Three Questions for Theists

[CarpeDeum]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.


I realize this is more than three questions, but the extra ones were just paraphrasing... I'm generally a busy guy, and I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so please don't take a lack of immediate responses to mean that this is a drive-by. It certainly isn't, and I plan to discuss this in detail when I get back.

Thank you.

Geoff

[MooseOnTheLoose]

1. Common sense.

2. None whatsoever. Rationality demands it.

3. I cannot imagine such a thing. I cannot see that I would willingly chuck my humanity down the drain.

Excuse the blunt answers, but that's the sum of it.

[GakuseiDon]

1) I was agnostic for most of my life. I realised that I was taking faith positions on many things, and that belief in God was just another one. It seemed inconsistent to not take the same step towards theism.

2) Not really, other than recognising that I could be wrong about the whole "God existing" thing.

3) I can only think that it would have to be an emotional response to some tragedy. Maybe the death of a loved one, etc.

[element771]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

I was raised in a Catholic home and never doubted that God existed until I had a minor medical scare when my daughter was only two months old. It sent me on a quest to discover if I really believed or did I believe only because I was raised Catholic.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Yes, I am a scientist and we are trained to look for verifiable evidence. Upon much searching I realized that theism has more satisfying answers for more of the ultimate questions regarding science and the nature of the universe. Being a scientist, I am paid for the awesome task of studying God's handiwork. Many people don't realize the beautiful complexity that is required for even the minimum of biological systems. I view it as privilege to be able to delve deeper into the great mysteries of biology than most people care to.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

My main thought is that something has to be eternal and uncaused. The two choices are material (atheistic) or Mind (theistic). Knowing what we know about the nature of matter, I feel pretty comfortable with my position of believing that Mind (i.e. God) is eternal and uncaused. I don't buy the "happy accident" theory of existence because without a creator then all of existence is one big accident. Once I realized this, I knew that I could never be an atheist.

[mig_killer2]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

I was raised Baptist. in August and January of 2007/2008 I seriously doubted my faith, but I read C.S Lewis' presentation of the argument from morality and that set me on the path towards me being an apologian, and then my faith was significantly strengthened when I watched the stickam debate between Kabane52 and freigmachten and that sent me on the path towards historical apologetics

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

nope, not really. the cosmological argument, the argument from morality, the fine-tuning in hte universe, and the historical fact of the resurrection strongly convince me that my beliefs on the matter are in fact true.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

hmm. I can only think of 2 reasons why the existence of God can possibly be doubted and that is the difficulty of reconciling free will and omniscience, and the problem of human suffering.

[Vivian]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

I have always known God, since my earliest memory.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

I don't believe in belief based on intellectual analysis. Such is merely opinion.

My belief is based on experience.

As a small child I believed in God, just as I believed in my mother and father - all because of my experience of them. And like my childhood belief in my parents, my childhood belief in God was innocent.

As I aged, though, I came to see that my parents were not trustworthy, nor was religion nor anything of man - including their opinions about God. But God remained trustworthy through it all.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

I have been what some call agnostic - in my early twenties when I came to the conclusion that religion ruined my relationship with God. And so for some years I left religion behind and tried to ignore God, but he could not remain ignored for ever.


But being atheist is not possible. That would be like not believing in the existence of rain or wind.



vivian

[Hamster]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

Life, existence, etc. are incoherent without meaning. A universe unintelligently burping into existence doesn't provide meaning. The default position for me then was "someone caused the universe" and for me the answer was some kind of omnipotent super-intelligence.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Yes, I was going through a painful and stressful time. This caused me to question the reason to go on at all. I came to the conclusion that life must have some external meaning or else it is not worth continuing. I found that for some reason life was worth continuing, which led to the conclusion that it must have meaning. If I had been perfectly comfortable I probably wouldn't even have cared about the meaning of living.

After ten years of studying Christianity, I have other reasons I believe Christianity and theism are true. However, I reject any view of the world that undermines the real sense of purpose and meaning I sense in my life and in those around me.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion?

I've been living a comfortable life relatively free of stress and I just stop caring about meaning and purpose. I become apathetic and cease caring about the existence of God

[Abelard]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

Teleological experience. I have things happen in my life where I experienced the noetic, undeniable presence of God.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

No. I can't expect anyone else to understand it, but that's really not necessary.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

Atheism is logically untenable. First, you can't prove something doesn't exist, so be accurate and call yourself an agnostic. There will always be a possibility God exists.

Second, just because you can't understand or prove something doesn't mean it's impossible.

Third, the idea that the existence of God must be scientifically proven is inappropriate. A better model is how to make a good business decision. Dozens of decisions must be made every day without the luxury of a complete data set. You cannot wait for surety; you must decide immediately based your assessment of the probable outcome.

What can be proven - at least with Christianity - is that people have found it personally helpful for centuries. The cultural, social, charitable, scientific and psychological benefits are tremendous.

If you are at all serious about discovering God scientifically, try a simple experiment. Go to the place that you visit daily where believe you are most likely to find God and pray as sincerely as you can that God would reveal himself to you. You will remember that prayer every time you pass the spot, and if there is a God who hears prayer he will give you reason to believe.

[Sir-Think-A-Lot]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.


I realize this is more than three questions, but the extra ones were just paraphrasing... I'm generally a busy guy, and I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so please don't take a lack of immediate responses to mean that this is a drive-by. It certainly isn't, and I plan to discuss this in detail when I get back.

Thank you.

Geoff

1. I spent around 5 years(I cant give an exact date) looking at various beliefs, before I realized that Christianity made sense.

2. Not really. The more I learn the more my faith makes sense to me.

3. I'd have to be presented some pretty convincing evidence of athiesm's truth.

[lilpixieofterror]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

In short, careful study and analysis.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Not really, at least after careful study and thought into the topic I often discover that either the objection I heard/came up with was inadequate or just unable to hold up to closer inspection.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

Since it would take alot for me to become an atheist, I doubt it would ever happen. Even growing up in a family with an indifferent attitude I found atheism to be a position that pretty much rested on faith. Why? Because there is far too much of a reason to believe in the possibility of a God for there to be no God at all. Atheism is a system that takes way more faith then I'm willing to give. You can not know for sure there is no God or be reasonable certain. On the other hand, I can be reasonable certain that there is a God. Sorry, but I do not see a clear path and atheism is going to have to develop far more evidence or far better explanations in order for me to believe it.

[themuzicman]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

I was raised in a Christian home, so I was exposed to God and church all of my growing up life. After I left home, I began to search for what I believed. But I had enough experiences of God by that time that there was simply no way to deny what was real.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Not at all.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

Don't see any path at all.

I suppose it would be the result of some cataclysmic event which colored and distorted my view of God and reality.

Michael

[shadowmaster]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

Shadowmaster is big flip-flopper. He has been into atheism at least once and agnosticism more often. He started life as a roman Catholic who just believed what he was told. Ultimately he has come to believe in a Creator of the universe because of the way that the universe is. It is far too improbable for it to be an accident-- given the physical laws that give rise to life and the moral laws which have evolved with humans in this universe. Shadowmaster has seen no other viable explanation of the facts.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Always! The Shadowmaster has doubts and explores alternatives. He only seen the "multi-universe" concept as a viable alternative. That notion seems to be far more outlandish and desperate, based on Occam's razor. He welcomes any new insights you may have.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

Been there and done that. It usually comes from a feeling that is not easily definable. Then it must be subject to scrutiny. The Shadowmaster always welcomes new insights because @#$%^$#!&ing oneself (lying to oneself) is not good. (He almost said a word that got him modded in the past.)

I realize this is more than three questions, but the extra ones were just paraphrasing... I'm generally a busy guy, and I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so please don't take a lack of immediate responses to mean that this is a drive-by. It certainly isn't, and I plan to discuss this in detail when I get back.

Looking forward to it. The Shadowmaster also often gets busy .

Thank you.

Geoff

welcome

shadowmaster

[B21C9L15]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

At FIRST, my belief in God were due to childish causes/reasons. But Now, as I have grown(maturely, I suppose), my belief had evolved and shaped by my way of reasoning.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

Yes, the weakness itself rely on my own weakness to grasp my goal, and even to maintaining(to do) it.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

Actually, to me, regardless if “there is” or “there is no God” my belief will remain, even my belief of God. My belief in God is practically a hope, and my belief in God rests actually in what I consider wisdom, not direct evidence/s of His existence. I guess there is more important issues than mere about God’s existence, even of the issue of the nature of God itself.

As for my finding the Christian God to be the real God, it rests on my understanding of the Gospel that most of my fellow believing Christians do not. As most atheists claim(and I believe to be true), we are all agnostic by nature; since there is no direct evidence of God. And I believe/understand that our agnostic nature is the reason itself of our depravity. The doctrine of salvation through predestination/grace answers the issues of the nature of our being agnostic.

.

[shunyadragon]

Hi there. I'm an atheist. Here's my story, in case you missed it. And here are my three questions:


1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

I arrived at the decision that there exists a 'Source' some call God when I left the Roman Church with the belief that there is no reasonable evidence nor credible reasoning that the God described in traditional Judeo/Christian beliefs exists.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

There will always be weaknesses and inadequacies and that is another easy given, because I am a fallible human.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

No problem, I hypothetically consider the atheist and agnostic position logically and reasonably viable based on the evidence at hand. Of course, the easy one is the ancient Judeo/Christian God just is not there any more than Zeus or Apollo.

[Mountain Man]

1) How did you arrive at your belief in God?

Mostly from my upbringing and the fact that it best explains the world as I see it.

2) Have you ever felt that there was any weakness or inadequacy in how you arrived at your belief, or how you maintain it?

I don't "maintain" my belief in God any more than I "maintain" my belief in my parents. I simply accept that which is.

3) Imagine, if you can, that you've become an atheist at some point in the future. Imagine you've somehow come to think that God isn't really out there. How have you arrived at that conclusion? What has persuaded you of it? How did you get to this hypothetical point, from where you are now? Venture a guess or two, if you don't see a clear path.

The only thing that would convince me that I'm wrong is solid historical proof that Jesus didn't rise from the dead.