SirPhoenix Posted November 19, 2010 Posted November 19, 2010 I have always been a person that never really cared for change, and I think this is one of the reasons why I was so drawn to xtianity. God as they believe is unchanging, and I think this appealed to the part of me that felt lost and needed stability. I won't go into all the reasons why I no longer consider myself a christian, but a lot of it came down to the bible. I am analytical, and tend to remember details. As I read through the bible, there are many times I had to do a double take becuase of the inconsistancy. Every chrisitan church out there cherry picks the parts of the bible they want to live by. The ten commandments are a great example. If you ask any christian out there if they strive to follow them, they would say yes. If you asked them if they did anything on Saturday other than rest, they would most likely say no. Bam, then you sir willingly break a commandment every Saturday. Saturday has to be kept holy, not Sunday (chances are you do things other than rest that day too), but your bible says nothing about switching days cuz of the day Jesus rose. Maybe the 1st century Jesus club had their secret decoder ring meetings on Sunday, but they didn't stop resting on Saturday. There are many more exaples, but that one is just so easy I have to use it. However, from a personal perspctive, I do believe there is a God. Maybe it's my upbringing that makes me lean toward a monotheistic paradigm, but for the moment I believe it. I do know that I won't listen to what any pastor /preacher ever tells me again. I cannot and will not believe in a lie that dictates how I live, and I feel that the churches today are chock full of them. Maybe there is some truth in there, but I can't sit in there trying to sift through all the crap. For me it comes down to seeking truth. I do believe in absolute truth. It is absolute truth that I am using a computer keyboard to type this. It is made of plastic. Human beings need oxygen to live. There are truths, and I think that extends to the things presently beyond human knowlege. If ten years from now, someone comes up with the 100% concrete proof that God doesn't exist, I will not feel I have wasted the last ten years, because I won't have supressed myself to follow what a man behind a pulpit told me I needed to be doing. I will have spent it seeking truth, and trying to treat those around me as I would like to be treated. I am free now to evolve and change witht the knowledge that I gain.
par4dcourse Posted November 19, 2010 Posted November 19, 2010 Welcome to the site SirPhoenix. We have several deists here, so you'll fit right in. Read, think, and enjoy your newfound mental freedom. --Larry
Overcame Faith Posted November 19, 2010 Posted November 19, 2010 Welcome, SirPhoenix. Sounds great and welcome to freedom!
SirPhoenix Posted November 22, 2010 Author Posted November 22, 2010 Beep beep beep beep.....update....beep beep beep.... While I think there is something greater than "us", I don't know that exactly what it is or if he/she/it has given us any evidence other than perhaps the cosmos itself. Agnostic, without knowlege, would describe me right now.
ilovemybrain Posted November 22, 2010 Posted November 22, 2010 I am free now to evolve and change witht the knowledge that I gain. IMO, this is one of the best things about no longer being a xian. You don't need to fear new information and a growing understanding of the world. Welcome!
Randi Posted November 22, 2010 Posted November 22, 2010 Welcome! I know exactly how you feel about the stability that Christianity has to offer. I grew up in a single parent home. We were constantly moving around. So by the time we landed back in Oklahoma from California (the culture shock was incredible) I was seeking something that would make my life stable. Christianity offered that, and unfortunately, I believed it.
SirPhoenix Posted November 23, 2010 Author Posted November 23, 2010 Welcome! I know exactly how you feel about the stability that Christianity has to offer. I grew up in a single parent home. We were constantly moving around. So by the time we landed back in Oklahoma from California (the culture shock was incredible) I was seeking something that would make my life stable. Christianity offered that, and unfortunately, I believed it. As some people pointed out to me on another of my posts, indoctrination has a lot to do with it. It's a belief system that gets you when you are weak. There are two sells for christianity, the fire and brimstone, or the God is love. The first scares the shit out of you and you believe because you don't want to be roasted for eternity. The second sounds good, at first, but down plays the whole "God's Wrath" approach. It's enough of a cult to keep you in, but not restrictive enough (in most cases) to make you feel trapped. I was raised in it, so as a child, I never really questioned it. Other people come to it later in life. I think there is a bell curve of believers out there. One one end, you have the hard core believers that wouldn't stop even if you had concrete proof to the contrary. In the unhappy middle, we have lots of people that know there is something that doesn't add up. They aren't happy, but they are afraid to leave. I was there for a long time. On the other end, are those of us that finally have to conclude that it's not the truth.
Freedom from Guilt Posted November 23, 2010 Posted November 23, 2010 I go from atheist, to deist, to agnostic on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis~
SirPhoenix Posted November 23, 2010 Author Posted November 23, 2010 I go from atheist, to deist, to agnostic on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis~ My brother suggests I worship the Kabbalah Monster because he grants special powers. If I get to teleport, then I'm in.
Randi Posted November 23, 2010 Posted November 23, 2010 My brother suggests I worship the Kabbalah Monster because he grants special powers. If I get to teleport, then I'm in. Uh.... Sign me up!
SirPhoenix Posted November 24, 2010 Author Posted November 24, 2010 My brother suggests I worship the Kabbalah Monster because he grants special powers. If I get to teleport, then I'm in. Uh.... Sign me up! He says you're in. Expext your super powers in the next 6 to 8 weeks. There's a bit of a backlog since they started giving them out.
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