Are you ever glad to grow up with religion?

[jennifer_bloom]

Today I was in a group chat and 3 girls talked about visiting a psychic or being curious about visiting one and only I and another woman stayed silent, it’s not polite to tell people they are tapping into occult spirits outside God’s kingdom, so I was just glad I had God and was not led astray the way they were. I could not share my thoughts, or I might get kicked out of the chat.

Updates

+1 y

So my parents are not Christian but I taught myself Christianity from child hood so that is what I mean by “growing up in religion.”

[bobby_bush_eater]

I suppose it worked out for the better for me. I refused to be brainwashed by any organization and developed free thought under the Catholic church's tutelage. I went to private Catholic school K-12 (shitty ones, they all are closed now). I have since developed and matured a bit faster than my public school peers but the military may have had more to do with that. I believe in the Catholic idea of God and pray at my own behest and have first hand seen some of the good religion does. That being said I saw so much hypocrisy, so much blind leading the blind and view the church as an old political organization whose history of violence is not lost on me. When I was in HS I hated everything about the church due to this. All that said I turned out well so to some extent I must be grateful for said experiences.

[Jamie05rhs]

I totally agree with you, Jennifer. There's some weird stuff out there!

[Jamie05rhs]

Thanks for the MHO.

[Jamie05rhs]

( @drapocaypse deserved it more than me, though! )

[Jamie05rhs]

@DrApocalypse

[Orange85]

I grew up with divorced parents. My mom took us to an ultra conservative baptist church three times a week and my dad believed in evolution and just the idea of God. Surprisingly I wasn’t confused. I did have a break down at 15 when I was caught smoking pot. My religious mother was livid and took my dads custodial rights away. Due to the fact that it was his pot I smoked. I remained Christian until in my 30s when I realized that a loving God would not let people.. his creation burn in hell for eternity just becuase they didn’t believe in him. Christianity made me a loving person and very empathetic. But my dads logic made me more Rational. I’m glad for both

[CuteExplorer499]

It really makes a person feel better to have some kind of faith.

[GrapeApe98]

Does it really? isn't religion especially bad for women, since they're told to be their husbands slave or something?

[CuteExplorer499]

@GrapeApe98 No, that’s just a feminist myth. My version of religion is just believing in a higher power and life is a miracle. Spouses shouldn’t have anything to do with religion.

[GeneralContractor]

Religion is, and should be, the most important thing in life. The novice does not have much to go on but over time, another world becomes visible which gives an inner strengh which others do not have. If people search with an open mind, many proofs will be found such as near death experiences. A lot are fake, but some are well verified from vehicle or gunshot injuries. Staying close to God will keep most trouble out of one's life. The occult is a door to worldliness; those who believe in something, even if it is wrong, can turn back to the right. But those who are entitely materialistic are so filled with doubt (Which stands opposite to faith. Doubt, Du, Duality, Diable, Devil is the root word order) are as good as lost.

[DrApocalypse]

I did grow up with it. My parents were devout, still are. Now at 50 years old, a scientist, researcher, and a lot wiser about the world, I am glad I had that foundation. I have come to have a deep seeded respect for man's unquenchable need for power and control and that lust for control filtered out into the early church in ways that pushed people away from an understanding of a universal creative God consciousness, to an organization (pick a religion) who's primary objective seems to be to sustain the organization. I've grown past all that. Connected at a level that I feel is more genuine than any I had while growing up under dogmatic rules and practices. That being said, I would not have the deeper understanding I do now without having grown up in Christianity. In my opinion, it's the best foundation on which you can eventually build a more universal truth.

[ElementoP]

I went to a Baptist school from pre-school to 8th grade that actually lied to my parents and said they were a Judeo-christian school

One of my teachers called me the "Devil's spawn" for acting up in class and said Satan was working through me to hurt the rest of the kids and keep them away from God. I was only 8 or 9 years old

So no, I can't say I was glad to grow up on that side of religion anyway. Baptists are fucking nut cases

[FreedMan]

I can second this opinion of Baptists, missionary Baptists in the Hot Springs/Malvern region of Arkansas anyway. My now ex-wife went to church in the area and several others as her family was spread out over the region. As a non-Baptist I was looked down on by both her family and her congregation and frequently questioned if A) I enjoyed touching little boys because I was at the time Catholic (ironically the Southern Baptist Convention is now dealing with their own pedophilic charges) or B) If I was worried about going to hell for being an idolator. This wasn't contained to one parish or clique. This was widespread. I'm well aware this is a big generalization, and I don't know if it was a combination of Southern culture as it can frequently be very superficial (nice to your face and gossip behind your back) and the religion or just the culture but this was my experience and turned me off of associating with them in general. There's also my concern with how they handle the whole world is 6000 years old idea... so so so many believe it and it hurts my brain lol.

[ElementoP]

Lol that's messed up. Yup they're crazy

[FreedMan]

I would have preferred an objective basis for reality as a child. I grew up Catholic and while I can appreciate their charitable efforts around the world, refuting scientific fact isn't helpful. The Catholic church has gotten better about accepting evolution and such but I still don't like the idea of putting your trust in something beyond human experience. And for those who claim to have guidance or visions from beyond... it's called DMT.

[sheikalana]

Yes, because I chose to believe in God. No one ever forced me to believe in believe in this or that I simply felt a calling.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely. Faith really can move mountains. Its something I've noticed about a lot of atheists that they have negative outlook in life and neither believe in themselves or anything else, they blame others for their problems rather than picking up a broom to sort the mess out themselves.

[Blueeyes81]

My father is a minister. I grew up in the church and it was a huge part of my life as a child. For me it was restrictive and unrealistic. By that I mean it was more or less you just didn't talk about real life, you didn't question. It was just smiles and talk of love. Thats great and all but man is fallible and has questions and temptations. To sweep all that under the rug never sat well with me. I'm happier without religion in my life.

[Subarugirl]

No I wish I hadn’t, brain washing children is wrong

[moonpie89]

I'm blessed to have it 🙏🏿

[SenseiSeptred]

Yes, but not Christianity.

[RealDaveThomas]

Nope

[SmokinAces2000]

I’m glad I didn’t