Going to Church give me a real new perspective on the world.
I think I was about nearly 9 years old and my mother let an older girl who who's father was something in the church take me to Sunday School. My mother thought it was ok although she wasn't really religious and never went to church herself she had some ideas about morality in the teaching.
Complete bollocks of course but not her fault.

I didn't want to go. But I did want to be with this girl. It was a sort of juvenile crush. She was really lovely.

It was also a fulfilled crush as often, instead of or sometimes, after the lessons she would take me to the woods and play Mammies and Daddies.
I don't mean washing up and cleaning the house or even going to work and baking bread.
She did the full works. I was very happy with it.

I really looked forward to Sunday school !!

I remember once in 1953 when we got a TV and we were one of the first in the area (to see the Coronation) she said she would do anything to see it. And she did.

But then it all went quiet and rumours suggested all was not well. I later (much much later) learned her father (her mother was dead) had been sexually abusing her and he was imprisoned and she was put in care.

Now it all fits into place and explains a lot. Religion equals hypocricy.

Haven't been to church in years. I actually kind of miss it.

(August 14, 2010 at 3:33 pm)Watson Wrote: Haven't been to church in years. I actually kind of miss it.

I miss the (silent) farting contests I used to have with my sis.I was about 7,she was about three. It all ended in tears,when sis tried too hard and shat herself. Mummy got cross.

(August 14, 2010 at 3:33 pm)Watson Wrote: Haven't been to church in years. I actually kind of miss it.

There isn't much to miss in most churches.

98% of them can't even run a meeting like Paul clearly described.

That's what's funny about hearing atheists say they've tried Christianity. The church hasn't tried it since a short revival in the 70's, and a shorter one yet in the late 90's

Hey, I'm back, and you wouldn't believe how happy I am. It's a bit hard to find a thread to put this post, but it (sort of) fits here.

So it was sort of my first day of high school on Friday. I went on this thing called "Luke 18." I hated it so much. The official description was "It's a two-day event that helps incoming freshmen get closer to God." Bull. If anything, my atheism is now stronger. Basically we prayed and listened to a bunch of people drone on about how God entered their lives. We did crap like this until 10:00 P.M., when we split into groups and slept at someone's house. That was fun. Then we did more of the same. And finally, to end the retreat we had mass. How fitting. I can't tell you how many times I rolled my eyes during this retreat. But now I'm back with the people who know the facts!

The best part about this was when a guy was about to light a candle, and said the light symbolized that God was in the room with us. It took about ten tries for him to finally get it lit! Looks like "God" has better things to do! Also, we did a "letter burning" service, where you write a letter about someone who's hurt you, and then burn it as a sign of forgiveness, or some nonsense like that. Since we had to participate, I wrote "I love God." . In conclusion, this experience has made me wonder if perhaps Catholics have some sort of chemical misfiring in their brain.

They are no dumber than any other adherents of the dead-jew-on-a-stick religion.

Yeah. I've just never experienced any others.

Quote:*yawns*

Even thinking about it bores the hell out of me. I told my mum I didn't believe in God whilst in the middle of a church service; that was quite amusing.

Lol. Dude that's brutal!

(August 15, 2010 at 2:22 am)RAD Wrote: There isn't much to miss in most churches.

98% of them can't even run a meeting like Paul clearly described.

That's what's funny about hearing atheists say they've tried Christianity.

Well, back in the early 1990s I was involved in the Church of Christ, and later me and a few Christians started a so-called "house church" (we thought the Church of Christ wasn't conservative enough-- which is saying a lot in the case of the CoC!-- and consequently a few of us were basically kicked out). The house church lasted about two years. It gradually fell apart because we started reading more and asking more questions. The more closely we read the Bible, the more doubts we had.

(August 1, 2010 at 10:21 pm)Nitsuj Wrote: If you ever did go to church, what did you think of it? I ask because whenever I go, it just seems more and more pointless, and I can't wait for it to be over. The blasphemy spouted by the priest, the awful suck-up to God hymns, little kids crying their eyes out...What's your opinion?

I grew up in a conservative Wesleyan Church, and when I was a teen, my family moved to a Baptist church across town. As a younger person, I, of course, heard in Sunday school and in sermons about the end times and Christ coming back, which had me scared shitless a lot of the time. I would actually watch the skies on occasion for a signs of the Eastern skies parting. When I moved off to college, I began playing in a contemporary praise band, and as the music was much more entertaining and lively, I enjoyed it more. The mid-20s began my ascent out of faith (my family would say "descent," I suppose), and I actually attended church for a good while as a non-believer with hopes that I would get a word from God or someone to seal the case, but no word came and here I am.

I've been to all types of churches. I actually enjoyed the contemporary church (it was in a hip college town), and other than not believing in what they are singing and talking about (lol), I would probably still enjoy parts of the service to some degree (I would still know a lot of the songs and the lyrics and would be able to sing them from memory if I wished. I wouldn't, of course.) But if nothing else, I liked most of the people ... but merely as people without any consideration as to what they believed. And this is the rub: they are not able to be in the company of nonbelievers for very long because they can't get past their lack of faith (Which is quite unfortunate since they believe in a guy who walked among unbelievers on a daily basis). Everyone is either lost or saved to them, and whatever we might be as human beings, this doesn't matter. That would be the contemptible part to me about attending a service today. And the last time I attended a service at my former church in my hometown, I had the feeling that everyone was watching to see if I was singing or praying or paying attention. And when the preacher through a holy zinger my way, boy he sure told that unbeliever what-for!