Originally Posted by
sonunox34
Good thread.
I stopped believing because I knew too much. I was in Catholic school from K-12 grades, and I took two theology courses in college. This along with attending weekly mass for most of my life provided me with great knowledge of Roman Catholicism.
So many questions arose.
- How did any of those Old Testament stories happen? Adam and Eve?
yeah, ok. Noah's Ark? Burning bush? Splitting a river in two? Along with encouraging war, multiple wives, slavery, and other atrocities, I just can't respect the Old Testament. People that see the Bible as absolute truth INSIST the Earth is only 4,000 years old, while scientific estimates place it at 4.5 billion years old. Seriously??
- Jesus. Why did he come at the time he did? Why isn't he alive now, where he could have a blog, a podcast, his own TV station, etc? What set Jesus apart from any other "prophet," the fact that his followers insist that miracles occurred? Sounds like every other cult to me. Sure, he may have lived. But his mystical properties make little to no sense.
- The accounts of Jesus. You're telling me that the gospels, the only "true" accounts of Jesus' life, were written down 50 years or later from his death? By people who didn't even know Jesus when he lived? And THEN these gospels were translated multiple times, in multiple languages. I'm sorry, I do not believe that these gospels are reliable accounts. It's just not realistic to think so.
I also despise what the church has been used for, and what it is used for today. How many wars have been started because of religion? How many Catholic missionaries thought it was their "duty" to force native people into becoming Christian? Europeans thought they were on a mission from God to conquer North America, East to West. Various popes have been incredibly evil people that abused their power to the max. Today, rednecks insist God wants a white, Christian president. Mormons walk door to door, trying to force their ways on other people. NO THANKS.
I take the Bill Maher perspective... that there is no way that we will ever know God, or the truth until we die.
How many hundreds of religions are there? And they all believe they are the ONE TRUTH? Odds are, we're all wrong.