Have you ever noticed just how hard it can be to stay an atheist?

I took the plunge and followed one Christian's exact advice: Kneel and pray humbly for God to show she said, and He would I began, as you did, to experience as sort of bias- a voice in my head telling me what was wrong to do or think, in line with my Christian teaching as a boy But then the voice stuttered. The voice was me. The voice always was me, nobody else.So powerfully and easily can a person be swayed by suggestion.

Let that be a lesson to us both not to be so gullible.

It's okay if you want to be open to the possibility of things not always making rational sense or being able to be explained rationally. It's also okay to be open to the possibility of a "higher power". The problem is when you try to define why that's the case or explain it according to some religious doctrine.

That's where the trouble starts. True wisdom and enlightenment can only come from opening yourself up to what's there to reveal itself when your cup is fully empty. And when you have a religion or an ideology, then your cup is not empty.

Keep trying, Kagos! Someday you'll be as haughty and arrogant an atheist as these guys. I like how they talk to you like you are some ignorant, unlearned Christian troll.Lol... Like, anyone who might doubt must not know anything about religion.Funny.As for prayer, don't ask for answers if you already know you have no intent to listen to If you are SURE that nothing positive can come from a prayer than a placebo effect, why bother in the first place?

Your real problem is that you know there's another alternative and it keeps trying to show itself to you. And it's not one of a "placebo effect".

You certainly do not sound like an atheist, but if you are being honest then I have respect for you. While I certainly would not agree with your feelings of doubt, I feel the most important thing for any of us to do is be true to ourselves. If we feel that something is not true, then it can only be harmful to convince yourself that something is true.

I find this section important primarily for those who have doubts about their beliefs. It is important for all of us to assess arguments from all sides and decide for ourselves what we feel is most true.

I think prayer has more than a placebo effect. I think the effect of prayer is probably very much akin to the effect of meditation, and caused by the same mechanisms. Either way, I don't find it the least bit difficult to stay atheist.In fact, it requires zero effort at all, because I don't try to force my beliefs to fit someone else's model.

No, no one who is an atheist has this problem. Why don't you crack a few books other than the bible. You could start with a comparison of different mythologies like Joseph Campbell's Masks of God (the Christian myths are in there too).

Then read Epicurus, Hume and of course, the late great Christopher .

You maybe be suffering from a lack of scepticism. (common in some areas) Try taking everything with a pinch of salt, until normal levels return. (Yes it is possible to overdose on scepticism and indeed on thinking itself, but far more have these conditions as deficiency diseases.).

No, there's a difference between religion and spirituality. Believing in religion breaks the 'atheist' title, but believing in spirituality doesn't make you religious.

No, nobody is having this problem. Your mind is just easily polluted, or you're trolling.

Hmm. I wouldnt know. :P I don't see whats so wrong about believing in a higher power.

Couldnt possibly hurt and you can still believe in logic too.

Not I. If anything the more I'm on this site the more obvious it becomes that theists are liars or just brainwashed or both!

No, quite the opposite for me, I just can't fathom how people in the 21st century are still that superstitious.

It's no harder than staying a non-Santa-Claus-believer or an aleprechaunist.

It has always been very easy for me to be an atheist. I find it hard to tell lies - even to myself.

Your comments here are the comments of a christian.

Read the book of Enoch and Epistle of Barnabas, it will help clear up a lot :).

My biggest problem on R&S is stopping myself from getting too worked up over some of the deliberately ignorant comments on here. I balance this with a healthy dose of humor or a very blunt answer. The thing is, the more I'm on here, the more I realize just how impossible and illogical having a God would be.

I can completely see how it might have your same affect on someone, with being exposed to the somewhat brainwashed (for lack of a better word) views and opinions of some theists. You can stay in a Kindergarten classroom but for so long without the Barney theme song getting stuck in your head. However, this is my place to learn a thing or two from fellow Atheists while also sharpening my logic and reasoning skills on belligerent or ignorant Theists.

Outside the internet is when Christianity is a bit overwhelming. I have an all-Christian family and most of my friends are too so there isn't really anyone to discuss certain topics with. But I can completely see where you're coming from.

What can I say? Each person is different and responds uniquely to different environments. Happy Holidays!

Yeah. It's very hard to stay intellectually dishonest enough to be an atheist.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.