How did YOU abandon atheism?I converted from atheism after sensing that Jesus's spirit is still aliveHe first haunted me on a combination of dissociative drugs but it's fucking real. He is real. I believed it. I also sensed the presence of Socrates tho and IDK how to feel about that but one thing I became certain of, I couldn't be an atheist anymore
PKD had a near exact same experience to me btw. Check this out1/2 (there's actually more but this gets the point across)
>>185765802/2
>>18576579Had an edgy atheist tankie phase as a teen. Realized I was being cringe. Stopped it.
>>18576579I thought I was communicating with God and the devil. I read parts of the Bible and thought they had great significance just for me. When I'm not having a break I'm an atheist.
>>18576591So you still don't believe god exists but now you call yourself a Christian because of fedora memes.
>>18576579I had a vision of Jesus after I dropped out of college and tried to kill myself by hanging.
>>18576603>I thought I was communicating with God and the devil.OP here, the devil isn't an actually existing personal thing. i remember during my tween militant atheist phase I used to laugh at St Augustine's thesis that "there is no Evil, just an absence of Good" viewing it as an easy cop out regarding Theodicy. a few years ago I realized he was right. >>18576606but can you still feel his presence? if you can't it was just an emotional reactionanyhow. I know how it sounds. mystical revelation on drugs... but it wasn't psychedelics. i've never had a religious experience on psychedelics, they only make you dumb. so none of that Timothy Leary/Terrence McKenna BS is clouding my head. it was a mix of dxm, ketamine and weed and it was very much alike: >>18576580i could feel the eternity of my soul and coexistence with the spirits of these great figures, prophets, like Jesus and Socrates. after that event I read Plato's Republic and the New Testament and was startled by how true all of it is despite being written almost 2000-2500 years ago. i also checked out Adi Shankara's monistic Advaita Vedanta but didn't read any of the texts in full, just small fragments. just out of curiosity if there was any prophet of such stature in the East. so within the Hindu tradition I only found Shankara to be a prophet of that universal level. and in China there's only Laozi
I had an experience one morning when I was writhing in emotional agony in bed one morning, and due to having schizophrenia I began imagining myself as being consumed by the maw of Hell, being dragged down by into damnation by the weight of my sin and life of blasphemy.Then, when I decided to surrender to God, I heard a knock at my door, and it was two cute Mormon missionaries wanting to invite me to their church.I laughed internally because I thought this was some type of cosmic joke at my expense, since Mormonism is almost universally considered to be the most ridiculous subset of Christianity.So, I figured it was some universal force entertaining me with a bit of ironic humor, and went back to being an atheist.
Im seeing christianity more and more as a jewish joke played on the people of the roman empire and finding myself identifying more with the greek pantheon
First of all, what began to bother me was the cynicism I often saw among atheists. Many seem to view believers as fools, even though for most of human history nearly everyone, including many of humanity's greatest minds, believed in some form of the divine.I also came to feel that the absence of belief in anything sacred eventually leads to cultural and moral decline. Morality without God, or without some transcendent foundation, doesn't seem stable to me. Because it is ultimately subjective, it gradually loses its meaning.I've always had a romantic view of the past. Ancient civilizations, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, built extraordinary monuments not only through political power, but because they believed people should work together to create something that would outlast their own lives. If God does not exist, then the purpose of life is reduced to temporary pleasure while we're alive. Why sacrifice myself to build something that will endure for generations if I'll never see it? I think that belief in something greater than ourselves made many of the greatest achievements of the ancient world possible.I also think religion guided humanity toward a path of self-discovery and creation that might not otherwise have existed. Göbekli Tepe predates the Agricultural Revolution. Before humans became sedentary, we had already built temples and made pilgrimages to them. To me, the spiritual revolution came before every other revolution. I also see what I believe is a cultural decline over just a few generations. My grandparents' generation was almost entirely religious, and their families were close-knit. In my generation and among my cousins, almost no one believes anymore, and our family is much less united. I think the loss of faith has played a role in that
>>18576645Why christian though? well, what ultimately brought me closer to religion, was something positive. Reading the Bible without imposing a modern mindset, and instead looking for the timeless principles behind its teachings, changed the way I saw it. Some ideas may become outdated, but its core principles seem to point toward something fundamental that we shouldn't lose.On a personal level, those teachings have had a profound emotional and spiritual impact on me. I've also seen how people and communities are changed when they share belief in something greater than themselves. More recently, by reading Christ's teachings and willingly setting aside the need to rationalize everything, I found what feels to me like a truth that cannot really be explained, only accepted
>>18576639cringe neo-pagan larperanyhowIn the last half of his life, Plato cooperated with the Pythagoreans
>>18576639Too much time on reddit
>>18576579>How did YOU abandon atheism?I didn't.
>>18576604Yes.
>>18576579>>18576603>>18576606>>18576632>>18576645>crazy drug users with mental illnesses hallucinations and fringe beliefs convert to religionwhat else is newNo one cares if you call yourself an atheist, the question is, are were you "an atheist" for logical reasons?God is not real this life is all there is all evidence points to it you are NIHILISTS you are wasting your lives and ours waiting for something else. You will Die and this is all we have. You are scared but your fear will ruin your life. This life is all there is do not throw it away. You are blindly following a pleasant lie, too scared to make the jump. This is all we haveThis is all we haveThere is not a shred of evidence of the contraryYou will die and rot and be nothing. All the while chosing this lie. You will gesticulate to ignore the devastating facts but the facts stay.This is all we haveThis is all we have
>>18576580Man, imagine the horror if you saw a vision of yourself being a part of the Last Generation.
I was born in an atheist family and was atheist or agnostic for most of my life. First, I realized that agnosticism is a stupid position. Existence or nonexistence of God is too important to just go "well I dunno". I decided to start with Christianity because a) its culturally closest, so would be easier to understand than say Buddhism or Islam b) it's the one with most seething against. I checked if Christian God was disproven. He wasn't. There was just a lot of non-arguments like theodicy or "Biblical contradictions" which were ultimately results of ignorance.Then I checked what proof is there in favour of God existing. It was mostly testimonies (a lot of them), plus some unexplainable medical stuff. This meant that there is more proof in favor of God. So I started to practice Christianity to check if it does anything, and it worked basically as advertised. Changes for the better, addictions I struggled with for years just leaving me alone, peace of mind, etc.
>>18577612I actually did the jump to Christianity. It took me out of my comfort zone, made me interact with very different people. Made me grow as a person, made me marry and work towards having a kid.If I stayed an atheist, none of this would have happened. I'd just keep living like I was, in my social circle, with my gf, no risk, no development, just stagnation and addiction. Even if I die and will be nothing, my life is now full of purpose. There is nothing in atheism. It's empty, and it's also baseless. There is no evidence that God doesn't exist. And nothing that Christianity was founded on, was disproven.
>>18576579>took drugs that broke my brain’s ability to differentiate reality from delusion>>18576591>cared more about being “cringe” than reality>>18576606>psychotic depression>>18576632>schizophrenia>>18576645>ranting about muh culture with no mention of truth or reality>>18577858>blindly believed testimony of the above schizophrenicskek.
>>18577863Good for you if that's cheap affordable therapy for whatever's wrong with youStill you will die believing a lie. Lets hope this lie doesn't wither your flower>And nothing that Christianity was founded on, was disproven>Resurrection>The end of the world>The dates between the roman census and herod's deathGoing back to the old testament >Adam and eve>The flood>Tower of babel>The exodusDo you need more?There is no need to debate about facts because you won't care about them. What matters to you is the mental comfort. You have not yet understood how life can be enjoyed in a world where god doesn't exist. You make sense of people dying in wars and babies coming out with gaping holes in the spine as a higher purpose and so that makes you happy.There are ways to find extreme joys in the fact that life is all there is. The measures of maximum pleasure are bound by this life. The first chapters of zarathustra are not to be ignored, first they tell you that you may need magical beliefs while your sickness needs healings, but also that there is great joy to be had in the fleeting and light on its feet attitude one can show in life.
>>18578126Yes, and the magi visiting baby Jesus, and the weird numbers, and all the other stuff. I'm aware of that. Biblical literalism was rejected early on, while strict inerrancy was formalized in 19th century. In fact the Jews never even had literalism as a concept. That's not even taking into account that we have similar issues/conflicting accounts with other non-supernatural historical figures. >life is all there isThis is a baseless assumption. >sickness needs healingsI never felt sick in the first place. I lived most of my life in a world where God doesn't exist. I was an atheist most of my life with that exact attitude you describe as good. I had a near-death experience when I was around 19 or 20 and it made me love life a lot, as an atheist. I got a lot out of it, did most of the things one can do without being very immoral (by my own very loose definitions at the time). It's all just salt water that you drink but become more and more thirsty. Wake me up when we have an ubermensch, otherwise to me Nietzsche is just a larper worshipping vitality he didn't himself physically have - I have it, and, again, it's salt water; and others that actually have it will also tell you it's salt water.
>>18576579>ANOTHER anon casually admitting they're off their tits on psychiatric medication What's causing this phenomenon.
>>18576579I WILL ASSUME THAT YOU ARE BEING SINCERE, AND NOT IRONICAL, NOR OTHERWISE DISINGENUOUS.START READING; START READING NOT THE HOLY BIBLE, BUT THE CHURCH FATHERS, «THE GOLDEN LEGEND», «SPECVLVM VITÆ CHRISTI», «FLOS SANCTORVM», THEN READ THE HOLY BIBLE—THE REAL, CATHOLICAL ONE, NOT A HERETICAL MUTILATION.AFTER THE HOLY BIBLE, YOU CAN READ THE CATECHISM, AND START DELVING INTO THEOLOGY, AND MISCELLANEOUS CHRISTIAN LITERATURE.WHILST YOU ARE READING ALL THIS, YOU SHOULD BE GOING TO MASS, AT LEAST, EVERY SUNDAY, AND, WHEN YOU ARE READY —AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED; AFTER YOU HAVE CONFESSED YOUR SINS, AND MADE PENANCE—YOU CAN RECEIVE YOUR FIRST COMMUNION, AND COMMUNE QUOTIDIANLY.CONVERSION SELDOM HAPPENS THROUGH THE HEART; IT OFTEN HAPPENS THROUGH INTELLECT.
>>18578717>This is a baseless assumption. Its the one that requires the least ad hoc unproven concepts therefore if you have to believe in something this is the thing that you have to reasonably believe in.That life isn't all there is requires to assume that there is some additional stuff we can't test wether it exists or not we just added it because why not. An unfalsifiable object of knowledge is equal in probability to all other infalsifiable objects of knowledge therefore there is an infinite amounts of things that are possible once you admit one of them to be possible.>It's all just salt water that you drink but become more and more thirstyMorality as counter natureIf you reject desire because it causes suffering and upon completion wakes up new desires that's just nihilism. As in that's all there is to it in life. To overcome or give up and die. You chose to think it's sad and depressing, won't change that it's the one fact of life wether you try to ignore it or not. The best thing possible would be to find pleasure in it. This is very hard to accept but there is none beyond the horror
it's cringe and reddit and all my favorite neofascist ecelebs say christianity will rebuild the west o algo
>>18577612you didn't read my posts, why should i read yours? i didnt hallucinate anything, im just a mystic bro: >>18576616>anyhow. I know how it sounds. mystical revelation on drugs... but it wasn't psychedelics. i've never had a religious experience on psychedelics, they only make you dumb. so none of that Timothy Leary/Terrence McKenna BS is clouding my head.
>>18577874>took drugs that broke my brain’s ability to differentiate reality from delusioni wasn't hearing voices if thats what you think. so, no delusion. just a mystical experience that's stayed with me sober. sorry that you never got to experience anything like it
>>18576579It comes and goes. I've never seen a miracle in my life. But sometimes those scary stories of the afterlife get to me. Oh well, the soys can chuckle.
>>18578719>disassociative drugs>"psychiatric medication" Pick one. A psychiatrist or psychologist isn't going to put you in a k-hole. Are you a Scientologist? They irrationally hate psychiatry too.
