Interesting. It sounds like she really needs to back off.

May I ask what turned you off from being a minister.. What process of thoughts, actions. or words led you to where you are now in your belief.?

Well, there is that whole "Convert or die" part of Christian History. You've got the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, etcetera ad nauseam. And it flows into today with the "War on Terror" and defending our Nation from the "Axis of Evil." I just have a hard time killing in the name of God.

Then you get to read the bible. There happens to be more contradictions in the bible than there are words in the Gospels. Very few people really read the bible and actually study what is in there--they just gloss over the good parts.
Most of what is accepted Christian behavior today is actually forbidden in the bible. Birthdays are an excellent example. When people first started celebrating the "birth of Christ" (in April not December) the church had a conniption and banned the practice in 371 AD. (Last ban not lifted in Europe until 1660 AD and in the US the ban was not lifted until 1681 AD.)

Further most of the current Christian beliefs are mutations of Pagan Festivals. Candalmass for St. Bridget is the same day as Imbolg. The Abby of St. Bridget happens to be on the exact location of the well of the Goddess Bridg. Bridge was sainted in order to get the local into the church to start tithing.

Some of the Christian holidays are simply made up. Halloween is an example. The Druids believed that on November 1st the veil between life and death was at its thinnest and that those who died during the year were permitted to visit their loved ones one last time on this day. The Church converted that into All Saints day, followed by all souls day, and then made up Halloween to demonize the Druid holiday, complete with ghouls and goblins that have no place Celtic Society. Ever notice how Christian countries are the one that celebrate Halloween?

Aside from a very bloody history and "borrowing" the traditions of other religions there is the joys of Christian behavior.

I worked in a woman's shelter sponsored by a religious organization. The bottom floor was for Pastors%u2019 wives, the office was on the main floor, and the top floor was for the general populace. The bottom floor was always full. Pastors are more likely than the general public to beat their wives. These women were programmed to think that the beatings were their fault and that God was using their just and godly husbands to bring them back in line with God's will. The stories were the same. "My husband broke my knee (arm, ribs, ect.) With a baseball bat, so we told the congregation that my mother is ailing and I am visiting her. Once I can walk again I'll go back."

1% of the General population are child molestors.
6% of the Clergy are child molesters.

Christian marriages are more likely to end in divorce (64%) than the general population (28%). Only 17% of marriages among Atheist end in divorce.

When I started standing up for the victims the church started coming down on me. Exposure of this kind was bad for the Church(s). God hates divorce; surly the devil was upon me. The more I worked in the shelter and listened to the responses of those who were entrusted with the safety of others (who they were to horribly harming) the more critically I began reading the bible. Basically the bible condones and encourages all these horrible behaviors.

Everyone love to quote, %u201CLove your neighbor as yourself,%u201D but what this phrase really means is that if you do not love yourself you are free to harm your neighbor and a great many do exactly that then claim that they are just doing gods%u2019 will.

Even more disheartening is the closed mindedness of many Christians. They not only have no idea what is really contained in their own %u201Cgood book%u201D but assume they know everything about all the other religions as well. Those who are Pagan get labeled Satanist by Christians who don%u2019t realize that Pagans consider Satanist to be Christians and do not want anything to do with them. They are so blinded by their own notions of right and wrong that they cannot get along with a Muslim, who happens to worship the same God! Hindu%u2019s and Buddhist are considered heathens without even considering what they believe or why.

Most are so insecure in their own religion that they are compelled to surround themselves with people who only believe the same way. Those who are truly strong in their faith have no need to force their religion down the throats of others, be it Taoism or Judaism.

To me Christianity is the religion for lazy people. You can do whatever you want and hurt whoever you want so long as you confess and ask fogginess later. And if someone refuses to forgive you, well then, they are a bad Christian. I find that very off putting.

I read your whole response.. I couldnt help notice trhough all this there was no reflection of a relationship with the Father - Jesus Christ. This is the difference between a true Christian and those who only profess Christianity. I think this is why during the final Judgment Jesus says to them (those who profess) to go away for he never knew them, EVEN THOUGH they did GOOD WORKS via his name.. Its not so much what you or I can accomplish on our own but more than that.

The True Christian is no different than others on Earth save one, He/She has a deep relationship with Jesus.. Without that we are just holding on to good values and hoping for the best.

As another ex-Christian pagan (though not an ex-minister like yourself) I found your summary of the reasons to not be Christian paralleled my own quite closely. I do think that the ethics Jesus taught weren't bad, but you have to ignore a hell of a lot of the Old Testament (not to mention Paul's letters and Revelations) to be logically consistent with those ethics.

wiccan; Nahhh.. You can still envoke all the O.T. and have a quite deep meaningful set of ethics.. There is a fierce and powerful parrallel between the O.T., Current Spiritual Revelations and the new World to come.. In fact, the levitical law was Very specific as to how or what order things were made and built, and especially the process of ceremonial performance..

My Savior, Living in Sin!

Yesterday I was deprived of the daily delights of the young woman insistent on converting me. I was in the copy room when she entered and asked the secretary where she could find me. This time she had brought two friends from her bible study; apparently there is safety in numbers. (Since one Christian couldn%u2019t get me to talk about religion, surely three would do the trick? Fuzzy Logic, I think.) Standing unnoticed in the confines of the copy room I was able to hear the entire exchange and it was not pretty.

The Secretary told her that she had no right to condemn anyone for not living up to her religious standards when she was living in sin herself. Apparently she has a toddler, born out of wedlock, and is currently living with another man who is not the childs%u2019 father.

I chuckled to myself as the girl, full of self-righteous indignation, told our loving Secretary, that she had no right to judge her! The Secretary told her that she had no right to judge her teachers and to %u201Cstop harassing the faculty.%u201D The trio let in a huff.

I am hoping that I have seen the last of her.

Religous beliefs are always a touchy subject. There intent is good but sometimes annoying. I'm fully catholic and I don't try to convert others because it is a personal choice. Strong believers hold true to thier beliefs. I've heard stories of people dying for their religion rather then converting to stay alive. I don't look down o people with different religions or try to convert them because it's wrong. If they don't believe in anything then why bother? People of faith can be just as bad as sinners. A catholic can sin and an atheist can believe. I have friends who believe in God and some that don't. The people that don't belive are good souls. I want to kick the peoples asses who push religion on others with force too. The give believers a bad name. It sounds like this girl needs a restraining order,lol. Great blog by the way. Thanks for telling me about it.