The Unlikelihood of Believing in a God After Being Raised as an Atheist

I was a Christian for the first 19 years of my life, but my views changed dramatically when I read the entire Bible cover to cover in 1991. This experience led me to question many of the teachings and beliefs I had held up until then. Upon finishing the book, the world around me felt like it had crumbled. This period of inner turmoil lasted for a few weeks before I finally had to confront my Christian self and my parents with the conclusions I had drawn.

I sat them down and explained that I couldn’t continue to identify as a Christian. Even though I still held some belief in God, it was a belief I couldn't reconcile with the God of the Bible. I felt that the God described in the Bible was not an all-loving father but, rather, a homicidal maniac. This realization led me to leave the Church and Christianity and adopt an atheist stance. My parents, too, eventually left the Church and embraced atheism.

Looking back on these events from my current age of 50 (born in 1972), I haven't encountered any proof of God, and the conclusions I reached back in 1991-1992 still hold true today. While some may label me as an idiot for my staunch atheism, I truly believe that receiving falsehoods from an early age leaves one with little effective means to combat them. When a child is surrounded by lies perpetuated by a church and its congregation, it's often challenging to break free from that web of deception.

No Good Reason to Believe in Any God

After recognizing that there were no sound reasons to believe in any gods, gods of any description, or indeed the significant portion of the belief systems inculcated by my previous religion, the decision to become an atheist became permanent. A few years after my transformation, I noticed that my parents had also left the Church and embraced atheism as well.

Crucial Questions for the Existence of God

I am unconvinced by the claims of a god due to the lack of substantial evidence for such beliefs. I have no idea what kind of evidence would constitute proof of a god I don’t believe in and can't accurately describe. However, if you present me with any of the following scenarios, I am likely to remain unconvinced:

The Holocaust Kids born with cancer Any other morally perplexing event that implies a lack of goodness in the divine being

The absence of proof for such events raises significant doubts about the existence of a benevolent and omnipotent deity. Furthermore, the failure of any claimed god to provide evidence for its existence also suggests that either the god is unaware or unable to provide such proof, or it may not exist at all.

It is a fundamental question whether a god would withhold evidence if it truly existed. If the existence of a god did not necessitate proof, why would a benevolent and knowledgeable deity demand it from us? The lack of such evidence and the seeming contradiction of divine powers often lead me to doubt the validity of the belief in a god.