Guest Moljinir Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I don't go to church anymore. I refuse to read the Bible because it makes no sense. I don't ask forgiveness when I screw up (well to those around me I do but not to "the big man in the sky"). I don't claim Christianity anymore. I don't pray, but I just can't bring myself to say Jesus isn't real. I can't "deny" him with words or thoughts so to speak. I am sort of denying it by the former things that I just said that I do no more but that is where I am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'd say nothing is wrong with you. Kind of depends on how long you've been out of the fold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think this feeling is very typical for new Excers. It does eventually get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 You are perfectly normal. It took me awhile to get over the god fearing and hell part of it all. One day will come when you won't even recognize it and you will say to yourself, "wow, i don't believe it anymore". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted February 5, 2009 Super Moderator Share Posted February 5, 2009 I agree with everyone else. You'll get there, just hang in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 You don't have to say he's not real. Live your life well; believe what you want; be a good friend/neighbor/whatever. Lifestyle changes take some getting used to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prysm Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 You could just blaspheme the holy spirit and then it won't matter! It's permanent so you can rest easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 The perceptions will ease with time. Just stay the hell away from any church you see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Gotta agree with everyone else. I didn't deny old "jesus" right out of the gate either (I even tried to find ways to work out some new belief system to incorporate him). Don't rush it. You'll figure out what works for you. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Instead of using the word "deny" it might be easier just to say you're skeptical of Jesus' existance. If your being told to believe in an invisible man with magical powers who can't talk, who in their right mind wouldn't be at least a little skeptical? I sometimes think people shy away from the word "deny" because they associate it with mockery or other very "sinful" behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightflight Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I've been out for 13 years and I still struggle with guilt and fear. Try reading more skeptical material, that may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therunner Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've been out for 13 years and I still struggle with guilt and fear. Try reading more skeptical material, that may help. And it's a shame that we should live in guilt and fear. I wonder if there are reparations due to me for the mental ass raping I got from the church? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've been out for 13 years and I still struggle with guilt and fear. Try reading more skeptical material, that may help. And it's a shame that we should live in guilt and fear. I wonder if there are reparations due to me for the mental ass raping I got from the church? If it wasn't physical sexual rape, I think you'd be hard-pressed to win a case in court. Unless you've got money. Lots of it. Maybe you're not serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therunner Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've been out for 13 years and I still struggle with guilt and fear. Try reading more skeptical material, that may help. And it's a shame that we should live in guilt and fear. I wonder if there are reparations due to me for the mental ass raping I got from the church? If it wasn't physical sexual rape, I think you'd be hard-pressed to win a case in court. Unless you've got money. Lots of it. Maybe you're not serious. Sorry, I forget that you can't read inflection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've been out for 13 years and I still struggle with guilt and fear. Try reading more skeptical material, that may help. And it's a shame that we should live in guilt and fear. I wonder if there are reparations due to me for the mental ass raping I got from the church? If it wasn't physical sexual rape, I think you'd be hard-pressed to win a case in court. Unless you've got money. Lots of it. Maybe you're not serious. Actually...I've seriously considered suing my former church and/or the PAOC... I doubt it would go anywhere, but I have considered it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Actually...I've seriously considered suing my former church and/or the PAOC... I doubt it would go anywhere, but I have considered it... Yeah, such lawsuits aren't likely to go anywhere at this time, due to general public perception that churches can do no evil and what they say is true, and such lawsuit hinges on the idea that Jesus doesn't exist. Perhaps at some future date... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendredie Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I suffer from guilt and fear too, though mostly during thunderstorms. The rest of the time I'm fine. I've been out for almost 3 years now, since the summer of 2006. Which was a few months after my neighbor's house got pwned by lightning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevOxley_501 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I don't go to church anymore. I refuse to read the Bible because it makes no sense. I don't ask forgiveness when I screw up (well to those around me I do but not to "the big man in the sky"). I don't claim Christianity anymore. I don't pray, but I just can't bring myself to say Jesus isn't real. I can't "deny" him with words or thoughts so to speak. I am sort of denying it by the former things that I just said that I do no more but that is where I am! im still working on my blasphemy skills...it takes time to let go of all the fear that is inevitably ingrained into your very being...so give it time, be patient...and start with words like Goddamn and stuff like that...then work your way on to Jesus H christ and stuff... good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Hang in there. I can't go near a church. I'm still too angry and bitter about all the time i wasted and how stupid and delusional all those people are. And those are the people that I used to respect. Now they are just looney to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I don't go to church anymore. I refuse to read the Bible because it makes no sense. I don't ask forgiveness when I screw up (well to those around me I do but not to "the big man in the sky"). I don't claim Christianity anymore. I don't pray, but I just can't bring myself to say Jesus isn't real. I can't "deny" him with words or thoughts so to speak. I am sort of denying it by the former things that I just said that I do no more but that is where I am! It sounds to me like a completely normal response. Historical evidence would confirm that you simply cannot deny what is true, that Jesus did exist and is real. So, you may want to go back and reexamine that evidence and follow it where it leads. If you don't want to start with the Bible, go to sources outside of the Bible, most of whom were not even Christians: Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, the Jewish Talmud, and Lucian would give you a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendredie Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I don't go to church anymore. I refuse to read the Bible because it makes no sense. I don't ask forgiveness when I screw up (well to those around me I do but not to "the big man in the sky"). I don't claim Christianity anymore. I don't pray, but I just can't bring myself to say Jesus isn't real. I can't "deny" him with words or thoughts so to speak. I am sort of denying it by the former things that I just said that I do no more but that is where I am! It sounds to me like a completely normal response. Historical evidence would confirm that you simply cannot deny what is true, that Jesus did exist and is real. So, you may want to go back and reexamine that evidence and follow it where it leads. If you don't want to start with the Bible, go to sources outside of the Bible, most of whom were not even Christians: Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, the Jewish Talmud, and Lucian would give you a good start. So what about the Nicene Creed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 So what about the Nicene Creed? The Nicene Creed is a different sort of statement. It is a statement that refines and defines proper belief in the face of heretical thinking and teaching. However, given that it came about in 325 A.D. we wouldn't put it in the same category as the sources that I mentioned date witihin the first two centuries and are in the nature of historical accounts. I am not if you had a more specific question that you wanted to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I don't go to church anymore. I refuse to read the Bible because it makes no sense. I don't ask forgiveness when I screw up (well to those around me I do but not to "the big man in the sky"). I don't claim Christianity anymore. I don't pray, but I just can't bring myself to say Jesus isn't real. I can't "deny" him with words or thoughts so to speak. I am sort of denying it by the former things that I just said that I do no more but that is where I am! It sounds to me like a completely normal response. Historical evidence would confirm that you simply cannot deny what is true, that Jesus did exist and is real. So, you may want to go back and reexamine that evidence and follow it where it leads. If you don't want to start with the Bible, go to sources outside of the Bible, most of whom were not even Christians: Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, the Jewish Talmud, and Lucian would give you a good start. You're confusing truth with unhealthy addiction, which is what Christianity is. It's like a drug and it messes with you. The evidence shows that over time, feelings of guilt and fear subside. It takes time, just as it takes time for a drug addict to completely overcome their addiction. There is a withdrawzl process, but once you get through it, you're fine. The fact that there are people here on this thread testifiying to the fact they no longer have feelings of fear or guilt is proof that Jesus existance is not "truth". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I'd say nothing is wrong with you. Kind of depends on how long you've been out of the fold. I agree. I've been out for just under 1.5 years. For about the first half of it, I wouldn't dare say nary a nasty word about Jesus. I would steer around it by a country mile. Nowadays I have no problem saying things like "I told Jesus to kiss my ass" or "Jesus can suck my dick." However, I haven't gone so far as to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Either I see no symbolic need to do so, or I'm too chickenshit. I guess as a committed agnostic I'm hedging my bets. Oh, and who's this LNC guy? I dislike him already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sueeze Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Hey - I've always been a non-believer so think of it my way. I've never doubted that Jesus was real. I mean - I believe the Bible WAS written with actual events (unless it was quite a vivid imagination). People were savages and uncivilized in those days. There were probably many people who stood up and went against the grain and for that they were slaughtered. Sometimes I'm not all that sure that I can say 'we've come a long way' but I can say that at least we ACT like we have ... lol. AND ... at least we think we have freedom of speech! But I do understand what you're trying to say. What you are having a hard time about is believing that he was human - just as we all are - and not the son of God. And you are probably worrying that if you do believe that, you will be a traitor. Believing is just that - either you do or you don't, but the most important thing is that you don't allow whatever you do or don't believe dictate your life in any derogatory way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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