Do you think you have control over what you believe?

You do have control over what you believe.

I was religious for 16 years, give or take some months.

When I became an atheist, I was sorta freaked out because I didn't know for sure that there isn't a god. Technically, no one 'knows'. But there needs to be proof. The burden of proof lies on religion. If you propose the existence of something, you must follow the scientific method in your defense of its existence. Otherwise, we have no reason to listen to them.

We don't believe in a god because it doesn't make any sense logically.

(Sorry if that didn't help, I'm rather out of it currently)

To some point.

See, I can base by beliefs on different things; if I based my beliefs on values only, I'd probably adhere a religion, for example.

If I base my beliefs on what is scientifically proven, that'd be something else.

But I base my beliefs on something in-between my logic and my guts, so that makes me a spiritual multi-theist with my very own unique beliefs.

You'll never be able to believe again the way you believed before but you can believe again in a different way. Think of why you enjoyed to believe in God.. you felt like you were loved, not alone? And why not believe in the teeth fairy and santa claus..? You know they aren't real flesh and bone with fairy dust in the sky, but the principle is still there. You can believe in what they mean to you and in that manner they are very real.

You know, just for the message of Love, that's a good reason by itself alone to believe in God.

Yes

As you age and mature, you can form your own opinion on what you choose to believe and what you fee is right, so yes..As a child your family influences you and teaches you what to believe and think.

real faith in God is not based on what one reads or hears or is taught to believe. real faith in God is experiential and cannot be controlled by us. it must come from him and him alone. he is the only one is able to put faith in our hearts.

people can walk away from the faith God gives them if they choose, but it is always there nagging at them and drawing them back, until he gets to the point where he no longer tries to draw them back to him and he just gives them over to whatever it is they wish to believe.

no one can believe in God unless he makes them able to do so. if you no longer believe, then either you never had real faith which was personally experiential to start with or God has let you just go your own way and is no longer trying to get you back, or he is but you are ignoring him.

when you know real truth you cant deny them and thats why you cant regain your faith unless you are pretty good at lying to your self

I would like to think I have control....

"When I realised god didn't exist."

Is that a scientific fact? "Realizing God exists" or "realizing God doesn't exist" are both illusions. How do you know he doesn't exist and how do believers know he exists? None of you can "realize" anything about the concept of God.

Read the translation of quran please and visit islamic websites