Hello all!
I am posting here to contribute to the list of stories of those who have had a life similar to mine. It is important to understand that we are not alone nor strange.
My experience of Christianity started from my birth. My mother converted during her early 20's, and my father "converted" somewhat later. Just to be clear, they were both Christian when they married. My mother views her religion more seriously than my father, but neither ever expressed any religious doubt at all (nor are there any hints of doubt).
Growing up with both people being of the same religious conviction (and sub-convictions such as faith-healing and such) yet having one be more generally sedate about it was a bit confusing. Another strange thing was that their relationship is not at all a sane person would say is good. There was consistent (and occasionally constant) bickering (not religious). The bickering commonly led to one-hour long (and sometimes longer) confrontations. So, again, two people, same religion, yet not a speck of happiness with one another.
I was indoctrinated much like many others. Bible study, Bible stories (you know, the ones for kids, such as a flood where thousands of adults and children drowned and the one about the eternal torture of hell fo rnon-believers), "Jesus loves you," no religious questioning or open-mindedness whatsoever, literal Bible interpretation, no speech about the origins of Christianity, the whole, dumb deal.
I did believe quite fervently up until about the age of 17. My faith and lack of critical, scientific, world-conscious thinking increased steadily. Quite humorously, the atheistic posts on a site called FunnyJunk started the change. I slowly researched more about topics relevant to Christianity, evolution, the origin of the universe, Judaism (which, I discovered, if it is wrong, Christianity is wrong as well), the infallability and God-origin of the Bible, and so on. I recently (from 19 to the present day) started listening to podcasts about the atheistic perspective on Christianity, which encouraged me in letting go of my faith.
Also, knowledge of human biology, cultures, and psychology helped me realize that all people are naturally prone to create religious and supernatural explanations for things in order to make ourselves feel better. Pretty significant, right?
I will continue this post when I get more time.
I welcome your comments and similar experiences!
I am posting here to contribute to the list of stories of those who have had a life similar to mine. It is important to understand that we are not alone nor strange.
My experience of Christianity started from my birth. My mother converted during her early 20's, and my father "converted" somewhat later. Just to be clear, they were both Christian when they married. My mother views her religion more seriously than my father, but neither ever expressed any religious doubt at all (nor are there any hints of doubt).
Growing up with both people being of the same religious conviction (and sub-convictions such as faith-healing and such) yet having one be more generally sedate about it was a bit confusing. Another strange thing was that their relationship is not at all a sane person would say is good. There was consistent (and occasionally constant) bickering (not religious). The bickering commonly led to one-hour long (and sometimes longer) confrontations. So, again, two people, same religion, yet not a speck of happiness with one another.
I was indoctrinated much like many others. Bible study, Bible stories (you know, the ones for kids, such as a flood where thousands of adults and children drowned and the one about the eternal torture of hell fo rnon-believers), "Jesus loves you," no religious questioning or open-mindedness whatsoever, literal Bible interpretation, no speech about the origins of Christianity, the whole, dumb deal.
I did believe quite fervently up until about the age of 17. My faith and lack of critical, scientific, world-conscious thinking increased steadily. Quite humorously, the atheistic posts on a site called FunnyJunk started the change. I slowly researched more about topics relevant to Christianity, evolution, the origin of the universe, Judaism (which, I discovered, if it is wrong, Christianity is wrong as well), the infallability and God-origin of the Bible, and so on. I recently (from 19 to the present day) started listening to podcasts about the atheistic perspective on Christianity, which encouraged me in letting go of my faith.
Also, knowledge of human biology, cultures, and psychology helped me realize that all people are naturally prone to create religious and supernatural explanations for things in order to make ourselves feel better. Pretty significant, right?
I will continue this post when I get more time.
I welcome your comments and similar experiences!
You're right, people seem to have real trouble dealing with the unknown, so prefer to have a one-size-fits-all answer to everything, even if blatantly doesn't actually address the questions. However I think things are slowly getting better, in several countries anyhow.
