A question for athiests? Are you really athiest or just living in denial?

Question

I am an athiest too. I tried to be a christian when I was a kid like my parents and my brother but I never could believe no matter how badly I wanted to. I became athiest at age 11 because thats how old I was when I realized "God" was a faith. I am not athiest for any specific reason. I am athiest because I simply am and always have been, wether I liked it or not. And believe me I did not like it at 11.

I hear about some athiests claiming to have been part of an organized religion before they became athiest. And then they turned away for this reason or that reason. I do not believe that we can choose faith like a kid in a candy store " oh I'll believe... oh wait...no... never mind I'd rather not now". So athiests please tell me how it is possible that you do not believe when 1 year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago you cried in front of an alter and truely did believe? Any person who claims to be athiest when they used to be a believer, in my opinion, is a believer living in denial. They are what I call "Closet Christians" and/or "Closet believers". Someone who has fallen away but will return to faith again, one day.

Answer 1

There are some people who go through a phase where they become angry at God and call themselves atheists. They are the ones who give theists the idea that all of us are in denial or that we just want to be sinful or that we're angry with the babby Jesus. At the risk of crying "no true Scotsman!", those people weren't really atheists, they were rebelling.



I never really did believe in God. I grew up in a super religious family, but I never bought it. One day I figured out Hell was imaginary too and I never looked back. There were other light bulb moments too. Several of them! At any rate, I think there are some people who call themselves atheists when they really do believe in one or more god.

Answer 2

Some atheists may have believed, until they reached a point where they started questioning certain things, based on reason and logic. That doesn't mean that they are a "believer in denial"... maybe they were raised in a religious home, and never even heard conflicting information until they moved out and went to college. Yes, you and I may take it for granted, and consider atheism to merely be common sense, but it's not that simple.



Think about it.... what if you were raised in a religious home, went to a private religious school (or were home schooled)... you would have NO reason to question the religion, because you wouldn't have anything to compare it against. Then, one day, you went off to college... read a real science or history book, and suddenly learned that what you have been taught is inconsistent with the rest of the world.... *shrugs*

Answer 3

I know that I can't "choose" what to believe. What I want and what reality dictates are 2 separate things. I can only follow the evidence where ever it may lead and it sure as hell doesn't lead to the existence of a magical and invisible man in the sky. My parents told me that God existed, but I just didn't buy it. The God concept (hiding up in the sky) never made sense when I was completely ignorant of science and the more I learn about science, the more evident is a natural origin not needing any help from a conscious creator.





Edit: You are neglecting to consider that many (if not all) of those atheists that used to believe were brainwashed as a child. People grow up you know and start thinking for themselves. Well, at least some do and those people end up atheists.

Answer 4

Such insight from an 11 year old, or at least an 11 year old's take on the wide world without knowing anything about the billions of people outside of your experience.



You may be right about "choosing faith". however as you become more acquainted with reality, you will see that a large number of people do indeed choose what they believe. There are those that switch around between the Abrahamic faiths, just as there are those that switch to other religions and those that switch to an Abrahamic faith. At best, you are somewhat right in that those that believe are somewhat more likely to trade one set of beliefs for another.



On the other hand, there are those that examine the belief system that they were raised in and upon questioning it, realize that it is nothing more than a belief. Some see the logical inconsistencies in it, some see that it does not come close to describing reality, much less accurately describing it, and others look at the evidence and realize that their "belief" is nowhere close to what the evidence shows.



I was in my forties when I realized that there was a huge difference in what I knew and what I believed. I had to force myself to be brutally honest in objectively looking at what I believed while being rigorous in researching what the actual evidence showed. The more I learned, the less I could continue to believe.



While it may be considered to be a trite example, there is no difference in believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny (or faeries, Bigfoot, ghosts, the loch ness monster, etc) and believing in a god or gods. You either are taught to believe in them or because you lack sufficient knowledge, it appears that belief is a reasonable thing. Once you have formed a belief, it is hard but not impossible to challenge that belief.



I may have been a "born again", fundamentalist, die-hard creationist for most of my life, but I will die as an atheist, simply because the evidence does not remotely suggest that a god or gods might exist and it is painfully obvious that the Biblical god can not exist.

Answer 5

"I am an athiest too"

You can't even spell the word... so I'm calling you a LIAR.



"Any person who claims to be athiest when they used to be a believer, in my opinion, is a believer living in denial."

Oh, I was right - you are indeed a LIAR - how droll.



Kid... I was never a believer - I have always been atheist BUT...



I'd imagine someone arriving at atheism the same way as some one arrives at a-Santa.

On day the boolshyt drops away and you're left seeing reality.

Santa is imaginary... ALL gods are imaginary...



Have a nice fantasy - I'm sure it's keeping you comfortable but always remember...

LYING for Jebus is still LYING ;)



[[edit]]

"@ Everard. You sure did get defensive. Thats the first sign of a closet believer."

Your idea of defensive and mine seem to be at polar opposites.

I was calling you a LIAR - you didn't deny it... that's the first thing I'd have denied ;)



"Get me on my spelling if you want."

I did - it was just too easy like everything else about dealing with you people.

~

Answer 6

I was 7 when i became christian agains my parents will, i prayed for strength and got thrown into the deepest hell ever. at 12 after i was raped i decided God could not exist! if he did how could he let someone suffer so much!

then after growing up a bit more and understanding science, learning evolution etc i became agnostic atheist, not by choice that is just what i am. science can not yet disprove god, however there is no proof that god does exist. thus neither side can truly say they are right beyond an doubt!. however there is no reason for a god to exist thus i tend to lean more towards atheism. thus i am agnostic atheist. most people just class me as atheist cause i argue like one



i don't class that as being a closet believer

Answer 7

Academia states that in the absence of any sort of evidence of the existence of something it must be deemed not to exist until verifiable evidence is found - thus god is held not to exist pending some sort of verifiable evidence.



The bible is what is called "Faction" A fictional story set in a factual time and place. Thus the time, place and real historical characters are all correct but the fictional characters and stories are not!



There is not one single mention of Jesus in the entire Roman record - that is right - not one! At the same time as he was supposed to have been around there were a number of Jews claiming to be the messiah - all of whom are well recorded!



There is not a single contemporary record from any source and even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!



He was supposed to have been a huge problem to the Romans and produced wonderful miracles but still not one contemporary record?



Even the bible mentions of him like all other references were not written until many years after his supposed death!



Pilate is recorded in the Roman record as a somewhat lack luster man but no mention of a Jesus, a trial or crucifixion that would surely have been used to make him look brighter!



At best he was an amalgam of those others but almost certainly never existed!



The Roman Emperor Constantine produced the bible and he was a pagan not god! He took the Jewish religion, organized it into Christianity and then into the Holly Roman Catholic Church!! Not in Israel or any of the countries of supposed origin but entirely ITALIAN!



Not one word of it is contemporary with the period and was not written until several hundred years after the period the story is set in!! How did the apostles write their books more than a hundred years after they would have been dead?



What a wonder full disinformation and deception campaign he waged against his Jewish enemies by turning them into his invented Christianity - so good in fact that Christians are still following the deception to this day!



The first person to provide a shred of verifiable evidence for God will become world famous and mega rich! Ain't happened yet and it never will!



So how does this primitive belief in a god survive? The answer is simple and very down to Earth



Acceptance of a supernatural claim tends to promote cooperative social relationships. This communication demonstrates a willingness to accept, without skepticism, the influence of the speaker in a way similar to a child's acceptance of the influence of a parent. By encouraging this kind of behavior where the most intense social relationships occur it facilitates the lack of skepticism and deters more open minded thinking.



They are christian, Muslim or the other religions depending where they were born simply because they were indoctrinated by their parents as very young children. They will go on to indoctrinate their own children and those will go on to indoctrinate their grandchildren!



Atheists have the intellect to see through the conditioning and escape into the real world!



Agnostics have the intellect to see through the conditioning but lack the courage to throw of the conditioning entirely.



Sadly Christians, muslims and others are still held firmly prisoner by the self perpetuating brainwashing!

Answer 8

yes im technically an atheist

id say eveyr person is living in denial about something , tho im not sure we can say what it is if we dontknow them

i was a wee lassie when i believed in god, and im not gonna lie i was naive and a bit daft, i suppose im still those but just not as much as i used to be :-D



im not sure how you equate that with being a "closet beleiver"

i dont believe, if you do thats cool, but i dont and lots of people dont



the reason people are 'arguing' with you is that part, you cant say everyone is a closet beleiver and not expect some issues :-(



you either believe in a god or you dont, you say your an atheist,so you dont, again how you think that makes you a closet beleiver i dont know but thats not the same for eveyrone

is it?

Answer 9

Nah I think some people genuinely start to question religion at some point, and they may actually have some common sense.



Also the age of the internet, a lot more info for people to find (lots of sites that questino or debunk religion)



Some people may come to their senses due to the amount of scientific material that is around.



I think the true believers are indoctrinated and brain washed from birth - I saw that Jesus Camp last week and was sick to the stomach, made my skin crawl. Toddlers screaming and crying for Jesus, awful, creepy and pathetic.

Answer 10

Beliefs can change when you've been introduced to new information, you know. I learned more about the religion I was in, and about the world and universe in general, and I could no longer maintain belief in a deity. It's as simple as that, really.

Answer 11

enable me to describe: Who ever made the preliminary fact replaced into an fool. What the heck is "defraud of religion"? This individual is making an attempt to, in a around approximately way, label atheists as being in denial. The logic is so around, my head is spinning.

Answer 12

I'm the real deal. Not some sad person in denial.

Ask your self, Do magical, flying, badass unicorns exist? No? Somebody in denial?

Answer 13

I came from a religious family. I never understood why they were religious. Their rituals and beliefs were illogical, insane even. when I was about 8, I told them as much and went on with my life.

They have tried to change my mind, but it's just a waste of mine and their time.

Answer 14

I hope you are a troll. Dude, you can not be serious. I was a child when I went to church. I also believed in Santa. Do you think I am just a closeted Santa believer as well?

Answer 15

Your not truly atheist then, cause a true atheist would not think that, I'm atheist because I have logic and grew out of believing in fairytales

Answer 16

grew up in a buddhist community (a pretty atheistic religion, you know)



then i realized i don't need to be religious in order going to heaven, doing good deeds in daily life is good enough



christianity is just a foreign extreme religion to me

Answer 17

Opinions are just like azz-holes ... everyone has one, and they all stink ...



... including yours.

Answer 18

=] I had the same thing happen to me, but when I was younger I never read the bible or cried for God except a few times, but I didn't think anything happend.



When I turned 21 shortly after I had a dream pointing at a beautiful cross, it flew over me and then into some clouds. I was wearing a white robe, and I started screaming and running towards a car. I saw these very bright white lights in the sky, but then they were flying and "snatching" people or "taking" people from the ground. Then behind me there were grey things flying in the dark part, the sky was half and half, light and darkness. So one of those grey things stopped next to me and took my best friend, he was like 13 feet tall, looked muscular, had a face like a lizard, feet and tail like a lion, and teeth like a lion. His wings were giant. And he filled me with terror when I looked at him.



Later on after this dream, that dream flashed over in my mind. I said "WAR" out of no where. I literally felt like everyone I knew was dying, It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. All I could think of doing was .. well.. PRAY. So I prayed for God to make it go away, I begged and begged. It finally stopped.



I was homeless after this, but it was my fault, because I made stupid choices. I decided to have a "talk" with God. I told him I truelly believed in him but didn't understand if he was seriously what the bible said he was. I told him If he was real (and I believed literally he was listening) that he would give me a place to live tomorrow.



Next day someone offered me an apartment for $99 move in. I never looked for this place, someone came to me with the offer. I went there half hour before closing, and they approved me on the spot. I had no job, just cash and a trash bag and a couple back packs.



Little bit later on, I started truelly realizing God is real but I needed to know more. So I decided to ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness, because he died for our sins , I accepted him into my heart. That same day a door from HEAVEN was opened to me.



My gift that day was to remember memories after memories I had left behind. I was able to remember my grandme Barbara dying when I was just a little girl. =[ He made me remember, and there was a little girl with me at the same time, and we were both sitting there watching an angel lift my grandma out of her body, and she left so "gracefully" and slowly. We both saw this, I was probably like 5 years old or something.



I started to decide I need a bible God. And he heard my thoughts. The same day, lol, I found a brand new bible, And no one had claimed it for HOURS.



I started walking with my new free bible I found lol, and It was awesome, I asked God? Where should I start? The wind blew RIGHT after I said that and it turned all the pages to the beggining to Genesis. I walked and read at the same time and not once did I stumble on the rocks, or trip in a hole. I didn't bother to watch my steps, I was just so amazed at everthing God was doing for me, (there was much more than just this little bit I wrote to you lol, but I don't want to bore you) He led me into a trail and I sat down. I stopped reading and saw a peice of paper. It said... "Thank Him"



That is the day I began reading the bible. No one in my entire life has convinced me to "believe in God" Except God himself.

Answer 19

There is no evidence that atheism is true so why believe it?