Being atheist and wanting to seek God again

Well, I'd start with the core beliefs of the major world religions and see if any of them make sense. For Muslims, it's the Koran. For Christians, it's Jesus. Etc. I would also try asking God what it's all about and see if that goes anywhere. It seems basic, but that's what I'd do.
 
Well, that's kind of hard. What I would do, if you don't believe in a higher power, is take various philosophies and lessons and ideas from different schools of thought and learn from each. It's kind of what I do, and it works so far. The Bible, Buddhist teachings, The Taoteching, stuff like that. Good ideas and good lessons, but you can kind of pick and choose those you think are helpful and disregard the more radical ones if you want.
But, I have heard it said that "God" doesn't need to be a deity. This sounds strange, but let me try to explain. "God" can be anything that gives you meaning and something to hold yourself to. Something to give you direction in life and something that brings you peace of mind. This was from an alcoholic, so take it as you will. A goal, a cause, an ideology that isn't inherently religious, any of those could provide a path for you to follow.
I guess it depends what you want from faith. And it really is different for everyone. I know hardcore Christians who don't like the church and believe that God is meant to be more personal, or ones who think that the Bible passages most worth reading are the ones in red, for example.
I don't know if that helps or even makes sense, but that's my two cents.
 
@Sidon's fleshlight I've been in your shoes before, trust me.

I used to be an atheist in high school, I never went full fedora but growing up in a rural and mostly Evangelical area, I felt like Christianity wasn't for me. But over time, I felt cynical and empty and lost.

So I turned to religion and did research on several different religions, and eventually found peace after rekindling my spirituality and finding religion.

If you live near a church, talk to the local priest or pastor and get an understanding on what they are about. Look around and do research, see what feels right and speaks to you. Same goes for any other religion, whether it be a Buddhist temple or a Jewish synagogue, or even Neopagan groups (though if you are getting into a group that is Wicca or Norse Heathenry, be careful and watch out for SJW's/Radfems in the former and White Nationalists in the latter)
 
I'm right there with you, but I don't think one can lose one's faith and ever be in a position to find it again. At this point the general scale of the universe and its unknowable vastness is the best hope I have for some "thing" to be behind it all, but as to what it all means my mind instantly goes negative at the thought. Maybe this is purgatory, no one knows for sure, but it isn't something we were ever meant to try and grasp
 
Like everyone else said, if you want to learn about a religion, go to the adherents of that religion and learn what they learn.

I also recommend that if the religion is really old, learn from its earliest texts.

Also, if you came from a religious tradition, consider coming back and follow the above advice. All this is what made me become Catholic.
 
Go to a nice church. I used to go with my parents to church, regardless of my belief. Even if you can't find yourself believing in god, the community is nice and fairly comforting. (Well, that sort of depends. Maybe the ones that don't diddle kids.)
 
It really depends on how you became an atheist as to whether or not you can seek god again, in my opinion.

Seeking out a higher power can be hard if you believe/have been taught there isn't one, or that there's no evidence supporting one. If you were born an atheist, and never really did much research/cared about faith, it's gonna be a lot easier to find god as you have no preconceptions about faith or a higher power.

The easiest way to find faith (this is coming from an atheist) is to look through different denominations/sects of religion and find which one you can identify with best. Their beliefs, their community, etc. are all important if you want to be truly involved and regain faith in a higher power, I would think- but I would give some explicit thought to community. Based on what you've said in the OP, I think Unitarian Univeralism could be a good great fit. My grandparents became involved in Unitarian Univeralism after 9/11 because they wanted the warmth of a community and hoped to find some form of spiritual strength without the somewhat strict code most religions abide by.

This seems to be a pretty decent resource for Christian denominations, if you need one.. Best of luck if you're soul searching, it can be tough.
 
Also something else I didn't point out. Even if we do take on faith that there is a higher power, why presume on its benevolent, patronizing outlook on humanity? You don't like humanity and you're actually human, what makes you think a being who sees us the same way I see viruses and bacteria would be any more charitable? That's also assuming that said higher power doesn't have other more interesting things to concern itself with beside your mundane and very brief blink of existence.

Not to be a bummer but don't you think the very notion such a power would even take interest or notice of you or me or anyone really to be fundamentally egotistical?
 
I would say relax, open your mind and your heart, and ask God to join you in your life. Trust that God is out there and is looking out for you. Have an attitude of gratitude. Find something every day for which to be grateful to God.

I am spiritual instead of religious. In my opinion, all religions are man-made constructs seeking to intersperse themselves and their constraints/restraints on life between people and God. Have attended various churches in my time, never saw one that wasn't a two-tier (at a minimum) society. You have the minister/pastor/priest/rabbi/imam/whatever's favorites, known as the "chosen few", and everyone else, known as the "great unwashed". That shit simply doesn't make it with me.

Far as "holy books" go, all such books were written by people, not by God. Some of these books make interesting reading, some don't. I have looked through the Bible. Outside of the Proverbs, I find all the stories of people in the Middle East doing various things two thousand years or so ago incredibly boring and utterly irrelevant to me.

Your mileage may vary, and that's fine. Whatever works.

If you seek a moral compass in life, use common sense and trust your gut. I'm sure you know the difference between right and wrong. Anyone who says they don't is bullshitting. If something doesn't feel right to you, it isn't right. Believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad." Sure does make a lot of sense.
 
I'd say that perhaps turning to religion first isn't exactly the best idea. If you're an atheist who came from a religious background, it's kind of like getting back together with your ex. There's a reason you broke up in the first place.

If you're not that kind of person, I'd still say that maybe it's best that you don't jump into religion with both feet. Take a bit to feel out whether or not you're ready for that kind of perspective shift, and what exactly is making you want to make such a radical change in the first place.
 
If you're interested in getting back into the fold, the best way I can recommend would be to visit a church. Do a little research, shop around and see what each church's tenets are, what they emphasize as believers and see what best aligns with how you think. If you can, spend time discussing with a church leader your doubts. If they're good, they won't push you into it but might be able to give advice about it.

It isn't unheard of for an atheist to become religious, or vice versa. Even if you decide religion isn't for you, you will have gained knowledge on a fascinating subject.
 
One of my favorite painting depictions of Jesus is when he's knocking on the door.
826868

Take notice of how none of the doors have an outside doorknob. Jesus doesn't barge into your house and parks himself in your favorite chair, he waits for an answer, waits to see if whoever's inside invites him in.

Symbolically, someone's been knocking at your door, and you've decided to acknowledge them with a "Who is it?" after who-knows how many times they've been knocking. It's up to you to decide how to carry on that conversation, and if you want to invite this person in. It's all about asking the questions to seek out the answers and being open to what comes your way.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Hebrews 11:6
 
JosephStalin dijo:
I would say relax, open your mind and your heart, and ask God to join you in your life. Trust that God is out there and is looking out for you. Have an attitude of gratitude. Find something every day for which to be grateful to God.

I am spiritual instead of religious. In my opinion, all religions are man-made constructs seeking to intersperse themselves and their constraints/restraints on life between people and God. Have attended various churches in my time, never saw one that wasn't a two-tier (at a minimum) society. You have the minister/pastor/priest/rabbi/imam/whatever's favorites, known as the "chosen few", and everyone else, known as the "great unwashed". That shit simply doesn't make it with me.

Far as "holy books" go, all such books were written by people, not by God. Some of these books make interesting reading, some don't. I have looked through the Bible. Outside of the Proverbs, I find all the stories of people in the Middle East doing various things two thousand years or so ago incredibly boring and utterly irrelevant to me.

Your mileage may vary, and that's fine. Whatever works.

If you seek a moral compass in life, use common sense and trust your gut. I'm sure you know the difference between right and wrong. Anyone who says they don't is bullshitting. If something doesn't feel right to you, it isn't right. Believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad." Sure does make a lot of sense.
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Morality is the salve if the weak. Do you know what feels good? Punishing the enemies of the High Priestess feels good.
 
There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today. That is the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today! There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today. What do you think the Russians talk about in their councils of state, Karl Marx? They get out their linear programming charts, statistical decision theories, minimax solutions, and compute the price-cost probabilities of their transactions and investments, just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business. It has been since man crawled out of the slime. And our children will live to see that... perfect world... in which there's no war or famine, oppression or brutality. One vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock. All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused. That is the higher power; that is the face of God.
 
I'd recommend Eve Keneian. She's an adult covert to Orthodoxy, and a philosophy wonk, so she's much more accessible (IMO) than most, given that most people receive their religions during childhood.

That said, an important piece of advice is don't try to force it. You can't make yourself believe, any more than you can make yourself love or hope. The heart has reasons of which reason knows nothing (H/T Blaise Pascal) so trying to create a relationship with God when there's nothing there is as fruitless as it would be in all other contexts.
 
Personally, I've been a lifelong atheist and I'm kinda envious of people that believe in God. The chick in Dogma talks about it really well. How nice it must be to feel like you have someone watching over you. But I just can't bring myself to believe in anything.

Gustav Schuchardt dijo:
How about worshipping a historical figure?

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Your Terminator Nazi meme really triggers me...as a James Cameron fan. Fuck Terminator 3 and onwards with a box of rakes.
Kari Kamiya dijo:
One of my favorite painting depictions of Jesus is when he's knocking on the door.
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Take notice of how none of the doors have an outside doorknob. Jesus doesn't barge into your house and parks himself in your favorite chair, he waits for an answer, waits to see if whoever's inside invites him in.

Symbolically, someone's been knocking at your door, and you've decided to acknowledge them with a "Who is it?" after who-knows how many times they've been knocking. It's up to you to decide how to carry on that conversation, and if you want to invite this person in. It's all about asking the questions to seek out the answers and being open to what comes your way.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Hebrews 11:6
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:thinking:
It's nice that both Jesus and Dracula have enough manners to not come into your house uninvited.
 
@Sidon's fleshlight You should become Catholic as it is validated by the most evidence.

Here is how you can narrow it down to Catholicism.

Christianity and Islam are the only religions that believe that non believers get punished with eternal hellfire so the first step is to narrow it down to those religions as your safest bet.

Next, compare the evidence of Christianity vs Islam and you will find that Islam plagiarized many things from Christianity and the fact that Christianity spread quickly but peacefully while Islam spread by the sword which indicates that people converted to Christianity willingly based on evidence. Christianity prevailed in spite of facing persecution, and if Jesus was not the resurrected son of God, why would the Apostles be willing to die for a lie.

Then consider the evidence for which denomination of Christianity is the true church and you will see that Catholicism has the most evidence. It has the most documented miracles, visits from angels and saints, and apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
 
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