Poster, I totally disagree with reasoning and here's why:

JK Rowlings is the author of the Harry Potter series, fictional books. So let's say in her next book, she sets the story in the period of October - December 2008, and in her story she includes some information about President Obama's election and other current events that happened during that period. Does the fact that because her book contains some historical fact that can be proven mean that the entire book is true?

If we go by your reasoning, then we can also say that the Da Vinci Code is true in its entirety as it does contain some proven facts, right?

Excellent post!

aktheuite:

Would like to know if there are others like me who do not think there is a God

Hi, yes, there are a couple of us on here.

I want to but the link is not working, at least, for me.

illusion2:

not so. Agnostics acknowledge the existence of some spiritual realm/being,while atheists absolutely do not.

Agnosticism means without knowledge. The pure view of agnosticism states that the existence of deities, spiritual beings etc is unknown or unknowable. It is separate from belief and they are not mutually exclusive, hence why there are agnostic theists and agnostic atheists.

Agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive so people can be both.

Agnosticism has to do with "knowledge of" rather than "belief"

jamiru:

well what i mean is that sum say nothing is gained by being one, then u say freedom is gained by being one. it means each individual is different & disagrees but agree on one point - there is no God

But that's because atheism is not a religion like a lot of people assume it is.  Basically, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities.  Like I said in my earlier post, it's something you attain and people get there through very different routes and have different experiences.

jamiru:

ok welcome naira. aslo its good to know u changed from a religion to an athiest. good for u!

now from what is emerging, i see a trend some by being atheist, gain nothing while some gain freedom to be themselves others gain freedom. well that is ur opinion. for me it ok to be One with Christ not out of compulsion but choice just like u did, cos i was just a churchgoer but when i made a personal confession according to scripture, i became son of God.
thats ok by me

thanks i heard ur testimonies - though u sound disaggreable

I sound disagreeable, how so?

Tudór:

@naira
I think it's always been there. Nigerians feel uncomfortable even when you criticize their pastor and not even the religion. . .
They attack you at the slightest opposition, the only solution is for people to start thinking for themselves and stop being fed fallacious dogmas by dubious men of god.

True. I was also thinking in terms of everyday life, we Nigerians are just very combative. I'm assuming you've been to Nigeria, ever just removed yourself and observed all the actions around you, all you see is rudeness, arguments, impatience etc. Be it in traffic, govt agencies, banks, hair salon etc, it's crazy. Did we evolve to this stage as a result of our environment or we've just been like this and just can't help it?

Tudor & Chrisbenogor,

Thanks for the welcome.  LOL @ the whole new kettle of fish, but is this really new or it's just a characteristic of Nigerians, can we really help it?

wirinet:

The gains from becoming an atheist are immeasurable. If what you mean by gain is expecting euphoric happiness or undefined happiness in the "afterlife" or having having a childlike expectation of being under the protection of a "God" mother or father complete with milk and manna, or if happiness means being under the security of following the popular religion or even party, then there is nothing to gain from being an atheist.

An atheist's gain is freedom, freedom of his mind from fear, fear of Gods, Devils, Demons, spirits, witches, Pastors, Babalawos and best of all fear of death. The only fear an atheist entertain is fear of armed robbers,  mad policemen and most of all fear of religious fanatics, both Christian and Muslim. That freedom is exhilarating. I compare attaining atheism to attaining Buddhahood  or attaining Nirvana, you see the whole world as it really is and not through the rose tinted glass of any other person.

Attaining atheism is not an easy task, no body converts an atheist, it can can only be attained through hard work, mentally and spiritually. That is why i never attempt to convert any one. When one is ready for it, the person will seek for it.

I can in all honesty tell you that i only got to know true happiness until i was able to free my mind from the shackles of religion.

Very very well said, I totally agree

At the initial post,

Speaking for myself and I think alot of other atheists/agnostics/skeptics etc will agree with me.  We are not atheists because there is something to gain.  Most of us did not wake up and say "I'm going to be an atheist because I will gain blah, blah, blah."  Most of us initially belonged to a religion and one day had an "Aha moment" and things just didn't fit like they did before.  At least for me that was how it began, I accidentally stumbled on some information last year and was like "WOW".  After further research and educating myself coupled with deep intellectual thinking, I realized I just didn't believe in God any longer and I finally quit religion, it took me about a year before I made the final decision.  I figured if God existed and truly knew everything, he would know I did not believe so why pretend.  

Honestly, after I gave up religion and its dogma,  it was liberating, I felt happier, more fulfilled and felt I had a bigger purpose in life.  In reality, I don't think the feeling can be fully and accurately captured in words but I'm sure other atheists will understand what I'm trying to say.  It became clear to me that the fate of humanity rests on our shoulders not on God.  We, as humans are the ones able to help humanity and we should play a bigger role in helping ourselves instead of waiting on God.  I believe the moment we abandon every single division ala race, religion, tribe, sexuality etc,  we would be amazed by what we can do together as a people.  

With regards to what you will gain,   Atheism is not a religion so I do not think atheism is one of those things you can convert to.  I believe it's something you find kind of like how the say we find ourselves and who we truly are.  



Off topic,  I'm new to this board but I find it quite appalling how badly people speak to/and of others' views.  If you believe in Jesus, good for you.  If you believe in Allah, good for you.  If you don't believe in any deity, good for you.  Why do we feel the need to call each other fools, damn one another to hell or call each other delusional?  Maybe it's the humanist in me, but I don't see why people can't present their arguments or sides in a manner respectful to all others.

Didn't read the entire post but for the initial post,

I've been asked this question times before and here's the answer I always give,  I don't think I'm wrong but let's just say I am.  So we die and it's time to be judged and go to "heaven" or "hell".  For me, if the only reason I am not let into "heaven" is because I didn't believe in God, not because I was a bad person, criminal etc,   If God's reason is "Because you didn't believe in me, worship me and spend hours praising and proclaiming me, I'm sending you to eternal damnation" Then for me, it totally proves why I didn't worship him and I still wouldn't want to be a part of that.  If there was a God, I don't think he would be that petty and vengeful. 

This one of the reasons I do not believe the Bible is inspired by God but man creating a God and imposing his own characteristics on him.  Quotes like "I'm a jealous God, you shall worship no other god but me", "There's a land flowing with milk and honey, go and conquer the peoples and take over their land" , "I'll punish your descendants generations after you for your sins against me" and countless others,  to me these are the thoughts of man not God.

Here are a few quotes I like:
"And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence." - Bertrand Russell

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself." - Sir Francis Burton

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony

"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do" - Anonymous



As for what theists will lose, are you assuming all theists are worshiping the same God?

I just discovered this forum today as a result of a google search of Atheist Nigerians.  I must say I am quite surprised by the number of atheists/agnostics/skeptics in this thread.  Before I found this I was convinced there were only 3 of such Nigerians, myself included and I had to join to be able to discuss with like-minded people with similar backgrounds.

I'm not about to go into the debates as they've already been covered but one thing I do believe is that people should be more respectful of others' beliefs or lack thereof.  I think to further the debate, non-believers should lose  the arrogance and believers could also do away with the self-righteousness.  We learn nothing by being close-minded.