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Showing posts from January, 2009

A Walk on the Dark Side: A Childhood Nightmare

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By Mriana Image via Soulfountain (Names have been changed/withheld to protect the living) In 1973 I was seven and riding back home with my parents after spending a long summer with my grandparents. I don’t remember much before then, except bits and pieces, but after that was living hell, which I have no knowledge as to why. The thing is, as a child, none of it was my fault, but rather the adults in my life and it had nothing to do with a god. It was all on the humans. My parents did not go to church, unless we were with my mother’s relatives, even after all the times my mother and I left the abuser. Yet the bizarreness of Evangelicalism , along with insanity plagued my childhood. Being of short parents, I was small enough to lie down in the back seat of a Vega to watch the blue sky pass by overhead. As I watched, I thought, “We’ve been to the moon and back, but neither God nor heaven is there.” Thus began a long journey of learning that the god of the adults was not my god, for m...

A Walk on the Dark Side: A Childhood Nightmare

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By Mriana Image via Soulfountain (Names have been changed/withheld to protect the living) In 1973 I was seven and riding back home with my parents after spending a long summer with my grandparents. I don’t remember much before then, except bits and pieces, but after that was living hell, which I have no knowledge as to why. The thing is, as a child, none of it was my fault, but rather the adults in my life and it had nothing to do with a god. It was all on the humans. My parents did not go to church, unless we were with my mother’s relatives, even after all the times my mother and I left the abuser. Yet the bizarreness of Evangelicalism , along with insanity plagued my childhood. Being of short parents, I was small enough to lie down in the back seat of a Vega to watch the blue sky pass by overhead. As I watched, I thought, “We’ve been to the moon and back, but neither God nor heaven is there.” Thus began a long journey of learning that the god of the adults was not my god, for m...

Each of us has a path in life

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By Christian B Hello, I have been with this website a long time now and I feel now is the time to introduce myself and my beliefs. My Name is Christian, I am from the United Kingdom and I am 27 years old. I am a Unitarian along with what I would consider my own 'unique' beliefs, and I believe that this is my 'path' in this lifetime. Why do so many of us, including me, start off as Christians, then suddenly or over a course of many years find ourselves outgrowing it? Well, I believe that these events are 'predestined' and are part of our soul's development. Each of us is a individual soul with individual gifts, talents and needs. I personally believe in ' reincarnation ' and that most of us here where Christians because of who we may have been in a ' past life ' for many numerous reasons and in what I believe to be the spiritual realms, Our soul, or 'higher self' along with our 'guardian angels' and 'guides' chose ...

Each of us has a path in life

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By Christian B Hello, I have been with this website a long time now and I feel now is the time to introduce myself and my beliefs. My Name is Christian, I am from the United Kingdom and I am 27 years old. I am a Unitarian along with what I would consider my own 'unique' beliefs, and I believe that this is my 'path' in this lifetime. Why do so many of us, including me, start off as Christians, then suddenly or over a course of many years find ourselves outgrowing it? Well, I believe that these events are 'predestined' and are part of our soul's development. Each of us is a individual soul with individual gifts, talents and needs. I personally believe in ' reincarnation ' and that most of us here where Christians because of who we may have been in a ' past life ' for many numerous reasons and in what I believe to be the spiritual realms, Our soul, or 'higher self' along with our 'guardian angels' and 'guides' chose ...

The Tempest

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Image via Wikipedia By Christian I was a Non-Denominational Christian girl and as I got older, I was very involved in my church. I went out witnessing (trying to proselytize people and inviting people to my church) on Saturday mornings and I was thoroughly brainwashed by my church to think that all non-Christians would be in hell. I constantly attended altar calls to rededicate my life to god and to make sure that I would go to heaven. Well, this lasted until I went to college and was exposed to new ideas. I eventually knew that my beliefs were going to change and I started reading Carl Sagan . I started learning more about my first love which was science and how it actually worked. I was exposed to a world that was more wonderful than anything I experienced. I read other science publications--books, magazines, anything I could get my hands on--and digested the information. I eventually discovered the joy of reading Skeptical Inquirer ; I decided to strengthen my natural skepticism. I ...

The Tempest

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Image via Wikipedia By Christian I was a Non-Denominational Christian girl and as I got older, I was very involved in my church. I went out witnessing (trying to proselytize people and inviting people to my church) on Saturday mornings and I was thoroughly brainwashed by my church to think that all non-Christians would be in hell. I constantly attended altar calls to rededicate my life to god and to make sure that I would go to heaven. Well, this lasted until I went to college and was exposed to new ideas. I eventually knew that my beliefs were going to change and I started reading Carl Sagan . I started learning more about my first love which was science and how it actually worked. I was exposed to a world that was more wonderful than anything I experienced. I read other science publications--books, magazines, anything I could get my hands on--and digested the information. I eventually discovered the joy of reading Skeptical Inquirer ; I decided to strengthen my natural skepticism. I ...

My Story - Part 3. Prison, Chains and the Dragon

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Image by visual.dichotomy via Flickr By Neal Stone Funny how things work out sometimes. As I was getting ready to write this part I found my office (a local non-profit) was losing funding and we have to cut expenses. It was a three day weekend and I fell into a deep depression. Much better now though. But what is funny is that the depression I felt I haven't felt in years. It was a deep rooted, not sure what to do type depression. The last time I felt this ways was when I was in church and not sure what to do with my life. I spent my whole church life this way. Of course now I am all sorted out and feeling better. Just got a shock at first when I got the news though it was expected. This is why the week delay in this posting. After becoming a Christian and my parents “got right with God”, they decided I needed to leave public school and go to a private Christian school. I spent the 6th grade being picked on by bullies, falling behind on my work and piratically failing. ...

My Story - Part 3. Prison, Chains and the Dragon

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Image by visual.dichotomy via Flickr By Neal Stone Funny how things work out sometimes. As I was getting ready to write this part I found my office (a local non-profit) was losing funding and we have to cut expenses. It was a three day weekend and I fell into a deep depression. Much better now though. But what is funny is that the depression I felt I haven't felt in years. It was a deep rooted, not sure what to do type depression. The last time I felt this ways was when I was in church and not sure what to do with my life. I spent my whole church life this way. Of course now I am all sorted out and feeling better. Just got a shock at first when I got the news though it was expected. This is why the week delay in this posting. After becoming a Christian and my parents “got right with God”, they decided I needed to leave public school and go to a private Christian school. I spent the 6th grade being picked on by bullies, falling behind on my work and piratically failing. ...

I'm in a state of confusion

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife Sent in by SFT I took a deep breath, walked a short distance, turned around and realized my reality had fallen to bits... I've been frequenting this site quite a lot lately, amazed and relieved that there are others out there. And reading some of your testimonies I realize that most if not all of you were "true" Christians, although I've found most Christians deny this fact and say otherwise. I think right now I'm stuck in a transitioning process, still open minded to both sides. There are still books to be read and thoughts to examine. However, I'm tired of trying to shove mashed potatoes through a small pin hole -- it's frustrating and brings great fatigue and confusion. I realize all that I have based my belief on is unfounded and shows my great ignorance. I grew up in a Christian home my whole life. I've attended a Baptist church ever since I was a small child. I even went to a Christian high-school . I w...

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