talk help: Why People leave their faith…. - Help.com

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well as i stated in another post… i use to believe in god… however.. it has come to the point of wondering… how can one person go through soooo much in life… how can god allow it?? i have been molested from 3 to 11… beat by my parents… beat by an ex husband for ten years.. and also lost my 3 children in which i was blessed with… because the ex husband beat on me… now..i suffer from a tumor on my spine due to blunt force trauma… (from the ex husband).. its a seperation of the spinal fluid due to being hit so hard.. i also suffer from severe depression… how on earth.. would god allow one person to suffer from sooo much in one life time???????? so.. as i sit here… my feelings towards god.. either not hearing my prayers… or just not caring…. my beliefs for him are dwindling… can you blame me>????????

I left Catholicism because there’s no way to prove or disprove that there’s a God, among a few other issues. Anyway, I don’t want to start a religious debate or discussion, so I’m unsubscribing from this. Have a nice day. :)

I was mad at God after my son died. My faith wavered.
I blamed him for doing this to us.
Today, I am glad that God has kept me.
I have had too many close experiences with God now to ever deny him.

He heard me when i was at my wits end, and sheltered me from myself.

Any one can believe any thing they want.
But, as for me, I truly believe in God. He helps me.
I believe he can help any one that asks one simple thing?
Show me who you really are.
And he does.

yes

i sometimes wish that i could leave god… but its not possible…

Ya, when my son died, I thought the same.
I’m glad God didn’t just quit on me like i did him.

its only not possible for me. i don know about you all. its just life gets me so mad, and i want to say there cant be a god, but if you have been through the amazing things i have, you couldnt convince yourself if you tried that there wasnt a god…

Im sure.

“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

and Heather is the exact reason why I support religious tolerance. :)

I have toyed around with a lot of faiths. But I ultimately found one in the end that fit me well, and that I can believe in. I do not follow Christianity. I did for the first ten years of my life, if you count myself being too young to know what it was. I began separating myself from the ideas and beliefs of that religion when I got a little older. I began to study all different religions before landing on Wicca. I am not a Wiccan, but a Pagan/Wiccan. And I am perfectly happy with my faith. I am perfectly happy with you guys following different religions than I do. I did leave Christianity, but that was only because it was not right for me. And that’s okay.

We will all know someday.
When were not looking through this dark glass of life.

My faith found me when I was drowning in life’s ills.
We all walk similar paths and we all have valid experiences.

gotta go for now, thanx and good night friends.

I left for the same reason and it was when i was just a teenager. I felt like higschool and church were near the same thing except everyone was more family oriented. i felt out of place, and i felt like there was more than just religion going on. idk its been a while ill just say i was never comfortable there. last church i went to was my mothers church for like the last 3 years. it is a very accepting church imo. im not really uncomfortable there. i think when i head back home if id give it a shot it would be thru there. my mother and most of all my father starting to go to this new church and giving up smoking and be much more healthy has been positive. i am just so miserable right now its hard to look thru this fog.

rosered212 wrote:
[quote Silverwings]

God can take all the bad in our lives and turn it into good, if we continue to seek him, and learn of him….

God bless

i really have changed my life for the good.. as for being beat as a child.. i have never once hit my kids.. as for being beat as a wife.. i am stronger in my mind and know what to look for inorder to help others… ect ect ect… i have learned… enough is enough… i cant deal with this anymore…. there ARE so many times in which i just wanted to end it all.. im tired… i cant hang on to this drama of a life much longer… every time i get that low in my life… which is often.. i think about my kids… and i know that i have to suffer because it would be too much for them if i took the easy way out… so basicly,, i live for them.. i have given my heart, mind and sould to god.. i have gone to church and learned about him and such… but im a person that is tired… im done with the learning expierence that he wants me to learn… im tired as all heck… i just want to finally have a drama free life… meaning.. i want my kids home.. i want to support them in every way that i can physically, mentally ect… life can give us little ups and downs.. sure… however.. i have been climbing mountains… and falling off cliffs… all of my life… and as i keep saying… im tired…. how much more must i go through to prove to god that im a good person… i have a huge heart… im always willing to give than to receive .. that i gave myself to him and prayed every day and night… only to be forgotten about……~tears~

rosered212 wrote:
Lil, experiences never end. wether good or bad. But if you hang in there, you will get through it. God doesn’t forget anyone! He knows what you have been through. he wants to help you. maybe its not time yet, or your not asking him the right questions. If you believe, he will help, when the time is perfect for him to help.

how can god bless you with his own… to love, cherish and to protect as yours… then all of a sudden rip their lives away from you??? for reasons as being abused by an abuser… why do my children and i have to suffer like this??? its not fair… i have asked him in soooo many ways to help.. to help those who have done this to us… to help ease the pain of my kids… to help in finding the truth of his love for me.. for us… i have asked for forgiveness.. and i have asked if there is a reason for me having to be so tortured in this life… i have not only prayed.. day and night.. but i have written letters to him.. i have told him that i believe.. that i trust in him… ect ect ect.. i have even gotten to the point of begging him.. pleading for his heart to feel my pain… honestly.. i believe he has given up on me… forgotten about me.. that or not caring about the pain that i feel..

Heather: Given It wrote:
God doesnt take, if anything if one leaves its the person who chooses to leave, if a life dies, its because it was meant to live a certain amount of time and every life dies at some point, there must be death in order for life to also begin anew, a life must expire for a new one to be made, old or young something happens to a person for a reason.

You said your kids keep you going, so your finding a way to deal with the pain, their lives and smiles must ease some pains, as always there is something to make us all stronger. God can help you see strength in a way that you get it, but its not given, things have to be understood and earned too, each person builds their own confidence, their own control and power of their life, God can be the puppet master holding the strings to all the people and make them do what they should, He can only guide in a way that you follow what you think is best in your heart. So forth.

I hope that in some way that not just your kids alone are a reason to help you and make you go on, but that you find strength in yourself too because it lies within us all. You may never know when things will be answered for you, thats why its ok to keep asking for that help, many people have to do that everyday, because again, it cant be something given out easily everyday, there are so many of us that need to work together too, to help make life easier on us.

as for a person choosing to leave.. my children never chose to leave.. they were taken!! if you read my story… www.myspace.com/missing_my_children you can read what has happened just with my kids… my kids have ran away from these people… because they want to come home… as for my kids keeping me going… yes.. they do.. and they are the only reason i wake every morning… i deal with life because i have too.. not because i want too… i will never take the leap into suicide… because i know how it would affect my kids… so im here to stay… but it has been 3 years of fighting.. praying… wishing… hoping.. only to be disappointed every step of the way… my oldest daughter has become a cutter…. my middle daughter has been brainwashed into believing that i want her home only for money… and my son is suffering as a little maid because his aunt is lazy… birthdays have just passed.. christmas once again is comming… and all i can do is sit in bed and cry the day away…. but enough of me crying the blues… about my situation… i have let out how i feel about god.. how sad and confused about him that i have become… and how tired i am… thanks for your help and understanding in my situation… ~hugs~

MittensInSummertime wrote:
and Heather is the exact reason why I support religious tolerance. :)

I have toyed around with a lot of faiths. But I ultimately found one in the end that fit me well, and that I can believe in. I do not follow Christianity. I did for the first ten years of my life, if you count myself being too young to know what it was. I began separating myself from the ideas and beliefs of that religion when I got a little older. I began to study all different religions before landing on Wicca. I am not a Wiccan, but a Pagan/Wiccan. And I am perfectly happy with my faith. I am perfectly happy with you guys following different religions than I do. I did leave Christianity, but that was only because it was not right for me. And that’s okay.

Me Too, except I left, for various reasons, I was abused as a child, thrown out of a home that I was adopted into, tossed around from family to family member, my grandma used to humiliate me with her going on about how I just need to rid myself of demons and what not at family get togethers. My parents told me the wished they had adopted a boy, my dad even went so far as to dress me in boys clothes. one time I cried when my father hit me with a board, and they put me in a diaper just a diaper, and made me stand outside, because I was a “baby”. when I moved in with my other grandmother, I set out to find a new religion, then Seventeen magazine did a little one page article about this girl who was wiccan, I thought it was kinda cool, and started researching the religion online at school, I actaully studied it for two years before I decided it was right for me, the whole time I was collecting information. My grandmother didnt necessarily aprove, she said I’d go to hell and what not, but she said that what ever decison I made was one I’d have to live with for the rest of my life, and I’ve made that decison, and am very happy with it

Well i am one of those people who left my soo said faith since at the age of 12. i’m catholic and i think that catholic priest and at time church members ostrachize its so said followers. and i know some who leave their faith mostly because of being hurt or disappointed by soo many things in life its not a joke. alot of people would critize them for not going to church or worship or temple or what ever it is they fo to but you don’t know what that person has endured or what pain and suffering they have been through. i think that people should be more understanding towards those people who loses faith and not to just shove them back in. but more like let them go through their problems then make them see what you r seeing or which ever religion they believe in.

God helps those who help themselves.

Living a good life is not dependent on submission to God, and I think that he/she/it would be happier with those who took their life into their own hands, focused on making the world a better place, without spending so much time in worship.

I’m late again. No time to read all the replies. Oh, well. Comes with not being online as much.

I’ve left more religions than most, Roman Catholic and several other forms of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Pagan, Wicca, Judaism, Buddhism, Shinto, Atheism, and quite a few others for a total of 37. I left all of them for the same reasons. They make no sense, they’re all the same, they have nothing more substantial than an old storybook for proof, and none of them feel right at all. There were other reasons, of course, but those are the ones they all had in common.

thankyou heather…. yeah… i was actually away from my parents for about 3 years… because they actually had the audasity to believe the abuser.. and actually showed up in court on his behalf… believe it or not.. i told them.. i dont care if my child killed someone infront of me… that is my child… i would be upset with what he or she did.. however.. that is my child and i would be there no matter what…

KJF wrote:
God helps those who help themselves.

i have been trying to help myself… because i believe that is the ONLY way i can get the help to end this… however.. it has been 3 years of fighting for what is right.. and low and behold.. the abuser HAS ALL THE RIGHTS… this does not make sense.. if i stayed.. if i continued with the beatings… i would have my kids to this day… however because i chose to leave.. because i finally got the courage… my kids were taken… HOW IS THAT SUPPOSE TO TEACH ME ANYTHING?????? that im suppose to be beat my entire life.. or if i end it.. my life becomes miserable???? hhhhmmmmmm….. sometimes i just wish that i stayed… and dealt…

thankyou heather… im trying… it just seems never ending… i will continue my fight… i have actually thought about maybe becoming a councilor for victims of abuse… but anyways… im going to unsubscribe from this post… its way too emotional for me…. thankyou all for letting me blab my issue with god… yes.. i believe.. its just slowly dwindling… hugs everyone…

KJF wrote:
God helps those who help themselves.

I find this interesting. Wouldn’t you think it would be the people who CAN’T help themselves that would need God’s help the most? Actually, they’re the ONLY people who would need it, as everyone else would be able to help their own situations.

It’s kind of interesting when you think about how no one has faith in the first place…it’s usually absorbed, copied, or otherwise indoctrinated by the person’s environment as a child first rather than being discovered independently.

* sigh * I can’t go ONE day without people shoving their views down my throat can I?

Charity wrote:
* sigh * I can’t go ONE day without people shoving their views down my throat can I?

How’s this shoving? :( Here’s what I call shoving:

“* Enter religion here * is right! I don’t care if you have a religion that you’re happy with. It’s wrong. Join us or you’ll be ostracized by * Enter a god’s name here * into * Enter afterlife for bad people here *”

This is not a post for shoving. This is a post for talking about why you left your religion.

Or maybe everyone has faith in the first place…

“When you were a baby, for instance, your mother presumably served as God in relation to you - in an inescapable if impersonal way before birth, and through the expression of an autocratic but very personal love after birth. Virtually everything good that came to you then, such as milk and love and coziness, seemed to be bestowed by her. And no doubt a few things not so good, including an occasional scolding or a restraining slap, for of course she was sovereign and almighty - at least relatively speaking.”

- Guy Murchie

I’d say the first God I placed my faith in was my mom.

See, I’m not the type to worship anyone. Even if a god was proven to be real, I wouldn’t get on my knees and bow and all that. I’d be thankful, but I don’t have it in me to worship like that.

I’m not religious but, i think people stop believing in their faith because they feel that there god hasnt been there for them or has let them down.

thanks

its like y’no if gods suposed to be all good then why does he keep F***ing me over and stuf. you cant believe in someone you dont trust

I no this song, by madonna, which is sorta apropriate here:

I’m in love with you, you silly thing
Anyone can see
What is it with you, you silly thing
Just take it from me
It was not a chance meeting
Feel my heart beating
You’re the one

You could take all this, take it away
I’d still have it all
Cause I’ve climbed the tree of life
And that is why, no longer scared if I fall

When I get lost in space
I can return to this place
Cause, you’re the one

Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
You washed away my tears
Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
Nothing fails

I’m not religious
But I feel so moved
Makes me want to pray,
Pray you’ll always be here

I’m not religious
But I feel such love
Makes me want to pray

When I get lost in space
I can return to this place
Cause, you’re the one

I’m not religious
But i feel so moved
Mmmm mmm…
I’m not religious
Makes me want to pray

I’m not religious
But i feel so moved
Makes me want to pray
Pray you’ll always be here
I’m not religous
But i feel such love
makes me want to pray

I’m not religious (I’m not religious)
But I feel so moved (but it makes want to pray)
I’m not religious (I’m not religious)
Makes me want to pray (But it makes me want to pray)
I’m not religious (makes me want to)
But I feel so moved (pray)
I’m not religious (pray)
Makes me want to pray (pray)

Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
You washed away my tears
Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails

————————————————————————— —–

God Thinks by Voltaire

God thinks all blacks are obsolete farm eqipment
God thinks the Jews killed his son and must be punished
God thinks the white man is Satan
God, they know what God thinks

God thinks we should all convert to Judaism
God thinks we must all be Christians and
God thinks we should all embrace Islam
God thinks the only true religion is Hinduism

And I
I know what God thinks
God thinks you’re a waste of flesh
God prefers an Atheist

God thinks all people like you are hateful
God thinks all people like you are an embarassment to creation
self-righteous, judgemental, first to throw the stone
and use His name for your own protection

God thinks the sun revolves around the Earth
God thinks there was something very wrong with Copernicus
God thinks abortion is murder and
God thinks everything that science gave us is wrong
God thinks women deserve it
God thinks AIDS is a form of punishment

I hate people who blame the Devil for their own shortcomings and
I hate people who thank God when things go right

And I
I know what God thinks
God thinks you’re an idiot
God prefers a heretic

God God
God thinks all people like you are hateful
God thinks all people like you are an embarassment to creation
self-righteous, judgemental, first to throw the stone
and use His name for your own agenda

God is a liberal
God is a democrat
God wants you to vote republican
never trust a man who puts his words in the mouth of god
and says that it’s absolute truth
its lies and it smells like death
its all in a day’s work taking money from the poor
Why do you think that God would need your dirty money
if he wanted to start a holy war?

self-righteous, judgemental, first to throw the stone
and use His name for your own protection

God thinks puppies need to die and
God thinks babies need to drown
’cause God is neither good nor bad
God is you and me
God is Everything

i dont have anything against people that believe in god but if you spend life living it for him then why bother? thats not living!?!?!

I believe God wants us to live for Him. After all,He created this life. Why He allows hurt, depression, loneliness, and so on, is not always made known to us. But I know one thing is for sure, He gives us life which he sustains until our last breath. He also promises us eternity in a world unlike this, where there will be no pain, or seperation from Him. If we want that, we need to change our priorities, and die to our own desires, which the bible describes as destructive. And live in a way pleasing to Him. Think of what the alternative is, by the way, its the only alternative to eternity in Heaven. It is described as a place where we will burn, but never consumed in the fire. this is eternal as well, eternal pain beyond your imagination. If you don’t believe it, keep living for yourself. Is it worth the gamble not to believe? Christ gave His life for that possibility. This world isn’t for us, God never claims it to be. It is to glorify Him, our creator.
I am so sorry for your pain. I can relate to your hurt to the point where I was within seconds of pulling the trigger on my ounlife a year ago. While I was pushing God out of my mind, He pushed right back at the last second and put an image in my mind, that was probably the only image that would make me not kill myself. The image of my daughter. I had little or no hope to overcome my circumstances and thought suicide was my only out. “Heaven has to be better than this life on earth” I thought. But since then, He has given me a greater purpose in life. He’s taught me that if we didn’t believe in Him and His eternal plan, Jesus went to the cross in vein.
He does love you, very much. He has plans for you as He does for each and every one of us. But in order to receive His instruction, you must receive His gift of eternal life. Ask, trust, and turn to Him. Turn to His people to help you. We are each a part of Him and those who claim to be a part have the responsibility to do His work. Search for help among those people. Tell them your need and God will answer your prayer through His Church, the body of Christ.
I will be praying for you and I trust He will answer.

God bless, Mike

To the carnal minded, faith in Jesus is foolishness.
To the eye that is opened, He is the only hope.
He came for the sick, I am wretched.
He found me, right where I live.
Now His word is in my heart.
I might turn from him in times of weakness, I am human, but he has never turned from me. I feel His gentle tug from time to time when I’m about to give in.
When others torment me with constant barrage, He gives me a prayer, and softens my heart toward their souls.
When I hit bottom, He gives me a song.
I can not imagine my life without Jesus anymore.

It’s hard to leave the faith.

watch the zeitgeist on google video, if you want a diiferent take on religion, 9/11, and the government, it will change your life

well the first part might be offensive to you then but you should at leat skip to parts 2 and 3

sometimes something bad can happen to the person and they blam it on god

The most obvious reason people leave any god is too many nights spent praying for help, and never getting an answer.

god is as real as you believe him to be. and helps as much as you believe he helps.

Yet lo and behold, we have been able to create and invent gods. Think of the early gods of Greece and the transliterated ones in Rome. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is god as well; there’s just as much proof of the Monster’s existence as there is of any other god’s existence. The only proof you have is subjective; there is no proof you can offer of its existence other than the faith you have for it, hence “he’s as real as you believe him to be.”

proof is irrelevant becuase it is a concept based on not needing proof… its supposed to be a self fulfilled existence… but yes, my statement does make sense becuase you can never prove to me or even yourself that god exists in any tangible, or meaningful way. the only thing that holds up your faith are words and the chemical and electrical reactions triggered in your brain to control your jaw, mouth, lungs, and vocal cords in unison (or just your fingers), to causing those words to be said… if nobody on earth believed in god, say all physical trace of his written or pictorial or structural existence was erased, along with the memory of him (and im including all supernatural beings in this as well) in everyone on earth, there would be no more god, becuase there would be nobody left to say there is a god, until those who aren’t satisfied with the unknown of the universe (or what they can’t understand) come up with the easy answer of a new supernatural existence that is… and the culmination of a completely new god would commence. and when i mean new, i mean as comparable to the old god as the spirits of the celtic, and norse, and greek, and christian, and all other religious beliefs known to have ever existed…

without proof of existence, then the only true existence lies in the belief that a god exists. (and no im not using exist more than necessary there) and the reason people leave their faith… becuase its to blind and narrow minded. religion rifles it into a single file line like the whole worlds made of one generic human being, and also, since common morality is a completely opinion based construct, it too constrains the individual to conform to a more generic state.

rosered212 wrote:
God is more real that either you or me. The idea of God himself is to big for any mear human to invent.

now thats just being silly… that statement is completely wrong. take a look at all the other gods constantly proclaimed to be “false” by one religion or another… where do you think they came from? your gods even said to be a sacrilegious god to certain faiths… there no more truth in the fact of the Christian gods existence than any pagan god, becuase all it every truly comes down to is a he said she said argument…

Rosered, “proof that’s not meant to be seen by you” is not indicative of proof at all. Proof by definition is something that all can share in to properly understand something. You are getting the objective proof mixed up with subjective. Just because you feel something but can’t explain it any farther than basic physical phenomena doesn’t mean it proves what you Think it is to the rest of us.

The onus on the proof of god’s existence isn’t on us to prove that he does not exist; we don’t believe in him/her/it, so there’s nothing for us to disprove. You must prove to us that he does exist without faith; with tangible objective proof that is able to be shared and understood by all.

i didn’t say religion is blind… faith is blind… like you said above… the blind believing in colors… in fact… colors aren’t things of existence… our eyes just pick up the electromagnetic waves as colors, they are really just a matter of perception… blue is only blue if you have the right eyes… some eyes (not human) don’t see them at all and instead see a different spectrum of waves… but thats off the point… so the blind should not really believe in colors at all… instead of being so narrow minded as those who are tricked into believing a color is as real as a plank of wood, they should have a more expansive understanding of what color is, and not nail it down to such a confined construct as the seeing do.

“You can’t see him, becuase if you did you would be killed instantly by his holy face.”
ok this is stupid… its reminiscent of all the hogwash of many other eccentric religions, if you were raised in ancient greece you’d likely believe fully that there was a mount olympus and the zues threw down lightning…

It is the nature and his miracles that show him to you.
and what about those who don’t pray for miracles, who don’t believe, those who are actualy rather anti god, who get what they need… and let me tell you there are plenty of those… becuase its quite awfully true that good things happen to bad people just as much as they happen to good people. its as random as the flip of a coin. theres also the matter of those who are faithful, who never do receive those needs, even till the day they die… you can spit out the, everythings in his plan, bs… but its is just as true as me saying there is no plan becuase he doesn’t exist… the fact of the matter is that god does not give proof in any manner of the word… no miracles, no signs, no visions, no voices… he is only as real as you believe he is…

“Show me proof that God doesn’t exsist. Because heres the catch. You can’t show me any proof that God doesn’t exsist. God didn’t make this world to hid from us and confuse us. He made it to show us that he loves us and wants a relationship with us.”

show a child proof that their imaginary friend doesn’t exist… they can come up with all kinds of things to debunk every bit of evidence just as religious fanatics will… well then? you can’t really… you can’t show me that the figmental spirit igmabob that i say is more real than anything, becuase he was the true creator of everything, you can’t show me any proof that he doesn’t exist. if i took the bible, and replaced all its good moral with bad ones, changed all the names, and called its got igmabob, it would be just as impossible for you anyone to prove that he wasn’t the real god… you could say that he isn’t becuase i just made him up… well i can say, no, i am a prophet of igmabob and he spoke to me telling me they got it all wrong and the truth must be written.

if you want proof that god doesn’t exist, i can show it to you very easily, but only you, and you’ll have to wait until you die. when there is no continuance of consciousness, or soul, or anything for that matter. your brain shuts down. the lights fade, and the story ends,,, no pages 97-infinity called the heaven chapter, it just ends and the book is closed… that will be the proof to you that it wasn’t true…

but, i’d never want to take someones faith away… i think its a healthy way to have something to keep one from thinking too cynically about the world, and in most cases it does have a good moral code… but like drugs, it is very easy to use them improperly… to let it get in the way of life in fact, becuase i have seen religion, your religion, your faith, ruin lives as well. many of them, and its in that way that i believe it is too narrow minded, becuase those who do not have the strength to think for themselves let it do the thinking for them, and its just like letting the drugs do the thinking for you… it can ruin everything for you…

the only point of my rantings is that if you want to believe in something, believe in it… but don’t go assuming it is fact, that what your mind knows is absolute truth… becuase that is the greatest sign of a weak and manipulated mind.

No proof for, no proof against, in other words.

bobb wrote:
God doesn’t exist. Neither does Santa. Or Zeus.

Prove it.

I’ve read the Bible three times. None too impressed by it, though.

I doubt any god watches TV, but if they did, I’ll bet they don’t watch “God TV”. Unless it was Remoticus, the God of the Couch Potatoes, Watcher of All Programming and Guardian of the Remote Control.