Are we completely missing the point?

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McCulloch
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Are we completely missing the point?

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Post by McCulloch »

As a Christian, there were always some things which I felt uncomfortable about, questions with answers that did not easily fit. As I examined them further and deeper, the difficulties became more not less abundant. One drop here, another drop there, ultimately it was a flood. Eventually, I had to admit to myself that I just did not believe anymore.

What a relief that was! I did not have that sense that my doubts were some kind of moral or ethical failing. In unbelief, I found the sense of inner peace and fulfillment that I had hoped I would have found in religion. I no longer needed to perform the hermeneutic gymnastics to justify religious faith. I could be comfortable with an honest, "I don't know."

Humanism, as I discovered my beliefs were called, also brings home my own responsibilities. I cannot simply look for answers in a supposed divine revelation, I could not rely on an authoritative deity to make everything right in the end. I now have to examine situations, morals and ethics and make my own determinations as to what may or may not be right. I have a greater responsibility to make this world, this life, a better place, because this is all we can know that we have. Unburdened from the responsibilities of storing up imaginary treasures in heaven, I am freed up to make this world the best that I can make it.

I had thought that I might have lost the sense of fellowship and purpose that the church represented. But I have found that I have found more sense of purpose and meaning in the disabled community than I ever found in the church. Others have found the same in environmental, social or even political associations. It is life-affirming to be able to appreciate and participate in whatever good various people may be involved with. I can recognize the goodness of what some Christians do, what some Muslims, what some Jews do as well as what the non-religious do. As a Christian, I never felt free to do that. To recognize the good nature and deeds that each one is capable of somehow always seemed to be rooting for the other side, or was always spoiled by the belief that the good works of other may ultimately be a bad thing, leading people away from Christ.

I don't believe that Christians generally are convinced of Christianity for intellectual or evidential reasons, yet we continually try to convince them out of it with reason and logic. And it is not working. They stay for emotional reasons. For a sense of purpose. They won't leave for intellectual reasons, will they?
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John

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Cathar1950
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Re: Are we completely missing the point?

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Post by Cathar1950 »

McCulloch wrote: I don't believe that Christians generally are convinced of Christianity for intellectual or evidential reasons, yet we continually try to convince them out of it with reason and logic. And it is not working. They stay for emotional reasons. For a sense of purpose. They won't leave for intellectual reasons, will they?
I agree that they stay for emotional, social, and personal reasons and that these are rather fluid and human which can be attached to the ultimate reality as well as the most trivial and mundane or the right just as well as the wrong answers.
My objection is that they claim intellectual reasons that are flawed as well as claims about ultimate reality while claiming doubting their beliefs are equal to rejection of God Himself.

elle
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Post by elle »

As a Christian I was completely convinced for "intellectual" reasons. Everything taught in the ministry I was raised in was targeted towards intellectuals and otherwise educated individuals. We had a series of classes with thick syllabus binders and serious Biblical research was expected and assumed. It took years before I had my first doubts that began to wear away at my supposed knowledge. I did not have an emotional connection to God and never managed to have the personal relationship with Jesus that so many Christians claim to have. I also didn't derive a sense of purpose from my religion, which is probably part of the reason I feel purposelessness even now.

In the end I decided to leave because I felt like a hypocrite staying somewhere and contributing to a ministry I knew I didn't belong in. I felt that if in the end some deity did exist and it was rational, it would be pretty upset with me for not being honest. I suppose the only emotional reason I stayed was that I didn't want to disappoint my parents or harm my relationship with them. It's difficult when you grow up in a tight-knit, cult-like community to leave that because so many of your acquaintances, friends, and family members are still involved in different Christian ministries and it's unsettling to many of them when they find out you're an atheist. However, this concern was outweighed by my concern for my mental health and wellbeing. I still have not told my parents that I'm a non-theist out of consideration for them; I don't think they're ready to hear that I've given up on religious doctrine since they are so actively involved in ministry leadership.

I suppose I'm saying all this to say that there are sometimes intellectual reasons that people may stay with Christianity or some other religion. Their personal convictions and what they see in their lives are enough evidence for the believers. I don't think it's nearly as simple as saying that people stay only for emotional reasons or a sense of purpose. At the very least it wasn't that simple for me.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.--Carl Sagan

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