By AtheistMinority ~ T ips for staying strong in the Christian religion.

By Carl S ~ O n April 15, 2019, I stood alone at home watching TV as flames engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and wondered: How many children were molested over the centuries within that edifice? After the fire was quenched, donations were requested to rebuild the church. But I don't ever remember any politician or bishop asking for funding to help the victims of clergy to rebuild their lives. “Verily, I say unto you, the Word of God is written not only in consecrated ink on ancient parchment, but in sperm within the bodies of children.” Why are there still Roman Catholics, Baptists, Witnesses, etc? Why, after all the evidence of the rapes and molestations, which keeps accumulating? There has to be more going on than denial. I think one reason is due to selfishness. Behind ignoring the sexual abuse of children is the adherent's attachment to personal pleasurable feelings during church services. The individuals go to experience a special “closeness to God,” they sa...

By 1Life2Live ~ I n this my first YouTube video on atheism , I've tried to give a snapshot of how after 30 years as a professing Christian I came to a final realisation that my Christian reality existed only in my mind. I only recommend this video to those who case more about the truth than about feeling good! My second video is now available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5MIszF522s

By Carl S ~ A fter a hard and bitterly cold winter, at last the shoots of daffodils have started appearing. Days of snow had passed, the rains arrived, and the roads were dry again. Just one week ago from this date last year, it was Easter. Ah Easter, the celebration of spring, of nature's restoration of life! People died over the winter, never to be known again except in memories, but the perennials, unlike humans, have their resurrection. But this year, yesterday, it snowed all day and half the night long. What a disappointment. I said, “Oh dammit,” and I'm not alone. Once again, Nature surprised us. Now, many people still believe a god created this weather system and controls it. Foolish non-observers and non-thinkers. I once had a phone conversation with a pastor. He was talking to me as if I was a kindergarten child, telling me how “proof” for his God is “order in the Universe.” I immediately mentioned exploding stars. But he was too busy preaching, not interested in...

By Tania ~ An excerpt from Alligator Pants: Walking Beyond My Faith I n the bottom of my bedroom closet, there is a box containing a sewing machine. I use it every once in a while to hem a pair of pants or fix a seam somewhere — no major projects anymore. But back in high school? Shiny alligator-print faux leather pants? A long-sleeved leafy autumnal dress with tons of buttons? A bright red and orange Chinese-style dress called a “cheongsam”? Oh, yeah, I sewed it all, and I wore it all, and I was darnproud of it. Nowadays, part of me cringes when I think about that, but another part says, “Well, good for you, young Tania! You did your own thing!” A few years after my sewing days, I read “ The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die ,” by John Izzo, Ph.D. He interviewed a couple hundred people over the age of 60 to hear their suggestions about making the most out of our lives. I wrote down the five points and kept a copy in my wallet for a long time. But the first point didn...

By Tania ~ H ello, everyone, It's been a while.... Over the last seven years, my visits to this site have been with a mixed bag of emotions, let me tell you! Seven years ago, in January 2012, I frantically searched the internet for some website, some writer, some video, some sanity, some clarity...something, ANYTHING that would that would calm my deep, deep fear that Christianity might not be all that I thought that it would be. For about a year, I'd been struggling with my faith; questions kept popping up for me, and the places where I usually got my answers -- church, the Bible, fellow Christians, my "quiet time" with God -- no longer provided enough substance for me. By the start of 2012, my uncertainties were still building up, and the silence from God was overwhelming. The faith of my 28 years toppled. Too afraid to talk with anyone in my real life, I typed in whatever combination of words it was that brought me here to exChristian.net And soon after that...

By Carl S ~ "T hey” said it couldn't be, and then that it couldn't be done. There have always been “they,” saying one shouldn't play god, if man were meant to fly... the human body is holy ergo autopsies are forbidden, curiosity has dire consequences, dogmas should never be questioned. Who hasn't been exposed to what “they” say? We have all benefited from the few who have ignored their voices, gone on, challenging “they.” They said the Hubble telescope couldn't miss seeing a planet so close to Earth. But there it was. NASA named it “Sagan I,” after the scientist who encouraged the search for extraterrestrial life. They said there would never be a propulsion system capable of reaching it. You understand, there's nothing like a “It can't be done” challenge. Eventually a vehicle for space travel was developed, able to go to the planet and safely return within the time span of 30 Earth-years. The rocket blasted off, forgotten over the years. Thus beg...

By Carl S ~ D o not allow yourself to fall into the trap. While you're debating and analyzing scriptures, debating and refuting dogmas, and continually expounding on how and why you have been deceived and exploited by Christianity, you need to wake up to this fact: these are all distractions. They are the whirlpool the religion wants you to be sucked into, where you will be fighting the current. You may consider yourself free, but you serve that master if you are occupied doing these things. Look behind the curtain, and see what's really going on. While apologists, the courts and chambers occupied by those elected by the religious right, and the humanists, progressives, and atheists fight it out using reason and unreason, human rights are being threatened at every level by politically organized and theoretically-determined Christianity. In most cases, they have won and are winning thanks to those who do not vote. A church near home is the only one with a giant wood cross...

By Carl S ~ O ne day I was walking through a barn under construction with 2 or 3 other men. All of a sudden, I woke up in the arms of a man who was carrying me. At this point, we were 80 or more feet out of the building. He told me, “It's a good thing you were out in the open when that falling scaffold hit you; if there was a beam behind your head, you'd be dead now.” Considering the fact I was in the presence of men who had dedicated their lives to, “Having a close relationship with God,” it strikes me as odd nobody said then, or in the following days, that God saved my life, it was the will of God I live, or other pious platitudes. Their reactions were secular, not religious. Would you say honest? Remembering this experience leads me to ask, “Isn't every automatic reaction to tragedy or impending tragedy, a non-religious one? Aren't the first words out of somebody's mouth when tragedy happens, accidents cause loss of limb, mind, life, usually “Oh shit!...

By Dragonfly Lady ~ T here's a lot of media coverage about sexual abuse in catholic churches these days, and I hear a lot of scoffing, pointing and shaming and condemnation in the protestant movements, particularly in the high-profile Evangelical or Apostolic circles. Acknowledging that it happens on their own turf is a different story. So, I've decided to open up and share mine, because I know first-hand what that looks like. So... Deep Breath... There's a picture of me as a little girl. I have it in a photo album I don't look in much and I'm not sure why I keep it. It actually makes me ill to look at it to this day. In the picture, I am about 6 or 7 years old. I am smiling, with an ice cream cone in my hand and a pink bow in my hair with ringlets bouncing around my face. The Shirley Temple-styled curls and bow were done by an aunt for a school play I was in the day before. I wanted to keep them in as long as possible because I thought they were so pretty, de...

Submitted by Andrew Jasko ~ M any religions teach ideologies that psychologically traumatize millions of people. Yet few helping professionals are trained to help people heal from religious trauma. Religious abuse can result in anxiety disorders, PTSD, spiritual suppression, sexual dysfunction, and communal shunning. Indoctrination also results in societal harms such as oppression of women and LGBT communities and climate change denial. When people leave religious total identity systems, they face a major life crisis. The process of transitioning and healing has a general shape and stage-specific challenges. Challenges like grieving the death of god, overcoming fear of hellfire torture, and rebuilding the self-relationship damaged by teachings about sin and surrender of agency are commonplace. How can we help people suffering within oppressive religions? How can we facilitate spiritual and life transition for those questioning their religion? How can we help those in recovery heal fr...