I don't want to be a Christian anymore

[episkopos]

Fact of the matter is I am tired of being angry at people who share my faith...so I want to ditch my faith and focus on taking care of other people...I'm frustrated, jaded, cynical and hurt by the direction Christianity has taken, and I don't want anything to do with it as a religion.............. It hurts to write the post because I have been a Christian since the age of 3. I was raised in a Christian household with loving, Christian parents. I just feel like being a Christian didn't do anything for me but turn me into a self righteous little punk, and now that I'm stepping back I feel like I can do good things from a desire to do them for their own sake...not from a desire to look good, or get a thumbs up from God.

Hello friend it is unfortunate that you've considered leaving the faith. However what is good news is the fact that you have not fooled yourself into thinking you believe in God. Remember salvation is for those who believe. John 3:16.. "..that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish .." and if you said you believe I'd question why God has become dispensable because of your observation of human nature, especially when he has forewarned about it in his word.
Acts 20:29-30
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Sad truth is your history as growing up in Christian family and even living up to what was expected of you,though a factor never was any insurance of your salvation or the fact that you were a benefactor or partaker of the fellowship we have in Jesus Christ. In order word how religious you were never made your born again let alone saved.

John 3:1-3
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

"

Now, the questions we have to ask ourselves are these: Why did Jesus tell Nicodemus that he had to be born again? Why did He launch out into this sermon?
The word "born" means "to be produced or created". Therefore, to be "born again" means "to be produced or created again".
There are lots of people doing all sorts of religious things. These things look "Christian", but they are not. Such people are not born again. There is no religion that requires a person to be born again. All the major religions of this world give instructions for following certain rules of conduct. There is, however, no religion that claims an inner new birth. Christianity stands alone in this claim!
To understand what it means to be born again, we can look at what being born again is not!...

" - Born Again. The Book goes on to talk about the many people things people do which the assume makes them saved. They many be necessary but do not give you the salvation. The subject of being born again is one often misunderstood and i'd recommend this book both to new believers and Christians who been in the faith for a while as being born again is life term status and does not end after the alter call

And Oh if you believe Jesus is the messiah, believe His words in John 3:3-5...very specific requirements were made for people who are going to make to the Kingdom of God.

Your observation may be partly true yet highly inaccurate. There are multitudes of true worshippers of God who will make it to Heaven. There is so much scriptural evidence to that, one being.
Revelation 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
So don't make the mistake and act on your thinking that there is the extinction of genuine Christians , who by the way have their own flaws and weaknesses but do not emphasize on their human nature but rather acknowledge the victory they have in Jesus Christ which helps them pull through any circumstance. And by the grace of God this isn't far fetched at all.
So please don't leave. God doesn't want you to. Pray for conviction and truth and don't make "blind" conclusions and decisions.

 

[TRUEPeace]

God is a just God and sends people to hell because they have broken his laws, wouldn't you be disgusted if a judge let a serial killer rapist walk free? I know I would be.
When I first became a Christian I did not like how Christianity was portrayed a "white only" racist religion...none of that matters to me now it's ALL between me and God, sure I trip and fall...quite often but do not let the works of others ruin your relationship with Christ.

 

[Shulamite7]

Don't look at other christians to judge christianity. Don't even judge christianity by the way pastors and teachers of the Bible live. They are nothing but counterfeit christians. Wolves in sheep's clothing. The Bible says that in the last days many christians will fall away from their faith. You wouldn't want to be one of them. It is a good thing that you want to do good deeds for others without expecting a reward. It is also good that you are grieved by seeing all the unrighteous and evil unchristian life of so called christians. They give a bad name to christianity and bring our God to disrepute. Even Lot was grieved by the wicked sinful living of the people around him. How did God reward him? He brought him out of there while Sodom and Gomorrah burned. All you need to worry about is your personal walk with the Lord. Thats all that should matter to you.

 

[wtrailer]

We used to attend a church where each Sunday the pastor would literally yell at the congregation during the entire sermon. During Bible studies he would pick on certain members without them being there to defend themselves and share intimate details about their lives. He also, although a married man, would flirt with the teachers who worked in the school attached to the church giving them candy and flowers. Why I was even there is a mystery. I should have known better but there were some practical connections we did not want to break like the free tuition our children received because my wife was employed there. Thankfully we did finally leave after uncovering some sexually immoral relationships involving a deacon. The place actually had a long history of sexually deviant behavior. As you can see, there are some bad places out there, even those professing Christ but that has nothing to do with Christ himself and the personal relationship we have with him. We are now in a very healthy, Bible-believing church.

 

[Publius]

There has been alot of flak in the news lately about pastors advocating death camps for people living alternative lifestyles, there's been alot in the news about parents following the Mike and Debbie Pearl method of child discipline beating their children to death, a pastor of a church was recently arrested for losing his cool with his kid.
I'm also looking at the behavior of Christian right political leaders who're caught in affairs, they're divorcing their wives, they're voting down laws that would help disadvantaged individuals live better lives. I see alot of very un Christian behavior from Christians in the country, on the forums.

And then I look at the 7 billion+ people in the world and I think about the billions that came before, and the billions that will come after and so many of them are by our beliefs going to hell for the simple crime of never hearing the name Jesus.


In all honesty I don't think I've adhered to strict Christian teaching for awhile now. I don't believe in hell as an eternal destination for lost souls, I don't believe the Bible in the inerrant perfect word of God, I believe the grace of God saves you even if you've never heard the name Jesus...

What I do believe, for clarification is this:

Jesus is our messiah, and if you get the opportunity to hear about him great. However, I don't believe God is going to deny you eternity with him because you didn't hear about Jesus. Rather I believe God, being merciful, looks at your belief in his grace for salvation and then judges your from that point.
I am an annihilationist which means I believe souls are dead at their inception and are brought to life by Christ, and I believe they cease to exist after death in individuals who do not rely on Gods grace for salvation.
The Bible has alot of really good ideas that are found in other holy writ, but because it was written by man it contains mistakes. It was inspired by God, but I cannot in good conscience say that other religious books weren't, especially when they have the same themes of loving God and loving others.
I think I believe the gods of other religions are interpretations of the truth God gave to the first humans, but because of Satans interference they have become gods in place of the true God.
I believe in a God who loves us, who is involved in our daily lives, but who is too great to be fit into a religious box.
I believe Jesus is God, was born of a virgin, that he died, rose again, and is in heaven. Other prophets of other religions are archtypes who point to Christ, but again because of Satanic and humanistic interference have become greater than they really are.

Finally I believe it is my responsibility to do good deeds on this earth because other people are made in Gods image, and the rest of the creation is beloved by God...not because I want kudos in heaven or am afraid of burning in hell.



Fact of the matter is I am tired of being angry at people who share my faith...so I want to ditch my faith and focus on taking care of other people...I'm frustrated, jaded, cynical and hurt by the direction Christianity has taken, and I don't want anything to do with it as a religion.


Sorry the post is so long: It hurts to write the post because I have been a Christian since the age of 3. I was raised in a Christian household with loving, Christian parents. I just feel like being a Christian didn't do anything for me but turn me into a self righteous little punk, and now that I'm stepping back I feel like I can do good things from a desire to do them for their own sake...not from a desire to look good, or get a thumbs up from God.


Like I said I'm confused, jaded, and cynical, and I just want a break from the faith label so I can focus on doing good for it's own sake, so I can help other people because they happen to be people.

Does this mean you'll be changing your icon?