by The Atheist Geek

Image by Dan Patterson via Flickr

II was almost 18 when I attended my first meeting at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Or I would have attended it if I had found the Hall before the meeting started. I had been talking to a girl at High School about The Watchtower Society's teachings for a few weeks when I asked her for directions to the Hall. Her directions were wrong, so I was late.

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By Daniel Brown

Summer is time for fun—swimming, fireworks, family reunions, and trips to Disney World. It’s also prime time for unfettered Christian indoctrination of our youth. Yes, I’m referring to Vacation Bible School (VBS).

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By Daniel Brown

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Christian men are very insecure. As with all insecure people, they must domineer others to feel good about themselves. Once they snag a woman, the goal is to force them to submit. Women must be kept under their thumb at all times. Physical abuse isn’t necessary as emotional, psychological, and religious abuse are usually much more effective.

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John Brown (militant abolitionist) via Wikipedia

Militant Atheists" - a letter on the term to those who use it.

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By Valerie Tarico

How Viral Ideas Hook Us

Did you know that Temple Baptist Church was built on land that sold for 57 cents, the amount saved by a little girl that had been turned away from their Sunday school? Did you hear about the guy who died in his sleep, killed by his own farts? Can you believe it?! Elvis Presley said, "The only thing a nigger can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." And,guess what--scholars at the Smithsonian Institution have uncovered new interpretations of Nostradamus that relate to Barack Obama.

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Image by sakura_chihaya+ via Flickr

Although this may need some polishing, this is what I wish to one-day say to my mother, but having difficulty working up the courage due to her anger when I say something contradictory to her beliefs. It is more or less in open-letter form, boldly packed with much emotion, which I have yet to send to her, if I ever do. She will never see it on the net, because she has some issues with modern technology, but none the less I wrote it and maybe one day soon I can say these things to her or at least mail this to her to read. Regardless of the intent, I still see her reacting vehemently with anger. That is the way it has been when I stepped “out-of-line” in her view and probably will always be until one of us dies- hopefully in the order nature intended. The thing is I have always been better at saying my thoughts in writing than verbally, regardless of other people’s reactions to my words.

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By Kevin B

Image by doug88888 via Flickr

It has been of my assertion ever since I broke free of childhood that religion quite simply does not make sense. It completely blows my mind to see intelligent people say they believe in Jesus and that they know that God exists. It makes me think to myself, humans as smart as we are, may not have the mental capacity to fully understand exactly what is going on. We have invented great things and advanced a long way but the basis of our intelligence may just be far too low to comprehend exactly how the universe and our world came to be.

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By Brother Greg

Image by Harry‧黃基峰‧Taiwan via Flickr

This is something that happened during high school that I wish I had looked at more directly earlier in life – it might have helped me leave Christianity much sooner than I ultimately did. I should mention that this high school was an American school based in Taiwan. In Taiwan, when I lived there, there where there were a large number of white missionaries supposedly there to convert Chinese people to fundamentalist Christianity. I had a friend in the high school– let’s call him Mike.

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Por Xans Viv

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Es cierto que todos tenemos derecho a escoger nuestra propia religión o si bien nos parece, a crear una nueva o a no tenerla. Personalmente, no creo que es necesario tener una, aunque fui criado como cristiano católico apostólico romántico...

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Sent in by koosgirl

Image by Caro's Lines via Flickr

I was raised in a mainline Protestant household. We said grace, had an Advent wreath, went to church every Sunday, etc., but my parents were not overly heavy-handed. Church services were low-key, with the preaching and lessons geared toward positive things--emphasizing God's love for us, how we should love one another, God's mercy and kindness, and so on. I really never knew the negative aspects of the Bible until I was in my twenties and decided to read the whole thing, cover to cover.

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By Donald R.

Image via Wikipedia

I ended up attending private Christian schools all my life. We were pretty much taught how to be sheltered from anything they deemed evil. So we were oblivious to the world outside of our church faction. Most children after graduation from high school ended up partying harder than the "worldy" folks. They were the children who weren't taught about sex and drugs and ended up getting pregnant at 17 and 18 years old.

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by Lemsip

Image by AmUnivers via Flickr

This is following the recent article 'Religion has passed it's prime'.

What would a world look like without organised religion. I'm afraid new religions would form as a way to control societies, nations, tribes, etc. Even some atheists have a vested interest in keeping religion alive even to the point of imposing it on people whose behaviour they don't approve of especially those from lower social classes. I say to them 'well if you think church going is so good why don't you go yourself'. This is where the old adage of Karl Marx 'religion is the curse of the working class' rings true.

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South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford tearfully admitted on Wednesday he had been unfaithful to his wife, likely ending any chance he might be a Republican contender for the U.S. presidency in 2012.

Sanford resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association and was replaced by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, another possible 2012 candidate.

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Image by Dude Crush via Flickr

Sent in by Evelyn

I have been reading the posts about 4 months now. I did not start reading the posts because of deconversion, but because I was searching the Internet for a link on spiritual abuse in that link were testimonials of people were abused in United Pentecostal Church. That was the church I was thrown out of.

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By E Chamberlain MD, San Diego CA

Image by SamikRC via Flickr

The Apostle Paul reasons-- wrongly and without even bothering to cite evidence to make his case-- that one's failure to believe in God drowns the non-believer in a cesspool of immorality:

"Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful."

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Pastor Dr. Paul Lewis of Brooklyn was busted in Jamaica (the island) for having sex with a 15-year-old girl while a 14-year-old girl watched.

The Rev. Paul Lewis, founder of the Messengers for Christ Ministries World Healing Center, was held without bail on charges of carnal abuse and indecent assault, Jamaican police said.

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Sent in by Jeff

Image via Wikipedia

I had a conversation with someone lately via email and they were asking about how I became a Christian and how I ended up leaving the Christian faith. Most of the time people who are Christians do not see how someone could have been a “true Christian” if they end up leaving the faith, so when they hear that I am no longer a Christian, they assume that I had a false faith of some kind. I wanted to briefly share my story of how I became a Christian and how I came to not be a Christian. I know that many people will still feel as though I was not a “real” Christian, but there is not much that I can do about that. The bottom line for me is that I was honestly a Christian and believed in Jesus and the Bible with all of my heart. I left the faith because I feel that I was bound by my conscience to be honest with myself about what I could and could not truly believe anymore.

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LIBERTY, Mo. (ABP) -- Southern Baptist ministers in three states facing molestation charges had recent days in court.

Robert M. Black, 40, pastor of New Home Baptist Church near St. Joseph, Mo., pleaded not guilty June 18 to felony counts of first-degree statutory rape and attempted enticement of a child.

Black was arrested April 8 after allegedly soliciting sex over the Internet with a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. He is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 14.

A grand jury in Waco, Texas, indicted William Frank Brown, 45, June 17 on four counts of sexual assault of a child and four counts of indecency with a child.

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Sent in by Tim

I grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippines. I am twenty years old, an atheist (I guess), and quite enjoying my place in the world.

As I said, I am a missionary kid. Both of my parents have been through seminary and are ordained. My father got his master's degree in Biblical Theology and my mom got a Master's of Divinity. My entire family, including my two brothers, my sister and all my distant relatives, is Christian. I went to private Christian schools from first grade to high school graduation. How is it, then, that I don't believe in what my family considers the most important thing in life?

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Sent in by Daniel Brown

My ancestors were forced out of Europe for being Protestants. Since then, many have been preachers, deacons, missionaries, teachers, and professors teaching and preaching Christianity. I, myself, attended several Christian schools throughout my life and at one time was a religion major with the intention of being a preacher. Throughout college, I served as a youth minister and taking several mission trips in the US and abroad. I graduated from a Christian university and worked for a prominent evangelical denomination for almost eight years.

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Dr. Bart D. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar, textual critic, an expert on early Christianity, a professor and the chairman of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why." Ehrman attempts to discern, as near as possible, the original wording of the gospels, epistles, and other ancient texts. He champions the thesis that early Christians, as they developed a single, orthodox doctrine, altered the Biblical texts in order to make them more uniform and in line with changing beliefs.

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Technorati tags: ex-Christian | exchristian | ex-tian | skeptic

Sent in by Howie51

During the Western Canadian mini revival of the mid 70's, Hal Lindsey's morbid book, "The Late Great Planet Earth" frightened me enough to enter the Christian void. Shortly after my conversion, my scientifically minded wife nearly left me, and having survived that crises, re-considered her departure a year later when my insistence on tithing became a hot issue.
Sunday services at First Assembly Pentecostal in Calgary were never missed, and Wednesday evening bible studies and sing songs both left me goose bumped and longing for more. My departure for greener pastures coincided with the unexplained resignations of both senior pastors, and gave me my first initiation into church politics. The hot new faith based ministries sounded alluring. Oddly enough, they couldn't ever get enough teaching on tithing, and the congregation were harassed every Sunday by a glassy eyed businessman extolling the virtues of giving till it hurts and then some. The church collapsed eventually, and the wandering continued, until exhaustion and cynicism quenched my thirst for communion with the saints.

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Sent in by Gary

Image by TitaniumDreads via Flickr

I am an ex-Christian from New Zealand, and while we don't have the same variety of ridiculous Christian offshoots, we have our own quirks (which everybody is obliged to "respect" regardless), such as a recent case where a 14 year old girl was killed in an exorcism where water was poured down her throat to cleanse her of demons. The religion in this case isn't apparent, but it looks to have parts of Christianity mixed with native Maori legends. The case is coming to a close, and the defense of the "divine healer" appears to be one of "she truly believed in the healing power of water, and who are you to judge?" It will not surprise me if the judge acquit him.

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By Ray

Image by Tomás Rotger via Flickr

Since posting my testimonial, "Religions are ridiculous" on May 23, 2009, I've noticed a lot of "anguish" on the postings to this website. There seems to be a "trend" to leave Christianity and then take up some other religion or belief. Either that, or going "cold turkey" into the world of atheism. Another alternative (which is no alternative at all) is to sit around in a limbo of gloom and examine our navels. These approaches can be bad for our health, and resolve nothing! Remember that God did not invent religion, people did. Watching and listening to people like Joel Osteen at his Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas should be enough proof of that. I doubt if God needs this kind of quackery.

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By Autumn

a predestined tragic end..., originally uploaded by chromatophobe.

I grew up in churches. My parents used to change churches if they felt a teacher “wasn’t being true” to the bible. I remember changing churches as being a huge upheaval because all my friends were at church, so it meant going through a long process of making new friends and learning my place in the social strata. I was homeschooled from kindergarten through high school, and my parents involved my brothers and me heavily in the day to day activities of religion. It is painful to write about this, because I would define the religion of my youth as being emotionally abusive.

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By Daniel Brown

It’s that time of year again! Pack your bags, round up your dusty ole passport, dig up that Hawaiian shirt you love so much (you know, the one that makes you look like Rick Warren), and get your flippy-floppies out—it’s mission trip time again! Time to go tell some third-world peasants about Jesus, hammer a few nails in a decrepit schoolhouse, and catch some rays!

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By Valerie Tarico

The Born-Again Experience

Image by nickwheeleroz via Flickr

I prayed harder and just then I felt like everything I was saying was being sucked into a vacuum. When I stood up, I felt like thin air; I had to brace myself. I felt this energy, it was a kind of an ecstasy.” Cathy “Something began to flow in me—a kind of energy . . . Then came the strange sensation that water was not only running down my cheeks, but surging through my body as well, cleansing and cooling as it went.” Colson “It was a beautiful feeling of well-being, warmth and loving . . . I went home and all night long these warm feelings kept coming up in my body.” Jean “I felt something real warm overwhelming me. It was in just a moment, yet it was like an eternity. . . . a joy, such a joy hit me with such a tremendous force that I jumped . . . and ran.” Helen. – from Conway & Siegelman, Snapping, pp 24, 32, 12, 31

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By Mriana

Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I have noticed over my lifetime is the death and destruction of the Religious Reich, everything from suicide to murder. They might not pull the trigger personally, but they do seem to find some poor bloke they manage to brainwash and mentally abuse to do it for them. All too often the Religious Reich wants to control the masses via religious dogma that makes absolutely no sense in light of scientific knowledge, especially and including Women’s Reproductive health. Sadly, when they cannot have control of the masses, they attempt to take it by force, in some manner, and then attempt to base it on their so-called “good book”, when that book can be shredded and put back together again after showing them just how much they do not know about it. I intend to do just that too, because as a Christian friend of mine has told others since the murder of Dr. Tiller, I will not back down or even stand down, at least not in writing, especially in the face of a heinous crime done in the name of religion. Trust me; it had religious dogma written all over it.

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By Jack

Image by .craig via Flickr

NOTE: I'M NOT SAYING I BELIEVE THIS STUFF, I AM MERELY POSTING IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE AS IF IT IS THE TRUTH

So we have this god, who has infinite power, can do anything, and created everything. Anything he wants, he can get it at his finger tips (or whatever gods use). Wants to create a planet? Boom! The planet is HIS. Wants someone to have a billion dollars? It's all their's! Wants to eliminate anything that pisses HIM off? Darn right HE can do that!

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By Joel W. Bizzell

Image by jeffpearce via Flickr

Growing up in the Deep South, I got birds eye view of religion. To be specific, Baptists.

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From Wikipedia:

The creation–evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. evolution debate or the origins debate) is a recurring theological and cultural-political dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe,^[1] between the proponents of evolution, backed by scientific consensus, and those who espouse the validity and/or superiority of literal interpretations of a creation myth. The dispute particularly involves the field of evolutionary biology, but also the fields of geology, palaeontology, thermodynamics, nuclear physics and cosmology.^[2]

This debate is most prevalent in the United States, but also exists in Europe and elsewhere.^[3] It is often portrayed as part of the culture wars.^[4] While the controversy has a long history,^[5] today it is mainly over what constitutes good science,^[6] with the politics of creationism primarily focusing on the teaching of creation and evolution in public education.^[7]

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Sent in by Travis Frey

Image by privatenobby via Flickr

Hey everyone. My name is Travis, I am 21 years old. I was born and raised as a Baptist. I grew up believing that the Bible was the literal, inerrant Word of God. I strictly believed that all nonbelievers would spend eternity in hell. That thought caused me much discomfort. Especially when I went to a summer camp and they told us that false believers and "lukewarm" believers would get it worse than anyone in hell. I immediately thought of my parents, whom where really Christian in name only. They "believed in Christ" but that was the extent of it. I didn't see the "work of the Holy Spirit" or "the good fruit" in their lives. I tortured myself at night, pleading, begging to God with tear soaked eyes not to send my parents to hell. Also, my brother is agnostic-ish. I would pray to God that He would help out my brother, and give him the gift of faith! My dreams would be full of visions of my loved ones being condemned to an eternity in hell at Judgment Day. That intense fear I believe caused me severe psychological problems later on in life.

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Image via Wikipedia

Today we are familiar with the “New Atheists” authors on the bookstands. Sometimes it does one good to read Robert Ingersoll, the prince of atheists. In 1894 he wrote “About The Holy Bible” and in the sections of that work below he discusses the two foundational beliefs of Christianity and slays them down to dust. What are we to think of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the "inspired" Holy Bible? If they are rejected what is the real Bible? -- dealdoctor

WHY SHOULD WE PLACE CHRIST AT THE TOP AND SUMMIT OF THE HUMAN RACE?

Was he kinder, more forgiving, more self-sacrificing than Buddha? Was he wiser, did he meet death with more perfect calmness, than Socrates? Was he more patient, more charitable, than Epictetus? Was he a greater philosopher, a deeper thinker, than Epicurus? In what respect was he the superior of Zoroaster? Was he gentler than Lao-tsze, more universal than Confucius? Were his ideas of human rights and duties superior to those of Zeno? Did he express grander truths than Cicero? Was his mind subtler than Spinoza's? Was his brain equal to Kepler's or Newton's? Was he grander in death -- a sublimer martyr than Bruno? Was he in intelligence, in the force and beauty of expression, in breadth and scope of thought, in wealth of illustration, in aptness of comparison, in knowledge of the human brain and heart, of all passions, hopes and fears, the equal of Shakespeare, the greatest of the human race?

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By Valerie Tarico

Image by degreezero2000 via Flickr

I Know Because I Know

On a warm afternoon in June, two men have appointments with a psychiatrist. The first has been dragged to the office by his wife, much to his irritation. He is a biologist who suffers from schizophrenia, and the wife insists that his meds are not working. “No,” says the biologist, “I’m actually fine. It’s just that because of what I’m working on right now the CIA has been bugging my calls and reading my email.” Despite his wife’s skepticism and his understanding of his own illness, he insists calmly that he is sure, and he lines up evidence to support his claim. The other man has come on his own because he is feeling exhausted and desperate. He shows the psychiatrist his hands, which are raw to the point of bleeding. No matter how many times he washes them (up to a hundred in a day) or what he uses (soap, alcohol, bleach or scouring pads) he never feels confident that they are clean.

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By Mriana

What I am about to say is offensive to many of our Christian (and Muslim) visitors, but humans are apes and as such, we are animals. Some of us even behave worse than other animals, especially with how we treat each other, the environment, and even ourselves. Other animals sometimes treat the human child far better than humans treat their own species. Even at a very early age, before I comprehended Darwin, we would go to the zoo, and I would see in the chimps and gorillas, “people” much like us, except with fur. Therefore, there was never a doubt in my mind that we have a kinship with other species, including our pets.

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On Friday, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Oliver North visited Rock Church in Hampton Roads, Virginia to give a three-hour long lecture on “Rediscovering God in America.” The speakers warned the audience about the “continuing availability of abortion, the spread of gay rights, and attempts to remove religion from American public life and school history books.” The Virginia-Pilot reported that Gingrich argued that, while Christianity is the foundation of American citizenship, Americans are experiencing a period where they are being “surrounded by paganism”:

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"An Alternative To Religion" by • http://www.youtube.com/Evid... Finding the right religion may be less important than finding the alternative to having one.

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Image by Lst1984 via Flickr

A short discussion by Atheist Video Blogger Rabid Ape

Does being critical of religion mean that religion should be outlawed?

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By Janus Grayden

Image by Andrea Mercado via Flickr

It's strange how many people want to talk about how you're doing when you've recently left your religion. People you may have had only brief contact with are suddenly concerned about your well-being.

When I left my church, I had an influx of regular e-mails, calls, and people who were "in the neighborhood" dropping by to grab lunch, hang out, any excuse that someone could think of simply to tell me what I was doing was wrong. I figured that was the intent the whole time, but I was never one to turn down an invitation. These were people who I still knew by name, even if I hadn't had much contact with, after all. So, when I received a call to play some basketball or grab a bite to eat, I politely accepted and went over.

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By ChuckyJesus666

Image via Wikipedia

If you don't think there are atheists in foxholes, think again. I put this video up two months ago and has gotten nearly 1700 hits. Now, for D Day, here's a new and improved version! BTW, the dogtag shown is not someone's real dogtag; it's a sample of a dogtag.

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A letter from "Alone"

Image via Wikipedia

Did deconversion create intense loneliness, depression and anxiety for anyone?

I began to have serious doubts about faith 2 years ago. I am desperate to still believe in God like I used to, but I just don't think I can anymore.

When I go to church it feels like I am trying to breathe under water. When I see people praising God I remember what it was like to believe and I wish I could be happy like them, but I just feel that I can't live a lie. I can't just believe again because I feel that I will ALWAYS doubt and it will never go away. I don't think I can handle being like this for much longer.

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By Bill

Image by space time coctail via Flickr

Every religion has it's rules and in Christianity, these rules are collected in a book called the bible (the book).

Religious leaders tell us this book is the word of god, written by god to teach us how to live right. According to these priests god created everything , knows everything and is in total control. Let's take a closer look at this book he gave us to see what it has to offer.

The book says we were created by and placed here by a greater god (against our will?). The book teaches us god created us all, good, bad, deranged, defective and perverted.

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Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

Darrel's recovery from faith

Through most of my life I was sure beyond doubt that god was real and that he had bought me as one of his own through the blood of Christ. I could not have conceived that one day I would lose my faith completely and come instead to believe that god is nothing more than a human invention. Indeed if there is anything that stands out about my story it is not the process by which I lost my faith but how far I have come in the journey from utter faith to believing that religious faith is nothing more than willing self deception.

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Sent in by Jarred

Image via Wikipedia

Today marks a year-- a year in which I feel like I have grown more, been challenged more, and experienced more than previously thought possible; a year ago today I decided I was finally done with Christianity after wrestling with different issues the four previous years. My road to de-conversion started during the second semester of my junior year of college. I watched as my grandfather, a man who loved God and was loved by all, wrestled with the final stages of liver cancer. In the timespan of a year, he went from a healthy, golf-playing, deck-building man to a 90 pound skeleton that couldn't even control his own bowel movements. His was an agony I wouldn't wish on a child rapist, let alone my grandfather. As I said my final goodbyes to him that spring break, I started down a path that would ultimately lead me to where I am today.

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Sent in by Franc

Image by ep_jhu via Flickr

I was raised in a fairly liberal Southern Baptist Church. We allowed women to be deacons, and were disbarred from the SBC. I grew up only hearing sermons about Jesus and God's love. God was tolerant, and loving and forgiving.

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Image via Wikipedia

Commentary on religion by Family Guy

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By Valerie Tarico

I wasn't going to post this to ExChristian since it's a bit off topic, but because so many of us have been shamed by our religion for our abortions, I thought that some of you might find that it speaks to your experience.

George Tiller--physician, abortion provider, Lutheran, husband, father, grandfather--was shot and killed yesterday in the lobby of his church. He was killed after years of harassment and threats, bombing of his clinic, even being shot in both arms. And yet he continued doing what he did because he believed it was right.

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Sent in by anonymous

Image by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

I grew up in a Fundamentalist Conservative Evangelical home. My family would switch churches regularly, but the message was always the same: "The Bible is the literal truth with an emphasis on our sin and evilness and God’s goodness."

I was taught that I was worthless and deserved severe punishment along with the entire world, including babies. I deserved to burn in hell forever. Even though I deserved to burn in hell forever, God was willing to forgive me because Jesus died on the cross for me. I could resign from my horrible humanity and let Him live through me.

As I was a sensitive child, I took every word in.

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By an ex-Christian

Image by dullhunk via Flickr

I was raised in an evangelical family, but abandoned my faith after having serious issues with the idea of hell. I have documented my story on the following site, along with lots of arguments listing why I believe Christianity is false and dangerous.

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