# Ever wish you weren't an atheist?



## rwilson

Its not that i hate myself for being an atheist, its just that i think it would be easier to have faith in something. I think it would be easier to just fit in and conform to what others believe in. It can be a burden sometimes when you are discriminated against not only because of race but your beliefs as well.


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## Fold Space

Forget all the labels and just be.

People ask what religion I am, I say none. They say, then you are an atheist? No. Agnostic? No. I don't really believe anything. Sometimes I believe everything. Usually I just make it all up as I go along. Who cares if that confuses other people. I'm comfortable with it.


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## macky

rwilson said:


> Its not that i hate myself for being an atheist, its just that i think it would be easier to have faith in something. I think it would be easier to just fit in and conform to what others believe in. It can be a burden sometimes when you are discriminated against not only because of race but your beliefs as well.


It certainly would be easier to conform. Heck, many times I say I'm a christian just cos I can't be bothered getting into an argument. But that's not a good thing, and discrimination is the fault of the discriminatory, not the victims. I'm black myself but I wouldn't choose to be white if given the chance. So yeah, it's hard but ill never regret the honesty and care to justify my religion which resulted in my atheism. Be strong my friend.


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## Fold Space

It would be easier to believe that little angels and devils ride around on your shoulder in an eternal battle for your soul. It would be easier to believe in Santa Clause. It would be easier to tell everyone else they are going to hell.

Too easy.


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## Blag

I do, i wish i wasn't an atheist every day. Im an atheist because i am a devout critical thinker. There is a sense of peace and harmony when you can trust somebody with your life, and when it comes to theists, they can trust a higher power. Atheists have to make do with trusting other people, which i find very hard to do, because given enough resources and time, anybody will turn.


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## AussiePea

It's the opposite in this country, you're generally looked down upon FOR having faith here.

It would be nice to genuinely believe there's some kind of lovely after-life to look forward to after this life, but at the same time the belief that there is nothing doesn't affect how much I view my life.


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## Blag

AussiePea said:


> It's the opposite in this country, you're generally looked down upon FOR having faith here.
> 
> It would be nice to genuinely believe there's some kind of lovely after-life to look forward to after this life, but at the same time the belief that there is nothing doesn't affect how much I view my life.


Where are you from?

It does affect my life very much, to know with certainty what remains with one after one's death, what actually matters in life, will save us much time won't it? One is the scar you leave on earth, but that is subject heavily to other's opinions and several misjudgements. So i'm not talking about what you leave behind, but what you take with you. And till i get to know the truth i keep feeling im wasting my time not being able to do anything worth leaving behind.

Plus it also depends how much you care about these topics, which draws the line between atheism and agnosticism.


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## AussiePea

Blag said:


> Where are you from?
> 
> It does affect my life very much, to know with certainty what remains with one after one's death, what actually matters in life, will save us much time won't it? One is the scar you leave on earth, but that is subject heavily to other's opinions and several misjudgements. So i'm not talking about what you leave behind, but what you take with you. And till i get to know the truth i keep feeling im wasting my time not being able to do anything worth leaving behind.
> 
> Plus it also depends how much you care about these topics, which draws the line between atheism and agnosticism.


Australia, the overwhelming majority of people I know are athiest.


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## Blag

Anduin said:


> 'Anybody who tells me what happens after I'm dead is either a liar or a fool, because they don't know.'


If you like to quote him, remember that i can call you a liar or a fool too for telling me that there is nothing after death.

Try this: 
"I'll find out what happens after death or die trying."


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## macky

Anduin said:


> I said I'm fairly sure there is nothing after death, for me personally some days I'm agnostic, some days I'm an atheist. If you want to call me a liar or a fool, go ahead.


you know, atheism and agnosticism are not mutually exclusive. In fact they relate to two different questions ("do you believe in the existence of a god?" and "do you know whether or not a god exists").

just had to mention it, sorry. Cos the typical "agnostic" tends to be an "atheist agnostic" because they are not convinced that a god does exist. Not the same as denying it. Believing in the non-existence of a god is anti-theism.


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## Captain Awkward

I'm hugely into science, biology in particular. I love studying it and learning how everything in the universe works and connects.
I feel like if I were part of a religion, I would have to deny or really twist scientific fact in order to fit it to my religious worldview. Believing in just a general _deist_ god however would work fairly fine with science though.

So no, I'm glad I'm an atheist. It opens me up to explore things a bit more.


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## Captain Awkward

On the same token, I hate being referred to as an atheist.
A lot of people ask me "How can you be sure that a god doesn't exist?". And truth is, I'm not sure, not 100% at least. I simply don't_ believe_ in a god, and thats all that atheism means.


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## Blag

macky said:


> ("do you believe in the existence of a god?" and "do you know whether or not a god exists")


Its more of "Can you know whether or not a god exists?". And yeah, brushed up my definitions, thanks.



Captain Awkward said:


> I feel like if I were part of a religion, I would have to deny or really twist scientific fact in order to fit it to my religious worldview. Believing in just a general _deist_ god however would work fairly fine with science though.
> 
> So no, I'm glad I'm an atheist. It opens me up to explore things a bit more.


Many leading scientists in various fields believe in god.


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## minimized

Never.


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## Captain Awkward

Blag said:


> Its more of "Can you know whether or not a god exists?". And yeah, brushed up my definitions, thanks.
> 
> Many leading scientists in various fields believe in god.


Hence my last sentence of paragraph one.
To follow a religion though, it is almost an impossible stretch of science. That is, unless one doesn't take any of the scriptures literally.

It's not so much that science disproves a higher power, it's just that given all that we know about the universe, atheists don't see any real reason why a god would have been necessary in all of this.


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## Blag

Captain Awkward said:


> To follow a religion though, it is almost an impossible stretch of science. That is, unless one doesn't take any of the scriptures literally.


So, its simple: Don't take the scriptures literally, make breakthroughs in science. Don't relate Theism with the ability to do research.


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## Pessoa

It would make things easier I suppose. All those unanswerable questions would be answered, and I would be able to find meaning and purpose in life as well as a feeling that I belonged. Or maybe I'd be Kierkegaard, always tortured by doubt of my own belief. Not going to happen anyway. The idea of God has always puzzled me. If someone is in control of all this then they're either incompetent or they really don't like us. It would be easier to belive in a God that hates us than a God that loves us. God likes to see us suffer, he's a vengeful and angry God, so let's bring back human sacrifice. A God that we can hate and blame for this mess would be something worth believing in. A God that loves us just seems sarcastic.


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## lonerchick

I think I would be less lonely if I had a religion.


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## Tarantula152

*I would rather not die confused and agitated. I've read countless articles about religious people on their death bed's that are constantly asking "what if this is it?" and they freak out because they don't get an answer. Go figure.

I am skipping that whole part by accepting my mortality and accepting the fact that once the light switch goes off then the show is over.*


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## Blag

Tarantula152 said:


> I am skipping that whole part by accepting my mortality and accepting the fact that once the light switch goes off then the show is over.


YOLO

To this i'll say: Figure out what happens after death, or die trying.
Basically you'll know what lies in the after life after dying.
and
"Only the dead have seen the end of war" - Plato


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## Joe

AussiePea said:


> Australia, the overwhelming majority of people I know are athiest.


same goes for england


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## RelativelyMe

Being an atheist is so a part of my personal outlook of life that its hard to wish I wasn't without taking away the essence of my being. There are certain works from Dostoevsky or Scorsese's adaptation of "The Last temptation of christ" that make some really compelling ideas as to why perhaps it is gratifying to believe in the major tenets of Christianity for the sake of valuing those who are meek in society... but there is something to be said of life being a creative project that makes it valuable to me rather than it intrinsically having values as most religions claim


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## macky

Joe said:


> same goes for england


True. Ironic how much less religious we are than in the States, when it's the UK establishment being a Christian based vs the USA officially being secular.


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## rusty365

I sometimes wish I wasn't an atheist because I get along better with religious folk. Unfortunately it's hard to connect with someone fully when you have such opposite views on God.


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## bluecrime

Nope. As Louis Theroux stated in his documentary The Ultra Zionists "It's comforting...Knowing there is nobody up there."


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## Cloudsephiroth

Yeah, I haven't "come out of the atheist closet" yet, because I'd be in deep **** due to where I live. Sometimes I wish I were religious though, due to the fact i lost someone close to me and an afterlife seems almost perfect for that. I do believe in reincarnation, so that gives me some reassurance.


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## koolthing

No way, being an atheist is amazing, I love it.


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## Haunty

I sort of envy believers. I feel like I'd maybe be less lonely, I could go to church and meet people.


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## romeoindespair

I've been pretty much everything under the sun. 
In order I've been

Christan
Catholic
Jew
Buddhist
Shinto
Janism
Bahai
Skihism
Thelema
Satanist
Luciferism

And now I'm an atheist :idea


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## SplendidBob

Sure, I mean there are clear advantages to not being atheist. Like it or not religion gives you a sense of purpose, a reason for doing stuff.

Take away religion and sure, you can still invent a purpose for yourself, but you might end up having problems with the knowledge that that purpose is essentially fiction, just as religion was.

It doesn't necessarily follow though that this happens to atheists, but its a possibility (and its certainly the case with me), and certainly this cannot happen if one is a religious believer.

But, what can you do? - I would rather know the truth no matter how ugly it turns out to be than a pleasant lie. That's the trade off for me anyway.


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## Tfit84

I dont wish i wasn't an atheist but i do wish the harsh reality of this existence were different. 

If i had not been raised christian to believes in fairy tales about afterlives and such, I do not think being a realist would be as big of a deal. 

Being raised christian and having the people you trust the most telling you that you can get out of this **** world alive and in far better shape by believing in god and then finding out that these people you trust are ****ing insane is a hard pill to swallow. 

Its like being terminally ill and your parents telling you that there is a cure on the way and then after consulting with doctors you find out that your parents are just crazy people and you are in fact going to die.


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## koolthing

Haunty said:


> I sort of envy believers. I feel like I'd maybe be less lonely, I could go to church and meet people.


You know you could go somewhere else to meet people, like a club or something.


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## Haunty

koolthing said:


> You know you could go somewhere else to meet people, like a club or something.


There aren't any clubs where I live, but there are about 30 churches. So it would be easier.


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## kitkaplan

I am ordained as a New Life ministre, basically anything goes. I got Chronic fatigue 10 years age and my anziety increased. I had some other minister friends and my favorite was my pentecostal min. pal. If a truck ran her down and crushed her lower half she woulld raise her hands and say thank you god i still got my arms to raise to you. I'd love some faith. I am so anxious, depressed and sick I have lost all my friends and every piece of mail terrifies me. I'm on disability and always have some letter cutting me off from some insurance or benefit i need and I live with my terminally ill sister so crisis is constant. I would kill for some faith right now.


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## Nexus Swifty

Me myself am a Christian and the devil tries to put thoughts into your head that god might not exist but there is always that voice that says yes he is. Some people will try to deny that they have that voice but it's there and that is god trying to make himself known to you because he wants you to celebrate with him in the afterlife he doesn't want you to get sucked in by the devil. Even if you do sin and deny him as your lord and creator just remember God loves u and Jesus loves u. God will forgive you for your sins if you truly mean it. Also about how we got here yes there are lots of theories about how we were created and maybe those theories are correct maybe that is how we were created that could be how he made our universe. I'm not tryin to push my religion on any of you but god has really touched my life so I've had experiences and I believe he is up there in fact I'm 100% sure he is. Everyone is free to choose what they want to believe and remember god loves you and will forgive you if u truly mean it.


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## Nexus Swifty

kitkaplan said:


> I am ordained as a New Life ministre, basically anything goes. I got Chronic fatigue 10 years age and my anziety increased. I had some other minister friends and my favorite was my pentecostal min. pal. If a truck ran her down and crushed her lower half she woulld raise her hands and say thank you god i still got my arms to raise to you. I'd love some faith. I am so anxious, depressed and sick I have lost all my friends and every piece of mail terrifies me. I'm on disability and always have some letter cutting me off from some insurance or benefit i need and I live with my terminally ill sister so crisis is constant. I would kill for some faith right now.


Kitka God and Jesus can get you through anything you could be going through a test he might be having these bad things happen to test if you will still believe in him.


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## kinoan

Ignorance is bliss. Honestly I envy religious people and how they can have comfort in God. 

I know it's impossible for me to believe in God even if I wanted to. I just can't trick my mind into believing.


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## mimu

Sometimes I wish I were gullible enough, but that would mean giving up any basic knowledge, rationality and critical thinking I have.


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## hanzitalaura

No, I don't wish I wasn't an Atheist. I rather be depressed with the truth than happy with a lie.


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## LoneWolf14

When ever I think of death, always that what if thought.


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## WillYouStopDave

rwilson said:


> Its not that i hate myself for being an atheist, its just that i think it would be easier to have faith in something. I think it would be easier to just fit in and conform to what others believe in. It can be a burden sometimes when you are discriminated against not only because of race but your beliefs as well.


 Yeah.

I consider myself to be agnostic but it's pretty much the same. Once you lose the faith mentality, there's nothing left that's worth a damn.

Religious people won't listen to anything you have to say because they don't believe in it and atheists won't listen to anything you have to say because they don't care about anything but not being religious. Agnostics just don't know.

I would like to believe in something but I know how corrupt it all is. So it's kind of twisted. Knowing what I know, I'm glad I don't but I acknowledge that it would be easier in that "I'm dinner but I don't know it" kind of way.

I'm content to only know what I know.


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## forgetmylife

hanzitalaura said:


> No, I don't wish I wasn't an Atheist. I rather be depressed with the truth than happy with a lie.


ooo rekt m8


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## Kenway Twitty

I was raised non-religiously, had a little phase when I was about 12 where I was militantly atheist (Was about the same time as my liberal phase) but nowadays I respect most religions. Sometimes I think being religious would be nice. Something to believe in, give hope and make things worthwhile. Due to non-religious upbringing the concept of believing in a higher power is foreign to me though, and I doubt I'll ever understand it. If I'm ever joining a religion it'd probably be a doomsday cult.


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## Flax

I've been an atheist longer than a christian and I'm happy about that. Sure it sucks that I know I'm hated by default for a lot of people. But I don't care anymore. When you know someone for a long time and they like you then find out you're an atheist and suddenly don't like you anymore. Then there's something wrong with them, Not you. It's hard to break tradition that continues for generations because of all the pressure you feel from your peers. But it's just all in your mind. Nobody actually has any influence over your mind (you do). You can believe whatever you want. Whatever your parents instilled in you isn't necessarily the truth, if you weren't raised by them what would you believe? Nothing? What would you even think of? You'd probably be walking around looking at stuff and wondering whats going on and why you're feeling a certain way (hungry? sad? happy? scared?). What would you be thinking of? Would you make something up so you're not so scared? So many people have put so much thought into what's going on and people keep going back to old ideas that make them comfortable... but they can't be true. Science makes more sense, but even science doesn't know everything. I think what I'm trying to say with this post is be skeptical about everything you hear from everyone. You don't have to be a dick or anything, but so many people are wrong about so many things. Including me. We have to be delusional to live in a world where were not sure what the point is of living.


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## TheDigitalMan

Nope. A universe in which we are all created for the sole purpose of praising a being that has 100% control over our fate and gives infinite punishment for finite crimes (many being victimless crimes including questioning authority and critical thinking) and there are no mysteries about the nature of said universe because the answer is always Goddidit is a bleak one. Its like living in a totalitarian state on a cosmic level. Plus, since I have no reason to believe I will get a second life, this one is all the more meaningful. I have found more beauty and wonder in the universe with a rational viewpoint than I ever found with a faithful one.


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## VisualAttraction

Well, some of my Christian friends belong in a huge youth group where they hold weekly gatherings, and it seems like it would be nice to be a part of something like that. But I wouldn't sacrifice my atheism, as it's shaped an important part of who I am today.


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## wxfdswxc2

No way. That's like asking, "Since you can see, do you ever wish you were blind?".


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## bfs

hanzitalaura said:


> No, I don't wish I wasn't an Atheist. *I rather be depressed with the truth than happy with a lie.*


Indeed


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## HyperGiant

I really don't know what side of the fence I'm on. _It's just the way I come to see it._

Camp God pros:
Marriage is forever, yer stick by yer vow, Discipline is a strive for and so harmony is more common. Kids are going to be god fearind so wont be as much of a headache and will leave home as soon as they can to get away from the religion.
Camp God cons:
Yer living a lie most of the time, yer vote in bad legislation, yer children can endure a hard life.
They pray for you when yer in trouble.

Camp Atheist pros:
Sex before marriage, meal and sleep whenever, little guilt, large following.
Not bothered with abortion
Camp Atheist cons: 
Drug dependance, divorce/no marriage a high chance, survival of the fittest mentality. Will play camp god and keep the kid and sap child support. Kids will stay home forever, never get a job and fall pregnant at a young age.
They avoid you when yer in trouble.

Probably to me most accurate, yes - when miss right drops the info that she's into god - cause you can have what you want, but yer gonna have to live a lie. (yer heart and penis are going to give your brain hell).


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## Zack

No. A God that demands to be worshipped isn't worth worshipping.


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## Zack

During the greatest empire the world has ever seen, it used to be said that God was an Englishman. Nowadays, no Englishman wants him. In temperament and teaching, the Christian God is more like an Islamic State terrorist.


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## boas

No, life is **** enough without having to worry whether a magical man in the sky approves of your actions.


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## Owl-99

No simply no.


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## Demi Stark

No. I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. That people believe in a God just goes beyond me. Religion was just created so that people had an explanation for stuff without having to use their brains. Also, the whole heaven/hell thing also really helped. Almost everyone is afraid of death, so I guess the thought that if you live a 'good' life you get to live on forever comforts a lot of people. Religion is also a good way to control people. If they don't do certain things they'll burn in hell. ~end of rant~

I'm also lucky that I live in a country that is one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Our government isn't based on religion for example.


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## Potato Girl

All the time! I was raised Catholic and have a very religious family. I love the idea of there being a God and heaven and 'greater plan' than us all but the world we live in just contradicts everything I thought about being a Christian.


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## Wylini

I do. Sometimes. All the Christians at my nearby church all seem to have happy and fulfilling lives.


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## XoRubyXo

I sometimes wish I never told my family I'm an atheist. It's not that they don't talk to me because of it. They just make me feel guilty. My mother is always telling me she prays for me. I didn't want to keep pretending I believe in things that I just don't. I wasn't trying to hurt my family by telling them. I just don't want to lie to myself. I want to be me, and not made to feel different because of it.


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## ByStorm

No, because then I'd likely be in a religion and I find religion creepy, like a cult.


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## Surly Wurly

I used to go to an evangelical church for a while. What I saw there was nothing short of a hideously disturbing degradation of human beings. It's as if you can't accept the core lie at the heart of faith without first becoming a mangled and profoundly impaired human being. I mean anyone who can actually think straight can see that God is just made up, so I guess it figures that they have to perform a psychological lobotomy on people to make them go to a church where they actually expect god to do things. 

Sincerely, I don't hate these people, but I feel great sadness for their wasted lives, and I feel disgust for the tendency in people to propagate this evil. 

I can't separate "being religious" from all that garbage, so I don't really wish i "believed in something". I guess it just depends where you come from, if you are living amongst a community where everyone has this sickness then i dare say it would be pretty unharmonious and rather hard to deal with, sort of like the way i imagine a lot of gay people would wish they were straight, for the hassle it would save them.


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