I went to church

[k2490]

I decided to give my friend some support,and also make for the last time I was at her church(long story) anyway I went and it was typical. The thing is the only churches I've been too were southern baptist churches(that's what I grew up with). Her church was Lutheran.

Anyway the service was okay,I prefer it to Baptist churches.
there was a portion of the service where the kids were ministered to and talked about how God is like a father.

then there was a sermon about faith and forgiveness using the story of the women who bathed Jesus' feet with tears.

and they had communion

After church was over my friend and I talked she thinks I need to give it a chance and not base my atheism on one Church,and how even though the are many denominations they all have core beliefs that are the same. She believes that Christianity is the one true religion.

the thing is it's not because of one church I'm an atheist. anyway just had to tell my story.
She says she goes by faith and not by sight,and when into sort "you can't see ____" type thing.

any comments or support because once again I'm feeling like the lonely atheist

[Rahul]

Welcome from one former Southern Baptist to another.

[k2490]

Welcome from one former Southern Baptist to another.

thank you! It's nice to hear from another former baptist

[wwjs]

It's a good thing that you went with her to church. Shows that you're open minded. Why not invite her to see your position next time? I recommend watching Collision with Hitch vs Wilson (you can find it on YT). That way it won't look like it's some atheist propaganda but she will hear great arguments from both sides.

[Minimalist]

not base my atheism on one Church

Atheism is not about "churches." Churches are associations of fools who, more or less, envision the same type of "god."

That they have no evidence for that god is the problem. In this, they are no different from any other "church." 'God' is merely the product they sell.

[catfish]

Just ask her why you gals are going to church on the pagan sun god's day of worship, that always throws them off.

[Cato]

If her argument is that you can't see electricity (simply to fill in the blank and a common retort) as a reason to accept Christianity as an answer to ignorance, then rational debate without a significant increase in basic scientific knowledge is out of order. You can, of course, take that approach; however, I have a very scientific way to address your dilemma.

You should both commit to a tour of all that Christianity has to offer. Seriously, be her guide in exploring all the different denominations. You have homework though. Your burden is learning the creeds of each before you attend to the extent that you are able to compare and contrast the denomination vs. the others, what the Bible actually says and what serious scholars consider regarding the differences.

[Rahul]

You should both commit to a tour of all that Christianity has to offer. Seriously, be her guide in exploring all the different denominations. You have homework though. Your burden is learning the creeds of each before you attend to the extent that you are able to compare and contrast the denomination vs. the others, what the Bible actually says and what serious scholars consider regarding the differences.

I'm a proponent of everyone learning about as many religions as possible. I'm teaching my girls about all I know about. And allowing them to discuss it with adherents to each.

I don't care if my girls grow up to be a theist of some caliber. But they will be well informed of a variety of opinions before they are grown.

And I'll love the dickens out of them no matter what they decide.

[LeoVonFrost]

Great story thanks. It is really close to what I went through on easter a while ago, I was brought up baptist now atheist and my wife was Lutheran asked me to go and I wanted to appease her so I went. It is a different world, isn't it? The way they talk to each other and chant and eat the blood of christ, I thought it was ritualistic. At the end they all shook hands and said "he is risen" "he is risen" "he is risen" to each other. The repetition stuck with me, do they need to repeat it so they believe it? I heard an argument that there is a great amount of atheists going to church every day being fooled.

Congrats on keeping your lack of faith in the face of peer pressure, we deal with it every day. My heavily religious co-workers avoided me for weeks after one of them got a "NO" when asking if I believe in God. When I went to a friend who I thought was an atheist I told him about it and he said "What the Hell is wrong with you?" There is a lot of forced shame and rejection against our views. But stick with it, reason is our hammer and we shall make it ring loudly. It's hard to feel lonely with the good people here, I hope you find what you are looking for, email me anytime.

[Doubting Thomas]

Lutheran church services aren't much different from Catholic masses, though I think Catholic masses have much more chanting & ritualism.

That's the problem with most Christians, they assume that we atheists just haven't visited the right church, and if we go to their church all the time then we'd be converted. They don't seem to understand that it's not the church that is the problem, it's Christianity that we don't agree with.