We were all Atheists when we were born, at what age did you change?

by cyberjesus 47 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cyberjesus

  i was a born in. But when I was born I knew nothing. I had no deity nor I knew what a God was therefore I was Atheist. Then my first memory I had of believing in a GOD was when I was 3 I remember asking my father why we had to walk for 2 hours every day. He said because we were doing Jehovahs will, And Jehovah is God who created the earth and the animals, you and me. And that is all it took to convert me to Theism. I did not ask for more convincing arguments, i was so gullible.

  So when did turn Theist? When did you switch from Atheism to Theism? What took to convince you that there was a GOD in heaven? and what arguments were used? What kind of analysis did you do?

  I think I was read the book "Listening to the great teacher" :-)
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  tec

  I think, 'We were all atheists when we were born', is an assumption - one that could only really be proven if all teaching and speaking of deity ceased, and then no one ever imagined such a thing ever again.

  I don't think that could happen. The very fact that humanity does have belief in deities seems to negate that possibility, at least to me. I think people would start searching for a creator(s) or supernatural existence of some sort again. After all, who taught the first people to ever look to a deity that there was such a thing?

  Tammy
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  cyberjesus

  ok I will say the following then: when we were born we did not believed there was a god, but then we were converted to a religion our to believe on a deity. did you like this better? just fyi an atheist its someone who doesn't believe in. a deity
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  tec

  Yes, much better. Of course, we were born with completely clean slates. No belief in anything except what we learned secondhand or through personal experience.

  Tammy
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  tec

  I should also answer your question :)

  I honestly don't remember at what age I believed in God. I don't remember a talk to teach me about how we got here or what made us. I imagine I was just brought to a church at some point and assumed it was all true - but that is a guess on my part. I did not have a religious upbringing (though as I got a little older, I remember sunday school and stuff). But I don't remember a change in my thinking from no belief to a belief.

  Tammy
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  cyberjesus

  yeah isn't that interesting? and we accepted our new set of beliefs because the source wad trustworthy (usually our parents) and most of us didnt question it our even requested evidence for it.
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  wobble

  Are we all born with a"God gene" that predisposes us to believe in a Sky-Daddy ?

  That has been posited, and may explain the ease with which the concept is passed on to children.

  I was born in too, and by the time questions began to surface about god, I was indoctrinated enough to push them away as preposterous.
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  thenoblelodge

  I can't remember how I found my belief in God. All I know is I was very, very young.

  I joined the Tower and they very nearly destroyed it.... got it back again now.
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  behemot

  Some scientists think that we are naturally born believers, i.e. that "religion emerges as a natural by-product of the way the human mind works" because "some of the unique cognitive capacities that have made us so successful as a species also work together to create a tendency for supernatural thinking".

  Read more on this topic here:

  http://www.mindpowernews.com/BrainGod.htm

  Behemot
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  Heaven

  I agree with CJ. Much of what we know has been taught to us.

  I don't know if I've ever truly 'believed' in God. I think it's always been more of a 'hope'. I've always had questions that never could be answered. I've always been left with this imprinted in my mind anytime someone talked to me about God and the Bible and definitely after the WTS studies.

  I have formulated my own ideas. I certainly don't believe 100% what the Bible says because some of it is contradictory, and some of it cannot be proven so it falls under the 'conjecture' category. Therefore, these things do not hold up to scrutiny. Murdering, Exclusivism, Subjugation.... none of these fit my definition of love. If God is Love, then he would not do the things that have been reported in the Bible.

  Stephen Covey talks about 'True North Principles' in his books. These are principles that stand the test of time, that support the positive outcomes in our lives, and do not waiver. They all fall under the umbrella of 'Love' in one way or another.

  The only thing that matters is Love. I believe this is what Christ's message was all about. The rest of the stuff in the Bible means nothing because none of it can be proven. The only thing that can be is Love. And this, you can prove, time and time again.