By Carl S ~ T here have been cases of destructive obsession in the media, probably the most well-known, John Lennon's murder by an obsessed fan. Obsessions also include ideas and ideals: The Civil War in the States was fought over slavery versus the abolition of slavery. Obsession with a personality having an idealized goal is very powerful when it feels so right it just has to be the most important feeling ever. History is replete with examples: The symbolic Christ and Mithras, conquerors of death, and Hitler, Napoleon, Gandhi, Alexander, etc., all arriving at the right time and circumstances to succeed, for good or evil. They inspired obsessive devotion. I'm obsessed with writing clearly and honestly. But I still remember my obsession with a woman 56 years ago. It ended when she said, “I'm not the person you made me out to be.” But the person really existed. We know people who insist they have a “personal relationship” with a “Jesus” they've only heard of. For

From Mandy ~ J ust curious to know what your thoughts are on these stories about atheists who supposedly saw or went to hell when they had a near death experience. I see these kind of videos popping up on my YouTube feed from time to time. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

By Fritz P ~ I n August of 1973, I got in the family car and drove out of town, instead of going to work. I drove about forty miles, got out with a cardboard box of clothes, locked the car, walked across the highway and stuck out my thumb. I was a licensed and ordained Southern Baptist minister. I was married to a wonderful woman, and we had a perfect one year old daughter. No one knew of my whereabouts for a week or two, then my wife was able to track me down in Air Force basic training in San Antonio, Texas. I had joined up, because I knew of no other way to raise the funds I knew I needed to pay for child support. Contrary to suppositions at the time, I'd never planned on trying to avoid my financial responsibilities to my child. I had essentially committed suicide. I did not know what else to do. When questioned as to my religious position immediately after this rift in my life, I would generally respond noncommittally or with agnostic/atheist murmurings. But really

By mezzokitty ~ W ell, the challenge for me is where do I begin with my testimony, such as it is. I was raised by a single mom in California who was angry all the time, and who had a serious substance abuse problem. To put it mildly, our family was dysfunctional. In addition, my maternal grandmother was a devout Seventh-Day Adventist, and she did her best to bring us all back into the fold. Part of this belief system is that the Pope is the Antichrist, and that anyone who worships on Sunday has taken the Mark of the Beast. This became a serious issue for me when I was about eight, after I had come home from a sleepover with one of my best friends from school. My friend’s family was Catholic, and had taken me to Mass with them on Sunday morning. I was fascinated with the pageantry in the church, the ceremony, and the kindness that people showed me. It was the opposite of what I considered to be the boring Sabbath services and foot-washing ceremonies I had attended. When I got

By Luke ~ I t's been 11 years since I deconverted. I figured I'd share my story, as I find it therapeutic to do so. Still somewhat haunted by my Christian past. Sorry if this is a bit disjointed. It all started in 2008. I was on Youtube. It was, I think, the heyday of Youtube atheism. ( Thunderf00t vs. VenomfangX anyone? Lol.) One day I stumbled onto a video by user profmth Mitch . He talked about how Jesus failed to return when he promised he would. I was shocked and, frankly, kinda excited. I remember thinking, "What the hell, could he (prof) be right? Was Jesus wrong?"  I ended up showing my mom. She just shook her head and said "nope," and walked away. Love my mom, but lol. This was the video: It was this video and others (by Thunderf00t , cdk007 , etc) that propelled me to take a hard look at my faith. I ended up reading articles about atheism and evolution on Talk Origins and Infidels.org. Richard Carrier's essay "Why I Am Not

By Brandon ~ I was raised in a Christian home all my life, and was a Christian until the age of about 41. Nothing hardcore or fundamentalist, but attended church every Sunday morning at a minimum. Eight years ago my youngest sister passed away shorty after giving birth to her first child. Talk about a wake up call, watching my 19-year old sister die is what did it for me. After that I decided to go on a mission to find out what life is all about. So I bought the Bible on audio CD so I could listen to it on my way to and from work everyday. I listened to the bible maybe 3 to 4 times, and as I listened certain versus would just hit me and make me think and question. Each day I would get to work and compile a few questions based upon what I had heard and learned that day. It didn't take too long and I ended up with so many questions and philosophical scenarios that I didn't know where to turn. As many people have done, I decided to talk with some pastors, but shor

By Patricia A Ritchie ~ This is an essay I wrote to my daughters and husband about my current spiritual state. T wo decades ago, after a lifetime of Christianity and being busily “active” in church, I stopped pretending. I stopped trying to force myself to believe what I never had. It was an amazing relief to throw off the cloak of pretense and admit that, in spite of giving it my all for 50+ years, I am actually not a believer in Christianity. The inerrancy of scripture has always been a particular sticking point for me, along with the bizarre and appalling concept of a “loving” God sending his creation to burn in hell forever for not “asking Jesus into their hearts”. I have no use for religious dogma and doctrines that use fear to control what people think and feel. Over the intervening years, my most common reaction to religious jargon and references has been visceral anger and deep regret that I raised my children in Christianity. I am still very much a non-believer, but

By Carl S ~ T hose who, in polls, describe themselves as not belonging to any religion are called “nones.” You'll hear, “I'm not religious, but spiritual.” Historically, it's generally been assumed you can't have one without the other. Do they truly believe one can be spiritual without dogmas or belief systems? Have they thought about what they're saying? Are they actually referring to a sense of awe about nature? When a volcano first erupted or an earthquake devastated, that must have overawed all the senses and been awesome! Then, as one explanation, to conclude super-natural forces caused them made sense. Also, consider the powerful awe resulting from observing Nature unfolding in wondrous ways. Some organisms were found whose powers brought ”assuring answers” to the mysteries of the world, via their effects on the brain. Eating them made humans like unto gods knowing good and evil. In those times b.c. (before chemistry), primitives interpreted brain fuck-ups

By Pedro ~ J une 14, 2019: many people in Brazil went to the streets to protest against several unpopular government proposals of cutting funds for education and privatize higher education, and so did I. In the city where I live, Maceió, during the protest, some people such as union leaders and the university dean from the Federal University of Alagoas gave speeches, and one of these people was a Christian religious leader (I do not know if he is catholic or protestant). This Christian leader said something that always makes me angry. Something I have heard many other Christians saying in the last couple of years. He said: “Churches that are racist, sexist, misogynist and homophobic are not real churches, for Christ lived among the sinners and the minorities.” (I am paraphrasing, his exact words were similar to these, but I cannot remember every single word). Well, he said that because Brazil current president, Jair Bolsonaro , is well known for being racist, sexist, misogyni

By Carl S ~ O n CNN, a weatherman reported on the floods and tornadoes devastating the southern and western U.S. At one point, he wasn't listening to himself, because he said, “God willing, the dam will hold.” What if he says later on, “God forbid, the dam doesn't hold?” Notice this: “God” was not willing to deal with, nor forbid, all the tornadoes or floods we were already seeing on screen. (Well, at least we didn't have to be subjected to survivors thanking the same non-intervening “God.”) We understand survival. Everything on Earth adapts every part of itself to survive. Life itself is dependent on struggles between ongoing predators and prey. Cells within organisms program themselves to work with other cells in order to survive; they destroy other organisms for the same goal. There is fatalism built into the survival system, because, despite successes, eventually all organisms die. Those who believe a “creator” established this system ought to ponder Its motivatio

By Ward Ricker ~ T he Holy Bible as you have never read it before . I wish to let you know about two new books that I just published that I think you'll be interested in. Holy Hustle! A Bible Parody Containing all 66 books of both the Old and the New Hustles is a (I hope) hilarious romp through the whole Bible, making fun of its stories, teachings, etc. Although it is intended to be fun and entertaining, it is also, I believe, educational, pointing out the contradictions, insanity, immorality, and horrors of the Bible. Read a  sample of  Holy Hustle! . The entire book is available on Amazon ! The other book, Unholy Bible: The Unholy and Unreal Parts of the Bible , is a free book. It started out as a listing of all the contradictions that I found as I was writing the parody, but I have expanded it to include the Bible contradictions that I have been able to find from other sources, as well as the Bible passages that show its violence, horror, immorality, etc.

By Carl S ~ Matthew 10: 34-36. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own family.” I found a connection between lessons of personal experience and the lessons of history. I was watching, “ The Real War of Thrones: The Wars of Religion ,” online at Curiosity Stream. It was about wars fought for dominance by Christian denominations, with thousands upon thousands killed. And it wasn't only between nations dominated by different interpretations of what the one true faith meant. They were also within nations. In England, Queen Elizabeth I, the Protestant, was conflicted against her Catholic sister Mary, Queen of Scots. Then there's Catherine de Medici in France, one moment issuing a decree guaranteeing the religious rights of Protestants, and the next, rescinding the decree, re-sta

By Withheld ~ I t took me twenty seven years to understand that Christianity is a hoax run by talented, charismatic, misogynistic men and women. People who proselytize with the tongues of Satan and demand to paid for their time. As a child I was forced to attend a run down, shamble of an Assembly of God church. I can remember asking to not attend as I did not like the church. My mom told me no. Every week without fail I was dragged along to an old building filled with the poorest and most uneducated people around. The congregation was filled with the outcasts of society who were made up of drug users, adulterers, domestic violence abusers, ex criminals, rape victims, dysfunctional types because they couldn't be bothered to try to live healthier lives or didn't want to break out of the cycle of abuse. Sunday mornings were filled with sitting around in the damp space at the back of the old building, half listening to the muffled old PA system as the preacher mumbled ab