(February 12, 2016 at 10:00 pm)GeneralDog Wrote: Things were going great earlier today. Now I had a though "What if this is just a phase?". I had a small bit of anxiety and tried to tell myself "Just reason things out and you will be fine, no one else I know (Besides my brother but he did at a different time) converted to atheism and back. Just use logic." I just got some doubt and I'm having a hard time ignoring the doubt.
What if it is just a phase where you're curious? How does attempting to figure out what you do and don't believe harm you? Hint: it doesn't.
Don't be afraid of the journey to self-discovery, wherever it may lead you. And understand that the journey doesn't really end until you die. No one knows everything, and everyone's belief systems get challenged as we go through life.
I figured out I was an atheist about 15 years ago. It took a fair amount of thinking, doubting, and going through the motions of what I thought society wanted me to be before getting to that point. And, yeah, I've had doubts along the way, and facing them has made me stronger.
And here's the thing: there may very well be something in the future that convinces me that atheism is wrong. I don't know what that something may be, but I allow for the possibility. And if that does happen, so what? All any of us can do is go with the best information available to us at the time and an honest assessment of it.
So, don't fear being wrong. Mistakes and errors are how we learn and grow. And don't fear not being something, or being something other than what you thought you were. You have a lifetime to figure it out, and the journey itself is meaningful.
tldr; try not to sweat the idea of being wrong. There's no downside to considering all options and the wider world around you.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"