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Question 122

When you first became an atheist, did you adopt a particular philosophy that you fought for tooth and nail until you realized that such behavior was merely a leftover from your theist upbringing?

• Interesting question. Since abandoning theisim (which wasn't strong at all) I've become somewhat obsessed with THE BATTLE against Fundamentalism and other forms of bigoted, conservative Christianity. I haven't replaced a passion with a passion, though.

  I'm not sure what it is that's been pushing this button.

  Probably Satan. (Steve Scott)

• No, I have never been a believer in the idea that any single philosophical POV held the answers to life. OK, for a period of 6 months I was a rabid Objectivist but I was young and foolish and Ayn Rand is very attractive to the young and foolish who still believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong. (Mike Dahlke #1600)

• Oh, ouch! This one hits very close to home. Yes, I unfortunately did. I told anyone and everyone who would listen just how much I despised religion and spent a lot of time being an ass about the whole thing. It took some time to develop a more tolerant attitude, and now the only time I get bitchy about religion is when it's shoved at me. (Tess #605)

• No idea. I can tell you that wierd stuff (theistic) would pop into my mind at times when the topic had no relation to theism all-that was, I think, the remnants of the superstition programming. It took me years to sort through and eliminate all the garbage. Truely theism is some rabid and tenacious stuff. (Stoney #9)

• I was angry for a while that I had spent so much of my youth living a lie, and angry at the universe for existing for no reason, but then got over it and learned to appreciate life for what it was. (Kae Verens #1664)

• Well I wasn't necessarily brought up a theist, my mom just didn't fight our indoctrination. But yes, I believed for a long time in ghosts. And as I emerged from theism and it's nasty taint, I began to rationalize ghosts, and to come up with possible scenarios that would make ghosts a possibility such as dispersed electrical energy left over from the person who died ect. I finally came to realize that believing in ghosts was as absurd as believing in god or any other mythical being. (Chani #1118)

• No, because I didn't have a sudden apostasy. My theism just kind of gradually dissolved away over a period of years, being replaced by a philosophy that I was making up to fill the void. In those early years I made lots of mistakes, so my philosophy was constantly changing. 20 years later, I'm still tinkering with it, tweaking it here and there.

  I never had to "fight tooth and nail" to protect it; I found quiet discussions, teaching someone how I viewed things, to be much more effective. I wasn't always able to convince them that I was right, but I could always explain it well enough that they could *almost* see it from my point of view. Close enough, at any rate, that they had to admit that my philosophy made more sense than theirs.

  You'd think that would make them atheists, but you'd be wrong. They always had that ace up their sleeves, human limitations. Basically, what they said amounted to: "If you can understand it, it *has* to be wrong, because the universe is too complex for our finite brains to comprehend fully." (Carl Funk #1229)

• When I first became an atheist I did not adopt a particular philosophy, I indeed kept the filosophy I already had because of my upbringing. Although de basics of in are totally in compliance with the basics of Judaism an Christianity, I have discovered time and again, that theists tend to disrespect these basics as least as easy as atheists.

  1. Theists will hurt other people.

  2. Theists will tell a lot of lies.

  3. Theists will take any odd rule to suspend any of the basics.

  4. Theists will make sacred things to worship.

  So I see no reason to drop this philosophy as I realize that it is more easy to maintain without a God than with one.

  Some people might think I still have a religion, but no, no religion would do as it would certainly violate the basics.

  To give a short list of my basics.

  1. Do not have any rule equal or above the following 6.

  2. Do not hurt.

  3. Do steal

  4. Do not lie

  5. Do not leave anyone without a decent life.

  All of which are "stolen" from the decalogue of course. I realize that completely, but that is no reason to chose any other philosophy. I did however develope some views that seem to come from somewhere else 6. Every person has the souvereignty over his/her own body.

  7. Every person has equal right of judgement.

  I guess these are 20th century political statements One coming right from the declaration of human rights, the other one being the principle of democracy.

  "Think for yourself"

  (Peter van Velzen #1107)

• I'm not sure I ever did "first become an atheist". I was raised Catholic... but I never really got much out of it, it was mostly that thing we did on Sundays. I also went to "Sunday school", which was on Tuesdays. I never really identified with or believed in Catholicism, it never made any real impact on my beliefs of thoughts, although my dad tells me that when I was 3 or 4 I liked "Jesus music". My mom stopped being Catholic when I was very young, and then my dad stopped being Catholic when I was nine or ten. And I just kept on not being Catholic. The only real leftover from my theist upbringing is that I think churches are really nifty buildings, and I like a lot of church music (like the stuff in *good* hymnals, not the newage feelgood stuff inhabiting most of the things). For what it's worth, my brother stayed Catholic much longer, and is now somewhat rabidly anti-Christian. But since I don't remember him being somewhat rabidly against any non-Catholic groups or behaviors previously, I don't think you could call it a relic of theism. (Patrick Alexander #1736)

• I did not have a theist upbringing, although some leftovers from religion were present in my childhood, like christmas or going to church for funerals. Their were perceived as a social, not religous, duty (which never made much sense to me, BTW).

  As an adult, far from clinging to these leftovers, I try to fight them as much as I can, i.e. I try not to hurt others while still letting them know that I think otherwise (and why) and that it's my right to do so. Not always easy, since it apparently never occurs to those others that they upset me when they insist that I follow some stupid tradition. Oh well... :-| (Thomas Junier #1737)