Has your outlook changed since realising there is no God?

Gauss

For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

jugger0

How do you know?

Augmerson

Yes. I do whatever I want now since I know there will be no consequences or anybody to judge me in the afterlife. I go around selling heroin outside primary schools, ****ting on toilet seats and giving financial advice to Fianna Fail.

FearDark

jugger0 wrote: »

How do you know?

Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.

Tweedle Dumb

There is No God, WHA?

oldyouth

I think the OP means Santa (and he's wrong)

mhigh86

you would have to believe in a god first, so nothing has changed.

Ghost Buster

Yes my outlook has changed utterly with this realisation. I now understand that thunder and lightning is caused by the electrical build up in clouds being discharged toward earth as lightning (or somethin like that) rather than being caused by that big Australian surfer dude with the hammer in The Avengers. Ther Norse really dig him and his hammer.




Or do you have another god in mind?

Mr.Crinklewood

The icon for spell check has changed, I think that is all.

Tipsy McSwagger

Augmerson wrote: »

Yes. I do whatever I want now since I know there will be no consequences or anybody to judge me in the afterlife. I go around selling heroin outside primary schools, ****ting on toilet seats and giving financial advice to Fianna Fail.

You can do those things anyway and still believe in God. Just go to confession and your slate is wiped clean.

Irish Guitarist

Why do you assume everyone that reads this has 'realised' there's no God?

FearDark wrote: »

Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.

No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.

philologos

Gauss wrote: »

For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

(EDIT: Did you not think that posting this on the Atheism and Agnosticism forum would have been more fruitful?)

My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007). That all is forgiven, and that I won't be condemned at the end of time for rebelling against my Creator, and that life has an ultimate meaning, purpose and goal. I found that while acknowledging this universe and the Creator who formed it, that this Creation started making a lot more sense than believing the vague notion that this all came about from absolutely nothing.

The notion that non-believers appreciate the present moment more than Christians isn't really true I find. I acknowledge the here and now, and just because I acknowledge that this isn't the end doesn't necessarily mean I appreciate this Creation less.

FearDark

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.

Same as me so

I love that feeling of knowing you're right.

FearDark

philologos wrote: »

(EDIT: Did you not think that posting this on the Atheism and Agnosticism forum would have been more fruitful?)

My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007). That all is forgiven, and that I won't be condemned at the end of time for rebelling against my Creator, and that life has an ultimate meaning, purpose and goal. I found that while acknowledging this universe and the Creator who formed it, that this Creation started making a lot more sense than believing the vague notion that this all came about from absolutely nothing.

The notion that non-believers appreciate the present moment more than Christians isn't really true I find. I acknowledge the here and now, and just because I acknowledge that this isn't the end doesn't necessarily mean I appreciate this Creation less.

Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?

gbee

Bringing up children in religion, any religion is child abuse, pure and simple.

I was a sponge as an impressionable baby in the 50's and 60's, I did not take the vow or pledge at Confirmation circa 1965/6 and I went through a torturous time and felt very much alone with the realisation that my parents, whom I've never forgiven, had lied to me.

So had my teachers, the priests, the nuns, the Gardaí my neighbours and friends. They all had lied. The most important thing in life, imo, is honesty and trust, I was denied that.

What one believes should be theirs, it's such an important thing that it should be an adult decision, an enlightened decision at that too, not 'just taking over the family business' AND to top it all there are many, many religions.

3ndahalfof6

I have not realized yet, but ill let you know when I do.

Wabbit Ears

For a long time I was sure there was no God but there is always the 'what if'.
Now I think there might be a God but the God of Judea is a complete d1ck.

frag420

If your outlook has changed then go into Tools and then account settings and religious beliefs and you can change it back. Of just change email provider maybe?

philologos

FearDark wrote: »

Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?

No I don't. God isn't imaginary and there are perfectly sound philosophical reasons for believing in Him as a necessary cause to existence.

Secondly, concerning Jesus and the Gospel - we have eyewitness testimony of these events. This eyewitness testimony mentions specific, places, events and people, and this could have been examined by anyone in the first century, and if it didn't hold up, it could have been widely refuted in the first century also. Yet we see no such accounts of this.

Thirdly, the New Testament text is the most authentic in the ancient world, it has more manuscript evidence to show that it wasn't significantly altered. If I can't trust the New Testament then it's likely that I can't trust any other text in ancient history either. If you look at my "Why trust the Bible?" link in my signature you'll see exactly why I can trust the Bible as a reliable source?

Fourthly, the Biblical narrative concerning creation, sin / wrongdoing and the ultimate restoration of Creation makes much better sense than any secular explanation of morality that I've seen which takes the relativist / postmodern approach of saying "what's right for you is right for you, and what's wrong for you is wrong for you" rather than saying that things are objectively right and wrong. The whole atheistic relativist morality falls apart at the first hurdle. What about fieldshooting people in a city centre for a Sunday lunchtime activity? Who are you to say that this is wrong, after what's right for you is only right for you, this could be right for me? Unless of course there is an objective law giver and an objective judge.

Fifthly, I've seen the impact that Jesus has on both me and others.

gbee

FearDark wrote: »

Do you believe in Santa too, or leprechauns... or bigfoot? Or is it specifically imaginary friends you have?

I brought my children up with no God, no Santa.

Recently we had a family reunion and the subject came up, my children said they felt superior to the others who believed and the teachers tried to make them lie, after that failed they asked them not to say anything.

My daughter admitted to having believed in the Tooth Fairy as I had not expressly included the Tooth Fairy as non existent.

We had an otherwise normal time, Christmas had both the Crib and Santa, they were not #banned# it was a bit of fun and a nice thing to do as wanted.

philologos

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

For a long time I was sure there was no God but there is always the 'what if'.
Now I think there might be a God but the God of Judea is a complete d1ck.

You know, I had a guy say that to me at the pub before. I asked him, what would you expect God's standards to be if He did exist?

It largely came down to be true to yourself, and don't be a tool to another?

What does that look like, in a universe where there is a God? Well, being true to yourself involves acknowledging your place within God's creation, and don't be a tool to another by and large would involve living by His moral law.

So essentially we have what Jesus said - Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.

How exactly is the God of Israel a "dick"?

9959

Gauss wrote: »

For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

Couldn't agree more.
However, I sometimes envy people who 'have religion', it must give them great comfort when someone they love passes away, to believe that they'll see them again at some future date.
Perhaps that's one of the reasons why man invented God, for some - even atheists like myself - the concept of eternal 'nothingness' is a difficult one to accept.

Gauss

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

Why do you assume everyone that reads this has 'realised' there's no God?

FearDark wrote: »

Because the OP doesn't appear to have any sort of mental issues from his post.

No, just issues of arrogance and smugness.

There is absolutely no arrogance or smugness on my part. I don't subscribe to concepts of inferiority or superiority. I simply realised God didn't exist.

Ellis Dee

philologos wrote: »

My outlook has changed since realising that Jesus is Lord (in 2007).

The question asked in the OP was essentially how your outlook might have changed once you realised that all the claims the various religions make are hogwash, not how you voluntarily abandoned reason as an adult and replaced it with blind, unquestioning belief. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

But, as they say, where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise, so I'm just glad you are happy in the delusion you have woven for yourself.

Rasheed

gbee wrote: »

I brought my children up with no God, no Santa.

Recently we had a family reunion and the subject came up, my children said they felt superior to the others who believed and the teachers tried to make them lie, after that failed they asked them not to say anything.

My daughter admitted to having believed in the Tooth Fairy as I had not expressly included the Tooth Fairy as non existent.

We had an otherwise normal time, Christmas had both the Crib and Santa, they were not #banned# it was a bit of fun and a nice thing to do as wanted.

You never let your children believe in Santa? I think that's mean to be honest.

philologos

Ellis Dee wrote: »

The question asked in the OP was essentially how your outlook might have changed once you realised that all the claims the various religions make are hogwash, not how you voluntarily abandoned reason as an adult and replaced it with blind, unquestioning belief. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

But, as they say, where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise, so I'm just glad you are happy in the delusiuon you have woven for yourself.

My outlook changed. I was an agnostic, now I'm a Christian.

My faith isn't blind either, it's the result of evaluating the Scriptures, evaluating the evidence, and evaluating the world around me. It's a far more rational approach than presuming that people are deluded without providing any good or sound reason as to why you think that is the case. Making absurd claims about people who believe in God being deluded are worth nothing unless you have a reason for thinking so.

getzls

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

You can do those things anyway and still believe in God. Just go to confession and your slate is wiped clean.

I can't. im Protestant, and their is a God.

smcgiff

Stop derailing the thread plilologos, sell crazy somewhere else.

Similar to the op - actually, I've a memory of believing in santa clause, but cannot ever remember believing in a god, though I must have at some stage as it what i was told to believe.

As i can't remember believing in a god I can't say how I've changed, but i would have a strong moral compass and high level of empathy.

Having a belief in a judging god might moderate the behaviour of a sociopath which would be a tick in the favour of religion.

philologos

smcgiff wrote: »

Stop derailing the thread plilologos, sell crazy somewhere else.

It's not derailing the thread. If the OP is entitled to advocate atheism here, then I've got every right to respond to him and say that my perspective has changed as a result of Jesus? Or is that anathema?

If you have an issue with any of my posts, click the report post button which you'll find under my avatar and a mod will sort me out.

Fiery mutant

I am a Jedi, like me father before me.

gbee

Rasheed wrote: »

You never let your children believe in Santa? I think that's mean to be honest.

Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.

adamski8

gbee wrote: »

Rasheed wrote: »

You never let your children believe in Santa? I think that's mean to be honest.

Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.

If you dont celebrate the 25th then why and what are you celebrating? I agree with you otherwise to just enjoy the holidays and not lying about santa.

smcgiff

philologos wrote: »

If you have an issue with any of my posts, click the report post button which you'll find under my avatar and a mod will sort me out.

Done, but only because you asked so nicely.

frag420

So do you believers (philologos)believe in the all powerfull, all forgiving god that created the earth in seven days about 2000 yrs ago or do you believe in the god that lets half the worlds population live in poverty, allows his representatives on earth abuse children, allows earthquakes, tsunamis etc to kill hundreds of thousands of his children??

It seams to me that this god of yours has some serious character flaws. And let's not get into the whole ' God works in mysterious ways' crap as there is nothing mysterious about being a prick and watching your so called children murder, rape, abuse each other as well as the home you gave them?? If he is real then surely it is about time he grew a pair of balls, manned the fook up and stepped in and stop all the horrible things happening?? Maybe start eith Africa??

Unless of course he is a chicken or imaginary?

Also very convenient of him to provide proof of his existence all those yrs ago. Funny how he doesnt provide proof or turn up now we have video cameras, Internet etc and not just writing it down on parchment as in the past? He is not the biggest fan of technology eh!!


frAg

Rasheed

gbee wrote: »

Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.

Yes, sorry I'm sure you had your reasons but I still think it was mean.

How would it have harmed them to believe up until the ages of 9/10?

oldyouth

gbee wrote: »

What one believes should be theirs, it's such an important thing that it should be an adult decision, an enlightened decision at that too, not 'just taking over the family business'

But have you not just done the same thing with your children regarding your atheism??

Gauss

philologos wrote: »

smcgiff wrote: »

Stop derailing the thread plilologos, sell crazy somewhere else.

It's not derailing the thread. If the OP is entitled to advocate atheism here, then I've got every right to respond to him and say that my perspective has changed as a result of Jesus? Or is that anathema?

If you have an issue with any of my posts, click the report post button which you'll find under my avatar and a mod will sort me out.

I'm not advocating atheism, I'm raising a topic for discussion based on how the realisation of no God exists has effected people's lives. There are times ( we're talking split seconds) where I wish there was a God and am almost tempted to trick myself into believing, but I just couldn't believe in any if it. The hardest part of there being no God is that your family members will be gone forever. I think that has to have an effect on how people live their lives.

midlandsmissus

What if we are God.

Mr Benevolent

philologos wrote: »

No I don't. God isn't imaginary and there are perfectly sound philosophical reasons for believing in Him as a necessary cause to existence.

Secondly, concerning Jesus and the Gospel - we have eyewitness testimony of these events. This eyewitness testimony mentions specific, places, events and people, and this could have been examined by anyone in the first century, and if it didn't hold up, it could have been widely refuted in the first century also. Yet we see no such accounts of this.

Eyewitness testimony isn't considered reliable last week, let alone 2000 years ago. Are you seriously saying that the Bible is a credible and accurate document?

frag420

midlandsmissus wrote: »

What if we are God.

What exactly does god mean anyway?

gallag

If there is a god I hope he is not like the Christian god many believe in, what kind of person would build a society just to worship him, make fathers take a knive to his son to prove he does not love him more, to kill at will because he is not worshiped and to have fear of everlasting pain and suffering as motivation to love him. I reject this god.

upandcumming

gbee wrote: »

I was a sponge as an impressionable baby in the 50's and 60's, I did not take the vow or pledge at Confirmation circa 1965/6 and I went through a torturous time and felt very much alone with the realisation that my parents, whom I've never forgiven, had lied to me.

So had my teachers, the priests, the nuns, the Gardaí my neighbours and friends. They all had lied. The most important thing in life, imo, is honesty and trust, I was denied that.

What one believes should be theirs, it's such an important thing that it should be an adult decision, an enlightened decision at that too, not 'just taking over the family business' AND to top it all there are many, many religions.

Oh please... you'd swear you were the only one.

adamski8

Rasheed wrote: »

gbee wrote: »

Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.

Yes, sorry I'm sure you had your reasons but I still think it was mean.

How would it have harmed them to believe up until the ages of 9/10?

What if he said he and his family were jewish? You probably would have no problem with that then. Just because this whole santa business, and thats what it is, has really caught on with children bombared with the idea that being materialistic is a great thing doesnt mean everyone should buy into it. I think its one of the worst things to teach children. Act sort of good for a few weeks before xmas and **** loads of things you want for nothing. Even though the parents have worked their holes off all year to afford it

gaziah

There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet

gbee

adamski8 wrote: »

If you dont celebrate the 25th then why and what are you celebrating?.

The 25th is a made up day, a target that puts way too much pressure on people and families, we've missed the day, so what.

We celebrate the death of a Turkey and a Pig.

Irish Guitarist

Gauss wrote: »

There is absolutely no arrogance or smugness on my part. I don't subscribe to concepts of inferiority or superiority. I simply realised God didn't exist.

It sounds arrogant to say you 'realised' something like this at the age of nine when the existence of God is something that the greatest minds in history have never been able to prove or disprove. You didn't 'realise' it, you just believed it.

Scientests have been trying to figure out where we came from for millenia. For decades the big bang theory has been their best guess, but now many scientists have started to believe that that's wrong.

Even if and when they do figure out what created the universe it won't disprove the existence of God. There will always be more questions.

As for comparing believing in God to believing in the Easter Bunny or Santa (which someone else did) it's ridiculous. Santa apparently leaves gifts under the Christmas tree. Sooner or later children realise that Santa has the exact same handwriting as their mother, or they just see their parents leaving the presents under the tree.

Meanwhile God apparently created everything. No one has ever seen who or what actually did do this. That is unless someone here has witnessed their father creating a planet or something.

smcgiff

adamski8 wrote: »

What if he said he and his family were jewish? You probably would have no problem with that then. Just because this whole santa business, and thats what it is, has really caught on with children bombared with the idea that being materialistic is a great thing doesnt mean everyone should buy into it. I think its one of the worst things to teach children. Act sort of good for a few weeks before xmas and **** loads of things you want for nothing. Even though the parents have worked their holes off all year to afford it

You never did get that bike for christmas, eh? Just a guess

gbee

upandcumming wrote: »

Oh please... you'd swear you were the only one.

I can but [only] speak for myself.

midlandsmissus

Gauss wrote: »

For me it didn't really change as I was 9 or 10 when I first found out but as the years went by I think it became more apparent that at some stage my family would be gone forever, kind of made me appreciate the present moment more, that happiness is now, not some abstract time in the future.

Why did you decide there was no God?

saintsaltynuts

gbee wrote: »

Nor animations and cartoon characters, it did not mean we din't have our family time watching them with cakes and lemonade. We had a great time at Christmas too, which we also celebrated when we were ready, not just on the 25th ~ the January sales often made our Christmas.

It's the unconditional BELIEF part, I never lied to my children.

I've read your two posts and i bet your a big dickhead.

mickrock

When you say Being, are you talking about God? If you are, then why don't you say it?

The word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years of misuse. I use it sometimes, but I do so sparingly. By misuse, I mean that people who have never even glimpsed the realm of the sacred, the infinite vastness behind that word, use it with great conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about. Or they argue against it, as if they knew what it is that they are denying. This misuse gives rise to absurd beliefs, assertions, and egoic delusions, such as "My or our God is the only true God, and your God is false," or Nietzsche's famous statement "God is dead."

The word God has become a closed concept. The moment the word is uttered, a mental image is created, no longer, perhaps, of an old man with a white beard, but still a mental representation of someone or something outside you, and, yes, almost inevitably a male someone or something.

Neither God nor Being nor any other word can define or explain the ineffable reality behind the word, so the only important question is whether the word is a help or a hindrance in enabling you to experience That toward which it points. Does it point beyond itself to that transcendental reality, or does it lend itself too easily to becoming no more than an idea in your head that you believe in, a mental idol?

The word Being explains nothing, but nor does God. Being, however, has the advantage that it is an open concept. It does not reduce the infinite invisible to a finite entity. It is impossible to form a mental image of it. Nobody can claim exclusive possession of Being. It is your very essence, and it is immediately accessible to you as the feeling of your own presence, the realization I am that is prior to I am this or I am that. So it is only a small step from the word Being to the experience of Being.

-Eckhart Tolle