Christian Free

[Truthseeker]

Glad to have found you guys. My upbringing was ensconced in a protestant, charasmatic, quack, quack type of Christianity. I am not quite an atheist in the true sense of the word, but spring more from an agnostic platform. I arrive here, however, with an open heart and mind.  As is the case, I suppose, with anyone breaking free from a brainwashing, I was more confused than Chaz Bono at a urinal when I commenced my journey to intellectual honesty.  It was truly a baptism in fire; a birthing process if you will.  Traversing through that process has proffered me opportunities that were impossible in Christianity: namely the freedom to challenge and critically cross examine my beliefs HONESTLY. 

At any rate, I am thrilled to be here and expect to gain knowledge as well as an even more open mind to what life has to offer.             

[Tank]

Hi Truthseeker

I'll be honest, when I read your user name I loaded up an FPAFFSDSR (Faith Piercing Anti Fundy Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot Round)! Glad to see it won't be necessary! 

Thanks for making the effort to sign up and join in.

Welcome to HAF.

Regards
Chris

Notes for new members.
The Rules.

Users who comply with forum rules will graduate to full membership after 10 posts.
Till that time your ability to post is limited to the "Getting to Know You" section of the forum.
It is our hope that this small restriction improves the overall atmosphere of HAF.

Some threads you might find interesting.
Where did you get your username from?
10 Things About Yourself
Tell us A Bit About Where You're From
Photography
Non-religious pet peeves
Pets...what do you have?
Favorite Song, with video
How to tell your family you are an atheist.*
"Rules for Conducting a Discussion" by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler*

*You will need 10 posts before you can add a post to this thread, but you can read it at any time.

[Tank]

Please note you can do very little with your profile (Avatars, Sigs etc) until you have made 10 posts. This is an anti-spam measure.

[Truthseeker]

Please note you can do very little with your profile (Avatars, Sigs etc) until you have made 10 posts. This is an anti-spam measure.

Ahh.  That is what I was concluding after viewing my profile status. 

Thank you for your kind welcome.  I have been using that user name when possible on every forum for which I am a member.  I too am glad to hear that I will not be subject to your acronym.  You just keep that thing tucked away in your pocket for someone elsd.  That thing sound menacing.      

[Ali]

Hi and Welcome!  So tell us a little more about yourself (hobbies, interests, et cetera).  I was raised in an Evangelical Christian home, so I can totally relate to the long, sometimes painful process that comes with realizing that a lot of things you've been raised to believe are crazy and stupid and sometimes downright mean.   

[Truthseeker]

Hi and Welcome!  So tell us a little more about yourself (hobbies, interests, et cetera).  I was raised in an Evangelical Christian home, so I can totally relate to the long, sometimes painful process that comes with realizing that a lot of things you've been raised to believe are crazy and stupid and sometimes downright mean.   

Ali,

Thank you for your warm salutation.  God, I am begging to feel like I was lost and now I am found. 

As far as interests go, SunTzu's "The Art of War" is a mainstay in my life and has been for quite some time.  It has in effect become my bible in certain areas.  Check out Sonshi.com.  Reading about historical figures is tantalizing.  A perfectly cooked steak (quite difficult to find) in tandem with a Syrah will bring me to my knees.  I will stop down for virtually anything that is Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris.  Even though I have not played in a while, I really enjoy chess and am a member of chess.com.  A Master I am NOT in the slightest sense, but I do enjoyed its unpredictable nature.  The music on my iPhone ranges from Tony Bennett, Nora Jones and Michael Buble to Led Zepplin, U2, Jimi Hendrix and Boston.   

But above all (not even a remote second) would be my family.  My wife is my solid gold diamond.  Without her the whole structure falls apart.  And my children are quite simply the end-all-be-all of human existence to me.  Something happens to them just take me to the dump, I'm done.     

Its funny, one of the things that was ingrained in me during my tenure as a Christian was the notion to guard against brainwashing by other ideas, philosophies or ways of life.  Coming from my Christian instructors, that one sentence in itself was a brainwashing.  I have fallen in love with the term "Free Thinking".  Give that guy or gal a medal for coming up with that term.  Was that Thomas Pain?  I am not sure. 

How long were you subjected to (I like to call it hypnotized) your Christian upbringing?  If you do not mind me asking.     

[Ali]

Wow, you have very high brow tastes.  Chess and Syrah, my my.     I'm only teasing you and slightly teasing myself because I'm home sick from work and my plans involve Judge Judy and Sprite. 

I know what you mean about your family and kids though - I have a 3 year old, and I seriously feel like I would just curl up and die if anything ever happened to him.  I can't imagine how my heart would have the will keep beating without him.   

So my Christian upbringing.  Let's see.  I was raised going to the First Christian church, which I think is Evangelical Presbyterian.  I was baptized when I was 10, so I must have still been pretty into it then.  I think I first started to really question Christianity when I was maybe 13 or 14.  Just, a lot of things seemed really "unfair" about Christianity.  If you get to know me better, you'll find out that I'm big on "fair."  But, as I'm sure you know, I was also raised to believe that if I wasn't a Christian, I was going to hell.  That's a pretty scary thing for a kid, and it took me a while to get past that.  By the time I was in my late teens, I didn't consider myself a Christian really any more, but I was still looking for some sort of religious or spiritual beliefs because I thought that was necessary and because I thought if I came right out and declared myself an atheist, that was kind of a line I couldn't uncross, like if there was a god, calling myself an atheist and outright denying him would be the big unpardonable sin.  Ya know?

So, dabbled in some new wavy Wiccan-y type beliefs for a while, which didn't really make much more sense to me, but at least they were more accepting of others (like, you can be a Wiccan and be gay and still go to Wicca heaven or be reincarnated, or whatever they believe, I don't remember.  lol)  Finally I realized that I don't believe in god, and you just can't make yourself believe because you think it would be nice to believe (or anyway, I can't.)  So I finally bit the bullet, called myself an atheist, and when a bolt of lightening didn't strike me, I realized that I wasn't scared anymore.  That's a good feeling.

Anyway, welcome again, and I'm sure you'll like it here.  Here rocks.

[xSilverPhinx]

Welcome!

[statichaos]

Ah, sounds like a tactical thinker.  I'll mind my p's and q's in debates with you.  Welcome!

[Truthseeker]

Thank you all for your warm welcome.  I truly am looking forward to my future here at HAF.  Now this is a church worth attending!! 

Ali,

You caught on hell of a lot earlier than I did.  I had to look upon my 1 1/2 old son before I made a clean break.  Looking at my little one, the feeling that I would jump in front of a train to keep him from harm was undeniable and overwhelming.  It also occurred to me that, as much as I had the power to do so, I would never have allowed for the option of an eternal punishment to befall him.  There was no way in hell I would have allowed him the option to choose hell.  To do so would have been an exhibition of ambivalence in the highest order.  First to realize my love that passes all comprehension or understanding for him and then grant a choice to enter such a tragic and terrible future was absolutely nonsensical and repugnant.  Then this tsunami of shock and awe knocked me on my ass with the notion that some sort of supreme being  has allowed this to happen by the billions.  It is unbelievable that I have a brain that at one point was so ignorant and stupid as to embrace and fall in love with such a teaching.  I should go to hell just for thinking in that manner.   

Jesus, I can tell this damn forum is going to interfere with my work.

[Ali]

I've thought about that too.  I'm a flawed parent and human being, but I know what unconditional love is, and apparently some perfect all powerful being isn't capable of at least as much as I am? 

I'm just glad that we're not going to raise our children to be afraid of hell.  Life's hard enough without that nonsense hanging over your head.

[Traveler]

Hello and welcome aboard! I've never believed in god, so have no direct understanding of what you're going through. But I'm glad you're here.

[Sweetdeath]

Welcome! HAF is a great, friendly place.

[Guardian85]

Welcome to the thingy.

If you are as cool as you say you are this is gonna be a hoot!

[Truthseeker]

You all are so welcoming.  Guardian, man I hope that my comments did not come off as narcissistic.  That has to be one of the character qualites that I loath the most.   

I've thought about that too.  I'm a flawed parent and human being, but I know what unconditional love is, and apparently some perfect all powerful being isn't capable of at least as much as I am? 

I'm just glad that we're not going to raise our children to be afraid of hell.  Life's hard enough without that nonsense hanging over your head.

Well, long story, but I am afraid I really screwed up here.  When I got married my wife and I were both devout Christians.  Subsequently, I went through the thought process mentioined above and my wife maintained her faith in space Jesus.  At the time I commenced with my closeted agnostic life and allowed my children to carry on in church and so forth.  It was not unitil my children were roughly twelve that I came clean with my wife.  By this time my children were already sincerely involved with friends and all the trapings of Christianity.  So I just let it go (still wonder if that was the right thing to do)  .  I mean my wife would have been deeply hurt if I demanded otherwise.  At any rate, just as of a few months ago, I let my children (now ages 18 and 16) in on my new views.  My daughter actually started crying abouit it.  It did not affect our relatioinship in the least and they have accepted my backslidden devil ways.  But they have been indoctrinated, no question about it.  I did make it clear to them, however, that they do not ever need to feel that the HAVE to follow that faith or teaching.  I am just hoping the day will come when they approach me with concerns and questions.  I will be here with arms open.