Castiel233 Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Myself, I was very liberal. I could not understand why average people were scared of going to hell, it was obvious to me that only murderers and rapists, etc went to hell, nice people didn't. God loved us, loved us and Jesus was the very essence of goodness. It also felt really nice and relaxing to pray. I truly , truly believed that God just wanted us to be kind and good to each other. I guess I was an ignorant Christian, very much a culture/secular Christian who took it for granted that God was good and nice and gentle...... Then I worked with a fundie who taught me what the Bible really teaches..... Damnation for most, actually pretty much everyone who has ever lived. A vengeful, angry God who cannot be known or placated....... Couldn't love that God, just could not do it, anymore than I could love a serial killer. Read enough of the Bible to be horrified...... Discovered Robert G Ingersoll, Charles Bradlaugh, Charles Templeton, Thomas Paine and Carl Sagan etc, couldn't go back to my ignorance. But I miss those simpler times. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyfoJesus Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 I agree, I miss when it was easy, and I don't understand, because in John, Jesus said it was very difficult to go to Heaven. Following the G code definitely gets a bit exhausting for me at times especially when I want to compare my path to those around me, but to me, I guess it's only fair to the ones who are more than just nice that's not just an even playing ground, and that God is fair not just nice. I side with the Muslims on multiple Heavens and Hells for sure if God is truly like that. I think I also kind of like this "Vengeful God" because I'm on His good side though I think. I've seen a good number of people get smited to be honest lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted April 28, 2018 Author Share Posted April 28, 2018 11 minutes ago, JimmyfoJesus said: I agree, I miss when it was easy, and I don't understand, because in John, Jesus said it was very difficult to go to Heaven. Following the G code definitely gets a bit exhausting for me at times especially when I want to compare my path to those around me, but to me, I guess it's only fair to the ones who are more than just nice that's not just an even playing ground, and that God is fair not just nice. I side with the Muslims on multiple Heavens and Hells for sure if God is truly like that. I think I also kind of like this "Vengeful God" because I'm on His good side though I think. I've seen a good number of people get smited to be honest lol I think this is one of my many issues with Christianity. God wants ALL to be saved...... yet the narrow is the way and few shall find it...... If the Bible is true, nearly everyone goes to hell anyway...... So it seems a waste of time to beg for a place in Heaven "Shrugs" 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyfoJesus Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Yeah, I understand, I have to do a lot of stuff I don't want to do to try and earn my spot without having any sort of guarantee, but I know one thing, at least I won't end up in the worst spots of Hell at least. Believing in multiple Heavens and Hells gives me some sort of fear as to where I could end up if it's true. To be honest though, living to the G code is a blessing in this lifetime as well though. I don't deal with loneliness, anxiety, or depression the way I used to. Instead, I'm more free, but bad stuff still happens and some things in life just suck, but you endure through those times while working to get out of them. I don't know, just a way I learned from the Bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted April 28, 2018 Author Share Posted April 28, 2018 27 minutes ago, JimmyfoJesus said: Yeah, I understand, I have to do a lot of stuff I don't want to do to try and earn my spot without having any sort of guarantee, but I know one thing, at least I won't end up in the worst spots of Hell at least. Believing in multiple Heavens and Hells gives me some sort of fear as to where I could end up if it's true. To be honest though, living to the G code is a blessing in this lifetime as well though. I don't deal with loneliness, anxiety, or depression the way I used to. Instead, I'm more free, but bad stuff still happens and some things in life just suck, but you endure through those times while working to get out of them. I don't know, just a way I learned from the Bible. It’s cool that it works for you and it did work for me when I was ignorant of the Bible and church history........ but cannot re close that Pandora’s box now..... i know now too much 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyfoJesus Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 That’s true! It even says in Proverbs, that what you live in light of, you are responsible for, and Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Atleast you have no confusion if you looked into it that much. I find God’s Savagery to be a little funny though like how He punished the Jews for not accepting Jesus by having these poor people spread nonsense while He made it true for a couple thousand years. He even hardened their hearts, but He expected them to work past it for it was in their religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Joshpantera Posted April 28, 2018 Moderator Share Posted April 28, 2018 1 hour ago, JimmyfoJesus said: I find God’s Savagery to be a little funny though like how He punished the Jews for not accepting Jesus by having these poor people spread nonsense while He made it true for a couple thousand years. He even hardened their hearts, but He expected them to work past it for it was in their religion. You may need to define what you mean by, "true." 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator buffettphan Posted April 29, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted April 29, 2018 4 hours ago, JimmyfoJesus said: I find God’s Savagery to be a little funny though like how He punished the Jews for not accepting Jesus by having these poor people spread nonsense while He made it true for a couple thousand years. He even hardened their hearts, but He expected them to work past it for it was in their religion. 2 hours ago, Joshpantera said: You may need to define what you mean by, "true." @JimmyfoJesus and you may do so by starting a new thread in The Lion's Den. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonSeeker Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I was a pretty conservative Evangelical Christian. I was raised Southern Baptist, switched to Assembly of God in college, and later joined a non-denominational church with similar doctrines and practices. I believed the Bible was God's word and that it was basically inerrant. I took my faith seriously (and why wouldn't I, if heaven and hell were literally on the line for billions of people?), gave 10% of my income, went to church activities at least once a week, read my Bible, etc. I was also frustrated when I saw people not taking it seriously -- claiming to be Christian and yet doing things or condoning things the Bible had said would lead you straight to hell. I just could not understand that. Needless to say, I am no longer concerned about those things. Once I recognized the Bible as a human book written entirely by fallible men with their own agendas, prejudices, etc., so much more made sense, and I no longer needed to worry that someone might be going to hell for having premarital sex, being gay, praying to the wrong deity, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anushka Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Hey! I was a Pentecostal from my late teens. Before that, another Protestant church. I loved Jesus, lived for him. Believed he is the reason no one raped me. Although I got molested as a child. I thought God will punish me if I didn't obey my parents even when I was 23. This belief came from listening to Joyce Meyer's mixed messages on YouTube. I thought God will give me money without me having to work. This belief too came from listening to preachers on YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsathoggua9 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I was a fundamentalist, raised in the "Church of Christ" in the Nashville, TN area. I was fairly familiar with both the Bible and secular science / history /etc. -- never thought that the Bible was the literal truth. Didn't take it that seriously, but most people around me likely did not realize what a heretic that I was. Until recently, that is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOHO Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I was the kind of xtian that started out LDS then when I learned about the non-denominational xiantiy I thought....<OK, I can drink coffee AND have friends other than my two Mormon ones....I can DO this!> Then I started reading the Bible. NT all the way through - twice. Bounced around the OT but was pretty much done after the David story and how he was rewarded by god for seriously fucking with entire regions. Add to this how the most devout in my life are screaming, absolute, total, unrepentant control freaks and it finally dawned on me why man created religion in the first place. So, to answer your question, @Castiel233 I was the kind of xtian who read and investigated....which is why I'm here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhim Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 As you know I wasn't born Christian. In college, when I converted, I was a Reformed Baptist. I read authors including John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, John MacArthur, and that whole crowd. In graduate school I joined PCA church plant, mostly because there was no Reformed Baptist church in town. The pastor knew I wasn't with him on infant baptism, but other than that we were pretty much on the same page and got along very well. When the church plant failed to...well, plant, I joined a non-denominational church. And then I realized what a horrible mistake I was making and deconverted. Overall I was theologically very conservative and orthodox, and believed that all non-Christians go to eternal hell. I was likewise a committed Calvinist, and considered myself to be in the tradition of Augustine, Athanasius, Luther, of course Calvin, George Whitfield, etc. I believed the Bible was literally true, and rejected the scientific principle of biological evolution. Yes...I have extensive training in astrophysics and am a scientist. I suppose this at least protected me from young earth creationism, but I suppose my scientific mindset was not impervious to topics such as biology where I was not professionally trained. Back then, as is even the case today, I was far more interested in discussing religion than science. Though I would add that it is and was the case that science is a close second in terms of my intellectual interests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted May 1, 2018 Moderator Share Posted May 1, 2018 I was an independent conservative fundamentalist that combined a doctrinal mish mash of unholy portions that most Christians would consider heresy. I didn't realise this until after I left and started coming across other Christian doctrines and reading dissertations on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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