Did you have a Christian upbringing? Do you still hold the faith of your parents?
I was raised a Catholic as a kid, but someone took me to an evangelical church when I was a teenager, and I became a very zealous Protestant. I ended up becoming an atheist some years later, but I still have sympathy for the Catholic church, and consider it a better guardian of the Gospel than the Protestants, since they mostly don't care about the history and traditions of Christianity outside the bible.
Not really. I was, on rare occasions, forced to go to a Methodist church where I was bullied quite heavily by the older kids that did drugs.
My dad's an Atheist, my mom belongs to the Church of Nice, so no.
It's just that individual instances of BS don't speak to what is truth. I've always had a hard time understanding people who don't like Christianity because a lot of Christians hurt them. A lot of so-called Christians did horrible things to me in my childhood. Some of them may be forgiven but most, probably not, since they claimed to be in knowledge of the Lord at the time yet, also, never repented.
But none of that matters because Jesus is Lord, my savior, and the truth. He has changed me in amazing ways, such that I actually don't remember those times unless someone bring them up and, even now, there's nothing but a faint pity for them that I feel.
If you haven't ever challenged your parents theologically, you should be worried you're a follower of your parents and not Christ. I'm not saying you'll be right when you make the challenge, but if you've never had to hash it out with them, you've probably never thought that much about your faith.
I was raised Catholic and am now the only member of my family still in the Church. It gets a bit sad sitting there Sunday alone while families surround me, and everytime I go home I get pity from my parents for not pursuing the things of the world. It's isolating but manageable.
Yes. I went to a Baptist church for most of my childhood.
Not really; my mother considered herself Methodist a few years ago, and calls herself a Catholic now. Despite that, she hasn't stepped foot in a Catholic church since her childhood, and many of her views today do not align with that of Catholicism, which leads me to believe she only says that to honor her late Catholic mother. As for my father, I believe he had a Catholic upbringing as a child, but since then hasn't been very active in his faith beyond watching Jack Van Impe.
While my church isn't explicitly Baptist (the church has Baptist roots and their views align mostly with Baptist beliefs, but they simply call themselves a Christian church), I would still consider myself a Baptist.
Yes, and I’ve got to say that I really despise atheists who had Christian upbringings and are being atheists to be rebellious
Yes. My mom is a very devout evangelical/charismatic, while my dad is a lapsed Praysbaterian, so we ended up going to a Cumberland Preysbaterian church (more evenglical and consrvitive then PCUSA) as a compromise.
I’ve always been into religon, but I grew tired of mainstream evangelical Protestantism (more focused on selling you a book for study group and sermons about how “God is working in your life to make all things good” then actual exegesis on scripture) and spent time as both Orthodox and Catholic before settling on a conservitive Anglo-Catholic Church. Still close to both my parents but disagree with my mom on Christian Zionism and praying to Saints while my dad is one of those boomer atheists who thinks “religon just isn’t for him”
Had a Catholic upbringing. Became an atheist as a teenager. Now returning to Christianity via Orthodoxy.
As far as keeping the faith of my parents, no. Mom is theoretically Catholic, but really just a new age pop spiritualist. Dad is actually Catholic, but only in a Rosary-clutching fideist sense, so I can't really have a serious theological discussion with him.
Nope, grew up in a non-religious household. Didn't even have any friends who were religious. Never stepped into a Church until I was 25. Started reading about Christianity on the internet and was fascinated by it's history, the saints and the theology. I realized that most of the atheist stuff I took for granted like the Bible being put through multiple translations before it was translated into English was pure bullshit. Realized I wanted to convert when I understood the beauty of prayer and dedicating my life to trying to reach the transcendent truth of reality rather than just living like an animal for each days worldly pleasure. Haven't looked back since.
Yes, from about age 5 onward. Christ ended my mom's alcoholism, it's been more than 20 years since she had a drink. My dad had """gotten saved""" in college,cand came back to the Church when my mom did, so my siblings and I have had a conservative Christian upbringing.
For the most part yes, but I now no longer fully agree with Apostolics or any single Protestant denomination.
After the fall of communism i was born in a society hlaf very religious, half atheistic but holding christian values. Parents were not so passionate about religion although they took me to church from time to time. My grandfather, who saw the world before communism was more religious and took me to church more often. When i was a teenager i was more intrigued by world of warcraft, ac/dc, metallica, fapping . I was kinda agnostic. Grandpa dies and i get into reading. Find out about the breadpill and the redpill. I finally understand why being catholic is best.
OP, stop being an atheist. There are a lot documents and reassons to prove Jesus is real, He did the miracles His apostles say He did, predicted what the future will be like, along with The Father and The Holy Ghost are one and that He will come a second time.
Come home.
I was raised an atheist, none of my family's religious. Started looking into the church at 17 and when I was 18 I got an adult baptism. Parents were pretty chill about it, still get mocked by my sisters on occasion but I really couldn't care less
Depends on who you ask. Not everyone believes "Christian" to be the same thing. Just look at this board.
Again, depends on who you ask. My father was Catholic and my mother Baptist.
Not really. Parents are cultural catholics, and I sometimes would hear them mention God, Jesus and the Saints. I was only occasionally forced to go to Church.
But I never sunk to the depths of depravity of atheism, I always knew that God existed, I just didn't think about this much.
Yes, and more than them.
Around age 15 I got depression and was searching for a meaning in life. I had a strong mystical experience that made me return to the Catholic Church. I did RCIA, had communion and now study my religion very often. Haven't looked back since.
I did not become an atheist simply because I'm skeptical about the existence of Jesus. I had a hard and painful religious journey in my life and I'm glad it ended, so it's much more than that. However, I think Christianity is good most of the time for both for the Christian and for society in general. I even could easily be mistaken for a Christian myself by my lifestyle, since I'm very conservative and advocate for a traditional life.
This is something everyone here should keep in mind, by the way. If your faith is making your life miserable, if your vigilance against sin and temptation is making you feel guilty and paranoid all the time, there is something wrong with your faith. In my experience, the greatest threat to someone's faith is a twisted vision Christianity, and not being able to live in harmony with it.
My family is atheistic, and I didn't know any religious people until I was around sixteen. I converted to Catholicism about two years ago; was baptised this year.
Family reunions must have been fun
Honestly, I wouldn't know. Mom divorced Dad when I was 4 years old and I didn't see her again until I was 26.
That sucks man. I'm just surprised that the marriage happened to begin with, of all the denoms that detest each other Baptists and catholics seem to be the most virulent
Yeah, and I got a lot of that growing up. I grew up in a small farming community in East Texas and, man oh man, did the Baptists hate the Catholics. It did allow me to see both sides, though and, as an adult, can share fellowship with either group. God's plan, I reckon.
My mom comes from a very catholic family, and took my siblings and I to church and sent us to Sunday school when we were young. My dad's a protestant, never really went to church much and hasn't shown many signs of being very devout. I got away from the church for a little while but never really stopped believing in God, then about a year ago I started to get back into it. I've gone to mass a few times with my mom this summer, which was nice.
Had a secular Catholicism upbringing. As a teen got really interested in history, which led me into theology, which led me to Catholicism.
That is pretty right. The point of Chriatianity is not to become paranoid because of a small sin.
If you're skeptical about Jesus' existence i would recommend the book: More Than a Carpenter. An easy book written by a baptist ( i think). It helped me.
...
Yes, raised Catholic but drifted from the church around age 17
Pretty much. I was saved in a non- denominational church and attended them for awhile before
rediscovering a love for traditional and Catholic church. Theologically I’m probably more Lutheran or Episcopal and share their views on saints, Mary, sacraments etc but because of my Irish heritage I still tell people I’m Catholic
I went through the classic "I was first a Christian, then an atheist, then Christian again", I guess I just had to prove to myself that the choice of religion is mine own rather than my parents who I am in a big conflict with despite still loving them.
Father came from lapsed Anglican background
Mother came from Evangelical Anglican background.
I became an atheist in my teenage years, and I've recently become Christian again after many years studying philosophy. I'm not sure if I consider myself a full on Evangelical, although I appreciate the Puritan tradition of the Church, I also appreciate the liturgical tradition of the Anglican Church.
Keep in mind I live in an area of Australia where the Anglican Church is quite conservative. I've considered Orthodoxy and Catholicism at times, but I find my temperament far too Protestant.
I was raised Catholic but only in the sense of going through the motions, I was confirmed and had first communion but I was never catechised, I became a christian crypto deist during highschool then I got woke to the teachings of the Church, partly thanks to this place.
I had an atheistic upbringing, but with very traditional Christian morals. My mother is very anti-religion and is sort of perplexed by my and my sister's conservatism because she isn't sure what she taught us to become that way. I was atheistic until the world kicked me around so much that the only option left for me was to go into a church and pray to a God I didn't believe for help. Turns out prayer actually works and it isn't a thousands of years old conspiracy after all.
bump
Barely, I was baptised and told some stories about Jesus, mostly by my Father. When I was with my grandparents in summer they used to teach me prayers.
My parents rarely went to Church, I didn't want to and was never forced to. When I did it was with my grandparents. My brother went to mass a little bit more together with my mother but because he was a scout and it was also a social reason since they became involved with the parish and everything.
Do I still hold the faith of my parents? Not really, I'm still Catholic but I rather hold the faith of my grandparents. I reconverted on my own, studied on my own, then did catechism and confirmation in a traditional church.