So you think your an Atheist? Take my test...

reply to post by SuperFrog

We are a bit off topic, and in my opinion OP is just trying to prove himself that he made right decision, making step back. If that is something he likes to do, his own will, but not sure why he has a need to try to prove that all atheists are like him.

I hope my OP did not leave you thinking I was trying to prove anything.

This experience had a profound effect on my life.

The, "There are no Atheists in Fox Holes" answer gave me some insight.

I am still trying to figure myself out. I would never tell others what to think.

Thanks for your replies...

I often pray but religion (and I hope to think God), is irrelevant. Pray to nothing and expect something to happen. "Something" will happen and what it is, is your answer. To me that makes perfect sense. Your thought thus believed, is something.

You can't ask for anything, where the "asked" would be a place in your mind. The thoughts that don't bounce back do the work. There is a big difference between praying and talking to yourself.

I just follow my path and when I strangle myself away from any kind of religious thinking, I have nothing to answer too. It doesn't take too long for materialist thing to fill up with 'wants'.

You can be both atheist and gnostic.

It's about being right with your ... religion ... after all.

Originally posted by Gwampo
I love trolling atheists!

they are JUST LIKE people who believe in God.

They want everyone to accept their beliefs, just like every other religion... silly atheists

Try not to angry that you fell to the biggest troll of them all...religion.

Never….. why would you bother ‘calling out’ for a make-believe fairy tale character?

In the very worst moment in my life (almost drowning) I thought and 'cried out' for my wife and fought to survive and to not leave her just yet.

In the very best moment of my life (at the birth of my son) I just wished / wanted him to be healthy with all my heart – but this did not equate to ‘preying to any higher entity’ or making a ‘deal’ of any sort, it’s just a strong self-command for what you want to take place.

Stop believing that a 'higher power' will give you want you want if you ask or prey for it at either the best or worst moments in your life.

Mickierocksman

no. ive come very close to dying twice now. once by an accident and once by a sickness and both times i knew my time would be better spent living than asking an imaginary friend for help

I was a religious person until the worst day of my life. I called out to god and his silence was deafening... That was the day I BECAME an atheist. I haven't solicited help from any deity since.

I wrote a song about it though in which I ask "is it blasphemy when no one is listening"... STAK - Blasphemy

reply to post by whyamIhere


I don't just pray, I tend to have hissy fits, then a pity party - complete with the "why have you allowed this to happen to me?", and the traditional "I don't want to be here anymore can't I come home yet?!?".

My grandfather always said it's the dialogue that is important. God always listens and never deserts those who hear.

~ Serra

My thought on this is I believe in God no question. I pray only for others not myself I believe praying for yourself is greedy God will take care of you if you take care of others. Also trying to be a good person helps to let's say you steal once in a while and ask God for help for another person he may not help you all the time. No one is perfect but if you try to be a good person and help others you will be much happier in life. I don't go to church very often because I'm never happy there. I read the Bible and do my best to live by it. When I go to church I don't like it because there are songs I don't care for or preachers that dress in bright colors and can't talk just about God. It's always something that I don't like. I am more happy just reading the Bible and praying on my own.

Sounds like you thought you were atheist because it was cool. I don't believe in religion because I have looked into history and I see the lies. Plus yes when I was younger getting the living s*** beat out of me by my drunken father I would pray that "God" would make it stop. You know what he never made it stop. It continued until I was 15-then I beat my Dad until he was bloody. He never touched me again...

As far as I am concerned you are a sheeple too it sounds like, and you want to test our faith in "nothing". I don't believe at all not a drop. When I want something I have a pep talk with myself and I figure out how I am going to achieve my goal. These people are so happy because they believe the GRAND LIE of all times. They believe when they die there will be fairies and people floating in a magical place. Comic book bs...

Anyway-I ask you sir: "Do you really believe there is someone watching all of us live through hell, and they won't help us?" Right now millions of people are suffering yet just a few get to be privileged. Does that kind of control sound like a pleasant God? It seems that God doesn't work for you-he works for only those with money. Your own mother may die a horrible death that could be treated with medicine-the problem is that you aren't rich enough to live on this planet forever. Does this kind of God really seem like someone you want to worship? Sounds like a very mean and unequal kinda guy huh? Why do we have to live through this life and prove our worth?

You are literally wasting your life believing in religion and it controls you whether or not you believe it. But me I am laughing as I watch all the sheeple line up. Maybe it's because I don't need those rules. I know them. I don't steal-I work hard for my money. I don't go walking around killing people-I just know it's wrong. I never needed religion to tell me anything that they "think" they teach us. Laws are written in our DNA we know we should laugh, love, and live. Yet religion and Governments think that we can't do it without their assistance. Sad thing is that I know most of the world needs it. Even if we find aliens your church will rewrite the bible to fit the scene like they always do. It's common sociology-analyze the times by watching our movements. We are too predictable and very gullible. I don't know what to say. Believe what you will-I just hope you all start believing in the same God/s and get along because so far I see you all killing each other and fighting (there is so much fighting with Religion-you have caused people to discuss the topic and are therefor also responsible for people questioning their faith and causing controversy within religion itself).

If you want people to join religion make it so it is safe and fun and doesn't kill other nations who don't believe in just your god alone. And a religion who accepts all faiths and doesn't bash other religions. One that doesn't share pretentious stories to make money. When people come in your door give them money don't take what little we have left. Why are you draining us still? You have almost all our possessions. I see people go to church in a beat up car wearing beat up clothes while the preacher drives out the back on a corvette. Religion has become a circus freak show. More people listen to Korn and Tool than go to church. Why?

AND don't get me wrong I know churches do help a lot of people especially through missions and such, but the fact there is that "Who is really getting that money?" It's the same principle as giving someone a dollar because they are working for The Salvation Army. You know all that money is easily untraceable, so...

The sad thing is that we must be stopped or we will try to control the universe. There we will meet many challenges, especially if there are other races out there who aren't willing to give their planet to us. I say if I get a rocket I will live anywhere on Mars or any other planet without checking with anyone. You don't own the world, the solar system nor the universe. First man to the moon wins! Remember that statement? Now? Shoot you would have to file a decade worth of papers, get insurance, purchase tax credits for carbon and so on. We have lost our freedoms, and have a vague description of who we are. If we knew that we weren't alone in the universe we would all feel better. We could sleep at night knowing someone out there is looking back. But, since we have religion we can't tell people the exciting news that we all already know is real-aliens. Heck we are aliens ourselves pretty gross huh? It's a concept that is all. A name for the unknown portrayed in Hollywood movies as the bad guys who want to destroy us. Destroy destroy destroy. That's all we know of Aliens-besides the fact they don't exist.

I was raised in a very evangelical home. Real Jesus Camp stuff. I, too, questioned my beliefs when I got older. I am now an agnostic-atheist. In case you're not sure what that means, basically everyone falls into one of 4 categories: agnostic-theist, gnostic-theist, agnostic-atheist or gnostic-atheist. Agnostic means you believe one thing but will acknowledge the possibility of an alternative. Gnostic means you only believe what you believe and will not entertain any opposing beliefs (radical Muslims, evangelical Christians, etc.).

So one time I was exposed to a chemical that affected me very, very negatively. I was mentally sent to the worst place imaginable, my body subjected to the most intense pain one could possibly withstand. I nearly went insane during the time I was under the effects of this chemical. At the peak of the experience, I was mentally crying out for God to help me, to save me, to relieve me from this torture.

Does that make me a theist? No. It means I was having the worst experience of my life and I was willing to do anything, ANYTHING to get out of it. My petty belief in the rational didn't matter. My dismissal of God or Gods didn't matter. I could not stand what I was going through and I cried out to anyone, or anything that would listen.

This where a lot of people turn religious. When going through a horrible time, many turn to religion for comfort. Religion can be very comforting to the hopeless and helpless. It offers hope, even if it is false, that everything will be okay and that there is a magical, all-powerful Father living in the sky who cares about you and all of your problems...

So after I eventually recovered (2 days later), I did have a brief reflection on my mindset, especially concerning my crying out to a God to save me. I realized that I was still an agnostic-atheist.

So yes, by your test, I am an atheist.

reply to post by whyamIhere


no i didnt , did you ?

Did you truly think being an atheist would make you happy? You should have just stayed in your religion if that's what you thought. Who could possibly think that attaching your name to something would make you happy. Its as if I became happy because everyone called me quarterback. 8Ts quite obvious why you were miserable. Nothing to do with God. You just haven't found what that which you will go to hell and back to hold on to

everyone in this thread go and do a thorough search on google on what atheist means.

By the way i don't agree with the validity of this test.
God is a word andwords can have different meanings to different people. Its common to say "oh god" even if you don't believe in him. Like offensive words becoming non offensive.

I've been in a situation where i genuinely thought my life was at a end.
And i as many others in that situation have shown the sign of a desperate man and called out to god.
now god didn't show himself but obviously i didn't die. So you could argue he did. But that argument is very weak.

Why would god let a man do terrible things to kids, but save my lazy arse?
Why are we all so judged on something that our ancestors did.
Why did he place such temptations?
If he is the almighty then he would of known what would of happened, and that his creation was flawed.
Maybe god himself is flawed(we are in his image right?)

BTW i don't believe in this idea of a personal god i think its a total human creation forced to the surface by the ego . It is of my opinion though that we probably won't truly ever find out one way or another just because of the nature of the universe.

Originally posted by Bixxi3
everyone in this thread go and do a thorough search on google on what atheist means.

Why? What is google going to impart that you can't?

Originally posted by adjensen

Originally posted by Bixxi3
everyone in this thread go and do a thorough search on google on what atheist means.

Why? What is google going to impart that you can't?

Because im horrible at explaining and describing stuff.

Also if i just went and posted a link then we wouldn't be having this lovely little conversation.

Originally posted by Bixxi3
everyone in this thread go and do a thorough search on google on what atheist means.

NO.

Go to Atheist.org and learn what Atheist means - - - if you really want real facts.

www.atheists.org...

Originally posted by whyamIhere

Originally posted by SuperFrog
Well, honest answer - not just prayed, but asked God why....

Guess if I got an answer...

While we at it, let's talk about what are you missing. Care to elaborate...

Well, here I was this big bad Atheist.

Yet at my worst moment of my life.

I found myself calling out to God.

I just wonder if others ever had this experience.

not all atheists are arrogant or evangelistic. and no i have not called out to a god since i was a child and didn't know any better

I believe there is an axiom that goes something like "the first step to knowing God is rejecting God." In other words, all atheists are simply in stage 1 of a process.

For the record, I was an atheist who turned to God...and God embraced me.

reply to post by Gwampo


I think you missed the point and deftion of Atheism.

Originally posted by whyamIhere
Just a little background...

I was raised Baptist. I was taught not to question Religion. Well, I did.

For thirty years I no longer believed in God. I questioned everything.

Matter of fact, I think I was the first Atheist on my block. I thought I was cool.

I would intentionally say things to shock people I thought were of smaller minds.

I really felt superior. The Sheeple seemed so stupid. I was the only one who got it.

But something was missing. These Sheeple were so happy in their ignorant bliss.

I was miserable. How could this be? I figured it out. I felt like I was missing something.

So I set out to prove everything was just a myth. When I looked deeper, I found something.

I did not write this to judge anyone or their beliefs. My test is very simple. Just one question.

In the very worst moment in your life...Did you cry out to or pray to God?

Please keep your answers respectful...I am truly curious.

Thanks

so what about the atheist that states in his time of need "IF there is a god, dont *%#^ me on this one" he doesn't state his belief in a god, but is open to the possibility of a god.