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30 Things That Shook People’s Faith In Religion, As Shared In This Online Group
There are certain things that, if we value peace and quiet, we don’t talk about. Namely the holy trinity of topics which are musical taste, politics, and religion. But here we are, talking about religion.
But instead of preaching, the lovely people of Reddit are sharing stories of experiences that made them drastically rethink the whole concept of faith, losing it in the process.
In particular, this thread has been going viral lately after someone asked folks to share what exactly ruined religion for people, and getting over 48,600 upvotes with nearly 39,000 comments along the way.
So, sit back, relax, and read through the frustration that is losing one’s religion in our curated list of the best answers below. And while you’re at it, poke that upvote button, comment your own opinions and stories and whatnot, and consider checking out any other question from Reddit that we’ve discussed here.
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#1
As a kid, it was boring. As a teen, it brought nothing into my life. As an adult, it's hard to ignore all the corruption, greed, sexual improprieties and contradiction.
Ultimately, if there was a god, this is the best it can do? I'm not impressed.
DennyS (denzoren) 3 years ago
I have to agree with your sentiments. I always wonder the same....especially like, why are babies born with diseases and pain? They did nothing to deserve that....why are children being killed daily? They have done nothing wrong.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Yes and I believe the explanation that he's just testing us is cruel. I wouldn't want that kind of Creator and I would never bow down to that kind of King.
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Trond Øien 3 years ago (edited)
God or no God, a large percentage of his/her ground crew sucks imho.
UpQuarkDownQuark 3 years ago
“ Ultimately, if there was a god, this is the best it can do? I'm not impressed.” Wise words!
Daria Z 3 years ago
Yeah, well, I'm generally OK with faith and believers but won't have religion anywhere near me.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I'm curious, what do you define as religion then? Do you mean the specific rites and rituals or the actual church denominations? Because I would define religion as belief in something (which would include agnostic, as opposed to atheist). If it's the bigotry and prejudice you have a problem with, then that is not necessarily the religion.
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Lord Mysticlaw 3 years ago
If there's a god and he approves of church people, he and I ain't gonna get along
Don't Look 3 years ago
As a kid, it was lost on me. As a teen, it was something to belong to (acolyte, handbells, choir, youth group…). But my dad said something to me that I couldn’t let go of. “It’s just a stage. You’re putting on a show.” And while he merely meant that as a perspective, literally all the magic was gone.
Richard A Petro 3 years ago
I can remember the day in Catholic School, Fifth Grade, that I began to question "religion". Sister Miriam had just given the religious instructions about the heavenly reward for the good and the eternal burning in hell for the bad. I raised my hand and in complete innocence asked, "Sister, if the you're burning forever wouldn't there come a time when you'd get used to it?" Mind you, and I'm not blowing my own horn here, I was one of the top five students in the class of between 20 and 30 pupils hence not a "wise ass". She looked me directly in the eyes, pointed a finger and said 'They change it!" Seems to me the creator of this whole shebang would have a lot more to worry about then someone's eternal discomfort. From there, it was a pretty easy walk to either "agnostic" or "atheist". Mind you, I believe one can be "spiritual" without necessarily being "religious" for, as Voltaire wrote, "The first preacher was the first rascal who met the first fool." Pass that collection plate NOW!
Natalia Maciel 3 years ago (edited)
Agree, although I try to be spiritual none the less. I am not practising any religion but I am courious about some like Budhissm. I once heard someone say that Religion is political and it makes so much sense.
DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
I’m interested in all religions too and choose to believe in God in some form. I think god is like a crystal prism, it looks different depending where you’re standing or how the light hits it but ultimately it’s the same thing. Furthermore, (imho) religious books are written by imperfect people trying to understand an imperfect God. God can be two adjectives: loving, omnipotent, or omnipresent; but not all three.
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RELATED:
#2
People using it to justify their hate.
Bazinga 3 years ago
It's a serious issue. In no place in the bible does it say that being homosexual is a sin, but many people look for excuses for their biases
Amy Taylor 3 years ago
This is my number one reason for going from being raised Catholic (parents are Italian and Polish and both grew up super religious) to being pretty much an atheist. The hypocrisy was evident to me as a child. Then when my parents got divorced, my devout Catholic mom was thrown out of our church and that was it for us. It's appalling how they treat people. Every time one of them try to speak out how being gay is a sin, I ask them if they eat shellfish or if as a woman they ever wear pants, because that's also a "sin" in the Bible. They can't just cherry pick what doesn't apply to them and ignore that.
deanna woods 3 years ago
This is the thing that drives me crazy. God is a god of love, not hate.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
It's so easy to twist a document to mean anything that you want it to. That makes it very easy to use against other people. Once you identify them as other they're no longer as good as you and it's okay to hate them cuz they're not the same.
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
My favourite fridge magnet: Stop Using Jesus as an excuse to be a bigoted a*****e
DennyS (denzoren) 3 years ago
It's always the interpretation, they choose how they want to interpret it.
Mindy Keys 3 years ago
I wish I could upvote this 1000 times. If Jesus did come back I think he may reconsider his peaceful stance and bonk some heads. He was about as anti-hate as you can be.
JustAnother Soul 3 years ago
You don’t get hateful, bigoted, racist people in heaven. Just saying.
#3
So many things but the final straw for me was my church asking a homeless man to leave and not come back. He would sit and listen to the sermons never bothered anyone and always sat in the very back. I confronted my youth group leader and she defended the preacher.
Chich 3 years ago
If jesus (who was a dark skinned middle east Jew) came back and sat in a church they would be calling 911 about a terrorist in the building
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DennyS (denzoren) 3 years ago
Wow...this defeats the whole purpose of religion and it's teachings.
natie marie 3 years ago
Not religious, but my grandmother was. And she often told the story of a man at her church when she was young who was a bit of a drunk and had shabby clothes. And the congregation protested him being there and the pastor basically told them all off and that he had every right to be there. Always liked that story.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
So he should have- he probably should have added an extra sermon about Jesus accepting the poor etc as well :)
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Mermaid Elle-Jaye 3 years ago
That’s sickening, sad, despicable and so not what Jesus would have done
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
I’m not religious, but know there are stories on the Bible about Jesus going among the keepers, who were outcasts from society, and being kind to them (plus a little magic about healing them to enhance his image). If kindness to the outcasts was no biggie to Jesus, how can that church’s congregation call themselves Christians? This is the kind of religious hypocrisy that sickens me. The basic ideas of most religions appeal to me as great rules to live by. But it’s when you get people involved, especially when they organize themselves, that turn those ideas into something sinister, evil, violent, and sickening.
Marissa Taylor 3 years ago
i agree with you on everything(me beingchristain) excpet for one. There ws no magaic in his healsings. it was power that God himself had. It healed people,not to make himelf look good(other wise him being there would be pointless) but becasue he hated seeing other's in pain and suffring and wanted people to know that God loves them like a father would his children. We blame God for not helping out with problems in the world.But humans forget that God gave us the gift of free will so that means that He can't very well help if no one really wants him to,and sometimes even if there is hope and prey God will still sometimes say no ,its saddening,but as he knows more ;ws more about things then we humans in our short lives will evr know, we have to just trust that he know's what the hell he is doing, like when you trust someone who's older then you and ho loves you.
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Rosie Cat 3 years ago
This made me angry. I'm not religious at all, that man was just looking for some hope, inspiration and love. He was in dire straits, and this should have been the ONE place he could feel peace. Disgusting behaviour.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I agree. Jesus would have been the first person to welcome him, but these people chose to go against that and judge and demean him instead. They not only give Christians a bad name, but humans as well.
Load More Replies... Procrastinating Panda 3 years ago
I don't know anything about church, but isn't the belief to help people or something like that?
The Scout 3 years ago
Heart a "christian" man protesting a soup kitchen once: "If god wants them to starve, we don't have the right to save them!" Some will take every excuse to demostrate their total lack of empathy...
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
If protesting soup kitchens is Christian, then Martin Luther King, Jr. was a devil worshipper.
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Hex Gurls 3 years ago
isn’t- isn’t the whole point of jesus and the church and whatever to help the poor and needy?? (or at least not make their lives worse)
Chich 3 years ago
Maybe it is the point of the religon but the point of the church is to make and keep leaders privledged.
Load More Replies... #4
When I was 6 years old, the pastor gave a letter to my aunt to give to my mom saying that we were not donating enough money to the church. So we stopped going, and I have never been to church since.
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
You have stumped me Nathaniel. I know not what you call the pastor
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DennyS (denzoren) 3 years ago
I've heard of that...some "churches" here specify the percentage of your salary you must give...sounds more like a money-making scheme to me.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
My godmother donated tidings to church all the time whether she could afford it or not and when she finally got cancer and was in danger of losing her house she asked the church for help and they did nothing. She died with absolutely nothing. The lesson there is save your money and if you must pray then you shouldn't have to pay someone to do it for you or with you.
Elly Sketchit 3 years ago
The church my grandmother went to refused to hold a service for her when she passed because they wanted *more* money. I'm not sure on the details because I was a small child but they must have wanted an exhorbitant amount for us to be ticked off, as she donated money and time her whole life... which clearly meant nothing to the church.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
Same thing happened in my family. We were poor and lived in a poor apartment community. The only church of our denomination close to us was in an upper middle class neighborhood. We gave what we could, which wasn't much at all, but we did. One night the pastor and someone else came to our apartment in said poor neighborhood to tell my parents they weren't giving enough money. The language my dad used to kick them out set their ears on fire. We did not go back. I myself have had an interesting journey where I don't let people get in the way of my beliefs or how I live. It angers me so much with all the cr@p that goes down because of religions and the religious. My faith is not in religion, it's not in the religious. If you look at that, you will always be let down and also always be disgusted. I know I am. But I have my beliefs that are not to be pushed on anyone. I try to live my life the way I believe. Not always good, but I try. God has way more compassion than people.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I totally get your view of your faith. You don't need to be tied to a church or their rites and rituals to have faith. There are many different denominations that have different beliefs, but not everyone finds one that fits.
Load More Replies... J Rob 3 years ago (edited)
In the 1970's my dad got into an argument with the minister of our church about the tithing. The minister wanted 10% pre tax amount and my dad refused and "only" paid 10% of his take home. They never kicked us out though. I sang in the choir and attended youth group and many activities though when I returned home after my first year of collage I never went back or attended a service. The church still mails me a quarterly newsletter which also solicits funds even though it has been 30 years and I no longer live in the town I grew up in.
Leodavinci 3 years ago
It's creepy that they were keeping track of how much was being donated by individual members.
aaaggg hhh 3 years ago
If a church is saying that you're not coughing up enough $$ to them, then it's not a church. It's a shakedown racket.
Celeste Finn 3 years ago
Extremely sad. That one made made an error and it has changed your whole life.
#5
The expectations for women to be subservient to men and have no further aspirations than “wife and mother”.
Nathaniel 3 years ago (edited)
Religion really screws with women's rights. I was told once, by a chauvinist Christian that women have different rights, but they are still equal rights.
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
The first time I heard a "christian" tell me that it was a woman's DUTY to submit to her husband in all things, I was out. Nonsense.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
Like the b******t of women in catholicism not being allowed to have any power. Or Buddhism, not allowed to be dalai lama.
Joel Hopkins 3 years ago
I don't know that there is a rule that there cannot be a woman Dalai Lama, it's just that one hasn't decided to reincarnate into one yet. How succession is chosen for the heads of the great Tibetan Buddhist schools is pretty fascinating.
Load More Replies... Who Panda 420 3 years ago
That's what you can expect from a 2000 year old patriarchal society.
Candia Lee 3 years ago
More than 2000 years. Patriarchy goes so far back there are almost no matriarchies mentioned in the history books.
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Lara Verne 3 years ago
I had to go to chuch because of my religious grandmother, and they talked a lot about "good" and "bad" women. Woman, who dress the way she like? Bad! Woman, who dated more than one man? Bad! Woman, who decided to not have an abortion, even though she knew her pregnancy is ectopic and it killed her in the end? Good. Woman, who decided to wait for her husband for 20 years, before he was released from prison? Good. It just does not seem right to me.
Seán Baron 3 years ago
This makes my blood boil. I was born to to Catholic parents, but I've hated the Catholic a church for as long as I can remember. There is no God, it's all a lie.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago (edited)
My faith says that society will never reach its full potential unless woman takes her rightful place equally alongside men. 😳
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
There are tons of women who want to be a wife and mother and nothing else. I don't understand why people berate them for that? It's utterly ridiculous. It doesn't mean they've been brainwashed or anything and they absolutely should not be criticised for their choices, that's horrible and absolutely nobody's business. There are women who aren't religious at all but have always wanted to be a wife and mother. If feminism truly was about equality, these women would be embraced and celebrated by other women and not have assumptions made by people who don't know them. Like assuming they're oppressed or any other such bullsh*t.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
My best friend was brought up in a church that preached this. In fact when she got married the pastor told her very plainly what her 'role' should be, and what she should let her husband get away with. Big surprise he became abusive. It took a lot to get her to a place where she realised that Christianity has evolved with the rest of the world, and not all denominations agree with that teaching. Thankfully she found a better church and a better husband. There are many denominations that do teach women are equal to men in the eyes of god, even as far as becoming ordained.
Anna Tribe 3 years ago
I knew a couple who were Jehovah's Witnesses about 10 years ago and I'd invited them for coffee at my place. She was nice but he wasn't but she didn't go anywhere without him. The day before I'd gotten my new sofa set, a 2 seater sofa, a 3 seater sofa and an arm chair, all had wooden slats under. They came in, he sat down HARD on the 2 seater and broke every single wooden board under. She immediately said to him that he needed to come back and fix it and he immediately started yelling at her that he was the Head of the household and he made decisions not her. She looked like she was about to cry so I asked her to go in the kitchen. I then turned to him and said that he was in my apartment and that he wasn't allowed to speak to anyone in that manner at my home. He tried to strangle me and only let go when she called from the kitchen to ask if everything was OK. He took her and left. Horrible man
#6
I worked at a restaurant near a church on Sundays. Rudest bunch of people ever.
lakitha tolbert 3 years ago
I have read everywhere that the after-church crowds are some of the nastiest rudest people in restaurants.
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Bad tippers too. If I worked hard to make your meal as pleasant as possible, tip me accordingly. I can’t pay bills with a Bible quote.
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
Somebody who used to work as a waitress told me that she'd rather serve one atheist than a dozen after-church people. Why? The atheist would at least leave a bleeping tip. The church goers would probably leave idiotic tracts.
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
It’s a mindset they get, that they’re superior because they go to church and are therefore guaranteed to go to heaven, even if they’re huge sinners, and the rest of us are going straight to Hell. I had a bunch of “church ladies” who worked in the same department I did at a past job. They found out I’m agnostic, which they immediately mistook for atheist. They also didn’t realize that I was still in my cubicle—-which was out of their sight when they put their little heads together—-and heard every word they said. Including “Well, I go to church, so I KNOW I’M going to heaven”. I came out from my cubicle right after that, and it and shocked the s**t out of them to realize they’d been overheard. What shocked the s**t out of them even more was when HR called them in to read them the riot act about discrimination based on religious beliefs, which includes not believing btw, after I filed a complaint on every one of them. That complaint was put in their permanent employee files.
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than spending time in a garage makes you a car (or a mechanic). It can, however, convince you that religion is a male bovine's digestive end product.
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Ozymandias73 3 years ago
Yup! When I waited tables, I HATED Sunday after church crowds. Always the rudest people . Doesn't make sense.
Spampampams 3 years ago
We use to call them the " God Squad" and I'm a Christian. Just so you know.
Bobbi McGough Robert 3 years ago
The most dangerous place in the world is a church parking lot after mass
aaaggg hhh 3 years ago
Church people fresh out of their church services are intolerable. Their thick skulls are chock full of hate & arrogance.
#7
It quickly became evident that many people who call themselves religious, only do so to feel morally superior to others around them, and then use that superiority to try to control everything they can.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Which is morally superior, though? Subsuming morals that have been imposed on you by a church, or developing your own morals based on the idea that you should treat others the way you would like to be treated in similar circumstances? The latter actually requires self-reflection and thought, and can be modified as the times change. The former merely requires blind obedience and, apparently, judgment of others.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
Exactly. A decent person does not need an ancient book and the fear of god to know that harming others is a bad thing.
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Got Myself 4 Pandas 3 years ago
I'm of the church if "don't be a d**k" - it has one rule to obey - don't be a d**k. Follow that one any you'll do grand
Chris Zaydel 3 years ago
Without faith, we wouldn't enjoy the same society we do. The idea of faith or belonging to groups is hardwired as a defense mechanism. When early man saw lightning, they didn't just say "whats that? oh well", they attached a meaning to it, to create some sort of reason. Or when someone dies, fade into nothing, or waiting for us in paradise? Faith was the Human choice, long before the organized church we hate.
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago (edited)
One reason Im an atheist is summed up nicely with this bit from Dogma: Rufus: His only real beef with mankind is the sh*t that gets carried out in His name. Wars, bigotry, televangelism. The big one, though, is the fractioning of all of the religions. He said mankind got it all wrong by taking a good idea and building a belief structure on it. Bethany: You’re saying having beliefs is a bad thing? Rufus: I just think it’s better to have ideas. I mean, you can change an idea, changing a belief is trickier. People die for it, people kill for it. The whole of existence is in jeopardy right now, because of the Catholic belief structure regarding this plenary indulgence b******t. Bartleby and Loki, whether they know it or not, are exploiting that belief. And if they’re successful, you, me… ALL of this ends in a heartbeat, all over a belief.
Chris Zaydel 3 years ago
I hope you have more than a favorite move to bolster your position. I don't disagree with being an Atheist, I'm Agnostic myself. The quotes do make sense though.
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Flash Henry 3 years ago
That was my last straw as far as not going to church anymore. I can't take the hypocrisy. I agree with Jesus's message of love another, but I have not really found too many others who try to practise that message.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I'm sorry that has been your experience. I hate that that seems to be all that the rest of the population sees, bigotry and prejudice. I think there would be many more out there that you would fit in with, but if it's not for you then at least you know your own mind and belief.
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Raiden Prime 3 years ago
God's morality is unknowable. Everything we consider moral or immoral is humanity trying to subjugate itself for the sake of control.
#8
As a kid, someone explaining to me that my dog that just passed away wouldn't be in heaven. I'd never see him again. Because dogs can't accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. So he was going to hell.
Pretty much done with it after that.
Jelena 3 years ago
For me, it was a claim that animals have no soul. and I am absolutely sure that they have it, both reason and soul, and more than some people.
Joel Hopkins 3 years ago
There are many more soulless assholes in corporate board rooms than there ever was in any animal shelter.
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Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
I'm going to be petty and vulgar about this one. Here goes: Dogs (and pets in general) are a source of pure love. If there is a wonderful plane of existence we retire to after death, then dogs will surely be there. Anyone who claims differently can kiss my whole ass - right, left and stinky middle.
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
The night my mother died her dog would not allow me in her bedroom, even though she died in the hospital. He grieved himself to death and died 4 months later. Tell me he didn't have a soul. My own dog, lay in front of the room where my mother stayed in my home and cried for days. He also grieved when my MIL died. They had pure souls.
peruchipac 3 years ago
Ohmygoodness those tender puppers. Your mother must've been a wonderful soul they related to.
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David Stone 3 years ago
Will Rogers — 'If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.'
Got Myself 4 Pandas 3 years ago
If there is such a thing as heaven I think we can all agree that it's filled with the many good pups that have existed
deanna woods 3 years ago
That is a bunch of nonsense and that person is full of crap. Dogs don't have to do anything like that because they are already sinless.
Melonie Hunt 3 years ago
I have heard this also with Christianity. It doesn't work for this reason. People needed redemption and to accept Jesus Christ because they fell from grace. Animals never fell from grace, so there is no need for redemption. That doesn't mean God did not create them, breathe souls into them and love them all the same. IE in bible in the beginning God created all living things.
CV Vir 3 years ago
Exactly. Only humans have “original sin.” Anyone who thinks animals go to hell hasn’t actually read the Bible. On the other hand, it’s reading the bible that made agnosticism much more viable. That thing is a massive knot of contradictions,
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Ricardo Ferreira 3 years ago
This explanation is so dumb that I don't even know what to say. So, like, all the Animal Kingdom is in Hell because they can't understand the concept of religion???
Nick Johnson 3 years ago
Yep this is how stupid some religious people are.
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#9
Being told it was gods plan after my mother suffered through chemotherapy, and still passed away. I have no interest in a god who’s plan includes cancer
MarmotArchivist 3 years ago
Sayings something like this to someone who lost their mother. This makes me want to punch them in the face.
Amy Taylor 3 years ago
My 10 year old autistic cousin died of a massive seizure and my family was beyond devastated. One of my hyper religious relatives told me that it was "God's Plan" and I wanted to deck her. What "god" would end the life of a child? I told her in the nicest way possible to STFU
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I really hate that saying! It is not God's plan, it is just a really shitty thing that happened. It's like the old belief that disabled children are proof that the parents have sinned. That is absolutely not true! It makes me so angry. God loves his children, why would he use them to punish someone else?
Load More Replies... iblowsheep 3 years ago
"God " blesses so many celebrity athletes, and other rich, or successful vacuous asshats, but ignores child abuse, torture, sexual assault and horrible diseases. Part of me wishes there was a God so one day i could meet him and knock his f*****g teeth down his throat.
Rosemary Probert 3 years ago
You are mistaking God for the behaviour of rogue people who use religion for their own benefit. What they preach is not Christian, but too many gullible are taken in by them.
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Broad Panda 3 years ago
I was already a confirmed atheist, but being told "it was God's plan" when my husband died when our daughter was 3-years-old lit up a special kind of disgust in me.
Broad Panda 3 years ago
I was also told that only if I had faith I would one day get to be with my husband again. Oh my goodness, I get so f*****g angry every time I remember that conversation.
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 3 years ago
Exactly. I have bewn told this many times by religious predators (they are very common in places or webs with chronically ill people). If a gods plan was to make me have dreams and hopes and then take them all away by giving me a crippled body and constant pain then it can f**k off. I never believed in gods but if i did I would become a non worshiper just for this. Any planet that has chronically ill people and horrible diseases and disasters (like children dying of leukemia or tsunamis) either is godless or has an evil god that deserves no worship
JustAnother Soul 3 years ago
Don’t blame God, blame the man made institution of religion and the people who spout those lies and that nonsense.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I'm sorry for anyone who was ever told this. And please don't tell me after someone I love greatly dies that they're in a better place. please just don't.
#10
When I realized the Bible wasn't written by God/Jesus and it was written by man and was written like 200 years after Jesus's death. Like I can't even 100% trust the word of a good friend who heard something from someone else in 2022, let alone some game telephone from 2000 years ago.
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Also, rules that would have made perfect sense for the protection of a tribe in the Bronze Age (most of Leviticus) make absolutely no sense in the modern world. We can eat shellfish now, because we have freezers. We can get tattoos and piercings, because we have autoclaves. And so on.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Don’t forget the later translations were generally written in such a way as to please the current king. So for example, the King James Version of the Bible is extremely misogynistic because James I of England (aka James VI of Scotland) did not like women, and spinning the translation that way meant the translators could live. Other translations don’t have that element in them. In fact, as more of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries are being studied, biblical historians are finding that interpretations, such as the one about the Magdeline, were falsified long after the deaths of everyone involved to create the myth that Jesus was some mythical creature and not a man who might marry and want his wife to play an important role in his work, to which those men took umbrage. So they smeared Mary Magdeline by making up the story of her being a prostitute instead of Jesus’ wife and an important apostle, and dumped her chapter when assembling the Bible.
maswartz 3 years ago
This is my viewpoint these days, I can believe there's a higher power, but I will not trust anyone on Earth who claims to speak for it.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
That's the thing though, people are meant to speak to God, not for him.
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Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago
As this is why Hermeneutics courses are so incredibly important for people who are pursing a path in theological studies, priesthood, and even archeology and anthropology. They teach theology students to read the bible and other religious text taking into account the cultural, religious, historical, and even linguistic norms of the period that the text was written. They force students to question and not take these texts at face-value.
Mokayokok 3 years ago
"Written over the course of almost a century after Jesus' death, the four gospels of the New Testament, though they tell the same story, reflect very different ideas and concerns. A period of forty years separates the death of Jesus from the writing of the first gospel." - I remember being in church at a young-ish age, like 11, thinking, "Do ppl really believe in this crap?" - I've been an Atheist for forever, much to my mom's dismay, LOL!
Candia Lee 3 years ago
Which version of the Bible? I grew up with King James, only to find out it was a retranslation to pretty the English. Then there's the Revised Standard, rewrites for teens. Been too long to recall which group went back to the "original" manuscripts and retranslated them with 20th century knowledge of the Aramaic and Greek.
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
I liked the guy who said the the bible was written by Jesus, the best American ever!
Helen Wood 3 years ago
started 40 years after, and mostly completed 100 years later..... if it was written 1-2 years after his death, it would be more credible, but not 100...
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Juris Macto 3 years ago
Actually it was more than 200 years. The King James Version (KJV), also called Authorized Version or King James Bible, English translation of the Bible, published in 1611 under the auspices of King James I of England. The translation had a marked influence on English literary style and was generally accepted as the standard English Bible from the mid-17th to the early 20th century.
MarmotArchivist 3 years ago
They are talking about the original Greek texts that recount the events of the New Testament, or the oldest surviving manuscripts thereof. They date between 70 and 300 AD. So they are not first-hand accounts but written by the next generation based on oral tradition. Any later translations, such as the English one, are irrelevant to this timeframe or the accuracy of these accounts.
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#11
There’s a short period of time where most of the religion started. Everything prior is mythology and everything after is a cult. Hmm, how convenient.
Ozacoter 3 years ago
This is one of the biggest problem with traditional religions. They originate in ancient times, brutal, violent and sexist. How is it logical to follow rules that were developed thousands of years ago in a very different society? I dont need bronze and iron age people to tell me how to behave, how to dress, what to eat or whom to love.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Not to mention the fact that they were rewritten several times, with some parts mistranslated, some embellished, and others thrown out completely. And all having been written down from stories told several generations after the fact, meaning not firsthand accounts, but like fourteenth-hand accounts. One wonders how much those accounts differed from the actual events.
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cheers, cassidy 3 years ago
really the only major difference between religion and a cult is how long they’ve progressed. christianity was called a cult, as was islam. if a cult can kick any ritual sacrifice crap and stay going, it’ll probably wind up a religion in a couple millennia.
Broad Panda 3 years ago
I refer to Christianity as a cult. Just because it did well doesn't make it any less of a cult.
Georgia Hebert 3 years ago
I still want to know what was happening before man wrote The Bible. How did people live without it, what was normal before then? Stuff like that.
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
Most famously there's ancient Egypt. Their pyramids for one are older than the Old Testament. Then there's the Mesopotamian cultures who had a story about a great flood and a man rescuing animals in a big boat way before the bible was written. There were the Harappa at the Indus river, the Maya in Central America, early China, the megalith cultures who made giant stone monuments thousands of years ago (Stonehenge, Göbekli Tepe, and others)... There wasn't one general lifestyle/culture but hundreds and thousands. It's fascinating!
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GoddessOdd 3 years ago
My favorite bumper sticker: God, save me from Your followers. There are so many religious cults...and some of them are really extreme. Take the Proud Boys and the rest of the extremists, who claim to be doing god's work.
karen snyder 3 years ago
Seriously! Why are the Abrahamic religions the only ones that count??? I would have been way more into Ramayana class than CCD, but a giant monkey god apparently isn't as REAL as drinking Jesus's blood. Le sigh.
#12
Going to a megachurch.
They received over 1 mil in donations every weekend and spent it on elaborate props and videos rather than helping the community in any meaningful way.
Kona Pake 3 years ago
Do the elaborate props and videos include the Learjet, the Bentley and the weeklong retreat at European resorts?
Joel Hopkins 3 years ago
Ask Joel Osteen about his boat during a flood, or just allowing people inside when it's raining.
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Broad Panda 3 years ago
If the Catholic church sold all their property they could do so much good.
Kona Pake 3 years ago
Where is all the money they’ve already collected gone to?
Load More Replies... Emily M. 3 years ago
ugh, as a Christian, megachurches are the worst. Many famous megachurch leaders are in it only for the money, not for God. And then megachurches become the face of Christianity, instead of the small church, low-income city pastor who changed careers to become a pastor, even though he knew he would make less money doing so.
Suzi Q 3 years ago
Yep, my church is a small church in a refurbished warehouse. No fancy statues, etc. The money they get goes to building maintenance and helping the poor.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Same with my church, in fact funds have been so low in the last 10 years, they can only afford a part time minister.
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Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮 They make me sick and so furious. It's right infront of them EVERY SUNDAY and they're so brainwashed they don't see it, can't hear it.
#13
The lack of compassion and rejection of science
Nathaniel 3 years ago
I have noticed science is only accepted if it supports the religious worldview in some way. Any other science is to be dismissed.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
So, cherry-picking only that which confirms personal bias, and rejecting anything that disproves that bias, then holding themselves superior to everyone else, who they then dehumanize, which means they deserve the treatment they get from the “superior” beings, because of it. Textbook confirmation bias, coupled with social identity theory—-and those are just the ones that immediately come to mind.
Load More Replies... deanna woods 3 years ago
I will never understand the rejection of science. I mean, the father of genetics was a monk.
Tristan J 3 years ago
Virgin births and walking on water wouldn't have been a good start...
Load More Replies... Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
I am so confused as to how science can be rejected. The more I follow science and out there in the universe and all the recent discoveries I get so much excitement and joy from it. I mean, I was on You Tube when they first heard the wind on Mars. I heard the wind on Mars!! Science is amazing.
Kurtis Wethington 3 years ago
Because it tends to reveal ugly or inconvenient truths about things, especially the false narratives of the narrow-minded. Homophobes claim queerness is "unnatural" yet it completely is from bi/pan bonobos to sex/gender-changing clownfish. Just look at all the hate Dr. Fauci got/gets for not parroting along the Former Guy's narrative about the virus.
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Lp Johnson 3 years ago (edited)
This was it for me, at 12. I was utterly and entirely FASCINATED with the scientific factor of nearly everything lol. In my enthusiasm, I got to thinking about dinosaurs, and why there was no mention of them in the stories we were told from the Bible. So I asked my pastor. Got politely ranted at and told that scientists were blah blah blah, and the 'big' dinosaurs were made up to draw minds into worldly things and away from God. Then, he pulled my Tithe history. The Facade stayed in place on my face for many years after that, but it began for me a lifetime of REAL study, research, and increasingly paying better attention to the "fruits". Wasn't hard to notice that most people who claim to be growing from 'the Vine' have actually been dropped from it.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I was an Anthropology Major in College with a focus on forensic science. I was in a Forensic Entomology class one day when a fellow student came in and tried to get me and my lab partner to sign up for the Atheist Club. I said "I'm not an atheist. I whole heartedly believe in God." "But how can you believe in Science and God..they contradict each other." Explaining how something happens doesn't explain why it happened at the time it did..or why it happened to that person and not this other person. Religion gives us a way to explain the unknown. Too many people take religion or science too seriously at the cost of the other. It is possible to have a place in the middle that supports both areas of faith and fact. It does not have to be one or the other.
Spring Fisk 3 years ago
Wow, this is so sad, but true, in some circles. I find that the more I learn about the world and all of the known universe from science my faith grows, it does not shrink.
#14
I was 6 years old in a Saudi elementary school. There was this one Christian Bosnian kid whose dad was a butcher, he was incredibly kind and often gave me delicious smoked meat sandwiches.
The thought of him going to Hell as a non-Muslim was illogical, and made me question religion for the first time.
Jamie Sterling 3 years ago
When I was 12, I was told you had to believe in Jesus to go to heaven. I asked what about the other people in other countries that never even heard about Jesus. I was told they weren't going to heaven. My God wouldn't keep good people out of heaven just because they didn't know about Jesus. Goodness and kindness get you into heaven, not Jesus or religion in my belief system. I'm a nurse.
maswartz 3 years ago
Reminds me of a quote about missionaries. When the missionaries told a man that because he knows about sins now he'd go to hell the man asked "then why would you tell me"
Load More Replies... DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
Thank you for this! I was raised Christian but made best friends with a Muslim at my school. I knew she wasn’t going to hell just because she didn’t “accept Jesus Christ as her lord and personal savior”. If she was, God was not loving. I’ve not heard a similar story from a Muslim. I knew that their must be, but this really touched my heart.
Roxy Eastland 3 years ago
My sister went through a Christian phase, she was just trying to find meaning, bless her, but she absolutely insisted that as a Pagan I was worshipping the Devil. "There is no Devil in Pagan beliefs, so I'd be hard pressed to worship something I didn't believe in" "Nope, by being Pagan you are giving yourself up to, and worshipping, the Devil". "I don't 'worship' anything as part of my beliefs". "Whatever you do, all your rituals, it's worshipping the Devil". I know she was getting this from the church that she associated with (and once she put that phase behind her she knew it was nonsense). Literally demonising other paths. Everyone is just trying to find the way that works for them, ffs, judge people by how they treat others.
Al Padilla 3 years ago
I once told a Catholic friend, "There are thousands of gods you don't believe in. I just believe in one less than you do."
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The Cute Cat 3 years ago
This is a common mistake even made by many moslem scholar. Christian and Jew are called 'people of the book' for many reason. In many verses in alquran, we being told that any Christian, moslem and jew that do good deed will go to heaven. Some time I think the ulama try to hide this..
Carol Emory 3 years ago
Anyone that tries to claim that someone else will get into heaven or hell because of what they believe...they're wrong. No one has the right to say who is qualified and who isn't. When it comes to faith...stay in your lane...believe what you believe and, unless you are planning on converting, keep your nose out of other peoples faith.
RandomBeing 3 years ago
In my church hell doesn't really exist. It's called outer darkness and to make your way into that afterlife it really has to be something of a deliberate decision. Otherwise you go to one of three levels of paradise.
Nadine G 3 years ago
The "war" between Christians, Muslims and Jews makes me shake my head, they're all worshiping from the same book. It was split 3 ways in its nascent years, and 3 separate (yet oddly similar) religions were born. And now they all fight about who is right...like???
Chris M 3 years ago
I can't speak for Muslims, but Jews don't proselytize. We don't need anyone else to believe. The downside to that is conservative Jews can be very hostile and unwelcoming towards converts.
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Carolyn Stokes 3 years ago
I love the misogyny that is prevalent in Judaism and Islam and how both fundamentalist’s and orthodox are almost identical:)
#15
The non-answers to all my questions as a kid. "You just have to have faith" is a dumb way to respond to an inquisitive mind.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Thanks, now i've got THAT stuck in my head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cs3Pvmmv0E
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Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I raised my daughter with an awareness and knowledge of religion only. After a sleepover, she accompanied a friend to Sunday school at the local evangelical church. The teacher was exhorting the evils of alcohol, so my daughter asked, "But didn't Jesus turn water into wine?" She was uninvited and told to never set foot in the church again. I was delighted that she was already a critical thinker at a relatively young age.
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
Yeah, huge red flags when a religion won't stand up to simple questioning. And by a child, no less.
Load More Replies... An Unpopular Opinion. 3 years ago
If a church doesn't want you asking questions, it's best to leave. No were in the Bible does it say you can't ask questions.
Spring Fisk 3 years ago
Yes, critical thinking and knowledge is good for faith and not an enemy. I find this to be true. Yes, it brings up questions but is also deepens faith. Don't be afraid to dig in and ask God and others hard questions. As a Christian I would want any child living in another faith (or unfaith) to think critically about faith so why would I ask my (future) children not to do the same.
Load More Replies... Got Myself 4 Pandas 3 years ago
This was me as a kid. I was raised in catholic schools but my parents weren't overly religious (dad was protestant) - mum was in it for the communion dresses. But I always remember being that kid with the million questions after being told a bible story, trying to make it make sense even in my young mind - and I found some of the stories to be absolutely abhorrent that I decided very young that if that is what a god is like I want zero part in any of it
Lousha 3 years ago
My Dad grew up in a small village were it was not a question to go to church or be religious. When he was around 7 or 9 he asked the priest for advice. He was a smart kid, and told the priest that he just can't make himself believe. His logical little brain can't just accept that something is this or that way, he has to see the reasons and mechanisms. He ruined several of his toys because he felt the need to take them apart to see how they worked and sometimes he couldn't put them back together. So if he really wants to believe but can't could he pray really hard for God to show him some proof of existence, so he could finally believe like everyone else? A decent priest could've sat him down and give him some sort of explanation, even praise him for trying to believe. This old a**hole's head turned bright red and started screaming at that little boy that he's evil and surely will go to Hell, and forbid him to ever coming back to church.
Spring Fisk 3 years ago
wow. this is a-w-f-u-l! What a horrible thing to say to a kid that has honest questions. I too think the priest should have encouraged him! I hope that your dad has been able to ask the hard questions about faith and belief in a community of believers that would encourage him and love his intellectual brain.
Load More Replies... Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
"You just need to have faith" and "The Lord works in mysterious ways" are the ultimate in weasel words.
GoddessOdd 3 years ago
Also God's Will. It was God's will that you were assaulted by a lunatic, stricken with cancer, whatever... it was God's will. Sent to test us. I call BS.
Load More Replies... donna peluda 3 years ago
That's the whole idea, mould you into a sheep that follows and doesn't cause problems.
Marissa Taylor 3 years ago
while faith is important. its also important to have a good reason. Some of these things are eay to explain,others not so much.we don't have all th answers but as Christinas it was importaint to have an open mind and never be afraid to learn something new
#16
I started caring about what is actually true.
All the contradictions of every religion melt away when you can simply acknowledge all religions are man-made.
Jill Bussey 3 years ago
So many times being told God's plan is beyond our understanding. Total cop out.
Enlee Jones 3 years ago
The Bible contradicts itself 610 times. You’d think an omnipotent being who created the entire universe would have a better editor.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
I find way more comfort in science and facts than religious mysticism. So I don’t fear that a solar eclipse means the world is ending. I don’t sit and wait for the cavalry—-i.e. God or Jesus or angels—-to swoop in and rescue me, take care of me, or keep me safe. I am not about to become a victim, so I am my own voice, and my own protection, mostly from being smart enough to study possible outcomes of events, and making sure I’m not victimized by them. I don’t blindly follow anything without looking into it first to see if I agree with, and can trust, it completely. In the past, I have gone into such things enthusiastically, only to be sorely disappointed by how horrible the people involved actually were. As a result, I don’t trust many people and organizations anymore, and know the only person I can completely trust to actually show up when I need them is myself.
DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
See, I respect and admire that view point. I personally find more comfort in believing there is something greater than ourselves that knows what’s going on. I think most religions have something of value and tell us about ourselves. I try to balance “taking it with a grain of salt” and “not throwing the baby out with the bath water”.
Load More Replies... Rick Hoppenbrouwer 3 years ago
The weak's need to believe in a higher power. And the power hungry who control them.
Candia Lee 3 years ago
When I read mythology and saw Christ was Osiris without the penis parade ...
#17
Religious people.
Enlee Jones 3 years ago
Some of the most vile and bigoted people I have known would call themselves “good Christians” with a straight face. It seems like half the people I went to high school with wound up being ultra right-wing zealots who believe everything they read on Breibart.
Tammy Wait 3 years ago
Extremely religious mil constantly preaching to people on the phone and making snide nasty remarks behind their back, she broke her hand as she beat our puppy. Bragged about the mean thing she did to kids and others.
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Jeff Striks 3 years ago
Religious people aren't the ones who ruin religion. The ones who judge you based on what you observe are. I know plenty of religious people who don't preach or cause problems. They do their thing and respect others who don't
deanna woods 3 years ago
I am a religious person, I just don't find it necessary to go to church.
Marissa Taylor 3 years ago
yep.and this is why so many people hate christianty. its becasue of People. People twist and manipulate the word to make it there own even the Bible shows many exaimples of this. Jesues and other saints call them out on their b******t. So i guess my advice would be to do your own reaserch, and who knows there might be some one in your leife that can help make sense out fof all of this
Bob Stuart 3 years ago
Spiritual people see our similarities. Religious people see our differences.
iblowsheep 3 years ago
all you have to do is just say one word...People. That would be an answer to what ruins EVERYTHING!
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I wouldn't say religious people. I would say Bible thumping zealots yes I dislike
Deborah Rubin 2 years ago
An anti-semite couple moved into the apartment across the hall from me. They say they're not because they have some nice Jewish friends. They suck in other ways too, but when the first thing out of their mouth when greeting a new neighbor is "are you Christian", well, can you see the red flags? She also wanted to pet my service dog. I hate them.
#18
My dad had cancer for 10 years and then he passed away when I was 14 years old. I thought I was having a good heart to heart with my small group leader about it.
She asked if my dad was "a man of God" because she wanted to make sure he isn't "burning in Hell"
Who the f**k says that to a grieving child? So completely insensitive. It took me several months to fully realize the weight of that conversation with her before I left religion altogether.
Izzy Curer 3 years ago (edited)
Setting aside the obvious reasons for why this was terrible, what, exactly, was the mf point in asking this? Let's assume for a moment that hell exists. What could be done about anything at that point? What could the kid do? What could the group person do? Nothing.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I was at a religious coffee House with a friend of mine and they were discussing Stephen Hawking's death. And one of the self-righteous women said oh but didn't he not believe in God? And someone said no I think it's okay because he accepted God later in life. I hadn't heard that but it made me so angry as if it wasn't okay to mourn his death because he wasn't religious.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
So here is another side to my religious beliefs...I whole-heartedly believe in God...the churches are another story. Too many of them are filled with corruption and self serving ideals. You do not need to be a member of a church or organization to believe in God. It's why Saint Martin translated the Bible into German. He wanted to encourage people to read it for themselves because he was not a supporter of the Catholic Church and it's methods to gain money from the faithful. At the time, the Church was selling absolutions...forgiveness for sins you hadn't committed yet. Sorry..but when your church is trying to sell you a "Get out of Damnation" Free card....you've lost your focus on what true religion should be. Too many churches treating the faith like it's a business. It's not and I sure wish they'd stop destroying the innocence of youth.
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
Yet another tragic example of how religion and ignorance go hand in hand.
deanna woods 3 years ago
This person had no right to ask you a question like and I am quite certain that your father went to Heaven. He sounds like a good man.
ColdBlooded 3 years ago
so many people leave christianity just because of messed up religious leaders. I know some people like that.
Steve Riddle 3 years ago
The Greeks & Egyptians saw the fire from Lava coming to the surface and started the Myths about the Underworld. Hades & Hell are pure Primitive Mythology.
Sean 3 years ago
its so f*****g dumb that people that werent religous are supposed to be in hell, like if he was a good person and heaven and hell really exist, even if he didnt acknowledge it, he should be in heaven right? thats why i think you should mold religion the way you want. its really personal and you dont have to follow the rules of the bible and go to church to have faith
lakitha tolbert 3 years ago
Part of the reason a lot of people are leaving the church is because too many Christians are vile, nasty, and stupid people.
Tracy Jones 3 years ago
when my grampa passed in '71, jehovah witnesses came to my grannys door and told her how he was in hell because he smoked drank and drove a truck(semi) he was a good man. she chased them off with a shotgun
#19
My mother. She instilled some serious shame into me under the guise of God. Some things she said:
-Not allowed to believe in Santa because that takes credit away from God. Santa was actually a hand of Satan trying to corrupt me
-Not allowed to believe in the Easter Bunny because it was also a hand of Satan trying to corrupt me away from Jesus.
-I wasn't allowed to feel pride in my accomplishments because it's a sin
-I was a d**khead because my dad got me fully vaccinated as a child and that is against God's plan
-Hollywood is operated by Satan so I wasn't allowed to watch movies or shows (especially Disney)
-Harry Potter was an absolute no because witchcraft is an affront to God
-Scientists should not be trusted under any circumstances
-My rare genetic condition was part of God's plan and I'd understand some day
-Not allowed to say "damn" because it's an affront to God
-etc
That combined with her regular, not religious abuse has left me struggling a lot with my religiosity.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I felt bad because I went to school with some Jehovah witness kids that got teased so badly you could tell that they really wanted to be included but weren't allowed.
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Piet Puk 3 years ago
The god of the bibles has killed wayy more people than the devil, so who is the real villain? Glad you got out!
Guy Incognito 3 years ago
God makes even the most ruthless villains in comics look like saints. At least when Thanos succeeded in his plans he only wiped out half of all life.
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
A child abuser hiding behind her religion to justify her cruelty. Yep, checked every box on the list.
Notyomama 3 years ago
I was raised Southern Baptist (USA) and even I have always known that the bit about witches was added by royalty. I realize more and more that I went to a progressive church. Yep. I said it. Progressive Southern Baptist. We were also taught about other religions without prejudice. Just educational material. No hate. I doubt that church is the same way anymore. It's a shame.
Carol Emory 3 years ago (edited)
I love when parents like this say kids can't believe in Santa because he's made up. Actually..he's not. Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of thieves. He got that designation because, at a time when the Catholic Church was taxing poor people into starvation, Saint Nicholas defied the church and gave the money back to the people. The church tried to catch him and prosecute him for it, so he took to sneaking in windows and down chimneys to put the money back into the homes of the poor. Sooo...next time a parent tries to tell a kid Santa ain't real...you set them straight!
Mermaid Elle-Jaye 3 years ago (edited)
This is my partners mum, I lasted a month somehow in a house like this, even a workmate told me (this is Dubbo NSW) his mum burnt his Harry Potter books he got/sneaked into the home. I left after the amount of exorcisms and a dumb lecture about a cute native frog being a punishment sent by god. Explaining mitochondrial DNA was like talking in tongues
Phil Green 3 years ago
Aw, your Mum was a saint! Santa Claus = Saint Nicholas; Easter = Eostre, the time of re-birth; Christmas = Yule, the turning of the year from dark to light, long feasting and much drinking! Tell your Mum it is likely that Jesus was born sometime around October.
#20
Sermons alternated between asking for money, telling us LGBT people were bad, or telling us we were all worthless sinners without God.
Left church every Sunday feeling like s**t. One week, I just decided I'm not going back.
I don't miss it.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Not all. I'm straight but went to a church run by LGBTQ people and it was the only church I felt genuine love in.
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Firkin Dirkin 3 years ago
God is in you, not some building and i am sure that He is proud of you for being true to how He made you...
Carol Emory 3 years ago
You went to a really bad church. I lost faith in the church...not in God.
ColdBlooded 3 years ago
We had a mosque and church nearly right next to each other. Slowly I've noticed people who I saw in the church in the mosque. And I never saw them in the church again.
Leodavinci 3 years ago
"Money is the root of all evil"... yet every religion asks followers for money. Yes, I know the saying is really "the love of money is the root of all evil". But neither version is truly correct. Lust for power is the root of all evil.
Joel Strauss 3 years ago
"Money is the root of all evil, but everyone needs roots!"
Load More Replies... Marissa Taylor 3 years ago
God good.Chruch not so much. We left church and hadn't looked back,we just do our own little bible study now^
#21
I was like 15 and playing an instrument in the “worship band” for the most popular “youth group” in the area (which is a verrry Christian area). At one point the pastor dude was praying and the musicians were behind him waiting to play when he was done. The whole room (200+) had their heads bowed as dude was praying. Then his prayer went into the whole “here’s what you pray if you want to become a Christian right now” yada yada yada.. then at the end he says
“Ok everyone keep your heads bowed, eyes closed. Now if you just prayed that prayer with me I want you to look up - everyone else keep your heads bowed- but if you just now gave your life to Jesus look up at me or raise your hand so I can see you”
I’m behind him, and facing the crowd who have their eyes closed so I decide it’s safe to take a peek. I discreetly look up and notice that exactly ZERO people in the crowd are looking up at him. Every single person still has their head bowed, eyes closed. (Which is fine, I mean maybe they were all already Christians?) However, as I’m looking at nobody responding, Mr Pastor starts saying “ok I see you there”, “oh I see another over there, Amen” “and you back there, praise god”. “Yes I see you over there, amen come find me afterwards”. It was perplexing to see him lie to so many people like that. And this wasn’t some nobody youth pastor, he was like quite legit having written books and being mentioned in national articles and stuff
TLDR; an acclaimed youth pastor tried to make it seem like his prayer had converted several people, when I could clearly see it had not
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I always get a chuckle when I see Christian tattoos, since Leviticus strictly forbids them.
JammaCoast2Coast 3 years ago
Leviticus strictly forbids practically everything.
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Remus/Lemon 3 years ago
it's funny because they do this at the church my mom forces me to go to even though i'm not christian. now i wonder if anyone ever actually raises their heads
propgamer XL 3 years ago
Normally they ask em to come to the front. First you're like: okay then, nobody sees me. Hey come to the front!
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#22
The fact that there are multiple but I was taught that only ONE is correct
Nathaniel 3 years ago
Fun fact. All religions cannot be right. However all religions can be wrong.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Plus, they’re all more alike than they’d ever admit. Hell, human beings are way more alike than different, and so many of us refuse to believe it.
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MagNat 3 years ago
Yes, that was the best reason for me. Yeah, sure, your fantasy book is the truest of all the fantasy books and your religion has "miracles" while the other ones have "mythologies"...
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Actually, the bible is a myth too- myth in this context doesn't mean untrue, it means a "traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon".
Load More Replies... Trond Øien 3 years ago (edited)
And none of them to this day can provide even a sliver of empirical evidence for their deities existence.
Notyomama 3 years ago
Everyone that is religious is worshipping the same God. Just different cultures.
deanna woods 3 years ago
I believe that whatever you believe is the truth for you. No one else can decide your faith for you.
Kurtis Wethington 3 years ago (edited)
And it it's a genuinely *interesting* history of how the Hebrews *were* as polytheistic as all the other nearby groups, but being held in Babylon where Zoroastrianism was the state religion made it mono', Old Testament!God is actually a Semitic war god, (which explains a LOT) and was gradually exchanged with another god explaining New Testament!God. Also, early Christianity was basically the Wal-Mart of religion (see "Hijacked by Jesus" on TVTropes,) in coopting aspects of other religions (also like the Borg) like Moses in the bullrushes having already been done at least twice with Horus in Egyptian and Zeus in Greek mythologies or the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus had been done also in Ancient Egypt with Isis and Baby Horus (to which Coptic Christians acknowledge the connection as "A Form Your Comfortable With"), plus just flat-out repurposing "Pagan" houses of worship with Christian like temples to Thor's down to the Thor's hammer necklaces replaced with crosses. There was a History Channel special (before the channel went nuts) stating
Kenny Hayes 3 years ago
Genesis says: I am thy Lord thy shall have no other G-d's before me. Is he like Zeus, or Odin with lower gods? Is he like the other pagan gods and has to have a child? In the old Testament G-d says he is the way to salvation.
#23
The fact that if you're not in my religion, you're kinda f**ked in the afterlife. I didn't choose my religion, so what makes me so special?
K- THULU 3 years ago
Of course condemning a non believer to hell is pretty well the same as condemning them to narnia or the magical world of oz. I'm not really scared of a made up destination...
Justme 3 years ago (edited)
I have a hard time thinking all non-Christians are in hell. I think possibly those who worship themselves or money (you know these greedy arrogant people when you meet them!). I don’t pretend to assume the qualifications for Heaven- but I can’t imagine all of these kind and faithful Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, (etc) friends not being there.
Jeff Striks 3 years ago
If everyone religion has a variation of hell, which do atheists/agnostics go to when they die?
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
Just had a vision of a giant wheel of fortune 😆
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Timothy Leung 3 years ago
The afterlife is probably a big piece of land owned by atheists with divided plots sub-let to various religions.
LJ Robinson 3 years ago
Anymore seems like whoever has the most lawyers, guns and money.
Load More Replies... Carolyn Stokes 3 years ago
I always remember a joke told many years ago about the end of time, the notary was meeting all the people coming before him and they were being sent to the left or right of him, as this one person came closer he could hear the one question being asked, as he came to himself the guy was asked what is your religion and his response was Catholic ok you should go to the left, the guy replied why to the left the guys in front said they were Jewish and Muslim and they were also sent left, the notary’s response was “The Protestants got it right” :)
#24
My parents pulling an exorcist on me. On their own. Screaming at me that I wasn’t their son but that there was a demon inside of me...
And more but that is the main thing tbh that has made me more an ant-theist than just an atheist
Nathaniel 3 years ago
What had the child done to make the parents think an exorcism is needed?
Chinmayee Kalghatgi 3 years ago
Probably they either had a mental illness like depression, anxiety etc or they came out as part of the LGBTQIA community
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deanna woods 3 years ago
I don't think this is so much about religion as it is about the parents being bat s**t crazy.
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
If anyone wants their day ruined they should look up what happened to an eight year old called Victoria Climbié. It's profoundly heart shredding.
Glasia van Duivels 3 years ago
My History teacher wanted to call an exorcist bc I lost 5 kilos (75 > 70 at 1,87 m) in the 4 month lockdown Jan-Apr 2021
Nicole Weymann 3 years ago
That..is...impressive. You have a member of the Spanish Inquisition for a history teacher? /S Seriously: what a freak!
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#25
Honestly having to go to church as a little kid. Felt like an endurance test every Sunday to just get through it. Like, dude I’m 6 I wanna play with my action figures or be outside or game. I don’t wanna fight the fidgets in the pew listening to adults breathy sing to tired hymns while I just want it to end so I can go be a kid on the weekend. Then as I got older all the obvious reasons you see everywhere, the contradictions, violence, stupidity etc
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
They did make it really tough on children. Some Churches had fun Sunday School or catechism classes but then you had to sit through Mass afterward. It felt like the worst punishment to sit still and be quiet for so long.
Susan Bradford 3 years ago
As a child, the mass was celebrated in Latin - I never knew what was going on.
Load More Replies... Glasia van Duivels 3 years ago
A religion teacher in my school (i have philosophy instead of religion) says I should not walk more than 5 kilometers on Sundays after I told the teacher that I walk rather sitting in church to keep a strong back.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Haha, my minister had a book called "(x number) of things to do while sitting in church". It had things like, roll marbles down the aisle without the minister noticing and, make up stories about congregation members.
Flabuless-Jaye 3 years ago
I had to go to "meetings" three times a week from birth. An hour on a Tuesday, 2 hours on a Thursday and 2 hours on a Sunday. As a child I was expected to sit still and behave as soon as I knew hat was expected of me. There was no child friendly service. We also had to go out door to door preaching. One woman said to my mum " I don't agree with you dragging your children round the houses." My mother replied that I wouldn't be there if didn't want to. I was muttering under my breath how much I really didn't want to be there. I must have been between 8 and 10. I stopped going when I was 16. I'm so glad I did.
buttonpusher 3 years ago (edited)
This! I used to hate Sundays. Used to be so pissed when one particular priest was on because he dragged it out an extra 40 mins. Worse again if the choir was on. I didn't absorb a single thing either. I wonder what they think now that my brother and I aren't religious at all. Although they had a hard time accepting that I wouldn't get my own kids baptized. They would've been making their communion now if I did. It gets brought up by my mother how they're missing out on the dresses/suits and the money you get in cards, how we could've had a party, loads of pictures etc. I pointed out how none of those things have anything to do with the religion and proves she only wants it to impress people. Also my kids don't care.
Kurtis Wethington 3 years ago
The local Christian school I *visited* (as in "only went one day as a guest out of curiosity") was more insidious in that it *started* fun and kid-appealing, but little by little I 🤨 more and more about the rudeness of missionaries toward the "Pagan" Natives that rescued them and showed them the utmost hospitality (and even spoke convenient English to boot!) or animals not having souls until they saved the fire and brimstone talk for the tail end of the day. I was disturbed, confused, NEVER went back and my store even convinced my best friend's family (despite how religious they were) not to send him and his sister there, either.
AK to LV 3 years ago
At Sunday school, the pastor was talking about how we kids should go into the room next door and a man would appear to us and save us. Freaked me out! What man would appear? What was he saving us from? Was there something bad that we needed saving from? Why weren't the other adults helping the kids in trouble? I stayed in my seat, I was 8.
Ann Bresnan 3 years ago
When I was 4 and 5 if I didn't sit still ENOUGH in church when we got home I had to sit in a chair for an hour.
Kenny Hayes 3 years ago
Children do not attend Jewish services, but there are family services where the children get to participate and read the Hebrew prayers.
#26
There was never an answer.
I wanted to believe desperately.
I wanted to and I begged God to allow me to be doubtless. I tried and tried and tried to make it work. To make it fit.
I asked questions. I wondered. I pondered. I just got to a point where there were no more answers. No one had an answer that made sense.
Nothing that the next person couldn’t alter or contradict. Nothing that was ‘set’ or ‘fixed.’ It was all up in the air and I just needed more faith.
I tried. I really did. But my mind just won’t allow it anymore.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
That's exactly how I feel. I ask a question, get answers but the answers end up giving me more questions. It just goes on and on and a lot of the time the answers don't make sense or just not logical etc.
J Baker 3 years ago
In the West we have this very strict view: questions have answers, they're clear and well-defined (it's very Greek and Roman). But not all cultures have this. In Judaism there's the question and your relationship to the answer. Your relationship to the answer can grow and change as you grow and change. What is an elephant? As a child you may have answered this question with "they're big and grey and I like them." As an adult you might recognise their emotions or their ability to communicate across distances listening with their feet - your understanding is different. I always liked the story of when Jacob got given his new name Israel. Isra-el: the one who wrestles with God. It's not "the guy know knows God and knows all the things" it's "the one who wrestles with God - grapples with the idea of him. Jesus then later says, "ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened" - essentially, if you go looking for God, you'll find him!
Load More Replies... Rick Hoppenbrouwer 3 years ago
As a 9 year old I asked a priest, who created God. Wow was I ever in s**t for that one.
Jeff Striks 3 years ago
Same thing for me, but with Judaism. The less it made sense the more questions I asked. The more I asked the fewer answers I got
buttonpusher 3 years ago
This and I always remember being dragged into confession once. Then on the way home I said I had this strange but nice feeling I couldn't describe. I was told it was because of god. Few mins later I said "I know what it is. It's relief I got that over with!". They were not happy.
Flash Henry 3 years ago
I really feel this one. In searching for answers over the years, I ended up reading the bible multiple times, as well as reading like 10+ different translations of the New Testament. I am 100% convinced that Paul only "converted" because he wanted to infiltrate the early followers of Christ, and once he got in, I think he liked being in a place of power so much that he just stayed and started skewing the message to fit his needs. Compare what Jesus says to Paul's letters and there is a whooooooolllleeee lot of contradiction.
Tracy Jones 3 years ago
ask the wrong questions and get ostrasized, no matter the sincereity of the question
#27
Being told I was going to rot in hell every time I made a simple mistake
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
I had a preacher, not a pastor or minister, there is a difference, at least to me, come to my house, from some Southern Baptist church that I had never been to, and would never go to. I was 14, an this cretin came to warn my mother that I was going to go to Hell because I, wait for it, wasn't wearing a bra, thus tempting young men. Yep. I was a sex kitten. This was 1970. He was booted and promptly told to never darken our doorway again. I lived in a very small town, and no one knew this idiot.
Amy Taylor 3 years ago
Every time I was told that I was "going to Hell" I told them that I already picked out my hand basket ,lol
Carsen Johnson 3 years ago
Honestly, some of the best people get told that they are going to hell and it doesn't seem that bad. If heaven is full of Christians, I'll see you in hell!
Bob Standen 3 years ago
God has 10 commandments, you break one and he'll send you to hell for all eternity to burn in fire and scream in pain, because he loves you. Thank you George Carlin.
Kantami Blossom 3 years ago
I was told by a Nun visiting my school I was going to burn in Hell, I told her I'd be rulling it in six months.
MusicalNerd 3 years ago
(In case it was Christians, they got it very wrong. 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ' Isaiah 1:18 https://my.bible.com/bible/12/ISA.1.18)
#28
Having to confess my “sins” as a 10 year old.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Didn't you just make up random s**t? That's what I did. The penance was always the same, which made it even more funny.
Joel Strauss 3 years ago
Makes me wonder what kind of penance Mob hitmen had to do after a job.
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Sowieso 3 years ago
For me it was finding out I am queer. And even though love is spoken of so much, my kind of love would invalidate me as a good person, and would make me unwelcome. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that there could be such a thing as bad, consentual love.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Being queer doesn't you have to be cut off from God. Not all Christian churches believe homosexuality is a sin. There are places you could be welcome if you wanted, my church for one.
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Carol Emory 3 years ago
What could a 10 year old confess to? "I called my sister a butt-head because she stole the last Twinkie. Make sure she confesses to that! I told my mom that my brother broke the lamp..but that wasn't true. I knocked it over when I was doing a trick on my skateboard in the house. Oh...and I let the dog take a crap in the neighbors yard without cleaning it up." Yeah..real earth shattering sinning there!
K Witmer 3 years ago
This was traumatic to me too at 7 on up to 16. I would lie then have to confess in my prayers at home I lied to the priest. I gave up after I was confirmed. It all made absolutely no sense to me like a revelation. Something just clicked and all I could think was this is all so utterly ridiculous why is everyone pretending and then pretending we don't know everyone else is pretending. No one was ever at fault either it was always blamed on gods will or evil. No people you need to take accountability for your actions.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
I did go to a Catholic High Scool, although I wasn't Catholic. Long story. I loved it. I got to pick and chose. Lucky me. My friends were all for if I wanted to participate join in with them. No, they were not trying to convert me. The nuns weren't even doing that nor the priest. Total respect for my beliefs. Go figure. It was Ash Wednesday and everyone was lined up in the convent hallway to go to confession. The priest was an amazing great guy. We all thought the world of him. I wasn't going to go. They asked me why. I told them it's none of his business and I wouldn't know what to say, and if there was anything to say, I'd say it to God, and the "penance" would be far more appropriate.
Trevor Nicholson 3 years ago
The principle isn't wrong. The basis is that you self-reflect on things you've done wrong and have the self-awareness to admit you've done wrong things and to correct it. Where religion goes bad is that it's not seen as self-reflection and trying to improve, but cowering in shame. Which is ironic because this is what the sin of Pride is about.
#29
Religious leaders ruined religion for me
Ozacoter 3 years ago
Exactly. Like the new Pope pretending to be modern as a way to gain followers but then refusing that women get any power in the catholic church (f*****g sexism) and calling people that have no children selfish.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
TBH, the whole thing about Catholics not practicing birth control, not divorcing, etc seems to have been merely a mechanism to spread the religion and have it become dominant by making as many Catholics as possible to get their numbers up and collect money from. If you think that a load of horseshit, then just take a moment and think how wealthy and powerful The Vatican is. Every time I hear a loud bang from now on, I’ll know it’s a all the Catholic heads exploding when it dawns on them.
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Ben Moss 3 years ago
I must say, I was lucky that my parents went away from Catholic Church and raised me Quaker. From the most organized of all organized religions to a more or less anarchist tradition. Must’ve been pretty damn freeing!
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Lol, I went from Catholic to wiccan to somewhere between agnostic and atheist. I agree it's extremely freeing but you lose that comfort feeling of somebody always watching over you and having your back. That's one thing you can never get back when you lose your belief.
Load More Replies... Kantami Blossom 3 years ago (edited)
They literally ruined it for me. I went to a Catholic School and went all in when it came to my religion and studied hard, when it came to Religious ceremonies I was dedicated. I worked my ass of studying/practicing for my First Confession, I gave it my heart and soul for my Holy Communion, and then I did months of studying for my Confirmation only to be told the guest Priest wanted everyone present to be in their School Uniforms. The two regular Priests fae my local Chapel and my Teachers all knew I didn't have one and waited to the week before my Confirmation to tell me knowing that it would take three weeks to get one through the school store(two weeks of you pay extra for a rush order), after the day passed without me being allowed to attend I got bitter and took the view that if my faith didn't want me because of my outfit then I didn't want my faith and started to fall asleep during mandatory sermons and point out plot holes in the Bible.
Anna Lessens 3 years ago
They ruined your faith, not the faith. Screw those jerks...live happy
Load More Replies... Al Padilla 3 years ago
It's all marketing and market share. If you forbid birth control, there will be more folks contributing to the pot, and if they're really dumb, so much the better - they'll put money they can't afford into the collection plate even if their kids have to "sacrifice" and go hungry. And any religion that doesn't slaughter members of competing religion will eventually go out of "business."
Kevin Wilcoxon 3 years ago
When I was a kid, we went to a storefront church where the pastor spent his whole time yelling at the woman up the street tending her flowers (speakers conveniently placed in front of the church).
Sherri Mantooth Bagwell 3 years ago
Religious leaders in the public eye living in mansions, admitting to affairs. Deacon at our church when we were kids molested my sister AT church.
buttonpusher 3 years ago
It's like EA where you gotta pay to unlock the good stuff. Otherwise you're going to be stuck in hell with all the n00bs.
Marissa Taylor 3 years ago (edited)
yeah that about sums up this whole post niceto know Jesus called them out on there bs
#30
former catholic, current atheist here. i am fortunate enough to not have had any severely traumatic experiences involving the church. but, i grew up in the church and i used to love to sing the hymns. as i got older i started to realize what the words i was singing meant. i really didn’t like how some of the hymns/songs called us as people “nothing” compared to god. i don’t really agree with devaluing and trivializing ourselves and our problems as part of worship. that is what really did it.
Florence 3 years ago
i agree, telling me i’m a worthless sinner compared to ThE lOvInG jEsUs ChRiSt really f****d with my already bad mental health
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Jesus was an archetypal hero meant to teach us how we should be and how we should live. A good story and Fable but don't worry you could never possibly compare to a god but you are great as you are! Just the crazy statistics and chances that had to come about for you to exist are so amazing as it is that you really really are special.
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Stan Brooks 3 years ago
I once dated a fundamentalist christian. Had to break up with her when it became clear she believed I was going to hell because I didn't follow her beliefs.
RandomBeing 3 years ago
Yeah I've never liked that kind of worship personally for myself. In my religious education (lol i'm starting to sound like the blonde girl from the magic school bus) God is supposed to have more of a parental role. One interesting thing is the encouragement of using "thou" in prayers. A lot of people think it's supposed to be out of respect and stuff but thou used to be the informal more causal counterpart to "you" in the English language. Since I think that's a bit outdated as to defeat the purpose I don't really use and (grammatically it doesn't really come up anyway) but I do like the reasoning.
Kurtis Wethington 3 years ago
On a lighter note, I'm reminded of how many pop songs' lyrics clash with their sound for people to think differently (ex. "Afternoon Delight" is a SEX song, "Every Breath You Take" is about a STALKER, and Genesis' "Mama" and The Outfield's "Your Love" are about picking up HOOKERS instead of anti-abortion or romance, respectively.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
To me..hymns sound like you are in a cult chanting your willingness to be a slave and how grateful you are for the opportunity. I'm sorry...I just sounds like brainwashing to me. Like being forced to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag every morning in school. It just didn't sound right.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
As in an earlier post. "God created, and said it was good." As well as the drawing of an upset little kid with the caption "God don't make no junk".
Don't Look 3 years ago
I just had that problem this past weekend. Had to do Moravian Easter services. Hadn’t been in two years (pandemic). This time I was really readying the bulletin. Holy crap.
Candia Lee 3 years ago
"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war" was one of my disconnects. Mixed messaging.
What do you think ?
Jose Ortiz 3 years ago
I grew up as a Jehovah Witness. When i was around 16 i had a love interest in a girl from the church that was 15. I was told she could not be my girlfriend because she was spoken for. The male was in his mid to late 20s. Also my sister got pregnant at age 17, before they shunned her, they asked in full graphic details on the details on that night that my now niece was conceived. Sick sick motherfu*kers. I'm getting angry just typing this. The "elders" in that religion are just high ranked pedophiles that do not call authorities for any reason.
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
Ohhh, the JW's are definitely on my s**t list. Had two knock on my door, and I wanted to be polite, so I allowed them to come in. Offered them tea. We talked about lots of things, as I'd just had my third miscarriage and was looking for answers, comfort... something. And with a smile on their faces, they told me my miscarriages were god's punishment of me for my sins.
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Sky Render 3 years ago
My father ruined it for me. Bastard abused his own family in horrific ways, yet thought he was some sort of saint because he went to church. And the church's members looked up to him as some sort of pillar of community, not realizing how vile he really was. Definitely was one of those "I can do whatever I want and I'll be forgiven for it" sorts who uses religion as an excuse to be a terrible human being.
everyone's favorite person 3 years ago
I realized I was LGBTQIA+, and my parents' religion believes that you need to hide that identity and pretend to be cishet your whole life. that's not something I want, so i started actually thinking about their church and I realized there were many things I didn't agree with. Religion isn't bad necessarily, but it's not for me.
Jude Last 3 years ago
Whatever gets you through the night is how I feel, and I agree with George Carlin: "Religion is like a lift in the shoe, and I say just don't ask me to wear your shoes. And let's not go down and nail lifts onto the natives' feet."
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 3 years ago (edited)
I was raised by very catholic grandmas and went to a extrenely catholic school. That taught me all i needed to know about religion. Traditional religions are based on terrible times: violent, sexist, where slavery, pedophilia and rape where normal. Their writtings cannot bring good to society because they stop progress. If you read the bibble it is full of those same things; there are plenty of passages promoting sexism, violence against the infidel, against women, rape, slavery... It is horrible. The teachers at my school were all catholic (because they discriminated against anybody else), ad most of them were openly sexist, honophobic, racist, xenophobic... The nuns were there solely for the money. They would charge us a fortune for food and supplies but then we would be served expired food, had roaches in the kitchen and no heating. Its all about hate and profit.
Pan 3 years ago
Reading the bible. Actually reading it. Then looking at other religions, realizing that none is better than what I have read. Realizing that one of two things is true. 1) Everything is made up from scratch. 2) There is some truth in it, but it was corrupted so much, that I risk more by following a book than following my best intuition.
Wintermute 3 years ago
Nothing cures Christianity like reading the Bible.
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Virtually Fabulous 3 years ago
For me, one of the big reasons I left was all the pressure to be "holy" and "clean" and "modest". It seemed ridiculous that the only way that I would get into the Celestial Kingdom and see my family in the afterlife (Mormon) was by substituting church music for pop and refusing to wear tank tops. It hurt a little, like I was always subliminally being told that I wasn't doing enough. I started to see the contradictions and extreme sexism when I became a teenager and could get on the internet unsupervised and see other points of view. The last straw was after I figured out that I was LGTBQ+ and received a horrible Sunday School lesson on how gay people were unnatural and should go to hell, and that a woman's purpose was to be a mother and wife and that's it. Usually, mormonism isn't that bad, but friendly people aren't enough to keep me wanting to go to boring lessons that I don't really agree with.
everyone's favorite person 3 years ago
my parents are mormons too, and I had a very similar experience to yours. the members of the church aren't all bad people, but I can't be part of something that believes my existence is a sin. thanks for sharing ur story, I love reading about experiences I can relate too, I don't feel so alone :)
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You cant stop the truth 3 years ago
The apartheid state in South Africa. They were not only fascist racists, but also christian fanatics. If you didn't believe, if you didn't want to pray in school, you were SATANIES or KOMMUNISTIES and would at the very least be insulted but quite often beaten up as well. Hence nowadays when someone says they're christian I instantly hear "homophobic racist sexist conservative" as an addendum, and have to monitor them carefully to see how many of those checkboxes they check. Because of PTSD.
Beto River 3 years ago
Went to confession at 13yo and after I finished with my 'sins' the priest asked me If that was all. I said yes and he asked me if I didn't mind if he ask me some questions to 'refresh my memory'. I said no and he proceeded to ask some question that started innocently and then started getting worst and worst. First about touching myself (witch I answered no), then about doing it in front of others, with other people, etc. I got to the bench and I didn't even pray, I started to think about it why if I answered No to the first question did he continue with that line of questioning. I didn't wanted to go to confession again and sometime after I started questioning everything about religion and so, stop believing.
You cant stop the truth 3 years ago
sounds like you dodged a pedo-bullet there.
Load More Replies... K Witmer 3 years ago
Religion was ruined for me when I was told women were considered second class. I could never grasp that. My mom used to tell me that part was a lie when I was young and to not listen to the priest or nuns if they taught that they just weren't caught up on what god really said bc they were too old to hear it. That kept me ok until I hit my teens. Plus all the fairy tale stuff in the Bible and cults being so dangerous like the FLDS. I finally read up on it and found out most religions were founded by pedophiles and rapists. I mean I can't really think of one that wasn't founded by a pedophilic rapist male which is awfully convenient for them that's why there's such an importance women stay submissive and kids are property they just want to exploit them for their own pleasure not bc they really believe there's a god. They think they're gods.
Jose Ortiz 3 years ago
I grew up as a Jehovah Witness. When i was around 16 i had a love interest in a girl from the church that was 15. I was told she could not be my girlfriend because she was spoken for. The male was in his mid to late 20s. Also my sister got pregnant at age 17, before they shunned her, they asked in full graphic details on the details on that night that my now niece was conceived. Sick sick motherfu*kers. I'm getting angry just typing this. The "elders" in that religion are just high ranked pedophiles that do not call authorities for any reason.
Tamra Stiffler 3 years ago
Ohhh, the JW's are definitely on my s**t list. Had two knock on my door, and I wanted to be polite, so I allowed them to come in. Offered them tea. We talked about lots of things, as I'd just had my third miscarriage and was looking for answers, comfort... something. And with a smile on their faces, they told me my miscarriages were god's punishment of me for my sins.
Load More Replies... Sky Render 3 years ago
My father ruined it for me. Bastard abused his own family in horrific ways, yet thought he was some sort of saint because he went to church. And the church's members looked up to him as some sort of pillar of community, not realizing how vile he really was. Definitely was one of those "I can do whatever I want and I'll be forgiven for it" sorts who uses religion as an excuse to be a terrible human being.
everyone's favorite person 3 years ago
I realized I was LGBTQIA+, and my parents' religion believes that you need to hide that identity and pretend to be cishet your whole life. that's not something I want, so i started actually thinking about their church and I realized there were many things I didn't agree with. Religion isn't bad necessarily, but it's not for me.
Jude Last 3 years ago
Whatever gets you through the night is how I feel, and I agree with George Carlin: "Religion is like a lift in the shoe, and I say just don't ask me to wear your shoes. And let's not go down and nail lifts onto the natives' feet."
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 3 years ago (edited)
I was raised by very catholic grandmas and went to a extrenely catholic school. That taught me all i needed to know about religion. Traditional religions are based on terrible times: violent, sexist, where slavery, pedophilia and rape where normal. Their writtings cannot bring good to society because they stop progress. If you read the bibble it is full of those same things; there are plenty of passages promoting sexism, violence against the infidel, against women, rape, slavery... It is horrible. The teachers at my school were all catholic (because they discriminated against anybody else), ad most of them were openly sexist, honophobic, racist, xenophobic... The nuns were there solely for the money. They would charge us a fortune for food and supplies but then we would be served expired food, had roaches in the kitchen and no heating. Its all about hate and profit.
Pan 3 years ago
Reading the bible. Actually reading it. Then looking at other religions, realizing that none is better than what I have read. Realizing that one of two things is true. 1) Everything is made up from scratch. 2) There is some truth in it, but it was corrupted so much, that I risk more by following a book than following my best intuition.
Wintermute 3 years ago
Nothing cures Christianity like reading the Bible.
Load More Replies... Virtually Fabulous 3 years ago
For me, one of the big reasons I left was all the pressure to be "holy" and "clean" and "modest". It seemed ridiculous that the only way that I would get into the Celestial Kingdom and see my family in the afterlife (Mormon) was by substituting church music for pop and refusing to wear tank tops. It hurt a little, like I was always subliminally being told that I wasn't doing enough. I started to see the contradictions and extreme sexism when I became a teenager and could get on the internet unsupervised and see other points of view. The last straw was after I figured out that I was LGTBQ+ and received a horrible Sunday School lesson on how gay people were unnatural and should go to hell, and that a woman's purpose was to be a mother and wife and that's it. Usually, mormonism isn't that bad, but friendly people aren't enough to keep me wanting to go to boring lessons that I don't really agree with.
everyone's favorite person 3 years ago
my parents are mormons too, and I had a very similar experience to yours. the members of the church aren't all bad people, but I can't be part of something that believes my existence is a sin. thanks for sharing ur story, I love reading about experiences I can relate too, I don't feel so alone :)
Load More Replies... You cant stop the truth 3 years ago
The apartheid state in South Africa. They were not only fascist racists, but also christian fanatics. If you didn't believe, if you didn't want to pray in school, you were SATANIES or KOMMUNISTIES and would at the very least be insulted but quite often beaten up as well. Hence nowadays when someone says they're christian I instantly hear "homophobic racist sexist conservative" as an addendum, and have to monitor them carefully to see how many of those checkboxes they check. Because of PTSD.
Beto River 3 years ago
Went to confession at 13yo and after I finished with my 'sins' the priest asked me If that was all. I said yes and he asked me if I didn't mind if he ask me some questions to 'refresh my memory'. I said no and he proceeded to ask some question that started innocently and then started getting worst and worst. First about touching myself (witch I answered no), then about doing it in front of others, with other people, etc. I got to the bench and I didn't even pray, I started to think about it why if I answered No to the first question did he continue with that line of questioning. I didn't wanted to go to confession again and sometime after I started questioning everything about religion and so, stop believing.
You cant stop the truth 3 years ago
sounds like you dodged a pedo-bullet there.
Load More Replies... K Witmer 3 years ago
Religion was ruined for me when I was told women were considered second class. I could never grasp that. My mom used to tell me that part was a lie when I was young and to not listen to the priest or nuns if they taught that they just weren't caught up on what god really said bc they were too old to hear it. That kept me ok until I hit my teens. Plus all the fairy tale stuff in the Bible and cults being so dangerous like the FLDS. I finally read up on it and found out most religions were founded by pedophiles and rapists. I mean I can't really think of one that wasn't founded by a pedophilic rapist male which is awfully convenient for them that's why there's such an importance women stay submissive and kids are property they just want to exploit them for their own pleasure not bc they really believe there's a god. They think they're gods.
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