Hello all, I'm new to this. My name is Christina. I'm an 18 year old girl, straying away from religion. I have come here to seek advice and support. I know I don't believe in God but I don't have many people in my life who will support that decision. I haven't told anyone. I've bee attending church, and even leading bible studys / worship sessions for 4 years, since I was in middle school. My parents will be very disappointed in me and I know that I will lose some of my best friends. I am confident that I don't want to be a Christian anymore, though. I can't be something I don't even believe in, or agree with, for the most part.
I have SO many questions, but one question I have is...
Religion was there for me when I needed comfort... where do I turn for comfort now?
Anyways, I'm sorry for all of the jumbled thoughts... like I said, I haven't told anyone at all and I'm not even sure how to go about this at all.
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@ Christina.....
"Religion was there for me when I needed comfort... where do I turn for comfort now?"
Followed by ...
"I am confident that I don't want to be a Christian anymore, though. I can't be something I don't even believe in, or agree with, for the most part."
The second statement seems to imply that from whatever or wherever it was you got your support / comfort it was not religion.
If this is the case then where did this comfort come from...,
Personally I believe it came from yourself ...from your own resources....I think that you are not yet confident enough in your own attributes to trust them totally ...but that will come in time....
As you get older you will find , I think that ,there are not many things that you can't deal with.That you will stand on your own two feet.
Many people use their faith as a crutch...... when you need support I think you use your own knowledge and mind......in the end it IS a better way.
Hope that helps....
By the way...you've posted in the "Site support" section.....not many people turn up here ,it is intended for contacting the Admins of the Forum.....(I can see where you might get the idea that this is where personal support may be available.... but you might want to re-post on the main forums ,either Discussions or the Hub......you'll contact more members there..)
I don't have any good answer for the question of comfort.
Many atheist are in situations where they are alienated and alone. Just think how many throughout history that must have hidden their lack of belief from their families and friends. The internet is a luxury in that regards.
I have collected a few links of other new atheists in this forum and some other links that you might find some us of.
The War Inside of My Head (thelargerbowl)
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/atheist-hub/war-inside-my-head
Friends (Skinarelli)
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/atheist-hub/friends
Deep South Isolation (The Random One)
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/atheist-hub/deep-south-isolation
Not now skepticism, I'm trying to have friends. (Sterling)
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/atheist-hub/not-now-skepticism-im-...
Good videos
==========
TheraminTrees: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheraminTrees/videos
QualiaSoup: https://www.youtube.com/user/QualiaSoup/videos
Site: Life after god
http://www.lifeaftergod.org/
Hmm, strange, the feeling of my post possibly helping someone is.
The more people speak up, the more we will notice that we are not alone. Many are afraid to speak up, others just feel comfort in belonging in the religious community, so they don't make themselves known.
We are privileged to live in an age where we have the internet to communicate through, even the most isolated and scared can find that they are not alone.
I feared the same thing when coming out clean, you will be surprised the amount of support you will get from close ones, and if they dont, it shows alot about the respect they have towards you..
Christina : The list of natural sources of comfort would fill page after page. Friends , literature , poetry , art , science , medication , walking in nature , conversations over tea . Has a movie or book ever made you think about life in a positive way? Has a friend ever made you feel good about yourself? Have you accomplished anything which boosted your self esteem ? Religious folks will try to diminish the authenticity of worldly comforts but that is one of their big lies.
There are a lot of interesting things on this site. I just read some other articles here they wrote about the game so I also found out that flappy bird is a famous game around the world that was first released in 2014 without me knowing about it before. .