A questions for people with STRONG religious beliefs, either very religious or very UN-religious?

Question

In my experience, in life and on here people have a very closed mind to different ideas. They believe what they were told growing up.
I want to know whether people believe what they were "spoon -fed" as a child. example, your parents are baptist, and taught you to be baptist, so you are baptist, or your parents were aetheist, so you are aethists? The kind of person that believes the Bible, or Curan or Darwins book on evolution because it is all you ever read
OR
Are you the kind of person that was raised with a set of beliefs, but has actually read readings and teachings of other beliefs to come up with your own conclusion, YOUR own faith.

Answer 1

We cannot judge people for their beliefs. We can only say that their belief system works for them, but not for me. I was spoon fed, while growing up, in what I jokingly refer to as the Church of Bubba".
I then started my own spiritual journey about 10 years ago, after reading a lot of "Eastern Thought" and Gnostic Gospels. I do not want to discuss here my belief, but again, I do belief that everyone is exactly where they are intended to be, spiritual wise, and that we should not judge them for that. It would be like chiding a child for not walking yet, when they have not learned to crawl.
Be open to everything, and enjoy life. It's too short to worry about what others think. Just be true to yourself (And now I will step off my pulpit, thank you).

Answer 2

I have studied my way up to this point.

I suppose that technically, I started off as an atheist. Then again, all children begin as atheists until they are taught beliefs. For example, no one believes in Santa Claus until their parents encourage the belief.

While I had learned of Christian notions, I was not really a Christian until probably age 8 or 9. Everyone else was a Christian around me, so it seemed like the right thing to be. So, I asked my parents if I could attend church.

I was a good little Christian through middle school and some of high school. I started questioning what I learned during those years and realized that in my quest to find something meaningful, I deluded myself into believing Christianity.

During my senior year of high school, I questioned a lot and even went militant atheist for a while. Mostly, I was being anti-theistic at that point. In college, I mellowed out.

And now I am back to where I was when I was young: I am an atheist. Atheism was never spoon-fed to me. It just made the most sense. The nonsense I was spoon-fed in church was easy for me to reject.

I opened my mind and looked to Christianity. After a while, I continued to open my mind and looked at paganism, Hinduism, and Islam. Ultimately, the opened mind led me here.

Answer 3

I was raised in a Christian church. After my family fell apart, I went off and thought I'd live my life without the relationship with Christ that I had, for so long taken for granted. My life was a downward spiral and no one could help. I was on a mission to destroy myself and my son along with me. Little did I know that even though I left God, He didn't leave me. He knew exactly where I was and what I was feeling at all times. I've been shot at, tied up and beaten, molested, and all along, I wondered, if He loves me so much, why doesn't He stop me? Why doesn't he take me out of this life and put me where He wants me to be. At rock bottom, I cried out to Him. I told Him how lonely I was. How very sad and defeated I was. After I had cried out loud untill I was hoarse and was totally exhausted, all was quiet. Then He spoke to me in that still, small voice and said, "You are never alone. I will never leave you." I knew then that the faith that I had, the faith that my parents had and all the prayers that were said for me were more real than anything I ever came up with on my own. You see, God gives us the freedom to choose. He doesn't want to push anything on us. Jesus said to try to tell the unbelievers but if they didn't want to hear the truth, walk away and shake the sand off our shoes and don't keep pushing our beliefs on people. My belief comes from my own experience and the fact that I have been blessed by God and have been touched by The Holy Spirit in ways that defy description. I thank God for all that He's let me go through. I know that I love Him by choice, not because of what anyone has "spoonfed" me. God bless you all.

Answer 4

Great question, and I will answer it only with my own testimony, although I would love to talk about it in many other forms because I think this is the root of many of the problems we have between people of different thought groups. I can tell you that I was raised "Catholic", but really that means that I went to church every once in a while and I was confirmed, and etc. But once I was old enough to think for myself, I "knew" that type of thing wasn't true, or at least, wasn't for me. I lived my life as any "normal" teen would I had lots of friends, partied, did drugs, was sexually active, etc. I can even quote myself from roughly a year and half ago saying to a group of my friends "I will never give any religion the satisfaction of having me as a member." Thankfully a year ago that changed. I had a true encounter with God, and I continue to have that encounter with my Savior Jesus Christ today. My life has changed. It was one way, and now its completly different. So to answer your question, Yes, you can be raised one way or "spoon-fed" as you put it, and still have beliefs of your own, whether they be the same or different than your parents. In fact now I try to live my life the way God wants me to live so that my parents will hopefully be influenced by me! Because they dont believe as I do.
Great question.

Answer 5

Friend I was raised Methodist, I quit them before I was saved, why, Because I knew they were wrong, Then I started at a oneness Pentacostal church I started there in 1966, But it was not until 1970, I gave my life to God. Then I saw things they were doing That was not in the Bible, Or leaving a part of the Bible out. I always believed, That if it was good for the Apostles of OLD it still has to be good now, In 1974, I started going to a Non -denomination Church, And I have been going there now for over 32 yrs. & My soul is satisfied, not because of anyone, But because I watched a ministry that would not be persuaded away from the true Gospel for nothing, They stuck with God's word all the time. Our church name is Faith Assembly Church. & we have all kinds of people that came out of their system Some ex-catholic, some ex- baptist. _some Ex-this & that & there is not hardly denomination that we don't have that have been coming to our church as long as I have, I call them EX-s They all saw a trueth that drawed them there, Myself, God spoke to my heart for 6 weeks to go there, I refused for 6 weeks, It was like a tape recorder playing over & over, Then One Night I went, I was not aware of what they taught. When I got up the stairs, That voice in my soul said this is where I want you at, that has been over 32 yrs. now.

Answer 6

I have a long spiritual heritage in my family. Both of my parents were raised Jehovah's Witnesses and I was too. I spent my early twenties resenting it and went off on my own to seek something better for a few years. I spent weeks and months in libraries, reading everything I could about other religions and called myself "agnostic en route to atheist" but, in the end, I came back to my roots and now I am so THANKFUL to have been raised in the Truth. It was right there all along.

Answer 7

Mom was a lapsed Roman Catholic. Dad was a stone-cold agnostic. Neither went to church. I did. I rode my bike, as a kid, all alone to seek the Word and Sacraments. I was an altar boy and a dedicated Churchman all my life. I had a what is called a late vocation to the Priesthood.

Nobody spoon-fed me anything. I studied and learned and read all religions long before I decided it was going to be my life's work

Answer 8

I happen to be one of those!i was born into another belief than i have now.
i was not satisfied with what i was born into.went into various religions but still wasn't satisfied.but guess what?there is an iota of truth in every religion!i wanted more than just a little.when you really seek deep inside of you assiduously,you will find that which is the ultimate truth!in has no religious boundaries!it cuts across all believes!it is universal and applicable everywhere!then you will fill satisfied.you search no further.it humbles you.you will be filled with so much knowledge you fill you have the answer to all humans trivial questions!keep searching,you will surely find!

Answer 9

I was raised Christian but after my own seeking and questioning became an atheist. I studied the Bible, other world religions, science, philosophy, and biblical scholarship in arriving at my decision. I am open to accepting evidence should it arise that would affect my belief and change my decision.

Answer 10

I was raised with no religion. Around age 50, I started to search for the truth and I found it in the Bible. I am a follower of Christ.