Date and age you left Christianity?

I didn't actually leave Christianity entirely but I left a denomination I was in for 20 years.

It only took me about a month to decide leaving that denomination. It was a time of awakening. I realized what was happening against reality and many "Christian teachings" aren't really Christian but worldly or even heathen and I also noticed many errors, particularly contradictory teachings in the Bible.

It happened around June or July of 2012. I was 30 years old then. However, I'm still very much a Christian. I still believe in Christ, I simply don't assume everything written in the Bible is true anymore.

This time I actually use critical thinking to study the Bible instead of blind faith. It's almost like a scientific approach to study Christ.

About 15 years ago, just turned 18. Started reading the Bible cover to cover. Had questions, pastors dodged every last one of them. Was an atheist before I even finished reading it. I suppose I finished just to finish.

Never left- full heartedly devoted to Christ.
Then again, some other Christians flat out deny that I ever was a Christian ;P.

I don't remember the date I would have been around 16 when I left Christianity.

cloudyday2 said:

What was the date and your age when you left Christianity? I realize that it might have taken several years so you can give a range. Thanks

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You should seek to find Jesus in your life again then.

Reading this thread puts me in the mind of the scripture...

Many are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. - Philippians 3:18-19

cloudyday2 said:

I have a theory that when the internet became user-friendly in the late 1990s and early 2000s there was a flood of Christians from all age groups who suddenly left the religion. But now, I suspect there is only a trickle of Christians from the young adult age group who are leaving. I think some of the surveys have suggested the decline of US Christianity is slowing. IDK... Of course asking a question isn't a scientific survey, but I'm curious anyway.

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Did you leave Christianity? And if you did may I ask why.

Was raised Catholic. Parents were decent people, priest a my school was a kind and good-hearted guy.

The parents at my Catholic school were the most arrogant, smug, mean-hearted bunch I can imagine, and they produced arrogant, mean-hearted kids. Liked all nice and pretty on the outside, horrible, vicious bullies on the inside. Couldn't take the hypocrisy, and stopped going to mass regularly around 14. Stopped going completely when I went to college.

Married a Lutheran at 28, joined a church she and I felt comfortable going to. Excellent pastor, helped me through a very, very hard time (death of our newborn daughter). Been working my way through what I believe and what I don't ever since, but seven years after my daughter died I was finally able to put up a woodcarving I had stored away once my faith hit rock-bottom.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe."

I view that as the moment when I accepted myself believing again.

left in 2012ish when i was in my early thirties. of course as you mentioned, it wasn't a 'clean' break and I wandered back a few times over the years to check things out. Each time I came back the stay was shorter.

Joining this forum in 2007 was the earliest that my Christian faith was tested. By that point I was an evangelical Protestant and had mostly disregarded my Roman Catholic roots. I went through a long exploratory phase from then until about 2011. By then I hadn't been regularly going to church since about 2009, so I would have been 18. Since then my faith has been through several phases of esotericism, paganism and agnosticism. I was introduced to the occult in 2009 and I think interestingly enough, its the one thing that has really kept me spiritual in any sense of the word. I'm open to theism but the leap from theism to the Christian God and his personality was too much for me. There were a lot of unresolved conflicts.

My wife and I married this past Spring and I once in awhile attend her Lutheran church. Nice people, though very conservative. I can't see myself joining a church again, I don't think that would be fair to the members of the church. I don't think it would be a good fit, put pretty mildly.

rockytopva said:

Reading this thread puts me in the mind of the scripture...

Many are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. - Philippians 3:18-19

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Have you considered the verses you supplied may not be referring those who left, but to those who are still within?

I think one of the main reasons why people can't build a close relationship with Jesus, is because they are stuck on the religion of dominations. In Christ we become free, we don't need to follow a certain denomination to feel God in our lives. When someone sincerely repents of their sins to God and ask Jesus to change their lives while they are praying alone on their knees in their room, is when the Holy Spirit will begin to work in you. We can't become filled with the Holy spirit when our mind is set on a bunch of rules from a certain denomination. To be a Christian is to become Christ-like, to study His word and apply it in our lives. To make the Bible come alive through us so that we can set an example for others. Daily prayer and feeding in His word is necessary to grow in His faith, otherwise our light begins to be instinguished and begin to fall back in the world's ways. Persistence is the key, advancement, growth, not going backwards because that is what will draw one to fall from Christianity. Many don't accept that the word of God is %100 true and God breathed, and most who believe that is because they are trying to justify their own sins by not agreeing to certain scriptures. It isn't until we surrender 100% to the Lord that we will begin to change and become a Christian with strong faith in Him.

cloudyday2 said:

Was the internet a factor by giving you access to information and like-minded people?

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Not really I had an atheist friend by then, as for my interest in the occult and the paranormal I had friends with that too. I just kind of decided after trying to retain my Christianity that it was time to do my own thing.

Hall said:

I think one of the main reasons why people can't build a close relationship with Jesus, is because they are stuck on the religion of dominations. In Christ we become free, we don't need to follow a certain denomination to feel God in our lives. When someone sincerely repents of their sins to God and ask Jesus to change their lives while they are praying alone on their knees in their room, is when the Holy Spirit will begin to work in you. We can't become filled with the Holy spirit when our mind is set on a bunch of rules from a certain denomination. To be a Christian is to become Christ-like, to study His word and apply it in our lives. To make the Bible come alive through us so that we can set an example for others. Daily prayer and feeding in His word is necessary to grow in His faith, otherwise our light begins to be instinguished and begin to fall back in the world's ways. Persistence is the key, advancement, growth, not going backwards because that is what will draw one to fall from Christianity. Many don't accept that the word of God is %100 true and God breathed, and most who believe that is because they are trying to justify their own sins by not agreeing to certain scriptures. It isn't until we surrender 100% to the Lord that we will begin to change and become a Christian with strong faith in Him.

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Everyone is different. Christianity just doesn't click with some people. While I enjoyed by 10 or so years as a Christian, in the end it just wasn't the path for me so I decided to set out and try and find my proper path. Not always an easy thing, but if I wanted to be honest with myself I had to at least try.

TheOldWays said:

Everyone is different. Christianity just doesn't click with some people. While I enjoyed by 10 or so years as a Christian, in the end it just wasn't the path for me so I decided to set out and try and find my proper path. Not always an easy thing, but if I wanted to be honest with myself I had to at least try.

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It's the only way you will find the "true" God in your life. Trying any other spiritual path is like trying to make a phone call to God with the wrong area code. God's area code is JESUS, if we don't use that first, we will never find Him.

cloudyday2 said:

What was the date and your age when you left Christianity? I realize that it might have taken several years so you can give a range. Thanks

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Gosh. Hasn't been that long. I was only Christian for 2.3 years of my adult life (2013 [had to look at my baptismal paper] to about 2015ish) I stopped going to Mass all together late 2016. I'm 36 now, so that was, wow... feels like I'm 40, I was 32 years oldish.

I wasn't raised into any religion. Think 15ish my mother took us to church only because she literally wanted a white picket fence, a boy and a girl (whom she had), a single family home, and a christian family. She's no where near christian. She dropped us off and never came to church with us.

I loved to study in general, love writing, reading, so I loved religion. I wanted to be a nun little later in life and just study the bible. I met a Catholic friend (I knew nothing of Catholicism until 17ish) and we went to Mass together a lot.

I wanted to be a priest around 18/19 years old so I went. Was confirmed in 2013 and found out I couldn't be a priest. There were two huge non-denominational reasons why I left christianity in general. If I stayed, I'd be full blown Roman Catholic to the T.

I'm a confirmed Catholic but I left the Church so I don't consider myself Christian in the body of christ sense of the term. And because of those two reasons I left, I'd probably say the only reason I still have connections with Christianity is my intimate devotional life to the spirit if christ through Mass, prayer, and servitude to the community.

Every year I go to the Easter Vigil to see new Christians be born into the body of christ. I haven't taken confession for centuries so if I go, I try not to take communion.

That's my story.