Looking for personal stories about walking away from their faith (meaning, punishment)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,298 posts, read 80,577,144 times
Reputation: 57288
Advertisements
I was about 10-11 when I realized that the Catholic Church was a scam. It made me sick going to mass and smelling all of the perfumes, and I thought it looked like a fashion show, with people dressing up in their best and most expensive clothes to show off. Even the collection basket was that way, with some people flaunting a $20 bill as they put it into the basket (this was the 1960s). The services were sooo boring it was hard to stay awake, and many people did doze off. Then after mass, I saw people in their cars cutting off others, honking in impatience. When I got a paper route I would tell my parents I was going to the 6:30 mass after delivering my papers, but would instead ride my bike into town and have breakfast at a local restaurant. Once I had a car, I would drive to the nearby lake and rent a rowboat for an hour. I only went to church once when a little brother wanted to go with me to the 6:30 and I couldn't get out of it.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,689 posts, read 41,612,807 times
Reputation: 41323
Quote:
Originally Posted by green2819
Id love to hear from people who were raised Lutheran, Catholic, Protestant etc who walked away from their faith. What was your turning point/why did you become a non-believer. Thanks!
Raised mostly Baptist/Protestant. Started flirting with agnosticism after my father died mostly. I just couldn't believe a religion would consider him redeemed just because he prayed a 1 minute prayer after not giving a about his own son most of his life.
Over the next few years I saw no point in prayer since i t didn't produce any results. Saw the fakeness of when you first become a Christian how they embrace you versus once they figure they have you committed that embrace will fall right off.
Now, I'm an atheist after flirting with just deism.
I'm sorry the atheist was nasty! But the important think is not who is naughty or nice, but really just what starts the questioning.If the quesionings lead one o this or that religion - that's fine. but very often they lead out.
He wasn't nasty towards posters, just religion(specifically Christianity). I was determined to prove him wrong, and could not.
I was raised Southern Baptist from a very early age, although my parents never really attended church. I must have been born with an extra dose of guilt though, because I felt like I needed to go to church even if by myself as a young child.
Graduated from that to Jesus freak in the 70s. I mean crazy full-on 24/7 reading the bible, praying, fasting, prayer meetings, attending bible school, street ministry, bringing home drug addicts and others who had no place to stay, you name it.
Slowed down a bit from that and got involved in less crazy acting non-denominational churches. Then finally gave up religion altogether. I am so much more at peace inside than I ever was in any of those circumstances back then. FINALLY know who I am even though I was in my 50s when it happened.
That said, I don't ever try to discourage someone in their faith, as I think if it helps them, that's great. However, what I do have a problem with is if they try to convert me. Another thing that aggravates me, living here in the bible belt is the assumption that we're all Christians.
The first 30+ years of my life my faith was in atheism. I studied martial arts and meditation as a Buddhist. I found the mumbo jumbo accompanying Buddhism to be bunkum but continued with the meditation eventually employing biofeedback to attain deeper states. I lost my faith in atheism during an episode in deep meditation wherein I encountered a consciousness of pure love and acceptance that in no way could be attributed to me or my subconscious. I spent the next 4 decades+ explaining it to my intellect.
The first 30+ years of my life my faith was in atheism. I studied martial arts and meditation as a Buddhist. I found the mumbo jumbo accompanying Buddhism to be bunkum but continued with the meditation eventually employing biofeedback to attain deeper states. I lost my faith in atheism during an episode in deep meditation wherein I encountered a consciousness of pure love and acceptance that in no way could be attributed to me or my subconscious. I spent the next 4 decades+ explaining it to my intellect.
That's good. And I'll stretch a point that it is a conversion -story rather than a deconversion story, and you have to present atheism as a Faith that you 'lost' as a result of a mystical experience.
Essentially as a result of that experience, you lost the atheist mindset as a result of a real experience (I have never denied its' reality). Even though the expeience itself was NOT the reason for losing atheism. It was Faith in your 'explanations' of it that has led you into Faith -thinking.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
about his own son most of his life. 
