Is it possible for a Religious person to go full circle and become atheist

[kapp19]

I also want to add - because I figured (and was correct upon checking) - that the 8% number you have is from the famous PA report… So extrapolating that out across the globe is, well, more than problematic (and not only due to problems with the report itself); as if the global Church is the same as Pennsylvania. Nope.

God bless you…
-K

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

That yes, it is possible to go Catholic to atheist (which was the OP’s question)

I’m kind of mystified that the OP seems to consider this a crazy scenario. It’s not like formerly religious atheists are rare.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Here’s one!

In short, I relied on subjective emotional experiences for a long time. Then faith was easy. But as soon as I turned my brain back on again and started to dissect the claims of the church and the philosophy it backs it all up with, my faith was not supported by reason. I’m still open for the possibility that what the church claims is correct. I just need to be shown better support than ancient philosophy, mythology, superstition and “this is correct because I say so”.

 

[niceatheist]

In my case it was simply that the brand of Christianity I was brought up in was deeply socially conservative, deeply anti-science, and while I liked (and still like) many of the people, once I started questioning one aspect of the faith, it all came tumbling down. Then I began to question the underlying precepts of theism and deism, and decided metaphysics was a bit of a dead end, and slipped into a sort of soft atheism leaning ever so slightly towards agnosticism; willing to be convinced there is a prime mover but doubting anyone can.

 

[Dan123]

There’s 7 billion people on the planet, which means even ‘unlikely’ transitions happen all the time. There’s a lot of former believers in the atheist community, and a lot, possibly most, would tell you the ultimate reason they fell away from belief was simply that the claims of whatever faith they were part of just didn’t seem to be substantiated. Many start by being inquisitive and when their questions appear to have no satisfactory answers, doubt sets in and they begin questioning the entire structure. While some may have “had something bad happen” that’s really more of a stereotype and cliche.

 

[PickyPicky]

Bart Ehrman is a fairly famous example. He is a very highly regarded scholar of biblical textual criticism. He grew up a fundamentalist, but ended up leaving his faith after his studies revealed how many contradictions there are in the New Testament source texts.

I think Dr Ehrman has said that his loss of faith was actually a familiar one: he found it impossible to reconcile the suffering in the world with the existence of a loving God.

 

[White_Tree]

I think Dr Ehrman has said that his loss of faith was actually a familiar one: he found it impossible to reconcile the suffering in the world with the existence of a loving God.

Correct. He went through stages and I may have mischaracterized it. Thank you for the correction. He was unable to remain a fundamentalist after realizing the discrepancies, but his loss of faith didn’t happen until later, and was due to more philosophical reasons, as you’ve described.

 

[Hume]

In my case it was simply that the brand of Christianity I was brought up in was deeply socially conservative, deeply anti-science, and while I liked (and still like) many of the people, once I started questioning one aspect of the faith, it all came tumbling down. Then I began to question the underlying precepts of theism and deism, and decided metaphysics was a bit of a dead end, and slipped into a sort of soft atheism leaning ever so slightly towards agnosticism; willing to be convinced there is a prime mover but doubting anyone can.

Just like me!

Let’s be friends!

 

[Neithan]

• • Denial of scientific and historical truths
• Inconsistent or false doctrines, philosophical failings, and the denial of scientific reality. many, many such examples

With at least as much certainty as you have, with over a decade spent debating atheists (including rabidly — often risible — anti-theistic or anti-Catholic ones) I can consistently say these points are all misconceived misunderstandings at best; or, at worst, mendacious or malicious obstinacy. So you’ve come to the right place. If you have links to discussions on CAF that have left you feeling “how lost the Church has become. It saddens me greatly.” Please link to them; or, create new discussions.

 

[fhansen]

None of us know for sure who will perservere in faith, hope, and love, or not. Perseverance, itself, is to be desired and prayed for.

But I tend to think that only if the person is “merely” religious could such a thing happen.

 

[Pattylt]

So I would suggest that a person who is well formed and strong in their faith will not leave but a person whose faith is in men, rather than in God might stumble.

I would suggest that many well formed and strong in their faith people leave when they come to realize how man made it appears to be.

There is an organization dedicated to helping priests and pastors that no longer believe. They help these people with everything from exiting their positions to finding new jobs. It has helped and is helping hundreds of people. I think it would be rather foolish to assume these pastors and priests were not well formed and dedicated to their faith!

 

[phil19034]

phil19034:

The Church is perfect.

What do you mean by this since the Church is itself a collection of imperfect sinners?

Jesus will not judge the Church

If the Church is comprised of imperfect sinners then how is it it will not be judged?

The Church is supernatural - she will not be judged. But the humans inside her will be.

You make it seem as if the Church is a self existent entity separate from the humans it is comprised of? How is this?

The head of the Church is Jesus Christ, who is God and all perfect. The Church is the Body of Christ and consists of the following:

• The Church Militant << aka the Christians (saints) on Earth
• The Church Penitent (also known as the Church Suffering & Church Expectant) << aka the saints in Purgatory
• The Church Triumphant << the saints in Heaven

The Church Penitent and Church Triumphant are sinless, as both have already been forgiven for their sins and have been Saved.

The Church Militant is the only part of the Church which consists of sinners. Those who are saints will be Saved & move onto the Church Penitent and Church Triumphant, while those who are not saints will go to hell.

The Church is not a physical organization here on Earth. It is the Supernatural, Mystical Body of Christ which is present on Earth, in Purgatory & in Heaven.

Humans on Earth most likely consist of the smallest part of the Church, because the Angels and Saints in Heaven, plus the souls in Purgatory hopefully outnumber the 2 billion Christians on Earth.

The Church is not a human organization. It’s more comparable to the universe. Saying the Church is imperfect because of us sinful humans inside the Church is just as silly as saying the universe is imperfect because of us sinful humans inside the universe.

Both the universe and the Church were divinely created by God Himself.

 

[phil19034]

In the case in point it shouldn’t matter. I am using a particular instance in order to show a general principal. You yourself, as pointed out in your #2 mention the particulars of the Christian religion.

I’m not going to argue with you on this anymore. I do NOT disagree with your general principle regarding scandal… I have agreed with you.

HOWEVER, what I object to is your idea that the actions of other humans can directly cause a person to believe or to not believe in God.

The actions of men cannot cause anyone to believe or disbelieve in God. Belief is ultimately a choice by each individual.

Yes, indirect actions of men & evidence from nature can influence a person either way, however, it is ultimately a CHOICE to believe.

A theist chooses to believe God (or at least a higher power) exists, while an atheist chooses to believe God (or at least a higher power) does NOT exist.

 

[jeannetherese]

I think we might call that niche media.
I was thinking about the mainstream.
In the U.S.A that would be NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, none of which strike me as pro catholic. I also follow the Guardian and the BBC in England and CBC in Canada and am not seeing much which might be described as pro Catholic.
If they are publishing missives from the PR department of the Vatican, they must be in awfully small print. (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[jeannetherese]

There will always be worldly temptations and some will succumb. We pray for them. God will not force himself upon people. They are free to choose him, or reject him. He calls them back, but it is their decision whether or not they wish to open themselves to this call.

 

[John10]

Sure it is possible, although they never have valid reasons to do so, we always have our free will and God will always respect our choice, even if that means avoiding Him.

 

[Pattylt]

There will always be worldly temptations and some will succumb. We pray for them. God will not force himself upon people. They are free to choose him, or reject him. He calls them back, but it is their decision whether or not they wish to open themselves to this call.

Well, that only works if you believe God is there or not. To those that no longer believe in God, your statement only makes sense if they hear or sense God and then ignore the call. Most have lost belief because they never hear a peep and most would more than welcome one. I would. God’s silence in my life became overwhelming for me. To all those that claim they’ve heard back, I envy you as you have evidence that confirms your belief.

 

[Freddy]

So you’ve come to the right place. If you have links to discussions on CAF that have left you feeling “how lost the Church has become. It saddens me greatly.” Please link to them; or, create new discussions.

Simply check in to any thread on evolution. It will ‘sadden you greatly’.

 

[Freddy]

jeannetherese:

So I would suggest that a person who is well formed and strong in their faith will not leave but a person whose faith is in men, rather than in God might stumble.

I would suggest that many well formed and strong in their faith people leave when they come to realize how man made it appears to be.

There is an organization dedicated to helping priests and pastors that no longer believe. They help these people with everything from exiting their positions to finding new jobs. It has helped and is helping hundreds of people. I think it would be rather foolish to assume these pastors and priests were not well formed and dedicated to their faith!

I can’t remember who said it (Hitchens?) but they said that the surest way to make a man doubt his faith would be to send him to a seminary.

As a side note, I generally try to avoid using male specific pronouns when talking about people in general but I couldn’t in that case…

In the U.S.A that would be NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, none of which strike me as pro catholic. I also follow the Guardian and the BBC in England and CBC in Canada and am not seeing much which might be described as pro Catholic.

Why on earth would a news media be pro Catholic? I’ve never heard anyone suggest that they aren’t pro Buddism or pro Hindu.

 

[Freddy]

Yes, indirect actions of men & evidence from nature can influence a person either way, however, it is ultimately a CHOICE to believe.

A theist chooses to believe God (or at least a higher power) exists, while an atheist chooses to believe God (or at least a higher power) does NOT exist.

I’m afraid that this is so far from the truth that it’s not even wrong.