Atheist and Infidels Club

Welcome to the club.



Only on the last Friday of the month during our end-of-month activity breakdown.



I think you qualify as an agnostic, but the blood thing... I'm just going to go with the notion that you aren't being serious. Either way, welcome.



Welcome aboard.


Now then, onto the first official question of the club, how did you come to reject faith?

My story is a rather simple one, I debated with atheists during my time as a Christian (we all make mistakes). I attended church regularly and I studied the bible. I had a friend who was anti-theistic and sought out believers to debate. It was inevitable that Mohamed and I would have our debate, which was actually organized to take place in the library of the school under the direction of the debate team, a team I was on. We argued our points and gave both prewritten and extemporaneous speeches. Near the end of the debate Mohamed, rather than refuting my points, had prepared information with a list of creationist and otherwise religious "scientists", their discoveries and relevant information discrediting the methods they employed, discredited the individuals who did the research and discredited even their educational background. He made it clear that they could have tailored their findings to match their personal agendas. I spent a short time in deep unconviction and doubt until I was approached by Mohamed. He thanked me for a good and spirited debate, something he seldom gets, then he pointed me toward the work of Carl Sagan, he said after that I should have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and he was right. He and I are still friends, though at a distance.

First official answer for the club:

My middle school was a religious school. So I had to learn all that theology etc etc. Being the very religious kid I was, I learned all that very earnestly. And like every other thing I believe in, I require it to be absolutely true, in the sense that I cannot possibly doubt it. Of course I was totally ignorant back then, so many things I was never aware of, stuff like philosophy logic etc etc. But anyway, because of that part of me, and how serious I was about my belief, then it dawned upon me that the concept of god couldn't possibly be true (it started with the idea that omnipotence and omniscience contradicted each other).

Yak yak all the usual troubles of a devout believer encountering a crack in his beliefs... social troubles etc etc...

Here I am, an undercover atheist.

Okay. I was christian by default I suppose. I was baptised and I went to a primary school where they got us to pray in assembally. My mother is sure god exists, but not as a single being which seemed to keep my belief of god pretty solid.

Then I started actually looking around and asking questions like "Wait, if he loves us, why let so many of us suffer and die young?" "If he is all powerful and knows how things are going to go, why are we actually here?" "God helps those that help themselves? What about those unable to? Why do people that help themselves need help?" I was getting pretty pissed off with the idea of god. I then looked at the theory of evolution and it made fuck loads more sence than the invisible man in the sky. I don't think I even knew the word atheist before I became one. I've been an atheist for years now.

Oh, I got called soulless a few times. Someone looked at me oddly and just said "Why?". It can get annoying.

Save the bit on souls for later I'm doing pertinent research about subject-object dichotomy which will make for a good discussion later.

Official Answer:

I grew up in a Catholic Family. I was taught to be catholic, and even joined a group to better my faith in the Church and God. Doubts started when I started knowing more about Islam out of curiosity. Soon, I was just a theist/Deist, and continued to hold onto my beliefs until I came across a lecture by Steven Pinker. In his lecture, he brought up points about the rejection of what many call the "soul". Despite not believing in a soul, I still believed in an "unmoved mover", until I came across Pragmatism. I then came to reject any notion of metaphysics and explored more and more info on the Sciences and Atheism.

backlight on my phone is shot I can't really reply right now I'm sending this with voice recognition hoping that it works. actually that I made it this far is kind of impressive I'm genuinely impressed that I know my phone well enough to get this far.

hello I'm not even sure what this is even saying so I can't really read it I just know where the keyboard is where the button is for this so maybe I'm getting right hopefully I am.

Now now, it's not strictly a rejection of faith, just the rejection of the existance of a god.

Actually it's faith that needs rejecting, not the existence of god.

If god does exist and the existence is provable beyond doubt, then one would be wrong to reject it. But faith is wrong because it refuses to accept any proof contrary to itself and insists on belief to be the measure of truth.

I'm agreeing with both of you (Grenouille and mibuchiha). I reject the idea of god entirely as an atheist would, whatever the reason. Rejecting faiths simply happens alongside that. But, if I see absolute, undenyable proof of the existance of god, (this would be seeing god or any deity and probably interacting with it) I wouldn't deny it. It doesn't mean I would suddenly turn to religion though. Religion can justify whatever it does with the god's will excuse and religion has caused some pretty fucked up shit and as you said, expects us to take its word as proof for their belief.

I figure I ought to drop by the club and remind everyone that I still do exist.

Does anything really exist? Why can't we all just be nihilists?

Be whatever you want to be. I'm not a nihilist, but if you want to be than by all means proceed.

Well, someone tried to convert me to Islam. If anyone still goes here, it was am interesting experience. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I converted myself out of it, if it counts.

Out of Islam? If so, please share the experience.

yeah. it was mostly for the same reasons others raised in a religious setting converted themselves; they couldnt keep on believing on the nonsense they were fed with. it's just that islam being you-know-what that makes it more difficult lifestyle-wise, since i still need to pretend that i'm one of them even after 5 years or so i stopped considering myself a muslim.

so for now only friends know about it, plus some acquaintances. i'm not opposed to admitting i dont believe in it, i dont even mind to explain my reasons in detail so they can refute it if they wish, but that's only when i have not much to worry about my safety and i can sufficiently trust the people to not go out of their way to fuck with my life because i dont share the same illusions.

gotta admit living in lies is very tiring though, but it's worth it.

Well, if ever there's anything I can do to help let me know. Being concerned for safety or standard of living can't be healthy.

Lol that means I've been living unhealthily for years. Admittedly at this point it's the only way of life available to me, as I doubt it's possible for me to ever go back to the way of belief.

It's too bad my friend. Have you considered relocating?

Finally a club for me lol. I lean towards the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster but mostly godless unless being touched by his noodly appendages.