Christian Raised Skeptic here - Hi

[dysert]

However, there is existential dread.

Welcome to CF, Blue. (That's my favorite color, btw ) If you don't believe in an afterlife (I may be putting words in your mouth, and I apologize if I am), what are you dreading?

 

[Radagast]

So you can call me Blue.

Welcome to CF, Blue.

I don’t believe Christianity and science have to be mutually inclusive

Mutually exclusive I guess you mean, and you're right, they don't. I myself am a scientist, and like many scientists, I'm a Christian.

 

[gym_class_hero]

Hi Blue. There are many things I do not understand. And I approached my faith from a logical standpoint. If we keep an open mind and seek God, he will reveal himself. Democracy is a great concept, because some people abuse or misrepresent it, does that change it's value? Of course not. The same thing is true about Christianity-because some don't practice it correctly, does that change it's truth? Of course not. I appreciate the freedom that Christianity allows me..I am free from worry about what happens when I die, I am free from fear what man can do to me, I am free from other peoples judgement. I have chased other things in life, trust me on that, but theres nothing like the peace and joy that only a relationship with God provides. God bless you and my prayer is you discover the perfect plan God has for you.

 

[TerraY]

Hi BlueEdgar,

I am new here too. Nice to meet you.

 

[sunshine100]

hello and welcome

 

[dogs4thewin]

Welcome blue

 

[zippy2006]

I admit I may sound dumb, so forgive me! So I have come to feel (not believe, persay) that life has no true meaning. There is no greater purpose. There is no reason.

Many of my roots are in Calvinism which digs a deep rabbit hole into Predestination and young me could not, in the days of her most empathetic existence, perceive how a God who supposedly loved his creation could follow such devastating doctrine. Honestly, how he could create us to begin with knowing our fate.

I say devastating, because it shattered me. It still does. Christianity, as well as other religions and faiths continued to make me ache with sadness until I got drunk one night and realized... wait. What is the point! What is the purpose? If God designed us to glorify him (as I was taught)...rabbit hole. I could go all night on freewill and satan.

So, as I grew older and saw the hypocrisy in my church and in those I thought knew so much about my ‘faith,’ as well as finally being introduced to the world outside of my own little cubby hole in the world... instead of believing there is no God necessarily, I took on incredibly cynical views and a pessimism often unmatched.

Eventually I realized that maybe, just maybe. We are just here. I can’t explain how and so I often claim some agnosticism (I can’t explain the Big Bang- I think it’s preposterous. Everything has to have a start somewhere), but I feel, in my heart, the uselessness of my existence.

No matter the deeds I do or the people I touch, there is always something far worse and someone suffering in a way I cannot aid. There is no point in my existence if you consider this. I am here, as are 6 billion others. If the point is to glorify God, that takes me down another rabbit hole of feeling the pain of serving a God who would allow this world in the first place. If he loved us, and if he knew this was our fate, why would he bother?

After years of wondering and questioning and growing up in a very religious home and community and seeing no real evidence, it led me to this thought process. I’m not mad about it.

However, there is existential dread. I want to know and understand why others can be so happy and so fulfilled. I’m not saying I’m not in areas, but when it comes to life in general, I see no point.

Welcome!

(I'll take atheism over Calvinism 8 days a week. )

 

[lsume]

I can’t disagree. I rather like being selfish. However, at 6 I was “saved” and again, at 11, I reaffirmed my faith. I “felt” a call in my little Baptist church school and went before them and rededicated myself to God.

At the time, I felt it was right. I was excited, I felt happiness and a great hunger for all things God and then, just as quickly as I felt it, it was gone. It makes me wonder if I was predestined not to be saved?

That’s where I hit a serious snag quite often. I was sincere. As sincere as any 6 year old or 11 year old could be. I refused to kiss a boy until I was 19 for fear of hell, yet I never felt God. It was fear I felt- more than anything else.

The Fear of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge. If you were to login to The University of Michigan KJV, it should guide you to their search engine. Perhaps you have your own search engine to find Words and/or phrases. If you do a phrase search with “The Fear of The Lord”, their search engine includes the apocrypha and you should count 51 times that the phrase appears. Fear is a great motivator. Aside from boot camp and man made fears, The Fear of The Lord is a tremendous Blessing.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

 

[“Paisios”]

So you can call me Blue. I’m in Grad school and my diversity course got me thinking about my roots and life in the Christian church. It’s been a long struggle for me because at about 12, I always wondered why I never understood what everyone else was talking about in my private Christian school or at 18 in my Christian college.

Everyone seemed so sure of God and Jesus and I never felt it. And if I did “feel” something, I assumed there was a scientific explanation for it (which usually, looking back, there was). I grew up in the church and in a very typical Christian atmosphere, but it never stuck. I have often been referred to as a ‘doubting Thomas’ by friends. I like science. I don’t believe Christianity and science have to be mutually inclusive, but many do and this has caused issues for me growing up.

I left and went to a secular university because we moved out of state, but my parents continue to be very conservative Christians (whom I love- we disagree on things for sure) and I have instead studied and deviated from the path in which I was raised. Many reasons are involved here, but I’m interested to get a different perspective from different people.

My perspectives for the last ten years have been mostly secular, agnostic, or atheistic except for my family. I’m not asking to be convinced, but it’s important to me to understand why people feel the way they do about God.

I have been in conflict since I was a young girl and frankly I’m just tired of it.

I claim existential nihilism often.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome to CF. I hope you will find a greater understanding here of why we believe what we do. I think there are many reasons, and each person’s experiences will be different, so I hope you will find interesting takes on the issue.