Ex Christians

[Alceste]

I was raised in a liberal Christian. I sang in the choir, acted in the nativity plays, went to all the bake sales and father-daughter dances, etc.

The short story is that I came to realize that the "morality" espoused by the majority of Christians falls well short of my own ethical standards, and the "morality" espoused in the Bible itself is often indistinguishable from the most vicious compulsions of ordinary human beings. I am not a Christian because I believe Jesus himself would be appalled by Christianity, if he were still here to see it (which he isn't, thank God).

 

[waitasec]

Well we all have the ability to make choices. That's why we don't HAVE to become christains(God doesn't force us to) Also human beings can chose what they want to eat, wear, read, etc

in order for me to respond to this, do you believe hell exists for those who do not believe in jesus?

People interpret it wrong. Some try to fit the Bible into what they want to believe/what makes more sense to them instead of what it actually says.

how can something that is undefinable be interpreted wrong?

That's like asking me why I believe a letter that says it's from Sandy is written by Sandy. If I had multiple letters(the Bible has books) form her and all of them were consistent then it woudl make sense that she wrote them. For example if in all the letter it talks about her love for lemonade, how her garden's almost done, etc then I'd have no reason to not believe they were from her. It's the same way with the Bible.

i would say if you know sandy, have an empirical experience of sandy, and have a history with her then you can verify it's from her simply by what she said and how she said it in the letter. all i had were impressions of god through my own understanding which was influenced by this book called the bible and my upbringing...

I'm not offended. The God of Bible wouldn't approve of them doing that.

but jesus told them to do it

I've never heard of these "faith healings?"

google it...

It causes confusion because people interpret it wrong.

as i said before, it's impossible to interpret something that isn't definable
iow,
there is no wrong perspective because what is being perceived is subjective since the only criteria to verify something to be true is based on religious faith...had the criteria been empirical evidence then one can say it is a wrong interpretation....but it's not.

 

[waitasec]

Salvation isn't really a feeling. It's more of a knowledge, like when you get saved you don't suddenly "Feel saved" per say, but you know that you are.

no it's more of a mindset


my mind changed as i became more aware that what i was perceiving as an object of my faith became less and less reinforced due to the mounting unanswered questions i had...

 

[England my lionheart]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly. If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end? Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

I was Christened/Baptised when a Baby by a Vicar in a Church,as a Child i went to Sunday School and it was there that the stories from the Bible seemed not to concern me,i thought the stories in it were great though but i also thought the story of "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien was brilliant and bearing in mind that it did not claim to be true was not as alien as a Man or a God willing to sacrifice their own Sons,keep slaves,send people to burn for eternity etc etc in a book that proclaimed to be true.

However i thought the story of Jesus was a noble one but as a Child i could never get my head around the procession of Clerics,the incense and the weird hats and Shepherds crook and people like Jesuits Nuns and Priests or the Pope,especially when it was explained to me that he was Gods Vicar on Earth,i found this puzzling,i wondered why there had to be a middle Man and why i could not communicate one to one like Abraham or Moses.

As i grew older this disbelief was endorsed by my education,not only was there Christianity but different sects of Christianity,and different sects of Judaism,Islam,Hindu,Buddhist, Mormon and Pagan,this opened up a can of worms as far as religion went and i concluded that basically the content of each religion is as true as the next to the people who believe them,thus i left Christianty as a religion and personally as a shackle,of course all the above is my POV.

 

[Vadergirl123]

in order for me to respond to this, do you believe hell exists for those who do not believe in jesus?

Yes hell exists wether you believe in it or not. It's like saying the red chair will always be red even if you want it to be blue.

how can something that is undefinable be interpreted wrong?

Why do you believe the Bible's undefinable?

i would say if you know sandy, have an empirical experience of sandy, and have a history with her then you can verify it's from her simply by what she said and how she said it in the letter.

Well lets say I've never met her in person, but I do know people who have seen her and what they say about her confirms what she says in her letters. I wouldn't have a reason to believe she doesn't exists or that her letters are false right?

all i had were impressions of god through my own understanding which was influenced by this book called the bible and my upbringing...

Was your "own understanding" based on the Bible.

but jesus told them to do it

That's what they claimed, but that doesn't mean Jesus did tell them that. I could tell my pastor that Jesus told me to tell him to give me one hundred buccs. You can claim Jesus tells you anything. There's no reason to believe Jesus told them that since bombing the WTC was against his character.

 

[Vadergirl123]

The short story is that I came to realize that the "morality" espoused by the majority of Christians falls well short of my own ethical standards, and the "morality" espoused in the Bible itself is often indistinguishable from the most vicious compulsions of ordinary human beings. I am not a Christian because I believe Jesus himself would be appalled by Christianity, if he were still here to see it (which he isn't, thank God).

I agree there are alot of churches out there who don't base their morals on what the Bible says.

 

[Me Myself]

Most churches try to limit their biblical coherence in subjects like genocide, religious tolerance and homosexuality. (because even while they say they are the only church, etc, at least they don´t say kill where they stand anyone who decides to change reilgion or any male who has sex with another male)

 

[waitasec]

Yes hell exists wether you believe in it or not. It's like saying the red chair will always be red even if you want it to be blue.

by what criteria can you say hell actually exists for me, if it's faith then it doesn't hold water, not for me.

edit:
i need to clarify, not that you are saying i am going to hell but that it is a real place in my reality.

Why do you believe the Bible's undefinable?

not the bible, the idea of god

Well lets say I've never met her in person, but I do know people who have seen her and what they say about her confirms what she says in her letters. I wouldn't have a reason to believe she doesn't exists or that her letters are false right?

then it's hearsay. and one cannot confirm one way or the other if it's actually sandy or not as one has never had an empirical experience of sandy.

Was your "own understanding" based on the Bible.

i studied to go into the ministry

That's what they claimed, but that doesn't mean Jesus did tell them that. I could tell my pastor that Jesus told me to tell him to give me one hundred buccs. You can claim Jesus tells you anything. There's no reason to believe Jesus told them that since bombing the WTC was against his character.

i agree with this sentiment. and do you know why people can use the bible as justification for just about anything? it's because the criteria that is used to determine this book as the word of god is based on subjective interpretation, not empirical evidence.

 

[Astravalon]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly. If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end? Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

For me it’s a combination of things, which, depending on the day, take prominence in my spiritual outlook.

Initially, it was the realization that the bible, while containing great nuggets of wisdom, does contain what I would now consider contradictions. I used to think they were just apparent contradictions, but after some debates in another, primarily Christian, forum, I realized those contradictions might be actual.

I have since undergone so much transformation in my spiritual journey that to call myself “Christian” -- at least in any conventional, orthodox sense -- would be inaccurate .

Scripture describes Jesus as referring to himself as the Door or the Gate through which one goes to reach God. Well, I think it's safe to say that, for the 40-plus years that I've been a Christian, I have been going through "through Jesus" in just about every sense of the term there is.

I figure if I were to continue lingering in that Doorway -- or hanging out at that Gate, not taking a step further than that, then perhaps I could still call myself a Christian. But I have since moved through the doorway to the Father, and am now directing my devotion to God Himself. For me, Jesus was, indeed, a door, but evidently he was not the destination. Just like any doorway or gateway, he was a means toward an end (in this case, God) as opposed to the end in and of itself.

Scripture mentions that Jesus eventually hands over the Kingdom to God. In a sense, that's just what happened to the Kingdom within me. Jesus handed it over to God, the latter who is now my primary focus.




-

 

[crocusj]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly. If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end? Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

I suppose most of us are ex something. I don't think Santa helped either. Something you believed in completely only to find out it is made up had a profound effect on me as a child. It made me question everything. I ended up being one of very few (I assume)atheist alter boys (the priest asked me to carry on for a while since he was short of replacements but maybe he was trying out some sort of Pascaly Wagery thingy on me). It wasn't doubts about Christianity, it was the realisation that I did not nor could I believe in or even grasp the concept of a god. The whole idea just seemed so preposterous. Then, it was just a lack of belief. Now, it is the same lack but with rational reinforcement.

 

[bigbadgirl]

I was Christened/Baptised when a Baby by a Vicar in a Church,as a Child i went to Sunday School and it was there that the stories from the Bible seemed not to concern me,i thought the stories in it were great though but i also thought the story of "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien was brilliant and bearing in mind that it did not claim to be true was not as alien as a Man or a God willing to sacrifice their own Sons,keep slaves,send people to burn for eternity etc etc in a book that proclaimed to be true.

However i thought the story of Jesus was a noble one but as a Child i could never get my head around the procession of Clerics,the incense and the weird hats and Shepherds crook and people like Jesuits Nuns and Priests or the Pope,especially when it was explained to me that he was Gods Vicar on Earth,i found this puzzling,i wondered why there had to be a middle Man and why i could not communicate one to one like Abraham or Moses.

As i grew older this disbelief was endorsed by my education,not only was there Christianity but different sects of Christianity,and different sects of Judaism,Islam,Hindu,Buddhist, Mormon and Pagan,this opened up a can of worms as far as religion went and i concluded that basically the content of each religion is as true as the next to the people who believe them,thus i left Christianty as a religion and personally as a shackle,of course all the above is my POV.

Excellent.

 

[ForeverFaithful]

I know I am not following "jesus"
I want nothing to do with "jesus"
I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN.
You should change your Title to "sun worshiper" as you are not following "the Light" that was created in the first three days.

Jesus was not created on the third day (John 1:1)
I'm sorry that you do not embrace Christ, but I would love to contiue this conversation, if you want to make a thread or send me a Pm either is cool

 

[brambleberry]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly.

Go on.

If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end?

I believe that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior and when I realized I no longer believed in Christianity that wasn't the case anymore.

Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

All and both? It was a gradual leaving of Christianity for me and then it hit all at one time a couple of years ago, if that makes any sense?

 

[Alceste]

I agree there are alot of churches out there who don't base their morals on what the Bible says.

Thank God for that - the Bible would be a terrible thing to base our morals on. Do we really want to stone our children and our neighbours to death for any kind of deviant behavior? Surely not. Do we (women) honestly want to be forced to MARRY our rapists? Do we want to be forbidden to speak in church, to consider our husbands our masters? Do we want to trade in slaves, or to be slaves? Do we want to slaughter entire villages of men, women, and children, saving the virgin girls to be prizes for the soldiers who do the killing?

If there's one thing I am genuinely thankful for, it's that most Christians don't bother to read the Bible. Especially those who insist it's the ultimate foundation for morality.

 

[Alceste]

I suppose most of us are ex something. I don't think Santa helped either. Something you believed in completely only to find out it is made up had a profound effect on me as a child. It made me question everything. I ended up being one of very few (I assume)atheist alter boys (the priest asked me to carry on for a while since he was short of replacements but maybe he was trying out some sort of Pascaly Wagery thingy on me). It wasn't doubts about Christianity, it was the realisation that I did not nor could I believe in or even grasp the concept of a god. The whole idea just seemed so preposterous. Then, it was just a lack of belief. Now, it is the same lack but with rational reinforcement.

My parents explained there was no such thing as Santa by the time I was three or four. Bless them, they were worried that if they lied to me about Santa and I later found out he wasn't real I would end up having doubts about God. Of course I don't remember ever believing in EITHER Santa or God. I vaguely recall the conversation about Santa, but I don't remember being surprised by it. More, "why are they telling me something so obvious, and why do they look so concerned about it?" I think some of us simply do not have minds that are wired for faith in the literal existence of unseen worlds and creatures. Perhaps we are born that way.

I do recall making an effort to fit in by trying to believe in various, new age supernatural ideas for a while in my late teens (long after I stopped going to church). I failed.

 

[-Peacemaker-]

I
There were two nagging doubts in my mind, however, as I kneeled to pray at night before bed:

1) I was attracted to males, but I couldn't shake my attraction to females. I had no idea that bisexuality existed, but was taught that homosexuality is sick and an abomination. So I prayed, and begged, and cried, and trusted in God to heal me of my attractions. All was fine until a pretty woman would sit next to me in the pews on Sunday, and the roller coaster ride of electricity and self-loathing would start again.

2) I could never feel right with the idea of an anthropomorphic deity who demands a conditional relationship with his followers. Believe, or burn. I prayed and studied to come to terms with it as a truism, and in college became involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, and I continued to fret over that teaching. Believe, or burn. Eventually, I felt the entire Christian theology as it was taught to me demanded an abusive relationship where my understanding of God could be flawed, and if I understood incorrectly, I'm doomed to an eternity in Hell. It's like being tied in a chair, doused with gasoline, and set on fire because I didn't please dad enough.

I

Mystic, would I be correct in guessing that, at the time, #1 was a far bigger reason for leaving church than #2?

 

[nnmartin]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly. If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end? Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

good question.

seems to me that many ex-Christians become so because they finally give up trying to bend the Bible to fit their lifestyle.

after all , who really wants to live a life of celibacy, temperance and piety?

not how Nature intended it to be.

Why would God create the sexual organs if they were not meant to used?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Mystic, would I be correct in guessing that, at the time, #1 was a far bigger reason for leaving church than #2?

No. They both were equally worrisome for me.

 

[jasonwill2]

So I've read a couple of posts about people claiming to be "ex christians" and I'm curious as to what they mean exactly. If you are an ex-christain were you in a relationship with Jesus Christ and decided you wanted the relationship to end? Was it that the belief of christiantity stopped making sense or something else entirely? Please let me know.

I left Christ for my Lord Satan and then Renounced the Trinity on the Eve of Halloween night, why do you ask again?

OK it was longer than that... christianity was poison to me... realized 6 months before admiting i was a satanist, and then renounced several months later near halloween for specialness.

it was mostly that jesus and Yahweh didnt answer back after so long... i was a christian for 7 or so years. i just gave up after he failed me so much to be there for me when I needed him most like he said he would be.

Satan is my god now, but its not at all in the christian sense... discovered satanism and it spoke to me... not really the christian satan at all.

 

[Tbone]

So all those promises Christ made about being with the diciplices until the end of the age? All lies then?

Maybe you can enlighten me as to what went so drastically wrong in the fourth century that can not be traced back to earlier Apostolic tradition?

1.) Jesus only being in the grave for a day and a half.
2.) People going to heaven.
3.) People being given eternal life for sinning/people being tourtured forever.
4.) Doing away with God's sabbaths and feasts.
5.) God's way of life (i.e. His laws) being done away with.
Just to mention a few.