The Phase

Comment by Nicholas (Guest)

Nicholas (Guest) — Wed, 18 May 2005 08:15:01 +0000

I was a raised a good atheist and I still am one. Religions to me seem to be social clubs. They make you feel like you belong and that you are connected to the community. I wish I could believe all that Christian stuff and give myself over to Jesus. I wish I could accept a world view on a platter.

When we had children someone asked me if we would start going to church. So they can learn right from wrong. Jeez, I never went to church, and I think I'm a good person. But actually 4 years later, I'm thinking about starting to go to the Unitarian Universalist church in Raleigh. Just to have some activities for the kids and to meet some other parents. Though my wife thinks it would be disingenuous to go and not "believe". Though they seem like the most accepting of "atheists".

Comment by jen (Guest)

jen (Guest) — Wed, 18 May 2005 07:34:41 +0000

ken, it's a good thing that you didn't tell them that it was a SATAN-WORSHIPPING CRUISE. phew!

Comment by Travis Tidmore (Guest)

Travis Tidmore (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 23:16:30 +0000

I have been a Christian my entire life. I was raised Church of Christ and I attended a Christian university, and I will soon be attending a Christian Law School.
But I am a human, being a Christian doesn't make me any more perfect than anyone else, I still sin, I still struggle with things like lust. And i hate that alot of churches and christians try to play like they are perfect and that since someone else isn't a christian they are less then them. I think thats the main turn off for non-christians, that christians pretend to be better.

It's not true. Everyone hurts, everyone screws up, I guess I just like to believe because if their is no God, whats the point of life. We stay here for 80 years or so then die and either become someone or thing else or everything ends.

I loved Javi's entry that shows that puppets are not a metaphor for humans, because God is not forcing us to do things, he gave us free will to love him, hate him, belief in him, or not belive in him. And it is ach and every person's choice to make, Would I love it if everyone's beliefs suddenly matched mine, yes. But it's never going to happen.

Sorry, I know that doesn't all go together real well, I guess I'm just saying that we all have to search and find the answer that works for us. Will some of us be wrong, you bet, we can't all be right. But sometimes believing in something isn't the logical thing to do, thats why it's called faith.

Comment by Cori (Guest)

Cori (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 13:08:08 +0000

I was raised in the United Church of Canada, a denomination of the Christian faith that is a little more conservative than the Unitarian, and less conservative than everything else. I have been more and less Christian at various times in my life, culminating finally in my present committed atheism. I don't see, though, even without my absence of faith, how anyone could use the Bible as a single code of behaviour. It was written by dozens of people, over centuries of time, each different writer and time period with its own priorities and needs. Trying to make sense of that, trying to make one belief system in that, would only end in a lot of ridiculous rationalizations or the 'pick and choose' method of belief that drives me to distraction.

But I have a lot of respect for the Gospels themselves, and if nothing else Christ's own teachings in them have a lot to be admired as a philosophy by which one could live one's life. But don't get me started on the books and 'prophets' who came later.

Comment by Melinda (Guest)

Melinda (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 11:56:52 +0000

Any group (religious or otherwise) that is arbitrary in their beliefs sends me running in the opposite direction. There should be room to question all theories and ideologies. A person or group claming to have the absolute answers is ,for me, one of the most frightening things in the universe. I was rasied Catholic. I suppose I now consider myself Agnostic. I like to read about all the major (and less known) religions. It seems that while the rules and rituals differ, all the major religions have the same basic principals at their core. That is where I look for truth.

Comment by Ken

Ken — Mon, 16 May 2005 09:45:02 +0000

Forgive me, Javi, I did not mean to overgeneralize.

I was in fact exposed to many flavors of Christianity, and I've found some more palatable that others. Quakers actually have a very cool belief system. My objections are to those which you might call "fundamentalist".

I'm interested in understanding your belief system a little more; from your blog, I can understand the rationale for a belief in God, but I don't necessarily see why Christianity. Maybe a follow-up post in your blog is in order? :)

Comment by Speaker (Guest)

Speaker (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 08:39:52 +0000

yeah, what that guy above me said. (who?)

Personally, I'm not a churchy guy...at least, not until someone creates the First Geek Church of Corigan Prime or some such.... I just don't tend to have anything in common with anyone at church and there for they have no idea how to relate to me and I have no idea how to apply their teachings to my life. That and conversations are just WAY uncomfortable because I don't fish or they just don't get why I want to wear a Klingon Warrior sash to church (kidding?)

So that's why my Christianity is a personal quest and my "group of friends" I happen to hang out with are Dragon*Con.

Oh yeah, and Porn....and Puppets.

Comment by Javi (Guest)

Javi (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 02:03:01 +0000

and porn. i also talk about that in my latest.

and puppets.

Comment by Javi (Guest)

Javi (Guest) — Mon, 16 May 2005 01:48:00 +0000

not that i'd want you to change, but do i need to point out that you were exposed to one sect and not the totality of christianity? it kinda gets my goat when people say "when christians do --" (as i'm sure it bothers you when people say "when the japanese do --").

i'd be very curoious to know what you think of my latest blog entry - if only because, coincidentally, it consists of a christian trying to explain and justify his beliefs!

The Phase

Ken — Sun, 15 May 2005 15:22:44 +0000

Believe it or not, there was a time in my life when I considered myself to be a born-again evangelical Christian.