Anything you want to know? Ask it here.
Why not start with the obvious one…
Why do you still go to church if you’re an “ex-christian”?
I go out of habit, to get out of the house. Plus there’s free coffee, and it’s cheaper than a movie. The girls in my youth group are pretty. It gets boring sometimes, but I have nothing better to do.
Why are you an ex-Christian?
How old are you? (I feel this is relevant) How and when did you come to the decision that the Christian faith was no longer something you believed in? Gradually, or was it fairly suddenly? Do you feel guilty about leaving that belief behind? Do you let others in your church know that you are no longer Christian? Do you let your family know that? Do you share your newfound point of view in public, with or without being asked?
Many of the questions I ask above are things that I experience problems with myself.
I think mainly it was the concept of an eternal hell that got to me. Trying to fathom a God that would punish people endlessly because of their beliefs. Lots of devout Christians can just let this go, but I couldn’t. How can they stand to walk around the street thinking that most of the people they see will be tortured without end until the end of time?
That, and the horrible atrocities which were apparently supported by God in the Old Testament (genocide, keeping virgins as “bounty” while killing every other living thing of their enemy’s).
17 years, 10 months.
It was more of a gradual process than an instant thing. My heathan friends kept asking questions I couldn’t answer without copying and pasting from Christian “apologist” websites, but even then the answers weren’t all that satisfactory. I felt like I was deceiving myself rather than admit to making the wrong decision.
No.
No. I doubt I would feel comfortable afterwards if I did that. I come mainly to enjoy the social atmosphere of the church. The potlucks and whatnot.
My family is agnostic/atheist, I haven’t really advertised that I’m an ex-believer, but they might have figured it out after I stopped trying to convert them and stopped citing scripture left and right.
I share it with my closest friends. But not my acquantances. However, If I were asked point blank by them about my point of view, I wouldn’t lie to them.
I notice, that, even if I don’t really follow Catholicism much anymore, sometimes for me, Mass can have a soothing, calming effect on me. It’s almost as if it’s more of a true Sabbath-in that it’s a time of rest and reflection.
Do you ever feel that way?
Yes. It’s a good idea to take one day out of the week for rest and reflection, even for unbelievers.
I have never been a christian, yet sometimes circumstances dictate that I attend church with a religious friend (if I’m staying with her family, etc.). When I do attend church, all the traditions and hymns seem, well, pedantic to me- like people are just going through the motions for the sake of being there. No one seems too enthused about it.
The fact that you’re an agnostic still attending church makes me wonder whether people are attending church now just for the sake of tradition, or whether they seriously believe that a weekly prayer session is going to bring them closer to the almighty.
What do you think about this? How do you view the communion, the chants, the tradition? Does any of it seem silly to you?
That’s why I stopped going for the most part, NightRabbit. It felt too routine and automatic. My mind wasn’t on what I was doing-I was doing everything by rote.
The only time I invoke religion in my family is when my parents ask me to do chores on Sunday.
“Toil on the Sabbath? A pox on ye!”
Being an “agnostic ex-christian” myself, I’m interested in hearing from others. The reasons you cite for being one are familiar to me. Now that I know what you don’t believe, I’m curious as to what you DO believe. Are you able to put your beliefs into words here for us? For instance, do you believe in an afterlife? Do you believe in a Supreme Being? Do you believe in reincarnation or some form of it? And any other things you’d like to share. Thanks!
Before you answer that last one, I’d just like to add that accepting that the answers to those questions are not available at this time is a perfectly good answer (as far as I’m concerned it is the only reasonable answer based on the lack of available data). Don’t feel pressured to come up with a theory just as unsubstantiated as those espoused by the churches of the world.
Accepting you don’t know is one of the more mature attitudes I’ve run across. Claiming to be sure without proper evidence is just blind conceit and expression of foolish convictions (the enemy of truth more than lies).
Da Lovin’ Dj
I don’t think there is concrete evidence for an afterlife, but I think it’s a possibility. Ghost stories and Near Death Experiences make me wonder sometimes, but I still remain skeptical. I certainly want to believe there is life after death.
I still pray sometimes, but I’m not certain it’s being listened to. If there is a Supreme Being, I hope that this deity is nothing like the Judeo-Christian God.
I have difficulty imagining not continuing on in some form. Ever since I was little, even before I heard of what the concept of reincarnation was, I thought that after we die we go on to live another life.
But, I’m willing to concede that this could just be a product of my human brain not wanting to accept that it will no longer conciouslessly function someday.
I think the most important thing is the pursuit of truth. Organized religion prevents this by controlling ones thoughts and actions, which is why I no longer consider myself a Christian. However, I still think many of Jesus teachings are very worthwhile to live by.
Jefferson’s Bible, which has the teachings of Jesus minus the religious gobbledygook (like the Resurrection) and Paul’s spin on Christianity, is a good read.