It wasn't voluntary. I just slowly realized that I was no longer able to convince myself that my Christian beliefs were accurate.
Can you explain what God's love is supposed to feel like?
I don't think the words I could use like breathtaking, powerful, transcendent...really do it justice. It's one of those things you need to see for yourself. If you have felt such power, such warmth, such joy, it would take actual proof God doesn't exist imo to not believe.
Those are all descriptions of feelings that the human mind can manufacture or perceive, all on their own, to meet personal psychological needs.
There's not really an answer to that question, in my opinion, since atheism isn't a thing in and of itself. I could say something like "It's helpful to know that I'm not going to burn in Hell," but that's not about atheism. That's about not being a specific type of Christian.How does atheism meet your personal psychological needs?
There is a difference between believing in Christianity and believing in a vaguely defined God. @bhsmte mentioned the psychological explanation, but there is also the possibility that you experienced a non-Christian deity and misunderstood it to be the Christian God because that is what you wanted or expected to experience.I don't think the words I could use like breathtaking, powerful, transcendent...really do it justice. It's one of those things you need to see for yourself. If you have felt such power, such warmth, such joy, it would take actual proof God doesn't exist imo to not believe.
and misunderstood it to be the Christian God because that is what you wanted or expected to experience.
There's too strong of a correlation between an adult's religious affiliation and the religious affiliation of his or her parents and community. I don't doubt that you consciously want the truth, but none of us is without bias.Why assume I or any christian want the christian God? when we just want the truth.
And this means that it can't be truly God? How does atheism meet your personal psychological needs?
My hypothesis is that a God exists but He isn't the God of any particular religion. If you are a Christian then He might appear as Jesus. If you are a Wiccan then He might appear as the Green Man. This God doesn't care if you are a Christian or a Wiccan, but when necessary He will meet each person in a way that gets the message across most effectively.Why assume I or any christian want the christian God? when we just want the truth.
Excellent question for former Christians!Have you ever felt God's love?
LOVE and BANE don't mix, do they?Funnily enough, it was a mystic experience of Love that made me gradually turn away from Christianity and its "holy" book.
My hypothesis is that a God exists but He isn't the God of any particular religion. If you are a Christian then He might appear as Jesus. If you are a Wiccan then He might appear as the Green Man. This God doesn't care if you are a Christian or a Wiccan, but when necessary He will meet each person in a way that gets the message across most effectively.
Hopefully that example explains what I mean.
Are you destitute for one?Does this only apply to people who get a lovey dovey feeling when they feel like God communicates to them?
Shoko Asahara - WikipediaMehGuy said:What about people who are attracted to concepts like a God of war?
I just finished watching some lectures on the Assyrians. Apparently they were very religious people who saw themselves as diligent servants of Ashur creating order from chaos. That is why they were so cruel to rebels like the Israelites. The Israelites were rebelling against God (Ashur) in the eyes of the Assyrians.Does this only apply to people who get a lovey dovey feeling when they feel like God communicates to them? What about people who are attracted to concepts like a God of war? Although might be a little funny considering those same people can probably relate well to vast passages in the old testament.
Is that why God sent Jonah to the capital of the Assyrian empire?I imagine God might be less concerned with peace versus war and more concerned that people pursue their divine purpose?
Malthusian catastrophe - Wikipediacloudyday2 said:IDK War is just another form of competition and natural selection (among nations instead of organisms)?
Are you destitute for one?
Shoko Asahara - Wikipedia
Not war exactly, but Shaki is the God of Destruction.
I just finished watching some lectures on the Assyrians. Apparently they were very religious people who saw themselves as diligent servants of Ashur creating order from chaos. That is why they were so cruel to rebels like the Israelites. The Israelites were rebelling against God (Ashur) in the eyes of the Assyrians.
I imagine God might be less concerned with peace versus war and more concerned that people pursue their divine purpose? IDK War is just another form of competition and natural selection (among nations instead of organisms)?
You missed a lot then.As a Christian I never cared much for the old testament and didn't find it inspiring at all.