Something We ex-Christians Can Relate To.

[Milleka]

Originally Posted by axemanjoe

I wouldnt argue yoru position, and I certainly dont hate your position, and I dont hate god. Hate is a wasted emotion. All these people that talk about..I hate this and I hate that and I hate these people or I hate this person,...ya know what, nothing and no one is gonna change just because they are hated, or just because a particular person is doing the hating. It's a total waste of energy, therfore I don't make any waste from hatred because I dont care if someone is a believer, is religious, or is delusional enough to believe all that nonsense.

What I do find interesting and enlightening is intelligent discussion with all people regarding their beliefs and customs. I also am very concerned with seemingly intelligent people who come across as rational and bright but at the same time swear up and down that there is a god and that they truly believe in creation and all the other associated issues that are clearly and obviously impossoble to be in existence. They are either lying and putting on airs for benefit and gain as I alluded to in another post, or they are truly delisional and in serious need of psycholigocal counselling and help.

Or, they're scared. I spent many years doubting God and thinking the Bible didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I was very frightened by the "what if I'm wrong?" I sure didn't want to die and end up in the place-we-cannot-speak-of-here.

[InsaneInDaMembrane]

Originally Posted by Milleka

Or, they're scared. I spent many years doubting God and thinking the Bible didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I was very frightened by the "what if I'm wrong?" I sure didn't want to die and end up in the place-we-cannot-speak-of-here.

Look up Pascal's Wager.

[other99]

Originally Posted by Boxcar Overkill

I know there are lots of Christians who suffer because they believe they should be feeling God's love, but instead they feel nothing. They want to hear God so badly that it causes them a lot of agony when the fail to get any response. The silence of their God haunts them.

Former Christians, like myself, can probably remember the trauma of leaving religion. How hard it was to let go, and even admit to yourself that you don't have any faith. How it felt to admit that, no, you didn't feel God, and you didn't hear God, and that God wasn't there for you.

Check out this quote from a letter, published after a famous Christians death. It strikes me as something I went through on my Paul to Saul conversion:



Powerful stuff. A lot of pain there.

That quote, of course, comes from Mother Theresa's letters, revealed after her death. All those years she was praying in public, saying God bless you, etc. Mother Theresa didn't feel God at all. And it haunted her.

I had that same type of experience before I left religion. In fact, I bet a lot of atheist can remember having feelings similar to MT's before they finally broke free of religion.

so true

[other99]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

I think you were religious, but you were never a Christian. If you were you would still be.

Likewise, I question if ma theresa ever really knew Christ.

I was an Christian, not just raised as one and when the rest of my family became less religious when I reached adulthood I held on to my beliefs and practised it aand an avid reader of the Bible, an church goer, I would pray constantly. However I lived an fantasy world then and its far different from the real world.

[DarwinFan]

Originally Posted by Reverend1111

Here is a message we received last year from Mother Teresa.

This has probably been addressed already, but didn't Mother Theresa die in 1997?