After Year Of Atheism, Former Pastor: 'I Don't Think God Exists'

[SGOS]

Ryan Bell, former 7 Day Adventist pastor, decided to live a year without God.  Now that the year is up, he says he can see little convincing evidence that God exists.  He now works for a homeless shelter.  The full story is here:

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/27/373298310/after-year-of-atheism-former-pastor-i-dont-think-god-exists


I think he nails an important part of the God belief dynamic with this quote.

One of his biggest lessons from the year is "that people very much value certainty and knowing and are uncomfortable saying that they don't know."

Now he thinks certainty is a bit overrated.

"I think before I wanted a closer relationship to God and today I just want a closer relationship with reality," Bell says.

[Poison Tree]

I remember we had quite a discussion when he first started, most of us--my self included--saying "trying on atheist" for a year sounded disingenuous and worrying that he was just trying to write a book. Being a former Seventh day Adventist myself, I was interested in what would happen so I tried to check in on his blog every few months. 

If I may be allowed to go out on a limb--and ramble--a bit, I think that it is fare to say that he didn't believe in god for some time before deciding to "try on atheism" but that he was--as still is--uncomfortable labeling himself "Atheist". Like how Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't believe god exists but doesn't label himself "Atheist" because lack of religion is not a topic that interests him and he doesn't wants to spend time talking about it. From time to time people here--certainly myself included--have talked about how agnostics are actually atheists by definition. While that is true, in practice there are differences between atheists and agnostics. I think that there are a lot of people who don't believe in god but--because they are not ready for the additional social stigma or aren't interested in debating religion or whatever--are unwilling to identify as atheists. Personally I'd be content if more people--even, perhaps especially, the religious--were simply willing to be openly secular (defending church/state separation).

[SGOS]

If I may be allowed to go out on a limb--and ramble--a bit

I had to deal with the stigma too.  I didn't see it so much as a social stigma, but rather a personal one.  I was an atheist for a long time (years), before I admitted it to myself.

As for this pastor, who can tell if he's disingenuous?  For some reason, I'm accepting him at face value, whereas I usually smell a fish in these kinds of stories almost right away.  Not that the thought didn't cross my mind that he might be lying through his teeth for some personal agenda.  Christians often use this ruse.  (They're such lying little creeps when defending their god).  Time will tell.

Maybe he's finished the book already.  Who knows?  I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt at this time.

[doorknob]

I'm interested. Time will tell wont it.