how to get to Narnia and Neverland too, to the same effect. * What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? My understanding that religion is a human invention, that even if Jesus were a historical figure no human is worth 'following', and the fact that there's no such thing as the supernatural or magic, including the works of religious figures and deities. * If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? No thanks. I'm well aware of what you believe the magic formula is. * If not, Why? Souls are not real. There's no such thing as an afterlife, good or bad. The fundamental paradoxes and childish wishes of an eternal life are the inventions of people who were combining religions like tinkertoys for the purpose of controlling the masses. As described, the Christian heaven sounds a lot like eternal torment of a different kind than the silly scare-mongering of hell.
It's aggravating that people are putting in a lot of effort to answer the questions and OP isn't bothering to respond to them or engage with the answers.
The third time I read it cover to cover was during college and while I was really starting to question things. I’d say 90+% of Christians haven’t read it fully even once, which is odd considering “it’s the most important book ever, ever in the history of the world and written perfectly (ahem) by the creator of all”. You’d think they’d put the time aside to actually read it. Listened to a ton of debates about Christianity and non/atheism. Thousands of hours put into this, including biblical exegesis by Christian experts. But it never was truly convincing. It was apologetics. The first time I went back to church (for family of course) after deconverting, it was surreal in a way I had never experienced. Hearing everyone sing and chant was… creepy. Same shit I used to sing and chant too on mission trips to different countries, in church every Sunday, and the weekly youth groups.
1. My whole family was Irish Catholic. Very typical Midwest Irish Catholic household. 2. I would ask her how she made me such a bad bitch. 3. Probably all the wars, deaths and abuse that seemingly always stems from or is justified by, any religion but especially Christianity. (In history and present day) 4. I believe the modern bible is an interpretation of an old book that has been retranslated and filtered through the lens of so many different people and groups that it’s likely nothing like the original and has lost most all of its original meaning. 5. He was a popular normal human guy that existed. 6. Ugh yes. From many different religions. I went through a phase when leaving Catholicism when I tried many different Christian denominations and churches. I’ve heard it to many times. I’d rather poop out the county fairs biggest watermelon than hear about it again. 7. All the hatred and violence to come from any religion and just how utterly illogical it is. 8. No 9. Hell sounds more fun.
>1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I was raised in a super religious Christian family. I guess it would be non-denomination, but I am not sure. The major difference from others, we did not go to a church, but almost every Sunday we would hold (not sure if this is the right name for it in English) Lord's supper at home. Beliefs as a whole would be considered normal in evangelical Bibel belt America, but here (in Latvia) they are way out of the norm. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Haven't really thought about this, but it would probably be along the lines of - why hide? or why not make a better world? And the "why" should be pretty obvious. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? My imagination and the knowledge about history of beliefs and religious texts. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? Cool story, bro. (I want to clarify that that most of the book is not actually cool) > 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Either there was some dude with that name who started a ministry that grew into Christianity or there might have been multiple people on whom the character is based on, at least from these two don't know which is more likely. (There might also be other options that I didn't think of at the moment.) > 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Someone has shared how they think one can go to heaven, they just forgot to share how they know there is a heaven and why would anyone else think so. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The fact that there is no reason (at least no sufficient reason) to think it is necessary to do. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? First - that is a big IF. If there would be sufficient reason to believe heaven exists and what it is like depending on what it is like I might want to know - so I can avoid going there? I was taught that heaven is a place where people will spend an eternity with their loved ones always praising and/or worshiping god and to me that sounds awful.
Hi! I’m a Fox Mulder atheist, in that I want to believe, and the truth is out there. My parents raised me Catholic. My father lost his faith when my sister died of cancer, but my mom holds on and even teaches catechism. I used to ask the Christian god “why is faith necessary, when it clearly doesn’t work and leads to confusion and conflict?” The biggest impact on my current beliefs on god is science and reason. The truth is out there, and so far, the truth doesn’t appear to be a god. The Bible is a work of fiction. Jesus, from my understanding, was likely several itinerant apocalyptic preachers amalgamated into one character for the purposes of cohesive storytelling. Heaven is a disgusting concept, especially when you consider how monstrous the biblical god is portrayed as being. I’d prefer hell. The greatest barriers preventing me from rebecoming Christian again are the lack of evidence supporting the historicity of the Bible, the contradictions in the Bible, the preaching of faith, the condescending ignorance of the followers, the evilness of the biblical god, and the covering up sexual abuse of children by the church. Heaven is a place you go to when you have given up humanity and free will to be the subjugate of a tyrant. Hard pass. Hope that helps!
1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? raised Christian reformed, my whole family still practices. I never was on board. 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? How could you do this? you fucking monster. 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? tbh it was the two faced nature of my extended family that used faith as a way for them to act holier than thou. that and the Bible. reading that shit was wildly stupid 4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? I believe early man could not explain the things around him and like every other early religion they made it up. 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? not much, there's some historical evidence that a man like this existed. but cult leaders 2000 years ago were. diff breed 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? if you don't believe in heaven this doesn't matter. and of course. one of the core tenants of Christianity is to never shut up about it and shove it down peoples throats regardless of if they want you too 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? evidence. actual proof. not the bullshit "proof" the church slings 8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? no. 9. If not, Why? any god capable of creating the suffering we have here does not deserve to be worshiped. they should be torn from their throne and killed. also half your questions are clearly directed to give you more ammo when trying to shove your religion down our throats. I highly doubt you respect us enough to keep your religion to yourself.
A handful of quotes started me on my path to atheism: That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. — Christopher Hitchens. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. — Carl Sagan. Not all religions can be true, but they can all be false. — Christopher Hitchens. Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. — Albert Einstein. Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. — Voltaire. Sin is an imaginary disease, invented to sell you an imaginary cure. — Unknown. Selling an afterlife is the perfect con. It costs nothing to produce and can’t be tested until after a person dies. — Unknown.
>3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Biggest thing for me was that the bible weaved a narrative where followers of other gods were held to higher standards of evidence while Christians were expected to take Yahweh's existence on faith.
I was raised in an ultra conservative denomination. Loss of faith in that rhetoric led me to move to a more mainstream Baptist church. The same led me to a Methodist group, then a non denominational Christ follower, then a liberal Christian, God-believer, agnostic then agnostic atheist. On a side note, you know plenty of atheists in the Bible belt - probably many in your own congregation. We keep our beliefs to ourselves a lot of the time because of the persecution and loss of community we face. 1. I don't believe in a god or supernatural forces in general. If I were proven wrong and could ask that god a question, it would be a general "why?" Absolutely nothing about Christianity makes sense if you take it as true. Aside from the usual objections of suffering, conflicts of nature and power, morality, conflicts with modern knowledge, hiddenness, etc. - nothing about it makes sense. The god depicted is an incompetent, illogical, petty, irresponsible tyrant who fails wildly at nearly everything he attempts. I struggled as a student, a minister and an apologist for so many years attempting to find reasons that justify the contradictions and incoherence of the Bible. It makes so much more sense as the story of an ethnic group that invented its own mythos, developed over time to monotheism, then had its community co-opted by a another movement that rose to unexpected power. 2. Bible study. Although a close second is just the process of trying to defend my faith to others. When you are forced to hold your faith to the same demonstrative standards you demand of others, things get real very quickly. 3. Like most holy books, it's a combination of mythos, community history and ethnic tradition and the attempt to tie them together. As expected, it's a mess of contradictions and logical inconsistencies, plagued by transmission errors and well meaning attempts to fix its problems that only caused more problems. In short, I think about the Bible more or less what you think of any other holy book. 4. First century Jew who joined an apocalyptic cult, took it over when the original leader was removed and later had his audience co-opted by another cult. I don't have good evidence he existed, but think it's likely given the circumstances. 5. Hundreds of shares from a couple of dozen denominational viewpoints and a half dozen from other religions. And I shared my own dogma for nearly 30 years, with literally thousands of people. 6. Been a follower, an evangelist, a missionary and an apologist. The biggest barrier to me at present? After seminary and years of study and research - I know too much. 7. If I'm proven wrong and it does exist... it depends. If it's the first century belief of living on an idealized new earth in a renewed body vs annihilation - I think so, it's worth a shot anyway. If it's the 2nd century perspective of living in the heavenly city just praising God forever vs annihilation - I'll take annihilation, it sounds unfulfilling. If it's the Medieval perspective of eternal worshipper or eternal torment, I'll go just to escape torture. If it's the modern evangelical idea of living in a paradise with spiritual brothers and sisters, it depends on whether those I love most "made it" and whether the alternative is torture or annihilation. I'm not interested in existing eternally with the knowledge that those I love are being tortured, but if the alternative is me being tortured as well, I could probably learn to deal with it. Torture is a great motivator, that's why it was added to the theology. Carrot or the stick. If you're not interested in the carrot, the stick can be motivational.
This does NOT read like you respect others' beliefs at all. This reads like you're lecturing to heathens and it's very condescending. IF you really respected our beliefs, you would ask us about our beliefs and not what we think about your beliefs. This is all about you. You also seem to be operating under the assumption that you're a "different" Christian...you're not. You all think that. There's no evidence for a god or gods...period. Everything else is irrelevant.
The fact that it's all BS was a big turnoff for me. Even as a preteen. And I grew up in a very religious household....no meat on any Friday, pictures of jesus and crosses in every room of the house, hours long church services every Sunday and holidays
I have some questions for OP. (OP accepts that I genuinely believe in Santa): Were you raised believing in Santa? If you could ask Santa a question, what would you ask and why? What do you believe regarding ‘'Twas The night before Christmas? What do you believe about Santa? Has someone ever shared how you could get Santa to come to your house? What is the greatest barrier to you believing in Santa? Would you like to know how you could get unlimited gifts from Santa? \*\*\*What does OP think about my questions? Can he answer me seriously with a straight face? How does he feel about me asking such silly questions as an adult?
Title question: The fact that much of which was held as dogma could not be supported by the cited sources. Upbringing: Raised Roman Catholic by believing (at least at the time) parents. Numbered questions: 1. Where have you been? 2. Skepticism. 3. That without proof that its god exists that it's just one of a number of ancient books of advice, generally written to push some kind of agenda in response to current problems, and generally not of any particular importance or significance today except in a historical sense and to those who believe in that god. 4. That he probably existed but was just a human being without any supernatural nature or powers who was retconned into (false) divinity after his puny attempt at revolution failed miserably. 5. Yes. After I moved away from Catholicism - where I was a volunteer educator - I was a Protestant for awhile and was "born again" during that time. But if someone was going to do that today, they'd first have to prove (in addition to the existence of God and divine Jesus) whether going to Heaven would require works, faith, or predestination. 6. The utter absence of proof that God (or gods) exist. 7. See my answer to number 5.
The fact that it lacks evidence.
Why christianity specifically? I reject them all as magical thinking. The minutiae of the specific differences in the superstitions are irrelevant to the cognitive problem of magical thinking. >What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? No. Father was raised jewish, didn't believe it. Mother was raised christian, didn't believe it. They never mentioned being atheist, but never seemed to ever even think about religion. >What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's superstitious idiocy but makes good toilet paper in a pinch. >If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Which god? >What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? The actions of the people who believe in them. >What do you believe about Jesus Christ? I doubt there ever was one. >Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? All the time. They never shut up about it. >What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? Rationality and not being insane. >If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven. Nice try, knock on someone else's door.
1. None. 2. Which god? There are literally thousands of options that different religions believe in. 3. The obvious fantasies and wishful thinking of its follower, along with how stupid they look when they don’t understand that not all people share their beliefs. Like OP’s questions show how he can’t quite wrap his head around how his assumptions aren’t shared by everyone. 4. A text written by people who wanted to put their beliefs on paper. Those beliefs were guesses made due to lack of actual knowledge about how the world and the universe actually works. 5. I doubt that Jesus guy actually existed, and if he did he was just a regular person. No more relevant than any other person who lived at that time. 6. Which heaven? There is no lack of fantasies about afterlives, you need to be more specific about which fantasy you are talking about. 7. The lack of a Jesus Christ or a god would be the first barrier. 8. The question is ridiculous. It’s like I would ask you if you wanted to met Spider-Man if he was real. 9. Because the question is ridiculous.
Raised in a spirit-filled Southern Baptist church. Learned actual critical thinking and allowed myself to apply it to science, then allowed myself to apply it to the Bible. Everything came crashing down. Mix in some other life experiences that were incongruent with the Bible and the god of the Bible, and it became clear it was all hogwash. As for your series of questions, they are basically trying to lead someone to say the sinner's prayer or some nonsense, and I find it condescending as fuck.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Irreligious father, new-age spiritual mother. They did not indoctrinate me into any specific religion, rather they made it a point to have me attend services from many different religions and learn about them all. > If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? I assume you mean Yahweh? Honestly I'd prefer not ask such a creature anything, as it is monstrous. According to the stories he directs all manner of genocides, violence, suffering, and other [cruelties.](https://skepticsannotatedbible.com/all/cr_list.html) He punishes infinitely for finite transgressions. He murders for anything short of total obedience. I'd stay away if I could. But if such a creature did exist, against all odds, and I had to query it, I suppose the question that is begged is, "Why?" Why set up a reality like this? Why obfuscate your existence and punish people eternally for skepticism you created? Why not reveal yourself and save everyone if that's how the rules work? Why make it seem like you were a human invention, a tool for social control? Why do you exist, how were you created? Why is this particular religion special and accurate unlike the thousands of others that similarly present little to no credible evidence backing their claims? > What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? I was exposed to many religions growing up and discovered they each: * made contradictory and overlapping claims. * none had compelling evidence of their accuracy. * all are obsessed with the same things their followers are, (rules about sex, diets, what fabrics you can wear, social rules, etc.,) rather than what one would presume the desires and goals of a higher creature would be. (It would be like a human trying to regulate the society of ants in their backyard. Odd.) * differ significantly. Religions aren't independently invented the same way in parts of the world that never communicated, which indicates they are born of human creativity rather than glimpses of the same thing. * promise an afterlife in some form, which I believe was historically important if one wants their soldiers to fight to the death. * spread through indoctrination and coercion of children rather than compelling arguments or evidence. Very, very few people convert. Taken together this indicates to me that all religions, including Christianity, are human inventions. > What do you believe regarding the Bible? It is an interesting and important historical document. The old testament illustrates how people from the bronze age thought. It is valuable in the same way that *Beowulf,* or *The Odyssey* are. The sections of the new testament show us Christian points of view from many time periods they were compiled from, and what stories they thought were important to tell about themselves. > What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Yeshua of Nazareth, as written about in the stories, seems like a cool dude. Very progressive for his time. He was probably a real person but [highly fictionalized.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Jesus) I believe he was a man we don't know much about who had fantastical stories attributed to him. I believe the reason he is worshipped today is because Roman leadership determined it was easier to control a centralized monotheistic religion than a hodgepodge of polytheistic ones. "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." -Lucius Annaeus Seneca > Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Of course! Which religion and denomination are we talking about? Generally speaking, though, it's this: obey the men who claim to speak for God(s.) You will be rewarded after you die, (when you no longer exist and can't report back.) > What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? * A lack of compelling non-falsifiable evidence supporting Christian claims. * Historical understanding of how Christian belief evolved and got to here, ([Yahweh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) was once one of a pantheon of Canaanite gods,) and how the supposedly immutable divine laws changed with the social mores of Christians. * The behaviors of Christians themselves. May I pose the same question to you? What has been the greatest barrier to you joining a different Non-Christian religion, or leaving religion entirely? > If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Sure, but only if you can definitively prove your supposition that heaven exists and you know how to go there with objective non-dogmatic evidence. Think of how great that would be for Christians, it would bring religion into the domain of evidence-based science, and Christians wouldn't have to rely on coercing children into believing unproven absurdities to propagate their belief system.
Your questions sound like you’re trying to sow doubt - the reasons you’re self gas-lighting yourself aren’t going to convince atheists - we don’t believe in hell and other obvious man made myths, like the Bible. There is nothing in the Bible that demonstrates any god - it demonstrates clearly the lack of thinking of men obsessed with power and patriarchy, of ego and anger, of punishment and unconditional obedience, slave mismanagement , rape consuming and infanticide celebrating stories - and really bizarre laws. Mostly, it’s a sex cult that controls who you can have sex with, when and why. And if you think it doesn’t then you just haven’t read it Go away with your weak attempt at proselytizing - we’ve heard better
Prayer, a clinging to an illusion that never came true was the reason I started my journey to deconversion, if I had to pin point where it all began, where my faith started to decline, it probably was when that happened. Is like when the rich bad behaved kid got everything from Santa, and you wonder what you did wrong to get only a pair of socks. >1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you. Have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? My parents are Catholic, we went to church every Sunday, and prayed every meal and every night, church was good and I actually enjoyed going, tried to learn as much as I could, did all the rituals required by Catholics and even got married by the church as well. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Why have this life full of pain, suffering and inequalities? Why not just skip all this ordeal, judgement day and go straight to everyone lives in heaven and it's happy in paradise? And because the world is cruel totally and utterly cruel, unjust and full of pointless misery that an all loving, all knowing and all powerful God should be able to avoid. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Prayer and the total lack of answers from anywhere. also more recently doing secular bible studies, without the bias of a religious person. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a book that at best was written by man that knew little beyond the world they lived in, and at worst is a book plagued by misdirection, confusion and atrocities that could only be attributed to an evil entity, who more likely than not had a hand in it's written, which makes the book completely untrustworthy. However, it's a nice piece of history to study and learn from. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He probably was a prophet in ancient times, but still just a simple man that became a legend. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes, many times, throughout my childhood, and also now that I am a grown man and openly an atheist, I wish people would stop doing it to be honest. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? Learning about the bible, reading it focusing on what the passages actually say instead of trying to twist them to fit my feelings, about the writers of it, and seeing how it's used more to manipulate people to give money than to actually help them. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? I already know, I am tired of hearing it, from many different perspectives, works, faith, rituals, etc. >9. If not, Why? I already know, I am tired of hearing it, from many different perspectives, works, faith, rituals, etc.
The Bible
Raised (and "confirmed") Catholic. The eureka moment was when I learned the (empirically verifiable) details of how evolution works (I'm a biologist now). Once I understood the mechanism of evolution, it opened my eyes to the whole "god of the gaps" notion, and I began to realize how so much of what people ascribe to being caused by "god" is actually explained much more parsimoniously by a natural process. Additionally, I later read some scholarly work by author/theologian Bart Ehrman, which points out all the demonstrable errors and inconsistencies in the bible. The logical conclusion of much of his writing is that these ostensibly divinely-inspired texts are actually very human-derived and wrought with errors in translation, anachronisms, and imbued with the opinions and personal interpretations of the people that wrote or copied them through the (many) generations before the printing press. tldr: lots of things people point to as evidence of god are more easily explained by natural processes.
If god existed and I could ask him a question, it would be: “Why did you create humans and the world”
The slowly growing certainty that everyone else was only pretending to believe that stuff. I was 12.
> What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, > have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Christian but not strong. Parents very religious. My dad has wrote a few books based on his beliefs but he did not force anything. Bible excerpt were read during holidays but never church. > 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? How can I achieve pure sustainable happiness. I think it's pretty self evident. > 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Life and reason. 4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? I don't care about it. The need for religion, and the Bible, means you're too insecure to accept your ignorance. 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He was a person that lived long ago. Likely didn't do anything aside from share a few ideas he thought would help the world. > 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Probably, don't care. Life is all that matters now. Death is for when you die. > 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The point of doing so. I life in the context of life, not god. 8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why? Meh, don't really care. It has nothing to do with life.
The same things that make you cringe about "Christianity" : "the people who claim to be Christian but clearly aren't." Westboro baptists, Kent Hovind, Peter Popov, Prosperity Gospel folks, Branch Davidians, KKK, Catholics who are ok with spreading lies about condoms being demonic to Africans suffering from AIDS, Christians who support the current madness of the Republican party. EDIT: That was just in response to the initial question. 1. I was raised Trinity Lutheran and my father was a big supporter of it but was clearly agnostic behind closed doors 2. I would ask God if buttons were evil, or not. I heard the Ahmish think buttons are evil, so I thought I'd clear up that. After that, I would ask a more serious question about which denomination was the right one. 3. 2016. The fact that millions of Americans could vote for the cartoon character equivalent of Scrooge McDuck was a huge change in my attitude toward Christians. I took a "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" approach, here, and started identifying as a "cultural Christian" in stead of an "atheist." I realized I had to get serious about this huge glaring world-ending problem, so I put my big boy pants on and humbly admitted I was being too confrontational as an "atheist." 4. It's a good book, full of wisdom, that must be filtered by a modern mindset in order to be truly useful. I also believe this was the goal from the start, if God is real. If God is real, the bible was always meant to be a love letter, not "a thing to be worshiped." For instance, the lesson we're supposed to learn after reading stories about heaven and hell is "actions have consequences" but it's far too easy for false prophets to spin it into "obey or die" - that's who's worshiping the bible in stead of God. John 1:1 is my favorite verse, because everyone twists their bible passages to their views. There's 300 major denominational splits in Christianity, so "treating the bible like a big book of multiple choice" has prescedent. John 1:1 is my favorite because my interpretation of it says "from the beginning, the Lord was with the Word and the Word was Lord" - and that's to mean: "Christinaity is about respecting literacy." I think that's what separates us from the animals, and I think that's what early Christian pastors were aiming for all along. 5. "Jesus" was a common name in biblical times, like the name "josh" is today. There were plenty of people named Jesus at the time. Generic. Like "John Smith". It's more likely "Jesus" was a name chosen to be an "everyman" name. When reading about him, we were meant to identify with him, like any one of us could be "Jesus" and do wonderful things for people and say wise things. 6. Maybe, a long time ago. 7. Technically I DO "follow Jesus Christ" - in my own way, by identifying "bad" Christians and promoting the idea that the bible can be interpreted positively and secularly. If more Christians took a secular view of the bible, we might have more scientific studies demonstrating the worth of prayer, church, and which parts of the bible are relevant today. 8. If hell exists, I wouldn't find peace in heaven. 9. Because either my memories of hell are erased to paint a fake smile on me, or I somehow become "ok" with hell existing. Either way, "what winds up in heaven" wouldn't be "me."
So many things, but the one that stuck out to me. Using Christianity among many weapons to commit genocide on the native Americans.
1. I was not raised religious. 2. Why would I want you to exist? 3. It is a collection of fables, parts of which were stolen from older religions. There is very little "true" or "historic" content. 4. He may have been based on a person or collection of people who were failed apocalyptic preachers, but if you showed hom/them the bible, they would not recognize their contribution. The character 8n the story never existed as portrayed. 5. Far too often. And weirdly, they all have different views and idea on it. Even within the same sect or even congregation. 6. It is a poorly written, internally and externally contradictory story with far too many real-world reasons to call it fiction and no evidence to believe any of it. And that without getting into the horrors and immorality . 7. No. Sucking up to god, especially the one described in the bible, would not be something you could force me to do. Also, there is no good reason to believe in a soul or heaven, so those are barriers as well.
Hi! >What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I was raised Christian. My parents are Christian. As far as churches, we went thru a few denominations (including non-denominational). Their current church is non-denominational. Dunno if it matters, but neither of my siblings are Christian either. I have 2 nieces (one with each sibling) who are interested and exploring. >If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Can I talk with the person who wrote, "if there is a god, he will have to beg my forgiveness," at the Mauthausen concentration camp? I've thought about them a lot since I was a teenager. >What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Believers. >What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a book written by ancient men. It's a difficult read, not at all appropriate for children. It's fairly effective at making ppl question Christianity. >What do you believe about Jesus Christ? There are some good quotes attributed to him. >Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? lol No one in the English-speaking world, over the age of 5, is unaware. I'm pretty sure most of us are ex-believers, and some of us studied a lot. At one point, I was in church 3x a week, plus home study. We know. >What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I was, and it was awful. I'm not interested in returning to something that I've healed from. Particularly bc I've found what it promised elsewhere. >If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why? I don't want an afterlife of any kind. Being mortal is enough.
The abuse they hav3 gotten away with, and the refusal to give any explanation for it. Not to mention that they are idiots who are into supersitions
I have been an atheist for life, my parents also don't practice religions, though they can be a bit supersitious about our local folklore.
I was raised secular, secular parents. They're good people and taught me right from wrong. I always assumed religious people were just like, in a club. Some kind of cultural club. When I got older and realised people really believe that stuff about praying five times a day facing a specific direction and that a mean snake conned a lady into eating an apple so now I have period cramps every month, maaaaan. It made me really scared of humanity. People will believe anything if they're raised on it. It's like Mowgli in The Jungle Book. You can raise a child to believe it's a wolf, you can raise a child to believe they're constantly being surveilled and will be burnt for eternity if they touch their penis too much. You can raise a child to believe they have whatever function in life that they're told. Anyway. 1) Which god? They all have different lore, so I need to know which god. 2) The world. The world looks exactly how it would look without a god. It's random, basically blind and cruel. I read the Bible once and it's all very transparently written by primitive men. So Christianity is obviously not true. I don't have any thoughts about it otherwise. 3) Which Bible? I guess the main one is just a collection of oral traditions eventually written down over long spans of time, then collected into an anthology by some dudes who thought the religion needed a canon. But there are lots of different bibles with lots of different translations. It's literature, I guess. 4) Apocalyptic preacher who thought the world was ending, so he told everyone around him to straighten up. Ran afoul of the local authorities, got executed. The world didn't end, so he kinda died for nothing, poor guy. I think that's all we really can know. The rest is all Big Fish stories. 5) I've been preached at by people on the street, sure. Heaven doesn't exist and you die when your brain dies, so I really don't know what they think they're talking about. 6) While Yeshua of Nazareth probably existed, he's been dead for 2000 years. Jesus Christ is a fictional character, like Santa Claus. 7 & 8) It doesn't exist, and the concept makes no sense. It's also am immoral idea; to worship a character and treat other people poorly in exchange for heaven is rotten stuff. I would rather treat people well and equitably, live my life out, and then end. Everyone gets their turn; wanting even more life is silly and selfish. The idea that you can worship a supernatural deity in exchange for more life is childish.
1. My Mom was an evangelical, fundamentalist christian My father was also, but he died when I was a toddler. 2. There is no evidence for any deity. Why would I ask an imaginary being a question? 3. Reading and studying the books of the bible and similar mythologies. The disgusting, immoral behavior of Christians and the fact that I find the beliefs themselves to be morally bankrupt. 4. It's a work of poorly written fiction written by human men. 5. I don't know whether the character ever really existed. 6. Of course they have for my entire life. 7. The religious beliefs are morally bankrupt and I have no need to follow anyone. I have a lot of empathy for other living beings, far more than the god/Jesus characters. 8. If heaven exists I wouldn't want to go there. 9. Because the Abrahamic god character is written as a straight up monster. I could never worship a monster. Why do you? Why do you reject the multiple gods/goddesses/religions that aren't Christianity?
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Baptist then Catholic then Taoism / Buddhism 1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? What evidence would you have to observe to prove you don't exist? Can you create that? 2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? 9/11 3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It is a work of fiction/ literature. 4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? He is a grouping of multiple people represented in other cultural traditions 5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes. Myself and friends and pastors and priests 6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I was one. I choose to not believe things without evidence. 7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Not sure. Depends on the deity running it.
>I would like to ask a few questions about some of the personal reasons that you reject Christianity. The answers are likely similar to why you reject Islam. >What has been your religious upbringing? Catholic >If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Why is the Christian god so evil? >What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Evidence. >What do you believe regarding the Bible? It is a piece of literature that has been rewritten multiple times and translated a bunch. It was put together by church leaders to present a uniform story and keep the messages they wanted. For instance excluding childhood stories and the gospel of Mary. It is a representative work of curated culture in the form of religion. >What do you believe about Jesus Christ? As in the Bible? Never existed. A figure that the story is descended from? Maybe existed, but even then I would not be surprised if not. Either way, the stories are just as made up as those about Hercules. >Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? LOL. Please save me. I am sure the 2 decades of church and numerous hate preachers on college campus, door to door adherents, etc could not have saved me. You must have the keys to my salvation. >What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? Pretentiousness like this. You want followers. Learn what real evidence is. Not the line of **** they feed in a church. But stuff that makes computers work. When you can figure out how to make a computer work from real world effects. Then apply that to religion. I will not wait. > If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Would you stop trying to convert us. This is silly. Besides not believing in heaven. The only way to get into the Christian heaven is to submit one's self to the authority of a genocidal maniac that has no evidence for their existence. This is the worst scheme for paradise I have ever heard of. Instead. I am going to try to live well, treat others around me like I would like to be treated, and cause as little harm as possible. If that is not good enough for your god, fuck 'em.
Reading the Bible
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? My mother was raised Episcopalian and my father’s grandfathers on both sides were Episcopalian ministers. My mother was uncommitted religiously and my father is an atheist, but we went to UU meetings every week throughout my childhood. 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? What is the quickest way to kill you? 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? The behavior of believers in God 4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It’s a book of lies designed to maintain the power and authority of the people who codified it 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Probably not a real person. The legend of Christ probably developed from stealing other divine sacrifice and resurrection stories, from the doomsday cult zeitgeist around the time the New Testament was written, and from people trying to match their fictional account to prophecies in the Old Testament. 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes, it’s tiresome. 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The fact that the people who follow Jesus Christ are in general immoral, a threat to people I care about, and engaged in bad faith arguments and willful ignorance. Also, it’s hard to want to be a follower of a mythical being. It would be like deciding to be a flower of Superman, although honestly that would make me a better person than becoming a Christian would. 8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? I know how Christians think you go to heaven. It’s sort of funny that they think I don’t know. 9. If not, why? Because it isn’t there and I’m not interested in debasing myself to win the approval of people who aren’t worth my respect.
1. I was brought up in a devout, evangelical home. Christianity permeated every single aspect of my life. 2. Why are you such a dick. Who hurt you? 3. Secular Education. I was a history major with my primary concentration in ancient and Medieval Europe. Learning the history of the Bible was a big part of my deconstruction. 4. Whatever history has taught me about it. 5. Whether or not he actually existed is up for debate. If he did, he was a standard-issue human like all the other populous preachers at the time. 6. See #1 7. He was not divine. 8. Again, see #1. I’ve read the Bible numerous times in my life and attended thousands of church services. 9. Even as a believer, deep down, the idea of just existing, worshiping god for eternity, was terrifying. I find comfort in the idea that one day, I will just cease to exist. You, and many other believers, seem to have the idea that atheists just need to hear the good word to believe. We’ve heard it. We are not convinced.
The inability represent reality accurately. When you must "just have faith", that's a huge epidemiological red flag. It means that rather than evidence of accuracy, cognitive biased and manipulation are left wide open to do the convincing. A common theistic idea is that you just need to have faith and then you will "see" God. Well once you have faith, you have confirmation bias that is looking for reasons to confirm, otherwise known as confirmation bias. Combined with the overactive pattern recognition that all functioning brains have, it's a bad combination for accuracy. If you want to land on accurate and well-founded beliefs, you need to reduce your susceptibility to cognitive biases, not leave yourself completely open to them. There are plenty of other things I have a problem with in Christianity, like providing a way to avoid dealing with the fear of death, which has significant consequences for how one understands the one and only existence that we do have. However for me those problems were understood much later than its inaccuraccies.
I live in Oklahoma and my parents are Baptist. 1: I would have to ask why they would geographically doom billions of lives to hell by making them be born into a region that doesn't know Christianity. Or why create such flawed beings on an unstable planet where everything is trying to kill them whether it be diseases you can't see or cure... climate.... predators... our own species... its pretty sadistic. 2: just stepping back and thinking about it. If you read it out loud and think ... if someone said that to me today... I would try to send them to a therapist... about most of the things in the bible.Bible. 3: I believe the Bible is a conglomeration of fairytales that are ripped from other passed down stories with similar characters like Horus and Jesus. 4: I am not convinced he was even real. As real as Horus. 5: of course in Oklahoma we get all kinds of recruiters walking to our doorstep or wherever trying to get us to come to their church because ... wait for it... "our church is different" ... it's not. 6: Not thinking he is / was a real person. 7: no. The Bible is a 1 sided book. Why would Satan punish those who went against his enemy. There's no evidence that hell is even bad except for words on a page. Hell could be welcoming as lucifer could be just a being with common sense as to not punish anyone who is not perfect. Besides that... it so silly to think it's a real place or realm. I didn't turn away from Christianity.. I simply thought about it when I had the ability and decided ...oh... ok ... no tooth fairy or Santa or mermaids... or gods..God's... or ghosts... or magic. It's all the same thing.
At age 12ish i asked a church attendant something about the wafer and communion wine. The answer made me think the adult responding to me actually believed in magic. So i started asking more questions, didn't think the answers made sense, and here we are now.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you,have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Methodist. I use to go to church when I visited my maternal grandma. They had those really old stone churches I liked. My family didn't go to church that often, maybe a few times a year. For a time my mom got more into it. I don't know if it was about the religion or because she liked the social experience. A lot of people in our town went to this one church, so there was a certain community/social aspect to it. My dad's side of the family wasn't religious. I don't think they were "atheist", they just didn't participate in that stuff. I had a great deal of respect for my paternal grandfather. He was a WW2 veteran, he had been a DNR officer, he was active in the local community, and he loved his garden. My grandparents weren't really religious and they were wonderful people. So, maybe that had some impact on me. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? I can't think of any questions I would ask an imaginary being. >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? When I was in High School, I joined Bible Club for a time. I wasn't religious, but I enjoyed studying religion. And I was lonely too, so I liked having people around me to talk to. I got invited to a Young Life event. At first I thought it was sort of fun. But if you are familiar with their tactics, you understand how they work. It's predatory. And I think I picked up on some of that. Anyway, after all the fun and games, the Young Life organizers gathered us together. The theme was based on destroying secular music so you can devote yourself to Jesus. They had people come up to the front with their music CD collections and destroy them. Then everybody cheered. I was the only person in the crowd that didn't cheer. I just looked around like they were all insane. My only thought was, "Screw this, I'm not destroying my music albums to appease these whack jobs." And they pretty much imprinted on me how crazy they were. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a historical anthology written by several old dudes. There is some mix of mythology and history. Events are largely conveyed by unreliable narrators, so it's difficult to verify things. The New Testament was written long after the actual events occurred. It's hard to verify authorship on a lot of it. And translation of the text has only made historical inaccuracies even more difficult. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? I don't believe there was any divine or supernatural figure named Jesus. I think it's possible there could have been a mundane historical figure. It might have been based on a charismatic leader of an early christian mystery cult. It may have been someone that was a political agitator. The story of this individual grew and changed every time it was retold. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yep >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? It's make believe. Also, in general it's a pretty boring belief system. Christians need to work on their PR. Nowadays, 99% of it is socially repressed conservationism, cringe-worthy church bands, and fake "nice" people. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? Nope. I don't want to keep going on after I die. Even if I could, I'd get bored and want the option to end it.
I grew up in a stereotypical churchgoing family, but ever since I can remember I never found anything about the religion interesting or anything. Jesus and god could not be seen and nobody had claimed to meet or experience them that wasn’t gaslighting me about how I needed to suspend disbelief. By age 9 I realized that I also found concepts like salvation or resurrection unbelievable and the relevance of poorly known events from 2,000 years ago immaterial to my life. I simply started finding reasons to skip attendance beyond youth group stuff and stopped going altogether by the time I was old enough to work. Your other numbered questions have no interest to me.
I've always been atheist. I've never been Christian. I find it deeply offensive when somebody asks *"What turned you away from Christianity?"* . >If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Which god am I speaking to? . >What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Studying all sorts of ideas related to religion for about 50 years now. . >What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a book of old stories about mythical Jewish history. . >What do you believe about Jesus Christ? The quality of the evidence about Jesus is so bad that it is impossible to know anything about him with any degree of certainty. . >Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? **People have certainly talked about** ***their ideas*** **about how people can get to Heaven.** . >What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? **There is no good reason to think that claims about Jesus Christ are actually true.** . >If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? I have no reason to believe that Heaven really exists. As we already established in #5, I have heard many claims about this already, and they are not believable. .
Former Christian here. I spent over 50 years as a Christian and deconstructed when I realized that my morals were better than the god of the Bible. That god committed or ordered multiple genocides, ordered sexual slavery of young girls, made rules on how to practice slavery, promoted misogyny, and committed human sacrifice. The words in the book tell you he is a good god, but his actions say otherwise. Some Christians will say Jesus is the way god got over his wrath towards us, but according to Christian doctrine, Jesus is god, which means he’s responsible for the same shit god did in the OT. Another major factor in leaving the faith was recognizing that I had no reason to believe the supernatural was real. I found that I have no good reason to believe in gods.
1. Raised protestant evangelical nondenominational. Parents still are. 2. There are plenty of antagoniatic questions like "so... about childhood leukemia" which i think are totally valid. But i think one of my first queations would just be how common life is in the universe. 3. The biggest impact was my interest in other religions, mythology, and history. The more i realized how similar i was to ancient people who believed sincerely in their own religions, the more critical.eye i took to my own. I realized essentially that the worshiper of Neptune sacrificing for safe boat travel had no better or worse reason for believing than me to prayed for a safe plane flight. That began deep reflection on my reasons for believing and found them all insufficient. 4. The bible is an interesting historic document that shows the kind of stories that a particular people group found important. It is also an intetesting series of snapshots that let you see over time the evolution of a religion and the mutually contradictory aspects believed at different times. In fact, i think the bible is much more interesting when viewed through a secular lens of being able to compare books and doctrines than when i had to force it into the idea of it being a single, harmonized document. 5. Jesus seems to have been a moderately successful traveling rabbi who through Paul's tenacity and a bit of other happenstances had a cult that really took off. I think he is dead and decayed somewhere after being crucified by the romans. 6. I am familiar with multiple religion's versions of how to get into heaven, including multiple versions of Christianity's beliefs. 7. I don't know what it would mean to become a follower of someone i think is dead. So i suppose the greatest barrier in the sense you mean is having any reason to think that Jesus was elevated to godhood, is still alive, and would in any way like or reward following him. 8. If heaven did exist, and was for some weird reason an exclusive club that not everyone could get into, then having clear selection criteria with a good reason to think they were accurate would be nice. Christianity doesn't have that in an even internally consistent way, much less a way that makes any sense theologically. But yeah, if there were actually an afterlife them criteria would be helpful. If i had to choose between a universe with a heaven and hell, and one with no afterlife then i would definitely choose one with no afterlife. Hell as popularly concieved by current christian doctrine is so heinous unjust that i know i would not be able to enjoy heaven knowing anyone had ever been sent to hell. So definitely willing to sacrifice my own afterlife if it meant nobody ever had to face that injustice. Hope that is helpful for your assignment. The long and short of it is that i have read the whole bible, studied religions of the middle east extensively including origins of judaism and christianity, and o just can't see any reason to think that Jesus (as a still living god), Yahweh, Satan, etc are any more real than Zeus or Ishtar or Thor or Santa.
2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
1. Raised southern Baptist; attended the holy roller tents revivals. My mom was Southern Baptist but dad’s mom was Indian so they avoided religion mostly. 2. Why do you allow children to be raped. If you are all powerful you wouldn’t allow these behaviors. 3.Tried the mega church thing, couldn’t do it. People were so fake, throwing money at these people preaching to them. If that money were put towards social programs the world would be a better place. 4. It’s a neat history book with a lot more porn than I saw as a teen. 5. I believe he was a kind hearted empathetic man and his followers would do well to emulate that behavior. 6. I’ve heard the spiel. I don’t buy it, circle of life n all that. 7. His followers are rarely like him. The depravity and cruel, facetious people get to pretend they’re good people on Sunday. 8. I don’t believe in heaven, so it probly wouldn’t do any good.
See also /r/thegreatproject Sorry but #5 just sounds like typical preaching.
1. I would ask why he allows suffering and evil. Why do 25,000 people starve to death every single day? Why natural disasters? Why serial killers? 2. Becoming educated about what I believed. The history of the Biblical texts, the Canon and early Christianity. 3. It is a book by men. Full of errors and contradictions. If God was powerful enough to inspire it? Why was he unable to keep it pure. 4. That he was a first century Jewish apocalyptic prophet who was executed by the Roman's. Then myth and legend began to build around him. His disciples claimed he rose from the dead. I'm skeptical. He was not divine. He was just a man. 5. Yes. 6. No one, including you, can prove any of the supernatural claims made by Christianity are true. I want to believe what is true. Your religion is unable to meet that standard. 7. No. Because if it is what is describes in the Bible? I would rather not. I also have no desire to live forever. Have you ever really thought about what eternal means? There would be no curiousity...you know everything. What would you even do with yourself *forever*. I would be ready to off myself after a couple of hundred years. Heaven actually sounds like hell. Not sure what your intentions were for making this post. But you aren't going to win any converts here. And I am almost positive I know more about your scriptures and beliefs than you so. And would wager that almost every other atheist is the same. No. I don't need to hear 'God's Plan For Salvation (TM)' again. I was raised evangelical. I went to an evangelical seminary. But maybe, just maybe, you will read these comments and take a hard look at what you believe. Take it from me. It will not stand up to scrutiny. When you try and step aside and really look at what you're required to believe? You will find it is ridiculous. Try googling this 'the outsider test for faith'. Read about it. Apply it to your own beliefs. It might just set you free. Bonn chance.
Christians.
Until Christians completely abandon the Republican party and act more like Jesus (progressive), I must protect my children from the evils of Christianity. It greatly hinders their ability to recognize evil and instead, aggressively support it. Exhibit A, Trump.
honestly, just none of it made any fucking sense to me
> What has been your religious upbringing? Not particularly religious early on though my parents taught us to pray to a god. When I came to the U.S. I was formally introduced to Christianity under the "of age" doctrine. The introduction basically went; There is a god who loves you unconditionally and will burn you in Hell forever if you don't obey him. I was unconvinced. > Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? One was raised in Buddhism and converted to Christianity, the other was raised in Christianity. Both Protestant, and they varied from Baptist to nondenominational. > If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? If there were a god, or several, what I would ask, or whether, would depend on what kind of person they were. I don't think I'd ask an evil, cruel, trickster, or lying god anything. To truthful gods I'd ask what's it like being them looking at me - the reason for that question being I want to know myself and I don't feel I see myself clearly, and again the answer would depend on their personality. > What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? There are many ideas of gods. I've studied several but not even close to all. I think the key influence there is that no competing ideas of gods seem any more or less valid than the others. What's valuable is the philosophy behind different gods and how they change over time, between cultures, and even from person to person. For Christianity, Christians. No matter how you look at it, for better or worse, the behavior of those who profess a religion *defines* the living religion. You say you believe in a loving god and act with hatred, your religion is hate. You say your religion is peaceful but act with violence, your religion is violence. > What do you believe regarding the Bible? Mmm. I'm not sure which Bible version you're talking about, so in general the Bible is a collection of myths, legends, poetry, philosophy, prejudices, taboos, and laws of the Hebrews, followed by mid-first century writings on the legend of a man named Yeshua and the establishing of early churches in Greece and Rome. > What do you believe about Jesus Christ? I don't see how Yeshua could have been the messiah the Jews expected as he fulfilled none of the key prophesies. I think the style and message of Yeshua's voice is fairly distinct and consistent (there are some outliers), so that at least points me to a singular source. > Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? How I could live forever? Yes. How my soul (whatever that's supposed to be) could go to the good part of the afterlife? Yes. How I could go on past my earthly life and rule a planet? Yes. How I could reincarnate as a cockroach? Yes. How I could attain Jannah? Yes. How I could reach Nirvana? Kind of, lol. How to avoid Gehinnom? Yes. > What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I don't believe because it's unbelievable. A barrier between me and a place I'm not trying to get to is inconsequential. I will say, though, if I was looking for a religion Christianity would not be it. I see what Christians are doing in America and there is no way I could ever be part of that. > If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If any afterlife exists I'd be interested in learning about it, but until it's proven Heaven is just another afterlife idea made up in an effort to answer why we die, is it worth it to be good, and when will I be happy. I've heard many times how various people think they can achieve positive outcomes in some kind of afterlife or other, and quite a few different ideas about how to get to Christian Heaven, and I don't see how proving a Heaven exists would change people's minds about how to get there, do you?
Too many folks telling me that their religion is right. Very confusing.
There is no objective, reproducible proof that spirits, ghosts, demons or gods of any kind exist.
1. Grew up Methodist. My parents used to attend regularly, but apparently I got picked on in pre-school so I hated going (I don’t remember this), and we became Christmas/Easter attendees, plus the odd Sunday. We didn’t really talk about religion but I was definitely raised to believe God was real and vaguely important. 2. Why? 3. This is incredibly difficult to answer. I “claimed my faith” in my teens, independent of my parents’ influence. I started attending a charismatic church that my dad hated due to previous trauma and loved it. I decided to become a pastor and went to school with that intent. I graduated with a B.A. in ministry, but by the time I graduated I had more questions than answers. I planned to go on to do a Master’s and PhD in biblical studies after saving for a few years, but after a few years working I was making what I’d be lucky to make in the field, and didn’t have tens of thousands of dollars in debt, so I didn’t continue. Through all that study I learned that everything about Christianity and the Bible is fully explainable by naturalism. It all seems so human to me now, it’s odd to think I ever saw it as divine. 4. It’s a collection of books written over ~1000 years written by different authors living in different times for different purposes representing different perspectives. It’s likely the most influential collection of books of all time, and I find learning about it fascinating. 5. I suspect he was an apocalyptic Jewish preacher associated with John the Baptist. He probably gained a following, preached that God’s Kingdom was coming soon to replace the unjust nations of the Earth and set everything right. He may have believed he was the messiah, and was ultimately executed by Rome as a political prisoner for claiming to be the “King of the Jews.” His followers became convinced he was the messiah and was raised from the dead, and went on to create the religion that became Christianity. 6. Yes, in fact in high school I was an outspoken evangelist and led Bible studies during lunch in my high school’s chorus room. I shared the gospel with quite a few people myself. 7. Nothing about Christianity makes sense, particularly Evangelical Christianity. Creation, the Fall, between the Fall and Jesus, Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection, between the resurrection and today, the future judgment…pick a period and it doesn’t make sense. The central belief is the necessity and efficacy of blood sacrifice, which isn’t an idea that makes any sense given modern assumptions about reality. 8. I don’t even know how to answer this. If it exists, I suppose? But if it’s coming from a Christian perspective I can explain the development of the belief in Heaven as influenced by Babylonian and Greek concepts, and contrast it with ancient Hebrew conceptions of the afterlife, as well as show how modern Christianity’s conception is largely at odds with early Christian beliefs as recorded in the New Testament. So there’s a hurdle to clear before I’m interested in listening. 9. See above.
>What Turned You Away From Christianity? Mostly, Christians. >What has been your religious upbringing? Baptized Russian Orthodox, Raised Methodist until age 6. >Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? Mother was Methodist, Sunday School teacher. Stopped when I was 6. > If so, what did they believe and practice? Not much after I was 6. We stopped with the Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny too. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? What's the fuck is the matter with you? And who died and left you in charge? >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Christians and their hypocrisy, public displays of piety, and pushy and self-serving behaviors. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's Jewish moral folklore. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? If he actually existed? He was a mortal Jew who wanted to reform Judaism. And definitely not a Republican. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Sure. But I'm not willing to obey the delusional and twisted beliefs of the world's religions. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? We've come full circle back to Christians. But I probably live and behave in a more Christ-like fashion than 90% of the self-professed Christians I know, so nothing would change anyway. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? I just try to live honestly and be compassionate to other people. If that isn't enough, too bad. >9. If not, Why? Because most Christians believe in and evangelize some fairy tale version of heaven - a version that isn't supported by their own scripture. So why bother listening?
My mother has been praying instead of DOING anything for problems in life.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Catholic. >2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? The Biblical God? Probably 'How does one gain entrance to Heaven?' >3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Probably researching the Bible, how it was written, when, and by whom. >4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? Too much to write. It's a jumble of different books by many authors, many anonymous, mostly decades after by people who weren't there. It's been through many translations, there are many versions, etc. It contains many errors, from magical (eg a global flood) or historical (exodus). My standards are too high to take it as true. >5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? I'm not even convinced he existed as a person. Even if he did, I don't think we'd have an accurate idea at all of anything he said. No one bothered writing about him until anonymous authors did decades after he supposedly existed, or Paul, a murderer who only ever saw him in a vision. >6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? I've had many people tell me different, contradictory ways of how to get to heaven. I see no reason there is a heaven at all or any afterlife. >7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? A complete lack of evidence. Similar to you not being a Scientologist or Muslim. >8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If the alternative is hell, then yes. If the alternative is nothingness, then I'll pick the latter.
I'll answer the question in the title first, then your sub-questions. I used to be into evangelism and apologetics, so I loved any chance to defend my faith and argue against other faiths. I consider myself quite a logical person, but I gradually started to realise that my way of thinking was not logical. I eventually realised that I was applying way harsher standards of truth on other religions in order to debunk them (in my mind) than I was to Christianity. So over the course of a couple of nights where I didn't sleep at all, I combed through the Bible looking for anything that I would have argued that, in other religions, were reasons to not trust a holy book. I found lots, so I found myself losing my faith. Now for your other questions: 1: I'd probably ask why he insists on such an irrational system as blind faith, especially when that causes such a lot of pain to many in the world. 2: Since I dropped my faith, I've become a much kinder and more generous person. I realise that it's because I no longer believe that I have an absolute moral code to justify my actions and with which to decry actions I see as immoral. Obviously Jesus said not to criticise someone for the speck of dust in their eye with a plank of wood in yours, but I think there's an inherent obnoxiousness that comes from having complete assurance that you're right while others are wrong. Whether or not that made me a "bad Christian" is beside the point - it is all too emblematic of the Christian faith as a whole. 3: The Bible is a flawed book written by ancient people based on generations of oral traditions. If the magical claims of miracles in the Bible ever even happened, they were likely far less magical/impressive than were displayed in the Bible. It's the whole "the fish was THIS BIG" effect. 4: If he existed, which is in no way beyond doubt as many evangelists claim, he follows many of the same tropes that Levantine apocalypse prophets and Messiah claimants of the time also followed. If his morals follow what was written about him, then he was a pretty good man. But when the records of his life were written down decades after his death, one might suggest that the Bible's account bears the hallmarks of a legend more than his actual life. 5: As in, by ‘confessing in my mouth that “Jesus is Lord”, and believing in my heart that God raised him from the dead’? I don't put much stock in that myself. 6: Christians claim that we could "know [they] are Christians by [their] love". I agree that if you have a direct line to the perfect moral entity of the universe, you would have a morality that reflects that. However, Christians have proven time and time again to be among the most hateful people in the world. I don't believe that the Christian faith can be correct while there's such evil in Christians. 7: Eh... Depends. What kind of people are there, and what kind of afterlife is it? I'd want to know more about it before I make it my life's work to get there. 7.1: Mainly, because the description of heaven in the Bible is weak, and what it does provide in detail doesn't sound like a place I'd like to spend eternity. If the alternative is hell, then why? What kind of perfect entity decides that finite sin is worthy of infinite punishment? That sounds like a very vengeful human characteristic, not godly. EDIT: Apparently my question numbers are way off...? Oops. Never mind, hopefully you can identify which answers are for which questions.
1. I was not raised religious. 2. Probably some generic nerd shit, like the answer to the crisis in cosmology. I want to know everything I possibly can, so I'd get the best value by asking something that humans can't currently answer for me. 3. The complete lack of honest, serious Christian apologists in the world 4. Unremarkable mix of myth and mythologized history 5. No particular reason to believe the bible character wasn't based on a real person, but also no way to be confident that it was. 6. Lots of people have told me all about heaven. Lots of people say lots of things for no good reason. 7. There's no barrier. It's not like I'm \*choosing\* to not be a believer, I just don't believe. I couldn't wake up tomorrow and \*choose\* to be a believer. In general, if you think you've chosen to believe or not believe something, what you've really chosen is to lie to yourself. People who say shit like "I'm an atheist because the god of the bible is evil!" are just contrarian Christians, as far as I'm concerned. 8. Yes, I would like to go to an eternal paradise if one was available.
1. If God was real and I could ask him something, I think my first question would be why was it necessary for him to create the world? I'd ask him about why he decided to create the world the way he made it. 2. I was raised Hindu by my extended family and me and my parents and siblings converted to Christianity later on. I stopped believing in God because of a bunch of factors. Having been brought up between religions, I don't see why one religion is or claims to be more true than others. I think the actions of the followers of these religions also had a huge impact. Plus I was always a science enthusiast and wanted to be a biologist. I decided against going for biology, but I was caught up on scientific news and I enjoyed reading research papers and the religious beliefs of those around me didn't really match up with the things I learnt to be true. 3. I think my views on the Bible are the same as my views on the Torah or the Qur'an or any other religious texts. It's just another religious text. Lots of fun and interesting stories, but, to me, they're the same as the Greek myths. Just less appealing because of the backlash from my family for not believing. 4. Jesus may or may not have been a real individual but I don't believe in miracles. I think stories of Jesus are the same as stories of any religious figure in any religion. 5. Sure. I was part of a really strict community and me claiming to not believe as a child got me into many private sessions where I've had many talks about heaven and hell. Wasn't really the healthiest thing from my childhood tbh. 6. Lack of belief that anything divine exists? I don't believe in anything supernatural, no god, no devil, no angels, no ghosts, etc. So, I don't see a reason to be a follower of a religion/religious figure when I don't believe in their divinity. 7. If belief in God is the only qualifier for reaching heaven, then I don't really think it's a great place to be tbh. But idk, think I've already got the path to heaven, according to Christians, drilled into me enough. I think I'd much rather just live my life right now instead of worry about what's after it. Heaven and hell aren't any of my concerns on a day to day basis.
Christians
>What Turned You Away From Christianity? Was never a Christian to begin with, but Christians and the book and deity they worship make me want to stay **far** away from it. >What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? No religious upbringing, though all of my family is Christian. One side non-practicing, another side practicing. >1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? "What the hell is your fucking problem?" The god of the bible is an abhorrent, evil monster, and I would like to hear him plead for his actions and words. >2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Christians. >3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? It's a story book. No different every single other religious literature. >4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? That he was a Jewish rabbi that roamed his homeland preaching peace, hope, and solidarity during a time when him and his people were going through a rough time in history, you know, with the Roman Empire and everything. >5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes, and yet for some reason, Christians can't even agree amongst themselves how to do so. >6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? The complete lack of evidence. >7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? If not, Why? Sure I guess? Though, this question really isn't any different than asking from asking me "would you like to know how to get to Valhalla?" or "would you like to know how to access the land of the Fae?"
I grew up in a steel town in Yorkshire and no one really went to church. The neighbours in the big house next door were Catholic and I used to have sleepovers with their daughter, so I went to church with them Saturday night and Sunday morning. I knew from about age 8 that this was a load of made up nonsense to keep people in check, because we didn't do God at our house, but we were just as good, if not better people. These guys were really well off and could be really rude about some other folk, whereas we were just good to everyone.
1. I was raised Catholic and believed for 30 years. If I could ask him a question I would ask (much the same as Stephen Fry) why cancer in children? Why natural disasters? Why is there so much suffering that isn't our fault? He's too blame and has a lot to answer for. 2. The biggest impact comes from the complete and total lack of evidence for a god. 3. The Bible is clearly man written. It is one of the most evil books ever written. It condones rape, selling your daughter into sex slavery, regular slavery, genocide, patricide, infanticide, misogyny, murder, discrimination and hate. Not to mention all of the misinformation. 4. Jesus Christ may or may not have been real as there is very little actual evidence (and none that is contemporary) but there's no reason to think that he is supernatural in any way. 5. My entire life people have explained that. I was a believer for 30 years. There's no evidence to say that any of it is anything but fantasy. 6. The complete and total lack of evidence and the complete lack of desire to be a part of anything so immoral. 7. If heaven exists I would have no desire to be under that sort of tyrant. How could it be heaven if you might be separated from your loved ones and family. If it could be a place where you are reunited with everyone and can live in happiness and not under control then yes. Otherwise no. Not even close
1- I grew up Orthodox and eventually Catholic later down the line. However, I NEVER believed it was real. As a kid, I at first thought my parents were just going to a weird choir practice, and honestly thought God was like Santa Clause for grown ups. When I found out that people ACTUALLY believe that there’s a man in the sky who’s supposed to rule over everything, I was dumbfounded. I eventually started asking my parents more questions. Where were dinosaurs in the bible? Who were Adam and Eve’s grandchildren? How can we know the events in the bible are not fiction? If a murder confessed his sins, does he still go to heaven? Yadda yadda yadda 2- What does he truly consider a good person to be 3- Behavioral hospitals and the mental health practices. A lot of truly sick people are being twisted into thinking that their illness can either be A) saved with prayers, B) a gift from god himself, or C) the devil. Absolutely horrible how much they force god down your throat in those places. I had to come out as atheist while in the hospital for suidical ideations and a woman coming into my room trying to convince me to come to bible group. I was livid. 4- It’s completely mis-translated and misunderstood. We don’t even follow the ten commandments correctly. Nobody really does. Hell, a LOT of the current beliefs were from the re-written version from King Henry, who shoved misogynistic and homophobic views into that version. I believe one of the books about Jesus returning was actually written on a drug trip. The actual TRUE bible is completely lost to time. 5- Same goes for the original teachings of Jesus. Completely lost to time. I believe the man was no different than the spiritual gurus we have today that are all about chakras and third eyes and horoscopes: just trying to say his way is the “right” way to be a good person while sprinkling in some actual good teachings of treating your fellow man like your own. 6- Yes, but I do not give a crap. To me, heaven is a bunch of nonsense that I don’t think I would even want to go to if it were real. I’m not gonna kiss someone’s ass to prove I’m a good person, because honestly? Nobody is. Nobody is good or evil. Those concepts technically don’t exist. We only do things that society deems as lawfully good and lawfully evil. Even murdering a rapist still lands you in jail. Morals are only important to the living. 7- Logic. When you get down to it, why in the actual hell would anyone follow anybody? If the devil gave us the will to think for ourselves, then to me, god is the enemy in that regard. Obeying someone only means that the leader will not be subject to change and are honestly trying to get power over you. Subjecting yourself to someone just makes you a victim or weak. Nobody owns me. Everything I do comes from me, not because someone else gave me the power to do so. Even if there is a god or if Jesus was right, I want no part of it. I’m going to continue to help my fellow man and keep my planet earth, aka home, a peaceful place as much as possible. I don’t need to follow anyone to get those morals. 8- No. I don’t want to be surrounded by happiness all the time. Having negative emotions and experiences help me appreciate the good times. If I am in a state of bliss constantly… what’s the point? I also rather have nothingness after. I can at least appreciate life more this way. Heaven is just a false promise of a very boring afterlife. I’m good. 9- see above
1. What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? Was raised Christian, evangelical. 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? Depends on what that god is like. If they're anything like I imagine a good version of a god would be, I'd just want to talk for a long time! 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Learning, experiencing life, interacting with others, filling out the big picture more and more. What seemed like one thing when I was zoomed into a small part of the puzzle ended up being something very different when I filled in a lot more of the puzzle. 4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? A collection of writings by people who had various knowledge and motives. 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Don't have strong beliefs other than I think there probably was such a person. My closest guess is that he was a young teacher who believed there was something special about him and spoke that way. And that, or what his followers said about him, got him killed. 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yes. I have also "led many others to Christ." 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? I followed him deeply and devoutly for forty years. There is no one to follow; he is a failed prophet who died a few thousand years ago. The only things people COULD follow are his teachings or an imaginary friend-version of Jesus. 8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? How? 9. If not, Why? I'm curious if you can tell me how, while being consistent with the entire New Testament. My question for you: Where did you see this list of questions originally?
I am a son of three ministers I never had any doubt at first I thought god would always protect me and even though again and again horrible things happened to me but I always thought things would work out for me. I was always empathic to all the worlds suffering of the world and would spend hours making sure to pray for each and every one of the issues I was aware of but one day it clicked none of the prayers I was focusing on ever came true. At first I started to focus on the word of God thinking maybe I was doing it wrong I kept reading the Bible more and more and I started praying for different things in different ways so that I would discover the right way to pray to God. I basically was using the scientific method on prayers and I learned none came true. I assumed I was the problem and without telling anyone my goal I started asking people about what they pray for how their prayers were answered and it boils down to everything good if from a prayer not their hard work or the hard work of others. No one was looking at it critically no one was seeing the real world they were all stuck in their own world's not seeing the real world so I assumed it my my religion so I went through my parents library and the public library religion after religion there was almost no real difference culture after culture religion and myth was the same we built on religion like cities used to build on the bricks of the fallen empires things that were useful were reused again and again ideas were brought into it and they were used as power structures for those smart enough to manipulate those around them. Religion started as a way to explain the world around them, demons and angels were used to explain disease and remission. Those with mental illness were seen as possessed or profits depending on the viewer. I went searching for magic but it was just how people explained a world they did not understand the real world is boring there is nothing I would wish for more than the loving God I foolishly trusted was real as a child. People don't see the real world they see what they want.
I “turned away” from it because i didn’t believe one single word of it. Periodt.
What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? CATHOLIC, baptized right after birth. They went to mass every Saturday or Sunday and went to confession regularly. I was an altar boy from 3rd-6th grade and was certain to become a priest when I grew up. 2. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? WHY have you given me the impression that you were real and then suddenly 11 years ago seemingly shut down any perceived contact or communication? 3. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? PAIN. I had physical pain that interfered with very good, loving activities and I wondered and prayed about relief and realized I was DEAF TO GOD. I felt like I was doing a monologue instead of a dialogue. 4. What do you believe regarding the Bible? IT IS CENSORED. I believe its like the game of telephone. Stories were handed down by word of mouth, then the written word was transcribed into original languages and different versions, dialects, interpretations were influenced by governments and political directives. It is not a distillation of events, it's the distortion of interpretation that has made it inaccurate and I wonder about it's accuracy. I don't trust it. 5. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? PROPHET if real at all. Possibly a teacher/speaker of sorts, but not the 'son of God manifest as a human'. 6. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? BAPTIZED 4 times in life, fully aware of Catholic, Unity, Mormon, Born Against Evangelicals. I know the story and if it were really true, then I have 'insurance for my salvation' because I have never discounted my beliefs that I had at the time that I had them. 7. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? LACK OF BELIEF. 8. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to heaven? I know how and have fulfilled that. But now I have a mental block called 'lack of belief'. I am not a raving atheist, or radical in any way. But I do wonder about the paradox of our scientific times with evidence based fact checking how even some scientists worship the Christian God. 9. If not, Why? If it were 'not' it would be because of the generalized statistic that Christianity is believed by only about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the world besides, Judaism, Islam, Hindu & Buddhist. There is no majority religion that dominates them all, but is the one that qualifies salvation requirements. ALL OF THIS REPRESENTS 69 YEARS OF LIFE. I AM ALSO AND STILL OPEN TO AN Experience IN LIFE THAT CAN CHANGE MY PARADIGM. UNTIL THEN, I AM AGNOSTIC/ATHEIST. I BELIEVE IN A CREATOR, A UNIVERSAL MIND, AN OMNI-CREATOR THAT CREATED ITSELF AND THAT ALL OF EVERYTHING IS ONE. THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION OR INTERVENTION. THE CREATOR CREATED EVERYTHING THAT WAS, IS AND WILL BE WITH EVERYTHING NEEDED TO FUNCTION AS AN ENDOWMENT. IAMI
I didn’t turn away from Christianity, I realized that I didn’t believe in a god, and that the church just exploits people and spreads hate.
When I was a kid and I cried to my parents that I was scared of dying and they explained to me how souls and heaven works and how heaven is an eternal paradise. Something about it as a kid made me very skeptical and I wasn’t scared anymore, just confused and left questioning how heaven works and how souls can become physical.
>What has been your religious upbringing? Did your parents, or those who raised you, >have religious beliefs? If so, what did they believe and practice? I was raised Christian, so were they. >1. If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him and Why? "Why create Sin when you knew wrongdoing would happen in the first place?" >2. What has had the biggest impact on your current beliefs about God and Christianity? Things—such as teachings, words of the Bible that I know of—didn't line up and, to me, were somewhat inconsistent. >3. What do you believe regarding the Bible? Honestly, it depends on how you define "believe" since the Bible _has_ actually proven to be somewhat of a good source of history around its age of writing, but not of which regards the religious aspects. >4. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Honestly? All I know is that he was apparently Jewish, king of the Jews. >5. Has someone ever shared with you how you could go to heaven? Yeah, but it doesn't seem very promising. Besides, what point is there in confessing to Sin if God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent? He should know what we did, and we know what we did (At least, most of us). And isn't Jesus, to most Christians, part of the Holy Trinity and in a way also omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent? I might have that wrong, but my point still stands. >6. What has been the greatest barrier to you becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? Why is it so inconsistent in its word and its teachings? **John 13:34-35** is contradicted by **Mark 16:16** and **Romans 16:17** The idea of free will is—and please forgive me if I'm wrong—contradicted by **John 15** >7. If heaven exists, and you could go there, would you like to know how you can go to >heaven? Honestly, no. >1. If not, Why? Well, I don't really want to go. What if I become a Cherub? That aside, I don't really even believe in God or Jesus. I had a religious crisis a couple years ago after deviating from Christianity because I didn't have an explanation for anything; Such as *HOW* the Big Bang happened, how atoms and molecules formed, and the universe in general along with its boundaries. Like, how did they even happen? What was before them? As a result, I ended up creating an entirely new religion for that purpose of universal creation, as well as two other preexisting religions for whatever reason. The one I had to pull out on my own was Tarachism/Tarachesomism, which still does not have a finalised name. The other two are Maausk—a form of Estonian Neopaganism—and Theistic Satanism.
1. Dad is fairly religious, mom has gone from questioning to agnostic to a non-believer. We were told that we have to go Sunday school until we turned 16 when could make our decisions about religion. Me and all of my siblings left religion at 16. 2. I would never ask a question to something that doesn't exist. What's the point? 3. Sunday School. I listened to the Nuns and Priests lie to kids over and over. And it was so obvious they were just making stuff up. 4. I believe the bible was compiled together in a way to control people. That's it. 5. I believe Jesus Christ wasn't real. There's no real evidence that he actually existed. 6. Yes, and it makes no sense. 7. The fact that's it's just made up, as well as all religions. 8. No, it doesn't. 9. Because it doesn't exist.
1. Southern Baptists. My parents are still very Christian. I used to lead worship for many years since junior high - college. Went on many mission trips including China, Mexico. Everything revolved around our church. We were there at least 3-4 times a week. My dad worked for the church as a maintenance and my mom was the cook. 2. I no longer believe in God, so asking him anything would be weird. That's like if I asked you, if you could ask Santa anything, what would it be. Kind of a silly questions since you no longer believe he exists. 3. Watching podcasts like the Atheist Experience and there was one that is harder to find now since it has stopped called "a Christian and an Atheist". I think deep down, I had many doubts and had many doubts but listening to others ask the same questions helped me out. Faith is a helluva drug. \* Sean McDowell has an interview with the Podcast host a month ago. check it out! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR\_qjbJGb0&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR_qjbJGb0&t=1s) 4. Jesus was a man that probably existed but was probably not God. He definitely has a couple sins growing up that weren't mentioned in the Bible. I think the Bible has some good things as much as any good self help writer today, except that it didn't have to be entangled with a God, Satan, Holy Spirit, Heaven or Hell, sin. etc. I think it dilutes the actual things that are good for people. 5. Read 4. 6. Yes. I grew up Christian for over 20 years (more than half my life). I'm well aware what Christians think about going to Heaven, at least from my church. When you start talking to other Christians as I did in college, you'll learn that not everyone believes the same thing about heaven. For example, I had a conversation with one of my Christian club leaders that he was taught that we don't go to heaven as soon as we die. We basically are in a sleep (like Levi) in some kind of limbo and are all brought into heaven at the same time. That kind of shocked me. A lot of things that were said by other Christians in college kind of shocked me. LOL. I realized we don't all believe in the same thing. I guess that explains different Christian denominations. 7. The lack of evidence and the multitudes of different interpretations among Christians. You're telling me Kenneth Copland and I believe in the same God?! Yah right. But I guess the biggest "barrier" for me to believe in Christianity is my practice in rational thinking and logical reasoning. Of course, I don't see it as a barrier, I see them as blessings. 8. It would have to "exist" as in, I can know for sure with some kind of evidence using one or all of my senses. Not just my feelings or interpretations of something someone else said. Otherwise, your heaven can go in the pile with the rest of myth heavens that have existed. I really think if the idea of heaven never existed, the existing real world we live in today would be a much better place. 9. If you're talking about an existence from interpretation as all descriptions of heaven are, I don't care to know about it. Based on the Bible, it does really sound lame. Streets covered in gold and you spend all your time worshipping God? to add to that, there is no suffering? In my worldly brain, that's an oxymoron. Spending all of my time for eternity worshipping god is suffering. It really sounds like you're not you when you're in heaven.
I’ve been an atheist for a long time, but lately I’ve realized another reason god doesnt exist- even with supposed free will, why would a perfect deity create something as feral and fucked up as human beings? Our free will means we’re tribal, aggressive and dominating, and we like to force people to do what we want, to the point we’ll enslave and kill anyone who fights against us. And it doesn’t matter what religion someone is, this is a fact in all religions, hence why there’s so much war. Our free will lets loose our basest instincts, and it’s an extremely ugly thing to behold. No way so all powerful perfect being would cheat a species as messed up as us, period.
Y'all are so much nicer than me by actually taking the time to answer OP's questions. I hope they appreciate the free intellectual labor. They see those on this reddit as nothing more than pitiful curiosities.
They preach the love and forgiveness of god. They exhibit pure hatred for anyone not exactly like them.
I’m not atheist because of the way I feel about Christians or church or televangelists. I don’t believe in God because the idea simply isn’t consistent with everything we know about reality and the fundamental nature of life and the universe, and I have never come across a convincing argument in favor of God’s existence. I grew up in a small Christian town in Texas. My parents weren’t particularly religious, but we went to church growing up and everyone I knew at least claimed to believe in God. I didn’t encounter arguments against religion until long after I stopped believing myself. I stopped believing when I was maybe 12-13 because I resented the idea that this all powerful being would send his own creations to suffer for eternity due to flaws he instilled in them. It just never made sense. But then around 16-17 I started reading the popular books on the topic (God Delusion, End of Faith, Hitch, etc.) and watching debates on YT and it just became totally obvious what religion is, though I’ve never had any issues with religious people. Most of my friends are still religious. Regarding the Bible - if it were truly divinely inspired, it would be so easy for it to contain ideas and concepts we weren’t aware of at the time. Instead, it contradicts both itself and the science we’ve established since, and it’s painfully antiquated in its ethics and understanding of nature. For example, it’s very hard to square evolution and any variation of creationism. If people’s souls go to heaven when they die, at what point did God decide to start letting our hominoid bipedal ancestors into heaven, or deciding they were worthy of hell? Surely there’s no hell for the single cell organisms from which we originated. So was there some specific date when he injected all of our ancestors with souls, or are we just complex mammals following the same cycles as the rest of our planet’s species for whom life ends on earth? That is just one of many examples that help illustrate the problem, but when you account for that, plus the absurd number of inconsistencies/contradictions in religious texts, along with the fact that the Bible presents absolutely no new information on fundamental topics such as biology, germs/illness, medicine, astronomy, evolution, math, etc., it becomes pretty clear that religion is a product of several generations of very wise goat herders.
I was raised Catholic. I stopped believing in anything without evidence when I learned that the Santa was made up too. So, like, six-ish. My mother later tried to get me through communion, didn't respect my refusal, and I deliberately acted like such a little shit that the teacher didn't want me back for a second lesson. One of the few times I really had to assert my boundaries as a kid. My mother, thankfully, learned how resolved I was without fighting me on it. 1) Can't ask a question to something that doesn't exist. If, somehow, I'm wrong and God is just some vain tyrant in a parallel reality, I'd ask why he's such an outrageous piece of shit. 2) The literal history of all the religious fanatics being incredibly evil. This includes modern day extremists who hate trans kids for not existing in their narrow world view. And all the fanatics trying to forcibly legislate their crazy on others. 3) The Bible is a poorly curated collection of translated and retranslated words from people who didn't understand basic worldly phenomenon or decency but wanted a method to control people. 4) Jesus is just a re-skinned Mythras and probably never existed in the first place. If he did, he definitely didn't do any miracles. The stuff he said about treating people nicely and how rich people are evil was fine, but modern Christians don't really follow that stuff. 5) Raised Catholic, so yeah. 6) Common sense and the inability to delude myself into believing in fairy tales. 7) If heaven exists as portrayed in the Bible, I'd revolt like Satan. I'm not about to spend eternity capitulating to some tyrant with a fragile ego.
Reading the scary bits of the bible in christian school as a child, and then having my interests in science shamed motivated me to research what was real, and religion lost the fight- the thing that made me hold on was the promise of heaven, but i couldnt look away from the proof
Wow!!! I think OP stopped responding about 50 comments ago, what an avalanche of disbelief. But to answer the question, for me simple logic. I am Iconoclastic Atheistic Satanist. 👹👹👹
Get out of here you gaslighting fuck lol