Why I'm not a Christian anymore. What about you?

so basically you go to an anti-christian site that takes out of context bible verses to try to make Christianity look bad and then fail to talk to anybody like a pastor or someone with any sort of credibility that'll actually know what they're talking about.Silenthps

You really shouldn't judge Christianity because of some inhonest people. In answering your question, I'm still a Christian.

I still strongly believe in the all powerful Odin. Violence is just a necessary part of life, and my gods can kick your gods ass in any fight.

I used to be a faithful Catholic just a few years ago, but before long, I rescinded my faith. I felt that living by the bible was incompatible with the way I live and the way that I see the world. Something about a god expecting his creations to follow the right religion in the world in spite of that fact that there's many that proclaim to be true struck me as a sign that nobody really knows anything about the world that's external from our material universe, if such a place even exists. Moreover, if such a god expected his creations to take a stab at the dark and get the right answer, I'd say he's pretty malevolent towards his creations. I didn't get why there had to be such an unbearable degree of mysticism involved in the entire process, either. Why couldn't it just be a simple matter of fixing everything in one go? This personal god that I used to believe in is said to be omniscient, omnipotent and all-loving, yet here were are in such a state of the world where we can't even get over the same mistakes that we've been making for centuries.

More than that, I started to become incredulous at the idea that a personal god was watching over us, and for some reason, we happen to be the pinnacle of creation and this entire universe was created just for us. To me, that's just a conceited view of our place in the universe, and as far as I'm concerned, we're just a grain of sand in the grand scheme of things. I don't think we have any special place in the universe, and if there is a god, I think that he/she/it is entirely apathetic as to what goes on in our world. But to think that any single religion on this planet could possibly have an indisputable set of answers to the questions that are almost impossible to answer, and beyond our scrutiny; that just sounds like outright arrogance to me. So in the end, after contemplating the subject for awhile, I became a skeptic; not just of spiritual beliefs, but of material ones as well. As a result, I no longer have beliefs.

Anyway, that's just a short summary of how my thoughts have changed on the subject over the past few years. There's a lot more to it than that, but I'm not going to go into the details unless someone actually wants to hear it.

I was born and raised Catholic. I recognize the existance of a god, but aside from that I'm not sure if I believe everything else. I am currently trying to figure out what other parts of Catholicism I believe in.

They also like to pick and choose which parts to follow.Brainkiller05

seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.mistervengeance

seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.mistervengeance

What if I decided to follow Jesus because I wanted to?

seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.mistervengeance

[QUOTE="mistervengeance"]seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.MrPraline

There are also many Christian who choose religion later in life. I was one of them and know many others who did the same. In fact 75% of everyone I know who goes to church all chose to become a Christian later in life.

Hey guys, I think the real issue is faith here. I think religious dogma can hide behind a cloak and make it taboo to criticise one's beliefs because its justfaith. I really think we need some consciouse raising in our communities as long as things likestem cell research aren't funded by the federal level. Stem cell research really is one of the most promising lines of modern biology to generate medical therapies butwe have this ideathat based onrathervague notions oftheology in every fertilized ovam there's a soul, and you can't privelge the interest ofone's soul even if one is in a petri dish, and the other is in a man with parkinson disease.

[QUOTE="mistervengeance"]seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.MrPraline

I wasn't being forced to become a Christian, it was a decision I made years ago.

[QUOTE="MrPraline"][QUOTE="mistervengeance"]seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.stepnkev

There are also many Christian who choose religion later in life. I was one of them and know many others who did the same. In fact 75% of everyone I know who goes to church all chose to become a Christian later in life.

I was born and raised as a Christian. On my mom's side, her parents are very religious, and so is my mom. My father used to be as well, though he isnt Christian anymore. As I grew up, I realized that Christianity isn't what I thought it was, and there were many aspects that I did not agree with. Now, I have my own beliefs and don't follow a religion. As someone mentioned earlier, I also believe there is a god and I have my beliefs, but I don't follow a religion.

1. Evilbible.com is incredibly biased and has a ton of false information.

2. Just because the Bible contains violent content does not automatically mean the Bible approves of violence.

3. If all it takes to shatter your faith is a single website that quotes Bible verses you should have already known, I question the levels of devotion you had to Christianity in the first place.

I'm religious because it is illogical to think everything just came out of no where.

If the Old Testament isn't to be followed, why are the Ten Commandments so venerated?

Why are Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 always paraded around to establish the Church's stance on homosexuality?

Why even include the Old Testament in the Bible if it isn't to be followed?

Many Christians I've met (but to be fair, not all) use parts of the Old Testament to justify their positions, but then drop the whole thing like a sack of bricks when the nastier verses are brought up.

Danm_999

Exactly, I keep hearing 'no, you shouldn't take the Old Testament literally'. But when it comes to the homosexuality parts we should? And when it comes to slavery we shouldn't? Who decides that anyway? But ah whatever, what do I care anyway, to me that whole bible thingie is nothing different than let's say the works of the brothers Grimm. Fairytales with a couple of morals, nothing more. The only difference is that some of the morals in the bible sicken me.

I'm religious because it is illogical to think everything just came out of no where.

magnax1

who says it does?

The point I'm making is that no matter who you are or how much you think you know, no-one has the answer. AirGuitarist87

Is that true?

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

I'm religious because it is illogical to think everything just came out of no where.

TheFlush

who says it does?

Well if it wasnt made by something, it came out of no where.

[QUOTE="Silenthps"]so basically you go to an anti-christian site that takes out of context bible verses to try to make Christianity look bad and then fail to talk to anybody like a pastor or someone with any sort of credibility that'll actually know what they're talking about.Funky_Llama

I hate religion. Every religious person I have even met was an idiot. All they care about is pushing their crap religion on you and telling you that you are wrong and an evil doer and they aren't. What they believe is right and what you believe is wrong. Religious people are a bunch of nut cases to me.

TheGreatOutdoor

[QUOTE="AirGuitarist87"]The point I'm making is that no matter who you are or how much you think you know, no-one has the answer. Theokhoth

Yeah, it basically comes down to how was the universe created and what happens after you die. Nobody has the answers to those 2 questions (yet). Eventually they will be answered.

[QUOTE="TheFlush"]

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

I'm religious because it is illogical to think everything just came out of no where.

magnax1

who says it does?

Well if it wasnt made by something, it came out of no where.

Who says that it came out of nowhere?

[QUOTE="AirGuitarist87"]The point I'm making is that no matter who you are or how much you think you know, no-one has the answer. Theokhoth

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

[QUOTE="TheFlush"]

who says it does?

TheFlush

Well if it wasnt made by something, it came out of no where.

Who says that it came out of nowhere?

Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

Not counting dead people, for obvious reasons, yeah, it's true. Religion is the table and we're all just making bets.

scorch-62

Then obviously you guys have the answer, since you can say with definite certainty that nobody out of seven billion (living) people could possibly have an answer.

Yeah, it basically comes down to how was the universe created and what happens after you die. Nobody has the answers to those 2 questions (yet). Eventually they will be answered.TheFlush

Yeah, it basically comes down to how was the universe created and what happens after you die. Nobody has the answers to those 2 questions (yet). Eventually they will be answered.

TheFlush

By whom, and through what means?

Then obviously you guys have the answer, since you can say with definite certainty that nobody out of seven billion (living) people could possibly have an answer.Theokhoth

[QUOTE="MrPraline"][QUOTE="mistervengeance"]seriously, religious people, get over it. if you had any sense in you, you would have realized it's all made up when you were about 7 years old.Wolf-Man2006

I wasn't being forced to become a Christian, it was a decision I made years ago.

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"]Then obviously you guys have the answer, since you can say with definite certainty that nobody out of seven billion (living) people could possibly have an answer.scorch-62

It's an omniscient statement of absolute knowledge that encompasses the immaterial knowledge and experiences of every living and dead person ever to exist, now, in the past, and in the future. Obviously, you guys are deities.

[QUOTE="Wolf-Man2006"]

[QUOTE="MrPraline"] True, but it's alot harder than you'd think after you've been taught (at school even) all your life that it's real. I'm glad I got out when I did. TheGreatOutdoor

I wasn't being forced to become a Christian, it was a decision I made years ago.

You must really hate school.

[QUOTE="Theokhoth"][QUOTE="AirGuitarist87"]The point I'm making is that no matter who you are or how much you think you know, no-one has the answer. TheFlush

Yeah, it basically comes down to how was the universe created and what happens after you die. Nobody has the answers to those 2 questions (yet). Eventually they will be answered.

So wait, how can you expect us to get an answer to those two questions if they pertain to an immaterial reality, and our methods of observation have always dealt with the material realm even when that in itself has plenty of room for doubt?

Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

magnax1

Just for the sake of argument, if you believe that God created everything and something can't come out of nothing, where did God come from?

[QUOTE="magnax1"]Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

Juice_13

Just for the sake of argument, if you believe that God created everything and something can't come out of nothing, where did God come from?

I dont know, but it makes just as much sense as everything coming out of nothing lol. Its kind of a fruitless arguement, but it makes more sense that one thing made everything than nothing made everything.

[QUOTE="TheFlush"]

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

Well if it wasnt made by something, it came out of no where.

magnax1

Who says that it came out of nowhere?

Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

Gee... I'm no scientist, but let's assume that our universe isn't the only universe out there, mayber there are millions of universes for all we know. Maybe some other universe died, exploded or whatever and created the beginning of our universe. Or matter escaped from another universe through a tear or wormhole in space and formed our universe. Maybe black holes have something to do with it, because (according to wiki) at the center of a black hole lies thesingularity, where matter is crushed to infintedensity, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and spacetime has infinite curvature. Maybe that singularity can be the beginning of a new universe.

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

[QUOTE="TheFlush"]

Who says that it came out of nowhere?

TheFlush

Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

Gee... I'm no scientist, but let's assume that our universe isn't the only universe out there, mayber there are millions of universes for all we know. Maybe some other universe died, exploded or whatever and created the beginning of our universe. Or matter escaped from another universe through a tear or wormhole in space and formed our universe. Maybe black holes have something to do with it, because (according to wiki) at the center of a black hole lies thesingularity, where matter is crushed to infintedensity, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and spacetime has infinite curvature. Maybe that singularity can be the beginning of a new universe.

That's a nice idea, but it's really no more valid than God Did It.

[QUOTE="Juice_13"]

[QUOTE="magnax1"]Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

magnax1

Just for the sake of argument, if you believe that God created everything and something can't come out of nothing, where did God come from?

I dont know, but it makes just as much sense as everything coming out of nothing lol. Its kind of a fruitless arguement, but it makes more sense that one thing made everything than nothing made everything.

Regardless of what route you take, you're going to invariably end up with an infinite regression unless you reconcile that by saying that god has always existed, and even then that's an arbitrary decision because it implies that you have the authority to make a statement on a being that is meant to be above human scrutiny.

[QUOTE="TheGreatOutdoor"]

[QUOTE="Wolf-Man2006"]

I wasn't being forced to become a Christian, it was a decision I made years ago.

Theokhoth

You must really hate school.

[QUOTE="magnax1"]

[QUOTE="TheFlush"]

Who says that it came out of nowhere?

TheFlush

Lol, ok then if it didnt come out of no where, and u dont believe in god, where did it come from?

Gee... I'm no scientist, but let's assume that our universe isn't the only universe out there, mayber there are millions of universes for all we know. Maybe some other universe died, exploded or whatever and created the beginning of our universe. Or matter escaped from another universe through a tear or wormhole in space and formed our universe. Maybe black holes have something to do with it, because (according to wiki) at the center of a black hole lies thesingularity, where matter is crushed to infintedensity, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and spacetime has infinite curvature. Maybe that singularity can be the beginning of a new universe.

Lol there is as little evidence for alternate universes as there is god, but if it was true it would make more sense, but that doesnt make anymore logical sense than god when there is no evidence for either.