Deconversion Stories

SLAM: debunk creationism, pseudoscience, and superstitions. Discuss logic and morality.

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XaLEv
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Post by XaLEv »

I was never really Christian, though for a time I did believe in God. My stance on the whole thing was mostly Deist/Pagan. When I was little, I believed in magic. I believed it came from nature, and that nature came from God. I told my mother, who is rather moderate Christian, and she told me that I could not believe in magic. My belief in God kind of fell apart right then. I am now a good Athiest/Discordian. :D

A funny thing that I can remember from a long damn time ago: When I was about 5 or so, I got this little astronomy book. It had a section in it about the origin of the solar system. I was looking at the part detailing the formation of the planets, and my mom told me that wasn't the way it happened, God just willed them into existance. I could tell it was bullshit, though I didn't say anything.
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Post by Peregrin Toker »

I'm an atheist, but I was originally Christian as a very young child, then gave up my religion for some reason. (I can't remember exactly why)

Then, after being atheist, I became an agnostic due to "What If...."-logic, and after considering the probability of the existence of such thing as a God or Goddess, I'm now an atheist and I don't regret it.

I'll try to dscribe my de-conversion story later. I can't remember exactly how it happened.
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Post by Malachius »

I can't remember having ever really believe in a god. When I was really young I did not believe or disbelieve, just didn't think about it and did not really care. Then I started consciously disbelieving and have been an athiest for most of my life. The only time I wasn't was when I was a sort of by-default agnostic.

I almost wish I could have faith in a higher power and that everything will be alright, but I don't.
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Post by jaeger115 »

I can't remember having ever really believe in a god. When I was really young I did not believe or disbelieve, just didn't think about it and did not really care. Then I started consciously disbelieving and have been an athiest for most of my life. The only time I wasn't was when I was a sort of by-default agnostic.
Same for me.
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Post by Darth Wong »

Tosho wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Rebecca was a Christian; not sure about "fundie", but she felt her faith was very important when I first met her.

Obviously, that's gone by the wayside now. But when it's your wife, you don't DEBATE with her; arguments with one's spouse can garner, at best, a pyrrhic victory. So I just encouraged her to study the history of religion and the Bible and to think for herself.

Many years later, she knew too much about the history of the Bible to take it seriously any more, and she abandoned it. Game, set, and match :)
What is she now deist, agnostic, atheist, ect.?
Atheist. She briefly cast around for some other religion to follow (religion shopping, as it were), but she eventually decided that upon inspection, all religions are goofy.
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Post by Darth Wong »

Morning Star wrote:
I don't mind religion as long as it:

A) does not shove its nose in other peoples' business
B) does not show up on my fucking doorstep trying to convert me
C) does not elevate its beliefs to the point that things which would be immoral without their beliefs become moral with it (eg- Biblical-era genocide). That mentality is dangerous beyond words.
So my being a Zen Buddhist...would you find that oppressive?
No, according to Rebecca's studies of Buddhism, it does not encourage any of the three things I mentioned, and I've certainly never seen any Buddhists do these three things.

Mind you, the same can be fairly be said of many Christians, but not the Bible, which is the problem.
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Post by Darth Yoshi »

Morning Star wrote:So my being a Zen Buddhist...would you find that oppressive?
As long as you don't prosletyze(sp?), I don't think anyone will mind.
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Post by ArmorPierce »

I often lie to people and say I'm agnostic because I just don't want to start an argument over it because arguments mostly revolve around them telling them how evolution and them saying something stupid like "We didn't come from Gorillas!" They don't usually aknowledge my argument and just continuing saying how evolution is stupid.
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Post by Antediluvian »

Captain Lennox wrote:
Wicked Pilot wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Good point; few of us wear it on our sleeves in public (well, I do, but that's just me).
Just want to point out, you're in Toronto, I'm in the very bottom of the Bible Belt, somewhere near the Bible Crotch Hem. Ah well, on May 24th, I graduate, and on June 22nd, I go active. Hopefully the Air Force will sent be somewhere cool, like Canada.
yeah, I gotta agree. I'm stuck n Fundie Land and I'm the only aheist I think for many, many miles. And nly you all and other select few online know.
Yeah, I'm stuck in the Bible Belt too.

I would really love to move up north but don't have the funds. :(
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Post by Tosho »

Darth Wong wrote:
Tosho wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Rebecca was a Christian; not sure about "fundie", but she felt her faith was very important when I first met her.

Obviously, that's gone by the wayside now. But when it's your wife, you don't DEBATE with her; arguments with one's spouse can garner, at best, a pyrrhic victory. So I just encouraged her to study the history of religion and the Bible and to think for herself.

Many years later, she knew too much about the history of the Bible to take it seriously any more, and she abandoned it. Game, set, and match :)
What is she now deist, agnostic, atheist, ect.?
Atheist. She briefly cast around for some other religion to follow (religion shopping, as it were), but she eventually decided that upon inspection, all religions are goofy.
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Post by jaeger115 »

I often lie to people and say I'm agnostic because I just don't want to start an argument over it because arguments mostly revolve around them telling them how evolution and them saying something stupid like "We didn't come from Gorillas!" They don't usually aknowledge my argument and just continuing saying how evolution is stupid.
You must live down south. I live in Washington State. When people ask me about my faith, I proudly tell them that I'm atheist and if they start screaming that I will go to hell, then I promptly tell them to look in the fucking bible and stop mirroring falwell's opinion.
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Post by Darth Wong »

My favourite response to the "you will go to Hell" argument is that the kind of person who believes in a place of eternal torture is the kind of person who deserves it.
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Post by Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi »

A couple of years back, I did consider myself to be religous. However, I read a lot of science books and went to some museums, so I accepted the Big Bang, and an old earth, but for some reason, I thought that other animals evolved without help, but humans required divine assistance. I was never a slave to Biblical doctrine, and if I found something I found atrocious (And I did, after reading the Bible), I wouldn't accept it. Recently, I realized how belief in God is irrational, and am now a Deist.
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Post by russellb6666 »

I really wasn't "deconverted" neither of my parents went to church i didn't and when my friends tried to talk to me about the bible or god I just either ignored them or debated it and won thusly i am an atheist and I have no friends but do I look like a give a bloody crap :D didn't think so
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Post by Tosho »

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:A couple of years back, I did consider myself to be religous. However, I read a lot of science books and went to some museums, so I accepted the Big Bang, and an old earth, but for some reason, I thought that other animals evolved without help, but humans required divine assistance. I was never a slave to Biblical doctrine, and if I found something I found atrocious (And I did, after reading the Bible), I wouldn't accept it. Recently, I realized how belief in God is irrational, and am now a Deist.
If beleif in a deity is irrational why are you a deist?
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Post by jaeger115 »

The good thing is, soon after I quit christianity, I took two of my best friends with me. They were both under that fanatic's spell (the girl I argued with in the back of a GMC) and they are both deists now. I seem to be spreading the word :D
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Post by Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi »

Tosho wrote:
Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:A couple of years back, I did consider myself to be religous. However, I read a lot of science books and went to some museums, so I accepted the Big Bang, and an old earth, but for some reason, I thought that other animals evolved without help, but humans required divine assistance. I was never a slave to Biblical doctrine, and if I found something I found atrocious (And I did, after reading the Bible), I wouldn't accept it. Recently, I realized how belief in God is irrational, and am now a Deist.
If beleif in a deity is irrational why are you a deist?
Because it's not as irrational as belief in a being that will send you to suffer for eternity for not worshipping him.
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Post by jaeger115 »

Because it's not as irrational as belief in a being that will send you to suffer for eternity for not worshipping him.
Still more irrational than not believing at all.... :roll:
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Post by Exonerate »

Alyrium Denryle wrote:I have even considered starting an atheist club on campus. Call it something like..."Secular Nation" Or " Freethinking Now"
Heretics United :D

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Post by Exonerate »

Hmm... I was born into a non-religious family; parents sent me to a Christian pre-school because it had a good education program. Believed in God for awhile (Ex, prayed for a SNES :wink:). Was always fairly moderate. I kinda just lost my status of Christian during elementary school, because I had yet to see evidence of God, and to me, the whole concept seemed kinda silly.

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Post by Durandal »

People tend to think that all religions are equally irrational. Untrue. Christianity is more irrational than any other religion because its hearsay actually contradicts itself.
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Post by Darth Wong »

So true. My personal religion of female ass-worship is completely rational.
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Post by Morning Star »

Darth Wong wrote:So true. My personal religion of female ass-worship is completely rational.
I think I may just have to denounce my buddhism for your one...
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