I already know right from wrong

By James Wilhelm ~

Who was it that said the best case against Christianity are Christians? If there’s any real value to Christianity in terms of helping humanity, why do so many Christians ruin it for so many others?

Having lived the Christian life, I came to know many sincere and devout Christians. However, when I lived that life, I was ignorant of how scant the evidence supporting the truth of any of its fundamental beliefs. Christians argue and twist history considerably, but in the end all that’s left for a their foundation is blind faith. There is nothing especially wrong with a life based on blind faith, but I don’t agree with taking advantage of people by insisting Christianity is "TRUE" when there is no real evidence supporting that belief.

So many believers don’t want to acknowledge that for every person who ends their struggle with the concept of Christianity and God by deciding they are “lost” and must accept Jesus as their “personal savior,” there are just as many (or more) honest and thoughtful people who struggle just as much and yet in the end conclude Christianity is not a realistic or workable way of relating to the world. And their experiences are just as sincere and valid as their any of their Christian peers.

Once we are able to get past the negative feelings from the experience of having been duped by Christianity (and I know many of those feelings are justifiable – and many of us have really been hurt), we should do what we can to show that we can rise above their mythology. We should resist the temptation to indulge in name calling and resentment and focus instead on logic, common sense, and actual human experience. In this way we can better demonstrate to them that one can live successfully without believing in the so-called absolute truths Christianity pretends to provide.

I already know right from wrong. That innate knowledge is part of being human. It protects me and you from each other’s biases. It’s internally wired into all of us by the Universe, not by religion. I also know there are lots of gray areas in life that none of us understand – including Christians. I just wish they would be willing to admit it.

God would have to be better than me

By Catherine ~

I was raised Roman Catholic and went to Catholic school until 7th grade. My mother had us go to church every Sunday and we performed all the sacraments required. This gave me the morals to never judge anyone, as God was the only one to judge.

This sets up a life of not using good judgment about people – or God – always to see the best in them and rely upon that. When dating, I didn't use discernment as that would be judging. And when my husband-to-be started changing for the worse, I knew God would help and bring him back to the gentle person I had known him to be. From before the marriage I was threatened of what he would do if I didn't marry him, and this included what would also happen to my family. I thought if God didn't help, and if I couldn't help, I'd find a way out later. Ten years later that would be, as laws didn't protect a wife from a husband back then. Think the Bible didn't influence law? I was told by more than one police station in more than one state that I was his property and that if I was a better wife these things wouldn't happen.

Thing is, I was the perfect wife and he hated me for it. He hated my femininity. And it would be decades after that before I'd find out the truth about his drug addictions. No, this is not "denial." If you never are exposed to something or find any evidence, then it isn't anything you'd think of as a part of the violence.

Eventually I met many different men and women – some surprisingly well bred and intelligent – and realized that it's not that we should focus on what's good about people if they are to be in our lives (even murderers love their mother or do good deeds), but it is their failings that are most important to deciding who to allow into our lives. We are taught forgiveness and non-judgment to our detriment. We are taught NOT to think or evaluate, as if the brain supposedly God given isn't to be used except in school. We are taught we have no right to judge God.

In freeing myself from non-judgment. I have allowed myself to use my rational and individual thought about God and all we've been taught through religion. I first read apologist books on the Bible and Christianity to try to reconcile what can't be reconciled. Then on to Atheist books – why they don't believe. Then to books that finally explained that the Old Testament was plagiarism of old myths with name and location changes, which undermines and debunks the New Testament. And, adding to this, I read books about how the New Testament has also been plagiarized, changed, rewritten, and absconded through power and politics. I further read books on how the Church was built and their atrocities.

We are taught NOT to think or evaluate [...] We are taught we have no right to judge God.Bottom line is God would have to be better than me. I would never justify killing babies as the Old Testament does, or killing other tribes and women and goods as booty. And the New Testament is built upon the Old with Jesus supposedly saying he came to fulfill the law of the Old, not discard it. Very disturbing really. Saying to treat slaves and women kindly wasn't enough either. Paul's words has hurt women all around the world and the myth of bad Eve will never be gotten over. Women live the hatred for what Eve is said to have done – a myth built upon other serpent downfall myths and changed for power reasons against women.

I would never send anyone – no matter what they did – to suffer. I'd never allow children to suffer or allow disease. Animals would be protected... and on and on. And I'd never justify such as just some big mystery that such evil is by a good God but we're just too ignorant to understand or judge. Yes, I will judge and use my judgment and discrimination of what can't be justified. No word salad or apologetic twisting can save that bad book that has ruined minds and spirit for thousands of years.

Yes, God would have to be better than me.

Would the god of the Bible ask an ex-Christian to walk his dog?

By James Wilhelm ~

Contrary to what my religious brothers and sisters think, the decision to abandon Christianity came only after much careful thought and painful years of self-doubt and anxiety. It didn’t come easy or lightly.

A lifetime of trying to resolve the faith into something meaningful and lasting took a huge toll on me, with the final decision holding much sadness. And the blows that followed like: “You were never really a Christian” or “You were never really saved” or “You went to the wrong church” just added to the sadness. In my heart I went deeper into Christian principals and know the Bible better than most espousing it.

People abandon Christianity for various reasons. Some see the contradictions, hypocrisy and silliness and decide it isn’t for them. I understand that. But leaving something you truly believed in, something you gave your heart to, and something you ultimately found to be fundamentally incorrect, is mind bending and life altering. For some of us the scars go deep. It colors, distorts and twists our worldview. Perhaps it’s our internal makeup or upbringing.

For me it’s not that I decided not to believe anymore – it’s that I can’t believe anymore. My intellect and emotions prevent and stop me. No amount prayer or Biblical teaching will change this. If the God of the Bible really exists why would he put someone in this position?

You were never really a Christian [...] I hope you go to hell then!Several months after I left I was at a convenience store getting gas. While there a married couple from the last church I attended came out of the store. One of them asked where I’d been for the past few months. I quietly responded that I no longer believe and don’t go anymore. At that point one of them shouted “I hope you go to hell then!” in front of me and surrounding strangers.

I really didn’t need another reason to leave - but got one anyway. Sadly, I’m sure this person felt justified with their comment. In fact, I suspect they would pray me into hell if they could.

There’s a strange irony to all of this. A neighbor just moved in next door to me. He’s the lead pastor of the largest Christian church in town – several thousand members. He asked me the other day if I would take his dog out for a walk while he went on a preaching mission for a week.

Would the god of the Bible ask an ex-Christian to walk his dog while He’s away? I don’t think so, but I walked the dog anyway.

Thank you Jesus.

I’m OK, but I’m not so sure about you

By James Wilhelm ~

We are all part of the same universe – every one of us – like it or not. Religion, Jesus, or a misguided belief in heaven and hell won’t change this.

One of the larger problems with Christianity is that it won’t acknowledge this idea. In fact, this viewpoint is considered evil – inspired by the devil – because the Bible tells us so. As believers raise their hands to the Lord and listen to the Holy Spirit, they convince themselves they’re OK – saved by Jesus – but they are not so sure about you (especially if you're an unbeliever.) "I’m going to heaven – you’re going to hell." We all hear Christian leaders preach with this or similar condescending attitudes. Where I live a well-known Christian minister recently reminded his congregation to avoid certain people “because you don’t know what demons they carry around with them."

In Europe in the 1600's Christians were burning people to death because they were smart enough to figure out the earth wasn’t the center of the universe as the Bible describes. And on the American continent Christians were hanging their young women because their leaders determined these people were in league with Satan – because supposedly Jesus told them so. The faithful would still be committing these kinds of atrocities – and justifying it – if it were not for man-made laws to prevent it.

Making decisions based on a mythological belief is problematic. Religious vantage points (and religious vantage points can be quite diverse and numerous) dictate whom you should reject and whom you should accept. I’d rather accept or reject a person based on behavior and character or what the person has accomplished instead of his or her arcane religious beliefs. Unfortunately, most believers reject any kind of educated logic, choosing instead to cling to the emotional feeling that their religious beliefs somehow promote them to an eternal superior plane while those who reject those beliefs are condemned to eternal damnation.

Getting along with others is difficult enough. People have enough reasons to hate each other. They certainly don’t need religion to add to the division.

Bless you all and Amen.