Quote:
Originally Posted by astenon
I'm in the UK and my perception of some of the US is that it is very religious and people believe fervently in the teachings in the Bible. It sounds to me that you live in one of these areas. I have always been nervous of this sort of devotion to the church though as my father is a Catholic, went to church, listened to all the teachings and then occasionally came home and beat me if he felt I'd been naughty. I don't want to call it abuse given what some of the people on this site have had to live through, but I guess it was by the definition. I found it very hypocritical as the teachings never seemed to be reflected in real-life - I thought this was the point?!
Unfortunately, I'm coming the the conclusion that religion is somewhat like Marmite - you either love it or you hate it. Those that love it find great peace, support and lots of other feelings I can't name (having a brain fart!). Those that don't love religion are left feeling slightly bewildered by those that love it. What both sides occasionally forget is that neither approach is actually wrong. What may work for one person doesn't necessarily work for another though.
What I think I'm saying is that, due to your location, you're more likely to find people that place great emphasis on the church in their life. Whilst the recommendations of the people you're talking to is rather frustrating to you, try not to let it form into anger or other negative emotions. They want you to find the comfort in the church that they have found. Unfortunately, it's just not for you though.
Hope that made sense.
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he beat you? omigosh, that's terrible. how sad! i do agree with 90% of what you say because religion does not always work out for everybody and it's not always the best answer. and it's a terrible thing how some people are trying to force their beliefs on others just cuhs ppl don't agree with them. and then afterwards they would pray for you and hope that you would change your mind. well some people like me have had negative experiences with religious people because they all excluded me from teh church and i just felt like you know what there's no way i'm staying here even though i was quite attached to it cuhs of the music and all. then things started to become less of a church, you know, it seemed as though things nearly fell apart before i left. like people started showing movies at church and then tehy started renovating the buildings and all and it's just like omigosh i dont want to be here anymore because i'm not getting much out of the sermons so might as well just leave and even if i left, nobody would care. nobody even tried to contact me and i thought my so-called buddies would at least reach out to me via e-mail or facebook, but they never did. i lied to them that i was going to anotehr church and tehn i started blocking each and everyone of them. my last week there they acted in a way that was so different from they would normally do. like they would talk to you and all and then they began to start getting judgmental right in the church... can you imagine someone using those words while they're having a conversation with you? it's like church has become a social gathering. it has really. it's just not necessary. singing praises for 30 minutes to God and then after that they begin talking to their buddies and start succumbing to peer pressure by talking just like them. eww.