BIC to Christian. And there seemed to be many converts that have turned agnostic or atheist. In fact it seemed that most all that responded to first survey have ended up in the agnostic or athist camps. I am BIC to have no idea, and do not care.

From original post:Let's repeat a survey done about a year ago

and see if the results are the same. There is a post running now that made me think of it, the one about after leaving mo'ism, did you return to Christianity and a Christian church?

The results last time were very interesting, that about 95% of BIC mormons left Christ behind for good after leaving TSCC, and about 95% of converts (from other Christian religions) joined again with a Christian church and found fulfillment there.

So the 2 questions are #1- as an exmo, were you originally BIC, or a convert? If a a convert was it from a Christian religion?

And #2- after leaving mo'ism did you again join a Christian church or come to not believe in Christ as well?

(Just edited and changed a few words to be more clear- I think the original was concerning converts from Christianity to Mormonism.) I hope I worded that last part better, Cheryl.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2010 03:12PM by think4u.

I was born to a Mormon mother, athiest father, so not technically BIC, but was born into the church.

After I left I tried Science of the Mind for a while but found it is just another magical thinking organization.

After I came to the conclusion that affirmative, scientific prayer doesn't work any better than supplicative prayer, I gradually became agnostic.

Not necessarily atheist, more like agnostic. Whether or not I believe in anything divine and eternal depends on what day you ask me. But I definitely don't buy the christian/jewish/muslim version of God.

BIC, became atheist, secular humanist, then left the Morg.

Yet, I love returning to protestant pancake suppers, music recitals, Christmas programs, etc. because they are usually so well done, bring back fond memories of my pre-LDS childhood, nice way to meet people, and I don't mind supporting churches that do so much to help the local poor and needy.

I was BIC. Raised in active family. I am agnostic on God for the most part now and don't plan on joining nay organized religion in the future.

convert from non-religious family with some veneer of protestant culture, but with no particular religious background. Some exposure to the Bible, and also Hindu and Buddhist concepts.

Since leaving TSCC, I have become a Himalayan hamsa kriya yogi. I'm not into Jesus, but am a theist (Shiva).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2010 05:02PM by hello.

to determine xianty was too. At the realization/conclusion of each of these mind blowing events, I felt a lightness and clearing that was energizing. I felt/feel totally in charge of my life and the things that happen around me.

Life is so much better without religion. I am more honest, more caring, more loving, more responsible and have more integrity than ever in my life before. Life is GOOD !!!

Never again will I give my power to something, someone, outside of myself.

BIC then tried Christianity.......even New Believers class...then agnostic.

BIC. Tried mainstream Christianity for a while, but I couldn't trade one lie for another. Agnostic now.

Looks like not many on this board made the transition from LDS to Christianity.

However, a peek inside many evangelical churches in Utah would likely reveal quite a number of exmos.

OlMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks like not many on this board made the
> transition from LDS to Christianity.
>
> However, a peek inside many evangelical churches
> in Utah would likely reveal quite a number of
> exmos.
The Epsicopal and Catholic churches have their share of ex Mos too

I remember when I used to post many months ago, there were many arguments here between those who had gone athiest and those that turned to Christianity. I do not see the Christians here now, hardly at all.

I have read that atheism is the fastest growing religious trend ( if you can call it that) in America, just that many people will not admit to that, in the fear of offending family, friends. Maybe most of the Christians here have turned agnostic, atheist? Christian ex mos, please speak up!

Well-here I am!! BIC to active but disfunctional family. Member for 57 years. Left the morg a year ago and didn't go to any church for 6 months. My 2 youngest and I now go to a non-denominatial church. I would never accept another religion.
But I really do enjoy going to church. And my kids love it because it is so fun and only 1 hour!
I really could care less what any of you believe or don't believe. You have all helped me so much these past 6 months,and it appears most of you are atheist or agnostic. I couldn't and wouldn't have gotten the support and incouragment from my old mormon friends.
You guys are great!!

Here's a believe speaking up. I believe in God, and Jesus. Was a BIC and could never give up the one thing that did make sense to me from the morg. Although, I understand it now from a totally different perspective. Really, Im just a normal guy, not religious that believes in God and in Jesus of the new testament.

I have read the reports of historians who have found Roman reports of Jesus really existing.
The Bible seems to have come from a consensus put down by Charlemagne.
The Catholic Church seems to have a strangle hold on 'christianity'and every religion seems to reflect a Catholic version of Christ.
When I read the 'writings' of Christ I see his basic message is"
Think for your self.
Do NOT trust any 'religion' (whitened sepcultures & crooked priests)
Make your own connection to GOD
Live in LOVE.
Serve others without thought of 'what's in it for me'
That does not mean sacrifice yourself, then there is no more of you to make a positive difference in the world and all the good you could have generated gets lost.

So I avoid 'religions' including new age sects like the plague.
I respect people who help others as in food drives and shelters and etc......

So yes I am Christian as in I follow what I believe He taught. I do not think Gays are broken people that need to be fixed. I think that world governments are run by moneyed corporations and not necessarily the people, except on a very close neighborhood level. Nationalism seems to be something created to keep us apart when in reality the powerful who make the dough flow keep us all (as in all the world in general) under their collective thumbs. As in 90% of the resources of the world are controlled by 10% of the population.

Do I look for Jaysus to come??? No, I have to look for me to change and not wait. I'm supposed to do my part here and now.
I believe in service to others, not service to self.



I refuse to make fun of or belittle others who have had answers to prayer because I don't want to stoop to that level. Why make fun of someone's faith? It is like degrading a toddler who can't walk very well. People are at different levels in their growth, I'm not going to kick sand in their face. But like I will for the toddler, I will set down limits of where they can go and what they can play with!!!

I was BIC, RM & at one time very uber-TBM (bishopric etc).

Now, attend catholic church with my (catholic from birth wife of 18 months). I'm about as agnostic as one can get but in my mind/heart probably atheist.

The glimmer of belief I still retain may be the last of the indoctrination I haven't pooped out yet.

Funny- and related to this survey, I just met up with an old friend who was a convert to mormonism from another Christian church- she's exmo now but still Christian.

Then I found out what everyone else here has found out and am now back at the same church I grew up in. The first time I walked through the doors even though I had never been in that particular chapel before I knew I was home and was doing what was right for me.

God is both real and unreal - real in the sense that It exerts remarkable influence upon humans, both individually and collectively, and unreal in that there is no universal consensus as to what It is. Personally, I believe God is a social construct, a personification of shared cultural values and beliefs. I recognize, however, that It is much more real for others, and I'm not so arrogant as to assert my view as any more valid than theirs.

BIC, then (after decades) discovered the fraud and learned the fickleness and uselessness of following my "feelings" to determine truth, and discovered the wholesome value of DUE DILIGENCE and EVIDENCE. Open to believing in anything but: SHOW ME EVIDENCE!

As for verifiable EVIDENCE of Christ, if you're talking about a first century Jew living in Palestine who had a Hebrew name that was transliterated as 'Jesus', who was a teacher who was the impetus for the Christian movement and who was crucified by the Romans for trying to assert a claim to the throne of Jerusalem and then subsequently myths grew up around him I would say that this is the best conclusion based on the EVIDENCE.

However, if you claim as historical the existence of an individual who was born of a virgin, walked on water, turned water into wine, resurrected himself from a state of death and ascended to heaven on a cloud, there is NO EVIDENCE of this.

As one poster has said: " If I must believe in non-provable absurdities, why this particular one?"

Never again will I be drawn to ANY belief system that cannot show reasonable, rational evidence for it's propositions -- PARTICULARLY when one must accept as truth various historical or ontological assertions.

I am happy to accept the definitional result of this position. If some wish to call this atheism, so be it, but it is NOT another "religion" of denying religions. It would merely be what is left if one cannot find reasonable evidence in any other belief system or theology.

So an experiment was conducted with ten monkeys in a room with a bunch of bananas at the top of a ramp. If any of the monkeys tried to get the bananas all of the monkeys were immediately hosed down copiously with freezing water. After a few weeks none of the monkeys would even try for the bananas and the bananas could sit up on the ramp for weeks.

Eventually, five of the monkeys are removed and five new monkeys are introduced. Of course they are very interested in the bananas, but the five experienced monkeys go wild if any of the new monkeys try for the bananas. Eventually, because of the reaction of the experienced monkeys, the new monkeys learn that, no matter what you do, you don't go for the bananas or else you get your ass kicked. They have never been hosed down and they do not know WHY the bananas are off limits.

Eventually the five original, experienced monkeys are removed and five new monkeys are introduced. Now, there are NO monkeys that understand WHY the bananas are off limits, they just all observe the "rule" without any understanding of the reason -- other than monkeys go wild if any member tries for the bananas.

The VAST MAJORITY of religions are like this, especially the mormon cult.

"As for verifiable EVIDENCE of Christ, if you're talking about a first century Jew living in Palestine who had a Hebrew name that was transliterated as 'Jesus', who was a teacher who was the impetus for the Christian movement and who was crucified by the Romans for trying to assert a claim to the throne of Jerusalem and then subsequently myths grew up around him I would say that this is the best conclusion based on the EVIDENCE.

However, if you claim as historical the existence of an individual who was born of a virgin, walked on water, turned water into wine, resurrected himself from a state of death and ascended to heaven on a cloud, there is NO EVIDENCE of this."

Since almost all of the evidence for both of these propositions arises only from the Bible, I can't really see any difference in the claims of historicity between these two propositions.

If I were BIC I most probably would have also, or at least agnostic. I think it is because in the LDS any questioning or use of intellect or logic is not only frowned upon it is seen as sinful. I am an extremely questioning person but I grew up in a church environment where that was not only ok, it was taken for granted. You definitely were not expected to always agree with the preacher or speaker or whatever. The emphasis was on service, friendship, and worship but no pressure to do or believe more than you feel comfortable. The Mormons tended to force me to believe everything they taught (impossible) and do all the activities and pound doctrine over my head constantly kept expecting my to shut my brain off! They just poisoned my spiritual life and tried to shut it off in a little cage. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and now I am back in a more open-minded spiritual environment. The other day my HT came over and pounded on the door unexpectedly and gave me a ornament with a picture of Jesus in it. Now I like Jesus for goodness sake but that picture just annoyed me to no end (it was the angry grumpy Jesus) just because of all the associations that came along with that picture so as soon as he left I took the picture out and replaced it with one I liked lol. Honestly, though, I think a lot of Christian churches, esp. fundy-types are brothers under the skin with the Mormon church. I know several people who consider themselves Christian but refuse to set foot in any church for the same reasons.

If I (convert to atheist) was originally Christian. Yes, I was raised Catholic. Thread closed, couldn't respond.

Convert, raised Catholic, then Mormon, tried to go Christian Protestant but once illusion is recognized, you can't unrecognize it. Now consider myself agnostic/atheist studying and trying to live by Buddhist principles.

Very against organized religion and will never, ever be a member of anything again. Enjoy all religions and like reading about them.


Anagrammy

I didn't reply to the other threads but I am BIC and now I identify the most with secular humanism. I went from Being LDS to Muslimah and back to LDS and now I believe in reason and science and facts.

I do think many ex-mormons turn to Atheism or Agnosticism because just as I have,they have used logical thinking and focused on the Bible and the God of Christianity and or other faiths and books. It's easy to apply the same reason and come to the same conclusions as they did to LDS Inc.
It is all about warm fuzzies and wanting to go on forever that makes people go back to a religion in my opinion.

All my research and using logic, reason and known facts, I have found no reason to believe that supernatural beings of any kind are influencing life on earth nor is there any reasonable evidence or logic as to why if hypothetically real, that they came to be in the first place.

BIC, and now an individual believer in Christ.. not religious.

BIC - Now Atheist.

think4u Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> So the 2 questions are #1- as an exmo, were you
> originally BIC, or a convert? If a a convert was
> it from a Christian religion?
>
> And #2- after leaving mo'ism did you again join a
> Christian church or come to not believe in Christ
> as well?

#1 Convert [was a wishy, washy Protestant]

#2 now atheist

oops, clicked on wrong button.

Raised Lutheran, converted at 18, deconverted gradually, found RFM about 9 or 10 years ago. Have since tried other mainstream churches. Have settled with the Methodists, because of all of them, they are so accepting and practice the kinds of social reform that I think Jesus promoted.

Yes, I believe....and I know much of what I believe probably doesn't hold up to scientific scrutiny. When it comes to God, I don't have a problem with mystery. I had much more of a problem with Mormonism trying to explain mystery using only their logic and only their terms.

BTW, I love a quote by Madeliene L'Engle....."I take the Bible far too seriously to take it literally."