Violence
Smash Lord
I ceased to be a Christian because I never really felt the presence of God, and I always felt that the sermons given in church sounded like fanaticism and brainwashing. It disturbed me to see an audience of people watch someone take a small passage from the bible and tell people how they should be using it to live their lives a certain way, then I would visit another church and watch another person use a different part of the same book to tell another group of people a completely different way to live their lives.
I think at that point, I had started to lose interest in organized religion.
I called myself an atheist for a while, but never really did the research to support why I didn't believe in religion or deities. It wasn't until I got into college, and heard about how people were trying to get creationism and intelligent design into the classrooms that I started to really think about my beliefs. It was my firm belief that it didn't matter what you believed in, and that your actions are what define you, not your beliefs(or lack thereof), and so I never made a big deal about it.
But when people started trying to obstruct the pursuit of knowledge by putting religion into the science classroom, I realized then that beliefs could matter quite a bit, because those in power act on their beliefs. And the people who believe that the Earth was created several thousand years ago over the course of a week by a supernatural, omnipotent being were clearly acting on their beliefs.
I think that's what I realized it wasn't really far of me to dismiss Christianity without doing some research, including: following the creationism/ID trials, learning several of the arguments/counterarguments for God's existence, and of course, reading my Bible.
I think the Bible itself was what really drove home something that I only had a suspicion of when I was just growing up in Church: the consistency of the Bible.
In the Old Testament, God is portrayed as an angry, jealous, wrathful entity who very frequently does things outside the laws of physics in order to serve his needs. He is either rewarding people, punishing them, or commanding them.
Tower of Babel, Flood, Plagues, turning a woman into salt, parting the Red Sea, sending fire from the sky to light an altar drenched completely in water, sending manna in the desert, giving a guy herculean strength as long as he kept his hair, giving him herculean strength after his hair was cut, taking the form of a burning bush, or the plumes from a volcano, having a fish(whale? large sea creature?) swallow Jonah, who stays alive for 3 days inside of it before being regurgitated, mauling boys with bears after they make fun of a prophet's baldness.
He commands that people be stoned to death, he condemns people to wandering in the desert for years for disobeying him. He turned a woman to salt for disobeying him. He floods the world because he finds the people he created repugnant. He commanded genocide, rained fire and brimstone to destroy cities, and messes with free will("the Lord hardened Pharoah's heart").
It isn't until the New Testament, when God incarnates himself in human form on Earth, that he ceases to do these things, and after that, he breaks the laws of physics, but it is always to help people, he does not punish a single person for being wicked. He is more forgiving and merciful than he was in the Old Testament, and sacrifices himself for mankind.
I think anyone reading the Bible can see that this inconsistency is odd.
It was around this time that I visited different religious groups on my campus, and asked them several basic questions. They were all very nice people, and the general response from them, regardless of religion, is that their faith comes mostly from a personal experience with their god, and they know in their hearts that their experience was genuine.
I think I can call myself fully deconverted after this experience. It was all in all pretty eye opening.
I think at that point, I had started to lose interest in organized religion.
I called myself an atheist for a while, but never really did the research to support why I didn't believe in religion or deities. It wasn't until I got into college, and heard about how people were trying to get creationism and intelligent design into the classrooms that I started to really think about my beliefs. It was my firm belief that it didn't matter what you believed in, and that your actions are what define you, not your beliefs(or lack thereof), and so I never made a big deal about it.
But when people started trying to obstruct the pursuit of knowledge by putting religion into the science classroom, I realized then that beliefs could matter quite a bit, because those in power act on their beliefs. And the people who believe that the Earth was created several thousand years ago over the course of a week by a supernatural, omnipotent being were clearly acting on their beliefs.
I think that's what I realized it wasn't really far of me to dismiss Christianity without doing some research, including: following the creationism/ID trials, learning several of the arguments/counterarguments for God's existence, and of course, reading my Bible.
I think the Bible itself was what really drove home something that I only had a suspicion of when I was just growing up in Church: the consistency of the Bible.
In the Old Testament, God is portrayed as an angry, jealous, wrathful entity who very frequently does things outside the laws of physics in order to serve his needs. He is either rewarding people, punishing them, or commanding them.
Tower of Babel, Flood, Plagues, turning a woman into salt, parting the Red Sea, sending fire from the sky to light an altar drenched completely in water, sending manna in the desert, giving a guy herculean strength as long as he kept his hair, giving him herculean strength after his hair was cut, taking the form of a burning bush, or the plumes from a volcano, having a fish(whale? large sea creature?) swallow Jonah, who stays alive for 3 days inside of it before being regurgitated, mauling boys with bears after they make fun of a prophet's baldness.
He commands that people be stoned to death, he condemns people to wandering in the desert for years for disobeying him. He turned a woman to salt for disobeying him. He floods the world because he finds the people he created repugnant. He commanded genocide, rained fire and brimstone to destroy cities, and messes with free will("the Lord hardened Pharoah's heart").
It isn't until the New Testament, when God incarnates himself in human form on Earth, that he ceases to do these things, and after that, he breaks the laws of physics, but it is always to help people, he does not punish a single person for being wicked. He is more forgiving and merciful than he was in the Old Testament, and sacrifices himself for mankind.
I think anyone reading the Bible can see that this inconsistency is odd.
It was around this time that I visited different religious groups on my campus, and asked them several basic questions. They were all very nice people, and the general response from them, regardless of religion, is that their faith comes mostly from a personal experience with their god, and they know in their hearts that their experience was genuine.
I think I can call myself fully deconverted after this experience. It was all in all pretty eye opening.
. kinda the same with faith, christians are being tested of their faith. We have our reasons to belive he exist (the bible && it's words), we do not have SOILD evidence such as photos or things of that nature. That is something we just won't know (just like if the guy will get hurt), but we turust in him and therefore strengthen our faith!
