Hi there, just another newbie putting up their convert backstory.
My parents sent me to catholic school when I was five. The teachers and priests always stressed to never break the 10 commandments and to never hate another person. Their logic was that those that had wronged you would receive divine punishment in some form and that god would beat up all the bad guys for you. However, their logic and promises never held up. Even in middle school, the other students would cheat on an exam, steal, lie, cussed, push people down stairs, and be disrespectful their teachers and parents. If I ever retaliated to brought up their wrong doing I was shamed for doing so. I was called a liar, an attention seeker, and a sinner. They were praised for getting grades they didn't work for, kept nice things that were not theirs, and manipulated others to getting what they wanted.
In seventh grade, my mom divorced my dad over her religious beliefs. An old college friend had moved back to town and wanted her to go to a non-denominational mega church. After she went she decided to adopt their hate practices. The day she divorced him she asked him "do you live Jesus Christ?" Even though my dad had said yes, mom had stated she didn't like the tone in which he said it. So she took me and my sister out of school, hid us in a hotel, and asked my dad to pick us up at school. She had basically kidnapped us. My dad never pressed charges. After that, she liquidated all of the college funds my sister and I had and used it to buy a lawyer. The rest of the money she put into seeding of her new mega church. She almost got kicked out of her apartment several times because of this financial habit. Later, she began practicing her views on me. She would say things like I would burn in hell if I didn't follow everything she said, god would punish me in school for things I would say against her, etc. The reports from the divorce counselors were enough for my dad to get full custody.
In college, I saw the same hypocritical religious practices. There is a large religious group on campus informally known as a hate cult. They have made the front page of the university paper over their open preaching about pro-life, gays, Muslims, jews, blacks, and anyone else that isn't a heterosexual white Christian and how they will all burn in hell. At one point there was a petition to remove the organization and ban the hate preacher from campus. It was removed soon after it was made since it went against free speech. The petition was only two hundred signature away from passing.
My sister is now part of this organization. She only uses it as a medium to meet up with old friends that go to a separate baptist church. She does not attend the organization meetings, church gatherings, or retreats. The organization name is used as a label to give to my parents so she can have a designated time and place to meet her friends for a different bible study.
After all this, I got fed up with religion and wrote it up as people using an institution to justify hatred. I spoke with a friend about this and they told me about a different organization called the Secular Student Association. I went to their meeting and was blown away. I found a group of like-minded people who had similar experiences. Two years later and a lot of secular literature and podcasts later here I am.
My parents sent me to catholic school when I was five. The teachers and priests always stressed to never break the 10 commandments and to never hate another person. Their logic was that those that had wronged you would receive divine punishment in some form and that god would beat up all the bad guys for you. However, their logic and promises never held up. Even in middle school, the other students would cheat on an exam, steal, lie, cussed, push people down stairs, and be disrespectful their teachers and parents. If I ever retaliated to brought up their wrong doing I was shamed for doing so. I was called a liar, an attention seeker, and a sinner. They were praised for getting grades they didn't work for, kept nice things that were not theirs, and manipulated others to getting what they wanted.
In seventh grade, my mom divorced my dad over her religious beliefs. An old college friend had moved back to town and wanted her to go to a non-denominational mega church. After she went she decided to adopt their hate practices. The day she divorced him she asked him "do you live Jesus Christ?" Even though my dad had said yes, mom had stated she didn't like the tone in which he said it. So she took me and my sister out of school, hid us in a hotel, and asked my dad to pick us up at school. She had basically kidnapped us. My dad never pressed charges. After that, she liquidated all of the college funds my sister and I had and used it to buy a lawyer. The rest of the money she put into seeding of her new mega church. She almost got kicked out of her apartment several times because of this financial habit. Later, she began practicing her views on me. She would say things like I would burn in hell if I didn't follow everything she said, god would punish me in school for things I would say against her, etc. The reports from the divorce counselors were enough for my dad to get full custody.
In college, I saw the same hypocritical religious practices. There is a large religious group on campus informally known as a hate cult. They have made the front page of the university paper over their open preaching about pro-life, gays, Muslims, jews, blacks, and anyone else that isn't a heterosexual white Christian and how they will all burn in hell. At one point there was a petition to remove the organization and ban the hate preacher from campus. It was removed soon after it was made since it went against free speech. The petition was only two hundred signature away from passing.
My sister is now part of this organization. She only uses it as a medium to meet up with old friends that go to a separate baptist church. She does not attend the organization meetings, church gatherings, or retreats. The organization name is used as a label to give to my parents so she can have a designated time and place to meet her friends for a different bible study.
After all this, I got fed up with religion and wrote it up as people using an institution to justify hatred. I spoke with a friend about this and they told me about a different organization called the Secular Student Association. I went to their meeting and was blown away. I found a group of like-minded people who had similar experiences. Two years later and a lot of secular literature and podcasts later here I am.
