I used to have a relationship with Jesus.

But now, he never calls.

@OP. This was missing.

(December 16, 2015 at 12:02 pm)Drich Wrote:

(December 16, 2015 at 11:18 am)TrueChristian Wrote: To all the Christian members of the forum,

What was it that made you decide Christianity just wasn't worth it? What "proved" to you that God isn't real? I am still a Christian, just sort of a "Doubting Thomas" at times.

Thanks !

It was the wind and the rain.

Are you familiar with the parable of the wise and foolish builders?
(wise man built his house on the rock, foolish man built his house on the sand. the wind and rains came and the wise man's house stood firm, while the foolish man's house fell down.)

The house Jesus is talking about is our faith/religious works. If we do not build them on a true picture of God, then God (The foundation of this story) will not support the house/religious works "Faith" and when the house is tested it will fall in on itself. Meaning God will be silent and not support the corrupt idea they may have.

The ex-christian members here had their 'houses' fall down. Which is a gift from God and often times with exchristian atheist an answer to a prayer.
Most of them have prayed for proof of God. So what does God do? He wipes their slate clean. He destroys their broken or corrupt understanding of Him, so they have an opportunity to find out who God really is on His terms. Why? What do you think would happen if God supported the crazy ideas some of these guys had? Like the idea that He is a magic genie who's purpose is to serve and provide favors and trinkets everytime they pray a certain way? No rather than support these broken theological notions God sets a bar that we must humble ourselves to get past. So we may approach Him on His terms.

When we approach God on His terms we not only get to know God/Proof of God we are also blessed by Him. So when the wind and rains do come we will barely notice the storm in our homes.

I would personally like to start a fund for Drich and a camera crew to get a trip to Africa. There he will be helping starving children find God by getting them accept that their predicament is infact a test that their young, malnourished minds just aren't able to comprehend yet and that the reason they are not being allowed food is that it is a corrupt idea God cannot possibly support. Once this idea is accepted Drich will give them ONE winegum to set them on the path to purity that will doubtlessly be their salvation.

This is in no way a joke. I want this to be a youtube series. I love this idea more than a mother loves their child and in many ways; this idea is my child. My brain child. I want to see it grow big and strong.
I am currently accepting donations.

OP, what made you give up Zeus?

It is because he is single, youngish, middle eastern man, and thus more likely to be a terrorist than just about anyone else. And if the Donald is elected, he'll do his best to keep people like jesus out of this country. Remember: jesus was perfectly willing to die to accomplish his goals; life isn't important to people like him. That's why we need to keep him away from our schools and children.

(December 16, 2015 at 1:02 pm)drfuzzy Wrote: Well.  Are we finally hearing an honest voice?  If so, kudos.  After so many ridiculous lies it's hard to tell whether this is a real question or not.

Give up on Jesus? . . . well, I work in a church.  And all of the contradictions and absurdities that I was hearing and seeing just started to pile up.  So many things about xtianity just make no sense to me, such as the virgin birth,

I like these, allow me to take the 'magic' out of the 'top shelf religious terms' and explain them in simple terms.
Virgin birth. You think this is impossible? What If i were to provide you proof of 50 virgin births since 1990? (just in the US)
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/virgin-birth...oms-study/
A "virgin birth" is a birth with an intact hymen. Can you not see how one may become pregnant with an intact hymen?

Quote:the resurrection,

revived

Quote: the need for a blood sacrifice,

their is no need for any sacrifice.

Quote: original sin

not a biblical precept.
No where in the bible is this 'doctrine' even mentioned.

Quote:(particularly since we now can trace DNA and know that there was not an Adam & Eve, and there was no "original couple"),

God created Adam in His Image, and Eve was fashioned from Adam. The genesis account recounts what was going on from a central garden perspective, It does not account for what happened outside the garden (meaning evolution could be possible)
http://atheistforums.org/thread-14190.html

Quote: miracles,

the unexplained attributed to God.

Quote: religious wars

Is like any other war, what is so hard to understand about war? The evil of men over flow into a population and they seek any justification for their blood lust. sometimes it is attributed to "justice or freedom" and other times it is attributed to god...
how is that complicated?

Quote:, the utter capricious viciousness of Yahweh,

examples?

Quote:the absurdity of God's adopting of one tiny tribe,

Ah, no. It was one man (abraham) who God turned into a nation of people.

Quote: inhabiting a space smaller than Lake Michigan, and then demanding that the word be spread via missionaries.

actually it started with 12 men. why? so when it did envelop the world, it could not be attributed to the work of man. 

Quote:The total lack of Yahweh's contact with all of the other people on the planet at that time.

This is a basic failure of a fundamental comprehension of What Christianity is. In the book of Acts the Holy Spirit is poured out onto Gentiles as well as the Jews. Meaning God was open to everyone from the beginning. That is the whole point of Christianity. to put everyone or to give everyone an oppertunity to directly be in communication with God.

Quote:  The total lack of proof since then. The total lack of proof now,

what better proof of God is there than God Himself? This is what is offered to each and every one of us.

 

Quote:when a Deity could prove to the entire world, with one viral video, that they exist, and eradicate religious conflict and ISIL and all the rest.

but why would he do that? to make your life easier? You do know this life is not supposed to be easy right? you do understand we are meant to face trials like isis. that if he did not spare his only son hardship that we can also expect no quarter?

Quote:  I gradually got to the point where the very existence of any Deity just makes no sense to me.

maybe because you never truly understood who God was or what this life was supposed to be all about? Maybe you thought this life was supposed to be about everyone accomplishing the American dream... Well it's not. this life is a testing ground. It is fill with harship and trials along with people put here by satan to push 'fence sitters' two oneside of the conflict or the other. We have been given this life for one end only and that is to choose where or how we wish to spend eternity.

People like you tend to have this idea that this life is supposed to be like eternal life with god is supposed to be like. Which if you chose to seperate yourself from God for eternity I suppose I could understand why you all urgently demand that this life be easy and fun... (because that is all you all can ever hope for.) So when it is not all peaches and cream you turn on God.. Which again is the reason for the hardship in this life to begin with. To make people like you hate or make a choice about God that if you were left in peace would be remain 'lukewarm about/fence sitters'

This way, when God sends you to Hell, you will know (even if you don't like it) why.

(December 16, 2015 at 11:18 am)TrueChristian Wrote: To all the Christian members of the forum,

What was it that made you decide Christianity just wasn't worth it? What "proved" to you that God isn't real? I am still a Christian, just sort of a "Doubting Thomas" at times.

Thanks !

I didn't give up on Jesus, I just stopped believing in that imaginary friend like I stopped believing in Santa Claus - the difference is important, and it really isn't all that subtle.

(December 16, 2015 at 11:18 am)TrueChristian Wrote: To all the Christian members of the forum,

What was it that made you decide Christianity just wasn't worth it? What "proved" to you that God isn't real? I am still a Christian, just sort of a "Doubting Thomas" at times.

Thanks (The Sun Symbol) !

Some say your not sincere...   Personally I had trouble from the very get go, but played along and kinda believed then after tons of industrial and alternative rock and an agnostic friend I placed my minds-eye in God's shoes out in space and within an hour of thinking I was convinced it couldn't possibly be true.  The multiple gods and how people indoctrinated in other parts of the world believe what others around them believe reinforced it.  The main thing was that there are so many that they can't all be true and not one can be true either.  Then I started reading about catastrophism and the scientist mentioned that myth and religion probably had the per-historical essence of the cosmic encounter.  At first I was very reluctant to delve into such a research project because mythology had been studied for millennia and to my knowledge never gained a clear insight to all the stories.  Well, I read and read and read and all of a sudden I could SEE through what it was all saying because around the world the stories all tell the same story !  The story goes that the Sun was taken away for a long period of time and that it came back and everyone jumped for joy basically.  This is the very very ancient story of the solar resurrection.   The oldest story known to Man is the Cuneiform Text about Tiamat the Dragon who disrupts the orderly way of the World the Sun coming up and down and greenery/life and the Deep darkness wins for awhile, but the Sun eventually overcomes and spring time is resurrected !  Thus the fertile bunnies and eggs and the solar myth of Jesus.  Like St, George and the Dragon.  Like the shining Knight and the Dragon who saves the Maiden or the Sun, Darkness, and renewed Mother Nature.  I looked the World over and found that almost all of mankind's ancient stories confirm it.  Not only once, but four times and this is where one hears of four ages of Man, the four horsemen, ect.  That is why I came to this forum, to show everyone that it is more than just disbelief not to believe, but that all those beliefs are distorted stories of something that really happened and will happen again as professed. Yet, everyone bickers back and forth of who is right about their interpretation and no one seems to know what it is really all about, it is so simple, we get hit once in awhile by something from space (not an entity punishing us for sins) and it drastically changes the climate and kills many and we pray to the unknown to please stop punishing us and questioning ourselves for our wrong doing that is deserving of such damnation.  Even when one listens to the most prestigious atheist in the World they don't know this, it is time to wake up from our Comet-ose !

Quote:A "virgin birth" is a birth with an intact hymen. Can you not see how one may become pregnant with an intact hymen?

It wasn't the finger of 'god' that touched her!

(An actual quote by a college professor to some xtian shit in the class.  Ah, the 60's.)

(December 16, 2015 at 11:18 am)TrueChristian Wrote: To all the Christian members of the forum,

Poe slip.

Vote: TrueChristian

Quote:What was it that made you decide Christianity just wasn't worth it? What "proved" to you that God isn't real? I am still a Christian a poe, just sort of a "Doubting Thomas" at times.

Thanks !

FTFY