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Question 58

If you are an atheist, had you reconsidered your (probably dogmatic) reasons for rejecting other gods when losing your faith and/or have you reconsidered this since then?

• What other gods? I tend to assume that most extant religions believe in some variation of the same mythology. If we're talking about ancient polytheistic mythologies, those were always easy to reject as folklore. In the same way that Romans, Greeks, Phonecians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Sumerians, or whomever, anthropomorphized and deified aspects of nature, often with equivalent deities and similar folktales, most modern (last 2500 years or so) religions seek tto interpret and anthropomorphize the human understanding of natural forces. Big words. Let me rephrase that.

  Through some process of forces, the universe and life within it exits. I look at that set of processes and forces as I understand them, and then compare various religious views. Then I say "I see how they could interpret it that way, but I can't agree with that explanation, or that concept of deity." For example, I can understand how the Chrsitian concept of Jesus as sacrificial lamb for humanity came into being, but I can't accept Jesus as the one and only son of God from the beginning of time (a concept that evolved about 290 years after the crucifixion).

  I see some validity in Spinoza, some in Buddhism, particularly Tibetan, some in Taoism, and some in Xoroastrianism. None of these are particularly deistic, and are generally considered atheisic or pagan by xtians. I respect B'hai (sp?) because it forbids proselytizing, and accepts all religions equally (just as I reject them).

  I don't really see my reasons for rejecting various deities as dogmatic, but merely practical and rational. I'm sure if someone would care to present their personal deity in a comprehensible form, I'd reject it through rationale, not by dogma.

  Speaking of dogs, I got a new one from the Humane shelter about 3 weeks ago ("Smokey" Schnauzer/Terrier mix, 1.5 yrs) and he's a lot more interesting than most theists. I believe in dog. (Jeff/addesign #1063)

• No. Despite being raised in a staunch Catholic atmosphere, I was always a little "weird" in that regard. While Catholicism teaches that there is only one god and that there is only one true church, I always felt that the one god was known by many, MANY different names, and could thus appeal (and save) many, MANY more people. I never really REJECTED other gods because I never thought they were separate entities in the first place.

  Now, if we're talking traditionally mythological gods such as Zeus, well, them are just fairy tales. Sorta like I grew to realize the buybull is. No rejection required; you either enjoy the little story or you don't. (Magyck #554)

• I was raised a christian and tried many different religious and non-religious points of view since then. I found that most religions (the monotheistic anyway) had one thing in common: an almost dictatorial grip on the believer, tying him or her to the intermediary priesthood. I could only see one conclusion: it was all a scheme to gain power over people. And once I saw that, the rest was easy. One grain of doubt can be enough to stop an entire machinery. I became an atheist (later a freethinker) and never looked back. (Don Antropos #1001)

• What about us atheists who never had any faith to begin with? I am such a person. I never had to make such a reconsideration, because I rejected ALL gods from the start. Even when I was four years old, I was thinking to myself how silly the entire business of religion seemed. It was just like Santa Claus. And yes, I never believed that Santa literally existed. I sure was a cynical little kid! ^_^ (The Deadly Nightshade #119)

• "Losing" has such a negative connontation. I prefer "realizing that faith is stupid". Anyway, I no longer agree with any religion's reasons for rejecting any other religion, since I can show they're all flawed without resorting to myth. Any god, as I understand the term, has got to be the work of worried people who came up with religion to give them something to look forward to. Karl Marx just put it so concisely, that religion is the opiate of the masses. Well, I have my own opium, so I don't need or want religion. That is my basis for rejecting all gods. That is different from my reasoning when I was a theist. It was, basically, "The Sunday school teacher told me this religion is right and all others are inferior." I became an atheist at a relatively young age (12) and I was never strongly religious (in fact I hated going to church for as long as I can remember) so I never got into deep arguments for any religion over any other. (Chaos Theory #1354)

• After giving up on Christianity for reasons that were as much social and psychological as logical, I flirted with a few other mystical ideas as well as Neo-Paganism (for which I retain a certain appreciation) before deciding that I don't need a religion, and further that materialism properly construed simply makes more sense than any manner of world-explanation based on faith.

  I've at times wondered if the world would be a better place if there *were* deities of some sort --- definitely not those described by Christianity, mind you! But I rank this wishful thinking with the occasional wish to be in Middle-earth, Tellus Tertius, Pendor, or any other imaginary world. To imagine deities thus is a fantasy, and generally not as much fun as the literarily-inspired type.

  Have I seriously considered taking up *belief* in Allah, Kali, or Odin? Nope. I find myself incapable of taking any faith-holding religion any more seriously than I can take Christianity. Religions are at best poetic metaphors and at worst shackles, and I don't feel the need for any such metaphors for my existence, much less shackles upon it. (Karl A. Krueger)

• Only twice have I reconsidered my walking away. The first time was when my wife was found to have an ovarian growth. The second time was last week, when while on my way to work I started having severe chest pains.

  Thank Hypocrites there are doctors in the world. (Karl E. Taylor #1143)

• I never "rejected" deities from other mythologies. I just didn't believe in them. I also didn't believe in anything else supernatural, either. When I finally realized my atheism, all I really needed to do was add another deity to the list of things I just didn't believe in anymore. Did I ever actually REJECT my belief in the xian deity? No, it just kinda went away. (Paul J. Koeck #360)