Recently, I made a post of my testimony in: Spirituality, Religion and Beliefs under the topic of, Why is Jesus and Christianity so Hated? I realized that this was probably not the best place for my tesimony, but that there should be a forum on this very topic itself. So, my call is to everyone from everywhere. What is your testimony? What wonderful things has the being you revere done for you? ?Or if you are an atheist what has atheism ever done for you? What has happened in your life that is Real and Significant enough to change your life Forever?

This should be worth reading, Nick

As an atheist I accept life as it is and value every moment that I have because there is no after life
I’ve also learned that the path to true knowledge and understanding is through research and questioning, not through listening to what someone else tells you.
I’ve learned to accept all people for what and who they are, and there is not book of right or wrong for me to judge them by. All people want to live and be happy and I feel that as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else then they should be able to be who and what they are. I have a greater respect for nature and life because we all come from the same place. And all living things share the same needs, and the same ancestors.
No one should have the right to tell you what you should or shouldn't feel, and I’ve know this since I was very young. Religion had a purpose in the past to help build strong bonds between people for survival, and to explain the things they couldn't understand to take away some of the fear of the unknown.
For me this is all religion ever was and all it ever will be, and like all myths they hold on for far too long. I think that anyone who actually questions religion and learns more about the natural world, and the history of humanity will either have to bend over backwards to hold on to their religion or they just will not be able to accept it.
For me I am not able to accept the constraints of religion, and I feel that I have a free mind and am not held back from my enjoyment in life because of superstition
But these are just my opinions...

I think you just opened a can of worms!

I am from the year 1956. It has taken me 49 years to reach this time. I guess you can call me a TIME TRAVELER. Oh! By the way that road sure is bumpy.
I am not a religious person. Remember that it was religious men (the Sanhedrin) that were the accusers; of my Lord Jesus Christ it was these same religious men who demanded His execution from the Roman Empire.
Actually I was a devout atheist into my mid twenties. It was my personal goal to destroy others faith with sound reasoning and logic. I arrived at a point in my battles with the faithful where I was unable to counter with a good argument and decided to say a personal prayer to this supposed deity at that time and asked God to prove Himself to me. And well, He met that personal challenge of mine with love and logic, and from that point on I am eternally grateful.
Irish

Quoted from me with permission :

I used to have no direction to my life. I was happy going to my friend's house every weekend (and sometimes weekdays too) and get stoned and/or drunk (from about 15 or 16 yrs old onward). I would go through Fairfield (where I live) and damage stuff just for the sake of it (one time, there was a bin one block away from the fire station and set it on fire, just to see how long it would take for them to come. Another time, I went to the lawnbowls facility at Fairfield RSL, pulled the spokes up and on a whim tore the well-tended lawn up with the metal spokes. And this is just a little taste - graffitti, throwing bins on my schoolyard roof and more).

I continued to take pot and alcohol. Then my girlfriend died on me in December 1998, along with a friend of mine at a beach when a rip formed. I dropped out of uni midway through my first year in 1999. I got off the pot, but increased my alcohol intake and moved into speed and ecstacy and acid. I was swearing every second word, going to clubs and just being a general allround arsehole.

I found myself asking What am I doing with my life? Where is it going? Am I making the world a better place? Silence answered me.

And then God answered me. All the bad that I've done. All the evil, all the wrongs I've caused. As you know I grew up agnostic, believing in God, but not caring. Then I asked myself where I was going. This God who I believed in, what would he think of me?

Thinking back to my knowledge of the Bible, which was primarily Old Testament stuff - my parents followed a belief structure heavily influenced by the Jews and their Holy festivals such as Passover, Tabernacles, Trumpets, Unleavened Bread - GM should know what I mean My parents never mentioned Jesus or anything about him - they were primarily concerned with a works based doctrine and looking to the coming kingdom of God.

Anyhow, what I'd heard about this Jesus bloke made sense to me (through a couple of Christian friends of mine - see my life changing events thread in the Spirituality, Religion and Beliefs section for more info). That God was a loving being who was willing to look over all the wrong I'd ever done. So I made the decision to dedicate my life to God.

From that day on, I've been a changed person. Instead of getting angry and hating people, I'm more tolerant and loving of them and their needs. rather than thinking of myself, i think of others. I've gone back to uni and am enjoying myself immensely in this new course. I have direction, and I'd like to go into a job that helps others (maybe a year or two of formal Bible college training, though I don't want to be a pastor). Money is no object. I am not driven by greed or personal wants, but the wants and needs of others.

Would I still be down that destructive path without God? I don't know. I think I probably would be, but I can't say for sure.

There we go, that's what God did for me. He gave me purpose, direction and a new lease on life. And before you say anything, yes, other people have done the same thing without religion or with another religion, the point is that for me, it was God. And I thank God every single day that He pulled me from that wreck that was my life.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is what my faith has done for me.

Regards, PA

freedom.

What about the law? O_o

I have to agree FREEDOM...sod the law this isn't about the law!!

Freedom? Theres no such thing. If there was freedom i could park where i wanted when i wanted without getting fined every single time. If there was freedom i could come to work late if i wanted. If there was freedom i can steal anothers belongings with out consenquences. What exactly is Freedom?

Freedom baby, is not having to say you're sorry - Al Pacino in Devil's Advocate

My view of freedom is being able to make your own choices, being able to travel to where your heart desires, being able to speak your mind (freedom of speach) there are lots of thing linked with freedom, but if you are locked up for life you don't have much choice of freedom

I make the most of my freedom when I can and I am thankful for it

freedom is being able to do what ever you chose so long as it doesn't harm anyone else

It is amazing to me that when someone writes a few paragraphs of real and beautiful truth in thier life no one says wow thats amazing or anything. But when someone says freedom, one word from Braveheart it creates a bunch of posts. Are you people here just to write some blip that will never matter or actually write something that will go on as more than just a brain fart? I created this forum for TESTIMONIES like the ones given by manapa99, IRISH, and PAraNOidAnDroiD not for simple brain throw-up. And I wish to thank manapa99, IRISH, and ParanoidAndroid for you amazing testimonies that you have given they were more than just words they were pieces of yourselves and that is harder to do than quoting Mel Gibson movies.

Try Harder, Nick

quoting mel gibson movies.... mr kettle, meet mr pot.

is there that much more you really needed? why should i write 1000 words when one word can summize it? you asked for testimony and i gave it. as the old saying goes, if you don't want the answer, don't ask the question.

just life plain and simple Namaste Sheri

Hyperactive I hope I didn't offend you but freedom is not a testimony. Thats why there were people scratching thier heads writing things like: What about the law? O_o and others putting thier own spin on what freedom is all about. You wrote freedom. What does that mean to you? Why did you feel that you could sum up the entirety of your life in one word. Expand a little please. You are obviously an intelligent person so use your gift thats in your head and write something worth writing. And please explain how the pot calling the kettle black is a good analogy for my statement about Mel Gibson and his main line in Braveheart I am a little lost on that one.

freedom is a testimony.

freedom the illusion:
what is freedom? no matter how you frame it, there will still be limiting factors that create the frame. at a biological level, you are not free of your need to eat, or your need for water. absolute freedom is a fantasy, and yet it is a necessary fantasy to grant an outlet for the imprisoning forces of life.

freedom the process:
as freedom is an illusion, then what is the reason for desiring it? the reason is the pursuit of it, the process of obtaining freedom from something or in reference to something else. All our freedoms are measured against something else, be they real or archetypes.

freedom the choice:
and onto the next part, the choice. Freedom from one thing entails the ensnaring of something else. We can either make these choices for ourselves, or have them imposed upon us.

So, to answer how freedom is testimony, i will give you the real life examples you desire.

when my mother died, i chose the freedom to go forth and find new experiences. I chose to take what i saw positive in this change in my life and "spread my wings". I had the freedom to discover something new.

when my father died, i made the choice to be free of any binds to extended family and after finishing the degree i was persuing at the time, left everything behind.

i have also recently spent a year away from society at large, to discover and rediscover certian philosophies. I enacted the freedom to dismiss everything ever created by man and to formulate new frameworks from the ground up.

Life, for the thinking animal, is exercising the freedom to think and to discover and understand the limitations and weaknesses of human thought.

Choice again plays a role. In the freedom from humanity, comes the imprisonment of isolation. Never surrendering the freedom to change path mid stride is another key aspect of my life's testimony.

i see no event as a perminant changing point, but as a relative change point. in my freedom to not be ensnared in the constructs of humanity, to not be bound to traditions, folklores, myths, material objects, etc i live for life alone.

so to answer other questions on freedom, i am not bound by social or legal laws. I do not bind myself to anything made by man. I accept the biological restrictions on my freedom, but do not allow for psychological limits to be placed upon me. Whatever I do, i do because i choose to do so. That is how freedom is my testimony.

My kettle comment was refering to you refering to my freedom statement as being a brainfart in what appeared to be a brainfart comment. No offence was taken by it. I was not thinking of Braveheart when i posted "freedom". We all make different associations though.

Any other questions?

Exactly right, reading his post made me feel I was going to recive 1000 lines...I must post more than a few words, I must post more than ect ect



NICK...you have no room to tell anyone how to answer a post, if you expect to recieve 1000 words or more then why not go to a kids forum, where you can play the head master and make them post whatever you want them to, and how you want them to do it. and as hyperactive has said before.....why post ie 1000 words in responce when you can summize it using one word!!???
There is no need for your anger either!!

No anger has ever been part of any of my posts on any level. I am thankful that hyperactive decided to expound on his statement. His views on freedom were worth putting down. Those views enact growth in any reader. The only place we are truly free may be in our minds. The ability to think a certain way is what makes each one of us different. That is probably the most freedom anyone has until death. I believe we have freedom of choice. Now we may be put in jail for that choice or stripped of something from it but realistically choice has little restrictions. A murderer in jail is said to have lost his or her freedom but he or she may still make choices. The choice to get up and do what the officer says or stay and wait for punishment. We are able to make choices just like the Jews did in concentration camps which is another level of having freedom taken away.Where the freedom to make choices begins consequence ends it.

As for my comments on Try Harder. I was not putting control over this forum just asking for more, which came out in a great post by hyperactive.
Why is being critical a bad thing?
Thanks, Nick

God proved to me that He exists and that Christianity is real. Jesus appeared to me and paraphrased something from the bible to me.
King James version is the real bible. [The market is full of fake bibles that have the words changed.]

Antiaging with respect....research the King James.

Hey anti God can use whichever version of the Bible he chooses to convict someone it just so happens that in his infinite wisdom he new which one you would need to see. If you put God in a box and say that the only true Bible is the King James then you do not yet understand His power. The Bible is not just a dead old book that only one of them is worth reading it is a living breathing evolving thing. Thanks for your testimony it is appreciated

Nick

I realize that it is semantics but I find the phrasing of the thread question a bit repugnant. "Testimony" tinges of evangelistic jargon that I would rather avoid. If I had been asked to simply explain my reasons, it would have been more acceptable.

actually it was the roman custom for men to swear while literally holding their testicles in their right hand. i will give mine:

my parents not believing in religion, i studied it on my own. first greek, roman, and norse then judiasm, christianity, taoism, confucianisn, buddhism and voodoo in turn. i learned how to read tarot and i ching when i was 16. when I was 21 I was initiated into a secret occult order. we studied many religions and occult systems. the training was intense. I have many personal experiences communicating with spirits, angelic beings, and gods. I am a close friend of Kuan Yin and Cerridwen. I see auras and non-physical beings, but only when I "tune in" on them, at which time I see them with my physical eyes. I can do it over the phone, too, in which case I see it in my head. I am not insane, but a trained occultist. I am confortable at a synagogue, a buddhist temple, or a wiccan ritual. when it has been necessary, usually in an extreme emergency, I have not been afraid to invoke the name of Jesus, although I can not take a Christian communion because i am not baptized. I would have the same practice with Islam. the buddhists equate enlightenment with the peak of mount Meru (or Sumeru). there are thousands of paths up the mountain, but all reach the top, some are longer. it makes no difference to me whether you believe any of this or not. i now attend the metaphysical chapel, a religious organization similiar to the better-know unitarian, unity and religious science churches. I share many beliefs with them, although they get slightly christian at times.

note: i typed the above with my left hand, while holding my testicles with my right.

Gideon how can you expect someone to take you seriously when you type while holding your testicles LOL

i was being too serious. a little humor was absolutely necessary.thanks for getting the joke.

Well... I don't have testicles... and if I try that with my husband's I might make him think I'm even more crazier then when I took this ... *coughs* Not the place for that story...

Ok ok.. most people know why I took this path... I did alot of meditations, dreamings... things like that. And really... If I tell this story, I know people will mock and think I'm either makeing it up or more insane then wanting to build this temple around this large blue ... *coughs* Not the place for that idea either.. *clears throat*

Let's just say.. I had a rather powerful dream then helped me make up my mind, and when I awoke from it.. there were physical evidance in my nails that clinched it.

It is great to see so many share.

PA. That was one heartfelt post you wrote. I tip my hat to you.

Hyper---Such passion, such emotion in your post, in you.
If I may ask, I would like to know what your heart passion is?
What sings that sweet melody from the depth of your soul, that gets you out of bed in the morning, or would get you out of bed in the morning, and why aren't you doing it?

Thank you all for contributing. I feel I know some people better here.

Thanks Turtle

turtle, i do not think you would really want to know what my heart passion is. I don't think anybody really wants to know what that is.

As long as it has nothing to do with bananas I would be honoured.

PS cute Av...does it have anything to do with the fact that bananas have no seeds?

I did. Go to metacrawler search engine. Find Wikipedia. Research the King James version bible, on Wikipedia.

The King James version is translated from the real unaltered texts. Massoretic text, Old Testament, and byzantine or Textus receptus New Testament.
Modern version have a corrupted text from Alexandria mixed in them and about 5% of the words are change and are not the real text of the original.

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0031/0031_01.asp
More info on the subject.

I am not anti- God. However I know something about truth and falsehood.

Answer this to yourself: How can you have over 200 different bible versions, that say different things, and they all claim to be written by the same first century authors? There are forgeries and fakes with the words changed, that is how.

The King James version is the best translation of the real unaltered texts that were copied and recopied word for word and handed through the centuries. Other translations of the real texts include Luther's German bible, and the Tyndale bible. - They are also the real bible. A new literal translaton which is supposed to be from the real texts may also be the real bible, if it is an accurate translation of those real texts.
The new king james version has been shown to not be a literal translation of those real texts, and it has words changed deliberately.

The real texts are the massoretic text of the Jews and the byzantine or textus receptus for the New Testament.
The modern versions have a corrupted Alexandrian text mixed in them in which at least 5% of the words were changed in the 4th century in Alexandria Egypt by Egyptian philosophers or gnostics.
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0031/0031_01.asp

This website can explain the problem to you.

God will not contradict Himself. If the first century authors were inspired by God, then the original writings that they did serve as a guide post to know God's true will.
Any fake bibles, with the words changed, or fake inspirational books will contradict the original writings. Any really inspired words from God will never contradict the original writings. That is why it is important to have copies of the real original writings of the real apostles of God from the first century, so you can make a comparison to check and see if any new teachings really are from God or not.

I am a freethinker, zetetic, or agnostic. After much experimentation and faults I made the choice to refuse to confine to an organized belief system. Taking a neutral stance on the subject gives me the chance to learn about both sides of conflict or paradox without one of the sides being my view and corrupting my view of the other. It is not religious or spiritual peace in a sense, as you are always active and learning, but it is peace in that the only rules you must follow are those implied by nature, logic, and reason.

I believe nature is an illicit source of knowledge, insight and observation from which all knowledge and wisdom come from. We are part of nature and the natural world regardless of how we arrogantly seperate and surmount ourselves on a pitiful chain of being and consent. All things are created and destroyed equally, and all must be treated equally with the least amount of prejudiced judgement or action as possible. Because these things exist in nature, the human race as a whole should have a stronger connection between all life forms and fellow animals.

Through these mentioned practices I am constantly learning and gaining wisdom on situations past, present, and future. To gain insight into these things and better ones life without the sucking of another in any way that deviates from the natural is a purpose I strive towards.

If there is any religion one should conform to, it is to not conform to any.

As most know my spiritual awakening happened 5 years ago in the form of an NDE/SOBE.
For 3 years after my experience, I tend to do what all NDE'rs do do, and think I had a personal tete-to tete with God.
Then a dear friend by the name of Russell G. asked me a simple but devistating question at the same time ---"You had an endilable experience, but don't you want to learn more?"
He suched the wind outta my sails, and since I have been on a journey to do just that.
My travels have taken me far, and deep, to the workings of the brain, to ego.
I look upon my visionary encounter as a moment when my imagination and senses worked togeather synesthetically and amplified each other wonderfully.
My conscious-self tuned in, as a third party, to the conversation ceaselessly unfolding between my psyche and nature.
My communion between self and nature is restored and celebrated!
One of the first questions I began seeking answers to was "Is my soul found inside me or is it "out there" in nature?
The answer suprises me, so far.
It appears to be both. I can learn about my soul by looking inward through immangination and feeling, but...I can also learn about my soul by looking outward to the untamed majesty of the wild world.
It appears though that paradoxally, the soul is NEITHER inside or outside me.
My soul is me, and me/my soul are also in nature because I am in nature.
My individual human soul is but one element of the fabric of nature.
One day I was sitiing by a small lake looking at myself reflect back to me in the water when I had this ephimany----Is that reflection in me or the lake------Since both me and the lake were in this world, the answer has to be neither and the lake reflected that back to me.
Just as my soul, or essense, is in the world, and nature reflects this back time and time to me.
I realize that there arwe many paths, no one is wrong, as long as you think and react from the heart, not the head.
But one thing I am not afraid of is death, he and I have become friends.

I consider my self agnostic, I see it like no one can prove whether or not which side is true. I choose to stand on the fence rather than be separated from others by being on one side. I feel that religion separates us a species and the result just leaves us arguing. I see neither good nor evil people in this world, just people.


Being happy is the key, what ever makes you happy, just be happy

With respect Antiaging your first sentence says it all for me. How can it be (Cut and paste here) "King James version is the real bible. [The market is full of fake bibles that have the words changed.]"
If it has been translated it has been changed. The KJV might have been the first english version but that does not mean it is the only good one.


Trivia: There are over 100 different english versions of the Bible.

There I go again sticking up for the Bible

I grew up in a home where I was told about God but never really went to church much or anything like that. As I grew older, I started going toward God but then my dad got really sick and was in and out of the hospital for over a year. I prayed for God to spare my dad but he died when I was 14. I hated God for taking my dad away from me. I rebelled against anything and anyone who claimed to be christian.

I ran around with a wild crowd, drinking a lot and even hung out with a drug dealer. I cursed a lot. I had a wicked temper and got into fights often. I grew tired of the life I was leading and started a spiritual search into different religions. None of them provided me with the answers I wanted, so I gave up. Then a cousin of mine talked to me about a relationship w/God, not a religion. After much prayer I dedicated myself to God. I have never regretted my decision. I seek forgiveness now where I once sought anger. I have love and compassion for others instead of holding grudges. That is what God has done for me.

that's beautiful tcgram.