Hello all,

This is a true and honest serious thread (for once!) .

How does one remain an atheist? I only ask because I have "tried" atheism a few times, but always have found myself drawn back to my Catholic faith.

I realize the great limitations of the Catholic Church as a structure, and even readily admit that some of the theology teachings don't make a whole ton of sense. I also appreciate that when one asks someone believe everything the Church teaches, one is asking a lot.  

I suppose I find myself still "practicing" the Faith because life just gets hard at times  . It seems people and life are so flawed, imperfect, and downright bad. The Church is the same way in a lot of ways, but I suppose it's just the faith, it's stories and teachings I find attractive and hard to dump. Religion may be the "opium of the people" yet it is a strong and satisfying opium all the same   !!!!

I remain Catholic largely because I like Jesus    ! He seems so decent and kind, as far as Gods and myths go. Unlike other Gods (like Anubis,Thor,Poseiden,Zeus, Odin, etc.) Jesus was (and still is) decent and kind to people, especially the poor and vulnerable. While Jesus might not have made sense all the time, he seems like a far more generous and kindly soul than the other Gods I mentioned. How many lepers,blind men and cripples did Poseiden help again ?

I get atheism. I get that the bible is contradictiory, flies in the face of science at times, and has been used to justify some pretty sketchy things .

I suppose it is the message and the "mythos" of Christianity and it's many saints that I find so compelling/endearing.

I just wonder if any of you have felt that way about the religion you were raised in (if there was any) and how you cope with the loss a lack of faith brings? What do you fill the empty space with?

Can anyone identify with my feelings and how they helped overcome them?  On the one hand I do like "faith in God." But on the other, I don't want to believe in something untrue

I remain a non christian because I still don't believe in someone else telling me how to live my life, and I don't accept killing an innocent person to absolve the guilty of their crimes. Since I decided not to convert to a different religion, that leaves atheism.

There are certain things you can't unlearn, when you understand and accept just how contrived, political and man-made the bible is, it simply isn't a source of truth anymore, it's just another book written by men, another story.

The realization that it's just another mythological construct, with nothing fundamentally new or transcendent that hasn't been said before, leaves it as nothing more than a story, told by people that want to somehow convince themselves that euphoric immortality is possible and attainable, even though most of us acknowledge this is impossible, if only a god can help us attain it, then it will somehow work.

I've found it better to simply accept the reality of limits to our mortality, many beliefs represent a beautiful dream, but it's only a dream.

How to be an atheist:

Step 1: Be born.

Step 2. Don't believe in religious bullshit.

(January 23, 2016 at 9:51 pm)The Inquisition Wrote: There are certain things you can't unlearn, when you understand and accept just how contrived, political and man-made the bible is, it simply isn't a source of truth anymore, it's just another book written by men, another story.

The realization that it's just another mythological construct, with nothing fundamentally new or transcendent that hasn't been said before, leaves it as nothing more than a story, told by people that want to somehow convince themselves that euphoric immortality is possible and attainable, even though most of us acknowledge this is impossible, if only a god can help us attain it, then it will somehow work.

I've found it better to simply accept the reality of limits to our mortality, many beliefs represent a beautiful dream, but it's only a dream.

And yet there are self proclaimed ex-atheists out there.

Are there? I never knew that. I thought all atheists were rocks.

(January 23, 2016 at 10:04 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote:

(January 23, 2016 at 9:51 pm)The Inquisition Wrote: There are certain things you can't unlearn, when you understand and accept just how contrived, political and man-made the bible is, it simply isn't a source of truth anymore, it's just another book written by men, another story.

The realization that it's just another mythological construct, with nothing fundamentally new or transcendent that hasn't been said before, leaves it as nothing more than a story, told by people that want to somehow convince themselves that euphoric immortality is possible and attainable, even though most of us acknowledge this is impossible, if only a god can help us attain it, then it will somehow work.

I've found it better to simply accept the reality of limits to our mortality, many beliefs represent a beautiful dream, but it's only a dream.

And yet there are self proclaimed ex-atheists out there.

Yeah, the desire to believe something is true can be stronger than what our rational mind wants to accept.

Atheism isn't something you can try on like a pair of shoes or lederhosen. You can't just say "I think I'll stop believing for a while an see if it's for me."

You either believe or you don't and there isn't a choice to be made. Once new information is available the status of a belief can change; but, not because you choose to let it.

How to be a atheist

step 1. loose the belief in god(s).

the end.

Checkmate again TC, I'll miss you when you eventually get banned.