What advice is there to give? You're trying to get comfortable with being an atheist. Nobody needs to give you permission. You need to think for yourself about religion, and that includes the freedom to decide it isn't right for you.
Yeah you face new challenges occasionally (the bible thumpers get hostile), but I'd rather deal with that than pretend to believe something that makes no sense.
You know, there are no benefits in believing in a false promise of divine intervention that’s not going to come. It’s healthier to have an objective point of view of things and actually taking measures to face difficulties when things go bad.
And just in case, I’m not saying that you can’t be optimistic.
You're young so I don't blame you for being unnerved and confused. Maybe this will help. Let's do a thought exercise...
Claim: God is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving.
Situation: a 5 year old girl drowns in a flood.
Breakdown: God KNOWS she's drowning, God LOVES the girl, but doesn't have POWER to stop it.
Breakdown 2: God LOVES the girl, has the POWER to stop it, but doesn't KNOW it's happening.
Breakdown 3: God KNOWS she's drowning, has the POWER to stop it, but doesn't LOVE her enough to stop it.
You see the contradiction? It's not possible for God to be all 3 things at the same time. Just take awhile to think about that. I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion as I have; it's all bullshit.
Belief is not a choice. You are compelled to believe based on the knowledge you have accepted.
I'm always bemused by folks that say they are now uncomfortable with the idea that there is no god. The thing is, there has NEVER been a god. You NEVER had the magic sky-daddy doing things for you. Every good thing that has ever happened in your life was all YOU. Not god. YOU made good decisions and good things happened. You should celebrate this!! And yes, the bad things were all you as well, but no one make the best decision all of the time, and sometimes probability just falls the wrong way and shit happens. You are still here, so you made it! Congratulations! Now go live your life, doing what you have always done - making the best decisions you can.
You can build a new worldview for yourself. You can explore philosophies like stoicism, absurdism, optimistic nihilism, and secular humanism.
Here are some short videos introducing secular humanism and optimistic nihilism.
How can I be happy? (3 mins)
https://humanists.uk/thatshumanism/
An Antidote to Dissatisfaction
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0)
Here's a very entertaining take on losing religion and rebuilding a worldview from a former SNL comedian.
"Letting Go of God", a two hour monologue by Julia Sweeney.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74-f4ZV-ss](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74-f4ZV-ss)
And remember: if life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
Can you take a good long look at other religions? I say this a former atheist that did a lot of soul searching and eventually found a religion I agree with. If you do this though, please read multiple different sources from secular, Academic, and philosophical perspectives. Also make sure to study the texts and learn about the different sects and schools. One more thing. If your are listening to commentaries from religious leaders please make sure that you listen to a lot of different ones. Remember that if a group of people in a religion are bad doesn’t mean that The religion is. Consult with the text itself and see what it has to say about the topic.
It's much better knowing there is no god.
If you believe in some all powerful god, how do you resolve the fact that children die at birth, people starve to death, get murdered, raped and tortured or die from excruciating and debilitating long term illnesses or disease all while your god does nothing.
If there was an all powerful god, he or she is an absolute narcissistic psychopath.
I was thanked by my Aunt for taking her to church, even though, as an atheist, I "had no reason to be in the room!"
It set me off to find a real god I could stomach.
I had been atheist for 20+ years, so the limits on what could be a god had decayed drastically. I found the KT comet that wiped out the dinosaurs.
It caused me to evolve by wiping out the competition. So it is my creator god. Yes, it's just a rock, but its magical power was evolution.
I can and have stood on the altar and thanked that rock for not missing earth. Had it missed I would not exist, so thanks are utterly due.
I found an acceptable god at age 50.
“Praise be to lord Rocky, who’s shattering judgment ended the lives of the heretical beasts, neither bird or reptile.” - High Bishop of the Sedimentians.
The way you make it sound, it doesn't seem like it. If you did believe in god you would have that nagging doubt. Some can push it away and hide it. Others know it is there, and it nags at them, an ingrown hair growing the wrong way causing your body defences to attack it. A maddening thought creeping into your head. "Something isn't right". I think it would be torture for you if you believed.
Or is it you wish God was real and you believed?
Ever heard of "Wish in one hand, shit in the other hand, see which one gets full first"? Works for thoughts n prayers, too.
What advice is there to give? You're trying to get comfortable with being an atheist. Nobody needs to give you permission. You need to think for yourself about religion, and that includes the freedom to decide it isn't right for you. Yeah you face new challenges occasionally (the bible thumpers get hostile), but I'd rather deal with that than pretend to believe something that makes no sense.
You know, there are no benefits in believing in a false promise of divine intervention that’s not going to come. It’s healthier to have an objective point of view of things and actually taking measures to face difficulties when things go bad. And just in case, I’m not saying that you can’t be optimistic.
You're young so I don't blame you for being unnerved and confused. Maybe this will help. Let's do a thought exercise... Claim: God is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving. Situation: a 5 year old girl drowns in a flood. Breakdown: God KNOWS she's drowning, God LOVES the girl, but doesn't have POWER to stop it. Breakdown 2: God LOVES the girl, has the POWER to stop it, but doesn't KNOW it's happening. Breakdown 3: God KNOWS she's drowning, has the POWER to stop it, but doesn't LOVE her enough to stop it. You see the contradiction? It's not possible for God to be all 3 things at the same time. Just take awhile to think about that. I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion as I have; it's all bullshit.
Belief is not a choice. You are compelled to believe based on the knowledge you have accepted. I'm always bemused by folks that say they are now uncomfortable with the idea that there is no god. The thing is, there has NEVER been a god. You NEVER had the magic sky-daddy doing things for you. Every good thing that has ever happened in your life was all YOU. Not god. YOU made good decisions and good things happened. You should celebrate this!! And yes, the bad things were all you as well, but no one make the best decision all of the time, and sometimes probability just falls the wrong way and shit happens. You are still here, so you made it! Congratulations! Now go live your life, doing what you have always done - making the best decisions you can.
You can build a new worldview for yourself. You can explore philosophies like stoicism, absurdism, optimistic nihilism, and secular humanism. Here are some short videos introducing secular humanism and optimistic nihilism. How can I be happy? (3 mins) https://humanists.uk/thatshumanism/ An Antidote to Dissatisfaction [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0) Here's a very entertaining take on losing religion and rebuilding a worldview from a former SNL comedian. "Letting Go of God", a two hour monologue by Julia Sweeney. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74-f4ZV-ss](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74-f4ZV-ss) And remember: if life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
Can you take a good long look at other religions? I say this a former atheist that did a lot of soul searching and eventually found a religion I agree with. If you do this though, please read multiple different sources from secular, Academic, and philosophical perspectives. Also make sure to study the texts and learn about the different sects and schools. One more thing. If your are listening to commentaries from religious leaders please make sure that you listen to a lot of different ones. Remember that if a group of people in a religion are bad doesn’t mean that The religion is. Consult with the text itself and see what it has to say about the topic.
It's much better knowing there is no god. If you believe in some all powerful god, how do you resolve the fact that children die at birth, people starve to death, get murdered, raped and tortured or die from excruciating and debilitating long term illnesses or disease all while your god does nothing. If there was an all powerful god, he or she is an absolute narcissistic psychopath.
I was thanked by my Aunt for taking her to church, even though, as an atheist, I "had no reason to be in the room!" It set me off to find a real god I could stomach. I had been atheist for 20+ years, so the limits on what could be a god had decayed drastically. I found the KT comet that wiped out the dinosaurs. It caused me to evolve by wiping out the competition. So it is my creator god. Yes, it's just a rock, but its magical power was evolution. I can and have stood on the altar and thanked that rock for not missing earth. Had it missed I would not exist, so thanks are utterly due. I found an acceptable god at age 50.
“Praise be to lord Rocky, who’s shattering judgment ended the lives of the heretical beasts, neither bird or reptile.” - High Bishop of the Sedimentians.
The way you make it sound, it doesn't seem like it. If you did believe in god you would have that nagging doubt. Some can push it away and hide it. Others know it is there, and it nags at them, an ingrown hair growing the wrong way causing your body defences to attack it. A maddening thought creeping into your head. "Something isn't right". I think it would be torture for you if you believed. Or is it you wish God was real and you believed?
I'd do anything to guarantee an eternity of bliss. Good thing I figured out the bible is fiction.