Quote Originally Posted by Magnus213
I'm not sure when I made up my mind exactly, but I'm an atheist and I have been as long as I can remember. I simply cannot bring myself to believe in something completely unproven and physically impossible. Some people think it takes more strength to have faith in something of which we have no evidence, but I think that it's used as a security blanket for people who can't handle life. Not always, but often.

To me, religion was supposed to be a set of ground rules for being a 'good' person as most people define it, and to do the right thing. No one was supposed to take it so seriously, but somewhere along the way it got out of hand.

I believe that one of the primary purposes of religion is to dissolve the fear of death- why wouldn't someone want to believe that they have everlasting glory after they serve their sentence as mortal bodies? When people die around me, it makes me pretty damn sad because I know that they're finished. People talk about how they're in a better place, but in my heart I know it's not true. They'll be buried. I went to a young friend's funeral and cried more than his own mother did. It disturbs me that people feel this way. I'm sorry that my beliefs are morbid, but it's this "only today is guaranteed" thing that leads me to work as hard as I can to enjoy it.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, someone else can respond.
Your on the right path about the reason ofr religion. The sad part is, somewhere along the line a parallel agenda was established; TO MAKE MONEY AND ESTABLISH POWER!

I'm really not concerned with disproving religion as of now because people like to live in a pool of ignorance because its comfortable and firmiliar. Right now, I am on a search for the truth, whatever it may be.

And to touch on a topic that Maniac brushed over:
I remember a few months ago, I was over my girlfriends house, and she told her mom that I was atheist... ... It was like she was bipolar. We went from joking around and having a good time, to her telling me that I was a "deamon" and the "antichrist". She said that because my screename & tag say "TheChosenOne" that I am a self-proclaimed anti-christ!

It hurt at first, but this only strenghtens my reasoning for not wanting to be associated with people who share the same beliefs as her...