Ex-Christian

[HappySkeptic]

intellectually you felt that you were always trying to keep your religion going?? Like propping it up becomes exhausting?

That's partly true.  Eventually I couldn't reconcile the dissonance.  The belief simply fell away at one point.  I knew I didn't believe it, and quit the church.

The loss of belief was freeing.  It was like a weight was removed.  Cognitive dissonance has a price.  I did miss the community, but I went to a new UU community.

[Confused-by-christianity]

intellectually you felt that you were always trying to keep your religion going?? Like propping it up becomes exhausting?

That's partly true.  Eventually I couldn't reconcile the dissonance.  The belief simply fell away at one point.  I knew I didn't believe it, and quit the church.

The loss of belief was freeing.  It was like a weight was removed.  Cognitive dissonance has a price.  I did miss the community, but I went to a new UU community.

I wonder what people think of when they think of god??

I think of a being that we are too small to fully understand.
I think of religion as having a job to do, which is to be a stepping stone to a slightly clearer view of god.
So it doesn't need to be all correct all the time. It needs to have bits that can get us closer to viewing god.

I guess the question "why do i even believe in god in the first place" - I don't know the answer.

[HappySkeptic]

I wonder what people think of when they think of god??

Good question.  Perhaps a topic for another thread.

Some Christians think that atheists just have a poor concept of God.  The argument "well, I (Christian) don't believe in the god you don't believe in, either" is meant to say that if we only had the "right" concept of God, we'd believe.

Nope.

[Confused-by-christianity]

I wonder what people think of when they think of god??

Good question.  Perhaps a topic for another thread.

Some Christians think that atheists just have a poor concept of God.  The argument "well, I (Christian) don't believe in the god you don't believe in, either" is meant to say that if we only had the "right" concept of God, we'd believe.

Nope.

I made a little edit to my post.

But yes, I guess a person would want to know "what" we are not believing in or not believing in.

I suppose people want to bring you back into the tribe too.

[FrustratedFool]

Whilst I have some sympathy and understanding of the xtian POV, I have come to believe that religion does more harm than good in the world at present. I don't think it a 'good' thing to be religious.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Whilst I have some sympathy and understanding of the xtian POV, I have come to believe that religion does more harm than good in the world at present.  I don't think it a 'good' thing to be religious.

I like the Christians who gave up their lifeboat seats when the Titanic was sinking.

Oh, wait, none of them did that.

[LinuxGal]

I wonder what people think of when they think of god??

Some Christians think that atheists just have a poor concept of God.  The argument "well, I (Christian) don't believe in the god you don't believe in, either" is meant to say that if we only had the "right" concept of God, we'd believe.

The God I don't believe in is the one in the Bible, the one who drowned all the babies and puppies on the planet.

If Christians tell me they don't believe in that God either that makes two of us.

[snowtracks]

@snowtracks

Not going to find any solace over here among this group. They believe that a fully functional human brain organ developed without a 'mind' previously existing. Well, it could be you also believe that. If that be the case, then you became vain in imagnation and your foolish heart became darkened.

It's a pity that, with all the rules, strictures and prohibitions in your religion, there isn't one that tells you to not act like a complete twat all the time.

Boru

There are those amongst us that shun light & truth.

[Anomalocaris]

@snowtracks


It's a pity that, with all the rules, strictures and prohibitions in your religion, there isn't one that tells you to not act like a complete twat all the time.

Boru

There are those amongst us that shun light & truth.

Light and truth is utterly worthless next to Facts and deduction.

[FrustratedFool]

For de-converts, what led to your loss of faith?
How did you handle it?
How is life on the other side?