Im A Christian Again

[Guest Justyna]

Another off-the-wall question:

 

What do you think of Mother Teresa? I looked up some of her missions and I was impressed. I read some of the things she wrote and they were just breath-taking indeed. Surely she had a close relationship with HIm and lived it. Would you call her a liar, or dilusional?

[Guest Valk0010]

 

The point is that she brings glory to God through her disability. I think He is greatly pleased with her and loves her dearly! I really dont know why He let her be born the way she was or why some are blind etc..but I know that He always has a reason. I dont think He just does things for the sake of doing them. The hardest part is when we dont understand His reasoning..thats when it gets tricky and our faith is put to the test.

We don't understand his reasons....isn't that a logic fallacy called appeal to ignorance.

 

Here is why, you were taught that answer. When those said peasants, where trying to develop a answer, they didn't have all the answers, and couldn't the ever growing questions, so they appealed to, the nature of there explaination(God) and what was originally ever growing unanswered questions, became answered in there development of the ideas of (God is beyond our ways) and (faith).

 

Btw, a allpowerful, benevolent, all knowing, all seeing, being, somehow needs glory, he supposed created everything what more does he need?

 

If we truely lived in a theistic world, then we would be in the world of the bible, with miracles etc. But guess what we live in reality, so to bad.

[Guest Valk0010]

Another off-the-wall question:

 

What do you think of Mother Teresa? I looked up some of her missions and I was impressed. I read some of the things she wrote and they were just breath-taking indeed. Surely she had a close relationship with HIm and lived it.

[OnceConvinced]

Another off-the-wall question:

 

What do you think of Mother Teresa? I looked up some of her missions and I was impressed. I read some of the things she wrote and they were just breath-taking indeed. Surely she had a close relationship with HIm and lived it. Would you call her a liar, or dilusional?

 

why shouldn't she be considered delusional? If anything, she is one of the most delusional.

 

But did you know about the later years of her life? She had serious doubts about God. I was referred to a source a while back about that. She herself in her own words talked about her own serious lack of faith. So if a woman like her doubted so much, that's very telling.

[Michael]

Another off-the-wall question:

 

What do you think of Mother Teresa? I looked up some of her missions and I was impressed. I read some of the things she wrote and they were just breath-taking indeed. Surely she had a close relationship with HIm and lived it. Would you call her a liar, or dilusional?

 

Here you can find an article about her faith and her doubts.

 

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415,00.html

 

Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love — and now become as the most hated one — the one — You have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer — no One on Whom I can cling — no, No One. — Alone ... Where is my Faith — even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness — My God — how painful is this unknown pain — I have no Faith — I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart — & make me suffer untold agony.

 

So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them — because of the blasphemy — If there be God — please forgive me — When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

[Guest Justyna]

OnceConvinced,

 

I did not read about her latter years..mostly the earlier stuff. If she was in fact doubting her faith, what that tells me as a Christian now is to dig your heels really really really deep into the ground and refuse to ever go any other way but His way because if the elect can doubt and fall away (I dont know if she fell away or not) but so can I! It also tells met that that narrow gate to Heaven is much much more narrow than I ever thought, and I better make certain that my faith and my walk is spot on with Him. I got a lot of work to do and I do pray that He would help me.

 

ETA: I also think that the enemy had something to do with it. I mean she was considered a modern day saint. Although I do not agree with making her into some idol..think about it. If soooo many people look up to her, then Satan is going to target her and try to bring her down. If he can get her to start questioning Jesus then surely he can get many many others to question their own faith too since she is a leader and many looked up to her.

[Adelice]

Ive often wondered why God doesnt just wipe us ALL out and distory the planets, earth and sky and just sort of move on from us altogether. I mean we as humans are impossible sometimes. We whine, complain, bicker, call Him a liar and a fake, worship other gods, and on and on and on. I mean why doesnt He just say "Ok! Enough! Ive had it with these people!" And just sort of move on or create a "people" that will worship Him and obey Him and not give Him grief as we often times do. I wish I knew His mind more

 

And so this is the moment when i quietly sneak on all the convo and leave this over heeeere ...

 

 

Yes there do is an movie about that ... i suppose theres MILLION of them but well , it fits the idea. It probably will bother or make in blissful joyness any christian but well , whatever.

 

By the way here is the review : God loses faith in mankind and orders Angel Michael in addition to a legion of other angels to bring the Apocalypse to Earth and exterminate the human race. However, Michael rebels against the order and decides to help the humans.Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner with the Archangel Michael (Bettany).

[Vixentrox]

Another off-the-wall question:

 

What do you think of Mother Teresa? I looked up some of her missions and I was impressed. I read some of the things she wrote and they were just breath-taking indeed. Surely she had a close relationship with HIm and lived it. Would you call her a liar, or dilusional?

She was an evil and mean woman. Perhaps you should read about her sometime from some of the people that had to deal with her vileness.

[OnceConvinced]

OnceConvinced,

 

I did not read about her latter years..mostly the earlier stuff. If she was in fact doubting her faith, what that tells me as a Christian now is to dig your heels really really really deep into the ground and refuse to ever go any other way but His way because if the elect can doubt and fall away (I dont know if she fell away or not) but so can I! It also tells met that that narrow gate to Heaven is much much more narrow than I ever thought, and I better make certain that my faith and my walk is spot on with Him. I got a lot of work to do and I do pray that He would help me.

 

ETA: I also think that the enemy had something to do with it. I mean she was considered a modern day saint. Although I do not agree with making her into some idol..think about it. If soooo many people look up to her, then Satan is going to target her and try to bring her down. If he can get her to start questioning Jesus then surely he can get many many others to question their own faith too since she is a leader and many looked up to her.

 

Seems to me you were trying to use Mother Theresa as evidence of God's existance. But all it shows me is that God doesn't exist if a woman as faithful and inspiring as her can have such terrible doubts. In fact if we go by your benchmark, she can't have been in a relationship with God at all.

 

It's the same with the 12 desciples. They were also so unfaithful. You'd think that having rubbed shoulders with the son of God they'd be the most faithful of all, but no, you had a doubter, a denier and even a betrayer. Very damning evidence that Jesus was not all he was cracked up to be.

 

ETA: I also think that the enemy had something to do with it. I mean she was considered a modern day saint. Although I do not agree with making her into some idol..think about it. If soooo many people look up to her, then Satan is going to target her and try to bring her down. If he can get her to start questioning Jesus then surely he can get many many others to question their own faith too since she is a leader and many looked up to her.

 

What it shows me is that Mother Theresa had the ability to reason. She could think for herself. It shows me that she had started to see through all the bullshit and was starting to see reality for what it is. What you see as Satan is really just rational thought.

[Guest Justyna]

But in all seriousness..I know people here dont understand how such a loving God can send people to hell right? But He is not sending you to hell. Not at all. He said that if you believe in Jesus you will have everlasting life. Now I know some here have said that they CANNOT believe in Him again..okay I really dont want to get into another whirlwind discussion on how you CAN CHOOSE HIM...but cant you all just stir yourselfs up in the Spirit and believe again? I mean seriously you guys acts like you are not in control of your own thoughts, actions and behaviors when in reality you are. You love to talk about theories and concepts of how you can think freely and accept that..so think freely and choose Christ even now.

 

I cant remember in what Psalm it was that King David fell away from God when he murdered and commited adultery etc....well we know how depressed he was and how he himself had to stir himself up again. He also went through a dark time (Similar to Mother Teresa). Its not uncommon. King David sang praised to God even when he didnt want to..he "got back on the horse again" so to speak. When you guys were Christians you probably made vows to God that you would serve Him and love Him for the rest of your life. Where are those vows now? In the gutter? Just get fired up again! Start somewhere. Start by reading one verse a day and praising Him for what He has done for you. Start now..plant that seed..it will grow. Its not too late. Its never too late. If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Take a baby step. You wont feel anything, but it will be something in the right direction. Then the ball will start rolling again. This is a hard walk..I know, believe me. But dont get discouraged. You only have one life to live..make it count and go the way that you know deep deep deep deep in your heart is right. Do you give up on your marriage just because the other person is not doing what you thought they would do? NO! Of course not...you work on it. I encourage you to try again. This time could be different...you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We are in a battle for your soul. Stir yourselfs up, even if you dont feel like it. Its like exercise..I really dont like to exercise but I do it anyway because I know that it brings life to my body and mind. Of course we are talking about your soul and not just your body that will pass away. Give Him another chance..better yet give yourself another chance at LIFE. So you fell off and bumped your head..so did I and so have countless other people. Again we are in a battle here, and its a tough one. Many are falling away, but you are still alive you have a chance still to get it right. Remember the prize....remember that the enemy is decitful and will do anything to stop you..and he has. You are weak, you are tired, but you can pick yourself up..call on God and He will help you to keep going. Finish the race strong. No one is going to care in Heaven that you were an ex-Christian for a X amount of years. What we will be celebrating is that you got back up, dusted yourself off dispite the various wrongs that were commited against you, and you got going till you finished the race. Dont be quitters. Quitters are losers..quitters couldnt take it anymore when the going got tough...they chickend out because it got a little hard for them. Choose right now that you are going to overcome your doubt. Just shake off the old, and shake off the darkness.

[Vigile]

But in all seriousness..I know people here dont understand how such a loving God can send people to hell right? But He is not sending you to hell. Not at all. He said that if you believe in Jesus you will have everlasting life

 

You really are seriously logically challenged. You also chose to ignore my post regarding kissing Hank's ass.

 

God created hell, he knows the future (supposedly) so he knows who will go there before they are even born, and the salvation story is nothing more than extortion: believe in me and accept my plan or I'll torture you for eternity.

 

You are talking to us like we are children who have never heard xian apologetics before. My guess is this is because you think like a child so you think everyone else must as well.

 

As far as we're concerned you're just another crazy nutter trying to convince us Santa Clause is real and that he knows if you are naughty or nice. I know you think there is power behind the gospel. I assure you there is not. In addition, I think you are just a coward who is afraid to ask tough questions. That, and the ability to reason is what separates those of us here from you and your ilk.

 

Anyway, like my other posts, you are sure to ignore this one too since I'm not playing your by your rules.

[Guest Justyna]

Final thought tongiht because I can see that I am super tired and had like 10+ typos in the last post that I had to go back and edit.

 

 

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus. Some have claimed that they had their lives changed by Him and knew Him personally. Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit? Dont you want to be on His side..the winning side? Dont you want to fullfill your destiny and purpose? I challenge each and everyone of you that come into this thread and comment (and those lurking too)to finish what you started with Him. You do not overcome your doubts of whether He is real by trying to get the answers you want to hear. You overcome your doubts by prayer and by surrendering them to Him and asking Him to take away your doubts and for Him to make it easier for you to believe in HIm again by building a bridge that leads to Him.

[lunaticheathen]

Ive often wondered why God doesnt just wipe us ALL out and distory the planets, earth and sky and just sort of move on from us altogether. I mean we as humans are impossible sometimes. We whine, complain, bicker, call Him a liar and a fake, worship other gods, and on and on and on. I mean why doesnt He just say "Ok! Enough! Ive had it with these people!" And just sort of move on or create a "people" that will worship Him and obey Him and not give Him grief as we often times do. I wish I knew His mind more

 

And this is why you suck at human relations. Supposing your all-knowing god made us, he could have made us BETTER. And don't give me that free will shit, if he KNOWS people will turn from him, he made us to fail.

 

But really, his own book does more to damn him that anyone here ever could. He's a SELF ADMITTED liar and murderer.

 

And yes, I worship other gods. Is that a fucking problem? They're nicer than Abraham's psycho, who seems obsessed with little babies' foreskins. Talk about creepy.

 

And if this is all "god's plan" to make me "lost" and bring me back somehow, he can kiss my fat ass right now. My own parents wouldn't play such stupid head games with me, why should I not hold this god to a higher standard?

 

It's either my fault or his, and either way, he's SUPPOSED to have infinite mercy. Hell is the OPPOSITE.

 

Fuck you and your god.

[lunaticheathen]

Final thought tongiht because I can see that I am super tired and had like 10+ typos in the last post that I had to go back and edit.

 

 

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus. Some have claimed that they had their lives changed by Him and knew Him personally. Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit? Dont you want to be on His side..the winning side? Dont you want to fullfill your destiny and purpose? I challenge each and everyone of you that come into this thread and comment (and those lurking too)to finish what you started with Him. You do not overcome your doubts of whether He is real by trying to get the answers you want to hear. You overcome your doubts by prayer and by surrendering them to Him and asking Him to take away your doubts and for Him to make it easier for you to believe in HIm again by building a bridge that leads to Him.

 

You can kiss my ass too. The "winning" side isn't always the RIGHT side. I prefer to hold myself to a higher moral standard than to grovel to a murderer who threatens torture. I don't respond well to threats, bitch.

[Adelice]

Ok I admit , i have readed on every single post on all this and i gotta said ... i never felt more annoyed in my entire life. Alright , so your little brain thinks all you say is true? well guess what - WRONG! Fine; might no one here have the guts to tell you that most of the 99% of the things that come out of your mouth is garbage , but i will.

 

Now excuse me , personally i accept everyone and everything mostly likely respecting on religion , thats what you believe? good , yet , you coming here , making those ideas and saying like an parrot so much garbage your mouth doesnt even end to stop and see what other crap came out of it , now that do is a sin there.

 

No we dont like being talked that way , no one would , but i do accept it , i do have the courage to accept you could be wrong just has anyone else , want facts? theres million of them , when an religion gets in between the freedom of an person now thats dangerous there.

 

Wanna know why the world is what it is? Is because that dangerous and poisonous way to think you have , you just make everyone feel like they dont have rights , like theyre worthless, like they cant fight for themselfs. You arent helping here your making things worse ... much worse. All i see specially coming out of christians is that endless hole of negativity on themselfs , they think theyre nothing , they dont deserve to live , they are nothing withow god , thats so not true!!!

 

Yes theres poverty , theres hunger on the world , why? religion , easy has that. Some people dont even study , or know how to read , they dont even try to gain knowledge , they live like lambs , like sheeps , they lick the toes of christianity to see what they can reach , they dont FIGHT! and yes we have to fight , to survive , to live , to enjoy , nothing is free in this universe , sad but true.

 

People in the world dont see that , they dont see the reason they are so sad and poor is because they never had an proper way to live , they never learned even the ABC! yet they know all the bible fully! AND YET THEY HAVE ZERO RESPECT FOR THEMSELFS! the fact that you will answer " oh is ok theyre gonna die and go with god anyway " is an really empty , disgusting and much less than what an actual serial killer would say , your total nihilism on life have destroyed us ALL.

 

So yeah , i dont mind telling you this shit on your face because YOU SHOULD KNOW IT because KNOWLEDGE IS POWER , thats why christianity is so strong , they have million of books , art , money , all the knowledge saved for themselfs and they control it , they control it for you , you little lamb who will only suck on theyre lies , you will forget how to live , thats what they expect you to do so.

 

We do need less god on schools! WE NEED LESS JESUS , GOD , ALL OF THEM ON SOCIETY! they are nothing more than snakes , TOTAL POISON! We dont have strenght to fight anymore! we dont have strenght to think for outselfs , to be free! TO TRULY HAVE AN DECENT LIFE , WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS WE ALL HAVE TO SUFFER! WE DONT! NO ONE SHOULD! we all have the ability to make the best of us , to believe on ourself , to drop that idea of low beings , to accept our inner true self.

 

You dont need to give an piece of bread to an poor person , you gotta teach it how to earn it! we need more schools and less churches! Fine call me whatever you want you know what im saying is an TRUTH , AN FACT and that not all the bible verses of the world will deny it , we need to get out of this hole that YOUR religion made and we gotta do it QUICK. Has long has the vatican , and all those big organizations based on your god , control the way we live and try to mess us with us , we will never have actual peace , sorry to break the perfect tale of salvation and what not , but an ideology that teaches so much nihilism and lack of sense for life , is not worth of ANYONES time , no matter how much your hopeful little heart wishes to.

 

YET im not expecting you to change , at all , is not my intention here , im not has low to tell you that , no one should , having an deity to believe on is perfectly fine , has long has your ideas doesnt MESS WITH OTHER PEOPLE LIFES , has once i said , i have never meet an buddhist YET I KNOW THEY EXIST. The only thing youre doing here is bringing negativity to all the people on the world , helping to brainwash them , WE NEED TO FREE FROM THE CHAINS OF CHRISTIANITY FOR ONCE AND ALL , YOUR PERFECT BEINGS , MADE OF LIGHT , HOPES AND TRUE LOVE , AND DONT EVER DENY IT , the only people who are bad or wrong are the ones who lost faith on THEMSELFS or who were never borned with an little of light on theyre soul , yet im aware there do is people who are total garbage , i dont blame them yet we need to stop all this non sense for all.

 

So yeah thats is what im saying for now , im not gonna say anything else on myself unless is needed but i dont think so , so yeah i said it , i wont kneel to your god or to your weird ideas because is not the right thing to do so , and if im sended to hell because that , then fine i will enjoy it. All i know is that your own weird ideas of " love " doesnt fit on my own ideas of what true love is. Now if you excuse me , i wont waste more pearls on the swines , and neither should you.

[Deva]

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus. Some have claimed that they had their lives changed by Him and knew Him personally. Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit? Dont you want to be on His side..the winning side? Dont you want to fullfill your destiny and purpose? I challenge each and everyone of you that come into this thread and comment (and those lurking too)to finish what you started with Him. You do not overcome your doubts of whether He is real by trying to get the answers you want to hear. You overcome your doubts by prayer and by surrendering them to Him and asking Him to take away your doubts and for Him to make it easier for you to believe in HIm again by building a bridge that leads to Him.

 

You are really suffering from total one dimensional thinking. You seem to be completely unable to consider different possibilities other than the ready-made answers of your own indoctrination.

 

When you are raised in a religion, it is not a question of something attracting you. It is a question of obedience and compliance.

Some of us managed to decorate our cages, too. I wonder who you think you are speaking to?

You only hear what you want to hear and not anyone else. That is very obvious. How in the world do you think we could pray to some imaginary person we don't believe in? Why would we want to? Why don't you go pray to Isis or Zeus and ask them to overcome your doubts?

 

You really are amazing. I am not sure anymore if you are at all serious or just playing on the computer.

[OnceConvinced]

But in all seriousness..I know people here dont understand how such a loving God can send people to hell right? But He is not sending you to hell. Not at all.

 

Well no, it won't be him. He'll be getting his angels to do his dirty work for him:

 

Matthew 13:40-42: "Just as the weeds are separated out and burned, so it will be at the end of the world. I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

He said that if you believe in Jesus you will have everlasting life. Now I know some here have said that they CANNOT believe in Him again..okay I really dont want to get into another whirlwind discussion on how you CAN CHOOSE HIM...but cant you all just stir yourselfs up in the Spirit and believe again?

 

Ahhhh, no, because you can't force yourself to believe in something. That's the whole point. You can't CHOOSE him unless you acknowledge his existance first. You can try to kid yourself, but I'm afraid I just can't do that. I'm the sort of person that needs to be honest with myself and face reality. And I'm sure God would want us to be honest too. He would want sincere belief.

 

Come on, Justyna, you've been challenged with this one before. Can you go back to believing in Santa Claus? No, of course you can't. It's just not possible, because you KNOW Santa is not real. We KNOW that Jesus is not real. We can't go back. We'd need a lobotomy or something. A reprogramming of our brains. Brainwashing perhaps? Perhaps the church can help with that?

 

I mean seriously you guys acts like you are not in control of your own thoughts, actions and behaviors when in reality you are. You love to talk about theories and concepts of how you can think freely and accept that..so think freely and choose Christ even now.

 

For God's bloody sake! Yes, we are in control of our thoughts. We don't have to rely on others to do our thinking like you have shown you do by going to your friends on other websites to get answers that the holy spirit is incapable of imparting ot you or you are incapable of finding yourself. However we cannot control our beliefs. For us to choose Christ we must first believe in him. But we don't!

 

I cant remember in what Psalm but Kind David fell away from God when he murdered and commited adultery etc....well we know how depressed he was and how he himself had to stir himself up again. He also wen through a dark time (Similar to Mother Teresa).

 

I can't speak for others here now but I have long past moved on from the guilt stage. I am now at peace with no longer being a believer. There is no emptiness, and no fear any longer. I am quite happy with where I am in my life when it comes to religion. And that's on the outside, trying to shake those on the inside out of the delusion that I was once in. And by the way, my morals are just as strong now as they were as a Christian. I have no desires to go out and murder like your precious King David.

 

Its not uncommon. Kind David sand praised to God even when he didnt want to..he "got back on the horse again" so to speak. When you guys were Christians you probably made vows to God that you would serve Him and love Him for the rest of your life. Where are those vows now? In the gutter?

 

Yes. Because we discovered that the being we made those vows to was non existant! We realised we'd made those vows to nobody! So why should we feel guilt about throwing them down the gurglar?

 

 

Just get fired up again! Start somewhere. Start by reading one verse a day and praising Him for what He has done for you.

 

Why would I want to waste any more time reading the bible when I spent so many years studying it already? All that study brought me to the conclusion that the bible was not the word of God, but the word of ignorant man. Sorry, but it's not possible for me to go back to believing it's God's word, not when it has proven itself to be otherwise. To me it would be like picking up a Dr Seuss book and accepting it as a true story and then praising the Cat in the Hat for what he's done for me.

 

Start now..plant that seed..it will grow.

 

NO it won't. It never did in the 30 + years I studied it and believed in it. Why should I believe it will now? Have you studied it for 30+ years? When you have, come back and we'll talk again.

 

If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.

Bullshit. I spent 30 + years attempting to draw near to him, but he didn't draw near to me. Have you spent 30+ years drawing near to God? When you have, come back and we'll talk again.

 

Take a baby step. He wont feel anything, but it will be something in the right direction. Then the ball will start rolling again. This is a hard walk..I know, believe me. But dont get discouraged. You only one have one life to live..make it count and go the way that you know deep deep deep deep in your heart is right.

 

What is the matter with you? What is it about the word "ex-Christian" that you don't understand? We have all "been there, done that". We all know abou tit being a hard walk. We are all well experienced with living the Christian life. We have done exactly what you are saying we should do, but it got us nowhere, which is why we are here today as ex-Christians. You are not talking to people who know nothing about Christianity. We were Christians and we lived it! So stop being so condescending and insulting. Get off your high hourse and get real!

 

 

Do you give up on your marriage just because the other person is not doing what you thought they would do? NO! Of course not...you work on it.

 

And if your partner is never there, never talks to you, never has any physical contact with you, are you going to stay in such a relationship? Of course not! A marriage is a two way thing, not a one way thing.

 

All I ever expected from God was to do as he promised in the bible. But he had a habit of not keeping his own promises. Why should I believe in such a God?

 

I encourage you to try again. This time could be different...

 

What makes you so sure? Many of us tried for many years but nothing changed. Why would we waste any further time on it?

 

you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

Once again a crock of shit. I have wasted over 30 years of my life following a non-existant deity. I wasted so much time and missed out on so many experiences all because I chose to try to please a non-existant God. So much time wasted. It's heart breaking. Not only that but I suffered as a result of applying certain biblical principles to my life. I found them to be out of touch and unreliable. If I could live my life over again I would want no part of it.

 

I have no desire to waste any more of my precious and dwindling time on meaningless religion. Life is too short and no there is no eternity to look forward to. That's a fantasy.

 

If I had to follow a religino now it would be Islam. Allah is a demented feind, so it would be safter to kiss his butt, rather than Jesus's. And I'll also get lots of virgins in the afterlife to have wild and kinky sex with. If I'm wrong about Allah, then I'll take that risk. I think Jesus would be more likely to be merciful to me. But I definitely wouldn't want to enrage Allah because he is one psychotic, sadistic son of a bitch (Even more so than the bible God). You have a huge amount to lose if Allah ends up being the one true God. However if Jesus is as loving and forgiving as you claim, then you have more to gain by defying him rather than Allah.

 

We are in a battle for your soul.

No, there is no battle going on for anyone's soul. That is a fantasy. And so is the concept of a soul for that matter.

 

 

. Dont be quitters. Quitters are losers..quitters couldnt take it anymore when the going got tough...they chickend out because it got a little hard for them.

 

Justyna, you gave up on Santa Claus! You are a quitter. And you also let down the easter bunny in a big way. You completely gave up on the tooth fairy. You are a loser!

 

Choose right now that you are going to overcome your doubt.

 

If or one have no doubts anymore. The bible is a crock and the Christian God is non existant.

[Adelice]

Final thought tongiht because I can see that I am super tired and had like 10+ typos in the last post that I had to go back and edit.

 

 

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus. Some have claimed that they had their lives changed by Him and knew Him personally. Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit? Dont you want to be on His side..the winning side? Dont you want to fullfill your destiny and purpose? I challenge each and everyone of you that come into this thread and comment (and those lurking too)to finish what you started with Him. You do not overcome your doubts of whether He is real by trying to get the answers you want to hear. You overcome your doubts by prayer and by surrendering them to Him and asking Him to take away your doubts and for Him to make it easier for you to believe in HIm again by building a bridge that leads to Him.

 

Winning side? - This is all you won , and personally , i dont need that garbage:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally but not less important:

 

 

You call ALL those things above , WINNING?

[Vigile]

something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus

 

Like you, it was drilled into my head since childhood. I don't know your whole story, but I wasn't given a choice. I was indoctrinated.

 

Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit?

 

He's not real, but the character is a dick. I'm thrilled to be shed of that monster.

 

I challenge each and everyone of you

 

You're what? 28? With all that life experience you challenge us? That makes me smile.

 

Ok fine, I'll return the favor. I challenge you to self improvement. Read a book on logic and critical thinking. Just don't get it at the xian bookstore.

[Rev R]

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus.

 

Most people have probably tried McDonald's as well. Is it because the place has a reputation for excellent food? No. It's because the joints are everywhere. Christianity is the McDonald's of religion in the West, it's convenient, but it isn't healthy or sustaining.

 

You should ask yourself (and take a long time to contemplate this), "Did I return to Christianity because it's true, or because it's easier for me to find a comfort zone in my relationships?" I'd be willing to be that you couldn't stomach being the outcast because it was a lonely existence. If you just convinced yourself to believe again, you could return to the community and to a comfortable pattern of conditioned behaviour.

 

That your reconversion was placed in the Den is also very telling. It's all about attention isn't it.

[OnceConvinced]

So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus.

 

I was indoctronated from birth. I was given no other choice but to believe. There were no other options given, but Jesus. If I hadn't been indoctronated, I believe I would have been smart enough not to fall for the Christian BS later in life. It would have just been like Hare Kirshna or the Moonies to me. Nevertheless as a teeanger, I was completely hooked into the delusion.

 

 

Dont you just miss Him just a tiny tid bit?

 

I miss the church. I miss the social life, I miss the activities. I miss the respect. I miss the worship, I miss the inspiring sermons. There's a lot of things I miss about it. But hey, I also miss Santa Claus too. I mess going to bed on Christmas Eve excited about waking up in morning to find a stocking of toys and sweets at the foot of my bed. It's all so cool when you're a kid.

 

The thing is I have been back to church (I go with my parents sometimes when I visit them), but can just not take any of it seriously anymore. I now see it all for what it really is. A lot of deluded people involved in a lot of Religious BS. I could never go back to that life as much as I may want to, because I could never ever take it seriously again

 

Dont you want to be on His side..the winning side?

 

I see no evidence of it being a winning side. In fact the evidence points to it being a losing side. In the States Christianity may be growing, but everywhere else that's not the case. My country (New Zealand) is becoming more and more atheist all the time. I understand European countries are much the same. In fact from what I'm hearing Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, which then must mean they're the winning team.

 

 

Dont you want to fullfill your destiny and purpose?

I have destiny and purpose in my life. I don't need God to provide that for me. As for fulfilling it, that's up to us. One thing's for sure I see little evidence of Christians fulfilling their destiny and purpose.

 

 

I challenge each and everyone of you that come into this thread and comment (and those lurking too)to finish what you started with Him.

 

I challenge you to finish what you started in your attempt to break free from the Christian delusion last year. You are like the smoker who attempted to give up smoking and failed. I challenge you to try again with breaking free from your delusion and escaping the damaging nicotine that is Christianity. You too can have freedom from religious indoctronation. You can learn to think for yourself. You can create your own purpose in life. You no longer have to live in fear of a malevolent genocidal deity. Yes, it's much better once you've got through that difficult withdrawel period that you never got through before.

 

You do not overcome your doubts of whether He is real by trying to get the answers you want to hear.

 

I for one do not have any doubts about the falseness of Christianity. Nor do I look for specific answers. I just look for answers and I go with what makes the most sense. And studying the bible certainly helped. Read it for yourself, study it for yourself and you'll soon beome an ex-Christian just like us. And that will show your strength as a human being.

You overcome your doubts by prayer and by surrendering them to Him and asking Him to take away your doubts and for Him to make it easier for you to believe in HIm again by building a bridge that leads to Him.

 

I can attest to the fact that this is not true. My doubts were never overcome by prayer and surrendering to him. My doubts were overcome by a lot of soul searching and hunting for answers.

[bdp]

I'm done with this thread and person.

[lunaticheathen]

Most people here were Christians at one point in their life. (There are some that are from other religions etc). So at one point, something attracted you to Him...something sparked your interest to Jesus.

 

Most people have probably tried McDonald's as well. Is it because the place has a reputation for excellent food? No. It's because the joints are everywhere. Christianity is the McDonald's of religion in the West, it's convenient, but it isn't healthy or sustaining.

 

You should ask yourself (and take a long time to contemplate this), "Did I return to Christianity because it's true, or because it's easier for me to find a comfort zone in my relationships?" I'd be willing to be that you couldn't stomach being the outcast because it was a lonely existence. If you just convinced yourself to believe again, you could return to the community and to a comfortable pattern of conditioned behaviour.

 

That your reconversion was placed in the Den is also very telling. It's all about attention isn't it.

 

I completely agree with this assessment. I especially love the comparison of christianity to McPuke's.

I ate there when I was a small child - then I grew taste buds and never went back. I tried to stick with christianity, but it made me sick in my soul.

The parallel is astounding, really.

[Antlerman]

Well as far as actually hearing Gods audible voice, this is true. I am not the only Christian who does so either. I have friends who are just like me and we get together and share what God is telling us and teaching us at the moment.

 

<snip>

 

Today I was driving down the freeway and my car started to pull to the left, then pull to the right. It help doing that and I had to drive 30 minutes to go somewhere, do what I needed to do, then drive 30 minutes back home again. I know that it is not the alignment because I just had new tires put on and so they do that for you automatically. I told a friend about this earlier this week as I noticed that the car was doing that from time to time. He said it is something else....starts with a "s." Well I dont know what he is talking about because I dont speak car-talk. Anyway...today while it was doing that God spoke to me really clearly. He said that this is how life is and that this is how its going to be in my life. That people and things are going to come my way and are going to be pulling me to the left and to the right and all over the place...these things can include family, friends, studies, new theories and doctrines etc.....but He said that I must stay the course and not weavier to the left nor to the right, and to basically resist that pulling. We are faced everyday with options and choices and it is up to us to not pull away and to stay the course. I got that. I told Him yeah I want to stay the course and not go back to my old ways but that I would need His help.

Thanks for the insight into all this. First, I believe it's the sway bar in your car you are referring to. You should get that repaired.

 

Now as far as the voices and God talking to you like this and your friends and whatnot. I'm not necessarily going to say you have a mental illness, unless you are exhibiting other functional disorders. But I will say what is more likely is this is something you've learned to do for yourself that comes from your subconscious mind. "God" talks to you, meaning you interpret and translate the world around you in an 'impression' sort of way and give yourself self-talks through this phenomena. But I'd be careful to take that as some voice other than your own and that it is absolutely infallible.

 

Just in principle alone, like Vigle pointed out, if God, as Eternal Omnipotent God, is pulling the strings from Heaven for your sake while you're struggling with these current issues of what to believe while your driving down the road in your car in America, it seems rather curious to say the least that "He" is not so concerned about that child about to be eaten by a vulture (which I'm sure he has already died now). You have to agree that seems out of joint. All your trying to reconcile such a contradiction, that "God has his ways", I'm sure is less than satisfactory to your heart and your mind. It is for most anyone, and rightly so.

 

As I said before, if this were God, the direct voice of God, you and your friends would not be casually sitting around socializing about what God said to you today over a cup of coffee and donuts! In many regards, that you have a social group of peers all on God's personal phone list indicates strongly a learned social behavior like tongues churches. The fact that its functioning on this level, says this is something of an entirely different order than a direct intuition of the Divine. It's a socialized phenomenon. Had you ever had that veil pulled back, you would know what I am saying. In no way is God about giving you instructions on daily matters in your life like a phone call from a friend from the sky. No offense intended, and not to minimize this for you. I'm sure it's important to you. But context may help for a larger perspective here.

 

 

Heres a wild thought..Im just going to throw it out there and see where it leads.

 

Do you guys who claim to have been Christians before and are now "ex-Christians" think that perhaps the course you are on right now is in fact the very one that Jesus wants you to be on? So like in some strange way you still are Chrisitans just not the going-to-church type of Christians? Like maybe this is the course He intended you to go down, and you never really deconverted just sort of transformed into something else? I dont even know if what I am asking makes any sense..but if anyone can understand where I am going, then feel free to comment.

 

Like even though you classify yourself as "ex-Christians" really you are just on a different wavelenght then before? It does say that God is the potter and we are the clay so He makes us into who He wants us to be...but maybe He has an altogether different plan for you guys? I dont know, that sounds somewhat fishy to me, but I am willing to entertain the thought if not for a moment

Now I liked this question!! Very good. BTW, this is much nicer just talking than having you pass judgment on others. You see how that works?

 

Here's my response to this. In a sense of the word yes. I agree with this. But not how you worded it. Let me explain. I've often mused (as well has quite a number of others here), that "I'm more a Christian now that I'm not one, than I ever was when I was one!". (I love the irony of that). I can't and don't consider myself Christian, and have concluded after years of sorting these things out that I cannot ever be one again, even in the more progressive and respectable forms of it.

 

I have sincerely looked at that and considered it. But the fact is I am "beyond Christianity" for myself. It would be like putting training wheels back on my bicycle when I can ride it more freely and agilely without them stuck to the sides of it. In fact they hinder the movement. To take things at face value, literal, authoritative, historically and scientifically reliable, etc is not only impossible to do rationally, it is unnecessary to do spiritually. But to some, that is where they need to be, "thinking as a child", in these regards so to speak.

 

As I listen to you talk about your perceptions of God and how you incorporate it in strictly anthropomorphic ways into your world as you perceive, it is probably useful for you. But I also see negatives from it as well, such as you've already run into by what happens when you interact with others outside your social group coming from that simplistic perspective, not being matured enough to interact beyond that group with a greater love and compassion. You are getting numerous "F* You!" responses, frankly says a great deal about that. You do have ownership in that sort of exchange. "A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger" Proverbs 15:1.

 

To make this shorter, I believe all systems, religious or otherwise, are part of the growth process within the Divine. There is no outside it, and the only separation is a matter of perception within the individual. I believe there are levels of depth, stages of development and growth. You are right about being where we need to be. I very much agree with this. That "Jesus wants me to be here", well, I wouldn't put it like that, localizing it in one religious figure. I would say it is part of a natural evolution towards higher and deeper in existence. I believe that that is the Goal of all creation, so to speak. So in that sense, you could phrase it anthropomorphically, objectifying God as "God wants". But I don't see it as some deity pulling strings and weeping and feeling sad about things. Those are much too simplistic and inappropriate ways of perceiving.

 

Let's put it this way. Does the sun "want" the plant to grow towards it? Understand that, and you'll start to see what I mean. I am where I need to be, and that is growing towards that light. And I would encourage you to not placing an artificial ceiling over you that can't be broken through when the time comes for you to move beyond this perception of God. "When I was a child I thought as a child, I spake as a child. But when I became a man I put away childish things." "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face". It's the face to face part that is beyond the myth.

[Ouroboros]

Well as far as actually hearing Gods audible voice, this is true. I am not the only Christian who does so either. I have friends who are just like me and we get together and share what God is telling us and teaching us at the moment.

 

Are you institutionalized?

 

I dont see why that is strange at all. Where I come from that is the norm.

The norm... really?

 

I remember when I was in church, some people claimed that they heard God's voice, but since I never could hear his voice, I assumed they meant it more figuratively, not literally. You're the first person I've met who actually mean it literally like this.

 

Of course I also have some Christians friends who are good people, serve God and do not hear His voice. I find that strange, but do not judge them. I just dont understand why some people do and some people dont. Maybe it has something to do with how close we are to the Lord.

It can't be. Sorry, but it can't be how close we are to the Lord. You just re-converted after trying to leave God. You're not very close to him yet. I spent years of dedication, mediation, praying, and searching God. I spent days in prayer. I wanted to hear God's voice SOOOOOO BADLY. It was eating me up. I was fasting and had people pray for me, and much more, but never did I hear God's voice.

 

Here you come, leaving God intentionally (which I never did, ever, I never wanted to leave God, it just happened in the end because God was quiet), and you just turn back a few days ago, and *poof* God speaks to you audible.

 

It's not fair! It's not right. I can only conclude that you got a mental disorder, and all your experiences are just in your head, nothing else. Sorry.