Posted by TylerJ on April 8, 2006, at 17:18:30
In reply to why not, posted by pseudoname on April 8, 2006, at 15:23:29
> I guess I didn't answer why I don't believe in God.
>
> I had thorough Christian exposure growing up:
> • Protestant church, Sunday school & choir every week
> • reactionary Protestant day school to 8th grade
> • Catholic high school
> • taken to speaking-in-tongues services sometimes
> • people in family who were Seventh-Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, etc
> • lots of dinnertime talk about Calvinism, evolution, etc
>
> By my mid-teens, I felt a lot of pressure from all these conflicting Christian dogmas. I felt that I saw too many internal contradictions and hand-waving, and it was getting to be too much for me, since I could find no logical reason to favor one Christian sect over another and each was presented to me with absolute certainty by its adherents.
>
> Plus, prayer never did anything for my emotional problems.
>
> The tipping point was at about 16 when I considered the unequivocally anti-gay passages in the Bible. I was gay and I *liked* that identity. (It was “different”, I guess.) I decided that a real God would have to know that being gay was okay. I remember exactly where I was sitting at the moment I thought, “If He doesn't want me, I don't want Him.”
>
> My atheism has developed since then. :-) But I still like religious issues & discussions, and I still play hymns on my piano.
I believe He does want you. I understand some of your confusion/frustration, etc. I was raised Catholic and felt forced to attend Church as an adolescent and teenager. As I got older I really started to question Catholism...praying to Mary, having to confess sins to a Priest, purgatory..just didn't buy it. Anyway, long story short I left the Catholic Church and because I still believed in God I started reading the Bible..which most Catholics didn't do. I accepted Christ at age 24 and I consider it to this day (I'm 47 now) the best thing I have ever done. I'm a basic Bible believing Christian. I'm definately not a Charasmatic holy roller-just not for me. As far as you being Gay, I hate it when "Christians" say he/she's gay so they must be lost. Christians aren't supposed to judge...I know God loves Gay people just as much as staight people. Gay people in my opinion tend to be some of the most intellegent, thoughtful, caring people on the planet. Thanks for your post pseudoname-take care.Tyler
poster:TylerJ
thread:630311
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060406/msgs/630643.html