By Ed (Teapot) ~ I n my first post , I talked about my deconversion itself. In this post I wanted to talk about a few things I encountered after my deconversion, and also I wanted to talk about how I became an anti-theist. I know that testimonials and rants are both posted on this site, and this will be something of both. After my deconversion I watched Evid3nc3 ’s videos on his deconversion process and his study of the bible. The subject of Old Testament scholarship comes up in his videos, and he talks about the Documentary Hypothesis . He also speaks of the idea of a simulacrum, something that you treat as though it has some kind of power, and over time you began to react to it as though it really did have that power. I was studying the Bible, and I was reading about Biblical scholarship. One of the books I read was Bart Ehrman ’s “ Misquoting Jesus ”. That book introduces the reader to new testament scholarship, and points out many misconceptions modern people have abo...

By Carl S ~ A publication of the National Resource Defense Council ( NRDC ) arrived recently. In its spring 2014 edition of “On Earth” is an article about Kabira Stokes and her company, Isadore Recycling. What does this article have to do with belief in a hell and it‘s creator? You may be surprised. Isadore Recycling is in the business of recycling e-waste from discarded electronics such as obsolete computers, VCRs , TVs, etc., 10.3 millions tons of it in 2012 in the U.S. alone. But Ms. Stokes isn't into operating a redemption center solely for e-waste. According to the article, “the men working the floor are themselves part of a reclamation project: each of them came to work at Isadore after serving hard time in California's correctional system. But if the word ‘recycling’ means anything to Stokes, it means believing in second chances and salvation.” As Stokes puts it, “It doesn't make sense that just because someone messes up and serves time, we never actually forg...

By Kevin ~ I am 44. I have been at this Jesus thing since I was 12ish. I have been all over the map theologically. Super conservative literal, turbo christian, small church, big church, tongues, no tongues, alcohol is a sin, I have a fridge full of beer, name it I have spent time there. Thirty-two years is a long time. I am convinced we are created. In this journey I keep coming back to that one simple thing. God is real. I feel like I have been through and seen to much to think this is a steady string of coincidences and happenstance. The rest of the stuff? * shrugs* I think a fool would truly believe that the bible we get at the book store is line for line word for word, dot for dot the very true literal word of God. Even if you go back to historical manuscripts, I feel much of it ( if not all )is figurative. I don't know how you could even sleep at night knowing a loving God allows the creation he supposedly loves to be tortured 24/7 for all eternity. That is ...

By David Patrick ~ I found this website only a week or so ago, but have been visiting it regularly to read some of the posts here. I have always been especially drawn to biographical sketches where someone tells their own “story,” because personal stories have always touched me in a special way. “Stories,” sometimes, transcend all of the noise, ingrained beliefs, and potential disagreements that clutter people’s thinking process – including my own. I was raised in a very conservative, evangelical sect known as “ The Assemblies of the Brethren ,” or just “The Assemblies” for short. The Assemblies are biblical literalists, who believe, pretty much, that they and they alone are following the model of the “ New Testament church .” By this, they mean (among other things): that they observe the Lord’s Supper (Communion) every Sunday, and believe this is an observance or “ordinance” of Christ’s command to remember His death and resurrection on a regular basis, until such time as he...

By WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ I read apologetics occasionally, to learn, to discover strengths in the writers’ reasoning and weaknesses in my own. I have no fear of having my head turned, unlike the typical Christian. My reading makes me ever more convinced of my tentative conclusions (and all conclusions in such matters should be tentative). I think it’s truly unfortunate that Christians are advised to avoid heretical material; there’s so much they could learn. Recently I came a cross an interesting apologetics article titled “Unbelievable Unbelief” by Gregory Koukl . His main point is that it should be obvious to atheists that there’s a great deal of evidence for the existence of god ; so much so that he finds their unbelief practically “unbelievable.” What I find fascinating about this essay is that while it was written by an obviously intelligent and articulate man, its reasoning appears pathetically naïve. He makes a big deal about how the universe couldn’t just come fr...

By Carl S ~ T here is NO Word of God; ONLY the Words of Men. It‘s that simple. Get over it. Now go in peace and get on with your life. The greatest hoax ever perpetuated on the human race: this ”Word of God. “We can guarantee that men wrote those words. From the very start, “In the beginning...,” it's obvious. Writers would need a language and the means to impart it in order to write such a statement. In other words, the writers were not there in the beginning before they existed! Those men were just making stuff up to explain the world around them, and maybe having fun to boot. Without proof or questions, they simply declared their most outrageous interpretations to be “the “word of God.” For example, being “authorities” on the word of God, if one of them got sick as the result of eating not fully cooked pork, why then they declared that God forbids the eating of pork! If one of them had an allergic reaction to seafood, then God bans it! And if one really wanted to make a...

By undercover agnostic ~ I t’s been a year since my first journal entry, chronicling my rather surprising and unanticipated de-conversion . Since then, I have continued attending church out of respect for my believing husband. Yet, philosophically, intellectually, scientifically, and morally, I find the teachings frustrating at best. Even the most benign of passages tend to ruffle my agnostic feathers. For example today, the sermon came from the text in Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Can’t go wrong with the beatitudes, right? I mean these are the more kind and gentle words, allegedly spoken by Jesus, and probably the most frequently quoted. I tried—I really tried to keep an open mind and find my own nugget of truth from this passage. Yet, all I felt was disdain because the “truth” claims being made, not only misrepresent reality but they also contradict other scriptures. Let me break it down to two main themes: Being pure in heart and see...

By Joel H. ~ I was just about to leave my brother's wedding reception held at a local banquet/dance hall when one of his friends called me over to talk. He had been trying to convince the bartender to give me a shot of his choice all night and asked why I wouldn't "loosen up a bit." All I said was I just didn't want a drink and that was a good enough reason for me. Besides, I'm only 20 (even if I live in WI) and I've got better things to worry about than how much I can drink. Then quickly they changed the subject and asked me if I liked going to church since his family goes to the same one I do. To his surprise I said no I do not. After I said this, he called over one of my brother's friends and they tried to convince me why I was wrong. They told me I am a loner in need of a group and something to believe in bigger than myself. And this is why I should "like" church, believe in god, and return to Christianity. First off, the reason I...

By Jazzybelle ~ I 'm constantly reminded of how religion works with my family being the primary reason. However, the thing that had helped me see religion in a more positive light is the game known as Okami (if you like Japanese mythology or would like to play a game with an amazing story, this is the game for you). With the use of Okami, I was able to take one of my biggest pet peeves for religion and turn it into a moral lesson for myself as well as those who don't believe in "God". Let's start with where religion primarily comes from. Religion was an explanation for why things were as they are back when science wasn't supplying answers for everything we used to ponder on (Ex: Why is the sky blue and what are the clouds made of? What's beyond the sun that "revolves" around us?"). As science began to answer more and more of the beliefs that were slowly becoming unpopular, the people of religion felt threatened and fought back either...

By Lauren D ~ I can proudly say that I escaped the Christian brainwashing that I endured for over 25 years. My parents were religious, especially my father who tried converted everyone in path to become a born again Christian . Going to church every Sunday was boring and always left me feeling like a guilty sinner. As much as I hated church and all the strict rules, I tried my very best to follow the “straight and narrow path” that God had for me. My main motivation to be a good Christian and go to church was the fear of hell. And boy was it scary! The foundation of my faith first started to crack when I took a Philosophy course in college. My teacher was an atheist and he provoked the class with some great questions that really had me thinking if Christianity was wrong. I went home after school and asked my Dad some of the tough questions I was facing and he always had an answer. Most of his answers included verses from the bible and minimal logic. After the semester ended I ...

By Valerie Tarico ~ U ntil his license was suspended, naturopath John Catanzaro was a role model at Mars Hill Church in Ballard, Washington —a respected contributor to the church’s Resurgence blog, where he urged readers to “know Jesus Christ as a personal Savior, Guide and Friend.” The license suspension came because Catanzaro charged cancer patients thousands of dollars for questionable treatments he developed himself without appropriate research and review. Now Catanzaro’s presence has been scrubbed from church media as leaders move to distance themselves from an awkwardly public transgression of medical and scientific ethics. Unfortunately for them, scrubbing the websites doesn’t change the fact that the Mars Hill worldview is painfully consonant with how Catanzaro practiced medicine—and may have made church members with cancer particularly vulnerable to questionable treatments. The Mars Hill approach to Christianity is built on hierarchical authority, in-group trust, and susp...