By Carl S ~ L ucky you to see what humans have never seen in the entire history of humanity! The James Webb Space Telescope is gushing out a constant stream of pictures from the farthest reaches of Space-Time. Some day, it might find the beginning of this Universe as a "Go boom!" followed by multiple orgasms ever since. No good or evil relativity involved. Absurd? So what's the point of it all? I don't see the "point" of any or all of it, just like my life or that of any other organism. While the Webb and Hubble are scanning, analyzing, and photographing, are they looking for signs of "Heaven?" "Since "Heaven" is by tradition, a physical place, with "many mansions," where the hell is it? Billions of people have been told "Heaven is for real," so why can't it be found? Millions of people still believe Jesus and others floated up from Earth, unaided by balloons, rockets, etc., through the clouds, to this ...

By Brad N ~ I t is rare when I find someone with a common testimonial for their de-conversion out of religion, mainly Christianity. I hope to find others who have found freedom from a similar starting point as myself. Here is my story. I grew up non-denomination in a healthy loving home. My parents were regular in their church attendance, prayer, bible reading, and were weekly 10% tithers. I admit that nothing was very striking about my childhood and my parents set a relatively good example. No abuse, very little shame, but a lot of worship music led by trendy Christian rock bands (the Christian band Stellar Kart actually originated out of my church) . Eventually, after I got married, my wife and I found ourselves on a more conservative path and soon became Presbyterian, a denomination that many Christians consider a “stricter” sect of the faith, but still very reputable. I enjoyed my time as a Presbyterian; I started questioning many of the basic beliefs of Christianity I was r...

By MTC ~ I n late 2020 I started talking to my sister again after being on non-speaking terms for several months. She had struggled with alcohol and substance addiction (I was on non-speaking terms with her for other reasons though), but then she "found Jesus" at a local church (which I used to attend, ironically). In January of 2021 after I moved back to my home state and started talking to her again, I chatted with her about my past traumas, humiliations, etc. I was upfront and blunt about "God," and she snapped at me. "HEY! This is a Christian home; we don't cross that line! God is kinder to you than you realize. You're breathing air and have food to eat and a roof over your head!" First of all, what a kick in the face to the countless people who are starving, homeless, died at younger ages than I am now, etc. Second of all, her little lecture was exactly like defending an abusive parent, because even though an abusive parent may do...

By Pinkbunion ~ Hello everyone, this is my first time to post on this forum, and I'm quite nervous about it. I am a former Christian, specifically, Roman Catholic, who fell in the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories artound 2010 while looking up my favorite band. That Internet search result linked the band's name with the Illuminati. So, I ended up on vigilantcitizen.com , got intrigued by the articles, and on it went. These beliefs were pretty much maintained until the year 2020. My deconversion all started last September 2020, when I watched a conspiracy theorist video that exposed the evil of the Old Testament (the video creator was not Christian) and the reasons why some crazier conspiracy theories were false. So, first, I am going to relate what happened to my beliefs from 2010-2014, where it remained the same. Second, I'll discuss what I believed during 2014-2020, where there was a shift in my beliefs and I became more committed and certain of it. Finally, I'll st...

By WizenedSage (Galen Rose) ~ T he believer insists that the universe requires a maker, a god. I would ask him, "How do you know there is only one god?" From what we can see and measure in this world, how can we be sure there are not many gods; perhaps 3 or 4, or 5 or 10, or 30 or 40? How could we know? Perhaps one god created the stars, another created the oceans, another the land, another the plants, another the animals, etc. How could we know? Can we be sure this is not the case? Even the Bible suggests there is more than one god. In the Psalms, there are these passages: “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord” (86:8); “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods” (96:4); “Our Lord is above all gods” (135:5); “He is exalted above all gods” (97:7); “For Yahweh is a great god, and a great king above all gods” (95:3). In Exodus Yahweh predicts that he will execute judgments “on all the gods of Egypt” (12:12). ...

By Carl S ~ I 'm married to a Christian woman. We've been married for over 26 years now. I'm just now asking myself how she puts up with my outspokenness. Our relationship began when she responded to my description of myself in a "Personals" column she read in the newspaper. She said all the guys mentioned their physiques and/or money, stuff like that, but she liked my frankness. (She forgot I also mentioned, "Tired of Platonic relationships.") The second night we went out together, I told her, "I'm not a Christian," knowing that was important to her. She answered that she didn't consider it a problem. After we were married, I'd attend church services with her, and remembered after one of them, saying, "These people act as if they really believe this." Attendance with her went on for years, and since we moved, this meant two or more congregations, until she settled for one in particular. Even then, after one service, I to...

By Merle Hertzler ( https://mindsetfree.blog/ ) ~ I learned early that I was not to question my religion. I was to simply have faith. And yet somehow the questions would still come. I would sometimes question the Bible. How did we know it was God’s Word? I would sometimes question Jesus. How did we know he was God? I never dared to ask these questions out loud, but in my own mind, yes, I asked these questions often. The questions demanded attention. But simultaneously, there was always the nagging fear of what would happen if I died while I was in a state that questioned the faith. I simply could not take that chance. The consequences of dying in doubt could well be unimaginable. So, I asked questions, yes, but I always knew what the answer needed to be. The side of my mind that argued for Christ had to beat out the side that argued against. It is as if my mind included an advocate for the faith, an advocate against the faith, and a referee. The referee always sided with the adv...

By Neal Stone ~ S o, you finally got to where you realized what you believed all these years has turned out to be nothing more than man made crap. You have decided to take the big leap and finally set yourself free and leave religion. Now what? What do you do now? How do you deal with this sudden change? Let me throw you some pointers that helped me and a few that I wish I had tried when I made that big leap. 1. Be Angry, Don’t Be Angry Wait what? You will feel a strong loss and realization of all that you have missed out on because of religion. You sacrificed so much for something that didn’t even work; you missed out on living and exploring life around you because you spent all your time at church doing the pastor’s…er…ahem…God’s will. You will be angry, you will be pissed and the desire to lash out and let everyone know how disappointed and upset you are about your realization will be strong. Be angry, process those feelings, and work through it. Feel the loss of what you mi...