Hello from an ex-christian

John09 · August 17, 2009, 04:33:30 AM

Hello,

I have been in the process of leaving christianity and re-examining everything I ever believed about god. That is, until I see proof of his existence, I am no longer inclined to believe in him.

This has all come about mainly because of college. I have been challenged by science to question all of those nagging doubts I have always had in the back of my mind. As I have begun to examine my doubts about the christian god's character, morality, justice, and the honest teachings of the bible, I have come to the conclusion that it is all a bunch of *********. Plus, I discovered that I actually enjoy the company of non-christians more than I do christians. I have found them more honest, authentic, less judgmental, and more moral.

I have been skimming this forum for a few days. I was very encouraged when I read the summary atheist statement, especially the part about atheists not wanting to go out and commit every crime in the book just because they are not christians. Wow, you know what? I don't want to do those things either.

I am looking forward to continuing to utilize this forum as a source of education and encouragement.

Tanker · August 17, 2009, 04:58:56 AM

hello john

Tanker · August 17, 2009, 04:59:59 AM

double post sorry.

AlP · August 17, 2009, 05:15:55 AM

Hi John. Glad to have you here.

skurry · August 17, 2009, 05:20:06 AM

quizlixx · August 17, 2009, 08:36:50 AM

hey john, welcome to the forum, you'll find that many of us are former christians.

karadan · August 17, 2009, 11:26:21 AM

Hello John, welcome to the forum.

You said you always had doubts in the back of your mind? Would it be fair to say that at one point you'd have vigorously defended your faith in christianity even though you had those doubts? Do you think most christians have those doubts as well?
That interests me greatly because i have no real frame of reference. I was brought up with the choice to believe what i wanted so i chose a life without religion. It always amazes me when i hear of people defending something out of habit, not because of intellectual forthrightness.

Anyway, it's good to hear you broke free

curiosityandthecat · August 17, 2009, 01:51:37 PM

Welcome, fellow heathen!

John09 · August 17, 2009, 02:07:05 PM

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Quote from: "karadan"Hello John, welcome to the forum.

You said you always had doubts in the back of your mind? Would it be fair to say that at one point you'd have vigorously defended your faith in christianity even though you had those doubts? Do you think most christians have those doubts as well?
That interests me greatly because i have no real frame of reference. I was brought up with the choice to believe what i wanted so i chose a life without religion. It always amazes me when i hear of people defending something out of habit, not because of intellectual forthrightness.

Anyway, it's good to hear you broke free

I can't definitely say that most christians have the same doubts I did. However, all through my time in christianity (18 years) I have repeatedly heard preachers and lay people alike skirt around challenging questions. These challenging questions can be anything from bible contradictions, god's strange sense of morality, to the problem of evil (why would such a good god allow evil to corrupt his creation). Christians are not taught to examine carefully their beliefs. They are taught that god transcends reason, and that he sometimes just won't make sense to the human mind. So, they just live by faith in what they don't understand and are unwilling to understand. This is why they will always argue with subjective reasoning (ei: "I just know from my personal experience").

I have met many christians whose emotional stability was questionable because of things such as guilt over sin, fear that god does not really love them, fear of turning away from god, etc. I honestly do believe that many christians do inwardly struggle with some kind of emotional turmoil brought about their inability to reconcile many theological concepts in their mind.

I am happy to be walking toward freedom from all this garbage.

Thanks again for the welcomes.

skatterson · August 18, 2009, 02:52:09 PM

Hello John.

I was brought up as a catholic. Most people in my family are catholic. Going to catholic schools, I was made to learn about how hypocritical the religion was and how it was based on another religion and then dilluted and polluted into something that somebody else wanted, for their own purposes. I suppose I would say that learning about religion helped me to do a lot of critical thinking and made me challenge my beliefs. Most christians do not know too much about their own bible. Ignorance is bliss. I suppose you could say that learning more about the bible made me an atheist. :idea:

Sheeplauncher · August 21, 2009, 06:59:45 AM

I must say John your conversion was very much like mine. I was raised episcopal (american anglicans) and after fully reading the texts the preacher at the church i went to could not answer my questions. I started reading and was like you know what this SHIT does not make sense. And there you have it but anyways i digress. Welcome to the forum!

McQ · August 21, 2009, 02:17:17 PM

Welcome to the forum, John. Hope you enjoy the company of the folks here.

John09 · August 22, 2009, 12:16:44 AM

Thank you again, everyone, for the welcome.

Brizz · August 22, 2009, 01:07:50 AM

True story:

I considered myself a Christian for YEARS until I read all 4 Gospels by myself in December. Fuck that noise :

brainwashed · September 14, 2009, 12:36:16 AM

Hey John,

I was born and raised an extreme fundamental pentecostal. I feel your pain, and can also relate to the feeling of freedom after having broken free of such a horrible, self-destructive way of life.

News:

Hello from an ex-christian