How to be an Atheist?

[Brian37]

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

Nope sorry, I cannot take a thread seriously with such an absurd title "How to be an atheist".

I don't even like it when atheists try to create a moral code out of it as if it were a patent to be held by any label.

This the same stupid assumption even atheist fall for that life is a script. Our species behavior is not in a label. Our species behavior is in our evolution. "Atheist" merely means "off". It is not something you "try" like a buffet. It is simply a position on one claim that you hold.

Atheists are just as diverse on issues of politics and economics and how to handle debates with theists as any other label. We are not a political party, we are not an economic view and we most certainly are not a religion. "atheist" does not even denote the level of education of the individual.

The only thing that matters to me as a "how to" is "how to be a non violent human even in the face of blasphemy". 7 billion humans and we will not always agree or even only say nice things about each other. But all 7 billion of us do deserve to avoid violence as much as possible, some individuals  more than others.