By ThinkTank ~ W hen people ask, “What made you lose your faith?” it’s always a little challenging to know what to say. How do we compress 5-10 years and 100 reasons into a short response when we really need several hours (or days) to talk about the process of losing our faith? Partial map of the Internet based on the January 15, 2005 data found on opte.org . Image via Wikipedia There is also a similar question that ex-christians ask themselves -- “How could I have believed something so improbable for so long?” It turns out, we were far from unintelligent and there is a very good reason why we believed for so long. We did not have access to information. No Information = Problems For most of human history, people have had very limited access to information. Most people were dependent on some type of authority for information because it was difficult to find information or to verify things on one’s own. Being dependent on others for information had lots of problems. It w...

By ThinkTank ~ T he white smoke curled and entwined itself into the warm afternoon air. I stood at the edge of the hole that we had dug in front of the house.My spouse, our kids, and two of our friends stood with me. At the bottom of the hole smoldered the remains of our bibles. We had given them as gifts to each other many years ago and had faithfully carried them to church every Sunday. Tiny glowing flames crept along the delicate pages, slowly working their way down the chapters and verses, erasing the familiar words covering the pages. I didn’t know how I felt. I was still in shock. The loss of my faith did not yet seem real to me although my faith had been slowly dissolving for 3 years. My spouse read a eulogy written specifically for our deconversion ceremony while we stood and watched the pages slowly smolder. Our exchristian friend contributed by casting the gold cross necklace she had worn every day for 20 years onto the burning bibles. A solemn stillness fi...

By ThinkTank ~ C hristianity. A belief system based on a god who isn’t there, first humans who never existed, and a savior who is absent from the historical record. The idea that ‘christianity is good’ is a societal delusion that currently enjoys a privileged status. How do I know? I know because I had to read “He is risen!” all day long on Facebook, but I cannot post “He is not risen”. If I did, I would be accused of being hateful, out of line, insensitive, and inconsiderate. I would run the risk of being deleted as a friend and removed from future family gatherings. I noticed that other non religious people also abstained from making “He is not risen” status updates. And why is that? It is because christianity enjoys a privileged status and it’s not worth the social penalty for most people. A group or idea that enjoys privileged status is one that will tolerate no dissention and will actively punish those who challenge it. In the past, ideas that challenged privilege...

By ThinkTank ~ If someone says there is no evidence for the existence of a God, Say, “Our belief in God is a matter of faith.” Do not think about an entire belief system built on faith instead of evidence. If someone says there is no evidence for the existence of a historical Jesus, Say, “Enemies of the cross destroyed the evidence.” Do not think about why ancient historians make no mention of Jesus’ life. If someone says the Bible condones slavery, contains errors, and its teaching is inconsistent, Say, “The Bible is God’s perfect word and mistakes reflect errors in human thinking.” Do not think how permitted moral atrocities must reflect on God’s character. If someone says the earth is billions of years old and humans evolved, Say, “No one can be sure, but maybe God wanted to use evolution to create humans.” Do not think about the implications of no original Adam and Eve. If someone mentions that several studies show prayer is not effective, Say, “God does not need to...

By ThinkTank ~  “Is it all right if we pray for you?” A year ago, we found the courage to tell our families that after 40 years, we were no longer christians. Now my spouse lays unresponsive in the hospital with spinal meningitis . We do not know the pathogen. A common bacterium will be readily treatable. An antibiotic resistant super bug could prove fatal. I send a message to let our still very Christian family know that we are in the hospital. My pastor brother respectfully responds, “Is it all right if we pray for you?” My loving, supportive sister texts me, “I’m praying for you even though I know you don’t like it.” I know my brother and sister love us. I know they feel awkward with our deconversion and don’t have the right words to say. I don’t have the right words to say either. I wonder how I should answer the question, “Is it all right if we pray for you?” I want to say. “No, it’s not all right! The god you are praying to is not real. Prayer does not wo...