Why Have You Left Christianity?

There are many reasons why Christianity is not working for me, and there are many reasons why Christianity is quickly losing its grip on Western society. I am wondering, if you are like me and was a Christian and then left it, why is it that you left?

The biggest reason I left was probably a reason that most Christians will find fault in. I wanted to be like Jesus, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even come close to being like Jesus. As much as I wanted to change, I couldn't. I became really hard on myself for not being able to do all that Jesus would have done. I constantly went through life saying, "what would Jesus do?" and then most of the time I wouldn't do what I thought Jesus would do, and this built up a lot of shame in myself. Sure, Jesus would forgive me for not being as good as him, but I couldn't forgive myself.

Now I realize I don't have to spend my life trying to be someone else. I was born with certain gifts in a certain situation with a certain personality, and these things I was born with didn't amount to Jesus, so there was no way I could ever become Jesus. I was born with the freedom to be whoever I want to be, and I want to be myself. I want myself to reach its full potential. My problem with Jesus is, by following Jesus, you give up the freedom to be yourself. You are bound to live a life in which you will never be Good enough, because Jesus is the ultimate Good, and you can never be Jesus, you can only imitate him, so you, as a Christian, cannot be Good but can only imitate Good.

So I guess my problem with Christianity is the idea of trying to be like someone else. Call it prideful if you want, I would rather be myself with some pride than lay down my pride and try to imitate the life of another. A common misconception is we need a Supreme Moral Good to tell us what is good and what is bad. We can know what is Good by looking inside ourselves and finding our own way. You can never truly be happy unless you become yourself, and fulfill your essence, as Aristotle said. To fulfill your essence is to realize your potential, and to realize your potential is to find your own way.

This is the lack of understanding in todays world which prophets said.

" no understanding would exist in the end times "

it's a grace, but earned.

I mean it's clear as day.

" being someone else "

This is so simple. What Christ means by become like Christ is one word/


"love "

That's it. That's how you become like Christ. Love fullfills all avenues of life/ Make all your decisions baised on love. God never said give up your personality.


This is why he made all animals different and people. Some laugh more some cry more, some are silent, some are goofy, some are serious.

That doesn't change with the acceptance of Christ. What does change is love. it grows in our hearts.


And for me I said. Forget being like the World. Forget gangsta rap, calling girls hoes, drinkin, drugs, I want to be like God in classiness but also in love.


So it's different for every soul.

I used to run with friends. Our fun was going around flinging rocks at peoples heads for fun. Stompin our enemies out because they weren't part of our crew.

So for me Christanity works for me and Gods message. So the OP topic is different for everybody.


If you want to leave christianity that's on you. it's your choice.


If this was an non christian thread only let me know and I might erase my message.

peace op.

[edit on 15-6-2010 by JesusisTruth]

reply to post by JesusisTruth


No christians can post too this is a good chance for debate.

Here is the difference between me and you. I don't listen to gansta rap or go around calling girls hoes or fling stones at people's heads, and I don't need God to keep me away from those things. As a Christian, I was more exclusive because I knew that spending time with non-Christians would have a bad influence on me. I still spent a lot of time with non-Christians, but I was careful with what I did with them. Now, as someone who is not Christian, I accept people of all races and all religions. I don't have to feel guilty for not trying to convert every person I meet to Christianity.

When I was Christian, I would accept all people, but not for the sake of friendship, it would be for the sake of trying to bring Christ to them. Then when I can't get them to convert, I would feel like I'm not doing well enough.

Then I realized I don't need to use Jesus as an excuse to love people. Converting people to Christianity doesn't have to be the aim of me loving people. I want to love people because that is the way I would want people to treat me. Jesus doesn't have to be involved in that.

There are a multitude of reasons why I finally decided that I wasn't a Christian. The biggest being that I do not buy the nativity story. I do not believe that Jesus was the begotten son of God. Now don't get me wrong, I believe in magic per say. I believe many of his healing stories, I believe people can accomplish many things through the untapped power of the mind. But reading the nativity, it really seems to me that he was more likely conceived through premarital sex rather than immaculate conception.

I also think that people misinterpret the act of redemption. I do not believe that you can go to church on Sunday, confess your sins and accept Jesus as your savior and then on Monday morning go right back to doing your sinning and you are automatically forgiven.

But on the other hand I don't believe in Christian dogma.

So anyways, I love God, but I have some pretty eclectic beliefs and therefore do not call myself a Christian.

Short answer? Because I'm not a child.

Long answer... Well its still pretty short but I don't think anyone should find belief in anything outside their own journey. I think religion is a self-discovery, not something to be learned from a book or words coming out of someone's mouth.

I'm a spiritual atheist. I believe in higher powers, just not a singular god. That's a belief I had to work to attain through introspection.

reply to post by SantaClaus


Isn't that basically agnosticism then?

Originally posted by snowflake_obsidian
reply to post by SantaClaus

 

Isn't that basically agnosticism then?

Well the term "atheist" is a term used for people who don't believe in a deity. Technically speaking, atheists can believe in the human soul and some form of ascension. There doesn't need to be a god to have those things.

I dunno, I only used it in this forum, I don't go running around calling myself a spiritual atheist. I don't really like to label it honestly.

I am not agnostic because my belief is fairly specific. I won't go into it for the sake of the thread, but my belief is pretty targeted. Its just not necessarily anyone else's belief system.

I left christianity back in 1996. I was raised from birth to be christlike as best as possible, and did very well through my teenage years with the help of my parents, and the freinds I chose, to not let the worlds influence distract me.

But, then in my early twenties, I got laxed, and tired. I started hangin with friends that weren't as moral as myself, I started desiring what they were bragging about...and I for a short time had a girlfriend that, although we really (by the worlds standards) didn't do anything wrong, we did things that bothered my superfine conscience. Instead of turning back, and sticking close to God, I decided, I was tired of trying so hard to keep myself from things that couldn't be that bad...I mean, other people seemed to enjoy it.
So, for my 22nd birthday, I lost my virginity, smoked some weed, and started smoking cigarettes. I was all in baby...and WOW! I never knew fun like that...just imagine...and the gal I was then with, she knew I was out to explore, so she didn't expect a relationship or faithfulness out of me...within a couple months I was smoking a pack a day of cigs, and had been with several women...oh, yeah...took maybe two months before I realized how much fun coc aine was.

Three years later I was pretty much full blown a meth head, and mommy and daddy had to come bring my home, cuz I couldn't keep a job and was couch surfin. Shortly thereafter I got married, to that gal that I had been experimentin with before leaving the way; and at that time I put the speed away, but we spent all our time and money chasing weed and booze. Oh, and cigs...man them things are expensive.

Well, our marriage only lasted three years, we were the most important person in our lives, not we as a whole...we as individuals...our selfishness got in the way of love. After my divorce I went deep into the bottle, and was always tweeked out...

You see, when I left God, I really left him, I knew what I was doing was against Him, and considered my actions to be my spiritual suicide. I looked into eastern styled religions...thought much about aliens being our creators (oh, but who created them!!!) pretty much went as far as accepting that everything in existance came from chance...and was in a happless existence.
Now, by the time I reached thirty, I had put the speed away, even quit abusing alcohal...just smoked the weed like it was going out of style...and cigs, still a pack a day.

But I had come back around to accepting that if nothing else there was at least a higher power, or an organizational input that guided our creation...hopefully for some purpose. But my life was still lacking something.

Cont
I looked around me, and all my friends...friends, not drug dealers and party peoples...who had grown up, they were making families, and I was jealous maybe a little, but I said, yeah, that's what I'm missing, a family.

Now, truely I hate this world, I mean, the state this world is in...and I have no desire to choose to bring any new people into it, that's cruel. But, I know I'd make a great stepdaddy, had held a great job for 4 years, everything was looking up, and I was finaly stable enought to provide for a family and support a wife.
Thing was, if I was going to raise children, they were going to be raised with christian values. No way around it, even through all my self destructive years, I still appreciated the values my parents tried to instil in me.
And then I realized if it was good enough for my family, it would be good enough for me...
But, the problem, I was spiritualy dead...and had some serious doubts
I decided to really pray on it, do some research, and make some decisions.

My first question to answer...Did Christ exist..if he did, was he the son of God? And if he was, was he really resurected.
The first two questions were easy...there seems to be enough historical evidence that Jesus existed, but was he the Christ.
Was he brought back to life?

Well, I had to make that leap they call faith. I made my choice. And decided that even though there was no way I could be forgiven, I could at least be a positive influence and strong head of a household. But the
gal had to be of the same faith, cause I weren't about to have house divided over religion.

To sum up this excessively long post...I realized, two things...God is forgiving, and always wants us to return to him, no matter how small or great our sin...even the unforgivable sin is forgivable if we sincearly
repent and realy desire to be reconciled with God. (it was called unforgivable because it is a willing opposition to God, to regret that decision/action shows a change of heart...anyways) Secondly...it wasn't another family I wanted...it was my spiritual family I had been missing.

With less than dilligent prayer (being honest, I wanted the change, but I felt guilty about my hapit, and didn't feel worthy of asking for help to stop, when I knew I was about to do exactly what I was asking to not) I quit smoking pot in a month, and it was hard, still is hard, but quit smoking them filthy cigs in 6 months...man, I quit everyday...and failed everyday at quitin...but eventually I manned up
got them behind me.

So there ya go...I quit christianity for a dozen years...got lots of experience...I'd rather have them years back, and I don't remember most of em.

Thankfully...when I used needles, they were clean, when I slept with a stranger, I most often used a condom...I am somehow STD free, and am VERY VERY thankful for that.

There are many benefits from following Gods laws...even if we can't seem to follow all of them...we are imperfect, and He understands...just do the best ya can...don't turn your back on Him, He won't turn His back on you.

Dont leave the message of Christ, but leave the church if you need be.
LOVE is the hardest thing to do, the problem with the CHURCH is it promotes understanding through prayer alone.... not self examination?
As if we can just discard evil by repeittive incantations?
We need to recognise and understand in order to overcome?
Know thyself, many on ATS froth at the bmouth at this .
better to look at the external evil than the internal evil.
LOVE REQUIRES EFFORT < NOT WISHING ALONE?

reply to post by Xcouncil=wisdom


You know, there are atheists, agnostics and members of other religions that lead very "moral" lives. Then again, many elements in the subject of morality are highly subjective. Also there are Christians that lead immoral lives.

Originally posted by Wang Tang
reply to post by JesusisTruth

 

No christians can post too this is a good chance for debate.

Here is the difference between me and you. I don't listen to gansta rap or go around calling girls hoes or fling stones at people's heads, and I don't need God to keep me away from those things. As a Christian, I was more exclusive because I knew that spending time with non-Christians would have a bad influence on me. I still spent a lot of time with non-Christians, but I was careful with what I did with them. Now, as someone who is not Christian, I accept people of all races and all religions. I don't have to feel guilty for not trying to convert every person I meet to Christianity.

When I was Christian, I would accept all people, but not for the sake of friendship, it would be for the sake of trying to bring Christ to them. Then when I can't get them to convert, I would feel like I'm not doing well enough.

Then I realized I don't need to use Jesus as an excuse to love people. Converting people to Christianity doesn't have to be the aim of me loving people. I want to love people because that is the way I would want people to treat me. Jesus doesn't have to be involved in that.

Your job isn't to "convert" people. It's only to share your faith, or to give an answer to anyone who asks about your hope. The Holy Spirit saves people, not us. Or only job is to just share our experience, God is the one who saves.

Originally posted by snowflake_obsidian
reply to post by Xcouncil=wisdom

 

You know, there are atheists, agnostics and members of other religions that lead very "moral" lives. Then again, many elements in the subject of morality are highly subjective. Also there are Christians that lead immoral lives.

That's because God has written His moral code into ALL men's hearts. But, morality will not save a man, our works are filthy rags to God. It's not what I have done, but what Christ has already done and my faith in Him.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


I disagree and my story indicated that it is that belief that was one of my reasons for not being a Christian. I also am annoyed when people think they can speak for God and say what God thinks and feels.

In my belief God created us to live, so I believe that our actions mean a lot. I would not want to worship a vain God that only cares that we worship him.

Anyways, the post that I had responded to lead me to believe that he thinks the only way to lead a moral life is through Christianity, which I have observed to be untrue.

Originally posted by Wang Tang
I wanted to be like Jesus, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even come close to being like Jesus. As much as I wanted to change, I couldn't.

Perfectly normal. Don't be so hard on yourself. Even the Apostle Paul struggled just as you did. It's one of his most famous letters.

For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.

Read all of Romans 7:15-25

I left Christianity 100,000 times for the exact same reason you stated. I just can't make the cut. I can't do what I'm asked to do. I've converted to Christianity 100,001 times however. I know that sets me up to fail one more time but I'm willing to give it a try again today. Maybe today I'll completely follow God's commands. If not, I'll try again tomorrow. I think the point is to die trying, not to actually achieve your goal of being perfect.

Summed up best in a song by Bob Carlisle

Originally posted by snowflake_obsidian
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

I disagree and my story indicated that it is that belief that was one of my reasons for not being a Christian. I also am annoyed when people think they can speak for God and say what God thinks and feels.

In my belief God created us to live, so I believe that our actions mean a lot. I would not want to worship a vain God that only cares that we worship him.

Anyways, the post that I had responded to lead me to believe that he thinks the only way to lead a moral life is through Christianity, which I have observed to be untrue.

We have ALL observed that to be untrue. And I stated the REASON for it being untrue.

Paul teaches in Romans 2:14 and 15 that even the gentiles who did not have the written Law of God with it's moral precepts still had an innate sense of right and wrong that had been placed in their hearts by the Creator. Some people have sinned so grievously and often that they have managed to smear or numb their consciences. (1 Timothy 4:2) Nevertheless, most people around the globe share several common moral beliefs. Only the Christian worldview can harmonize the existence of the conscience with the world in which we live. Unbelievers may rely on their consciences, but without a Biblical framework they have no way whatsoever of justifying that reliance.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Christianity is not the only theistic belief system and there are a multitude of non-theistic belief systems that can harmonize the conscience and the world we live in.

Then I realized I don't need to use Jesus as an excuse to love people. Converting people to Christianity doesn't have to be the aim of me loving people. I want to love people because that is the way I would want people to treat me. Jesus doesn't have to be involved in that.

(OP)

Yea but you don't convert people because of (your) aim to love people, that's self love talking. We convert people to bring them to love our creator Christ. that's the sole goal of it.

Here's the thing. I need God to breath. Go read a thread called fans happen for a little sotry of mine. it's a part of doctrine. God sustains all breath let alone love which is a grace implanted in your and mine heart.

So don't allow pride to block that. Which happens all too many times today.

Jesus is where I get my love, it's not an excuse it's a reality. He's God, we believe that, he puts graces in mans heart. Evil is a lack of grace. God puts it there.

It's not an excuse but a recognition of what grace is. And where we come from.


" i didn't go around calling girls hoes and flingin rocks at peoples heads "


Well I did. I was making the point that what doesn't work for you works for others. Maybee I'm a damn robot. But I grew up without alot of love. I realized my defects. My heart wasn't always buring on fire. Jesus changed that (in me). Didn't say for everybody, but he changed me from the inside. So the point is that what leads some away, others are brought to by different means.


peace OP.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by JesusisTruth]

reply to post by snowflake_obsidian


I totally get that just because a person claims to be christian does not make them moral. I completely agree there are mutlitudes of moral people that are not christian.
In the context of where the OP seemed to coming from, I chose to relay my experience in an effort to encourage the poster to not give up on trying.
We are all imperfect...
And God accepts that.
If we love God, we will obey his comands...and he understands all we can do is obey to the best of our abilities, and will continue to try to improve.

Giving in because its to difficult shouldn't be an option...But it is. In my life, I gave in, because that was the easy path...and in my expereince, completely turning my back on God meant for me, doing everything I could that Satan had to offer in this world...

And as attractive as it seemed...it was just a bunch of crap...I wish I would have repaired my soiled conscience way back when and stuck it out on the hard and narrow path...

But I also can recal...many tried to talk sense into me, and several had almost the same story I just told...
I wouldn't listen to them either...oh we're a thick headed stubborn people.


[edit on 17-6-2010 by Xcouncil=wisdom]

Originally posted by snowflake_obsidian
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

Christianity is not the only theistic belief system and there are a multitude of non-theistic belief systems that can harmonize the conscience and the world we live in.

I realize there are MANY. Yet I don't consider them from God, they don't have accurate prophecy to authenticate it coming from an omniscient deity.

Trust the Bible, it's is God's Word to mankind.