no more in the god gang
sent in by skype uk
well, here goes folk...I got religion when I was 16 yrs old.To say that I was a mixed up teenager would be an under statement and I was easy prey for street evangelists.To cut a long story short i got converted into pentecostalism.My elation at having been "saved" and found the truth was short lived.I made a dreadful mistake...i started to read the bible for myself.
what an eye opener. what i was been told (indoctrinated with) was at odds with the bible itself."God loves everyone and died for them" i was told and yet I read of god killing people relentlessly.Week after week and bible study after bible study i was told that the bible is infallable and yet i couldnt reconcile the contradictions within its pages.The more i read the more i questioned and the more I questioned the more annoyed the elders got with me until eventually they suspended me from the church for three months "for being negative".And still i went back,such was my desire to believe.
However my inquisitive nature would not be quelled and I continued to research.I read voraciously.I read everything that I could get my hands on regarding religion and christianity.My church started to ostracise me,they didnt like difficult questions,they preffered their nice little religious comfort blanket.I wanted answers.
I WANTED to believe but I also wanted to keep my brain intact.If the bible was true then surley my doubts could be answered.I next joined a more radical christian group and for a while lived in one of their communal houses.They had an "every thing in common" type of christianity.They were certainly more sincere than most other christians that I knew but also (looking back)more brainwashed.Absolutly nothing was questioned.If the elders had said hit yourselves on the head repeatedly with a large iron chisel they would have done it.
needless to say my doubts grew and I eventualy drifted away.
Now, at forty years of age, I look back upon those days as though they happened to somebody else.Gone is the constant fear of hellfire,gone are the doubts and the never ending task of trying to reconcile biblical contradictions,gone are the brothers and sisters who shunned me because i wanted answers to questions.nowadays i can see christianity, the bible and religion for what it is...a croc of crap
stoke on trent
england
joined at sixteen
driffted away in my twenties
was: pentecostal and a home grown jesus cult
now: agnostic skeptic freethinker
converted because: evangelised in the street (& fell for it)
de-converted because: read the bible & saw it for what it is
email: dundana dot 66 at virgin dot net
well, here goes folk...I got religion when I was 16 yrs old.To say that I was a mixed up teenager would be an under statement and I was easy prey for street evangelists.To cut a long story short i got converted into pentecostalism.My elation at having been "saved" and found the truth was short lived.I made a dreadful mistake...i started to read the bible for myself.
what an eye opener. what i was been told (indoctrinated with) was at odds with the bible itself."God loves everyone and died for them" i was told and yet I read of god killing people relentlessly.Week after week and bible study after bible study i was told that the bible is infallable and yet i couldnt reconcile the contradictions within its pages.The more i read the more i questioned and the more I questioned the more annoyed the elders got with me until eventually they suspended me from the church for three months "for being negative".And still i went back,such was my desire to believe.
However my inquisitive nature would not be quelled and I continued to research.I read voraciously.I read everything that I could get my hands on regarding religion and christianity.My church started to ostracise me,they didnt like difficult questions,they preffered their nice little religious comfort blanket.I wanted answers.
I WANTED to believe but I also wanted to keep my brain intact.If the bible was true then surley my doubts could be answered.I next joined a more radical christian group and for a while lived in one of their communal houses.They had an "every thing in common" type of christianity.They were certainly more sincere than most other christians that I knew but also (looking back)more brainwashed.Absolutly nothing was questioned.If the elders had said hit yourselves on the head repeatedly with a large iron chisel they would have done it.
needless to say my doubts grew and I eventualy drifted away.
Now, at forty years of age, I look back upon those days as though they happened to somebody else.Gone is the constant fear of hellfire,gone are the doubts and the never ending task of trying to reconcile biblical contradictions,gone are the brothers and sisters who shunned me because i wanted answers to questions.nowadays i can see christianity, the bible and religion for what it is...a croc of crap
stoke on trent
england
joined at sixteen
driffted away in my twenties
was: pentecostal and a home grown jesus cult
now: agnostic skeptic freethinker
converted because: evangelised in the street (& fell for it)
de-converted because: read the bible & saw it for what it is
email: dundana dot 66 at virgin dot net
Comments
Doubts? do you know all answers?
don´t tell me YES only for saying it, but answer that question to yourself..
By default we all must go to hell (we all lie, and do evil)...
BUT No person should be scared of going to hell..
BECAUSE There are FREE tickets for not going to hell, finally... it is OUR choice going to hell or not.. You can just extend your hand and take the FREE ticket.. God wants and is longing to see you in heaven but He will not force. Its our choice....
You encountered religion. You encountered people who were actually supposed to help you draw closer to God. But they obviously communicated to you that it's all about performance, about being "good".
All you need, is meeting Jesus. In person. Jesus who really does love you. Jesus who doesn't want you to switch your brain off cos He gave it to you.
You were longing for Jesus, for a REAL touch of God. What you got was religion. That is not a satisfying answer. How can it be.
Be disappointed about religion. Be disillusioned about people. But do not reject Jesus before you ever really met Him.
Leave out people. Leave out religion. Take a distance to all that. Meet Jesus. That alone will make the difference. Don't go for less. It's worth it.
What doesn't make sense about this?
Anyone? Anyone?
Christian-anony-bots: Please list the terrible crimes you've committed that you believe make you deserving of being tortured form millions and billions of years and forever.
Modern societies agree that torture is inhumane and that the punishment should fit the crime. It seems a shame that your god's sense of justice is still mired in the Bronze Age.
To be frank, your god is ridiculously sadistic, doesn't have any comprehension of what "unconditional love" means, and quite obviously doesn't exist except in your religion-soaked brain.
1) If "God" presumably "made man in His image"....yet, man, by "default", is deserving of "Hell"---this, due to his/her apparently unfixable propensity to commit "evil"---then golly, that certainly speaks volumes about the alleged "Creator", doesn't it? A "perfect creator"? Absurd.
2) Concerning "free gifts"---if the Ring Master at the local carnival is giving away "free tickets" for a life-time admission, then fabulous. That is a generally accepted concept of "free". On the other hand, if the Ring Master tracks you down and feeds you to the lions for declining this "free offer", then the person who "accepts" this "offer" has not technically exercised his or her "free will" at all---no, they've accepted under duress. In other words, it's nothing short of coersion, which, said tactic intentionally influences your "freedom" to choose. So again, I ask: a "perfect creator" needs to coerse people into getting what it wants? Nah...'don't think so.
In conclusion, your "Jesus" is either really screwed up in the head, or your "Jesus" is imaginary. I vote the latter.
www.lookingforgod.com
Anon,
So I went to your site, per your suggestion here.
I must say, I've had a total change of heart now.
The pretty pictures of all god's creations alone, instantly swayed me over to your side.
I especially found the DREAM sequence "An Interview with god", to be the most enlightening and compelling presentation I've ever seen to explain your god. It was right up there with the X-Files TV show and it's convincing evidence for Aliens on Earth.
I'm sure that your site also contained overwhelming evidence of your god to?
Even though I looked high and low for it and couldn't find ANY evidence to prove your Jesus, I will trust in YOUR good judgement that it surely was there...... somewhere.
So on your trusting word alone, I just pretended to myself that I read through all the missing evidence, just like YOU HAVE, and now I'm over-flowing with gladness that I'm 'saved' from hell' and won't have to sup with the devil anymore.
Any other fable sites you have up your sleeve that you wish for me to believe in?
I'm really looking for something similar that gets me hooked-up with gods like Hercules and Zeus and Neptune. Any suggestions anon?
AtheistToothFairy