You can't plan to become an atheist. Either you're convinced by religious arguments or you're not. You can't plan to not be convinced of god's existence.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: If I somehow manage to answer this, I will be able to live a normal life again.

Hooo-boy, don't sink all your hopes of a normal life into answering a question nobody has been able to answer definitively in the history of humanity. That's the surest way to fail.

Quote:I decided to read some atheist forums, watch The Amazing Atheist and some other youtube atheists, and I started to understand how delusional I was. But every time I read or watch a video explaining why atheism is true, I somehow forget all the things I have read and continue to do all the silly rituals, in order to please God, simply because I'm not sure if he exists or not.

Is this a symptom of you trying to please a god, or a symptom of your OCD?

Quote:I just want to ask-How can I be sure, or at least not worry about almost all the time, that there is no God?

No one will ever be 100% sure that there is no God. All you can do is evaluate the evidence to the best of your ability and determine the most probable explanation.

Quote:Can you tell me how are you sure and living your lives without always trying to figure out if you are wrong about God, trying to argue with yourself all the time, because that's what I am doing right now.

I'm not sure that there is no god. I think it's the most reasonable conclusion given the evidence we have to examine, but all that means is that I think it's way more probable that no gods exist than that a god exists that wants me to love it, worship it, that it needs my money and will send me to hell for eating shellfish.

Quote:Every time when I ask the question:Is God real, i end up trying to remember all the things I have read and watched, and if I don't manage to, things get really bad. Please help me, because I am desperate. Please help me get my life again.

I would reiterate what Tonus said: it sounds like you need to get with your psychiatrist and work on managing your OCD and trying to determine if your OCD is really a result of a god belief, or if your god belief is a symptom of your OCD.

Quote:P.Slease don't post some comments like: "Yeah you are crazy" or "Yep you are totally restarted and delusional, grow up", because that won't help me at all. Just help me figure this thing out, so I can continue enjoy my life, without wondering if I am doing anything wrong and if I will get an eternal life in a full with fires and torture place.

The thing is we can't really help you figure this thing out, it's something everyone has to do for themselves. We can answer questions, we can give you resources to look into, but we can't make you stop believing in God. Atheism isn't a club you join, it's more like what happens when you drop out of the club you're already in.

Quote:P.P.S:I know my English ain't perfect, striving to get better and better at it.

You're doing really well with your English.

Quote:I think that I may have not explained correctly - not that my OCD affects my ability to research and work through such issues, it's that I am sure that it is created by the question-"Does God exists?" and the inability to answer it. That's why I am washing my hands all the time, that's why I am making all the other rituals which are considered symptoms of OCD - because I don't know if God exists, so I do them simply because I don't want to risk. That's why I believe that the OCD will be gone when I manage to answer my question.

Once again, I will reiterate that you should really try to not sink all your hopes for overcoming your OCD in disproving the existence of God. That's an unattainable goal. Get with your psychologist and work with them on finding the root of your symptoms and set smaller goals that are achievable and work up to the big ones.

This sounds familiar...

Anyways, welcome to AF.org!!!

OP, I don't think you are focusing on the right thing at this point in your life. You can figure out the religion thing later. What you need to focus on now is getting control of your OCD. Once you have (as much as possible) a handle on the disorder, you can more clearly work this other stuff out in your head. Until then, all the conflicting thoughts, the rituals, the causal connections you make---these will cloud your ability to see things clearly.

I think I get what you're trying to say. It seems to come down to two questions:

1) How can we be certain there is no god?
2) Why do I continue these rituals when I know there isn't a god?

As for question 1, I can't say I know for certain, but I haven't seen any evidence for such a god. It would be like asking me how I know space aliens didn't land on earth a million years ago: it's very difficult to prove a negative and when supernatural abilities are thrown into the mix, it beomes nearly impossible. But I've seen no evidence for god, either, so as of now, my stance is that I'll believe in any diety that shows me a reason to believe in it. If you ask about the Bible, specifically, though, read that thing with a critical eye and you'll see more holes in it than a block of swiss cheese. It's most certainly NOT perfect in any way, shape or form.

Question 2 is a bit easier: a lifetime of pattens aren't that easy to stop. Trust me, I've experienecd things about this that most people here don't have a clue about.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote:

Hello! As you can see I'm new to the forum.

Welcome. I hope you like it here.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: I made this account to post this thread, in which I can ask all my questions and hopefully receive answers. Before we start, I have to say that English isn't my mother language, so I may make some mistakes in the formation of the sentences, or in the wrong use of words, which I am extremely sorry for.

No worries.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: Long story short, I have been a Christian since young age. My family was a typical Christian one. Both my parent's weren't so religious, they were just going to church on some cases, but nothing more. They didn't made me read the Bible, it was in the later stages of my life that I managed to read some of it, which I have to admit-really scared me.
You see, untill my 15th year of my life I was just a normal believer, thinking that God really existed, and nothing more. I was not following the Bible word by word and was living a happy life. Then, for some reason, I decided to start praying before I go to bed. The strange thing was that I got psycho, I tried to do my best to perform the pray perfectly, so I don't end up wondering if the things I have prayed for will happen if I haven't performed it correctly. I started making silly rituals, which had nothing to do with religion, but I thought that God would love me and care for me if i did them. I don't want to speak much more about this things, simply because I don't want you to think of me as a stupid, crazy teenager, who has no clear idea of the world and asks silly questions here (even though I am sure that by the time you are reading this you have already thought that lol). Alright so let's continue. After a year of spending hours in trying to do the perfect prayer, doing absolutely stupid and illogical rituals, I decided to speak with my mom. I went to a psychiatrist and understood that I had Obsessive–compulsive disorder. I had every single symptom of it-an extreme desire to wash my hands 24/7, afraid of God, afraid that people won't talk to me anymore-you name it! It is 2 months since I am visiting the psychiatrist, but I can't happen to feel comfortable again. The reason why that is because I don't know the answer-Is there a God or not? If I somehow manage to answer this, I will be able to live a normal life again.

No one can say with justifiable certainty that no version of God exists. Rational skeptics who are atheists have enough reasonable doubt to asses the probability of God being very low, but it's not zero except for versions of God that are contradictory. The one that created man from dust and woman from his rib and drowned the earth and stopped the sun to give the Hebrews an advantage in battle and plagued Egypt? That God doesn't exist because those things didn't happen. Some providential Creator who avoids meddling, however, doen't contradict itself or what we know, so it's probability is at least infinetesimally higher than zero.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: I decided to read some atheist forums, watch The Amazing Atheist and some other youtube atheists, and I started to understand how delusional I was. But every time I read or watch a video explaining why atheism is true, I somehow forget all the things I have read and continue to do all the silly rituals, in order to please God, simply because I'm not sure if he exists or not. I know that this thread is extreeeeeeemely long, thanks to all of you who have managed to read it. I just want to ask-How can I be sure, or at least not worry about almost all the time, that there is no God?

Medication and other treatments are the only thing that can help you with this. You have a disorder, and if you truly free yourself from belief in God, it will probably manifest in some other way. But at least you'll be able to stop worrying about hell.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:21 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: Yes, I read a lot about science, how stuff were created, but I continue to somehow not accept it and believe in God, which I really don't want to. Can you tell me how are you sure and living your lives without always trying to figure out if you are wrong about God, trying to argue with yourself all the time, because that's what I am doing right now. Every time when I ask the question:Is God real, i end up trying to remember all the things I have read and watched, and if I don't manage to, things get really bad. Please help me, because I am desperate. Please help me get my life again.

Most of us aren't sure. Most of us aren't sure about leprechauns, either. But we consider them so unlikely that it's pointless to live our lives as though they might be real. There are thousands of gods. They can't all be real. But they CAN all be false.

(March 12, 2014 at 10:52 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: Wow, in other cases I would thought that you know me! Yeah, that's exactly what's happening right now, I am having fear of everything-karma, God and other stuff. But the more I read and the more I convince myself that these things are superstitions only, I manage to deal with my OCD pretty well. But if all this started because of the religion questions, I am sure that it will end once i manage to answer them for myself. Or am I wrong? (Not arguing, just curious and asking haha)

Well, I'm not a professional, but I have done a little research into OCD. As far as I know, there is no "cure," only treatment. According to my research, realizing that your fears are unfounded doesn't stop OCD, because OCD is an irrational condition. My understanding is that the best you can do to treat OCD is exposure therapy, which may not apply here, and medication.

One unconventional treatment you might try is hypnosis. It only works for a certain kind of people - people who are particularly creative and imaginative - but when it does work, it can greatly reduce anxiety and create a feeling of calm. With training, you can even learn to hypnotize yourself, and calm yourself whenever you need to. Hypnosis might be considered "alternative medicine" to some, but it has been recognized as effective by professional psychologists. I have tried it personally and was amazed by how much better I felt at the end of the session.

Also

(Honestly, where are my manners?)

Thanks a TON for all the replies. I am extremely surprised that there are not only many active people here, but really cool, friendly and ready to answer all questions. futilethewinds-Haha it's so funny that my knowledge of OCD was so limited, it was that I believed that the question about the existence of the God is what really the problem was. Will definitely read some more about it. About the hypnosis, will try it for sure, I really need to reduce my anxiety since I am in this state for a whole day :/ As for the other replies-thanks a lot for the warm welcome, you definitely made me feel much more comfortable since I know that there is a huge community here, which can answer my questions without hate. The reason why I don't want to believe in God and want to convert to an atheist is because whenever the question about his existence comes on my mind, I just can't answer it simply because I haven't given my own, personal answer to it. That's why I am so anxious and so wanting to learn learn learn, so I can, at some state of my life, stop believing in any given deity and at least stop questioning myself for this.

BTW, your english is better than some of the native speakers on this forum. (TBT... ) Kudos on that.

(March 12, 2014 at 11:24 am)IntelligentPlanet Wrote: Thanks a TON for all the replies. I am extremely surprised that there are not only many active people here, but really cool, friendly and ready to answer all questions. futilethewinds-Haha it's so funny that my knowledge of OCD was so limited, it was that I believed that the question about the existence of the God is what really the problem was. Will definitely read some more about it. About the hypnosis, will try it for sure, I really need to reduce my anxiety since I am in this state for a whole day :/ As for the other replies-thanks a lot for the warm welcome, you definitely made me feel much more comfortable since I know that there is a huge community here, which can answer my questions without hate. The reason why I don't want to believe in God and want to convert to an atheist is because whenever the question about his existence comes on my mind, I just can't answer it simply because I haven't given my own, personal answer to it. That's why I am so anxious and so wanting to learn learn learn, so I can, at some state of my life, stop believing in any given deity and at least stop questioning myself for this.

Just make sure you get a GOOD hypnotist, because there are tons of scammers out there. Getting a referral from your regular psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor would be the way to go.