I am an atheist. I don't believe in bashing other religions. I am very respectful of other's beliefs.

I'm probably about the polar opposite of atheist - integrational polytheist! I think it's possible for just about every god ever described - and had actual believers (so no invisible pink unicorn or flying spaghetti monster) - to exist.

Here's an interesting link to check out. It's pretty well established that Jesus wasn't really born on December 25 - and a lot of sources place his birth in spring of 4 BC. I do think Jesus was greater than just a mortal man - but just exactly what he was, I'm not sure.

All in all, I hold a "pieces of the puzzle" view towards religion.

I'm an Athiest. I almost became a Mormon once. Almost got pulled in by one of the guys on the street in Newport. I don't bash religions either, I don't believe in God or the likes but I don't force that opinion onto others.

^ I think it's okay to bash Mormonism though! :P

I am Christian. I used to be Deist (thinking God created the universe and then abandoned it) and was quite anti-Christian. However, I find the evidence of the Bible to be staggering and too much to ignore - the implausibility of a fable being taken to such great lengths is difficult to comprehend - and the New Testament is especially convincing imho.

If anyone wants to talk about it, feel free to hit me up. I've looked a lot into it and have had my own questions answered. It has nothing to do with a personal experience with me, so I'm basing it on facts only. (I've had a good many objections to Christianity in the past, and even some now - but if there is a God, I'd reckon there would be things that I can't conceive in my mortal mind.)

I still don't understand Atheism, because from what I understand, the consensus of scientists is that the universe had a starting point. So how could the universe explode out of nothing without some sort of divine source behind it (even if it's just a Deistic God as I used to believe)?

I don't want to go too much detail into my childhood upbringing. I was raised was an Evangelical Christian, and I've had a fair amount of Fundametalist Christian influences in my life, too. There was even a period of time in my life when I'd refuse to listen to anything else but Christian music.

Even though I've dealt with intolerant Christian Fundamentalists in my life, that's not what caused me to re-think (but not reject) Christianity. It's the whole "hell" doctrine, and the injustice (IMO) of that that caused me to question my belief. I've considered less orthodox Christian doctines - things like Christian Universalism, Esoteric Christianity, and Progressive Christianity. The last of the three doesn't quite cut it for me, as they tend to downplay the supernatural aspects of the Christian belief - but I like certain aspecs of the other two.

Having always had an interest in the supernatural - part of why I'm a hardcore Backie, BTW - I can't imagine ever being an atheist. Also, as much as the "hell" doctrine really bothers me, I'm not too crazy about the idea that you just cease to exist after death either. My beliefs regarding the afterlife lean more towards reincarnation - and, eventually, heaven for everyone. The other reason why neither the "hell" doctrine nor the "nonexistence after death" belief sits well with me, is because of all the misfortunate people in this world. I'd like to think they'd have another chance of a much happier life.

So that's that.

For years I tried to convince myself that I was a Christian. Then I finally accepted the fact that I didn't believe.

I don't think those flying spaghetti monster worshipers are a real religion. I don't think Scientology is real either. It was invented by a science fiction author and you have to pay to join the religion. Any religion that requires pay to join has got to be a fake.

But (according to the Bible) Hell wasn't created for humans, right? It was created for the angels that betrayed God, I believe. People who don't accept God into their lives can't rightly expect to join with him in the afterlife, can they?

I think, even if you take the entire Bible story - and say you pretend it's fiction - everything makes perfect sense in the context. The only reason to not accept it is because it's not "fair" - but if God is Love and Justice (which I think is totally believable, because I think humans are, at their centers, about love and justice, and since we were - according to the Bible - created in God's image, God would be love and just at his core) then we would have to be punished for our sins. (Which is why the sacrifice of Christ would be so important, because he took the punishment meant for all of mankind.)

It does sound unfair. How can some of my loved ones who don't believe end up in Hell? However, I believe everyone is given a chance to be convinced, to accept God in their lives - so it is fair in that way. People can be quite close-minded. I don't think being fair is a good enough excuse, though. Slavery wasn't fair, that didn't mean it didn't happen or it isn't fact.

But think about it. A person who murders someone, we want them to die too. They deserve a fair punishment. And we consider that fair. So if one goes against God, isn't a fair punishment for that person not to be with God? Remember that ultimately (according to the Bible) God forgave our sins - but we have to individually take the step to be with God. And that is supposedly accomplished by accepting Christ's sacrifice. That doesn't seem too unfair, imho.

(BTW, I quite enjoy talking about this, and I've been in the shoes of thinking Christianity is crap, so I won't take offense or push anything down anyone's throats. I'm not a highly defensive fundamentalist or anything! Also, I'm more than willing to be convinced that Christianity is crap, just as I was willing to be (and was) convinced that it is not.)

Let me just put it this way. I think an eternity in hell would be too harsh even for Adolf Hitler. Also, what about all the Jews he tortured and killed, that weren't Christians? What about poor Anne Frank. She suffered enough on earth as it was, the idea of her spending an eternity in hell on top of it is too distressing to think about. In fact, the very thought of it makes me feel like crying.

I don't claim to be the most compassionate person in the world, but I would never have the heart to make anyone suffer eternally. If God is supposed be much more compassionate then me - well, you can probably figure out the rest.

It just upsets me too much to think about hell! :(

I've seen enough death in my lifetime already to come to the conclusion that there is no God or divine being. It has made me very cold inside, others like me are out there in their thousands.
I must admit, that I was once a Christian. I was Christened when I was a baby, but over the years I've believed less and less in God, and at the beginning of this year I lost all trace of faith.
This I no longer feel comfortable talking about. This is the last post on this topic I will make.