i am, by definition, an atheist. i do not believe in any gods, goddesses, deities, or higher powers. tho it sounds a bit cold to say so, my religious beliefs on the physical level are very scientific. i base what i believe on my collected scientific knowledge and on my own reasoning. at times i have thot to myself, "nearly everone around me believes in God, maybe i am wrong" but then i consider the fact that all around the world millions and billions of people practice and hold almost as many different religions, and all because it is what they have been told to believe. i am in no way striking the validity or purity of their beliefs or personal reputation, i am simply making my own personal statement and explaining my own personal religion. i have never been presented compelling evidense in favor of any religion... actually, the word "religion" is not the word i mean to use, because "religion" means one's beliefs and principles while i have been using two ways: the one just described and another way meaning "monotheistic or polytheistic organised religions with nonscientific grounds or 'supernatural' phenomena". please use context or ask me if you cannot tell which meaning i'm using at a given point. i'll try to be clear.
i have never had a problem with explaining earthly phenomena without the use of a god. all questions can be solved somehow, and my belief in inconsistency (or incompleteness) allows for the necessary bending of thot structure to figure out everything. my "room to move around" look on the runnings of the universe is not an allowance i have made to support or further my views; it is a whole other conclusion i have come to far outside of the realm of the question of god.
some insist that god only makes sense. i am using the example of monotheistists because that is what i know, having always lived in a midwestern christian society. midwestern christians (and again i only pin them becasue it is all i can pin in good conscience) seem to narrow their field of thinking very tight and cannot even comprehend possessing beliefs other than their own. to them, god is obviously the answser. but what about asian peoples such as the hindu, with their many gods? they know that they are right, just as christians know they are right, just as the jews and the moslems and the buddhists and even the extremist groups know they are right. with the abundance of different religions, all with equally devoted followers, how can one say they are absolutely certain? well, they can, and i explain that elsewhere on this page. on hte other end of the stick, tho, no one can prove their religion to someone else or sway someone else's beliefs unless the swayee was not totally convinced in the first place. i know that i am totally convinced of my beliefs, the reasons why i discuss elsewhere on the page.
thank you for reading my opinion on gods and taking them into account.
my religious upbringing was far different than that of other children in my area. while most were taken to church on sundays, read the bible, or at least told that there was a god and everyone was supposed to believe in him, i received no teaching. from hte start, my parents left it very open for me. they said "we do not personally believe in god, but you have the right to form your own opinion on this and believe what you think is right. people all over the world believe in different things, and they all have the right to". i am always thankful to this, because i know that my personal religious growth would have been much more difficult if i had been restrained, and i know that the biggest part of who i am now is becasue of my development of my own beliefs.
my parents told us (my sister and i) about the bible and likened it to mythology, but reminded us that some people did believe it as true, and everyone takes it their own way. i considered the bible (and most other holy books) as like fables or guidbooks to life, with metaphorical lessons to be learned about being a good person and such. i never took them literally, and as a side affect to my thinking that they were all totally made up stories, i did not realise that christ was a real historical figure until i was almost in school (and tho some doubt he was real, i'm pretty sure he existed, just not as the son of god or anything, but definitely a truly kind and beautiful person who changed peoples lives in many ways).
as a child, i often thot about god in a sense similar to santa clause, tho i never believed in either. i drew a lot, so i put god in many forms: the big man in the sky with the beard and robes, the sun, a unicorn. their were many, and i let my imagination go. i know the ten commandments (tho don't ask me to recite) and to this day think some are silly and some are important.
as i grew up, i knew that i didn't believe in god while most of my classmates did. in elementary school i didn't see this as a difference anyone would have a problem with, so i did end up in some arguments (mostly with a good friend of mine) from time to time, but they were cuter than they were harsh. as i got older, i realised intolerance and hatred and learned to conceal my beliefs from others as a precaution. my extreme care in this has bled to other parts of my opinions and i have gotten to a point where i don't like to argue opinions, tho i'm very fervent on mine and used to argue like a deamon over everything. i want my ferocity back in that category.
my family was not just a big batch of midless atheists. i don't like to discuss religion with my parents because from my point of view they seem not to have any thot on the issue and aren't well knowledged. i think their opinions have no basis. i know most of what i believe i've figured out for myself, and i know i have many more opinions on htings than my parents do. i see in them a "that sounds good" way of deciding how they feel.
my religious upbringing has been a "blessing" to me. while some might say i'm lost, i know the best path is the one you have picked carfully and beaten for yourself.