I've been really sad lately thinking about this. I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian family, and started questioning my faith as a teenager. My reasons for doing so were to embrace a liberal perspective freely. I don't agree with everything in the Bible. I don't think sex before marriage is wrong, and I don't necessarily agree with some of the negative views on homosexuality, and the belief that the husband is the head of the household. Furthermore, i'm not sure I should bow down and accept that Jesus Christ was the son of God and self-righteously accept these viewpoints and tell others that it is "the truth". Honestly, the Bible does not paint a picture of a loving God in my view. However, because I was raised in a strict Christian household, I am constantly bothered by the idea that God is witholding blessing from me for not accepting him. I fear this is why i'm sick; this is why I struggle with these thoughts.
Religious confusion
- Thread starter frogger
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You dont have to believe in Jesus..just believe there is smthg.. u dont have to believe in the Bible either.. and what kind of a mercyful God would punish somoen like that? I dont know much about the Bible but i think that the point out God's mercy several times.. it's just an ocd thought.. u have a million ppl who believe in god and still have ocd..
secretly awesome
Well-known member
Yeah, I guess it can be hard to get rid of religious shame if it's been inculcated from childhood. It seems that while you are mentally at odds with the some of the religious worldview, the christianity is working on you at an emotional level. Just know that humanity itself developed the idea of god, and humanity itself has also developed more rational, humane ways of looking at child-rearing, sexuality, and other questions.
non-denominational.
My family basically believe you must accept Christ or burn forever. It's pretty black and white, which is why it causes me considerable suffering. I'm sometimes terrified thinking about hell, and "What if i'm wrong?"
that's a reasonable thing to be afraid of isn't it? Hell fire...burning for eternity...
it's definitely a scary thought.
but the problem with that idea can simply be shown by using common sense.
What is required in order to feel pain from fire?
A) A conscious brain
B) A working nervous systems to send the pain signals to your brain which in return cause you to feel the burning.
Well the logical conclusion is that when you die your brain and nervous system dies therefore you can not feel pain so that ends that discussion.
friendchen
Well-known member
Well I'm Buddhist. I don't know very much about christian. But Buddha way of thinking is "If you do good thing, you will get good thing. If you do bad thing, you will get bad thing". And if you've done bad things, only you can erase your sins by doing good deeds yourself. And if you may ask why some bad people have good things, here is the answer. We, Buddhists, believe in previous and after life(You can read about people who can tell about their previous lives). Bad people have good things because they had done good deeds in their previous lives. And they will have to pay for their bad deeds indeed. And bad people won't always be bad life after life. They can be good ones in their another life. And this goes the same way with the good peoples too.
Island_chic
Well-known member
On this earth we all are going to suffer (with all sorts of problems). It is an imperfect world and always will be. Church is really not about not doing this or that and being right all the time...it's about sinners (everyone) who want to learn to love and except each other. I grew up in a christian home and my parents were not strict at all. I've heard of some really ridulous stuff before. I'm no bible thumper either. I don't believe in hate of any form (race, gender, orentaion,) or judgment. I believe in loving one another unconditionally and helping people. I believe we are all on this earth to love and help each other. I feel so much better after I stopped hating people who treated me like dirt. Let the bitterness out and just started loving unconditionally even if i had someone who had just been mean to me. If you can imagine what it's like to remove the hate from your heart and replace with unconditional love if feels so much better.
When my social anxiety developed I stopped doing everything. The last year has really made me into a different, much happier person since I started going back to church and singing in the choir. It doesn't really matter your domination as long as you truly believe in God. I can't explain everything but I know how good I have been feeling this last year. I haven't felt like this since I was maybe 11 years old. Luckily I'm going to my mom's church and the support system of my family helps alot. It would be good to go with someone you know.
Right before I started going back to church I felt pretty sick and bitter. It has made a big difference with the way I feel everyday and I have much more of a positive attitude about life. I'm serious. We all have a soul that needs to be nourished and not forgotten about.
The months leading up to me going back to church I prayed a lot and asked for help because I felt with my anxiety I wouldn't be able to even walk up to the door and walk inside the building. It was very, very hard for me. Now I know I made the right decision and also a dream of my mother's too. I really enjoy going and it helps to be able to enjoy my talent of music (singing) when I go.
I was so, so suprised that I would get to take singing lessons when I started.
I sang to myself at home when I was little quite a lot but was always to afraid to actually audition or sing in public.. I never though I would actually be learning to sing!! Im really amazed because s.a. has taken soooo much of my past. Im very proud and shocked that all of a sudden...here I am singing. My family is paying for my lessons too. My teacher is really an inspiration to me.
People go to church for differnet reason...some just to socialize....I go because I want to listen to the sermons and absorb them. I feel so positive afterwards. I want to know what the meaning of my life is.
I know there are plenty of people who don't believe but i'm telling you my true story.
Island_chic
Well-known member
lol...that's a reasonable thing to be afraid of isn't it? Hell fire...burning for eternity...
it's definitely a scary thought.
but the problem with that idea can simply be shown by using common sense.
What is required in order to feel pain from fire?
A) A conscious brain
B) A working nervous systems to send the pain signals to your brain which in return cause you to feel the burning.
Well the logical conclusion is that when you die your brain and nervous system dies therefore you can not feel pain so that ends that discussion.
please...some of that stuff is just a turn off to people. It's being a bible thumper. Im christian but that is really sad when other people ruin religion with that kind of nonsense stuff. I luv your little questionare lol.
lol...
I luv your little questionare lol.
seriously
I get a lot of flack for the following statement I'm about to make because I come from a religious family and 2 out of 3 of my ONLY friends happen to be Christians. There is no afterlife and you have nothing to fear, so there is nothing to be afraid of people (unless the thought of non existence scares you) ! I find it hilarious that people can believe that they'll be consciously aware of their surroundings after something as big as death when a simple head trauma or disease can leave individuals in a permanent comatose state.
every memory, every thought, your whole existence resides inside that hunk of flesh inside your skull called your brain, there is no soul, and once that dies that's it.
If there was a soul that possessed the ability to think, feel and see outside of our current bodies don't you think it would probably work as backup when you start to lose function of your current mental abilities? (altimers, Blindness? etc etc) I mean that would make sense because by religious logic the soul exist outside of your flesh n blood body which is just a "shell".
The idea of a soul itself was probably just something some human made up thousands of years ago to help himself cope with the lost of a loved one.
We as a species are just too smart (and creative) for our own good
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Tiercel
Well-known member
So, are you trying to reconcile your thoughts and feelings with your Christian faith or trying to break away from it? Ultimately you must decide which beliefs best suit you, and your answer to my question will allow others to give you the type of help you need.
If you are sticking with it, you could talk to some of the more Christian members on this forum, or perhaps a pastor. Helping people through crises of faith is one of the things they should be good at. And I do believe that that Christian God imbued you with a nifty thing called free will. So as long as you do what you feel is right, you might not have to "bow down" for Jesus Christ. Someday you might accept him into your heart with arms open, so to speak.
If what you know of this particular brand of faith doesn't suit you, perhaps it's just not the right one for you. There are different denominations of many faiths, and different holy men (and women) within each denomination. There are even those who believe that there is no supreme being. But not believing exactly what your parents believe does not make you a bad person. What you carry in your heart and how you act is ultimately the most important thing. So whether you believe in Jesus, God, Zeus, or nothing at all doesn't really matter, as long as you are kind to others.
As for slavish obedience and acceptance: if we were created by God, He already knows we're imperfect beings. So if we don't do exactly what He wants, He'll probably understand. I think actually spreading kindness and compassion is ultimately more important than why we choose to spread them. You might start out volunteering at a shelter to score points for the afterlife, but after a while you will enjoy helping people because helping others makes you feel good; a higher score is just an added bonus.
But for the sake of honesty I will warn you that I'm an atheist. So heed my religious advice at your own peril.
I hope this thread can be of some help, or at least some comfort, to you.
If you are sticking with it, you could talk to some of the more Christian members on this forum, or perhaps a pastor. Helping people through crises of faith is one of the things they should be good at. And I do believe that that Christian God imbued you with a nifty thing called free will. So as long as you do what you feel is right, you might not have to "bow down" for Jesus Christ. Someday you might accept him into your heart with arms open, so to speak.
If what you know of this particular brand of faith doesn't suit you, perhaps it's just not the right one for you. There are different denominations of many faiths, and different holy men (and women) within each denomination. There are even those who believe that there is no supreme being. But not believing exactly what your parents believe does not make you a bad person. What you carry in your heart and how you act is ultimately the most important thing. So whether you believe in Jesus, God, Zeus, or nothing at all doesn't really matter, as long as you are kind to others.
As for slavish obedience and acceptance: if we were created by God, He already knows we're imperfect beings. So if we don't do exactly what He wants, He'll probably understand. I think actually spreading kindness and compassion is ultimately more important than why we choose to spread them. You might start out volunteering at a shelter to score points for the afterlife, but after a while you will enjoy helping people because helping others makes you feel good; a higher score is just an added bonus.
But for the sake of honesty I will warn you that I'm an atheist. So heed my religious advice at your own peril.
I hope this thread can be of some help, or at least some comfort, to you.
da_illest101
Well-known member
Sounds like me a few months ago, I stop believing in all religious and personnally i find that it was for the better. I'm more open minded, more curious about things that I couldn't accept before. So far I do not regret it one bit. Though my family doesn't know about it, but they never asked me if they do i won't lie. I told my best friend that ( he is super religious) and we are gonna do bible studies together because i want to find out why he believe in it so much.
You gotta go with what you feel is right for you, I felt like religion was a joke so I stop believing. If you think that religion is serious business or that's what you want to believe in go ahead it's all good
friendchen
Well-known member
Yes.. I do agree with you that there's no soul. And I believe that the soul doesn't exist outside of our bodies. (Its the Chinese way of thinking after all, that the soul travels around when you die and you have to burn paper clothes or money for the soul. And I have to agree that I'm half chinese
).But I do believe in "the mind". To call a person, there has to be two things, the body and the mind. And these two things have the same thing in common that is that both the body and the mind change. Started from your birth, your body cells disintegrate and redevelop and then disintegrate again and the cycle continues. Also the mind do disintegrate and redevelop. Think as this way, even in a split second, there are a lot of things that go through in your mind. Every second what you think is different. Every second you think a new thing or may be lots of new things. Each second you think, your mind is going through the same cycle as your body. Even when you are standing still and doing nothing, your body and the mind is disintegrating and redeveloping. And the end of this cycle is called death. That is what with your body. And your surrounding is cycling in the same cycle too. For example, when you're looking at a building, you may think the building is the same every second, every minute. But actually its changing. It may look indifferent in a second, a minute , a week but the change would manifest itself after a year or when you notice it. And at the same time when you're looking at that building, your body and mind is cycling too. Thus I can say there would be no soul when you die. Death is actually the cycle stops. Cells stop to redevelop and the mind stops to think new things in this death body. (Or may be you think the mind stops with the body, well that's the after life thing, I can explain about the true after life but it would make this post longer and that's not what I'm trying to say in this post). What I'm trying to say is I don't believe in soul.
And I'm not trying to scare anybody with after life thing. My intention is if your're feeling guilty for not believing in Christ, just doing the good things would make you sinless. If you do the good things, Christ would forgive you as you are good. And I think God would like to have good people on his side
.I believe there is a God, but I am "flexible" in my approach because as far as I am concerned u cannot trust anyone when it comes 2 religeon, as people use it as a tool for social control, which I dont agree with so pls dont feel guilty for having mixed feelings about ur christian up bringing, just continue 2 believe there is a God, 4 anything else try 2 be "flexible".
Good luck
Good luck
Frogger. I'm not sure how much your OCD plays into this stuff, aside from the fear of pedophilia. I suck at understanding OCD.
What I can tell is: before you come to any decisions, study Christianity. Not what your parents or priests have told you, but study the Bible. Study how it's been interpreted in the different versions; look for the meanings in the original languages if you can. Study the history involved with the authors of the bible--the Jews going back a few thousand years, the early Christians, Constantine and the formation of the Bible itself.
If you really want answers, study the other religious texts as well.
Don't take anything for granted. Don't make any assumptions and try to be aware of the assumptions that already exist in you (we all have them).
Coming to an informed decision takes effort, not just mulling things over.