Religious Background

[SteveII]

Grew up in the Bible Belt of the southern US. Wasn't raised in an overly religious household but eventually I started wanting to attend church with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We went to a southern baptist church. Got pretty serious with it by middle school but then stopped going to church by high school. Senior year of high school I start going to youth services at a different southern baptist church. Realize while there that I don't buy the youth ministers literal interpretation of the Bible. Then realize that I don't trust other people's interpretations either. This leads me to conclude that I have no objective standard to compare my interpretation to, which is a big deal if you're dealing with something that is supposed to be an objective truth about the universe. Once I realize this, I decide to start figuring out what I believe and why as well as what other people believe and why. The error I made here is that I still assumed that belief in a god was a more rational starting point, so I didn't question whether or not I actually believed in a god. Eventually I realize my error (after a few years) and ask myself if I believe in a god and I realize the answer was no. That's when the real fun began because that meant I had to start from square 1 to figure out what beliefs actually where since I was an atheist now


Cheers
TheBeardedDude

There was a time when I also thought that believing that a God exists was more rational. At first I thought that God controlls almost everything, than that He controlls just some things. I started to look at the world around me and saw that everything had a cause and an effect, and a God that controlls that was improbable. So I became a deist. Then I've put myself the question, if God created the Universe, why would He not interfere in it? And why would He create such a big Universe? Why so many humans? Why so many planets whithout life? Why some creatures have rationality while others don't? And so on. I then become an agnostic atheist, and I'm proud to be one!

Just discussing...not trying to offend.

Did it occur to you that there might have been answers to these questions and that your understanding of Christianity might not be complete? The reason I say this is that from what you have posted, your lack of belief seems to be based on a very shallow understanding of what it is your church believes. Even if you are more naturally prone to examining the details than your parents/family, isn't dismissing their religions as 'wrong' (no matter how nicely you characterize it) without examining it in detail a little disrespectful? Even if they are unable to articulate answers to your questions, that does not mean there are no answers.

For example (from your example) the fact that nature shows cause an effect in no way even remotely implies that God is improbable. That would be the inverse of the "God of the Gaps" fallacy (an argument that should not be used in either direction).