How to be an Atheist?

[Edwardo Piet]

I'm also a turtle on the loose.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

How does one remain an atheist?

By believing what is demonstrably true, and not believing in a proposition merely because it gives you the warm fuzzies.

I suppose I find myself still "practicing" the Faith because life just gets hard at times .

You're not alone. A lot (I suspect a majority) of people cling to religious beliefs because they can't cope with life any other way.

It seems people and life are so flawed, imperfect, and downright bad.

I disagree, but let's stipulate that this is true. How is holding on to a faith you clearly have issues with a solution to the badness of other people? Religion hasn't seemed to make the majority of people any better, has it?

The Church is the same way in a lot of ways, but I suppose it's just the faith, it's stories and teachings I find attractive and hard to dump. Religion may be the "opium of the people" yet it is a strong and satisfying opium all the same

I've known (yes, personally) heroin addicts who said much the same thing. Because something makes you feel good doesn't mean it's a good idea.

I remain Catholic largely because I like Jesus ! He seems so decent and kind, as far as Gods and myths go. Unlike other Gods (like Anubis,Thor,Poseiden,Zeus, Odin, etc.) Jesus was (and still is) decent and kind to people, especially the poor and vulnerable. While Jesus might not have made sense all the time, he seems like a far more generous and kindly soul than the other Gods I mentioned. How many lepers,blind men and cripples did Poseiden help again

Ok, so why aren't you a Clausist? Santa helps people all the time. And - for the record - Poseidon helped exactly as many people as Jesus did - nil = nil.

I get atheism. I get that the bible is contradictiory, flies in the face of science at times, and has been used to justify some pretty sketchy things

This is what makes it possible for people to remain atheists: we decline to believe in things that are 'contradictory', that 'fly in the face of science' and have been 'used to justify some pretty sketchy things'.

I suppose it is the message and the "mythos" of Christianity and it's many saints that I find so compelling/endearing.

That statement is almost sad beyond enduring.

I just wonder if any of you have felt that way about the religion you were raised in (if there was any) and how you cope with the loss a lack of faith brings? What do you fill the empty space with?

Thing is, most atheist find a lack of faith to be liberating, not a 'loss' at all. Filling the void left by the absence of religious faith is rather like curing athlete's foot and then deliberately trying to contract gangrene.

Can anyone identify with my feelings and how they helped overcome them? On the one hand I do like "faith in God." But on the other, I don't want to believe in something untrue

I recommend you stick with your faith. You strike me as one of those people who doesn't like to apply thinking to life problems, so you'll always revert to godism. I'd rather see you as a happy believer than as a miserable pseudo-atheist.

Boru

[Reforged]

I don't see how religion would cure said emptiness.
It seems more accurate to say that it promises to cure it after we're dead.

What others fill that emptiness with varies. Theres lots of options, some more healthy than others.

[AFTT47]

Atheism isn't something you can try on like a pair of shoes or lederhosen. You can't just say "I think I'll stop believing for a while an see if it's for me."

You either believe or you don't and there isn't a choice to be made. Once new information is available the status of a belief can change; but, not because you choose to let it.

This sums it up nicely.

If you've carefully examined the proposition that a specific God (such as the one in the Bible) exists and you conclude it does not then that's it. You can't flip belief on and off like a switch. Most of us atheists can no more believe in the Christian God than we could believe 1 + 1 = 3. What feels good or what we would like to believe is irrelevant. We've critically examined the question and the obvious conclusion is that Christianity is nonsense. Game over.

[Jenny A]

How does one remain an atheist? I only ask because I have "tried" atheism a few times, but always have found myself drawn back to my Catholic faith.

I'm really not sure how one can try atheism. Either you believe in god or you don't. You might try doing without the church or without worshipping for awhile. You might imagine how the world would look to you if you didn't believe. But unless you actually did not believe for a while, you were never an atheist. It's definitional.

It works both ways. In my late teens and early twenties, I tried to make myself believe for the sake of my parents. Attending church, I'd done all my life, so that was no real hardship. The belief part was not possible. Lacking evidence, I so no more than a pretty story. Then I actually read the Bible and decided the story was actually rather ugly. So I stopped trying.

I realize the great limitations of the Catholic Church as a structure, and even readily admit that some of the theology teachings don't make a whole ton of sense. I also appreciate that when one asks someone believe everything the Church teaches, one is asking a lot.  

I find believing any of it rather impossible. The Catholics just have different nonsense the the protestants, who have different nonsense from the Mormons, who have different nonsense from the Muslims, who have different nonsense than the Hindus, who have different nonsense than the Wiccans.

I suppose I find myself still "practicing" the Faith because life just gets hard at times  . It seems people and life are so flawed, imperfect, and downright bad. The Church is the same way in a lot of ways, but I suppose it's just the faith, it's stories and teachings I find attractive and hard to dump. Religion may be the "opium of the people" yet it is a strong and satisfying opium all the same   !!!!

I remain Catholic largely because I like Jesus    ! He seems so decent and kind, as far as Gods and myths go. Unlike other Gods (like Anubis,Thor,Poseiden,Zeus, Odin, etc.) Jesus was (and still is) decent and kind to people, especially the poor and vulnerable. While Jesus might not have made sense all the time, he seems like a far more generous and kindly soul than the other Gods I mentioned. How many lepers,blind men and cripples did Poseiden help again ?

I guess I don't find the Christian myth particularly nice at this point. I did once, before I learned more about it. But whether I liked it or not, I was still an atheist because I didn't believe it.

I know atheists who practice a religion because of the ritual and the cultural traditions. They find it comforting. But they are still atheists. I wonder from what you've said if that is really your situation.

I get atheism. I get that the bible is contradictiory, flies in the face of science at times, and has been used to justify some pretty sketchy things .

Yep. And the complete lack of any real evidence for it and the way miracles dwindle as man's understanding of the world grows. Pretty hard to believe.

I suppose it is the message and the "mythos" of Christianity and it's many saints that I find so compelling/endearing.

Many people do. Can't really see it myself.

I just wonder if any of you have felt that way about the religion you were raised in (if there was any) and how you cope with the loss a lack of faith brings? What do you fill the empty space with?

Since I haven't, felt as you do, someone else would be better to answer this one.

Can anyone identify with my feelings and how they helped overcome them?  On the one hand I do like "faith in God." But on the other, I don't want to believe in something untrue

Again, it sounds as if you don't actually believe, it just that you feel hollow. I have never felt that in anyway that god would help. Family, friends, meaningful projects, exercise, taking care of others, good books that ask questions about living. Those things seem to fill my life quite nicely.

[vorlon13]

I'm signing up for a 6 week course at the local community center on how to not collect stamps. The tuition and books come to over $200.

[mediocrates]

I'm signing up for a 6 week course at the local community center on how to not collect stamps.  The tuition and books come to over $200.

I'll teach you how to not collect stamps for $50 with no books!  I also offer courses in how to not play the guitar and how to not build a house. I wrote a book on how to not write a book; but, it didn't do well... Credibility issues.

[Whateverist]

Hello all,

This is a true and honest serious thread (for once!) .

How does one remain an atheist? I only ask because I have "tried" atheism a few times, but always have found myself drawn back to my Catholic faith.

I realize the great limitations of the Catholic Church as a structure, and even readily admit that some of the theology teachings don't make a whole ton of sense. I also appreciate that when one asks someone believe everything the Church teaches, one is asking a lot.  

I suppose I find myself still "practicing" the Faith because life just gets hard at times  . It seems people and life are so flawed, imperfect, and downright bad. The Church is the same way in a lot of ways, but I suppose it's just the faith, it's stories and teachings I find attractive and hard to dump. Religion may be the "opium of the people" yet it is a strong and satisfying opium all the same   !!!!

I remain Catholic largely because I like Jesus    ! He seems so decent and kind, as far as Gods and myths go. Unlike other Gods (like Anubis,Thor,Poseiden,Zeus, Odin, etc.) Jesus was (and still is) decent and kind to people, especially the poor and vulnerable. While Jesus might not have made sense all the time, he seems like a far more generous and kindly soul than the other Gods I mentioned. How many lepers,blind men and cripples did Poseiden help again ?

I get atheism. I get that the bible is contradictiory, flies in the face of science at times, and has been used to justify some pretty sketchy things .

I suppose it is the message and the "mythos" of Christianity and it's many saints that I find so compelling/endearing.

I just wonder if any of you have felt that way about the religion you were raised in (if there was any) and how you cope with the loss a lack of faith brings? What do you fill the empty space with?

Can anyone identify with my feelings and how they helped overcome them?  On the one hand I do like "faith in God." But on the other, I don't want to believe in something untrue

I first want to say how much I respect you for the perspective you have on your own belief.  I have no problem with you making that choice and encourage you to maintain that perspective.  It makes you ever so much more respectful and reasonable toward others.  I remember reading that Mother Teresa carried on correspondence with the pope in which she confessed the failure of her belief.  I think, like you, she just couldn't drink the Koolade and be all starry eyed about it.  The pope respected her struggle.  You should respect your own.

[Whateverist]

Atheism isn't something you can try on like a pair of shoes or lederhosen. You can't just say "I think I'll stop believing for a while an see if it's for me."

You either believe or you don't and there isn't a choice to be made. Once new information is available the status of a belief can change; but, not because you choose to let it.

This kind of puts belief in the category of falling in love.  There is mature love which isn't gaga and I suspect the same can be true of belief.

[Whateverist]

Checkmate again TC, I'll miss you when you eventually get banned.

Why would he get banned?