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Belief: I no longer believe.
Background: Mormonism
Current Membership: Member of The Human Race

If there are any other mormons on this board I hope you're not offended by this; but if you are, that's just too f**** bad. PM me and I can point you to some good hard truth. But make sure that you're really ready to take the red pill. The blue pill is best for some folks.

I'm a recovering ex-mormon. Yes, I used to believe the same things as those wacked out people in Eldorado, TX... just not to that extreme. But the doctrines are all the same. Mormons believe that one day they will become gods of their own worlds, they believe that there is a man alive right now who is the "prophet" just like the YFZ Fundy-Mormons believe that Warren Jeffs is the prophet. They believe in men ruling the church. They have secret temple ceremonies where they're required to dress in funny clothes and swear to keep it all secret (until recently, the mormons had to swear secrecy or risk death by having their throats cut I'm not kidding). They believe in Polygamy (the believe in the doctrine, but they don't practice it because it's against the law, but they still believe in it).

Hell, I could go on and on.

Most ex-mormons become athiests. The mormon church is just so cultish, intense, demanding, and invasive in it's teachings and requirements. It really does a number on your spirituality once you allow yourself to open your eyes and merely consider the possibility that the mormon church might not be "the only true and living church upon the face of the earth".

I'm not a bonafied athiest, but I do suffer from unbelief. I don't actively disbelieve in God, and I'm still looking for a reason to believe.

You'd just have to live it to understand it.

I just wanted to say that I think it's awesome that y'all are managing to discuss religion politely, with extreme respect for one another's viewpoints and beliefs. This is unusual for an online discussion of religion and spirituality, but way cool.

Parrotheads Rock!!!!

TropicalTroubador wrote:I just wanted to say that I think it's awesome that y'all are managing to discuss religion politely, with extreme respect for one another's viewpoints and beliefs. This is unusual for an online discussion of religion and spirituality, but way cool.

Parrotheads Rock!!!!

Interestingly enough while we BNers progress rapidly to anger in political threads, we've almost always managed to have polite, informative discussions about religion. I always learn something and I LOVE the fact that we can interact like this without emotion attached. BRAVO EVERYONE!!

jackson jake wrote:

Moonie wrote:

bocanuts wrote:

Moonie wrote:

OK Brad, is that the same Jake from CoB,O fame?

cute kid, BTW....

what happened to your mvoing to a remote Island back a few years ago? Pipe dream or just on the back burner for a while?

Hey moonie, Yep that's the one and only Jake of CoBo fame and Terri Schivao fame!

Yep, she's a cutie. And no, it's not on the back burner. It's part of a ten year plan. Plan is to be there in 10 years. 3 1/2 years into it as of right now.

Aaaahahah..well, you tell that Jake, Moonie and Sam said HEY!! Did he ever find a chick that would say....Yes?

and never lose track of the best laid plans of mice and men.....

Hey Moonie!!! How ya been?

Yes, I finally did find someone crazy enough to marry me about two years ago.

:HUG: Jake...it's so good to see you. We've been wondering what had happened with ya...congrats ! on the Bride...as handsome a devil as you are, figured you'd hook someone !

bocanuts wrote:So how is that Russian mail order bride working?

I see not much has changed since u'guys bachelor days, huh?

well, OK, maybe a few things !!

I do believe in God but I don't attend church regularly. I'm a spiritual person, but not a terribly religious person. I believe in life after physical death and in fact believe our life here on earth is but a fraction of our existence. I'm not sure how I feel about reincarnation but I do believe there are "old souls" among us, and have sometimes been somewhere and felt strongly I'd been there before even though I'd never been there.

I believe God is omnicient. I also believe that "he" in the spiritual sense is both fully male and fully female. If I, as a female, am made in his image, what else could it be? I think "his" attributes are divided among males and females with each sex having complimentary strengths and weaknesses. I believe that if God had made himself known to a matriarchal society "he" would probably have been "she"...

I don't understand why God allows bad things to happen....

I was raised Catholic but moved toward Protestant denominations as an adult. After learning how the Catholic Church covered up horrific child abuse, I will never, ever again be affiliated with it. I was encouraged to hear the Pope condemn what happened, but it's not enough to *ever* bring me back. Some of the American cardinals should have been prosecuted for what they did in terms of coverup..... (That said, I applaud the Catholics who have stayed, and are trying to eradicate that sort of thing from their church. I couldn't consider it....)

I don't count myself a member of any denomination, mostly because all of them lay out rules that often have been crafted by people, not necessarily directed by God. I have had some nasty run-ins with "church people" who thought it was just horrible that I worked and didn't stay home with my children (I had to... ), or that I chose a man's profession (the Navy) and took some man's job away.... Pu-leez..... I'm unique....God made me that way.... I don't fit in anyone's pigeonholes......

And I can't prove any of this..... faith is an ethereal thing.... if it could be proven, I guess it wouldn't be faith...

I haven't been a bachelor since 2002. Jake's wife told him that she wishes he was still a bachelor. Haa Haa! Just kidding.

And as to politeness, I too am glad we can have such a pleasant discussion. Whatever our religious affiliation, or lack thereof, we all need to remember every damn day that what we do in the here and now is extremely important.

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:And I can't prove any of this..... faith is an ethereal thing.... if it could be proven, I guess it wouldn't be faith...

I couldn't agree more. To me, faith is believing without proof

I guess I fall into the borderline atheist/agnostic grouping. Growing up I attended a number of churches and have been exposed to a wide range of faiths and I have not found one that I felt I could believe and embrace.

Religion is not discussed in our house. My wife was in the Pentecostal church for a long time before divorcing her first husband and leaving the church. She still believes and that is fine with me. I on the other hand believe that religion is a fairy tale, and that the Bible is a grotesque exaggeration of reality, and is a bunch of double talking bs. Someone was buried and three days later was resurrected from the dead? Yeah right, happens all the time You can see why religion is not discussed in our home. I don't begrudge those who believe, to each his own. Don't try and force it on me. We had a couple of individuals in our neighborhood about 2 years ago trying to get members for their new church. They got into an argument with my wife over some difference because my wife was Pentecostal and I can't remember what sect they were. I came out and told them they were all full of s h i t for believing in something that doesn't exist. That pretty much ended the discussion and they left immediately

I'd like to amend my answer, I realized last night that I do indeed, pray, "Thank God the Tiki Bar is Open".

I was God's own drunk, and a fearless man.....












Sorry..... I couldn't resist.......

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:I was God's own drunk, and a fearless man.....












Sorry..... I couldn't resist.......

I love it. Love it. Love it.

AdamBomb8 wrote:Religion is not discussed in our house. My wife was in the Pentecostal church for a long time before divorcing her first husband and leaving the church. She still believes and that is fine with me. I on the other hand believe that religion is a fairy tale, and that the Bible is a grotesque exaggeration of reality, and is a bunch of double talking bs.

Sounds pretty close to my gf and I. While she no longer believes, she still gets p*** at me for my "new atheist" type views that religion is pure evil; she still thinks there is some good in it. So those arguments usually end in me nearly sleeping on the couch, as do other arguments stemming from my refusal to step foot in any church for church related functions (xmas, easter, baptisms, etc).

Brad - in response to your "God doesn't give you what you can't handle"

I can see where you don't understand it, but having been thru a ton of shiat the past, I can honestly say it's true although it's hard to explain. There have been many times I've thought "God when is it going to stop - I CAN'T HANDLE IT ANYMORE". I think a lot of the "trials and tribulations" that we face are a learning experience if we make the most out of them. Or that's how it's been for me. These trials, if we learn from them, no matter how bad they are, can teach us how to react to future events and can eventually make us a better person. I can honestly say that I can look back at the majority of the worst times in my life and see how they have helped me evolve to a better person. I honestly believe that those that really know me can see how I've changed over the years. For example, those that saw me during my HCV treatments saw what it did to me physically, mentally and emotionally - and the second round was hell compared to the first. I remember crying to Don on this last round that I would rather die than go thru the hell of treatment again. Luckily - and I do believe with God's blessings, this last round "worked" and with it I learned a tad bit more patience towards certain things plus just recently I was able to relate to and help someone going thru the exact same thing I was going thru. At the time he was going thru his "treatment crisis" and was contemplating quitting I was able to talk to him and help him understand that he wasn't alone in his feelings and he ultimately decided to complete treatment - not that it mattered to me either way if he quit or not because it was his treatment and I was behind him 100% on whatever decision he made. The simple fact was his chance of clearing the virus with a shorter treatment were not as good as with a complete round. He will be finished May 15th. Now that isn't a guarantee he'll clear the virus but for the hell I went thru I was able to help someone else and that was the good that came because of something bad that I went thru.

Some people face their trials and become bitter and jaded, and others learn and grow from them. I've done both and I can honestly say that I'm more at peace with myself and the majority of the world by taking the negative and finding positive in it. Not that I'm perfect because I'm far from perfect and there are still some people and things that irritate the hell out of me and can still push buttons but even when that happens I'm more satisfied as a whole, and a better person.

As part of my belief system - I believe this is really the hell. That our spirit - the core that makes us - us reincarnates (not as a bug or animal but as another person) and we go thru this thing called life again and again until we get it right.

I'm not sure if this makes sense to anyone but me.

it will take some time to form a "long" answer