Evolution of faith

[ChurchedAtheist]

how have your religious views changed over your lifetime?

for me, I was raised catholic until my mom split up w/ her bf when I was 6. Didn't go to church again until I was 14. me and my mom both went. I believed it all, until I finally realized that it isn't true about a year ago. I started at "there is a God, just not the biblical one" and that slowly turned to "There is no evidence of a god. I cannot rule it out, but until there is evidence, I see no reason to believe"


It's funny, I joined this site as rock4christ, and I was the one who started and moderated the religion section(still do). I changed the name to dark whole when I became depressed, and subsequently, disillusioned with the bible. Then, I changed it to EndUnknown now that im an agnostic athiest.

[sufjams]

This is pretty similar to the other sticky. Well, it is to anyone who gave any history with their post there.

Here's what I wrote, to get this thread going:

was born to a Catholic mother and a Protestant father.

We never went to church, until I was about 8 or so when my parents decided to save my immortal soul. I remember going to Catholic church with my mother, and saying to the sermon, "Talking snakes? Really?" She would always follow up on Sundays by telling me mythical stories about the different Catholic patron saints, which only helped reaffirm my opinion on the validity of the religion. I read a lot when I was very young, you see, so I've always had a pretty decent distinction between reality and fiction. I stopped going to church with her.

A few years after that, my parents decided to try to save me from the lake of fire again, and dropped both of their religions to go Mormon. (What?!) I had had enough of it, so I refused to go to church at all. I wasn't really an atheist at that point, I just knew what I'd heard thus far was ridiculous.

It wasn't until a few years ago, that I started getting into philosophy. That really opened me up to the workings of people's minds. I started to see why someone might need religion. It was when I read Thomas Aquinas' proofs for the existance of God I decided both that it was impossible for humans to ever prove his existance, and that to live my life by any religion that claims to personally know him would be invalid.

Since then I've been studying faith in regards to ethics, and I personally deem absolute faith, and in turn, religion, harmful. I can say now that I'm an atheist.

[Charge]

I feel that everything (the world, life) was created by chance, by luck and utmost random scenarios imaginable. Noone could ever forsee this idea of chance, and that someone or something mustve created us and the world.

The rest of the universe(s) was as we know created by gasses and particles, which were created again by this luck. Crazy i know. But the Idea of God is just as imaginative

[ACE]

I too have become disillusioned, but in a different way. As for my background, I grew up Catholic. When I was about 16 I started to go to "Protestant" churches and I soon converted and considered myself non-denominational. I experienced the personal relationship with God that the Catholic church tended to shield me from. I became extremely active in my church. I was a youth counselor, I led worship, and I taught Sunday School classes as well as home Bible studies.

My disillusionment came when I would look around and felt so burned out. I was doing so much while it seemed everyone else was just half-assing it (in my mind). Those who would party it up all week and go to church on Sunday to somehow make up for it. I had enough. I became disillusioned with God's Bride, His church.

I stepped down from everything. I soon stopped going to church and started finding out what this world has to offer. I guess I'm on a similar path of Peter, who fell away to indulge in the ways of the world, but came back. I still consider myself Christian, I find myself still talking with God on occasion, but my piety is no where near where it used to be.

As for you EndUnknown, I have friends in your same boat. Friends I shared the worship team with, who now consider themselves agnostic, or atheist. Your argument is not unlike theirs; searching for evidence, or disillusioned with a Book that doesn't seem to have rhyme nor reason to it.

But I still hold true to the thought that if this is all we have. This accidental, random existence - what a waste... it is for that, I will hold on, even if it's behind to pick up the horse's droppings on the way to Heaven.

I can't change your mind no better than I've failed to do with my friends. I can only offer my thoughts, and my prayers for Him to reveal Himself to you someday - and I think He will.

The crazy thing is, it sounds like you're searching so hard. You are posting here searching for someone to tell you. To point you in the right direction, when He says He stands at the door of your heart and knocks. You need not do anything. That's why I say He will reveal Himself to you.

For what all that's worth....

[Red Sky]

Hmm... my story..

I was born a Lutheran. I went to church pretty regularly as a child. In second grade, after having gone to numerous Catholic schools, I became a baptized Catholic. I went to church almost every Sunday. Around the time that I moved to North Huntingdon (7 years in a few months), I stopped going to church. I was 10 at the time. Now, I still held a strong belief in God back then, and even the church... but around the age of 15, I would say that all changed.

When I was 15, I started questioning the practices and goodness of the church and it's people. I came to loathe the Catholic religion. I regarded many of the things surrounding it as evil. I tied myself closer to Lutheranism. But after a time, I started to become wary of church in general. At this point in my life, I can honestly say that I think church is not a good thing.

I would now consider myself somewhat of a theist. I have no 'religion', just a belief in a God. I believe that this God created life and the universe. (I find the higgs boson/big bang a ridiculous theory). I also don't believe that this God does anything directly to anyone on this planet. I believe that he more or less looks over his creation, as a person with an ant farm would look over their ants. I believe in destiny, and that certain things are meant to happen, but I don't believe that God has any affect over them.

[Trogdor]

Originally Posted by Red Sky

I would now consider myself somewhat of a theist. I have no 'religion', just a belief in a God. I believe that this God created life and the universe. (I find the higgs boson/big bang a ridiculous theory). I also don't believe that this God does anything directly to anyone on this planet. I believe that he more or less looks over his creation, as a person with an ant farm would look over their ants. I believe in destiny, and that certain things are meant to happen, but I don't believe that God has any affect over them.

I understand where you are coming from, my relationship with God would always result in this belief when I doubted Christ.

Life is tough, Christianity makes it tougher. At least it has for people such as myself, not too social yet not solitary. Christianity isnt the easy religion that some people have made it, Sunday Christians unfortunately dont demonstrate Christ in public, they just are on an extended test drive

I have left Christianity several times, but each time I leave it I find my reliance on guidance pulls me back to God and the real church, friends I look to for support.

Faith is near impossible alone.

[Red Sky]

I would agree with you there, but so many of my friends are similar to me in that they have a belief, but not really a religion.

[ChurchedAtheist]

Originally Posted by ACE

But I still hold true to the thought that if this is all we have. This accidental, random existence - what a waste... it is for that, I will hold on, even if it's behind to pick up the horse's droppings on the way to Heaven.

The crazy thing is, it sounds like you're searching so hard. You are posting here searching for someone to tell you. To point you in the right direction, when He says He stands at the door of your heart and knocks. You need not do anything. That's why I say He will reveal Himself to you.

For what all that's worth....

so you hold on because the thought of there not being a god being depressing?

the searching is the nature of a rational mind. trying to expand and grow.

[J2800]

I am pretty much similar to Red Sky and Trogdor.

As a young child, I was raised in a Christian home. Went to church, did all that stuff. But when I started getting older (12+13) I began questioning some aspects of the faith. I was told basically to shut up and believe. This led me to become more disenfranchised with what people were saying and telling me to believe. So now, I would consider myself mostly an Atheist, but I have questions about both sides. It seems very, very unlikely that everything came from pools of sludge and then fish grew legs, but on that same token, where did God come from? Can you prove he exists? Can you prove he loves me?

[putis]

Originally Posted by J2800

It seems very, very unlikely that everything came from pools of sludge and then fish grew legs,

That seems like a very uneducated view of evolution. Read up a little, it's not so unlikely.

[J2800]

@putis

I was just giving the quickie explanation.

[putis]

Sadly, the 'quickie' explanation detracts quite a bit.