From atheist to believer....from believer to atheist

• DeyDurkie5

  

  does it surprise anyone that footwedge said that gay shit? You are an idiot footwedge.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  Foot wedge is going to hell anyway, for not liking vagina. Says so in the bible.
  
  
• Raw Dawgin' it

  

  Born christain, parents converted to judaism when i was 4 so i was raised jewish - I believed in god as a child but grew out of that thinking over time. I don't believe in god but i am a semi-practicing jew. I go to temple on high holidays with my family because of tradition. To me, the stories in the torah are just that, stories and some of them i find entertaining and i usually enjoy the sermans during services.
• justincredible

  

  This thread was going smoothly. Keep it civil.
• Raw Dawgin' it

  

  justincredible;1157429 wrote:This thread was going smoothly. Keep it civil.

  Murphys law.
• justincredible

  

  As for me, grew up in a Christian house. We didn't go to church every Sunday but went most Sunday's. Not sure exactly when it finally hit me that I wasn't a believer but it was sometime during college. Not looking forward to the conversation with my mom and in-laws when we have kids that they aren't going to be baptized.
• LJ

  

  I was never really a strong believer growing up. I went through a phase in middle school where I really became a devout Christian, but as I got older, I just realized that so many of the biblical stories were either exaggerated or made up.
  
  I still believe there is some kind of higher power. I don't think that higher power answers prayers. I don't think that higher power sits down and writes out plans for us.
  
  I do go to church, as our Pastor is a great guy and more or less always preaches on life rather than preaching about worship. I also do some volunteering as a Upward Basketball coach and Football coach, but each "lesson" that we have to give to our team is more or less about being a good person, not about worship.
• ksig489

  Grew up going to Sunday school every week.
  
  Now...I don't believe in organized church as the only way to worship. I do believe in a higher power. For me it is the Christian version. It is impossible to think that there is nothing that created us, but at the same time it is impossible to think that there is one sole higher power (because who created him?).
  
  Science can explain a lot...but not everything.
  
  Religion can be believed but only to an extent as some things truly contradict what is taught.
  
  For me it is a measure of both, but I feel it would be extremely egotistical and small minded to believe that we are nothing but particles that bounced off of each other.
• HitsRus

  

  Not looking forward to the conversation with my mom and in-laws when we have kids that they aren't going to be baptized.

  Then get them baptized...what harm will it do. Do it out of love and respect for them.
• OSH

  

  justincredible;1157433 wrote:As for me, grew up in a Christian house. We didn't go to church every Sunday but went most Sunday's. Not sure exactly when it finally hit me that I wasn't a believer but it was sometime during college. Not looking forward to the conversation with my mom and in-laws when we have kids that they aren't going to be baptized.

  HitsRus;1157522 wrote:Then get them baptized...what harm will it do. Do it out of love and respect for them.

  Or just tell them that you will let them (your children) make that decision when they (your children) are old enough. I don't like infant/child baptism anyway. It is just a "dedication" truly. The person making the decision is so much more important. When a person goes through the process of choosing God and then being baptized, the individual is accountable and truly understands what it's all about.
• sleeper

  

  HitsRus;1157522 wrote:Then get them baptized...what harm will it do. Do it out of love and respect for them.

  Respecting who? The child who can't even talk being indoctrinated into a faith that he/she has had no chance to internally debate?
  
  It's criminal to baptize your child or at least it would be if I was in power.
• Con_Alma

  sleeper;1157538 wrote:Respecting who? The child who can't even talk being indoctrinated into a faith that he/she has had no chance to internally debate?
  
  It's criminal to baptize your child or at least it would be if I was in power.

  Why?
  
  What does baptizing them do?
  
  Children "internally debate" as they get older no matter if they are baptized or not.
• cruiser_96

  

  Church-goer as a kid. Grandparents would take me. At that point, I encountered what it appears a good number on here did... stories, senior-citizens, traditions, etc.
  
  About half-way through junior high I started hanging around with a buddy, he invited me to his church and I've been going ever since.
  
  I believe the bible is the inspired word of God (II Tim. 3:16), to be taken literal unless forced otherwise. I believe Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be.
  
  Along the way I have been given what I believe to be some excellent teaching and advice, and have created amazing friendships. After reading a few of the stories on here, I'm grateful for the teaching and instruction I've received.
• Con_Alma

  cruiser_96;1157542 wrote:... After reading a few of the stories on here, I'm grateful for the teaching and instruction I've received.

  Indeed.
• sleeper

  

  Con_Alma;1157540 wrote:Why?
  
  What does baptizing them do?
  
  Children "internally debate" as they get older no matter if they are baptized or not.

  Not when they are forced fed religious doctrine before they can even read. Most people don't know any better.
  
  And what does baptizing do? Absolutely nothing.
• enigmaax

  HitsRus;1157522 wrote:Then get them baptized...what harm will it do. Do it out of love and respect for them.

  Con_Alma;1157540 wrote:Why?
  
  What does baptizing them do?
  
  Children "internally debate" as they get older no matter if they are baptized or not.

  Then what is the point of doing it for a child at all? It is a cult ritual that parents force upon their children in hopes that they'll be brainwashed enough by the time they're old enough to "choose" on their own.
• sleeper

  

  enigmaax;1157552 wrote:Then what is the point of doing it for a child at all? It is a cult ritual that parents force upon their children in hopes that they'll be brainwashed enough by the time they're old enough to "choose" on their own.

  Because if the cult doesn't get the child young, it'll take a mid-life crises to convert them. This is part of the reason religion, despite being completely shit, has been able to perpetuate itself for 1000's of years. People pop out new customers for the religion and those customers pop out the future clients of the church. It's a wonderful business.
• Con_Alma

  enigmaax;1157552 wrote:Then what is the point of doing it for a child at all? It is a cult ritual that parents force upon their children in hopes that they'll be brainwashed enough by the time they're old enough to "choose" on their own.

  That's my question to you, what's the point of doing it or making it illegal? Are not parents legally permitted to influence the thinking of their child until such time that the child can make their own determinations?
• enigmaax

  cruiser_96;1157542 wrote:After reading a few of the stories on here, I'm grateful for the teaching and instruction I've received.

  Is that because you feel you are a better person than the people telling those stories?
• Con_Alma

  sleeper;1157550 wrote:...
  
  And what does baptizing do? Absolutely nothing.

  If it doesn't "do" anything there's no reason to make it illegal.
• Con_Alma

  enigmaax;1157558 wrote:Is that because you feel you are a better person than the people telling those stories?

  Better? I know I don't have such "feel"ing. As stated above it's more an appreciation and thankfulness.
• FatHobbit

  

  sleeper;1157538 wrote:It's criminal to baptize your child or at least it would be if I was in power.

  This is exactly why there is a separation between the church and the state. Because every yahoo who was in power in Europe wanted everyone to believe exactly what they believed.
• OSH

  

  I did not attend church much until middle school. I would only attend if I stayed the night with my grandmother, and that was maybe 5 times a year. I did attend church one time with my other grandmother and granddad, which was the first time I went to the Catholic church.
  
  The church I started attending when I was in middle school hired the first full-time youth pastor my county had. He was definitely a positive influence on me for 3ish years. By the time I was a senior in high school, we had gotten a new youth pastor which I bonded with instantly. Him and his family are a blessing to my wife and I. He married us almost two years ago. We connect regularly.
  
  I went to school to be a minister/preacher/pastor/youth pastor. That changed as I left college. I opened my eyes a bit more to how Christianity should be. I have since attended a "church" maybe less than 10 times in the last 5 years. At the beginning of the year, my wife and I joined a missional community. This has been a tremendous thing for us. It is still in its infancy, but I can tell how much more beneficial it is compared to the institution.
• sleeper

  

  Con_Alma;1157561 wrote:If it doesn't "do" anything there's no reason to make it illegal.

  Nothing physically or spiritually, but mentally and intellectually it degrades them by starting the path towards total blind ignorance. Apparently, you like to degrade children, sickening.
• sleeper

  

  FatHobbit;1157567 wrote:This is exactly why there is a separation between the church and the state. Because every yahoo who was in power in Europe wanted everyone to believe exactly what they believed.

  As long as churches are given non-profit status, there is no separation of church and state in this country.