What religion are you and why? [I Love Researching Religions]
If you're atheist/agnostic, why are you as such? This could be a loaded question but im curious to see what you all have to say here.
26-30, M
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JaggedLittlePill · 46-50, F
I am atheist. I grew up and decided to go to church on my own with a friend. It was actually a great way to be away from my messed up home environment. It changed when we started becoming teens and the "teen leader" that I loved left the church. The woman who became the teen leader was the epitome of crazy religious folk. She scared me off and I never went back. Over the years I realized i never went there because I had faith or cared about God. i went there because it felt like a safe space with other kids who made me feel like I belonged. For the most part it really was that and I am grateful for it. I just do not subscribe to a God who created all. I do think there is much we do not know and might never know.
astrosandorbits · 26-30, M
@JaggedLittlePill you know something? I can really touch base with this response of yours. When I was younger and went to church, a specific guy who went to Bible College was a huge example and inspiration to me. He ended up leaving the faith and eventually that sparked my down-spiral of faith in Christianity and eventually I left it. It takes a lot of maturity to come to terms with your true reason for going to church (whatever it may be). This is not a topic discussed enough by individuals. Im sure it left you feeling a certain way you hadn't been familiar with at that point of your life.
astrosandorbits · 26-30, M
@peskyone of course! Are you familiar with the Quran or have you read any of it?
There is a surah (chapter) in it called Ashams. This basically translates from arabic to English as "The Sun". In this surah Allah (God) speaks about the way he fashioned the sun and the moon. It is then paralleled with the way Allah fashioned our souls. I had been reading through the quran for roughly 4 years and didn't think much of it. One day while reading this surah, I found that perhaps I should seek God through the simple things (before this i had been agnostic for about 11 years). I had a huge desire to go to the mosque in my city. When I went, I watched them pray the evening prayer, and then the imam (prayer leader) asked me what my reason was for coming. I told him about how this surah about the sun and the moon gave me a different perspective on God and how maybe I shouldn't look so far and wide for a complicated matter to prove God's existence. Now I know the sun and moon are very complex in their makeup, but in the surah God makes it simple for us to understand his creation. It says in this surah that we succeed when we purify our souls in which Allah fashioned for us; and we fail when we corrupt it. I always felt we have as humans an innate sense of what is right and wrong.
That night when I walked outside of the mosque, the wind was blowing g very very hard. I called my brother who is a Christian, and told him about the wind. He told me the Father is who gives us signs through weather.
Long story short, I began chasing and chasing after God and found Him through islam.
Now, what led me away from Christianity other than what I told Jaggedlittlepill was that I never believed Jesus himself was God. Nor did I believe God is triune. I believed Jesus was a prophet of God and taught to others the same exact message all other prophets taught.
Anyway I know this is super long and I can explain way more about what led me to Islam. But these are some of the basics :)
There is a surah (chapter) in it called Ashams. This basically translates from arabic to English as "The Sun". In this surah Allah (God) speaks about the way he fashioned the sun and the moon. It is then paralleled with the way Allah fashioned our souls. I had been reading through the quran for roughly 4 years and didn't think much of it. One day while reading this surah, I found that perhaps I should seek God through the simple things (before this i had been agnostic for about 11 years). I had a huge desire to go to the mosque in my city. When I went, I watched them pray the evening prayer, and then the imam (prayer leader) asked me what my reason was for coming. I told him about how this surah about the sun and the moon gave me a different perspective on God and how maybe I shouldn't look so far and wide for a complicated matter to prove God's existence. Now I know the sun and moon are very complex in their makeup, but in the surah God makes it simple for us to understand his creation. It says in this surah that we succeed when we purify our souls in which Allah fashioned for us; and we fail when we corrupt it. I always felt we have as humans an innate sense of what is right and wrong.
That night when I walked outside of the mosque, the wind was blowing g very very hard. I called my brother who is a Christian, and told him about the wind. He told me the Father is who gives us signs through weather.
Long story short, I began chasing and chasing after God and found Him through islam.
Now, what led me away from Christianity other than what I told Jaggedlittlepill was that I never believed Jesus himself was God. Nor did I believe God is triune. I believed Jesus was a prophet of God and taught to others the same exact message all other prophets taught.
Anyway I know this is super long and I can explain way more about what led me to Islam. But these are some of the basics :)