The Gospel of Doubt

I listen to a great counter-apologetics podcast called Reasonable Doubts. They’re running a segment called the Gospel of Doubt, where you send in a recording answering these questions (in 200 words or less):

When did you lose your faith? Why did you lose your faith? Did you ever have faith? What are the arguments you ran into that started you down your path to disbelief? What books did you read, what friends did you make, or what events did you go through that helped you embrace the natural over the supernatural?

Thought I’d give it a crack so here’s a transcript of what I’m sending in — in story book form…

I was born in the Soviet Union, where I was told there was absolutely no god, and that I was one with Lenin.

I moved to Australia where a liberal Jewish school told me there was a God, and that I was one with His Love.

Then a more conservative Jewish school told me I was actually one with Rabbi Akiva. I was skeptical.

I got into Eastern mystical woo, the Buddhist interpretation of quantum physics telling me I was one with everything.

I even learned more about Judaism and dabbled with the idea of being one with rational Talmudic enquiry. But I couldn’t condone caging an animal and starving it to death.

I saw it was all rubbish, that I am definitely not one with you.

But I thought anti-religionists were “shrill”.

A few years ago I realised they were mostly right. And that religions have some of the most nonsensical and contradictory concepts around: souls, uncaused free will, morality somehow being objective just ’cause God said so. Not to mention Eliezer putting his hand on Abraham’s penis to take an oath

Thus I am now one with Dennett.