234 thoughts on “Friday Challenge: Be Wrong”

  1. I used to think that my family being well-off meant that God loved us more (I can’t blame this one entirely on the fundies, as the Catholic church and school I’d previously attended had done plenty to reinforce this belief as well!). I was wrong.

    I thought that wanting to be alone sometimes was selfish. Nope, it’s healthy!

    And a strange one: I thought that playing guitar, even classical guitar, was unfeminine! Nice girls, of course, stick with the (white) piano. 😛

  2. I used to think most people were not “saved” and most Christians only were Christians in name only.

    I’m so sorry world– for my ten years of pharisee-ism.

    I used to think God was going to cue up the Fundytron movie of our whole life just like in the chick tract when we died. Wrong. When we are forgiven and GRACE rules…it will be “Welcome Home!”

    I now see that the God in heaven is not some mean old guy with a beard, ready to smack us down..he is a loving father who loves us despite of our lousy ways. He has provided a place for ALL of us in His love for eternity! We are all truly beloved!

  3. Wow. This was a great topic. I can only probably echo what others have said.
    *Jesus was a right wing republican.
    *The death penalty is just
    *”Those People” should go back to where they came from.
    *Catholics worship Mary and “don’t know the Lord.”
    *The people in the “lukewarm mainline churches” “don’t know the Lord.”
    *Gambling is a sin.
    *Drinking alcohol is a sin.
    *I should try harder.
    *I can pray away the OCD.
    *I can pray away depression.
    *People who are gay are like that because they decided to be.
    *Only good, “Bible Believing” Christians will enjoy eternity in Heaven.
    *Tithing

    *********************************
    A friend had a facebook status that really spoke to me a while back. It was long after I left “peformance based religion.” It was something like “People who think they have it all figured out is one thing. But to think they have it all figured out for other people is quite another.” Not exactly what was said, but that was the essence of it…and SO TRUE.

    What a great, thought provoking topic Darrell. Thank you!!

  4. I used to think the Jews were bad because “they” crucified Jesus. Then God showed me that they are still His chosen people, and *I* crucified Jesus.

  5. I used to think that I should try to “save” everyone around me . . . clearly by using every conversation to shove the Bible down someone’s throat. Moreover, I used to think that this was GOOD for my victims.

    I used to think that every sexual urge experienced throughout my teenage years was evil and that recognizing my sexuality would turn me into an evil, insatiable, sex-crazed fiend . . . not to mention an unloveable whore (because I am female).

    I used to think that if you were sick or poor, it was because you sinned against God. Anyone ever heard the message of Job’s story mis-preached to this extent? I lived that for probably 10 years. I was so wrong.

    I used to think that God wanted me to live in fear of an impending apocalypse every single waking moment of my life. I thought it was profitable to live in fear, period. I was wrong.

  6. I used to think I was nothing like those up-tight religeous Pharasaical Fundamentalists.

    I was WRONG!

    1. 😆 😆 😆 I have that on my “Movies to Watch” list, …so, that bad, huh?

      1. I should have known…everyone who liked it was a fundy lol. I felt like it took a very simplistic view on the issues it was trying to address…and was super long/ quite corny. Idk why I was expecting something more.

    2. If you liked their other movies- Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof- you will like this one, too. I thought it was a little better than the previous ones, since the characters face more real struggles.

      Those folks are not fundies- if they were, they would have stayed with the “F” alliteration.

    3. A Bible church near here is advertising that movie on it’s sign for movie night–along with the words “All men welcome”.

  8. As a recovering Pharisee and a reformed legalist, I quit reading the comments about half-way through. Too many were to close for comfort. A lot of these are still beliefs in parts of my family. I think the biggest gain I have made in my exit from fundystan is how I have learned to have true Christian fellowship with people of different denominational backgrounds and spiritual “levels”. That we can focus on the areas we agree in, and not focus on what really are the more minor doctrines.

    In Scripture, there is a lot of obvious right and wrong, and a lot that can be based on God’s commands. And almost every rule I heard in my formative years has absolutely nothing to do with God’s precepts, but what the mog’s’s idea of proper cultural beliefs and ideas is. Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-​mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”

    I wish more fundy mog’s would travel out of their boxes and actually see something with an open mind. And maybe even read the Bible without the blinders on.

    And to digress on travel, thanks for the well wishing as I traveled for the kids. They are safely in their new apartment in Emeryville, and I’m back in the Eastern Time Zone where I belong.

  9. I used to think “saved” “Christian” people were all good people with good intentions. I was wrong.

    I used to think how often you went to church determined your morality, decency, and respect for others as well as your commitment to God. I was wrong.

    I used to think people drank alcohol for complicated emotionally dysfunctional reasons. I was wrong. Mojitos taste good. So does wine. And hard cider. And Margaritas. And a lot of other drinks.

    I used to think I should feel guilty about the “secular” music I love. I was wrong.

    I used to think Christianity was all about always having a Bible in your hand. I was terribly wrong.

  10. I used to think that I was justified in judging others for their grievous sins (like a too-short skirt, or longish hair on a guy). I was wrong.

  11. I used to think there was only one right way to live and if someone didn’t agree with all your convictions down to the last letter, they were wrong. No sir. *I* was wrong.

  14. Too many things on the wrong list to even try to list them. Too many regrets for being so harsh. Too much anxiety about all of them.

  15. I used to think all Catholics by definition were not saved. I was really, really wrong.

  16. I used to think that if I wasn’t at the pastor’s beck and call 24/7, I wasn’t being a good Christian. Praise the Lord I was wrong.

  17. I used to think that if a person wasn’t living a “separated” life, they weren’t really saved. I was wrong.

  18. I used to think it all hinged on thinking the right thoughts, saying the right things and being friends with only the holy few.

    I used to think evolution was a lie from Satan, that homosexuality was an unnatural sin, that it was my place to point out others’ shortcomings in their faith and that every bad or hurtful thing in my life was either a trap of the enemy or a test from God himself; that it was this way for others, too.

    I know, with a pain in my heart, that I hurt so many people by living out my sincere belief in these lies. The “loving” words I spoke then were honeyed poison, and doubtless proved a millstone around the necks of the people who heard them. I thought then that this was what ‘love’ meant, that conditions must always be attached. That God designed it that way.

    I was wrong.

    God forgive me, I was so very wrong.

  19. I used to think the earth is 6000 years old. I was wrong. After I learned that was wrong, I started thinking that the first chapter of Genesis could be used to support the Theory of Evolution. I was wrong about that too.

    I used to think women got abortions because they were selfish. I was wrong.

    I used to think “love the sinner, hate the sin” outlined an acceptable way to treat gay people. I was wrong.

  20. I used to think that “Bible believing” meant the same thing as “tradition holding”, but I was wrong.

  21. I used to think music with drums was fleshly and “evil” because someone had almost convinced me it was so. Now I know how ridiculous it is to call an instrument sinful. Also, drums were in the Bible and some of the oldest instruments around.

    I used to think a lot of things and realized I was wrong.

      1. Me too. And it’s only in the last few years, after many years as a Christian, that I realised such beliefs were wrong,

  24. I’m so late to this party but whatever. I’m gonna answer anyway!

    I used to think our church was the only good church in the area, and wondered why everybody didn’t go there.

    I used to think that drinking was really bad, and that every time people got together and drank, they got really out of control and had orgies. Which was confusing the first time I saw somebody drink and an orgy didn’t happen. Lol.

    I used to think all the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Lutherans weren’t real Christians and we needed to save them.

    I used to think that if you weren’t a pre-trib person, your salvation was pretty shaky.

    I used to think if you weren’t a young earth creationist, you had sold out the Bible.

    A lot of the other fundy stuff smelled fishy to me, but these were my hangups.

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