I was a Protestant for the longest time. I was studying theology for awhile and came across the question of where the Holy Spirit was. I was told by a convincing debater that the Holy Spirit was with the Catholics guiding them and provided possible proof. I started to think like a Catholic, following their ideas in my head, and I did start to feel different. I felt brighter, in the way of a brighter outlook. I didn't end up becoming a Catholic because my family would not let me, though I wanted to, and later very soon, forgot about all of this.

Since then, I don't really care about religion as much. But had my family let me be a Catholic, it might have changed the story arc of my life. I might have ended up a priest or something instead of a game artist, which I am studying to be.

I grew up in a terrible religious household, was forced into all that 'stuff', hated it as a kid, had to pretend to believe it and all that, I preferred math found it far more magical simply because well lets be honest through math you can do anything. I wont bother speaking more about my religious experiences, I am sure this thread will eventually be locked as rarely do religious discussions end well (even on religious sites); all I will say is I don't speak to my family and I am an atheist.

I grew up in a terrible religious household, was forced into all that 'stuff', hated it as a kid, had to pretend to believe it and all that, I preferred math found it far more magical simply because well lets be honest through math you can do anything. I wont bother speaking more about my religious experiences, I am sure this thread will eventually be locked as rarely do religious discussions end well (even on religious sites); all I will say is I don't speak with my family and I am an atheist.

It probably will be locked. But I asked if it was against the rules to make a religion thread and was pretty much told that it probably wasn't. I'm hoping for about 15 good replies before it becomes a flame war and is locked.

I think the people here are far more likely to engage in a flamewar about OpenGL vs. DirectX rather than any type of religion flamewar.

I think the people here are far more likely to engage in a flamewar about OpenGL vs. DirectX rather than any type of religion flamewar.

Hmm I must be looking at the wrong sections, I only seem to come across C# vs C++ wars

I think the people here are far more likely to engage in a flamewar about OpenGL vs. DirectX rather than any type of religion flamewar.

Don't bet on it.

OP, do you actually have a question? This isn't your twitter feed.

There are occasional religious discussions in the Lounge. The same rules tend to apply as always. Keep it civil, keep it on topic, if the topic devolves into a flamewar it will be terminated, etc.

I'm just wondering, what exactly is the topic of the thread? "Religious Experiences" is pretty vague, and I've had quite a few that range from extremely positive to extremely negative.

Are you just soliciting generally "What are your personal experiences with religion?" If so you might want to make that clear.

I'm just wondering, what exactly is the topic of the thread? "Religious Experiences" is pretty vague, and I've had quite a few that range from extremely positive to extremely negative.

The meaning of the thread is kind of implied. I've had weird experiences concerning Catholicism, and was hoping to discuss them. The feeling I felt, and how the debater was supposedly right.

I could not think of a good thread title. I knew if I made the title just "Religion" and that's it, it would probably attract the people who like to argue about it.

My guess...

From your perspective of starting on the outside of a religion looking in at it (as opposed to being inducted into it by your parents), I'm thinking that it's the situation where people want to be part of something that's 'bigger' than themselves. It's probably a big part of the sensation that you remember feeling. Not necessarily a bad thing but also not necessarily a solution for whatever has pulled you towards the religion in the first place.

I can see the appeal of having a clear sense of right and wrong and the way things are and should be. Until you find yourself in a situation where you're at odds with those beliefs about the way things should be or another person's interpretation of of those beliefs.

I grew up exposed to Christian scripture in schools, but I just thought they were stories that got told to children. I honestly had no idea that people believed in them. I remember one day playing with the scripture teacher's son, and he asked me something about God, so I asked him if he believed in God (which he did), and it puzzled me as much as realizing a 10yr old believes in Santa or the tooth fairy!
So I guess I was naturally an atheist.

Later on as a teenager taking drugs, I guess I experienced what a Christian might call a conversation with God. Not literally a conversation, but the sense of connection to something bigger. So that kind of made me an Agnostic.
My personal God isn't connected to any organized religion, though I do have a King James Bible and a Bhagavad Gita out of interest (I much prefer the latter). God to me is the sum of all things. A personified super man, like the old European gods or especially the old testament god, do not come close to the magnitude of the idea of God to me, they're just nice stories to teach morales to children.