Cartoon-character Gods, prophets, saints and virgins

[webmdave]

Sent in by Julie W

 

I can still pinpoint the exact time and date that I turned my back, forever, on any form of organized religion, whether it be Christianity, or any other. I often wonder if there are any others out there who experienced the same life-changing force, as I did, on 9/11, when I witnessed what humans will do to each other ‘in the name of God.’

 

That brisk morning in Colorado, happened to be my daughter’s first day of kindergarten at Coal Creek Elementary School in Louisville. It was an exciting morning and she had dressed herself proudly, choosing to wear a new outfit purchased just for that first day. I had turned on the usual morning show on TV, so I could catch up on the overnight news as I fixed her breakfast. As the TV warmed up, the screen remained black at first while voices of panic and disbelief screamed from the television reporter and news anchor. I rushed over to the TV and witnessed the horror, while my daughter walked over to me and slid her hand inside mine, instinctively knowing that something was wrong. I stood in front of the screen, connected forever to my daughter as our hands held tightly, and we watched on live TV as the 2nd plane smashed into the WTC tower and I heard myself say quietly under my breath, ‘that was not an accident.’ I knew at that moment that I was watching hundreds of souls perish, as my daughter also watched in horror. It was that day, at that moment, that changed me forever.

 

As the days and weeks slowly passed during that monumental time for our country, we all learned the names of the terrorists, learned about their own faith, their cause, their leader and that their horrific act was carried out with the blessing of many others who also followed their particular religion. For several weeks, I struggled with my own internal religious belief system and could not see the difference between a Muslim extremist and a Christian extremist, both factions killing innocents, harming children, destroying our world, in the name of their God.

 

At first, I became enraged with religion, hating and mocking its very existence. I had been raised as a Presbyterian and had never followed any ridged dogma or rituals, whether it was baptism, regular church attendance, Bible reading, etc. However, I had always believed in God, of a higher presence, but never the cartoon-character of ‘an old man sitting in the clouds, thumping us all on our heads if we strayed’ type of being. And I believed that Jesus was a good teacher, a prophet like Buddha or Mohammed who instilled love and kindness in others. I had even believed that, yes, he could possibly be supernatural, immaculately conceived and possibly raised after death. I believed these things because I never had a reason to question my beliefs. But now, after the horror of 9/11, and religion being the forefront of this event, I was instinctively forced to look inward and define my beliefs, not only for myself, but for my children as well. I did not want anyone, or any religious group, to take my children down a road, that I would not follow myself.

 

That was many years ago and that horrific event galvanized my core forever. There is no going back to organized religion, for me, and I feel utterly free and strong in my own belief. And I believe strongly that we do not need to send our beautiful, innocent children, to church, in order to raise them to be moral people. On the contrary, I believe that raising our children, free of the guilt-ridden church environment filled with cartoon-character Gods, prophets, saints and virgins, will enable us, as parents, to grow mentally-strong, and independently-minded young people, who will help to change our world for the better.

 

To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2007/08...ets-saints.html

[Naughtyhamster]

This is one powerful testimony! It just sums up how I felt on the tragic day myself. I remember 9/11 as a definite turning point in my life. About two months later a popular xtian student at the college I attend died of bone cancer, and that event and 9/11 just set me off seeking answers to all the questions I had since I was a teenager about my xtianinty and religion in general.

[Sparrow]

<span style="font-style:italic;">Sent in by Julie W</span>

 

I can still pinpoint the exact time and date that I turned my back, forever, on any form of organized religion ...

 

Oh Geez! I remember that day and having much the same feeling when it was verified that it was religion at the core of it.

 

I live in Switzerland and remember how the whole country was brought practically to a stand-still with shock.

 

I sat with a friend in front of the television that night and we cried our eyes out for all those poor people and for where this would bring us.

 

This is a very powerful submission.

 

Thanks

 

Spatz

[Robbobrob]

That day will be a focal point for many people.

 

I was a newspaper reporter. I went to work early that day (worked the evening shift normally). Many families in our readership lost loved ones that day (lived close to Boston, where the planes originated). For all the stories and video that made it in he paper or on TV, we in the media were bombarded with hundreds more. I remember being numb for a long time after that....plus scared, because of the Anthrax attacks on media outlets.

 

I remember the stories of people running to God after 9/11. But, I wonder, as the OP points out, how many untold stories of people deciding that there is no god if such things can happen.

[Naughtyhamster]

The worse thing for me during that time was the confusion that followed 9/11. I was very confused on what to believe in and who to believe in, and I just made myself totally numb. It wasn't until the day almost two months later when I was in theatre class and the teacher had told us his young xtian friend died of cancer that I started thinking over what I believed in.

 

After coming home from school pissed off that day (some prostitute was haggling me at the bus stop after theatre class) and listening to the news as they announced something about Saddam-Whose-Insane I just lost it. "It looks like Gawd has a sick sense of humor if he lets some xtian kid suffer from cancer and die but lets this crock of shit live as long as he has!" I said to my shocked mother and grandmother. My grandmother tried to tell me about the usual xtian shit about Heaven, Hell and Satan taking over the world, but I went to my room screaming "FUCK JESUS, THE XTIAN GOD, AND ANY GODS OUT THERE!!!" as I slammed my door shut. All my grandmother did was tell me I might as well be sent to hell for saying such blasphemy as it's "the Devil's fault" that that xtian guy had cancer and died and 9/11.

 

For a while I tried to read the bible to understand my grandmother's point of view on the situations at hand, but after a year and a half of sporadic attendance of church and hanging out with xtian friends-who were no fun at all-I decided it was all a delusion. I couldn't see the point of believing in a diety, who no matter how good I tried to be, might as well zap me with some horrible disease or let me die in some disaster caused by some fucktards of another religion.

[Luke Wolf]

God damn that day seems so long ago, too me anyways, much longer than just 6 years ago. Allthough it was a different journey, it also had an impact on my religious life. But rather than weaken my faith, it strengthened it.

I remember sitting in a computer typing class during my freshman year in high school, and the evil, wars that followed, rumors of war, and the hatred that had been shown scared me into realizing that we might die at any moment, any day, and we need to be ready. It also was the day the seeds of my non-conformist attitude were planted. As I was pulled more and more into Christianity, I also noticed people were consumed with fear, all because of the media and various leaders promoting fear, and anxieties over future terrorist attacks (widespread anthrax scares for example).

But God never seemed to be there for me. After many hardships, studies, classes, and experiences, I learned that most of the OT cannot be true, as it is mostly based on stories that were written prior to it's existence. But I still had a yearning for Jesus, but eventually, I realized my "logic" for him was not justified, and for the first time ever, I labeled myself an ex-christian.

[Naughtyhamster]

For a while I tried to read the bible to understand my grandmother's point of view on the situations at hand, but after a year and a half of sporadic attendance of church and hanging out with xtian friends-who were no fun at all-I decided it was all a delusion. I couldn't see the point of believing in a diety, who no matter how good I tried to be, might as well zap me with some horrible disease or let me die in some disaster caused by some fucktards of another religion.

 

9/11 was actually the turning point of my questioning Christianity as I stuggled with trying to go to church to make all sense of it. My grandmother and my xtian friends kept on giving me the Hell threat so I was just afraid to think on my own. I considered myself an agnostic, but only told some of my liberal non xtian friends as they accepted people they way they are. Then around a year and a half later my uncle died, and I discovered the kids of a friend of mine were not "healed" by the church I went to ( they came out of the remission of thier disease after all) I went full blown atheist.

[hereticzero]

9-11 was also a turning point day for me. I still have difficulty watching the film clips from that day. I was taking my kid to the bus stop for school when the first plane hit the first tower. I had just seen a clip of news from NY so I knew it was a clear day and I could not understand how a jet crashed into the WTC. I remembered years before when a plane ran into the Umpire State building, around 1960 something. I thought it was just another nut not watching where he was going and then about that time the second jet hit just after I got back to the house and then I realized we were under attack from something. Then the news started coming in about the hijacked airlines and everything hit the fan that day! Definitely a day I won't forget. I'll never forget the people praying for help, pleading on the phones and only humans there to help them. A horrific incident and no god caring enough to make slightest effort to rescue anyone. People miraculously survived because they took their own rescue into their own hands and in the process they also in turn helped save many others. God does not get credit and does not deserve credit for anyone's rescue on 9-11. I lost whatever hope I held that miracles did exist somewhere. The day showed me the illusion of faith without reason and expectation.

 

Then Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson began to blame everyone for the bombings except terrorists. That was what finally peeled away any illusions I had about Christifascism.