I've decided that I'm giving up on Christianity.
Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 7:49 am
Basically, I've had enough of overzealous lunatics, nonsensical and outdated fables and parables, and faith. I am an idealist; my whole perspective of life is to be a free mind and spirit. I even decided to take the name "Lucid" to demonstrate my endeavors to be an open-minded and rational being. I have found that these ideals don't mesh well with Christianity, which encourages elitism and ignorance. The lessons that the Bible tries to teach are repugnant and reek of the stupidity of early mankind. The Tower of Babel is a story that preaches that diversity is a bad thing. Sodom and Gomorrah is a story about how God destroyed a couple of cities because of the abundance of gay men in the cities. It's gotten to the point where many pastors teaching some kind of modern Christianity have decided to completely ignore some of the books of the Old Testament, because they know that what is said in them is complete horsewash. Denominations is another thing that has always bugged me; how am I supposed to believe in something when the most hardcore of believers can't even agree on the true meanings of the Bible? Denominations such as gay churches try and twist the words of the Bible to come up with new meanings that fit their lifestyles. The very first Commandment is, "Thou shalt not have any gods before me," and God himself even says in one of the books, "I am a jealous God." A couple of the events that are supposed to take place during the second coming of Christ are referred to as "The Wrath of the Lamb." We are taught that both God and Jesus Christ are perfect beings; "holy, holy, holy" in the words of the Bible. Yet we are taught that pride and wrath are among the worst of sins.
Clarity of thought has made me realize why I became a Christian in the first place. I didn't just decide to believe, in an effort to ease my sorrows or to fill the holes in my life, nor did I examine "evidence" that Christianity is the one, true religion, and decide to believe. I believed because I was born and raised a Christian, because I was told that Christianity was truth when I was too young to think otherwise, and I've "believed" ever since. I was baptized at a few weeks old, and even "saved" when I was a teenager. And for any smart-ass Christians out there preparing the "you don't believe, so you were never really saved" arguments, just save it. I've read and studied most of the Bible, have read literature about it, and I truly believed in it with all my heart for a long time. I'm seriously willing to bet that I'm more educated on these matters than anyone ready to say that to me. Trust me when I say that if I can turn, anyone can. Christianity hasn't done **** for me in my life. If anything, it's made my life worse. As a little boy, "turning the other cheek" didn't exactly do me any favors on the social scene, as I was considered a wimp, an idiot, and generally a lost cause for a long time. I shudder at the memory of asking my Dad if my Catholic grandfather was in hell, as well as other close-minded and embarrassing moments that I was taught by this "enlightening" religion. I particularly didn't enjoy being a part of the same group as some of the stupidest, most ignorant, most close-minded people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in my life, something I'm sure even other Christians here would know all about. Some of you may recall me remarking in months past, "I love Jesus, but I hate his fanclub." How ignorant and elitist do you have to be to really believe that anyone with a different opinion on a certain matter is "dark-sided?" For those lucky enough to not know some of these people, simply refer to the Catholic church in the Dark Ages, and see how big of a joke that was. "Make a considerable donation, and we'll put in a good word for you with God and cleanse your sins... or else."
If it weren't for Jesus, the foundations of Christianity and perhaps even Judaism would have been treated like complete jokes by the majority of the world for a long time now. The only reason Christianity caught on in the first place was that it was a religion where anyone, regardless of gender or class, could be saved and live in happiness for eternity, which was very innovative at the time. Today, I consider Jesus to be an exceptionally bright philosopher, even if a little eccentric. Let's face it, "Love thy Neighbor" is good, modern philosophy, even if it did lead to people killing each other because they couldn't agree on how he said it. But I have to scoff at the idea of Jesus being the Son of God. And there's another thing; some sects of Christianity preach that Jesus is the Son of God. Others preach that Jesus IS God. And - get this - some think that Jesus is both God and the Son of God. How much sense does that make? So Jesus walks on water and people think it's a miracle. David Blaine has done some pretty otherworldly feats, yet I don't see anyone treating him like he is some kind of prophet.
People talk about how the Bible has "inspired" them, and that is why they believe. I've got news for you, the Bible is nothing but the greatest chain letter of all time. The very principles of Christianity work exactly the same way as an e-mail hoax. First, there's the hook, something to capture the reader's attention. It's either a sympathetic story (Jesus), a fantastic tale filled with marvels (the entire Old Testament), or the lure of money or some other source of happiness (Heaven). After the hook, you have the threat. Christianity is very big on threats. You don't have to read far into the Bible to reach God smiting unbelievers and sinners, a theme that continues up until the very end of the Bible, with the Book of Revelation, and the promise of eternal darkness and suffering for all eternity to anyone who chose not to believe in God and his Son. If that's not enough for you to agree, after the hook and the threat, you have the part where it says, "please pass this message on to everyone you know!" Good grief! If that doesn't scream, "chain letter," I don't know what does. Stupidity, dishonesty, hypocrisy. The three traits I hate the most are also the three most prevalent characteristics of the Bible and many of the Christians that follow it.
So, after deciding that the outdated "morals" of Christianity don't clash with my own, that I don't really believe in any of this crap (and I find it hard to believe how someone with an open mind can), and that Christianity has been more of a burden than a crutch to me, I've decided to just give up on it. Some may say that it's not important if the tales in the Bible are true or not, it's the impact they have on your life that matters. Well, the impact that this religion has had on my life has been 100% negative, which is even more of a reason for me to quit.
Summary:
/gquit
Lucid Faia has left the guild.
Clarity of thought has made me realize why I became a Christian in the first place. I didn't just decide to believe, in an effort to ease my sorrows or to fill the holes in my life, nor did I examine "evidence" that Christianity is the one, true religion, and decide to believe. I believed because I was born and raised a Christian, because I was told that Christianity was truth when I was too young to think otherwise, and I've "believed" ever since. I was baptized at a few weeks old, and even "saved" when I was a teenager. And for any smart-ass Christians out there preparing the "you don't believe, so you were never really saved" arguments, just save it. I've read and studied most of the Bible, have read literature about it, and I truly believed in it with all my heart for a long time. I'm seriously willing to bet that I'm more educated on these matters than anyone ready to say that to me. Trust me when I say that if I can turn, anyone can. Christianity hasn't done **** for me in my life. If anything, it's made my life worse. As a little boy, "turning the other cheek" didn't exactly do me any favors on the social scene, as I was considered a wimp, an idiot, and generally a lost cause for a long time. I shudder at the memory of asking my Dad if my Catholic grandfather was in hell, as well as other close-minded and embarrassing moments that I was taught by this "enlightening" religion. I particularly didn't enjoy being a part of the same group as some of the stupidest, most ignorant, most close-minded people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in my life, something I'm sure even other Christians here would know all about. Some of you may recall me remarking in months past, "I love Jesus, but I hate his fanclub." How ignorant and elitist do you have to be to really believe that anyone with a different opinion on a certain matter is "dark-sided?" For those lucky enough to not know some of these people, simply refer to the Catholic church in the Dark Ages, and see how big of a joke that was. "Make a considerable donation, and we'll put in a good word for you with God and cleanse your sins... or else."
If it weren't for Jesus, the foundations of Christianity and perhaps even Judaism would have been treated like complete jokes by the majority of the world for a long time now. The only reason Christianity caught on in the first place was that it was a religion where anyone, regardless of gender or class, could be saved and live in happiness for eternity, which was very innovative at the time. Today, I consider Jesus to be an exceptionally bright philosopher, even if a little eccentric. Let's face it, "Love thy Neighbor" is good, modern philosophy, even if it did lead to people killing each other because they couldn't agree on how he said it. But I have to scoff at the idea of Jesus being the Son of God. And there's another thing; some sects of Christianity preach that Jesus is the Son of God. Others preach that Jesus IS God. And - get this - some think that Jesus is both God and the Son of God. How much sense does that make? So Jesus walks on water and people think it's a miracle. David Blaine has done some pretty otherworldly feats, yet I don't see anyone treating him like he is some kind of prophet.
People talk about how the Bible has "inspired" them, and that is why they believe. I've got news for you, the Bible is nothing but the greatest chain letter of all time. The very principles of Christianity work exactly the same way as an e-mail hoax. First, there's the hook, something to capture the reader's attention. It's either a sympathetic story (Jesus), a fantastic tale filled with marvels (the entire Old Testament), or the lure of money or some other source of happiness (Heaven). After the hook, you have the threat. Christianity is very big on threats. You don't have to read far into the Bible to reach God smiting unbelievers and sinners, a theme that continues up until the very end of the Bible, with the Book of Revelation, and the promise of eternal darkness and suffering for all eternity to anyone who chose not to believe in God and his Son. If that's not enough for you to agree, after the hook and the threat, you have the part where it says, "please pass this message on to everyone you know!" Good grief! If that doesn't scream, "chain letter," I don't know what does. Stupidity, dishonesty, hypocrisy. The three traits I hate the most are also the three most prevalent characteristics of the Bible and many of the Christians that follow it.
So, after deciding that the outdated "morals" of Christianity don't clash with my own, that I don't really believe in any of this crap (and I find it hard to believe how someone with an open mind can), and that Christianity has been more of a burden than a crutch to me, I've decided to just give up on it. Some may say that it's not important if the tales in the Bible are true or not, it's the impact they have on your life that matters. Well, the impact that this religion has had on my life has been 100% negative, which is even more of a reason for me to quit.
Summary:
/gquit
Lucid Faia has left the guild.