Guest yolanda Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 About a month ago, I joined a southern Baptist church due to the fear of hell. After that short experience in the Baptist church, I can say I really know who I am and where I belong. Now I want my name off the roster, after only a month. I've started attending a Unitarian Universalist church, where the whole me is accepted. So in this case, I'm thinking about just leaving without saying anything, and eventually they'll take me off their list. But I know I'm bound to get phone calls from some of the members. So should I just email the pastor and be done with it? It's amazing how emotionally appealing Christianity can be, if you let it. Now that I know this, I'm determined to follow my own intuition, not fear. I'm sure others have oscillated back and forth between the fear cult and real life. So how do you deal with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Just email him or contact him and tell him just that you joined another church that fits you better. You don't have any reason or duty to tell him why or to where you have gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 So how do you deal with that? I have never been sucked into a morontheist coven in my life, so I can only give theoretical advice... but as I see it, whatever you do prepare to get harrassed by the braindead jebus zombies. If they know your phone number, prepare for terror calls. If they know your address (BIG shit!), prepare for visits. Not necessarily violent visits, mind you, but drop-ins that will piss you off. Such is the way of the cult. If you're a hardhead, you can of course just stick it to them. "Yeah I go elsewhere, you're all morons". If you don't want the confrontation (right now), tell them you decided to join another church - which ain't totally wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I want to hear the story of how you went from a SouB to an atheist in a month. Got a testimony posted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 He's only a Chrsitian Atheist... Unitarian isn't 'atheist' across the board... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonolithTMA Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I was raised in one church, and to this day it is the only church I have ever been on the roster of. My parents still get mailings from them from time to time. I never joined another church because I never, ever found one that I 100% agreed with. It was not, however, a Southern Baptist church, but Presbyterian U.S.A., so those mailings are likely the only contact I will ever have with them, aside from weddings and funerals. My parents both grew up Baptist, and were never harassed for switching denominations. Hopefully they will leave you alone. I wouldn't mention the Unitarian Universalist church though, that's one denomination that a lot of Southern Baptists might actually hate more than Roman Catholicism! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knitterman Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 About a month ago, I joined a southern Baptist church due to the fear of hell. After that short experience in the Baptist church, I can say I really know who I am and where I belong. Now I want my name off the roster, after only a month. I've started Back when I was a minister, I didn't harass people who chose to stop attending. I might give a phone call to ask if everyone was okay, but not a lot of pressure to make them show up at my church if they were attending elsewhere. If there was a specific request to be removed from the roster, I didn't pursue the issue. Usually my inquiries were for people who just simply stopped showing up, or their attendance was gradually more spotty. Given the more volatile environment in today's churches, however, I'd say, the LESS info you provide, the better off you are. Don't go into long explanations. The earlier post was good: just indicate you've found a place of worship more suited to your needs, and you'd like to be removed from the SoBapt church roster. And then leave it alone. No explanations and definitely no apologies of any sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I would say fuck you and the horse you rode in on. What I do is my business, and if my immortal soul (giggle) needs any help, I'll call you. BTW, love the siggy, Knitterman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I want to hear the story of how you went from a SouB to an atheist in a month. I think the answer to your question may be found in yolanda's avatar. Yolanda joined exC on Jan. 9, 2007. According to the OP, yolanda then did a stint in the SB for a month a year later, due to fears of hell--probably after deconversion, given that membership here dates to well over a year ago. Residual fears of hell are so common that this is nothing out of the ordinary. Technically, I went from horse and buggy Mennonite to modern Mennonite to non-church-going atheist inside one month, too, last spring. It's just a last-fling some of us need to do to figure out where we belong. That's how I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I tried to recommit in Sept. 2007, but I left again by Dec. 21, 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonolithTMA Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I tried to recommit in Sept. 2007, but I left again by Dec. 21, 2007. I have no idea what my path will be, but as Christian I had been so inactive (I'm not an incredibly social person anyway, and I'm definitely not a joiner!) that I can't imagine myself going back. If I did recommit it would be totally private. That is, unless I decide to come out in my deconversion to all my friends and family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yolanda Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I want to hear the story of how you went from a SouB to an atheist in a month. I think the answer to your question may be found in yolanda's avatar. Yolanda joined exC on Jan. 9, 2007. According to the OP, yolanda then did a stint in the SB for a month a year later, due to fears of hell--probably after deconversion, given that membership here dates to well over a year ago. Residual fears of hell are so common that this is nothing out of the ordinary. Technically, I went from horse and buggy Mennonite to modern Mennonite to non-church-going atheist inside one month, too, last spring. It's just a last-fling some of us need to do to figure out where we belong. That's how I see it. RubySera, you hit the nail on the head. After deconverting, the question went through my mind, what if the fundies are right after all is said and done? In addition to the fear of hell, I have a cousin who is a hard-core Calvinist. She is also an assistant minister at a Baptist church. When she talks to me, it's like I have no leg to stand on. She is overly confident in her assertions, which makes it hard to have a thoughtful conversation with her. But strange as it seems, there's something about the way she speaks that would make you think your world is caving in on you. So over a year ago, she asked me what church I was going to. I told her the UU church. She said, "You will not go there." I sheepishly said, "ok." So I spent most of 2007 going to a house-church on Thursday nights, kind of like a middle-way between organized religion and emergent religion. I was somewhat comfortable there, but I didn't want to sing along with the group. After trying to settle back into xianity, I unwittingly limited myself. My work options, dating options, etc. So I thought, well the only thing I can do is missions. I didn't really want to do missions. But when you're in the xtian cult, there is no horizon. There's not much you can do in the world as a Christian if you take the religion seriously. When I joined the SB church, I joined fully aware of the racist and sexist attitudes that were present. I was one of four black people at this church. There were two young black boys that came to the church every Sunday, but they were not really members; they were invited there so they wouldn't be on the streets. The long-standing church members paid little attention to the real needs of those boys; they just allowed them to come and hang out. This church does not accept people for the complex beings we are. Either you accept the Calvinist, pre-trib rapture, original sin, puritan philosophy, or you don't belong. I attended a new member information session at the UU church today. I find that my whole person is accepted. There was no pressure to place membership. In fact, I discovered that some people who go to the UU church are heavily involved, but they're not on the membership roll. I also sent an email to the SB church requesting that my membership be canceled. I'm beginning to know and feel the vast difference between a religious life and a real life. Now I can do what I always wanted to do with my life, because there's no fear of hell attached to it. I can wear what I want, work where I want, date who I want. I just needed to know for sure that religion was the meme I formerly suspected it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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