The transition between faith to no faith.

[ForumMember77]

I never really did, I wouldn't say I was always privy to notion it was all horse crap.

What was it said "even children see through the false claims, as you can tell by their questions". In fairness, I was raised a Roman catholic, pretty stupid claims to ask a child to accept. When you put this wafer into your mouth it turns into the body of Christ - unless Jesus was made of crackers I'm pretty sure it's still just a wafer, I can feel it dissolving like a wafer till its all gone. At what point was that wafer Jesus ? Wouldn't he have died the first time it rained ?

[RobbyPants]

When that feeling started to go away how were you? Were you caught up with thoughts about God a lot?

I was in my late 20s. I thought about it a lot. Daily. For about two years. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get myself to believe again.

When it away, how do you know it was baseless?

I didn't. I wondered if I was being tested. I wondered if I were to die during this time in my life, would I go to hell? Would that be fair?

It took me around six months after I stopped believing to be able to admit to myself that I didn't believe. Eventually, I realized the only reason I was worried about Christianity was because that's what I was raised to worry about. I'd never worried about going to Muslim hell for not following the five pillars of Islam.

Looking back on it, that feeling I had was something I've felt and still feel other times in my life. I've gotten it times you wouldn't expect it to be God (such as thinking about atheism). For all I can tell, it's just a dopamine rush when I like what I'm thinking about (or, rather, I like what I'm thinking about because of the dopamine, probably). For all the times people have told me they've "felt God", it's always vague, and they can't explain it, but they're certain it's not just endorphins, because they say so.

[Jacob(smooth)]

A lot of you at one point had faith. At one point it felt like you knew God. When that feeling started to go away how were you? Were you caught up with thoughts about God a lot? When it away, how do you know it was baseless?

Hurt like a vinegar enema. Still does. I was damn close to backsliding this morning.

[Sejanus]

I'd say I stopped believing around the age I realized all the other fictional characters didn't exist. You know, santa claus, the tooth fairy, etc. This was about the age of 7 or 8.

[Mudhammam]

When I was around the age of eighteen or nineteen I descended into depression, largely over the realization that God was an inconceivable proposition and if substantial at all, only as it related to people's so called religious experiences, which I felt no connection with. A few years later, long after that subsided, and I fluctuated between agnosticism, atheism, deism, and panpsychism to varying degrees, I had, as they say, an "existential crisis," this time largely intellectual in nature, realizing that we are alone in the Universe and that all ideas of truth and purpose are wholly dependent on our mindsets and attitudes. Since then, I slowly began to drift towards anti-theism as I learned more about the intellectual and moral deficiencies involved in all attempts to ground experience in the deities of various theistic philosophies. In terms of peace of mind, I've never felt better.

[Simon Moon]

A lot of you at one point had faith. At one point it felt like you knew God. When that feeling started to go away how were you? Were you caught up with thoughts about God a lot? When it away, how do you know it was baseless?

At one time I had the feeling that "I knew god'' (whatever the hell that means. Seems like a pretty incoherent statement to me).

It was a long process that lead me away from that feeling.

I made the conscious decision that I cared whether my beliefs are true. I wanted to have as many true beliefs, and as few false beliefs as possible (to quote Dilahunty). The best, most consistent method to achieve this goal is basing my beliefs on demonstrable evidence and reasoned (valid and sound) argument.

Basing them on a feeling is not a path to truth. People all over the world have feelings that: they were abducted by aliens, that homeopathy is effective, that psychics are reliable, that humans were bred by ancient aliens, etc, etc.

If you would rather believe something because of a feeling, have at it. But if you actually care if your beliefs are true or not, just know that you are using an unreliable method.

Still calling yourself a 'deist' huh?

[Mystic]

The hardest thing for me is that I'm schizophrenic and I've had a lot of mystical experiences which I know is only a product of my mind. Yet in this insanity, I felt I did see potential beauty, glory, and greatness but that these were archetypes that exist in me and is both imaginative but has some basis to reality. I don't know. I feel like I know spirituality can have high levels, intense levels of devotion to God can lead to high stages, I feel like I witnessed some of these high stages even though I was going through psychosis. I feel like I witnessed what it means to be holy.

At the same time, since I'm schizophrenic, I question all my beliefs to the supernatural. I feel like I have a soul but how do I know this isn't delusional? I feel there is stages of closeness to God but how do I know this is not delusional.

At the same time, if we do have souls and God did in grain us with spiritual knowledge, I would be hasty in just giving it up saying I don't know absolutely or based on evidence therefore should do away with these feelings. Or giving them up simply because I have a mental illness.

I don't want hold beliefs that are delusions and not based on knowledge but I don't want to give up on spiritual knowledge if God gave that to me.

That put's me between a rock and a hard place it feels.

[Mudhammam]

I'm reading Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris at this very moment. I'd say there's a lot in there that you might find insightful regarding the context of your experiences.

[Jenny A]

A lot of you at one point had faith. At one point it felt like you knew God. When that feeling started to go away how were you? Were you caught up with thoughts about God a lot? When it away, how do you know it was baseless?

Hurt like a vinegar enema. Still does. I was damn close to backsliding this morning.

This is why I have no real interest in deconverting the happily religious---the guilt ridden soul angsting about thinking about sex yes. The problem comes in that the religious so often want to run the world according to their beliefs and that makes me daydream of deconverting pogroms.

The question I have for you in particular is have your morals (other than those involving worship) changed with conversion?

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I'd say I stopped believing around the age I realized all the other fictional characters didn't exist. You know, santa claus, the tooth fairy, etc. This was about the age of 7 or 8.

That's what my youngest daughter did at about four. She rationally deduced that if there was as Santa on every block that they weren't all real which lead to asking about just how many homes Santa visited on Christmas Eve. I admit that we don't lie to the kids, so I answered her questions truthfully. She filled her older sister in on the bad news about Santa, The Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy about fifteen minutes later.

We cynics have to stick together.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm reading Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris at this very moment. I'd say there's a lot in there that you might find insightful regarding the context of your experiences.

I haven't read that yet, but one thing I find that differentiates me from many atheists is what I term "spiritual" -- which is the term I think I use when I'm trying to describe the connectedness I feel to the Universe at large.