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I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 2:11 am
(This post was last modified: June 12, 2012 at 2:14 am by hoppimike.)
It wasn't the feeling of being under control.
It wasn't the fear of Hell (I understood that whether you go or not is kinda up to you).
It wasn't the bad things that God had supposedly done, etc.
Those all bothered me but no. What bothered me most of all to the point where I felt really unhappy, confused and distressed was the thought of all the people that God was supposedly allowing to burn for eternity in Hell. I actually prayed for the first time since an early teen as far as I remember, and I mostly prayed for forgiveness for the people in Hell!
Weird no? I couldn't understand how a loving God could allow people to suffer in such an awful and ETERNAL way. Made no sense to me.
I calmed down though and realized that all the near death experiences I'd heard stories about (from the people who had them) aren't proof, they're just stories - most likely similar to dreams.
Anywho, I just wanted to share that with all of you 
Also, sorry for all my threads recently! I'm just enthusiastic about the topic I think! ^^
Take care cool Earthly peeps!
Mike
"Minds are like parachutes - they both work best when open."
My favourite pro-atheism video - [amoff]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQJrud71gL8[/amoff]
My favourite pro-theism video - [amoff]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqhGRD25h2A[/amoff]
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 3:13 am
(This post was last modified: June 12, 2012 at 3:13 am by Minimalist.)
Quote:I actually prayed talked to myself for the first time since an early teen as far as I remember, and I mostly prayed for forgiveness for the people in Hell!
Fixed that for you however even allowing for the incredibly remote possibility that some god was out there listening his devout followers on this board will tell you that it is too fucking late. Their loving god wants them to burn for eternity...
What a prick.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am
(June 12, 2012 at 2:11 am)hoppimike Wrote: It wasn't the feeling of being under control.
It wasn't the fear of Hell (I understood that whether you go or not is kinda up to you).
It wasn't the bad things that God had supposedly done, etc.
Hi hoppimike, welcome to the forum, I'm a Speedy fan too.
I find your statement "God had supposedly done," quite curious for an atheist to make. Could you explain?
hm Wrote:Those all bothered me but no. What bothered me most of all to the point where I felt really unhappy, confused and distressed was the thought of all the people that God was supposedly allowing to burn for eternity in Hell. I actually prayed for the first time since an early teen as far as I remember, and I mostly prayed for forgiveness for the people in Hell!
Again a curious statement, "I prayed for," coming from an atheist. Could you explain?
hm Wrote:Weird no? I couldn't understand how a loving God could allow people to suffer in such an awful and ETERNAL way. Made no sense to me.
Our loving God does not make people suffer in hell for eternity, people choosing to reject the salvation by grace and through forgiveness, all in the belief in Christ as their savior, will be in hell. People have a free choice, God doesn't make people go to heaven any more than He makes them go to hell. No one can earn their way into heaven nor in hell, it's really not about the way you live your life, it's about the choice you make to correct your life, or not to correct your life. All sin and fall short of God's will we're all in the same frying pan, those who accept Christ and live their lives to honor Him escape the frying pan, those who do not accept Him, well, they escape the frying pan only to wind-up in the fire.
There is a hell because God's righteousness demands equal justice, without equal justice God would be playing favorites, and true justice does not play favorites.
hm Wrote:I calmed down though and realized that all the near death experiences I'd heard stories about (from the people who had them) aren't proof, they're just stories - most likely similar to dreams.
Who told you that they have proved near death experiences are not real, I personally know of two people that's had them. I had a friend who had an experience right before He died and this man was conscious the whole time.
hm Wrote:Take care cool Earthly peeps!
Mike
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 4:10 am
(June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: ...
Our loving God does not make people suffer in hell for eternity, people choosing to reject the salvation by grace and through forgiveness, all in the belief in Christ as their savior, will be in hell.
...
Why would anyone reject Christ as their savior? Supposedly, God being fair and all, everybody gets all the evidence throughout their life they need about God and salvation to make the ultimate choice between rejection and acceptance. If this is so, why do some reject it and others accept it?
(June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: ...
Who told you that they have proved near death experiences are not real, I personally know of two people that's had them. I had a friend who had an experience right before He died and this man was conscious the whole time.
...
An old relative once told me about all the times that aliens nearly abducted her from her house, and that bigfoot lives in the forest behind her house. Now, believe me because I said so!
My ignore list
"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 4:35 am
(June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: ...
Our loving God does not make people suffer in hell for eternity, people choosing to reject the salvation by grace and through forgiveness, all in the belief in Christ as their savior, will be in hell.
...
tegh Wrote:Why would anyone reject Christ as their savior? Supposedly, God being fair and all, everybody gets all the evidence throughout their life they need about God and salvation to make the ultimate choice between rejection and acceptance. If this is so, why do some reject it and others accept it?
That answer is within you my friend, why don't you explain?
(June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: ...
Who told you that they have proved near death experiences are not real, I personally know of two people that's had them. I had a friend who had an experience right before He died and this man was conscious the whole time.
...
tegh Wrote:An old relative once told me about all the times that aliens nearly abducted her from her house, and that bigfoot lives in the forest behind her house. Now, believe me because I said so!
My friend was on His death bed, apparently he meant more to me than your relative did to you. Making fun of someone who's illness causes them to believe things like your relative did is insensitive.
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 8:51 am
What hurt the most? Were you a catholic.......?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 10:36 am
(This post was last modified: June 12, 2012 at 11:07 am by znk666.)
(June 12, 2012 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: (June 12, 2012 at 2:11 am)hoppimike Wrote: It wasn't the feeling of being under control.
It wasn't the fear of Hell (I understood that whether you go or not is kinda up to you).
It wasn't the bad things that God had supposedly done, etc.
Hi hoppimike, welcome to the forum, I'm a Speedy fan too.
I find your statement "God had supposedly done," quite curious for an atheist to make. Could you explain?
hm Wrote:Those all bothered me but no. What bothered me most of all to the point where I felt really unhappy, confused and distressed was the thought of all the people that God was supposedly allowing to burn for eternity in Hell. I actually prayed for the first time since an early teen as far as I remember, and I mostly prayed for forgiveness for the people in Hell!
Again a curious statement, "I prayed for," coming from an atheist. Could you explain?
hm Wrote:Take care cool Earthly peeps!
Mike
The title itself says that this was before he became an atheist.
(June 12, 2012 at 2:11 am)hoppimike Wrote: Our loving God does not make people suffer in hell for eternity, people choosing to reject the salvation by grace and through forgiveness, all in the belief in Christ as their savior, will be in hell. People have a free choice, God doesn't make people go to heaven any more than He makes them go to hell. No one can earn their way into heaven nor in hell, it's really not about the way you live your life, it's about the choice you make to correct your life, or not to correct your life. All sin and fall short of God's will we're all in the same frying pan, those who accept Christ and live their lives to honor Him escape the frying pan, those who do not accept Him, well, they escape the frying pan only to wind-up in the fire.
There is a hell because God's righteousness demands equal justice, without equal justice God would be playing favorites, and true justice does not play favorites. A just God/gods/Goddess would recognize that no one deserves to be eternally roasted in a pit of hot oil and lava.
Also a God/gods/Goddess that demands from us to worship him/her/them or we'll burn in hell no matter how good or bad we were is also disgusting.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 10:56 am
(June 12, 2012 at 2:11 am)hoppimike Wrote: Those all bothered me but no. What bothered me most of all to the point where I felt really unhappy, confused and distressed was the thought of all the people that God was supposedly allowing to burn for eternity in Hell. I actually prayed for the first time since an early teen as far as I remember, and I mostly prayed for forgiveness for the people in Hell!
Welcome Mike,
As True Christians ™ it's not our place to question how the Lord gets his kicks but we do know he's very insecure and needs a crowd of sycophantic mortals to constantly fawn all over him and sing his praises constantly. Life is the ultimate test of our faith, whether we will adore him even though he doesn't appear to exist and if he does, makes a mess of everything. I guess he figures anyone who passes that test is going to kiss his holy ass for all eternity. Those who think for themselves aren't going to do much for his self-esteem and so they need to be tossed into the incinerator like so many rejects off the soul quality control station.
Hope that helps.
"You don't need facts when you got Jesus." -Pastor Deacon Fred, Landover Baptist Church
™: True Christian is a Trademark of the Landover Baptist Church. I have no affiliation with this fine group of True Christians ™ because I can't afford their tithing requirements but would like to be. Maybe someday the Lord will bless me with enough riches that I am able to.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 10:57 am
Welcome hoppimike, I hope you like it here. I had a similar experience. When I wondered how we were supposed to be happy in heaven when our loved ones were roasting in hell, I was told it wouldn't bother us because that would make heaven less than perfect if it did. How can I be the same person if people suffering doesn't bother me anymore? I suppose an emotionally lobotomized existence in heaven is better than roasting in the pit, but that answer took some of the shine off my religion. They always did do a better job of making hell sound awful than they did of making heaven sound desireable.
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RE: I mostly believed Christianity briefly recently... you know what hurt the most?
June 12, 2012 at 11:00 am
Well, the thing I don't get about some Christians is that it seems tome that they want you to burn in hell for not believing in their god... not very Christian of them. You would think that all of them would want everyone to get to heaven no matter what they believed.
I suppose people are arse holes about that kind of thing though. 
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