moralorel
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I have mentioned quite a bit about my journey before, but anyway...
Since I was a little kid I have always questioned what people tell me. I still do. I started reading the Bible at age 5 because I was already annoyed by people talking about Jesus and how we needed to believe in Him in order to go to Heaven. The Jesus they told me about and the Jesus I found in the Bible seemed quite different. My parents divorced when I was very young so I was raised by my mother and step-father for most of my life. My father was not an absent father by choice. My mother was a politician and very good at convincing the courts that he should never be around me. That was my first introduction to the ethics and power of politicians. Most of my family members were named Joseph, John, Josephine, Mary, Johnathan Joseph, Joseph Johnathan, etc. so you know what religion my family was. Even so, I often argued with priests and deacons at church because I couldn't find an agreement between the Bible and our church's teachings.
College was a breath of fresh air for me. I was finally in a place where I could be myself and have discussions with people who had an open mind and/or were spiritually diverse. I started sharpening my beliefs by often debating with people I actually agreed with. I would take points that I was struggling with in my own set of beliefs and use these points to debate people who had similar beliefs to my own. Often they had no clue that I actually agreed with them. I still do this sometimes, but it's harder to do with everyone getting so offended so easily nowadays. I don't try to convert people, I try to understand points of view and try to argue against my own beliefs.
I used to live in the Chicago area and, while I don't like the corrupt leadership or the crime, I loved the different people and perspectives I encountered. Spending time with Buddhists, Taoists, Jews, Muslims, Hmongs, Wiccans, Satanists (LeVay), Pagans, Mayans and the Baha'i really opened my mind. I had an atheist mindset, but after some very strange experiences (maybe I'll go into that some other time), I really started to question the logic behind atheism as well. I started spending time online on religious forums and visited numerous churches looking for answers to many of life's questions. I did finally find people who are similar to myself around the world. But I don't belong to any denominational churches. I approach the Bible as a book without any bias. That's how I approach any religious writings. I read the words and ignore the outside dogmas. I have learned (on here) that this makes me a literalist. On other forums I was labeled a legalist. But I'm just someone who is trying to figure all of this out.
Since I was a little kid I have always questioned what people tell me. I still do. I started reading the Bible at age 5 because I was already annoyed by people talking about Jesus and how we needed to believe in Him in order to go to Heaven. The Jesus they told me about and the Jesus I found in the Bible seemed quite different. My parents divorced when I was very young so I was raised by my mother and step-father for most of my life. My father was not an absent father by choice. My mother was a politician and very good at convincing the courts that he should never be around me. That was my first introduction to the ethics and power of politicians. Most of my family members were named Joseph, John, Josephine, Mary, Johnathan Joseph, Joseph Johnathan, etc. so you know what religion my family was. Even so, I often argued with priests and deacons at church because I couldn't find an agreement between the Bible and our church's teachings.
College was a breath of fresh air for me. I was finally in a place where I could be myself and have discussions with people who had an open mind and/or were spiritually diverse. I started sharpening my beliefs by often debating with people I actually agreed with. I would take points that I was struggling with in my own set of beliefs and use these points to debate people who had similar beliefs to my own. Often they had no clue that I actually agreed with them. I still do this sometimes, but it's harder to do with everyone getting so offended so easily nowadays. I don't try to convert people, I try to understand points of view and try to argue against my own beliefs.
I used to live in the Chicago area and, while I don't like the corrupt leadership or the crime, I loved the different people and perspectives I encountered. Spending time with Buddhists, Taoists, Jews, Muslims, Hmongs, Wiccans, Satanists (LeVay), Pagans, Mayans and the Baha'i really opened my mind. I had an atheist mindset, but after some very strange experiences (maybe I'll go into that some other time), I really started to question the logic behind atheism as well. I started spending time online on religious forums and visited numerous churches looking for answers to many of life's questions. I did finally find people who are similar to myself around the world. But I don't belong to any denominational churches. I approach the Bible as a book without any bias. That's how I approach any religious writings. I read the words and ignore the outside dogmas. I have learned (on here) that this makes me a literalist. On other forums I was labeled a legalist. But I'm just someone who is trying to figure all of this out.