i chose this user name before i even knew that there was a religious thread on this site actually. needless to say when i found this site i was pretty excited being that im always looking for a source of knowledge when it come to religion, more specifically Christianity. I simply chose this user name at the spur of the moment, the majority of my friends are Christians and i guess that just popped into my head.
I am an atheist, however for the vast majority of my life i was Christian, about 20 years. I went to a private Christian school from K-12 grade. I specifically remember the day i decided to believe in Jesus, i was in the first grade and my best friend Scott, was saying the prayer we all said before we ate lunch. Scott however actually looked like he was praying, with his hands tightly folded and his head down. So i did the same and from then on i would honestly say grace, i was a Christian.
My first year out of high school is when i realized that i was a Christian only because i went to a Christian high school. My thoughts were that if i was put into a Hindu school, there would be a good chance i would be Hindu. I was Christian mainly due to the geographic region i was raised, the US.
Also i took a step back and looked at what is preached in church, and its basically just simplistic, they tell you to believe and give good lessons.
They never get into the foundation of Christianity. Ask most Christians why they believe and they wont know why. They wont admit to themselves that they have been believers for X amount of years but still honestly dont know anything about the religion. The worst part for me is that the Preachers and teachers are ok with having millions of followers of Christ that dont know anything about the religion.
If you objectively looked into the history of Christianity at an age where you could maturely make an educated decision, i believe there would be a lot less Christians. At the same i believe that having less Christians would not be a good thing.
Most Christians on this board know why they are Christians and have great knowledge of their faith, i truly respect that. the vast majority of Christians however have no idea, they are just Christians because they were raised that way, or they have hit rock bottom and have no where else to turn, "bandwagon" Christians. i really dont respect that, they believe but dont know why they do.
However i do believe and have said this to my many Christians friends that Christianity is a GREAT way to live. Follow what is preached, have faith and love God and you can be truly peaceful. My problem was that i looked into Christianity and had too many questions.
sorry this wasnt brief. any help would be appreciated, thanks Stella.