How close have you been to converting?

[Genius of the Restoration]

Three questions for all you atheists and agnostics out there:
What's the closest you've come to subscribing to a religion? Which religion appeals most strongly to your beliefs? And finally, what prevented you from becoming a believer?


I'll start the ball rolling and state that I was close to converting to Buddhism a year or so ago. It would have been a sort of hybrid Buddhism that embraced the key teachings of the Hinayana tradition while incorporating limited elements of Mahayana.

I found it appealing because I liked it's reasoning about existence in the world and taught how to live what I still consider to be a good life. I also liked the 'no soul' aspect of its early beliefs. The only thing that prevented me from becoming a Buddhist was the concept of Samsara. I could accept enough teachings to be my own Buddhist if I could accept transmigration, but it wasn't to be.

[VALIS]

In summer 2006 when my grandma was dying (she recovered for two years tho) I started to get worried and let all that emotion get in the way and make me want to believe in a heaven and God. I slapped myself out of that crap though!

[black-dragon]

When I went through depression I tried to get myself to believe in a god, any god. Reason, unfortunately, put a screeching halt to that.

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

When I went through depression I tried to get myself to believe in no god, no god at all. Reason, unfortunately, put a screeching halt to that.

my thoughts exactly...

[TheXand]

Riiigght because reason and logic dictate that you should believe in God. Srsly, why not believe in unicorns and fairytales too

this will clear things up a little
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C9yb...eature=related

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

Riiigght because reason and logic dictate that you should believe in God. Srsly, why not believe in unicorns and fairytales too

i have not heard of any creation stories from any cultures where unicorns created the universe with the help of little red riding hood and Cinderella...

i do not think they posses the power to do this while god, if we consider his power for a second, could easily do this in less than seconds...

[persianfan247]

Hmm I wonder, I wonder where this thread is going to go

"God is real!!!!, God is not real!!!! God is real!!! God is not real!!!!"

Anyway, never been close to converting. My parents are Atheists, but because they wanted to let me decide things for myself and the fact that I never really gave a thought to religion when I was little, I did not know they were Atheists untill I myself had decided I was an Atheist and asked them what there beliefs where around about the age of 12, which is crazy that I didn't know previously but thats how it worked out.

I find it hard to believe that I would ever convert, I just couldn't believe in something for no reason other then just having 'faith' that God is real, its like having faith that when I wake up there will be millions of dollars in my bank acount. I would always have this doubt in the back of my mind that even if I did decide to have faith in a God I would never entirely believe.

[Phier]

i have not heard of any creation stories from any cultures where unicorns created the universe with the help of little red riding hood and Cinderella...

i do not think they posses the power to do this while god, if we consider his power for a second, could easily do this in less than seconds...

Could got make a stone so big he couldn't lift it?

[Каие]

When I went through depression I tried to get myself not to believe in a god, any god. Reason, unfortunately, put a screeching halt to that.

For me it was like this, but the reason made me go back.

"What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason."

- Voltaire

[Phier]

"What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason."

- Voltaire

I wonder if Voltaire was born in todays time rather than his, where we understand the nature of the Universe so much better, if he would have said such mystic poetry.

What most people don't realize is that science and religion went hand in hand until about the early mid 1800's.

[Copperknickers II]

If i had to choose a religion i would choose Jainism. I have thought about it, but I simply cannot see any evidence of reincarnation and other beliefs so i decided t stick with Atheism. I also used to be christian, but God just sort of disappeared after i reached a certain age and realised he wasn't actually there.

[The Dude]

Three questions for all you atheists and agnostics out there:
What's the closest you've come to subscribing to a religion? Which religion appeals most strongly to your beliefs? And finally, what prevented you from becoming a believer?

1. The closest I've come to subscribing to a religion is roughly equivalent to distance that exists between Beijing and the center of the universe.

2. The religion that appeals most strongly to my beliefs is Jediïsm, but that's merely a code to uphold. It's also a code that draws its inspiration from the good bits of various other faiths, which demonstrates that not all religion is inherently bad as long as we focus on the good bits. 8D

3. What prevented me from becoming a believer is simply that we are maggots and the universe is too big for us to understand at this point. Every religion bar none is nothing but speculation and fantasy. Additionally, the universe is flawed in design; it expands and expands and expands but it does not create additional matter, only additional nothingness. In a few trillion years the universe will be nothing but a cold vast expanse of nothingness with a galaxy here and there. No god would have designed that unless he was extremely incompetent.

[Stalins Ghost]

I don't think I've ever come close. I've spent so long coming up with my own personal life philosophy that to give all that up and adopt another person's seems absurd to me. Though that doesn't stop me from incorporating certain aspects as and when they fit in with my own philosophy; and in fact, one of my core principles is to give each school of thought due consideration in order to seek further ideas. Hence why I've taken it upon myself to read major religious texts whether or not I agree with them.

[Augment]

My parents put me on a catholic primary school just because it was closest to home, we went to church but i never believed in a supreme being, i found all the religious ceremony and the people that participated in it quite inferior.

[0N3]

Never been close from converting or far away from converting for that matter. I am a member of the christian church, though, because in my country you are signed in on birth. I must sign myself out of that soon...

[AdamWeishaupt]

I like to convert "-ism" that come me to mind.

[basics]

" Three questions for all you atheists and agnostics out there:
What's the closest you've come to subscribing to a religion? Which religion appeals most strongly to your beliefs? And finally, what prevented you from becoming a believer?"

Genius of the Restoration,

I think you'll find that most of the atheists and agnostics in these threads were once Roman Catholic, so rather than getting into religion, they are at the point of having left. Yet they are not the only ones for when a denomination such as theirs or any other for that matter takes a child, sprinkles it with water and declares them Christian, one would expect their experiences and knowledge of God to be complete.

From experience we know that not to be the case. Water does not change anyone whether a child or an adult. But if that were the case and all these kids now left their repective churches, were they changed, born again, they couldn't leave. Why so? Because when a person is born again they are redeemed from one being to belong to another, in this case Jesus Christ, indwelt by the Holy Ghost, so how on earth would God let them go?

Now the same can be said about choosing a religion for by doing that that is all you are doing and anyone can do that. A Christian, that is a born again Christian or saint, is one that God has chosen, is one that He has revealed His Son to, and is one being brought to conviction is converted to a new life, the old having passed away. The old nature is gone and if it isn't there has been no conversion.

[Playfishpaste]

I was a catholic already. But after leaving I never even came lightyears close to coming back. I did find Unitarian Universalism extremely compelling though, then dismissed it due to the undue weight it gave things.

[motiv-8]

I've swung so far on both sides the pendulum between atheism and devout religiosity it's not even funny. Even now I find myself swinging back in a certain direction, and it's quite disturbing..

[Phier]

I would like to believe there is an invisible friend in the sky looking out for me and my happiness. It would be really nice to not worry about death, our loved ones after they die, etc.

And I am glad I do not believe there is not an invisible schumck in the sky who is telling me who to have sex with, and who to kill, and when its proper to beat my wife.

I 'deconverted' at age 8, I realized I wouldn't even nominally consider myself a Christian by 20ish, and began to pitty the believers at age 30something.

The concept of picking some OTHER religion and switching to it because I like it better is absurd.

Picking a religion to fit your personality or personal hang ups doesn't even give you the excuse of youthful impressionability. Its throwing off your brain imprint, which is difficult, and then, as an adult, embracing some other cultures personal delusion.

I can understand sticking to your birth religion, such trust is in our genes for good reason, and while its a bit of a perversion when we turn it to the supernatural, its at least understandable.