Answer 50

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Question 50

Did you become an atheist due to anti-theistic feelings or for other reasons?

I became an atheist because I realized my religion wasn't true. I remain an atheist because I have seen nothing which convinces me any true religion exists, and lots of evidence proving that many false religions exist. The most obvious explanation for these facts is that religions are all false. (Niall McAuley #36)

I became an atheist when logic kicked in and I realized that the god of the bible, as well as the gods of other religions, were unnecessary, unrealistic and illogical. (Darryl L. Pierce #1142)

My initial step down the path of unbelief were due to a confrontation with my youth pastor when I was in high school. However, for a number of years I tried desperately to hold onto my faith, but the doubts kept increasing and eventually I had to accept the fact that I no long believed in a god. (Todd Adamson #1114)

I lost all respect for religion as a teenager while trying to unravel the internal contradictions of my Catholic faith, all the while assuring myself that my whole family were not totally nuts for teaching me all this crap with a straight face. I finally came to realize that they were in the same state of wondering but not brave enough to face the conclusion (before I did). I walked away from the supernatural and never looked back. I have come to see that the Catholic church is a great training ground for atheists. (John Popelish #159)

Well... I'd suspect that to become atheist due to anti-theistic feelings would be rather shakey ground to stand on. Sounds like faith atheism.

I hated religion because I thought it was just mind control. I arrived at atheism because I realized that I don't believe in a god. (Robert E. Charles #444)

No, I became an atheist because I realized that being a Christian didn't make any sense. My anti-theistic feelings came after that, when I discovered what a dangerous pack of mindless pod people most theists are. (Jeff Dee #366)

I don't think I actually "became" an atheist...I never could accept the idea that there was some all-powerful, supernatural thingy out there somewhere. I tried several religions, none of them took, and finally I just accepted that I didn't believe it and that was that. (Zerbinetta #1248)

I myself was an atheist from an early age, but became an outspoken atheist after some fairly offensive abuse by my fundy host-parents and their cult during an exhange student year (California, in case it interests anyone). Before that, i was mostly indifferent to theism. For the reason i originally became atheist was propably due to being interested in history, which made me find out about religions. I became pretty good at it, to the point that i know at least a little about most religions (those that are covered in textbooks anyway :) ). Anyway, from there the leap to indifference was very small, as to me, most religions are indistinguishable from each others anyway (dogmatically). None made more sense than any other, and, to be honest, none of them made much sense to me at all. Ergo; atheism. (Kalle Helenius #907)

I became an atheist (at around age 12) when I realised that what I have been taught as "history" was really based on faith alone and not fact.
I was brought up in a science-oriented family, so I knew early on that the creationism and "early history" in the Old Testament was just human stories about what was thought was the beginnings of the world from people who didn't know the true origins of life on this planet, or much of any science. The church I went to (Anglican) was more oriented to the New Testament "Loving God" theme than to the sadistic "Psycho God" theme of the Old Testament. (Of course, the sadistic "Psycho God" returns and shows his true colours in the New Testament when he lets his boy get nailed to a stick, and then "forsakes" him. Hmmmm... I've always wondered about that line: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Does that mean Jesus died an atheist?) :-)
Regardless, there wasn't any "anti-theistic feelings" involved in me becoming an atheist, just a lack of proof and facts to back up the fantasy. It was after reading about other mythologies that I realised that they were all basically the same, an attempt to remove the finality of death, and to make a greater significance of the insignificant position humans occupy in this vast galaxy.
The only "anti-theistic feelings" I ever get are reserved for the fundamentalists/creationists who distort and deny true facts about the origins of life on this planet, and for those theists who try to use their religion to destroy, harm, threaten, or condemn other people or other people's beliefs or lack of beliefs. (Keith Brannen #713)

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