bleedblue22 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I'm taking a semester off college, which means I'm living with my parents. They have always said that church is something that are family does and is non negotiable, so I pretty much have to go to church every sunday. I'm even in a Bible study, which is one of the very few ways I can meet people my age as all the rest of my friends are gone at college. I'm a total atheist so the situation I'm in is a little weird. I spend more time doing church things than your average Christian. At least my church has good donuts on sundays and it is sometimes good entertainment to sit back and pick apart the sermon in my head and show how the only good/interesting lessons brought up are ultimately secular. Anyone else do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBird2 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Yeah I'm in highschool and my family is Christian. I have to go to church activities (Sunday school and/or church, then sometimes youth group at night) pretty much every Sunday. All of those things are very boring to me. Sometimes youth group can be fun because I have a couple of friends there, but its mostly a sermon and worshipping and not a whole lot of time to hang out. I try to keep an open mind during church activities, but I either end up completely zoning out or I just don't get anywhere. You really can't unsee it once you deconvert... Just curious, do your parents know that you're not a Christian? I mean if they knew that, then maybe you wouldn't have to go? I'm not ready to tell mine yet and I'm sure I would still have to go to church anyway. Also it would stress them out because they would think I'm hell bound. They would love me no matter what, but I really don't think its a good idea right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedblue22 Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 I told them that I'm not a Christian at this point in my life and I'm pretty much just agnostic (definitely an understatement). However, I haven't mentioned it to them in many months and just go along with all the Christian crap, so I think by my lack of protest they think I might be getting back into it. They probably think that I just have a few doubts, but its just a matter of time before I return to the fold.After all I've learned and thought about this, there really is no going back though. But I totally feel you how you want to keep it quiet so that they don't start thinking you're hellbound or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VahnBlue Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Ironic how an atheist or two invades a church every week off family pressure, forcefully, or just for entertainment purposes; and the Christians have no clue how close they are. Just shows how they aren't guided by a being, especially the one in the bible, if an atheist can come in and act just like them. They are easily fooled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedblue22 Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Oh I went on a mission trip recently and was told by the person who's house I worked on that they could see the holy spirit working in me. Lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Oh I went on a mission trip recently and was told by the person who's house I worked on that they could see the holy spirit working in me. Lol That's because you're a decent, caring person! Hard to believe you can do it on your own, without the holy spirit. (eye roll) I spent a long time attending church while deconverting, during many agnostic years. I was willing to give it a chance if I heard something that made sense. But I would end up picking apart the sermons, or just trying to quietly nap, or work on a grocery list, or whatever. These were all adult years. Many times I really did try to listen carefully to a sermon and try NOT to pick it apart, but try to find the great xian truth in it. It never happened. At that same time, I volunteered as a sunday school teacher and helped anywhere else needed. I, too, was thought of as a very good xian. Whatev. I was never brave enough to search out another agnostic or atheist in the church to have a good laugh with about this. That would have made it more enjoyable. Maybe you'll be braver than me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleStarGirl Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I gave up on church over a decade ago but occasionally went to please the more religious people in my family. My father attends a Mennonite church (not a member and don't think he ever will be) and tried to get me to go but gave up when he realized I wasn't interested. He does want me to talk to one of the girls my age who is a member of that community because I had a major panic attack that led him to believing that I needed salvation, which I'm pretty sure I don't and my anxiety has to do with the wiring in my brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deidre Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 If my father had his way, I'd be sitting at Sunday mass with him every week. But...I had to do what was right for me. I did attend Xmas Eve mass last year, but didn't attend Easter services this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 At least for you, it's temporary until you head back to school. It's interesting being in a small group as a nonbeliever. My husband and I just dropped out of ours a couple months ago. It bored the hell out of me. It's been nice sleeping in every Sunday since we stopped going to church. My only problem is I may get sucked back into it, because my husband is still kind of a Christian and may want to join another church. This year was the first Easter we didn't go to church and it just felt good. We still got all dressed up and spent time with family, but we got to sleep in and enjoy our morning first. Since I've stopped trying to believe, church just bores me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiana Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Interesting to find this post as I've been meaning to go back to just observe... That last time I went to church was about 2 and 1/2 year ago, right before I finally realized I was atheist and was ok with it. I'd been heading down the deconversion path for a couple years and things were starting to disassemble and form together in my mind. I was going to church only occasionally and had been experimenting a lot with psychedelics, so one day decided to tag along with a friend to church after smoking a big bowl of weed, just to see if it could help pull out any other pieces of bullshit from the service (lol - I still get a smug satisfaction remembering how it was just my little secret). When I got to church, I remember just sitting in the service noticing so sharply how everything, every move, every word and nuance, everything was crafted by the church to evoke an emotional (read by the believer as "spiritual") response from the congregation.. the way the pastor leaned on the podium, staring into a corner of the room, looking like he was saying something so profound that he even blew himself away... his theatrics made you want to believe what he was saying was profound, even if it was a load of bologna, which of course it was. I don't think he was trying to pull anything over on the audience, but looking from that perspective, I learned something very basic about blind Christianity from that experience... the power of persuasion and perceived "authority" of church leaders. I'm glad I found your post.. gives me the push to actually go back for another visit, to see how the experience hits me now that I'm well into my atheist life. It's great that you're making the most of the mandatory church visits... taking them as "learning opportunities" will definitely help you through. I'm not sure I could make it every Sunday without getting depressed for society, personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Anyone Else Still Regularly Go To Church? Not me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Interesting to find this post as I've been meaning to go back to just observe... That last time I went to church was about 2 and 1/2 year ago, right before I finally realized I was atheist and was ok with it. I'd been heading down the deconversion path for a couple years and things were starting to disassemble and form together in my mind. I was going to church only occasionally and had been experimenting a lot with psychedelics, so one day decided to tag along with a friend to church after smoking a big bowl of weed, just to see if it could help pull out any other pieces of bullshit from the service (lol - I still get a smug satisfaction remembering how it was just my little secret). When I got to church, I remember just sitting in the service noticing so sharply how everything, every move, every word and nuance, everything was crafted by the church to evoke an emotional (read by the believer as "spiritual") response from the congregation.. the way the pastor leaned on the podium, staring into a corner of the room, looking like he was saying something so profound that he even blew himself away... his theatrics made you want to believe what he was saying was profound, even if it was a load of bologna, which of course it was. I don't think he was trying to pull anything over on the audience, but looking from that perspective, I learned something very basic about blind Christianity from that experience... the power of persuasion and perceived "authority" of church leaders. I'm glad I found your post.. gives me the push to actually go back for another visit, to see how the experience hits me now that I'm well into my atheist life. It's great that you're making the most of the mandatory church visits... taking them as "learning opportunities" will definitely help you through. I'm not sure I could make it every Sunday without getting depressed for society, personally. Good observations about the theatricality of church, and how they use emotion for persuasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00LukeMan Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Anyone else still regularly go to church? Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to. I am a college student and will be living with my deeply Christian grandparents during the summer. Without the excuse of school work, there is no more way for me to avoid going (I have not yet come out to the family). I will have to occupy myself running the sound and video systems and heading downstairs when possible during the sermon. In the past I have brought books and read in one of the lobbies. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleStarGirl Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Anyone else still regularly go to church? Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to. I am a college student and will be living with my deeply Christian grandparents during the summer. Without the excuse of school work, there is no more way for me to avoid going (I have not yet come out to the family). I will have to occupy myself running the sound and video systems and heading downstairs when possible during the sermon. In the past I have brought books and read in one of the lobbies. Oh well. At least you can find something to occupy yourself with during the services. When I was attending church, I just sat around all confused because I never understood the rituals of people kneeling to pray (Conservative Mennonite church I went to a couple of times) or crying and praying in the aisles (Pentacostal...I raised in the Assembly of God church). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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