Anyone here a former atheist?

help me figure this out user, why?
I believe in god and I understand that christ suffered in order to save us.
But I don't understand the whole structure of the catholic church. Why isn't it enough to accept jesus into my heart?

maybe you should try actually reading the bible and then you'd realise that the fullness of christianity comes from scripture, faith, christ and grace and for the the glory of god alone, user.

While i used to be an obnoxious militant atheist i find myself more drawn to the idea of a god nowadays, i consider myself agnostic but who knows, it might change

The main reason I am Catholic is because I believe Christ founded a visible church, that being the Catholic Church.
The main problem I have with Protestantism is the idea of sola scriptura, something itself which is not found in the bible and ignores the 400 years prior to the creation of what we know as 'the Bible'. Even Paul says to hold fast to the traditions taught.
I am not that great at explaining theological matters, but this video is a nice brief thign.
>youtube.com/watch?v=jJCbCs-y1_k

I went from christian, to edgy atheist, back to christian.

What about the 400 years prior to the creation of the canon of the Bible?
Were the disciples not in the fullness of Christianity? They didn't have the bible.

I'm a Pantheist-Absurdist. The nothingness of atheism started to depress me and I've decided to believe there is meaning to existence even if we don't know what it is, and the best way to live is either according to your intuition or living to find said meaning. Do I believe in a god that gives a particular shit about the minutia of humans? No. I think that the universe, or even the whole of reality IS god. The fact that something exists just makes me think that we are meant to exist- after all there could just be nothing, but there is something, and that has to have meaning

In the same boat except I substituted religion with feminism through most of my teens. Now that I've abandoned that, I feel ever-worsening existential depression. Does it work? Will reconnecting with God fill this huge void in my sense of self?

Thank you user for your answer
>Christ founded a visible church, that being the Catholic Church.
I kinda have trouble understanding why you would have to follow so many earthly(?) guidelines inside the church, why so much importance on the material when it's our spirits that will join him and being prepared for that is what we should focus on

This is all very recent for me, but yeah, I can't tell ya my depression has lifted or my life is suddenly perfect, nothing you come across will fix your life instantaneously.
but I'm looking forward to living life with the love of god in my heart, that connection is helping me actually want to do things for myself and for others and connect with them too.
it's weird to explain, I was at the bottom of the pit, in a really really bad place. out of desperation I begged to god to give me clarity even though I never had faith before, and never took it seriously but honestly I didn't know what to do, and I actually got an answer. I'm actually really surprised and got a lot of doubts on many things but after that I made the conscious decision to accept him

Attached: 1572048074406.jpg (960x886, 36.42K)

It depends what you mean by "reconnecting with God". You can't force belief. Do some soul-searching and find out what you really believe- not based on science or evidence, or what the main religions are peddling. Just find your own spirituality that you can believe in and live by. The search for meaning is meaning in itself so it is a worthwhile endevour. I strongly believe the nihilistic atheist paradigm of the west in current times is a strong factor in the depression of young people

used to be militant athiest now i'm an apatheist. i don't care, complete apathy towards god or religion or whatever. you do you. its not worth the energy discussing it. replying to this thread was a waste of my time

>former atheists turning to Abrahamic religion
I really don't understand this. I get the need for meaning and community in life, but finding it in such absurd, barbaric, destructive cults, as an adult without being raised in them, is beyond retarded and you should know better

So basically you went from being a rebellious retard, to a close-minded retard.

Congrats.

>destructive cults
What destruction?

>le enlightened centrist
Discarded

Okay, I did watch the video now, I understand his idea but it still clashes with me. He says the bible as an infallible book needs an infallible interpreter and it makes sense but how do you determine the church as infallible, if the people carrying the church traditions are flawed by definition of being humans?
sorry to bother ya

The memes have gotten to their brains; I blame Yas Forums. The idea that an atheist could start believing in something as specific and faith-based as abrahamic religions is just not possible, which means they are forcing belief and therefore don't really believe in what they are following. People need to realise that religion is not the only alternative to atheism. There are a ton of ways to be individually spiritual that are far more honest and true than any mainstream organised religion.

I feel like this is just the next step in young people's internet discovery journey these days. Usually goes something like this
>raised in an abrahamic faith but not very strictly, or is raised atheist
>becomes atheist if not already
>feels empty
>"finds god"
>larps as some religious guy to try and fill the void

The next step is realising that living dishonestly is just as empty as atheism, and finally doing some introspection before settling on their own spiritual/ philosophical beliefs. That is when you can stop larping and actually be content; of course these are subject to change just as we change. The human mind is not static and we need to accept that

Why did you join the JWs?

lol according to this online quiz, the Jehovah's Witnesses are the religion I agree with the least. They honestly seem pretty culty.

I was basically an anti-theist as a teenager, and I honestly still like Hitchens a lot.

I've effectively become a Zen Buddhist. I don't go around calling myself a Buddhist, but I started practicing zen meditation a few years ago for focus, mental clarity, and emotional stability, and I agree with pretty much all of the philosophy - an interconnected universe, right understanding leads to right action, etc. I don't believe in a willful god, but my outlook is sort of panentheistic.

Attached: Screen Shot 2020-04-27 at 4.23.58 PM.png (522x556, 78.49K)

>how do you determine the church as infallible, if the people carrying the church traditions are flawed by definition of being humans?
Faith. That's the answer. There's no evidence based reason to believe anything written in some old book. You can believe it as a truth or not. At the end of the day, religion is just a bunch of different groups arguing over what old book is true, and how to interpret it. Extremely childish if you think about it, and people have died in wars over this shit! Hilarious

you can actually come to the conclusion that god exists through reason, but that wasn't what I was asking

Became Mormon because of my now wife. Worth it. Also played New Vegas and I love the character of Joshua Graham.

Attached: Biden Fake Ad_0.jpg (1001x1600, 195.35K)

Could you link this test?

Can you give me some of the guidelines you have issues about? Hard to answer specifically when you're broad
The Church has the idea of Apostolic Succession - that each bishop/priest can trace the lineage back, if you check enough historical/church documents, to the time of the Apostles.
People are flawed, yes, but my understanding is that the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit in matters of teaching Faith and morals. So, instead of Pastor Jim in his independent baptist Church telling you his opinion on the bible, we can turn to the Church Christ established. That is not to say that personal interpretation of certain things is bad, only when it clashes with established doctrine.

beliefnet.com/entertainment/quizzes/beliefomatic.aspx

I'll be curious to hear your results. The full answers are more interesting than just the top one - pic related are all I really care about

Attached: Screen Shot 2020-04-27 at 4.29.24 PM.png (216x154, 15.71K)

Not what I was talking about. You asked specifically about why some old book has truth and authority, I answered- faith. Seeing the Church as infallible requires faith. Why did you assume I was talking about god in general? I was answering your question

>grew up with a vague idea of God
>became meme atheist in middle school
>slowly came to feel more spiritual with a sense of something greater to existence
>do more reading and research into religion, occult, mysticism
>come to understand the universe we live in is much more alive than I could have ever imagined
I dunno if I'm an atheist or religious or anything now, I'm just much more interested and open to such things

"The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you."

>"The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you."
Great quote. It's a pity the midwits take one gulp and think they know all the answers