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After years of living with HIV/AIDS, keeping up with the political situation, and watching the church try to become the government, etc..., I am happy to be without the church! I don't believe in God per se, I believe there may be some "Supreme Being" but not the God that any of the churches or religions have presented yet. I grew up attending a certain Southern Baptist church. My leaving the church came about because of devout study of the Bible. In my youth, the King James version was the Bible you read and studied. Little did I know, that version was commissioned by an ancestor of mine.That's right, King James VI and I was a great, great... grandfather of mine, as was Hughe De Rennes. But let's back up a couple steps. I was constantly finding things in the Bible that just couldn't jibe. So, I started studying other religions. Just to try to fill in gaps of logic. I was consistently told by the church, "Why can't I just accept that things are what the church says it is?" I would ask my parents about these doubts. That was when my father's family took me aside and showed me my family tree. They also explained how the Bible after all the "translations" is actually just a book used to control the masses. But "based" in history. Upon showing my church the family tree, I instantly became a pariah there. That started my dislike of the church. I completely left the church when they started buying politicians to their favor. Today the church is nothing but a business. I have been "dead" twice. Once when I was thirteen. Due to an accident. Second time, I collapsed in the emergency room doors, just to find myself being poked with all kinds of needles and tubes. That was the night I was tested for HIV. There is an after life, just not quite what Christians would have you believe. But you have to earn it. All that aside, I don't need a religion to tell me how to live my life to reach that. When you go, all you take with you is either love or hate. Each has it's own path, obviously. Having been through all of that, I find I am much happier. I know that I do not need the blessing of an oppressive church telling me what to do with my life to achieve my goals. I am rich, not monetarily, but with family and friends. I do not need a church telling me I must contribute to its pocketbook to be told I have lived the right kind of life. I am free, I know what awaits, and I do not fear death. I do fear the method, of course. I do not fear what others think of me, I know who and what I am. I am confident and independent. That scares the hell out of the church! They say animals can sense if you are a good person or not. I agree, I had a Great Dane that my daughters would bring their new boyfriends to see. He proved that saying 100%! But as I live somewhat in the country, we have several animals that visit our property. It is not unusual for an animal to walk up, straight out of the woods and seek us out. Usually for food. We have had two family of deer living in our woods, usually during hunting season. There is so much more, but for brevity... Love freely, expect nothing. Fight for one another, countries, possessions, etc... are just things. Things you cannot take with you. Love for one another is key. The love you give will be returned, not by all (by a long shot), multiplied greatly. IMO, the church is not and never has been the key. Even in the times of Christ. The church was bad then, but it is much worse than that now!
Poz atheist/agnostic (atheism is an opinion or position, while agnosticism is a philosophy, as I see it) here. Sorry I missed the coming out day, but I did tell someone about both my positive and nonreligious status that day.
Trenton Straube
Thanks for sharing your story, Robert. I find it endlessly fascinating--and inspiring.
April 30, 2015