Faith Transitions?

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I know, one of the 2 things we're never supposed to talk about (the other being politics). But I'm just curious - how many of you have been through a faith transition at some point in your life? From an organized religion to agnosticism? Used to be an atheist, now believe in one of the major versions of a higher power? Tell me about it!

[crazykhajiitlady]

Oh man could I write a long post about this topic. I'll try to keep it brief. 

 

Basically I grew up being raised Catholic/attending Catholic school and becoming more atheist/agnostic with more pagan leanings. My own spiritual journey has been pretty challenging with the baggage I have from my previous religious institution and although I know many Christians today follow the teachings of Christ (which are pretty solid as Jesus was a cool dude) the majority of Christian institutions seem really oppressive and antithetical to what Jesus's teachings actually were which was a large part of the reason I left. That and being female and non-heterosexual made it feel additionally an unwelcome environment for me. 

 

Currently to reclaim my own space I admittedly practice a variety of "witchcraft" which is less about being a creepy person who "casts spells" on other people and more about finding energy existing in the universe and attuning myself to it and reflecting on my own relationship with myself, other people and the world around me. I also spend a lot of time reflecting on the idea of being a "healer" as I continue my path learning to be a physician. 

[Hazard]

On 5/29/2018 at 5:45 PM, IslandGirl_Becks said:

how many of you have been through a faith transition at some point in your life? From an organized religion to agnosticism? Used to be an atheist, now believe in one of the major versions of a higher power? Tell me about it!

 

 

 

 

It would take far too long to type out my story.  But my story is very similar to this.

(This is a full compilation video, nearly 4 hours long.  If you prefer it broken down into shorter segments that are 5-10 minutes long each, the original playlist is here.)

 

 

[Genisee]

On 5/29/2018 at 3:45 PM, IslandGirl_Becks said:

how many of you have been through a faith transition at some point in your life? 

 

I was raised in a conservative evangelical Christian family. I had slow awakening of awareness through college and young adulthood that the universe was not nearly as black/white as I had always been taught. I don't know what to classify myself as now. I guess omnism is the best description. I feel that all religions have some truth and validity to them, but no one religion has got all the right answers. 

[Kishi]

Well, the short version is that I grew up nominally Protestant, got into the fire and brimstone stuff long enough to hurt some people I care about, took a hard turn into Calvinism at one point before finally just giving up and deciding that most everyone in my local faith community had replaced faith with certainty, and that they were fools for doing so.

 

These days, I tend to emphasize Zen-style meditation and apophatic theology, essentially leaning into the mystery rather than the certainty. I also have a pretty wide universalist streak in me on account of how I attempt to bridge the two halves of Christian scripture. So, tl;dr, just a garden-variety heretic, trying to live and love.

[Gathrightknight]

After a severe breakup with the girl I was going to marry, I've been struggling with faith. For the majority of my life I've been more agnostic (with a mix between Christian and Buddhist philosophies) but always had a keen interest in the study of religion and spirituality. Due to the recent circumstances, a lot of soul searching, and just trying to cope with the depression I've been looking more into Christianity. So I guess you could say I'm going through a faith transition currently.

[Nedwin]

I actually have a pretty similar story to a few people here in that I was raised in a strict, conservative baptist household and it damaged me and my siblings in ways they still don't even realize. I'm in a few Facebook groups for people like us: 90s Christian Music Recovery Group, I Kissed Toxic Church Culture Goodbye, and one other that I can't remember right now and I don't have access to Facebook. I'll check when I get off work in 12 hours lol

[Nedwin]

I’m in two others. Left Behind - A group for former christians / Christian High School and Homeschooling Recovery Group

[Renatus Aurelius]

I was raised Catholic until I was about 12.  I never actually had faith to be honest.  I "believed" because that's what my mom told me was true, and the rest of the family seemed to agree. 

 

I chose to get my communion, just so I could have the snack everyone else was having. Church was so boring...I wanted a snack.

 

CCD class was hilarious, looking back.  The lady had no idea how to handle my questions.  The little virgin Mary figurine they gave me?  I thought it was perfect to replace the queen on my chessboard.

 

I was also really into dinosaurs.  At the time, I was under the impression that dinosaurs were killed off by meteor.  I had this idea of a fireball coming down and slamming into the Earth.   

I also was told by my mom, around that time, that god had kicked the devil out of heaven for being bad.

 

So, here I am, a cartoon watching fan of dinosaurs and a fun imagination, so I pictured God angrily picking up the devil, and punting him, literally kicking him, out of heaven.  Cartoon style.  

Heaven is in the sky, right? And hell is underground. See where it's going?  God kicked the devil out of heaven, after which he fell down from the sky like a meteor, struck the ground, killing off the dinosaurs, and continued down into the bowels of hell.

 

Anyway, I grew from that, to agnostic(don't know,) to what I called "apathagnostic"(don't know and don't care,) to "scientologist"(science rules! (was before I was aware there already was a REALLY different scientology)), to vocal and angry atheist, and now to just atheist.

[WolfDreamer]

I grew up as a Christian, and I would say I am still a Christian. But...

 

My faith is always transitioning, and what I mean by that is that as I read and study scripture and pray/meditate, and as I interact with the world and read other books from authors of varying viewpoints and faiths and beliefs, I learn more and I unlearn a mix of what I was always taught and what I thought I believed about God, about Jesus Christ, about evangelism, about my place and purpose in this universe, about the best ways to see and love and feel the presence of Christ, about how to connect to other believers and nonbelievers both within church walls and outside of them, about what God commands of me and whether I am a sinner doomed to fail or a redeemed son of God bound for glory.

 

My faith is always transitioning because it's always growing.