Interesting question asking how one has acquired their religion.
I myself am on my third religion, even though I consider Taoism more a philosophy than a religion. I have also been Presbyterian, and Methodist, but have changed my religion to be more closely related to my beliefs.
I do not see why one would want to follow a religion that does not agree with ones own beliefs, but it is happening constantly with those that do not practice their religion. I say change your religion to suit you, not change yourself to suit the religion.
When one asks me in person what my religion is, I tell them Buddhism, because it is more of a pain to explain what Taoism was than to tell them Buddhism. I say I am a Buddhist, and nothing more is said. I say that I am a Taoist, and I get strange looks, and more questions of what it is. So, I say Buddhism to avoid the confusion of explanation.
I was atheist at birth as is often pointed out, but got Christianity from my family. Sadly, though like most, my family doesn't really take what the Bible says seriously. See I believe in stoning and all that other stuff, but they are too modern and reformed to understand that. (JOKE, srsly JOKE) Jokes aside, since I was about 15 I started to actually read the Bible for myself. I had already been indoctrinated with Bible stories and Daniel in the lion's den since I was young, but I decided to start searching for myself. I have a lot of questions and I'm actually seeking answers. My family and many others just accept everything and are basically hypocrites. We live our lives in ways that totally contradict the Bible and many of its teachings, if it came to brass text, we'd outright deny or excuse ourselves from most of them. Just the truth, I'm a Christian as of now, but I also call myself a truth-seeker
well because when an impossible prayer is answered, I don't know what to do. An analogy I always had is this: if I told you I had a invisible googleberry tree in my backyard and it lets you breathe fire and fly, you'd call me crazy. But if I actually breathed fire before your eyes and flew and let you prove it wasn't a trick of the eye, no matter how impossible, it would be logigal to believe I actually have that googleberry tree. It's kinda like that for god with me. I don't really want to believe, but the words of Jesus intrigued me, I believed, I prayed, and I'm seeing an answer
I would have to say I'm atheist. I don't believe things unless I can see them or they make logical sense (for example, I believe in the possibility of aliens, but I've never seen an alien xD).
I was somewhat raised by my paternal grandmother to be Christian. We would visit and stay with her every weekend, because my father was an only parent and having her babysit helped him a lot financially. Anyway, we'd go to Sunday School every single sunday...
I just remember how much I always hated it. The "dressing up" for it (I was very much a tomboy and hated dresses with a passion). I even remember once, when I was about 5 or 6, becoming hysterically upset at the prospect of going to Sunday School, because the whole ordeal was always so stressful.
Most likely the negative experience I had in that regard is what prompted me to give Christianity a critical eye (and other religions as well, for that matter). There were times when I honestly did wish there was a God out there, but I never believed in him. And, I suppose, if I wanted there to be a God-- it certainly wouldn't have been the psycho described in the bible that I was hoping for.
In any case.... I find most fantatical Christians to be downright frightening and infuriating. I'm extremely liberal and open minded.
I wouldn't hate or disrespect someone because they are religious, but I wouldn't have much respect for them at all if they acted like a complete idiot or did something to hurt someone else. Actions always speak louder to me than words. How can you "love thy neighbor" when you are gay bashing, or attacking people for not believing in a God that is supposed to be all-loving?
On the other hand... I read through about 8 or 9 pages worth of comments before taking the time to leave my own thoughts here. While I do agree that the likelihood of their being a God is about zero, your lack of respect toward some of those making comments is pretty astounding.
Making a comment in order to provoke thought in someone is wholly different than ridiculing and attacking them outright. I sincerely hope that you take a step back from whatever has made you so angry about the subject and realize that though we are speaking through the channels of the Internet, there are real, live people living at the other end of that screen.
TL;DR: Grandmother tried to force christianity on me and it didn't work out. I'm atheist, very much a scientific thinker, and I have a strong belief that some people ought to learn their manners.
Sta.sh
Devious Comments
I myself am on my third religion, even though I consider Taoism more a philosophy than a religion. I have also been Presbyterian, and Methodist, but have changed my religion to be more closely related to my beliefs.
I do not see why one would want to follow a religion that does not agree with ones own beliefs, but it is happening constantly with those that do not practice their religion. I say change your religion to suit you, not change yourself to suit the religion.
When one asks me in person what my religion is, I tell them Buddhism, because it is more of a pain to explain what Taoism was than to tell them Buddhism. I say I am a Buddhist, and nothing more is said. I say that I am a Taoist, and I get strange looks, and more questions of what it is. So, I say Buddhism to avoid the confusion of explanation.
Jokes aside, since I was about 15 I started to actually read the Bible for myself. I had already been indoctrinated with Bible stories and Daniel in the lion's den since I was young, but I decided to start searching for myself. I have a lot of questions and I'm actually seeking answers. My family and many others just accept everything and are basically hypocrites. We live our lives in ways that totally contradict the Bible and many of its teachings, if it came to brass text, we'd outright deny or excuse ourselves from most of them. Just the truth, I'm a Christian as of now, but I also call myself a truth-seeker
I was somewhat raised by my paternal grandmother to be Christian. We would visit and stay with her every weekend, because my father was an only parent and having her babysit helped him a lot financially. Anyway, we'd go to Sunday School every single sunday...
I just remember how much I always hated it. The "dressing up" for it (I was very much a tomboy and hated dresses with a passion). I even remember once, when I was about 5 or 6, becoming hysterically upset at the prospect of going to Sunday School, because the whole ordeal was always so stressful.
Most likely the negative experience I had in that regard is what prompted me to give Christianity a critical eye (and other religions as well, for that matter). There were times when I honestly did wish there was a God out there, but I never believed in him. And, I suppose, if I wanted there to be a God-- it certainly wouldn't have been the psycho described in the bible that I was hoping for.
In any case.... I find most fantatical Christians to be downright frightening and infuriating. I'm extremely liberal and open minded.
I wouldn't hate or disrespect someone because they are religious, but I wouldn't have much respect for them at all if they acted like a complete idiot or did something to hurt someone else. Actions always speak louder to me than words. How can you "love thy neighbor" when you are gay bashing, or attacking people for not believing in a God that is supposed to be all-loving?
On the other hand... I read through about 8 or 9 pages worth of comments before taking the time to leave my own thoughts here. While I do agree that the likelihood of their being a God is about zero, your lack of respect toward some of those making comments is pretty astounding.
Making a comment in order to provoke thought in someone is wholly different than ridiculing and attacking them outright. I sincerely hope that you take a step back from whatever has made you so angry about the subject and realize that though we are speaking through the channels of the Internet, there are real, live people living at the other end of that screen.
TL;DR: Grandmother tried to force christianity on me and it didn't work out. I'm atheist, very much a scientific thinker, and I have a strong belief that some people ought to learn their manners.