Atheist gone wrong!! Try to convert me to your religion!

Hey guys! I got this crazy idea. I'm an atheist, and a very logical thinker at large. I think science got most of the questions answered so far and I can probably think up the rest in my head to sate my curiosity.

But I have always wondered what drives people to become religious, why they think that this or that god really is THE answer.I suspected that childhood indoctrination would be a major cause, seeing how a child belieaves just about anything a grown up will them, and that it probably would manifest so hard that they could not let go of the ideas and ideals of said religion. So in short, please, try to convert me to your beliefs and religion and make me see the reason and truth that you hold.

And no, I am not trying to troll or anything, if you can give me resonable arguments then I am all yours.

Religion isn't based in empiricism. How can they come up with an argument?

This is very humorous. No wonder you are an atheist :)
You imagine someone can just hand you a whole belief system?
Maybe the Christians will give it a go.

Originally Posted by the crow

This is very humorous. No wonder you are an atheist :)
You imagine someone can just hand you a whole belief system?
Maybe the Christians will give it a go.

Haha, let's wait and see. I hope you didn't turn them off, though a real believer wouldn't be swayed so easily..

Hey guys! I got this crazy idea. I'm an atheist, and a very logical thinker at large. I think science got most of the questions answered so far and I can probably think up the rest in my head to sate my curiosity.

But I have always wondered what drives people to become religious, why they think that this or that god really is THE answer.

This is me defining my beliefs. It may seem very crazy, it could be. Sometimes I think it is. I realize that my chances of converting anyone is slimmer than slim at best, at least I get to clear my head. I am not likely to answer any questions regarding my strange beliefs, they are merely beliefs - it's the most satisfying stance of the believer. Here is goes:

The problem is, to my limited understanding, that people live in their very own Matrix. (In fact, the movie is a big metaphor, especially the 30 first minutes.) It's been called by many different names though, like 'sleep', it's also been called a prison. It's a place where automatism and 'personality ego' rules. It's a place where you can be seemingly happy, yet everywhere you look everything turns into shit and there are only glimpses of real, genuine emotion. One could say that wars and divorces are due to "human nature" but really, it's due to living your personality construct. Growing it is part of human nature, though. Then you 'must' grow out of it.

The goal of religion and all spiritual activity, such as meditation and prayer, living in isolation or monasteries is to free oneself from the crazy automatism that rules your life. This is why millions and millions of people throughout the ages has devoted their lives to such activities. Religion is a tool for people to work with, most people have it wrong - it's not meant to be a "follower-cult". I hope no-one found that offensive, but I believe it's important to question religion and to consider it more like a toolbox filled with wisdom and metaphors that's meant to be used to uncover truth. It's very hard to discover your prison on your own and much harder to escape it. Religion is a toolbox to help people who have discovered their prison, and everyone else to live a more honest life. Many people 'instinctively know' that they can live a more honest life with religion, but very few know why.

As you unveil personality, and learn to decide for yourself - instead of repeating the same patterns without notice - you see something. It's an aspect of "God". I believe people see different aspects of the same thing > multiple religions with different "Gods" - but they are really the same thing, from different perspectives. It's something like what's covered by the enneagram, a 4 would see beauty in everything and that would be one aspect of God. A 2 would see love. That's why one religion focuses on love, and another on something else.

This is, to me, the only logical reason why multiple religions exist. They see different aspects of the same thing. Else, you'd have to come to the conclusion that religion is bogus - which is where I was a few years ago. But now I think differently, as explained above. Also there are some beliefs like Gods in nordic mythology that probably doesn't have any truth to it. It's quite possible that the toolboxes was made into bibels and qurans and such to spread them as far as possible.

There may be crusades and holy wars but that's not due to religion. I believe the positives win over the negatives. It's not religion that causes holy wars, it's people who do not follow their inner qualities and ironically their very own religious teachings. It's because people are automatized and blind followers of their personality. Wars exist anyways, religion is one way to salvation. It's hope to humanity. It's a necessity.

That's the purpose of religion.

Great reply. You are not easily shot-down :)

Now I need to take the step from speculating to verifying! A much complicated task that I promise to take care of tomorrow.

Actually, I now decide that I will complete a small project of mine, tomorrow.., hopefully that will bring me some clarity. How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes

Haha is it not coincidental that I now have 666 thanks?? I find it oddly amusing.

I read it quickly and knew immediately what it was about, since I've long since done it myself.
I let go everything. And I mean everything!
But whereas the article suggests you find the thing that makes you cry, I found something that made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh...
The fatally funny thing was the simple realization that:
"It's all so simple!"

Originally Posted by DarkyNWO

Hey guys! I got this crazy idea. I'm an atheist, and a very logical thinker at large. I think science got most of the questions answered so far and I can probably think up the rest in my head to sate my curiosity.

But I have always wondered what drives people to become religious, why they think that this or that god really is THE answer.I suspected that childhood indoctrination would be a major cause, seeing how a child belieaves just about anything a grown up will them, and that it probably would manifest so hard that they could not let go of the ideas and ideals of said religion. So in short, please, try to convert me to your beliefs and religion and make me see the reason and truth that you hold.

And no, I am not trying to troll or anything, if you can give me resonable arguments then I am all yours.

I'll give it a go.

I'll start by asking you some questions to get some kind of discussion going, if you don't mind.

What do you think is the origin of the idea of God? It is a rather abstract concept, so how did it develop? Likewise, what about the soul? What do you think people mean when they talk about it?

Have you ever wondered what your self is? What is conscience, or how did it develop? Do you know you exist?

How much do you know about religion?
What do you think is the basic principle of Christianity?


Btw, I myself am a protestant Christian. I was indeed born into a religious family, but grew up in a largely atheist society, and much of what I believe now I have worked out for myself.

Originally Posted by DarkyNWO

But I have always wondered what drives people to become religious, why they think that this or that god really is THE answer.


So in short, please, try to convert me to your beliefs and religion and make me see the reason and truth that you hold.

The problem with your post and request is that you're asking/talking about two completely different things in these two statements. It makes it hard to understand what your true motivation for this thread is.


The first part is asking about other people and why they believe what they believe. If this is truly what you're wondering, then you shouldn't be looking for them to convert you to their belief system. You should be asking why they believe what they believe, listen to what they say, and use your empathy to understand them as people. That question is not so much about someone's beliefs as it is about who they are as a person.

The second part is asking someone to try to convince you to believe as they do. This is very different than simply wondering why they believe what they do....because now you're asking them to use criteria that works for you, and not for them. This may keep someone from responding because their reasons may be completely different than yours.


One thing that's great about learning about type is that you learn that despite all of our similarities as humans, we have so much about us that is fundamentally different. There's a lot more to it than simply what religion someone is taught as a child. If that were the case, there would be no people who were raised to be Christians but are atheists as teenagers and/or adults.

Originally Posted by DarkyNWO

I suspected that childhood indoctrination would be a major cause, seeing how a child belieaves just about anything a grown up will them, and that it probably would manifest so hard that they could not let go of the ideas and ideals of said religion.

This may certainly be true in some situations, but not all. I, for example, am a Christian, but my mom is an atheist and my dad is kind of a mix between an atheist and being spiritual.

A banana fits EXACTLY into the human hand.


The ball's in your court, Mr. Smarty-Pants Atheist.



God, I kinda feel like spiking a football or doing a little dance...