Thinking about walking away This is my personal feelings and my personal experiences with...

Pikachu Best Comment

You don't need a church and a congregation.
Christianity is, at its heart a relationship between you and god. If church doesn't serve you well or indeed, if it harms you then you're better off without it and no less a good Christian/child of god for leaving it behind.

Disguised · 56-60, M

Im not a 'religious' person as such BUT i live by Christian principles. I know i 'behave' better than some regular church goers i know. I think living to your own principles, sticking to them is the important thing. If you need a formal time for pray than set aside a time and place that suits you. Can be a park bench.. same place same time every week or day or have a different place every day on a 7 day rota..for quiet reflection away from your normal routine. Making it a small pilgrimage .. somewhere where there is a bit of a effort to get to... you don't need a group to be spiritual... i wouldn't mind placing a bet if you set up a routine after a few months people will stop and chat as their routine overlaps yours... quiet reflection place mine is in the middle of the woods in the village 1 1/2 miles away... i walk there... have chance to think on the journey.. think on the bench and reflect on walk home... hope this helps... i wrotd more than i intended...kinda helped me tbh..

canusernamebemyusername · M

Sounds reasonable. Spiritual is better than religion imo. It is more vague and leaves much more room for tolerance. Religion on the other hand is dogma and strict adherence to one of over 45,000 different interpretations that must be follow or else condemnation to hellfire. You could try the mystical sects. Such as Sufism in Islam, Kabbalah in Judaism and Gnosticism in Christianity. Only problem is with Gnosticism is that many of the surviving texts are just that, surviving. They have huge chunks missing at times because the people that believed and followed them were tracked down and killed by the early church.
Another thing might be to find a Unitarian Universalist church. Many Christians hate them though because they take and learn from other faith systems to the point that some don't consider them Christian. But those tend to be the same kind of people that think Catholics aren't Christian either.
But no spirituality is not a religion and neither one is a building. And none of them even have anything to do with other people. Faith should be no one else's business but your own. It should be personal and unique to you.

BlueSkyKing · M

"I think the greatest problem with religious systems such as Christianity is their pessimistic view of human nature. If you teach a generation of children that they are sinful creatures by nature, that left on their own they are morally corrupt, deserving of eternal torment in hell, that they are not to be trusted to think their own (selfish, evil) thoughts, all of this can become—has become—a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whole segments of the population grow up with a negative self-image, thinking they really are rotten, in need of a savior or father figure. They are told they are bad, so they act like it. Their religion exaggerates and demonizes normal human feelings, turning them into cosmic struggles with evil, creating devils to be fought instead of problems to be solved.”
― Dan Barker

Adstar · 56-60, M

When will people realize Christianity is about ones dealings and response to The LORD Jesus and should never be primarily about ones dealings and responses to other people in churches...

If you have been searching for your perfect churchianity religion and have not found it then that surprises me NOT..

I have been a strong Christian for over 30 years and i have never been a member of a church.. I don't follow people, i don't worship people.. Christianity is not about preachers pastors and popes.. It is about GOD and His will and ones personal response to Him...

So many times i read posts like yours.. This church member or that church hierarchy did me wrong and so i am abandoning Christianity.. It's frustrating.. Because i know that person has never known what Christianity really is.. They have only known what churches are and how humans fail each other..

Humans failing each other and letting God down should be no surprise to anyone on this earth..

Budwick · 70-79, M

Are you trying to convince me?
Or, yourself?

Fluffybull · F

Just worship privately, you don't need to go to church to believe. You can read your Bible anywhere and live by what you believe. It's sad you've found bad attitudes and abuse in what should be safe places.

Pitchblue

Most Christian Churches are tax free Republican voting blocks. The leaders of these churches feel the political power they have and are calling for a White Country with White "Men" in control of everything. The Chirch is responsible for a lot of the devision and hate in the country.

You sound like someon with common sense who can see through the bullshit. I wish you well.

karysma · 31-35, F

Christianity is not a building. It's a relationship with God. You should understand that people's spiritual growth does not happen in the same pace as everyone. It's no excuse for what they did to you. If you've decided to turn your back on God and go back to the darkness then it's up to you. Scripture after all does say that some will turn away from the faith before the rapture. I hope you reconsider because the rapture is so close now. Jesus could come any minute now you don't wanna be left behind.

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