its incredible how widespread QAnon is but also mostly silo'd to right wing ecosystems so normal people just have no idea why there's tons of Q signs and merch at Trump events
Yes. United Methodist (though I was baptized in a PCA church). I went through a period in high school and college where I didn't go to church much. Maybe I was agnostic then but I didn't really give a shit about religion. Started going back my senior year at USM and have stuck with it. To me, the Wesleyan theology + mainline protestant politics make the UMC the least bad of the major American protestant denominations (I can't get into Catholicism or Orthodoxy ---- though I explored the latter for a bit). I'd encourage people to read Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You. Tolstoy was a Christian but shits on organized religion in the book and traditional Christianity. Think some on here would enjoy it.
admittedly, if it was not for this board I would not known what it was until recently. I felt behind when it was brought up and was not quite sure what it was about
I’m not particularly religious, however, I really enjoy theology. All eastern religions I find especially interesting. My favorite book on religion is “Armies of Heaven” it’s about the first Holy Crusade and if you’re interested it’s a great place to start because the crusades is an incredible time in history- 3major religions interacting has the Christians march to Jerusalem through the Middle East and interacted with Muslims
lol sure as hell not. If I was religious, it sure as hell wouldn’t be Christianity. Take the time to look up all the absurd Bible verses that exist then come back and tell me that is something admirable to follow. It endorses murdering people left and right for a lot of really minor offenses (like cursing at your parents or disobeying them) it endorses human trafficking and sex trafficking it endorses cannibalism it endorses child abuse by saying you should punish them by throwing them against a stone wall it endorses cutting off a woman’s hand just for defending her husband it says it is wrong to cut the hair on the side of your head it says that rape victims shall be sentenced to death It says that the handicapped, bastards, and people with mutilated private parts or a severed penis are not allowed in the church It says that a woman who gives birth to a daughter is unclean for 66 days and must be purified It says if you disobey god you must eat your children
But I suppose if I had to pick a traditional religion, it would probably be Hinduism. I align more with the philosophical belief of humanism though.
Yeah, it’s some wild shit. The entire human race was bred out of incest between a father and his two daughters that got him plastered. I tried reading the Bible when I was having doubts and I was shocked at what you never heard in church.
That’s not true at all. Catholic mass hasn’t been in Latin since 1963. A parish has to get approval from Rome to use the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, but that’s extremely rare.
Yeah Old Testament is wild but Islam, Judaism and Christianity are all Abrahamic religions and stem from this event and Lots uncle Abraham so it’s not unique to Christians.
Very long pod but I think a lot of people here could probably relate with being born in the South and being raised religious.
It’s pop culture, but this is the most accessible and topical takedown of evangelicalism I’ve heard. I’ve sent it to many many people.
man it’s crazy at times. As hard as it is for gays in the south, you may get shunned quicker for not being a Christian. Not discount the type of discrimination gays or minorities get which is obviously worse, but man…. People will disown you for not being Christian
I am embarrassed to say that until November, I hadn’t followed it, and didn’t really understand what it was. It was only then that all the children trafficking stuff that I kept seeing started making more sense.
I really identify with him talking about losing his appetite for certainty. How it's super liberating.
I grew up in Alabama in the 80/90’s Southern Baptist religion, converted to Church of Christ away from my family while in HS (even preached in church some), and remained so until Thanksgiving night 2008. Was listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven” and halfway through the first track (~10 minute mark) became an Atheist (later Agnostic). Weird as hell but a surreal moment that just clicked like turning on a light switch.
Grew up in church and went to a Southern Baptist Christian school up until high school. I remained pretty religious until about 10 years ago, when I started doubting things and eventually stopped believing altogether.
Went to a funeral a couple of weeks ago. It was for a young lady who had the same genetic condition my son had. It was a beautiful service. I’m not religious but I can understand why some are that service was so warm that I can see how the parents found some comfort through their belief. They are some of the kindest most empathetic loving people I know and if all religious people were like them I don’t think anyone would have an issue with religion.
I had fallen away from my faith but have found my way back to it through life events. In terms of religion I think man typically finds ways to pervert things. When Jesus first began his ministry he overturned the temple because it needed to be cleansed and again after entering Jerusalem near the end. I absolutely respect everyone’s right to believe what they would like, but I’ve found what works for me and have found a lot of peace through it.
I am not religious at all. I was forced to go to church growing up and hated every second of it. I came to the conclusion as a know-it-all teenager that organized religion seemed to be a tool used for fear and control which is something I still believe today. Even with that frame of mind, I said the Lord’s Prayer every night before I fell asleep until about 35 out of fear: what if I’m wrong and need to show even a little bit of devotion? I don’t really consider myself very spiritual anymore either. I don’t know what I don’t know and I’m not arrogant enough to think there might not be some weird shit out there. I just currently think that none of it matters…we’re born, we live, we die, and that last breath better be life’s biggest dopamine hit to send us back to nothingness. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing something by not being more open to a faith/spiritual based experience, but then I get hit up by one of the many evangelicals in my life and realize I’m content not dealing with that additional set of shackles.
I have my opinions and prejudices against religion as a hypocritical institution but can also appreciate those that choose to follow it. I respect those followers when they uphold the beliefs and especially when they don’t push it on others. But I’m an atheist. I was raised Presbyterian and switched to the Methodist church in middle school, which was a massive upgrade. Several moments in my young adult life shook my belief until, teaching Sunday school over one summer, one of my best students suddenly missed 2 weeks towards the end of summer. Come to find out, he’d killed his dad with a shotgun blast to the chest. Things that unfolded in the aftermath gave me an unmistakeable feeling that God didn’t give a fuck about this kid. His dad bullied the kid’s older brother into suicide years earlier and the mom was too timid to find a way out for her and her son. She also found a way to blame her son after that. It was wonderful that we were able to provide him a place to escape and thrive prior to that but to me, a just God wouldn’t let that happen. I left the church and have not looked back. I still believe in spirituality and the teachings of Christ but the mysticism of a sky wizard and the “everything happens for a reason” crew isn’t for me.
Those everything happens for a reason people can get fucked. Not a single one of them went through some real shit. That’s just a thing to say to hurting people when you can’t come up with something more meaningful and don’t want to think too hard about why those things happen in the first place
One of the defining moments that solidified my atheism was listening to the grandfather of a 5 year girl dying of brain cancer that it was god's plan for her. He said that as they were baptizing her in their lake and she died about a year later.
I have a 65 year old employee retiring in November that thought her cancer had returned last week (oncologist then cleared her) that really did use the phrase “but everything happens for a reason” about the possibility of her demise. The thought of her never being able to enjoy retirement is simply too cruel. She also used that line on me when my grandmother unexpectedly passed a few months ago and I just don’t think people understand how unhelpful and unintentionally hurtful that can be. There is nary a more hollow and empty phrase in the lexicon of our speech; perhaps only outdone by “thoughts and prayers”.
It's just a lazy explanation for why bad things happen to good people. My son asked that question to our pastor who told him "I don't know and no one does know but I have faith God is there and doing good things in the world that I want to help bring to other people whether it be helping them find God or just be a friend to someone so that they know someone cares about them."
Agnostic. I realized at some point that heaven and the afterlife is a placebo for existential dread. My mom is very religious and I don't have anything against those that are. I wish I could still believe in something. That said most of the Christians around here suck hard. Jesus seemed like he ruled though.
I’ve always been interested in the idea of different afterlives. Like people think there are different branch locations for the afterlife and you get a ticket to whichever one you follow while you’re alive? Or upon death 2/3 of people on earth find out they just got tricked into the wrong one?
Currently sitting at: the Old Testament is wild and no way most of the major stories happened. Those were a rudimentary way of explaining bad shit in a world without science. Jesus was rad and radical acceptance is a way I try to live my life. Still want to and a little bit of me thinks there’s something after. Sort of a nagging thing that I can’t get rid of. Most of me thinks it’s an eternal dirt nap like before we were born. If God is doing or allowing all this bad shit then he can fuck right off. The universe is way more wild and complex than anything we can conceive of and I hold open the possibility for anything. If it means I’m going to hell for loving and accepting my gay family members then give me a first class ticket.
Yesterday was a full on battle to have the Best Family Pic on Social w/ #HeisRisen. Felt exhausted for them all. Looking forward to the day my son asks by he just had a 3 day Egg Hunt/Candy bender.
this is me. Fiancée worked in peds and dealt with terminally ill kids. Kids with cancer and other horrible diseases. They spent their entire, short lives in a hospital sick as shit being poked and prodded with needles. Never even get to enjoy being a kid. If god is real he’s a piece of shit and I don’t want anything to do with him.
If God's real then he clearly chooses who gets a dope life on easy mode like the Trump kids and those who have to live their lives in abject poverty to only die in prison or murdered on the streets. Kind of sucks!
I agree that it is lazy. No where in the Bible does it say bad things won’t happen to believers, and in many cases really bad things happened to them. Beheadings, crucifixions etc were the end of many of the disciples. I don’t want to impart my beliefs on the group as they are my own, but my core belief centers that God is putting things in my life for the good, and those things that he doesn’t He works to make good. My faith is not that nothing bad will happen or that I won’t suffer, but rather I don’t have to suffer alone. There are a lot of Christians that don’t want to think about the bad things and want to focus on the come up. They want to skip to the resurrection without remembering not only the cross but the silence of Saturday.
This is an open forum, friend. Please don’t mistake sharing your beliefs with imparting them. If nothing else, this is an interesting exercise to gauge the sentiment of the board. I don’t think anyone here would have the audacity to talk someone down that has managed to persevere in their faith.
The refrain I hear most is “The lord only gives you what you can handle. Your shoulders are broad and strong. He did that for a reason.”
I also don’t understand the concept that God is inherently only good. God directly causes a lot of suffering and pain in the Bible of his own volition. If God’s not all good, then that explains a lot, but definitely undercuts the worshipping part.
There's something greater than us, whatever that is is called GOD. GOD = Greater than Ourselves Dimension
I agree. I just know that I dislike people that try to push their views upon others. like I said before I’ve struggled with my faith. If I had to pick I’d say I’m most like Thomas who many labeled as doubting but I prefer to view as honest. Anyone that tells you they don’t have doubts is a liar, but every time Thomas asked Jesus for proof he provided. Blind faith is a scary proposition for me personally. Also the people that say God speaks to them and tells them everything to do. I guarantee you God doesn’t care if you decide to wear yellow today.