What Was Your Experience?

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

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That's because it is "your" faith. The Lord Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Those who turn the Christian life into a religious endeavour will struggle. I spat the dummy once and got mad at God over an issue important to me. It was the worst time of my life. I don't know how anyone can just abandon their reason for living.

True Counterphobia said:

You speak as though your relationship with God was a chore. That tells me you were never saved. Hope you find the truth.

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I don't think you are allowed to say that on this forum.

Jaedan said:

I see nothing wrong with his post.

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We are not allowed to say someone isn't saved, if I got the rules right.

zoidar said:

We are not allowed to say someone isn't saved, if I got the rules right.

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They've already said they were not a Christian.

True Counterphobia said:

They've already said they were not a Christian.

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Ok, then I quess it's alright ... Sorry for intervening.

zoidar said:

Ok, then I quess it's alright ... Sorry for intervening.

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Totally fine. I get you were just trying to keep people from saying people aren't saved which is a good motivation.

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

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I've had faith in Jesus for 62 years. I have the following questions:

What or whom have you had faith in?

How have the Bible and prayer figured into your faith?

Why do you want to abandon your faith? Because of other people or what?

Do you think that God has abandoned you? Why or why not?

Please answer these questions and then we can talk.

That would obviously depend on just which church you are abandoning. There are many unauthorized manmade churches that make unrealistic demands on their members, and force beliefs down their throats that God would never approve of. Probably best to say good-by. Then, there is the one Church founded by Jesus Christ, who clearly and repeatedly demonstrated that He was God, by constantly doing things only God could do, who promised His Church "The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth", and "Whatsoever you bind upon Earth is bound in Heaven", and "He who hears you hears Me". To walk away from His Church means abandoning truth, which means living your life based on untruth. Not a good idea.

Jaedan said:

1. Faith in God?

2. reading the bible and praying didn't really do anything (bible study was just to study if that makes sense? No idea why I was reading it, but I knew I had to read it. Moreover, in regards to prayer, I have prayed so many prayers, but nothing seemed to happen (I didn't have any problems with this, I considered this normal. Additionally, I prayed to God to help me do what he wants, be better, etc etc. However, to be honest, during the rare, distressing (usually the times before I self-harm, or etc) situations, I have prayed to other things (including, you guessed it; satan...) multiple times.

3. I want to abandon my faith so I can focus and "think cleary" on things. When I get to thinking about God or etc, it just doesn't make me feel (this has led me to getting distracted from many things such as school, hobbies, etc)

4. I don't really care if he abandoned me or not if that makes sense?

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I relate to 3

I prefer to claim the blood of Jesus has made me ok with Him regardless of whether a! Praying or doing anything for Him right now otherwise the OCD panic starts and the fears.

I want to be at peace so I choose not to dwell on any religious things except this phrase "Jesus saved me, I belong to Him"

When am ready to start living for Jesus again and passionately serving Him like I did before, I will. But am not ready yet. I need a break else I feel I will renounce Him completely and I don't want to do that

public hermit said:

I did the same thing when I was sixteen. It was a huge weight off my shoulders. Unfortunately, the weight I gradually replaced it with almost killed me. You're young, and probably won't listen to sound guidance. Oh well.

Perhaps you'll survive and come to regret your youthful foolishness. Just remember, when you decide you might have taken the wrong road, it might not be so easy to get back on track. Some never make it back. Some suffer severely only to barely make it back. I wish you the best.

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I suffered severely to try get it back (although it was always the Lord's to give). Why (almost) give up the greatest gift one has ever gotten?

Jaedan said:

1. Faith in God?

2. reading the bible and praying didn't really do anything (bible study was just to study if that makes sense? No idea why I was reading it, but I knew I had to read it. Moreover, in regards to prayer, I have prayed so many prayers, but nothing seemed to happen (I didn't have any problems with this, I considered this normal. Additionally, I prayed to God to help me do what he wants, be better, etc etc. However, to be honest, during the rare, distressing (usually the times before I self-harm, or etc) situations, I have prayed to other things (including, you guessed it; satan...) multiple times.

3. I want to abandon my faith so I can focus and "think cleary" on things. When I get to thinking about God or etc, it just doesn't make me feel (this has led me to getting distracted from many things such as school, hobbies, etc)

4. I don't really care if he abandoned me or not if that makes sense?

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Number 2 also resonates

I don't think any to be a Satan worshipper the occult and Satanism didn't interest me much but I get so frustrated I find myself saying "hail satan!"

I hate myself for it

But I just feel so frustrated

I feel like thoughts are being inserted into !y mind telling me to praise Satan. Like an unwanted compulsion I try resist

I was doing well as a Christian in terms of wanting to stay saved and love Jesus but no Then am told am not doing enough and I feel I can never be good enough

Often the voices tell me that am not saved because I haven't kept the commandments of God like the sabbath.etc

Other times other people tell me

Or I just read bible and realise am not as good a Christian as I thought

The Bible says

You have to give all your money to the poor. all. I don't have the faith yet but I have prayed for him to give it me

You have to submit all your needs desires wants to God and do what he says. I try. But sometimes I still like to do bad things such as read a novel or paint a picture on the Sabbath

Or keep back some of my money instead of giving my whole welfare cheque away to the poor

I left my budding faith and went back to seeking enlightenment inside myself. It was a great relief to use my moral compass as a sin guide. It took a decade to dig my self a larger hole in the pit of depravity. Praise God that I listened to the call to come back and now know who my redeemer is. As I look back on all those wasted years I feel sad, but count my self blessed in where I am now.

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

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Sounds like you have confused your faith with other peoples expectations of you.
My daughter has abandoned her faith because she tried very hard to be moral, and it has just not worked out for her.

I find this quite a common growing up experience as people start to identify with who they are and not their obligations they hold from others, ie parents, church friends etc.

Jesus works with those who see Him for who He is. If one is looking for a way of living that fits, Jesus is not the goal, just a compromise and being happy. When you realise all happiness is like blowing in the wind, only in the eternal and the real does value really reside. And the first step is discovering oneself and how you work, not how you would like to appear. These two are very different.

A counsellor friend of mine had a client who literally lived her life by giving what she thought others wanted not what she desired to give them. The real difference is quite profound. The more she ignored herself and was just a mirror, the more lost she became and totally incapable of having proper relationships with anyone, because in truth, she did not even have a relationship with herself.

Some never meet themselves, while others meet themselves and end up bowing before the King of Kings and realising in Him we have our everything.

God bless you

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

Click to expand...

Can't say I abandoned the faith same as you, but there was much stumbling and still will be as I and all mankind have a sinful nature...hopefully, and I do think it is so, I stumble less because I now rely more on Scripture and the teaching of it given by the Holy Spirit...it is a deeper study and a more contemplative search for Truth. This brings peace beyond measure and it is there for you as well...Jesus will bear your burdens if you take His yoke upon you and really learn from Him.
Please reconsider!

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

Click to expand...

Only you can determine how such an experience will be for you. God is always there. He'll welcome you back should you wish to return. He welcomed me back many times. I'm fairly stubborn and ignored his love only multiple occasions.

Jaedan said:

Besides the deeply personal, intermingled things, I would say everything. The mere thought of God at the moment. And it's keeping me away from thinking and worrying about the really important things in my life right now, like school. God doesn't give you good grades. Neither does he get you into medical school...

Additionally, it doesn't help when I do have honest questions about God, and then (hypothetically speaking), the only thing I hear from people is to "be quiet," or "repent." I just do not care to question anymore. And I don't think I should be thinking about these questions anymore.

(Moreover, I especially do not need to deal with the painful self-harm and suicidal thoughts that sometimes arise when I'm really frustrated with those thoughts.)

I'm sorry but, I just do not need to be juggling my academics (or anything important in my life for that matter) with trying to maintain what you guys call a "godly" life. I have tried, but living an agnostic life right now seems like the best option

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Many people overcomplicate what it means to live your life as Christ commands it. Love God and trust in Him. Love your neighbor. That's it. The rest comes naturally. You don't have to do all the extra that churches will try to put on you. Just be true to yourself.

Jaedan said:

Hi,

I'm currently abandoning my faith. and honestly, it has felt like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm just curious to hear from Christians who have once abandoned their faith in the past. What was your experience like?

Click to expand...

The most sincere prayer that I have ever said was uttered as a teenager. I was raised as a Catholic. I was baptized about two weeks after I was born. I went through confirmation and so on. Yet, as a teenager, I said, "God, if this is getting to know you, I will never know you." About ten years later at the age of 25, I was born again. Now, I look back and realized, I had never heard the Gospel. Yes, I knew the story, but I never heard what it meant. It was just dead religion. While I didn't know how to articulate it as a teen, God knew what I meant. My point is that it may be a good thing to "abandon your faith" because your faith may not be real and based on truth. Mine was not. Faith has an object. That object is Jesus Christ. Faith is best defined as our response to the truth that God has revealed to us. God has given us Himself through faith in Jesus Christ. My experience was trying to find God through the practice of religion. That will lead to one of two things; abandoning your faith or living life in a hamster wheel. As author Major Ian Thomas wrote, "There are those who have a life they never live. They have come to Christ and thanked Him only for what He did, but do not live in the power of who He is. Between the Jesus who 'was' and the Jesus who 'will be' they live in a spiritual vacuum, trying with no little zeal to live for Christ a life that only He can live in and through them, perpetually begging for what in Him they already have!" Grace and Peace.