Theists, how would your life be different if you were an atheist? (atheists welcome as well!)

[Ninjaneer]

So believers, what do you imagine your life and thought process to be like without your belief in god(s)/the supernatural?

And if you already are an atheist, how did your pre-atheist life differ?

As an atheist, I would have to say the main (most life changing) differences between then and now are that:

When I believed, there was always someone to ask for forgiveness. A lot of times I went through an almost subconscious process of green lighting myself for questionable actions by playing the “if I pray, god will forgive me” card. Without god’s fuzzy leniency/justice, I find I am a much better person in everyday life as I am forced to take full responsibility for all actions.

When I believed, I couldn’t drink. This has had a HUGE impact on my social life. I was always the outsider in my circle of buddies (not due to any fault on their parts). In my experience, a good chunk of male bonding occurs over drinks at a bar. I missed out on this for most of my life. No longer. My personal relationships took a huge leap once I could attend all the parties and post-midnight talk/drinking sessions :D

When I believed, I wasn’t as kind, or as outspoken about injustices. There is a huge difference (imho) in the level of passion and conviction one can muster against injustices when one believes this is the only life we have vs. believing god will fix everything in the end. By the same token, I think when you realize everyone other than you also has only these few years to find happiness, you’re much more likely to treat them kindly.

When I believed, I felt guilty all the time. The funny thing about this one is that I didn’t even realize I had felt so damn guilty till it was gone. I mean sure, I “knew” about the obvious guilt of things like masturbation/porn/whatever but these episodes would pass after some time. The guilt I am talking about though, I only knew was present once I felt its absence. After I stopped believing, my baseline for happiness took a huge jump.

When I believed, I always felt like a victim. Whenever something bad happened, one of my first thoughts would be “god could’ve stopped this if he wanted, I can’t believe he’s doing this to me”. I would waste so much time (not really on purpose) dwelling on that fact. Now when bad things happen, I spend a millisecond on “no one’s out to get me, its just life” and get on with fixing things.

And lastly, sex, of the guilt free variety. I already covered guilt, but I felt like this one deserved a special mention. :P

[MineralMan]

1. Hmm...not much difference at all.

I did stop doing church activities, mostly, although I still did some music stuff from time to time. Other than that, though, there was very little difference in how I lived my life when I gave up the attempt to believe what I could not believe. I was the same person before and after.

[Ninjaneer]

2. Do you think you ever really believed?

I think I feel so liberated/happier because I sincerely bought into it all, heh (not proud to say) :P

[MineralMan]

3. Yes, I did, through about age 15, when I started my adolescent

questioning of everything.

[damntexdem]

4. Hey, how about us agnostics?

;-)

Well, actually, I've been both a believer and an atheist -- before becoming a born-again agnostic.

And a hard question to answer because the various beliefs were at different development stages.

[Ninjaneer]

7. Oops, sorry.

:hi:

[laconicsax]

8. Agnosticism and atheism aren't mutually exclusive.

Agnosticism is about knowledge, atheism is about belief. They are answers to different questions.

Atheism is answering "no" to the question, "Do you believe in a god?"
Agnosticism is answering "no" to the questions "Do you know if gods exist?" or "Do you think it's possible to know if gods exist?"

One can be a gnostic theist, an agnostic theist, an agnostic atheist, or a gnostic atheist.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. When I was a christian I was suicidal.

because I was stupid enough to take their bullshit seriously. Preachers ranting about how sinful we all are. They don't know me, they don't know my background. My mistake.

That's why I hate the song Amazing Grace. I am not a "wretch" and neither is anyone else, thank you.

Now I'm an atheist/secular humanist studying Buddhism.

No guilt and no suicidal thoughts. Doing the right thing, merely because it's the right thing to do, and that is sufficient unto itself.

:D

[struggle4progress]

10. John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, had good reason to write those words: he had been

working in the slave trade, converted to Christianity, but continued to work the slave trade a while more, before he finally became an abolitionist: I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. We don't have legal slavery anymore.

:shrug:

[struggle4progress]

13. Y'know, I think I might remember reading about that somewhere. Gotta link?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. It's called the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 only applied to the Confederate States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Yes I am a lawyer, but I do not play one on TV. :D Unlike Shatner.

[struggle4progress]

15. I sorta thought I'd heard something about that somewhere. Probably back in high school --

how George Washington kicked German butt after they started World War I by bombing Pearl Harbor and all that stuff

[Ninjaneer]

19. Sorry you had to go through that.

Congrats on breaking out of that prison :fistbump:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

25. It's because of the Reverend D.Z. Cofield of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

The church where Barbara Jordan and her two sisters, Rosemary and Bennie, were raised.

They refused to give me a job when I wanted to help them spread their word. The preacher wanted two thirds of the profits, had we done it. I am totally against Christianity for those reasons.

I also blame Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village United Methodist Church. We went to him and wanted to work with him to spread his word through electronic media and he didn't want to pay us a dime either.

Two very large churches with affluent and educated congregations. To hell with 'em.

They are greedy and phony.

[laconicsax]

6. My life didn't change much.

When I was a theist, I went though life as though there was no god:

I looked both ways before crossing the street, I wore a seatbelt, I washed my hands after using the toilet, I drove cautiously on snow/ice, I turned off the electricity to the kitchen before fishing dropped silverware out of the garbage disposal, I wore a helmet when riding a bike.

After moving through a brief deist period (a couple months) into atheism, I still go though life as though there is no god:

I look both ways before crossing the street, I wear a seatbelt, I wash my hands after using the toilet, I drive cautiously on snow/ice, I turn off the electricity to the kitchen before fishing dropped silverware out of the garbage disposal, I wear a helmet when riding a bike.

All that really changed is that I no longer spend any time praying.

[struggle4progress]

9. I've never been big on the supernatural: I want my religion for other reasons

... Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently ...

Every time I look into the Holy Book I want to tremble
When I read about the part where the carpenter cleared the temple
For the buyers and the sellers were no different fellas than what I profess to be
And it causes me shame to know we're not the people we should be

... I'm feeling kinda of guilty bout the number of times we do what we must do ...

Put your hand in the hand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJZF-srbVTk&feature=related

[Ninjaneer]

18. Would you mind elaborating a bit further please? n/t

[struggle4progress]

27. It's handy to have a crutch when dealing with jerks, so you can smeck em in the schnozz

[WolverineDG]

11. You only made yourself feel like an outsider for not drinking

I don't drink & hang around people who do all the time. Doesn't bother me & it shouldn't bother them. I've never cared for alcohol, the way it tastes or smells. I've seen folks completely wasted & funny enough, I've never felt that I'm missing out on anything special.

dg

[Ninjaneer]

17. Hey, thanks for the condescension!

I am happy you are happy with your choice.

[WolverineDG]

21. No problem!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady in Condescension.

dg

[Ninjaneer]

22. Where did I say I felt inferior?

Get over yourself. You made your choice and I've made mine. Don't pretend to know the situations I have been through better than me.

We are done here.

[Taverner]

16. If I were a theist I would still have nightmares of going to hell...

Headaches from trying to reconcile fairy tales with science...

I'd be out 10% of all of my income...

And I'd be scared shitless of death

Yeah, gimmie that religion. Hoo boy.

[Ninjaneer]

20. 10% of all your income? n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. Yep. That's what tithing (read:extortion by preacher) is.

[Taverner]

24. It's called a 'tithe' - some churches it's voluntary, other's (LDS) it's mandatory

[dimbear]

26. Tithe is an old form of the word 'tenth.' The equivalent French word is

'dime.' Amaze your friends.

[kwassa]

28. I was brought up agnostic/atheist, and am now a theist.

How is my life different?

There is a great sense of connectedness, meaning, and peace in my life that I never has as an atheist. "the peace that passeth human understanding". I feel more in sync with life in all its processes. I love prayer, which is simply a way of turning myself towards God, who in my personal theology is not a being at all, more of a Holy or Great Spirit.

I am interested in all religious and spiritual expression, not simply Christian expressions. It is a universal human impulse, and always will be.

[Ninjaneer]

29. I am glad

that you've found peace and meaning in your life :)

For the record though, it is not a "universal" human impulse. I, and many many others, do not fall under your umbrella statement.

Also, may I ask (out of sheer curiosity), what lead you to believe that your "personal theology" is the correct version when men/women who've made theism their life's business have "truths" different than yours?

[kwassa]

30. I don't believe that there is one correct version.

God, by definition, is vastly greater than our ability to understand it. All we get are glimpses and clues, but these glimpses and clues are very valuable. As hard as God is to define, the effort to know God is very rewarding.

[darkstar3]

31. Funny. I found far more peace when I abandoned my faith than was ever provided by it.