I was sort of "born into" Christianity, but I was never a hard-core-Christian. I went to church on occasion...although I never liked it. I've always had my suspicions about Christianity, but until around the age of 16 or so, I tried to ignore these suspicions, and to just "be Christian" without question. These suspicions came from very basic/fundamental questions that never seemed to fit well in the ‹Christian› scheme of things.

Even at the age of about 5, I knew there were other religions in the world, so I wondered, ‹What shall become of those people when they die? Will they go to hell? Is that a nice thing for Jesus to do? Is it there fault no one teaches them about Christianity over there? If I was over there, and I was taught to believe something else by my parents, should I go to hell for it?› I may not have thought these thoughts quite as articulately, but, I did think them.

To make the story short, later on in life (around 16 or so), I became acquainted with new ideas that did not agree with Christianity, and at the time, I would not agree with! But, after a while, after rationalizing through these new view-points, and getting to know the people that believed in them, I began to recognize the possibility that they (both the ideas, and the people) were not bad at all. So, I began thinking about why they thought they way they did, which led me to reconsider the fundamental questions that had laid dormant in the ‹ignore file› of brain’s file-cabinet.

Soon afterward (about the age of 18), I decided that there was not enough evidence or reasoning to back up my belief in Christianity. This did not happen, all-at-once, though. It was gradual. Day by day, I just began losing ‹faith,› and I began to see things the way they were, from a much more objective standpoint. My eyes were opening.

By my late 18th year, the idea that I was atheist had well-established itself in my mind. I felt no regret. Instead, a happiness; a freedom that I’d never felt before. Now, I had reached a point where I was no longer afraid or ashamed to question myself or anything else.

As I look back, I think that the biggest bonus of becoming Atheist is that it made me more of a Humanist. I no longer feel anyone is evil. When people do wrong, they have their reasons. Sometimes, their wrong-doings may hurt me, but, that’s life. Humans are humans, and humans do what humans do, and it will always be that way. I’ve become subject to my own conscience. I do what I feel is right, and usually try to not do what I feel is wrong (in other words, I try to be as moral as I can be). Some people may disagree with me on what exactly is ‹wrong/right›, but that, again, is life. It will always be that way.

Details