A question for Atheists?

My parents tried to brainwash me as a kid but I hated church and refused to go after a while. I don't necessarily believe there is no god, as there is no evidence against it, nor is there evidence that he does exist. Most people aren't full-on atheists, and the ones who say they are probably just trolling.

I was indeed, pumpkin...quite a devout one.

It began with me noticing that the structure of the religion I was raised in exactly mirrored the civil structures of the society at the time the episcopal system was established...civil structures that we no longer see as valid.

I also became aware of the restrictions my religion imposed on my speech and my thoughts - restrictions focusing on what was good to think and say and what was evil to think and say - and how anything that challenged the authority of the religion was designated as "bad" or "evil" or "sinful." I saw how self-serving it was to promote obedience to the religion and religious authorities as one of the highest virtues and to demonize any questions or disagreements.

I gradually began to see how man-made the whole religion was, and how its stories and rules and dogma and rituals were designed to perpetuate its own power and assert control over the population.

It was like the shift in perspective you get when you see through a magic trick. I then began to see how man-made all religions were, and how man-made all gods were, and how easy it was to see why ancient, primitive people would have made up the idea of gods, and how impossible it was to find any verifiable, reasonable evidence that would point to the existence of any god or gods.

It was a process, not an event.

I didn't actually need a "this is your opportunity" speech, you know - I've told this probably hundreds of times on here.

You do know that we're asked this multiple times a day, right? And that not all the people who ask it are of good intent, but use it as a basis on which to proselytize or post insulting and ignorant remarks about what we think or how we got here. I answered in good faith, but your patronizing tone isn't a good sign.

Well, I am not a complete atheist, I have my own philosophy on life, I believe that there is a form of power higher than humans (but whatever, it makes sense to me).

What forced me not to believe in God, was the fact that when I prayed for unselfish things, to benefit mainly others, I felt no presence because there was no answer.

Don't even tell me that God works in "mysterious ways" or he only does "what is best".

Because God would never allow some things that happened if he existed.

Believing in God gave me no hope.

and now, this theory that I share (From books that I have read) make complete sense to me, they are realistic, and have evidence).

I cant say "there is no god" because I don't know that but when I was younger I was much more spiritual. I started reading the bible and asking people to explain their belief to me. Of course, I started having questions and started trying to put things into place but there still are far more questions than answers. Often when I dug deep enough the true answer was "you have to have faith" or "god works in mysterious ways" or "it's part of gods plan" which says that I have to find out for myself.

It's also difficult to stay interested because people take your knowledge seeking as an attack on their belief.

yes... and a very knowledgeable one at that.... i started having doubts whenever i stopped taking what the preacher and the bible said as fact... i began to see that the things that i thought were common knowledge just did not hold up to scrutiny... so at first it began with me rationalizing that these preachers were just misguided or that that story in the bible was taken out of context or mis-translated... but as a read more and more that rational began to become weaker and weaker... then there was one thought that really shook me to my core... and that was... everyone embellishes stories... why would the people writing the bible be any different... so i basically i kinda ignored the entire old testement... and focused on jesus and god... but that was short lived... b/c jesus aint so great either and god is even worse... so I just basically said i will not worship someone like this it would be like worshiping hitler... but i still believed that there was a god just not the fire and brimstone bible god... buuut that was also short lived.... the idea of god just didnt make sense and was irrelvent... and his very existance and the notion of an afterlife makes your current life meaningless....

I was not only a theist, but I was a 'born again, blood bought, spirit filled' christian. I attended an assemblies of god church and was studying to be a preacher. My first doubts began when I was studying the bible in more depth. I kept finding obvious contradictions. I wanted to believe the 'explanations' but they simply did not add up. It became obvious to me that the bible was absolutely not inerrant...so I moved to a more mainline protestant view. But the more I learned, the less any of it made sense.

So for me education was my road from christianity to atheism. It was about a 24 month journey in stages from fundy -> mainline protestant -> confused -> agnostic -> atheist.

I was a churchgoer as a kid, altho my family's attendance had pretty much ended by the time I hit my teen years. I started questioning by my late teens (especially after the horrible death of a highly religious friend at the hands of a rapist) and after exploring some other religious options during my college days concluded the whole deal was a pile of crap.

Edit @ Fireball - Wow, you're especially clueless today...how is this possibly off-subject for R&S?

Was raised by caring, educated and loving parents.

Was never hammered with, "You be a good little girl, or baby Jesus will see you burn in Hell.

And when I was about 8, my mom confessed that there just was no Santa, in the sky with a video cam, "...........making a list and checking it twice............"

She as well admitted no one else was either.

And my dad had as a mantra, "Question everything.... Don't believe something is true, just because it is tradition, or someone of authority said it. Ask for proof. Ask for proof even of a grade you get from a teacher, if your calculations don't match his.)

And I thank them both for being thinking, and loving parents. All I am today, is because of good parenting skills. I'd wish that all children had great parents.

No. I realised at a very early age that "God" was probably made up. Reading the Bible and learning about other religions only served to confirm this.

I refuse to worship a god that wants worshiping. i'm 'good', not following the bible, but common sense.i believe in nothing. life's not fair, there's no good/bad balance (you need to learn that in order to move on) on the off chance i'm wrong, if i don't get into heaven just for not worshiping him, that's not my god.