By Michael Runyan ~ C hristianity holds out its ultimate reward, eternal life in heaven, like an apple on a stick and claims that it and only it can provide this treat to you. It is a poisoned apple. Consider the possibilities. In heaven, there will be no imperfections, nothing to fix, nothing to improve, nothing to strive for. There will be no comeback stories, no falling in love, no making up after breaking up. There will be no hunger, no one in danger, no one in need, so there will be no satisfaction of helping someone. There will be nothing to tear down, nothing to maintain, and nothing to build. There will be no need to exercise and no need for food or drinks, your spiritual body will be able to exist without them. There will be no golf courses, no bowling alleys, no baseball or NFL. There will be no movies, no pornography, no gambling, no practical jokes, no white lies, and no raucous comedians. There will be nothing to complain about, no tragedies, no death, no dis...

By WP ~ I have been a Christian my whole life but the past two years have completely broken the mind fuck spell I was placed under. Growing up my mom would take me to baptist church in Louisiana. I always hated that because I remember being a 5 year old kid and being screamed at that I was going to suffer for eternity because I was trying to nap during service. Fast forward to high school and a different state and a different church and my story takes a turn. We started going to a church in Las Vegas and it was all the rage. They had the best worship, the best lighting and the best indoctrination program I have ever witnessed. I bought the “truth” hook line and sinker and I fervently dedicated my teenage life to being the best Christian I could be. I was on the worship team and I went to every camp imaginable. My junior year of high school I found out that I suffered from severe depression with some especially bad bouts of suicidal thoughts. At one point I actually tried to ...

By Tim Sledge ~ I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when I stopped believing in the faith that shaped my life. I would compare it to living with a persistent, unrelenting ache, and then one day, suddenly realizing the ache is gone. The disintegration of my faith often felt more like something that was happening to me than something I was doing, and frequently I was startled when I heard myself expressing some new belief that I could not remember consciously thinking about. It would usually occur when I was involved in a conversation about religion, I would express my view on the issue being discussed, and later I would think, “Did I say that? Yes, I did. Is that what I believe? Yes, that’s what I believe now.” I was the one ruminating and contemplating, but as I changed one belief, related topics would reshuffle, and sometimes I was surprised when I heard myself making a statement that represented the results of this quickly evolving process. My brain was realigning what I viewed...

By John Draper ~ T hings were getting dicey. You know me—push, push, push. “So what you’re telling me,” I said to the well-scrubbed missionaries, “is that you can become a God.” “Yes, that’s true,” the thinner of the two missionaries said. “It’s in the Bible.” “Really?” I could see the beefier of the two missionaries looking at my bookcase filled with “anti-Mormon” books and videos. Anything written about Mormonism by non-Mormons is by default anti-Mormon and to be avoided as a product of—for all practical purposes—Satan Himself, prolific trickster. The beefier missionary narrowed his eyes. “Yes,” the thinner of the two missionaries said, pulling his mega-scriptures from his backpack—not just the Book of Mormon but the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants. All three Standard Works. And the King James Version of the Old and New testaments, included because the authorities back in Salt Lake knew the missionaries would encounter  gentiles  like me. It ...

By Michael Runyan ~ I f you were to travel to some parallel universe where Christianity is true, this is what you would find: The Bible contains a lot of scientific facts and explanations that were unknown at the time it was written, but were later confirmed by scientific discovery. Science would have confirmed that the universe and life was created and did not evolve over time. The Gospel books are in agreement on all details of Jesus’s life and ministry. There are numerous accounts of Jesus written by contemporary historians that confirm his existence, miracles, and message. In addition to the gospel books, there are a good number of eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s miracles. Jesus, himself, wrote a creed that was passed on and preserved, and this creed is consistent with the gospel books. The Jewish people, en masse, became followers of Jesus, that is, there is no separation between Judaism and Christianity. Original documents of Jesus’s history were preserved and avail...

By Michael Runyan ~ M any scientifically-literate Christians hold on to their faith while admitting to the truth of biological evolution. This is actually an untenable position. The New Testament scriptures reveal that Christianity is dependent on the Adam and Eve story, not biological evolution, being the literal truth. In Luke 3:38, Jesus’s genealogy is traced back to Adam. If evolution is true, then Adam would have had a father as well. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus is alleged to have made the following statement: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” In this verse, Jesus is showing that he believed in the initial creation story, including the first man, Adam, as a literal historical figu...

By John Draper ~ I belong to a Facebook group called Recovering Ex-Christians. I join in the conversations, even though I don’t think I’m  recovering . Truth is, I  enjoyed  being a Christian. In particular, I enjoyed  fellowshipping  with fellow believers. My last church, for example, was full of love and laughter. The church met in a grange, a two-story box of a building that smelled of scuff marks and Murphy’s Oil Soap. After service, we’d pull the creaky chairs around folding tables and chat and poke fun at one another over coffee and cake. I also enjoyed worshipping God. I felt it. I’d raise my hands and close my eyes and pour forth my adoration. During the confession of sin, I’d go to my knees and place my forehead on the hardwood floor. I was so grateful He saved a wretch like me. I also enjoyed serving God. The church was small enough that the midweek Bible study comprised basically the entire congregation. Together, we’d search the scriptu...

By ex-Pastor Dan ~ I originally wrote this rant back in November, 2017, after the horrible massacre took place in a Texas Church ( http://www.foxnews.com/us/ 2017/11/05/mass-shooting- reported-at-texas-sutherland- springs-church.html ). I was unable to post it here at Ex-Christian.Net at that time due to technical difficulties, so I sent it to a few of my Atheist friends. Now that I am able to access Ex-Christian.Net once again, and since there has recently been a big shake-up at that church, involving the use (or misuse) of donated funds (  http://www.miamiherald.com/ article208913494.html ), I have decided to post it now. November 7th, 2017 - responding to the lunacy that I just read in the local paper! T his week's latest horror is a double edged tragedy. Not only have we seen another, senseless, mass shooting, but many of the victims were innocent, little children. And, where this insanity took place should give any thinking person pause. It happened in a ...

By Carl S ~ T he “spiritual” history of civilization can be a mirror of one's personal experiences: a journey, an undercurrent, even a merry-go-round going nowhere. The spiritual, or “transcendental” (something to do with teeth improvement?), can be quite attractive to an individual or population disappointed or bored by self or everyday living and looking for “explanations.” The siren call of other-reality can be pursued until it morphs into an addiction to delusional thinking, fantasy, a retreat from reality. For those who are very religious, fantasy is an ever-expanding retreat. It appears even liberal Christians don't care what religious addiction one ascribes to, just so long as it remains an addiction. Progressing scientific knowledge, on the other hand, is a process of growing up. So, learn and grow up. A book from many years ago reminded me of our present times. Gore Vidal's historical novel, “Julian,” is based on the writings of that Roman Emperor. Julian wro...

By Carl S ~ M illions watched one morning after the tragic school shooting in Florida. The words of the policeman were displayed beneath him: “Student survived by the grace of God.” He should have added that seventeen students didn't survive by the grace of God. Come to think of it, the media reports on those survivors who thank God their prayers were answered, but they never report from those who prayed and perished. In the spirit of unbiased fairness, they ought to report all the experiences they have time for in their available 7 days, 24 hours per day. We might even hear from survivors who said no prayers at all. The name of God doesn't have to enter into tragic news, since God isn't present when tragedy strikes. No witness reports seeing God preventing harm or doing anything, saying anything, to those who are suffering and dying. Neither are there reports of bullets bouncing off the invisible hands of God, thus shielding the students, nor of bullets being removed...

By Don Shafer - ex Christian, ex pastor, ex idiot ~ I t's true, I am addicted to Christianity, to Jesus, to God, to the church, to the methods and relationships and the high I get from my involvement in that organization. But like any addiction to a harmful substance, it stole from me, and still will if I indulge. I feel the pull - the twinge to get back involved - my consecrated mind speaks to me - it represents the voice I was taught was really the voice of god - "remember the time you had a group of loving Christians gather around you and pray - remember how good that felt?" Yea, it did, but was it because there was a supernatural god there or just because we all respond to loving people who gather around us and lay hands on us. Of course that feels good. We are made for human touch and attention. The problem with it all is that we have been conditioned to equate those moments with an imaginary god that we are taught to picture in our minds until it feels rea...

By Michael Runyan ~ I n 2006, Richard Dawkins gave a talk at Liberty University when a young woman asked him the question, ‘what if you’re wrong?’. His answer has been enshrined in the atheist Hall of Fame, and is shown in this clip: However, there is another way this question could have been answered, as follows:  “What if I’m wrong, well anybody could be wrong, but what I think you are really asking is what if I am wrong and you are right, eliminating the possibility that we are both wrong.  So let’s go with that.  Christianity is correct and spells out the authentic doctrine of the living god.  OK, now let’s suppose you get married and have two children, a son and a daughter. Both become extremely accomplished in their fields of medicine and science, win many awards, have exemplary families, and are loved and respected in their communities and in their churches.  All seems so well.  You and your husband eventually die and ...

By Carl S ~ I 'm eighty years of age, the fourth of five children raised in a Catholic household. Three of my siblings were born eleven to fifteen years before me. My oldest brother, Ray, who had a strong influence on my youth, was the second child born. Serious questions related to the “to be or not to be” choices are focused here unfolding the story of his life, how it was and how it might have been. When Ray was in his thirties, our mother told him something which I consider unnecessary, cruel, and abuisive. She said that while she was pregnant, “your father wanted to have you aborted.” (Of course, my father wasn't thinking “him” at the time.) She did not mention this was during the Great Depression, and my father didn't think he could afford another child then. (The suggestion came from his co-workers, with whom he shared his concerns.) My mother just said, “No.” On many a night, Ray and dad would get drunk and engage in verbal battles for hours. (Ray held resen...

By Carl S ~ A ccording to tradition, the Garden of Eden was a place where no evil existed. No pain, no suffering, no death. Perhaps it's that same “Paradise” Moslems are taught is worth dying for to achieve. They might want to reconsider their desire. The tale of “The Fall” belies the absence of evil there, for how else could two proto-humans discover (through the Tree of knowledge of good and evil) evil, if it wasn't present from the beginning? This story tells of a creator-god who, following creation, pronounces his entire creation “good.” It follows the Tree of Knowlege was good, and therefore, its fruits. The creator's calling attention to the tree in the most obvious way, made investigating the fruit all the more desirable. After all, some of the most unalienable rights we humans possess are curiosity and questioning. And considering those humans involved had neither knowledge nor experience of what “death” meant, we can understand their curiosity to find what ...

By Sunday Silence ~ I cannot do Christianity any more. Its illogical stories, inconsistent standards, and ineffectiveness have become too much for me to continue believing. I struggled with intellectual doubt throughout my 26 year Christian experience. Many of the stories in the Old Testament are troublesome to my conscience and I would never suggest to someone that they use the stories as examples of upright behavior, as many preachers do. The evangelical and fundamentalist churches prescribe bizarre and contradictory remedies to the challenges of individuals and the culture at large. I navigated the doubts for so long yet I still held on to my faith. What finally destroyed it was the experience in my own personal life and that of my family. I tried to do everything that I thought God wanted and that the church prescribed. I was “sexually pure” and saved sexual activity for marriage. I did my best to be honest and live honorably. I tried to care for the poor. I tried not to be ...

By Michael Runyan ~ T he true test of a religion’s truth claims is whether it followers, particularly the most ardent ones, behave in a way that validates the underlying dogma. Christianity fails this test, and it fails it miserably. If a Christian truly believes the doctrine, he will accept that this life is just a brief spec of time compared to the eternity that awaits in heaven. He will also believe that dying is nothing to be concerned about because losing a few years on Earth is nothing compared to the trillions of years to be enjoyed in heaven, and besides, leaving the arduous and stressful existence often experienced in this life to go to a place of eternal peace and joy is a good thing. Further, if our 70 years on this planet decides whether we will spend 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000+ years in heaven versus the same amount of time in hell, it would demand that we spend every living moment making sure that we will go to the right place. All of this fails ...