my conversion story

[Matt85]

I was born to an irish/english christian dad and a some what superstitious/christian mother. I basically soaked up everything they told me about the universe "God created the earth in 6 days" etc. I used to read the bible from a young age and was never given any material to read apart from christian books etc.

I went to a Lutheran primary school where they taught me more about this "loving God".the stories about the devil used to scare the shit outta me. anyway so i got to my teen years and started questioning a lot of the stuff they were feeding me. Most of my questions were answered with "no1 knows God plans" "God works in mysterious ways". I stopped going to church for a while and started doing drugs. anyway the drugs didn't help me too much because i developed a mental illness (schizophrenia) I started seeing demons and all kinds of crazy stuff. I thought i was possessed and even had a pyschotic episode where i was "excersised" basically some1 praying for you to get rid of your demons and speaking in tongues and all that. hahaha it's hilarious looking back at it. anyway i became a fully reborn christian and never doubted the bible again for at least 10 years.

I even started taking the bible literally which started causing some problems because as we all know the bible is plauged with inconsistencies yet i kept on and on until finally i asked myself a question which was unanswerable by christian logic (seriously ask this to a christian next time you are debating or what ever)

"how can an all knowing all loving God create humans he knows will go to hell forever"

anyway that's a bit of my story im just a recent convert and im still on the path to enlightenment. thanks all Peace out

[Demonaura]

It is indeed a difficult question, I have known christians to blindly answer it though. Usually with something like "It's your choice to go to hell and hate god."

It's flawed as hell of course,

one, you do not choose your beleifs (Don't beleive me? Try beleiving that a steroid abusing unicorn has just jumped through your window and sucker punched you right in the fact and then left the room in a terrible mess as it exploded into nothingness).

Two, you are not choosing heaven or hell, that is assuming you're a christian, any other beleif means neither heaven nor hell. You are recognising that based on whatever criteria you require for beleif that you do not beleive in god, the christians are saying you will receive hellfire for that.

Three, the 'you just hate god' statement is enough to make me want to smack them in the head. I cannot possibly hate god, or allah, or vishnu because I don't beleive any of them exist.

And that's just to start with a single standard responce.

I am however, glad that you were able to use reason in the end and if I may ask, have you gotten over the use of drugs? I imagine it is not an easy addiction to forget.

[Matt85]

yeah I'm over the drugs, although i would probably do LSD again given the opportunity lol.

Oh I'm no longer atheist I'm now a pastafarian.

[Giff]

LSD is quite freaky what I've heared. Quite easy to get, don't what it called in english,but in swedish do we say "flared up". One guy I know experienced that and he say he never been so afriad his whole life.

[chatpilot]

my story is somewhat similar Matt except that in my story I would have been the one standing over you speaking in tongues and casting out that demon.I was a pentecostal evangelist at one time and have been an atheist going on 15 years now.When I finally let go of my beliefs I felt liberated and free to enjoy life, did you have a similar feeling or experience when you realized that it was all a load of crap?

[Matt85]

LSD is quite freaky what I've heared. Quite easy to get, don't what it called in english,but in swedish do we say "flared up". One guy I know experienced that and he say he never been so afriad his whole life.

LSD (acid) is very hard to get here in Australia. My experience with it was amazing, seeing crazy patterns. Closing my eyes and seeing electricity going through my chakras. etc lol it's a crazy drug and you have to be in the right frame of mind to fully appreciate it.

my story is somewhat similar Matt except that in my story I would have been the one standing over you speaking in tongues and casting out that demon.I was a pentecostal evangelist at one time and have been an atheist going on 15 years now.When I finally let go of my beliefs I felt liberated and free to enjoy life, did you have a similar feeling or experience when you realized that it was all a load of crap?

well i didn't become atheist really quickly like that. I first rejected my Christianity and took up new age crap. For a while i was happy with that, but then i realised it was basically the same shit with a different smell. So now im skeptical about everything. That's why I love science so much because it has the same viewpoint. Being Objective, questioning, admitting mistakes, trying to find the answers.

anyway when i did become atheist and rejected all the supernatural crap I felt this amazing freedom. From all the millions of sperm that could have made it to life i was the one that did and now i have this opportunity to make the most of this one shot at life. I think it's amazing.

[chatpilot]

My deconversion took a while too it's not easy ridding oneself of all of that unholy baggage of falsities and fallacies.I literally had the fear of the Lord in me and left the fold with some of that fear still in me it took at least three years to fully say God does not exist etc. and embrace my atheism fully.