There are no atheists in a foxhole

by The wanderer 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  The wanderer

  Sometimes, I fail to understand why
  individuals become so emotional
  regarding a simple question.
  
  If you are that secure on whether
  or not you believe or disbelieve
  in a higher being; why feel threatened
  when someone asks you a question
  along those lines?
  
  I did not come here to be critical of
  anyone. I just wanted to know why they
  believe in what they believe.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  The Wanderer
• 

  PrimateDave

  LOL @ Caedes! Especially the illustrations of the Law of Moses!
• 

  funkyderek

  The wanderer:

  At times individuals become hard pressed to understand
  how an individual who at one time professed Christianity
  has now professed a belief in the discipline of evolution.

  Anyone who studies the subject properly will come to the conclusion that evolution is a fact. Many people remain Christians even then.

  So, if you did profess a belief in God at one time or
  another was it the Watchtower Society in part, that
  made you reconsider your position regarding there
  being a God or no God?

  Partly, at least in that belief in God was such a major part of my life that I couldn't just casually drop it. After beginning to doubt the existence of a god, I began researching and could find no evidence that such an entity exists, no known means by which it could exist, nor any questions that only the god hypothesis could answer. This led me to the (tentative) conclusion that no gods exist, and I've had no reason to change my mind since then. I think it is unlikely that I would turn to God in a crisis. Even if I did, it would be little more than an involuntary crisis reaction, like voiding my bowel
• 

  nicolaou

  under_believer said . .

  I am agnostic. It's possible that this is temporary and that I'll either swing back to belief in a higher power, or go atheist. Or maybe I'll just stay agnostic forever.
  
  The God I was raised to believe in, Jehovah, clearly does not exist. I refuse to believe that a being capable of creating the universe would be so incredibly racist, sexist, violent, petty, and insecure as Jehovah is portrayed to be.
  
  With that established, it leaves me with a vacuum. This vacuum has yet to be filled--and perhaps it's not necessary. I'll get back to you in a few years with my decision. :)

  u_b, you are not an agnostic you are an atheist. Atheism is not the belief that there is no god, it is the lack of belief that god does exist. Think about that. There is no such thing as agnosticism, it's not a middle ground because there is no middle ground to occupy.

  If you are unsure as to whether or not god/s exists then you do not have the belief that he/she/it does exist. You lack the belief of the theist which thus defines you as atheist.
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  PrimateDave

  Wanderer, Greetings.
  
  Perhaps what you are getting at is how people without a belief in superstition face death. I admit that I don't like to think about death, but I know that it will happen someday because it is simply how the universe I live in works. Perhaps that is one reason that I went along with my belief system for so long despite my reservations, not only of the WTS teachings, but also of the Bible's contradictory teachings. I simply don't want to die. It seems to be a cruel trick of the universe to give us sentience and intelligence, the ability to "know" and yet unable to stop the inevitable. My post in reply to hambreak's comment that "god is love" was not without purpose. I, too, once believed that god was love, but couldn't reconcile that belief with what I was actually reading in the Bible itself. Dr. Long's book put into concrete words the many subtle doubts that I had before.
  
  What will I be thinking at the moment that I think that death is inevitable? Perhaps regret that I won't get to know what happens next. Should I suddenly call out to Jehovah? I think not, knowing what I know now about the Bible and its god. Another atheist once said that a Jew facing imminent death doesn't suddenly cry out to Jesus. A Christian in the foxhole doesn't suddenly cry out to Allah (yes, I know that it is supposed to be the same god and all that). So, the point is why would an atheist suddenly cry out to an unseen divine being any more than he/she would cry out to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.
  
  Finally, I would have to say that I had to break from the WTS and the Bible at the same time. Being a Witness is all that I have known in my life. Perhaps, had I been a convert from Catholicism or something like that, I would have just been happy to drop being a Witness and go back to the old belief system. By breaking free from the Bible, I realized the real function of religion in society.
  
  Dave
• 

  lonelysheep

  Finally, I would have to say that I had to break from the WTS and the Bible at the same time. Being a Witness is all that I have known in my life. Perhaps, had I been a convert from Catholicism or something like that, I would have just been happy to drop being a Witness and go back to the old belief system. By breaking free from the Bible, I realized the real function of religion in society.

  So well spoken! I broke free from both together, also.
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  Liberty

  For me it was a long, slow, and painful process which brought me from a true believer to an atheist. I always was curious and loved science ever since I was a small child and these qualities do not bode well for a would be JW. One of the first remembered cracks in my faith came about when I caught the aquarium bug and by the time I was 12 or so I had graduated from tropical fresh water fish to salt water (Marine). My literal belief in the Global Flood story pushed by the Watchtower Society really began to unravel as my knowledge of Marine life increased in pursuit of this hobby. When I discovered it was impossible for the vast majority of plants and animals from either fresh or salt water to survive the change from one environment to the other I could not reconcile the Flood story with the reality I knew. I told my parents that Noah must have built aquariums into the Ark to save the aquatic animals. They were not happy, I saw a fearful anger in their response as they said that this was ridiculous idea and that I should not discuss it any further. I knew then that it was the Flood story which was ridiculous and not my new found skepticism. After this it became gradually easier for me to question my parent's religion whenever things didn't seem to add up, and that turned out to be rather often.