Why are you Atheist/Agnostic

[FrostyM288]

Though technically not a debate question...hope the moderators don't mind this topic .

For those of you who aren't religious, why are you and was there a turning point in your thought (i.e. former theist --> atheist)?

[FrostyM288]

Personally, I grew up in a relatively non-religious household. My dad's buddhist and my mom's catholic, but they never really talked much about their religion. As such, there was obviously no "turning point" for me.

I've always been an agnostic, but haven't always known the reason myself. When I started thinking about it, I found that my general logic was that with or without the existence of God, the world as I know it would be the same. Thus, why worry about it?

In addition for Abrahamic religions, I feel that if man was created in God's image, and man's defining characteristic is empathy (I believe at least), then that would also be God's defining characteristic. Thus, our lives would be judged as a whole and not as a summation of worship activities. As long as I live my life based on what I believe is good, then I would be fine. If this isn't the case, and I'm cast into hell for not accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior or any of the other things other religions say, then I don't think it'd be worth my time anyways...

[McCulloch]

Though technically not a debate question...hope the moderators don't mind this topic .

I don't mind the topic. But since it is not a debate question, I have moved it to the Questions for a Group sub-forum.

My particular turning point was when I sought to understand my own faith more deeply. I discovered that the epistemological support for Christianity is largely absent.

[flitzerbiest]

The principle reason that I am an atheist is that the sweeping claims of religion in terms of transformative living (i.e. the "fruits of the spirit"), the effectiveness of prayer and the knowledge of liberating truth are demonstrably a large pile of horse feces. In other words, I trusted and invested in the beliefs and processes, awaited the results (in my life and that of others) and drew my conclusion based on what I saw.

[sickles]

i had two turning points.The first was in in church at age 7 or so, and realizing that it didnt make sense to me. The second was reading a book that changed my world view fundamentally and completely.

[Filthy Tugboat]

For those of you who aren't religious, why are you and was there a turning point in your thought (i.e. former theist --> atheist)?

Why I'm not religious is simply because I don't believe the claims of religion are true, never really have. I didn't so much choose atheism or have a cause for atheism, I merely realised I was an atheist. Was never a theist unless you count perhaps the few years under the age of 10 where the idea of God seemed plausible albeit meaningless to me.

[Question Everything]

I was a born again Charismatic Christian who was in it about as deep as anyone I have ever known. My story is similar to Dan Barker's, except that I never became a minister. (The closest I came to being one was leading Bible study groups, which I did a few times.) However, I did go to a Christian middle school and high school.

My turning point came when I wanted to know what God's plan was for my life, and I never got an answer. The God I believed in communicated with people. Just look at the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-39) and the "doubting Thomas" (John 20:24-28), and you'll see what I mean. However, he was not saying anything to me at all.

Looking deeper into why this was (including the history of Christianity, which is a house of cards resting on a foundation of soap suds) caused my whole belief structure to collapse.

[Question Everything]

I discovered that the epistemological support for Christianity is largely absent.

Could you be more specific?

[Question Everything]

The second was reading a book that changed my world view fundamentally and completely.

What was that book?

[Lux]

I wouldn't say I was always and atheist, but I would say that I was always, as far back as I can remember, deeply skeptical about everything and particularly religion. I don't think I ever would have even tried to believe (which I did) if it hadn't been for social pressure.

After all my efforts, I could wrap my head around a non-interventionist deity (never believed in a personal god after the age of 12). My breaking point was realizing that even though I understood the concept of a deity and accepted it as possible, I didn't believe in it, and that was ok. Absence of evidence means a lot to me; I have no reason to believe and therefore I don't.