What was the faith or philosophy of your parents?

I actually have no clue. My sperm donor left when I was 7 and my mother just worked and drank.

Sorry to hear that Element99. I had a bad child hood as well but likely not as bad as yours. I find comfort today within the Congregation.

(Psalm 27:10) Even if my own father and mother abandon me, Jehovah himself will take me in.

(Mark 10:30) who will not get 100 times more now in this period of time—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the coming system of things, everlasting life.

Mine wasn't bad...I just didn't have a father to teach me stuff. I am self-taught and my kids turned out well.

Sorry, it just sounded bad.

My parents "faith" was basically neutral. Their philosophy was to respect people, tell the truth, and try to walk with integrity. My view now is that I still try to respect people, tell the truth, walk with integrity but am also now a born-again believer in and disciple of Iesous Christos (Jesus Christ).

My mother claimed to be agnostic but really had no shred of faith.

She did, however, believe in tolerance and understanding about the beliefs of others.

She gave us books on all the world's religions and encouraged us to read them and think for ourselves.

I did read them, and ended up as a non-believer.

My sister didn't, but instead asked to go to Sunday school. Mum took her there in secret, against my father's wishes. My sister went mainly because she was lonely and longing for friends. And that established the pattern of her life. She has always hopped from one religion to another, after each time she ended up creating too many emotional conflicts with members of the communities.

My father was evangelistically atheist. He took sadistic pleasure in relentlessly attacking the faith of any believer. But if they remained unruffled and met every attack frankly and with sound reasoning, he soon became their lifelong friend and gave them great respect and liking, and whenever necessary, help.

For me, the interest in beliefs has never left me,

but over time, after exploring the esoteric and also Vipassana Buddhism

I have ended up strongly atheist.

I'm happy to explain to any who are interested,

(which, at 60, has happened only twice in my life,)

but I do not believe in promoting or evangelising it.

I believe strongly in the importance of people's rights to choose for themselves.

There is a point at which I do draw a line.

I cannot support the views of anyone who tries to use force to convert others (eg ISIS).

@Heartfire

Well of course many people believed that there was corruption in the catholic church.. But for these same people to state that the catholic church was a false religion in rebellion against the Word of God was another matter, They needed to be armed with a Bible that they could point to and quote to show exactly why the doctrines of the catholic church where wrong..  You will find corrupt minsters in all churches right now.. Because humans being human will be faulty and they will be corrupt.. That does not prove that their denominations teachings about God and Jesus are corrupt..  So there is two distinct problems we are discussing One to do with normal human corruption and the other to do with doctrinal religious corruption..

United Church of Canada. My parents were not very religious but thought church was a "good thing".

I became agnostic about mid teens, got dragged to attend a Pentecostal church by friends, (gah!) left after 1 1/2 years and later joined the Baha'i Faith 3 1/2 years; lost interest.
Joined Answerbag about 7 years ago became very interested in debates between atheists and theists and deeply pondered existence of supernatural /God.
Then one time I felt as if it were a revelation from the subconscious "there is no God!". I feel well assured of that and that science or critical thinking can explain anything where someone might claim "there MUST be a God BECAUSE. .."

I feel as if I know you little better through your answer. Thank you! :)

I've always enjoyed the penetrating questions you ask about matters of belief, evidence, and logic.

I agree on the distinction between a teaching, philosophy or faith, and the inability of people to follow it without error.

And worse, the tendency for all institutions to fall into corruption unless there are rigorous built-in methods of discovery and prevention.

Thank you hartfire.

Do you believe the Bible is inspired of God? 

Prophecies like the one about the timing of the Messia helped convince me:

(Daniel 9:24-27) “There are 70 weeks that have been determined for your people and your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, to finish off sin, to make atonement for error, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. 25 You should know and understand that from the issuing of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Mes·siʹah the Leader, there will be 7 weeks, also 62 weeks. She will be restored and rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in times of distress. 26 “And after the 62 weeks, Mes·siʹah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. “And the people of a leader who is coming will destroy the city and the holy place. And its end will be by the flood. And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations. 27 “And he will keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week, he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease. “And on the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, what was decided on will be poured out also on the one lying desolate.”

http://answermug.com/forum/topics/are-you-familiar-with-the-prophec...

""""

I agree on the distinction between a teaching, philosophy or faith, and the inability of people to follow it without error.

And worse, the tendency for all institutions to fall into corruption unless there are rigorous built-in methods of discovery and prevention.""""

Agreed..

I must confess that I don't believe the Bible is inspired by God,

because I don't believe in the existence of God,

especially not the type of God as is portrayed by the Bible.

I believe the deepest reason for this is my parents' approaches to religion during my childhood,

but it's also based on a great deal of research into most religions

and also the thinking of philosophers, scientists, and atheists.

The closest I ever came to believing in God was the notion that

perhaps the energy that composes every atom is conscious to some degree.

If that was true, it could explain the idea of God as

omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and creator of the universe -

but it would not make god inherently good or loving - so I let that thought go.

I am no longer a person who might be persuaded to change my current stance as an atheist.

But as I have said above, I don't seek to convert others to my view,

and I respect absolutely the right of others to their faith,

and continue to find how and why people believe as they do

fascinating.

Strict Pentecostals.

evangelistically atheist.... that's pretty good Ms Hart.

I appreciate your honesty and kindness. Through deep study of the Bible and fulfilled prophecies like the aforementioned one I came to believe the Bible is from God and understand why the world is in the condition it is in.

If you have time, check the scriptures and do the math on the previous link.

Will do.

:)

Thank you hartfire. Let me know if you have any questions.

My parents were Lutherans.

My mom was from the WELS and my dad was from the ELCA.  When my parents got married my dad left the ELCA and joined the WELS because mom wouldn't have married him if he wouldn't have changed.  When my parents divorced my dad went back to the ELCA and my stepmom is also Lutheran (ELCA) but they didn't meet at church.  They met on Farmers Only.

Mom isn't Lutheran anymore.  Now she goes to a community church that's relevant and authentic because it's relevant and authentic Christianity, and mom's new church does baptism the right way!  Mom's baptism when she was a baby doesn't count.  

The right way to get baptized is to replace "baptism" with "going public" and to get baptized the right way you have to wear a light blue T-shirt that says "I Have Decided" so now mom's going to heaven because she went public the right way.

I don't have any religion or spirituality because I just don't but if I had to pick one I would probably go with the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  He tastes the best!

LOL :D

i very much enjoyed the way you told this story.

:)

Will do. :)

C of E and the Golden Rule.

I'm only technically C of E, but I've always thought the Golden Rule a very good idea.

Thank you. I like your response. :)

My mother was raised in a lapsidaisical version of C or E, virtually name only.

I too like the Golden Rule, but I think it needs one proviso,

one must first love oneself before one is able, or knows how, to love others.

I think it is a sad truth that many do not love themselves, even those who may seem very selfish and self-absorbed, often behaving self-destructively.

For those of us born into dysfunctional families (I for one), the journey towards learning how to love is a long one.

I think I must work under a different 'Golden Rule' to the one you mention.  :)

For me, it's, 'treat others as you would wish to be treated'.  I neither love nor even like many folk I encounter, but I now go out of my way to be, for want of a better word, 'decent' in my actions and reactions towards others.

That wasn't always the case and many people suffered because of it.  Nor did I stop this behaviour for entirely altruistic reasons, but because I could see the self-destructive path it would lead to if I continued.  So a bit of empathy but a lot of self-interest motivated my decision.  It was one of my better ones, of that there is no doubt.  

What I learned most by doing this was that it is very difficult for people both to be and to accept 'nice' if 'nice' has played little part in their lives.  That's something I often remind myself of if I see people insisting on behaving like dicks.  :)