V
My story starts out with a young married couple in love who decided to grow their family
Chapter 1:
I was born into a christian household that was supportive and financially stable. As a child I was not capable of understanding the world, my place within it and to some extent, the religion that my parents were part of. Nonetheless, I embraced the teachings and grew in a christian environment. Eventually my interest in the religion began to fade as the rituals became repetitive and my peers, disinterested. I struggled in my classes, with self esteem and my individual identity.
Chapter 2:
At the start of middle school, things took a drastic turn. In the midst of my struggles with meaning and purpose a new friend entered into my life, he would become one of my closest friends for the remainder of my time in middle-school and high-school. It began with an invitation to a youth-group which I accepted. Unlike others, this one had a wide age range, enthusiastic youth-pastor and strong sense of community. I felt immediately welcomed and as part of the community. I continued to attend for the stability of the community and fellowship it provided. The youth-pastor had a strong focus on the bible and introduced us to young adults in the church who would serve as mentors and accountability partners. While I had started to attend because of the support and kindness of the community, I quickly began to learn about Gods word and Christianity. Eventually I came to understand the religion, take it on as my own and accept Christ as my personal saviour. I was empowered by the christian community and with the knowledge of gods love for me. Throughout both middle-school and High-school I became extremely active in my church, school, youth-group and various bible studies, becoming a mentor to others and leader in my church.
Chapter 3:
Upon high-school graduation my life took another eventful turn. I was accepted into university and began to see where the path my God set out for me was leading. My education required moving churches but I continued to maintain contact with my good friends and mentors. I eventually found community on campus with a christian group and continued to grow in my faith. While none of my classmates or professors were critical of my beliefs, I decided to critically analyze and deconstruct my beliefs while continuing my involvement with the christian community in order to ensure a strong foundation. While this allowed me to strengthen my beliefs, it put others into question and into doubt. Aspects of what I had come to believe was true and holy were turned on their side and hypocrisy in the Christian community became evident.
Chapter 4:
Half-way through my second year in university I withdrew from the Christian community. While I put on the mask of christianity for my family and friends, in private (and with a select few peers) I further examined my beliefs and reasons for them. Furthermore, I began to study other religions, philosophies, cultural narratives and world-views. While I maintained by belief in God, I felt as if I could no longer call myself a christian as I doubted the accuracy and reliability of the bible, as well as many mainstream christian teachings. Furthermore, I was also able to identify the indoctrination tactics, mass hypnosis, etc. that my youth-pastor and the christian community had utilized to keep us in the faith.
Chapter 5:
Over my third and fourth year in university I fell away from my faith and eventually lost faith in god. It was not an easy process and I was unable to admit it to myself for quite some time. I went from devout christian, to theist, to agnostic to atheist. While I had lost the foundation of my faith I began to rebuild my understanding of morality, purpose and meaning. While frightening, it was also empowering as for the first time in a long time, I was in charge of my destiny. My beliefs were justified and I avoided unnecessary assumptions.
Chapter 6:
Having graduated from university and started a career I have a clear purpose in my life. I have strong relationships and a admirable code of conduct and ethics. I am not sure where my life will take me, but I know it has meaning and significance. I realize that I am in a continuous process of growth and maturity and look forward to where my life will take me.
Chapter 7+:
Yet to be written
