my childhood was a fucked-up mess, but at least some religion wasn't crammed down my throat.


sorry that was the reality of your childhood dk.

I am a christian but I believe we should never force our beliefs on anyone. I am just as crazy and messed up as the next person and I try to live by example and do unto others as I would want them to do to me but I am not exactly in church on Sunday or anything because I am not like overly religious. I sometime blame the church for messing me up sometime because I stay confused alot and feel like I am being torn in two different directions because I am a christian and am BiPolar and get told I am going to hell for some of the things I have done. It is so hard to be good sometime. I could never tell someone they are going to hell because well of course as a christian I see it as God being the ultimmate judge. I see these judgmental people shaking there head when they see a pregnant teen and I am like isn't that worse for them to do that then her getting pregnant. Anyway my beliefs are considered a little liberal most the time. I am all about loving the sinner and hating the sin but I don't wanna preach to them. Oh I am a sinner too I do it everyday.

I understand where you're coming from. I was raised in a cultish religion that was fear based too and had it beaten into me. When I could, I immediately started researching religions, including that one, and found some really disturbing truths about it. So I gave it up for Catholicism. Since then, I've become an athiest too. It's been a long time and I no longer have such a harsh reaction to religious talk, but for awhile, I'd get very angry.

Pan, i just saw what you said and u made me pee my pants again ROFL!!!!!!!!! :) I am sure Angela finds it humorous too :) She is great :)

I get my spirituality from nature and believe Christianity is man's way of controlling the Earth, out of fear. Works too!!

Well my faith is not that of my families or my husband's really but I do beleive. I'm Baptist, my husband prefers the church of God, and my family are Methodist so that they can drink.

I say to each their own. I've had friends that are Wiccan and Pagan. We get alond great because we don't forse out views on each other. My Wiccan friends loves to smudge my house. I don't believe in it but it makes her feel better. It can't be wrong, because don't Cathics throw water on things to bless it?

If you chose not to believe that is your choice and don't take other's words to heart. If a little of you wonders about faith with out the fear, then shop arround and go to different churches. If you find a faith you like then great, if not then that's fine too.

As for you getting upset they are saying you are going to hell just remember you are atheist so there is no hell so don't worry.

As everyone knows, I am a very fervent Christian. The reason I am, is that atheism, following my own path, and sampling all the religions plus a few cults did not give me any peace, answers or satisfaction.

But the gospel is NOT about going to hell. Gospel means GOOD NEWS! It is not something to make you feel bad, but rather to rejoice.

God created a beautiful and wonderful world. I bet there is not one person in this forum who doesn't appreciate the world. I studied ecology at a secular university, because I loved the earth. I wanted to know more about creation. BUT, started that BEFORE I became a Christian. Became a Christian at the end of my first year of University for a whole bunch of reasons, one being the fact that there is no mechanism for speciation. Evolution does not work.

But we all know there is a lot of bad and evil in this world. We have a disease, some of us have money or relationship problems. Or loneliness, or hurts from the past. So why did such a good earth, which God to be created to be "good" go bad? Why did human beings, the "image of God" go wrong?

There was a fall. I don't think anyone can disagree with me if I say that the everything is distorted and broken. We are rebels, and we want to do things our own way! And fact is, we are all guilty. We all do wrong, we simply are not good enough. We are lost. The Bible says it, and the fact, is we know we are just not quite cutting it.

Hey, we try hard, but stuff happens, right? It's a mixed up world.
But like in the movies, where heroes like Frodo do good, or Cinderella marries the prince, or William Wallace defies the British, we all want a happy ending. We want our life to turn out right. But we can't do it on our own. So we try and cling to things that make it right. We do good deeds, or we mediate, or we try and show compassion. We regret our bad decisions, and hope for better in the future. And sometimes it gets so bad we give up -and you all know what that means in this forum.

For me, I couldn't make it on my own. My drinking was out of hand. My promiscuity was appalling. So this is the Good News part of the story - There is a rescuer - and it is God himself, come to earth as Jesus Christ, who lived the only perfect life, and died on the cross, and rose again. Jesus came to rescue us. It is NOT about going from being a bad person to a good person.

It IS about going from being a dead person, to a living one. Through faith, I have been forgiven my sins and from that moment on, my life changed for the good. I stopped drinking, never had another drink again. I repented which means I turned away from my sins, and started walking towards Jesus, who gave me his Spirit when he gave me new life.

Now am I perfect? Not in the slightest - only Jesus was. BUT, I have changed radically over the years. Even in the past 3, since I came to DS, I am a transformed person. And I have this incredible hope that one day, Christ is going to return, and the whole earth is going to be restored, and I will be like Jesus, because I will see him as he is - face to face - the glory of the Father revealed.

So I want to tell you, the only reason I am in this place of following Christ is because he gave me the GIFT of faith, and forgave me my sins, when I believed in him.

Only Jesus brings peace, fullness, and only He can satisfy.

I just want to offer this free gift to everyone who does not already have it.

And here is another way of putting the same thing - in a more conservative way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K48-Li7lIfA

And Pan is great - made me laugh. Esp. since I spend so much bicycle time praying for each member of this forum. Haha!

Catalysis

(i didn't mean what i said in bad way though Angela, and I'm Christian too.)

(((((DISCLAIMER)))))

The Opinions Expressed in Posts #14 and #23 are those of the poster's and are in no way the the opinion of the Universe.

There are many people who have found Peace, Fulfilment and Satisfaction in places other than Jesus Christ.

Most notably Peace, Fulfilment, Satisfaction can be found Within

You can't call something "faith" if you were terrorized into it. Faith doesn't work that way. In fact (I know I'm going to hit some nerves on this one) I think that Faith and Religion are two separate things. Religion has it's roots in Theater, like it or not. Religion is full of ceremonies and dogma. Faith is something that you believe in deep down in your gut. I think that if I had to put my own beliefs into a category it would be WiccanWolf's category of beliefs. I know that I'm not Atheist. Agnostic might fit the bill better.

i have no comment about where other people find faith or satisfaction, nor do i judge them for what they believe or hold or look at them as being lower or more flawed in any way, ...all i know about is how i have found peace myself. all i know is my own journey.

i agree that religion is where things have gone wrong, and faith is an entirely different category altogether from religion.

i respect everyone's right to believe what they feel the truth is for them.

i hold a lot of different beliefs than the 'typical Christian,' and have not been to church in years.

there is one group of people who are very real and open whom i was able to meet with once months ago. and i hadn't been there in years either.

i have very different views from the traditionally stereo-typed kind of Christian of white bread bible thumping America.

so i resent being lumped in a category.

i also appreciate buddhism and i do other odd things you wouldn't find the average 'believer' doing/thinking.

In times of economic stress....it's seen as a fertile ground to convert people into Christians or any other faith.
I believe that vulnerable people are ' targeted' to attend church, by people that ' play' on the insecurities of the individual........further helped by the possibility of a problematic relationship from the original family.
Teens' minds already have so many things to take in from the outside world...and the peer pressures can ultimately make them think something needs changing when it does not.
I call this coercion.
A conversion will win more soul-points.

I've seen it happen from me being 12-13.And it was not good.
I saw Billy Graham too.My family were fractured then.
People of the church sent me a list of all these sins on it.
They wanted me to write which sins I had partaken in.
Trancsendental meditation etc..Masturbation...etc..I hadn't heard of half of the sins mentioned.So they explained..each one !!.....resulting in my mind being infected by them a lot more than necessary !!!!!


Be Yourself...saves a lot of wasted time putting faith in men that only want to climb their own ladder of opportunity.


Be Your Self.
They only wanted to fuck their secretaries anyway.Swaggart etc...

i agree with 'be yourself.'

i don't try to convert people to my beliefs, my beliefs are so complex and difficult to describe, and there are already world-label-judgements attached to most words so it is all beyond my ability to describe nor profess to any other.

i wouldn't and don't appreciate faith and concepts of G-d being foisted upon me, either, nor do i presently.


i release the right or responsibility to control anyone else's will, and only prefer to focus on my own.

the problem, for me, comes when i say i love something, and that is my belief, and it is not okay or acceptable by those around me.
then, i just have to shrug and say well i don't mind what they believe, but it doesn't prevent me from inspired depth in my experience, that other witnesses no no thing of.