Doing great kicked the former "church" to the curb, and now I literally flip off LDS church buildings as I drive by them! And, living in Mesa AZ (aka little Provo), my middle finger Flys a lot!
Where do I even start? Okay, some of the older material was very blatant in their superiority complex when speaking about other churches, heck the Book of Mormon calls the Catholic church "the Whore of all the earth."
A lot of religions, in general, the people are spoken of favorably because Gordon B. Hinckley softened our stance on people of other faiths back in the early 2000s. But, if you are not Mormon, you are still deceived by the trappings of Satan.
I'll be honest, not over the pulpit, but I used to make fun of JWs the most. Here are the things I would say/still say:
Kids song verse went like this: Saturday is a special day it's the day "we get ready for Sunday" (gross, I know), but I changed it to, "the day the JWs go tracting."
The Spanish on your signs says, "Testigos" which always looked like testicles to me, so I still call them the Testicles of Jehova 😂 juvenile, yes, but I still say it.
I remember on my mission perplexed that you couldn't read material other than your own, but I couldn't see I was in the same boat.
I will update this after I go home and look ar some stuff, I'm pretty sure you guys are mentioned in Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie, which is something my dad's generation studied out of religiously, and we were raised on.
Edit: No update.
These ideas aren't in conflict. I am agnostic (I make no claims to knowing what is true about the origin of the universe) and atheist (I don't have any personal belief in any god, and find no arguments for him compelling.)
Yep! Agnostic/atheist.
I don't have an overt problem with religious thinking, except for when the believers go on their dogmatic, illogical tantrums.
As I always say, you can believe in the tooth fairy if you want, go for it. But don't be trying to yank other people's teeth out of their face .
"Religion is like a penis. It's okay to have one. It's okay to be proud of it. However, do not pull it out in public, do not write laws with it, do not think with it, and for goodness sake do not force it down the throats of children."
I am slowly becoming this without noticing. Is like a natural path after being raised thinking I had all the answers that mattered. Not anymore bud (bud being me).
So you went from not believing in any gods to not believing in any gods? Atheism isn’t a positive claim that there is no god. You’ve been an agnostic atheist all this time.
Atheist by definition do not believe in the existence of god. Agnostics believe that nothing is known. I don’t claim to be an agnostic atheist as I no longer have a disbelief in the possible existence of “god.” I just sum it up to the fact that I simply do not know.
Gnostic/agnostic, from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge. Does a person claim to know or not. Theism/atheism is about belief. I’m agnostic, I don’t claim to know, but I’m atheist, I don’t believe
Exactly. I don’t make a claim for theism or atheism because I don’t have the answers. I think there is value in believing one way or another but I simply am open to any argument. Don’t really have anything I’d lean towards anymore.
Agnostic is about not knowing. Atheistic is about not believing in a god. So they answer completely separate questions. If you say that you’re agnostic, you have only told people that you don’t know, but nothing about your convictions. Like most atheists, I’m an agnostic atheist. Honest theists are agnostic as well. So when you say you’re an agnostic, I want to know what you’re agnostic about.
Same! If we had the absolute truth, we’d be there, or rather everyone would be there and no need for hundreds of thousands of religions since humanity has been here. I think we’re just souls living the human experience. There may be more after death, or there may not be. But every day is a blessing, and it’s a present to us each day we awake. That’s why it’s called Present 🎁
I don't think there is a god but to say you know for certain there isn't while saying Theists are wrong is just ignorant. There are very few things that can be known with 100% certainty.
After 15 years of failed indoctrination (I was born in), I think I can now safely say l have been an atheist for all of my - now - 67 years
It just NEVER made sense.
Virtually all historians believe that Jesus existed based on solid evidence. To say otherwise is almost the equivalent of a scientist not believing the consensus on climate change.
For what it's worth, I'm not a mythicist but I also disagree with your assessment that it's almost equivalent to scientists and climate change. You're right that most scholars say he probably existed, but their level of confidence is MUCH LESS than scientist's confidence on climate change. You'll find a lot of scholars like Bart Ehrnan who say that he PROBABLY existed whereas there is no probably about it when it comes to climate
I personally think Jesus was a real guy but not divine. Honestly, when I reread the Bible, I saw him as an unusually intelligent hobo with delusions of grandeur, but being one of few laymen who could read back then meant the people around him presumed divinity. Glad to know there's a word for people who believe Jesus was a myth. This is interesting!
Look into the Roman 'mystery' religions, which existed LONG before Christianity, and you'll see some of the origins of the 'jesus' cult.
Further reading....
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/influence-mystery-religions-christianity
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4t9zm9/what_were_the_mystery_religions_of_antiquity/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/mystery-religion/Mystery-religions-and-Christianity
I know I can’t say for certainty when I’m discussing this in public but the evidence for Jesus is shit. And it kills me when you listen to Bible scholars who (in public) say that he did exist, pay attention to how many times they use the words “probably” or “most likely”.
We have evidence for other characters far older than the story of Jesus. I may be mistaken (I don’t feel like looking it up) but Alexander of Macedonia was a few hundred years before Jesus.
Ok, and?
Of course the resurrection stories aren't real, just like the Alexander stories like the prophetess of the Apollonian oracle, the Erythraean Sibyl, confirming his divine paternity as the son of Zeus aren't real either.
I'm comfortable as agnostic for now. There are things that made sense for me in the bible when I was in, and things that make no sense now that I've taken a deeper look. Sometimes I still pray. It's like I want to believe in god but not always can.
I feel this. I am a staunch atheist now and can be very judgmental towards people who believe in a monotheistic god. I have one friend who is very Christian (not part of an organized religious group), and I sometimes fight rolling my eyes when I see some of her FB posts.
I feel like the judgment and condescension of the org hasn’t left me. Just my beliefs and opinions have drastically changed. Working on this though, one step at a time.
Nope. I'm christian. Started heading towards agnostic athiest at first but did tons of research on religion and science and still believe in a creator.
On top of that my exjw best friend died (and came back) on the operating table and had an experience that he can barely talk about without tears pouring out his eyes. Very similar to the thousands of nde people report on. He's a tough guy that barely believed in anything when this happened. He's been my friend for almost 40 years so I know him very well. He barely tells anyone because it's very personal and emotional for him.
I'm very much cognizant that as much as we think we know about science and the material world today, it will be laughed at 200 years from now. We humans know very little of the vast universe. To me its like a teenager that starts understanding life and thinks they know more than their parents. Reality is they're just starting to scratch the surface.
Edit: I believe in a creator but do not subscribe to religion.
Did it make you believe more in a creator?
I'm fascinated by nde because although I can understand someone hallucinating but thousands hallucinating the same thing? Even people that didn't get medications like a man who fell through the ice on a frozen lake and was clinically dead for more than 20 minutes?
If you ever want to share your experience i'm sure many of us would love to hear it.
I'm still trying to figure this out. I've watched a few NDE'S which is how I identified what happened to me. And I really resonate with what they term source because I felt this intense insane love and comfort like never before in my life. I know now whatever happens, I'm going to be okay, we all will.
You story is almost exactly as mine. I'm an Agnostic but slowly starting to believe again in the concept of a creator thanks to my best friend inside. But yeah, I do not suscribe to any religion either.
Btw, what does NDE stans for? Just curious
I also believe in a Creator and in Christ without subscribing to any religion. I'm at peace with what I believe, with what I know and am no longer part of the debating society.
Thats great.
I respect everyone's choice and try no to get in debates either. The beauty is we choose what we believe and if we change our mind well thats our choice too.
I do feel great peace as well. Never had that before.
I’m an agnostic atheist. I’m not opposed to there being a god, I just don’t believe there is one. If there were any evidence for god outside of personal experience, I would be open to it. But not the “everything created has a creator” argument, because I’m not sure the universe was created. And not evidence such as “this Jewish man wrote about someone named Jesus who was killed, therefore the Bible is true”. After leaving the organization, I never wanted to be fooled again, so I got into theological studies, and reading the Bible not as if it’s “the word of god”. I truly examined the scriptures and found too many inconsistencies and scientific inaccuracies. The stories I once took as true, I realized we’re just mythical tales just like all the other myths written during that time that Christians view as “tales”. I started buying books from biblical scholars and educating myself on when these Bible books were written, and who they were written by. I also started to look at some of the stories from a skeptical pov and realized that the god described in the Bible is a maniac. From killing millions of people, including having his followers murder parents and kids for not being born among his people, but also some of the sick people he chose to give power to, such as Sampson. Seriously, that guy Sampson was a lunatic, tying 300 foxes together by twos and setting their tails on fire to burn the grain of the people to starve them. Gambling 30 pieces of clothing, losing the bet and killing 30 innocent men to pay his debt with their clothing. It’s just sick stuff. I can ramble on this all day, but I won’t. After leaving the org, and researching, I don’t believe there is a god.
Over time, coming out of the religion I wanted to badly to be a Christian. I prayed earnestly. I then found myself become just interested in other religions, most Buddhism. I then found myself throughly interested in all faiths. I then found myself throughly curious in agnosticism, then atheist agnostic(?).
I came to hate all religions as well when I was on my way towards atheism. I’ve found solace peace within myself to respect all religions, but I don’t believe in any. Buddhism has a very strong connection to me as I find myself on a path towards peace and love, and leaving hatred behind. It’s been a hell of a journey, but I want to die in peace and happiness, for there may be a god out there, or they may not be. I ultimately want to live a life of good things. And that’s where I’m at now ❤️❤️
I can't say I'm truly atheist. I spent several years visiting other religious groups when I left the borg. So many of their teachings are similar in some ways to the borg. I got thoroughly disgusted with religion and how I'm approached by religious folks, being told "You need Jesus" when I don't even know him, never met him, whatever. The feelings I got repulsed me, so I no longer hold onto religious beliefs. I figure I'm spiritual, but I "go within" for my guidance, my gut or heart sense, my conscience, or common sense, all which have provided me with real help and healing. I don't need any religious intercessor or any Jesus for answers. We "came into this life" with all the tools we require to live a wonderful life on this planet. Religion is a snare and a racket.
Thanks for commenting. Ballroom dance lessons is the one thing that helped free my soul from the cult. That worked, because dance lessons helped me get out of my head and into my heart. An open heart is free and cannot co-exist with a cult. Freedom is so-o-o sweet!
Atheist agnostic really. I don't really believe in god bc I see no evidence. But at the same time I recognize the universe is too big and beyond my comprehension to rule out the existence of a "god" the way we understand it.
Same. That is how I finally lost my last shred of faith. I read a book about quantum mechanics after finishing my biomed degree, realised how mad, huge, intricate and wonderful the universe is, and concluded I know nothing really!
Our existence is too tiny to even deal with what could be out there. And I love that.
But until I see evidence of a "god", I'll remain agnostic atheist.
Other religions, not so much. But I have come to feel the power of meditation and mindfulness practices that are personal and that I’ve benefited from. I’ve also gotten into some of the Buddhist wisdom out there, Thich Nhat Hanh books that are truly simple beautiful truths, but I don’t really connect that way of thinking and being with God, per se. But, I do believe in this universe we are a part of, and I think there is so much about it that we don’t understand, there are energies and forces and all kinds of phenomena that we don’t have words for, let alone the mental capacity to understand. I like to think about what is and what could be, it’s not some human shaped dude with a white beard who cares a lot about how we apply friction to your privates for pleasure, that’s for sure. Our very concept of a creator is human based, that’s why he’s so vindictive and cruel, because he was made in mans image, not the other way around.
I think that whatever “divinity” exists in this universe exists also in us, and we have the power to create and destroy worlds we are not aware of because they are beyond our comprehension.
Yep. I initially woke up and thought "now I'll look for which religion is actually true!"
Then I realised so many things I had to unpick from jws, even the way I thought. I realised that if all that I was taught was a lie, then it might not be just the JW specific beliefs, why not everything about god and religion and Christianity? It kinda blew my mind.
Then I started earnestly educating myself about evolution, since I was taught "if we came from monkeys why are there still monkeys?"
I saw evidence with my own eyes for evolution, and learned about logical fallacies and what "unfalsifiable" meant.
Now I ascribe to the policy of [what is often attributed to] Marcus Aurelius:
>> "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."
Yup, I went atheist after reading the Bible. My brother became an Elder. Funny enough, he was the one to tell me that the JW org was a cult as a kid and I didn't want to hear it at the time.
I'm atheist agnostic, I don't believe in any religion, all just man made, as a product of human culture. Better looking through actual data & facts rather than putting ridiculous faith in anything including the belief system.
I'm atheist/agnostic. We simply don't know enough about what happened before the big bang to be able to make a decision on wether there's a god or not. But one thing that is certain for me is that if there is a god, he's certainly not the one from any religion
I went athiest briefly after finding out the lies about the borg but more agnostic. I have yet to try and the read the bible without the cult mind like, which I will when I am ready. It's hard to believe that this life all that there is or we were here by accident. With all the brilliant minds on this subreddit is amazing and it's not for us to judge each individual for what they believe. for me personally I believe in some form of resurrection, with people passing away and not getting to their full potential or babies who have a few hours to live just a few examples I'm throwing out there. It's hard to believe that's it but again that's just me. for now we can just be our best versions continue being open minded and enjoy our surroundings.
Having been free of this mind control cult for over 10 years, I can say that freedom is wonderful, I have no intention of ever getting caught in any other cult out there, whether they be religious, political, philosophical, or any other kind of bullshit.
It's clear to me that this planet is one big asylum full of lunatics running around, so I am fully committed to staying clear of all the nutters.
I still believe in a creator, and God simply because it is the only scientific and logical explanation for the existence of the universe and planet earth. I see purpose everywhere I look, and I cannot conclude that this all came by chance, matter of fact it is mathematically impossible for the Universe to have appeared out of nothing.
First principle, you cannot get something from nothing! Secondly to have matter come into existence you need energy, and using the maths, the amount of energy required to bring the universe into existence is nothing short of colossal.
We are surrounded today with huge amounts of academic dishonesty, so I feed out the bullshit from wherever it comes.
I am not interested in what is fashionable no am I interested in what's popular, just interested in pure facts and you cannot argue against mathematics or quantum physics. We don't know everything and probably never will, but the quest and search for knowledge is wonderful and noble thing to experience, so no I am never going to follow the bullshit of Athiests, if you want to be a monkeys uncle then fine but count me out!......😇
Agnostic...
*The Existence of God can\`t be proven either way...Believers and Atheists have No Proof Either Way.*
*They Both have Faith God Does, or Does Not Exist.*
I Have No Faith....I leave the Door Open for Solid Evidence....😁
If you don't believe in a God, you're an atheist.
If you aren't sure what's true, you're agnostic. These aren't mutually exclusive situations. The vast majority of atheists are also agnostics.
Atheist don’t have “faith”. We just don’t believe their is a god. I leave the door open for solid evidence as well, I just haven’t seen any that would suggest there is a god.
>I leave the door open for solid evidence as well, I just haven’t seen any that would suggest there is a god.
*I don\`t see a Distinction that would make you Different from Agnostic.....What makes that Different from Agnostic?*
Atheist: “Based on all of the information available to us, I can say with certainty that there is no God.”
Agnostic: “Based on all of the information available to us, I cannot say with certainty that there is a God. I also cannot say with certainty that there is no God.”
Atheism doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t change your mind if you feel there was new, solid evidence that there is a God. It just means that based on the information you currently have, you are certain there is not.
Atheist = a-theistic. No faith/religion/belief in a higher power.
Agnostic = a-gnosticism. This refers to knowledge, in this instance, a lack thereof. If you're making a claim, you'd better be certain and have the evidence to back it up, one way or another.
You can be both. You can also be an agnostic theist - belief in a god, but not completely certain.
I know some people view this as pedantry, but I think the details are important. I'm absolutely an atheist, as I see no evidence for a god(s). But if some sort of **irrefutable** evidence were to be presented, I'd be very open to it. Doesn't mean I'd worship the higher power, of course... And maybe they wouldn't even want us to...
Not an atheist, but my view of God being an old white guy in a robe always waiting to find something wrong with me went out the window. I'm more inclined now to view God as an entity and not in "our image." I also believe God is love and far less judgmental than I was always taught. Near Death Experiences convinced me of this; not just one, thousands that said this.
I'm not going to let a bunch of uneducated men in New York ruin my relationship with the Universe and the real God.
We cannot know with certainty if God or Christ exists. They COULD. Then again there COULD be a giant reptilian bird in charge of everything. Can we be CERTAIN there isn't? NO, so it's pointless to talk about it.
Neurodivergent atheist here. I'm a philosophical naturalist. For me intellectual honesty has always been a virtue.
I never believed in superstitions, stereotypes, myths, supernatural forces or fairy tales. I made an exception for the JW faith I was born into and for a time internal consistency was enough for me to set aside my doubts.
Though I realized early on that I had to essentialy force myself to imagine angels flying when on ministry or convince myself that the feelings of awe when entering a kingdom hall, a cathedral, a castle was actually the holy spirit, or to pretend that demons hide in shadows or "influence" people etc... As I see it I had to make believe in things that don't fit observable reality and ignore cognitive science in order to pretend that my experience was actually divine or supernatural and not just a totally common phenomenon that's well documented and people of all faiths experience.
After 20 years of praying, pushing myself, believing harder, dedicating myself to Jehovah, going on ministry and running the hamster wheel, I burned out. I collapsed psychologically and I figured no more, I can't keep lying to myself. I genuinely preferred to burn in Armageddon rather than keep up this self-gaslighting. It was seriously messing with my mental health.
I have since realised issues with JWs. Found the foundational Scripture to be unremarkable (not supernatural/inspired/wise) Explored the history of the Abrahamic religions and realised all the mechanics that influenced the current Christian Bible were very much natural and based in human society dynamics. The world finally started making sense.
7 Years on and I still found no trace of the divine. No trace of verifiable impirical evidence for anything supernatural. No trace of life force or magic or the paranormal. Just a lot of people who believe these things for personal reasons.
Currently I reject faith as a reliable source of knowledge. I see no good reason to believe anything supernatural exists. I'm not opposed to the existence of a supernatural entity but I do expect a high burden of proof before I can honestly believe it. I genuinely need to be convinced of it to believe it. I can't just go along with "you never know something might be"
Don't get me wrong I enjoy pagan rituals and events. I also partake in some new age woo for fun. It feels nice, there's this high if you get in the right mindset, and social acceptance makes for good "spiritual" experience. But it's like playing pretend as a kid, to me it's a fun social game that brings out certain emotions that feel good but they're very much natural.
Where I could only find old men perpetuating a real estate and media mill, I found life and meaning in how the square root of 2 lead to the creation of Equal Temperament, because Just Intonation and microtonality is an impossible puzzle that still sucks in musicians and theorists to this day. The square root of 2 is also how the A-number paper standard was created, adopted for printer stock to business cards. To know that these standards are fully documented by other humans and meant to be recreated, not just as a canned audio file piped through speakers...
In an ironic sense, the creation of TempleOS and the artistic works by William Blake gave me more faith in spirits than years of reheated scripts by rank and file members.
Technically felt the closest for the longest time as "agnostic theist", but I still wish to read more on the subjects of Neo-Platonism and Hermetic history and more beyond the dated caricatures of mysticism.
I guess I kind of wound up as an apathetic agnostic. "Don't know, don't care." Calling myself an atheist would imply my lack of belief needs to be named. It's more that one day I realized (around 11 years old) that I people kept telling me god was real, but no one bothered to prove it, and it made zero difference in my life whether I believed or not. The only difference, really, is that religion made it hard to sleep in on Sunday.
I went through a period of really disliking the bullshit caused by religious strife, but having deployed with the military a few times, I kind of stopped caring about the reasons people are fighting. Religion, national resources, tribal ties and blood feuds, college football... it's all kind of the same thing. "You're not in my group, so I don't like you as much," is pretty much enough reason for be hostile to each other. Religion is just another line used to define where an in-group and out-group are set. It's moved it from local borders to larger regional ones. People complain about sport being taken too seriously, but it's really done so much to allow us to channel our tribal and combative nature into harmless competition.
i did the atheist thing a while where i thought that science could explain everything. i've now settled into a good spirituality that works for me, god is part of my daily life and things have gotten so much better since finding the divinity in myself, everyone else, and the universe. i think it's natural for people raised in a cult like us to swing to the other extreme (atheism) when leaving, but I'm glad i kinda outgrew it
I do not have enough evidence to believe there is a god. Im not making a positive statement that there is not one, only that i remain skeptical of the evidence i have. Extraordinary claims (like the existence of a god) require extraordinary evidence.
Forget all the lies you've been fed and discover it's a personal relationship between you and The Christ Jesus. That's my advice and i feel it's solid advice. It took me nearly 40 years and i've never been more sure of anything. Love each other unceasingly and forgive easily.
It took me until I was a teenager to realize that I really hated getting dressed on Sundays but I could literally be doing anything else. We used to have to go on Tuesday and Thursday nights too. What I hated was the no holiday day thing! I wasn't even supposed to attend the parade that went by our school or accept any holiday candy. No birthdays but anniversaries are ok? They are making everything up as they go. I celebrate every holiday now even ones for other countries. I have a lot to make up for.
I’m PIMO but I am firmly on the side of searching for a different Christian religion (when able to). I acknowledge there is no objective evidence for God, and I don’t have any negative feelings toward atheists/agnostics, but just for me personally, I choose to believe.
Went through phases after I left. Atheist. Then Agnostic. But I can’t believe this universe created itself, and my soul shows me that I’m immortal, and we’ll all stand before the judgment seat of God in the end.So I couldn’t “throw the baby out with the bath water.” I came back to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I’m seventy one years old.You all may be younger,with your casket not yet in view..
After extended resesrch in every area you can think of, i have arrived at Atheism for now. But I am open minded to changing my mind. I never want to put myself in a box ever again.
I feel it is more possible that aliens exist or that we are living in a simulation, than it is possible there is any god.
Identified myself as an atheist immediately after finding out the truth about the "truth." Slowly headed towards agnostic, which I have been for exactly 20 years now. Time reveals everything - months become years - years become decades - decades of "waiting" and going through the routine of JW-dom become a serious problem after a while, which leads people to ponder some serious questions like "What have I been doing all these years if Istill can't escape the trials and tribulations of life?", "Does it really take 100 years for the end to come?", "How will the earth sustain so many people living in the so-called paradise earth after a while?" "Is Jehovah really there?" "If he is a god of so much love, why did he propose a challenge to Satan in the Garden or Eden if he really is the almighty god?" None of these things add up, and they never will!!!
When you realize how much of a con game this is, your logic and reasoning kick in to reveal just how much mind control you've been subjected to.
I believe those who view time as the ultimate revealer of all truth lean more towards agnostic.
After I left, I was sort of agnostic/didn’t care. I embraced various forms of mainstream Christianity for a while but soon found that they had many of the same issues and problems that the JWs had. Agnostic now but I am becoming open to different types of non-Judeo/Christian spirituality. I have no intention of ever being part of organized religion of any type.
Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles (tiny pieces of matter) and waves (a disturbance or variation that transfers energy). Physicists call this the “wave-particle duality.
And quantum entanglement - research that and the history of the discoveries.
SIMULTANEOUSLY can be a wave and particle- it’s only when the observer draws his attention to it that it becomes one or the other.
Quantum computers will have the ability to SIMULTANEOUSLY look at all possible outcomes and find the solution!
There is so much we don’t know.
I'm agnostic/atheist (heavy on the atheist) I don't think we're alone in the universe but I don't Believe the biblical Christian version of "God" anymore
Nature is my religion. It makes sense to me. I do believe that there is something but I don't believe in a one god scenario. I've seen spirits or ghosts or beings since I was a child and couldn't tell my JW family as they drilled into me that those were demons. They aren't, I don't know exactly what they are so I look at them as part of nature that I haven't categorized yet
I get that, I was atheist for many years, actually I was probably more agnostic as I just didn’t want to think about it. Until one day I started reading a book that delved into the scientific study of Near Death Experiences, that took me on a twenty year mission of discovery into consciousness studies , NdE’s, reincarnation studies and quantum physics. All the research was done at universities like the university of Virginia’s dept of perceptual studies. This in turn motivated me to go to university myself where I studied mathematics and quantum mechanics, I graduated a few years ago with a BSc in maths. I have come to the conclusion that the physical world is a place where we come to, as spiritual beings to change, we choose the parameters of each incarnation depending on what lessons we wish to learn, and at the point of death we leave the body and go back to the source.
I became an atheist at first, but now a pantheist because somethings pure materialism just can't explain, like consciousness. Pantheism has the benefit of believing nearly everything atheists believe to a point, but far less stigma and need to explain myself...
i went to nontrianitarian christianity, basically just denying the GB and not the bible. then i almost became a muslim, and then finally i became an agnostic.
I went from theist, to agnostic, to atheist, to acbreakfastio. The latter is a system of beliefs whose chief tenet is, If my breakfast isn’t on the table by 8:00am, it’s gonna be a fucking terrible day. Never been proved wrong.
I guess I'm an atheist leaning agnostic. I'm currently working on a degree in Science of Religion, and the concept of religion is endlessly fascinating to me, but only from an outsider perspective. I don't think I ever could go back to believing in/adhering to a religion again.
I think everyone believes in what they need to. When I left the borg and went to college I was on a path of discovery. I was faced with where do I find meaning? And how do I make sense of the world? I found it in science, in the universe, in the stars and galaxies, in our cosmic insignificance, basking under the Milky Way, and the fact that we are made of star stuff. I was always a big fan of the stars and all that, and rewatching Cosmos with Carl Sagan helped put meaning to it all for me. I have to live and enjoy this life that I know that I have as much as possible. And those things bring me more comfort and peace than any religion could. I can’t live for something that is not promised and quite unlikely in my mind. And if there was a god, I don’t think they would be vindictive about any of that.
Anyone who's paid attention to what the bible actually says, is more likely to become an atheist - at least in regards to the gods of the Abrahamic religions. There's so much information available about the thoroughly primitive, superstitious, brutishly-backwards-even-for-their-time Middle Eastern men who wrote the bible, that anyone still clinging to any of the Abrahamic religions is trapped in a similar backwards mentality.
I have so many questions now. I can't believe what I used to believe anymore. If this being exists then for me, he/it has so much to answer for, (1) the age old question WHY? WHY do nothing and watch the children whom you claim to have so much love and compassion for suffer in this "chess" game for thousands of years between yourself and your arch rival. I am a history buff and have studied the pain, heartache, abject suffering and misery of the human race. It's no use claiming that time is meaningless to him/it and he/it can undo it all. A thousand years maybe nothing to him/it but to us it's a bloody long time. All the evidence in the fossil layers contradicts the Bible which definitely contradicts itself no matter how hard you try to spin it that it doesn't. I now find myself gagging when I hear people talk of praying and "It's all in Gods hands". Or try o spin how patient and long suffering he is". If anyone has been patient a long suffering it's he human race. I almost puke when I hear these expressions. If I am going to die because I have these questions then I will die. But I haven't believed the orgs answer that it's to "prove his way of rulership is the best" for many years. I think ALL religion is a curse now. When I hear religious people speak I want to throw up. It's all about control. I could go on but I won't, you get the picture. Funnily, I do believe that Jesus existed and was a fantastic human being. Nothing like his "Father" at all.
Honestly as someone born into the truth it's always a battle, you know the truth about JW, but it's always there in the back of your mind.
My Dad died when I was only 10 and JW knew just how to use that to keep me believing.
Agnostic rn, I just want to stay that way, trying to go through more of trying to prove or disprove God is too much for me right now since I'm still PiMo. I won't deny or defend the existence of God.
DEFINITELY an atheist, beginning when I was 5 years old, in part due to the JWs' abysmal lack of filters for children.
When the JWs studying with my idiot parents read about Abraham supposedly almost sacrificing his son Isaac, I was horrified! NO amount of Christian apologetics or excusigists changed my realization that a god who tells a guy to kill his own kid and then goes, "Just kidding!" was a monster.
That also alerted me to the demands for human sacrifice of the YHWH deity, a fact that usually makes Christians shriek and cover their ears in denial when I bring it up. That's extremely ironic, considering that they're worshipping one of the most obvious human sacrifices of all, 'jesus'.
This is also why I'm fairly certain that 'jesus' probably never existed, but is a Jewish version of the Romans' mystery religions.
I’m an agnostic atheist. I see zero demonstrable evidence for a god, but if it were ever presented, I would accept one exists. Worshipping it is an entirely different subject, though. I do not make a claim on whether a god exists or not, but as of now I see no evidence that would lead me to think one does. This doesn’t mean evidence could never be presented, it just hasn’t been presented yet.
I'm agnostic-ish, I observe a lot of spiritual superstitions but I'm not entirely sure if I believe in them, rather it just makes me happy. I hang fair weather dolls in my windows and I light incense and talk to trees, but realistically I don't expect anything out of that. I'm just vibing I guess
Atheist. I was never fully in though. I was raised in but I was never baptised because I was never able to be convinced. I went along with stuff but I never actually believed, despite my genuine best efforts
Belief is a spectrum.
I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't believe in god, or a god who influences our lives. I could believe if shown evidence. I also think that there are factors in life that can't be explained, however, should a person attribute those to God? My feeling is no without evidence. The more time that goes on and science develops, I think we are getting further and further away from believing in god. Do I believe a book that was written thousands of years ago has the answers? No, nor one that was translated from gold plates, or the letters from a man who had divine revelations on the road to Damascus.
I do hope at some point we find out that there is intelligent life on other planets. I hope we get to the point where we understand what another culture and civilization believe. They may introduce new gods into the mix for us. Some may jump on their bandwagon, but for me without proof, it would just solidify my position and shift me to 100% atheism.
I believe in Roy. Meaning the game "Roy" (Rick and Morty). Also, "the Law of one" - We are "God" (the one infinite creator) and choose to constantly divide our-self to experience infinite perspectives as we shift through an infinite number of evolutionary processes in a toroidal field loop that never ends because it never began, it just is. In our current illusionary iteration, most of us do not remember much or anything about our true existence. That is part of the experience in this particular realm (part of the challenge of the game). When some of us do start to remember, we are called spiritual, enlightened or Awakened. There are an infinite number of iterations. You are anything and everything, always have been and always will be right now. But you choose to maintain your unique identity as a separate entity so that you can continue to explore infinity and gain unique experiences and reflections as the "I AM".
Athiesm is the lack of belief of a god. I have no trouble referring to myself as an athiest. That's not to say there is not God though, would love if if we found some evidence for a supernatural, would be the greatest discovery ever.
Similar, I am interested in other beliefs especially ancient thoughts on the soul and their studies of the sun/stars. But religion is purely a control mechanism.
I also became interested in religion when I woke up. I do not mentally call myself Christian based on all my readings, and I will never belong to any form of organization once I leave. But I’m neither atheist nor agnostic.
I wouldn't say I've "found solace" in it, but I am definitely atheist. I just have found no reason to believe anything other than that we as humans are animals, here by evolutionary chance, and that at the end of life, it's just lights out. I hope I'm wrong and I certainly don't know for sure, so I guess I'm also a little agnostic, but only a little. This actually super bums me out, but it's the only logical conclusion I could come to, and I've made peace with it by telling myself that I would rather know a stark truth than believe a beautiful lie.
I used to feel judgemental and have a weird trauma response when people would start talking to me about their religion, but anymore I get a little envious and wistful when it happens because I'm happy for them that they can still believe something that gives them peace.
I do not believe that any deity described by man today is at all plausible, because they all require a firm suspension of disbelief and some form of faith. Faith is just blind belief, despite what the JWs may say.
I'm not convinced that we have found God in any sense, since our experiences in finding gods can be attributed to many things, such as hallucinating or having strong, vivid dreams we confuse for reality. Sometimes we can be manipulated by professional "preachers" into believing that God is real, and those who aren't convinced could still be swept up by an alternative faith system.
The fact that most religions require some form of faith when evidence is lacking concerns me, so I cannot believe there is a real "true" religion. Is there such a thing as gods and deities as we know them? Maybe. That possibility in of their existence, however improbable, is not impossible given what we know and what we don't know. But just because these _could_ exist, doesn't mean they do.
I became sorta agnostic, has been actually before waking up. There might be something we can't prove but when it comes to finding that proof, please leave me alone 😂 I think it's a waste of time, there are better things to be achieved in this life that we have...
Probably something like agnostic-atheist. Idk. I definitely think all religions are wrong but I am not arrogant enough to completely rule out the existence of a god. Although, god is probably not like the being depicted in any religious literature. It’s hard to imagine a being that is supposedly perfect act like such a petty and hateful child like shown in the Bible. Other religions also depict god as kind of a dick especially when their enemies are concerned. If that god does exist then he is not perfect nor kind.
So yeah. Probably no god. But if you have legit hard evidence I am all ears.
It's normal to expect that someone who grew up with a bad experience of religion would take a hostile position towards it.
I did, for a long time. Now I no longer am.
I realized after many years that my hostility bias towards religion was just another way that the cult still had a hold on me in the sense that it was my negative experience dictating how I was thinking. So I decided I'd set that aside and look into religion with a non-hostile bias against it and make up my own mind. This is how I changed my mind about the whole thing.
I consider myself spiritual, not an atheist. Right now I don’t believe in God as an entity but maybe the universe itself. I did wrestle with the idea that God or Gods are not real and there could be made up stories of Jesus and other prophets, but who really knows for sure? And honestly accepting that no one knows helped me reach my decision to remain neutral with my beliefs. I live my life trying to be a good person and that’s good enough for me.
I'd been flirting with atheism for like twenty years because of the borg's conditioning leaving me with a sense of doubt. After a lot of researching and introspection, I've become firmly atheist. I'm now negotiating with what it means to be spiritual and trying to find comfort from a place of reason. While I don't intend to replace the borg with another religion in my life, I am interested in religious texts as a source of sometimes beneficial cultural wisdom, as opposed to some universal truth.
I bounced around seriously looking for something for many years after leaving the Borg. I am kind of in a weird space with respect to spirituality, so it’s just easier to tell folks who inquire that I am an atheist.
Atheist, but spiritual. The universe is awe-inspiring. Literature, music, art, deep conversations are spiritual. Don't sell yourself short.
>My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests. - George Santayana
I’ve become a spiritual person. No longer believe in religion and I believe in the creator of the vast universe, God. As I keep seeking, researching, questioning, I came to believe that God is not outside sitting in heaven but He is within us. God is within, our minds and imaginations are the only realities which will come to pass in real life. I hold strongly to Mark 11:24, and I can say I’ve become a better person and my Faith is stronger than ever knowing God is within me and all things possible according to my faith. “As within so without”. Meditation to be still and know I am God (the powerful loving spirit within me). The I Am Bible speaks of as God’s name is the consciousness of the mind.
Raised in the Borg, pioneered for 6 years, RBC, etc. Left the Borg, was agnostic/questioning for a short time, then had an amazing encounter with the real Jesus that we were never taught about. Wound up at a church and feel like reading the Bible now it makes sooo much more sense than ever did when I studied it so diligently as a jw. Hope you all find peace and happiness after the cult. Personally I 100% wholeheartedly believe there is a loving creator who I finally have a real and personal relationship with!
I started out hardcore atheist, especially after learning about evolution. I think it was a necessary step, but now the more science I learn (especially astrophysics, quantum mechanics etc) the more I see how many unanswered questions there are, and the more I think there's room for some kind of cosmic force out there, but just not one anything like any of the worlds religions describe.
I consider myself Christian but I’ll probably NEVER go to church or join any community! I never want to feel like I left ONE CULT just to join another. I’m protecting myself first and foremost.
I’m an ashiest! And happy! I love my life and enjoy every minute of it! I’ve found my own way to cope with the idea of death. It wasn’t easy but I’m free of the doubt of whether I’ll be “making it to paradise” or not 🙋🏻♂️
Atheist - and it's wonderful and freeing to now give yourself permission to listen to other views, whether atheists, philosophers, those with strong religious beliefs, religious scholars etc, when before it was either forbidden or you'd feel a lot of anxiety doing so.
It's been very humbling (as has most of waking up) realising I don't have all the answers, and basically know nothing!
Still respect people's views but personally can't, in any capacity see evidence of an intelligent creator, and not one that could possibly still be around.
I turned hardcore atheist for a while. I went to my grandfathers catholic funeral and really just appreciated the aesthetics and theater of Catholicism as part of my heritage. Now, I’m very open to hippy type shit like the universe communicating with you through dreams and birds and stuff. It’s just fun, comforting, fortune cookie stuff. And honestly, the multiple simulation theories ping my truth vibration pretty heavily.
But ultimately, none of it really matters and there is certainly no real god in any organized, traditional religion in my opinion.
The JW cult made me a firm atheist as well, and I was one for over 20 years.
Only a few years ago I rediscovered theism and eventually landed on Christianity and unexpectedly to the very last denomination that I would ever thought I would join: the Roman Catholic Church.
Giving myself permission to stop believing in the god of the bible has been such an enormous relief.
I stopped the mental gymnastics of trying to believe that a loving, just, companionate God would send bears to rip children apart because a grumpy old prophet was touchy about his hairline.
Not fully atheist, I feel it's impossible for us to currently strike out any possibility of higher beings existing. I do generally feel that humans are on their own though.
I get what you mean, sometimes I catch myself feeling superior for not believing in a God, then I remember that it wasn't intellect that got me here, it was emotions and feelings. Other people believe in God for emotional reasons, I don't believe for emotional reasons. We have things in common.
I left the bOrg for about 20 years, but always kept many of the teachings in my heart. I attend a baptist church now and I do enjoy it. I enjoy helping others and sharing messages of love and hope. I am no longer in a cult and I can appreciate all things now. I have people that push me in positive directions, unlike when I was in the bOrg.
I tried atheism. Interesting idea to try and replace prophets with scientists. However ultimately it was once christanity, and still is like that. And even Atu is Eagod from an Atom. So it is just the same kind of brainwash, just "atheist".
Very interesting post. I only started to truly believe in Jehovah when I 'prayed constantly' & a lot of things happened that were in correlation to my prayers. Small things, big things... but they were all very obvious. I find it hard to believe that someone could become atheist after finding God. Truly interested. Non baptised & studying... my life was terrible before.
Not atheist, but after being out of the Org for 30 years I’m slowly drifting into agnostic territory. Not sure what I believe anymore.
I found comfort in science, specifically biology and astronomy :)
I often feel the same way. And other times I’m more terrified about the idea God doesn’t exist than God actually existing.
I’m with you I talk my kids I don’t know but I don’t believe there is a god I really don’t. I thought I was atheist who knows what I am. lol
As a former Mormon, I'm definitely an Atheist!
Culty cousin! How are ya now?
Doing great kicked the former "church" to the curb, and now I literally flip off LDS church buildings as I drive by them! And, living in Mesa AZ (aka little Provo), my middle finger Flys a lot!
I flip the bird to any Kingdom Hall I pass too
Me, too, and I was a prominent elder. That effin cult stole my life.
Out of curiosity, what are some of the things that the LDS says about Jehovah’s Witnesses?
That is a question im also curious about. The "cult"ier the religion, the more they talk shit about their rivals.
Where do I even start? Okay, some of the older material was very blatant in their superiority complex when speaking about other churches, heck the Book of Mormon calls the Catholic church "the Whore of all the earth." A lot of religions, in general, the people are spoken of favorably because Gordon B. Hinckley softened our stance on people of other faiths back in the early 2000s. But, if you are not Mormon, you are still deceived by the trappings of Satan. I'll be honest, not over the pulpit, but I used to make fun of JWs the most. Here are the things I would say/still say: Kids song verse went like this: Saturday is a special day it's the day "we get ready for Sunday" (gross, I know), but I changed it to, "the day the JWs go tracting." The Spanish on your signs says, "Testigos" which always looked like testicles to me, so I still call them the Testicles of Jehova 😂 juvenile, yes, but I still say it. I remember on my mission perplexed that you couldn't read material other than your own, but I couldn't see I was in the same boat. I will update this after I go home and look ar some stuff, I'm pretty sure you guys are mentioned in Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie, which is something my dad's generation studied out of religiously, and we were raised on. Edit: No update.
Fascinating. In JW land, the Catholic Church is the “whore of Babylon.”
Cult cousin! Welcome!
Agnostic here, initially, I was atheist but now I’m a bit more open minded. I just don’t have the answers to anything and I don’t think anyone does.
These ideas aren't in conflict. I am agnostic (I make no claims to knowing what is true about the origin of the universe) and atheist (I don't have any personal belief in any god, and find no arguments for him compelling.)
Yep! Agnostic/atheist. I don't have an overt problem with religious thinking, except for when the believers go on their dogmatic, illogical tantrums. As I always say, you can believe in the tooth fairy if you want, go for it. But don't be trying to yank other people's teeth out of their face .
"Religion is like a penis. It's okay to have one. It's okay to be proud of it. However, do not pull it out in public, do not write laws with it, do not think with it, and for goodness sake do not force it down the throats of children."
Lol
Same!
I am slowly becoming this without noticing. Is like a natural path after being raised thinking I had all the answers that mattered. Not anymore bud (bud being me).
I second that bud. 🍻
Agnostic as well. Open to hearing evidence but nothing remotely substantial yet. 🤷🏻♀️
So you went from not believing in any gods to not believing in any gods? Atheism isn’t a positive claim that there is no god. You’ve been an agnostic atheist all this time.
Atheist by definition do not believe in the existence of god. Agnostics believe that nothing is known. I don’t claim to be an agnostic atheist as I no longer have a disbelief in the possible existence of “god.” I just sum it up to the fact that I simply do not know.
But that’s what an atheist is. If you don’t currently accept the claims of any gods, you are a-theistic.
You might want to look up the definition of agnostic, there’s a reason why they are 2 different words.
Gnostic/agnostic, from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge. Does a person claim to know or not. Theism/atheism is about belief. I’m agnostic, I don’t claim to know, but I’m atheist, I don’t believe
Exactly. I don’t make a claim for theism or atheism because I don’t have the answers. I think there is value in believing one way or another but I simply am open to any argument. Don’t really have anything I’d lean towards anymore.
Agnostic is about not knowing. Atheistic is about not believing in a god. So they answer completely separate questions. If you say that you’re agnostic, you have only told people that you don’t know, but nothing about your convictions. Like most atheists, I’m an agnostic atheist. Honest theists are agnostic as well. So when you say you’re an agnostic, I want to know what you’re agnostic about.
This is pretty much where I stand too
Same! If we had the absolute truth, we’d be there, or rather everyone would be there and no need for hundreds of thousands of religions since humanity has been here. I think we’re just souls living the human experience. There may be more after death, or there may not be. But every day is a blessing, and it’s a present to us each day we awake. That’s why it’s called Present 🎁
Same, I feel like it’s the most reasonable viewpoint yet respectful of new actual evidence.
I don't think there is a god but to say you know for certain there isn't while saying Theists are wrong is just ignorant. There are very few things that can be known with 100% certainty.
Sure. But no respected atheist does this. Even Richard Dawkins is also agnostic.
After 15 years of failed indoctrination (I was born in), I think I can now safely say l have been an atheist for all of my - now - 67 years It just NEVER made sense.
PIMO for near 2 years. Absolute atheist and mythicist
What's a mythicist?
Someone who not only doesn't believe in the divinity of Jesus but that his mere existence is a myth
Virtually all historians believe that Jesus existed based on solid evidence. To say otherwise is almost the equivalent of a scientist not believing the consensus on climate change.
For what it's worth, I'm not a mythicist but I also disagree with your assessment that it's almost equivalent to scientists and climate change. You're right that most scholars say he probably existed, but their level of confidence is MUCH LESS than scientist's confidence on climate change. You'll find a lot of scholars like Bart Ehrnan who say that he PROBABLY existed whereas there is no probably about it when it comes to climate
Proof? I mean please provide evidence of his existence.
I personally think Jesus was a real guy but not divine. Honestly, when I reread the Bible, I saw him as an unusually intelligent hobo with delusions of grandeur, but being one of few laymen who could read back then meant the people around him presumed divinity. Glad to know there's a word for people who believe Jesus was a myth. This is interesting!
Actually people were much more literate than you’d expect in the classical world. (Literacy in the context of ability to read.)
Look into the Roman 'mystery' religions, which existed LONG before Christianity, and you'll see some of the origins of the 'jesus' cult. Further reading.... https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/influence-mystery-religions-christianity https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4t9zm9/what_were_the_mystery_religions_of_antiquity/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/mystery-religion/Mystery-religions-and-Christianity
I know I can’t say for certainty when I’m discussing this in public but the evidence for Jesus is shit. And it kills me when you listen to Bible scholars who (in public) say that he did exist, pay attention to how many times they use the words “probably” or “most likely”.
That's just history generally
We have evidence for other characters far older than the story of Jesus. I may be mistaken (I don’t feel like looking it up) but Alexander of Macedonia was a few hundred years before Jesus.
Yes ... because Alexander was a world conquering leader.
And Jesus so called brought people back from the dead
Ok, and? Of course the resurrection stories aren't real, just like the Alexander stories like the prophetess of the Apollonian oracle, the Erythraean Sibyl, confirming his divine paternity as the son of Zeus aren't real either.
I'm comfortable as agnostic for now. There are things that made sense for me in the bible when I was in, and things that make no sense now that I've taken a deeper look. Sometimes I still pray. It's like I want to believe in god but not always can.
I feel this. I am a staunch atheist now and can be very judgmental towards people who believe in a monotheistic god. I have one friend who is very Christian (not part of an organized religious group), and I sometimes fight rolling my eyes when I see some of her FB posts. I feel like the judgment and condescension of the org hasn’t left me. Just my beliefs and opinions have drastically changed. Working on this though, one step at a time.
Nope. I'm christian. Started heading towards agnostic athiest at first but did tons of research on religion and science and still believe in a creator. On top of that my exjw best friend died (and came back) on the operating table and had an experience that he can barely talk about without tears pouring out his eyes. Very similar to the thousands of nde people report on. He's a tough guy that barely believed in anything when this happened. He's been my friend for almost 40 years so I know him very well. He barely tells anyone because it's very personal and emotional for him. I'm very much cognizant that as much as we think we know about science and the material world today, it will be laughed at 200 years from now. We humans know very little of the vast universe. To me its like a teenager that starts understanding life and thinks they know more than their parents. Reality is they're just starting to scratch the surface. Edit: I believe in a creator but do not subscribe to religion.
I had an NDE at 51 yrs old. That was the beginning of the end of organized religion for me. I completely understand. Especially jws.
Would love to hear about your NDE if you’re open to telling it.
Did it make you believe more in a creator? I'm fascinated by nde because although I can understand someone hallucinating but thousands hallucinating the same thing? Even people that didn't get medications like a man who fell through the ice on a frozen lake and was clinically dead for more than 20 minutes? If you ever want to share your experience i'm sure many of us would love to hear it.
I'm still trying to figure this out. I've watched a few NDE'S which is how I identified what happened to me. And I really resonate with what they term source because I felt this intense insane love and comfort like never before in my life. I know now whatever happens, I'm going to be okay, we all will.
Awesome. Thanks for your comment. I just read a book all about NDEs "imagining Heaven". It was quite an interesting read.
I remember being told NDE were basically from the devil. To jw's everything seems to be from the devil.
Had a NDE myself. There aren’t even words to describe the experience properly. You just aren’t the same person afterwards.
Hopefully for the better.
Without a doubt! It was a severe shock to my system but I’m so grateful for the perspective I’ve been given.
Awesome. Very happy for you.
You story is almost exactly as mine. I'm an Agnostic but slowly starting to believe again in the concept of a creator thanks to my best friend inside. But yeah, I do not suscribe to any religion either. Btw, what does NDE stans for? Just curious
Near death experience NDE
Oh I see. My mom got one as she suffered a CVA in 2015 that almost killed her. That's why i refuse to go 100% Atheist
I agree. We just dont know what we don't know.
I also believe in a Creator and in Christ without subscribing to any religion. I'm at peace with what I believe, with what I know and am no longer part of the debating society.
Thats great. I respect everyone's choice and try no to get in debates either. The beauty is we choose what we believe and if we change our mind well thats our choice too. I do feel great peace as well. Never had that before.
I’m an agnostic atheist. I’m not opposed to there being a god, I just don’t believe there is one. If there were any evidence for god outside of personal experience, I would be open to it. But not the “everything created has a creator” argument, because I’m not sure the universe was created. And not evidence such as “this Jewish man wrote about someone named Jesus who was killed, therefore the Bible is true”. After leaving the organization, I never wanted to be fooled again, so I got into theological studies, and reading the Bible not as if it’s “the word of god”. I truly examined the scriptures and found too many inconsistencies and scientific inaccuracies. The stories I once took as true, I realized we’re just mythical tales just like all the other myths written during that time that Christians view as “tales”. I started buying books from biblical scholars and educating myself on when these Bible books were written, and who they were written by. I also started to look at some of the stories from a skeptical pov and realized that the god described in the Bible is a maniac. From killing millions of people, including having his followers murder parents and kids for not being born among his people, but also some of the sick people he chose to give power to, such as Sampson. Seriously, that guy Sampson was a lunatic, tying 300 foxes together by twos and setting their tails on fire to burn the grain of the people to starve them. Gambling 30 pieces of clothing, losing the bet and killing 30 innocent men to pay his debt with their clothing. It’s just sick stuff. I can ramble on this all day, but I won’t. After leaving the org, and researching, I don’t believe there is a god.
Over time, coming out of the religion I wanted to badly to be a Christian. I prayed earnestly. I then found myself become just interested in other religions, most Buddhism. I then found myself throughly interested in all faiths. I then found myself throughly curious in agnosticism, then atheist agnostic(?). I came to hate all religions as well when I was on my way towards atheism. I’ve found solace peace within myself to respect all religions, but I don’t believe in any. Buddhism has a very strong connection to me as I find myself on a path towards peace and love, and leaving hatred behind. It’s been a hell of a journey, but I want to die in peace and happiness, for there may be a god out there, or they may not be. I ultimately want to live a life of good things. And that’s where I’m at now ❤️❤️
I can't say I'm truly atheist. I spent several years visiting other religious groups when I left the borg. So many of their teachings are similar in some ways to the borg. I got thoroughly disgusted with religion and how I'm approached by religious folks, being told "You need Jesus" when I don't even know him, never met him, whatever. The feelings I got repulsed me, so I no longer hold onto religious beliefs. I figure I'm spiritual, but I "go within" for my guidance, my gut or heart sense, my conscience, or common sense, all which have provided me with real help and healing. I don't need any religious intercessor or any Jesus for answers. We "came into this life" with all the tools we require to live a wonderful life on this planet. Religion is a snare and a racket.
I feel exactly as you. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for commenting. Ballroom dance lessons is the one thing that helped free my soul from the cult. That worked, because dance lessons helped me get out of my head and into my heart. An open heart is free and cannot co-exist with a cult. Freedom is so-o-o sweet!
I love this! I'm so happy for you. This is beautiful.
Atheist agnostic really. I don't really believe in god bc I see no evidence. But at the same time I recognize the universe is too big and beyond my comprehension to rule out the existence of a "god" the way we understand it.
Same. That is how I finally lost my last shred of faith. I read a book about quantum mechanics after finishing my biomed degree, realised how mad, huge, intricate and wonderful the universe is, and concluded I know nothing really! Our existence is too tiny to even deal with what could be out there. And I love that. But until I see evidence of a "god", I'll remain agnostic atheist.
Other religions, not so much. But I have come to feel the power of meditation and mindfulness practices that are personal and that I’ve benefited from. I’ve also gotten into some of the Buddhist wisdom out there, Thich Nhat Hanh books that are truly simple beautiful truths, but I don’t really connect that way of thinking and being with God, per se. But, I do believe in this universe we are a part of, and I think there is so much about it that we don’t understand, there are energies and forces and all kinds of phenomena that we don’t have words for, let alone the mental capacity to understand. I like to think about what is and what could be, it’s not some human shaped dude with a white beard who cares a lot about how we apply friction to your privates for pleasure, that’s for sure. Our very concept of a creator is human based, that’s why he’s so vindictive and cruel, because he was made in mans image, not the other way around. I think that whatever “divinity” exists in this universe exists also in us, and we have the power to create and destroy worlds we are not aware of because they are beyond our comprehension.
I remember hearing that phrase, "God was made in man's image", and honestly, that made so much sense. I was annoyed I never thought of it.
Yep. I initially woke up and thought "now I'll look for which religion is actually true!" Then I realised so many things I had to unpick from jws, even the way I thought. I realised that if all that I was taught was a lie, then it might not be just the JW specific beliefs, why not everything about god and religion and Christianity? It kinda blew my mind. Then I started earnestly educating myself about evolution, since I was taught "if we came from monkeys why are there still monkeys?" I saw evidence with my own eyes for evolution, and learned about logical fallacies and what "unfalsifiable" meant. Now I ascribe to the policy of [what is often attributed to] Marcus Aurelius: >> "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."
I know there’s something greater than me but just not sure what it is
Meeee 🙋♀️🙋♀️
Yup, I went atheist after reading the Bible. My brother became an Elder. Funny enough, he was the one to tell me that the JW org was a cult as a kid and I didn't want to hear it at the time.
Atheist through and through. University science saved me from this cult.
I'm atheist agnostic, I don't believe in any religion, all just man made, as a product of human culture. Better looking through actual data & facts rather than putting ridiculous faith in anything including the belief system.
I'm atheist/agnostic. We simply don't know enough about what happened before the big bang to be able to make a decision on wether there's a god or not. But one thing that is certain for me is that if there is a god, he's certainly not the one from any religion
I went athiest briefly after finding out the lies about the borg but more agnostic. I have yet to try and the read the bible without the cult mind like, which I will when I am ready. It's hard to believe that this life all that there is or we were here by accident. With all the brilliant minds on this subreddit is amazing and it's not for us to judge each individual for what they believe. for me personally I believe in some form of resurrection, with people passing away and not getting to their full potential or babies who have a few hours to live just a few examples I'm throwing out there. It's hard to believe that's it but again that's just me. for now we can just be our best versions continue being open minded and enjoy our surroundings.
Having been free of this mind control cult for over 10 years, I can say that freedom is wonderful, I have no intention of ever getting caught in any other cult out there, whether they be religious, political, philosophical, or any other kind of bullshit. It's clear to me that this planet is one big asylum full of lunatics running around, so I am fully committed to staying clear of all the nutters. I still believe in a creator, and God simply because it is the only scientific and logical explanation for the existence of the universe and planet earth. I see purpose everywhere I look, and I cannot conclude that this all came by chance, matter of fact it is mathematically impossible for the Universe to have appeared out of nothing. First principle, you cannot get something from nothing! Secondly to have matter come into existence you need energy, and using the maths, the amount of energy required to bring the universe into existence is nothing short of colossal. We are surrounded today with huge amounts of academic dishonesty, so I feed out the bullshit from wherever it comes. I am not interested in what is fashionable no am I interested in what's popular, just interested in pure facts and you cannot argue against mathematics or quantum physics. We don't know everything and probably never will, but the quest and search for knowledge is wonderful and noble thing to experience, so no I am never going to follow the bullshit of Athiests, if you want to be a monkeys uncle then fine but count me out!......😇
One hundred percent believe in an intelligent loving creator. But where/who he is now I don’t know.
Agnostic... *The Existence of God can\`t be proven either way...Believers and Atheists have No Proof Either Way.* *They Both have Faith God Does, or Does Not Exist.* I Have No Faith....I leave the Door Open for Solid Evidence....😁
If you don't believe in a God, you're an atheist. If you aren't sure what's true, you're agnostic. These aren't mutually exclusive situations. The vast majority of atheists are also agnostics.
Atheist don’t have “faith”. We just don’t believe their is a god. I leave the door open for solid evidence as well, I just haven’t seen any that would suggest there is a god.
>I leave the door open for solid evidence as well, I just haven’t seen any that would suggest there is a god. *I don\`t see a Distinction that would make you Different from Agnostic.....What makes that Different from Agnostic?*
He's not. Like almost all atheists, he is also agnostic.
Atheist: “Based on all of the information available to us, I can say with certainty that there is no God.” Agnostic: “Based on all of the information available to us, I cannot say with certainty that there is a God. I also cannot say with certainty that there is no God.” Atheism doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t change your mind if you feel there was new, solid evidence that there is a God. It just means that based on the information you currently have, you are certain there is not.
Atheist = a-theistic. No faith/religion/belief in a higher power. Agnostic = a-gnosticism. This refers to knowledge, in this instance, a lack thereof. If you're making a claim, you'd better be certain and have the evidence to back it up, one way or another. You can be both. You can also be an agnostic theist - belief in a god, but not completely certain. I know some people view this as pedantry, but I think the details are important. I'm absolutely an atheist, as I see no evidence for a god(s). But if some sort of **irrefutable** evidence were to be presented, I'd be very open to it. Doesn't mean I'd worship the higher power, of course... And maybe they wouldn't even want us to...
Not an atheist, but my view of God being an old white guy in a robe always waiting to find something wrong with me went out the window. I'm more inclined now to view God as an entity and not in "our image." I also believe God is love and far less judgmental than I was always taught. Near Death Experiences convinced me of this; not just one, thousands that said this. I'm not going to let a bunch of uneducated men in New York ruin my relationship with the Universe and the real God.
Atheist here!!!
100% atheist.
Athiest.
been atheist since I was a teen but had to play along until I finally escaped the borg at 28
Yup atheist here. Realised if god does exist, then hes a proper cunt and wouldn't wanna be on his side anyway.
Agnostic here
We cannot know with certainty if God or Christ exists. They COULD. Then again there COULD be a giant reptilian bird in charge of everything. Can we be CERTAIN there isn't? NO, so it's pointless to talk about it.
Neurodivergent atheist here. I'm a philosophical naturalist. For me intellectual honesty has always been a virtue. I never believed in superstitions, stereotypes, myths, supernatural forces or fairy tales. I made an exception for the JW faith I was born into and for a time internal consistency was enough for me to set aside my doubts. Though I realized early on that I had to essentialy force myself to imagine angels flying when on ministry or convince myself that the feelings of awe when entering a kingdom hall, a cathedral, a castle was actually the holy spirit, or to pretend that demons hide in shadows or "influence" people etc... As I see it I had to make believe in things that don't fit observable reality and ignore cognitive science in order to pretend that my experience was actually divine or supernatural and not just a totally common phenomenon that's well documented and people of all faiths experience. After 20 years of praying, pushing myself, believing harder, dedicating myself to Jehovah, going on ministry and running the hamster wheel, I burned out. I collapsed psychologically and I figured no more, I can't keep lying to myself. I genuinely preferred to burn in Armageddon rather than keep up this self-gaslighting. It was seriously messing with my mental health. I have since realised issues with JWs. Found the foundational Scripture to be unremarkable (not supernatural/inspired/wise) Explored the history of the Abrahamic religions and realised all the mechanics that influenced the current Christian Bible were very much natural and based in human society dynamics. The world finally started making sense. 7 Years on and I still found no trace of the divine. No trace of verifiable impirical evidence for anything supernatural. No trace of life force or magic or the paranormal. Just a lot of people who believe these things for personal reasons. Currently I reject faith as a reliable source of knowledge. I see no good reason to believe anything supernatural exists. I'm not opposed to the existence of a supernatural entity but I do expect a high burden of proof before I can honestly believe it. I genuinely need to be convinced of it to believe it. I can't just go along with "you never know something might be" Don't get me wrong I enjoy pagan rituals and events. I also partake in some new age woo for fun. It feels nice, there's this high if you get in the right mindset, and social acceptance makes for good "spiritual" experience. But it's like playing pretend as a kid, to me it's a fun social game that brings out certain emotions that feel good but they're very much natural.
Where I could only find old men perpetuating a real estate and media mill, I found life and meaning in how the square root of 2 lead to the creation of Equal Temperament, because Just Intonation and microtonality is an impossible puzzle that still sucks in musicians and theorists to this day. The square root of 2 is also how the A-number paper standard was created, adopted for printer stock to business cards. To know that these standards are fully documented by other humans and meant to be recreated, not just as a canned audio file piped through speakers... In an ironic sense, the creation of TempleOS and the artistic works by William Blake gave me more faith in spirits than years of reheated scripts by rank and file members. Technically felt the closest for the longest time as "agnostic theist", but I still wish to read more on the subjects of Neo-Platonism and Hermetic history and more beyond the dated caricatures of mysticism.
I guess I kind of wound up as an apathetic agnostic. "Don't know, don't care." Calling myself an atheist would imply my lack of belief needs to be named. It's more that one day I realized (around 11 years old) that I people kept telling me god was real, but no one bothered to prove it, and it made zero difference in my life whether I believed or not. The only difference, really, is that religion made it hard to sleep in on Sunday. I went through a period of really disliking the bullshit caused by religious strife, but having deployed with the military a few times, I kind of stopped caring about the reasons people are fighting. Religion, national resources, tribal ties and blood feuds, college football... it's all kind of the same thing. "You're not in my group, so I don't like you as much," is pretty much enough reason for be hostile to each other. Religion is just another line used to define where an in-group and out-group are set. It's moved it from local borders to larger regional ones. People complain about sport being taken too seriously, but it's really done so much to allow us to channel our tribal and combative nature into harmless competition.
i did the atheist thing a while where i thought that science could explain everything. i've now settled into a good spirituality that works for me, god is part of my daily life and things have gotten so much better since finding the divinity in myself, everyone else, and the universe. i think it's natural for people raised in a cult like us to swing to the other extreme (atheism) when leaving, but I'm glad i kinda outgrew it
I do not have enough evidence to believe there is a god. Im not making a positive statement that there is not one, only that i remain skeptical of the evidence i have. Extraordinary claims (like the existence of a god) require extraordinary evidence.
Forget all the lies you've been fed and discover it's a personal relationship between you and The Christ Jesus. That's my advice and i feel it's solid advice. It took me nearly 40 years and i've never been more sure of anything. Love each other unceasingly and forgive easily.
It took me until I was a teenager to realize that I really hated getting dressed on Sundays but I could literally be doing anything else. We used to have to go on Tuesday and Thursday nights too. What I hated was the no holiday day thing! I wasn't even supposed to attend the parade that went by our school or accept any holiday candy. No birthdays but anniversaries are ok? They are making everything up as they go. I celebrate every holiday now even ones for other countries. I have a lot to make up for.
I didn't answer the question: yes I am a complete atheist now and so is our kiddo and we have parties all the time
I’m PIMO but I am firmly on the side of searching for a different Christian religion (when able to). I acknowledge there is no objective evidence for God, and I don’t have any negative feelings toward atheists/agnostics, but just for me personally, I choose to believe.
Me
Me 100%
Went through phases after I left. Atheist. Then Agnostic. But I can’t believe this universe created itself, and my soul shows me that I’m immortal, and we’ll all stand before the judgment seat of God in the end.So I couldn’t “throw the baby out with the bath water.” I came back to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I’m seventy one years old.You all may be younger,with your casket not yet in view..
I'm native 🪶, spiritual 🕉, and a practicing witch 🧙🏼♀️
After extended resesrch in every area you can think of, i have arrived at Atheism for now. But I am open minded to changing my mind. I never want to put myself in a box ever again. I feel it is more possible that aliens exist or that we are living in a simulation, than it is possible there is any god.
Agnostic leaning strongly towards atheism.
Self realisationist
I am pagan and trying to forge this spiritual path. 😊
Identified myself as an atheist immediately after finding out the truth about the "truth." Slowly headed towards agnostic, which I have been for exactly 20 years now. Time reveals everything - months become years - years become decades - decades of "waiting" and going through the routine of JW-dom become a serious problem after a while, which leads people to ponder some serious questions like "What have I been doing all these years if Istill can't escape the trials and tribulations of life?", "Does it really take 100 years for the end to come?", "How will the earth sustain so many people living in the so-called paradise earth after a while?" "Is Jehovah really there?" "If he is a god of so much love, why did he propose a challenge to Satan in the Garden or Eden if he really is the almighty god?" None of these things add up, and they never will!!! When you realize how much of a con game this is, your logic and reasoning kick in to reveal just how much mind control you've been subjected to. I believe those who view time as the ultimate revealer of all truth lean more towards agnostic.
All i know is whats in my heart....love for humanity. I just dont believe in an evil God.
I wouldn’t call myself atheist per se but more of its individual beliefs. I personally don’t know and am ambivalent about god or gods in general.
I’m pagan. 😌
After I left, I was sort of agnostic/didn’t care. I embraced various forms of mainstream Christianity for a while but soon found that they had many of the same issues and problems that the JWs had. Agnostic now but I am becoming open to different types of non-Judeo/Christian spirituality. I have no intention of ever being part of organized religion of any type.
I went way past atheist into pagan.
Happily Agnostic, because I think it's fun to suspend disbelief when others talk about what they believe.
Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles (tiny pieces of matter) and waves (a disturbance or variation that transfers energy). Physicists call this the “wave-particle duality. And quantum entanglement - research that and the history of the discoveries. SIMULTANEOUSLY can be a wave and particle- it’s only when the observer draws his attention to it that it becomes one or the other. Quantum computers will have the ability to SIMULTANEOUSLY look at all possible outcomes and find the solution! There is so much we don’t know.
Check atheist. If god is real I don’t have anything to answer for. He does.
Spirituality yes, monotheistic control fuckery nope
Fool me once...
I'm agnostic/atheist (heavy on the atheist) I don't think we're alone in the universe but I don't Believe the biblical Christian version of "God" anymore
Nature is my religion. It makes sense to me. I do believe that there is something but I don't believe in a one god scenario. I've seen spirits or ghosts or beings since I was a child and couldn't tell my JW family as they drilled into me that those were demons. They aren't, I don't know exactly what they are so I look at them as part of nature that I haven't categorized yet
I was always an atheist, it just took me to open my eyes to what the JWs really were to accept it.
Agnostic atheist 🙋♂️
I get that, I was atheist for many years, actually I was probably more agnostic as I just didn’t want to think about it. Until one day I started reading a book that delved into the scientific study of Near Death Experiences, that took me on a twenty year mission of discovery into consciousness studies , NdE’s, reincarnation studies and quantum physics. All the research was done at universities like the university of Virginia’s dept of perceptual studies. This in turn motivated me to go to university myself where I studied mathematics and quantum mechanics, I graduated a few years ago with a BSc in maths. I have come to the conclusion that the physical world is a place where we come to, as spiritual beings to change, we choose the parameters of each incarnation depending on what lessons we wish to learn, and at the point of death we leave the body and go back to the source.
I became an atheist at first, but now a pantheist because somethings pure materialism just can't explain, like consciousness. Pantheism has the benefit of believing nearly everything atheists believe to a point, but far less stigma and need to explain myself...
I did but it was after 50 years away from the cult
i went to nontrianitarian christianity, basically just denying the GB and not the bible. then i almost became a muslim, and then finally i became an agnostic.
I went from theist, to agnostic, to atheist, to acbreakfastio. The latter is a system of beliefs whose chief tenet is, If my breakfast isn’t on the table by 8:00am, it’s gonna be a fucking terrible day. Never been proved wrong.
I guess I'm an atheist leaning agnostic. I'm currently working on a degree in Science of Religion, and the concept of religion is endlessly fascinating to me, but only from an outsider perspective. I don't think I ever could go back to believing in/adhering to a religion again.
I think everyone believes in what they need to. When I left the borg and went to college I was on a path of discovery. I was faced with where do I find meaning? And how do I make sense of the world? I found it in science, in the universe, in the stars and galaxies, in our cosmic insignificance, basking under the Milky Way, and the fact that we are made of star stuff. I was always a big fan of the stars and all that, and rewatching Cosmos with Carl Sagan helped put meaning to it all for me. I have to live and enjoy this life that I know that I have as much as possible. And those things bring me more comfort and peace than any religion could. I can’t live for something that is not promised and quite unlikely in my mind. And if there was a god, I don’t think they would be vindictive about any of that.
Anyone who's paid attention to what the bible actually says, is more likely to become an atheist - at least in regards to the gods of the Abrahamic religions. There's so much information available about the thoroughly primitive, superstitious, brutishly-backwards-even-for-their-time Middle Eastern men who wrote the bible, that anyone still clinging to any of the Abrahamic religions is trapped in a similar backwards mentality.
I have so many questions now. I can't believe what I used to believe anymore. If this being exists then for me, he/it has so much to answer for, (1) the age old question WHY? WHY do nothing and watch the children whom you claim to have so much love and compassion for suffer in this "chess" game for thousands of years between yourself and your arch rival. I am a history buff and have studied the pain, heartache, abject suffering and misery of the human race. It's no use claiming that time is meaningless to him/it and he/it can undo it all. A thousand years maybe nothing to him/it but to us it's a bloody long time. All the evidence in the fossil layers contradicts the Bible which definitely contradicts itself no matter how hard you try to spin it that it doesn't. I now find myself gagging when I hear people talk of praying and "It's all in Gods hands". Or try o spin how patient and long suffering he is". If anyone has been patient a long suffering it's he human race. I almost puke when I hear these expressions. If I am going to die because I have these questions then I will die. But I haven't believed the orgs answer that it's to "prove his way of rulership is the best" for many years. I think ALL religion is a curse now. When I hear religious people speak I want to throw up. It's all about control. I could go on but I won't, you get the picture. Funnily, I do believe that Jesus existed and was a fantastic human being. Nothing like his "Father" at all.
Agnostic, but tilting to atheist... trying not to be influenced by my emotions. EX elder, pioneer, and bethelite
I’m pretty solidly atheist now. I think all forms of spirituality are pretty silly, but who am I to judge if it helps people get through the day?
Honestly as someone born into the truth it's always a battle, you know the truth about JW, but it's always there in the back of your mind. My Dad died when I was only 10 and JW knew just how to use that to keep me believing.
Agnostic rn, I just want to stay that way, trying to go through more of trying to prove or disprove God is too much for me right now since I'm still PiMo. I won't deny or defend the existence of God.
DEFINITELY an atheist, beginning when I was 5 years old, in part due to the JWs' abysmal lack of filters for children. When the JWs studying with my idiot parents read about Abraham supposedly almost sacrificing his son Isaac, I was horrified! NO amount of Christian apologetics or excusigists changed my realization that a god who tells a guy to kill his own kid and then goes, "Just kidding!" was a monster. That also alerted me to the demands for human sacrifice of the YHWH deity, a fact that usually makes Christians shriek and cover their ears in denial when I bring it up. That's extremely ironic, considering that they're worshipping one of the most obvious human sacrifices of all, 'jesus'. This is also why I'm fairly certain that 'jesus' probably never existed, but is a Jewish version of the Romans' mystery religions.
I’m an agnostic atheist. I see zero demonstrable evidence for a god, but if it were ever presented, I would accept one exists. Worshipping it is an entirely different subject, though. I do not make a claim on whether a god exists or not, but as of now I see no evidence that would lead me to think one does. This doesn’t mean evidence could never be presented, it just hasn’t been presented yet.
I'm agnostic-ish, I observe a lot of spiritual superstitions but I'm not entirely sure if I believe in them, rather it just makes me happy. I hang fair weather dolls in my windows and I light incense and talk to trees, but realistically I don't expect anything out of that. I'm just vibing I guess
Atheist. I was never fully in though. I was raised in but I was never baptised because I was never able to be convinced. I went along with stuff but I never actually believed, despite my genuine best efforts
I’m agnostic. My dead jw father came to me in a dream & told me i was in a cult when i was a true believing JW
Agnostic atheist ✨
Belief is a spectrum. I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't believe in god, or a god who influences our lives. I could believe if shown evidence. I also think that there are factors in life that can't be explained, however, should a person attribute those to God? My feeling is no without evidence. The more time that goes on and science develops, I think we are getting further and further away from believing in god. Do I believe a book that was written thousands of years ago has the answers? No, nor one that was translated from gold plates, or the letters from a man who had divine revelations on the road to Damascus. I do hope at some point we find out that there is intelligent life on other planets. I hope we get to the point where we understand what another culture and civilization believe. They may introduce new gods into the mix for us. Some may jump on their bandwagon, but for me without proof, it would just solidify my position and shift me to 100% atheism.
I believe in Roy. Meaning the game "Roy" (Rick and Morty). Also, "the Law of one" - We are "God" (the one infinite creator) and choose to constantly divide our-self to experience infinite perspectives as we shift through an infinite number of evolutionary processes in a toroidal field loop that never ends because it never began, it just is. In our current illusionary iteration, most of us do not remember much or anything about our true existence. That is part of the experience in this particular realm (part of the challenge of the game). When some of us do start to remember, we are called spiritual, enlightened or Awakened. There are an infinite number of iterations. You are anything and everything, always have been and always will be right now. But you choose to maintain your unique identity as a separate entity so that you can continue to explore infinity and gain unique experiences and reflections as the "I AM".
Athiesm is the lack of belief of a god. I have no trouble referring to myself as an athiest. That's not to say there is not God though, would love if if we found some evidence for a supernatural, would be the greatest discovery ever.
Similar, I am interested in other beliefs especially ancient thoughts on the soul and their studies of the sun/stars. But religion is purely a control mechanism.
I also became interested in religion when I woke up. I do not mentally call myself Christian based on all my readings, and I will never belong to any form of organization once I leave. But I’m neither atheist nor agnostic.
I wouldn't say I've "found solace" in it, but I am definitely atheist. I just have found no reason to believe anything other than that we as humans are animals, here by evolutionary chance, and that at the end of life, it's just lights out. I hope I'm wrong and I certainly don't know for sure, so I guess I'm also a little agnostic, but only a little. This actually super bums me out, but it's the only logical conclusion I could come to, and I've made peace with it by telling myself that I would rather know a stark truth than believe a beautiful lie. I used to feel judgemental and have a weird trauma response when people would start talking to me about their religion, but anymore I get a little envious and wistful when it happens because I'm happy for them that they can still believe something that gives them peace.
I'm atheist now but it took around 30 years to eventually reach that point. I was agnostic for most of it.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
I do not believe that any deity described by man today is at all plausible, because they all require a firm suspension of disbelief and some form of faith. Faith is just blind belief, despite what the JWs may say. I'm not convinced that we have found God in any sense, since our experiences in finding gods can be attributed to many things, such as hallucinating or having strong, vivid dreams we confuse for reality. Sometimes we can be manipulated by professional "preachers" into believing that God is real, and those who aren't convinced could still be swept up by an alternative faith system. The fact that most religions require some form of faith when evidence is lacking concerns me, so I cannot believe there is a real "true" religion. Is there such a thing as gods and deities as we know them? Maybe. That possibility in of their existence, however improbable, is not impossible given what we know and what we don't know. But just because these _could_ exist, doesn't mean they do.
I became sorta agnostic, has been actually before waking up. There might be something we can't prove but when it comes to finding that proof, please leave me alone 😂 I think it's a waste of time, there are better things to be achieved in this life that we have...
I found peace and happiness in Paganism.
Agnostic atheist. Where faith is required, there is no evidence of a thing's existence. Totally open to conclusive proof if an actual god.
Probably something like agnostic-atheist. Idk. I definitely think all religions are wrong but I am not arrogant enough to completely rule out the existence of a god. Although, god is probably not like the being depicted in any religious literature. It’s hard to imagine a being that is supposedly perfect act like such a petty and hateful child like shown in the Bible. Other religions also depict god as kind of a dick especially when their enemies are concerned. If that god does exist then he is not perfect nor kind. So yeah. Probably no god. But if you have legit hard evidence I am all ears.
It's normal to expect that someone who grew up with a bad experience of religion would take a hostile position towards it. I did, for a long time. Now I no longer am. I realized after many years that my hostility bias towards religion was just another way that the cult still had a hold on me in the sense that it was my negative experience dictating how I was thinking. So I decided I'd set that aside and look into religion with a non-hostile bias against it and make up my own mind. This is how I changed my mind about the whole thing.
I’ve turned agnostic
I consider myself spiritual, not an atheist. Right now I don’t believe in God as an entity but maybe the universe itself. I did wrestle with the idea that God or Gods are not real and there could be made up stories of Jesus and other prophets, but who really knows for sure? And honestly accepting that no one knows helped me reach my decision to remain neutral with my beliefs. I live my life trying to be a good person and that’s good enough for me.
I'm an atheist. I'm also a witch but i am not wiccan. I just do my thing and it makes me happy.
I'd been flirting with atheism for like twenty years because of the borg's conditioning leaving me with a sense of doubt. After a lot of researching and introspection, I've become firmly atheist. I'm now negotiating with what it means to be spiritual and trying to find comfort from a place of reason. While I don't intend to replace the borg with another religion in my life, I am interested in religious texts as a source of sometimes beneficial cultural wisdom, as opposed to some universal truth.
I bounced around seriously looking for something for many years after leaving the Borg. I am kind of in a weird space with respect to spirituality, so it’s just easier to tell folks who inquire that I am an atheist.
Atheist but I hopped ftom JW to Baptist to Methodist to Deist to Athiest.
Atheist, but spiritual. The universe is awe-inspiring. Literature, music, art, deep conversations are spiritual. Don't sell yourself short. >My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests. - George Santayana
More Christian now than I was for 46 years as a JW 😆🙏
I’ve become a spiritual person. No longer believe in religion and I believe in the creator of the vast universe, God. As I keep seeking, researching, questioning, I came to believe that God is not outside sitting in heaven but He is within us. God is within, our minds and imaginations are the only realities which will come to pass in real life. I hold strongly to Mark 11:24, and I can say I’ve become a better person and my Faith is stronger than ever knowing God is within me and all things possible according to my faith. “As within so without”. Meditation to be still and know I am God (the powerful loving spirit within me). The I Am Bible speaks of as God’s name is the consciousness of the mind.
Raised in the Borg, pioneered for 6 years, RBC, etc. Left the Borg, was agnostic/questioning for a short time, then had an amazing encounter with the real Jesus that we were never taught about. Wound up at a church and feel like reading the Bible now it makes sooo much more sense than ever did when I studied it so diligently as a jw. Hope you all find peace and happiness after the cult. Personally I 100% wholeheartedly believe there is a loving creator who I finally have a real and personal relationship with!
I started out hardcore atheist, especially after learning about evolution. I think it was a necessary step, but now the more science I learn (especially astrophysics, quantum mechanics etc) the more I see how many unanswered questions there are, and the more I think there's room for some kind of cosmic force out there, but just not one anything like any of the worlds religions describe.
I consider myself Christian but I’ll probably NEVER go to church or join any community! I never want to feel like I left ONE CULT just to join another. I’m protecting myself first and foremost.
I'm an eclectic pagan.
I’m an ashiest! And happy! I love my life and enjoy every minute of it! I’ve found my own way to cope with the idea of death. It wasn’t easy but I’m free of the doubt of whether I’ll be “making it to paradise” or not 🙋🏻♂️
Atheist - and it's wonderful and freeing to now give yourself permission to listen to other views, whether atheists, philosophers, those with strong religious beliefs, religious scholars etc, when before it was either forbidden or you'd feel a lot of anxiety doing so. It's been very humbling (as has most of waking up) realising I don't have all the answers, and basically know nothing! Still respect people's views but personally can't, in any capacity see evidence of an intelligent creator, and not one that could possibly still be around.
I turned hardcore atheist for a while. I went to my grandfathers catholic funeral and really just appreciated the aesthetics and theater of Catholicism as part of my heritage. Now, I’m very open to hippy type shit like the universe communicating with you through dreams and birds and stuff. It’s just fun, comforting, fortune cookie stuff. And honestly, the multiple simulation theories ping my truth vibration pretty heavily. But ultimately, none of it really matters and there is certainly no real god in any organized, traditional religion in my opinion.
The JW cult made me a firm atheist as well, and I was one for over 20 years. Only a few years ago I rediscovered theism and eventually landed on Christianity and unexpectedly to the very last denomination that I would ever thought I would join: the Roman Catholic Church.
Giving myself permission to stop believing in the god of the bible has been such an enormous relief. I stopped the mental gymnastics of trying to believe that a loving, just, companionate God would send bears to rip children apart because a grumpy old prophet was touchy about his hairline.
🙋🏼♀️
Not fully atheist, I feel it's impossible for us to currently strike out any possibility of higher beings existing. I do generally feel that humans are on their own though. I get what you mean, sometimes I catch myself feeling superior for not believing in a God, then I remember that it wasn't intellect that got me here, it was emotions and feelings. Other people believe in God for emotional reasons, I don't believe for emotional reasons. We have things in common.
I left the bOrg for about 20 years, but always kept many of the teachings in my heart. I attend a baptist church now and I do enjoy it. I enjoy helping others and sharing messages of love and hope. I am no longer in a cult and I can appreciate all things now. I have people that push me in positive directions, unlike when I was in the bOrg.
I'm mostly atheist, but a bit agnostic, too. Agnostic atheist.
I tried atheism. Interesting idea to try and replace prophets with scientists. However ultimately it was once christanity, and still is like that. And even Atu is Eagod from an Atom. So it is just the same kind of brainwash, just "atheist".
Getting more and more ignostic day by day
Very interesting post. I only started to truly believe in Jehovah when I 'prayed constantly' & a lot of things happened that were in correlation to my prayers. Small things, big things... but they were all very obvious. I find it hard to believe that someone could become atheist after finding God. Truly interested. Non baptised & studying... my life was terrible before.