Has anyone ever asked you...
...how you became an atheist, with the implication in their demeanor and tone of voice they were looking for guidance?
I read a post by one of us (please forgive me, for I don't remember in what thread or who posted it) that they, unlike the presumed majority of us, came to their atheism through some definitive tragic and painful moments in their life and not through a long term philosophical enlightenment (with apologies to those were were never "inflicted" with faith in the first place).
That post has been rattling around in my head ever since I read it. Can't shake it.
It lead me to a memory of a deep wine fueled conversation with my in-laws, who were catholic from childhood, where they openly revealed to me that they had lost their faith. The explained that the loss was due primarily to the various catholic priest pedophile scandals that had been occurring along with other observations and events in their lives (e.g. loss of their parents and a recent spate of traveling). They seemed to make a point of letting me know since, I presume, I was never silent about my atheism. They subtly indicated to me that they were interested in learning about and how to be an atheist. However, I felt I was in no position to help them along, philosophically, at the time other than to suggest a few books to read (e.g. Why I am Not a Christian). I also didn't feel it was right to be evangelical, a reversion to atheism should be organic, and didn't feel I had the back ground to provide good guidance since my grounding was more intuitive and had not yet reached out to engage the full discussion as I have done in later years with much reading. Consequently, I have always felt I failed them in a way.
Which leads me (finally 
) to my question...(with apologies for the holy epic background with preamble)...
...if a good friend, who had recently found that their faith was gone, asked you with honest sincerity to help them on a path that would lead to a better understanding of atheism, what would you tell them? How would you go about it?
Is there some future analogous "12 Step Program" for faith?
(or a 2-step or a 30-step or an infinite step, if the 12-step analogy is unpalatable)
And if so, what would your program include?
For my part, I might start with:
1) Ask yourself if you can accept the fact that there is no afterlife?
2) Contemplate that you can decide what is moral, using empathy, not entity(ies).
3) Can you strive to improve yourself and the lives of others?
4) ...
Thoughts?
= new reply since forum marked as read
As I suggested above, these are problems I've never really considered. You may find it hard to believe, but everywhere I've ever lived in England it would be the person who suddenly revealed that they were "saved" or converted to a strong religious identity who would attract the mutterings and the
I remember years ago I said to someone I'd recently met, "Actually, I'm an atheist" and he said, "So what's new, who isn't?"
