How did you become religious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

Thank you for the clarification and additional insight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

Perhaps your atheist friend expressed certainty, but atheism simply means not having a religion and/or not believing in God: a - theism. Nothing about certainty.

In fact, most atheists will acknowledge that you can't be certain about any invisible entity, like God or fairies. I am an atheist because I studied religion and found it to be man-made. I also am scientifically savvy and don't believe in any other invisible beings (e.g., fairies) and I see that humans have no expectations for their believed pets to live forever (they put them to "sleep").

So at some point, giving up the idea of God and everlasting life in heaven seemed natural. Though it wasn't easy to give up the concept of living forever in heaven. Once I gave up that idea, I started to enjoy my life here on earth more, knowing it's the only one I have and I'm lucky to have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it was sleep, dreams, afterlife studies, and reports from hospice nurses. Dreams prove the brain is sophisticated enough to remain active when not conscious. We can get either a good dream or bad dream with sleep. We can sleepwalk and talk. Sleep in itself is miraculous and fascinating to me as are afterlife studies. Many people who work in hospice say everyone sees or asks for their mother in the end once they’re circling the drain.

I think animals have spiritual gifts and babies can also see things (joyful, frightening) beyond the physical realm that either shake them to their core or make them laugh with delight.

Extraterrestrial life is also proof of religion in my opinion. If other beings exist on other planets, then the idea of angels and demons is probably real

I just don’t think you die and it’s all over

This part, I really don't get: "Extraterrestrial life is also proof of religion in my opinion. If other beings exist on other planets, then the idea of angels and demons is probably real"

First of all, we really don't know if beings exist on other planets, and if they did, how does that relate to the idea of angels and demons being real?

It relates because aliens are not animals, humans, or plants but supernatural beings , physically inaccessible or unknown to humans but purportedly real. Extraterrestrial life in my opinion correlates to the supernatural and no, I’m not a Scientologist

So you think of aliens as being supernatural, but you have no way of knowing that they are. It sounds like something you simply decided - you made it up and you believe it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

What were your original doubts about agnosticism? How did you settle on Judaism when Christians and Muslims all are technically worshipping the same God? Did you consider any non-Abrahamic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

What were your original doubts about agnosticism? How did you settle on Judaism when Christians and Muslims all are technically worshipping the same God? Did you consider any non-Abrahamic?

Uh...no. Christians do not believe this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

What were your original doubts about agnosticism? How did you settle on Judaism when Christians and Muslims all are technically worshipping the same God? Did you consider any non-Abrahamic?

I was agnostic from middle school through early college. It was really talking to my friend who had been raised atheist and who was certain that God does not exist that caused me to reevaluate how certain I was about God. My understanding of atheism and agnosticism was that atheism was a rejection of God's existence and agnosticism was a state of saying, "maybe, maybe not." I recognize that may not be how everyone defines atheism or agnosticism; I'm just telling you how I related to agnosticism and atheism, because the ways I defined them at the time impacted how I defined myself.

Anyway, my reaction to my atheist friend's certainty that God didn't exist was certainty in my own mind that God did exist, which honestly surprised me after so long living as if there were no God. It didn't feel right to continue to call myself agnostic if I felt this certainty that God existed (again, because my understanding of agnosticism was about uncertainty), so I went looking to reconnect with God. I didn't start with Judaism. I actually started with other denominations of Christianity - Presbyterian, Lutheran, Congregationalist, Catholicism, and even Unitarian Universalism. But too much of Christian theology still didn't make sense to me (the Trinity, Original Sin, Heaven and Hell). Jewish theology is a much better fit for me. No, I didn't consider any non-Abrahamic religions. Maybe if I had lived in an area where they were more common, I would have, but ultimately, the thought processes and theological underpinnings of Judaism were what drew me to it, and I don't think anything else would have been quite "right" for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was taught Catholicism as a child. How about you?

Same

Yes, DH was raised Catholic. We raised our children Catholic and they attend Catholic high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

What were your original doubts about agnosticism? How did you settle on Judaism when Christians and Muslims all are technically worshipping the same God? Did you consider any non-Abrahamic?

Uh...no. Christians do not believe this.

What God are Christians worshipping, in your opinion? And how does it differ from the Jewish and Muslim God?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised Protestant, but never really felt like it made sense, even as a kid. As a teenager, I became agnostic, mostly because I couldn't reconcile so many tragedies in the world with the concept of an all-powerful, loving God. I never considered myself an atheist, because I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there, but I was comfortable with questioning and being uncertain of God's existence.

In college, I became friends with an atheist and her certainty that God didn't exist caused a knee-jerk reaction in me that God did exist. Acknowledging the certainty I felt caused me to reexamine my agnosticism, and ultimately I went looking for a religion that embraced the uncertainty of God's nature (or our understanding of God) without necessarily being uncertain of God's existence. I found Judaism, which encourages questioning and critical thinking and views those not as a crisis of faith, but as an expression of faith. I converted to Judaism and married a Jew and am now raising a Jewish family.

"I couldn't fully commit to the idea that there is nothing out there" - Overcoming the fear that has been instilled in you through most of your life both through direct teaching (you were raised protestant) and society/culture (christianity is the majority religion in the US) is typically the last step to realizing truth. It's a shame you have not yet been able to reach it, but I respect your search.

I think you may have misunderstood my story. It wasn't out of fear that I rejected atheism (which I never committed to) or agnosticism. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of nothingness or the uncertainty of not knowing; I embraced the unknown of God's existence and largely lived my formative years without God. I realized when presented with atheist certainty that there is no God, that I did, in fact, believe there is a God, and that my issue was simply with the Christian understanding of God, rather than God's existence itself. I'm not still reaching or searching for a truth. For me, Judaism is it.

What were your original doubts about agnosticism? How did you settle on Judaism when Christians and Muslims all are technically worshipping the same God? Did you consider any non-Abrahamic?

Uh...no. Christians do not believe this.

What God are Christians worshipping, in your opinion? And how does it differ from the Jewish and Muslim God?

Non-Christian here, but it seems like they worship Jesus more than God. And, I know, I know, Jesus IS God somehow, but my guess is that if you don't worship Jesus, you're not worshipping the same God, or not doing it correctly? *shrug*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most indoctrination happens in childhood. Only a small number of people pursue or change religion on their own.

Not true at all. I can think of many people that I know personally who found Christ as an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most indoctrination happens in childhood. Only a small number of people pursue or change religion on their own.

Not true at all. I can think of many people that I know personally who found Christ as an adult.

Non-religious people? With no religious upbringing who "found christ" from a vacuum?

I am not saying there are none, but your claim of "many" of the above, I call BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teenager i was an atheist but always felt like I was running after faith, or maybe atheism was temporary and God was going to get me someday, at the end of my story.

And then I realized I could wait God out in church, doing the rituals, being part of a community...fine, I'm here, come get me. I still don't really believe. I don't have the sense of a beautiful ending anymore either. But I'm waiting in God's house, trying to follow Jesus, and maybe that's the closest I'm ever going to get to faith.

Are you saying that you'd like to believe, but you just don't? and never did? and you've gone to church all this time?

I don't know if I'd say "just don't and never did." I think American Protestants have a tendency to say belief = certainty and I have never felt certain. But I think that is a very limited idea of belief that doesn't leave room for doubt as a form of wrestling with doubt, or hope, or actual practice, which are all parts of Christian life and better appreciated in Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Is taking communion a form of faith? I think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most indoctrination happens in childhood. Only a small number of people pursue or change religion on their own.

Not true at all. I can think of many people that I know personally who found Christ as an adult.

Non-religious people? With no religious upbringing who "found christ" from a vacuum?

I am not saying there are none, but your claim of "many" of the above, I call BS.

Well, you would be wrong. Yes, non-religious people.

No, they did not come to Christ in what I assume you mean by a vacuum. Some of them had hit hard or bad places in their lives, and turned back to God. They found a supportive friend, or Christian counselor, or a strong church, and found their way there. Others realized that they had been living what they viewed as fun but ultimately unfulfilling lives, and sought more. God has a way of putting people in our lives when we are searching, to help lead them back to Him. It happened to me, although I had been raised in a Protestant church so not non-religious in upbringing.