? A Question For All Former Christians Who Fell Away ?

[YahDough]

This is a question addressed only to former Christians who have left the faith.

Why did you become a Christian?
[/b]

[Tired of the Nonsense]

This is a question addressed only to former Christians who have left the faith.

Why did you become a Christian?
[/b]

I was a Christian because my mommy was a Christian and she said so. Just as her mommy said to her. This is in fact the way most people acquire their religious beliefs. I stopped being a Christian however when I became old enough to think for myself. The overwhelming majority of people who were born into a particular religious belief stay within that religious belief their entire lives. And clearly not every religious belief is true and valid. Apparently the ability to think for one's self is not a stage that everyone reaches.

[Mr. LongView]

I became a Christian because it made sense to me.
I stop being a Christian because it made sense to me.

In the end, I felt like I could chop more wood believing in some kind of god, even if I wasn't sure if god existed...

Its all good in the matrix.

[YahDough]

This is a question addressed only to former Christians who have left the faith.

Why did you become a Christian?
[/b]

The overwhelming majority of people who were born into a particular religious belief stay within that religious belief their entire lives.

Learning the truth young is great but often risky. There are many wrong directions that will steal a person away from Christ. Young people have more time for that to happen.

Apparently the ability to think for one's self is not a stage that everyone reaches.

Do you think rejecting the truth is a good way to think for oneself?

[McCulloch]

Do you think rejecting the truth is a good way to think for oneself?

I think that none of the former Christians believe that they have rejected truth. We have discovered, by a free inquiry, that what we once thought of as true, was either untrue or at the very least somewhat questionable.

[Tired of the Nonsense]

[Replying to post 152 by YahDough]

Do you think rejecting the truth is a good way to think for oneself?

I think actual unfettered thought is a good way to think for oneself. And that requires skepticism, genuine questioning, considering ALL possibilities (including thoughts you have been strictly warned about ever thinking) and most of all, studying both sides of the question with an open mind. Once I had genuinely considered both side of the issue, theism fell apart like a cheap sweater. And I never looked back. The genuine possibility that religion is nonsense and God never existed to begin with is simply too steep a hurdle for many believers to ever successfully navigate. Not that they really want to. Ask yourself this: is there any REAL chance that you could EVER seriously consider the possibility that God is nothing but make believe, and never existed to begin with? And when the answer comes back, "No, of course not," then at least I will have made my point.

[YahDough]

[Replying to post 152 by YahDough]

Do you think rejecting the truth is a good way to think for oneself?

I think actual unfettered thought is a good way to think for oneself. And that requires skepticism, genuine questioning, considering ALL possibilities (including thoughts you have been strictly warned about ever thinking) and most of all, studying both sides of the question with an open mind.

That didn't answer the question. We are talking about the search for truth here. If the truth is rejected, regardless of an extensive self-justified inquiry process, to what good end has "free thinking" for oneself accomplished? You should have just answered NO. Rejecting the truth is NOT a good way to think for oneself.

[Tired of the Nonsense]

[Replying to post 155 by YahDough]

That didn't answer the question. We are talking about the search for truth here. If the truth is rejected, regardless of an extensive self-justified inquiry process, to what good end has "free thinking" for oneself accomplished? You should have just answered NO. Rejecting the truth is NOT a good way to think for oneself.

You BEGIN with the assumption that the Bible represents all truth and that therefore you hold all truth in your hand. End of search. That is not a "search for truth" at all. That is a preconceived conclusion, as well as a classic proscription for self deception. It is in fact the same preconceived conclusion made by devout Muslims and devout Hindus, etc, regarding their own holy works of revealed truth. Why don't THEY ever "see the truth?" Because they will not allow themselves to consider ideas beyond the scope of their lifetime of indoctrination. To discover "truth" it must first be thoroughly tested for the possibility of being false. For the truth to ever emerge, one has to be prepared to examine ALL sides with skepticism, without preconceived conclusions, and to be ready to discard claims which simply do not hold up to the facts, or to actual logic.

This illogical doctrine, for example. Being omniscient God created Satan with perfect foreknowledge of exactly what the result would be, down to the smallest detail. And being omnipotent God got exactly the result that He intended to get. Whatever Satan does it is because God intended it to be so. Anything else would mean that God FAILED to achieve His intended result. This logical conundrum, that God is omnipotent, omniscient and created all things including Satan, and yet was somehow betrayed by Satan and therefore has no connection to or responsibility for the activities of Satan, is one of the most obvious and blatant contradictions in Christian doctrine. Since it is self contradictory it is clearly a FALSE DOCTRINE. As one of the founding pillars of Christian cosmology, this logical contradiction in basic doctrine clearly reveals Christian beliefs to be nothing more than the baseless mythology they always have been. Like all religious beliefs. Did you really think that non believers have rejected this stuff just to be petulant?

[YahDough]

[Replying to post 155 by YahDough]

That didn't answer the question. We are talking about the search for truth here. If the truth is rejected, regardless of an extensive self-justified inquiry process, to what good end has "free thinking" for oneself accomplished? You should have just answered NO. Rejecting the truth is NOT a good way to think for oneself.

You BEGIN with the assumption that the Bible represents all truth and that therefore you hold all truth in your hand. End of search.

That's not true. I do not consider the Bible error free.

This illogical doctrine, for example. Being omniscient God created Satan with perfect foreknowledge of exactly what the result would be, down to the smallest detail. And being omnipotent God got exactly the result that He intended to get. Whatever Satan does it is because God intended it to be so. Anything else would mean that God FAILED to achieve His intended result. This logical conundrum, that God is omnipotent, omniscient and created all things including Satan, and yet was somehow betrayed by Satan and therefore has no connection to or responsibility for the activities of Satan, is one of the most obvious and blatant contradictions in Christian doctrine.

That is not doctrine. That is dogma. You know the difference?

Mt:15:9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Since it is self contradictory it is clearly a FALSE DOCTRINE.

That is what dogma is: False or deceiving so-called "doctrine". A seeker of truth can learn the difference between doctrine and dogma.

Did you really think that non believers have rejected this stuff just to be petulant?

I'm pretty sure that is one of the reasons.

[Hatuey]

I reject ideas when it becomes obvious that they are ridiculous falderal; Christianity is obvious falderal; I rejected it because it is obviously not truth.

[YahDough]

I reject ideas when it becomes obvious that they are ridiculous falderal; Christianity is obvious falderal; I rejected it because it is obviously not truth.

This OP was directed to former Christians who left the faith. It doesn't sound like you were ever a believer.

Of course that doesn't mean you aren't able to reject the truth as a result of thinking for yourself. On the contrary, I think it proves it. Thanks