What made you finally settle on a religion?

[Discordian 6,013]

I don't follow any particular religion so much as I believe in the possibilities the universe, known or otherwise, lays before us. I believe it entirely possibly that any religion is true, or even more than one. Things like contradiction hold no meaning in the overall scope of existence.

 

Why have I settled on this? It could be a mix of indecision and a feeling. I couldn't honestly follow any one religion because like many others I find no proof that any one god exists, yet there is nothing disproving their existence either. (Note: I'm not even talking about religion and man-made texts that support the idea)

 

I feel it's far more likely that mankind as a whole understands nothing of the universe beyond what we already know. We constantly learn new things, we constantly change our views, but that's only what we see or can potentially see. What about the things we can't? The concepts we have no way of understanding? The parts of the universe we know to exist but cannot experience first-hand? What about the things our imaginations can conceive but we write off as unrealistic because it doesn't follow established scientific theory and leaps of logic?

 

There are too many unanswered questions. In the end it comes down to: What path can I believe in that doesn't cut me off from all possibilities?

 

The answer: All of them. I choose to live my life considering the possibilities but pursuing none of them. We can believe in something all we want, whether because we feel it's truth or just don't want to be left in the dust should that particular belief turn out to be true. But belief and truth are two different things and there is nothing that can convince me that everything we know now can define everything there is to know.

 

Some would say I'm wussing out by not picking a side but am I really? I'd say it's wussing out to pick any particular belief system without solid reasons to do so. There are many who have their beliefs and understand why they believe it but I've seen just as many people follow a belief system because they were brought up that way but don't have much more than "just because" to explain why. While I am a firm believer in "just because" being a legit reason to like or believe something as some things can't be put into words properly I also understand that it is a pretty flimsy reason and easily torn down so it's important to seek the words to explain your conviction, even if that reason makes sense to no one but yourself. It's not about whether you can prove your reasons to other people, it's about whether you can prove your reasons to yourself. If you don't fully believe in your choice it's very easy to tear it down given the opportunity.

 

But now I'm getting off topic and rambling. I leave you with one final thought:

 

Have you settled on your religion by choice or because you were told you should? It's an important distinction, though in some cases it's too subtle for people to notice. Sometimes there isn't a difference. Think on it and now your reasons with all your heart. No one can take honest conviction from you.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Discordian

[Cassafrass 249]

Well, because my parents raised me to be a Christian... and I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior because of what the Bible says and all that stuff.  (plus, see the new movie out called God's Not Dead... saw it the other weekend, and it's amazing. I recommend it to anyone! :3)

Edited April 23, 2014 by Cassadragon

[Celestial Wish 349]

Settling? Isn't that an incorrect term for how you would describe yourself committing to a belief that makes you feel at peace?

[Discordian 6,013]

Settling? Isn't that an incorrect term for how you would describe yourself committing to a belief that makes you feel at peace?

Remember people: Never settle. It leads to shaky foundations. Know thyself and what's best for you.

[undead nightmare 7]

I am a Christian I was rasied it and I guess I have just keep it as my religion

[Celestial Wish 349]

I am a Christian I was rasied it and I guess I have just keep it as my religion

 

 

You never have to "keep" a religion. You need to find something that fits you and makes you happy. Something that is attuned with who you are. Having a belief is something you shouldn't keep or settle for, it's something you should desire and treasure. Those beliefs will define who you are and how you impact the world... it's important. So it is YOUR life and soul that you have to consider.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Celestial Wish

[MarcelineA 126]

I settled in Christianity because that's where I was born into BUT as I kept growing up and talking to friends there's stuff in there that doesn't click and I end up getting into controversial arguments because some religious people think I'm not a true believer and "send me to hell" wth and people that don't believe anything call me gullible and it's hard being in between when barely no one even considers it like yeah it's awesome to respect other people's beliefs BUT um it sucks being the ONLY person that believes a concept :C you just feel lonely that's all I mean I can definitely believe in the Christian God and still not believe everything said by humans I just have a different perspective of Him and the fact you can't either prove NOR disprove a deity makes sense to me it's a mystery and we will only know when we die and also once someone tells me they have invented a spirit catcher please show me because as far as I know if spirits can't communicate with an actual body to project their voices and such then it's impossible to ask them to show themselves up ALTHOUGH I do get when people say that if He can do anything he would do that but if He meant it that way maybe it's because he simply wanted to and that's another thing religious people say this I just stated and then accuse people of sinning because they still didn't believe etc etc hey hey that's not the case if He is a God of love then He would understand it's common sense (philosophically speaking of course since there's no proof here and also speaking of it as an opinion) I personally think if He's there which I do so believe He wouldn't be evil but it seems like I'm alone in this but I'll deal with it it's not a big deal I just wish I could find someone to talk to about this that shares a similar view to see what they have to say of this it would be interesting to see it from different people's views 

Edited April 23, 2014 by MarcelineA

[Discordian 6,013]

I settled in Christianity because that's where I was born into BUT as I kept growing up and talking to friends there's stuff in there that doesn't click and I end up getting into controversial arguments because some religious people think I'm not a true believer and "send me to hell" wth and people that don't believe anything call me gullible and it's hard being in between when barely no one even considers it like yeah it's awesome to respect other people's beliefs BUT um it sucks being the ONLY person that believes a concept :C you just feel lonely that's all I mean I can definitely believe in the Christian God and still not believe everything said by humans I just have a different perspective of Him and the fact you can't either prove NOR disprove a deity makes sense to me it's a mystery and we will only know when we die and also once someone tells me they have invented a spirit catcher please show me because as far as I know if spirits can't communicate with an actual body to project their voices and such then it's impossible to ask them to show themselves up ALTHOUGH I do get when people say that if He can do anything he would do that but if He meant it that way maybe it's because he simply wanted to and that's another thing religious people say this I just stated and then accuse people of sinning because they still didn't believe etc etc hey hey that's not the case if He is a God of love then He would understand it's common sense (philosophically speaking of course since there's no proof here and also speaking of it as an opinion) I personally think if He's there which I do so believe He wouldn't be evil but it seems like I'm alone in this but I'll deal with it it's not a big deal I just wish I could find someone to talk to about this that shares a similar view to see what they have to say of this it would be interesting to see it from different people's views

From the sounds of it you are Christian spiritually but not religiously.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call a god that has rules evil. They are simply rules that he set. I don't know if this god does this because they themselves believe in the morality system that creates the difference between sinning and not sinning but he made the rules. As a guideline for humans? As an experiment to see how humans will react to it? It could be so many things.

 

I could be misinterpreting but it seems to me that you don't believe God is evil just because he has rules set by that can cause someone to be condemned. Most certainly not. There's a different between evil from a human perspective to deny their fate and evil on a god's level (which are predefined)

 

If that's not what you mean than do clarify. I'm always up for philosophical discussion and I prefer to understand.

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

Is there ever such a thing as being a Christian "spiritually" but not "religiously"? For an inherently communal belief system, that strikes me as contradictory.

[Discordian 6,013]

Is there ever such a thing as being a Christian "spiritually" but not "religiously"? For an inherently communal belief system, that strikes me as contradictory.

It's been known to happen. Even if someone started out religiously they could find they don't agree with the teachings of established religion but still believe in the deity as for many the connection and relationship with the deity itself is the important part. Religion is largely the collection of people to worship a god and/or teach how to worship "properly". Some people defy these teachings and believe they aren't accurate or representative of the god they are worshiping.

 

Thus, spiritual in believe but no interest in religion.

[MarcelineA 126]

From the sounds of it you are Christian spiritually but not religiously.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call a god that has rules evil. They are simply rules that he set. I don't know if this god does this because they themselves believe in the morality system that creates the difference between sinning and not sinning but he made the rules. As a guideline for humans? As an experiment to see how humans will react to it? It could be so many things.

 

I could be misinterpreting but it seems to me that you don't believe God is evil just because he has rules set by that can cause someone to be condemned. Most certainly not. There's a different between evil from a human perspective to deny their fate and evil on a god's level (which are predefined)

 

If that's not what you mean than do clarify. I'm always up for philosophical discussion and I prefer to understand.

Oh I'm sorry well yes I do believe in him spiritually talking and what I meant was for example "sex before marriage" or "sexual orientation" religious people consider that a sin because the "Bible says it" (actually in fact the Bible mentions nothing about sexual orientation but I'm not going to talk more I'm just saying to me it is open to interpretation I mean it does say it in the Old Testament but not in the New and a lot of things changed in the New... LOTS of things... I still find it skeptical though) but see I've noticed things have changed SO much around the years and there are some proofs of different sexual orientations (SO many in fact because there's actually a scale which I didn't know before I'm leaning more to straight but I am bi curious and I can place you where I fall into if I had a pic of the scale) and they also argue about what's "natural" but that's the thing we also have evolved so who knows? and also about the sex before marriage well um lets put it this way, ..... you marry a person a virgin because of religion, then this person you married turns out to be abusive and you get divorced, and the reason they say virginity is important in their religious view is because a couple should become "one" ok I can't argue with that but why should a paper determine that? yes I agree with marriage in general because of LEGAL benefits hehehe >:DD (just in case he's a jerk I still get my part) but I mean if the couple is trully in love why should it matter? and also when you loose it to someone abusive then what was the point of waiting? when they didn't even value you! and sometimes people have to take YEARS to get to know someone I hope I got my point across though I don't even know if I'm being clear or not I'm trying.... but yes going back well they consider this things "sins" and when someone "sins" and doesn't repent suddenly they're condemned no matter if there were circumstances and the fact that there ARE circumstances is what gets to me and also if it's sooo bad then why did He let it happen yes life is not perfect if life was perfect there wouldn't be a point on living we wouldn't learn and still have the intelligence of a new born BUT why condemn genuinely nice people that have great hearts? see what I mean? when in reality things might not even BE like this they say He's merciful well if He is He would TOTALLY understand also another topic is suicide they kept saying my friend was in hell for it and that hurt I won't lie but who are THEY to say that he didn't even know about religion and he was going through the WORSE stuff I mean come on if people put themselves in HIS place I know I might of done the same thing! and if God is a God of love He would understand this! idk another thing this is a quote I found on YouTube: "if God created the laws of the universe why can't he bend them"

Edited April 23, 2014 by MarcelineA

[Henny Penny Benny 936]

Eh, it was never a matter of "settling". I was born and raised Christian, and I'm quite happy about that. I've long dealt with depression, but as long as I remember, my depression has been inversely proportional to my faith in God; when I stop trusting Him, my life seems to fall apart into hopelessness, but the moment I put Him first, I regain the will to fight on.

 

It's never even been a question to me. I can't imagine living any other way, personally.

[Discordian 6,013]

Oh I'm sorry well yes I do believe in him spiritually talking and what I meant was for example "sex before marriage" or "sexual orientation" religious people consider that a sin because the "Bible says it" (actually in fact the Bible mentions nothing about sexual orientation but I'm not going to talk more I'm just saying to me it is open to interpretation I mean it does say it in the Old Testament but not in the New and a lot of things changed in the New... LOTS of things... I still find it skeptical though) but see I've noticed things have changed SO much around the years and there are some proofs of different sexual orientations (SO many in fact because there's actually a scale which I didn't know before I'm leaning more to straight but I am bi curious and I can place you where I fall into if I had a pic of the scale) and they also argue about what's "natural" but that's the thing we also have evolved so who knows? and also about the sex before marriage well um lets put it this way, ..... you marry a person a virgin because of religion, then this person you married turns out to be abusive and you get divorced, and the reason they say virginity is important in their religious view is because a couple should become "one" ok I can't argue with that but why should a paper determine that? yes I agree with marriage in general because of LEGAL benefits hehehe >:DD (just in case he's a jerk I still get my part) but I mean if the couple is trully in love why should it matter? and also when you loose it to someone abusive then what was the point of waiting? when they didn't even value you! and sometimes people have to take YEARS to get to know someone I hope I got my point across though I don't even know if I'm being clear or not I'm trying.... but yes going back well they consider this things "sins" and when someone "sins" and doesn't repent suddenly they're condemned no matter if there were circumstances and the fact that there ARE circumstances is what gets to me and also if it's sooo bad then why did He let it happen yes life is not perfect if life was perfect there wouldn't be a point on living we wouldn't learn and still have the intelligence of a new born BUT why condemn genuinely nice people that have great hearts? see what I mean? when in reality things might not even BE like this they say he's merciful well if he is he would TOTALLY understand also another topic is suicide they kept saying my friend was in hell for it and that hurt I won't lie but who are THEY to say that he didn't even know about religion and he was going through the WORSE stuff I mean come on if people put themselves in HIS place I know I might of done the same thing! and if God is a God of love he would understand this! idk another thing this is a quote I found on YouTube: "if God created the laws of the universe why can't he bend them"

OhohoHO I'm gonna have some fun with this one......

 

All of this goes heavily into my whole thing about people not understand as much of the universe as we believe we do. The argument that the bible is the one truth every Christian should follow is often followed by "it just is" and denying all possibility that it was tampered with from the start by humans, the one who ultimately wrote it. It's claimed that the bible is written through divine providence as the direct teachings of god...but that's not necessarily the case. It's very possible it was written by people just think they were contacted by their God and interpreting however they wish.

 

I think it's far more likely that we, as humans, do not understand the form of God and the bible itself is a potential example of this misunderstanding. True enough people have "felt" this god's existence but that doesn't mean they understood the intent as well as they believe they did.

 

Now, going into "if God created the rules, why doesn't he bend them"...that comes from the HORRID misconception that God is supernatural as opposed to just...natural. It is assumed that God can change the rules as he wishes but it's far more likely that everything you see in nature is God "doing his work". Not in a way that implied he can change it but more in the sense that all of the changes you see around you, no matter how minute or insignificant, are him making changes...naturally. He's not bending the rules to change things, he's doing it in a way that doesn't look like anything more than nature doing it's thing.

 

That was horribly convoluted. I hope you got what I was trying to say.

 

A lot of that comes from people making an outcry about their own injustices and those around the world though. Another assumption that people make is that God is "just" and "the ultimate good" but don't consider that God made things a certain way and simply allows things to play out without interference. Apathy? Maybe. Perhaps we're just an experiment to him.

 

All of that falls into conjecture territory. In the end I believe it's mankind's fault for assuming that because he is a deity that he has any obligation to save us and damn the bad ones instead of leaving it up to us to do it for ourselves.

 

In the past mankind's understanding of the universe as it is was turned into deities. It was how societies like the Greeks and Nords understood the universe. The Christian god potentially works the same way. This doesn't disprove or prove the existence of either but rather explains that they are all one in the same: Our universe, how it works and how we, as humans, understand and worship it.

 

Horribly off-topic, am I. And far too long-winded. And now I await clarification.

[MarcelineA 126]

OhohoHO I'm gonna have some fun with this one......

 

All of this goes heavily into my whole thing about people not understand as much of the universe as we believe we do. The argument that the bible is the one truth every Christian should follow is often followed by "it just is" and denying all possibility that it was tampered with from the start by humans, the one who ultimately wrote it. It's claimed that the bible is written through divine providence as the direct teachings of god...but that's not necessarily the case. It's very possible it was written by people just think they were contacted by their God and interpreting however they wish.

 

I think it's far more likely that we, as humans, do not understand the form of God and the bible itself is a potential example of this misunderstanding. True enough people have "felt" this god's existence but that doesn't mean they understood the intent as well as they believe they did.

 

Now, going into "if God created the rules, why doesn't he bend them"...that comes from the HORRID misconception that God is supernatural as opposed to just...natural. It is assumed that God can change the rules as he wishes but it's far more likely that everything you see in nature is God "doing his work". Not in a way that implied he can change it but more in the sense that all of the changes you see around you, no matter how minute or insignificant, are him making changes...naturally. He's not bending the rules to change things, he's doing it in a way that doesn't look like anything more than nature doing it's thing.

 

That was horribly convoluted. I hope you got what I was trying to say.

 

A lot of that comes from people making an outcry about their own injustices and those around the world though. Another assumption that people make is that God is "just" and "the ultimate good" but don't consider that God made things a certain way and simply allows things to play out without interference. Apathy? Maybe. Perhaps we're just an experiment to him.

 

All of that falls into conjecture territory. In the end I believe it's mankind's fault for assuming that because he is a deity that he has any obligation to save us and damn the bad ones instead of leaving it up to us to do it for ourselves.

 

In the past mankind's understanding of the universe as it is was turned into deities. It was how societies like the Greeks and Nords understood the universe. The Christian god potentially works the same way. This doesn't disprove or prove the existence of either but rather explains that they are all one in the same: Our universe, how it works and how we, as humans, understand and worship it.

 

Horribly off-topic, am I. And far too long-winded. And now I await clarification.

oooh yes I do get what you mean that does make sense basically He goes with the flow and people have a misconception of Him which means He might be technically not even bending the rules in the first place since he created everything as they say I see what you mean but also I forgot to point out that even if it was spiritually inspired to write the Bible they still don't realize that it has also been translated in MANY different languages which causes all this different beliefs plus how people interpret things which may not even be what He meant in the first place yes and also I do have to admit though I believe SOME of the stuff because it's common sense as in don't kill someone just because (like hey if it's self defense or defending someone you kind of have to lol) or don't steal something from someone that cause them hard work that's very selfish and also not cheating on someone (obviously if it's an open relationship where there's honesty is technically not cheating. Cheating involves lying which it's another one I agree on BUT to some extent because sometimes to save someone's life or something to that extent you have to lie and this things have been actually said by my Pastor himself which it's why I love my church so much he's one of the very few religious people that I can click with as a Pastor and the reason I go to church is because since I believe in God I want to find a connection to him and it feels good I feel at peace and I don't have to agree with everything to go to a place where I'm supposed to find peace I can take all the wonderful things and teachings from it and just ignore what I find skeptical and in fact the church I go to have has so many messages where they even give you techniques that therapists give you and I used to go to therapy before so I know what I mean and that's actually really good they give you techniques that help you on different situations which I find amazing not every church does that lots of churches love to judge people with no reasoning and in fact I believe God would be disappointed of seeing all this)

Edited April 23, 2014 by MarcelineA

[RNgineer 161]

I was born Catholic, then ventured off into other religions even tried mormon cuz i had a mormon gf....I got into college became athiest, then stated looking into religions again....found spirituality again in the catholic church and became confirmed into the religion at 22, been happy since...

 

all in short

Edited April 23, 2014 by RNgineer

[Discordian 6,013]

@@MarcelineA

 

God as a natural force as opposed a supernatural one. Seems we're on the same wavelength there.

 

It's actually very unique to find a church that uses psychiatric therapy techniques to help understand the bible and teachings. If it works, it works.

[RNgineer 161]

oooh yes I do get what you mean that does make sense basically He goes with the flow and people have a misconception of Him which means He might be technically not even bending the rules in the first place since he created everything as they say I see what you mean but also I forgot to point out that even if it was spiritually inspired to write the Bible they still don't realize that it has also been translated in MANY different languages which causes all this different beliefs plus how people interpret things which may not even be what He meant in the first place yes and also I do have to admit though I believe SOME of the stuff because it's common sense as in don't kill someone just because (like hey if it's self defense or defending someone you kind of have to lol) or don't steal something from someone that cause them hard work that's very selfish and also not cheating on someone (obviously if it's an open relationship where there's honesty is technically not cheating. Cheating involves lying which it's another one I agree on BUT to some extent because sometimes to save someone's life or something to that extent you have to lie and this things have been actually said by my Pastor himself which it's why I love my church so much he's one of the very few religious people that I can click with as a Pastor and the reason I go to church is because since I believe in God I want to find a connection to him and it feels good I feel at peace and I don't have to agree with everything to go to a place where I'm supposed to find peace I can take all the wonderful things and teachings from it and just ignore what I find skeptical and in fact the church I go to have has so many messages where they even give you techniques that therapists give you and I used to go to therapy before so I know what I mean and that's actually really good they give you techniques that help you on different situations which I find amazing not every church does that lots of churches love to judge people with no reasoning and in fact I believe God would be disappointed of seeing all this)

I think were doing nothing new here and I believe God still loves us all the same, so i think personally we are doing better as his children

[MarcelineA 126]

I think were doing nothing new here and I believe God still loves us all the same, so i think personally we are doing better as his children

There is no doubt He loves us and I do believe we're better off as His children I never said we weren't it's just that in MY belief people have a very horrible misconception of what God is supposed to be like and taking into account the Bible has been translated SO many times in different YEARS and different decades centuries and so forth and also in DIFFERENT languages and the fact EVERYONE is different and have different interpretations simple things that are debatable like suicide for example (well not that is simple but I meant it in the way of common sense since killing just because is horrible idk but whoever would do that has no heart whatsoever) but lots of horrible circumstances could've caused that person to commit suicide and in fact that person could've been genuinely TOO nice (which can be why they did that they probably couldn't take more abuse from being so nice and getting treated like garbage) and if THEY didn't even know about religion in the first place why condemn them? see what I mean? they are GENUINELY good people their hearts are good they mean to do no harm yes humans are not perfect but if they're good people WHY DO THIS yet a religious person that killed just because before and then repented gets to go to heaven because they repented "from the heart" see what I mean? that doesn't seem fair or merciful when they KNEW the religion already EVEN if they repented from their heart still the other one who was truly nice since the beginning got sent to hell because of a horrible circumstance and besides no one knows what happens when we die it hasn't been documented yes some people say and claim they have seen heaven and hell but it's hard reading people's minds you know we CAN'T read people's minds so how would we know and if God is loving and merciful He would perfectly understand all the circumstances yes we should have faith in Him and embrace Him and ask Him for strength but if the person didn't even know about religion and wasn't even informed?! idk but it would seemed messed up in my opinion

[Discordian 6,013]

Actually, as far as the translations go I believe that the bibles we have now are still relatively accurate due to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls which have verses of the bible and more in it's pages.

 

Can't say for certain though. Hearsay and all that.

[HeroSparks 232]

I grew up Catholic and for the first year and a half that I was in college I hung on very tightly to that. However, in the past few years I've moved away from it and come into Druidry. It just felt right

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

It's been known to happen. Even if someone started out religiously they could find they don't agree with the teachings of established religion but still believe in the deity as for many the connection and relationship with the deity itself is the important part. Religion is largely the collection of people to worship a god and/or teach how to worship "properly". Some people defy these teachings and believe they aren't accurate or representative of the god they are worshiping.

 

Thus, spiritual in believe but no interest in religion.

 

I understand the general concept; what I'm saying is that Christianity is inherently communal and evangelical (that is, seeking to evangelize). The Church catholic (the universal Church, not the Roman Catholic Church specifically) ensures everyone is playing by the same set of standards; in other words, my private idea of God doesn't become a canon unto itself. Everyone -- even nonbelievers -- are made aware of that which will not lead you astray in terms of salvation. But if I claim to have a secret knowledge of God divergent from the rest of the community, I'm consequently implying their received belief is defective and that I am the epicenter of revealed truth. Harmless as it may sound to most modern hearers, that idea is as misleading as it is dangerous.

 

For me, if you make a claim to be Christian, you have to accept the community, flawed as may be. Being an "independent" Christian is like saying you're in the active armed services but are not actually enlisted.

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Blue

[MagicalStarRain 599]

I chose to be agnostic, simply because I can't know for absolute certain. There is so very little evidence to convince me that a god exists, but I won't outright deny it either. And though it holds more water than the creation theory, I hold the same view on evolution. I tolerate other religions unless someone decides to shove their's down my throat.

 

I also incorporate a bit of Buddhism, especially in regards to the middle path. As a matter of fact, I even study other religions and belief systems, simply because I'm curious.

Edited April 23, 2014 by MagicalStarRain

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

This is a fine shorthand, rather than using phrases like "true to the spirit of Christ's message and the Great Commission" vs. [the more technically accurate term] religiosity [rather than 'religious'].

 

Good points all around, Blue, but I especially like this one. "Religious" has come to mean "religiosity" in the popular mind. (Even that distinction eluded me until you highlighted it.) This is perhaps why I found it so especially puzzling when people describe themselves as "spiritual" yet instantly balk at the term "religious", as if the two existed in total isolation from one another.

[ChoroChii 284]

Protestant - Atheist - Agnostic - Free thinker - Apatheist - Atheist. 

 

Since I've changed it so much, I don't think this'll really stay. I was a Protestant up until I was 18 but that was only because my parents were Protestant - I didn't actually know much about the religion. I used to be utterly shocked when people didn't believe in God and I had told some of my friends they were going to go to hell for being Atheist but that was because I didn't understand much about religion back then. I later became close friends with this one atheist in my grade [and we later dated] and he'd often rant on about Christians and religion. I agreed with what he was saying and eventually allowed him to convert me to atheism. I was one of those assholes who went around laughing at Christians for "believing in a fairy tail" and would try to convert others. 

 

After high school, I had a lot of free time to think to myself, without any peer pressure around me. I realize both sides had there ups and downs and I decided to accept that I was pretty intolerant as both a Protestant and an Atheist. However, this didn't change my view, I was still a hardheaded Atheist and a skeptic. Until I had a supernatural experience.[[Warning: You may or may not believe me on this part but I don't care, just please respect that I know what happened.]] So, my [ex]bestfriend has these 3 ghosts in her house - everybody but me believed in them. I was in fact, a bit condescending towards the matter, to which I can't apologize more about. Anyway, I was sleeping over her house one day when one of our friends was really sick and was upstairs throwing up. I had just come back downstairs from checking if she was okay, when I hear crying coming from the furnace area. Then I see a shadow go into the room of the girl that was sick. 

 

Oddly enough, I didn't freak out but just kind of accepted that I had seen a ghost.I decided to ask my bestfriend about this in the morning, while at the same time I was a bit nervous because I pretty much knew I had to swallow my pride at that moment. Nonetheless, I still found seeing and hearing this ghost to be an interesting experience and I never once regret it. I asked her about it and she told me which ghost it was,she said she was probably concerned for our sick friend. Then we kind of had a small argument about me believing in ghosts, it went like this-

 

Her: So, do you believe in ghosts now?

Me: Uhh.. I don't know.

Her: Oh come, even after that? Now you're just being overly skeptical.

 

I decided she was right and began asking her more about the ghosts.So, she has this portal in her room - she was doing some religious ritual and accidentally opened a demon portal and that's where their current ghosts came from [[They had another one, who followed them from their old house but that one has passed on]] and she keeps it sealed with some mirrors. She can't close it because that would require lighting candles and her mom doesn't want her to light candles in her room. Anyway, I asked her since she's seen demons, does that mean angles exist? and she said probably. So I began wondering, if these things exist - could God and Satan also exist? What about Heaven or Hell? I asked her this but she didn't know the answer. She said it doesn't confirm their existence but it is evidence. So after much confusion and contemplation, I decided to become agnostic. 

 

I just stopped caring for labels after a while, I don't really remember how this happened, actually but I just began to think by myself and considered myself a free thinker for a while. Then I decided I didn't actually care about religion and discovered "Apathism" which is pretty much not caring, so I labeled myself that..

 

Until one week where a bunch of Christians decided it'd be an awesome time to show me the negatives of their religion all at once. This one person I used to be friends on Bronysquare with was voicing his concerns about sexual content to me. This is normally something I laugh at but since he was my friend, I decided to try and comfort him. As we got further into the conversation, I got to the root of the problem - being that he was insecure about having sex but felt like he had to in order to get married. He said he was Catholic and that they seal marriages with sex. I kept telling him to not let anybody tell him what he can and can't do with his body but he kept insisting doing anything else would go against his religion. I got pissed off and blew up at him. I felt bad and I'm probably a bad friend for abandoning him for this but it just really irked me. Then this one user on DA said he was having hallucinations and his mom said she'd pray for him and that God would take this all away and I got even frustrated again. Then what finally did it was.. well, there was this story about how a guy had killed his girlfriend and the parents forgave him because their religion says not to hate. Which is their decision, don't get me wrong but then Christians just go on ahead and get angry at those saying "He killed your daughter!!" I mean, I just think it's stupid really.. It's best to forgive, sure but would you really blame them for holding a grudge? 

 

See, I know these are just a few people and that they don't make up the majority but it was enough for me to just, stop and decide to revert back to Atheism. I was ashamed of this being what caused it but in all honesty, I never cared very much for religion, I'm sick of contemplating thins, I don't agree with the things the Bible has to say, and I'd just prefer to live the way I want to - without worrying about religious stuff. I was also ashamed because of the last time I was an Atheist but this time, it's different. I think religion is a beautiful thing, even though it's caused wars - It's also brought many good things to this world too and I accept others for what they believe. To the largest extent that I can, I strongly disagree with somethings in religion and I will express that if brought up but I'll also express how ignorant some Atheists can be.

 

Meh, text wall, I know I say I don't care about religion but I kind of do? If you get what I mean.