Born into a catholic setting. Participated quite a bit in extracurricular church activities (mission trips, soup kitchens, etc) mostly because my best friend was the son of a religious education teacher (public school students who wanted to play on our sports teams had to take after school religion classes)
The values resonated with me. The faith didnt. I never once felt anything akin to a God-like presence when I tried to pray or any other time. I thought everyone was faking, like how we pretend Santa is real. It was just tradition, I guess.
The early 2000s rolled around and I had a major edgy atheist phase thanks to Reddit. I was always anti-authority, a bit contrarian, and a massive wannabe intellectual. Listening to Sam Harris made me feel like the world’s smartest 20 year old.
Some time passed, I got some life experience, got a little wiser, and realized that not every #Atheist was a beacon of free thought and virtue. In fact, many of them were really shitty people. That was a bummer to accept.
Then I happened to meet a Christian and another one and a few more. Before I knew it I had a small epiphany one day that most of my closest friends were devout Christians. How did that happen? Not sure. I just held my tongue politely if their faith ever came up but it almost never did and if it did they were extremely understanding and accepting of our differences. I was forced to recognize that most of my atheist friends turned out to be dirtbags whereas most of the best people I knew were Christians. What a reality check that was.
I found Jordan Peterson. Gobbled up everything I found from him. He helped me reconcile some of the disdain I had for religion, faith, and the church. I fell in love with a Christian girl. I was willing to play along with her and her family just to be with her. Went to some services with her. Didn’t feel any God-like presence there though. We hit a rough patch that brought me to the point of trying to pray for the first time in like twenty years. I could swallow my pride and ask for help even from someone I didn’t believe existed if there was any chance at all it might keep us together. It didn’t, but I don’t blame anyone but myself for that.
That was a few years ago. These days with all the attacks on America, whites, Christianity, western civilization and western values, masculinity, etc I feel compelled to protect the Christian church/faith to some degree even though it doesn’t resonate with me in any direct way. I just know that has played a large part in making a lot of the best people I’ve ever known who they are and it can’t just be a coincidence that many of them are based, humble, hard working patriots that make America the place I’m willing to die to save
Same here. Been deeply spiritual most of my life.
I haven’t
Born into a catholic setting. Participated quite a bit in extracurricular church activities (mission trips, soup kitchens, etc) mostly because my best friend was the son of a religious education teacher (public school students who wanted to play on our sports teams had to take after school religion classes)
The values resonated with me. The faith didnt. I never once felt anything akin to a God-like presence when I tried to pray or any other time. I thought everyone was faking, like how we pretend Santa is real. It was just tradition, I guess.
The early 2000s rolled around and I had a major edgy atheist phase thanks to Reddit. I was always anti-authority, a bit contrarian, and a massive wannabe intellectual. Listening to Sam Harris made me feel like the world’s smartest 20 year old.
Some time passed, I got some life experience, got a little wiser, and realized that not every #Atheist was a beacon of free thought and virtue. In fact, many of them were really shitty people. That was a bummer to accept.
Then I happened to meet a Christian and another one and a few more. Before I knew it I had a small epiphany one day that most of my closest friends were devout Christians. How did that happen? Not sure. I just held my tongue politely if their faith ever came up but it almost never did and if it did they were extremely understanding and accepting of our differences. I was forced to recognize that most of my atheist friends turned out to be dirtbags whereas most of the best people I knew were Christians. What a reality check that was.
I found Jordan Peterson. Gobbled up everything I found from him. He helped me reconcile some of the disdain I had for religion, faith, and the church. I fell in love with a Christian girl. I was willing to play along with her and her family just to be with her. Went to some services with her. Didn’t feel any God-like presence there though. We hit a rough patch that brought me to the point of trying to pray for the first time in like twenty years. I could swallow my pride and ask for help even from someone I didn’t believe existed if there was any chance at all it might keep us together. It didn’t, but I don’t blame anyone but myself for that.
That was a few years ago. These days with all the attacks on America, whites, Christianity, western civilization and western values, masculinity, etc I feel compelled to protect the Christian church/faith to some degree even though it doesn’t resonate with me in any direct way. I just know that has played a large part in making a lot of the best people I’ve ever known who they are and it can’t just be a coincidence that many of them are based, humble, hard working patriots that make America the place I’m willing to die to save
It's easier to be an atheist in a Christian country than an atheist in an atheist country.