I think about church, religion and my parents

Lara said:
Our heavenly Father punishes his children when they disobey for the same reasons
an earthly father punishes his children when they disobey......Love
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I was raised up as a Roman Catholic. My parents visited the service with me every sunday. At the age of 25 I left the church but believed in God. Now I don't even believe in God anymore.
 

My family's from the South(mostly NC)...the "Bible Belt" in all aspects of social structure. My grandfather was a Lutheran minister, growing up I'd attend church service and Sunday school. I was taken out of public school and put into a parochial school for 5th & 6th grade. The school was part of a Missouri Lutheran church, very 'old country' Germans with their very strict / borderline cruel version of discipline. My grades were better but I was relieved when I was put back into public school, I believe the timing was a factor, my parents split up and my mom couldn't afford sending me to the parochial school.
As an adult I do not attend church, but retain my belief in Jesus' ministry and love, which shines so much brighter without the church dogma and self serving structure.
 

Lara said:
Our heavenly Father punishes his children when they disobey for the same reasons
an earthly father punishes his children when they disobey......Love
Click to expand...
And this is an expression of Love

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Growing up, religions were the great divide. One side was extreme (ever done over 100 steps on your knees, so you might know what I mean...) Oh the punishment and the constant guilt.

The other side preferred the service at the Convent, no punishment and no guilt. The reasons it all changed, discovered bad actions talked about in television and in newspapers.

So with Papa, visited many alternatives. Round my teenage years, discovered my great-grandparents style after doing genealogy research and adopting that new age religion.

With my husband, I was introduced to another religion. Once more, it's great.

Currently, I'm following both Protestants and Wicca plus added bits from childhood. It's blended, granted but works very well. Thanks!
 
I read all your posts here, and I sympathize/empathize with most of you. My background is different. The Greek island that my family comes from is located next to Patmos island in Greece. Patmos island is where St. John lived (in a cave) and wrote the Book of Revelations. I visited the cave in my twenties and saw where St. John's head had formed an indentation in the cave wall where he kneeled and prayed daily. I saw where the lightning bolt hit the cave. The monks on Patmos ruled over my family's island, and religion was and is an integral part of life there. My parents brought their religion to the US when they immigrated. I was four then.

I grew up Orthodox Christian and am still one. I have sang in the church choirs, participated in the charitable organizations associated with the church, danced at the church festivals and even wrote books that take place in Greece. I have witnessed miracles in my life that have sealed my faith. I know with a wholehearted belief that God does exist, but we need to seek him. Relying only on the Bible, to me, is not enough to seal my faith. Our church has oral traditions, ceremonies, and sacraments that have been handed down since Jesus's time. We are a living church. I also believe we need to have a relationship with God, and that's where prayer comes in.

In Peace.
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I began noticing the strong persuasive techniques used by religion and church in the music and songs they sang. I did not like the way the music / songs intruded into senses persuading me to give up myself and join what seemed to be a zombie sheep herd buying into this wave of mind control. When it is over there is a sigh of relief and feelings of refreshment because they passed the test of obedience.

God and religion are powerful allies who often fight hand in hand. It is no wonder that former president allegedly depicted liberals opposing Christianity thus creating further division between parties and a tool to be used by the so called righteous. (wing) Evidently, any association that are not GOP are liberals, socialism, marxism, communism, etc.

I don’t understand right-wing thinking. It seems far more humane to help minorities, the poor and the weak as investment for future generations. However, there is a mindset among the wealthy that restrict intervention among the poor while propetituating the power of the wealthy, because they run the world. Why would the rich powerful contribute to the welfare of the poor when there are no guarantee the poor will reciprocate the favor. At least, the rich and powerful know who is in their circle of money and power.
 
@Mr. Ed You talk about religion and God in most all of your threads you start and seems to be on your mind more than anything else.
I think you’re seeking Him. He’s seeking you too. Why don’t you just invite Him in. Lay down your burden and follow Him. Maybe you’ll find the peace and love you’re looking for. Just a thought.
 
@Knight , there is good and evil in the world. Over many years you have addressed me personally to explain this in detail. I have, over and over, at length. Yet, you continue. God says if they don’t want to listen, then walk away. Maybe you’ll find your answer someday. Soon we will all know everything.
 
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I was raised attending a Southern Baptist church. There were many social opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. Besides participation in youth choirs, there was Troop 29 a Boy Scout troop sponsored by the church, the Royal Ambassadors (RA's) which was similar to Boy Scouts but with a much more religious aspect, Wednesday night dinners, Holiday socials and church retreats in a rural area offering fellowship, sports activities and outdoor recreation. All that was a wonderful part of growing up. The church and congregation were highly thought of in the community.

I had a personal spiritual experience as a child in the church that implored me to accept Christ. It was a personal commitment exclusive of any external pressure. But it took a near death experience years later, to give me a spiritual awakening. I no longer doubt or question my higher power. I have met Him and He sent me back. That experience did not occur in a church.

At the end of the day, "church" to me is a business. Many churches are ultimately forced to disband and sell off assets sometimes because the business model isn't working. Jesus we are told, had some issues with the temple and how business was conducted on occasion. As an adult, I don't attend church but highly respect the choice of those who chose to do so.

I kind of look at it like this ... Microsoft is a business but you don't have to work for Microsoft to enjoy the rewards of experiencing aspects of Microsoft's endeavors and works. The thing is though, we don't often think of attributing success to Microsoft when we use their works for personal accomplishment. Simple example might be when we take a picture, upload that picture to a computer and then share that picture with the world, often we either take it all for granted or consider it something we accomplished entirely by ourselves ... no one else had anything to do with it.

My point is that each of us has individual experiences, thoughts on "church" and religious understanding or denial and that's okay. However and while you may not attend church or perhaps deny spirituality, I believe a higher power is with you and willing to help you daily if you would only allow Him into your life. You have that choice to accept or not. And whatever you do, experience and accomplish in life, you can give credit to Him or decide that no one else had anything to do with it. Having met my higher power, He profoundly left me with one plain and simple truth to understand ... we have choices ... and there's something more on the other side of that bright light.

OH ... and here's a picture I took, pasted into a template and thought I'd share ... did it all by myself ;) :ROFLMAO: :unsure:

6BvGFAq.jpg
 
Naturally said:
I was raised attending a Southern Baptist church. There were many social opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. Besides participation in youth choirs, there was Troop 29 a Boy Scout troop sponsored by the church, the Royal Ambassadors (RA's) which was similar to Boy Scouts but with a much more religious aspect, Wednesday night dinners, Holiday socials and church retreats in a rural area offering fellowship, sports activities and outdoor recreation. All that was a wonderful part of growing up. The church and congregation were highly thought of in the community.

I had a personal spiritual experience as a child in the church that implored me to accept Christ. It was a personal commitment exclusive of any external pressure. But it took a near death experience years later, to give me a spiritual awakening. I no longer doubt or question my higher power. I have met Him and He sent me back. That experience did not occur in a church.

At the end of the day, "church" to me is a business. Many churches are ultimately forced to disband and sell off assets sometimes because the business model isn't working. Jesus we are told, had some issues with the temple and how business was conducted on occasion. As an adult, I don't attend church but highly respect the choice of those who chose to do so.

I kind of look at it like this ... Microsoft is a business but you don't have to work for Microsoft to enjoy the rewards of experiencing aspects of Microsoft's endeavors and works. The thing is though, we don't often think of attributing success to Microsoft when we use their works for personal accomplishment. Simple example might be when we take a picture, upload that picture to a computer and then share that picture with the world, often we either take it all for granted or consider it something we accomplished entirely by ourselves ... no one else had anything to do with it.

My point is that each of us has individual experiences, thoughts on "church" and religious understanding or denial and that's okay. However and while you may not attend church or perhaps deny spirituality, I believe a higher power is with you and willing to help you daily if you would only allow Him into your life. You have that choice to accept or not. And whatever you do, experience and accomplish in life, you can give credit to Him or decide that no one else had anything to do with it. Having met my higher power, He profoundly left me with one plain and simple truth to understand ... we have choices ... and there's something more on the other side of that bright light.

OH ... and here's a picture I took, pasted into a template and thought I'd share ... did it all by myself ;) :ROFLMAO: :unsure:

6BvGFAq.jpg
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Wow! Your story is amazing! Great message! I loved the photo also.
 
I think god called me at 6 yrs old. According to the story I was crying late at night when my dad asked what was wrong. I said I didn’t want to go hell, and was asked if I believed etc.. awhile later I was baptized in a larger church than my dad’s small mission church. I claimed that day as when I became a Christian? I don’t know for certain it made me close to god or Jesus but I beleived in it.

Christianity never worked for me in a way that distuinshed it as true. I was always moody and never happy as Chrisitinity predicted once a member and your life will change for the better. Chrisitinity was disappointing in that to my knowledge the promises never came true.

It was for spiritual reasons I took hallucinogenic drugs and substances to find myself during the 70s and 80s. However, I lost my mind while searching and never found the place where I began. Since, that time from age 28 until age 54 there is significant memory loss that so far remains dormant. The few things I recall during this time of absentism were getting up in the morning to go downstairs and isolate myself in the laundry room smoking tobacco. I did not go outside or watch TV I sat in the laundry room listening to music. That’s all I did, day in and day out for 30 yrs.
 
If you're born in the US, you're likely to have some form of Christianity drilled into you. Born in China? More likely to be Buddhist. India? Hinduism.

Where you're born dictates what your base belief is. My parents weren't religious, but they liked to send me to Sunday School.

As an adult, I want to believe, it would be convenient, but I just don't find a reason to (seen no evidence).

That said, as a moral baseline, Christianity is not too bad. It has it's problems - Catholics being against contraception, the rights of a woman to an abortion, and the unrealistic ideas around virginity. But not killing other people? Pretty good idea.
 
Having faith in God is a real thing. It is very real for the people who believe. How they believe varies a lot. What they believe varies a lot. Couldn't it just be left like that. Let people believe what they believe. When that belief entails making other people believe like you/and your group...no. Never.
 
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Paco Dennis said:
Having faith in God is a real thing. It is very real for the people who believe. How they believe varies a lot. What they believe varies a lot. Couldn't it just be left like that. Let people believe what they believe. When that belief entails making other people believe like you/and your group...no. Never.
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I think proselytism is a part of religion. If you're convinced you know the ultimate truth, and that everyone else is wrong, why wouldn't you want to tell others, and convince them? Religion isn't democratic. There's the true belief (what ever you assume that to be) and then there's those on the wrong path.

As humans we want to know the answers to the big questions: Why am I here? How did I get here? What is death? What is life? What is consciousness? What am I beyond the bounds of the physical body?

Some look/wait for science to catch up, some assume a God.

I co-authored some books with a fellow from Dallas. I was in Houston, and we'd meet every now and then, over imbibe, and generally have a good time. His wife was very religious, but I never really knew her. Then, one of their children had a sudden illness. The baby survived, but for a moment there it was a doubt. Next time I met him, he claimed God had saved his child, and he was now "reborn". Me? The doctors saved the child. But he went full in - believed the bible implicitly. Every word. Soon after, we stopped worked together.
 
VaughanJB said:
They must do some kind of proselytizing. How do they get new members?
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If the conversation is such that a person is interested in what they believe, they explain. If the person listening likes what they hear, they accept some of it, and it becomes part of their belief system. It is called the sharing of ideas. :)
 
My parents made me go to Sunday school until I graduated from high school although they seldom attended church (Christmas and Easter, perhaps). It was a long time between that and when I sporadically started going to formal church services again.
 
Mr. Ed said:
I think god called me at 6 yrs old. According to the story I was crying late at night when my dad asked what was wrong. I said I didn’t want to go hell, and was asked if I believed etc.. awhile later I was baptized in a larger church than my dad’s small mission church. I claimed that day as when I became a Christian? I don’t know for certain it made me close to god or Jesus but I beleived in it.

Christianity never worked for me in a way that distuinshed it as true. I was always moody and never happy as Chrisitinity predicted once a member and your life will change for the better. Chrisitinity was disappointing in that to my knowledge the promises never came true.

It was for spiritual reasons I took hallucinogenic drugs and substances to find myself during the 70s and 80s. However, I lost my mind while searching and never found the place where I began. Since, that time from age 28 until age 54 there is significant memory loss that so far remains dormant. The few things I recall during this time of absentism were getting up in the morning to go downstairs and isolate myself in the laundry room smoking tobacco. I did not go outside or watch TV I sat in the laundry room listening to music. That’s all I did, day in and day out for 30 yrs.
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Mr. Ed, the age of 6 is not an age of accountability. Around the age of 12 is more like it. Sunday school for children is a wonderful thing for teaching them values, wisdom, and virtues through Bible stories and songs. It was always light and fun. I taught Sunday school for the little ones and later taught 4th graders. They understood what it meant to have faith, believe, and make that personal choice for themselves.

I saw it as being very healthy for them and included lots of outdoor activities as well. They had fun. Lifetime friendships were made. But not all churches and their leadership are the same.
 
My parents didn't get religion until they were in their early fifties, then much to my surprise they announced that they were catholic. Other than, Now I lay me down to sleep and frequent admonishments to be a good boy, I don't recall anything resembling religious instruction in my early life. My parents would drop us off Sunday mornings at the little Baptist church down the road from our house in the deep woods of Alabama where we would participate in Sunday School class...
 
sailormann said:
It was intended to be a platform for moral instruction and self-improvement. Stories of angels, miracles, and morals (and don't forget the hellfire and damnation. After all, we were Southern Baptist's at that time) served as inspiration to make us want to be good little children. At least we were bathed and dressed accordingly for the task of receiving Divine Grace. Although, I always suspected there was a bit more to it than baby Jesus paper dolls and picture stories.
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So, many years later when my father was nearing the end of his life I decided to give him a pop quiz and see what he had learned about religion. When I asked if he thought the Bible was the infallible word of God, he said, Well, there's a lot of good stuff in there. When I ask if he thought there was life beyond death, he said that he thought he would return to a youthful body and live forever among the bays and rivers of Mobile Alabama fishing with his family and friends. He was a good man with strong attachments to family and friends, not caring too much for other things in life.
 

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