Hello everyone, I am a recent christian turned agnostic. (Please don't try to change my view points) but I would like to know why you believe what you believe? I personally let go of Christianity for many reasons, 1. because I am not intrested in following a god that has no business in helping me or trying to make me better, I have prayed,prayed, and prayed some more, but nothing not one speck of help from him. 2. I was happy when I was an unbeliever, and when I because a christian I was sad, depressed, anxiety ridden and ocd ridden all because if christianity, before this I was fine, but these past few months have been the worst of my life and after a year of faith, I am done. I have given up of the god of Christianity. 3. Too many rules, I have been troubled by soany rules in my life that I simply could not live without worrying about of I was sinning and I got sick of it ang gave it up. I still believe there could be a god, but that god is not knowable and not able to understand. I also do not believe in sin or salvation.
I have observed that there are basically four species of religious belief (or non-belief):
1. You "believe" because you have been indoctrinated or brainwashed, often from an early age, by some authority figure - parent, pastor, professor, guru. Reliance is placed on that authority figure. The truth or falsity of the belief is secondary and may never be carefully examined. If the brainwashing occurs at a very early age, it takes root and is near-impossible to completely undo.
2. You "believe" because you have found a landing spot, such as an organization or church, that is appealing, comfortable and/or socially advantageous. The truth or falsity of the belief is secondary and may never be closely examined.
3. You believe because you have had some startling experience - for example, a vision or voice, drug-induced or otherwise, delusional or otherwise - in which you are convinced The Truth was revealed to you. Total reliance is placed on the reliability of that experience.
4. You believe because, on the basis of the totality of your experiences, observations, studies and intuition, you have arrived at your best current understanding of The Truth. The Truth of the belief is primary. Everything on which category 1 and 2 "believers" rely is secondary or irrelevant. If further experiences, observations, studies and intuition require modification of your beliefs, you will modify your beliefs because the goal is always The Truth.
Churches and organizations are teeming with "believers" in categories 1 and 2. Category 4, not so much. Category 3 believers typically go it alone or start their own cults of category 1 "believers." These distinctions are captured to some extent, although not precisely, in psychologist James Fowler's classic,
Stages of Faith,
https://www.amazon.com/Stages-Faith-Psychology-Development-Meaning/dp/0060628669. (Fowler was a Christian, although hardly a Bible-thumper.)
To my list in category 4 - experiences, observations, studies and intuition - Christians would add "revelation," meaning God's revelation of Himself through nature, the Bible and other writings, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For someone in category 4, revelation is closely aligned with (and often indistinguishable from) intuition. A believer in category 4 may well have had startling experiences similar to those of someone in category 3, but those experiences are merely included in the totality of the individual's experiences, observations, studies and intuition.
The reasons you give for your unbelief are, to be blunt, extremely shallow and have essentially nothing to do with whether Christianity is The Truth. You are, it appears, a category 2 "believer" (i.e., non-"believer"). If you are serious about the path of Truth, you have a great deal of work ahead of you. As Fowler makes clear, however, the vast majority of people are content to stall in categories 1, 2 or 3 (again, these are my categories, not his) and never move beyond them.
There is a species of category 1 and 2 "believer," commonly found among Christians and Muslims but not exclusively so, who regards mindlessness as a virtue and views experiences, observations, studies and intuition with suspicion. Indeed, all of the intellectual and analytical abilities with which we have been blessed, as well as the fruits of those abilities, are viewed with suspicion. Something like the Bible is given primacy for no particular reason other than that it serves as a useful anchor for this shallow form of "belief." At least you have not fallen into this trap.
