Religion isn't for everybody.
That may seem like a controversial statement, but it's just fact.
And that is ok. They have that choice.
People lose faith.
Hence the birth of the atheist.
It's always fascinating to learn about when someone chose to change beliefs.
So let's discuss it.
RedditorSuspiciousStranger10wanted to hear about some people ended up losing faith, they asked:
"Atheists from religious families, what made you a non-believer?"
I'm still on the fence.
I believe in miracles.
I also have a strong Catholic background.
But I have questions.
Within the Pages
"Read the Bible. Realized 99% of the Christians around me had never read it. Then realized that the vast majority of people have no idea of what’s in its pages. American Christianity is a joke." ~ stayathomepop7
Damnation...
"It just didn't make any sense to me, and I was tired of being told that I'm going to hell." ~ DeltaSolana
"Constantly being told that I was going to hell just for missing church once in a while was the start of it for me. But if they actually believed that then they are in hell too for judging me." ~ Affectionate_Pea_811
Simple Things
"Imagine telling a kid that they'll be forsaken and tortured for eternity if they masturbate or eat shrimp." ~ DeltaSolana
"That was another one. I was 12 or 13 and accidentally left the bottle of baby oil in in the living room after a late night of watching Cinemax. My grandma said something about 'spilling semen' and going to hell. I think my fate was sealed at that point because I had already decided that I was going to be watching Cinemax as often as I could." ~ Affectionate_Pea_811
Nut Speak
"Second grade teacher told us we'll go to hell for swearing. Once. Imagine the kind of person telling second graders they are all going to hell. (And we didn't have religion taught in school. That teacher was a nut that probably hated children)." ~ Hedgehog_Owl
"Kid: 'Well s**t, if I'm damned to hell for just cursing one freaking time, then I guess the butt is out of the stable, isn't it? No freaking reason to hold shit back now!'" ~ BronzeAgeTea
No Q & A...
"Grew up and started asking questions. They didn’t like that." ~ goatsandwich43
That Bible.
So many authors.
So much soap opera and drama.
It feels less like proof and more Soap Opera Digest.
I Learned
"I started reading the Bible." ~ DeXyDeXy
"Read it once around age 14 to prove to myself God existed. That backfired. Read it again in my 20s but skipped the 'begats' that pretty much sealed in my atheism." ~ Annual_Rooster5678
Abraham you Crazy!
"When I had to put on my private school Bible final that the earth was 6000 years old I really started to dig in what the hell I believed. The whole Abraham sacrificing his son on a mountain is just so f**ked up too."
"It started with 'Even if he was real I wouldn’t want to worship him.' It snowballed from there. Great moral teaching book though for the most part." ~ Princess_leia1993
'youth pastor'
"I just gradually... stopped. I kinda always knew it was BS, but imprinting is a thing and it stuck with me for years. All those endless years of church and bible camps, the rantings about hell and the devil, it stays with you."
"Social control... But now, nothing. I want proof, not the bullcrap from some 'youth pastor' that just says believe. Until I see actual proof, I'm an atheist." ~ TheGoodJudgeHolden
'speaking in tongues'
"I was raised Southern Pentecostal. My grandmother was insanely religious, so I was always at church."
"The church I went to believed in 'speaking in tongues' laying of hands, miracle healing, taking up serpents (handling snakes) and all other kinds of nonsense. I went with it for a long time. About 13 I went to a revival summer camp."
"There was a whole ceremony about pledging yourself to Jesus and not having sex. That spun into kids my age going to a microphone and confessing they had sexual thoughts or what they had done with other people. Then the pastor would pray for the kid and they'd 'pass out' on the floor."
"Pastor comes to me and prays and like pushes me off balance so I play the game and lay on the floor. I'm laying there and just kinda took stock of the actual insanity of this service. I think I lost faith then. After going home I paid more attention to the actions of the people in the church during the services, and realized how utterly insane it was."
"It wasn't long and people actually started acting differently to me because I wasn't doing what they where and I was asked to not return." ~ paythefullprice
I Like a Hero
"When I was 10, the swami (Hindu priest) at my local temple asked me who my favorite God is and I replied 'Thor'. He laughed and my family laughed and everyone around laughed and told me that these are imaginary characters made to fool kids and make money." ~ Typical-Type-408
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...School Days
"Catholic school." ~ arianleellewellyn
"This. I knew by 8th grade that religion was not my thing. I do think that Catholic school was partially responsible for my femdom thing though. So not a total loss." ~ vidfail
Never Stuck
"I was raised in church and catholic school. But it never really seemed to be part of the culture, just my surroundings, if that makes sense. Some students, teachers, families were religious, some weren't. I didn't really absorb the religious teachings, but tried to take it seriously at some point in high school just to think for myself... And it never really stuck. It was just private school, but also church." ~ Specific-Cook1725
The Cure
excited star wars GIF by Hyper RPGGiphy"Studied 'history of the Enlightenment' at university for a year. Was cured within two weeks or so." ~ Dork_from_New_York
Life on Fire
"I had a lot of bad things happen in my life and if there is a God why would he let this all happen." ~ Chris0nF1re
"Same. After a lot of things I started to think why it is happening, why god isn't doing anything about it. In this process I also read a lot of books on philosophy, self-help, psychology etc. So I slowly moved from religious to agonistic and then atheist." ~ lawlietxx
The rampant hypocrisy...
Big Boi Smh GIF by OutkastGiphy"I read the Bible in depth. I asked questions in bible study and was punished for not blindly accepting. The final nail in the coffin was the minister who performed my wedding had been moved from a previous parish for having affairs with the women parishioners."
"He was having affairs here and was moved again to a new parish where he did the same. He droned on and on about fidelity and truth in marriage while unapologetically having affairs and the church just moved him knowing what he did. The rampant hypocrisy sickened me." ~ Magnus_40
So called Christians...
"It just all seemed like bull to me. I noticed from a young age that most so called Christians around me were the most judgemental and unloving people. They weren't kind to people truly in need. They were kind only to people like them. I was really turned off by the hypocrisy. While I have met a few Christians who seemed genuine, they are few and far between." ~ aydeeachdee
'damn, where's the love'
"I am tired of hearing things like god is absolute good and all powerful, everything god does is for good, god loves all. But when I read history, religious war, tortures, brutality and stuffs, my brain asks 'damn, where's the love'. Get to watch news and read stories of murderers, pedophiles and so on. Also religion doesn't make any sense."
"All the religious people are quite scary, when some of them fails to turn me into religious, I see the irritation and anger there (even my mom). Plus all the religious conflicts still going on, it feels bad for the powerless innocent people who suffers because of it. To get into an imaginary heaven, people are destroying themselves and others even though we call ourselves intellectual beings." ~ Weary-Ad-6162
Evil
"The problem of evil. If God refuses to stop evil and suffering, they're not benevolent. If they're incapable of stopping evil and suffering, they're not really God. The universe simply makes more sense when you view morality as a human construct. A bunch of dumb animals were trying to survive and find purpose in their existence, and inevitably they created the concept of a higher power." ~ Anubis343
Done by 13...
"Being forced to go to church as a kid and be part of all the holiday plays. All the while getting physically and emotionally beat at home by my step dad and praying every second of the day for change only to be let down time and time again. I moved out when I was 13 and never looked back." ~ Sour_Sunrise
Research
Think About It Reaction GIF by IdentityGiphy"Went to college, started thinking for myself opposed to blindly trusting who I was told to trust. I used to think that religious folks had good intentions, at least, just misinformed. Now I know that to be wrong. Religion is a plague among the dull minded." ~ senor-churro
I have no answer.
Just faith that there is something better.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.