What would it take to make you disbelieve?

[Jack]

We've been asked in another thread what it would take to turn a non-believer in gods into a believer. Let's pose the corollary question, what would it take to make a believer in a god or gods become a non-believer?

What would it take to make you doubt what you've read and been taught? What would it take to make a believer reexamine their experiences and consider an alternative explanation for them? Would would it take to turn a theist into an atheist?

Former theists, if you'd like to post your experiences and say what it was that lead you away from belief into disbelief, please do. Let's see if any of the experiences we had might be something that, if it happened to a believer, would make them disbelieve.

[SoylentGreen]

What would it take to make you doubt what you've read and been taught?

To be reading this posthumously.

[Jack]

Wouldn't that be more along the lines of what would make you believe?

[Jon1]

We've been asked in another thread what it would take to turn a non-believer in gods into a believer. Let's pose the corollary question, what would it take to make a believer in a god or gods become a non-believer?

What would it take to make you doubt what you've read and been taught? What would it take to make a believer reexamine their experiences and consider an alternative explanation for them? Would would it take to turn a theist into an atheist?

Former theists, if you'd like to post your experiences and say what it was that lead you away from belief into disbelief, please do. Let's see if any of the experiences we had might be something that, if it happened to a believer, would make them disbelieve.

A sound argument against Christianity would do it.

[Jack]

What would you consider a "sound" argument? What key points in Christianity would have to be addressed and in what manner for you to stop believing them?

[Jon1]

What would you consider a "sound" argument? What key points in Christianity would have to be addressed and in what manner for you to stop believing them?

What could I mean? Also, none of Christianity has to be addressed because I need an argument and not a refutation. With a refutation I would be a light believer (personal experience) or an agnostic (so, in a way, I am still not a non-believer).
Validity and Soundness [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

[BlackSheep]

Well I was raised in a homogeneous Christian community. I believed because everyone did. Somewhat a combination of trust and no other presented options. When I was a tween (back before the term was used) a few doubts crept into my mind, like why were there people who knew nothing of God. I began to read the bible and think it through and realized there really was no real evidence to support this belief and the bible didn't mesh with what I was being taught and how Christians behaved. I wondered why there was such a dramatic change between the old and the new testaments. These thing ate at me. I prayed and I researched and I sought answers and in the long run I really got none.
The point I was sure I was an atheist was when I realized I was no more sure that any god(s) existed than I was that squirrels controlled the US government.

[crimethinker]

This is a really good question, because it sheds light on the fact that many of the core tenets of Christianity are either unfalsifiable or outright subjective, so the answer for most Christians is "Nothing could make me disbelieve" (if they're being honest).

I was once a Christian, but nothing made me disbelieve. It was a slow process, began, I think, by my mother, a Christian, and my father, a nebulous "New Ager", teaching me different things. My hypothesis is that these two clashed and, as they were exhausted, my reason was able to reject both, but it could have been plenty of other things. Personal development is a very complicated thing to track and explain.

One of the major arguments against Christianity and religion in general is that respective believers believe whatever their family and environment push, so if I'm right, I was blessed not to have a consistent upbringing.

[sthack99]

I like Dan Barker's story about how he devoted a huge chunk of his life to being a die hard believer, then became an atheist once he started studying things (from both sides) a little more. Honestly, I'd be willing to bet a lot of Christians, or believers alike, would become non-believers if they, too, took the time to truly understand science and how the world really works and then compared that to their fantasy books. Unfortunately, the human mind isn't built to accept defeat well, so the true challenge for any believer (and non-believer) would be to admit they might very well be wrong. However, it's much harder for a believer to admit this because then they feel like they are losing faith.

[ItsDarts]

What could I mean? Also, none of Christianity has to be addressed because I need an argument and not a refutation. With a refutation I would be a light believer (personal experience) or an agnostic (so, in a way, I am still not a non-believer).
Validity and Soundness [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

You're already an atheist to all other gods but your own. When you realize why you don't believe in other gods, you'll realize why I don't believe in one more god than you.

I think one of the things that keeps Christians from scrutinizing their beliefs is the "coming out" factor. Coming out to family and friends about your non belief could be just too much to bear for many people. This could be especially true for people with extremely devout friends and family. It may just be that its easier to maintain the illusion of belief than to risk alienation from loved ones. Its not always an easy task to realize that you've been duped into your beliefs by the very people you have always trusted to give you the truth. You may not think you were duped into your beliefs and this may be the case for someone who converted from one religion to an another, but the truth is in most cases, you are the religion of your parents, which is not a valid reason to hold said beliefs.

It wasn't difficult for me to come out to my family, we weren't very religious, but they have always "believed" in god and I suspect its because its easier to accept the status quo than to rock the boat. When I came out, my mother said she wasn't all that sure her self about the existence of god, but then she never gave it much thought either. However, I haven't come out at work, living in Texas where just about everyone is Christian, and with the job market being so bad, I'm not willing to come out to colleagues and risk being singled out.

I had doubts about the validity of Christianity since I was a young teen, but during times of trouble I still prayed to god to help me get out of jams. In my 20's I was able to admit that I was agnostic and noticed that people weren't too put off by it, I think because it meant that there was still hope for me. It wasn't until 9/11 that I really started do research about gods existence. I thought, if the Islamic god was the same as the Christian god, then the hijackers had their prayers answered and this is a god that didn't deserve our respect. Then it just kind of dawned on me that the world works just as we expect it to work if there wasn't a god who interacts with us. I could pray to a milk jug or Joe Pesce or god and get my prayers answered at about the same rate. Then I thought, people of other religions pray to their god and they must be getting their prayers answered at least part of the time, otherwise, why believe in that particular god? It also didn't sit well with me about a god who loves us, but is willing to allow us to go to a place of eternal torture for finite transgressions against this god, "who loves us". It didn't seem fair or moral to me. It then made me realize that its very possible that all religions are wrong and there wasn't one compelling reason to assume any one religion was right.

[cfreetenor]

What exactly would be the objective of the argument? You said in your previous post that you'd require an argument 'against' Christianity, but any argument against something would de facto be a refutation.

[Jon1]

You're already an atheist to all other gods but your own. When you realize why you don't believe in other gods, you'll realize why I don't believe in one more god than you.

I don't fully disbelieve the other Gods. For example, there's one-man separation between Christianity and Judaism. Or, for example, some of the argument made by Muslim theologians surely can apply to Christianity.

Also, you assume that Christianity either presents no arguments or very flimsy ones, which is false.

I think one of the things that keeps Christians from scrutinizing their beliefs is the "coming out" factor. Coming out to family and friends about your non belief could be just too much to bear for many people. This could be especially true for people with extremely devout friends and family. It may just be that its easier to maintain the illusion of belief than to risk alienation from loved ones. Its not always an easy task to realize that you've been duped into your beliefs by the very people you have always trusted to give you the truth. You may not think you were duped into your beliefs and this may be the case for someone who converted from one religion to an another, but the truth is in most cases, you are the religion of your parents, which is not a valid reason to hold said beliefs.

It wasn't difficult for me to come out to my family, we weren't very religious, but they have always "believed" in god and I suspect its because its easier to accept the status quo than to rock the boat. When I came out, my mother said she wasn't all that sure her self about the existence of god, but then she never gave it much thought either. However, I haven't come out at work, living in Texas where just about everyone is Christian, and with the job market being so bad, I'm not willing to come out to colleagues and risk being singled out.

I had doubts about the validity of Christianity since I was a young teen, but during times of trouble I still prayed to god to help me get out of jams. In my 20's I was able to admit that I was agnostic and noticed that people weren't too put off by it, I think because it meant that there was still hope for me. It wasn't until 9/11 that I really started do research about gods existence. I thought, if the Islamic god was the same as the Christian god, then the hijackers had their prayers answered and this is a god that didn't deserve our respect. Then it just kind of dawned on me that the world works just as we expect it to work if there wasn't a god who interacts with us. I could pray to a milk jug or Joe Pesce or god and get my prayers answered at about the same rate. Then I thought, people of other religions pray to their god and they must be getting their prayers answered at least part of the time, otherwise, why believe in that particular god? It also didn't sit well with me about a god who loves us, but is willing to allow us to go to a place of eternal torture for finite transgressions against this god, "who loves us". It didn't seem fair or moral to me. It then made me realize that its very possible that all religions are wrong and there wasn't one compelling reason to assume any one religion was right.

I had openly followed other religions before, even now I don't fit in as a Protestant in a chiefly Catholic community. All of your arguments inserted in that story I have heard before, in case you're wondering.