These are John's answers to the Christianity and the Bible Survey.
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Summary for John:
Some background.
I grew up in a Catholic household with families who emigrated to the US as Catholics from Germany and French Canada in the 1800s. Both my parents attended the same Catholic Church, St. Joseph's and my Grandfather and namesake built his house about 100 yards from the church. I attended the Catholic grade school to 8th grade as did my brothers, sister, and parents (although my Mom was a farm girl and only could get into town for that school for a year or two).
This concentrated Catholic education encouraged some specific opinions which that community thought I should share. I gave it a go but found I never could fully connect. The Catholic school was conveniently located right next to the church which allowed we "pupils" to attend a church service every Tuesday morning and on other special events. The school was relatively small and over the course of 8 years I think we got a pretty decent general education. But there was a challenge for us to seek some kind of calling. I gave it a go. I recall being alterboy at a Tuesday school service in about 6th grade where I really felt inspired to ask for a message. The question was asked in my mind for God or someone to give me the word. The high hollow church above the alter was my target where there were statues of saints high above Jesus and the cross. After that service some other kids teased me for not being game to make faces with them in the pews. The message did not arrive. I began to realize this was not me. The contraints to my thinking were being realized in my heart. Father Horath, a fire and brimstone sort, was the priest in 8th grade. For some reason we were all sat down in the gym bleachers to get a lecture with Q&A regarding come now forgotten topics. There was some talk of faith. One student was skeptical and asked Father Horath why he had faith. This seems it was a weak moment for him as I recall he could not really answer. My memory tells me he walked out of the gym but it could be that we just ran out of time. This was an unsettling moment. How could the lecturer who was unafraid to tell us right and wrong and that our sins may lead us to heaven maybe did not really believe what he was saying. At this point I had a skeptical awakening. Events collided where both high school age dissent and discovery along with this permission to not believe took hold. Sometime in high school I became a former Catholic, but not necessarily a former Christian.
High school, although fun, was generally a struggle emotionally and I didn't really find any time or energy for spiritual enlightenment.
The same goes for college. I wandered and partied and survived. But there was one instant of clarity. My always stoned roommates (I was a beer man myself) once entered into a good discussion of what each of us thought of the world and their won philosophy. For the first time I felt like I could say my vision of the world, our connections between each other, and what I thought of spirit and religion. That one fleeting moment was an inspiration for me as I found that a vision of belief for me has been brewing for years and it finally came out. Was it inspirational? yes. Did it change my life? It did, but I did not find another instant where I felt I could confidently say my piece. So it has been hidden away.
I discovered that I am an atheist who believes that a truly inspirational and selfless guy names Jesus lived. I believe there is a spirit that we are part of that connects us all and that we can plug into that spirit and find the world and the hearts of others. I believe we all have the natural ability to be together and unified if we open our selves to the opportunity. We don't need God or gods for this.
In fact, I believe that Jesus was not a guy who had any special miraculous abilities, was born of a virgin, or returned from the dead. None of that matters! Jesus was a man of inspiration. He stood up in a desperate time for the people of Judah where they all felt persecuted and were treated as inferior by the Roman conquerors. He stood up and said you have the ability to have some control of your world and can in fact stand up to those who put you down. They can't control your mind even if others have control over to much of your world. control our own to control part of your won life.
Why the reports of miracles? Some people don't have the ability to see the story for how simple it really is. You have the power. We all are the children of the Earth (or God in Judahan terms). Some people need some kind of demonstration of the connection with the Earth to take stock. People, I think, built up inspirational moments into miraculous events. Additionally, some people modified the story over time to build their personal power. I work in a bureaucracy and have seen people build power and adjust the truth to make their story stronger. I believe there was a long corporate push by governments and religious leaders to consolidate power revolve around the need for faith. Without the impossible you don't need faith and you don't need trained religious professionals to get you on the path to a good life. You don't need faith, you just need confidence and the belief that you personally have the power to make good choices. Choices you feel are right. Choices you can respect.
You can see my summary of specific beliefs in the document below.
Thanks for reading. Comment below if you feel the need.
John’s Answers to Christianity and Bible Survey
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