pat loughery

Found this in a bloglines search feed on “Alpha Course”:

I have so many questions about Christianity, I can’t cope with the idea of a loving God sending people to hell for getting His name wrong, I believe gays should have the same rights as straight couples and I don’t believe in 6 day creationism either! I’ve gone off organised religion, and I haven’t been to church since I returned home, in July!
I’ve fallen out with friends who have just written me sermons quoting the Bible and saying ‘the Bible’s true because God says so in the Bible’, which just doesn’t sit with me!
I’ve also been really hurt by some Christians… If they’re supposed to be my spiritual family then I want out!
I’m more confident, more relaxed and generally a much nicer person since I gave up Christianity… I also find relying on myself really refreshing and I can give myself credit for when I do good things! It used to really piss me off that I had to give God credit for everything good in my life, but blame myself or some other human when things went wrong! If He’s God, He should take full responsibility for both!
However, I haven’t completely given up hope, as I still pray sometimes, and I may go on an Alpha course in January, and be awkward there… If I get proper answers there, I’ll think about signing up again!
There are things I like about Christianity, mainly the ‘instant friend’ thing, as you have something in common with another Christian immediately, the fact that church becomes somewhere you meet people of all ages and of all walks of life, the great meals which are free … Unfortunately the negatives (judgementalism, the guilt trips, the competition for who can be the holiest, the gossip and hell) outweigh the good!

Full article here, certainly worth reading