Have you ever converted to a different religion?
 

I have VERY few friends who have ever converted from one religion to another. I am wondering what your thought process was and was it hard. How long did it take for you to really change? How did your family take the change? What brought about the change?

I will let you know now, if you post something to the effect of "I would never change my religion," I will delete your post. This thread is specifically for people who have converted or are thinking about converting to another religion. I normally don't post such controversial subjects, but I am now. Just so you know, if this thread is hijacked, I will delete your post.

I was raised in an atheist/agnostic household. My dad was raised a very strict Roman-Catholic, but when he became an adult, he moved away from the faith. My mom was raised with some, but not strong, Lutheran influences. They always encouraged me to seek out the religion that suits me best when I became an adult.

Therefore, I have not "converted", so to speak... at least not in the strictest sense... but I am significantly more religious than my parents. My beliefs don't come from one particular religion, although they align most closely with Roman-Catholicism... but I do have some Mormon influences, some Lutheran influences, etc.

I think my parents were suprised when I told them that I do believe in God. They had a bit of a hard time accepting it, but they have grown to with time... I think their main concern was that I would go overboard and join a cult or something :)

As far as how long it took... for me its an ongoing process... most of my adult life so far has been affected by my search for the best way for me to serve God... so that's what... 5 years or so, roughly. I figure that if I ever stop, I'm doing something wrong :)

I know this probably isn't the type of reply you're looking for, but I hope it helps.

But it's exactly the type of reply I was looking for! Thank you! I never once thought when I started the thead of atheism (is that a word?). So you added a twist I didn't expect. :)

Well, I grew up Lutheran. I went to a private Lutheran school from kindergarten through eighth grade and by attending the school, going to church on Sunday was mandatory (the school owned the church). So, I was baptized and confirmed Lutheran. I never questioned the religion while growing up, but I remember being quite bored with it by the 7th grade. Once I got to high school, I pretty much stopped going to church all together because I didn't have the reigns of the school pulling me in any more and I started having serious questions about the images and lessons I had blindly followed. I guess I was a little turned off by religion if you will.

My mother, who was always more religious than my father, died when I was young. So, when it was left up to my father, I was pretty free to explore any religion that I wanted. Most of my extended family were all Baptist and on the few occasions that I attended church with them, I knew that I felt more at home. By the time I got to college, I started going to Baptist churches and I still do to this day. So, while my change in religions wasn't really drastic (since Lutherans and Baptists are both Christians), it was a conversion nonetheless.

Even now, while I'm happy with my spiritual convictions, I find a lot of value in all religions. At the end of the day, I find that most religions stem from the same basic concepts. I enjoy exploring other religions and I often attend different types of "church" services. A couple of weeks ago I attended a Buddhist worship service and it was one of the most profound experiences I've ever had. I think conversion speaks volumes about a person because it shows that they've stepped out of their comfort zone and sought to find a more suitable fit instead of blindly following.

Re: Have you ever converted to a different religion?
 

I was raised in the COGIC church, but I do not consider myself that anymore, though I would NEVER tell my grandmother that. I have cousins that converted to Islam and there is always the air of your beliefs 'ain't quite right' whether anyone says it to them outright or not. I consider myself completely non-denominational now and would be slow to fix my lips to call myself a Christian simply because I do not believe many Christians live by their own principles. I now practice Buddhism/Taoism because it suits me. . . . mentally and gives me more peace of mind in the here and now than the COGIC 'brimstone' doctrine ever could. It was very hard at first because I have basically been taught, directly and indirectly, that anything outside of the COGIC faith or Christianity was not of God. You don't realize how much religion can cause psychological bondage until you try to adopt a new belief system and abandon another one. I believe that change is a life-time process and even though I ascribe to Buddhist/Taoist beliefs primarily, I don't think I will ever bind myself to a religious label ever again. I think that doing so takes away from the true purpose of religion, so I would rather say I practice the principles of Buddhism/Taoism rather than call myself a Buddhist or Taoist. I will NEVER admit that to my family because I don't want or need the psychological drama, guilt trips, or eternal damnation scare tactics. So I just have resolved to not even bring religion up to my family members and dodge any attempts to engage me in any conversation about my spiritual life. What brought about the change was that even after I stopped attending COGIC church or any church period, I still read my bible;) because I wasn't dissatisfied with what was in it, I was dissatisfied with the people around me that claimed to abide by what was in it and so obviously didn't. After I got over my hellfire fears of exploring other religions I realized that Buddhism and historical Christianity are quite similar, therefore for me, it was not an issue to "convert".

I changed denominations...hope it's not qualified as a hijack.

I went from COGIC to non-denominational. Different as NIGHT and DAY.

COGIC was simply too conservative and legalistic for me.

I was taught the same thing about COGIC as REIKI was.

I wanted to switch denominations ever since I was about 8 or 9. I switched at 17.

My family took the chage pretty well...it was a family decision to switch denominations.

I do have more to say, but my brain is fried tonight...more than usual. :p

My story is similar to Bamboozled - was raised, baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran and attended through HS. While away at college I was very happy not to have to attend and if I did go to church I went to a non denominational black church. After years of searching I finally found and am now a member of a Baptist church.

I have a couple of friends who converted to Islam - although raised in other religions (mostly Baptist and Catholic). For the most part they could have just stayed CME Christians (Christmas/Mothers Day/Easter). While they were gung ho when they first converted and may still do the "outer" appearances (such as wearing a headpiece) they are no more true to Islam than they were as Christians(IMO). (I'm not bashing Islam in general-this opinion is about specific people I know and their version of Islam-which basically isn't any better than the convenient Christianity they practiced as children-thus passing bad faith habits to another generation).

I do have one friend who practices Islam "by the book"-she made a decision after much deliberation (which wasn't easy-she dealt with family disappointments and pressure initially). When she converted she adopted all of the tenets and 10 years later is still a dedicated member and is raising her children "in the faith".

I personally don't care what one claims to be denomination wise-as long as you are practicing and are a living example to others.

I was raised Church of Christ. In short, COC believes that they are the true church and that those who are not COC are going to hell. COC believes only the New Testament of the Bible. COC uses no instruments in worship services. They also do not believe in Christmas or Easter and instructs its members to not celebrate it in any fashion. (No lights, gift giving, no tree, no Easter baskets, Easter dresses, etc) COC members are also encouraged not to date unless they are thinking about marriage and are not allowed to dance or attend movies with any rating above G. COC members are not allowed to have non-COC friends unless they are trying to convert them. Oh, and of course, a woman's place in this religion is to just get married and have lots of kids and if possible, home school them. (That lady who drowned her kids a couple of years ago in TX is COC)

So basically, my childhood and adolesence sucked big time. I missed prom, wasn't allowed to try out for band or cheerleading or any other extracurricular activity that interfered with church. I always questioned worshipping a God who did not allow you to enjoy life and required that you attend church or Bible study 6 out of 7 days a week. But seeing as that I was living in my parents' house, I could not just up and change religions.

The straw that broke the camel's back occured when I became pregnant with my son. I was ostracized by my church, the very people who preached all my life that we are supposed to love everyone and help the weak and fallen turned their backs on me. I felt like everyone in that church (family included) were just all a big bunch of hypocrites. When they came to the hospital after I gave birth, in my mind it was more of being nosy than out of genuine Christian concern and any feeling I had about changing religions when I moved out of my parents' home was pretty much confirmed for me.

Once I left MS and came to MI, I stopped going to church for a couple of years. I figured that 22 years of constant church, church, church was enough for me. I married my first husband who attended an apostolic church that was run by his uncle. Biggest sham if I ever saw one. I knew the church wasn't right and quickly stopped going and I think he knew it too, but he was too caught up in the pomp and prestige and getting his cut from his uncle to realize anything. So I divorced him and left Detroit and moved a little further north to Saginaw. In college there, I had a roommate who was COC and convinced me to go to service with her. Figuring that a Midwest COC would be different from a down South COC, I went. I got the cold shoulder once again when my roommate told the congregation that I was a divorced single mother whose son lived with his grandparents. (COC doesn't believe in divorce, either) So that was the official end of my affiliation with COC.

About a few months later, I met the man who would become my current husband. He went to a Baptist church, but didn't pressure me about going, mainly because he worked on Sunday. When I met his mom, she asked if I would go to church with her one Sunday. The church seemed friendly enough, but I just knew that once they found out I was a divorcee and a mom, they would turn against me too. They didn't. Instead, they made me feel at home. Like I was a part of something. So I started going on a regular basis and ended up joining.

When I told my parents, they were pretty upset and didn't talk to me for a while, telling me that I was going to hell and all of that. When they did talk to me, it was just basically to try to get me to come back to COC. I would get tracts in the mail from them all the time, and I would just as quickly throw them out. When I got married, my parents pretty much accepted the fact that I was a Baptist and I was happy and thriving.

My hubby and I are very active in our church; however I still need to get back to reading my Bible on a regular basis. (having been conditioned as a child to reading the Bible as a form of punishment has stuck with me.)

Sorry this was so long.

I was raised as a Muslim. We of course didn’t believe in any of the holidays. Anyway I think I was nineteen when I became a Christian. I met a lady and went to church (Holiness) with her a few times, and that is how I became a Christian. I don’t attend that church anymore, I am now at a non-denomination church.

Wow!
 

Soror Ideal, this is a good question, and I'm really enjoying reading the responses - they're very interesting!

Anyway, I was raised Baptist. In my church, which had a very small population, I never took a Bible, didn't read one and just basically went to church because it was what I was supposed to do. But even though for the most part I just sat and listened, I'm glad I was made to go. I think just in the going, that gave me structure and respect for the church.

After marrying and moving to Florida, my husband and I attended a non-denominational church for about 4 years, then moved to the COGIC and have been there every since (about 11 years). I agree with REIKI and Dionysus - it can be legalistic, but my pastor is pretty cool. Many in the Church of God in Christ still believe the same thing that these 2 grew up with - if you're not COGIC, then you're not right. My pastor doesn't preach denominations; souls are more important. Yes, we are taught the doctrines of the Church, but he doesn't get bent out of shape with women wearing pants to church or makeup (he said something one day about him not having a problem with women and makeup. Said that some women need to put on 2 coats of eyeshadow!).

Now if God has something else for my family, then I wouldn't have a problem leaving this "denomination" and going to something else. The important thing for me is getting the Word. Yes, there have been things that I may not have agreed with my pastor about, but I line up what he says with the Word of God.

And I'm sorry for the long post as well. . .:(

Well, I'll throw my 2 cents into it....

When I was a younger child growing up, my parents were pretty much Baptist, cause both of them were raised Baptist. They had this little period where they studied with the Jehovah's Witnesses, but that's about it. As a child, I would go to church and Sunday school and all that, but I was very confused. A lot of the things that I was taught did not make any sense to me.

When I was about 9 or 10, I went to church camp. At this place, they tried to put the Holy Ghost into me and to get me to speak in tongues, but I just couldn't do it. I felt stupid because I didn't feel all these things that everyone said I should feel.

When I was about 11, I think, was when my father started studying Islam. And I got into it from him. My whole family started studying both the Quran and the Bible, and going to the masjid (mosque) and to church. But for me, when I opened that Quran, I knew that Islam was the religion for me. It was Allah speaking to my heart and bringing my beliefs and faith in line with certain practices. My whole family has been Muslim since 1995, and it has been an experience. I've had Christians tell me I'm going to hell, cause I don't believe in Jesus (yeah, that's real Christian-like). I personally believe that everyone's relationship with Allah (or God or whatever you call him) is personal, and I would never push my beliefs on anyone else. But overall, I am very happy that I converted to Islam.

Christianed and confirmed Anglican as are my parents. My mother now attends a non-denominational chruch and I recently found out that my dad became a Baptist. I attended a service with him and was unimpressed-- I actually liked the conservatism of the Anglican service.

But, most of my cousins have converted to Rastafarianism. When I was in high school I left the Anglican Church for sometime and was actively researching the Rasta religion in hopes of converting. But, I never made a full conversion, just couldn't get past the fundamentals, although I respect the religion highly.

Right now, I am reasearching Judaism with a serious mind to convert.

may I ask.. what is COGIC?

(I hope I'm not offending anyone... I just grew up in a place where either you were Roman-Catholic, or you didn't exist!)

COGIC = Church Of God In Christ

:)

Ok here goes, my family was raised Baptist/Protestant as they say. When I moved from NC to PA I went to a Catholic school starting from 5th grade to 12th grade. In going to the Catholic school I decided in 6th grade that I wanted to be confirmed with the rest of my calss, so I started studying to become Catholic. As time has changed, I have moved far, and I do mean very far from the Catholic religion, and I am at this point search for a new Church home and belief I guess you could say.

I visit a lot of my friends different churchs of varies religions, but have yet to find one that best suits/fits me.

I was born/raised Presbyterian (PCUSA) and I became Catholic my senior year of college.

(Put those eyebrows back down, there are a lot of us out there! :p )

My thought process on the subject started my junior year. With college came a bit more personal responsibility and some analysis of how I grew up and where I wanted to go. When I looked at the church I was raised in, I saw a good bit of doublespeak: claiming to base their doctrine on the principle of sola scriptura , but their policies often contradicted that. It's one thing to have challenges come up that make it difficult to be consistent, but there were some instances that were just blatant w/out apology.

In addition, I got to meet people who were Catholic and very serious about their faith - so much so that they could explain reasonable and complete answers to questions I had. It turns out everything that I had learned about "what Catholics believe" from my well-meaning Presbyterian pastors was wrong.

In the end, I decided that Catholicism just made more sense and was historically more consistent w/ Scripture than the protestant denominations. I was received on Easter Vigil in 1990.

Adrienne (PNAM-2003)
:)

Conversion...Interesting Topic!
 

Both of my parents' fathers were Baptist ministers on the East Coast, so they were truly "raised in the church." Strangely, however, they were never comfortable in the Baptist churches in California (where they ended up settling 30 years ago). They said the preaching style of Baptist ministers in California was far different from what they grew up with and they no longer had any urge to spend all of their time in church (I guess they had gotten an overload as children). 3 hour services were far too long. Therefore, although we went to a Baptist church, we were not involved in any activities other than going to church on Sunday and my parents were constantly criticizing the minister, the parishoners, and even the beliefs of the church.

I don't think their questioning of beliefs came from their childhoods, but they simply were, as adults, beginning to question fundamental Christian principals. In fact, they would tell me, when we got home from church, to take it all with a grain of salt. Yet, they stayed in the Baptist church for many years and hid their true beliefs - strange, yes, but I don't think this is all that uncommon. Converting to anything that's not Christian can be, as a previous poster said, psychologically damaging. Old friends look at you like: :eek: :mad: :(

Anyway, I stopped going to church the minute I left home - it was all just a formality and my social life was elsewhere. As a parent, though, I felt I had to ground my children somehow in some type of religious training because, no matter how confusing my experience was, I cannot say it was worthless. At least I was given some type of spiritual, if not religious, foundation.

I, ofcourse, started my quest with the Baptist church. I probably would have stayed and done the exact same thing my parents did, but my husband's family is Jehovah's witness and he leans toward that direction. He is unimpressed by the loooong services and "antics" of some Baptist preachers, so I told him we could go to a Jehovah's witness Hall and check that out. We went for a few weeks and I actually thought it was OK, until this man jumped up in front of the church and started saying that if you're not Jehovah's Witness, you're going to hell; it's wrong to have friends who aren't witnesses, etc., etc. That was the last time I stepped foot inside a Witness's Hall. The one thing I was impressed with, though, was that the church was so ethnically diverse. Unlike other religions where people are separated by their ethnicity (i.e. White Baptist/Black Baptist), there is no segregation among Witnesses (that I've seen). This extends to marriage partners, too. Kind of refreshing.

From there we explored Unitarian (seemed like kind of a non-religion) and a few more religions, which we could not agree on and neither of us really cared enough about them to push the issue. Finally, my Mom invited me to her new church (she had finally broken away from Baptist), which was Religious Science. Religious Science is a mixture of the best of all religions, but is not Christian. The beliefs of Religious Scientists lean more toward Buddhism/Taoism and even Judaism and Muslim than toward Christianity. My husband had all but given up by this time, so I went by myself. I was a convert at my first service.

Now, I feel like I've found a spiritual home, but I'm not sure about a Church home. I know, what do I mean by this? Aren't they one and the same thing? Well, I don't know. Honestly, I think children should grow up with a little more structure than Religious Science offers. They need some black/white thinking for a little while; maybe it will make their lives easier when it comes to those tough teenage years - or maybe they will just feel judged, I dunno. Religious Science has very few parameters. So, although I go to a Religious Science church, it feeds my soul, and I encourage my children to practice meditation, affirmations, etc., I'm still looking for something to augment what I'm doing now.

Plus, my husband, who will not claim Jehovah's Witness and hardly ever goes to the Hall, thinks I'm an Heretic and making our children into little Heretics because I'm not Christian. He says very little since he's not exactly devout, but I would like to augment my spiritual life with something that he can feel more comfortable with being a part of. At this point, he would probably be ecstatic if I wanted to go back to Baptist again (LOL)!

So, I've converted from Baptist to Religious Science, but I'm still searching for "more."

Question for you: What do you think about structure, parameters and dogma in the church? Are they/can they be helpful, or do they cause too much shame and guilt to be good? (Soror Ideal, if this question is going to "hijack" your topic, please feel free to delete it.)

Sorry for such a long message. This a very interesting topic!

CG
Eta Gamma Omega
via Eta Lambda, F'90

Question--what is the basis of the Anglican sect? I'm really not familiar with them.


I'll add my story also.

When my family moved me and my 2 brothers from Chicago to San Francisco, I was 5 years old and was not a member of any church. My great grandmother, Southern Baptist, wanted us to go to church with my aunt, United Methodist, but also wanted us to go to a Baptist church. So, the 3 of us went to a Baptist church nearby but stopped going after a couple of visits. I just remember that church, Calvary Baptist, gave me my first bible, King James Version, and yes I still have it. :)

Anywhoo, my aunt started taking us to her church services and of the 3 of us, I was the only one who was baptized and became a member of the church. I never felt like a member there. Even though I would attend Sunday school, the snow trips, join the youth and young adult choirs, I felt like the people were snobs and hypocrites. Also, I never felt moved by the services or any sense of spiritual involment. However, every summer, from the ages of 6 through 16, I would attend a camp, which was run by the local (catholic) archdiocese (sp?). It was not a religious camp but on Sundays did perform a full mass. It was my first exposure to Catholicism. The difference with the service at camp as opposed to a regular Mass was it was all done by the kids. I found it very happy and joyous and fun. At the time, I thought the religions were pretty much the same so I didn’t see anything wrong with receiving communion.

Anyway, for a while I felt catholic and was going to officially convert until I actually figured out what it means to be a catholic. Since I didn't agree with the doctrine, I dropped that idea. In high school I participated in a group called Young Life, and had a great time with them. YL is a Christian based national youth org. I got tired of them because they were always having "club". (their term for religious service). Their camp was fun but every night we were there (7 days) we had mandatory club for at least 2 hours. Boring! So during my early adult years I floundered around and looked casually into other religions but decided not to go the organized route. I’m happy with where I am today after having done research on other religions. So I guess you could say I ‘ve converted to just being happy

NinjaPoodle, the Anglican Church goes back to the time of Henry VIII. IIRC (and history was never my strong suit), Henry wanted to divorce his wife, and the Pope wouldn't let him... so he split from the Church. A lot of the older Protestant sects were getting founded around the same time.

The Anglican Church is very similar to the Catholic Church; High Church, I'm told, is almost identical. The big difference is that the head of the church is England's ruling monarch, rather than the Pope.

I normally will not discuss religion with anyone for various reasons, however, this post intriqued me and made me want to reply.

When I was born my mother was studying to become a Jehova's Witness. So basically, that is what we were coming up. I personally hated it. I know that you shouldn't hate any religion, but remember I was a child at that time. Not receiving Christmas gifts as a child, having to have to stand in the front of the class with the teacher because I was not allowed to say the pledge of allegiance (simply because of the phrase "one nation under God") because of "my mothers" religion was not acceptable to me, no matter how well she explained it to me. I always wanted to go to church where the people sang, clapped real loud and had a good time. At that time it seemed to range from Baptist to Penticostal. I made a vow that whenever I grew up, I would NOT be a Jehova's Witness. It wasn't just because we didn't celebrate Christmas, but it didn't sit right with me. Some of the things my mother did as a Jehova's Witness, I was kind of shocked at. I recall actually getting a beating for going to my Grandmothers Church which was Penticostal. My mother and Grandfather never did get along after a heated discussion about me going to their church, he didn't see why I had to get beat for going and was OUTRAGED. I was happy as can be, I had a good time at my Grandmother's Church (Bible Way), but I paid dearly for going.

1. Like my mother had her gall bladder removed in 76, but she had to do it without blood. Now if she needed an emergency blood tranfusion she was pretty much screwed.

2. When the Witnesses would have gatherings, alcohol was always permitted. My mother will always say the drunkest she has ever been in her life was as a Jehova's Witness.

3. Once you are dis-fellowishipped, you are pretty much shunned from all of the other JW's. Now what if you want to come back to the fold. My mother can on one hand exclulding the thumb, how many of the JW's still speak to her now that she has left.

4. No prayers could be in the name of Jesus.

The above are just to name a few.

Anyhow, my mother started reading the King James Bible and the Jehova's Witness Bible. She started finding a lot of contridictions (please do not ask me to explain the contridictions, just remember at that time I was only 10). In late 81 early 82, she started watching Fred KC Price of Ever Increasing Faith Ministries on television. Every Sunday at 8am, BET was no where to be found back then, shoot Bobby Jones probably just got saved himself. Not to long after that Jimmy Swaggart started coming on, then Oral Roberts, alas, GOD heard my silent cry. My Mom's went for major surgery in June of 1982. She had already decided that she wanted to become born again, so she did the "sinners prayer" with my Aunt who was an Evangelist and my Aunts Pastor. I was just relieved to come from my summer vacation with my Grandmother knowing we would be going to church on Sunday.

I don't know who was the most happy her, because she was now a Born Again Christian or me because we were no longer Jehova's Witnesses.

I am by no means saying one religion is better than the other, just sharing my experiences coming up.

Guess I should share my story... I'll try to keep it short, but it's hard to condense a lifetime's spiritual journey into one post :)

I was raised in a very strict Catholic household. As far as my dad was concerned, Vatican II never happened. We abstained from meat every Friday, went to confession and Mass every Saturday, my dad used to do the "old-style" Lenten fast where you fasted every day, etc. I was sent to Catholic school through 5th grade, and was only allowed to transfer out when my father realized that the public schools provided a far superior secular education.

As I got older, I started to realize that there were things in Church doctrine that I wasn't too thrilled about, for example, the infallibility of the Pope. I also had a bad experience at CCD where I asked a question and was basically told "Don't ask questions, just accept what you're told." :mad: (I was right, too!)

I thought very hard about whether to go through with confirmation, but I knew I would have been thrown out of the house if I didn't, so I did it.

I had a lot of Jewish friends growing up, and through them I learned a lot about Judaism - both the beliefs and the culture. When I got to college, I found myself drawn to a newly formed local sorority, all of whose other members were Jewish - and from them I learned even more about Judaism, and did some research on my own. Eventually I began to study with a rabbi, and came to the conclusion that I wanted to be Jewish.

One thing that particularly attracted me to Judaism is that you are not only allowed, but encouraged, to ask questions and debate things. That was not my experience with the Catholic Church.

While all this was going on, I met a wonderful young Jewish man who is now my husband. At first glance, it looks like I converted for his sake, but I did not; I chose Judaism for my own reasons, I was not coerced in any way, and I really hate it when people assume otherwise. He would have married me whether I converted or not.

My parents were, and are, unthrilled with my choice. My dad wouldn't walk me down the aisle at my wedding, and almost didn't come at all. My mom wishes that I would have at least remained a Christian... but while I have a lot of respect for Jesus' teachings, I just don't share the Christian belief that he is God.

I hope I have not offended the Catholics and other Christians here :) - it just wasn't the right path for me.

Apologies for the long post. :)

I'm glad people are enjoying this thread! I'm definitely learning a lot. Soror ChooChooAKA, your question would not be considered a hijack. What I am trying to stay away from is people getting hurt feelings and offended behind people's views. This is the reason that I wanted conversion stories ONLY, to make sure people were protected from jump.

The reason that I posed the question is simple, really. All my life, I've looked at different religions, even as a kid. I was raised Baptist. Each summer, I attended Vacation Bible School at both Baptist and Methodist churches (I'm goin' on a journey, through time and through space... ;)). My grandmother worked for a Jewish family, and would teach me a few principles about that. Then in high school, I had a good friend who was Baha'i. I thought that one was the most interesting of all, but not enough to convert. I continued to go to events with him, though all through college. Then I got to college and met a guy who is a Hebrew Israelite. All these years, he and I have communicated and debated each other, or even just listened, about religion. I don't know a lot about it, but he's sending me stuff in the mail about it soon. After having the conversation with him, I just wondered how many people actually covert to different religions or even denominations. I am SO grounded in my faith that at times it's hard for me to even THINK about the idea of another religion. But I like to learn about them, still: how they are the same and how they are different. It's just really interesting

I've been Christian for 29 years, y'know? And I don't necessarily have a problem with the religion. I just sometimes wonder, what if I'm wrong about some things? So it made me wonder who had converted and how they felt during that time period. I imagine that it's really hard. And that seems confirmed by some of the stories here, because people take religion probably more seriously than anything else in life. I knew that there would be stories of families not speaking and things of that nature. I was just interested in hearing the stories. I'm not necessarily thinking of converting, but sometimes it's a trip to even READ about a different religion because I'm constantly debating points with myself inside my head. Weird, huh?

I'm glad you all think this is an interesting topic, too. I hope we can continue having a healthy dialogue about it! :)

Re: Conversion...Interesting Topic!
 

I think that some level of structure is important in any belief system simply because if you don't have some discipline and focus then it will be hard to make any substantial level of spiritual/psychological growth and maturity. I think that any parameters should be simply utilized for the purpose of pacing yourself, and not to prevent yourself or others from growing at their own pace. Dogma is a control mechanism, in my opinion, especially when the church holds it as the absolute truth and regards all other faiths as invalid or untrue. I think that this is what causes the guilt and shame. In my opinion, a legitimate faith is one that recognizes the legitimacy of other faiths. If a faith claims to be the absolute truth of all truths, I would run the other way:eek: Not even Jesus claimed to be the absolute truth. . . . He said I am the way, the truth and the light. In my opinion, that meant that whatever truth there is to life that can be found, can be found inside of me. Fear is not liberating, and I refuse to believe that the purpose of religion is to live your entire life in fear and psychological bondage to men. So to answer your question, can structure, parameters and dogma be good. . . yes, when not misused.

Thanks Reiki...
 

Wonderful words of wisdom. :)

Gyrl7 - yes, I've noticed that, too about Jehovah's Witnesses. The ones I know drink like FISH!!! :eek I thought it was just a phenomenon among the witnesses I know, but maybe not?! Since I don't drink, I suppose I could never have been a witness anyway. :rolleyes:

AEPhi Alum, you are very much correct. My Theology professor (at a Jesuit University) is an Anglican, and that is the explanation he gave us.

Re: Thanks Reiki...
 

Girl you could get your party on as a Jehova's Witness for real! When my mother would have some of the Witnesses at her house, they would be chilling listening to Millie Jackson (the cussing-gutter mouth Millie Jackson) while drinking. However, could not go to the bars.:rolleyes: :D :rolleyes: :D

Re: Re: Conversion...Interesting Topic!
 

I agree!

Quote:

Dogma is a control mechanism, in my opinion, especially when the church holds it as the absolute truth and regards all other faiths as invalid or untrue. I think that this is what causes the guilt and shame. In my opinion, a legitimate faith is one that recognizes the legitimacy of other faiths. If a faith claims to be the absolute truth of all truths, I would run the other way:eek: Not even Jesus claimed to be the absolute truth. . . . He said I am the way, the truth and the light. In my opinion, that meant that whatever truth there is to life that can be found, can be found inside of me. Fear is not liberating, and I refuse to believe that the purpose of religion is to live your entire life in fear and psychological bondage to men. So to answer your question, can structure, parameters and dogma be good. . . yes, when not misused.

This is where I disagree. I think a lot of people have used religion to bring about shame, but there really shouldn't be. To me, the parameters in my belief system are there for MY benefit. Not to control me, make me feel guilty, shame, etc. but to bring me joy about what God has done for me.

My personal story is not a conversion from one religion to another, but from attending church to having a true conversion.

I was "raised" Christian. My mother grew up Baptist and so did my father, but he was really turned off by what he saw as the hypocrites in the Baptist Church. After they got married my mother wanted them to attend church together, so they found this little Episcopalian church near our house. My father was confirmed as an Episcopalian and when I was about 13 so was I. I just remember doing it because I was "supposed to" and all of the other kids in my age group at the church did at the same time. I found the confirmation classes EXTREMELY boring and would fight to stay awake. I was happy when I was finally confirmed because that meant I could take communion (and you know they were serving REAL wine!). I wasn't excited about communion per say, just the fact that I got to 'legally' drink wine. I found church as a whole pretty boring actually. When we went to visit my grandmothers Baptist church I liked the music, but thought they were too loud. The shouting ladies scared me too.

My family continued to attend this church, although my father less than any of us. We were pretty active in the church. My sister played flute for the church band and in her sophomore year of college got pregnant out of wedlock. The priest (who was always at our house visiting for some reason or another and frequently around the dinner hour) came by and told my sister and parents that she could no longer be in the band because she was not married. At the time we all talked about how judgemental they were, couldn't believe it, etc. and pretty much stopped going to church as a family. That was my senior year in HS.

I went away to college and hardly ever went to church, although I would have probably called myself a Christian. I dabbled in Islam a bit, mainly because of their pro black stance and my respect for Louis Farrahcan (sp??). I believed there was no true path to God and everyone had to do it there way. I moved out of state after college and in a search for community (my new state was predom. White) I started to attend church again, but never found any connection. Where I found the greatest connection was this Pan African discussion group that met on Saturdays. While I don't think anyone would have called it a religion (I don't recall anyone doing it) we spent a lot of time talking about the ancestors and pulling strength from our ancestors in our prayers. There were a people from different religions or probably no region that attended and it wasn't really an issue. I was extremely un happy in my new location and decided to bight the bullet and move back home. After a while my grandmother got extremely ill and I moved to her home town to live with her and my uncle who had downs syndrome. Both were deeply religious (Baptist) and I frenquely took them to church. I was really about my 'obligation' more than anything else, cause I saw a lot of people playing church. After my grandmother's death I because the primary care giver for my uncle for a while and since he wanted to be in church every time the doors opened so was I. I think for the first time I really started listening to and absorbing the messages. They seemed to apply to me and my situation and gave me strength and confidence through a very tough time. During one service I felt (I now know it is the Holy Spirit) something say it was time for me to stop playing church and really give my heart to Christ. I did and although I have fallen more than a few times since then and haven't nearly done things the way I am supposed to I haven't looked back. I love the personal relationship I have with Jesus and am in a church, while not perfect, is really focused on teaching the word and growing people in Christ. I've learned most of all that my eyes should not be on what other people are are aren't doing but on Jesus and Jesus along and what is said in the Word.

You know, several people have commented on their family's attitude when they converted. Mine is not as dramatic, because most of my family claims Christainity, but what is interesting to me is those people who have an attitude with you because you are now trying to be serious with your walk. I have some who are Sunday morning Christians only and are truly like :rolleyes: when they realize you don't do some of the things you used to do.

I was baptized Catholic even though I had grown up in a Baptist church. I had gotten used to their teachings and practices until my parents sent me to a Cathloic school. I was never confirmed Catholic and never fully understood/believed all of the teachings. My boyfriends father is pastor of a Baptist church and eveytime I attend I seem to have a better understanding of the readings and the sermons. I feel comfortable witnessing in this environment. Does that give me a reason to change religions? All POSITIVE criticisms would be appreciated!

I would say YES! But I don't see that as changing religions- I think its just attending another denomination (which is essentially man made).

I spoke earlier of my change from Lutheran to Baptist-my decision to attend this church was because of the preaching of the word and the understanding I was finally getting out of it. My church doesn't tell you what the Bible says-they expect you to participate and study the word for ones self. Bible study is held weekly and its great to be in an environment with people my age discussing and studying the word. No longer could I get by reciting by rote tried and true verses - I had to study (and learn again as an adult) the Bible. What was great during this rediscovery period-is that my own faith has been strengthened by knowing where to turn for support when various issues in my life arise.

Now, if I had found a Lutheran church that I felt as comfortable and accepted in I probably would have stayed in that denomination- it just happened that after much prayer (of wanting a church home) I was led to attend this church and it happened to be Baptist. I didn't even care I was just worried about how my Mom would take it(iIwas christened and confirmed as a Lutheran). After discussing with my girlfriend and some more prayer I just put it out there and told my mother of my decision (to join this new church and be baptized as an adult). My Mom was initally skeptical but she has attended services with me and is happy that the principals and actions of the church are Word oriented. Although she braggs about my church choir (because they can sang) she prefers the quiet solitude of a Lutheran service. Ultimately she is happy that I've found a church home that encourages me and supports my walk with Christ. That's what should be the point (not the denomination which you do it with). So beauty_6049 I would encourage you to keep an open mind and don't worry too much about denomination.

Girl, I could go on and on about this....but I won't....changing your life or making a committment to walk properly brings the devil out in many forms, family members/friends/coworkers etc...just know you are not alone with this one!

There are some serious differences in the Catholic and Baptists churches. For example, baptism (babies vs. "age of concent" only) and communion (Catholics the bread/wine 'become' Jesus--Catholics will have to help me with this one, I never understood it--while for Baptists it doesn't) Make sure you understand those differences and are their aren't any serious disagreements with what you believe and what the Baptist church teaches. Like stardusttwin stated, it is really about getting in a place where the Word is explain and Jesus is exalted! If you feel that you are getting that at the Baptist church, go for it! Also know that most Baptist churches will probably want you to be baptized again since Catholics do not baptize by immersion.

Re: Have you ever converted to a different religion?
 

I was raised in the Church of God which is very similiar to COGIC. I remember when I was younger I wanted to be Baptist or Methodist b/c we were so strict. I just wanted to feel normal. We couldn't do ANYTHING or go ANYWHERE! I was very sheltered b/c of my religion.

Anyway, I broke away when I went to college. At first I didn't go to church at all cuz I felt like I had put in enough time that should last me for the rest of my life. I eventually started attending a Baptist church. Now I am a member of a Missionary Baptist church and I really love my church.

My family was cool w/the change because I think we all realized that serving God should not be as hard as the way the COG teaches. Now, my whole family is either Baptist or non-denominational.

Interesting topic
 

I was raised Baptist, and didnt really understand it. I just liked getting dressed up and going to Sunday school. :) I am now attending a Church of Christ church with my boyfriend and love it. My daughter loves her teachers. Because I am a single mother, I expected to be frowned upon, but have been welcomed with open arms. I'm very happy there.

Ummm...
 

Ok,I was raised in a Missionary Baptist Church. At the age of 12 I started going to a Seven Day Adventist Church. I stopped eating pork,but I was NOT about to start washing somebody's ashy FEET. Anyways,I stuck with the whole Seven Day Adventist thing for a while. Then, I left and I attended a Gospel Assembly...BORING. There was no TRUE worship in that place. They sang from OLD hymn books, read (NOT PREACHED) a few scriptures, did communion, and left. But,my heart yearned for that good old Missionary Baptist way,so at the age of 13 I was back to my roots. I MUST say,from what I obsereved in my "exploration" of different religions, a lot of churches pick up these doctrines based on two scriptures in the Bible,but they do NOT comply to the WHOLE doctrine. Is it just me that has noticed that or WHAT? What is that ALL about?

Re: Ummm...
 

I am not a theologian, but it is pretty simple. . . just as easy as you and I may read a scripture and disagree about its meaning and relevance, is as easy as another "denomination" may spring up based on interpretation of a scripture or a feeling of how important particular scriptures are to salvation. Doctrinal differences (within Christianity at least) just boil down to emphasis on particular aspects of the bible. Some people take scriptures literally and thus you have the more extreme and strict denominations, while others look at scriptures figuratively or simply as a moral and philosophical guide. The COGIC church I attended didn't allow women to wear pants, spoke harshly of women that cut their hair short or wore make-up (especially finger nail polish), and promoted a number of other legalistic views based on scriptures I still have yet to find to clearly address these things. They also do not "allow" women to be preachers, pastors, or bishops, and strongly discourage that path for women in favor of lesser roles within the church, that are 'in proper order'. I thought I'd seen it all until I came across what apostolics believe about women http://www.apostolic-ministries.net/doctrine.htm#preach . It is not you. . . . some denominations are just really extremist in their views based on a few scriptures that operate as the core of the denominations beliefs.

These are the "official" COGIC beliefs http://www.cogic.org/dctrn.htm which are based on a number of scriptures, thus is valid from a literal doctrinal standpoint. What happens often times is that people have their own issues, or beliefs, then try to back up those beliefs with scripture, instead of reading scriptures and trying to understand them objectively with the intention of arriving at a central truth. That may be why it seems that an entire denomination just harps on a few verses. Those few verses are usually the ones that support the legalistic aspects of a denominations beliefs.

Reiki you've explained it well. My grandfather was a reverend and died when he was 95 - in Brooklyn there are churches on every block (some have 2 or 3)-so I grew up hearing about all these stories. There is an old saying(well the old people around me used to say this)-differences in religion divides churches to multiply congregations....which means if you look at the history of different churches you will find that many congregations originally started at the same church under one leader and over time/and various issues-(over the leader/doctrines/etc.) congregations divided to become two different churches. However if you ask many members today they would have no idea that their church was EVER associated with another because of the vastly different interpretations.

I've never heard that before, and that's a great quote. I personally think another reason for so many churches (and once again, just my lil' ol' opinion) is that many times, people can't (or won't) sit under leadership. Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians. It's always easy to say what you would do if "I was the Pastor." Leading people is hard work - even harder many times in the church.

Unfortunately, there are too many "chiefs" that don't understand that the purpose of being a "cheif" is not to keep "indians" ignorant and in their place, but to assist people in their development into fellow "chiefs". In other words, being a good church leader means being able to allow people to grow and question things without becoming offended and taking it personally and relegating that questioning of doctrine to heresy. Anyone that thinks that the purpose of attending church is to blindly accept what the leadership says is sadly mistaken. It is to learn. . . and you cannot truly learn if you are afraid to question things, even if you eventually prove yourself to be wrong. Many denominations probably wouldn't have split if instead of people becoming offended by their differences in interpretations they had been open enough to seek the truth instead of seeking to control the "indians".

TTT - Has anyone here been witnessed to by Mormons?
 

While it seems like most, if not all of us, has been approached at one time or another by Jehovah's Witnesses, I am curious if anyone has been approached by Mormons. Lemme explain...

A few weeks ago, I received a knock on my door by three Mormon missionaries (note: missionaries are women, elders are men) who were trying to witness the Mormon faith to me. Well, I took the bait; I talked with them, explained that I wanted something new and different in my spirtual walk with God and in reading the Word, etc.

They gave me the Book of Mormon, asked me to pray about it and whether or not it was true, based on Moroni 10:3-5, and whether or not founder Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I even went to one of their church services, which I quite frankly got little, if anything out of it. The "sermons" (which consists of testimony by 2-3 members) were IMHO dry (i.e., lacked any real backing of the Bible) and I could only hear 1/3 of the sermons b/c the kids were making a ton of noise (crying, eating, toy throwing, etc.). Then the 2nd hour consisted of Mormon "sunday school" which I received a book to keep called "Gospel Principles" (a Mormon orientation manual, if you will), and the 3rd hour was a gender segregated session where the men went to priesthood, which was part business meeting and part testimony/sermon for men only.

When I told my home church I was considering conversion, the members were UPSET about that. Numerous members called me to tell me the real deal on Mormonism, which prompted me to go online and study this topic and got a rude awakening on what it really involved (which includes, among other things, polygamy and anti-Black racism, which is thinly veiled throughout the Book of Mormon--at least before it was changed and made more "politically correct").

I even studied how the Christian and Mormon doctrines differed from night and day and did a LOT of Bible studying on how the two differed. I then called the missionaries and invited them over for a third meeting (the second time we met was what prompted me to do the Bible study on the differing doctrines). When they came over it was 5 (three missionaries and two elders, all of them in their early 20s) against 1 (me). I had my scriptures ready and was prepared to defend the Christian faith (1 Peter 3:15).

For the next 90 minutes, it was primarily me and one of the elders, with one of the missionaries as backup duking it out in the Word, with them trying to throw in the B.O.M for good measure. Neither of us would give an inch, but I was pretty sure as they departed my home, that they knew I was NOT planning on converting to Mormon.

The major lesson I learned from all this was: Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons are only able to convert those Christians who are weak/babies in their spiritual walk with God and/or their knowledge and understanding of the Word. I had a head knowledge of the Bible, but not a heart knowledge. This experience strengthened my desire to put the Word in my heart.

But anyway, does anyone here know any Black Mormons, even with their historically racist past?

RainMain, I'm in the process of converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

If you'd like to PM me I can try to clarify some of what sounds like some major misinformation you were given. I won't try to convert you (I promise!) but I don't want you to come away from our church beleiving some things that are outright wrong.

For the rest of the people reading the thread: rest assured that while the church may have had racist policies in the past (as did most churches), they have been completely and whole-heartedly eliminated as we all (I'm saying we as in human beings) have become re-educated thanks to the Civil rights movement in the last 50 years. there are several black Mormons in my ward, and they have all of the same opportunities as the rest of us do.

Also, and I will repeat this over and over and over again: the LDS church does NOT support polygamy!! There are some splinter sects who call themselves "Mormon" but are NOT affiliated or approved of by the church that do, but the actual Church of Latter Day Saints frowns very heavily upon it. Anyone found to be practicing polygamy will be excommunicated immediately.

(Edited to add: Missionaries can be men or women. Elder is a title for any man who has reached adulthood (there's more to it, but that's the simple way of putting it). Adult women in the church are referred to as sisters)

Back to your regularly scheduled thread (RainMan, PM me!)