The only thing I wonder is why they feel the need to announce it to the world.

I went down a similar path to you, and ended up a Catholic more devout than I ever was before.

But how can someone who wrote the billions of lines of code in DNA make mistakes when they have their only book written?

Without rehashing tired old topics, I will just try to offer that the Bible is not so much a story of "what," as it is a story of "why."

The absurd reduction in much modern theology to either "how to be a good person" or "how to go to heaven" is, in my opinion, a good deal of the reason many introspective and deep thinkers lose their faith during what amounts to the transition from childlike understanding to full adult understanding. Sadly, much theology today insists on dismissing thousands of years of theology for what amounts to comic books, and plenty of adults of OK with the comic book approach, and won't understand those who aren't.

But, the reality and nature of parenting doesn't go away because a young boy decides Santa Claus isn't "real." And the nature of eternal Truth is far deeper than the difference there.

This is very much an obvious lesson to those whom wonder why Christianity has been used to further evil intent through history.

Many people don’t understand what being a Christian is and yet carry the label either on themselves or their family. Once they get to the point where it’s acceptable to shed beliefs that they never really valued they do so with an exclamation “I’m no longer a Christian”.

If you swim in the ocean all day and jump out and say “This doesn’t make sense…..I’m no longer a fish!”

Did that mean you were ever a fish?

It's too bad you never found any competent help.
There are so many issues with translating comprehensive languages into English. It's like stuffing 100lbs of sand in a 50lbs box, you're going to inevitably lose something.
Every word of the Bible is true, but the English versions are so bad that in some cases it's tough to consider them Bibles.
One of the best examples of how poorly suited English is as a translation medium is the term elohim. I've never seen someone who wasn't fluent in Hebrew even get close to making sense of it.

One revelation that typically help people who've given up is the prospective of ancient people. The Bible wasn't written to us, and we don't have the education and world view of it's intended audience.
While the Bible is true, it's not everything.
There is a lot of history and culture the original consumers of the old testament knew that we don't even have easy access to, much less know and understand.
For most people the Bible may as well be a cuneiform tablet, just reading it like a modern narrative will only get you so far.
You can get the basics, Jesus Christ became human and sacrificed himself because that was the only viable option to redeem humanity after Eden, Babel, and some of the events Enoch talked about.
But digging deeper with only a translation to a crude language and zero historical context is a recipe for total confusion.
You apparently tried, but there's a reason why people dedicate their lives to teaching the scriptures, it's not something you can just figure out.

Hopefully after you've had time to reflect you'll come back and work the kinks out.
Dr. Michael Heiser's work will be a big help.

This.  I also suggest OP reads Wild at Heart by John Eldridge.

I agree

Thankfully Christianity as taught specifically by Jesus and in the New Testament has very little to do with that but rather faith in Jesus.

Also good by what standard?

Atta boys from the edgy GD shit posters

I'm not going to tell you that.

I will offer you a different way of looking at it, more through a free will lens. It isn't that God gave your kids that disease, he didn't pick them out and say "I'm going to give these kids a bad disease." Disease occurs, just like there's always good and bad. Life dealt you a rough hand, no doubt.

Evil has to exist for good to mean anything. Horrible diseases have to exist for miraculous healing to mean anything. And of course there are in betweens of moderate disease, slow recovery, etc. You probably don't want to hear this, but in a way you will probably love and pay attention to your kids more than the average guy. On one side you have a terrible burden and an awful situation. On the other, you know the situation you are in and are painfully aware of how short life is and how special and valuable it is.

Do not get me wrong. I don't want to switch places with you, and I must certainly do not envy you. I'm just saying you have a very unique perspective that not everyone gets.

Good post!

People try to take things too seriously/literally.  

It’s a book that’s been translated who knows how many times over the centuries.  

1) Don’t rape kids

2) Don’t rape goats

3) Don’t wipe your ass with your hand

4) You can sit through an hour of church a week. There’s gonna be something to eat afterwards. Or a crusade. You don’t wanna miss out on these things.

I am sorry to hear of your issues but faith can move mountains. As you know, God doesn't always give us an answer we want but the answers we need. I look back on my life and see things differently. I,too had some troubles with certain passages but had others I could ask for guidance and clarity, which helped immensely. Certain things in the bible were not written in depth but it doesn't mean it is contradicting, just giving us the basics. Many Godly men in the bible, were not always in God's favor as they turned away from Him themselves. Look at Abraham. He did not wait for God to give him a son with his wife but did so with a maid/servant and that child was not blessed by God, as the servant was not a Godly women. Abraham was tested but his faith stood strong and God blessed him and his family many times over. God tests us all of the time and it is up to us to receive/trust Him or turn away.

We are not incapable of sinning as we are just human, a creation of God of which He holds very dear to Himself. If that were not true, why would He send His son to die for us? We are not worthy of such a sacrifice but because we screw up over and over again, He gave the ultimate sacrifice-"giving His life for a friend". He did not do it for the angels but for us, even though Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him before it even happened. We,humans, did that to Him and yet He still loved us to die for us. From the moment He was born, we humans wanted to destroy Him and yet He still endured all that He did for us. Unfortunately, we rebel against that very love and even today, this country is falling under less of His blessings as people want to turn away from Him instead of towards Him. Look around you and see the issues we are having.

Satan is also just another creation and was cast out of God's favor and will never to return to his place before his fall. He was allowed to come to Earth but he has a certain time left on it and then he will be judged first. Satan creates the doubt, as he wants as many to follow him because he knows his fate and wants to destroy as many others as he can to join him in eternal punishment. Satan does not want good for you but wants you to suffer as he will. Like I said, Satan is a creation only and is not anything like God. We have a way out of that judgement through Jesus and faith can get you there.  I can understand your frustrations, as I have my own but we must rely on Him to guide us. I will pray for you and your family for help and guidance.

Doesn't sound like a Christian or God issue.  Sounds more like a "Church" or "personal" issue.  I was perplexed that you were guilted into not questioning when Christianity is the exact opposite.
Good luck OP!.  Your title should read I was never a Christian to begin with, but now I know I am not.

I hear you, but there is a fine line between honest discussion and trolling, and mods always get to make that call. I find it hard to believe that someone simply posting questions and seeking input from others would be called out for it, but of course I could be mistaken.

William Lane Craig.

For those brave enough.

This is the easy answer to so many problems. If you were Good and truely wanted everyone to believe, wouldn't you make the process a lot more simple? Or maybe provide a bit of input over the past 2000 years?

Someday you will receive total enlightenment.

LOL, todays society would actually prove you just a little bit wrong :)

Protip, when you make up your own morals, and anything goes, is that good and moral?

Someone make note - Bohr_Adam said something, fairly long and nuanced, in a religion thread, that I agree with.

*runs away screaming*

Isn’t this obvious from his post? He never really believed, just was raised that way and maybe went through the motions.

Most people would just stop going to church or just surface level act like they were Christian. OP’s post seems like he either has an axe to grind or wants the attention.

OP there’s good books on the criticisms you mentioned. Lots of good answers and reasons for faith. Maybe check those out before you’ve reached a conclusion, even though it seems like you’ve made up your mind. I’ll just say you’re here, around the right people. You must see that there is a spiritual battle between good and evil going on in this country. Just commit to fight for the good and truth, and you won’t be led astray. God Bless

Bible was written by humans, humans are flawed and make mistakes.

Trying to know who God is intellectually is a waste when he specifically intended for us to know him experientially.

Some people behold their life, and wonder how there can be a God.
Some people behold Creation, and wonder how one can doubt.

Already is.

Jesus said that saving one soul is worth the world. Losing yours is unfortunate but it is your choice. I tend to avoid the old testament in favor of the new. I'm not a Hebrew, Israelite or Jewish. I have my instructions from headquarters. Op, you and I read the same book but came away with a different conclusion. That's ok but you are gambling with eternity.

Faith is a funny thing. God isn't going to appear to us as a burning bush, a descending dove or some other parlor trick. He has put forth the rule book and it's take it or leave it. I see his hand in my life many times. When I lost my father at 46, I was 22. It brought me closer to God. But, like the parable of the sower, you are the seed that had no root. I'll pray for you, op. You're worth saving.

Hedge your bets and claim agnosticism because when you get right down to it one man who claims that he is closer to God than another man to the point that he thinks he has some obligation to tell you what to do, how to live your life, or that those that don't believe in the same way are going to Hell is just a arrogant prick.

Your choice. I grew up in a Baptist church and feel similarly to what you describe and felt that church was very oppressive and demanding. It was an extremely conservative church, no clapping, speaking in tongues, etc…, but no snakes. Our church eventually split and we stayed with the less stringent church. We got a preacher in that was incredible. He was funny, joked about getting us out on time so we could beat the Methodist to the pizza buffet and in time to catch the Oilers or Cowboys play. He was there less than a year and he was really changing the way I looked at church. He and his wife were killed in a car crash. That was the first time I really wept hard for someone that wasn’t family. I took a long hiatus from church once I joined the Army at 18.

The Methodist church I attend now is night and day different. I realize that my God is a loving God. I still struggle with the Old Testament and how these could be the same God, but that’s another story. What I can tell you is that my wife and I feel fulfilled after our Sunday sermon and our entire relationship is much better. My children seem to love it. I really look forward to going to church and Bible study. Our preacher is phenomenal and taxes us to be less judgmental and more accepting. Generally speaking, to be a better humans, whether we want to or not. Since I retired from the G, I have been doing a lot more charity work. It’s still hard for me to help those who seemingly don’t want to help themselves, but that’s my issue, not theirs.

I wish you the best in your life and for your family and your walk. It is my prayer that you are on a trail that parallels the right road, and that you can make it back  to the path some day. My God still loves you and you’re family, regardless of how you currently feel.

BTW, our preacher’s wife just had a cancerous brain tumor removed and has a heart condition. Her prognosis is not good (my understanding). His child is medium/high on the autism spectrum and he is having some serious post Covid health issues. I’m sure he struggles, actually I know he does. He just keeps getting kicked in the teeth. I wish I had their faith. They are in love with God. I’m working on me. I have arrested so many degenerate humans over my career, I struggle with trust issues.

Best to you!

He may be reading this…..I introduced him to this sheet show.

This is what people who benefited from being raised Christian love to say.  You may think you were always too smart for Christianity now, but every one of us was a dumb skull full of mush during our formative years.  

Also, don't compare Christianity to Islam.  Think of religion as a set of moral norms for a society to exist.  Islam is a set of rules for a culture of barbarian cavemen to exist - ex, women have to be completely covered or men will rape them, can't drink alcohol or you will rape/murder/destroy, polygynist so we have to promise the incels who can't find women that they will get 72 virgins if they just blow up that checkpoint in a suicide attack.

Christianity hasn't been perfect, but the fact that most detractors have to point to something that happened hundreds of years ago strengthens the argument that is has been a benefit overall.

Well there is this little quote of Jesus.  He is either lying or not.  You be the judge

John 10:27-29
27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 [a]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

It seems I was mistaken

Help has apparently found you, anyway.

The Bible is not a literal history.

But...you do you

OP, You are spot on.  Actually reading the Bible with a deep desire to analyze and understand will turn you into an atheist quicker than anything. The vast majority of Christians have never actually read the Bible cover to cover and/or they don’t have the intellect to critically analyze what they are reading.

Those threads are reserved for Thursdays

I went thru this journey like you OP.  It is hard to let go if you are brainwashed from early age.  Fear of Hell, rejection by God, and Jesus, you imperfections and sins are hard to let go.  It will come tho.  If you are like me, you can't keep believing the lies and contradictions of the Bible and organized religion.  Dont believe the people who say you never were a Christian, you just want to rebell against God, and blah blah about the devil.  The Age of Reason by Paine is a good book to read about some of these topics.  Good luck.

We had a ton of this after we lost our first baby. It was the turning point for my wife. No good came from seeing my baby die, nor my wife having to deliver him dead in the bathtub that night, but a lot of people said Good would use it for good...

The veracity of the quote really isn't relevant, as it is valid in either form or both. And, it definitely wouldn't have been said in English if ever said at all.

It's only only more recently that words like "myth" have taken on connotations of untruth. People like to play semantics games because they are operating on a superficial level where to them, that's all there is.

I've been taught about biblical structure many times.
So I will believe if I look at the big picture but ignore all those pesky details? I strongly disagree that the bible teaches that methodology.

The Devil welcomes you into his fold.

This, though there are Christian denominations that believe it is.

You can't leave something you never joined in the first place. You lack faith in Christ.

Lol, the Bible was compiled by committee and translated and written by men. Of course it's not perfect, and anybody that believes otherwise is naive. Bible thumpers that think it's the be-all, end-all of God's word is wrong.

OP, the patriarch of Israel, God's chosen people, was given that name because he literally wrestled with God. (Gen 32:22)

Why do you expect that your experience would be any different?

I was the kid who argued with the priest, nuns, everyone on the bible. Didn't notice anyone else doing the same. Religious leaders often came through in not the best light. I believe in Christianity because it held up. The bible is a history book written by people. If many just stuck to the facts there would be plenty to make people wonder. Like when the British burned Washington and a tornado came through the flames and charged the British. How about when the Portuguese specialized in the type of slavery where the slaves were just worked to death and replaced. Even the slave owners in the British colonies thought they were evil. The main Portuguese port for the slave trade fell into the ocean during a earthquake. OP sounds like someone who really put on a show as they were the good Christian. You might remember what the Bible said about that.

It's easier to join the band's of heathens and ditch Chritianity than it is to stand up and defend western civilization and the ethos it's based upon. When you die, sad and alone, God and his people will still be here and will always accept you back into the kingdom of the Lord.

I agree that the popular reading of the Bible has contradictions and inconsistencies. It sounds like it was a good thing to leave that kind of belief behind because it's not actually Biblical if you put aside their assumptions of what the Bible says and actually take the time to look at it from different perspectives. And yeah no one person has all the answers, but many different people have some very good answers on different subjects.  

Some bullet points from your OP that will probably cause some here to lose their shit, but this is what I've come across when looking at it anew:

- Asking questions is not a lack of faith; ignoring questions because of fear is a lack of faith.

- Too many people rent out their relationship with God to people in fancy suits or funny hats, or to some guru. It's YOUR relationship. Build one of your own.

- Many, if not the vast majority of churches have an old testament way of thinking rather than the new testament way - i.e. they think it's all based on how good you are rather than how good Christ is. This includes very old traditions (which act as if God actually had to defer to man's traditions).

- As far as your point about God changing, that's going to require specific references and an examination of the passages. One thing we do have to remember is that the OT and NT are a contrast of two different covenants. The OT illustrates how the old covenant was one that killed (as it was based on man's ability), while the NT illustrates how the new covenant in Jesus gives life.

- The 10 Commandments (and the rest of the Mosaic Law in Exodus through Deuteronomy) is only meant for those who willingly take it on, as the Jews did - and it can't be cherry-picked as it's one package deal (Deut 4:2, 12:32; Galatians 3:10-12, 5:3; James 2:10), and no one has ever kept it other than Jesus, which is why He's the Messiah and we aren't.
        The NT is quite replete with criticism of the Mosaic Law and its inability to make anyone perfect - which is contrary to everyone that makes the 10 Commandments (actually it's 613) out to be a self-help plan.

- Sheol, Hell and even Heaven are holding tanks in the Bible. Sheol is thought to be a holding area until Jesus came. Hell and Heaven are holding tanks until the new heaven and new earth.

- God is present in little everyday things and in everyday lives, it's just that we often miss it or don't have the full picture of what's going on. I've experienced Him directly more than a few times.

- The references to a literal torturous hell are overblown or flat-out wrong assumptions popularized by medieval poets (Bede, Dante).
         The Greek word for "torment" in the Bible is, at the time it was written, a reference to the process by which coins were tested for authenticity. They used to scrape coins on a stone and an expert would examine the color to determine whether it was fake or not. It's a reference to judgment in general, not torture.
        The Lake of Fire is mentioned by ancient secular historians (Josephus, Strabo, Philo) and is a physical place that we now know as the Dead Sea.
        I've never heard of a guy in the midst of the agony of being on fire having a lucid conversation, as in the passage about Lazerus and the Rich Man.
        The imagery of fire/burning in OT (and in the Gospels) often refers to judgment and/or refining.

i didnt grow up going to church but my family believed and my mom would tell me things from the bible from time to time. most of my adult life i was inactive and did not really pray or read into the bible. The past 3 or 4 years i have been miserable, angry, and had a very negative outlook on life. Recently i decided to read the bible cover to cover as well as watch various pastors talk. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from me and im no longer as angry and miserable as i once was. I pray as much as i can and i am trying to live a good and moral lifestyle.

I have difficulty believing in any of this because it isn't logical.  Same goes for the rest of the earth's mythology.

And stupid hardline advice like this exactly why so many lose any respect for overly religious clowns.

“Prayer isn’t working.”  

“You’re doing it wrong.”