questioning your faith

I use to be just Catholic just in name, but now I really believe in it. My parents are Catholic, but they don't really believe in it.

 

Religion have never been a part of my life. I have been brought up to think that Religion is more of a cultural concept than actual faith. I don’t consider myself anything, not Christian, Muslim or Atheist, just ME.
The only one person that is more important than myself is well… myself. Ahem, and a certain girl… I know I’m whipped…

Cimbri

 

Same here. My grandpa even was a priest.

The only times I've had other beliefs was when I was younger and didn't understand what it was all about, but since age 10 I've been an atheist and never questioned it. Atheism is logic, religion isn't, and I need things to be logic for me to understand, and if I don't understand it, it's hard to believe in, unless there are concrete evidence, which in this case there isn't.

 

I went from pop music to Hard Rock

 

I was raised Catholic, but I never really was a believer in the church. I have always believed in God, and I still do, but I have no use at all for religion. I suppose you could call me a "reformed Deist," as I still believe Jesus died for my sins. But other than that, I'm closer to Deism than anything else.

For me, the crisis was not of faith but with my parents who were/are very devout Catholics.

 

Yes I've changed my mind.

Thirty years ago I had a guru. I learnt to meditate and I learnt a lot of other things too, but I didn't stay for more than a few years.

Shortly after I joined the White Eagle Lodge. Again I learnt a lot, much more than before, and was very active in applying what I'd learnt to healing.

Later still I found the gods of heathenry. I've stayed this way for a long time now and there is no reason to change. This is mainly because it's a two-sided relationship.

My mother is a 'Christian mystic'. My father was a Darwinian Humanist. So no, I don't have the same religion as my parents. I do have the same religion as my (third) wife.

 

I have always found religion to be an interesting topic, particularly when you take a large group and ask them about their own religious beliefs.

That being said, I haven't ever questioned my faith in terms of God, Christ and what the Bible contains. I honestly believe that there is a God, and that Christ died for our sins.

Where I have a problem is with the whole 'corporate-ness' of religion, and I question the differences between the religions.

But -- about what religion I am....

I am baptized United. My hubby is United. My parents, for a time, were United. However, my Dad was baptized Catholic, and my Mom was an Anglican. She and my Dad are now Catholics.

I think what religion you are has to do not only with what you believe, but, and this is really sad to say, where you live. For example, my parents did not attend a local church when I lived in a small town in Ontario (pop. less than 20,000) because they did not want us kids (sister and myself) to have a religious label attached to us.

If I have to question anything, I think I would be questioning the reasons why we go to church - do we go for the message, or do we go for the appearance or do we go for the social aspect? Or all three? Or none at all?

Just some thoughts....

Regards,
Janene

 

That should worry you. If you never question your faith, how do you know it is well founded, and not just what you have been programmed with since childhood?

And you said that about someone who now calls themselves an agnostic. Someone who didn't say any of the things you attribute to them.

I am also agnostic, in that I am not ready to accept any of the poor explanations about what is out there. I used to be an atheist, but have managed to question my beliefs and realised that science doesn't explain enough about the universe to accept that there is no God.

I hope I can teach my future children about many religions and beliefs. I would never dare tell them that one was right over the other, that is their choice.

 

The exmormons are pretty familiar with the exJW's. I find the two religons have alot in common they both have cult like aspects. There's alot of info on the JW's that you might not wanna know if you did some searches on the web.

If what I'm saying is offending you then just don't listen, but just letting you know that the info is out there.

 

i was raised christian.
baptised by sprinkle in the methodist church
and in a lake later by an independant preacher.
spent most of my youth attending a home church with
no church building , no collecting of money except for
the poor and those in need.
acceptance of the bible as gods word and meeting
and sharing communion and love in that small group.
in all these years ive never found a church that was more
true to what i thought jesus really ment about the church.

ive always thought large church buildings an abomination
and mostly just saw all the hungry and poor it could have fed.
i always thought christ message was of humility and compassion
and taking care of the sick and poor and homeless.
but you don't see many christians doing that.
i never understood the wars faught in his name or the
countless people slaughtered in his name.

theres never been a time in my life that i knew so many atheists
or agnostics . and being able to read and research online
there are many documents available for personnal research that i would never have had access to before.

ive always been pretty open minded
ive studied astrology and wiccan and other religions over the years....keeping my own faith but still learning......
believing that we are judged by how we judge others.
and believing that everyone has the right to believe as they choose. ive always liked a good debate on the subject.

the last year or so ive been researching indian spirituality
mostly the lakota ...and i find their ways of worshiping the
creator very natural and appealing to my spirit.

being in a church building with everyone in suits and fancy cloths
and talking about rules and knowing several who profess something and live another way outside church... its just
a vile way to worship .... i loath hypocrisy

and now after all these years i question even his real existance .
i still believe in the creator... by what name he has i don't know.
im just not sure about christ anymore and i feel his teachings
have been mutilated and abused and used for profit
and now im reading more and more that there really is no real proof of his real existance.

 

I've never been a member of a church organization, my parents are atheists.
I'm thinking about becoming orthodoxial or catholic, but I'd better stay as I am, with my own understanding of God. I know that any church organization i enter will ruin some part of my faith saying something like "it's forbidded" or other things of the kind...

 

I rejected religion at a young age...

Not through any problem with the gods or church, just I was born a free spirit.

I cannot tolerate control over my destiny.

 

Boann sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, I sympathise with where your coming from. I think the best way to live a good life is to decide right and wrong for yourself. Letting a Religon decide your moral path for you (in my oppinon) is not very healthy.

 

i believe every religion has some truth in it.
some religions though i think were created out of profit and the need to control and have power over others.
and spirituality should never have anything to do with
money or making of money or control and power.
some people i think are just inocent and let themselves follow along a path they never think to investigate.

i want something to believe in that is real and not corrupt.

at the very base of my faith ...i believe theres a life force or energy in nature. thats in us and in all the natural things around us. we call it a soul or spirit and i like to think thats a part of some larger force that is intelligent and in control of this chaos we call earth. i even like to think it nongender and or both gender but i don't really think thats important.
mostly i believe in a karma that we receive what we give out.
in most religions there is that ..."do unto others as you would have them do to you".
i sometimes have a feeling that ive been here before and i would not be surprised to know that there is reincarnation. though i don't have any proof of such.

 

Poor Boann, I feel very sorry for you. That congregation from your youth sounds like a fantastic place and I am honestly very happy for you for having been blessed with an experience as amazing as that. And also a bit envious... Your loss must be greater than I can understand and I wish there was some way for me to help you endure it.

Yes, many so-called Christians are mutilating the message of Christ and abusing it for own profit. There is nothing we humans cannot and will not find a way to ruin. It is hard to find people who share the values of Christ in our selfish world, but they do exist. Your current situation of being surrounded by bad Christians and lots of atheists must be very difficult. The only advice I can give you is to stay true to your heart and what you know is the spirit of Christ and you will eventually get through the tough times. I know this is easier said than done, but it sometimes needs to be said anyway.

Don't feel bad about your doubt - we all go through huge crises in our faith. When it comes to proof of Christ's existence, I think your own heart's embrace of the values He stands for and your strong longing for a place where they are not corrupted is good proof. Should this be to weak and you be in need of support from a Christian but can't get it from anyone in your "real life", then feel free to pm me and I will be happy to share with you some of the things that I hold on to when about to throw my faith out through the window. Assuming you feel comfortable listening to some goofy stranger you have never met and only read a post or two from on an internet forum.

About the original question, I once switched from atheism to Christianity. My parents are atheists, as are all my siblings, grandparents and more distant relatives. Yes, this was difficult to handle (and still is).

 

"Poor Boann, I feel very sorry for you. That congregation from your youth sounds like a fantastic place and I am honestly very happy for you for having been blessed with an experience as amazing as that. And also a bit envious... Your loss must be greater than I can understand "

i can tell you its sometimes unbearable.

the preacher had his own business and believed in supporting and taking care of his own family on his own hard work.
didn't take a dime from the group as a church for his own use.
he was extreemly intelligent and had a masters degree
knew greek and hebrew inside and out and when teaching
would always quote from the original text and let us know
how different translations interpreted that word or text.
would give his opinion and leave it to us to understand .
never met a preacher i respected more.
we would sit on the floor and all over his house...
babies running around , teens all over the floor and older grey haired ones in the chairs ....his son would play guitar and he could play the piano ...
how i long to hear him play ...how great thou art...
and sing his soul out... sometimes he would have tears running down his and all of our faces.... and no one cared in the least
none of us wore anything but jeans and comfortable cloths.
and our bibles were worn and marked in and slept with sometimes.... we put music to some of the psalms and held hands to pray ...i saw some miricles and some things that only one there would believe.... it seems like another lifetime to me now.... all the ones who were apart of that are moved on..
the preacher still is there teaching but its different...
they meet in a donated banquet room in a motel..
thats ok....but its different... besides i don't live in the same state anymore....

 

Like some of the others here I never changed my (non-)belief.
And at this day I'm as sure as you can get that it will never change.

My father is an Atheist as well, my mother is a Christian (she was even very involved in the community when she was younger). All other relatives are or were one of those two as well.

One thing about the Atheist/Agnostic talk:
The difference between being an Atheist and an Agnostic is not how you see other religions (or religions in general). It is rather what you believe yourself. An Atheist believes there's nothing supernatural while an Agnostic isn't sure about it.

But how you act and talk towards people with a religion is a matter of tolerance, not of Atheism or non-Atheism.
Considering the "showing it down people's throat" thing I have to say that this is not religion specific. There are always people who think they have to missionize others.

 

I was brought up Catholic, but now I am pretty much agnostic. I think the fact that my parents lost their faith in the church has a lot to do with me losing mine.

 

What I believe has certainly evolved. I don't remember ever doing a philosophical 180, but I've had some high-speed curves.

Well, never a flip-flop, but I've had a few jarring revisions.

My parents were never really locked in to one religion. They've drifted, from Luthern to Methodist and a few others. I've drifted further, but I actually feel more secure from exploration.

Don't remember who it was, but someone once said "Only a man rich in faith can afford the luxury of skepticism." I believe it.

 

I wasn't really brought up with many religious beliefs. My immediate family was split between my mother, who is Irish Catholic, and my father, who is Dutch Reformed. Because of this, church was limited to trips with my grandparents, and I enjoyed the singing. Sometimes my grandma would give me a quarter or two for the arcade if I went with her.

But with my grandparents gone my faith fell through on itself. I wanted to believe in God in the thought of something that we can't really see making good in the universe, but through my isolated childhood I found it increasingly difficult to believe in such a thing.

I have come to fully reject the idea of organized worship, that everyone has to follow a certain code in order to be accepted into the gates of paradise after death, such as the Ten Commandments. I believe it's our duty to create utopia here on Earth, that we can tanscend our human nature to create something truly great out of compassion for one another. I think when you die, you go into oblivion, in which there is no pain (I came to this conclusion after my, and my friends', many bouts with suicide), but no pleasure either. In the worlds of Hamlet, to sleep in which there are no dreams, or something to that extent.

Sometimes I wish that I was brought up Catholic to develop a greater sense of morality than I have now. Not merely in the sense that I do more immoral things, but because of what I consider immoral and moral; I have, many times, contemplated raising my children Catholic. Religion is a form of discipline that has, in my experience, often brought much success to people. It always seems the most successful people in life believe in God, Jesus Christ, or something to that effect.

My faith was lost at about 10 or 11 years old. Eventually one must take logic over blind faith, if they think about it long enough. I have never seen any conclusive evidence that there is a God. If I want to approach it like a mathematical equaston (i.e.; provide a counterexample), I have not been supplied with equation, and therefore it is impossible to provide a counterexample. Thus, the question of religion is that religion cannot exsist in the simply machine-like sense that humans are founded upon.

I often wonder if my world would be sunnier because of a belief in a good, invisible force in this world.