I've gone back and forth between atheism and theism so much that I thought the see-saw would never stop, but here I am.
My journey out of theism began in college. I was a devout Bible-thumping Christian in the Bible Belt. I saw myself as obviously more righteous than my unbelieving peers, but I didn't see my arrogance. What got me questioning Christianity was the fact that Christians are not morally superior to anyone else, even though they claim to be under the leadership of the holy spirit. In college, I met so many respectful and loving atheists that I had to wonder why they continued to not belief despite their godly character. That's not to say that all nonbelievers are good people, but yeah, I had to wonder.
I still had bitterness toward church members who had hurt me, and I used that as my reason for leaving religion at first, but the problem with that is that the moment I thought I'd found better behaving religious people, I returned to religion, only to set myself up to be disappointed again and again. It wasn't until the last few days that the foundation for my disbelief became more solid.
The other day I was in a Christian chat-room, and I asked two sets of questions.
First I asked: If God knows the future, and God wishes that none perish, then why did God create people he foreknew would go to hell?
Some said "free will." But that makes no sense if God is truly all-knowing. Others said "for a learning experience." But that makes no sense if God wishes that none perish. Others gave the catch-all, "It is a mystery of God."
Then I asked:
1) If an evil person sincerely asks for forgiveness and accepts Christ on their dying day, can they go to heaven? The answer was Yes.
2) In theory, if Hitler sincerely asked for forgiveness and accepted Christ on his dying day, he could have gone to heaven? The answer was Yes.
3) What about Hitler's victims, who were mostly Jews?
The majority's answer was: If they didn't accept Christ, they go to hell.
Priceless.
I tried to reason with them that these were Holocaust victims who had no choice, who were in concentration camps. Still, the answer was the same.
I'm now able to separate the person from the belief. These may be good people, but their beliefs are dangerous.
So, for the sake of labels, I call myself an agnostic because I don't believe I can know either way, but I'm certainly a nontheist.
Glad to be here.
My journey out of theism began in college. I was a devout Bible-thumping Christian in the Bible Belt. I saw myself as obviously more righteous than my unbelieving peers, but I didn't see my arrogance. What got me questioning Christianity was the fact that Christians are not morally superior to anyone else, even though they claim to be under the leadership of the holy spirit. In college, I met so many respectful and loving atheists that I had to wonder why they continued to not belief despite their godly character. That's not to say that all nonbelievers are good people, but yeah, I had to wonder.
I still had bitterness toward church members who had hurt me, and I used that as my reason for leaving religion at first, but the problem with that is that the moment I thought I'd found better behaving religious people, I returned to religion, only to set myself up to be disappointed again and again. It wasn't until the last few days that the foundation for my disbelief became more solid.
The other day I was in a Christian chat-room, and I asked two sets of questions.
First I asked: If God knows the future, and God wishes that none perish, then why did God create people he foreknew would go to hell?
Some said "free will." But that makes no sense if God is truly all-knowing. Others said "for a learning experience." But that makes no sense if God wishes that none perish. Others gave the catch-all, "It is a mystery of God."
Then I asked:
1) If an evil person sincerely asks for forgiveness and accepts Christ on their dying day, can they go to heaven? The answer was Yes.
2) In theory, if Hitler sincerely asked for forgiveness and accepted Christ on his dying day, he could have gone to heaven? The answer was Yes.
3) What about Hitler's victims, who were mostly Jews?
The majority's answer was: If they didn't accept Christ, they go to hell.
Priceless.
I tried to reason with them that these were Holocaust victims who had no choice, who were in concentration camps. Still, the answer was the same.
I'm now able to separate the person from the belief. These may be good people, but their beliefs are dangerous.
So, for the sake of labels, I call myself an agnostic because I don't believe I can know either way, but I'm certainly a nontheist.
Glad to be here.
