Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,701 posts, read 41,771,805 times
Reputation: 41381
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eusebius
You left Christianity to be Atheist or Agnostic?
I am just curious why you think you were Christian? Was it because you started going to a church or several churches, got baptized, gave tithes, attended all the functions?
What made you a Christian?
I actually said the sinner's prayer, went to church all the time, did all the missions, prayed every day and values voted too (to this day I regret voting for the gay marriage ban in Virginia).
I was done with religion altogether because I knew in my heart that this world cannot be the way it is if a "Good God" actively intercedes from time to time.
I didn't know I bolded the word "think" in my OP as to emphasize it.
You didn't bold it, of course. I did, to emphasize the word that made me wonder, like I said.
And now, I'm about to bold something again:
Quote:
It was meant to be a simple question. I didn't think anyone would take it the wrong way or psychoanalyze it. Good lord! Can't I ask a simple question without having my intentions questioned?
The problem with **some** "Christians" in the world is they grow up, get married, the wife says, honey, why don't we find a church we can attend? Begrungingly or not the man says All right. So they find a church, like the cookies after the service and like it their little boy can play games with other little boys. So they join the church and BINGO! now they are "Christians."Going to church does not a Christian make.
It is a very simple question: Why do you think you were a Christian?
See, right there, you confirm what I thought... your question seems to have been asked with the idea that * * some * * of us would say we just thought we were Christians because we joined a church.
I didn't THINK I was a Christian. I know I was a Christian.
I didn't know I bolded the word "think" in my OP as to emphasize it.
It was meant to be a simple question. I didn't think anyone would take it the wrong way or psychoanalyze it. Good lord! Can't I ask a simple question without having my intentions questioned?
The problem with **some** "Christians" in the world is they grow up, get married, the wife says, honey, why don't we find a church we can attend? Begrungingly or not the man says All right. So they find a church, like the cookies after the service and like it their little boy can play games with other little boys. So they join the church and BINGO! now they are "Christians." Going to church does not a Christian make.
It is a very simple question: Why do you think you were a Christian?
You will have to pardon our sensitivity. After decades of pouring everything we had into the passionate pursuit of Christ, and ultimately coming to the conclusion that our love, devotion, prayers, pleadings, service, and sacrifice were directed to the empty air, it is honestly infuriating to be told that we never were Christian to start with.
...Which is where every other discussion like this, both online and in person I have ever had has ended up. Invariably "They went out from among us because they were not of us" is thrown out there, along with an accusation of us lying to the other party of the discussion, ourselves, and God himself.
Ultimately, if you examine all the reasons you believe you are a Christian, those are the exact same reasons that most of us in this thread believed we were Christians. We were not really any different from you...
The problem with **some** "Christians" in the world is they grow up, get married, the wife says, honey, why don't we find a church we can attend? Begrungingly or not the man says All right. So they find a church, like the cookies after the service and like it their little boy can play games with other little boys. So they join the church and BINGO! now they are "Christians." Going to church does not a Christian make.
It is a very simple question: Why do you think you were a Christian?
There was nothing "begrudging" about it.
You have to accept the reality that people who were once even more devotedly Christian than you yourself are now found out the truth for themselves and left the religion, never to return.
You have to accept the reality that people who were once even more devotedly Christian than you yourself are now found out the truth for themselves and left the religion, never to return.
You will have to pardon our sensitivity. After decades of pouring everything we had into the passionate pursuit of Christ, and ultimately coming to the conclusion that our love, devotion, prayers, pleadings, service, and sacrifice were directed to the empty air, it is honestly infuriating to be told that we never were Christian to start with.
...Which is where every other discussion like this, both online and in person I have ever had has ended up. Invariably "They went out from among us because they were not of us" is thrown out there, along with an accusation of us lying to the other party of the discussion, ourselves, and God himself.
Ultimately, if you examine all the reasons you believe you are a Christian, those are the exact same reasons that most of us in this thread believed we were Christians. We were not really any different from you...
-NoCapo
That is a concept those who believe "Once saved, always saved" can not comprehend. To understand it one must first admit they might one day leave Christianity.
I know thinking back to my Christian years (over 40 of them) during that era I could not think of any possible way I could ever leave Christianity and that those who did leave, never were Christians. Little could I envision that those who left, one time believed they were True Christians as strong, if not stronger as I did.
Once one comes to the conclusion that the NT was written by people who never saw Jesus(as) it is impossible to continue as a Christian, no matter how strongly you desire to.
I wonder sometimes if those of us who might sing the song (from Oklahoma) "For me it's all er nuthin' ... no halfway romance will do" ... just wear ourselves out faster. We are so devoted and faithful and dedicated and earnest ... then we realize life just is what it is, like for anyone, including unbelievers, and we wonder, what are we spinning our wheels for? What's the percentage in this anyway?
I'm not sure if we burn out faster, but I bet our experience of leaving is much more emotional and we ended up more cynical about religion then others might be after they leave.
If you were once a fundamentalist, leaving all of that behind is a really big deal. You have a lot of questions that you need to answer, and unfortunately that's a journey most of us have to make on our own. It can really turn your life upside down for a few months.
But to be honest, the closest thing I ever had to a religious experience was when I admitted to myself that I just didn't believe all that stuff was true. Suddenly, so much more about the world made sense to me. In church we used to talk about that feeling of a sack of bricks being lifted off your back when you accept Jesus as your savior. Ironically, the only time I felt anything remotely like that was when I worked up the courage to admit to myself that the stories in the Bible just weren't true.
We "thought" we were Christians. It's fortunate that we quit thinking that we were since obviously we weren't.
I'm sure that while we were "pretending" to be Christians that Eubie could have discerned that fact and pointed it out to us. We wasted a lot of time being "pretend" Christians.
We "thought" we were Christians. It's fortunate that we quit thinking that we were since obviously we weren't.
I'm sure that while we were "pretending" to be Christians that Eubie could have discerned that fact and pointed it out to us. We wasted a lot of time being "pretend" Christians.
I can't say it was a waste. I got 3 baths out of it although the Catholic one was just a few drops of water splashed on me.
I dang near drowned in the AoG one. The Baptist one was actually quite pleasant.
I'm not sure if we burn out faster, but I bet our experience of leaving is much more emotional and we ended up more cynical about religion then others might be after they leave.
If you were once a fundamentalist, leaving all of that behind is a really big deal. You have a lot of questions that you need to answer, and unfortunately that's a journey most of us have to make on our own. It can really turn your life upside down for a few months.
But to be honest, the closest thing I ever had to a religious experience was when I admitted to myself that I just didn't believe all that stuff was true. Suddenly, so much more about the world made sense to me. In church we used to talk about that feeling of a sack of bricks being lifted off your back when you accept Jesus as your savior. Ironically, the only time I felt anything remotely like that was when I worked up the courage to admit to myself that the stories in the Bible just weren't true.
In Afrikaans we have a term called swaardra which means heavy carry or burden and it is also ironic that the idea of jesus is likened to a yoke to start off with.
If you think of the language that xians use, it is you must accept jesus
to be saved. The idea of acceptance already has connotations of something not smelling quite right.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
