For those who are athest, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

Tameria2001

I'm not asking this question to cause an argument or accuse, but I am honestly just wondering? For those of you who are now atheist or non-christian, how did you come to this decision? I hadn't given this much thought until about a year ago. My daughter in law is an atheist, she grew up as a Baptist. The point in my life I am at the moment is right after leaving the JWs, I did attend a few churches for a while, but something about it was off-putting. I'm not saying I regret going, because there were a couple of pastors who helped me in getting past quite a bit of the JW nonsense. I have been watching a few videos over at YouTube, and people seem to have a very valid point in how they came to their decision.

I have been attempting to look up more information on the internet about things that are nonchristian, and mostly I'm just coming up with Christian Fundamental websites. I'm hoping if you don't mind sharing how you came to your decision, it might help me in what I'm trying to learn.

Anders Andersen

Real simple: I started on a journey to find credible, testable, objective evidence that would support my religious beliefs.

I found none. I was forced to conclude my beliefs were not founded in any evidence. So what good is hanging on to them?

To be sure, I prayed a lot a put a simple test before God, much simpler than some of the tests faithful people mentioned in the Bible are said to have put before God.

God didn't respond in any way or form.

So, no evidence and no response. To me, that's clear enough.

Hadn't I been indoctrinated from birth I would never have come to believe in God based on the (lacking) evidence.

Amelia Ashton

Lack of evidence, pure and simple.

Whilst having one of many aha moments a well meaning Christian (non JW) told me God WAS taking care of me and answering my prayers I just wasn't recognising his blessings.

I was trying to escape a cult and realised their viewpoint was just as delusional as the Watchtower and once again I was the one at fault not God. Why couldn't an all powerful omnipotent being just be be a little bit clearer? It was a hard journey but with lots of reading and YouTube videos starting with Richard Dawkins and Derren Brown there was no other conclusion.

The laryngial nerve in the giraffe and Dawkins explaining irreducible complexity of the eye proved there was no God for me.

LoveUniHateExams

For those who are athest, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

First, I left the JWs and disliked all organised religion.

But I initially retained some belief in God, partly because a part of me enjoys being contrarian and partly because that was my right of freedom of speech and freedom of belief. I also clung on to divine creation for the same reasons.

When I went to college and was first taught evolution, I examined the theory critically while trying to retain a belief in divine creation. After a few months I realised that this was impossible and that the only intellectually honest thing to do was to accept evolution.

I guess you could say I'm a 'soft atheist' - I allow people their personal belief in God but if they speak about this publically then I'll question and challenge them.

And I still think that some 'Christian principles' are good and worth-while. For example I think that sexual promiscuity and cheating on your partner/spouse are bad ideas.

Here's the important thing: there is zero evidence for the existence of God and for the miracles and other weird and wonderful nonsense found in the bible, quran and other 'holy' books.

It's not up to me to debunk God or religion - it's up to religious people to provide evidence to support their claims.

Want me to rethink these issues and/or change my mind?

Provide evidence, and I might.

The answer's always the same: provide evidence.

stan livedeath

i never did believe in the great bartender in the sky.

Giordano

To echo Eric Hoffer's point........ "I don,t care if there is a god or not".

I certainly don't care for any high control religions.

Coming to your TV soon is a documentary about Jonestown. All the good the People's Temple accomplished in their past was rubbed out in one night of murder and mass suicide. Their god protected no one.

All of the good the JW's think they have accomplished is rubbed out by the sexual abuse of their children, lack of higher education, the ban on blood, and the corruption within the WT structure.

Your JW god has no way to protect you. Stamp the dust off your shoes and get on with your life.

Xanthippe

Hi Tameria, I was a Christian for a couple of years after leaving the JWs but I've always loved science and the evidence for evolution is very strong I found.

Then the arguments for something that's always bothered me my whole life, why does God permit suffering, just started to fall apart. The Christian churches all believe in the Fall of man in the garden of Eden and redemption through Christ's sacrifice.

But when I decided to study for a history degree I saw even more that so much terrible suffering had been permitted by God even after his son gave his life supposedly. What's he waiitng for? Why doesn't he stop it? Giving an answer to Satan as in Job? Oh for goodness sake!

Then I realised the Christian God just isn't there that's why suffering has continued. Plus in my studies the misery caused by the Christian religion in the Middle Ages, the burnings, the torture just appalled me.

Why didn't he even stop his own followers from forcing others to convert by telling them he loves everyone? He's not there, that's my conclusion, but please find your own conclusions. After all humankind has suffered surely we can allow people to believe whatever they want now as long as it doesn't harm others.

truth_b_known

1. I was born in and raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses during the time that the You Can Live Forever on Paradise Earth! book was the designated study guide leading to baptism. This was replaced by the Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life book. There was a big shift between the 1980s and the 1990s. The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society shifted from trying to both prove their religion was right and all other religions were wrong to just proving they were right. So, I grew up being given a great deal of knowledge why all other religions were wrong and why all other gods are fictitious.

2. I was also taught to believe that everything in the Bible is accurate and true. As I began my journey of leaving the Witness religion I began to learn things that made certain Bible events impossible. The Great Flood of Noah's Day is an example.

3. In recent years I have been to learn about the true origin of the Biblical Israel and Judaism. When I began learning that Israel was created by Babylonian captives who adopted Zoroastrian teaching to their Baal god El I knew that Judaism, the alleged precursor to Christianity was just like any other man-made religion. Add in the fact that Paul's letters to the Christian congregations of the first century predate the Gospels by nearly 40 years and that the Gospels were written decades after the alleged events in them took place you begin to see that Christianity is just another man-made religion as well.

eyeuse2badub

For those who are atheist, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

1) By being raised as a jw and being taught things/doctrines that go contrary to reason!

2) By simply reading the bible without the watchtower colored glasses and realizing that it is simply Hebrew Mythology!

just saying!

Simon

Read, study and think.

Everything about religion is fraudulent. There is no truth there. Every claim evaporates on inspection. It's just fairy stories.

The concept of a Christian God as described in the bible also makes no logical sense whatsoever (loving, all powerful but allows great suffering)

For those who are athest, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

Share this