Should we feel bad for rejecting Christ?

[PREEST]

I was a christian but could never shake the feelings of doubt I had about it all. After deciding to no longer ignore these feelings and to think for myself, I left my faith. I am now an atheist and have been for several years.

My question is this;

Should those who have rejected Christ have to feel bad for doing so?

I can imagine for some, this decision creates a lot of anxiety as it can be a big decision to walk away from your beliefs whether taught to you as a child or found for yourself.
I was raised christian but never full hearted accepted it, it just never felt real. The evidence points away from god also. But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I am curious as to both the Christian perspective and the atheist or non-belief point of view.

[JoeyKnothead]

From the OP:

Should those who have rejected Christ have to feel bad for doing so?

Only if they keep carryin' on about what a proud Christian they are.

Guilt can be a compelling motivator, but once one has made a reasoned decision, well there we go.

[Moses Yoder]

So what I am hearing is that you used to be a Christian but you had some doubts about it. Now you are an atheist but have some doubts about it. It really sounds like a personal problem.

[A Troubled Man]

I was raised christian but never full hearted accepted it, it just never felt real. The evidence points away from god also. But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I am curious as to both the Christian perspective and the atheist or non-belief point of view.

Seems all your feelings are related to breaking the childhood indoctrination you received and probably doesn't have much to do with going to hell.

[ThatGirlAgain]

Why reject Jesus? Better that you reject all the nonsense tacked on after the fact that Jesus never said. Why do you suppose they had to make up the part about going to hell if you don't 'believe in Jesus'?

Instead, try believing and following what Jesus said to do.

Matthew 19
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
17 Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.
18 Which ones? he inquired.
Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.

In other words, live a moral life according to obvious standards and the general moral injunction to love your neighbor and all that implies. Not a word about accepting Jesus as your personal savior. In fact Jesus down plays his role in verse 17.

IMO this is good advice to the theist, atheist, agnostic or whatever. Live that way and encourage others to do likewise and the world will be a better place. And on the off chance that Jesus is going to judge you when you die, you will be cool.

[dusk]

But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I don't have the same problems but I think it is somewhat similar to people and their respect for their parents. Are you okay to disrespect your parents if they deserve no better in i.e. your friend's opinions?
Similar is how much respect to you need to show for the believes of your parents?

Just for yourself and Jesus there is really only one answer. If you believe Jesus is a god but you reject him because you don't like the rules, the person, .. then you may have reason to feel bad.
If you just don't believe Jesus is a god because you see no reason to anymore (that makes sense), you aren't rejecting Jesus. You don't even get far enough to make a decision about rejection or not.
If Jesus is just a man you aren't rejecting him you just don't believe some of his (or his missionaries) claims. You first have to believe some god exists to reject a particular one.
A Christian rejects Mohammed and Allah. A Jew or Muslim rejects the son of god Jesus. The Atheist simply doesn't concern himself with either because he exists the game at an earlier stage.
If you don't own a car the question whether a BMW or a Mercedes is better to own isn't really a question at all.
That is at least my take on it.

[connermt]

I was a christian but could never shake the feelings of doubt I had about it all. After deciding to no longer ignore these feelings and to think for myself, I left my faith. I am now an atheist and have been for several years.

My question is this;

Should those who have rejected Christ have to feel bad for doing so?

I can imagine for some, this decision creates a lot of anxiety as it can be a big decision to walk away from your beliefs whether taught to you as a child or found for yourself.
I was raised christian but never full hearted accepted it, it just never felt real. The evidence points away from god also. But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I am curious as to both the Christian perspective and the atheist or non-belief point of view.

If one is the type of person that needs to feel bad all the time for no reason (yes there are some out there like that) then by all means, feel bad.
But for me, I've never felt better. I feel worse for those who continue to be enslaved to christianity. But hey, that's just me

[connermt]

Why reject Jesus? Better that you reject all the nonsense tacked on after the fact that Jesus never said. Why do you suppose they had to make up the part about going to hell if you don't 'believe in Jesus'?

Instead, try believing and following what Jesus said to do.

Matthew 19
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
17 Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.
18 Which ones? he inquired.
Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.

In other words, live a moral life according to obvious standards and the general moral injunction to love your neighbor and all that implies. Not a word about accepting Jesus as your personal savior. In fact Jesus down plays his role in verse 17.

IMO this is good advice to the theist, atheist, agnostic or whatever. Live that way and encourage others to do likewise and the world will be a better place. And on the off chance that Jesus is going to judge you when you die, you will be cool.

Very well said! Personally, I never put much emphasis on "doing the right thing" all the time (long story) but overall, I think that's a great POV to take.

[kayky]

I was a christian but could never shake the feelings of doubt I had about it all. After deciding to no longer ignore these feelings and to think for myself, I left my faith. I am now an atheist and have been for several years.

My question is this;

Should those who have rejected Christ have to feel bad for doing so?

I can imagine for some, this decision creates a lot of anxiety as it can be a big decision to walk away from your beliefs whether taught to you as a child or found for yourself.
I was raised christian but never full hearted accepted it, it just never felt real. The evidence points away from god also. But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I am curious as to both the Christian perspective and the atheist or non-belief point of view.

I know exactly what you are talking about. I was raised in a fundamentalist church. When I lost my faith over 20 years ago, I was filled with both anger and dread. After a lifetime of indoctrination, these feelings are perfectly natural. It was actually traumatic for me.

I toyed with atheism for a while but found it very unsatisfying. It did not ring true for me. So I began to look into various religious traditions. I was especially attracted to Buddhism.

After reading the work of John Shelby Spong and other progressive Christian theologians, I found an intellectually satisfying way to return to Christianity and joined the Espicopalian church. I've been a member for around 12 years now.

This was my path. It may not be yours. It is not necessary to latch onto a label for yourself if that's where you are on your path. It's okay to say that you are a seeker and you haven't made up your mind yet about what path you are going to take.

The important thing to remember is that God is not angry with you. God never punishes anyone, and there is no hell. So you can continue seeking with confidence. Peace for your journey!

[Goat]

I was a christian but could never shake the feelings of doubt I had about it all. After deciding to no longer ignore these feelings and to think for myself, I left my faith. I am now an atheist and have been for several years.

My question is this;

Should those who have rejected Christ have to feel bad for doing so?

I can imagine for some, this decision creates a lot of anxiety as it can be a big decision to walk away from your beliefs whether taught to you as a child or found for yourself.
I was raised christian but never full hearted accepted it, it just never felt real. The evidence points away from god also. But, and this is the part I hate, I would be lying if I said no part of me feels anxious about it all, because I was taught if I don't believe I will go to hell.

I am curious as to both the Christian perspective and the atheist or non-belief point of view.

Well, there is a quote that is attributed to an old Roman guy. Don't know if the quote is real or not, but the sentiments are accurate.

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.
Marcus Aurelius