i'm 13, and have been going to church and sunday school for most of my life. my parents are very religous in that we go to church every sunday. over the past couple months, i've been thinking a lot, and i don't believe in anything i have learned in sunday school, or anything discussed in church. my aunt is a budhist, and i really agree with many of the things she believes in. i want to tell my parents thaat i no longer want to go to church. how should i go about that?
please help!!
2007-07-23 14:14:13 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Buddism is a false religion. If you want to have eternal life you are headed the wrong way. Search and study your Bible. I don't know what denomination you attend. Many denominations do not follow all of the Bible nor all of the commandments for that matter. You need to study to know the Bible truths. Maybe your parents church is one of those who are not following all of the Bible. If they go to a Sunday keeping church they are disobeying the 4th commandment. Saturday is the true Sabbath. Search and pray.
In the meantime you need to obey the 5th commandment, Honor your father and mother. This needs to be done in the Lord. If they are telling you to go to church you need to go. If you discover after careful study of your Bible that they are not following something according to the Bible, example the Sabbath, then you are to follow God not your parents. There is a fine line here. It is best to follow God, but you still need to respect your parents.
2007-07-24 01:56:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hello Sister!!
Quite a situation you find yourself in..... I'm a christian, so obviously I hate to see you move out of christianity entirely based on one faith or even one church, but if your not happy it's also a waste of time to stay also. Before I give some advice, please let me say that thier are other forms of christianity that are more educational and sincere than some others. Please keep an open mind about that.
Not knowing your parents or you personally, it's a bit tough to say but your best chance is asking for your parents to find a time to sit with you because you have something to say to them together that is very important. When you talk to them, be kind and calm even if they aren't and tell them what you've told us here in the Answers Forum. Tell them particularly what you disagree with in the faith. Jesus Christ taught that God is more important than parents, friends, husbands, or even your children. If your parents are truly christians they'll understand that Jesus meant exactly what He said. Get a bible concordance if you have one, many bibles have them in the back of the bible. Look under "parents", or "hate",.....If you really want to stand on a christian principle with them, that's your best bet.
Chances are, if your parents try to force you to go to church, they may have to break the law to do it. The real question here is how much does God mean to you?.....
2007-07-23 21:32:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need to be honest with tem if you are having doubts. You have the right to believe what you want and no one can force you to accept a religion. For a 13 year old this is an incredibly mature and advance level of religious revelation. Most kids are afraid to go against there parents religion. Kudos and stay strong for what you believe.
2007-07-23 21:24:25 · answer #3 · answered by bryanccfshr 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jade,
Your question is very close to the situation that I faced when I was just a couple years older than you are. I think that you should sit down with your parents and tell them what you just told us. I think your wording is perfect and if your parents really love you they will respect your wishes. I would caution you, however, to respect their wishes while you live in their house. You will be an adult soon enough and if you really believe in Buddhism it will still be there when you are 18.
2007-07-23 21:21:19 · answer #4 · answered by Ethan M 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Until you get older it will be very hard. Just go to church and realise that your parents mean well even if you don't believe. Then when you are older or move out of home- go and find (your Aunt will know) someone who knows about Buddism.
2007-07-23 21:21:11 · answer #5 · answered by Tirant 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
rocking the boat about church will only cause problems. keep peace in the family and keep going to church. in the meantime learn more about buddism from your aunt. you are actually in a good place spiritually. knowing something about both religions will make you a better person in the long run.
2007-07-23 21:24:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Stop going to church. Start going to Christ.
There is a difference.
Church is a building. Christ is a person.
Going to church is an activity, knowing Christ is a friendship.
Buddha doesnt love you. Jesus does.
Buddha is dead. Jesus is alive.
I would be honest with about feelings with your parents. Ask questions. Maybe you need some things cleared up about you believe or even what your church believes. Have them show you in the Bible. Then give yourself to study to learn what God would have you to do.
If you are truly seeking for God and what he wants you to do, he will manifest what he wants in your life. Do you really want to know who God really is? Then seek and you will find. Talk to God and say I dont want please my parents or even myself but I want to do whats right. Then trust he will guide you and show you exactly what to do.
God is REAL.
Ill be praying for you, young sister!
2007-07-23 21:33:27 · answer #7 · answered by aizzle 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Until you are old enough to get out on your own you have to obey your parents. However, you should tell them that you have doubts about what the church teaches and ask them to help you to understand why they believe what they believe.
2007-07-23 21:20:47 · answer #8 · answered by Martin S 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
You should be honest with them and express your opinions, I don't know how they would react but since you're so young they'll think you're going through some kind of rebellious phase.
I told my parents that I was agnostic when I was 13 and they weren't pleased but that's another story.
2007-07-23 21:19:04 · answer #9 · answered by Reload 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
hey sister,
i have so many christian friends who were born into a christian family who FACED this same situation as you.
they had been christians all their lives, and found church really boring and that it was just "another religion". to them, church was just a sunday chore where they go play and hang out.
but as i talk to them about REAL CHRISTIANITY, they began to change their mindsets about God and church.
Church is not a religion. you and i do not go to church to "play religion". God is YOUR Creator.
being born into a christian family does not make you a christian actually. so it is normal that you would want to follow other religions. because, the truth is, you have never really been a christian before!
A christian is one who knows God personally in his or her heart. Do you know Him in your heart? A christian is one who HEARS God's gentle voice CLEARLY. do you HEAR HIS VOICE?
a christian is one whose LIFE has been changed and touched by God Himself. has your life been touched by God? a christian is one who worships God not just in church, but in school, at home, and everywhere, by living a holy and healthy life. do you? a christian understands how much Jesus has went through for us, that His suffering and death was the ultimate love expression for us. a christian also knows that we are all SINNERS, that we do wrong things, have wrong thoughts in our heads etc.
i can assure you, you have not met God. and you have not been a christian, despite being born into a christian family. what you need is a BREAKTHROUGH!
Give yourself sometime. find an active christian youth group where you can grow in, where the young people love God too. i am in a 600 big christian youth group, and each and evry one of my young people loves GOD passionately!
i pray for you. you are still young. be patient, and start reading your Bible, from the Book of John. :)
EDIT :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;
ABOUT BUDDHISM:
i was an ex-buddhist.
you need to know,
even Prince GAUTAMA (buddha) himself said that buddhism might be FLAWED.(have wrong teachings)
he said that his teachings might be wrong. he told us to use our brains to think, whether he was right or wrong.
Prince Gautama NEVER instituted a religion. he never said whether there is God, or whether there isn't, leaving buddhists quite confused today. some buddhists worship buddha as god among many gods, some buddhists do not worship God at all.
Prince Gautama in fact told people he is NOT the way, but he shows the way. He told people not to follow him too.
after PRINCE Gautama died, his disciples dispersed and no one wrote about him. not until FIVE HUNDRED YEARS LATER. by then, a lot of things have been added, and there already alot of discrepancies.
if you look at mainstream buddhism, you will know that buddha left the buddhists really confused. some buddhists have different forms of buddha, some worship one buddha. some believe there is the fat one, some the fierce one, some the thousand hand one, some the female buddha or goddess of mercy. some believe in gods, while othere do not . some believe in reincarnation but some do not. some buddhists believe in heaven and hell soem do not. some believe in evil spirits and demons, some do not. some strive for nothingness, some believe in prosperity. some burn joss and incense, some do not. some believe in statues, some do not.
so think again, like what Prince Gautama said. not everything in Buddhism might be correct. in other words, buddhism is flawed!
2007-07-23 21:27:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋