Your experiences of not being a theist (being an atheist).

[Jason]

I tend not to take a title my partner and myself have the view that religion was just a tool used to control the masses and build a global empire of tax evading land holding powerhouses.
We have not made any effort to sway our children one way or another and my eldest shows a particular interest that god exists. This is the result of compulsory scripture lessons in school. I have no problem with them learning about religion in school. But I disagree that they tell them that: "this is how it is/was" - and they believe that and accept that.
I would prefer they taught them a run down of the main beliefs of all religions, and let them make an informed decision of their own. Instead all of my dealings with religion in this case Christianity are from narrow minded people forcing what I consider fictitious ideas (of their own following) down the throats of my children and then I have to sit down with them and say we'll no this is what their beliefs tell us happened and offer other possibilities.

I believe if you accept the existance of a god in your religion that you need to be prepared to accept/ understand the beliefs of other religions. Because if there were a god who says that the one you believe is the correct one? Or that they are not the same god? Why would your god make you hate followers of another religion? All just seems too convenient.

The truth is out there! Either there's God/gods or there isn't. Presumably all religions should be looking at the same God. There is of course a significant shared area of belief between religions, even the non-theist Buddhists. There's also consistency of morality. Religions come up with a version of do to others what you would like them to do to you.

A problem with religion is when it allows its outward organisation to be more important than the religion. At worst a church becomes an exclusive club which fosters intolerance, and which sees the club as more important than the religion. The clearest recent example is the Roman Catholic Church which thought it appropriate to permit thousands of children to be raped in order to preserve what it saw as the dignity of its priesthood. This is in my view an example of religion gone bad.

Children need to be encouraged to think and ultimately to develop their own views, and this process includes exposure to the idea of God.

 

[halcyondays]

Agnostic from age 15, here's a short list:

-my college sweetheart dropped me because I wouldn't marry in the church. (it's a little more complicated than that--she wouldn't sign a prenup.)

-my parental units went to their graves fearing I'd go to hell for my apostasy. (they didn't learn of my agnosticism until I was 18.)

-decades of parents, family and friends--even acquaintances and strangers--saying "they're praying for me" to believe in a god again. (the funny thing is that believing a theology wasn't enough: I had/have to accept THEIR sect or religion to be saved. )

-endless debates over the terms and conditions of agnosticism, atheism, religion, scripture and faith, like in this thread.

-oddest of all have been women cheating on boyfriends/husbands ending an affair with me when learning of my atheism and because of it. (seriously? i'll cheat but not with a guy who doesn't believe in god? don't let the door hit you in the ass... lol)

The good thing is that most people don't ask and I don't tell.

 

[Jason]

Believing in God doesn't mean you will have a happy life, and being an agnostic doesn't mean you will have a miserable one. The same could be said for believing or not believing the world is round.

There are a group of people who believe in their church, culture and dogma, but whose belief in God might well be a bit shaky. This applies to very many in the Christian faith and other faiths. I have problems with anyone who thinks they know who will and will not go to hell, and even a problem with people who believe in the existence of the mediaeval concept of hell. I'm inclined to think actions are more important than something as intangible as a statement of belief. Actions demonstrate faith and ultimately the two are linked, but faith is more than just saying "I believe..." Faith is action.

There's certainly the idea of praying for another, but usually working with that person. Praying for something that person doesn't want seems weird. There's also the idea of people looking first at their own faith before criticising another. People who put a lot of stress on outward observance may be among the most lacking in faith. Maybe @halcyondays has more faith (as an agnostic) than those criticising him for lack of unquestioning belief in God. Of course I don!t know the details of this case, but belief in a Church is a false god, a form of atheism.

 

[halcyondays]

Maybe @halcyondays has more faith

I have zero faith in anything.

And before you quibble 1) don't conflate faith with trust or hope and 2) be careful which definition of the word believe you use.

 

[Jason]

I have zero faith in anything.

And before you quibble 1) don't conflate faith with trust or hope and 2) be careful which definition of the word believe you use.

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Maybe @halcyondays has the same faith as those criticising him!

 

[halcyondays]

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Maybe @halcyondays has the same faith as those criticising him!

X=0

 

[ttmax]

I rejected religion as foolish and illogical before the age of ten and have found absolutely no reason since then to change my mind.

In general, I have observed that higher standards of actions and morality are visible among non-theists than those who maintain a blind faith in the illogical and unprovable concepts embedded in most mainstream religions or cults. (What is a religion, if not a cult, with tenure?)

The followers of fantasy have visited so much pain and destruction on humanity over the centuries and will surely bring our species to its demise in a final conflict of absurd ideologies.