I've said it before, but deists annoy me more than theists. I'm not saying that to upset you, but the reason I struggle with deism is that what is it based on? I keep on concluding "wishful thinking". I went through a phase of "well it'd be nice if there was a god" as a kid, when I realised I didn't believe religion and didn't really believe there was a god. It was just a fleeting hope really.
While we atheists always say that there is no rational basis to believe in god or to be a theist, we can still identify a basis for theism, that is the bible/koran/insert holy book, and indoctrination. Also majority confirmation bias. Not a rational basis to believe, but a basis.
Toss out the book because you don't believe in it, stop indoctrinating yourself with others at church but still believe there is a god? To me, if you take away "because the bible says so", "because everyone else believes" it leaves you on shaky ground. It leaves you with "I hope there is a god", and "I don't think there is a god"
To be honest if you don't even believe in an afterlife or connection with god? You're already an atheist. IMO.
Good luck with your journey, you have plenty of people to talk to and thrash it out with.
While we atheists always say that there is no rational basis to believe in god or to be a theist, we can still identify a basis for theism, that is the bible/koran/insert holy book, and indoctrination. Also majority confirmation bias. Not a rational basis to believe, but a basis.
Toss out the book because you don't believe in it, stop indoctrinating yourself with others at church but still believe there is a god? To me, if you take away "because the bible says so", "because everyone else believes" it leaves you on shaky ground. It leaves you with "I hope there is a god", and "I don't think there is a god"
To be honest if you don't even believe in an afterlife or connection with god? You're already an atheist. IMO.
Good luck with your journey, you have plenty of people to talk to and thrash it out with.
You are currently experiencing a lucky and very brief window of awareness, sandwiched in between two periods of timeless and utter nothingness. So why not make the most of it, and stop wasting your life away trying to convince other people that there is something else? The reality is obvious.
