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My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
#11
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Wow! That story is so weird I have trouble believing that it's true.

" I even began to attend church there with some friends of mine. As I gazed down at them across the pew I felt proud of how good of a Christian I was, unlike my peers I had stayed clean, and still had my virginity in tact."

There's a gap here - where did you actually become a Christian, and what does cleanliness and virginity have to do with it for fucks sake?!? This clearly demonstrates no understanding at all of what salvation or belief actually mean.

I'm sorry, I call poe. Nice try.
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#12
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Hmm? As I said, this was a summary of the the events that transpired. I was always raised a catholic until I went there, and upon reflection when I was younger I decided to become a Christian in their church since they pushed me to move from Catholicism.


And the whole clean and virgin thing let's see.. Tara, Brandi, Brittany, Aaron, Justin, James and Harley were among my friends in the pew, and we'd always sit together. It was more or less public information that they had "slipped" and became born again virgins.

Lemme look up a link and see if the 5th quarter church has a website, or a website referencing to it.


EDIT: Can't find reference of the 5th quarter since it was just the name of the Friday gathering, but the churches nickname was indeed the 5th quarter church.

Here's a google map of the actual church though: maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&ie=UTF8&q=fellowship+bible+church+Ashtabula&fb=1&gl=us&hq=fellowship+bible+church&hnear=Ashtabula&view=map&cid=10435851541175997325&iwloc=A&ved=0CBYQpQY&sa=X&ei=KhGgS-CgNYbGM_WY7LQD
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#13
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Quote:Wow! That story is so weird I have trouble believing that it's true.


You think that's weird but you have no trouble with an invisible sky-daddy?

Thinking
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#14
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Y'ok maybe I jumped the gun a bit Archbow. I apologise. Still - some weird ass shit there dude... and still... wowsers.
Hope you don't mind me asking a few things then Arch

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: I still continued to frequent the church every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, but things began to get confusing, no longer were we allowed to sit next to our current squeeze "a bibles width apart!" we were always told, and at first i thought it was a big laugh.. that is until they began to scold us if we were repeat offenders. Sandy, the lead supervisor would raise her voice in front of everyone, embarrassing the teen who had disregarded the rules. Pointing her finger at you, and threatening Hell in return for their sinful actions. I decided to ignore this since, Hey, it wasn't me right? I was one of the good kids. I had no reason to be yelled at.

Sounds like rules over faith took over with Sandy and Mike.

Repeat offenders for what? Sitting close? Or having a relationship?

Yeah looks like you were in the right. Maybe you could have stood up for fairness, but you were young and in the charge of these nuts.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: That's when Mike approached me. Mike was one of the few male supervisors there, he often told his story of salvation when he gave up the women, and the drugs to become one of Gods vessels. He was in charge of the male group of teens, handling all of their hormone induced problems, some more personal than others. I remember throughout the years, him pressing me for answers about my masturbation habits in detail, and why I did it. It felt strange to be asked this personal about it quite honestly, but he was looking out for my best intentions I guessed. We often held discussions about pornography, and how it was bad for me to watch it, and it wasn't natural to have such feelings towards the other girls in my peer group.

You're a girl right? Either way... I think Mike stepped way over the line.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: No longer were God talks an option anymore, every Friday at 9 we were sat down, and faced towards the podium to hear Sandy preach about Jesus. She said it with such spirit. How we were about to enter war with the demons that surround us, and how our faith was the sword that would be plunged into evil, and how the bible was our armor, that would deflect all the sinful things people would tell us. This is around the time I really began to feel that hole widen. Church began to feel like a chore anymore as her preachings began to eat up more time, from an hour, to two, to three. Her preachings became more aggravated, and she would point out teens in the group and test their faith, and if their answer was incorrect they'd feel the holy wrath of Sandy's scoldings, again embarrassing them, and casting them out of the church if they were unsure about their love for Jesus.

You had a real experience of something interesting from the old pastors and these clowns seem to be mindless automaton. Happens a lot I think. Who wouldn't move on.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: The 5th quarter church changed from a safe place to hang out, and turned into a fortress for Jesus. Only Christians were allowed to enter the doors, and if you were unsure if your faith, or didn't believe in the holy savior you were either ratted out by her "junior supervisors" or she weeded them out herself. Heading to the church became less fun, and more fear as I was frightened of what would happen to my soul if I were to leave now.

And then we go para military. Wow.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote:


These people were doing bad stuff in the name of religion. No doubt about it. I'm with you.
_______________________________________________________

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: I later learned out why those pastors had left. Apparently the church had been pocketing the money from their church events, but continued to cut the pay from the pastors, till they were nearly working for free. A group of them decided to press the issue of where all this money was going, and they demanded receipts, as they began to press these questions they began to receive death threats from some members on the congregation, so to protect their family's they had left the church.

I spent almost 6 years in the 5th quarter church, and this is just a small summary of everything that went on in the church. I elft out some other events to save time and size. This is what turned me away from God, and everything Religious. I'm still trying to find my way, but the more I venture, the more Atheism begins to shine.

SO yeah, that's my story.

Churches make the books work, and transfer money where they think it's needed. In my experience there's too much dead wood investing in the dead tradition rather than what's alive and kicking. I've seen way too many great young leaders cut off in their prime by atrocious behaviour like that. Hell, Christianity's bloody history is strewn with it, and far, far worse. Streets of blood anyone?

So are you angry at it now? I know I was at my original church for a long time. I've come to terms with it I think, and have grown anyway. I can certainly see how it'd turn you away. Personally I had visions of stabbing Christians of that denomination I hated them so much.
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#15
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Glad you got away from the tyranny. Welcome. Not everyone has a hidden agenda, don't mind min I think he's more conspiracy theorist than someone else on here Tongue
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post

always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
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#16
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Don't get me started on The Illuminati.
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#17
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
(March 16, 2010 at 7:35 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: Y'ok maybe I jumped the gun a bit Archbow. I apologise. Still - some weird ass shit there dude... and still... wowsers.
Hope you don't mind me asking a few things then Arch

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: I still continued to frequent the church every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, but things began to get confusing, no longer were we allowed to sit next to our current squeeze "a bibles width apart!" we were always told, and at first i thought it was a big laugh.. that is until they began to scold us if we were repeat offenders. Sandy, the lead supervisor would raise her voice in front of everyone, embarrassing the teen who had disregarded the rules. Pointing her finger at you, and threatening Hell in return for their sinful actions. I decided to ignore this since, Hey, it wasn't me right? I was one of the good kids. I had no reason to be yelled at.

Sounds like rules over faith took over with Sandy and Mike.

Repeat offenders for what? Sitting close? Or having a relationship?

Yeah looks like you were in the right. Maybe you could have stood up for fairness, but you were young and in the charge of these nuts.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: That's when Mike approached me. Mike was one of the few male supervisors there, he often told his story of salvation when he gave up the women, and the drugs to become one of Gods vessels. He was in charge of the male group of teens, handling all of their hormone induced problems, some more personal than others. I remember throughout the years, him pressing me for answers about my masturbation habits in detail, and why I did it. It felt strange to be asked this personal about it quite honestly, but he was looking out for my best intentions I guessed. We often held discussions about pornography, and how it was bad for me to watch it, and it wasn't natural to have such feelings towards the other girls in my peer group.

You're a girl right? Either way... I think Mike stepped way over the line.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: No longer were God talks an option anymore, every Friday at 9 we were sat down, and faced towards the podium to hear Sandy preach about Jesus. She said it with such spirit. How we were about to enter war with the demons that surround us, and how our faith was the sword that would be plunged into evil, and how the bible was our armor, that would deflect all the sinful things people would tell us. This is around the time I really began to feel that hole widen. Church began to feel like a chore anymore as her preachings began to eat up more time, from an hour, to two, to three. Her preachings became more aggravated, and she would point out teens in the group and test their faith, and if their answer was incorrect they'd feel the holy wrath of Sandy's scoldings, again embarrassing them, and casting them out of the church if they were unsure about their love for Jesus.

You had a real experience of something interesting from the old pastors and these clowns seem to be mindless automaton. Happens a lot I think. Who wouldn't move on.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: The 5th quarter church changed from a safe place to hang out, and turned into a fortress for Jesus. Only Christians were allowed to enter the doors, and if you were unsure if your faith, or didn't believe in the holy savior you were either ratted out by her "junior supervisors" or she weeded them out herself. Heading to the church became less fun, and more fear as I was frightened of what would happen to my soul if I were to leave now.

And then we go para military. Wow.

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote:


These people were doing bad stuff in the name of religion. No doubt about it. I'm with you.
_______________________________________________________

(March 16, 2010 at 11:43 am)Archbow Wrote: I later learned out why those pastors had left. Apparently the church had been pocketing the money from their church events, but continued to cut the pay from the pastors, till they were nearly working for free. A group of them decided to press the issue of where all this money was going, and they demanded receipts, as they began to press these questions they began to receive death threats from some members on the congregation, so to protect their family's they had left the church.

I spent almost 6 years in the 5th quarter church, and this is just a small summary of everything that went on in the church. I elft out some other events to save time and size. This is what turned me away from God, and everything Religious. I'm still trying to find my way, but the more I venture, the more Atheism begins to shine.

SO yeah, that's my story.

Churches make the books work, and transfer money where they think it's needed. In my experience there's too much dead wood investing in the dead tradition rather than what's alive and kicking. I've seen way too many great young leaders cut off in their prime by atrocious behaviour like that. Hell, Christianity's bloody history is strewn with it, and far, far worse. Streets of blood anyone?

So are you angry at it now? I know I was at my original church for a long time. I've come to terms with it I think, and have grown anyway. I can certainly see how it'd turn you away. Personally I had visions of stabbing Christians of that denomination I hated them so much.
Not gonna quote your quotes for the sake of saving time and space.

Quote 1: Repeat offenders for pretty much anything. Sitting too close, forward hugs, sitting somewhere semi privately with someone of the opposite sex, that sorta deal.

Quote 2: Nope, male. He actually had me install a program on my pc to track where i went online. It would send him every site I had went to. Good thing for torrents right?

Quote 3: Yeah, I was actually good friends with one of the pastors since he knew my father. He was a nice Italian guy who looked like he belonged in New York quite honestly.

Quote 4: As I mentioned in another area of my post, we donned our weapons of christ to someday fight the demons since the day of vengeance was upon us soon.

Quote 5: Sad thing was, you saw the same thing in the congregation, they were fundamentalists, so of course they believed in a harsher, punishing God. There were countless times where slobs would rise in the back of the church and ask the preacher to pray for the homosexuals to burn. Now that i look back on it, it kind of makes me laugh at the ignorance.

Quote 6: I would like to say I'm angry, but in a way I really thank them for giving me the push start to what I believe now. I won't lie, I've wanted to go back there and just more or less troll them since I heard they re-opened their doors for a little bit, but I just talked to a friend who actually used to be a puppet there, and apparently Sandy moved to California since God was calling her there, they shut down the 5th quarter again, and the church goes under a new name now. So I'm curious as to why.
[Image: Breathcopy-1.png]
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#18
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Archbow,

Bummer for you that your church experience was so lame. Mine was great and I still see a lot of the people from my church at the Memorial day camp out. They are great people for the most part. That is probably why I was Christian for so long. It really is too bad that people behave like assholes in that forum, it just thickens the wall between theists and atheists. I didn't flee from religion, I just lost my belief in God. I hope your conversion wasn't just due to a negative reaction to those people because, if that is the case, you are just as apt to leave every group based on a few assholes.

I firmly believe that if you fail to find value in the people around you then the problem is most likely within you. Luckily you met some cool people while at the church so you realized some value.

Rhizo
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#19
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Thanks for answering those Arch. Blimey it's shocking what goes on. That's uber strict fundamentalism. And I can't see how anyone could get away with it in a civilised society. They denied closeness with the opposite sex? they talked you into letting them track you online?!? ...that's removing your choice right there. They are taking on the role of God rather than leaving it between you and God which is where it should be/ has to be.

In fact I'm gonna transfer my accusation from you to them - they were no Christians. That the gospel of hate, power and control if ever I saw it. I'd be there protesting against them in a shot.
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#20
RE: My Conversion from Fundamentalism (Long!)
Archbow, this is truly appalling. What is it with Christians and sex? Sex is a natural thing that all animals do to keep their species going. Oh, I forgot. Humans aren't animals, we're special. Put here by the invisible sky daddy that is controlling our every move. Yes that is so much more believable than evolution and science.
I'm so glad you got away from this church and I hope atheism is the right path for you. It is for me. It's the only one that makes sense.
binnyCoffee
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