I'm 17 years old and I became a Deist last year... I started doubting Christianity when I was 13.. Very young I know... I was lucky to discover how much I loved science when I was young (about 9 years old ). I did not like reading so I started watching documentaries... At that time I was only interested in history... Until I discovered the world of space.. Like my classmates in school I knew little of it.. One day, we had a lesson in class about the Earth's rotation. I got into a huge argument with the entire class cus I believed the Earth rotated around the sun.. My colleagues believed it was the other way round.. My teacher at the time never said anything and let me argue with the class. They taught me a fool because they all saw the sun moving round the earth.. At the end though, my teacher stopped us and explained it to us and congratulated me on not responding to pressure..
At that moment, I discovered none of my peers shared the same interests I had for knowledge.. I made my job to discuss everything I found out about space with my friends..
When I entered JS2, I found out about the sun being millions of degrees hot.. I decided that it had to be hell since all revelations of hell from people on TBN described the place as a ball of fire (which sounds kinda like the sun). I told my friends but kept the hell part to myself cus I had no proof for that..They all had no problems believing it. When I was in JSS3, I was 13.. I increased the amount of documentaries I watched and stopped watching cartoons altogether.. A show called "the Universe" was about to begin. They were going to investigate all Celestial bodies in our solar system.. I was very exited about the show and watched the entire first season without missing an episode. I learnt about nuclear fusion and fission, how the sun is powered(which until then I just taught was hell),rocky planets, that all star were Suns and that our sun is one of the small ones and for the first time, Gas Giants... So much information in so little time made me very exited, I couldn't wait to tell my friends.. When I told my friends they didn't believe me and gave me a very distasteful look.. I didn't mind as I figured they'd find out sooner or later..then on one of these episodes, they proposed that Jupiter was the star that the wise men saw that led them to Jesus.. This was the first time my faith, which I needed no proof to believe, and science, which gave proof for everything, started colliding.. I didn't believe the Jupiter-Star things as they made it clear it was a possibility... I told my friend about it and they laughed at me... They everyone in the schools what I taught, even they all I said was that "It was a possibility".. Soon teachers heard of it and brought me b4 the principal. They told me not to ever question the bible over anything ever again... I was disgraced in front of the entire school and made a fools of by my classmates who revealed all I told and made everything worse... They laughed at my ideas of fusion powering the sun and said no one could ever find out what powers the sun...
From that point on I swore to myself never to tell anyone anything I found out..
Upon all these things that happened I still believed the bible 100%.
One day, I saw a new program.. It was about Continental drift.. I had heard that all continents move about an inch per year but didn't think anything of it.. It was here I found out the truth on how old the earth was and why all continents look like puzzle pieces of each other... It all made sense.. The Genesis account fell to pieces in my head... If the earth is billions of years, then man has been around for billions of years since he was made on the sixth day.. I had to twist it to fit the age of the earth.. This made me extremely skeptical of the bible cus if the foundation is wrong or faulty, I hv no reason to believe to believe the rest of it.. Then there was evolution..
I started watching documentaries on evolution and though it made sense I didn't buy it..
Later, evolution was taught in school.. My teacher, firstly, told us it was all lies and we should not believe a word of it.. I asked, " Then, why teach it?" "It was part of the curriculum" he answered me. When he talked about fossil records he said the does fossils are all ancient Siamese twins.. I started to believe evolution after I heard his pathetic defense..
When I became sixteen, I entered the
OAU and I met a deist who explained deism to me... I slowly found all the key flaws in the bible and decided I was not gonna live my life by a book with so many flaws.. I still fully respect religious and irreligious people...
I told my mum of my position last week as I was tired of being forced to church on holidays.. she became furious and now is threatening to disown me if I don't convert back.. She went as far as calling pastors from her Church to preach to me. When I refused to even speak with them she called me a bad seed... What can I do to fix this, any advice?

I believe faith is a personal thing. Deist, satanist, christian, plumb, muslim it should be a personal choice. But since your mother isn't happy with your choice, to keep the peace I suggest you still go to church with her. Soon you'll finish school and be an independent man, then you can follow your heart. It's not the best of solutions, but it's the most practical.

AVmonster: I'm 17 years old and I became a Deist last year... I started doubting Christianity when I was 13.. Very young I know... I was lucky to discover how much I loved science when I was young (about 9 years old ). I did not like reading so I started watching documentaries... At that time I was only interested in history... Until I discovered the world of space.. Like my classmates in school I knew little of it.. One day, we had a lesson in class about the Earth's rotation. I got into a huge argument with the entire class cus I believed the Earth rotated around the sun.. My colleagues believed it was the other way round.. My teacher at the time never said anything and let me argue with the class. They taught me a fool because they all saw the sun moving round the earth.. At the end though, my teacher stopped us and explained it to us and congratulated me on not responding to pressure..
At that moment, I discovered none of my peers shared the same interests I had for knowledge.. I made my job to discuss everything I found out about space with my friends..
When I entered JS2, I found out about the sun being millions of degrees hot.. I decided that it had to be hell since all revelations of hell from people on TBN described the place as a ball of fire (which sounds kinda like the sun). I told my friends but kept the hell part to myself cus I had no proof for that..They all had no problems believing it. When I was in JSS3, I was 13.. I increased the amount of documentaries I watched and stopped watching cartoons altogether.. A show called "the Universe" was about to begin. They were going to investigate all Celestial bodies in our solar system.. I was very exited about the show and watched the entire first season without missing an episode. I learnt about nuclear fusion and fission, how the sun is powered(which until then I just taught was hell),rocky planets, that all star were Suns and that our sun is one of the small ones and for the first time, Gas Giants... So much information in so little time made me very exited, I couldn't wait to tell my friends.. When I told my friends they didn't believe me and gave me a very distasteful look.. I didn't mind as I figured they'd find out sooner or later..then on one of these episodes, they proposed that Jupiter was the star that the wise men saw that led them to Jesus.. This was the first time my faith, which I needed no proof to believe, and science, which gave proof for everything, started colliding.. I didn't believe the Jupiter-Star things as they made it clear it was a possibility... I told my friend about it and they laughed at me... They everyone in the schools what I taught, even they all I said was that "It was a possibility".. Soon teachers heard of it and brought me b4 the principal. They told me not to ever question the bible over anything ever again... I was disgraced in front of the entire school and made a fools of by my classmates who revealed all I told and made everything worse... They laughed at my ideas of fusion powering the sun and said no one could ever find out what powers the sun...
From that point on I swore to myself never to tell anyone anything I found out..
Upon all these things that happened I still believed the bible 100%.
One day, I saw a new program.. It was about Continental drift.. I had heard that all continents move about an inch per year but didn't think anything of it.. It was here I found out the truth on how old the earth was and why all continents look like puzzle pieces of each other... It all made sense.. The Genesis account fell to pieces in my head... If the earth is billions of years, then man has been around for billions of years since he was made on the sixth day.. I had to twist it to fit the age of the earth.. This made me extremely skeptical of the bible cus if the foundation is wrong or faulty, I hv no reason to believe to believe the rest of it.. Then there was evolution..
I started watching documentaries on evolution and though it made sense I didn't buy it..
Later, evolution was taught in school.. My teacher, firstly, told us it was all lies and we should not believe a word of it.. I asked, " Then, why teach it?" "It was part of the curriculum" he answered me. When he talked about fossil records he said the does fossils are all ancient Siamese twins.. I started to believe evolution after I heard his pathetic defense..
When I became sixteen, I entered the
OAU and I met a deist who explained deism to me... I slowly found all the key flaws in the bible and decided I was not gonna live my life by a book with so many flaws.. I still fully respect religious and irreligious people...
I told my mum of my position last week as I was tired of being forced to church on holidays.. she became furious and now is threatening to disown me if I don't convert back.. She went as far as calling pastors from her Church to preach to me. When I refused to even speak with them she called me a bad seed... What can I do to fix this, any advice?

You remind me of a younger version of myself. My best advice to you would be to continue searching for the truth but don't write God out of it just yet.
If I were you, I would have engaged with the pastors and had a debate with them. It would help you see your position from another angle. It will also help you see the flaws in their position.
Anyway, If you are interested, i will ask if you could explain to me your Deism? I'll really love to know.

knowledge is a good thing but sometimes you require wisdom to navigate some situations.when i was your age,my mum threatened same.however,i didnt let her into my disbelief of christianity.rather,i went along with her.meanwhile i was anticipating the day i would be able to openly express my disbelief.fortunately,i went to secondary school and university far away from home so it was never an issue till the holidays and during the holidays,i endure the boring service till school resumes.now,i live on my own.once in a while my mum calls to inquire about my "spiritual life".i telll her its fine.once in a while,my fiancee convinces me to go to church and i oblige so as not to cause needless quarrels.

women are more religious than men and you shoul dunderstand that our mothers believe jesus to be their only solace in the world.i'd advice you loosen up a little.your going to church wouldnt cost you anything and it will make your mother happy and prevent needless drama.besides once you get to ife,there's going to be no such thing

Mr_Anony:
You remind me of a younger version of myself. My best advice to you would be to continue searching for the truth but don't write God out of it just yet.
If I were you, I would have engaged with the pastors and had a debate with them. It would help you see your position from another angle. It will also help you see the flaws in their position.
Anyway, If you are interested, i will ask if you could explain to me your Deism? I'll really love to know.

younger version of yourself?hmmm.

pastors never engage in debates.they simply insinuate that there are "demons" or "spirits" causing the problem.

by asking him to explain deism(which you already know about)you intend to replace the pastors by showing him the "errors" of his way and bringing him back into the "fold".that should be interesting to watch

Mr_Anony:
My best advice to you would be to continue searching for the truth but don't write God out of it just yet.

Sound advice but he said “deist”, not atheist.

AVmonster:
Later, evolution was taught in school.. My teacher, firstly, told us it was all lies and we should not believe a word of it.. I asked, " Then, why teach it?" "It was part of the curriculum" he answered me. When he talked about fossil records he said the does fossils are all ancient Siamese twins.. I started to believe evolution after I heard his pathetic defense..

This made me laugh.

AVmonster:
When I became sixteen, I entered the
OAU and I met a deist who explained deism to me...

You are not the first said this to me - there must something about that OAU. Our Christian and Muslim friends better watch where they send their wards to!

TCD: I believe faith is a personal thing. Deist, satanist, christian, plumb, muslim it should be a personal choice. But since your mother isn't happy with your choice, to keep the peace I suggest you still go to church with her. Soon you'll finish school and be an independent man, then you can follow your heart. It's not the best of solutions, but it's the most practical.

I think this is a good piece of advice. What you believe is personal and nobody can touch your heart. There is no need to go pitching yourself against the world – your mom, your teachers, your pastors, etc - especially if you are seventeen and collecting school fees from mom. Going to church never hurt anyone - well, not ordinarily. Fortunately we are not dealing with a situation where you have converted to Islam which would demand its own exclusive devotion. You are a deist which does not demand any rites, does not see Christianity as competition, and so should not prevent you from going through the motions of church.

When you come of age, you can stop going to church. Or you may find that your views have changed and the science you have learnt does not controvert the Bible as you currently think. By the way, there are “Christian deists”.

I hold deistic views, myself, and I am reasonably comfortable at some of the church services.

Delafruita:
younger version of yourself?hmmm.

pastors never engage in debates.they simply insinuate that there are "demons" or "spirits" causing the problem.

lol, funny enough, i remember pastors at that time telling me that I was possessed by an evil spirit.

by asking him to explain deism(which you already know about)you intend to replace the pastors by showing him the "errors" of his way and bringing him back into the "fold".that should be interesting to watch

The aim is not "to bring him back into the fold", that decision is one he has to make himself. All I want to know is if he really knows what it is that he is claiming. I believe that if you are going to hold a position as true, then you must know exactly what it is you believe and be able to defend it.

Mr_Anony:
You remind me of a younger version of myself. My best advice to you would be to continue searching for the truth but don't write God out of it just yet.
If I were you, I would have engaged with the pastors and had a debate with them. It would help you see your position from another angle. It will also help you see the flaws in their position.
Anyway, If you are interested, i will ask if you could explain to me your Deism? I'll really love to know.

I haven't written out God.. I'm still a theist.. I gonna try and make peace with her though.. I would like to avoid any confrontations like the kind I had with my friends in school... I don't feel the need to try to convert people. I believe in God.. Not from Abrahamic faiths though... I believe the God I believe in is more powerful than other gods b/c he doesn't need people to worship him to be who he is...

AVmonster: I haven't written out God.. I'm still a theist.. I gonna try and make peace with her though.. I would like to avoid any confrontations like the kind I had with my friends in school... I don't feel the need to try to convert people. I believe in God.. Not from Abrahamic faiths though... I believe the God I believe in is more powerful than other gods b/c he doesn't need people to worship him to be who he is...

I also believe that God is greatest and does not need worship. My next question is how do you relate to God?

Mr_Anony:
I also believe that God is greatest and does not need worship. My next question is how do you relate to God?

I believe majority of supernatural events are false.. So if something good happens to me.. I thank God for it as he made it possible by setting things in motion...

Fist I must congratulate you on your quest for knowledge...most people at your age are still worbling in ignorance, but for you to take this bold step at that age to seek for knowledge, you definitely deserve some compliment.

Now about the issue of your mum...I would suggest that you give into her desires for the sake of peace. You must understand that Nigeria is a very religious country.

I know parents who force their children to sleep outside their homes simply because they attended churches which the parents feel is inferior to theirs.

So like I stated earlier, give into her desires for now...wen you become a full grown man, you can make your decisions yourself.

Now to your story, I won't try to argue with you that the bible doesn't place a lot of question mark on the minds of determined scholars...but in as much as it confuses people, you should also know that its highly educative.

I spent my teenage days reading the bible, therefore I won't advise you to shove under your bed simply because you feel its folly. When next you feel the urge to read it, cast your mind away from passages you feel would lead you to confusion and focus on passages that can be of great benefit to you as in individual.

The book of Esther for example...God's name wasn't mentioned through out the whole 10 chapters of that book. But I find it very interesting to read.

Also in the book of proverbs, you'll find a words of wisdom which I believe can be of great benefit for youths like yourself.

I would conclude by seconding Mr Anony's advise, Don't just give up on God yet, look for a grounded minister of God and try asking him questions you feel sounds absurd to you. And I'm sure that when you merge both knowledges, you would come up with a reasonable conclusion.

Good luck.

AVmonster: I believe majority of supernatural events are false.. So if something good happens to me.. I thank God for it as he made it possible by setting things in motion...

I didn't ask you about supernatural events, I asked how do you relate with God? Is it possible for you to communicate with God? If yes how?

Mr_Anony:
I didn't ask you about supernatural events, I asked how do you relate with God? Is it possible for you to communicate with God? If yes how?

thru prayer I guess..

AVmonster: thru prayer I guess..

so you pray? how do you know that God hears you?

Mr_Anony:
so you pray? how do you know that God hears you?

Deists only pray the pray of thankfulness...

OP, You should apologize to her and just do her well by going to church but your quest for knowledge should be unceasing....Deism is a void and only the strong can truly stand in it....I advise you to read 'The Secret Teaching of All Ages' ...It will help you build up

Cheers mate

mkmyers45:

Deists only pray the pray of thankfulness...

oh ok, and why would a deist need to thank God?

Mr_Anony:
oh ok, and why would a deist need to thank God?

Indeed it depends on the deist...some deists are agnostic deists so they don't even pray while some are theistic and they pray all the time but only a prayer of thanksgiving (most acceptable deist prayer)...I myself pray

They are also Spiritual Deists with New Thought Movements

Mr_Anony:
so you pray? how do you know that God hears you?

I would expect one who started the universe to have no trouble hearing me..

mkmyers45:

Indeed it depends on the deist...some deists are agnostic deists so they don't even pray while some are theistic and they pray all the time but only a prayer of thanksgiving (most acceptable deist prayer)...I myself pray

They are also Spiritual Deists with New Thought Movements

Wow someone is confusing me. which one u be? I'm guessing theistic deist am I right?
If so could you describe for me who/what you know God to be

mkmyers45:

Indeed it depends on the deist...some deists are agnostic deists so they don't even pray while some are theistic and they pray all the time but only a prayer of thanksgiving (most acceptable deist prayer)...I myself pray

They are also Spiritual Deists with New Thought Movements

Why don't you let OP answer for himself?

AVmonster: I would expect one who started the universe to have no trouble hearing me..

Of course He should, but why should He care?
why should your thanking Him even matter?
How can an imperfect being communicate with a perfect being without either the imperfect being becomes perfect or the perfect being becomes imperfect?
That's the question I'm really asking and I want you to think about.

Op, your soul is ripe for the taking. You've displayed reasonable intelligence, now all sides will come in for requesting your services for their cause, some not so subtly. I, for one, believe you should consider the church of flying spaghetti, we have the best afterlife of the lot and are mostly benign.

As for your problem, I agree with the consensus, for practical reasons play along with your mom. If you're full blown immature (like me) you can taunt them later, after you've achieved independence. Strangely enough, and I'm sure you realize this, they don't mean any harm, they usually can't think outside the box is all.

@OP, I'm gonna suggest something to you. My parents call it Eye Service: its the act of pretending to be doing your chores when an adult happens by, while in reality you're playing PES on your phone. When the adult leaves satisfied, you go back to your PES and they're none the wiser. Geddit?

@OP. Welcome to atheism friend. Congratulations on achieving. enlightenment.

My advice to you is to do what your mother wants, and follow her to church. You can go through the motions, and say the words but nobody can force you to believe them. Atheism is about what you believe not whether or not you go to church.

Apart from the need to keep peace in your family, you have to remember that Nigeria is a very dangerous place to be an atheist. The fanatics are everywhere and they will harass, discriminate against and possible even kill those whose beliefs they disagree with.

Some day in the near future, someone might deny you a job because you don't believe in their god. So keep your head down and lay low. Whenever you get the chance to educate others or point out the logical inconsistencies in religion, you should. But never put yourself or your future in danger.

I know it sounds cowardly but I feel it is the sensible thing to do.

Mr_Anony:
I also believe that God is greatest and does not need worship. My next question is how do you relate to God?

islam

Evil Brain: @OP. Welcome to atheism friend. Congratulations on achieving. enlightenment.

My advice to you is to do what your mother wants, and follow her to church. You can go through the motions, and say the words but nobody can force you to believe them. Atheism is about what you believe not whether or not you go to church.

Apart from the need to keep peace in your family, you have to remember that Nigeria is a very dangerous place to be an atheist. The fanatics are everywhere and they will harass, discriminate against and possible even kill those whose beliefs they disagree with.

Some day in the near future, someone might deny you a job because you don't believe in their god. So keep your head down and lay low. Whenever you get the chance to educate others or point out the logical inconsistencies in religion, you should. But never put yourself or your future in danger.

I know it sounds cowardly but I feel it is the sensible thing to do.

U see wetin charles darwin and co de cause for dz boy. I luv ur inquisitivness, but do look b4 u leap cos u might end up seeing sumtin contradictory 2 ur personal belief in deism, and may b tryin 2 jump out like u'r about doin frm xtainity.

@Op, Well at this point I won't really know how to convince you to change your mind on your decision but one thing is sure: God is real and His Word is also real. You can choose to believe anything you want to and infact, the more you dwell your mind on these things (Deism), the more they become real to you. And on the other hand, the more you study God's Word, the more God reveals himself to you. God and His Word are One. The problem you have is that you have not really listen to one who can explain the Bible very well to you. Your knowledge of God's Word are just incoherent. Remember, the Bible can make (especially the New Testament) or mars (especially the Old Testament) if as a New Testament creation (which you are), you dwell your mind so much on the Old Testament. Don't think everything in the Bible is God's Word. My humble suggestion to you is that you give God's Word a second chance more priority to prove itself to you. Listen to messages preach by real men of God to help simplify and unravel the mystery of God's Word to you. Deism will only grant you a little knowledge but God's Word would deliver to you both knowledge and wisdom in full force. For now, you don't have wisdom. Deism would only dwell on a particular subject and tries to explain that till you get old while God's Word would gives you all necessary explanations and revelations about everything. For instance, do you know that the Bible explains something about the shape of the earth? For me, one thing I really like about God's Word is that it offers one an all form protection and security be it spiritual or otherwise but Deism cannot do this for you. And again, it gives power and boldness to the spirit and so so much that the ordinary mind cannot fathom. So the choice is yours but I'll urge that you choose God's Word. Remember, these two cannot be juxtaposed.

@Op, Well at this point I won't really know how to convince you to change your mind on your decision but one thing is sure: God is real and His Word is also real. You can choose to believe anything you want to and infact, the more you dwell your mind on these things (Deism), the more they become real to you. And on the other hand, the more you study God's Word, the more God reveals himself to you. God and His Word are One. The problem you have is that you have not really listen to one who can explain the Bible very well to you. Your knowledge of God's Word are just incoherent. Remember, the Bible can make (especially the New Testament) or mars (especially the Old Testament) if as a New Testament creation (which you are), you dwell your mind so much on the Old Testament. Don't think everything in the Bible is God's Word. My humble suggestion to you is that you give God's Word a second chance more priority to prove itself to you. Listen to messages preach by real men of God to help simplify and unravel the mystery of God's Word to you. Deism will only grant you a little knowledge but God's Word would deliver to you both knowledge and wisdom in full force. For now, you don't have wisdom. Deism would only dwell on a particular subject and tries to explain that till you get old while God's Word would gives you all necessary explanations and revelations about everything. For instance, do you know that the Bible explains something about the shape of the earth? For me, one thing I really like about God's Word is that it offers one an all form protection and security be it spiritual or otherwise but Deism cannot do this for you. And again, it gives power and boldness to the spirit and so so much that the ordinary mind cannot fathom. So the choice is yours but I'll urge that you choose God's Word. Remember, these two cannot be juxtaposed.

caseless: U see wetin charles darwin and co de cause for dz boy. I luv ur inquisitivness, but do look b4 u leap cos u might end up seeing sumtin contradictory 2 ur personal belief in deism, and may b tryin 2 jump out like u'r about doin frm xtainity.

Your username is rather apt

1 tin i notice abt d OP, he's suceptible or vulnerable. U shldn't hav allowd som scientific percolation into u 100%..Dsame science cudnt xplain d pyramids built by men, or xplain d fom H-C undrgo primary migration.Science dos hav it weakneses, not perfekt