Thoughts from a former Christian

reply to post by ddaniel
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I have to admit there are some contradictions in the bible which have left me wondering how someone could live life in that way. But the older i have become the more i understand the contradictions. The bible has no meaning if it isn't used as a guild line personally. There is a quote about it being the living word and that has a lot of truth for me and I will explain it in the way I understand it. I have felt the warm glow of attending church the songs and the good will but it is nothing close to how profound a moment it is when you read the bible in times of suffering asking for answers. You cannot approach the book luke warm and its been explained in the bible that an everyday church attender in no closer to god then a societies down trodden, actually its states they might be closer to god then you.

I'm sure you are aware of its teachings and I have seen children raised on it only to turn their backs on it later. I was not raised on it and viewed it a superstition/non sense but I was drawn to it after a life without it. Everyone has there personal stories of times of suffering. I have felt wickedness, evil and just all sorts of wrong things. I lived in the darkness so I know it exist. Notice how i didn't say I have seen evil and wickedness I said i felt it when you feel it hit your soul like a wound that will never heal you have witnessed evil. But anyway Let me say this you do not need someone force feeding you their prescribed answers to life's problems. You can find the answers for your self in the bible. Stop reviewing the stories from the way they want you to and try and understand them from a personal level or a deeper understanding "repeat ignore what you have been taught" read it with fresh eyes.

That "Murgatroid" guy comments are really disturbing to read, geez.

In this fun-oriented society God has been replaced by pleasure-seeking atheism. Humility has been replaced by body-builders serving the ego. Most are unaware that everything here in this short life must rot and that you take nothing with you into your eternal life except the good you do by following the will of Christ.

reply to post by ddaniel


Good post .

Story about Jesus and Earth!

Originally posted by Klassified
reply to post by JackMack

 

Well said. Christianity is a perversion of the predecessors it borrowed its theology from. It is neither original, nor does its god exist. It is a cult, and one of the biggest, most successful hoaxes ever perpetrated on the masses. But even more disgusting, is that the "leaders" of the Christian church know it.

edit on 12/26/2012 by Klassified because: (no reason given)

Hi Klassified,

ATS, in my reading, has so many disbelievers and I worry so, events prophesied are very close, divine events
to bring atheists, disbelievers and heretics to the faith. Pride will stop some even then, it's so sad. 2013 could be the year.

Jesus Christ is true.

God allows miracles to bring doubters to the faith. There have been thousands and all point to
Christianity. I will name three well known miracles tested and studied by science, if science is your God, take
notice. They no explanation.

the Shroud of Turin- the most recent Italian study shows science is not capable yet of creating the UV rays that
made the marks on the Shroud.

the Tilma of Guadalupe - Science states the material or source which made image of Mary on the Tilma is NOT of this earth. Using modern technology, there is an image of the people in the room in the eyes of Our Lady, you see the people in the room at the time Juan Diago unfolded his tilma containing the exotic roses he brought to show the Bishop that Mary was appearing to him. So many miracles, another, the image on tilma has not deteriorated.

the stigmata of St. Padre Pio - Pio died in 1968. Padre Pio bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years. St. Pio's intercession, the miracles while he lived and now after his death are astounding.


God bless you,


colbe

But let me just say, becoming a Buddhist and following a path of Enlightenment is not going to send you to hell. I am damn tired of seeing religious folks say that, because their religion is "right", that others are "wrong". And that's the point some folks here are trying to push.

reply to post by ddaniel
[more
First let me say thanks for sharing your story. One thing you got right is that what you are looking for isn't in any church...its within you. I'm not trying to bash so when I tell you Jesus isn't coming back because he never existed please don't take it in a wrong way. Step outside your circumference of awareness for a few minutes and think. The letter J is only 500 years old. Also put Horus in your search engine and you will find striking similarities between him and Jesus. Now if Horus predates Jesus by thousands of years this can only mean that the people who created
Jesus copied this story to suit there own needs which was always for control of the masses. See Constantine.

Originally posted by NahledgeEast
reply to post by ddaniel
[more
First let me say thanks for sharing your story. One thing you got right is that what you are looking for isn't in any church...its within you. I'm not trying to bash so when I tell you Jesus isn't coming back because he never existed please don't take it in a wrong way. Step outside your circumference of awareness for a few minutes and think. The letter J is only 500 years old. Also put Horus in your search engine and you will find striking similarities between him and Jesus. Now if Horus predates Jesus by thousands of years this can only mean that the people who created
Jesus copied this story to suit there own needs which was always for control of the masses. See Constantine.

I appreciate your post, but please don't worry, I am not offended in the slightest. Though I believe Jesus existed, as I believe Buddha existed, I place more weight in their message: The Kingdom of Heaven is within, our true nature is divine, etc.

Judging by many of the replies I have seen (i'm trying to respond to each, but am pressed for time!), I may have given the impression that I had a personal moment of revelation, and am responding to this moment by changing my life course.

The truth is, I have been on my personal quest for truth for a number of years now. I try to meditate daily, and read often to better understand the world we live in. I still have much to learn, but I finally feel comfortable with the path I have put myself on.

My 'shift', so to speak, was the feeling of personal responsibility to do what I can to fight ignorance, in an attempt to make this world a better place to live.

I used to think I could only control myself, and this is true, but lately I think more and more that my personal discoveries will only be meaningful if I share them with others.

reply to post by ddaniel


" fundamentalist Christian" there is your problem and I do not blame you for making your decision. If i didn't know any better I would have done the same thing. Every man finds their own way.

I have never left christianity but I did doubt it for a very long time, eventually I found my answer.

I am happy for you as you are better off now than remaining in a fundamentalist Christian church. They are a horrible example for christianity along with the roman catholic church.

I urge you to not let a perversion of christianity to fill you with hate for it. As many people I have talked to who hate christianity have their basis of their hate on abnormal beliefs by many christian denominations.

It is very easy to be lead astray... but I would not just stick with it simply because you are asked to have "faith"

good luck bud

reply to post by NahledgeEast


The concept of the Saviour figure (who serves as a Revealer) is very ancient and figures promenately in Mystery Traditions. It's not unusual for some to believe multiple figures have appeared nor was it unusual to believe that we share in the same as the saviour figure and can become the Saviour Figure. You see such concepts in the Gospels themselves depending on how you look at them (example: Psalm 82 which also notes our twofold nature of divine and animal, John 10:34-36, John 14:2, Gal. 3:27, John 13:16, etc.). You see them also more blatently in such writtings as those found in the Nag Hammadi and the Corpus Hermeticum and others as well. And yes, even in the Book of Coming Forth By Day (AKA The Egyptian Book of the Dead).

reply to post by ddaniel

The Kingdom of Heaven is within, our true nature is divine, etc.

I would augment that only a little. We are to seek the kingdom within for there it will be revealed. Its not in us per sey, but that is where we are to look for it. Not outside where others and their dogma lie.

Originally posted by fourthmeal
But let me just say, becoming a Buddhist and following a path of Enlightenment is not going to send you to hell. I am damn tired of seeing religious folks say that, because their religion is "right", that others are "wrong". And that's the point some folks here are trying to push.

ATS is a discussion forum fourthmeal. no one is "pushing" anything. You may disagree with others, that's fine.

There are no multiple faiths, there are multiple religions, non-Christian and Christian religions. Religions are
man-made. Jesus who is God, second person of the Blessed Trinity established one FAITH. It's historical if you
do not believe the miracles. Roman Catholicism is the FAITH.

2013 could be it, God doesn't give exact dates, God is going to reveal His plan and warn of the anti-Christ's
plans in the miraculous Great Warning (Rev 6:15-17). Protestants hear it called the "awakening" in their prophetic. It will be celestial and in our interior, every soul on the earth will be shown their life in review. NDE like, how God sees your soul. Then, you will have to choose for the faith or not...

All Christians agree, it's scriptural for those who believe Martin Luther's heresy of "Sola Scriptura", God wants
us all to believe the same. Above all, tell yourself, yes God could do this, show me my entire life so how easy for Him, I desire the Catholic Eucharist.


God bless you,

colbe

Originally posted by summer5

When I ponder the likeness of God, I see what the Bible tells me that he looks like. We were made in His image. But that goes against everything else, that we perceive from our Creator. We see each other as bumbling idiots. How could God, look like us?

reply to post by GoOfYFoOt

 

My thought on this is - we are spiritual beings living a human existence. We are human, yes - however, we are spirit. Our spirit, our TRUE selves at the core of each and everyone of us, is LOVE. And the creator is LOVE.

Overcoming and integrating the negative ego is a central aspect on the spiritual path. It is our ego that creates fear. The ego creates a filter that distorts the way our mind perceives everything. It literally creates spiritual blindness and keeps us stuck in limited thinking. The ego places a veil of illusion or a veil of amnesia over our eyes keeping us from accessing our higher wisdom and truth. Evil is the “veil” that blocks us from maintaining a strong connection with our God self. This veil creates the illusion that God is outside of ourselves. All external pathways that rely on a savoir or something outside of our selves to reach God is an illusion which has been created by the human ego. The only path that leads to salvation is the inner path.

Based on my personal experience, I very much agree with what you have written. Thank you for contributing.

If I were asked what the meaning of life was, based on my present level of experience, I would say that it is to bring as much love as possible into the world - including Self-Love.

Love is a funny thing, though, and my experience of it has changed over time. Through my personal spiritual quest for self-knowledge, I have gained a greater love for myself, which has translated into greater levels of love and understanding / empathy to those around me.

I know I keep going back to the nature of words, but I feel it is an important point. My former, Christian conception of love was quite shallow, limited to faint emotional experiences. As I continue to grow, the meaning of the word 'love' has taken on a whole new meaning, and I am sometimes am overwhelmed with emotions that are very hard to explain.

True, divine Love is somewhat like the experience of eating chocolate. You can describe eating chocolate to someone who has never experienced it: It is sweet, rich, etc, but these descriptions will always fall short of the actual experience.

In many ways, the divisive, dualistic (heaven/hell, God/Devil) beliefs of Christianity were preventing me from experiencing Love with any real depth.

I feel fortunate to have moved forward from this mindset, but also feel a responsibility to do my part to help others get past their own blocks and hinderances... no small task!

Originally posted by votan
reply to post by ddaniel

 

" fundamentalist Christian" there is your problem and I do not blame you for making your decision. If i didn't know any better I would have done the same thing. Every man finds their own way.

I have never left christianity but I did doubt it for a very long time, eventually I found my answer.

I am happy for you as you are better off now than remaining in a fundamentalist Christian church. They are a horrible example for christianity along with the roman catholic church.

I urge you to not let a perversion of christianity to fill you with hate for it. As many people I have talked to who hate christianity have their basis of their hate on abnormal beliefs by many christian denominations.

It is very easy to be lead astray... but I would not just stick with it simply because you are asked to have "faith"

good luck bud

I'm sorry if I gave the impression of hate! I do not hate anything, and my frustration with the Church stems from my connection to it, not from disdain. I view Christianity as a parent who did their best to provide love and guidance, but fell short because of their own inherent flaws.

There are many great things about Christianity, but there are also some major flaws. If I have any desire in life beside discovering my own Truth, it would be to help Christianity regain its namesake: an organization of people aspiring to be like Christ.

Originally posted by ddaniel

Originally posted by summer5

When I ponder the likeness of God, I see what the Bible tells me that he looks like. We were made in His image. But that goes against everything else, that we perceive from our Creator. We see each other as bumbling idiots. How could God, look like us?

reply to post by GoOfYFoOt

 

My thought on this is - we are spiritual beings living a human existence. We are human, yes - however, we are spirit. Our spirit, our TRUE selves at the core of each and everyone of us, is LOVE. And the creator is LOVE.

Overcoming and integrating the negative ego is a central aspect on the spiritual path. It is our ego that creates fear. The ego creates a filter that distorts the way our mind perceives everything. It literally creates spiritual blindness and keeps us stuck in limited thinking. The ego places a veil of illusion or a veil of amnesia over our eyes keeping us from accessing our higher wisdom and truth. Evil is the “veil” that blocks us from maintaining a strong connection with our God self. This veil creates the illusion that God is outside of ourselves. All external pathways that rely on a savoir or something outside of our selves to reach God is an illusion which has been created by the human ego. The only path that leads to salvation is the inner path.

Based on my personal experience, I very much agree with what you have written. Thank you for contributing.

If I were asked what the meaning of life was, based on my present level of experience, I would say that it is to bring as much love as possible into the world - including Self-Love.

Love is a funny thing, though, and my experience of it has changed over time. Through my personal spiritual quest for self-knowledge, I have gained a greater love for myself, which has translated into greater levels of love and understanding / empathy to those around me.

I know I keep going back to the nature of words, but I feel it is an important point. My former, Christian conception of love was quite shallow, limited to faint emotional experiences. As I continue to grow, the meaning of the word 'love' has taken on a whole new meaning, and I am sometimes am overwhelmed with emotions that are very hard to explain.

True, divine Love is somewhat like the experience of eating chocolate. You can describe eating chocolate to someone who has never experienced it: It is sweet, rich, etc, but these descriptions will always fall short of the actual experience.

In many ways, the divisive, dualistic (heaven/hell, God/Devil) beliefs of Christianity were preventing me from experiencing Love with any real depth.

I feel fortunate to have moved forward from this mindset, but also feel a responsibility to do my part to help others get past their own blocks and hinderances... no small task!

edit on 26-12-2012 by ddaniel because: (no reason given)

"real depth"...I am smiling...no offense.

All goodness comes from God, He is the grace, it is His presence in us that makes us holy. Do not run from
Him any longer using a few general feel good comments to cover your disbelief. New Agers are so silly, blah,
blah blah. The "hinderances" are following God's Commandments and the grace filled teachings of the faith.

Your parents accepted a little bit of God's truth but they need to accept all of God's plan, all of His revelation and
lose the heresies.

You will understand when God shows you ddaniel, in the soon "awakening"...the Great Warning. Ask your
patron saint, the prophet Daniel to help believe now and accept the gift of the Great Warning.

True spirituality is in the heart, not a book!
I am happy that you have found your way

reply to post by chasingbrahman

I recently attended a funeral in which the person presiding over the ceremony couldn't decide whether the experience of being a living human being was a gift or a curse. One minute it was God's greatest gift. The next minute, we were all born into a cruel world. Then God wants us home. Then God wants us to experience the greatest gift of life. It was more confusing than my stint as a born-again Christian.

There are 3 truths. We are all born, and we all will die and there isn't a man, woman or child who didn't want to die, that didnt end up dying anyways.

This is the cruelst and most ultimate cosmic joke.

But, what if Jesus and God are for real? Then we can at least have some kind of hope. Personally i need hope, i lived life without any hope at all, growing up in a "christian" home, i turned towards agnosticism and atheism, but i can tell you one thing. If you turn to atheism then you might as well blow your brains out and get your dying over with because your life never mattered anyway, it was just a big waste.

So give me a life full of hope and if i die and there is no God or Jesus, then i doubt i will be giving a damn, when you have no hope you have nothing to lose and everything to gain in believing.

Life just isn't worth living if you have no hope.

reply to post by ddaniel


Organized religion is the source of all the world's emotional suffering.

The blatant "you're not good enough" brainwashing is disgusting and evil.

We are good enough. We don't need men in robes wearing necklaces telling us we're not.

Originally posted by colbe
"real depth"...I am smiling...no offense.

None taken

All goodness comes from God, He is the grace, it is His presence in us that makes us holy. Do not run from
Him any longer using a few general feel good comments to cover your disbelief. ...

All everything comes from God, friend (though our use of the word 'God' seems to be different). This includes what you perceive to be 'evil'. To say otherwise is to say something exists outside of God, thus limiting God.

We live and perceive things dualistically - Light and dark, cold and hot, etc. but can one really be separated from the other? Is dark not simply the absence of light? Cold the absence of heat? Hate the absence of love?

Regardless, this is a topic for another day

Your parents accepted a little bit of God's truth but they need to accept all of God's plan, all of His revelation and
lose the heresies.

You will understand when God shows you ddaniel, in the soon "awakening"...the Great Warning. Ask your
patron saint, the prophet Daniel to help believe now and accept the gift of the Great Warning.

I genuinely appreciate your concern, but my experience has led me to take a skeptic's attitude toward prophecies, and I don't hold much credence to your warning. Instead of looking to a 'patron saint' or anything external for guidance, I will continue to ask the divine that lives within all of creation (including me and you) for guidance and the discovery of truth.

I loved this post, funny thing is ...I just posted something such as this on my facebook today .....I am the same. Raised Christian and even feel weird talking to my parents to this day about how my beliefs are now different. It has been difficult and I am not struggling anymore, even though, I dont think my parents like it at all ...I feel like my father is more saddened I dont believe the same anymore. Either way, I know myself now, what is inside me and who I can be. I love me and I love that I have found our who I am ...even though there is still so much to learn and so much I probably will not learn. Thanks for your post, I love to learn that no matter where people are and how different they think they are, so many still have the same story with different twists Happy Holidays ..

Originally posted by ddaniel


How is belief that the Bible (or any other Holy book) is the 'perfect Word of God' anything other than idolatry?

Despite my division with organized religion, I still admire Jesus in a way I cannot express. What's funny is, I never really felt I 'knew' Jesus until I stepped away from the Christian indoctrination I was raised to adhere to. To me, the beautiful thing about Jesus was his message of love. When asked what the greatest commandments were, Jesus replied: love The Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

You missed the point of the book and it's message and you did not, ever know Jesus. This is your problem. This is also the problem with 99% of all southern Baptists, Catholics and other "Christian" religions.

I was about 18 when I started to question my own Southern Baptist upbringing. I saw things written in the Bible the Baptist did not believe in and things that were not in the bible they did teach. I went on a search to find out why this was, to find out the truth. I prayed and fasted that God would lead me to understanding of why there are these discrepancies. God because I had an honest mindset and was doing the two things the Bible says you have to do to learn truth, pray and fast, led people to me who had these answers. I learned the Baptist were wrong about many things - this by former Baptists who also had these questions.

You don't have to believe the Bible is the perfect word of God. The Bible is a Book, and we casually call it a Book - you don't have to revere it like some holy relic. That's not important. What is important is the words Jesus spoke because those words have keys to life through the Holy Spirit - that understanding comes only in living those words of Jesus. If you live those words, all of them, strive to do that along with an honest mindset ( there is no such thing as the heart, it's the mind.. same word used that has for years been taken out of context) then you can start to see the power of the Christian life show up as something real - in ways you've never dreamed of before. Gone is all the talk and discussion, and here is the practical application of power through Jesus's words. I learned through Jesus's words how to exercise this power.

To heal the sick, cast out demons, speak with new tongues, When you have experienced something as powerful as anointing someones head with oil and placing you hand on their head and praying for them and within seconds see that person healed of sickness and disease and have it verified by a doctor - and then do it again on a consistent basis - you have no doubt that this stuff works, because you did what was required to allow yourself to be used in this manner by God - this point most people never get to. That's the problem.