Why did you leave Christianity?

[columbus]

I don't want to be the "sinful" me. I want to be holy, like God is holy.

Me too.

There are lots of things about me I would like to be different. But I am what I am. If there is an Almighty God, He made me as I am and put me in the circumstances I am in. He knows exactly what is necessary for me to be so holy. (I don't)

Some Christians will flat out say that I am a reject. That God doesn't want me in heaven. Those Christians are represented here on RF. So, if I am a Divine reject how am I supposed to change that?
Tom

 

[DavidFirth]

Me too.

There are lots of things about me I would like to be different. But I am what I am. If there is an Almighty God, He made me as I am and put me in the circumstances I am in. He knows exactly what is necessary for me to be so holy. (I don't)

Some Christians will flat out say that I am a reject. That God doesn't want me in heaven. Those Christians are represented here on RF. So, if I am a Divine reject how am I supposed to change that?
Tom

You are not a Divine reject. The choice is yours.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

"Whosoever" includes everyone including you.

 

[columbus]

You are not a Divine reject.

According to Christians who post on RF I am. Maybe the problem is that Christianity doesn't mean anything except whatever someone who calls themselves Christian believes. That's what I think.

The choice is yours.

No it isn't. I am not able to believe that Jesus is God. I could pretend to, that I can choose. But if truly believing that the humans claiming to be spokesperson for God know what they are talking about, then I cannot. I am not able to put that much Faith in my fellow humans. I know them too well. They're limited and delusional and egocentric and generally unreliable.
So if I ever hear anything from God....

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

"Whosoever" includes everyone including you.

That's not God talking. It's you, reinterpreting the Bible your own way. Other Christians reinterpret it their way. What makes you more of an authority than the other Christians who tell me that I have been rejected by God? That God's Eternal plan includes me burning in Hell for eternity?
Why should I believe you instead of them? You don't contradict them when they post their interpretation of the Bible.
Tom

 

[DavidFirth]

According to Christians who post on RF I am. Maybe the problem is that Christianity doesn't mean anything except whatever someone who calls themselves Christian believes. That's what I think.


No it isn't. I am not able to believe that Jesus is God. I could pretend to, that I can choose. But if truly believing that the humans claiming to be spokesperson for God know what they are talking about, then I cannot. I am not able to put that much Faith in my fellow humans. I know them too well. They're limited and delusional and egocentric and generally unreliable.
So if I ever hear anything from God....

That's not God talking. It's you, reinterpreting the Bible your own way. Other Christians reinterpret it their way. What makes you more of an authority than the other Christians who tell me that I have been rejected by God? That God's Eternal plan includes me burning in Hell for eternity?
Why should I believe you instead of them? You don't contradict them when they post their interpretation of the Bible.
Tom

Wow. You have really been confused to the point that you don't know what to think.

Read John 3 for yourself. Compare the translations. You'll see that what I said about John 3:16 is correct.

 

[columbus]

Wow. You have really been confused to the point that you don't know what to think.

No. I have found that Christianity is a bizarre amalgam of contradictory and internally inconsistent beliefs.

Christians believe that they believe in the God of Abraham. But from Abraham to Moses to Samuel, there's no Jesus. Quite the contrary, there's the first Commandment of the Decalogue. None of those people would ever have recognized Jesus as God. Christians put Jesus before the Abrahamic God.

Makes no sense to me. I am simply not able to believe that. It's profoundly irrational to believe that Jesus was God, but Moses didn't notice or decided not to mention that in Exodus.
Tom

 

[PureX]

Some Christians will flat out say that I am a reject. That God doesn't want me in heaven. Those Christians are represented here on RF. So, if I am a Divine reject how am I supposed to change that?
Tom

No one is a divine reject, though some of us reject the divine.

I think that for most of us, it eventually becomes necessary to reject our religion to find our spiritual truth. The simple fact is that God is not a religion. God is a divine spirit that exists in all of us. Including you, Tom.

You are welcome in my 'heaven" anytime.

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

Enough times that if I had a nickel for every one of them, I'd never want for anything ever again. I just figure my being "Christian" or not is a matter between me and God, not a matter between me and some random Mormon-hater on an internet forum.

Hey Katzpur, that was my Christian days btw, my rational atheist head says you are every bit as much a Christian as the Catholics, the JWs, the Pentacostals, the Episcopalians etc., you all believe in Jesus Christ ergo you are all Christians.

 

[columbus]

No one is a divine reject,

Christians tell me differently. Why would I believe you instead of them?
I don't remember you contradicting them when they posted it on RF.
But now you are telling me that I am wrong about Christianity. Why don't you tell other Christians that?
Tom

 

[columbus]

though some of us reject the divine.

I don't believe that. I do believe that people reject humans claiming to be a spokesperson for the Divine. That is not the same thing, despite the religious people telling me that it is.
Tom

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

The Revelation says that God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. What that means exactly I do not know but I believe He will.

So it goes back to the "mystery and hiddenness of God"? I'd have been surprised if you had been able to answer the questions I asked, which are good questions even if I say so myself, as I said originally I've never heard satisfactory answers.
Thanks for the invitation to become a Christian, been there before mate, cant ever see myself ever going back.

 

[columbus]

I think that for most of us, it eventually becomes necessary to reject our religion to find our spiritual truth. The simple fact is that God is not a religion. God is a divine spirit that exists in all of us. Including you, Tom.

Christians say differently. Lots of them post here on RF.

Something I have noticed is that Christians don't contradict other Christians all that often. They seem more inclined to contradict those of us who talk about Christian teachings, in a realistic way.
Tom

 

[columbus]

are welcome in my 'heaven" anytime.

My Heaven is also open to everyone.
Not just open. I fully expect that post humous existence has nothing to do with the this temporal existence.

Nothing. It is far beyond anything anything we understand, or even can understand. No matter what anyone thinks that they know about the afterlife it's unlikely to be correct.
Tom

 

[Mrpasserby]

For all the ex-Christians on here, I'm curious as to why you left your religion. This is, by no means, meant to attack Christians for their beliefs. I'm just curious, that's all.

I studied and discovered the esoteric meanings that were hidden within the historical documents some of which are called the bible.
In My Experience: These esoteric meanings when put into a proper frame work, do direct the spirit of a man to follow the true path that leads to the connection with the spirit of God that the christian mass is suppose to provide.
In My Experience: Once this connection with the spirit of God is achieved: 'you will be able to see as you are seen and know as you are known'-as this esoteric quote from the bible suggests. (italics paraphrased to bring out the meaning).

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

My Heaven is also open to everyone.
Not just open. I fully expect that post humous existence has nothing to do with the this temporal existence.

Hmm...
noun: humous
a thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon, and garlic, made originally in the Middle East.

Are you saying there wont be any tasty dips in heaven? Damn, I knew it was overrated! God prohibits shellfish and bacon, now it's humous, sounds more like hell then heaven.

 

[DavidFirth]

So it goes back to the "mystery and hiddenness of God"? I'd have been surprised if you had been able to answer the questions I asked, which are good questions even if I say so myself, as I said originally I've never heard satisfactory answers.
Thanks for the invitation to become a Christian, been there before mate, cant ever see myself ever going back.

You're welcome. I don't know everything. What I do know I share with you gladly.

 

[PureX]

Christians tell me differently. Why would I believe you instead of them?
I don't remember you contradicting them when they posted it on RF.
But now you are telling me that I am wrong about Christianity. Why don't you tell other Christians that?

This is the first I've posted here in 8 years. Gimme a break!

Also, I don't assume that you should believe any of us simply because we post something. I assume that you'll consider all our opinions and then decide for yourself what you choose to believe.

Something I have noticed is that Christians don't contradict other Christians all that often. They seem more inclined to contradict those of us who talk about Christian teachings, in a realistic way.

I ONLY believe in Christ in a "realistic way". I am not a religious Christian. I do not treat the Bible as a idol, with every word in it coming from the mouth of God. I do not presume Jesus to be a god. I do not believe that Jesus died to appease God's desire for vengeance because of mankind's sins. I don't know and I don't care whether or not Jesus ever actually existed, or performed miracles, or returned from the dead. The story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection is a mythical religious story meant to convey an ideological revelation about the existence of a divine spirit within humanity. Whatever else the story is, is lost to history. But I believe in that revelation because I have tested it for myself. And I am happy to share my experience and viewpoint with others.

I'm not, however, here to "correct" the religious Christians who believe differently from me, because I don't presume to know God, Jesus, or Christ any better than anyone else. All I am here to do is share my chosen beliefs on the matter with those who may be interested. I am not here to disrespect or "correct" those who do not agree with me.

 

[whirlingmerc]

For all the ex-Christians on here, I'm curious as to why you left your religion. This is, by no means, meant to attack Christians for their beliefs. I'm just curious, that's all.

Depends what you mean. I left mechanical churchianity. I moved to a word based heart felt view of spirit and truth

To some that is leaving to some its coming home

Malachi "Oh that someone would shut the doors on your worship'
Malachi's didactic diagnosis of strong and weak loves with prognosis …

 

[arthra]

For all the ex-Christians on here, I'm curious as to why you left your religion. This is, by no means, meant to attack Christians for their beliefs. I'm just curious, that's all.

Back when I was a teenager and attending a devotional at my church I shared a reading from the Bhagavad Gita... It had something to do with devotion to Krishna... The reading was appreciated and it occurred to me that Bhakti devotion for God was a common experience in Christianity and Hinduism. I began to believe there was a common thread of devotion and love in the major religions...

It was not so much that I wanted to "leave" my religion but that the base of my religion became broader and that I began to sense there was one God inspiring us all.

I refused to reject Krishna, Christ or Buddha and began to accept Them all.. Later as I read the Qur'an the same impulse of devotion to Allah was there and on becoming a Baha'i I still accept Jesus.

 

[Sirona]

1. I like visual arts and praying on beads. The Catholic Church provided me with both. When I started to read the Bible more carefully I got to the conclusion that both of my religious interests were in conflict with the Bible but I didn't feel like becoming a Protestant.

2. I was tired of the oppressive atmosphere during Mass. I was tired of constantly imploring God to have mercy on us. I thought "What if God actually responded, in this very moment, but you don't notice it because you keep imploring him all the time."

 

[Rival]

• Judge Not lest ye be judged is not a command to not judge

So much this.