@dantheman I'm an atheist who survived deep mind Christian programming as a child.
I commend you on your bravery and independent thinking skills.
As an 8 year-old child, I conducted a series of tests to prove/disprove the existence of God, as defined by the adults in my community. Needless to say, all my tests negated the existence of their "God" and I've been an atheist ever since.
If anyone asks me what my religion is, I just say, "the unknown". No one can argue with that.
HERE'S SOMETHING THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE DISCUSS:
If Buddha or Jesus Christ had been a devout follower of the existing religions and didn't pursue creative thinking, we wouldn't have the Buddhist or Christian faiths. It's best to create your own out of your independently concluded thoughts than to follow any strict dogma. If you want to build a legacy, create your own religion.
We are similar because I too:
"When faced with a menu of unprovable and unfalsifiable beliefs, I pick the belief that produces the best fruit in my life. If that means believing in magic unicorns, then I will do it!"
Great post, Dan!
Sorry to just butt in but Jesus was a devout follower of an already existing religion. Jesus was a Jew and a teacher in the Jewish custom. He's actually a fulfillment or culmination of a lot of Jewish tradition from almost all the way back to their origin. Jesus didn't intent to start his own religion, he simply tried to bring people back to the foundational truths about the Jewish faith that already existed at the time. There were plenty of times he made direct reference to Jewish beliefs and customs and left their teachers dumbfounded.
This kind of discussion is something I've actually discussed a lot with my wife and a few close friends. I've been on a journey of breaking down all my instruction and learning what I can from as close to the source as I can, so I've had to ask these questions... Who do I believe Jesus is? Why do I believe it? What does the Bible actually say? Does that look anything like what I was taught? What about my faith makes it different from the others? Am I giving other faith communities a fair chance?
I'm not trying to change your opinion, I just wanted to share because I like the question you raised. I'm not nearly as concerned with convincing you about Jesus and his Father as I am living the way they instructed me to, and that's to love you the way have loved me.