danny_boy

I wanted to start a thread to get peoples insights and stories about religion as they have been growing up, and specifically if they have really gone off the beaten path, or become an even stronger observer:

I'll start....I'm jewish, forced into jewish schools my whole life...double curriculum, and class ends at 6:30pm, and began at 7:30 am for praying. I had to attend half a day school on sunday, and stay late Thursday nights for seminars. I had this for 4 years in high school, and was exceptionally opposed to it the entire time.

I was also in a single sex school, and we all know how horny teens can be. I was then forced to spend a year in Israel, forced!!

Now, I am sort of resenting my religion, and no longer keep any aspects of it. It is not a question of faith. I believe in g-d, I just do not agree with the majority of principles in judaism. Perhaps once I am married, and have not been forcefed anything I will veer a little back..

Anyone wanna share their experiences ?

sapiens

My parents are both very religious. Whenever we were out of town on a Sunday we found a church to attend mass (even if the mass was in a language other than English). I went to mass twice a week for the first 18 years of my life. I went to Dominican Catholic school for grade school. My mom tells a story about me returning from grade school one day to tell her about the sanctity of the Virgin Mary's womb. She was a bit surprised. I attended an all boys Jesuit Catholic school for high school. I loved high school. I enjoyed theology class more than many of my other courses. I seriously considered becoming a Jesuit priest. I have (and had) a great deal of respect for the priests who taught me (and priests in general).

I remember meeting a girl who didn't believe in god early in high school. It was unfathomable to me. I couldn't understand her at all. I'm now an atheist. I have trouble putting myself in my mind at that time.

I am confident in my beliefs, but I miss many aspects of believing in God and being religious. I miss the awe I felt during some masses. I really miss praying. I prayed all the time, many times a day. I talked to God frequently. None of it makes sense to me anymore, but I miss it.

Acetylene

Poor guy, that sounds like so many people I know

Personally my faith has remained strong for my whole life. This is partly because I am very stubborn and partly because I have a very personal relationship with God. I have no idea where it came from (we used to only go to church a few weeks out of the year and worship at home was usually by my own instigation). Organized religion was never a big part of it for me. I have my own Bible and Book of Common Prayer and I really only go to Church so I can sing. A few years ago I had a really hard time in my life where it felt like everything and everyone had been taken away from me and all that was left was God. I know many people react to this sort of thing by blaming and hating God but instead it made me appreciate Him all the more, because no one could ever take Him away.

(I'm going to use the word "sin" in this next paragraph; please don't picture fire and brimstone and bible-toting maniacs. I use it to mean "a bad thing to do which hurts people and makes God sad.")

I feel really sad when people lose their faith or relationship with God as a result of religious persecution. This kind of forced religion is a horrible sin because it destroys faith. The fact that a person (or many people) forced you to practice a faith you didn't want is not evidence that God is evil, or non-existant; it is evidence of human failing. God is not responsible for the evil and sin in this world. We do it ourselves because we have free will. For example, just because we kill in God's name does NOT mean God wants us to kill, nor does it make us right.

Even more importantly is this: we are not in Heaven. As my Greek professor likes to say, "Life's a bitch and then you die." This world is meant to be nasty, and full of pitfalls, and lots of people (by which I mean everyone) are going to make hideous mistakes. The worst one, because it is the most insidious, is to think you are right when you are wrong. No one can deny that they have been wrong before, but before they knew they were wrong, they made a mistake. My doctor once gave me the wrong antibiotic and my infection only worsened. Similarly, your parents once thought God required them to send you to yeshiva and Israel to make you a good Jew, but instead it destroyed your faith in the Jewish religion.

I feel really sad on your behalf and I hope I haven't offended you at all while I was trying to comfort you; I know my idea of comfort often just replaces one dilemma with another.

Good luck on your ongoing journey!

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There's no justice. There's just us.

thatoneguy

I went to Catholic school from 1st grade through 12th, obviously had many religion classes during that time. My family went to church every week usually, and I had to go often during school as well.

As it stands right now, I'm 22 and have only been to church once or twice since high school. I just felt "burned out" on religion after high school. The environment there wasn't really one of "discuss what you believe" it was "this IS what you WILL believe or you fail." After 12 years of that, I just don't really feel like going to church anymore, at least for the time being.

To me, I feel like I don't NEED to go to church to be a good person, you're "supposed" to go every week, but I've just lost any urge to go anymore after having it beaten into me throughout my education. Maybe it'll change at some point, but for now I just feel that this is the right thing for me.

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"Thank you for flying Church of England, cake or death?"

maestroxl

I was raised on church. My dad was a minister of music, went to seminary, and he is still a devout evangelical Christian, as are my step-mother and younger half-brother and -sister who live with him in Denver. My older brother and I were in a private Christian elementary school and went to church Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday evenings as well as other miscellaneous youth group events. There was prayer in our house with everything: meals, going to bed, special occasions, holidays, and everything in between.

I believe I had several spiritual encounters as a younger man, but it's easy for that to happen when you are conditioned to believe so strongly that it is normal and expected. I am now what I suppose would be an atheist, but the evangelical Christian I was raised as is not completely gone from my being. It is hard to shake what was drilled into me morning, noon, and night for over a dozen years.

In short, I believe our time on this Earth is all we have. The Earth was created by chance, and there is no intelligent being watching over us and interfering on our behalf. We should treat each other and the Earth well because we are all we have, and it is right to do so--what goes around comes around and all that.

I love my dad and have only respect for those who choose to pursue religion as a means to finding purpose in life. They claim it is harder to have faith in that which cannot be proven. I think it folly; it is far more difficult in my opinion to forgo an eternal safety net and to forge ahead aided only by knowledge, cunning and courage.

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be the change you want

Demeter

I think there is a separation here that needs to be mentioned. There is Spirituality, which brings us (I think) meaning for life,
and Ritual, which is the church goings, and the prayers & studies,etc. I guess wrapped together, this would be religion.

I have never been religious. Never really believed in God. My parents never went to church, or talked of religion.
As I have grown older I have developed my own spirituality, which has become very deep. I feel a bond with the brotherhood of mankind, and an appreciation for doing good to/for others.
I can live without the preachings & I think the forcing of "religion" on people & offspring is what drives people away from their faith.
Just my ramblings on the subject.

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I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
William Shakespeare

MSD

Religion was forced on me throughout my childhood, and I accepted it. Once I starte dthinking for myself, I started to question it. Now, I'm 21 and I don't believe in anything (but I don't disbelieve, either.) I am strongly opposed to organized religion, and I don't think that I would be compatible in the long term with anyone who is a member of an orgainzed religion because of my strong reaction to what was forced on me. I still tried to defend religion up until recently, but I finally realized that there is nothing about wha tI see as oppressive institutions that I can accept. I don't openly challenge people based on it, but when it comes up in discussions, I will defend my point of view. It's kind of unfortunate that something that my mother holds so dearly has turned me against religionas a whole, but that's what happened.

aberkok

I come from an opposite angle. My father actively made sure that I was never exposed to any kind of religious indoctrination. When in primary and secondary school (Canada and England), the principal was sure to get notes exempting me from any kind of religious ritual. It was my choice in the end of course, but it meant I didn't have to take part in any kind of prayers or religious songs.

I never minded it too much and although I felt mildly left out at times, I'm grateful for it. I play at a lot of weddings (let alone attend them...cripes! it feels like all my friends are gettings married - I guess that's your 20s). As beautiful as the rituals can be, it bothers me to see so much illogical dogma and "conventional morality" forced upon the young at these things.

Spiritually I feel very strong, despite never having religion.

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Seeker

I was lucky, my Mum sent me to Sunday school once, partly because she thought maybe she'd get Sundays off ( ), and partly because she thought I should at least be introduced to the concept to decide if I liked it or not.

My parents never discussed any beliefs with my while I was growing up. I guess that's partly why I am always searching and open to new opinions and such. I get a little lost and confused at times but on the whole I agree with many of the responses here. I can feel spiritual without institutions, I don't believe I will be sent to the great pits for not attending institutions or participating in their rituals... besides, wouldn't that make me very hypocritical to attend and not fully accept the institution or the rituals, based on the fact that I don't want to be sent to the pits in the hereafter if it's actually true? (you know, a just in case thing )

__________________
To those who wander but who are not lost...

~ Knowledge is not something you acquire, it is something you open yourself to.

ryborg

My experiences with the Christan faith ultimately caused me to abandoned it. I say abandoned, but in truth I have not left in entirely. Today it is more like I barely hang onto it with the tips of my fingers. Let me share with you my experiences at the Presbyterian church I was bought up into, and the Methodist church I later regularly visited, and the church of lunatics that would ultimately split me away entirely.

The beginning of the end for me started back in middle school. I was attending confirmation and about to become a full blown Presbyterian. I really came to despise this time of day every Wednesday. Our teacher had no control or authority, which a room packed full of middle schoolers most certainly needs. She tried her best to teach us about the bible and being a Presbyterian, but she just came off as ridiculous to me. How could she tell me about God, the supreme being that created me and gave me a soul, when she couldn't keep Timmy the ADHD kid in his seat? It seems like the topic is serious enough that it demands real consideration. You don't get that in a room full of middle schoolers.

Looking back she really was probably a good person to speak to us about our faith. Her husband had a brain tumor that was slowly killing him. When she and her family had moved here my mom took it upon herself to help them get adjusted into our town. I entertained one of her kids for a while, but I really didn't like him that much and no real friendship was born out of it. However, my mom did get to know her and her husband, which is how I know about their rather complicated family situation. I remember my mom confiding in me that her husband had to listen to audio books because the tumor had destroyed his ability to read. Things like this however, were somehow lost in my middle school mind. Confirmation was a personal torture session I had to endure every Wednesday.

My confirmation group even went on a weekend retreat to some remote location so we could bond with God in someplace other than our home, which apparently makes the bond that much stronger. I barely made it through this experience. I was already frustrated with the Wednesday visits alone, and this futile camping trip was nearly unbearable. I remember how shallow and false it felt to me. This was not how I wanted to come to know God. A fucking camping trip with a bunch of hyper idiots. When it was finally over I was disgusted by the experience and felt betrayed, but I wanted my soul to be saved so I stuck with it.

When the end of confirmation finally came our teacher wanted us to give a sermon. Nobody had the balls to do it so I took the responsibility upon myself. I wrote my sermon around our theme, which was the clever acronym FROG (Full Rely on God). I put my story writing abilities to good use and wrote an allegory that used the image of a tadpole transforming into a frog to metaphorically describe the discovery of faith one makes when he/she truly believes in God. When I gave that sermon, even just as a middle schooler, I had the whole church wrapped around my scrawny fingers. They laughed at the funny parts and were concerned at all the frightening parts. That day I told everyone in my church what it meant to have faith and be a good Christian through the innocent perspective of a tadpole. After that, I would never truly attend church again. I went back once to get baptized, and maybe a few times during holidays, but it meant nothing. I was only going because I was going. Slowly I stopped going altogether. The irony of that situation still stuns me today.

Fast forward to high school. After growing distant with my own church I attended a Methodist youth group with a friend of mine in hopes of regaining some salvation points. It turned out that it was lead by a Radical Teen Youth Invader, a term I created to describe those irritating bastards who try to get you to believe what they do by forcing their ideals down your throat with heaping loads of annoying optimism and seemingly endless amounts of mega-energy. It wasn't so bad actually. In fact, it was way better than my terrible experiences at confirmation. The people there at least seemed enthusiastic about their faith, and I used it as a chance to get out and socialize a bit. This experience, however, would also crash and burn.

My buddy's youth group was going to a super powerful youth rally at a place called New Life Assembly. I had never been scared of Christians before. That night that would change – horribly change. Everything started casual enough. There were many youth groups there, and everyone was having a good time. But then the atmosphere suddenly changed. We were all herded like cattle downstairs into a basement. Little did I realize that I was about to witness a mass production brainwashing session in action.

The lights suddenly went off and intense, Christian rock music began to play. Many of the kids, who clearly thought this was totally awesome, began to dance and expressively reach towards the sky as if to receive god's spirit. OK, so we have some intense Christians here that are clearly very comfortable with their faith. That's OK, I can handle a few people getting into the music, even if I'm not that into it. Me and my buddy try to act like we're not totally uncomfortable, but slowly everyone starts to join in, hands raised in the air like they are hailing Hitler rather than God. At this point me and my buddy notice a gigantic fat woman walking down the isle. She has her hands raised in the air, tears streaming down her eyes (either because she felt the power of god or because her knees where in excruciating pain from supporting her own bloated body), and she is singing at the top of her lungs.

I can't take this, I thought.

After a few more Christian super songs everyone sits down and an entire host of Radical Teen Youth Invaders appears on stage, each positively exploding with Christian mega-energy. They begin to talk about the immense power of god, and they just keep getting more and more intense. Now, earlier I mentioned it looked like everyone was saluting Hitler rather than receiving god – looking back, I think me and my buddy may have been right. One of the Radical Teen Youth Invaders suddenly starts spouting about how we are the Army of God, and how we will bring glorious Christianity to the sin laden disbelievers with our righteous super powers.

My buddy, thank god he was there, leans over to me and suggests we get the heck out of there. Very casually, we slip out the back door. I am almost surprised we weren't stopped by a Christian SS squad of super believers and beaten to death for abandoning the faith rally.

I have never seen anything closer to mass hysteria than on that night.

That was truly the end for me. From then on, I viewed Christianity as a sick joke.

This story does not end totally bad, however. Despite my immense lack of faith a part of me still holds onto the tattered shreds still dangling in the wind. Today, I have a better relationship with God than I did before. I'm not saying its a stellar relationship, I'm just saying it has improved. To this day, I will stop every now and again, ask that my miserable sins be forgive, and thank God for the simple things that he has given me. I do not attend church. I do not recruit new Christians. I do not read the Bible. I do not Radically Invade Teen Youths. I do not spout scripture or even know half the stories in the Bible.

All I do is ask and thank.

I think God and I have come to an understanding. I respect what he has done for me in my own way now, and I think that is worth more than pretending to believe the way I was taught to believe. I think what I resent most about my religious past is how faith was shoved down my throat. I believe, very intensely, that faith is something you have to discover alone, regardless of your religion. Just going to church and going through the motions means nothing. Consuming a prescribed religion means nothing. I believe that your relationship with God, or any supreme being(s), should be just that – a relationship, and relationships are different for everyone. My relationship with God is very simple now, but its much better than what I had before. It's more genuine now. It isn't perfect by any means, and I have a lot of room to improve this relationship. But, at the very least, despite its weakness and the way it comes and goes, it's genuine. I think that's something even God appreciates.

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Solve two problems at once. Feed the homeless to the hungry.

danny_boy

Wow, quite the response.

I honestly believe in a few years, after I ad had my break, I will perhaps return to judaism. Definitely not as strong as I was before.

I do not believe in organized religion. The high priests, or rabbis in judaism set their laws hundreds of years ago, and many are not even applicable today.


My mother has cancer, she's a great woman, where was g-d then.

I dont want this thread to get into why bad things happen to righteous people, but if there is a g-d, why would he let this happen...not murder..which is a choice..but cancer...

Yes, perhaps it is natural selection, and survival of the fittest...but surely, all religions who declare their g-d fair and righteous...who would allow this to happen ?

Meier_Link

I don't know that I lost my religion so much as grew out of it.

When I was a kid I was sure what everyone told me was the truth, they were older and knew everything, why shouldn't I believe?

Now I'm agnostic; I don't know whats out there, I don't pretend to know, I don't blindly believe or disbelieve. Any God that would judge you by what dogma and rituals you follow rather than by the content of your character seems ridiculos to me.

ryborg

This is a question I don't think anyone will ever have a good answer to.

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Solve two problems at once. Feed the homeless to the hungry.

Seeker

Has anybody read the story of Job in the bible. Just a quick off the top of my head response is that it was not 'g-d' that inflicted the pain on Job, it was Satan. This story has helped me immensely with my understanding or acceptance of 'bad' stuff that happens to 'good' people. My 2 cents

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To those who wander but who are not lost...

~ Knowledge is not something you acquire, it is something you open yourself to.

ryborg

As you've demonstrated, the Bible offers answers, but do you think its possible for an average Joe, such as you or myself, to come up with a purely logical answer? That I think that may be impossible.

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Solve two problems at once. Feed the homeless to the hungry.

Ace_O_Spades

I was raised as a Lutheran churchgoer every sunday until I was ~8 or 9. Then I stopped going as frequently and obtained my confirmation at the age of 14.

As I grew up I began seeing the double standards and hypocricy of not only my religion, but religions worldwide. I couldn't identify with a deity, a creator, or any sort of overt intelligence. It just doesn't make sense.

So many other explanations make far more sense.

I think of it less as growing out of my religion as growing into common sense.

*This isn't to bash religion, this is just my opinion of it, and I'm entitled to that... be it right or wrong.

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Feh.

danny_boy

The satan answer makes sense..but not for my reigion.

In judaism, there is 'gehenim' which is hell, which is where you are sent when you die if g-d does not have you in his good book. However, in judaism there is no mention of a satanistic empowerment that acts to do bad to people still living.

Redlemon

Ex-Catholic here. I went through the motions through high school, but I never agreed with the strictness and refusal to discuss alternatives to the strict beliefs. If I were raised in a more flexible religion, I might have stuck with it. I'm now Deist; I believe in God, but not in worship or life after death.
Interesting, I assumed you were Irish (and therefore Catholic or Protestant) based on your username. Never assume...

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StephenSa

My family went to a Southern Baptist church every Sunday. I believed for a while but grew disenchanted and doubtful while still a child. The minister was a real fire and brimstone sort and the things he stressed never made sense to me. GOd loved me, but he'd condemn me to eternal fire and damnation if I got the least bit out of line. Jesus was my saviour but if I had the slightest doubt or questioned the bible he'd punish me for eternity. ETERNITY! Even as an eight year old that made no sense to me. I reasoned that even if I lived to be one hundred years old that would be nothing compared to eternity so even if I was wicked for every second of that hundred years eternity seemed a bit excessive as a punishment. It started to all seem like something grown-ups made up to keep people in line. For a while I continued to believe in some sort of divine power, but I felt it was pretty benign. No heaven, no hell, just some sort of ambient energy or something. Now I figure its all just the invention of man.

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Thousands of Monkeys, all screaming at once. Pulling God's finger.

raveneye

Started out Baptist, formal Sunday school and church (grandparents were devout Baptists). Grandparents then died and influence of Methodist neighbors and my best friend took over, started going to a neighboring Methodist church and Sunday school.

During that time I became a hippy Jesus freak, gave away most of my belongings, became an ascetic, ate only fruit and whole grains, did not use electricity if I could help it, spent most of my time outside even in the dead of winter (I was about 15).

After a year or two decided that the religious metaphysics that I was exposed to was ridiculous and explainable as unconscious wish-fulfillment or pure indoctrination.

Became an atheist by the time I started college, became convinced of the value of rational empiricism.

Not much change since then.

777

Born cathlic. Learned all the prayers as a kid. Church every Sunday. And made my first holy communion too. Today, But like when throwing spit balls up at the ceiling, sometimes it just won't stick.

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"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something - or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Roger Zelazny

StanT

Born and raised Catholic, went to church every Sunday until I moved out of the house at the age of 18. I have major issues with the Catholic church and their doctrine. I looked at several protestant churches, but they just don't seem right. I'd consider myself a non-practicing Catholic waiting for the church to move into the 21st century.

Elphaba

I was the only member of my immediate family to go to church because I was invited to attend with the family of my best friend in grade school. The rigid thinking of my confirmation pastor, followed by an affair with a married woman by my next pastor, caused me to leave organized religion.

I considered myself agnostic for many years until I reached an understanding that I was blaming fallable representatives of my religion as some sort of "proof" that God is a farce. (Why is everyone doing the g*d thing)?

I have found my place with a supreme being that doesn't fit within any one organized religion. I wasn't force fed religion like Danny Boy, but perhaps he can return to his faith, as he defines it, by choice.

Aladdin Sane

Raised as a Christian (Methodist), in college became agnostic, then atheist, which coincided with becoming a Marxist, then I had a supernatural encounter with Jesus in Amsterdam, when I was 27. I was alone when it happened; in a small room in a canal house not far from the Anna Frank huis.
That experience changed me. I became a Christian mystic, you might say. For 10 years I was an Evangelical, doing my best to spread the Good News. Today, I'm a Christian, a lousy one, but one. I attend church weekly, and it's there I find most of the spiritual nurishment that I need. I no longer bother people with it, unless they ask. Like I said, I'm a lousy Christian, but God loves me anyway.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Meier_Link

I don't mean this as an attack or an insult, but in Amsterdam it is legal to use certain mind altering substances such as marijuana and psilocybin containing mushrooms. You wouldn't have happened to be or have been under the influence of these drugs during or within a short time frame before you had this experience would you?

I became highly religious myself for a few months after taking a lot of acid.

abaya

This isn't the first I've heard of this... anyone else out there have religious-acid experiences?

As for my own story... man, it's a doozy. I'll *try* to summarize. I was raised in a relatively areligious (is that a word?) home by a Buddhist mom and lapsed-Catholic dad, got interested completely on my own at 14, was very devout for about 7 years (high school and then chose on my own to attend an evangelical college, quite the formative time), then started questioning the logic and compassion of American evangelical Christianity and insitutional religion in general. That was an interesting four years.

I'm now 25 and in grad school, studying anthropology (which does wonders for an objective look at religion), still wondering about the absolute but growing more and more content in not needing to know it all and just enjoying the ride. I tossed many of the rules and regulations out the window and feel much more like I am back to my childhood "faith" of being agnostic. I don't need to believe in heaven, hell, etc but I do still feel the presence of ____ whatever IT is, when I leave enough room inside myself to be aware of something greater. And that's about all I need these days. Maybe that will change, maybe it won't... we'll see.

Those who practice religion: I have many friends who are still very strong Christians and I don't look down on them at all. They are very intelligent people and I respect them for their beliefs and life experience, as long as they don't push themselves on me and try to make me feel like a lost sheep or something. Which they don't, at least the ones who are still my friends. But yeah, studying anthropology, I definitely see the function of religion, and it's not always some horrible twisted thing. It can be quite beautiful. In fact the only things I really miss from my past are singing in church, of all things, and being around a group of people who are sincerely seeking a more just way to live and treat others in this world (I was not around the type of Christians who were hypocrites or that incurred bitterness; they really lived what they preached, which made it harder for me to walk away from them.)

I also find that my own experience enables me to understand those who still believe strongly... so I am glad for my past and wouldn't trade it for anything. (Yes, even the long years of fervent virginity!)

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

frogza

I have become much stronger in my faith as I've got older, maybe the fact that now I have some real life experience to apply what I've learned to helps. I find that the older I get the more it all "clicks"

I'm sorry about your mother, my family recently has been going through the same thing with colon cancer.

This world was created to be a place where we would experience everything. God made it this way so we could gain experience and be tested in every way. He set in motion all the factors of biology that we see all around us. There is a purpose to it. If he shielded us from illness everytime it came around it wouldn't make much sense for him to have created a system where illness could and would exist. Sometimes the trials of other are the hardest for us to manage.

He created a mortal realm because there is no other way for us to experience mortality.

snowy

I grew up in a home with a non-practicing Lutheran mother and a atheist father. At the age of about seven or so my mother decided we needed some religion and so we started attending the local Lutheran church. I loved it. I had the coolest pastor! He never saw the Bible as a document to be read literally, which was wonderful. We went to church for about five years or so until my mother decided we'd had enough religion and we slowly stopped going.

I kind of stopped believing in God at some point, though I honestly wonder if I ever believed in Him in the first place. It took a while, but I read something in a book that made me start thinking about Jesus and His place in my life. I came to realize how much I wanted Him in my life.

I went to church some with friends during high school and occasionally do now in college--I've attended all kinds of churches and enjoy doing so. I prefer to attend an Episcopalian church now that I'm older--it's the most liberal church in town and has a female vicar--but I have been seen at the Catholic church for the college service with some frequency, mostly to see friends and hear one of the deacons who gives amazing homilies.

I would say I am not so much religious now as I am spiritual. I have found a path that I like and I stick to it. It may not be the path other Christians would choose or agree with, but everyone is entitled to their own belief system, are they not?

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Cynthetiq

baptized a catholic not practicing for close to 1 decade.

I chose to no longer be part of the catcholic church after doing 12 years of bible study, altar boy, lectern reader, and even thought about preisthood or even being a deacon.

I realized that the ministry was not for me as I saw that I was too much like what I disliked, the Cafeteria Catholics (picking and choosing parts of the dogma) and the Twice a Year Catholics (Easter and Christmas).

My own religion is very personal to me. My relationship with a higher being is between me and only me.

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ratbastid

Recovering Episcopalian, here.

As a teenage non-Mormon in Salt Lake City, it was important for me to have some sort of religious identity. I was very active in the youth stuff in the Utah Diocese, a member of the state-wide Youth Coordinating Team that put on retreats and camps and stuff. That part was all very fun.

When I went away to college I started thinking for myself, and began questioning why I should believe a thing simply because the people who raised me believed it--and why my beliefs should be different than somebody else's because somebody else raised them. Then I read Thomas Aquinas for a class, and decided the whole thing was bogus.

liquidlight

Well good grief, that's quite a read, so here's my two cents. I live in Utah, and yes my family came back to the state for both family and religious reasons as most of my family are active mormons, personally I'm a jack mormon. I have my faith and I believe the way that I do because of personal experience, not because of doctrine. I've had almost a complete falling out with my entire family and don't fit in with practicing mormons around here because of the choices and interpretations that I made for myself over the years.

My distance from my religion is mostly about the association with the people that is required by attending Sunday services. It's an argument/discussion that I've had with quite a few people about not judging the beliefs based on a particular group of people bastardizing it into something unrecognizable, but as of yet I've not found anywhere locally that I can separate the two. I have a lot of sympathy for both sides and I do enjoy have discussions with others about their religion in an effort to learn more about them, but I hate it when they think that means that I want to be preached too and converted.

Since I was younger I've lost a lot of the habits and rituals that I used to rely on from day to day, my parents forced me to do a lot of the same type of mindless obdience and it just wasn't something that I was capable of or willing to do.

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Halfway to hell and picking up speed.

ShaniFaye

I was raised in church, I dont feel like I was forced to go, because I enjoyed it so much. When I moved away from home, I fell in with the wrong crowd, became a cocaine addict and stopped going to church.

During my rehab I met my 1st husband, who'd been raised in church of god, never drank or done drugs in his life (well he was only 18 at the time lol) I started going back to church. We eventually changed churches a few years later to a non denominational one. I became immersed in it....I was in every ministry I could get into....I was the head of the womens ministry, worked with both the little kids and high schoolers ministry's...homeless ministry, fed the families of peope in hospitals, organized wakes etc you name it, I was on it, if they needed something done they called Shannon cause she never said no.

May 6th 1999 I had a bad car accident, well it could have been worse, but to me the following week was hell because I could not get out of bed. Not ONE person from the church called, not one, no one brought my family food even though I was unable to take care of them, not one card, not one visitor, nothing.

I've never for one second of one day not believed in god. To me I KNOW he exists, Im just as sure of it as the atheists are sure he doesnt. But I now know that I dont have to be in church to believe. Though my faith in organized religion, and my so called friends was shaken to the very core...my faith in god never ONCE waivered. I get mad at him, I yell at him, I complain and whine, but he expects that from me, I talk to him just like I would a best friend, I remember to tell him when Im happy, when Im glad, when Im confused, even though I know in my heart I dont have to cause he already knows.

When I was a child, my "imaginary" playmate was jesus, he and I had tea parties all the time. I remember my mother coming in my room in the middle of the night once during a tornado to get me and she said I was sitting in the middle of the bed staring at the corner of the room talking my head off. (I obviously did that a lot) but this one particular time sticks out because I wouldnt let her take me from the room for shelter, I told her Jesus had told me we'd be fine and to have faith (keep in mind I was 4 at the time). Well she got me up anyway and put me in the hall closet. I remember that night like it was yesterday. I remember hearing the tornado (wasnt the first one, where we lived in Alabama, we had them all the time), I remember hearing the roar, feeling the house shake, but I also remember I wasnt scared.

When it was over we went out side....the houses on both sides next door and the one across the street were completely demolished, nothing left standing. We didnt even have a shingle off the roof, my empty plastic swimming pool was still in the back yard where it always was.

I have no doubt god/jesus talks to me still today....Over the years I've learned to listen even though its not what I want. Some people like to say god is a crutch etc, I really dont care. I live to be the best person I can, try not to be judegmental, and have a heart for mankind, if God helps me do that, I dont give a flying fart if somebody else doesnt believe or not....thats between them and...whomever. I just feel sorry for them sometimes because I wonder, really wonder, if they feel the kind of peace I know exists, when I open my heart and listen.

sorry for the rambling...I dont feel well today lol

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Dano069

I lost my belief in religion right after my dad died, when I was in high school. He and my mom were about to unload the business they were running. They went out to dinner one night and he was dead by the end of the evening. Totally unfair! The Catholic Church had no answer for me, other than the standard ,"It's God's will" Well, as most of us know, it's a nice coverall statement.

Anyway, I do believe in God and I do believe in an afterlife, I just no longer believe the bullshit the churches pass out as "Gospel Truth" And that's any church, in any religion. They're all pretty much the same. All they're concerned about is $$$$$$$. As Suicidal Tendencies put it in there song, "Send Me Your Money"

"Now how much you give, is your own choice,
But to me, it's the difference between a Porche and a Rolls Royce."

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I may look attentive, but I'm taking peeks down your blouse faster than the human eye can follow.

raeanna74

I don't think I ever lost my religion. I never really rejected it completely either. I have become exceptionally suspicious of the religious "motives" of others in the religion I grew up in. That was only a result of a life changing event in my husband's and my lives. I grew up in a strictly religious family where for a time the women were asked to wear headcoverings to church as well as other nearly menonite rules. Hubby grew up in much the same environment. His father worked in a religious college and he and his family were controlled by the strict rules of the college.

After hubby and I had been married for about 2 years he was seriously injured, hospitalized, and in a coma. At the time the Dr's wouldn't give me hope of him coming out of it without being a near or complete vegetable. We had many friends from his father's work and from our church's who came to visit while he was in the coma. It began to become clear at that time the underlying motives of those who came to over support and condolences. There were some who came and stayed the whole day, visited with the other's that came, and made public this monetary gift of support. Then there were those who drove 2 hours, slipped us an envelope with a note saying the support was for our meals while were were away from home. They would stay only long enough to hug, comfort, and pray with us and then left before others came. Some of those came later in the day or early in the morning so that they weren't there when the "crowd" was. There were some days that the well-wishers tired me out more than the waiting at Joe's bedside.

After he finally left the hospital the only ones who came to call were those QUIET well-wishers. The ones who had been very public with their assistance were those who would catch us in public and say fairly loudly "I have been praying for you morning and night." or some such pious remark. Those outwardly pious ones were the ones who forgot about us quite quickly. Once the gravity of the injuries effect on the rest of our lives began to sink in the hypocrites were long gone. They had forgotten our struggle. Most of them would see us and ask "How're you doing?" as they would anyone else. When we replied with the truth - that we were struggling with the aftershock they would get uncomfortable and almost act like they didn't want to hear. They wanted their prayers answered whether it was the truth or not.

I began to be very critical of our faith. Especially the parts such as, who is in control, why do bad things happen, is it "god's" will, and many similar questions. No one has given me a satisfactory answer yet and I haven't found one either.

For the most part I've begun to think that God isn't that interested in each one of us. We're pretty much on our own it seems to me. I dont' disbelieve in my God or the religion I grew up with. I just don't hold it on such a high pedistal or trust what I've been taught completely.

Sorry to make this longer but after going back and reading more I had to comment. I've studied the book of job. I have a minor in Bible even so none of the persecution or trial stories are foreign to me. My problem with this is I still don't understand the purpose of the trials some people go through. Sure God turned around and blessed Job beyond comprehension - What about Aunt Nancy? Aunt Nancy has cared for her mother with Alzheimers for more than 8 years. Only a few years after her mother died she began to loose her husband to Alzheimers. She was never able to bear children though she wanted them. She and her husband adopted some that were a little older but one of them was very bitter about his birth mother. He now never calls and last we heard had run away with the circus (no kidding) and they've not heard from him in 3 years. She is nearly 80 and has spent her entire life in the ministry being a pastors wife, a nurse, and a school teacher - where's her blessing gonna be?? Yeah I know heaven - with the descriptions that my religion gives of heaven I'd be happy with the basics there. What purpose do I need to go through more externally imposed trials just so I get more jewels?? I just don't get that.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

skysooner

My parents always took us to Baptist church when we were little. We stopped going when I was about 10. My parents were into an alternative lifestyle, and I think they felt uncomfortable about it. I started going again when I was about 14 due to a friend of mine. The youth group was cool, and the services were uplifting with the music. Personally I didn't know much about the Bible at the time. Some of the extremism in the church bothered me (talking in tongues, people telling us we should burn all of our records because of back masking, etc.). I remember a lesson in school about how a different interpretation in a couple of passages in the Bible made it politically acceptable for the Church of England to break away from the Catholic Church. I remember asking someone in church whether there were other discrepancies in the Bible, and he screamed at me that there were no discrepancies. That was it for me for church for years.

Fast foward about 10 years, and my wife was going to church every Sunday morning (Catholic). I went with her a few times and thought it would be good to go back but not to Catholicism. We ended up settling on Congregationalism (United Church of Christ) which is extremely liberal. I found that the only way I could take organized religion was if it gave you the freedom to believe what you needed to believe. I have yet to find two people that can completely agree on the nature of God. I find aspects of many different religions appealing, and I use what I need to reach what I consider to be my higher power. I'm probably more faithful now than at any time in my life, but it is only because I have the freedom to worship the way I choose around others that support that freedom.

Aladdin Sane

I've never done acid. At the time of my confession I was not under the influence of any drug.

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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Lebell

I have never "lost" my religion as I have grown older.

I have however taken it, put it under a microscope and made the modifications to it I have felt were necessary.

Now it is no longer the faith that was handed to me, but my own.

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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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spindles

I got a laugh out of this, picturing maestroxl with the remote control, saying "please god, let the TV turn on. Amen!".

My story:
Once a week catholic, dragged along by my mother until I left home. Rarely set foot in a church since. At least in small town Australia, sunday church is mindless ritual and a social gathering. What a crock.

My wife is a christian, goes to church regularly, I occasionally go with her to keep her company, but not for the church bit - maybe the social gathering bit sucks me in. Most of the people at her church know my position, and there has been no pressure or attempt to try and convert me. It is just not for me - I am an agnostic.

She and I have discussed it, and I'm also willing to discuss the bible with her, but I can't see it changing my mind any time soon.

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who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

Rdr4evr

I was born in a fairly strict Muslim family, more specifically my grandparents, as my mother and father weren't strict in the least. Up until several years ago I blindly labeled myself as a Muslim knowing nothing of the religion or what it stands for. I wore Allah and Mohammad around my neck. I had a framed pictures of Mohammad scattered about, as well as Allah written in Arabic in fancy designs, and several random lamented Islamic prayers attached here and there. I hadn't a clue what it was to be a Muslim, but it gave me a sense of comfort and safety to be surrounded by the false imagery and religious non-sense.

Several years ago, I finally opened my eyes and realized what an utter drone I was actually being, and removed anything remotely religious far far away from my presence. I trashed the prayers, the pictures, and so on, something I would've been afraid to do while under religions grasp. I dragged myself away from the mindless sheep and decided it was time to be an independent thinking individual who doesn't need some false religion to feel comfort and safety. I slowly began to lose respect for all religions and declared myself Agnostic, which I now realize is the only rational way to go.

I find religion to be a crutch for the weak, and I too at one point was one of them, but I am now thankful to have taken off the blindfolds, and hope others will eventually do the same.

Aladdin Sane

I have a couple of things about your post. First, I have been under the impression that it was strictly against Islam to have images of any kind. Yet, you had pictures of Mohammad. Was I misinformed?

Second, do you realize that you slammed everyone in this forum who is religious as blind and weak?

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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.