I'm disappointed because of my atheism

[JohnSm123]

In continuation to THIS thread, I'll tell you about my (lack of) religious beliefs.

Until two years ago, I believed in God. Not necessarily in a specific religion; my faith was without hard and fast rules.

I was still a bitter asshole, but at least back then, my belief in some sort of God and afterlife gave me hope. The hope that someday, in another world, I would get to experience all the things I missed out on in this life, either because of my own mistakes or because of the circumstances.

Until I watched a video on Youtube that made me realize how stupid the arguments I based my faith on were, that I had no more evidence to believe in God than I had to believe in fairies, unicorns etc.

And now, without a God to give me hope, I don't know where to go from here. There are times I have nightmares. The thought that I'm doomed to perish in the grave comes in my sleep and causes me to wake up and be unable to sleep again.

Other atheists tell me that I shouldn't feel like that, that the finality of death makes our finite existence all the more worthwhile. Maybe that's a way to see it, but for me it's not enough. Ever since I found out there is nothing after death, everything seems meaningless to me.

Maybe I can still get friends. Maybe I can still start a relationship with my parents and siblings. Maybe I can still find myself a girlfriend. So what? Will any of this matter in my eternal nonexistence? Will it matter whether I lived my life to the fullest or wasted it?

I can't get over that feeling of hopelessness.

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

I've been an atheist my entire life. I've never had a problem with making friends or having relationships with women. None of them ever asked me my religious beliefs. It's a private issue.

But since you seem to overthink things so much, maybe you're not truly an atheist? Or you're a recovering Catholic?

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Or a fallen away Jew.


The concept of a higher power of some sort is a lot simpler when it isn't cluttered up with religion.

 

[JohnSm123]

I've been an atheist my entire life. I've never had a problem with making friends or having relationships with women. None of them ever asked me my religious beliefs. It's a private issue.

I mean, what's the point of having relationships with friends, family, and women when you know that death will tear you apart forever?

But since you seem to overthink things so much, maybe you're not truly an atheist? Or you're a recovering Catholic?

I was raised in a Christian environment, but since my mid teens, the Bible stories seemed too childish for me to take seriously. Nevertheless, in the greatest part of my life, I believed in God in general. I still want to believe. I wish there were a God, but wanting something to be true does not make it true.

 

[RoryN]

I believed in God...Until I watched a video on Youtube

Ever since I found out there is nothing after death, everything seems meaningless to me.

That's because you're not really an atheist.

Go back to God. Problem solved!

Signed,
An atheist

 

[NancyPan]

In continuation to THIS thread, I'll tell you about my (lack of) religious beliefs.

Until two years ago, I believed in God. Not necessarily in a specific religion; my faith was without hard and fast rules.

I was still a bitter asshole, but at least back then, my belief in some sort of God and afterlife gave me hope. The hope that someday, in another world, I would get to experience all the things I missed out on in this life, either because of my own mistakes or because of the circumstances.

Until I watched a video on Youtube that made me realize how stupid the arguments I based my faith on were, that I had no more evidence to believe in God than I had to believe in fairies, unicorns etc.

And now, without a God to give me hope, I don't know where to go from here. There are times I have nightmares. The thought that I'm doomed to perish in the grave comes in my sleep and causes me to wake up and be unable to sleep again.

Other atheists tell me that I shouldn't feel like that, that the finality of death makes our finite existence all the more worthwhile. Maybe that's a way to see it, but for me it's not enough. Ever since I found out there is nothing after death, everything seems meaningless to me.

Maybe I can still get friends. Maybe I can still start a relationship with my parents and siblings. Maybe I can still find myself a girlfriend. So what? Will any of this matter in my eternal nonexistence? Will it matter whether I lived my life to the fullest or wasted it?

I can't get over that feeling of hopelessness.

Whoa! I would say that your attitude and hopelessness has little to do with whether or mot there is a god or whether you are a believer. There are asshole believers and asshole atheists. And there are depressed believers and depressed atheists. In my view, what you are describing is depression, perhaps diagnosable clinical depression, and perhaps social anxiety/social phobia.

The good news is that Depression is the most treatable of all mental health conditions. See a competent therapist. Religion or a lack thereof will not bring you happiness — but learning to have a variety of fulfilling relationships and life activities probably will. (Sex won’t either.)

 

[pink]

I've never said this to another poster on here but you're pathetic. You don't want to get better, all you do is make 3xcuses and whine. I'm not going to give you any healthy advice, you won't take it anyway. Jesus

 

[JohnSm123]

That's because you're not really an atheist.

Go back to God. Problem solved!

Signed,
An atheist

You mean to delude myself into believing fairy tales? Is there a point? Will that save me from eternal death in the end?

 

[RoryN]

You mean to delude myself into believing fairy tales?

Sure.

But you don't sound like you're even close to being ready for atheism, and might never be. It's not for everyone.

The stuff you're worrying about doesn't keep real atheists up at night, even though they might ponder it from time to time. Not sure what you learned in church, but you need to be made of heartier guts for this way of life.

Society usually spins atheists as being weaker. You're learning the truth now.

 

[JohnSm123]

But you don't sound like you're even close to being ready for atheism, and might never be. It's not for everyone.

So you're saying, "You're not ready for truth, go back to the lies they taught you"?

 

[RoryN]

So you're saying, "You're not ready for truth, go back to the lies they taught you"?

Bingo.

Good luck!

 

[JohnSm123]

Bingo.

Good luck!

Sorry, I can't do that now that I know the truth.

 

[RoryN]

Sorry, I can't do that now that I know the truth.

My truth came from a lifetime of relationships, study of the human condition, and of the world around me.

Yours came from...a YouTube video.

Born-again atheists can be just as insufferable as their Christian counterparts, and your initial post indicates you're "that guy". Suggest you get off the internet and go live the life instead. You'll know you're on the right path if your next request for perspective isn't made online.

 

[Saint_Ann]

I think people get heaven confused with Disneyland...not the current gay hating one but the one with cool animatronics.

 

[NancyPan]

Get help. Life is too short to live it depressed!

 

[Debbie]

If I was dr Phil I'd send you to an expert for brain chemistry analysis or you could try st John's wort.

(Legal Disclaimer I am not offering medical advice. I'm not a dr or a trained medical professional. I am not recommending anyone watch dr phil because he has a big head and is a know it all. )

I grew up in a very strict religious family. Till I was 14 and started asking questions and got bull shit answers.

I ran away from home and the church and I dont believe in god.

Because of my life experience and seeing pastors in our church stealing money from the church coffers.

One was having an affair when he was married.

Inappropriately touching young ladies when he was baptizing them and pretending he was a man of god.

Adopting a 14 year old child into his home out of the kindness of his heart who I made friends with.

She was their babysitter, maid and when he started visiting her bedroom I told a church deacon. Who told me I was disgusting etc.

Nothing was done.

I tried telling my bible study group leader, my girls brigade troop leader.

Nothing was done.

In the end I told my social worker (my dad died when I was little. Mum couldnt cope so my sister and I were raised by paternal grandparents with social worker involvement)

I dont know what exactly happened to the girl but she was taken away from the pastor's home and he never mentioned her again.

I got lots if cold stares from his wife and the pastor pretended I didnt exist. Lol he acted like I was invisible or avoided eye contact or being in the same room as me.

My grandfather was a church elder and never spoke to me about it.

I heard years later the the pastor had been asked to leave the church after building a new home using church funds.

Btw I'm not a bitter atheist.

I just dont believe but I have a happy life that has had a lot of love with my husband of over 20 years who I now mourn and remember so many wonderful funny happy times some tough life challenges like losing a son to suicide.

I'm curious about the afterlife but not worried that because I dont believe in god I might go to hell.

I'm content living a good happy life with family and friends.

 

[Noor]

I mean, what's the point of having relationships with friends, family, and women when you know that death will tear you apart forever?

We are dying from the day we are born, the point of life is to leave a legacy of some sort for the next generation.

I was raised in a Christian environment, but since my mid teens, the Bible stories seemed too childish for me to take seriously. Nevertheless, in the greatest part of my life, I believed in God in general. I still want to believe. I wish there were a God, but wanting something to be true does not make it true.

Sounds like some sort of conservative Protestant.
To lose your faith based on a YouTube video seems a bit. The whole idea of faith is believing in something that your see or prove.
You sound a bit directionless, maybe consider therapy?

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

Or a fallen away Jew.


The concept of a higher power of some sort is a lot simpler when it isn't cluttered up with religion.

Judaism and atheism are quite compatible.

And his preoccupation with an afterlife is very Christian.

Ask a rabbi about the afterlife and you’ll probably be told to stop worrying about what happens after you die, and start thinking about how to live RIGHT NOW.

 

[Rob_Royale]

There is an old saying. If you give a million monkeys, a million typewriters ( I did say "old), for a million years, one of them will accidentally write the collective works of Shakespeare word for word. It's strictly a matter of odds.
I believe in a creator. A divine architect if you will. Because without that belief, I have to then assume that life on this planet IS the collective works of Shakespeare written by a monkey. That this planet is the PERFECT distance from the sun and made up of the perfect type of materials to not only support life but for it to spontaneously come into being. And then there's the evolution of everything that brings us to the stage where can discuss this from all over the world, in a place that only exists in cyberspace. WHAT ARE THE FUCKING ODDS OF THAT? Pretty damn long.

So for me, the idea of a creator is elementary. I do not believe he is the wrathful or the benevolent that our religions would have us believe. I think we are the amoebas in a petri dish to that being. Something to be left alone and studied. And perhaps abandoned one day. It does not give me grave concern. When I die I am confident that I will simply cease to be. I am not so vain that that idea grieves me. I find it rather comforting actually.

What it does do is make me realize that every day I draw breath, is a gift, and one does not need the thought of an afterlife or God's plan, to enjoy and be thankful for this gift. I live a moral life. Not because a book tells me to, or our laws say so, but because it is the right way for people to live together in harmony.

When I was twelve my parents had me confirmed in their Episcopalian church. And yes, I had some very pointed questions for my teachers. They were not appreciated, nor answered to my satisfaction. I was agnostic from that moment forward, though I didn't know the word for it.

John, it is up to "us" to give our lives meaning. It's the people around us that fill our lives with love and hope. The hope that someday the amoebas of this petri dish finally get it right. I hope John, you can find those people in your life and that you can fill their lives as they do you.

If I may be so bold as to quote the immortal bard, who was hopefully, not a monkey.

“Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.”​

― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

You mean to delude myself into believing fairy tales? Is there a point? Will that save me from eternal death in the end?

You’re still a Christian.

I enjoy the rituals of Judaism because they give structure and meaning to my life.

The point of keeping the mitzvot isn’t to get into heaven, but to make the world a better place RIGHT NOW.

There are lots of religious traditions other than Christianity. If atheism isn’t working for you, try Judaism or Buddhism.

 

[Noor]

You’re still a Christian.

I enjoy the rituals of Judaism because they give structure and meaning to my life.

The point of keeping the mitzvot isn’t to get into heaven, but to make the world a better place RIGHT NOW.

There are lots of religious traditions other than Christianity. If atheism isn’t working for you, try Judaism or Buddhism.

Tikkun olam- repairing the world

 

[MVP6]

In continuation to THIS thread, I'll tell you about my (lack of) religious beliefs.

Until two years ago, I believed in God. Not necessarily in a specific religion; my faith was without hard and fast rules.

I was still a bitter asshole, but at least back then, my belief in some sort of God and afterlife gave me hope. The hope that someday, in another world, I would get to experience all the things I missed out on in this life, either because of my own mistakes or because of the circumstances.

Until I watched a video on Youtube that made me realize how stupid the arguments I based my faith on were, that I had no more evidence to believe in God than I had to believe in fairies, unicorns etc.

And now, without a God to give me hope, I don't know where to go from here. There are times I have nightmares. The thought that I'm doomed to perish in the grave comes in my sleep and causes me to wake up and be unable to sleep again.

Other atheists tell me that I shouldn't feel like that, that the finality of death makes our finite existence all the more worthwhile. Maybe that's a way to see it, but for me it's not enough. Ever since I found out there is nothing after death, everything seems meaningless to me.

Maybe I can still get friends. Maybe I can still start a relationship with my parents and siblings. Maybe I can still find myself a girlfriend. So what? Will any of this matter in my eternal nonexistence? Will it matter whether I lived my life to the fullest or wasted it?

I can't get over that feeling of hopelessness.

You could examine the apologetics of well known thinkers as opposed to youtube.

 

[CuttingEdge]

On this side, I have lived a life with faith, hope and love, and using the bible as a directive, have been a much better person. Yet if there is no external life on the other side, I have not lost anything.

On the contrary, I lost a very young son, and I have this hope that I will see him again someday, that is a hope and peace that no atheist can lay claim to. If they are right, then it is what it is and it is just a false hope...

But here is the big part; if atheists are wrong; than that is a mistake that they will eternally regret.

As a side note, you are disappointed because you lost hope. I am disappointed too; I have a headstone where my son's life should be, but I have hope at least that I will one day see him in heaven. Because of that, I am not nearly as disappointed as I could be. More so, I can help give hope to other parents who have lost children, so they are not so disappointed. They in turn can do the same. But atheists? All they can do is mock me for being "stupid". Go ahead, if I am right, I have won twice...

 

[NancyPan]

It’s a mental health problem the OP is having. Don’t get sucked into an intellectual puzzle.

 

[allclad]

It’s a mental health problemthe OP is having. Don’t get sucked into an intellectual puzzle.

Or a troll post.