Why did you leave christianity.For spiritualism?

[Frank Goad]

Why did you leave christianity.For spiritualism?I am asking this question to all the people who were christian.But turned to spiritualism.Because christianity wasn't the religion for them.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I chose many different religions after Christianity. Many were nicer to people, others nicer to the environment, most just made more sense to me.

 

[Jainarayan]

My next stop after Christianity before Hinduism was Deism. If I had to choose something other than Hinduism it would probably be a form of Deism with an Advaita flavor. The theology, soteriology, and ontology of Christianity did not, and does not make sense to me. Not to mention the commandments, rules, regulations, "must/must not-do", "must believe" of Christianity. Hinduism has what seems like a lot of do's and dont's, but they are often largely symbolic or they have a mystical background which makes sense if one delves into them. However, one is free to follow or not follow, or question, or challenge, or debate, most everything in Hinduism. It is not a free-for-all but one is free to believe and practice what one feels is the best path for them. There is no concept of sin as in Christianity, nor judgment or punishment. Probably the most important do's of Hinduism are non-injury to anyone or anything, including oneself (ahimsā), and do your personal duty (svadharma )whatever it is.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Why did you leave christianity.For spiritualism?I am asking this question to all the people who were christian.But turned to spiritualism.Because christianity wasn't the religion for them.

One of the reasons I left Christianity and began practicing spiritualism was that I'd had far too many paranormal experiences that directly contradicted what the Bible said about death and the afterlife. It seemed dishonest to me to continue believing the Bible's claims about death and the afterlife when my own experiences demonstrated that they were clearly incorrect and misleading.

 

[Soandso]

Well, I guess it began with the gnawing at the back of my mind why an all loving and all good god would create a place of eternal torment like hell. This is of course based in the fundy/baptist/evangelical understanding of hell. It never sat right with me. It was cognitive dissonance that I couldn't let go of.

After years of trying to get to the bottom of it, I looked into other branches of christianity that seemed to make more sense, and I came to the conclusion that hell was a state of mind rather than an actually physical place. From there, the power of fear the idea of hell had held over me had vanished, and with it vanished the apprehension of asking bigger questions.

From there I went down various spiritual paths for various reasons. Since then I've learned that what I ultimately care about is learning. More important than that, though, is learning in a way that has the least amount of bias attatched to it - or at least, what seems to have the least amount of bias. I adjust where I'm found to be wrong.

 

[Sirona]

@Frank Goad It would be helpful if you defined what you mean by spiritualism. For me, this term creates mental images of necromancy and glass moving, which I can't identify with very much.

As for your question, I have a Catholic background, which at least in my culture has a kind of depressing aspect. So it happened to me that one day, I sat in a Mass praying the Kyrie eleison when a little voice in the back of my head said "What if God actually answered but you don't notice it because you're busy moaning at him." This may sound more harsh than I intended so please take it wish a grain of salt, but I think the "function" of the church is not to help you elevate yourself spiritually but to keep you dependent on the church which thereby justifies its own existence. A while ago, somebody wrote that the rite of the priest drawing a cross on the forefront of the baptizand allegedly serves the purpose of "closing the Third Eye". I do not take this literally, of course, but I think it expresses quite well the intention I see behind it.

 

[Trailblazer]

After years of trying to get to the bottom of it, I looked into other branches of christianity that seemed to make more sense, and I came to the conclusion that hell was a state of mind rather than an actually physical place.

That is what I believe. I do not believe that hell is a place, since I don't even believe there are physical places in the next world (afterlife). I believe that heaven and hell are states of states of the soul, and that the soul is responsible for consciousness in this life and in the afterlife, so it is connected to the mind while we are living.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

@Frank Goad It would be helpful if you defined what you mean by spiritualism. For me, this term creates mental images of necromancy and glass moving, which I can't identify with very much.

As for your question, I have a Catholic background, which at least in my culture has a kind of depressing aspect. So it happened to me that one day, I sat in a Mass praying the Kyrie eleison when a little voice in the back of my head said "What if God actually answered but you don't notice it because you're busy moaning at him." This may sound more harsh than I intended so please take it wish a grain of salt, but I think the "function" of the church is not to help you elevate yourself spiritually but to keep you dependent on the church which thereby justifies its own existence. A while ago, somebody wrote that the rite of the priest drawing a cross on the forefront of the baptizand allegedly serves the purpose of "closing the Third Eye". I do not take this literally, of course, but I think it expresses quite well the intention I see behind it.

Spiritualism is a religious movement based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with and interact with the living. Spiritualists believe that the spirit world is an eternal existence that is not limited by space or time and that human spirits can freely move between the spirit world and the physical world by traveling through a spiritual vortex (learn about the vortex here) or a spirit portal (such as mirrors, windows, and doorways). Furthermore, spiritualists also believe that mediums are born with the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead, but that anyone can develop psychic mediumship through extensive study and practice. If you're interested in learning more about spiritualism, you can click on the link here or ask me.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

That is what I believe. I do not believe that hell is a place, since I don't even believe there are physical places in the next world (afterlife). I believe that heaven and hell are states of states of the soul, and that the soul is responsible for consciousness in this life and in the afterlife, so it is connected to the mind while we are living.

I don't believe that the spirit world is constrained to heaven and hell either. My extensive experience as a medium and paranormal investigator has led me to believe otherwise. And my extensive experience as a medium and paranormal investigator has convinced me that the Bible's teaching on the afterlife is incorrect and misleading. Of course, these are my personal beliefs as a psychic medium.

 

[Trailblazer]

I don't believe that the spirit world is constrained to heaven and hell either. My extensive experience as a medium and paranormal investigator has led me to believe otherwise. And my extensive experience as a medium and paranormal investigator has convinced me that the Bible's teaching on the afterlife is incorrect and misleading. Of course, these are my personal beliefs as a psychic medium.

I am rereading the book entitled The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die
In a chapter entitled Many Mansions, the author describes the seven spheres where people gravitate to in the spiritual world (afterlife). There is a lot more but the book is not online, so I had to type what is below.

"Hare's disincarnate father further explained that a spirit goes to a sphere for which it is morally and intellectually adapted; thus the first sphere above the terrestrial one, i.e., the second sphere, is the abode of "degraded" spirits, meaning not only evil spirits, but "misdirected" ones as well. He pointed out that there are millions of such spirits in the second sphere, what religions call Hell, Hades, or Purgatory, who are groping and unable to free themselves form the fetters of earthly conditions. This sphere is said to be the abode of as many spirits as all the five spheres above it. Nevertheless, contrary to the teachings of many religions, the spirits on this sphere are not permanently confined there as "onward and upward" is the motto of the spirit world. Sooner or later, spirits from higher levels are able to reach them and help them see the light."
(The Afterlife Revealed, pp. 110-111)

This is congruent with what Baha'is believe about the afterlife, that the soul will continue to progress in the spiritual world.

“And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 155-156

Below is a description of the book on Amazon. All this is congruent with what Baha'is believe, although the book describes the spiritual world in a lot greater detail.

"At the very foundation of religious faith and hope is a belief that consciousness will survive death and that we will live on in another dimension of reality. But that foundation easily crumbles when scientific minds are unable to wrap their brains around an afterlife, when they are unable to visualize a non-material world. As the foundation gives way, the philosophy of materialism takes hold and gives rise to moral decadence, egocentricity, hypocrisy, hatred, disorder, flux, strife, chaos, and fear. Such seems to be the state of the world today. There is so much to be found outside the highly guarded boundaries of mainstream science and orthodox religion for those willing to open their minds to it, for those willing to recognize that the dissemination of Truth did not stop with the good books of organized religion and cannot always be found in the laboratory.

Beginning in 1848, a number of sensitive people began developing as mediums, bringing forth communications from the spirit world. One of the skeptics investigating the "popular madness" was Professor Robert Hare of the University of Pennsylvania. Intending to debunk it all, Hare would, after extensive research, become a believer. When he asked an apparently advanced spirit what it was all about, he was told that it was "a deliberate effort, on the part of the inhabitants of the higher spheres, to break through the partition which has interfered with the attainment, by mortals, of a correct idea of their destiny after death." Unfortunately, both orthodox religion and mainstream science, acting out of ego and fear, have rebuked the efforts of those inhabitants of the higher spheres to enlighten us, thus permitting the foundations of both faith and hope to further crumble.

In The Afterlife Revealed, Michael Tymn sets forth some of the most credible messages from the spirits relative to the nature of their world. Instead of a heaven-hell dichotomy, we are told that there are many levels, or as Jesus is quoted, "many mansions," and that we cross over to the "other side" based on what might be called a "moral specific gravity." We discover a Divine plan - one of attainment and attunement, of gradual spiritual growth, of evolution of spirit through progressively higher planes. We see how we are really souls occupying bodies rather than bodies housing souls and how our souls are progressing in finding their way back to Oneness with the Creator through the challenges, the adversities, the trials and tribulations offered us in a particular lifetime."

The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die

 

[Sand Dancer]

One of the reasons I left Christianity and began practicing spiritualism was that I'd had far too many paranormal experiences that directly contradicted what the Bible said about death and the afterlife. It seemed dishonest to me to continue believing the Bible's claims about death and the afterlife when my own experiences demonstrated that they were clearly incorrect and misleading.

That's just Satan's work.

 

[George-ananda]

Why did you leave christianity.For spiritualism?I am asking this question to all the people who were christian.But turned to spiritualism.Because christianity wasn't the religion for them.

Because Spiritualism provides me with a much broader and complete understanding of reality. Although I find the core of both religions to be on the same page.

 

[Trailblazer]

Yeah, that's what I've heard.

 

[syo]

Why did you leave christianity.For spiritualism?I am asking this question to all the people who were christian.But turned to spiritualism.Because christianity wasn't the religion for them.

Christianity is wrong.

 

[metis]

I chose many different religions after Christianity. Many were nicer to people, others nicer to the environment, most just made more sense to me.

I do believe Christianity does teach being nice and also to protect that which we have been blessed with. Unfortunately, some seem to have forgotten what they've been taught.