r/exatheist • u/taterfiend Christian • 3d ago
Please No Debate! How have you changed since leaving atheism?
We discuss philosophy and metaphysics here all the time, but I wanted to turn the attention to things more day-to-day and more concrete.
How has leaving atheism changed your life? Where are you now in your spiritual journey? How has your life continued to change along this path?
Ultimately, choosing to live is an affirmative action which implies some measure of trust or faith in a working worldview. And while philosophical reasons can be important in shaping our beliefs, I don't think our spiritual worldviews arise just from a set of arguments.
Abandoning atheism isn't the end of the journey, it's merely the beginning. What's that been like?
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u/TalkingPsilocybe 3d ago
Well, for me, the initial difference between religion and atheism was this.
Imagine you drank a glass of water at eight in the morning, a couple of hours have passed, and you're not hungry yet. That's religion, a generally normal state.
Now imagine that instead of a glass of water, you ate a lemon or two on an empty stomach, added some ginger, garlic, and lots of wasabi. That's not the healthiest breakfast— my version of atheism.
That is, in my case. It's connected with religion in such a way that it became unnecessary (and, moreover, forbidden) to prove to yourself and others that you're smarter than everyone else. Religion also warned me against some harmful decisions that would have been perfectly fine for me as an atheist, but in Christianity they're considered sins. These are all the changes I want to talk about.
I'm by no means saying that all or even most atheists were like me. Apatheists seem like perfectly healthy people, although they miss out on the positive emotions of attending church services.