By Unoder ~ A s ex-Christians, one thing we’ve all had to contend with at some point is the asinine arguments of Christians in defence of their faith. Whether its arguments with Christian friends, family, or strangers on the Internet, anybody who is not a Christian has attempted (and most likely failed) to reason against the fervent, barely coherent nonsense that passes for most Christian apologetics. What I have discovered from online discussions and speaking to believers is that they always rely on the same old tired arguments, rarely, if ever bringing anything new to the table. With this article, we will look at some of the more common tactics employed by Christians attempting to debate or defend their beliefs in the face of scepticism and why these arguments fail. The Bob and Weave Probably the most common Christian debating tactic is to not actually address any direct questions. We’ve all seen it around here at some point: a Christian comes wading in, fists flying, cocks...

By unoder ~ A s it is, Satan is a being in Christian mythology that needs no introduction. Both theists and non-theists know who he is and what he is supposed to represent. According to Christians, Satan (or sometimes Lucifer ) is the arch-rival to the all-powerful , all-knowing God and actively strives to undo his divine works. God, we are told is the source of everything good, and Satan the source of everything that is evil. We are also told that Satan is extremely influential, that he and his army of demonic minions are constantly roaming the planet deceiving and manipulating people. As such, all evil, death, suffering and unbelief in this world can be attributed to the devil and his schemes. In spite of all this chaos, Christians still believe that their god is in complete control, but for some inexplicable reason, has chosen to keep this cosmic malefactor around even though he could have simply just destroyed him at any time. This, we are told is part of some grand,...

By unoder ~ B elievers often declare that the god of the bible is also a god of promises. These Christians will quote bible verses that speak of abundance and prosperity for those who believe, and this is often used as a device to net new converts. This glorified sales pitch for the religion is usually accompanied with personal anecdotes that outline just how god has enriched the life of the believer in question in situations that range from the mundane to the extraordinary. It is not uncommon to hear stories of healing from terminal illness alongside tales of god helping the believer locate a missing ring or pair of shoes. On the face of it, these anecdotes are compelling and do appear to suggest that maybe there is a supernatural deity that is concerned with the minutiae of his followers’ lives, and to someone who is vulnerable or in need, such tales offer a hope that makes Christianity seem appealing. Indeed, 1 Peter 5:7 exhorts Christians to “Cast all their cares” unto god wh...

By unoder ~ What is a True Christian? O ne of the most popular rebuttals of Christian apologists who visit us here at ex-Christian.net is that ex-believers were never true Christians. Similarly, whenever atrocities committed by Christians in the name of god are mentioned, the apologists tell us that those perpetrators were not really followers of Christ after all, that they were appropriating the Christian message for their own ends and that their warped view of gospel tenets says more about their inherited sinful nature than the true teachings of god. This argument would appear to imply that there is one very simple, unequivocal message within Christianity which is lost on all but True Christians™, but this begs the question, what is a True Christian? The purpose of this article is to try to get to the bottom of this conundrum. A house divided It would appear that the definition of a True Christian depends entirely on whom one is talking to, but it would also appear that in...

By unoder ~ W elcome to the second part of my examination of some of Christianity's most problematic doctrines and tenets. In the first part, I covered Original Sin, the existence of Satan , suffering for god and spreading the word to name a few areas of concern, but it doesn't end there. Read on to find out more. Problem 8 : Demons! Demons! Demons! I know I already discussed Satan in Part 1, but felt this deserved to be addressed separately. Ex- Pentecostal Christians in particular will attest that this strain of the religious virus sees demons E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. Secular music? Demons! Secular movies? More demons! Video games? Demons! Pokemon? Harry Potter ? Anything that people generally enjoy, that makes them happy? Well, you get the idea. Along with the threat of hell and the devil, many Christians see the world we live in as a playground for demons that are lurking everywhere, possessing and deceiving humans. They use fear of possession to try and...

By unoder ~ Introduction I spent a good proportion of my childhood and adult life as a Christian, and I humbly accepted the teachings of the faith without question just as I had been told to do. Any nagging doubts I may have had, I simply pushed to the back of my mind and ignored. Through fear of hell, I dared not question things that didn’t make sense. When teachings threw up more questions than they provided answers, I plodded along regardless, not letting my “imperfect”, prideful human intellect get in the way of god’s “higher wisdom” which required my faith to understand, even when it didn’t make sense. However, the cracks started to form as I began to think critically and look at things objectively. Rather than assuming “The bible is the world of god”, I instead asked “Is the bible the word of god?”. I began to entertain the doubts I once dismissed and, owing a lot to internet resources, learned more and more things that confirmed many of my nagging suspicions and le...