Why did you become an Atheist?

Question

As of yesterday, August 28th 2008, I've become an Atheist. I must admit that it is very liberating. The sad thing is that I became an Atheist because something very tragic happened to some loved ones.

So, my question is: Why did you become an Atheist? Did something bad happen to you that just made you believe that there isn't a God? Or did you just come to your senses all on your own?

I found this in photobucket and I love this quote:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh286/kylemorse12345/atheistsgc1.jpg

I believe it is so true.

Answer 1

Cause the very idea of God was improbable and idiotic, and I was raise in a family that values reason.

Answer 2

I've always been one.  My parents took me to church as a child for about eight years but as soon as I was able to understand what was going on, I didn't believe.

Answer 3

I wasnt much into it to be honest. I was on the fence and I started to think about it more and read books, watch videos things of that sort, and then later on concluded... Ive been an atheist for a year and a half now

Answer 4

I'm sorry you've experienced a tragedy.  I'm not an atheist, I fall more along the lines of Agnostic.  But I do agree with the quote you referred to.  I think there is something much more powerful than a man-made God.  The Bible was written by man for man.  It's good that you are thinking rather than blindly following.  Keep searching for what you feel is right.  No matter what, the quest for knowledge is a wonderful thing.  

We are all born with no awareness of a "God" so it is something we are taught to believe.  So now you can teach yourself by research.

Answer 5

Just like you I lost a love one. It was 25 years ago. I asked questions and was given crazy answers. I tried to keep my faith because the person I lost was a devoted catholic. 20 years ago I became an atheist. I saw the world for what it is. All the crazy answers I was getting about God and my beliefs were a joke.

I don't miss it. I'm happy and I have given myself closure and am at piece with her death.

I believe that quote to be true as well.  

Answer 6

Eventually I had to accept that what Christianity taught did not match my personal beliefs. As I eventually lost fear of h**l, I was able to research other religions without feeling guilty. I was searching for another religion, and I wanted to believe in a higher being.

The more I studied religion, though, the more obvious it became to me that it's all fake. I ended up an agnostic and finally an atheist, because there is no proof for the existence of any gods or goddesses, and for so many other reasons.  

Answer 7

Just realized that the bible made no sense.

Answer 8

I believe that out of all the affiliations and labels that are associated to people based on their respective beliefs that only the Agnostics got it right!  They've accepted the fact that existence of a higher being cannot be proven or disproven through scientific means.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic faith but have since done my own research and found that Biblical beliefs are flawed.  I was also turned off by the arrogance and hypocracy of the religious zealots which are abundant among all of the religions.

BTW...  Bumper sticker of the year, "Jesus loves you!  (But everybody else thinks you're an a$$hole)"   hehe

Answer 9

I would answer, but you'd just think Child of Ape had an echo.

In other words, my answer is exactly the same as what s/he put.

((((hugs))))

~Loving Light~

Answer 10

I was born this way.

Answer 11

I don't believe most atheists are atheists because something tragic happened to them.  For me, it is just beyond my comprehension the existence of a god.  I guess I would say I just came to my senses when I was around 13 years old.

Answer 12

cuz it makes sense!!

Answer 13

I was always an atheist. I was never Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. My parents let me decide for myself and they didn't influence me in anyway. (They're Christian)

I became an atheist because I was always skeptical of religion. Religion and the concept of a God or Gods is just full of fallacies. It makes no sense and doesn't seem to serve any purpose, but prey on the stupid and create a comfort zone, making people think there is an afterlife.

I've never had anything "tragic" happen in my life.

Answer 14

Contrary to popular myth, atheists usually don't come about as a result of tragedy.  It can happen, but more often it's a gradual process of reasoning, skepticism, and maturing.  A good education, particularly in critical thinking, helps too.  

Ever since I was a kid, the stories in the Bible just didn't impress me.  No matter how much people insisted they were true, I could not get past the fact that the wilder elements in them read just like fairy tales...only instead of turning someone into a frog, they set lions or something on somebody.  As I read and learned more, I saw the contradictions between what God was supposed to be and the qualities it displayed in its own bible...claims of being "just" while commanding genocide, claims of being "merciful" after supposedly killing nearly everything on the planet, temper tantrums, silly or bizarre reasoning, not to mention stuff that was just flat-out wrong/inaccurate.  The more I studied science (focusing on astronomy and psychology, mostly, but with a smattering of geology, biology, and anthropology too) the more I saw that the claims made by the Bible did not match up with observable reality.  Examination of other versions of Christianity and the Abrahamic faiths revealed many of the same flaws.  

I stopped saying the "under God" part of the Pledge of Alligence, and didn't bother even pretending to pray when someone decided to say grace.

I didn't realize I was an atheist until somebody (an adult) called me (a child at the time) one...and they said it like it was an insult.  

Normally I'm content to live my life peacefully and without making a great deal of noise.  Then I learned about Creationists and their avowed intention of replacing known scientific fact with their religious dogma, and their recurring efforts to force their nonsense into children's science classes.  The more I looked at them, the more I was apalled by their deliberate, willful ignorance, their unrealistic insistence on Biblical literalism (for everybody), and willingness to outright lie to get their way.  These folks are determined to drag American education into the Dark Ages.

So now I pay attention and try to keep them from getting too influential in my local school district.  I also engage in discussions online...like here.

Answer 15

I became atheist because I saw all the suffering in the world, all the bad things that happen & I realized no God could allow this. I started using logic and realized there is no evidence whatsoever of there ever having been a God.

Edit: and yeah I love that quote too.

Answer 16

The devil is the king of evil. The bible says "the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy but I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." I find it sad that people fail to realize their is a devil and blame everything on God. But good luck with your new beliefs.  

Answer 17

It's the only sane way to be.

If you study religion, you cannot believe it.  It proves itself false.

Answer 18

My sincere condolances to you and the people you loved that had this bad thing happen to them :(

I became an Atheist while translating the Koine Greek of I John while in Hermeneutics class in bible college.  I was a creationist, soul-winning fundy and it was the last thing I thought would happen!  The bible was just too full of holes and the god depicted in it was too immoral.  I couldn't swallow it any more.

Answer 19

I am sorry to hear that something tragic happened in your life.  Whether it is a loss of someone dear to you, or just a bad case of life I am truly sorry.  But that is no reason to let go of the only one who loves you.  Now you may be saying that He doesn't love you because he doesn't prevent evil from overcoming us sometimes, but I assure you He does.  I have been through horrible things in my life but the only one that got me through was God!  Another example is to look at Steven Curtis Chapman and his families dilemma.  His son accidentally ran over his youngest daughter of 5.  Although the pain of losing someone who had so much to live for, not to mention having your son be the cause, God's never left them.  Lastly, look in the bible at the book of Job.  He lost everything and almost died.  But he stayed close to God through it all and He eventually blessed him more that he had before.  God loves you and has not left you.

Bad things happen to us not because of God, but because of US!  Man sinned in the garden of eden and brought death, destruction, sin, disease, and tragedy along for the ride.  While life is hard to bear and seems unfair, God does not allow bad things to happen, he loves us enough to give us choices but with consequences.  Whatever your tragedy is, God knows, cares, and is crying right with you.  It is not the result of God not doing, but being a loving father.  A good father does not force his hand or will upon his children, but loves them enough to let them make their own choices, granted providing guidance on the way, and suffer the consiquences.  God, the ultimate loving father, gives us the freedom of choice, the bible for guidance, but we must face the consiquences of a sick and sinful world.  I know this may seem to "church" of an answer, but it is true.

God loves you and is sad to see you walk away from a love that is never ending.  I hope you find God again and realize that God is in control, and while sad and horrible, he uses the evils of this world to do great things.  In the bible, when Lasurus died, I am sure his family grieved.  He was Jesus's friend and He did nothing to help while he was still alive.  But God, using death and sorrow, raised him from the dead.  God is waiting to use your tragedy for an awesome work, don't be blinded by what the world tells you.  God is real, and He loves you.

God bless

Answer 20

I became an atheist because I could no longer justify my theistic beliefs. It was as simple and yet as complicated as that.

Epicurus was awesome.

Answer 21

I feel bad for your situation. I had a very close person to me pass away, and I did almost what you have done, but with a different outcome. I searched for the truth and the balance in nature and tried to make sense of things. Why did it happen to me? Why was this person gone so young? I prayed that I would do anything to have her back. And you know what happened? Two weeks later i got pregnant. Call it what you will, but I started to onform to Buddhism because of the cycle in life and reincarnation. I have eventually come back to Christianity, but I still believe my daughter is here for a reason, and because I prayed to have my loved one return.

Answer 22

You don't "become" an Atheist.  You are born that way.  It's not a choice.

Answer 23

My self..i was raised by Catholics and i was given a choice.

I took it and never looked back

(about 36 years ago)

Answer 24

always been an atheist but nothing bad ever happenned to me  

Answer 25

While I'm glad you're an atheist, I'm sorry that your path to this position had to involve this tragedy. My thoughts are with you.

I like the quote from Epicurus, though I'm not sure how we've been winning since 33 AD. If that's the death of Jesus, it certainly wasn't caused by atheists, and since then, there haven't been many atheists until the last couple of centuries.

I used to consider myself an agnostic, I was raised by nonreligious parents. Over time, I read about religion and scientific findings, and came to the conclusion that there was no need for a god to design the universe and its life. I was especially dissatisfied with the account of creation in the Bible, and the literature that claims that the Biblical account is true. After that, I considered myself an atheist. Lately I've come to the opinion that agnostics are a form of atheist anyway, since agnostics must not believe in a god if they aren't even sure if one exists.

I continue to be interested in science, as well as religions and their effects on people and society. While I think there are some very interesting mental states involved in spirituality, I don't see a need for the supernatural to explain them.  

Answer 26

I was overcome.

By common sense, logic, reason and the actual use of my mental faculties in questioning religious doctrine.

Answer 27

It was a gradual awakening.