greetings from a former christian

susangail · 01-09-2008, 12:00 AM

Hello all, my name is Susan. I've grown up in a very religious environment and so of course it rubbed off on me. I've been a devout christian for many years and recent experiences have caused me to question my faith. I realize now that there is no proof that god exists or doesn't exist. Christianity acknowledges this and so the religion is based on faith, which conveniently is the belief in something you can't see. Well I'm not one to call the whole religion a fraud, I just don't want to be apart of it anymore. There are just so many things that don't seem right with christianity today. For instance, the bible says all sins are equal but the church treats lies as if they are nothing and at the same time seems to want to stone all homosexuals. It's a cracked system. I don't need hard, tangible evidence to believe in something but to base my life on something with no proof whatsoever is a bit of a stretch even for me. I still think there's a god, but that's about as religious as I'm willing to get now.

Susan

nkrummy · 01-09-2008, 12:32 AM

Hi Susan-

Welcome

I am sure you will find there are many people here who can relate to where you're coming from, and even have pretty similar stories. Reading your post reminds me that the one thing that most of us probably share in common on these boards is the decision to not just take that 'leap of faith' that every religion ultimately requires you to make.
Even if I was prepared to take a leap of faith, how do I know which leap to make?... with so many competing religions out there, all with their own good qualities and merit, I don't even know where to begin!

Anyway hope to see you around

Astral · 01-09-2008, 12:29 PM

Greets Susan and welcome to the place.

Yea... I know how you feel. I run across all sorts of Baloney from the churches as well. But I do retain my faith however. My recommendation is to pick it up for yourself, and stop listening to the drivel that often comes from them.

**Skepticologist** · 01-09-2008, 05:35 PM

Hey Susan, please pardon the pun, but it appears you are "desparately seeking" a higher level of truth than you've encountered in organized religion. I encourage you to be honest and forthcoming with your opinions and questions. To the extent they're not being offered in the interest of some hidden agenda, which appears to be the case at this point, there's a lot that you and the rest of us here can learn from each other.

One thing I'd encourage you to think about and to seek the viewpoints of others here in order to consider more deeply, is your assertion that "I still think there's a god". I suppose it's OK to feel that way if it makes things somewhat easier for you, but as an agnostic who questions any assertions of faith, I'd ask you why you believe there's a god.

My guess is that, very legitimately, you have a hard time understanding how our world, not to mention the universe, came to be, absent the agency of some omniscient, omnipotent prime mover. For several years I tried to adopt the principles of intelligent design for exactly the same reason. But there's a huge difference between trying to make sense of things and jumping to a conclusion just because we'd like to be valid.

Bottom line is that, as far as I've been able to determine, there exists no sustantive proof, and no disproof, of the existence of a supreme being. It's really OK to acknowledge that lack of evidence and to adopt the position that you simply don't know. It doesn't contribute to any sort of closure in figuring out the universe, but it's a whole lot better than forcing yourself to adopt a belief system just because it's more or less close to what you'd like to believe.

greywolf90 · 01-09-2008, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skepticologist

Hey Susan, please pardon the pun, but it appears you are "desparately seeking" a higher level of truth than you've encountered in organized religion. I encourage you to be honest and forthcoming with your opinions and questions. To the extent they're not being offered in the interest of some hidden agenda, which appears to be the case at this point, there's a lot that you and the rest of us here can learn from each other.

One thing I'd encourage you to think about and to seek the viewpoints of others here in order to consider more deeply, is your assertion that "I still think there's a god". I suppose it's OK to feel that way if it makes things somewhat easier for you, but as an agnostic who questions any assertions of faith, I'd ask you why you believe there's a god.

My guess is that, very legitimately, you have a hard time understanding how our world, not to mention the universe, came to be, absent the agency of some omniscient, omnipotent prime mover. For several years I tried to adopt the principles of intelligent design for exactly the same reason. But there's a huge difference between trying to make sense of things and jumping to a conclusion just because we'd like to be valid.

Bottom line is that, as far as I've been able to determine, there exists no sustantive proof, and no disproof, of the existence of a supreme being. It's really OK to acknowledge that lack of evidence and to adopt the position that you simply don't know. It doesn't contribute to any sort of closure in figuring out the universe, but it's a whole lot better than forcing yourself to adopt a belief system just because it's more or less close to what you'd like to believe.

she seems to have a hidden agenda? what did she say to indicate this? do you just assume that anyone believing in a personal god is on a converting mission?

romansh · 01-09-2008, 10:10 PM

Hi Susan,

Welcome to the forum.
Hope you have fun here .... you'll see plenty of opinions which you can have fun evaluating.

all the best

**Skepticologist** · 01-13-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greywolf90

she seems to have a hidden agenda? what did she say to indicate this? do you just assume that anyone believing in a personal god is on a converting mission?

Did I say anything about a "converting mission"? I just re-read my post and found no such allusion.

I did refer to the potential of a "hidden agenda" because, while Susan purports to reject the christian concept of god, she says that she continues to believe in some kind of god.

Maybe "hidden agenda" was a poor choice of phrases because it can connote subterfuge, and that's not what I meant to imply. I'd just be interested in what the god she believes in looks like, and how he or she or it is different from the god she concieved of as a christian.

Geshtinnanna · 01-13-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skepticologist

Quote:

Originally Posted by greywolf90

she seems to have a hidden agenda? what did she say to indicate this? do you just assume that anyone believing in a personal god is on a converting mission?

Did I say anything about a "converting mission"? I just re-read my post and found no such allusion.

I did refer to the potential of a "hidden agenda" because, while Susan purports to reject the christian concept of god, she says that she continues to believe in some kind of god.

Maybe "hidden agenda" was a poor choice of phrases because it can connote subterfuge, and that's not what I meant to imply. I'd just be interested in what the god she believes in looks like, and how he or she or it is different from the god she concieved of as a christian.

Maybe she's just open minded.
:shrugs:

Vinterland · 01-15-2008, 09:39 PM

You're right; it cannot be said that all religion is bunk. What is it about God that you believe and why do you believ eit?

**Skepticologist** · 01-18-2008, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinterland

You're right; it cannot be said that all religion is bunk. What is it about God that you believe and why do you believ eit?

Once again, you're wrong. It can be said that "all religion is bunk". I just said it.