Hello all,
I am new here and thought I'd do the proper thing and introduce myself. Here's my story:
I grew up in a very religious family, almost cult-like. I always felt guilt growing up, because I could never live up to the standards I was told god had for me and my behavior. I moved out of my parents house when I was 16 and joined the military shortly after I turned 18, against the will of my incredibly religious father, who felt that the only government I should serve is god's government. Even though the military had moved me far from the house and the religion I had grown up in, I still felt constant guilt for not living the godly life that I had been taught to live.
Once my military obligation had been fulfilled, I went to college. Even though I was a very intelligent child, I was discouraged from attending college, because my father felt my time would be better spent serving god, then getting an education. But, I felt it would help me get a better job, so I did it anyway. Once there, I took an Introduction to Anthropology class(mostly because it filled a requirement and fit my schedule), which I thought would be rather amusing, since I knew that evolution was a ridiculous concept. In that class, I was shown the evidence for evolution, which is of course, overwhelming.
Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks! If the religion that I was raised in was wrong about evolution, then it was probably wrong about a great number of things. In a single moment of clarity, all of this guilt, that I had carried for nearly two decades, had been lifted. I cannot tell you how much relief that brought. Life has been a joy ever since. Of course, life always has ups and downs, but my overall outlook is overwhelmingly positive, which is world's different than before I figured things out.
That's my story in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!
DJ
I am new here and thought I'd do the proper thing and introduce myself. Here's my story:
I grew up in a very religious family, almost cult-like. I always felt guilt growing up, because I could never live up to the standards I was told god had for me and my behavior. I moved out of my parents house when I was 16 and joined the military shortly after I turned 18, against the will of my incredibly religious father, who felt that the only government I should serve is god's government. Even though the military had moved me far from the house and the religion I had grown up in, I still felt constant guilt for not living the godly life that I had been taught to live.
Once my military obligation had been fulfilled, I went to college. Even though I was a very intelligent child, I was discouraged from attending college, because my father felt my time would be better spent serving god, then getting an education. But, I felt it would help me get a better job, so I did it anyway. Once there, I took an Introduction to Anthropology class(mostly because it filled a requirement and fit my schedule), which I thought would be rather amusing, since I knew that evolution was a ridiculous concept. In that class, I was shown the evidence for evolution, which is of course, overwhelming.
Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks! If the religion that I was raised in was wrong about evolution, then it was probably wrong about a great number of things. In a single moment of clarity, all of this guilt, that I had carried for nearly two decades, had been lifted. I cannot tell you how much relief that brought. Life has been a joy ever since. Of course, life always has ups and downs, but my overall outlook is overwhelmingly positive, which is world's different than before I figured things out.
That's my story in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!
DJ
