I was an atheist for four years and god did everything possible to make my life hell during these four years. I led a pretty peaceful life till the day I became an atheist
I was almost expelled twice, almost died, flunked exams, touched heights of notoriety, experienced my first heart break which made me cry for the next 4 months; some guy even posed as a police officer & tried arresting me just to have a good time....
I had a crush on a guy in between & was advised by a friend "to pray". My prayers were heard!
It was indeed a deal. I told god that I'll start believing in it if it gives me what I want which it did. After a month, I lost interest in both, the guy and god. The former continued asking me to get back for one whole year & I ignored him. After 2 years, karma decided to slap me on my face. I became the pursuer, he pretended, I fell hard, he dumped, I cried for 1/2 a year
Now, that's when I became a theist.
My life began stabilizing then on. I left home at the age of 17 looking for "inner peace" & answers to certain questions. I had no idea as to where I was going, how I was going to find peace, etc. Moreover, I was in a foreign country with no money. Then this guy came running behind me asking if I needed help. I told him I needed to get to a holy place to spend the night there. He said that the so called holy men aren't right & I should get back home. He even offered money but I told him the only help he could render was drop me off safely at a temple, mosque, church or whatever. He & his friend actually sat for the next 3 hours explaining why I should get back home. I agreed.
I'm a non-religious theist. I was born & brought up in an Islamic state, come from a Hindu/Presbyterian/Buddhist family & went to a catholic school/university. I like Buddhism the most. It's an irony that Buddha himself was an atheist/agnostic. I find each and every religion faulty & if we choose to believe that god is infallible, it wouldn't have said stupid things. I often wonder why god chose only men as it's messengers.
I've a quite unorthodox view on god. I talk to it at any time of the day and we're more of buddies. And according to a lot of people, the way I talk is "disrespectful". I know this sounds stupid but I do talk to stars & the moon. I feel they protect me. I fear karma, believe in good spirits, astrology & the law of attraction. I have to test everything before believing.
Religion & god are definitely related but they are two separate & distinct concepts. God very well belongs to house 9. But religion, if we go by the literal definition, appears to be something very saturnine. Something traditional that's passed down from one generation to another. Something you're born without but are brainwashed to believe in. And most die holding it close to their heart, pretty resilient to change. I see it as deception so I agree with Kaiousei.