We are born Atheists...

Let me first say that I DON'T KNOW. So, you may be right. However, I have read so many contradicting views that my head is in a whirl. I have read of little children remembering past life incidents. That certainly means they are not born "blank." They bring something with them. But, yeah, a vast majority of us are born "clean," with no beliefs and no knowledge, and a lot of it is forced on us. So, what am I up to at present? Simply seeking the truth! I wonder what it is and what I am. Cheers and happy mylotting

"Are you still searching for your truth?" There are not separate truths for everyone. There's only one truth. That's what makes it the truth.

Our choice of religion goes through two phases, the first one being what are we made to understand,these expereinces start from our childhood days, from what our family, our teachers make us understand and follow. The second phase is our own experiences as we pass through various stage of life. Many of us go through some experience or the other to reinforce our earlier beliefs, the others like me base our beliefs based on experience and soul searching. To me the existence of a supreme being is paramount and the discovering so much about what we do not know is what my soul searching is about.

Great discussion Wiki! I think we are born free, and influnential forces slowly indocrinate us or we completely reject the information and start to wonder and question. I've had a constant struggle with my spirituality for many years, I'd describe myself as agnosticky( I stick with cos its a safe bet). I am completely disollusioned with religion as a whole, words like 'love, compassion, integrity get banded about then from the very same mouths pours prejudice, bigotry, and hate in a torrent of vileness. Apperently because of my liberal attitude,I'm going to hell or I'm not worthy. Their is no religion around that appeals to me other than Buhdism, but that too has massive problems. I'd like to find a religion that is centered on people, not deities that that do or dont exsist.I'm still searching basically. I'm soul sick with this world.

Hi Whywiki!! Is atheist a religion too?Do you know why and how this name ATHIST comes from? well ill answer you for this leter,ill just ask you a simple question but think deeply, you will be amaized!!answer it to yourself then kindly tell me!! When you are in a big troubble, and you are going to die and you see no human being nor can you hear a voice of a living thing you have completety lost the hope of survival whome should you cry or call to?what would you must be thinking at that time?what feeling you must be having at that perticular moment?

I beg to differ. In a way you can say newborn babies are atheist but it's still not entirely correct. Partly because atheism has no specific ideology. Every atheist has his/her own interpretation, which require some form of knowledge and logical thinking, that newborns do not have until they reach childhood. So, it's more proper to say that newborns are absolutely pure and devoid of practically anything. If you say newborns are atheist, then are atheists the same as newborn babies? If yes, then what you say may be right, but, for now I think the answer is no.

Sorry Whywiki, but we are not born atheist... an atheist 'denies or disbelieves in the existence of a supreme being', and babies are not born philosophizing and theorizing and making up stories about creation. A newborn baby is God incarnate, even as his parents and society teach him or her otherwise.

Children, like all young creatures in this world, need to be taught. You wouldn't know a thing about anything unless you were taught. So why this conclusion about religion ? You need to be taught that too. No one is born with built in knowledge. Only animals have instincts. So you need to be taught.

good day...Yes what you said is true, we are indeed born atheists and we shall ever find the truth until we meet God personally. Despite of this amidst the confusion and battle of the religions I still do good and continue doing it the best I can. Maybe freewill to do good or evil is the core of being born and reaping it's fruit is the consequences.

I 'm a atheist. I think to believe one is good for my life. Because I always loose my aim of life, I don't know what I work for and I live for. So I don't work very hard now, I worked very hard about four year to my study and work. But after my father is gone, I really don't know what I'm living for. I just live with no sense of every thing, if I belicve god, I maybe have other kind of mind about life. But I don't know why should I believe it.

I certainly am. And I tend to disagree with atheists at birth. I think alot of families follow the traditions set down by generations. I am an agnostic.

i don't see how anyone can affirm that we are born "tabula rasa". there is absolutely no way to determine the state a person is in when they come to life. starting from plato, to cite a philosopher and up to jung, if we want a psychological view, many have actually sustained the opposite. obviously this lack of knowledge works both ways, and there is no proof of us having anything but sensory perceptions either. but the point is, there is no way we can know anything about the topic in question, at least not without some knowledge of the saecular discussions it has created. and even then, all we will have is a personal opinion, nothing more

I understand that difficult experiences allows us to doubt the existence of GOD. We tend to search for the so called "truth" therefore we shy away from the reasons of the elders, more likely the religion. The "truth" should consist all aspects of life and not just the selected few. I hope that you should consider the truth that there is a Living GOD rather than no GOD at all. Well that's just my opinion.

I got my religion from society, being born and raised in the Philippines which is a catholic country, every kids born were baptized catholic unless you are member of other religion of course. Most people get married in catholic churches. Growing up I see my neighbors going to church every sunday. I had a teacher who always told us that if we don't believe in CHrist we would go to hell. While I never disagree nor agree with the catholic belief, I wonder what will happen to people of other beliefs like Hindus, Buddhist since they grew not knowing Christ. As I became more expose with people from other culture, from books of other religion, I realize that religion is just a school of though, that we don't have to box ourselves in one religion, we can study other religious belief and get what is good from their teaching and apply it to our daily lives. I can say up to now I kind of confuse as to what to believe in, but I believe that there's higher being out there that made us. What is he and who is he I don't know. In the meantime I'll just do what I believe people should do and that is not to do any harm to other people regardless of whether he or she may or may not agree with my opinion.

You can say that about anything. "We are all born idiots, it is after that we become what we will be." "We are all born Libertarians, it is after that that we become what we will be." "We are all born hate-filled sociopaths, it is after that that we become what we will be." The fact is, we have no idea what neonates are thinking. We don't know enough about our minds to understand what is learned behavior and what is natural tendencies. We have even less understanding about what age the people around us start influencing the thoughts and opinions that will affect the rest of our lives. One of the biggest frustrations to our religious leaders today is, "how do we keep the kids". In other words, when the kids grow up and move out on their own, they aren't necessarily bringing "that old time religion" with them. On the other hand, I've personally seen the change come over people who were raised atheist or agnostic. Just a question for you. You say you would believe in God if He sits down next to you and buys you Starbucks. Can I put that to the test the other direction? Do you accept the existence of Element 111, even if you don't know anyone who has ever seen it, or done the experiment that produces it? We often say that we only accept proof, but it's interesting to note how much we accept with no proof at all. One of the most respected leaders in the Firefighting profession (Vincent Dunnonce) stated that he had never heard of a steel structure being destroyed by fire. Yet in Apr 2007 what Fire Chief Dunnonce said couldn't happen "sat down and bought him a Starbucks." ;~D

WhyWiki, I was raised very conservative southern pentecostal. Some of those ingrained fears remain with me even though I have sought out truth for myself. You are right when you say we are born a blank slate. our lives grow and what our mind holds is the experiences of each sense of our environment. For me I never feel I have learned enough I continue to evolve spiritually and mentally. Seeking truth is an on going adventure for me. I no longer hold my parents religion as truth. Only what I have come to know in my own quest and hunger for knowledge. For my children I have tried to let them explore at their own pace, and I never wanted to impression them with untruth as far as spiritual matters. They will make their own way. I encourage faith with out setting limits.

Perhaps you should better say: We are all born ignorants, meaning that we are born only with sensorial perceptions, but with a mind like a white board, nothing at all on it. Of course, education is the way we are led to believe this or that, or to not believe that or this. My grandparents were Jews, Catholic and Protestant. My parents were freethinkers. When about thirteen I formed my first worldview, an atheistic one and confirmed by philosophy and literature. So for about three decades in my life I stuck to my convictions... until, yes, until I had a personal "soul searching" experience and atheism didn't answer anything for me any more. Now I am Christian and believe that my life's purpose was given by God through Jesus Christ. That is what I decided to believe in after confronting myself and I'm very much in peace about it. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

we are all born with a clean neat empty book. but as we grew up, everyone around us - parents, friends, neighbours, the entire society starts to influence us in various ways. sometimes we get attracted to this and sometimes to that. depending on ones likings and choices. when we find they are all wrong and they try to force their will on us, some of us rebel and move to an entirely new camp who are branded athiests. athiests also have their own beliefs and systems. some become a socialist, a communist or something else. but truth, each one of us has to find it out ourselves. truth realised by the individual is the real truth and not the one dished out by holy books, prophets, church and god.