Not literally, but in my mind that's what it feels like.

My brother was probably the closest person to me for the first 25 years of my life. He took me on my first trip to a bar (age 18, he was 20) and took me out on my 21st birthday. We could spend hours upon hours arguing about nothing and made each other smarter. When I first got into music, one of my biggest passions in life, it was because I wanted to be like my older brother. It always seemed like whatever he got into I got into something similar but different. He got heavy into hip-hop, I got heavy into metal. He was hardcore liberal borderline socialist, I was a nutbar conservative. It was great.

Now I feel like we will never have the same relationship ever again because he is lost... in religion.

He graduated from college and came home, floating around with no direction for awhile looking for work. One day out of nowhere he decides that God wants him to go to a Bible academy. I didn't even know he was all that religious. But he went there and never came back.

When he returned from school he immediately started in on the constant criticism and badgering. About how the Lord changed his life, how everything I did was terrible. An example would be I would telling him about a book I had read and he would point out that instead of reading about something that has nothing to do with Jesus, I should read a book about Jesus. He moved away into a one room apartment with no tv or internet. Just books about Christianity.

My dad who is also religious assured me that this was just a phase. That he's just excited about being saved and that he would settle down soon enough. It's been 5 years now and I have seen no signs of him slowing down. He made remarks about how we should cut up our credit cards because they're the tool of the devil. He said something to the effect that he, "doesn't even listen to people talk anymore unless they're saying something about God" cause that's all he can "get excited about."

I don't even know this person anymore. As strange as it is to say he used to be a rapper and a damn good one. He would record and post on freestyle message boards and at one point held 3 titles on 3 different forums. He would create beats, write songs, he was amazing and I was always proud of him for that. Now he's lost and it worries me if he'll ever snap out of it. Instead of driving to create, be artistic, excel at a career he is just drifting in his world where he thinks nothing is in his own control. He reminds me of a skit from an old Ice Cube record. Ice Cube approaches a guy on the street and asks him what he's doing, the guy says he's waiting on the lord. Ice Cube says, "so... you ain't gonna nothin with your life but sit here and wait on the lord?" The guy says, "yep." Yeah, my brother is that guy.

The ironic part is that my brother and I used to debate politics for hours and that's what I miss the most. I would love to engage him now in the mother of all debates. But I have to wait. I have to be a closeted agnostic because my father is getting older and the thought of him on his death bed thinking that I am going to Hell is not something I would wish upon him or any father. I respect what his and my brother's beliefs do for them in comforting their worries about life. So I have to wait. As sick as it sounds I am waiting for the day my father dies to kick my brother's ass and confront him to snap the fuck out of the fantasy he's living in.

So I wait.

That sucks man. Ive tried getting into the religion thing but i usually end up feeling like its going to make me question every little thing i do, and lifes too short not to live it to the fullest. I guess at the end of the day, if he's happy with how he's living then u just gotta accept it and be happy for him

 

Originally Posted by famous5ives

I guess at the end of the day, if he's happy with how he's living then u just gotta accept it and be happy for him

That's the most frustrating part. He doesn't seem to be anywhere even remotely close to happy.

Be grateful he found Jesus and not crack imo.

The question I think you have to ask yourself Raiden is, if your brother is going to act all high and mighty pushing his ridicolous beliefs on to you and others, do you even want him in you life?

I mean if he just believed weird shit and kept it to himself that is one thing but the most annoying people in life are those who try to convert others to their ways of thinking. How the fuck is a credit card the tool of the devil, you just use it to pay for stuff lol, fucking preacher bullshit.

My answer would be no, people change, remember the good times and move on.

To people who have actually lost siblings, the op's post seems petty.

I like RR threads. A lot. Still think often about the thread and links you posted about your father and uncle's unfortunate foray into the music festival biz. Hope Admiral saw that and recognized the obstacles he faced.

Sorry to hear your brother has been inducted into the cult that is religion. He sounds like he has gone way off the deepend. Yeah, it's better than crack or a fatal illness, but he can't lead what I consider a fulfilling life while buying into the "credit cards are of the Devil" b.s.

Gladly, you are stronger than that, and your brother still has many years to beat the addiction.

lol... really? I bet if you ask him, you're the one who's lost. So who is right? and who decides that?

Just ignore his constant attempts to change you. Treat him like you would have 10 years ago.

Thank God it wasn't cancer...

So your brother is into something that you dont care about/agree with/proponent of means he is lost?

dude get real, your brother should be making a post about his pathetic close minded little brother.

My uncle is a schizo and nobody treats him like he is lost. I just saw him yesterday, we didnt lose him.

If you really loved your brother you would accept the direction he has chosen to take his life and be happy for him. Instead it seems like you are the one criticizing him, not the other way around

 

Originally Posted by cizastro

I lost one of my closest friends to religion as well. It sounds very similar to this, but he didn't go as hardcore. He turned into a completely different person who basically just criticized my every decision (stupid shit like drinking, listening to rock music, having sex) to the point where we just floated apart. It was very hard to deal with considering I knew this guy since the 1st grade. I guess the only thing you can do is support him and hope that he calms down at some point. Religion does some crazy things to people.

listening to rock music is against religion too? damn

LOL @ people still believing religion and people who talk politics. no 2 bigger wastes of time

yes/no

"When people talk to me I don't even listen to what they're saying unless they're talking about God. I don't know what to do with my life because I can't get excited about anything, except God." Does that sound like someone who is just "into something"?

i missed this in the OP. I swear i read it all. People who act like this give the rest of Christians a bad name. Hopefully your brother will find a happy medium between his old life and his new one. Everyone interprets the Bible differently and your brother is on the extreme side. Most ppl realize it was written thousands of years ago but can still relate it to everyday life, not try to take ourselves back to 500 BC

 

Originally Posted by CoderMan1

LOL @ people still believing religion

you honestly think we die and then thats it? what a waste if so.