dynomatastic Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 It all started at the age of 5. My mother got dragged to a Christian church by one of her work buddies, and guess what? She decided to drag me along as well. Of course, I had no say in the matter, let alone any idea of what the fuck I was being dragged into. She, of course, accepted the faith the first day we attended, like so many do out of fear. That, of course, meant I had to do it too. I really didn't understand what was going on, but fuck it, they were giving me free cookies and milk just for showing up to Sunday School, so it didn't seem all that bad. I was baptized a few weeks later. "Why are you being baptized?" said the Preacher. "I don't know, because I love Jesus?" said the 5-year-old girl in a bathing suit. That sounded like a good answer at the time. I mean, I kept hearing about this Jesus fellow over and over again, so I thought it was the correct thing to say. As I started getting older, the more I resisted going to church. I'd get grounded for 2 weeks if I made my mother late. Shouldn't this have been taken as a sign? I was forced to do AWANA, and when I finished with that (sixth grade), I moved on to Youth Group on Wends. nights (Jr. High/High School bible study-ish type dealie). By the age of 12, maybe 13, I witnessed a few things that made me question this church, and the religion. My best friend at the time, who attended the same church as I did, had gotten pregnant. She was 14 years old. This, of course, caused great distress amongst the avid church-goers. "We don't want our children getting influenced! rahrahrah! bitch-piss-moan!" So, they wanted to PREVENT her from attending church. Several "concerned" parents (there were a lot), had a meeting with the Pastor to discuss this "pregnancy problem." Now, mind you, these people are sportin' their W.W.J.D.? braclets and crosses. I was just amazed they would even CONSIDER preventing her from attending church. Church is supposed to be open to everybody, isn't it? Or at least that's what I thought. Would Jesus actually prevent this unwedded, knocked up girl from attending his "house of worship?" I just couldn't believe it would even be considered. This really shocked me. Another event happened that really pushed my buttons, not so long after this, the discussion was on Sex (surprise, surprise)! Homosexuality managed to come up (after the whole keep-those-legs-crossed-till-you-are-wed speech), and this girl brought up the fact that her aunt was a lesbian. Well, the teacher immediatly replied with, "Well she's going to be sent to Hell if she doesn't change her ways." And she asked, "Why?" "Because that is what God says." "But what is wrong with it? Why is it wrong?" And of course, everytime I ever asked a question about anything, I always got the same "because God said so/It's in the Bible" reply. Needless to say, I started gettin' pissed with these answers to all the questions I asked. Then I started thinking, Why would somebody as powerful as God, create us just to punish us later? What's the point? People don't have children just to see them fail and suffer miserably (at least I hope not). I read a few things in the Bible, but not much. The story of Job was enough to get me to stop reading. Why should anybody be subject to that type of torture? A friend of mine also told me, "I find the Bible both boring and hypocritical, and the people who follow it are the same. Don't waste your time reading it." Then I started looking at the people who filled this church, and most of them were hypocrites (yes, you fucked your neighbor behind your wife's back and it still doesn't make it right when you ask for forgiveness). Most of them never read the bible outside of church, but preached like crazy whenever they encountered opposition! Always ready to condemn somebody to Hell at the drop of a dime! I also couldn't figure out why prisions are so full of theists, but they're not going to hell because they believe in God, but the guy who wouldn't even hurt a fly wasen't religious, is going to hell? How is that justifiable? Also, some of the nicest, most genourous people I've ever met have been atheists, agnostics, non-religious, or of a non-Abrahamic faith (mostly Buddhists). I've based my decision to NOT accept the Christian faith off of observation and reason. By the age of 16, I considered myself Agnostic, and never thought/questioned about it again, until recently. At the age of 23, I started asking the "What If's." (A close friend was diagnosed with lung cancer, who is only 2 years older than me. This is what triggered it). "What do I believe in?" But I found this site, and after typing this Testimony, I feel secure again. I also plan on doing lots of reading/studying of books that I found out about through this site, and through infidels.org. I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who has contributed to this site, because the stories/articles/testimonies/etc has helped me out a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JP1283 Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Hey, Dyno! Welcome to the forum! You sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders and have escaped Christianity pretty unscathed. Good for you. Thanks for your 'extimony,' you're a good writer! You live in Simi Valley, huh? I live in La Canada Flintridge, not too far from you. Have fun here at ExC (a.k.a. Dave's House). Again, welcome! JP P.S.-Hope your friend gets well soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Welcome, dyno! It looks like you've condensed some of the most common and important issues of church life in your post. I'm glad to see that you want to explore doctrinal and historical reading on Christianity. As well as reading and participating in the forums here, you might want to check out the archived articles on this site. They make some eye-opening reading if you haven't already encountered that material. Enjoy your stay here! Loren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynomatastic Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Hey, Dyno! Welcome to the forum! You sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders and have escaped Christianity pretty unscathed. Good for you. Thanks for your 'extimony,' you're a good writer! You live in Simi Valley, huh? I live in La Canada Flintridge, not too far from you. Have fun here at ExC (a.k.a. Dave's House). Again, welcome! JP P.S.-Hope your friend gets well soon. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for the welcome! I have no idea where La Canada Flintridge is haha (I just moved out here 5 months ago). My friend is doing great, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hello! Sorry to hear about your friend, but I'm glad he/she is doing better now. You cited a lot of the same reasons I left (couldn't reconcile the hell concept with what I actually believed, finally decided I didn't believe in hell at all, and couldn't take the Christian god literally, either). So I left. You're not alone here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ TexasFreethinker ☆ Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome Dyno! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JP1283 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Thanks for the welcome! I have no idea where La Canada Flintridge is haha (I just moved out here 5 months ago). My friend is doing great, thanks! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I believe Simi Valley is on the 118 freeway? If you take the 118 to the 210 east, La Canada is about twelve miles down on the 210. It's inbetween Glendale and Pasadena. I just moved down here six months ago myself from Reno, Nevada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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