The truth hurts, sometimes

sent in by Carolyn















But maybe the truth hurts, sometimes.

Email: carolynthenotsogreat at gmail dot com


Hellbound Alleee said...

Hey Carolyn,

I'm a recent immigrant to Quebec myself, and I can tell you the first thing I thought was that there were no real Christians around, not like I remember. There are symbols at the hospitals, but it always seems like it's for the Grandmamas and Grandpapas. There isn't nearly the same amount of religious programming, and I've never been bothered by anyone at my door or on the street. I don't know where you live, but I was sort of surprised to see you had a religion/morality class so young. Where I grew up, you only got that if you went to a religious school. And we're talking about the seventies. My new French Canadian family--none are conspicuously catholic. The funerals are catholic, but that's about it. Truly, Montreal is the least religous place I've ever been in my life.

I can tell you though, I had the same experience when I was about 7 or 8. The teacher asked what religion I was, I told her my parents' church, but my dad said "no, you're not. WE are. You don't know yet." That changed everything!

Piprus said...

Hi, Carolyn,

Welcome to the site. Enjoyed your testimony, and I can appreciate the confusion you went through as a child. Many of us as children unfortunately got scared to death of going to hell from churches that were more fundamental-evangelical than what you were exposed to. You're among friends here.

By the way, I happened to see "Passion" when it came on the cable channels of the worst movies I've ever seen. A waste of time, and boring. Hardly anything but overdone, gratuitous violence. I fail to see how even christians could describe such a piece of trash as a "great movie".

Anyway, I digress...glad you're with us.

Nvrgoingbk said...


As an adult, I had wished the same things. I didn't understand why they "got it" but I didn't. I felt I was some genetic freak who was just born to rebel against Godly authority and revelation all my life. I tried for sixteen years to "get it" I cried at church. I raised my hands to a "holy" God and sang his praises. I witnessed to others, I agonized over my sins both real and imaginary. I cried out to God countless times for answers, yet there always seemed to be something that set me apart from the other Christians I knew. I didn't stop asking questions. I could never get the whole "saved by faith" vs. works beliefs. I couldn't keep quiet about false doctrines being taught. I couldn't look past the obvious contradictions in the Bible and the obvious hypocrisy among even so-called good Christians as they clearly disobeyed the Bible's teachings on divorce, pagan customs, the Sabbath, doctrines of men, graven images, idolatry, etc. etc.

It wasn't until I began breaking free and reaching the inescapable conclusion that Christianity is FALSE (after much research), that I found others that felt the same way. I wasn't awkward afterall. Christianity really DOESN'T MAKE SENSE AND THERE WERE OTHERS WHO SHARED MY KNOWLEDGE. This has been intoxicating and liberating!

Christians convert based on the testimony of another Christian or based on the fear of Hell or reward of Heaven. There is no real rational reason for them to. They are influenced into the faith. We, on the other hand, are the truely despised who refused to be bullied by other Christians or some make believe God into holding on to beliefs that were contrary, confusing and down right offensive to our common sense.

I've always heard Christians talk about how they are a minority and how oppressed they are. It is far easier to accept an alter call where there are hundreds of other believers spouting "amen" and encouraging your coversion than it is to get up one day, stare "Hell" and the Christian bullies in the face and turn our back on their warnings of eternal damnation to be true to our consciences. Ironically, there is so much freedom and a whole new beautiful world emerges for those of us who dare to be a voice of reason in a world plagued by the religious dogma of one faith or another. We live in a world that is controlled by religion so when one of us frees ourselves of the shackles it can be a lonely experience, but thanks to the beautiful mind of man, we are able to get on our computers and seek out a place to share the truths we have found.

carolyn the red said...

Hi, it's the Carolyn who wrote this.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. I've been reading everything on the site since I found it a couple weeks ago. I'm still having trouble finding a balance between respecting other people's beliefs and letting others believe I think as they do, so it's nice to talk to people who've consciously left christianity.

Strangely, talking to a friend today, I found out she'd been downplaying the fact her daughter's hebrew school was a secular humanist school for cultural jews, and that she's atheist. There seem to be a lot more low-key atheists around that I would have thought.

hellbound allee, things have changed a lot in the last twenty or thirty years. Up to ten years ago, every school board had a religion attached (mostly catholic) and when I was in school, religious education was a compulsory subject in the curriculum every year. I don't know about now, I've been in Ontario for a while. There's been a real backlash against the church which used to have real power over people's lives, leaving Montreal, especially, a lot like a lot of Europe. Christianity is a mile wide and an inch deep.

My family seems to have held out longer than most in keeping really faithful. I think my mother, especially, was scared by the growing secularism and became more religious. I am very greatful, however, that I didn't go through the kind of evangelic education some people here have.

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