Ex Theists

[Tiberius]

It just sounds a bit odd to say someone is "devoted" to a disbelief.

[Eilonnwy]

I don't think so. I think Atheists can be devout if say they constantly write about it, talk about it, investigate it. It's certainly not a religion, but I don't think devout has to mean religious.

[LukeMC]

I don't know where to vote. I was a theist in the same sense that I was a santa-clausist for my early years but never to any serious extent and I was only a child, I didn't know! Sod it, I'll go with theism, having been raised in a christian primary/elementary school.

[Rhizomorph13]

I took what Pippy said about being a "devout" atheist as a joke. I joke about praying to Atheos with people who would get it, so I see it as the same thing. Only Pippy knows the mind of Pippy.

Rhizo

[Kyuuketsuki]

You became a "devout atheist" ... how the fuck did you do that then (clue: it's an oxymoron)?

A devout isn't necessarily a religious person, people can be devoted to a bunch of things not just their beliefs.

I accept it is a possible meaning for it but it's primary meanings are religious and it doesn't really mean the same thing as devoted.

It just sounds a bit odd to say someone is "devoted" to a disbelief.

Couldn't agree more.

Kyu

[Edwardo Piet]

I have never really been a 'theist'. If I ever believed as a kid it was extremely vague and I can't even remember, was never any religion in particular, so at most I guess it may have been some personal kind of 'deism' or something I don't know, I can't remember. When I was about 8 or 9 and I saw a program about evoluition of TV I personally saw no reason to believe in God at all, because I only ever perhaps felt I might have needed him for an explanation for nature. I always thought the whole 'man in the sky' thing was ridiculous, except perhaps when I was so young I couldn't even think for myself fully - in which case I don't think that even counts. Just as Dawkins says, there's no such thing as a Christian child, only a child of Christian parents, etc, etc. And my parents weren't exactly Christian either.

Oh yeah, no one cares what I think.
-Pip

Oh really? You sure of that? Can you read my mind? (And others who might possibly care)

EvF

EDIT:

I don't know where to vote. I was a theist in the same sense that I was a santa-clausist for my early years but never to any serious extent and I was only a child, I didn't know! Sod it, I'll go with theism, having been raised in a christian primary/elementary school.

Oh, good way to put it with the 'Santa-clausist' point Luke. That's exactly how I was about God too when I was too young to believe. Was hard for me to phrase it without sounding like a full on 'believer'.

I also was never serious as I was only a child, but I put 'always been an atheist' because as I said, not really any such thing as a theist child, only a child of theist parents. And my parents weren't even theists, they were kind of 'unsure' or whatever.

And however much I ever believed when I was too little to know what I was believing, however much of the whole 'Christianity' story I believed...I was still never really big on the whole 'Jesusy' thing lol. If anything it was this kind of vague 'God' thing, and bullshit from the bible. I don't know whether I even knew that the bible was even meant to be taken seriously.

EvF

[Pippy]

Shit.

I was a devout atheist because I was very sure of myself and in-your-face about it. I would call a lot of the folk here devout.

The "You don't care what I think" was taken wrong. I meant I am sure you guys will reply with the fact that the "ex-theist" thread doesn't apply to me, and that I should not share what my belief path was because I am not one of you.

Adrian, that's two posts today with no content and only threats and insults. That starts what we try to avoid between us. Ban me, please. Ban me. Ban me. Hit me with you big stick and feel all nerdy and powerful. Than you said no one can be devout to disbelief. That is a statement. I think you can be, devotion is just a level of belief, and disbelief still requires a leap of faith. I am certainly not here to cause trouble. I have more respect for you and myself than that.

I just felt like sharing what path I went, if only to show that we are all similar. I am ways looking for ways we can agree, for things we have in common. I don't have a fetish with arguing.

Thanks guys,
-Pip

[Minimalist]

Born catholic and fully indoctrinated into that particular brand of bullshit. I think I started to lose it with them when some child-molesting bishop slapped me in the face and called in "confirmation" or some such shit. Anyway, by the time I was 14 I had escaped.

I guess the indoctrination wore off. I did make sure that my two sons were not forced to go through such silliness. They are free.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

and disbelief still requires a leap of faith

Um, sorry to piss in your porridge Pip,but I think that is that is incorrect.

Disbelief requires nothing, certainly not "faith" which is the precise opposite of disbelief.

My disbelief is simply the absence of belief. It required no effort on my par.The effort was to continue to believe.I finally reached the point where belief was simply no longer present. It was not a decision on my part.

[Pippy]

Um, sorry to piss in your porridge Pip,but I think that is that is incorrect.

Oh, not at all. I hold your opinion in higher regard than some, and you are more than welcome to think what you will. I knew I shouldn't have had that porridge.

My disbelief is simply the absence of belief.

I know that is how you feel, I hear you. I can't rightly say I disagree with that. But my bone is that how can you be 100% sure that there is no god? That other than agnosticism, being removed from any thought or claim about either side of the argument, how can you claim to be 100% sure there is not god and I can claim to be 100% sure there is? Either one of us is 100% wrong (or is it 200%?), or it is not objective, and neither of us is wrong (or right). So since you can't prove without a doubt (as I can't) the non-existence (or existence) of god, there must be belief in there. To you personally, god is disproven, and to me personally she is very real... Where does that leave us?

I finally reached the point where belief was simply no longer present. It was not a decision on my part.

You prob hate it when I do this... but... It was not a decision on my part either, I just reached a point where doubt was simply no longer present.

Thanks Padraic, I enjoy your posts.

-Pip