What I Learned At Church Today....

[Ramen666]

8 years since going to my former church and had to go to please the family. (long story my parents want to start going again) On the awkwardness level it was ok, no one knew me there basically. The service itself here is where the fun begins.

 

This is what I leanred from the sermon today (enjoy):

 

1. My former church doesn't deal in fairytales.

2. My former church is out to tell the people undisputed facts

3. Jesus rising from the dead = George Washington being a real person, it is a historical fact.

4. Rewries in the Bible in the Bible telling the same story even if there is inconsitencies is meant to provide more details, nothing more.

5. Bonus: One thing that bothered me about that church is that in a very diverse city, the church is anything but diverse, I only saw one person not white in the whole church. I noticed this 8 years ago when I was a regular.

 

 

For those Ex-Christians that went today, what did you guys get out of it?

[◊ crazyguy123 ◊]

What I got out of church today was a song about how the believers know Jesus lives stuck in my head. I didn't really learn anything I didn't know already.

[greylight]

What I learned in church today:
1. Xians are oppressed in our country because the definition of marriage is being rewritten

2. A little girl who tells a lie sometimes and a terrorist both go to the same hell and both roast for eternity.

3. It doesn't matter what we do in out lives at all! It only matters where we spend eternity.

 

I have to say, after I deconverted the most a sermon at my old church would make me was bored and/or uncomfortable. This one made me those as well as REALLY angry. Specifically since the pastor was telling a story of how he was telling a real lttle girl she was going to hell, like a terrorist. I had to spend the rest of the sermon in the bathroom for the pastor to finish. because FUCK im glad I left a religion that teaches that crap.

[Ramen666]

Today was just bizzare to me mostly because I really haven't been there since I deconverted in 2005 and it was like looking into my past that I never wanted to see again. Most of the church going regulars when I was there are all gone (literally I saw no one I remember from then and hey maybe that is a good thing and people moved on), there is a new church staff, except the executive pastor. The format of everything has remained untouched, same boring format with a condencing message that I always remember.

[QualifiedCommenter]

8 years since going to my former church and had to go to please the family. (long story my parents want to start going again) On the awkwardness level it was ok, no one knew me there basically. The service itself here is where the fun begins.

 

This is what I leanred from the sermon today (enjoy):

 

1. My former church doesn't deal in fairytales.

2. My former church is out to tell the people undisputed facts

3. Jesus rising from the dead = George Washington being a real person, it is a historical fact.

4. Rewries in the Bible in the Bible telling the same story even if there is inconsitencies is meant to provide more details, nothing more.

5. Bonus: One thing that bothered me about that church is that in a very diverse city, the church is anything but diverse, I only saw one person not white in the whole church. I noticed this 8 years ago when I was a regular.

 

 

For those Ex-Christians that went today, what did you guys get out of it?

 

My pastor taught all of those things today, a special notice to #3. (He gave that exact example.)

I was almost able to not face-palm the whole time. The one time I did is when he brought up that book "Heaven is For Real" or whatever it's called about the boy claiming to go to Heaven for a bit and showing it off as FACT that Heaven exists. I muttered under my breath: "Ugh. Not THAT book!" I don't think anyone heard me. I mean... wow. Taking fact from hearsay from a little boy who experienced what he did while he was mostly dead and while his brain was oxygen deprived. THAT'S a reliable source! (sarcasm.)

 

He also gave this god-awful lecture on eternity and how we spend way too much time worrying about how little time we have here. He used a long jump rope and used the plastic handle as an example for our tiny lives compared to the length of the rope being eternity.

 

Also, at the end, he said that he talked to a few atheists awhile ago who admitted that it would be cool to have eternal life, and flaunted that as proof that eternal life exists. Ugh... so, so, so, so, SO ridiculously STUPID! I could tear that guy's arguments to pieces in a heartbeat assuming he actually believes that crap!

 

I literally feel everybody in that room became dumber just by listening to his sermon today.

[HoopyFrood42]

I had an interesting time at church.  It's only been a few months since I deconverted and I haven't told my family yet so they all still think I'm a very strong christian that regularly attends church and prays and everything else that goes along with it.  My mom asked me to come back home and go to church with the family this Easter so, having no real reason to say no, I decided that I would.  I haven't been back to that church in a few years.  It was the church we attended when I was in high school and I'm almost 26 now but it's been a little while since I was there because I became heavily involved in a church where I went to college.  When I was in high school I was heavily involved in the music and youth ministries.  I played drums every Sunday and helped with pretty much anything the church asked of me.  The pastor there now was the worship leader when I was playing there so we know each other pretty well.

 

I'm actually surprised that they didn't ask me to come up and play drums, because that's what they used to do if I ever visited (I was REALLY dreading that, so thank the FSM that they didn't ask me to play).  Instead, the pastor, during his sermon, let the entire church know that I was there and asked me to stand up so that they could all see me and recognize me for the outstanding christian example that I am (the only thing I could think was "Wow the christian discernment in this place is off the chain" /sarcasm).  This was uncomfortable but not the worst.  He mentioned me again later on in the sermon, but it was nothing big.  The most uncomfortable thing was actually when he came to talk to me after the service.  It's not that I have forgotten christianese or how to be a christian or how to sound like one, but I was trying to maintain my integrity as a person while lying to his face about my faith and answering his questions.  I knew before I went that I would probably have to lie at least a little, but it really surprised me how much it bothered me.  I felt like a total fraud with him and everyone else.  Even though I felt really sleazy afterward I just kept telling myself that that was really the only way I could have handled the situation.  Why did I ever have to be such an involved christian?  Also, it really is totally unfair that we have to do things like this to keep people happy.   

[Galien]

We have to do no such thing. We aren't christians anymore, we don't have to be anybody's doormat.

[HoopyFrood42]

We have to do no such thing. We aren't christians anymore, we don't have to be anybody's doormat.

 

I actually feel that way about everyone in this world with the exception of two people.  I don't care what former christian friends or acquaintances or pastors or what anyone else thinks about me and my beliefs except for two people: my mother and grandmother.  I still haven't worked out a way to tell my mother yet.  I'm trying to figure out how to tell her so that she won't feel like she failed as a parent and so that she won't be in a perpetual state of fear for my soul.  If I can help it I won't ever tell my grandmother because I know she will be consumed by fear for my soul.  It's not so much that I don't want them to think ill of me.  It's more that I don't want them to worry themselves to death about me burning in Hell forever.   

[Galien]

 

 

We have to do no such thing. We aren't christians anymore, we don't have to be anybody's doormat.

 

I actually feel that way about everyone in this world with the exception of two people.  I don't care what former christian friends or acquaintances or pastors or what anyone else thinks about me and my beliefs except for two people: my mother and grandmother.  I still haven't worked out a way to tell my mother yet.  I'm trying to figure out how to tell her so that she won't feel like she failed as a parent and so that she won't be in a perpetual state of fear for my soul.  If I can help it I won't ever tell my grandmother because I know she will be consumed by fear for my soul.  It's not so much that I don't want them to think ill of me.  It's more that I don't want them to worry themselves to death about me burning in Hell forever.

 

 

That possibility of hurting two people who love you so much must be very difficult for you. I don't know how I would deal with your situation, but no, I would not want to hurt them either.

[boftx]

I suspect that when it comes to family members such as parents or siblings the best approach would be to not say anything at all unless it is unavoidable.

[midniterider]

Sorry for the people who went to church.

 

I played videogames all day. :-)

[Guest r3alchild]

You know what I got out of church today, nothing! because I don't go to church. But I know the feeling of keeping the peace.

[raoul]

I wanna scream out 'amen brother!'. It's crazy - people are ex-cultists but still went to church? And hysterically, I STOPPED going about 23 years ago while I was STILL one of them and remained so for another 23 years. Maybe my deconversion had begun much sooner than I originally thought?

You know what I got out of church today, nothing! because I don't go to church. But I know the feeling of keeping the peace.

[Guest r3alchild]

 

I wanna scream out 'amen brother!'. It's crazy - people are ex-cultists but still went to church? And hysterically, I STOPPED going about 23 years ago while I was STILL one of them and remained so for another 23 years. Maybe my deconversion had begun much sooner than I originally thought?

 

You know what I got out of church today, nothing! because I don't go to church. But I know the feeling of keeping the peace.

[LoneTarus]

I pretty much just visited with the neighbors, drank beer and ate crawfish instead of going to church. It was a good time all around. I learned that easter is so much better without all the religious bullshit attached to it

[3DollarBill]

What I learned in church yesterday...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nope, didn't do it.  For those who don't know I have recently relocated back to my hometown, and while I have really enjoyed the two services and the passion play that I attended, I simply couldn't take it anymore.  Conveniently, I now have a weekend job 120 miles away, which is a really handy excuse.  

[roadrunner]

I heard the easter story in a new church with a new perspective and its really stupid and to see adults and intelligent people there gobbling it up is mind boggling. Doesn't anyone wonder why this stuff doesn't happen anymore? It was clear why when the pastor asked us what if jesus was alive today. I couldn't help but think of Benny Hinn. Today, we have literacy and video footage to show that this is a sham and the internet to get the message out. Its clearly evident why a barbaric, illiterate society, with no internet to disseminate information would embellish and misinterpret the story over time under such harsh conditions. Imagine benny hinn with no internet in society. By the time the word spread he'd be so far gone no one could find him. Also he marveled very large crowds. so this would spread like wildfire each person telling their own account of the event with no video to cleanup the hindsight misinformation. 

 

 

So, yes. I did learn something today. I have never looked at the easter story from that perspective. Also i learned from my wife, that I don't seem to have any emotion in the church anymore. I just stand and sit when everybody else does. I don't smile or sing anymore. I still put my arm around her when she cries as people sing sad songs and they show images of passion of the christ or other guilt trip videos. But the Jesus story lost all its pizzazz once I became a non-believer. 

[chipper]

I went yesterday and I enjoyed at least part of it.  The pastor said he was recently outside with his college-aged son and they were admiring some birds in the yard.  They were discussing how the male birds were much prettier and more vibrantly colored.  The pastor told his son, "Wasn't that smart of those female birds to choose to be more plainly colored so they can be better camouflaged while they sit on their eggs?"  To which the son replied, Dad, you would not believe how many times I've heard things like that in my biology class.  Then the pastor when on a rant about how evolution isn't possible and it's all just random and how a creator is a much simpler idea.

 

I had a hard time picking up all of his cliched crap toward the end there because I was snickering and squirming in the pew like a little kid with a bad case of the giggles.  There was a serious internal battle raging to control my laughter.  Thankfully I was able to let a little out as all the fundies were laughing at the "idea" of evolution.

 

On a separate note, anybody else have fond memories of getting the giggles in church as a kid?  What the hell was so funny all the time?  I can just remember like every week my sister and I could barely control ourselves and dad would be giving us dirty looks and maybe plucking me in the back of the head.  I paid dearly a few times when we got home but I think somewhere deep down in my subconscious, even as a kid, I knew that whole scene was ridiculous.

 

Of course I was also reminded of how easily people are misled, I would wager most of that congregation walked out yesterday thinking, "Man our pastor really nailed those evolutionists today, how can people believe such nonsense."  I really wanted to go sit down with the pastor and explain natural selection but I figured he'd probably call me satan and tell me to get behind him, either that or try to pray for me, and me and the kids were hungry.

[new2me]

I knew before I went that I would probably have to lie at least a little, but it really surprised me how much it bothered me.  I felt like a total fraud with him and everyone else.  Even though I felt really sleazy afterward I just kept telling myself that that was really the only way I could have handled the situation.  Why did I ever have to be such an involved christian?  Also, it really is totally unfair that we have to do things like this to keep people happy.   

 

It is exactly that sense of integrity that I was concerned about at Easter dinner.  We celebrated at my house, and my sister's family and my Mom attended. When we gather on Christian holidays, my brother-in-law will usually lead "grace" before we eat, which is pretty benign - thanking God for the food.  I don't mind this much when I'm at my sister's house... I will just hold hands, keep my eyes open and stay quiet.  But somehow I just felt wrong about having someone else lead a prayer in my house that addressed God as if he were real.  I don't want my kids to think that stuff is real, and I don't want them to see me as ashamed of my beliefs in my own house.  I knew my husband wasn't interested in doing anything different, and he thought I was making too much of the whole thing.

 

I looked up a humanist blessing on the internet and rehearsed it in my head again and again.  When it came time for the prayer, I jumped in and said the blessing over the food.  I don't think anyone even really noticed.  Since none of them know that I am not a Christian anymore, it didn't even register as an issue.

 

The best thing is that I got through my first atheist Easter with no church and no God talk at all.  I don't even know if my sister's family went to church because we didn't even discuss it.  It was a great time!

 

I am considering "coming out" to my sister and BIL, but I'm pretty sure I will never tell my parents.  However, once my parents are gone, I'm pretty sure I'll be wide open about my atheism.

[SquareOne]

 

We have to do no such thing. We aren't christians anymore, we don't have to be anybody's doormat.

 

I actually feel that way about everyone in this world with the exception of two people.  I don't care what former christian friends or acquaintances or pastors or what anyone else thinks about me and my beliefs except for two people: my mother and grandmother.  I still haven't worked out a way to tell my mother yet.  I'm trying to figure out how to tell her so that she won't feel like she failed as a parent and so that she won't be in a perpetual state of fear for my soul.  If I can help it I won't ever tell my grandmother because I know she will be consumed by fear for my soul.  It's not so much that I don't want them to think ill of me.  It's more that I don't want them to worry themselves to death about me burning in Hell forever.   

 

I relate to this.

 

I'm going to tell my parents, but I could never tell my grandparents.

[HoopyFrood42]

It's funny how christians think that nonbelievers are so morally corrupt, but some of us on here have expressed how difficult it is just lying about this.  It's also funny how things like saying a humanist prayer instead of a christian one, even though nobody knew but you, will keep you sane.  

 

I do plan on telling my mother eventually, because it's killing me to lie to her about this.  Just in the past year or so my mother and I have really started getting along and becoming closer after a few years of a pretty rocky relationship and I don't want to ruin that, but I don't want to feel like I'm compromising the relationship by lying to her about who I am.  I'm trying to ease her into it by making a little comment here or there that's not necessarily against christianity, but is at least neutral to the opposing point of view.  

 

I plan on calling her one day and telling her that I'm not a christian anymore and at the same time emailing her a letter explaining why I no longer believe and what caused my unbelief and after telling her that I'm not a christian, asking her to read the letter before she says anything or asks any questions.  I like the idea of putting it in a letter because I can be more articulate and I can better plan what I say.  However, I'm also a person who likes to do things like this face to face (or at least on the phone) so this would add both elements.  

 

Also, lying to my grandmother is probably the kindest thing that I could do for her.  I talk to her once a week, usually on Saturday or Sunday, and she always asks me how church is, how everyone at church is (including specific people), if we are in revival at church, and she usually asks me to put certain people on my prayer list to pray for with my prayer group.  Seriously, usually about 60%-80% of our conversation is about church or Jesus and how he's coming back soon and that she just can't understand how anyone could live without him.  

[questioneverything]

A few weeks ago, I learned what a delicate balance god has planet earth in relation to its distance from the sun.  Why just a few feet closer, and we'd all burn up.  A few feet further?  You guessed it.  A ball of ice. 

 

Sounded like poppycock, so a quick Google search, and it was all I could do to keep myself from yelling 'Bullshit!!' in the middle of service.  I'm embarassed to say that the former me would have gobbled that up, amazed at the wisdom and power of our creator. 

[raoul]

Can you give a quick summary of what you found on the google search to refute that nonsense? I assume it said something about there not really being any kind of strict 'within so many feet' balance but would like your intake on it. Thanks

A few weeks ago, I learned what a delicate balance god has planet earth in relation to its distance from the sun.  Why just a few feet closer, and we'd all burn up.  A few feet further?  You guessed it.  A ball of ice. 

 

Sounded like poppycock, so a quick Google search, and it was all I could do to keep myself from yelling 'Bullshit!!' in the middle of service.  I'm embarassed to say that the former me would have gobbled that up, amazed at the wisdom and power of our creator. 

[Thought2Much]

Earth's orbit around the Sun isn't perfectly circular, but an ellipse:

 

Aphelion: 152,098,232 km (farthest distance from Sun)

Perihelion: 147,098,290 km (closest distance to Sun)

 

In other words, the difference between Earth's closest and farthest distance from the Sun is about 5 million kilometers, or about 3%. "A few feet" isn't going to make much of a difference in whether life on earth can exist or not.

[raoul]

Much appreciated friend and thanks. Just one more thing I learned to bang yet another nail in their coffin of bs..