I now think less of Christianity

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Stanyon said:

According to some ancient astronaut theorists, your idea that we are a computer simulation is not as far fetched as it first may seem. Not only is it a plausible idea but also a very possible one that would go far in explaining the true origins of earth and the human species.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

I used to believe I had god within me, very much so

But later on I found out that it wasn't God but something else

Click to expand...

Muffled said:

I believe some people called you evil so you considered that to be evil so what they consider evil must be good. Is that how it goes?

Click to expand...

Muffled said:

I believe that requires explanation. Something else is too vague.

Click to expand...

Muffled said:

I believe a computer simulation can have data and images but no substance. We have substance. Now Heaven is more like a simulation in that there is no substance but only data and images.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

I used to believe I had god within me, very much so. But later on I found out that it wasn't God but something else

Click to expand...

Thief said:

God dwelt in the darkness.....before He created light that had to be a profound darkness not even a candle and nothing to see even if you had one

Click to expand...

dingdao said:

As long as you consider yourself cut off form the divine there are problems.

Click to expand...

Hockeycowboy said:

By this website saying the Bible "contains....harmful teachings," the authors are engaging in interpretation.

Click to expand...

Faithofchristian said:

there is no where that Christ Jesus ever said to call another Christinan be it a brother or sister Evil.

Click to expand...

Muffled said:

If you believe in sin then you are evil. If you have repented sin then you are good.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

Hockeycowboy said:

By this website saying the Bible "contains....harmful teachings," the authors are engaging in interpretation.

Click to expand...

It Aint Necessarily So said:

Yes, they are, as is anybody who reads and attempts to understand what written or spoken words mean.

Do you have any problem with people calling the Bible the good book? Isn't that also an interpretation?

How about saying that God is good and Satan evil? Don't you have to interpret the words and deeds attributed to each to come to such conclusions.

The Bible and the Christian church are harmful to atheists, albeit much less so these days than the days when atheists had been trashed to the point that they were considered morally unfit to teach, coach, adopt, give expert testimony, or serve on juries. If you are interested, here is the argument: It's lengthy, so I've tucked it away in a spoiler :

Click to expand...

Hockeycowboy said:

According to Luke 10:21, only the "Father, Lord of heaven and Earth" reveals what His Word teaches accurately.

Do you think they have the "Father" helping them? Or maybe 'hiding' proper understanding?

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Being evil is about causing harm or pain to another being - an evil act is wrong because of what it does

Sinning is about breaking a rule, or a commandment - a sin is wrong because it beaks a certain code that is considered authoritative

Not all sins are evil

E.g. doubting Christ may be a sin but it is not evil as who exactly does it actually hurt??? Does it really injure God??? If so, how???

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?
Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.
Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.
I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.
Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…
For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…
First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.
Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.
Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.
I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?
I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…
Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.
That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.
Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

2ndpillar said:

Which commandment breaking given by Yeshua in Matthew 19:18 does not cause harm to your neighbor? Murder, stealing, false witnessing, taking your neighbor's wife, etc?

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Jesus was OK, I have no problem with him or what he says in that scripture you quoted, I agree that all of those things are both sinful and evil.

But I still believe that sinfulness and evil are separate things, although a thing may be both evil and sinful. To explore this, let’s look at the Ten Commandments which, let’s remember, were handed down by God:

1) You shall have no other Gods but me.
2) You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.
3) You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God
4) You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.

According to The Bible violating these are sins but would doing so be truly evil? I'd say no. Breaking them is sinful but not evil as doing so harms no one.

10) You must not be envious of your neighbour's goods. You shall not be envious of his house nor his wife, nor anything that belongs to your neighbour.

I don't think violating the tenth commandment is truly evil either, although envy is certainly not a virtue, I'd class it as a form of unhappiness and would agree that it's a bad thing, but I wouldn't call it evil.

5 Respect your father and mother
6 You must not commit murder
7 You must not commit adultery
8 You must not steal
9 You must not give false evidence against your neighbour

Respecting your mother and father, that's good by me and I'd definitely say that it would be evil to break commandments six to nine as these things harm others.

I hope I've successfully illustrated how I believe evil and sinfulness are separate things.

Click to expand...

Eddi said:

Why do I now think less of Christianity?

Basically, because I have now witnessed its dark side, first hand.

Some background: I was raised as a Christian. I was baptised as an infant and have a set of godparents, I went to a church school, and occasionally went to Sunday school. My personal moral system is very much inspired by the teachings and example of Christ.

However, when I became old enough to understand what Christianity was about and that it weren’t necessarily so, I became an atheist. In time my atheism developed, becoming more and more sophisticated as I progressed through school and into university. I didn’t hate Christianity or anything like that; I just thought it was not for me, and not something I could never believe in.

I came to God in my mid-twenties. By then I’d had first-hand experience of a mysterious higher being so made the leap of faith that if there were higher beings then there must be a Supreme Being – God. But there are other reasons that I believe in a Supreme Being, although my conception of the Supreme Being is more like Brahman in Hinduism than the Abrahamic God. I would currently consider myself a deist and would say I am overwhelmingly convinced of the existence of God.

Basically, my experience of Christians and Christianity had always been positive. Until recent events…

For a long time now I have been in two competing minds about the nature of Jesus. I hold both of these as being possible and they exist alongside each other although I currently favour First Mind. Think of it as being like a set of old-fashioned weighing scales in my conscience. I’ve been wavering between the two versions of reality for a while now. Currently they are much more balanced in favour of First Mind more than they were before recent events. To say the least…

First Mind: We are all parts of a computer simulation and Jesus was a show put on for various reasons by The Simulation, for reasons about which we can only speculate. But God still exists, but he is outside of The Simulation. In this version of reality The Simulation communicates with me. I do not claim to have any special relationship with God but do claim a special relationship with The Simulation.

Second Mind: We are not in a computer simulation and Jesus truly was the Son of God, and the account in the gospels is true and he will some day return to Earth, etc. and in this version of reality I am mentally ill and need to acknowledge Christ as my Lord and Saviour by undergoing adult baptism.

Because I am in two minds about him I would therefore say I am agnostic about Jesus. I cannot therefore meaningfully accept him as my Lord and Saviour and become a Christian myself.

I once explained this agnosticism to a nice Christian lady and she understood and respected it and said she’d pray for me to see the light whether I liked it or not! Now, maybe she thought that by not declaring Christ to be my Lord and Saviour I will go to hell or maybe she didn’t, I do not know. I didn’t venture to ask. However, the point is she was concerned for me and I don’t think she considered me evil. Surely, one prays for sinners, not for evil people?

I then made a post on these forums enquiring about the anti-Christ (I’m interested in Christology and theology in general). I mentioned my agnosticism pertaining to Christ, and was basically told (through implication) that I was an anti-Christ and therefore evil – in the same category as those who do things that are actually evil, such as murder, harm, and abuse other humans…

Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s totally cool. Believe what you want to believe. I don’t care. But there is now absolutely no way I will become a Christian, whereas before this it may have been possible at some future point depending on how my life might have played out. Who knows. But now almost all the weights on the scales of my conscience are now weighing down on the side that makes them say “yes” to Simulation Theory and therefore “no” to Christianity. They have never before been so weighted down on one side and I don’t see them shifting anytime soon.

That was the first time in my life I have ever personally encountered what I now think of as being the dark side of Christianity first hand, having only ever been personally exposed to its light side.

Has this diminished my respect for Christianity? Not for it as a whole, only for certain tendencies within it. Has it made me more wary of all Christians? Wary until I know they don’t consider me evil, yes. I don’t mind being called a sinner, but calling me evil is something else and something I will always take exception to.

Click to expand...

74x12 said:

You are not an antichrist. If we read 1 John 4, we see that antichrists are actually spirits. These are spiritual entities that inspire false prophets to teach false doctrines about counterfeit christs rather than the true Christ.

I'm sorry if some Christians have called you an antichrist; because they don't know what they're talking about.

Click to expand...