Christians, how did you become Christian? Atheists, how did you become atheist?

Question

1. Did you grow up in a Christian home? Did you grow up with religion being an important influence?
2. For how long have you been to Church?
3. Who has been a main factor in contributing to what you believe (friends, family etc.)?

You are not limited to those questions.

Answer 1

I was raised Christian... then I learned how to think properly. Religion cannot withstand the glaring light of reason, knowledge and critical thought. Faith is a substitute for evidence. Belief is a substitute for knowledge. Neither faith nor belief are sufficient to sustain reason... they are only sufficient to sustain willful ignorance and delusion.

Answer 2

I was raised an Anglican. However, the effects of familiy involvement in Spiritualism tainted my "walk." I was more interested in the occult.

I became a Christian in 1978 after exorcism and baptism in The Holy Spirit. It was out of self preservation more than anything. I had been host to a demon for 14 years and was losing my sanity.

I have been a member of The Jesus Army for about 8 years.

My own studies and revelation by The Holy Spirit are what has led me on in Christ. That and all the true friends I have made in my church. People say you do not have to go to church to be a Christian, but you cannot really live a fulfilled Chjristian life without a community of other believers around you.

Answer 3

1. No, and No. However, my folks sent me to a Christian school when I was 14 because I was acting out. Not for the religion, but because it was the only option aside from the school I was in.
2. I attended church from 14 to about 20, and havent been regularly in 8 years.
3. Main factor, was Christ.

I got saved at 15, and my life changed. I had heard very little of God, and I was a terrible child, I mean REALLY bad, not just kinda. When I got saved, my life, my heart, everything changed instantly. Because I was in the Christian school, I learned alot of religous dogma. When I was 20, I turned my back on it. About 4 years ago, I picked up my Bible, and decided to look into m faith, and I found it again on a whole new level. Its not a term for me, it is not just something I do, it is part of who I am.

Answer 4

1.) I grew up in a very religious home, had a very deep and powerful faith, and fought tooth and nail for most of my teenage and early 20's years to enter the roman catholic priest hood.

2.) I stopped going about 22 or so, before that, at least once a week, sometimes more than that.

3.) I stopped shouting long enough to realize what I was saying and realized I didn't believe it. I put down the Bible and really actually thought about what it said, what science says, and what my heart said, and I realized that the Bible wasn't relevant to who and what I am. I didn't need to be a priest to help others, I didn't need a god or religion to be a good person. I needed to trust in my own betterment and to accept complete responsibility for my successes and my failures both, that I could not be completely responsible as long as I was pretending there was some Big Guy in the clouds who was someday going to wash away everything that was wrong and make the world right -- and that I had to work on my own, in my own way, on my own strength, to make the small changes I could and leave the rest to others and to future generations.

Went from exceedingly devout Roman Catholic to 'raving' atheist.

Answer 5

1. Did you grow up in a Christian home?
My nanna was a strong strict catholic and bought her children and grandchildren up in a strict catholic background!


Did you grow up with religion being an important influence?
Yes, everyday. I went to a strict catholic school and church every sunday!

2. For how long have you been to Church?

27 years! ( Not as often due to illness! )

3. Who has been a main factor in contributing to what you believe (friends, family etc.)?

My family, my nanna esp!

Answer 6

I grew up in a non-religious home that wanted me to make my own decisions about god. Throughout school there was religious education and bible readings and all this kind of thing, but from a young age I've been someone that questions, and this has never left me. If you are a person that questions things instead of blindly following then I think you find it much harder to believe in any knid of religion.

From this point of view non of the Bible's main stories make sense, many of the passages are contradictory and scientifically we also know them to be impossible (Noah's flood for instance). We know looking through geological records that the Earth and universe are vastly older than 10,000 years.

Having heard the arguments for those in favour of religion and those against - it is the against that employ rational thought and evidence and the for which choose blind faith and a denial of questioning. Religion simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny anymore - and neither does the existence of any modernly defined god.

If you were to look for answers to a question on electrodynamics would you look in a recent addition science text or would you look for one from the 1920's? The "Holy" books were written in a time when understanding was so much worse and superstition was so much more prevailant than it is today that to put any true stead in what they say on anything but the most superficial level is lunacy.

Answer 7

1. Yes
2. I went to Church until age 12, I've been about two times a year since. My most recent visit was Easter.
3. I'm atheist, I never really did believe in a god, but reading the Bible and researching other religious works was the main contribution to my position.

Answer 8

Im an Athiest from a christian upbringing. Once i found out the tooth fairy and father christmas did not exist I woke up and realised that religion is also bu*lsh*t, this is not restricted to the christian religion its every religion.

The Quran, Bible - these are just stories, there is no evidence they really happened. I asked a muslim colleague at work 'what if there is no god?' her response was 'I know there is, its in the Quran' - need i say more?

Answer 9

I was raised with no religion in my life other than the usual christian holidays such as xmas and easter which dont mean an awful lot to me as I dont practise christianity or anything else. I dont know anyone - friends and family included - who practice a religion of any kind and it hasnt harmed us. The only times I have been to church have been for a couple of weddings and christenings.

Answer 10

I grew up in a semi Baptist home and no religious beliefs were held but seldom fully practiced. My life took turns that left me empty and life feeling hollow.I studied and chose Catholicism and converted. I have been a practicing Catholic for more than 23 years. Christ is the main factor contributing to what I believe. I feel Him, hear Him, receive Him, and know Him.