How to be an Atheist?

[Simon Moon]

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.

The phrase "tried atheism" does not make any sense.

Atheism is nothing more than being unconvinced that a god exists. 

How can you possibly "try" being unconvinced that a god exists? Either you are convinced, or you are not. 

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.  

The fact that the Catholic church is provably a corrupt, criminal organization, is unrelated to being unconvinced that a god exists.

It is a great reason to be an anti-theist.

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   !!!!

At least you admit that you believe for bad reasons. It does not say much about your reasoning ability that you believe because of emotional reasons.

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 ?

So, you like the character of Jesus in the stories. But do you actually believe that he was the earthly avatar for Yahweh, who sacrificed himself to himself, to act as a loophole in the rules that he created?

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 .

The Biblical contradictions have nothing to do with atheism. Disbelieving that a god exists, and disbelieving the ridiculous stories in the Bible are not the same 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

So, enjoy the stories of the mythos, without believing they are actually true.

There was no loss, only gains, when I gave up my god beliefs.

You just have to decide if you'd rather believe because it makes you feel good, or do you want to believe what is most likely true. [/quote]