Going Back & Finding Nothing There

[TubbyTubby]

I think the congregation of folk I encountered were all nice people to give them credit. It doesn't take from the impression that I got of them being zombies, just that they were nice zombies.

[Mudhammam]

The worst zombies are the ones that eat others' brains. Most Christians, it seems, are the nice type of zombies: they only want to give their brains to others.

[Vox Populi]

Hey,

Has anyone who has lost their belief gone back to church, temple, whatever and found that not only is there nothing there anymore but it's as if your eyes have been opened wide and you see everything as it is rather than through the religion-tinted specs you wore when you regularly attended.

I looked around me at all these horrible people. I chatted with those I always used to seek out when I attended and they were cold, critical and above all, totally without humor. I couldn't stand to be with them and couldn't wait to leave.

I lost my belief overnight. The scales on my eyes simply fell away. I'm lucky I guess because for many it's a long drawn out process though in hindsight I can see the beginnings of doubt from as much as 15 years ago however the actual realization was immediate.

When I left the church no one contacted me at all. They had my contact details, email address, postal address and phone number. I attended religiously (pun intended), several times a week and as much as 20 times a month what with all the different services, prayer sessions, healing groups. Not one person inquired as to how I was and yet when I wandered back in they walked over as if we were old friends. I just saw them as they are, nasty people in a big social club for those who hear voices.

I'm glad I went back as I needed to know if there were any vestiges of my old faith. There wasn't anything at all.

WL.

It's so ironic that you posted this! My Grandmother wanted me to go to Church with her... so i was like "yeah" she is 84 so don't want to make her feel bad. Its been many years and they were all cold and talking about how the school is forming clubs against Christian values... that sort of stuff. alot didnt even say hi and some didn't even look you in the eye. Oh well... what a waste... A least you are enlightened!

[JuliaL]

I looked around me at all these horrible people. I chatted with those I always used to seek out when I attended and they were cold, critical and above all, totally without humor. I couldn't stand to be with them and couldn't wait to leave.
<snip>
When I left the church no one contacted me at all.
<snip>
I just saw them as they are, nasty people in a big social club for those who hear voices.

I've never had religious faith. So I don't have any experiences similar to those of people who've lost theirs.
But the situations you describe are wholly consistent with my model of religions, their purposes and persistence in society. Religions are organized human social activities that emerge from the bubbling stew of human interaction. The successful ones have some common characteristic properties and guiding behaviors: carrots and sticks. The warm fuzzies from other members is a carrot, the cold shoulder if you leave is a stick. Shunning used to be much more effective. Not that a isolated person no longer needs community support. We still have that. It's still hard to survive 'in the wild' without help. But someone who leaves their local society now has more opportunity to feed themselves without help from the ones they left behind. Xenophobia still exists in communities, think biases against the latest immigrants. But you're much less likely to be killed by the tribe you're trying to enter than you used to be.
Like here for instance we're pretty welcoming.
Unless you prove to be a nutter.

[Nope]

I am still struggling with an emotional block about attending church. Part of my problem is that for years I attended very friendly Baptist churches. The congregation often went out of their way to welcome new comers. After having been a Christian for awhile, I absorbed the message that my friendliness and how I presented myself could be a factor in whether a person might want to further investigate Chrisianity. Some of my friends prayed that they would recognize the perfect moment to pounce on nonsuspecting friends and convert them to Christianity. This background has made me feel on guard when I enter a church which doesn't make attending church a pleasant experience.

[Spooky]

Welcome.

Not much too say that hasn't already been said. Sorry for the situation. Those people make the worst friends, you're better off without them.

[WastedLife]

Thanks everyone for replying

I remember when I was doing research into the book I was writing at the time and visited a Christian book store. I had this feeling as if I had walked into a mental asylum, only the inmates were in charge. It just amazes me how anyone could ever have believed any of this stuff, never mind in today's age when we've discovered so much that was once a mystery.

I can remember going into Christian bookstores while a believer and even I saw there was something amiss. I did think "I'm a space cadet but these people are in a different universe entirely" when around these people They seemed so vague, so out of it.

What used to amaze me about some of these Christians was how they could take issue with certain passages and actually go against the church on key issues like women's rights, gay marriage etc etc yet never look any more critically than that. It's almost as if the processes involved which led them to realize some of their belief is nonsense stops short of the bits which protect them against fire damage

I found the whole thing just creepy really, the congregation seemed like zombies to me. There just wasn't the sense of questioning, thinking or spontaneity in their eyes like I am drawn to in the people I associate with socially.

Their eyes just seemed dead and their smiles were like those in a mental asylum.

As former minister Jerry DeWitt would say "Can I get a Darwin?" (Amen)

Been there, seen that and sadly have the t-shirt though it's now all stretched where I put my head (brain) through

I haven't been to church since my mother's funeral six years ago. But the church my parents went to (Catholic) didn't have such an assembly of zombies. These were nice people and when I meet some of them on the streets, we usually talk for a good while. Religion doesn't come into such conversations.

Interestingly, I found Catholics to be by and large lovely people. Their beliefs are some of the most restrictive within Christian circles and yet they didn't seem so constrained by it as us in the more liberal strands of it.

Unless you prove to be a nutter.

I'm going to have to disappoint you on that score. I have noticed the incidences of nuttiness have lessened interestingly just as my religious fervor has waned.

[abaris]

Interestingly, I found Catholics to be by and large lovely people. Their beliefs are some of the most restrictive within Christian circles and yet they didn't seem so constrained by it as us in the more liberal strands of it.

Because you hardly find any literalists among them. Even amongst their priesthood. I always keep saying, catholic priests may be dangerous on an individual level, evangelicals are a danger for civilization. You really shouldn't invite catholic priests to babysit, but you can let them supervise a nuclear missile compound. With evangelical pastors I wouldn't be so sure, with all their end times porn.

[WastedLife]

You really shouldn't invite catholic priests to babysit, but you can let them supervise a nuclear missile compound. With evangelical pastors I wouldn't be so sure, with all their end times porn.

LOL true. There's a small evangelical church near to me and when they have been round here door knocking to proselytize you can see their eyes fire up when talking about the end times. They really want it to happen.

It reminds me of when I was at church and there would be a news story about air strikes in Israel. The more zealous members would almost wet themselves thinking this could be the beginning of the end, that Armageddon would soon be upon us.

[Jesusislord]

Hey,

Has anyone who has lost their belief gone back to church, temple, whatever and found that not only is there nothing there anymore but it's as if your eyes have been opened wide and you see everything as it is rather than through the religion-tinted specs you wore when you regularly attended.

I looked around me at all these horrible people. I chatted with those I always used to seek out when I attended and they were cold, critical and above all, totally without humor. I couldn't stand to be with them and couldn't wait to leave.

I lost my belief overnight. The scales on my eyes simply fell away. I'm lucky I guess because for many it's a long drawn out process though in hindsight I can see the beginnings of doubt from as much as 15 years ago however the actual realization was immediate.

When I left the church no one contacted me at all. They had my contact details, email address, postal address and phone number. I attended religiously (pun intended), several times a week and as much as 20 times a month what with all the different services, prayer sessions, healing groups. Not one person inquired as to how I was and yet when I wandered back in they walked over as if we were old friends. I just saw them as they are, nasty people in a big social club for those who hear voices.

I'm glad I went back as I needed to know if there were any vestiges of my old faith. There wasn't anything at all.

WL.

Hi WL

It is quite clear from your post that you went back to a church of Sunday actors....Yep we know them....They dress up for church but in reality their hearts are as cold as stone. As you are well aware you don't need a building to have a relationship with God. I am proud to be a Christian and it makes no difference to me what people in churches think of me or how they treat me - All I try to do is walk according to what Jesus expects from me....It is not easy and I have to ask for forgiveness almost on a daily basis - Again because we are weak. One thing is for sure when you are filled with the spirit you become a new creation and WL you would have no doubt have experienced this before when you were part of the cell groups etc. So if you need the peace back in your being just turn to God and ask him....It is that simple. No church, building, Sunday actor can do this for you...Turn to Jesus and restart your walk....I will pray for God to assist you in this difficult time - God bless you