2007-09-19 08:06:58 · 31 answers · asked by The Grand Inquisitor 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I read the Bible.
2007-09-19 08:10:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
I took both my marriages very seriously. "....until death do us part...." Both women are alive, my children were all with the second ex (a Filipino Catholic who rarely now attends church since getting her nursing degree), and despite doing good things to keep the marriages going, both women have been selfish about what happened. I have never been arrested, took drugs, beat a woman or anything like that.
Turning to friends who were supposedly closer to God showed me their existence to mock their own faith in the need to perpetuate their own earthbound needs. Dating was a real eye-opener - you should see those Sunday School teachers after class with a chance to mallet the lost man who wanted to seek more truth into a trophy to rebuild and justify their personal lives. Trust me, that was sin for anyone's palate. I won't be dating again for a while.
I have no explanation for why God would want me to bring children and not raise them. The answer to this question made me search different religion splinters from Episcopal, including her own Catholic church, Mormon church stints and even Wiccan. I have read everything from the Qu'ran to L. Ron Hubbard and still come up fairly empty.
All I have come up with is I must be here to steward the planet with other humans, and I have perpetuated nature by reproduction. My existence is not Christian, therefore it is strictly scientific in scope.
I choose not to believe in God since God does not honor his own words. The pain of hearing my 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter always asking about me yet not being able to have a normal relationship with them due to the mother's obsession of making a fortune for her Filipino relatives is beyond my comprehension.
The ex and I are going back to court one last time this year, starting October 3. I will not make my children's life a miserable experience any more than it is, but I desperately want to believe that somehow there is some higher power watching who knows what suffering is present, and will extend justice. If I am once again asked to just send more money and not have more chance to raise the children as I feel responsible to do and Christian deity intends, I will not respect Christian faith one bit ever again.
2007-09-20 07:12:43 · answer #2 · answered by Your Uncle Dodge! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I never really LEFT the Christian faith per say as I never was baptized in it. But I have had several opportunities to join certain sects and I have studied it (Christian doctrine and bible theology) to some extent.
Why I never joined or it never clicked was:
1. Although I have found certain worship services very moving and inspiring, the emotional side of it did not gel with the image being painted of God in the biblical doctrine and as a result I could not connect with the Creator in any meaningful way within the faith.
2. A large part of this is the doctrines of hellfire, orgininal sin, salvation and the Christian explaination for our purpose on earth. I have lots of unresolved issues with it and gaps that have never filled for me.
3. It did not address the spiritual occurences in my life in any meaningful way.
4. Simplistic explanations (the Pentecostal sect I explored) for every single human issue and of course, clashes with science. I think true spirituality does not conflict with scientific truth.
5. Certain hateful fundamentalism aspects I saw in some sects.
6. I did not feel half the joy, fulfillment, resolution and personal power in that faith that I now feel in my pagan beliefs and most importantly, my connection with the Creator is far more meaningful and not motivated by ANY feeling of guilt, unworthiness, expectation of heaven or fear of hell. Which to me is a lot healthier.
However, just because Christianity did not work for me, doesn't mean it doesn't work wonders for others. I would not discourage anyone from becoming Christian, not even my own children. In fact we have several bibles in our home.
2007-09-19 15:21:09 · answer #3 · answered by pixie_pagan 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
As a child I was raised to be Christian. I went to Church as a young adult. I read the bible alot. I would read it while overseas while I was in The Marine Corps. I got to know it inside and out.
I experienced life. Associated with people from all walks of life. Bikers, Church goers. politicians, businessmen, Outdoorsy types, and famly.
I was conservative, racist, stubborn and uncaring for nature. I eschewed anything that contradicted what I was taught.
As I grew older I began to accept new things and tolerate different ideas. Then I returned to what I always did love. Nature. THe world is a beutifull place and I was overlooking it becasue I had blinders on due to my faith. I stopped going to church long ago because I did not like the people or the expectation to conform.
I changed my voting habits, my bigotry has left me and I have a mental clarity I did not have before.
Leaving Christianity was the best thing I have done to improve the life of myself and the lives of people I contact.
2007-09-19 16:20:27 · answer #4 · answered by bryanccfshr 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
well here is my story. My grandmother went to catholic school for 18 years of her life. She hated it with a passion although she was still catholic. When I was born my mother could not take care of me so my grandmother took over. She never forced any religion on me because she felt that it was forced on her and she didnt like it. When I turned 14 I had a girlfriend that was VERY VERY religious and I started going to church with her. I even went so far as to be baptized and become a member of the church (it was a Lutheran church). the whole time though I really dont think I believed a word of it. I mean I felt that most of it had some really good meaning behind it( be nice to others, etc. etc.) but I dont think I ever really thought that it was completely true. So then me and her broke up and I took that opportunity to research on religions. I looked up multiple sites and spoke to many people on every religion that I could find. and I did this all with a very open mind. and finally I ended up finding a religion that I feel is the most true religion for me. What was even funnier about it is that I found out afterwords that not only did I choose to be Wicca but my mom had been Wicca since she was 14 or so (had not spoke to her about religion nor knew that she was), My cousin had turned to wicca at the same time I did, and my Best friend whom I hadnt spoke to the whole year that I researched on religions also turned to wicca that summer. It was very coincedental. =)
Blessed Be
2007-09-19 16:04:16 · answer #5 · answered by Lorena 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Constant hypocrisy. I was sick of being judged and treated as a second class citizen not based on any action of mine but rather the divorce and drug use of my parents. Extreme racism, class-ism and sexism. The fact that early christians wandered the desert with moses killing everyone they came a cross always bugged me didn't seem like the natives were doing anything wrong. Didn't care for the crusades or witch hunting. Over all christianity has a very bloody and nonsensical history.
and the fact that spell check always wants to capitalize christian
2007-09-19 15:21:42 · answer #6 · answered by deztructshun 3 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Because I realized that Christianity just wasn't for me. It championed guilt, self-deceit, homophobia, and so many other counter-productive things. It didn't help that the followers were either drones who never even opened up a Bible (which I actually read) and just went along with the label, or were fanatics who wanted to threaten hell on people, tell them what clothing they couldn't wear and what music they couldn't listen to.
It would still be many years after rejecting Christianity that I became an atheist, though.
2007-09-19 15:17:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Christianity's answers didn't agree with what I believe is correct. I don't believe in the concept that we are born guilty of something someone else supposedly did. Nor do I believe the Divine sits on some other plane of existence knowing everything and just waits for us to die so He/She can judge us.
I believe the Divine is inside of all of us, and we are a part of the Divine.
Blessed Be )O(
2007-09-19 15:29:52 · answer #8 · answered by Stephen 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I read the bible, did all the research I could and actually opened myself to other religions. It's kind of funny how ridiculous it is. If I hadn't been born into a Christian family I *highly* doubt I ever would have even considered it at all. And I'm honestly glad I got out of it.
Blessed be && namaste.
2007-09-19 15:13:42 · answer #9 · answered by jess 4 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Hello Julie,
It was quite simple for me, anyways. I'm of the opinion that we are all free to tap into our own faith and believe in what we choose to believe, so long as it is God. Whenever I would attend mass, the father or whoever was giving the eucharist, would repeat the fact that the ONLY way to God, was to believe that Christ is our saviour and it is ONLY through Christ, that we may enter the Kingdom of God.
Religion tells us what we MUST believe, spirituality tells us we can believe and come up with our own personal belief.
2007-09-19 19:12:12 · answer #10 · answered by Hemispheres 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well I left but I came back...
My reason for leaving the first time is because people at the church I was attending did nothing but gossip and were very rude....not Christ-like at all...
I hardly talk to anyone from that church...only like 100 members attend now....there used to be close to 500 less than 3 years ago(not kidding)
People ruined that church.
2007-09-19 15:14:22 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋