By Carl S ~ I f you believe anything in the Old Testament, one of the evils of a non-Israelite religion was sacrificing children to a god. But the Israelites killed the children of their neighbors in their deity’s commands to commit genocide. (It's as if the Israelite's were telling those children that one way or another, they would be killed for a god.) If you believe the Old Testament claims, millions of infants and innocent children were drowned by the god of Israel , Islam, and Christianity, in a great flood which covered the earth. If you believe anything in the New Testament, you might believe an infant was born to be a sacrificial victim to appease a god - a common demand of many other gods. Another belief pertains to a king, Herod, who orders the slaughter of thousands of children under the age of two, in his effort to destroy a “new-born king." Truly, their deaths were not prevented by the God of Israel, who got his son out of harm’s way, but not one of them. I

By Carl S ~ Ecstasy of Saint Teresa T he 16th century Spanish saint and mystic Teresa of Avila wrote of her intense experience when she was “pierced by the grace of God." Her church calls this "spiritual ecstasy." An experienced adult or adolescent male will recognize "orgasm" right away. Now think about Islamic Paradise; a place of perpetual orgasms, with many partners, without consequences from bodily exhaustion. In fact, Islam's Paradise resembles typical hardcore porno movies where well-endowed men and women copulate (even in contorted positions) without tiring. As the cliché goes, it’s "to die for." Sure, it's pure fantasy. Notice that both ISIS and Israelite conquests involve kidnapping virgins for sex, thus obeying their mutual god's orders. Oh how these religions reward men for being "obediently moral," but not women! Maybe it's time to change the way we talk about religious conversions as being "bor

By Tina Rae Collins ~ F or one reason or another, some people are incapable of making wise decisions. We understand that and overlook the imperfections of those whose brains are immature or damaged to the point that they're unable to make sensible choices. We even agree that these people aren't accountable to a higher power. Furthermore, we know that alcohol and other drugs change the way a person behaves. The part of a person that chooses good or evil can be healthy, or it can be sick. Thinking, speaking, and behaving are performed by a biological and physical brain capable of being affected by mind-altering substances , genetic defects , and blunt force. Hence, gray matter is responsible for everything we think or do. If we possess an internal, eternal spirit, it's inept at prevailing over our biology. Drugs can't affect a spirit; so if our spirits controlled our behavior we could be high as a kite and still operate motor vehicles, speak eloquently, and make i

By Zeteothink ~ H aving been raised by Baptist Missionary parents I was indoctrinated into fundamentalism since birth. Being African-American I was surrounded by a Theist community as well. Late in life it has taken me a few short years to reject the theology of my youth, and now I have abandoned my belief in the "Supernatural" entirely - "No Gods, Ghouls or Ghosts" for me!" I consider religious books ( namely the Bible) as a volume of quasi-historical narratives and rituals, infused with metaphor, magic and plain ole' first century ignorance of science and the natural world! As someone who is non-superstitious you can rightly call me an Atheist . This is my first time at this site and I feel a kinship to people who have been through a De-conversion. It is truly refreshing to hear so many stories of human triumph over indoctrination. Enough about me...Everyone here has a story! This is a site truly devoted for people in various stages of disbe

By Valerie Tarico ~ Don't want a therapist who thinks the solution to your depression is Jesus? Here’s some advice from clinical psychologist , Dr. Caleb Lack. M ore Americans than ever are leaving their religion. Many find the process liberating, but it also can bring social and emotional challenges. A husband and wife may find themselves unexpectedly on opposite sides of the faith divide, struggling with what to tell their children. A college student may hide her doubts at home for fear of being cut off emotionally or financially, and then feel like she is living a lie. But trying to get help sorting things out can bring challenges of its own, like ending up with a therapist who thinks that the way to solve your problems is by returning to your old religion—or hers. Clinical psychologist, Caleb Lack , is the director of the Secular Therapist Project. I asked him to talk about his experiences and how people who are questioning or leaving their faith can find support or m

By Carl S ~ G reat discoveries that have changed our understanding of the world: Evolution, chemistry, electricity, and... psychiatry. Each has also contributed to our understanding of ourselves. Before the science of psychology, including the offshoot of sociology, the average person did not think very much, if at all, about the unconscious forces driving his or her decisions, motivations, and actions. Psychology universally gives us explanations. Already, brain and neural imaging are extending the explanations. Thousands of years before the science of psychiatry, the psychological manipulations of religions were reigning. They still continue to, in spite of the fact that humans ought to be on to them by now. Billions of people still continue to believe the buck-naked emperor is clothed in elaborate raiment. They continue to give religions credit for the good they themselves do by nature. This sneaky tactic too, is psychological manipulation. How many times have we heard of a

By Emily ~ I 'm 19 years old and have attended an Anglican church all my life, having been bought up in a Christian family. Honestly, being part of a church has almost always been an enjoyable experience for me, particularly as a result of the wonderful people I met there, the friends I made and the fantastic feeling of community. I do, however, remember a strong period of doubt I endured when I was around 12 or 13 years old, where I began to question the existence of God and everything that I had been taught about him - for some reason I just felt that my faith, which up until this point had been so secure and almost unshakeable, was falling apart - and that scared me. However, I persevered, and spent time talking through my worries with my parents and got myself 'back on track.' Then, when I was 14 years old, I decided to be christened and for the next year or so things concerning my faith ran relatively smoothly. In the summer of 2012 I attended Soul Survivor ,

By RJ ~ W hen I try to explain to others how deeply indoctrinated I was in the Christian faith as a child, I usually say my family was about a half step below Jesus Camp . There was no speaking in tongues or mass groups of crying children, but just about everything else depicted in the movie was something I experienced at least some part of. I went to a Christian youth camp during the summer. I was homeschooled for 7th and 8th grade because my parents didn't want me learning about evolution (we were eventually sent back to public school as they both needed to work). I went to 2-3 services a week, occasionally even four once I hit my teenage years (two services on Sunday, prayer service on Wednesday, youth group on Thursday). All of the phrases used in that documentary were something I heard at one point or another. That we needed to be warriors for Christ. That our nation was steeped in sin and we were in the end times (and that every national event that went against what my ch

By Klym ~ I am sitting here typing on my keyboard with only my left, non-dominant hand. It's quite a challenge, I must admit, after spending sixty years using my right hand to do most everything. At this very moment, my husband and I should be on a jet, flying to Florida to spend the night and then leaving tomorrow for a seven day cruise in the Caribbean . But, here I sit, with my right arm in a cast, broken in two places, with one surgery behind me and another surgery looming in my future. All because two weeks ago when I was on my daily walk/run through my lovely neighborhood, I tripped on a curb and landed on my right elbow and my face. After a lifetime of daredevil activities, including water & snow skiing, hiking in mountains, river rafting, zip-lining in tropical forests, hot-air ballooning, and a blue belt in Taekwondo, I was downed by the edge of a concrete driveway in cahoots with gravity!! Ironic, huh? A couple of days before my unfortunate accident, I atten

By WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ R ecently, out of curiosity, I Googled, “Why are there no miracles anymore?” I wanted to know how Christian bloggers would handle this question. I found their answers to be all over the map. And everyone is an expert, it seems, since each appeared to be absolutely certain he had the correct answer. There were some other interesting viewpoints in their responses, as well. For example, one writer claimed the “main miracle [the resurrection] happened and that we have been given enough evidence to believe without a miracle. After we come to grips with the fact that our unbelief is sin whether we've seen a miracle with our own eyes or not…” So, we heathens aren’t just wrong because we don’t believe in the resurrection, we are sinners. Now that’s what I call leading with the fear card. You better believe, or else… Christian bloggers’ opinions on the miracle question varied from those who agreed there are no miracles in our times to those who bel

By Carl S ~ Thought to ponder today: One of the major delusions mankind suffers from is the belief that faith is virtue. H ave you or someone you know suffered from anxiety, irrational fears, or panic attacks? Has the thought of there being an all-loving Father God watching out for humans been comforting, reassuring, and certain? Or not? Belief in such a being is among the "certainties" of faith. On the other hand, nothing is more certain than death. That's evidence for you. The strongest "certainty" of faith is the denial of this certainty through the belief in an immortal soul; without it, all the other beliefs are really irrelevant. And doesn’t faith mean you're gambling that there is such a god in the first place? Don't you wonder, isn’t religious certainty just denying and hoping? Christian fundamentalists will go to great lengths in protesting too much against their doubts and uncertainties. But martyrs are certain. Most believers aren&#

By WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ T his past Sunday, at our local book store café “church of the non-believers” meetup, my friend Carl S. gave me a flyer which just blew me away. It was something his wife had picked up at her Assembly of God church the week before. On the cover of this flyer was a starry night scene with the silhouettes of three dudes on camels approaching a manger which was right under an especially bright star. You know the scene. Inside the flyer, on the left panel, was a series of notices concerning the local church; birthday and anniversary notices, notes on the planned Christmas dinner for the needy, etc. On the right panel was a drawing of a dandelion blowball with the words “BELIEVE for GREATER THINGS” under it. Below this were the words “2016 PRAYER FOCUS.” Okay, now we are ready for the main message, right? And sure enough, at the bottom of the page was this passage, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and

By Jenniferg ~ A couple of weeks ago, on You Tube, I stumbled upon a beautiful,articulate woman, D.M. Murdock (also known as Acharya S.) mythicist, scholar, anthropologist,archeologist and writer. I was fascinated by her two-hour presentation about the Christ myth theory .While I’ve heard general claims by skeptics about Christianity being founded on ancient myths, I’ve never come across such an extensive presentation on the subject. Massachusetts-born Murdock, was an independent scholar of comparative religion and anthology. I write of Murdock in the past tense, because on visiting her website, I learned that she had been diagnosed with inflammatory Stage IV breast cancer in April 2015. She sadly drew her last breath on Christmas Day 2015. Saddened by this news of someone with so much more to give to the world, I write this article in tribute to Dorothy M. Murdock , 1961-2015. In a phone interview with the writer on Mythicist Milwaukee , Murdock’s credentials are introduc