Agnostic.com

20 0

What was the worst thing you experienced in the church?

I am curious to find out what people would consider the worst experience in the church or the glaring fact that drove them away. Any former apostolic Pentecostal holiness people out there? What was the fallout when you left?

CoCoCatina 4 Sep 1
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

20 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

I once had a senior member of the high priest quorum (LDS church) come and visit us out of the blue after news broke that former member of our Stake had committed suicide, it so happened that years before he (the victim) had been engaged to my wife.
The chap came in made a big fuss out of telling us the Lord had prompted him to come visit us, because he felt something had happened and he felt we might be in need of a blessing of comfort.
I asked him out right if he had come because B... had killed himself and he feigned ignorance of the suicide.
Problem was that the High priests quorum president who was a personal friend, had phoned us an hour before to warn us that he had asked Elder M.. to come visit us in light of the fact my wife was once very close to the victim.
I told him this and asked why he lied, he replied he had not seen the president in a week and that he too must have been moved by the Lord to call us and warn us of Elder M.'s inspired visit.

My wife asked he to leave as she could see I was about to throw the old bald bastard out of the house bodily for taking both of us for utter fools and for trying to manufacture a miracle.

0

I was one of the kids who was fondled by a priest in a Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania, though mine was fairly innocuous compared to most, I guess. I just remember being put on a lap for no reason and him having a hard on.

0

The Sunday school teacher told us god was watching us every minute & I totally freaked out that he was watching me go to the bathroom.

Carin Level 8 Sep 19, 2018
0

I was baptized and confirmed a Catholic, when I was in the 7th or 8th grade I went to confession on my way home from Jr. High.. after saying the act of contrition the Priest asked if I had any thing else to add... after thinking a minute I answered No.... he then went on to criticize me and commented that Saints in Heaven had more sins than I had confessed to him... well after thinking about it ... outside of maybe not doing as I was told by my parents, or getting a little out of line in school now and then... and using the Lords name in vane and cussing a little I had not really done all the much wrong in my life since last Confession... I hadn't Killed anyone, Raped anyone, robbed any banks no major Mortal sins... so that was the day for me that Religion and FORGIVNESS was in the Eye of the Religious Cult Leadership... not for me to get in touch with God but away for the Church to control the thoughts of me or any Individual... I have gone to Mass since but I use the Church as a crutch to get in touch with my inner self and others...

0

I had a relatively Catholic upbringing. As soon as I heard that animals couldn't be baptized, an thus couldn't be saved in heaven, I began to have problems with the church and doubt.

1

i got freaked out in a french churchyard once. the crosses were HUGE! i'd never seen anything like that.

my only church experiences are as a tourist admiring architecture or going to a concert, or attending friends' weddings. oh, and voting -- sometimes the polling place is a church. so there are crosses around, but not proselytes, not on election day. i have never been christian. i have been to one church service, other than in the situations i just named, in my life, as a kind of exchange thing with a baptist friend (she came to a synagogue with me; i had no synagogue of which i was a part so i had to find one! the church i attended was her regular church). the singing was nice. everyone was polite. the sermon was short so that was okay. i am sure jesus must have been mentioned. i didn't take it personally.

g

0

When I was 6 or 7, the Sunday school teacher took away my Wolverine comic. The cover starred Wolverine shoving his claws into the chest of a monk with blood gushing out everywhere. Jerks.

0

As an 8 year-old kid I was brought along to a pentecostal church. It was there that I saw a whole bunch of women pretend to be touched by the holy spirit and then speak in tongues. About 30 women of the congregation started to babble and compete and it must have been about 15-20 minutes later that we got down to the last 2 who were still babbling, both determined to 'win' and be the last one going. The final showdown took another 10 minutes or so. It was completely ridiculous and counts as my worst experience in a church.

0

As a child, extreme boredom. That was my personal worst. Reading some other replies, I guess I lucked out.

0

Being exorcised for projectile vomiting onto the bible

0

There were several, but the last straw was when one of the deacons had a heated argument with the pastor in the middle of his sermon because he didn't agree with it.

0

Worst thing experienced: My aunt and uncle, Catholics, alienated their daughter because she married into and joined the Mennonites.

What drove me away: I slowly drifted away - a process that lasted many years - maybe still going on. It was what it should be - rationale.

MrDMC Level 7 Sep 1, 2018
0

No complaint. Catholic. I didn't left because of a "bad experience".

2

It was when my father tried to kill me with with the seven mystical daggers from Megiddo .... Oh wait. That was The Omen. Sorry 🙂 It was actually the hypocrisy of the Bible and I hit puberty

1

The hypocrites.

1

Being a former Jehovah's Witness, I hated going "door to door", preaching to people at their homes, especially when I came up against an atheist.

0

Everything!

0

Extreme boredom!

1

I didn't stop believing for any traumatic experience or mistreatment. But I will say that, being reared in the Catholic faith, I always hated confession. It felt humiliating to tell someone all of the "bad" things I'd done, especially when some of those supposed sins were impure thoughts and masturbation, things a teenage boy isn't likely to stop doing no matter how hard he tries.

1

It was during my attendance at a private “Christian” school. The youth minister deliberately humiliated me in front of the entire school assembly one day.

And I suppose he did that in "good christian love". Fucking monsters. Some people should never be allowed around children, for that matter should have been smothered at birth.

@HippieChick58 it was a pivotal moment and the start of my questioning religion. I was 11

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:168800
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.