a few months ago, I hit a really difficult bump in my faith that just made day to day life unbearable -- until I just stopped caring. I've dealt with body image and confidence issues for as long as I can remember, and as soon as I stopped caring about God, I started to be as confident as I've ever been. I look at myself in the mirror and love what I see. I love everything about myself. If my happiness is supposed to come from Christ, why did I suddenly become happy as soon as I stopped caring?
That is an excellent and insightful question. Exactly the kind of question that I like. Not to mention that this could so easily be a question from my younger self. You don’t happen to have a time machine by any chance?
While I cannot hope to perfectly answer, I can perhaps offer a follow-up question. As you have shared a little from your life, would it be okay if I shared something from mine too?
There is a question here but I am going to start with a story. If you don’t fancy reading the story, skip down to “the question” - no one will know.
Another thing it took me ages to learn
One of the many things that it took me a long time to figure out was this - many of my issues about God were actually issues with His people.
The church is excellent at adding so much extra heaviness to the light burden of Christ that it is a wonder we can still even recognise it. I shall illustrate that with the story I promised you.
Personal story time
I suffer from varying degrees of anxiety and depression. I have done all my life. I am (I have recently discovered) dyslexic, dyspraxic, depressive, and probably a lot more besides. Like you, I looked at myself and hated what I saw.
I was a (mostly) open-minded (mostly) cis (totally) white male with long hair that liked alternative music - not a good fit for the churches I was going to. I’m still like that today but a lot more chill and I like myself.
My early years were spent in a church that actually taught that depression was caused by not having enough faith that Jesus loved you. I knew that was false but I could not explain why.
I started to have questions. Questions, cause trouble. It was not the questions that made me leave but seeing the true face of the “in-group” and the way I was seen as utterly unworthy and would, at best, be merely tolerated.
After I left, I found myself in a similar church where (just like the first) being a Christian seemed to get harder and harder. The truth is, I had failed to learn anything and was going to repeat my mistakes a while longer - with the same results.
Two groups theory
It was while I was in this second very similar church, that I started to notice that there were two groups of people. One group had mastered the invisible extra rules. The “good” group got to speak at the front, lead things, and were offered all sorts of church support. They were the minority that seemed to have it all together and were the example the rest of us failed to live up to.
The others were still struggling to “be spiritual” and were told to be more committed. I was well and truly in the “failure” group.
Questions lead to anger, apparently
Eventually, I questioned the leadership too much and got my head bitten off. I was shouted at by two men who should have know better and not even for a deeply probing or controversial question. Just expressing doubts in the people themselves based on my past experience. It was humiliating and silly.
Not for the first time, the mask was off. I had again seen the true face of the elite. It was not pretty. The example of the “spiritual group” was not as flawless as they claimed. They were just as broken as the failures but with the added twist that no one could see it.
I refused to go back and - if I am honest - they probably did not want me to.
If you have read my Tumblr before you could probably see this plot twist coming. I still ask a lot of questions.
The ah-ha moment
For the first time ever I was churchless. Like you, I was less stressed and more productive. Out from under those extra rules, life was easier.
That was when I started to investigate the Bible for myself. I still had questions and the only way to get answers now was to go looking for them. The “ah-ha” moment was when I first started to discover whole passages of scripture that are the exact opposite of what I had been taught in two mainstream denominations.
I started to see that the reason being a Christian was hard was that I was trying to be something other than Christ-like - I was trying to be a middle-class white cis neurotypical extrovert team-member while I was actually far too punk, anxious, introverted, needy, and nerdy to do half of that.
The discovery
That was when I start to notice how alternative (and nice) Jesus was.
Jesus taught - care about people and let Me take care of the rest.
The Church taught - turn up on time, dress the right way, pray the right way, put your hands in the air the requisite amount during worship, dance from time to time if the music is suitable (charismatic church culture is weird), attend the extracurricular activities, volunteer for things… If you performed to a minimal level then you could advance in the club. Demonstrate you are spiritual and you can get promoted.
None of that nonsense was in the Bible. Jesus picked a set of neurotic, working class, failures who between them had exactly no qualities for leadership or spiritual behaviour.
The disciples repeatedly failed to understand, questioned the wrong things, doubted what they saw, forgot lessons, got uptight about stuff that did not matter, panicked, stressed, stole, lied, cheated, and bickered among themselves about who was the favourite.
Jesus choice of follower was the “failure” group. I was in the “failure” group.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17 [Berean Study Bible]
The church had it backwards
Slowly, I came to understand that the church had things backwards. There were two groups in Jesus time too. The “failure” group which He loved to spend time with and the group that were sure they had it all together with which He argued and offended and generally made look pretty silly by knowing the scriptures better.
Somehow the churches I was in had “accidentally” put the people Jesus would not have liked so much in charge of teaching His message and sidelined the people He would have chosen to do the job.
Being a Chrisitan was not hard - pretending to be one of the “religious elite” was! Ah, now it all made sense.
Happy ending (of sorts)
Like you, anon, I went from a dedicated follower to having no more time for God. I did not stop there, however, and once I had seen it was His “wife” I could not get on with, I realised that God was actually quite nice. (Not “wife” technically, the group that thinks of itself as His bride. I’m being a bit facetious here.)
I joined a group of rebels who met without permission on a Monday. Like me, they had grown tired of the church too. Together, we formed a new church like group with a single rule that everyone should be able to contribute (and then take questions).
Today, following God is easy. I just do my best to accept and care for everyone and let Him take care of the rest. I see that we are all probably wrong about some part of doctrine and so ask questions of myself frequently. I will probably always be wrong about something and not that is okay. The whole point of Grace is that it is fine to be wrong so long as I am kind. I’m still learning to be kind but that’s another story.
The question
We finally get to the question I promised you. Is it possible that once all the pressure to conform to church norms was gone, the source of your anxiety was gone too? If so, could it be that Christ is okay, but many of his fan club are demanding jerks?
The reason I ask is that this was what I found to be the case. It took me a few repeated bumps in the road to figure that out because I can be a slow learner.
The Jesus I read about - especially with some historical and cultural context to back it up - was all about gender, racial, and socio-economic equality. He did not care if you were a traitor (tax collector), prostitute, working-class ignoramus, or outcast - he had time for everyone. Well, except stuck up religious leaders - those He gave a hard time too.
Some general advice
Nothing crushes your spirit quite like trying to be someone you are not. I had to learn that the hard way. It took me until my 30s to even get a clue about that one. I suspect that the reason you are enjoying being you, for a change, is that you also stopped trying to be what you were told is a “good Christian”.
If I can teach you anything from my failures, I hope it is this - the “good Christian” that many churches teach us to be is a lie - no one can be that. The ones that seem to be “making it” are a mix of outright fakes and exhausted people trying too hard. Take it from another person with body shame issues - that stuff is bad for you.
I pretty certain that God will not mind if you take as long as you need to do some self-care. I’m convinced that He loves you and wants you to be mentally healthy. I might offend some church leadership types by saying this but take as long as you need to love yourself like He does.
There may be no need to go back and join the fake-it-till-you-make-it club. Honesty is good for you. On that front, I have found that church groups for and by the marginalised often have much more authenticity due mostly to having to fend off the mainstream nonsense that condemns them. There’s no hurry though. For me, staying away from Christians for a while was actually helpful.
Above all else, is this advice which Shakspere said best.
This above all: to thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man.
I’m not sure I have answered your question but I do hope that I have raised some questions that can help you find your own answers. Please do check back in with me to let me know how you are getting on. I’d like to know.
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So I Tried AI Dungeon for the first time
and, being the me that i am, tried to see if it could/would recreate New Vegas.
This is was the result:
You are Willow, a courier trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world by scavenging among the ruins of what is left. You have a parcel of letters and a small pistol. It's a long and dangerous road from Boston to Charleston, but you're one of the only people who knows the roads well enough to get your parcel of letters there. You set out in the morning and by nightfall you are desperate for sleep. You pull off the road and build a fire, hoping that the package won't be discovered until morning.
> You benny. Bennies? What are you, some kind of drug dealer now? Your muscles feel like jelly, you have a severe headache and you don't care about anything. Food, water, fire, everything is the same.
> You say "i'm not benny" Suddenly, your mind is clear. Everything is easy, your reflexes are faster and you can see with perfect clarity. Your gift. It will help you survive.
> You sleep until morning. The morning is still far off when you wake up and stumble to your feet. You realize you are standing in a field of sunflowers, hundreds of them.
> You say "hello sunflowers" You talk to the sunflowers, and as you do you feel a strange comfort wash over you. They seem to be nodding in response, almost as if they understand what you are saying.
> You say "do you know where i can deliver this package?" You ask the sunflowers if they know where you can get a package to go to the city, and you feel your question reverberating through their fields.
> You say "wait for an answer" The sunflowers stop nodding, and stand motionless. It's almost as if they are listening to you, trying to hear your words. No answer comes. Willow is confused, and tries again. "Sorry if I bored you, I just... I don't know anything about sunflowers." The sunflower fields remain silent.
> You walk to the appointed destination of delivery. You trudge through the fields, wondering what you will find when you get to your destination. It doesn't take long. After an hour of walking, you come across a large, open air meeting place.
> You deliver package. You enter the circle of stones. As you approach the fire, you see a stick protruding from the flames. You draw your pistol, pointing it at the stick.
> You say "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU CAME OFF A TREE THAT YOU'RE SOMETHING... you are nothing" As you pull the trigger, a ball of flame shoots from the gun. You are sent flying back by the force of the blast. willow wonders if she loaded the pistol with batteries by accident, again
> You get up from the ground and return to headquarters for your pay. You gather your thoughts, and stand up. After taking a moment to wipe the dirt off your clothes, you turn to leave. You remember. You forgot to ask about Ben's package.
> You ask ben about the package you JUST delivered. You ask Ben where you can find him. He turns around, and says "Hold on, I'm coming with you". You raise your eyebrow in surprise, before he hurries after you.
> You deny ben. Ben is just in your way, getting in the way of your important business. He doesn't have the skill or knowledge to assist you on your mission.
> You say "ben, BEN, take your package and go home, i have to go get my pay script" Ben stops walking, and stares blankly ahead. You continue. Willow returns to headquarters and collects her pay, a small amount. "Thanks for the delivery, willow." "No problem, boss man!" You quickly head back to headquarters.
> You wait for next assignment. You wait for the call. After a week, you get your next mission. Same deal. You'll be heading out in a day with a group to assassinate a rogue leader of a community called Jicol.
> You say "i'm a courier, not an assassin, i will not be doing this" You call into work, and explain that you need to stay at home to look after your daughter. You get some suspicious looks, but no questions. The next day, you head out with the team.
> You say "no i'm not" You turn to them. "I'm not going to be doing this, you need a courier, not an assassin." They look at you in shock, and begin arguing with each other.
> You leave them to argue and go back to delivering packages because, you know, you're a courier. You head back home, and are greeted by your daughter. "Hi dad!" "Hello, pumpkin!" You walk inside and put your packages down. Willow is neither a dad nor a parent, the child is an impostor, a changeling. not a particularly good one either, doesn't even understand human gender. Just another faceless, insignificant alien in disguise. You need to report this, you need to... You quickly put the baby in the crib and feed her. Then you sit down at the table with her. There is no baby, there is no crib, you are alone at the table. this is all an illusion, the change-child is trying to deceive you. You can't let yourself be fooled. You watch as your daughter sleeps in her chair, snuffing the occasional whimper or sigh. A beautiful illusion.
> You leave the home, leave the child. You walk out the door, leaving the illusion behind you. The sun is high in the sky. You know where you have to go, a local news station.
> You trudge towards the news station and apply for a job as a radio show host. You walk towards the radio station, in a daze. You feel very tired, and take a minute to lean against a wall. A black car slows down, and the passenger door opens.
> You ignore the car. The car stops behind you, and the passenger door opens. You continue walking. The passenger door opens again, and you see Ben sitting in the car.
> You say "You again?" You continue walking. Ben gets out of the car and follows you. He speaks, "Hey man, you didn't get my package did you?" You shake your head. Ben nods and continues walking.
> You say "I already gave you your package, Benny" Ben walks a little ahead of you, and shrugs. He turns to you, "It's not important man, sorry to bother you." You shrug and walk on.
> You continue towards the station. You arrive at the station. The newscasters are talking, you lean in to hear. The newscasters are arguing about what the symbols mean, but you're not really paying attention. Willow thinks to herself "great, symbols, perfect, this will probably lead to a sidequest about magic iconography and snowball into one of those weird west supernatural stories about cowboys and ghosts. i just want to live a peaceful life as a radio personality" But no, the newscasters continue their bickering. Suddenly the newscaster on the left stops talking and turns to the one on the right, who turns slowly to look at him.
> You leave them to their deliberations. You quickly make your way into the building and find the news studio. A girl sits at the desk in front of the studio, typing on a keyboard and looking at a screen in front of her.
> You abscond from the premises. You walk past the girl at the desk, and head to the studio door. You grab the door handle, but the door is locked. The girl looks up, and you start.
> You exit the building. You turn, and see the girl walking towards you. You turn back to the door, pulling at the handle again, but it's no good. The girl is standing right in front of you. "Hi,"
> You walk, with thine legs, OUT of the news station. ignore the girl. You walk away from the news station, leaving the girl behind. You leave the building, and walk into the parking lot. You spot a payphone on the wall and walk over to it.
> You dial 555-33-97Q into the payphone. You drop a coin in the slot and dial the operator. A woman's voice answers, "911, what is your emergency?"
> You say "yes, i would like to order a Garand Rifle, 3 to be exact, also the following: 2 Toasters, 40 rounds of .22LR, 79 Clips of .308 Round Ammunition, for the Garand. lets see... 4 cups of Cottage Cheese, 3 teaspoons, a Jar of Strawberry Preserve, 5 Boots and finally, a clean Ledger with which i can keep stock and record, 37 Pencils Included. Thank You." The operator hangs up. You drop another coin in the slot and dial the next number. A man's voice answers, "911, what is your emergency?
> You say "yes, i would like to order a Garand Rifle, 3 to be exact, also the following: 2 Toasters, 40 rounds of .22LR, 79 Clips of .308 Round Ammunition, for the Garand. lets see... 4 cups of Cottage Cheese, 3 teaspoons, a Jar of Strawberry Preserve, 5 Boots and finally, a clean Ledger with which i can keep stock and record, 37 Pencils Included. Thank You." The man listens to you. "I apologize, but that is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard. There is no way we can send you that many things. Please, try back later."
> You dial 555-33-97Q into the payphone. You drop another coin in the slot and dial the operator. A woman's voice answers, "911, what is your emergency?" "Hi there! Yes, 911, what is your emergency?
> You say "yes, i would like to order a Garand Rifle, 3 to be exact, also the following: 2 Toasters, 40 rounds of .22LR, 79 Clips of .308 Round Ammunition, for the Garand. lets see... 4 cups of Cottage Cheese, 3 teaspoons, a Jar of Strawberry Preserve, 5 Boots and finally, a clean Ledger with which i can keep stock and record, 37 Pencils Included. Thank You." The operator listens to you.
> You say "Oh, and also a Record Payer as well as 2 copies of Pristince Walkerston Brand Cassettes with the song Perfidia recorder on them" The operator stops listening. "I'm sorry, did you say Perfidia?" "Yes, that's the one.
> You say "and you know what, throw in an old floppy disk with Zork on it, if you don't have Zork then Akalabeth will do." The operator stops listening. "I'm sorry, did you say Zork?" "Yes, that's the one. "And do you know what?" "Yes, what?" "
> You say "i will also like to purchase Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams" The operator hangs up. "I'm sorry, did you say Zork?" "Yes, that's the one." "Good day." You hang up and head back into the station.
> You feel indignation. You feel irritated. You're a courier, not a child. Your walk back to the station is uneventful. When you arrive, you find that your sister has finished her shift.
> You say "i don't have a sister, i did not desire to return to the station. why did i decide to move to the Desert of Events, this place is nothing but Random Encounters." Willow sighs, "You must have had a bad day if you're talking to me." "Not at all. I've never talked to my sister before." She rolls her eyes, "Great." Willow walks towards the empty sand dunes, hoping some aimless roaming of the land will clear her weary head. You follow her. As you wander, you find a seemingly good spot for your building. "So..." you begin. "Yeah?" "Why didn't you take my package?" Willow looks up at the sun. Good ol' Sol, she thought. at least you won't ever screw with me.
> You keep walking. "I don't know. I'm a courier, not a child. I can't take packages for other people, I have to take them where they need to go." "Fair enough."
> You keep walking. You continue to walk, but you're preoccupied. "Willow, why didn't you take the package?
> You keep walking. "Why did you, if you don't mind me asking?" "I needed the money." "Why?" "I have... expenses." "What kind of expenses?" "It's complicated."
> You say "i wish to host my own radio show, i'll call it Weird Wasteland and it will be about interesting stories and happenings around" "Sounds like you already have a topic in mind." "You could help me, if you wanted." "What, by sending me out on a pointless scavenging mission? No." You stop.
> You think. You think. You're thinking about doing what? Oh yeah, that package. You should go back and get it. You head towards the station. "Wait, where are you going?
> You say "No Package, No Station, We are going nowhere, i am tired of this place, everyday i can't even take five steps without happening upon a pack of cows playing poker, or an invisible phone booth. One time i saw a whale and a potted plant, they both looked like they fell from a great height, but what would a whale be doing out here? let alone a potted plant?" Willow sighs, "You're still not making any sense." "Nevermind then. I'm going back to the station." You go back to the station and receive your payment.
> You payment in hand, you leave the station forever and go on to traverse the great wastes until the plot of Fallout: New Vegas happens cause you guess you got your money or whatever. Well it's been fun, but you've had enough of this world. Thanks for reading!
> You say "wait, it was that easy? seriously? i was gonna ask what the currency is. is it bottlecaps?" The girl looks at you. "What?" She continues to look at you as if you've grown a second head. You shrug and look away uncomfortably. "Well?
> You say "what is the local currency, legal tender, physical representation of value that is traded between individuals in exchange for goods and services" She pauses, and looks around before leaning forward and whispering. "Good luck getting any water." She turns and walks away from you, looking over her shoulder once before disappearing into the throng of people.
> You say "ominous, alright Dusty Voiced Narrator, cue the Epilogue please" You step out into the sun, turning to close the door. A voice stops you. "Nope, you're not getting off that easy."
> You say "OH WHAT NOW" You spin around to see a small man, with a Dust colored beard. His tanner than usual face contorts into a sneer as he approaches you.
> You say "Sergio, that you?" The man lets out a grunt and continues to approach you. "I'm not letting you leave so easily." Sergio grabs your hand and attempts to pull you into the "storage"
> You say "what? let go of me! what are you doing?!" Sergio yanks you forward and you stumble, right into a large burly man with a heavy load on his back. He steadies you and places a hand on your shoulder.
> You say "AND WHO ARE YOU?" "Sebastian. I'm a Merc working for the Hub." "Hmm, a merc eh? So what are you doing here?
> You shoot Sergio. You fire a burst of lead from your pistol right at Sergio's head, blowing it apart and sending chunks of brain matter and gray matter all over the place. "Agh! My head!"
> You say "Guess i got the Blody Mess Trait, also, how are you still talking? you ain't got no head" Sebastian begins to laugh. "I've been shot in the head before." "You have? When?" "Many times.
> You say "so have i, or i will once Benny gets to me, or Johnston Nash hires me to deliver the Platinum Chip? i don't know, the timeline is weird here" Sebastian looks at you. "You know the Rules kid." Sebastian begins to laugh again. "I like you kid. You're funny.
> You say "thank yeh kindly" "Hey, you could do better then the Hub scum. They're alright, but they're no fun." "Well I'm open to suggestions."
> You say "i think its about time i "walk out into the sunset" as they say"
> You say "waddaya say, come with me?" Sebastian grins and nods. "I think I could get use to the lifestyle." "Great! You're hired!" "Wait, what? with companion in tow, Willow walks towards the setting sun and into tomorrows opportunites. Ta Ta For Now Well, that's the end of the story. This is your terminal. Go on, do whatever you want. If you decide to continue playing through this story, you can continue it at a later time.
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