That subject everyone loves…

Religion. Or the lack there of.

So, I was born In Jacksonville FL. I was mostly raised by my grandmother, who took me to a southern baptist church every Sunday morning.. and night.. and Wednesday night. I was raised by ‘The Book’. When I say book, I am referring to the K.J.V. ( King James Version) Bible. It’s pretty simple really. There is God and the son of God, Jesus. God created the heavens and the earth then people and animals and done all of this in 6 days, and of course as He should He rested on the seventh. Then a bunch of other stuff happened… Then along came Jesus. Jesus was sent here to forgive our sins. He drank from a cup and died on a cross for us, the sinners. This is just a short version, of course. So as the story goes, to get into heaven all we have to do ask forgiveness of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our savior. Upon doing this, we are supposed to have the ‘golden ticket’. The passage to heaven. And the story goes on.

As an adult with my own working brain have drawn my own conclusions. I am not a Christian. I do not partake in any religious beliefs for that matter. I am what most people call Agnostic. I do not think poorly of any religions. I do not put people down for their beliefs. I do not walk door to door with pamphlets explaining why people should not believe in their particular God. I do however have (mostly Christian) people try to force the word of God on me. Be it family, friends, or people in parking lots. So if for nothing more than to ease my own mind, I am going to explain a few things. Reasons even.

Why, you may ask yourself would a young woman raised in a church by a Christian family claim to have no beliefs? Well there are a few reasons. Lets start off with the short answer. Science. Thats right, I went to school! Debaters keep your seats, I have heard it all. I am not here to argue, this is simply an explanation of my own beliefs. So, moving along. Reason number two. Society. I will not speak for all religions because I don’t know them all, but as far as Christianity is concerned heres a few things I think about. Hate crimes, murder, rape, child abuse, domestic abuse, torture, war, cancer, and the list goes on. And on. And on. The sweet merciful God who claims to love “his children” allows such sufferings. Perhaps you will try to refer me to some verse in the bible where it says that life will not be easy. Like I said, I’ve heard it all. Well of course life wont be easy. We are humans, another part of the FOOD CHAIN. We just have technology and opposable thumbs.

Keep in mind I am not putting down Christianity. I am simply stating reasons for my own beliefs. As far as comments go, if you are going to preach… save yourself a few minutes. This is just a blog NOT an invitation for debate. You have your beliefs and I have mine. Lets keep it that way.

To sum this up I will say, I think we will eradicate ourselves eventually, and beyond that.. I don’t care.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “That subject everyone loves…,” an entry on Deep Meanderings of a Glue Sniffer.

Published:: October 24, 2007 / 7:33 am

Category:: other

Tags:: agnostic, athiest, beleifs, blog, blogging, god, honesty, religion, writing

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October 2007
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Well, My name is Bri. I’m 25… Thats me up there^….I live in AL. I’m originally from FL. I have three little girls that I love more than life. I don’t have a job or any real hobbies. I am boring. I do however like to write, paint and do a little bit of photography. I don’t know what else to say. So blah. If you want to contact me…

MSN : sibleedingde@hotmail.com or Click Here To Email Me at Hotmail

Yahoo: Baby_bri_like_whoa or Click Here To Email Me on Yahoo

AOL/AIM: bttrflybri683 or phr34k13br1n4

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You will have to add me. But, no worries. I’m awesome. =P

saul 10.24.07 / 7am

I love your declaration of resistance to the Christian hegemony.

The hardest thing for me is to figure out what my relationship to this mass of religious folk should be. Should I despise them for the societal ills you mentioned that they ignore or take part in? Should I recognize that evil is independent of religion and that for some people religion is a good force in their lives?

703cs 10.24.07 / 7am

Just be yourself Saul. Be true to yourself and your own beliefs, whatever they are, and no one can fault you. I don’t force the Agnostic way of life on anyone, yes I am Agnostic. I don’t care one way or the other. So long as I believe in me and what I’m doing, I’ll be fine. That’s what I believe in.

bri683 10.24.07 / 7am

I think, to each their own. Most people need something to believe in.

Winslie Gomez 10.24.07 / 9am

Bri683
Good for you.
Like you, been down the “born again” route and came up with a dead end.
As already been said, each to their own. I am ex bible college.
I realised the inconsistencies within not only christianity, but other faiths as well and that made me question. From then on realised that I could make myself believe anything and appear convincing, and most people do.

gebs 10.25.07 / 5am

Interesting perspective. So why do you think there is evil in the world? And what do you make of Jesus?

bri683 10.25.07 / 6am

Before I answer the question about evil, tell me what you mean. Do you mean the perverted nature of the people in this sick world, or some kind of demonic spirit?

In response to your question about Jesus. There is no physical evidence to support his life. The gospels are the words of other men observing this man, the supposed son of God and his miracles. They prophesied that Christ would come and die for our salvation. Well.. he died (if he existed).

Like I stated before. I did not want this to turn into a debate. Your beliefs are what they are. I do not put them down. If the bible is what you believe in and live by, then I am glad for you. I think faith can be a very positive thing for some people. And the morals that Christianity supports are very good ones to live by. I live by most myself. But do I think that I will go to Hell if I don’t live by them? No.

gebs 10.25.07 / 8am

I mean, why do people suffer starvation and poverty. Why does war rule our world? Is it just for some unknown reason? Or is it something to be overcome? If it is to be overcome, how are we to do it?

I understand that you do not want to turn it into a debate. We dont have to do that. We can just share our opinions, without trying to ‘convert’ each other. I accept that, and i realise that you dont have to reply or accept my comments.

There are other hiistorians, besides the bible who have documented the person Jesus from outside the bible. One of there is Josephus, who was a historian in the year 90. It is quite unimaginable to think that he was made up for the purposes of some religious few. If he did exist and he has made such an impact on the world, then atleast we need to ask why.

It is not for me to say who goes to hell and who does not.

bri683 10.25.07 / 9am

Why do people suffer from starvation and poverty? That is a good question. What separates the rich from the poor? Money. With money comes greed. The rich people have it and don’t want to share it. I don’t get how someone who plays sports can make as much money as the president, yet some of us have to work two jobs to get our food on the table, or keep the lights on. I think people have lost sight of the important parts of life. They think that all the material things will somehow satisfy them. They don’t feel any responsibility to help those who need it. Everyone is too concerned with themselves, their lives, their property. I guess I don’t really have a clue. It is very sad that all these things go on, and the certain people with the ability to help don’t, or just do enough that someone will take their picture and pat them on the back. It’s like Darwinism. Every man for himself. As far as war is concerned. I think people are bred to believe that the American way is the only way. Much like other people in other countries are bred the same way. With intolerance and hate. If its not their way, they bomb it, kill it, eradicate it. Then its not a threat.

I am not too familiar with Josephus other than him being a Jewish historian well after the crucifixion, I Googled (of course) but didn’t find too much. Do you have any literature you can refer me to? I would love to know more. I am not anything close to an expert on well, anything. So I am always open to learn new things.

Jigz 10.25.07 / 11am

I was raised as a christian too.

As an adult I started to wonder if it wasnt all just bull…

Guy gets swallowed by whale….dude builds ark and sails for 40 days n nites (didnt he??)

However for some reason I still believe. In fact I am certain that God exists and I am certain I am seeing him at work everyday.

Strange…but I believe in God even though I feel as if it is so unlikely that he exists.

Guess I’m just strange like that.

arleen 10.25.07 / 11am

good for you – its a shame not all families let their members find their own religion. i would suggest almost all religious believers are simply made that way by their parents, they certainly arent born christian. they dont believe in a god right away. let people figure things out for themselves and we wll will be better off.

papawarthur 10.25.07 / 1pm

Awesome post.

I spent my life believing there is a God but not believing in religion. A few years ago I discoverd there is a distinct difference betweeen religion and spirituality. I now believe in spiritual growth.

I read the bible every day and interact with God every day. I gather with others to worship God together on occasion.

I love all of you. Who am I to judge where anyone might be on their spiritual journey here on earth. If Jesus returns one day, it will answer all our questions. In the meantime, I choose to focus on what we agree upon and there is a huge amount of that in this post and these comments

Mitsu 10.25.07 / 2pm

Finally, someone who sees things the way I do! I agree 100% with this. Religions are the cause of too much sufferring, injustice and oppression. I just believe in living my life, and respecting others, and that’s the way it should be.

mudpuppy 10.25.07 / 3pm

I can understand your concerns with a faith that transcends. I too grew up in the church, but didn’t really have any personal conviction until recently. I now live by the motto: Reject Religion. Embrace Jesus.

Religion has done a ton of harm (in Jesus name no less). I’m not going to try to convince you one way or the other. But if you’re ever interested in diving in to see if perhaps there’s more to life than mere existance, I would encourage you to check out books from the following authors: Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, and Rob Bell. As well as check out some sweet videos called Nooma, also by Rob Bell.

Thanks for your honesty! Stop by the blog sometime!!

cragar 10.25.07 / 4pm

I think the biggest key has always been science. Every year, decade, and century we learn more and more about who we are, yet people want to transform these learnings and make it fit into a book written 2000+ years ago. If the book was true then all of the things we are learning now would fit into the book wouldn’t they?

Good post, just found you and read your older posts as well, and I’m sure your hits will go up now with the tags you used.

jvanover 10.25.07 / 4pm

Your are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you have a blessed life.

mookxi 10.25.07 / 4pm

Man you got so many comments this will probably be just another one to you haha X-DD Anyway, I found what you had to say was somewhat interesting. You sound quite athiest though haha. I’ve actually observed that most if not half of the children that grow up with Christian parents or with Christian traditions etc etc grow to be either atheist or agnostic. I find that fascinating and in a sense, a curse.

bri683 10.25.07 / 8pm

I encourage everyone to follow their own hearts and their own beliefs despite how people may react. If you are doing what you feel is right, then nothing should stand in your way. Just be true to yourself.

Ty everyone for your comments, and thoughts.

Mookxi- I guess I do sound Atheist HA HA! I really couldn’t tell you why Christian homes breed non-believers. I just simply came to my own conclusions and beliefs. That would be interesting to research.

gebs 10.25.07 / 11pm

Wow, you have certainly got a lot of comments going on this post. Well done and i hope it keeps growing. It is certainly a question very close to everyones hearts.

It is true that everyone today can draw a distinction between religion and spirituality. And although religion can be seen as enticing a lot of evil, the spiritual search for meaning lives on.

You are right, everyone needs to follow their own hearts. No person can make another person beleive anything. Even Jesus could not do that! And eventually he was killed for trying to.

Your explanation of evil is ery insightful. Thank God that so many of us can have reasons now that are beyond mere selfishness and greed. Money need not be a problem in our world, but human nature makes it so. All the things you have said i agree with and i beleive are within the teachings of Christ which have inflitrated all of life throughout the last two thousand years, to a point where they can now stand on their own feet.

About Josephus. There is a big dispute as to what he exaclty said, but everyone agrees he said something. Here is a good link; http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/jdtabor/josephus-jesus.html

thanks for allowing me to have a say on your blog.

Deep Meanderings of a Glue Sniffer.

That subject everyone loves…

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