I am a Recovering Christian

You have heard the term Recovering Catholic. Well I want to tell you that I am officially a Recovering Christian.

Flash back to 1987 and I was getting interested in Contemporary Christian music starting with the Hair Metal band Stryper, and then a local Christian Adult Contemporary was advertising on TV and I started listening to that station. I went on a Christian Music diet as well. I wanted to start going to church, but that church I choose was liberal in nature and felt the kids were no different than the ones I know at my Middle School so I left.

Flash forward to 1990 and I befriended a recently converted Christian and I returned to the "fold." For that point I had begun a journey in which I made mistakes and Church Hopped because of those mistakes. I had too many questions and so many misnomers about the Christian Faith. I came and went from the Calvary Chapel movement several times during the early 1990's

In 1996 I went to a Church that was based on the Classical Reformation of Martin Luther but I could never take the body and blood cause I can't believe that was Jesus up their. The Reformed Ideals got to me by then.

From 1998 until late 2000 I was unable to attend Church because I worked part time at a local Christian Talk station as a radio board operator. However in late 2000 I would begin my journey to becoming a Recovering Christian. I met up with a politically charged Christian who I tried to forgive so many times but eventually he became a turn off. During that time I also got very angry with some his friends and took out my hostility on them.

I defected to a Church which was Baptist but very GenX in nature. Eventually I meet a young girl, who I wanted to get to know better but came across speechless. She got uncomfortable with me but never told me personally. I felt it was time to move on once again. After that I decided it would be best for me not to bond with anyone at the next church I attended, but said to myself after a few weeks; "Its not Worth It." I did the same thing again at another church, but with someone that I know going their, I though maybe I could make some connections. I was unable to help their due to conflicts of interest. I still remain friends with this person, but just don't attend his church.

Now I am at the point in my life in which I don't fit in any Church or Organized Religion at all. I have stopped going to Church altogether. I do sometimes drop in to say hello to people I know, but eventually once things change over a certain amount of time or I move out of Colorado Springs. I may rarely go to Church.

I have renounced my faith, outgrew my faith, and departed the faith, backslid or whatever you want call it. I can't understand why a loving and caring God would constantly bring nothing but pain from people that claim to believe him. They say God does make certain challenges too difficult that the person would be able to overcome, but more often than not he do that and people do fail. That to me is misleading.

Pain and unhappiness. That is what I get from the "Body of Jesus Christ." Certain women especially Christian ones think I am a creep, and should be avoided like the plague, and some of the men are not any better, especially if they are too "busy "to help their brother out. Yea you have your own family but can't lend a hand to members of the spiritual family.

Some people can't handle what I have become. They hate being challenged, and when they get cornered they just blow you off like your nothing. Oh well that is the way of the world I guess.

I am not one of those Freethinkers who fear any display of religion as if their were vampires of some kind who were able to protect themselves from the sun, but can't protect themselves from religious symbols.

I am a libertarian that advocates for limited government and limited regulation of 'Free Enterprise' which is not just limited to "Corporations." However I don't have problem with Gays/Lesbians etc, and people of faith just as long as they don't try to enshrine it into law, and yes I don't want the Christian Right to enshrine their stuff either, and that includes restricting a woman's right to terminate their pregnancy and allowing someone to die in peace which was NOT given to Terri Schavio, because her parents had to turn her into a freak show by playing God to extent her painful life.

I would rather see missionaries teach the ideals of Adam Smith and Ayn Rand (both advocates of the free market/captialism) before teaching them about Jesus Christ and the need for going to Church so they can get rich selling some pie in the sky, some sweet by and by that may or may NOT be their.