Why do people leave Christianity?

[filthyrottendirty]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I left because I don't believe god(s) exist, and I was tired of pretending I did to keep friendships with people who required me to believe so in order to stay friends.

 

[Rival]

I came to believe that Jesus did not fit the definition of the Messiah per the Tanakh.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Actually, I thought so much about the theology that I ended up thinking myself right out of the religion. Too many things that didn't make sense and that I couldn't write off as a religious mystery.

 

[lukethethird]

Why do people leave Christianity?

Thoughts.

 

[JustGeorge]

I left because I don't believe the God of Christianity is the one and absolute, just one of many manifestations of God, and honestly, not one I care much for.

I also don't believe Jesus was his son. I simply believe he was a 'teacher' or enlightened individual.

I don't believe in Heaven and Hell as absolute eternal places. I believe in reincarnation.

I need to relate to God in a way that makes sense to me. It did not make sense to me that God only manifested as male.

Honestly, I do not like the 'language'. I believe a person can follow any religion and get to God, but there is no one religion that suites everybody's nature. Christianity did not suit my nature. I just didn't find it appealing. Why continue to 'dig' into something that leaves you with an icky feeling? If you don't believe in its main tenets, why would you keep digging and studying? (Unless you found it terribly interesting, which I did not.)

 

[Orbit]

I left because I read the Bible. All of it, but especially Genesis.

 

[viole]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

I would say that the ones who have deep knowledge about Christianity, are the most likely to leave.

Which explains why so many Christians have only superficial knowledge of their own scripture, and its history. The others have left.

ciao

- viole

 

[Vee]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

That can happen for a number of reasons. It can be a change of beliefs, disappointment in the things taught, disappointment/disgust with the behavior of some who call themselves Christians but don't practice what they preach, etc. I talk to a lot of people, and concerning the ones who left Christianity, those are the answers I hear more often. Most of them left religion altogether, only a few changed religions.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

Well,for me I wasn't raised belief in god and christianity or any religion. It wasn't on our minds. Ive never had a gut feeling a creator existed.

I met a christian friend who was christian. She took me to her church. Years later after liking the practice I converted. Four years I learned the doctrines both protestant and catholic view and read the Bible. I've experienced prayer and the solace of being with people who assumed I was of like mind.

One day it snapped. How on earth can you dig deeper to believe in christianity when the person everything is based on (a creator) does not exist.

Using this as a backbone, I felt my practice was not fullhearted. There are no "just in case" for me and I have no idea of what an afterlife is noneless a human being God and not God together individually. I took some christian art theology in college.

I stopped practicing. My friend stop talking to me. And I realized more through her, coworkers, and some people on RF that Christianity is a very evangelist religion and I have no need or desire that people come to Christ.

It really really has nothing to do with christianity. Christians aren't special and not the victim. I just had no concept of a creator. Everything else was easy to drop since I wasn't indoctrinated in it to have mixed convictions.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I would say that the ones who have deep knowledge about Christianity, are the most likely to leave.

Which explains why so many Christians have only superficial knowledge of their own scripture, and its history. The others have left.

ciao

- viole

Yep. What my former friend said after I told her some things I had learned: I don't want you to tell me cause it will make me doubt my faith.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

I left because there is nothing special or unique about Christianity or its followers that sets it apart from anything else one could find out there.

It's just one religion out of a sea of many religions with no more or less to show for it and lets face it, Christianity is not the salt of the earth, nor is it the light of the world.

That's fine though, because it helped me to make a decision to settle in with a very common and unassuming practice of life and living itself.

 

[Audie]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

" excuse " And only from ignorance.

Seem there no reason to ask why, ifn
ya already know.

 

[ChristineM]

I left because i was treated like **** by good christians. Soon after i was able to read/study the bible and realised where all their hate came from. Over a couple of years that study had its inevitable effect, atheism?

 

[ChristineM]

I left because I read the Bible. All of it, but especially Genesis.

It's amazing how actually reading the bible compared to having selected bits dictated to you can change your perspective

 

[Vinayaka]

I was on the ex Christian sub and lot of people there seem to have only surface level knowledge of Christianity meaning they were either mislead by false teachers or they never truly understood the doctrine. Why do you think some people, when they don't understand something, they keep digging until it makes sense? While others use it as an excuse to leave the religion altogether?

When I come across something I don't get, it makes me search harder for the truth, it doesn't make me turn my back on God.

I think the ex- __________ folks usually have a lot to say. They dug deep enough to have it change their views. They are interesting forums where indoctrination doesn't have a hold.

 

[Estro Felino]

I don't think people leave Christianity because of the religion per se.
They realize that God's existence is an axiom; which cannot be proved.
So they acknowledge Jesus Christ was a man with principles and good values, but he was not a God, since God is a man-made concept.

I am a Christian...I am trying to empathize with them.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Mostly I see people leave the Christain Faith for many reasons. Mainly they see that the Faith no longer offers them what they are looking for.

What they are looking for also varies greatly. Some loose faith altogether and embrace the material world and all it has to offer, some look for spiritual fulfillment in other ways, some find that the Message has been renewed and embrace the Spirit in a new frame of reference.

Regards Tony

 

[Jainarayan]

Actually, I thought so much about the theology that I ended up thinking myself right out of the religion. Too many things that didn't make sense and that I couldn't write off as a religious mystery.

I'm opportunistic when it comes to answers. I have to go with that too... almost perfectly describes my reasoning. I might have been able to write things off as "mysteries"... after all, I don't truly know how (or even if) karma works, my relationship with God: e.g. semi-dual, non-dual, completely dual, etc. I do have to take these as a matter of faith, but I'm allowed and even encouraged to question, explore, challenge them.

There's not much else I can add to your answer except the gay thing being the last straw. I find it untenable that any God, with so much on His, Her, Its plate, what with running the universe and all, should be concerned with whom I love and sleep with. And moreover, that concern being interpreted and relayed by men against the backdrop of their own culture and society.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't think people leave Christianity because of the religion per se.
They realize that God's existence is an axiom; which cannot be proved.
So they acknowledge Jesus Christ was a man with principles and good values, but he was not a God, since God is a man-made concept.

I am a Christian...I am trying to empathize with theim.

I guess the closest way to understand it is imagine a world without a creator.... That feeling or thought from that sentence I get the same when someone says a creator being made the world.

I guess we'd be in a state of stupified confusion for a sec. At least that's my gist. But I understand the experience just not it's based on.