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My parents were / are religious. Or at least religious enough that they felt it their duty to bring me to church on Sunday. It was odd. I have to say that even at a young age, I did not believe in any of the stories / Jesus / God etc. I just didn't. Not because I was horribly scarred or something, not because I demanded *Proof* (whatever that is), I just didn't believe in it, maybe it's my nature. At first I thought it was just a game, no one could really believe in this strange story, only when I was older did I realize adults were really drinking this Kool-Aid. That kind of freaked me out. I started thinking maybe they are "mentally soft", is the best way to describe it. I had a Sunday School teacher confirm over and over again he really thought a Man (Jonas) hung out in a fish for awhile, and he had plenty of pictures in picture books to prove it. I remember asking my parents on the way home if "Mr. Pond was retarded?" (It was an honest question, I didn't know why I was punished for asking, my parents were so agahst!). So I started investigating by asking people in the church if they were "slow", or how much school they completed, kind of taking a survey. I would like to state I did not realize how impolite or BAD that was, I'm so embarrassed now of course, but I was young, and confused regarding all the adults believing in such tall tales. My parents still remember with a pained groan that infamous Sunday I asked the minister and Sunday School staff about the possiblilty of them being "slow", LOL.
Every now and then my parents would yell at me to "Just Believe!", and Twilight Zone music would start playing in my head, like I was being sucked into some alternate reality. I'd just nod and go "Mmm hmmmmm", hoping the moment would pass. Once my parents offered me money to get baptized, no that failed. Sometimes my Dad says "Why can't you just believe already?" as if faith in a God is something you can turn on and off like a light switch.
Raised R.C. My father worked seven days a week starting at 6 a.m., so his religious life was nil as far as I knew; however, my mother from a strict, anti-RC family, converted after she married him. My mother and I attended mass every Sunday and holy day, and I was a devout, dedicated Catholic as I grew up. Was the top student in released time Christian Doctrine. I began to have doubts about the Church's legalistic interpretation of sin in late h.s., doubt about papal infallibility. Finally about age twenty after a long talk with a Jesuit in college, I dropped out. Was still a "believer" in God and Jesus and the Christian heritage as being the one, true, etc. religion.
Did not feel comfortable with any Protestant denomination, and found no reason to think any of them were more on the right track than the other.
Largely remained a passive believer until my mid-forties, gave it a try again and felt that it was totally empty and baseless. Realized after much study and thinking that I really did not believe in any deity.
My father was dead, my mother was surprised. Some of my father's family were so upset and uncomfortable that they began to avoid any mention of their own religious activities, perhaps afraid that I might initiate a discussion about non-belief, which I wouldn't.
I was born in '56, and my family attended Methodist churches off and on thru my childhood. When I started high school, my parents became "born again" but did not pressure me to join them. I had read a lot of the Bible by that point, trying to be Christian, and it just didn't make much sense to me. The born-again stuff really repelled me. I went to a Methodist-affiliated college but was already not a believer. Shortly after I graduated, my parents' born-again phase ended.
Both my parents were non-religious. It simply wasn't a subject that ever came up at home.
I got some religion in the Scouts and at school but that was mainly just going through the motions. In Scotland (where I grew up) some religious instruction was mandatory. I can remember Mr. Beattie (nickname 'Jesus') getting very upset when I challenged his belief system.
I never found religion to be remotely interesting or remotely believable and I still don't.
I can't ever recall believing the Christian mythology. Good music, though, and some really nice architecture in Europe, and I enjoy reading the KJV Bible for the richness of the language. But believe in it literally? Never did.
I am the same way. I think Christianity is a beautiful religion because it lets people feel much colser to their god, but I never believed it at all.
Like you, I think the KJV bible is very well written. I always like the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, "If thy eye offend thee, pluck it out."
I love Christian music. Did you see the excellent movie "Bernie"? Jack Black sings "Blassed Assurance" beautifully, but I couldn't find it on youtube, so here is Alan Jackson.
I was raised in a catholic family and forced to attend Catholic schools through high school. My grandfather was something of a big wheel in Catholic circles, strong supporter of the church, close friends with the assorted bishops and pastors, lots of interrelated business with the church. My mother was the rote sort of Catholic, simply believing what she was told as a child and not only never questioning any of it, but becoming extremely annoyed if you challenged her to even think about any of it. My father was a closet non believer who did not admit this to me until a few years before his death. He had converted to Catholicism when he married my mother, I very much believe he did this simply to A) Please my grandfather and mother and B) Get in on some of the money to be made like my grandfather.
I started questioning specific Catholic concepts in grade school because I started reading history on my own and learned that my Catholic teachers had been lying like crazy about a great many things, especially those things which reflected badly on the church. Somewhere between 14 and 15 years of age, I split from the whole god program, but was still stuck in the Catholic school. I wound up becoming a huge pain in the ass to the brothers and nuns who were my teachers because I began relentlessly challenging their presentations in the religious instruction classes. I came very close to being kicked out twice, especially the second time when I had brought a consecrated host to class as a graphic aid to a point I wished to make about the Eucharist. That they didn't give me the heave ho I suspect was entirely a product of my grandfather or father working behind the scenes to persuade them to keep me. Neither of my parents ever owned up to even knowing about the incident, never said a word.
My parent wanted me to attend a Catholic college and offered to pay for my education if I went to one. I told them no way, got myself jobs and paid my own way through FSU.
So far the one thing that seems to run the same in all these posts, is the independence ,self reliant, seat of the pants march through life, in spite of all the Religious roadblocks.
I was a very religious kid, attended a conservative Lutheran church with my family every Sunday, and I planned on being a minister from when I was 8 or 9 years of age. I was never what I would describe as "naturally skeptical" i.e., unlike many atheists, religion didn't strike me as "obvious nonsense" at a young age. I was very devout, and I would discuss theology with my dad, was very anxious about sin, good works, life after death, etc. I think the fact that I took my beliefs so seriously, studied the bible, etc., actually led me to leave Christianity as an adult.
When I de-converted in my mid-thirties, there was no real crisis or struggle for me. I just looked at people I knew, and my own life experiences, and gradually concluded that Christianity wasn't true. It was a real psychological release not feeling the weight of the unblinking eye of judgment over my head.
I don't really discuss it with my family, or expect others to see the world as I do, but on the rare occasions when I've found myself debating Christians, I kind of feel sorry for them. I don't mean that in a snarky, condescending way, but I really think that faith blinds us to a lot of beautiful things in the world, and helps us believe and promote some really awful ideas.
I'm happy discussing my non-belief with people, but I dislike proselytizing that poses as open-mindedness. I used to be guilty of the same myself. Then again, I realize that life is tough, so, as Sinatra said, I'm generally sympathetic towards people who turn to "whatever gets you through the night," provided they're not insulting or aggressive.
Was raised in a very devout and religious household - my mom was living in a convent and planned on taking her vows when she met my dad, whose father was a protestant minister in the South
I believed it when I was very little, but after awhile, I got the feeling that it was one of those things like santa or magic, that when you got to be a grown up, you didn't believe anymore. The older I got, I pretty much expected for the hammer to fall, but it never did; indeed, my dad ended up becoming Catholic, and started going on a hardcore Catholicism kick that I found to be mind-boggling.
I finally had a big blow up with them over wasting half a day when I was sick going to Easter Mass, in which I told them that church had absolutely no meaning to me and I thought that the bible and the gospel were a total crock.
My mom was hurt but thought it was teenaged rebelliousness. My dad barely talked to me for the next five years. It was maybe another year or so later that I finally just admitted that I didn't believe in god, and couldn't recall a point at which I really had, sincerely - I recalled times that I'd tried to convince myself, and feeling totally let down and abandoned, but actually lucidly believing and being thankful? Nope. Still can't.
Everything is cool between me and my dad now, and my mom always was there for me and loved me; honestly, her feeling let down was the only thing I ever "regretted" about being open about my lack of faith... but, they raised me not to be a liar.
my grandmother believed in a god and read the bible out of fear like many people but didn't follow religion. She went to church because that's what you did..she also told me nuns and priests were the biggest crooks. My mother doubted everything religious but didn't talk much about it. All around us, everyone was deeply religious(catholic) so you were expected to follow that blindly.
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