Posted by Midwest at archon-216-68-47-199.fuse.net on January 21, 2003 at 00:01:40:
In Reply to: POLL posted by Gabe S. on January 20, 2003 at 22:32:13:
: If it doesn't offend you, or if you wouldn't mind sharing..
: Are you a religious person?
That's hard to say. I sense that being "religous" doesn't mean the same thing as being "spiritual." I don't guess so, unless you consider Enlightenment thinking a religion. But I used to be . . .
: If so what religion do you practice?
. . . used to be a hardcore Christian. The whole nine yards. Youth group, mission trips, college Bible study. No longer.
: If not, why?
I was disgusted by how the willingness of people to help others was transformed by religion to achieve questionable political goals. It's funny, at the time, I didn't think that politics and religion should mix but what I actually didn't like were the nature of the goals (discrimination against gays, discrimination against non-Christians, etc.)
: Have you ever questioned your faith?
Repeatedly. I still question my spiritual beliefs.
: Was there a particular moment or event that sparked your questioning?
When it came out in a conversation with a Christian friend that I, personally, MIGHT be a demon. The sense of God I got from the New Testament wasn't consistent with the Old Testament, so I asked. He didn't specifically call me a demon, but he was awfully concerned with the fate of my soul vis-a-vis an eternal life and thought that I might be susceptable to those forces in the universe that are against God. Admittedly, I shouldn't have featured him as a spokesman for all Christians everywhere--but that's was percipitated it.
MW