Belief starts young

[Riders]

I believe the more a young person believes in whatever religion they are brought up in the more likely they will stay in it.

Interestingly enough although Christians have accused me of being taught Jesus. I was raised in the Baptist church till i was 1 and then my Mom dropped out of the southern Baptist church because they embarrassed her about her drinking I dropped out with her.

Then I was in Alateen support group for teens that have alcoholic parents. Then I live in psych wards and had an atheist boyfriend , a Native American room mate and Jewish friend named Barbara, and other teen friends who never went to church.So i was Universal while I was in the psych ward.

Then my sister took me to church on the rock to visit several times between the age of 16 and 18 and I decided to drop out. Personally I saw the youth group there as kids who made fun of me for being over weight and really i was not even that big back then.

Between the ages of 19 and 23 I really began to start questioning weather or not Christianity was true. I watched the 7th day Adventist show It Is Written that told about the council of Nicea and Constantine, turning Christianity into a Pagan religion by changing the Sabbath.

I started questioning if the whole existence of Christianity was not Pagan back then.

I then changed to the UPC Pentecostal church who then taught me the Trinity was Pagan, I quit believing in the trinity in the 7th Day Adventist church. Between the UPC and 7th Day Adventists telling me how Pagan oriented the Catholics were eventually I put Christianity aside.

I am just curious for those who are not Christian or are Athiest when did you stop believing. For those who are true blue Christian when did you start to believe. Just trying to get a feel for how much up bringing influences peoples religions. feel free to add about your own religion for non Christians.

No for those who think i got all my Pagan Christ ideas from videos on youtube,like zeitgiest no I did not.

 

[Altfish]

“Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.”

Wasn't it Aristotle who said that??

 

[PureX]

When we teach our children what to think, instead of how to think, they are not going to be as likely, or as good at thinking for themselves.

 

[Polymath257]

I was raised Christian. I went to Sunday school and Wednesday school every week, was in the church chorus, and memorized catechism.

I recall doubting religion very early on (perhaps 5 or 6) because I didn't get any answer when I prayed. I saw the stories of the Bible as similar to Aesop's fables: morality tales that are not history. I was shocked when I figured out that the adults actually believed these things really happened.

While I memorized catechism, I didn't *believe* it: I was just good at memorization and got stars by my name for doing so. But when confirmation came along, I realized I was going to be asked to say I *believed* what I had memorized and that caused a crisis in conscience because I simply didn't. I knew I was going to disappoint my grandparents (who were raising me) if I didn't go through confirmation, but I knew that lying in that situation wasn't a good thing to do. Well, it worked out that I didn't have to go through that (my mother was able to get me back--long story) and I haven't been to a church except for a wedding or a funeral since.

 

[Mock Turtle]

As I've probably mentioned many times, my suspicions were raised when I discovered that there were so many different religions - about age 11. And although this might seem as confirmation to many that religions therefore had some definite value, to me it appeared to be the opposite, in that they often contradicted each other, and the violence between many in earlier years basically just confirmed this. I just didn't see any need for such things, and couldn't place any trust in texts from so long ago, especially knowing the history of knowledge in virtually all other arenas - which was abysmal until very recently. Why would religion be any different?

 

[`mud]

Stern nuns, hard rulers, loving Granma, and a keen mind.
Words didn't matter, good thinking did, the truth came out.
There were never enough answers to good questions.
The truth was always before me, and the answers were lies.
Life is Stuff, pull it in and love it, it's all that you have.

 

[WalterTrull]

There seems to be a structure, a hierarchy, even a chronology to mind. I'm not sure why it appears to go awry sometimes. Maybe it's just appearance?

 

[Cacotopia]

Of course it does, why would they want to deal with a critical thinking mind?

 

[Mindmaster]

I believe the more a young person believes in whatever religion they are brought up in the more likely they will stay in it.

Not always, I was raised Catholic but never believed in it. By my teens I thought I was an atheist, and didn't become theistic until my early twenties. I probably wouldn't admit my theism for years mostly because I was so anti-theistic and so were the people I was chilling with. (LaVey Satanists... ) Anyway, you can progress from a complete non-believer in anything to a full believer if you have experiences which support the notion. I didn't decide to become a theist, I grew into one... My decisions were vehemently against that ever happening.

 

[Revoltingest]

Belief never started for me.
Unbelief starts even younger.

 

[Riders]

Well let me be more clear on my raising. Even though I was dropped out of church and went to Alateen,I did not quit believing in Jesus till I was 33 when i quit church.

Till then I did. I did believe somewhat ,then I experimented with Yoga in my early rwenties.

But because of the 7th Day Adventist church and the UPC church and my other experiencs with the new age I was questioning it.

But I questioned the rule of church heavily, and questioned the idea that church was based upon Paganism a lot. I had been questioning the Trinity for a few years but then I got into the UPC church and thought oneness was the answer.

After I got out of it my belief in the church dropped to nothing. But me finding info on the net about the Pagan Christ was just a following up to what I had already been taught by the UPC and 7th Day Adventist church.

 

[Sanzbir]

the more a young person believes in whatever religion they are brought up in the more likely they will stay in it.

In other news, water is wet.

 

[Devaki]

What I've always found more interesting is the question why some people don't stay in the religion they were raised in. Either convert to another one or reject religion altogether.

What makes those people different from the ones that stay? Any ideas?

 

[Mock Turtle]

What I've always found more interesting is the question why some people don't stay in the religion they were raised in. Either convert to another one or reject religion altogether.

What makes those people different from the ones that stay? Any ideas?

The information they take in overrides any that had them believe in their original religion? Some never challenge the authenticity of any texts they will have used in their religion but all must know that they are not definitive (or obviously correct) since so many different strands of religious belief occur within any particular faith. All religions tend to follow the same path of splitting into various factions - just Google tree of faiths - such that why would one tend to believe any one was true? Apart from what appeals to one perhaps. For the non-believers, such as myself, none appeal. I can do all the morality business for myself, thank you - hardly needing to be told that killing is wrong, and all the rest. I leave God as an unknown.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Religion seems so much more alive when you're younger and more naive to willingly believe in fantastical things.

 

[`mud]

If there really is a `god` of some sort out there beyond the Cosmos,
find a beach for walking and picking up shells and stuff.
Does it rain or flood in that heaven, do you think.
I like walking in the rain on a rainy day on the beach,
oh well...we'll see. Is there really water at all, and shells ?

 

[Thief]

I believe the more a young person believes in whatever religion they are brought up in the more likely they will stay in it.

Interestingly enough although Christians have accused me of being taught Jesus. I was raised in the Baptist church till i was 1 and then my Mom dropped out of the southern Baptist church because they embarrassed her about her drinking I dropped out with her.

Then I was in Alateen support group for teens that have alcoholic parents. Then I live in psych wards and had an atheist boyfriend , a Native American room mate and Jewish friend named Barbara, and other teen friends who never went to church.So i was Universal while I was in the psych ward.

Then my sister took me to church on the rock to visit several times between the age of 16 and 18 and I decided to drop out. Personally I saw the youth group there as kids who made fun of me for being over weight and really i was not even that big back then.

Between the ages of 19 and 23 I really began to start questioning weather or not Christianity was true. I watched the 7th day Adventist show It Is Written that told about the council of Nicea and Constantine, turning Christianity into a Pagan religion by changing the Sabbath.

I started questioning if the whole existence of Christianity was not Pagan back then.

I then changed to the UPC Pentecostal church who then taught me the Trinity was Pagan, I quit believing in the trinity in the 7th Day Adventist church. Between the UPC and 7th Day Adventists telling me how Pagan oriented the Catholics were eventually I put Christianity aside.

I am just curious for those who are not Christian or are Athiest when did you stop believing. For those who are true blue Christian when did you start to believe. Just trying to get a feel for how much up bringing influences peoples religions. feel free to add about your own religion for non Christians.

No for those who think i got all my Pagan Christ ideas from videos on youtube,like zeitgiest no I did not.

in similar fashion I was influenced one way and then the other

the Catholic training was more disciplined and did work for me
and I almost became a priest for cause of it

but as fate would have it I moved from one place to another
and lived with various relatives

Methodist.....Southern Baptist....and so on....

but as I continued reading scripture with focus to parables
and then a strong critique over the accounts of the Carpenter's ministry.....
I decided Carpenter would best be described as my Inspiration

the rest of the world seems bent on nailing that Guy everyday
as if He belongs on that Cross and nowhere else

I prefer to think of Him as mentor
the parables reveal His mind and heart

I don't much care the dogmatic head nodding I see in congregation

 

[Thief]

What I've always found more interesting is the question why some people don't stay in the religion they were raised in. Either convert to another one or reject religion altogether.

What makes those people different from the ones that stay? Any ideas?

exactly that.....ideas

 

[ChristineM]

I believe the more a young person believes in whatever religion they are brought up in the more likely they will stay in it.

Interestingly enough although Christians have accused me of being taught Jesus. I was raised in the Baptist church till i was 1 and then my Mom dropped out of the southern Baptist church because they embarrassed her about her drinking I dropped out with her.

Then I was in Alateen support group for teens that have alcoholic parents. Then I live in psych wards and had an atheist boyfriend , a Native American room mate and Jewish friend named Barbara, and other teen friends who never went to church.So i was Universal while I was in the psych ward.

Then my sister took me to church on the rock to visit several times between the age of 16 and 18 and I decided to drop out. Personally I saw the youth group there as kids who made fun of me for being over weight and really i was not even that big back then.

Between the ages of 19 and 23 I really began to start questioning weather or not Christianity was true. I watched the 7th day Adventist show It Is Written that told about the council of Nicea and Constantine, turning Christianity into a Pagan religion by changing the Sabbath.

I started questioning if the whole existence of Christianity was not Pagan back then.

I then changed to the UPC Pentecostal church who then taught me the Trinity was Pagan, I quit believing in the trinity in the 7th Day Adventist church. Between the UPC and 7th Day Adventists telling me how Pagan oriented the Catholics were eventually I put Christianity aside.

I am just curious for those who are not Christian or are Athiest when did you stop believing. For those who are true blue Christian when did you start to believe. Just trying to get a feel for how much up bringing influences peoples religions. feel free to add about your own religion for non Christians.

No for those who think i got all my Pagan Christ ideas from videos on youtube,like zeitgiest no I did not.

I was a regular church goer from age 7 until 14. Before that it was sunday school.

My problem was that i could not read the bible because I have dyslexia and like with you, christians (nor just teens) rejoiced in mocking difference. That mockery drove me from the church i loved

Soon after i was diagnosed, corrective prismatic glasses and techniques for clearing up the scrambled mess of letters were prescribed. Like magic whole books revealed themselves to me.

Within 2 years i had caught up with my schooling, went on to college then university.

During that frenetic catch up period i also read the bible in an attempt to discover what made christians hate difference so much. Its all there in the OT.

That childhood experience drove me from christianity for good.