I always enjoy your videos. I love how you see what needs to be addressed. The things Christians do and say drive me crazy and I’m glad that other people are seeing and hearing these things and trying to expose the hypocrisy. Love you Brandon!!
What I have discovered that was the final straw and made me leave Christianity was when I was no longer useful to the church because of my divorce (which the elders called a gray area for divorce), they dropped me. It didn’t matter that I had been head of the women’s committee for years, that I had worked for over 20 years with children and ran the nursery, I was disgraced and they worked to kick me out. I did not have enough faith. I am sorry, my husband was abusing me and my daughters, emotionally and physically, and I had enough. Faith was not going to make it better. Thank you for your channel. Even though I left the church 17 years ago, it still had a hold until I found that I could do it on my own and did not need the crutch of ‘faith” to support me. I love the deconstructing community. It brings hope and support to so many of us.
sorry you went through such abuse, KK, glad you are out. Just curious - are men who divorce in that church treated the same way as women? Again, glad you took hold of your life and that of your children! :)
@@maggienewton8518 Not the OP, and I don't have scientific data, but here's one anecdote: the interim pastor for my childhood church got divorced from his wife while I was in college. He got some side-eye, but congregants blamed his wife like she was some kind of harpy...even though he remarried a little too quickly afterward, if you catch my drift.
No the men are treated differently. If they divorced it was always that the wife wasn't a good enough Christian, didn't submit enough, was rebellious, didn't have enough faith in Jesus to fix the marriage..... and she will always be blamed for the break up, even if there was no infidelity on her part.... they may even suggest she was dressing or acting too "provocatively" so as to draw unwanted attention from other men..... believe me, in the misogynistic world of the church, the man is never to blame for anything.. it's always the wife's fault. That is such a damaging mindset for women in the church to have, ladies, it's just not worth it in the long run, get out while you can....
I’m surprised that Christians call you emotional- you are very even tempered while talking about your deconversion. That is one of the reasons I enjoy your site so much; it’s logical and succinct.
“When my grandpa passed away, something hit me that I never will not see this person again (aka “I will see this person again”), so I realized, ‘something must be out there.’” Christians: Wow, that’s beautiful (Not my real reason for deconverting, but I could say) “When my dad was killed in action overseas, something hit me that I’ll never see this person again, and I realized, ‘Man, no God must be out there answering my prayers for him to be safe.’” Christians: See, you weren’t intellectually convinced of atheism, it was purely emotional, and emotional reasoning isn’t reasoning!
They told me my grandfather ,who died of Multiple Strokes, was going to Hell because he didn't accept Jesus into his heart. Ta Hell with Christian Doctrine Shit
Yes, I kept on wondering if the double negative was intended or not. In the meantime, make it clear to those that you love that you do love them. That's the interaction you know for sure is real.
Emma Thorne made this comment that seems pretty accurate about celebrities “finding God”, and that’s that it always seems to happen when the celebrity has some controversy surrounding them. Which I think is a pretty accurate take.
I am a Christian and hardly blink when a celebrity becomes a Christian. Of course, I hope that it is genuine, but 90% of them either seem non-Biblical, milquetoast, or they wind up sliding away later. The Bible says that it is the 'off-scouring' of the earth that are the prime candidates for a genuine faith. For example, my friend Glen is a 13 point felon and, by counts, was the 'meanest man in town.' Now, he has a ministry that helps ex-cons find jobs and homeless people to have a place to stay. After God made him sober, he was making some serious big bucks, but now he has a low-paying job in service of others. I am not impressed with any celebrity, but my friend Glen (and so many others like him) are so inspirational to me. Christ is real and He saves lives! He transformed mine! I hope you get to know Him. The Cross is the only means to gain heaven. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
So true! I love Emma's channel. Not to mention her breakdown of Kent Hovind. I find it intriguing that such a problematic person identifies as a Christian and shames his current/past spouses. Kinda fascinating the similarities of these situations. Either the person joins cause they've been problematic and can find forgiveness from a large group, or someone is already a part of that group and finds forgiveness without repenting, using the group as a shield to be proclaimed innocent.
@marthavillegas3662 That's a good point too. There are folks that are genuine, absolutely, but there's clearly a trend of people using it as a "backup plan" or justification for not apologizing/correcting bad behavior. The world is wild
Actors tend to find god when the only acting gigs they can get are Christian movies. Of course the actors always claim they were secretly Christian all the time despite all evidence to the contrary
For the record, Russell Brand is 100% pretending all of this. Dude is a hustler and stated many times that his biggest addiction, more than drugs, is fame and he's never actually overcome it. After the sa accusations, he lost support from the progressive side(his side) Like many addicts, he did whatever necessary to continue to get his fix. He saw how easy it is to manipulate Christians, so he capitalized on it to keep some kind of relevancy. The act has turned into a straight up grift apparently. I hate it because I really liked him before all this. He was funny af and had this very candid, refreshing way of sharing stories about his struggles with addiction that resonate and help reduce stigma. Plus, he and his wife had a foundation for people struggling with addiction, free of cost. I respected that so much, so the direction he's taken has been extremely disappointing and gross.
Brandon, your point at the very end of this video is so spot on: we hear all these stories of people who had no interest in god or religion and god just reveals himself to them in this dramatic way. Meanwhile, lifelong Christian is losing their faith and begging god to reveal himself in similar ways, and they get NOTHING from the heavens. And then their fellow Christians judge them for “putting god to the test” by asking him to show up for them.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. OK, so Brandon 'begs and begs' God to reveal Himself and nothing happens. Do you think that his experience disproves the Bible? Yet, I met Christ the first time I asked. In fact, I have never had even a passing fear of hell and have not doubted my own salvation for a second - not even for one second. That is because I am in continuous fellowship, 'seated in the heavenlies', with Christ - the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God (Romans 8.16). Yet, Brandon 'prayed and prayed' but nothing happened. What does the Bible say about that? James wrote, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." Did Brandon 'ask in faith'? What is begging? For example, if you offered to pay my mortgage and I begged you to pay it, isn't that an insult? Would you not say, "I already told you I would! Do you think I was lying?" Begging is the opposite of asking in faith. If Brandon wants to avoid eternal hell - not just hell, but as one in open rebellion to everything that is good and just - he should ask in faith. You can mock 'faith', but you will wind up in hell if you do! I encourage both you and Brandon to ask in faith saying, "Jesus, if the Bible is real, then I accept your gift of eternal life." Jesus said, "The pure in heart shall see God." I see Him. I know Him. I love Him. He is my best friend. Yet, you have to have a braggart's heart to miss having a pure heart! In other words, Brandon has to claim that his heart was pure. Such boasting is evil. Yet, Christ died on a Cross so that, just by asking (try not begging!), you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
@@kenshiloh Romans 8:29-30, Romans 9 14-18 Nah, Brandon just wasn't predestined obviously. And this is why he has a youtube channel about how the Bible has a verse to substantiate any side.
I'm that lifelong christian. hundreds of my prayers for a sign have been ignored. You'd think at some point god would say even 1 word to keep me in the faith
What is the reason people like that need to meet God? They are losing faith. Why they are losing faith? They want something from life but they are not getting it. Meeting God won't fix it because God does not give what you want. You know what happens when you do meet God? Since God shows more you will see more. More means demons being way more openly aggressive towards you and their tool is emotional manipulation. Now tell me who will person like "lifelong Christian" will follow. Someone who gives what they need but it won't be what you want pretty often or someone who feeds you lies about what you want to be true and says what you want to hear?
When i was baptized it felt magical. I really thought plain water just felt"different" the music playing in the background, 100s clapping. Soon after though the pastor was getting on me cause i didnt stop smoking literally right after that. Well what happened we prayed over you? Well i dunno dude, i guess IT DIDN'T WORK. Then i startee noticing how unpastor like the pastor was. Having us work for the church for free was one thing, but then he moved in this huge house and started having all the congregation work on his house for free, while my grandmom just died who i was living with at the time and he wouldnt help me the least bit when he was living with ppl from the church with his entire family for 2 years free to be able to save up for that huge house, new cars. This is just a summary because things really started getting out of hand. Volunteering took pn a whole new meaning. The. He called me because i had a spare key to let the painters in and because i wasnt atound he said dont bite the hand that feeds you. After years of us all volunteering our time redoing the whole church, he sold it and bought 2 more churches that he live streams to from a total different church, far away so all the ppl that put that time into building there community with unpaid HOURS of work , cant even get there if they dont have a vehicle. When i started noticing elders leave i knew it was a problem.
This is standard procedure for pastors. They love to get all the people with their own businesses doing stuff for them for free. While they are tax exempt themselves and probably make more than their parishioners who they guilt-trip into freebies.
I was having this conversation with a colleague just last night. You are right! The leaders are doing a terrible job. However, Christianity is not about the leaders. It is about God. The Bible is a remedy to the people you describe.
This is why I appreciate how the Jews tackle conversion: you get turned away 3 times before they accept you as a student - you take a year long class about the religion, culture, and different branches - you spend about another year living Jewishly - a group of rabbis meet with you to determine if you really want this and then right before the final step they ask again if you are sure and if you show hesitation they say no
When P Diddy was first accused of abuse against Cassidy, one of the first things he said was "God is working on him or only God can judge me" When in doubt in the black community no matter how how horrible a person you are, claim God and all is forgiven.
Your videos are so great at succinctly explaining what ex Christians feel and has personally allowed me to understand how being brought up in an evangelistic household shaped my mindset. I'd love a video where you critique the "Case for Christ" arguments, thank you.
As a British, I've been aware of Russell Brand for around 20 years. I've always thought there was something shifty about him. He's the kind of man I wouldn't leave in the same room as a woman. If he's the kind of person Christianity attracts, I'm not interested.
When Christians witness that the converted doesn't change & acts exactly the same as nonbelievers, (even though they're supposed to be "new creations") they don't know how to react, so they resort to shaming & judging the converted or lie to themselves that they will change.
They just call it a false conversion. Which, if someone didn't convert "for real" how is that their fault? You can't force yourself to have a "real" conversion or mystical experience.
I want to thank you so much for your videos, Brandon. I just had a fight with my mother the other day about Christianity…she said my way of thinking is messed up and that I’ll be going to hell and that I hurt her by not believing the way she does. I told her how much it hurt me that my entire life she can’t accept that I won’t believe the way she wants me to…she never apologized, just pretended like it never happened. It hurts. But your videos make me feel better. So yeah, thanks again. You’re an amazing person.
What I have found is that when someone coverts or "finds Jesus" there is very little scrutiny about what that means for the person and whether they're sincere about it. Christians will be excited about another soul being saved. But then when that person begins to stray away from the faith, the fallback answer, almost invariably, is that the person was never really saved in the first place. It's neat and tidy and minimizes cognitive dissonance.
If my buddy comes to me and says "hey, I saw a bald eagle today" I'd be like, hey thats cool, those sightings are rare, but im inclined to believe him. If he says "hey, I saw a dodo bird today" Id say, hmmm, well those are extinct. I need more evidence. See how that works?
The past month I’ve been reintroduced to the atheist space on TH-cam and it’s been SO refreshing. No more Sargon, no more Amazing Atheist, no more Armoured Skeptic, just real thoughtful, real levelheaded opinions and views on Christianity (and religion at-large), such as your channel. I feel like I’ve found my people again.
I was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which preaches infant baptism. I was baptized a few weeks after my birth. Note: I was not a believer
Catholics baptize babies for the parents commitment to raise the child in the church. The sacrament of confirmation is when you decide/commit to live as a Christian in your own life.
I always love it when I’m kicking back, watching one of my favorite TH-camrs, and suddenly I get a shout out. Thanks, my friend. And great video. You’ll enjoy my eight part series coming this month about Ayaan Hersi Ali’s CON…version.
Just wanted to say thank you so much for what you do! I don’t think you know how much it means to some of us. I’ve made my journey from being a sheltered non-nominal Christian kid going to college, converted to Catholicism, those answers were also coping so I stopped practicing religiously, then at the three year mark, I found videos from people like you, dark matter, and gut-sick gibon. I wouldn’t have arrived where I am now without all of your help. I’ve always found theology, religion, history, fascinating. Even more now that I’m on the other side my New Year’s resolution is starting my TH-cam channel again and switching the focus from music to honest and in-depth analysis like yours. The quality, the consistency of how much post, how in depth you go without making it boring. I think you’re the best creator on TH-cam within this space. ❤❤
I left my church a long time ago, but i still have a relationship with God. At least when i die, i still have a thread to hang on. I prefer to surround myself with positive people.
Wow this is sad. He faces a terrible loss then reaches out for comfort. Lands into the trap of the false comfort of seeing your lost loved ones after you die. I hope he heals and thinks critically about his newfound "wanted" beliefs.
@MindShift-Brandon Thank you. Love the content. Lee Strobal and his pal J Warner Wallace both need debunked as often as possible. Thanks for all you do!
Calling God's restoration a false comfort sounds pretty superstitious. It's one thing to say there's no evidence to believe in the restoration of earth, another to say it won't happen.
You could have just said so sad that another person who has everything you want does not believe like you. I would start thinking that something is off with my beliefs if that kept happening but hey. But that is just me thinking critically.
@magicw7338 Lmfao. You have no idea what superstitious means then. This would be a skeptical take based on the best evidence I have at the time. He is looking for a security blanket because he doesn't want to deal with the fact there is no evidence for an afterlife and even less evidence for the Bible being true. You are very superstitious if you think the Ancient Goat Herder's Guide to the Galaxy is true. Religion is abuse.
Another one from the dj Khalid of rational skepticism. Thanks for all the work you’ve put in this year Brandon. I hope you, your wife, and your kiddos all have a wonderful next year and stay in good health.
I read the Case for Christ at 14, and then tortured myself in Jesus's name until I was 19, until I actually read the Bible in full in an academic setting... And realized neither Lee nor anyone featured in his book could have legitimately done the same.
There is so much to unpack with this one. "Dinosaurs aren't real but we accept Alexander the Great in history." And I look forward to hearing about that "Case for Christ" book. And I think it's like you said, give it a few months and they'll start to turn on him.
Thank goodness the Holy Spirit has J.W. Wallace and Lee Strobel to both recognize it's slacking on the conversion front and decide to step in and help it out.
“Wether for false motives or true” Oh my God how did you find that Russell Brandt clip that’s hilarious “I’m grifting but Jesus approves” That was amazing
Exactly the same way Elon declared himself a Republican the _literal day_ beforenhis own accusations were revealed. Christians and rightoids (but I repeat myself) are so dang easy to grift, it's a shame I have too many ethics to do it myself.
The Christian confirmation bias regarding the “new tide of Christian conversion” or whatever it was exactly called is so funny. The path to this confirmation bias is: 1. Be right-wing or in right-wing circles and pay greater attention to that than to non-right-wing circles. 2. Latch on to any celebrity that it is expedient in the moment to latch on to. 3. Ingratiate that person into your community. 4. These people, just because of how being a person often works (particularly if you are not resolute and well thought out in your convictions as few celebrities have the time to be), become generally aligned with what you have to say politically and religiously on the more basic things without getting in the weeds on anything more than basically “I like free speech” and “There’s gotta be something out there” 5. “Wow, there’s a big tide towards Christianity among this small handful of people we have been love bombing!” And by the way, the group of converts being nonexistent, small, or large doesn’t in any way prove the truth of Christianity. Islam won’t be automatically true or have the assumption of truth when it becomes the most popular world religion through sheer numbers, nor is Mormonism automatically true because it is racking in converts.
I noticed that many consider the moment someone is baptized to be the moment they converted to Christianity, regardless of the sect or denomination. To me, what makes it even less likely to be true that large numbers of people are converting to Mormonism is that Mormonism actually has the practice of baptizing dead people, as in baptizing them long after they died. The list of baptized dead includes Anne Frank, Adolf Hitler, and Genghis Khan. I wish I was making this up.
Curious to know why he didn't pick Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, or daoism? Could it be that he was already culturalized into Christianity. I find it interesting when believers of Christianity say they're following the true religion and can't name 8 religions outside of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Want me to ruin it for you? he is aware of Sikhism. He once talked about it. He had expressed in the past that he has no problem with God and he actually thinks it would be cool if there was a God. He gravitated towards Christianity because of the whole thing of forgiveness. And since you brought that odd complaint(like would you keep searching if you found something?) can you name all branches of atheism? Can you name which atheism branch you are part of?
When people say that to me, it's usually because they disagree with me on something, and I always ask, "Ooh, what are you going to say in your prayers about me?" That often just opens another can of worms to engage the person in.
I think so. Praying isn't really that much more difficult than doing nothing. That's why it's such a popular option. It's almost exactly nothing but it takes slightly longer.
it was made from the nonbeleiver in the group and then yes ignored by the other two. Most funny to me was how literally every short I watched from Christians who clipped it took the joke out even though its right in the part they show.
"Oh the church hurt you so you left" is supposedly bad but "Oh the world hurt you so you left and turned to God" is supposedly good. Both are "emotional" but one is praised and the other attacked! There is no consistency, only base, ugly tribalism.
I like how the most repetitive commandment from Jesus was , “ love your neighbor as yourself “. But one guy said, thank God not Catholic, then a joke about anal sex. Again this guy can’t even love his fellow Christians. Hypocrisy is beyond belief.
What's crazy is that in the Bible. 1 of the Bible verses goes along the lines of if you die. You can never come back alive. Which goes with alot of people's testimonies of dying, going to hell and coming back again. I can ask some ministers about this but will brush it off and call it a stupid argument.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man goes to hell and Lazarus to Abraham's bosum, the rich man begs Abraham to send him back to his brothers so that he can warn them. Abraham says, no can do. Can't cross that line, you're stuck here--and even if you could come back from the dead, who's to say your brothers are going to believe you? They've already got all the information they need from the Torah; if that's not enough to convince them, coming back from the dead isn't. Funny thing, Jesus was telling this parable when he knew that it was possible to come back from the dead and that indeed that is exactly what he planned to do. Go figure.
Regarding the historical Jesus, I think we have to come to terms with 2 facts: 1. Jesus didn't write anything down. Accounts of who he was and what he did came 30+ years after, and were second hand accounts (except the Gospel of John, which was written 70-110 AD) 2.We see explicitly in the Bible, Paul bashing other denominations of Christians. Most early Christian sects were persecuted to extinction, and had their "holy writings" destroyed. It turns me off to the idea some Christians have that others are doing "Christianity" wrong.
My mom was 35 when she turned evangelical. People were like: "Own, what happened?". It used to upset her. Because nothing had "happened" at the time, except she had been married for 12 years to a gambler, a womanizer, who couldn't keep a job and because she had a son with special needs and a 5 year old daughter and it was 1994 so she couldn't really afford to get divorced. This religion promised to fixed him, and it seemed to work at least superficially for a while. Sometimes it's harder to see the emotional reason because it's not as immediate or clear cut, but it's surely there. Even if it's just a general loneliness or lack of belonging or purpose.
Of course, there is genuine love and friendship with Christ. He died on a Cross so that we may see everything restored (no crime, no liars, no pain). Do not miss it! Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
@@kenshiloh Well, he did a shoddy job of it all. There's crime, liars, and pain all over. Christians even banded together behind one of the biggest lying criminals just a couple months ago!
A person of notoriety joins a "club". The "club" claims an exponential growth spurt, due to the persons followers not really questioning that decision, and thus becoming associate "club" members. A number of "life members" do not keep up their "fees" and openly try to explain the reasons for that lapse, and are called out by the "cub" as being someone who never actually understood the, constantly changing and very definite guidelines of said "club". Hence a "club" member states that we are getting stronger and growing bigger all the time. BECAUSE REASONS and EVIDENCES! Begins "club" ritualistic traditional ceremony in victory.
I find it hilarious when celebrities say they are christian now but do nothing to change their lives styles or give up all they own, and tell us how sinful everything is... righto
The level of hypocrisy that you need in order to justify this belief in Christianity is ridiculous. I even remember very clear when my pastor one day to the congregation said that many people that are not Christian’s say that Christian’s are hypocrites and then follow with, welcome to the club. At least he admitted that we ( I say we because I was part of this church) are all hypocrites. There was not one day that in my church we didn’t criticize other Christian’s. We didn’t criticize atheists because we didn’t know there were atheists in those days.
My mom has recently died, I can't even imagine living in the world without her 😢 But it still didn't make me believe in afterlife. Evidence shows that it's unlikely, and no amount of me wishing it was otherwise will change that
I saw a medium that told me things about my deported boy that she never could've known, so i do kinda believe there's something after this. I miss my son with every ounce of me, so it makes me feel better to think i might see him again. But idk.........i haven't believed in a god in so many yrs, i couldn't have "faith" if i tried 😔
His comedy tells me he converted for the easy money. He knows he has the chops to lead a giant church, so he's taking the easy road. Trust me, there are plenty of his types who won't judge him. They'll gladly follow. That's the beauty of Christianity.
"I don't know much about Baptists. I only know when one of them dies, there's gonna be a barbecue. 'I'm sorry for your loss, but I brought you some crunchy green beans with some ham in it.' I was raised Catholic. How do we deal with our pain? 'ALALALALALALALALALA!' We're the drunkest religion on Earth. It's not our fault, they start us early: 'Body of Christ, here's a chaser, tell your dad I said hi.'" "There are 50,000 religions out there. You know what that means? _Somebody's gonna be wrong!_ There might be a lot of us sitting in Hell one day going, 'Who'd you think it was?' Just tearing up your ticket like you're at the horse track: _'I HAD JESUS!_ It was 6-to-1 when it went off, I don't know what happened! Who knew it was gonna be a giant frog from Africa? I didn't even see it.'" - Billy Gardell
These dudes are so over exuberant. They're like fraudsters shocked that someone is actually dumb enough to fall for their grift and roll out the red carpet in response: "oh, he believes in YOU he believes in you, he believes in YOU brother!" 😂
8:14 And also, the deeds of Alexander the Great, while incredible for an individual, are ultimately mundane. At least when compared to, say, walking on water. As the quote goes, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” so for Alexander a historical account would suffice.
Except Alexander the Great claimed to be the Son of Zeus! I can't believe someone could be so stupid as to use Alexander the Great, as evidence that Jesus was the son of God!!!
The Bible says that creation is extraordinary evidence for God. If you disagree, then on what basis do you trust your own logic over the Bible? For example, can you test your own reason? However, the only way to test your reason - is by using your own reason! Atheism is insanity! Moreover, how many times have you been mistaken in your life? Is it not true that you rely on blind, unwarranted faith in your own intellect? Yet, you can know Christ! If you have lied and stolen, you are not fit for heaven. Yet, Christ died on a Cross so that you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
My basis for trusting my logic over the Bible is that the Bible can say whatever its author(s!) and subsequent translators want it to say. That it claims to be the word of God is not in itself evidence that it is so. Any evidence for its veracity must come from outside the Bible since the Bible is the claim.
to every ark fan, really. Because 2 dinosaurs (raven, dove) are very important in the story. of course, the fans do not care about science anyway. Why would they care about taxonomy.
Doing a series on “the case for Christ” and “the case against the case for Christ” would be very interesting somewhere down the line. You just have a cornucopia of ideas for content. It might be a decade before you ever get anywhere close to running out of material lol
Great show, Brandon! Thanks for putting this together. While listening, I kept thinking about the naive acceptance of what people assume are facts leading to truth, when in reality, all they have are unverified opinions from others that they parrot without making any effort to confirm. Your section on Lee Strobel was a perfect example of this. I read The Case for Christ after at least three years reading many other books and clocking thousands of hours in debates and podcasts. Strobel’s book is honestly a joke if you’ve even scratched the surface of understanding who he is and the events he claims as fact to support his message. The whole book feels like a blender of bias, exaggerated events twisted to fit his narrative, omissions of counterarguments, and, let’s be real, his pursuit of fame. Yet, people take his words as if they were handed down directly by the Almighty. I really appreciate your channel and the thought you put into your content, Brandon. Thank you for doing what you do!
I used to be a scumbag of a human being until i started believing in Zorg. Now i help old ladies cross the street and volunteer at a dog shelter. Praise Zorg for turning my life around, i mean, how else do you explain it? Zorg must be real, i couldn't have done this without him. I had a conversation with my father in law who is a Lutheran Pastor and he really struggled to answer my tough questions, later that day he returned with the book "The case for christ" by Lee Strobel and WOWEEEEEE!!!!! Does that book contain some of the WORST reasons ive ever heard!!!!! I can't believe people try to use that book as a way to convince skeptics. Ive still got it and its full of paragraphs ive highlighted in pink highlighter that i have huge issues with. Its an embarrassing book
I would absolutely love to see you do a breakdown of the book a case for christ. I really enjoyed your breakdown of dissecting the divine. I'd enjoy to see you do it again with a different book. I like the way you explain and articulate things, you always seem to have the right sequence of words that help to express the way I feel on the inside but that I always struggle to express myself out loud. Your videos have helped me understand so much in the past few months. I appreciate your content and am always looking forward to what you will discuss next.
With American Evangelical "Christianity" it goes further. I'd say ONLY rich men enter the kingdom of heaven. They will want to see a full spreadsheet of your current bank balance and total assets, before you get past the Pearly Gates. I'd say a minimum of 50 million $ should cover it.
7:51 There they are… the 4 most common words used by scammers… “if I told you…” (followed by whatever the person wants to hear)… just believe/ do what I say. Yikes!!!
I'm deeply suspicious of anybody that converts as an adult. I'm not talking about former addicts or inmates who use religion as a crutch towards thier recovery, or to find a new family after they've lost thier own. I'm talking about people who suddenly start believing in absurd stories and fantastical claims to the miraculous, where before they appeared to be rational and intelligent. I know that in America, becoming Christian will gain you five new fans for every one you lose, and it's very lucrative. If you've been accused of a 5ex crime, finding Jesus will win you a victory in the court of public opinion, and I can see how that attaractive that can be, but I simply don't believe that anybody over the age of ten has a legitimate conversion story.
Nah, some people go through trauma or have a serious existential crisis, or find community in a church. It's obviously rarer and less reliable than birthing people into it, but that doesn't make it illegitimate.
I became a Christian, briefly, as an adult. In 2020. It lasted around 2 years. No nefarious reason, nothing to cover up. I'm just one of those people who's always willing to keep an open mind. I had started listening to a lot of ex trafficked victim stories, people who had been abused by different organized crime groups. Some of them claimed the perpetrators where tied to Satanism. I didn't believe in Satan or god, but after hearing enough of these accounts, I started to think I might have been wrong about that. On one particular day, I prayed a prayer, crying, to know if jesus and the god of the bible were real. I got off my knees and immediately received a message on my phone, a random message through ebay. (I had been selling things online). The message said "be blessed and know that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior". That was so strange, such a coincidence, I was convinced. I started attending a. Church, Bible study, the whole thing. I really believed for a while. But then the doubts started coming in. The arguments among Christians about Bible interpretation. Reading the Bible and learning what this supposed god actually was like. Etc. It fell apart. All of this to say, my intentions were pure. I wasn't trying to get attention or anything. Most people think belief in the Bible is ridiculous, so I actually was ridiculed more than anything.
@@soulinameatsack29 Funnily enough I briefly considered Christianity in 2020 as well. Actually trying to read the Bible pretty quickly disabused me of that notion, and I don’t mean the Old Testament. Like, Jesus heals a bunch of people which is probably great for them, but it doesn’t actually change anything. It doesn’t change the inequality, sickness and violence rampant at the time and long after, it’s basically just an ancient Mr Beast segment. It seems more about upping Jesus’ cred and fulfilling prophecy than doing something that’ll actually make the world a better place. That being said, I think the only difference between me and you is that I was bookish and introverted enough to start with the Bible first and (unintentionally) bypass the manipulation
These people are converting to the prosperity gospel…. a gospel not of the cross and giving up your riches. This phenomenon is going to grow in America because, as the comedian says, he lost his granddaddy and he wants to see him again. If he had to hate his life a Jesus warns, he wouldn’t convert and doesn’t have to convert because he doesn’t have to spend everything in order to receive the pearl of great price. So his conversion means nothing except to the American prosperity faithful
All you need to see that Christianity is dwindling down is the sparsely populated churches on Sundays. Catholic Masses are now attended almost exclusively by People aged 50 and above. When I was a kid that was not at all the case.
It depends IMO. Just this christmas I went to a brazilian mass (wanted to test my portuguese and spend time with my brother's mother in law) and while not *packed* there was a reasonable amount of young people. Folks online insist that Orthodox churches are swelling, but I kinda suspect if that's happening is that's a fad amongst conservatives, and they're not so much converting nonbelievers as poaching believers from other churches.
@@Colddirector- yeah I go to an Orthodox Church and they’ve had a lot of converts lately. But they’re almost all ex Catholics or ex Protestants. So just mostly just pirating members from other churches
and, by coincidence, it is the best selling g0d of the land the dude lives in. "Grandpa with European and (very distant) African ancestry died in North America. So I feel now the best selling g0d from the Middle East"
I stopped following Russel Brand after he got baptised. He was an interesting figure that, while I didn’t agree with everything he said, he was like that weird New Age guy that wasn’t afraid to call out both sides of the political aisle. But I just couldn’t get on board with this action. For one thing I thought he was doing this disingenuously, and secondly I find Christianity as a concept morally reprehensible. I think by design the faith is genocidal seeking out to destroy the religions of other cultures and homogenising spirituality. I just can’t get behind anyone who would choose to be a part of that regardless of they are being genuine or disingenuous about it.
As soon as you allow yourself to overcome the fear, and start thinking critically, it all falls apart. So, would you say that "God is working on his heart", or "That's the influence of the holy spirit", a form of God revealing himself? If so, then what is the difference between that and simply revealing himself in a way that everyone will unequivocally know that he exists? The first question should dismiss the "he doesn't want robots" argument. In fact, he DOES want robots. That's why his ridiculous rules are absolute, with the ultimate carrot and stick as enforcement of the robots devotion. Just fear of death and punishment. The most likely reason that he doesn't just show himself to all, is that he doesn't really exist, and this is just the psychological manipulations of "holy men" to ensure the influx of adoration, money, protection, and ultimate power over the millennia.
This topic gave us so much to cover today. Hope you all enjoy!
Your channel is goated.🎉
@MindShift-Brandon Yes we do!! Thank you!
Happy New Year Brandon and family!
All the best to you and yours, and may you all survive projects 2025 😊
I always enjoy your videos. I love how you see what needs to be addressed. The things Christians do and say drive me crazy and I’m glad that other people are seeing and hearing these things and trying to expose the hypocrisy. Love you Brandon!!
What I have discovered that was the final straw and made me leave Christianity was when I was no longer useful to the church because of my divorce (which the elders called a gray area for divorce), they dropped me. It didn’t matter that I had been head of the women’s committee for years, that I had worked for over 20 years with children and ran the nursery, I was disgraced and they worked to kick me out. I did not have enough faith. I am sorry, my husband was abusing me and my daughters, emotionally and physically, and I had enough. Faith was not going to make it better.
Thank you for your channel. Even though I left the church 17 years ago, it still had a hold until I found that I could do it on my own and did not need the crutch of ‘faith” to support me. I love the deconstructing community. It brings hope and support to so many of us.
So glad to be a good place for you. Thanks for sharing
sorry you went through such abuse, KK, glad you are out. Just curious - are men who divorce in that church treated the same way as women? Again, glad you took hold of your life and that of your children! :)
@@maggienewton8518 Not the OP, and I don't have scientific data, but here's one anecdote: the interim pastor for my childhood church got divorced from his wife while I was in college. He got some side-eye, but congregants blamed his wife like she was some kind of harpy...even though he remarried a little too quickly afterward, if you catch my drift.
@@presentfuture7563 thanks! Pretty much what I figured. A pastor at that.
No the men are treated differently. If they divorced it was always that the wife wasn't a good enough Christian, didn't submit enough, was rebellious, didn't have enough faith in Jesus to fix the marriage..... and she will always be blamed for the break up, even if there was no infidelity on her part.... they may even suggest she was dressing or acting too "provocatively" so as to draw unwanted attention from other men..... believe me, in the misogynistic world of the church, the man is never to blame for anything.. it's always the wife's fault. That is such a damaging mindset for women in the church to have, ladies, it's just not worth it in the long run, get out while you can....
I’m surprised that Christians call you emotional- you are very even tempered while talking about your deconversion. That is one of the reasons I enjoy your site so much; it’s logical and succinct.
that's what drew me here and what keeps me here :)
appreciate that very much.
It's called copium.
edit: (Ha! 13:39 You said it)
It's the usual tactic of "nyehaha! Nice argument, unfortunately I've already drawn you as the crying soyjak, and myself as the calm, logical wojak!"
"A Case for Christ" for crunchy crispy creampuff Christians ✝️
“When my grandpa passed away, something hit me that I never will not see this person again (aka “I will see this person again”), so I realized, ‘something must be out there.’”
Christians: Wow, that’s beautiful
(Not my real reason for deconverting, but I could say) “When my dad was killed in action overseas, something hit me that I’ll never see this person again, and I realized, ‘Man, no God must be out there answering my prayers for him to be safe.’”
Christians: See, you weren’t intellectually convinced of atheism, it was purely emotional, and emotional reasoning isn’t reasoning!
Spot on.
Exactamundo
Christians act like emotions aren’t valid for deconversion but will brag about how they felt ‘nice’ when they went to a service and converted lol
They told me my grandfather ,who died of Multiple Strokes, was going to Hell because he didn't accept Jesus into his heart. Ta Hell with Christian Doctrine Shit
Yes, I kept on wondering if the double negative was intended or not.
In the meantime, make it clear to those that you love that you do love them. That's the interaction you know for sure is real.
Emma Thorne made this comment that seems pretty accurate about celebrities “finding God”, and that’s that it always seems to happen when the celebrity has some controversy surrounding them. Which I think is a pretty accurate take.
I am a Christian and hardly blink when a celebrity becomes a Christian. Of course, I hope that it is genuine, but 90% of them either seem non-Biblical, milquetoast, or they wind up sliding away later. The Bible says that it is the 'off-scouring' of the earth that are the prime candidates for a genuine faith. For example, my friend Glen is a 13 point felon and, by counts, was the 'meanest man in town.' Now, he has a ministry that helps ex-cons find jobs and homeless people to have a place to stay. After God made him sober, he was making some serious big bucks, but now he has a low-paying job in service of others.
I am not impressed with any celebrity, but my friend Glen (and so many others like him) are so inspirational to me. Christ is real and He saves lives! He transformed mine! I hope you get to know Him. The Cross is the only means to gain heaven. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
So true! I love Emma's channel. Not to mention her breakdown of Kent Hovind. I find it intriguing that such a problematic person identifies as a Christian and shames his current/past spouses. Kinda fascinating the similarities of these situations. Either the person joins cause they've been problematic and can find forgiveness from a large group, or someone is already a part of that group and finds forgiveness without repenting, using the group as a shield to be proclaimed innocent.
Criminals finding God in prison 🤷♀️
@marthavillegas3662 That's a good point too. There are folks that are genuine, absolutely, but there's clearly a trend of people using it as a "backup plan" or justification for not apologizing/correcting bad behavior. The world is wild
Actors tend to find god when the only acting gigs they can get are Christian movies. Of course the actors always claim they were secretly Christian all the time despite all evidence to the contrary
"I don't want to believe I'll never see my grandfather again, therefore God." That argument smells like Copenhagen Long Cut, Matt.
Lol!
It's the Copenhagen interpretation.
It's sad honestly. They use our emotions to enslave us for a false promise
@@justinhart2831 1 Copenhagen 4:20
Incredulity to the max, the refuge of the intellectually-deceased
For the record, Russell Brand is 100% pretending all of this. Dude is a hustler and stated many times that his biggest addiction, more than drugs, is fame and he's never actually overcome it. After the sa accusations, he lost support from the progressive side(his side) Like many addicts, he did whatever necessary to continue to get his fix. He saw how easy it is to manipulate Christians, so he capitalized on it to keep some kind of relevancy. The act has turned into a straight up grift apparently. I hate it because I really liked him before all this. He was funny af and had this very candid, refreshing way of sharing stories about his struggles with addiction that resonate and help reduce stigma. Plus, he and his wife had a foundation for people struggling with addiction, free of cost. I respected that so much, so the direction he's taken has been extremely disappointing and gross.
Brandon, your point at the very end of this video is so spot on: we hear all these stories of people who had no interest in god or religion and god just reveals himself to them in this dramatic way. Meanwhile, lifelong Christian is losing their faith and begging god to reveal himself in similar ways, and they get NOTHING from the heavens. And then their fellow Christians judge them for “putting god to the test” by asking him to show up for them.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. OK, so Brandon 'begs and begs' God to reveal Himself and nothing happens. Do you think that his experience disproves the Bible? Yet, I met Christ the first time I asked. In fact, I have never had even a passing fear of hell and have not doubted my own salvation for a second - not even for one second. That is because I am in continuous fellowship, 'seated in the heavenlies', with Christ - the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God (Romans 8.16).
Yet, Brandon 'prayed and prayed' but nothing happened. What does the Bible say about that? James wrote, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." Did Brandon 'ask in faith'? What is begging? For example, if you offered to pay my mortgage and I begged you to pay it, isn't that an insult? Would you not say, "I already told you I would! Do you think I was lying?" Begging is the opposite of asking in faith.
If Brandon wants to avoid eternal hell - not just hell, but as one in open rebellion to everything that is good and just - he should ask in faith. You can mock 'faith', but you will wind up in hell if you do! I encourage both you and Brandon to ask in faith saying, "Jesus, if the Bible is real, then I accept your gift of eternal life."
Jesus said, "The pure in heart shall see God." I see Him. I know Him. I love Him. He is my best friend. Yet, you have to have a braggart's heart to miss having a pure heart! In other words, Brandon has to claim that his heart was pure. Such boasting is evil. Yet, Christ died on a Cross so that, just by asking (try not begging!), you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
@kenshiloh you've just made a game of making faith the most important thing in existence. you're running in circles to impress yourself.
@@kenshiloh Romans 8:29-30, Romans 9 14-18
Nah, Brandon just wasn't predestined obviously.
And this is why he has a youtube channel about how the Bible has a verse to substantiate any side.
I'm that lifelong christian. hundreds of my prayers for a sign have been ignored. You'd think at some point god would say even 1 word to keep me in the faith
What is the reason people like that need to meet God? They are losing faith. Why they are losing faith? They want something from life but they are not getting it. Meeting God won't fix it because God does not give what you want. You know what happens when you do meet God? Since God shows more you will see more. More means demons being way more openly aggressive towards you and their tool is emotional manipulation. Now tell me who will person like "lifelong Christian" will follow. Someone who gives what they need but it won't be what you want pretty often or someone who feeds you lies about what you want to be true and says what you want to hear?
When i was baptized it felt magical. I really thought plain water just felt"different" the music playing in the background, 100s clapping. Soon after though the pastor was getting on me cause i didnt stop smoking literally right after that. Well what happened we prayed over you? Well i dunno dude, i guess IT DIDN'T WORK. Then i startee noticing how unpastor like the pastor was. Having us work for the church for free was one thing, but then he moved in this huge house and started having all the congregation work on his house for free, while my grandmom just died who i was living with at the time and he wouldnt help me the least bit when he was living with ppl from the church with his entire family for 2 years free to be able to save up for that huge house, new cars. This is just a summary because things really started getting out of hand. Volunteering took pn a whole new meaning. The. He called me because i had a spare key to let the painters in and because i wasnt atound he said dont bite the hand that feeds you. After years of us all volunteering our time redoing the whole church, he sold it and bought 2 more churches that he live streams to from a total different church, far away so all the ppl that put that time into building there community with unpaid HOURS of work , cant even get there if they dont have a vehicle. When i started noticing elders leave i knew it was a problem.
yup, unfortunately all too common.
This is standard procedure for pastors. They love to get all the people with their own businesses doing stuff for them for free. While they are tax exempt themselves and probably make more than their parishioners who they guilt-trip into freebies.
I was having this conversation with a colleague just last night.
You are right! The leaders are doing a terrible job. However, Christianity is not about the leaders. It is about God.
The Bible is a remedy to the people you describe.
@@The_Baby_ChristianThese pastors are committing these abuses in the name of this god.
@@The_Baby_ChristianGod can't keep his own house clean.
8:53 - "just so you don't have to hear the horrific short music that is in everything" Thanks for caring about our mental health.
Matt Rife makes me feel sad, Russell Brand makes me feel disgust.
My thoughts as well.
Don't feel too sad, Rife decided to turn to misogyny because he didn't like having a majority female fanbase.
@@newsystembad Yeah, fellas, is it gay to be liked by women?
I didn't believe Russell brands conversion for half a second 💀
This is why I appreciate how the Jews tackle conversion: you get turned away 3 times before they accept you as a student - you take a year long class about the religion, culture, and different branches - you spend about another year living Jewishly - a group of rabbis meet with you to determine if you really want this and then right before the final step they ask again if you are sure and if you show hesitation they say no
And then you suddenly become Jewish and part of the Jewish nation and then you can move to Israel your homeland and live in Palestinian persons home
When P Diddy was first accused of abuse against Cassidy, one of the first things he said was "God is working on him or only God can judge me" When in doubt in the black community no matter how how horrible a person you are, claim God and all is forgiven.
Forgiven by whom? Also, how is it forgiven?
My white Baptist family say this also.
You summarized one of my biggest gripes ever with Christianity.
Unless you're gay.then you're looked down on😂
And God did. Dude lost everything. God is a patient God.
Your videos are so great at succinctly explaining what ex Christians feel and has personally allowed me to understand how being brought up in an evangelistic household shaped my mindset. I'd love a video where you critique the "Case for Christ" arguments, thank you.
So glad to hear it. Thank you!
I think Paulogia made a video about that.
As a British, I've been aware of Russell Brand for around 20 years. I've always thought there was something shifty about him. He's the kind of man I wouldn't leave in the same room as a woman. If he's the kind of person Christianity attracts, I'm not interested.
Thanks!
Thank you kindly for the support!
When Christians witness that the converted doesn't change & acts exactly the same as nonbelievers, (even though they're supposed to be "new creations") they don't know how to react, so they resort to shaming & judging the converted or lie to themselves that they will change.
Which shows how weak they really are
It depends on how much social power the convert has. If it's a lot, then "the lord uses broken people", if it's not, then the convert is blamed.
They just call it a false conversion. Which, if someone didn't convert "for real" how is that their fault? You can't force yourself to have a "real" conversion or mystical experience.
they start casting stones. Isn't there a verse about how only the sinless can judge others?
I want to thank you so much for your videos, Brandon. I just had a fight with my mother the other day about Christianity…she said my way of thinking is messed up and that I’ll be going to hell and that I hurt her by not believing the way she does. I told her how much it hurt me that my entire life she can’t accept that I won’t believe the way she wants me to…she never apologized, just pretended like it never happened. It hurts. But your videos make me feel better. So yeah, thanks again. You’re an amazing person.
If I remember correctly, that comedian got "cancelled" on the Internet for being sexist, so he will fit in with a lot of Christians.
😁
Very on brand.
Yea but he used to be kind of an edgy left comedian so it's sad to see this
Russell f’n Brand?? OMG that’s the most hypocritical one since Rump. A narcissist doesn’t changes his stripes.
What I have found is that when someone coverts or "finds Jesus" there is very little scrutiny about what that means for the person and whether they're sincere about it. Christians will be excited about another soul being saved. But then when that person begins to stray away from the faith, the fallback answer, almost invariably, is that the person was never really saved in the first place. It's neat and tidy and minimizes cognitive dissonance.
If my buddy comes to me and says "hey, I saw a bald eagle today" I'd be like, hey thats cool, those sightings are rare, but im inclined to believe him. If he says "hey, I saw a dodo bird today" Id say, hmmm, well those are extinct. I need more evidence. See how that works?
The past month I’ve been reintroduced to the atheist space on TH-cam and it’s been SO refreshing. No more Sargon, no more Amazing Atheist, no more Armoured Skeptic, just real thoughtful, real levelheaded opinions and views on Christianity (and religion at-large), such as your channel. I feel like I’ve found my people again.
I wasnt around for the old guard, but im very glad to hear this.Thank you!
I was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which preaches infant baptism. I was baptized a few weeks after my birth. Note: I was not a believer
yup Christians can simply not agree on baptism on multiple levels.
Catholics baptize babies for the parents commitment to raise the child in the church. The sacrament of confirmation is when you decide/commit to live as a Christian in your own life.
I always love it when I’m kicking back, watching one of my favorite TH-camrs, and suddenly I get a shout out. Thanks, my friend. And great video. You’ll enjoy my eight part series coming this month about Ayaan Hersi Ali’s CON…version.
Just wanted to say thank you so much for what you do! I don’t think you know how much it means to some of us. I’ve made my journey from being a sheltered non-nominal Christian kid going to college, converted to Catholicism, those answers were also coping so I stopped practicing religiously, then at the three year mark, I found videos from people like you, dark matter, and gut-sick gibon. I wouldn’t have arrived where I am now without all of your help.
I’ve always found theology, religion, history, fascinating. Even more now that I’m on the other side my New Year’s resolution is starting my TH-cam channel again and switching the focus from music to honest and in-depth analysis like yours.
The quality, the consistency of how much post, how in depth you go without making it boring. I think you’re the best creator on TH-cam within this space. ❤❤
what an amazing comment. Thanks for taking the time. Good luck with your channel too. So glad to have been helpful.
Thanks, Brandon, for all your sensible and rational talks. Happy New Year. I will be tuning in again this year.🎉
Thanks so much. Cheers!
To, “never not see someone again” is to always see someone.
I left my church a long time ago, but i still have a relationship with God. At least when i die, i still have a thread to hang on. I prefer to surround myself with positive people.
There are exactly the same issues in the Muslim apologetic community.
Wow this is sad. He faces a terrible loss then reaches out for comfort. Lands into the trap of the false comfort of seeing your lost loved ones after you die. I hope he heals and thinks critically about his newfound "wanted" beliefs.
Well said!
@MindShift-Brandon Thank you. Love the content. Lee Strobal and his pal J Warner Wallace both need debunked as often as possible. Thanks for all you do!
Calling God's restoration a false comfort sounds pretty superstitious. It's one thing to say there's no evidence to believe in the restoration of earth, another to say it won't happen.
You could have just said so sad that another person who has everything you want does not believe like you. I would start thinking that something is off with my beliefs if that kept happening but hey. But that is just me thinking critically.
@magicw7338 Lmfao. You have no idea what superstitious means then. This would be a skeptical take based on the best evidence I have at the time. He is looking for a security blanket because he doesn't want to deal with the fact there is no evidence for an afterlife and even less evidence for the Bible being true. You are very superstitious if you think the Ancient Goat Herder's Guide to the Galaxy is true.
Religion is abuse.
Another one from the dj Khalid of rational skepticism.
Thanks for all the work you’ve put in this year Brandon. I hope you, your wife, and your kiddos all have a wonderful next year and stay in good health.
Ha! Thanks so much! Cheers
I think it will be a great idea to critique The Case for Christ...I think that would be a very worthy project.
I read the Case for Christ at 14, and then tortured myself in Jesus's name until I was 19, until I actually read the Bible in full in an academic setting... And realized neither Lee nor anyone featured in his book could have legitimately done the same.
There is so much to unpack with this one. "Dinosaurs aren't real but we accept Alexander the Great in history." And I look forward to hearing about that "Case for Christ" book. And I think it's like you said, give it a few months and they'll start to turn on him.
Thank goodness the Holy Spirit has J.W. Wallace and Lee Strobel to both recognize it's slacking on the conversion front and decide to step in and help it out.
😂
Lol!
“Wether for false motives or true”
Oh my God how did you find that Russell Brandt clip that’s hilarious “I’m grifting but Jesus approves”
That was amazing
Pretty darn wild!
A Mindshift video pairs nicely with my morning cup of coffee. Cheers to you, and I wish you a wonderfully happy New Year! :)
Happy new year!
@@seekthevisceral Happy New Year too you too.
@@TonyLambregts *high five*
@@MindShift-Brandon :)
Russell Brand only went “religious” because of the accusations levied against him.
He went full nutter butter.
Exactly the same way Elon declared himself a Republican the _literal day_ beforenhis own accusations were revealed. Christians and rightoids (but I repeat myself) are so dang easy to grift, it's a shame I have too many ethics to do it myself.
Happy new year to you Brandon and family, best wishes and good health ❤
Thanks so much, to you too!
Similarly , the death of my grandfather profoundly affected me too. But I went in the opposite direction.
The Christian confirmation bias regarding the “new tide of Christian conversion” or whatever it was exactly called is so funny. The path to this confirmation bias is:
1. Be right-wing or in right-wing circles and pay greater attention to that than to non-right-wing circles.
2. Latch on to any celebrity that it is expedient in the moment to latch on to.
3. Ingratiate that person into your community.
4. These people, just because of how being a person often works (particularly if you are not resolute and well thought out in your convictions as few celebrities have the time to be), become generally aligned with what you have to say politically and religiously on the more basic things without getting in the weeds on anything more than basically “I like free speech” and “There’s gotta be something out there”
5. “Wow, there’s a big tide towards Christianity among this small handful of people we have been love bombing!”
And by the way, the group of converts being nonexistent, small, or large doesn’t in any way prove the truth of Christianity. Islam won’t be automatically true or have the assumption of truth when it becomes the most popular world religion through sheer numbers, nor is Mormonism automatically true because it is racking in converts.
I noticed that many consider the moment someone is baptized to be the moment they converted to Christianity, regardless of the sect or denomination. To me, what makes it even less likely to be true that large numbers of people are converting to Mormonism is that Mormonism actually has the practice of baptizing dead people, as in baptizing them long after they died. The list of baptized dead includes Anne Frank, Adolf Hitler, and Genghis Khan.
I wish I was making this up.
Spot on
Curious to know why he didn't pick Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, or daoism? Could it be that he was already culturalized into Christianity. I find it interesting when believers of Christianity say they're following the true religion and can't name 8 religions outside of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
You make a valid point.
Want me to ruin it for you? he is aware of Sikhism. He once talked about it. He had expressed in the past that he has no problem with God and he actually thinks it would be cool if there was a God. He gravitated towards Christianity because of the whole thing of forgiveness. And since you brought that odd complaint(like would you keep searching if you found something?) can you name all branches of atheism? Can you name which atheism branch you are part of?
When people say they'll pray for you, do you really think they do that? It's such a typical response and likely means they'll do nothing.
Exactly, like random strangers on facebook commenting, they will pray for a random news story or post about people they dont even know.
They say it to clear their conscience but of course they won't do it.
When people say that to me, it's usually because they disagree with me on something, and I always ask, "Ooh, what are you going to say in your prayers about me?" That often just opens another can of worms to engage the person in.
I think so. Praying isn't really that much more difficult than doing nothing. That's why it's such a popular option. It's almost exactly nothing but it takes slightly longer.
I am SO excited for you to walk us through “The case for Christ” vs. “The case against the case for Christ.”
The jokes they made were interesting. "Save that butthole!!" Like, they were acknowledging what happens in religious circles and just brushed it off.
it was made from the nonbeleiver in the group and then yes ignored by the other two. Most funny to me was how literally every short I watched from Christians who clipped it took the joke out even though its right in the part they show.
@MindShift-Brandon Oh wow. Lol. I guess they want to keep pretending it doesn't happen.
There are no dinosaur bones because THEY ARE STILL AROUND! 😂
Brandon, happy new year - and thanks again for how even-handed and empathetic you are. Really appreciated.
"Oh the church hurt you so you left" is supposedly bad but "Oh the world hurt you so you left and turned to God" is supposedly good. Both are "emotional" but one is praised and the other attacked!
There is no consistency, only base, ugly tribalism.
I like how the most repetitive commandment from Jesus was , “ love your neighbor as yourself “. But one guy said, thank God not Catholic, then a joke about anal sex. Again this guy can’t even love his fellow Christians. Hypocrisy is beyond belief.
I've never seen my great grandparents, therefore they never existed.
What's crazy is that in the Bible. 1 of the Bible verses goes along the lines of if you die. You can never come back alive. Which goes with alot of people's testimonies of dying, going to hell and coming back again.
I can ask some ministers about this but will brush it off and call it a stupid argument.
Yeah it's not really consistent
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man goes to hell and Lazarus to Abraham's bosum, the rich man begs Abraham to send him back to his brothers so that he can warn them. Abraham says, no can do. Can't cross that line, you're stuck here--and even if you could come back from the dead, who's to say your brothers are going to believe you? They've already got all the information they need from the Torah; if that's not enough to convince them, coming back from the dead isn't. Funny thing, Jesus was telling this parable when he knew that it was possible to come back from the dead and that indeed that is exactly what he planned to do. Go figure.
@@theresemalmberg955 and he raised people from the dead. LOL!
Brand's conversion is completely fake anyway, he wants the New Right audience and he tells them what they want to hear.
Regarding the historical Jesus, I think we have to come to terms with 2 facts:
1. Jesus didn't write anything down. Accounts of who he was and what he did came 30+ years after, and were second hand accounts (except the Gospel of John, which was written 70-110 AD)
2.We see explicitly in the Bible, Paul bashing other denominations of Christians. Most early Christian sects were persecuted to extinction, and had their "holy writings" destroyed.
It turns me off to the idea some Christians have that others are doing "Christianity" wrong.
Just discovered your channel recently. Love the videos. Keep it up and Happy New Year to all.
Welcome to the channel and thank you very much!
My mom was 35 when she turned evangelical. People were like: "Own, what happened?". It used to upset her. Because nothing had "happened" at the time, except she had been married for 12 years to a gambler, a womanizer, who couldn't keep a job and because she had a son with special needs and a 5 year old daughter and it was 1994 so she couldn't really afford to get divorced. This religion promised to fixed him, and it seemed to work at least superficially for a while. Sometimes it's harder to see the emotional reason because it's not as immediate or clear cut, but it's surely there. Even if it's just a general loneliness or lack of belonging or purpose.
Of course, there is genuine love and friendship with Christ. He died on a Cross so that we may see everything restored (no crime, no liars, no pain). Do not miss it! Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
@@kenshiloh did he ?
@@kenshiloh Well, he did a shoddy job of it all. There's crime, liars, and pain all over. Christians even banded together behind one of the biggest lying criminals just a couple months ago!
A person of notoriety joins a "club". The "club" claims an exponential growth spurt, due to the persons followers not really questioning that decision, and thus becoming associate "club" members. A number of "life members" do not keep up their "fees" and openly try to explain the reasons for that lapse, and are called out by the "cub" as being someone who never actually understood the, constantly changing and very definite guidelines of said "club".
Hence a "club" member states that we are getting stronger and growing bigger all the time.
BECAUSE REASONS and EVIDENCES! Begins "club" ritualistic traditional ceremony in victory.
I find it hilarious when celebrities say they are christian now but do nothing to change their lives styles or give up all they own, and tell us how sinful everything is... righto
He went into denial after losing his grandfather.
Narcissist gravitate towards Religion.
I was in Christianity from 1983 to 2016. Nothing has changed. When I was new in it, it was the rock musicians. 🤦♀️
Another great one.
Thanks so much
Great video Brandon, thank you ❤
My pleasure, thanks!
The level of hypocrisy that you need in order to justify this belief in Christianity is ridiculous.
I even remember very clear when my pastor one day to the congregation said that many people that are not Christian’s say that Christian’s are hypocrites and then follow with, welcome to the club. At least he admitted that we ( I say we because I was part of this church) are all hypocrites.
There was not one day that in my church we didn’t criticize other Christian’s. We didn’t criticize atheists because we didn’t know there were atheists in those days.
My mom has recently died, I can't even imagine living in the world without her 😢 But it still didn't make me believe in afterlife. Evidence shows that it's unlikely, and no amount of me wishing it was otherwise will change that
I am so very sorry to hear about your loss.
I saw a medium that told me things about my deported boy that she never could've known, so i do kinda believe there's something after this. I miss my son with every ounce of me, so it makes me feel better to think i might see him again.
But idk.........i haven't believed in a god in so many yrs, i couldn't have "faith" if i tried 😔
Now they don't believe in dinosaurs?! Jesus Christ
Happy New Year Brandon!!
Thanks. You too!
@@Hexsmasher2099 Happy New Year to you too.
Matt Rife is very famous? Russell Brand, yes. Never heard of the other guy.
Me too. And except for being accused of sexual harassment and assault I hadn’t heard much from Brand since 2010 before his “conversion”
Thank you for sparing us the Shorts music 💜
I’ve been baptized three times! I’m probably saved even if I don’t believe in god anymore. 🤷🏻♀️
His comedy tells me he converted for the easy money. He knows he has the chops to lead a giant church, so he's taking the easy road. Trust me, there are plenty of his types who won't judge him. They'll gladly follow. That's the beauty of Christianity.
"I don't know much about Baptists. I only know when one of them dies, there's gonna be a barbecue. 'I'm sorry for your loss, but I brought you some crunchy green beans with some ham in it.' I was raised Catholic. How do we deal with our pain? 'ALALALALALALALALALA!' We're the drunkest religion on Earth. It's not our fault, they start us early: 'Body of Christ, here's a chaser, tell your dad I said hi.'"
"There are 50,000 religions out there. You know what that means? _Somebody's gonna be wrong!_ There might be a lot of us sitting in Hell one day going, 'Who'd you think it was?' Just tearing up your ticket like you're at the horse track: _'I HAD JESUS!_ It was 6-to-1 when it went off, I don't know what happened! Who knew it was gonna be a giant frog from Africa? I didn't even see it.'"
- Billy Gardell
These dudes are so over exuberant. They're like fraudsters shocked that someone is actually dumb enough to fall for their grift and roll out the red carpet in response: "oh, he believes in YOU he believes in you, he believes in YOU brother!" 😂
8:14 And also, the deeds of Alexander the Great, while incredible for an individual, are ultimately mundane. At least when compared to, say, walking on water. As the quote goes, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” so for Alexander a historical account would suffice.
100%!
Exactly if Jesus was extraordinary there should be extraordinary evidence not cherry picking of evidence
Except Alexander the Great claimed to be the Son of Zeus!
I can't believe someone could be so stupid as to use Alexander the Great, as evidence that Jesus was the son of God!!!
The Bible says that creation is extraordinary evidence for God. If you disagree, then on what basis do you trust your own logic over the Bible? For example, can you test your own reason? However, the only way to test your reason - is by using your own reason! Atheism is insanity! Moreover, how many times have you been mistaken in your life? Is it not true that you rely on blind, unwarranted faith in your own intellect?
Yet, you can know Christ! If you have lied and stolen, you are not fit for heaven. Yet, Christ died on a Cross so that you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
My basis for trusting my logic over the Bible is that the Bible can say whatever its author(s!) and subsequent translators want it to say. That it claims to be the word of God is not in itself evidence that it is so. Any evidence for its veracity must come from outside the Bible since the Bible is the claim.
What, wait. No dinosaurs on that boat? Maybe you should tell that to that Ken Ark Dude.
to every ark fan, really. Because 2 dinosaurs (raven, dove) are very important in the story.
of course, the fans do not care about science anyway. Why would they care about taxonomy.
moral absolutists tend to be more flexible than the label suggests
Those who are searching for answers will quickly find them provided by the most unscrupulous people.
Goated as always.🎉❤
Too kind, my man. Thanks
Hiya and Happy one!
This was an awesome, much too short, episode.
Hey thanks so much!
Doing a series on “the case for Christ” and “the case against the case for Christ” would be very interesting somewhere down the line. You just have a cornucopia of ideas for content. It might be a decade before you ever get anywhere close to running out of material lol
Looking forward to your video on The Case for Christ. That book is propaganda poorly masked as an honest, open search for truth.
I'm old enough to remember when Manuel Noriega went from Public Enemy #1 to Our Brother in Christ. lol
Great show, Brandon! Thanks for putting this together. While listening, I kept thinking about the naive acceptance of what people assume are facts leading to truth, when in reality, all they have are unverified opinions from others that they parrot without making any effort to confirm. Your section on Lee Strobel was a perfect example of this.
I read The Case for Christ after at least three years reading many other books and clocking thousands of hours in debates and podcasts. Strobel’s book is honestly a joke if you’ve even scratched the surface of understanding who he is and the events he claims as fact to support his message. The whole book feels like a blender of bias, exaggerated events twisted to fit his narrative, omissions of counterarguments, and, let’s be real, his pursuit of fame. Yet, people take his words as if they were handed down directly by the Almighty.
I really appreciate your channel and the thought you put into your content, Brandon. Thank you for doing what you do!
Love hearing all your thoughts. Thanks for the support, friend.
Nice work!
Thank ya much
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COVER CASE FOR CHRIST
I used to be a scumbag of a human being until i started believing in Zorg.
Now i help old ladies cross the street and volunteer at a dog shelter.
Praise Zorg for turning my life around, i mean, how else do you explain it?
Zorg must be real, i couldn't have done this without him.
I had a conversation with my father in law who is a Lutheran Pastor and he really struggled to answer my tough questions, later that day he returned with the book "The case for christ" by Lee Strobel and WOWEEEEEE!!!!! Does that book contain some of the WORST reasons ive ever heard!!!!!
I can't believe people try to use that book as a way to convince skeptics.
Ive still got it and its full of paragraphs ive highlighted in pink highlighter that i have huge issues with.
Its an embarrassing book
I would absolutely love to see you do a breakdown of the book a case for christ. I really enjoyed your breakdown of dissecting the divine. I'd enjoy to see you do it again with a different book.
I like the way you explain and articulate things, you always seem to have the right sequence of words that help to express the way I feel on the inside but that I always struggle to express myself out loud.
Your videos have helped me understand so much in the past few months.
I appreciate your content and am always looking forward to what you will discuss next.
Thanks for the very thoughtful feedback!
His grandpa passed away. 🤦♂️
Something has to exist 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Apparently it is easy for a rich man to enter heaven.
Lol
God failed to calculate the price of fuel to keep the fires in hell burning for all eternity. He needs all the money he can get.
With American Evangelical "Christianity" it goes further. I'd say ONLY rich men enter the kingdom of heaven. They will want to see a full spreadsheet of your current bank balance and total assets, before you get past the Pearly Gates. I'd say a minimum of 50 million $ should cover it.
Those darn wealthy pastors.
@DanielKevin-lg2fb they inherited pre-threaded needles
Happy new year everybody!!
Good to see you here Sauron.
Cheers!
Hey Sauron! Thank you! Almost 8 hours to go for me. ;) A good start into 2025 for you as well. See you here!🎉
@TonyLambregts happy new year Tony 🥂
@SeekingTruth2023 I'll see you in 2025! 🍾🎉
7:51 There they are… the 4 most common words used by scammers… “if I told you…” (followed by whatever the person wants to hear)… just believe/ do what I say. Yikes!!!
I'm deeply suspicious of anybody that converts as an adult. I'm not talking about former addicts or inmates who use religion as a crutch towards thier recovery, or to find a new family after they've lost thier own. I'm talking about people who suddenly start believing in absurd stories and fantastical claims to the miraculous, where before they appeared to be rational and intelligent. I know that in America, becoming Christian will gain you five new fans for every one you lose, and it's very lucrative. If you've been accused of a 5ex crime, finding Jesus will win you a victory in the court of public opinion, and I can see how that attaractive that can be, but I simply don't believe that anybody over the age of ten has a legitimate conversion story.
Nah, some people go through trauma or have a serious existential crisis, or find community in a church. It's obviously rarer and less reliable than birthing people into it, but that doesn't make it illegitimate.
I became a Christian, briefly, as an adult. In 2020. It lasted around 2 years. No nefarious reason, nothing to cover up. I'm just one of those people who's always willing to keep an open mind. I had started listening to a lot of ex trafficked victim stories, people who had been abused by different organized crime groups. Some of them claimed the perpetrators where tied to Satanism. I didn't believe in Satan or god, but after hearing enough of these accounts, I started to think I might have been wrong about that. On one particular day, I prayed a prayer, crying, to know if jesus and the god of the bible were real. I got off my knees and immediately received a message on my phone, a random message through ebay. (I had been selling things online). The message said "be blessed and know that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior". That was so strange, such a coincidence, I was convinced. I started attending a. Church, Bible study, the whole thing. I really believed for a while. But then the doubts started coming in. The arguments among Christians about Bible interpretation. Reading the Bible and learning what this supposed god actually was like. Etc. It fell apart. All of this to say, my intentions were pure. I wasn't trying to get attention or anything. Most people think belief in the Bible is ridiculous, so I actually was ridiculed more than anything.
Religions have had thousands of years to hone the art emotional manipulation. I can't fault someone for falling for it.
@@soulinameatsack29 Funnily enough I briefly considered Christianity in 2020 as well. Actually trying to read the Bible pretty quickly disabused me of that notion, and I don’t mean the Old Testament.
Like, Jesus heals a bunch of people which is probably great for them, but it doesn’t actually change anything. It doesn’t change the inequality, sickness and violence rampant at the time and long after, it’s basically just an ancient Mr Beast segment. It seems more about upping Jesus’ cred and fulfilling prophecy than doing something that’ll actually make the world a better place.
That being said, I think the only difference between me and you is that I was bookish and introverted enough to start with the Bible first and (unintentionally) bypass the manipulation
Thank You
Matt's a smart guy. He'll figure it out - and if he's happy great.
These people are converting to the prosperity gospel…. a gospel not of the cross and giving up your riches. This phenomenon is going to grow in America because, as the comedian says, he lost his granddaddy and he wants to see him again. If he had to hate his life a Jesus warns, he wouldn’t convert and doesn’t have to convert because he doesn’t have to spend everything in order to receive the pearl of great price. So his conversion means nothing except to the American prosperity faithful
Why does it sound like Matt just bought a new pair of Jordans and now he’s showing off?
All you need to see that Christianity is dwindling down is the sparsely populated churches on Sundays. Catholic Masses are now attended almost exclusively by People aged 50 and above. When I was a kid that was not at all the case.
It depends IMO. Just this christmas I went to a brazilian mass (wanted to test my portuguese and spend time with my brother's mother in law) and while not *packed* there was a reasonable amount of young people. Folks online insist that Orthodox churches are swelling, but I kinda suspect if that's happening is that's a fad amongst conservatives, and they're not so much converting nonbelievers as poaching believers from other churches.
@@Colddirector- yeah I go to an Orthodox Church and they’ve had a lot of converts lately. But they’re almost all ex Catholics or ex Protestants. So just mostly just pirating members from other churches
Sounds more of a Grief coping mechanism to get around gramps being dead
and, by coincidence, it is the best selling g0d of the land the dude lives in.
"Grandpa with European and (very distant) African ancestry died in North America. So I feel now the best selling g0d from the Middle East"
I stopped following Russel Brand after he got baptised. He was an interesting figure that, while I didn’t agree with everything he said, he was like that weird New Age guy that wasn’t afraid to call out both sides of the political aisle. But I just couldn’t get on board with this action. For one thing I thought he was doing this disingenuously, and secondly I find Christianity as a concept morally reprehensible. I think by design the faith is genocidal seeking out to destroy the religions of other cultures and homogenising spirituality. I just can’t get behind anyone who would choose to be a part of that regardless of they are being genuine or disingenuous about it.
As soon as you allow yourself to overcome the fear, and start thinking critically, it all falls apart.
So, would you say that "God is working on his heart", or "That's the influence of the holy spirit", a form of God revealing himself? If so, then what is the difference between that and simply revealing himself in a way that everyone will unequivocally know that he exists? The first question should dismiss the "he doesn't want robots" argument. In fact, he DOES want robots. That's why his ridiculous rules are absolute, with the ultimate carrot and stick as enforcement of the robots devotion. Just fear of death and punishment.
The most likely reason that he doesn't just show himself to all, is that he doesn't really exist, and this is just the psychological manipulations of "holy men" to ensure the influx of adoration, money, protection, and ultimate power over the millennia.