Originally posted by sonship

I gradually came to realize that the Bible did not provide me with credible evidence to support the claims that Christians make about God and about the divinity of Jesus ~ and the significance of his life ~ which were a set of notions and hopes that I had internalized and held to be true for many years.

You gradually realized that who yo ...[text shortened]... ut Jesus and decided from other's arguments that you did not want any longer to be a Christian ?

In other words, you don't want to just hear from someone who quit Christianity, you want to actively deride his decision. Very Christ like.

Myself, I only left because I was forced into it in the first place, it was a place I never wanted to be in and got out as soon as I could. I realized that at age 8 when my grandma told me I would be damned in hell if I wasn't baptized in the Pentacostal way, not that wimpy Lutheran thing I went through (because I was going to a Lutheran school from K-8)

So I did just to shut her up, she was very happy, but I was left gravely disturbed at the dichotomy of the two religions both supposedly worshipping the same god and both even protestant.

I am very comfortable with that decision made at age 8.

So go ahead and give me your derision. It won't touch me any more than grandma did almost 70 years ago. I have actually lived almost 4% of the entire 2000 years since the inception of Christianity and if anything am more against it now than ever.

Originally posted by sonhouse
In other words, you don't want to just hear from someone who quit Christianity, you want to actively deride his decision. Very Christ like.

Myself, I only left because I was forced into it in the first place, it was a place I never wanted to be in and got out as soon as I could. I realized that at age 8 when my grandma told me I would be damned in hell ...[text shortened]... 2000 years since the inception of Christianity and if anything am more against it now than ever.

In other words, you don't want to just hear from someone who quit Christianity, you want to actively deride his decision. Very Christ like.

Do you mean to be "Christ like" is desireable ?
Interesting. I thought you thought it was all a lot of bunk.

Thanks sonhouse !

Very interesting. I should want to be ... Christ like.

Myself, I only left because I was forced into it in the first place, it was a place I never wanted to be in and got out as soon as I could. I realized that at age 8 when my grandma told me I would be damned in hell if I wasn't baptized in the Pentacostal way, not that wimpy Lutheran thing I went through (because I was going to a Lutheran school from K-8)

I see. That is really too bad.

I don't know when I first learned about hell. I think it was probably looking at the pictures of Gustave Dore in my Bible story book.

I can't get over iwhat you wrote above though. The goal I should seek it ... to be Christ like .

So I did just to shut her up, she was very happy, but I was left gravely disturbed at the dichotomy of the two religions both supposedly worshipping the same god and both even protestant.

I am very comfortable with that decision made at age 8.

So go ahead and give me your derision. It won't touch me any more than grandma did almost 70 years ago. I have actually lived almost 4% of the entire 2000 years since the inception of Christianity and if anything am more against it now than ever.

No derision.

Only one question.

What bad thing did Jesus ever do to you ?

sonhouse: In other words, you don't want to just hear from someone who quit Christianity, you want to actively deride his decision. Very Christ like.

Originally posted by sonship
Do you mean to be "Christ like" is desireable ?
Interesting. I thought you thought it was all a lot of bunk.

Thanks sonhouse !

Very interesting. I should want to be ... Christ like

sonhouse is pointing out what he sees as your hypocrisy. You are surely pretending not to realize, right?

Originally posted by sonhouse

In other words, you don't want to just hear from someone who quit Christianity, you want to actively deride his decision. Very Christ like.

Usually when some people say "In other words" I know they are about to twist my words.

I can be empathetic with your experience.
i can empathize with the temptation to blame God for something religious people did.


Do you think you're the only one who ever felt some religious person said something discouraging you from opening up to God?

Maybe I heard even more offensive things then you did. I spent time in Pentecostalism too.

Hey, any musicians ever say anything to you that ticked you off really bad ?
But you still love music don't you?

I didn't deride you for being stumbled.
I just asked you to consider Jesus Christ Himself.

"What bad thing did Jesus ever do to you?"