The good news that Jesus taught is that the kingdom of God is within us. That is the gospel. Not the sinners prayer. Take paul's writings out of the bible and Jesus makes more sense. Its not political, its not religious. Cant even do a cult if we love ourselves and each other, as He commands us. Calvin was wrong and a mass murderer. Should never count as a theologian.
Thanks for all that you do Tim! Your honesty, calm nature, etc. Are so needed on this topic and in this world. I am so impressed and thankful for your advocacy for women also!
I remember as a teen the church sent us to the downtown area to preach the Gospel. I felt terrible because I was very shy, I am an introvert. What I did and other teens that followed was to pray for each business. I would come in and asked if we could pray for their business. I didnt dare to tell them to accept Jesus lol, for a while I felt awful, like I wish I wasnt shy and because of me they would burn in hell. But now I think "what the heck? God you made us and knew all this would happen and now the salvation of people is my responsibility?!!!! What the hell. I enjoy every interview, is like food for my mind , keep the good work Tim!
God has a plan but it’s your responsibility to carry it out. _Sorry bro not interested in the position or assignment, but then he knew that because I’m doing exactly as he programmed me_ You weren’t programmed he gave you free will _Excellent I’m exercising my free will and refusing the offer_ He’s going to burn you for all eternity for that!
If it makes you feel any better I’ve always been an atheist, but sometimes I feel like I missed out on having a religious community. All of life’s experiences are valuable and interesting. Even if they are based on myths that you think are true.
@@ohsnapitsmom There is absolutely nothing wrong with tithing. Ex Christian here I still give to this poor village ministry in uguanda that uses my money to buy food or supplies for the children etc I do it because I believe in charity to those who have NOTHING. If you look at tithing like it was a waste of money simply cause your a non believer now, Then you were never truly tithing from an authentic genuine standpoint or goodness in your heart. And that's a shame
@@AntoineM-b7n Tithing is the same as giving to those who are for example about to die of starvation or unclean water or easily cured disease? I don’t think so. Saving a human life like that through a highly efficient organization such as those espoused on the eminent Ethicist Peter Singer’s list cost between $500-$3000. That’s what’s wrong with tithing.
You are helping me more than you know Tim and i appriciate all your work! Testimonies are so powerful. I get to feel not alone in this deconstruction journey.
I recently saw a video put out by a man in the process of deconstructing his faith and he said that if women ever wake up to what Christianity is really about, meaning the whole submission to the husband and dying to self bit, putting everyone else first, free domestic labor, etc - then Christianity will not survive. Let's hope the women wake up sooner rather than later.
I think he means to say he is trying to protect you from eternal damnation. You can see through the mind games of evangelical Christianity, but he imagines a reality in which there is a heaven and hell and a YHWH and all who reject the gospel "whatever that is" are enemies of the faithful and are dammed to hell. You might just let him know that you are thankful for such a caring father and if he really cared he should "man up" take a deep breath and consider the reasons why he thinks you have no hope and no future??? You can then address each of his concerns with a minimum reply of "is that idea true and why?" and make your objective to repair your relationship with him. Let him know you are open to recommitting your life to Jesus once you are convinced of the Christian worldview but you are not open to follow a set of dogmas or claims you believe are FALSE. Let him remain evangelical or he can become agnostic if he studies enough and is open to the truth. You can do as the Christian and "win them over by your love" LOL.... It takes time but only proceed as you are comfortable and let the rest work itself out!!!
It's a strange feeling to understand that our parents , the ones who guided our early life and whom we had so much awe and respect for have been fantasy prone book fanatics entirely dedicated to one particular ancient fantasy book yet they insist all that is the one and only true reality. It's like discovering they only have half a brain. Or that they escaped from a loony bin before you were born.
With the crazed look in the eyes of the members of that religion, and my instincts about people, and how they were trying to explain the talking snake and magic apple story for me, I knew at age sixe this was not going to be something I was going to accept as accurate or ever making much sense.
Yep. Once you realize the Bible isn't reliable, it all collapses . The hard part is being open to that possibility then learning to trust your own reasoning and critical thinking abilities. Once you overcome those barriers, it's all over.
It probably does for a lot of Christians with especially an American evangelical background, when it is so black and white. Either it is a literalist interpretation (read: confessional reading like Pentacostal) of the Bible, or it is nothing but fire and brimstone. It's fragile. There are many Christians however who are both queer and Christians, and who interpret it from a queer perspective. For example Linn Tonstad.
@@smackyay Every sect/denomination has their own particular interpretation. Some are widely different while some only have tiny differences. From one interpretation over to another is often labeled as a re-interpretation. So folks may want to label it something else, though no matter what it's labeled as it still won't make the Bible reliable.
Yes people at my church (pastor's wife, a friend of mine at the time) told me her daughter was raped by a criminal because she wasn't going to church regularly. Even at the time I told her it wasn't her daughter's fault but no one listened to me. Just horrible.
What a b.... of a mother. That is inhuman. No love in that. Blaming her daughter? Cant blame the one who attacked her? Had to make herself feel spiritually superior? Narcissistic, abusive mother, in denial about the trauma her own daughter suffered, while making church an idol.
i can relate to some of the things she said, although i was struggling with my faith for a couple years, the story of Job never sit right with me , but the final nail to the coffin for me was 2016, when i saw the massive support Trump got from christians. specially my family, being a latino that really hurt me. so i thought christians are not good people neither is the religion because everything that Trump stands for is the opposite of what i thought christianity was.
Lovely interview Tim. All the best for your future Steph. You now have the freedom to work life out for yourself, with humility, grace, awe and love. Clearly you are a deep thinker too. Absolutely great.
A real father should be proud when his children are able to think independently and stand on their own two feet out in the real world. If there is a God, and He rejects His children for thinking for themselves, then He is not a loving Father.
Doing great work Tim 👍 I'm loving all the new stuff you're producing lately. And I hope you do get to do the tour you mentioned at the end. Getting to see some of your interviewees in person sounds like a beautiful reunion of sorts for you. Excited for you to experience that !! 😊
Yep "in the beginning" is where the BS belief system begins it's mythical propaganda of lies. How people get past Genesis thinking they've found all the answers (or any answers) is just bizarre.
@@jamesaston410 The word translated as God in Genesis is Elohim, meaning powerful ones. It is plural. That is the Hebrew. "God" may be a mistranslation.
I used to go to church and bible class when i was a child . Never once do i remember anyone questioning the accuracy of the stories. I remember being told that no one could disprove the bible which wrongly convinced me everything in it must be true. I did not realise at that time that how could you prove or disprove some stories in the bible unless yo u had a time machine and knew exactly where and when you were going. Some of the stories looking back you could drive a horse and cart through like why put or would you put or need a tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of eden at all . i cant say everything in the bible is incorrect but there is no way of telling which stories are true and which are false so it cant be relied on for historical information .
The Bible contains a lot of specific names of places, people, cities, descriptions of geographical features, descriptions buildings and architectural sites, etc. If it was made up, it should be pretty easy to disprove some of those. But actually outside historians, archaeologists, etc. corroborate that those things existed the way the Bible describes. Contrast this with the Book of Mormon, for example, where there is zero outside historical or archaeological evidence that those people and places ever existed, and there are a ton of anachronisms.
I did not get this type of religious treatment as a child--but I am struck by the added burden of these beliefs , as if there are not enough problems in daily life without having to live in terror from the Holy Eye In The Sky.
Why did Balaam NOT think his talking donkey was miraculous? Why did he react like it was totally normal? Why would he argue trivialities with a miraculous talking donkey, then insult it and then threaten harm . . . if he thought it was from God? No, he was not being rebellious either since he dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness as soon as the angel appeared, suddenly realizing his mistake. The story ONLY makes sense if read as a fable. Fables of old often had talking animals and listeners played along with the fantastical parts for fun. So what else in the Bible is unmarked fable, myth, legend or metaphor? Maybe a lot. Maybe most of it.
@@mrfabulous4640 OK, a hallucinating prophet I will accept. A type of insanity defence, if you will. And just think, so many apparent contradictions in the Bible could be explained in this manner. For example, the narrator of Genesis must also have been hallucinating when he reports that liquid oceans existed on Earth BEFORE the creation of the sun. Forget that science says the sun came before the earth by a billion years or so but without a nearby the sun, any liquid on a plant would be frozen solid. But all that is OK, it was just a mad narrator.
@@mrfabulous4640You said: "I am saying because he was mad he accepted the super-natural as normative." So, by extension, that would apply to the angel as well? Because he was mad he accepted the super-natural angel as normative? My larger point is Bible contradictions of which Balaam is only one example. How do you explain liquid oceans on earth BEFORE the creation of the sun? Pretty hard to put that one down to madness. You would have to say God himself was mad.
If Hell is real, and the devil is the one who deceives people into going there, isn’t he ultimately the winner in the war for souls? After all, traditional interpretation of the Bible says that more people will end up in Hell than in Heaven. If so, how can we really call Sata
Apologist will rebuttal that of course it’s infallible, the authors were human. However, the story are inspired by God through revelations given by him. It’s not his fault the authors are infallible men, and that the truth reveals itself through faith from God himself.
But the doctrines themselves are also problematic and some of them straight up go against reason and logic, tools we use to discover what is or isn’t true or valid. People lack information and the reason they believe what they do is based on the type of information they come across, they don’t know the vast sea of information that does exist and they selectively are biased; also it’s psychology, we cannot choose or force ourselves to become convinced it’s not possible. And if it is God who decides who believes and who doesn’t, still there is no free will in this respect. Peace.
If your god is omnipotent, why couldn’t he “inspire” a book that did not result in thousands of competing denominations, each one convinced that THEIR ‘interpretation’ of this “inspired word” is the only truth, which has led to a history of horrific persecution and bloodshed among christians themselves.
@@maggiebarrett7300 God does not mind control. The human mind is infallible, and subjectivity creeps into all interpretations, even if God spoke to a person directly, it’s their subjective mind that has to do the understanding. God does not treat us as computers, but as persons with free will, and thus, he may choose to send a message, like I am to you. However, I cannot convey my thoughts directly into you as though you are a part of me, doing so would be a form of slavery. I can only speak, in this case write, and hope my message can be understood. Granted, we both are equal beings. Imagine trying to convey your ideas to a being of lower intelligence. You’d have to keep it as simple as possible, therefore subjectivity has a chance to creep in.
@@sushi0085 “the human mind is infallible”? So the human mind is incapable of making mistakes!!! If your god is omniscient he KNEW that his “inspired word” would lead to christianity’s bloody history. It seems your god was bored so created his own horror movie; well I suppose even sadistic gods must get their entertainment somehow.
@sushi0085 Yahweh isn't real. He's no more real than Anu, Marduk, Baal, El (the father of the gods in ancient Canaan, including Yahweh), Chemosh or any of the other fictional gods from the ancient Near East. Scholarship below. --------------------------------------------------------- According to the general consensus of scholarship *(even critical Christian scholars),* YHWH was originally incorporated into the Canaanite pantheon as a son of the Canaanite high god El before inheriting the top spot in the pantheon and El's wife Athirat (Asherah) before religious reforms "divorced" them. El's pantheon in Ugarit (modern day Ras Shamra in Syria) is called the *Elohim,* literally the plural of El. Interestingly, the Biblical god is also referred to numerous times as Elohim. If you want to see if El is fictional, just read his mythology in the Ugaritic/Canaanite texts. "The mysterious Ugaritic text Shachar and Shalim tells how (perhaps near the beginning of all things) *El* came to shores of the sea and saw two women who bobbed up and down. *El* was sexually aroused and took the two with him, killed a bird by throwing a staff at it, and roasted it over a fire. He asked the women to tell him when the bird was fully cooked, and to then address him either as husband or as father, for he would thenceforward behave to them as they called him. They saluted him as husband. He then lay with them, and they gave birth to Shachar ("Dawn") and Shalim ("Dusk"). Again *El* lay with his wives and the wives gave birth to "the gracious gods", "cleavers of the sea", "children of the sea". The names of these wives are not explicitly provided, but some confusing rubrics at the beginning of the account mention the goddess *Athirat (Asherah),* who is otherwise *El's* chief wife, and the goddess Raḥmayyu ("the one of the womb"), otherwise unknown." *"First, a god named El predates the arrival of the Israelites into Syria-Palestine.* Biblical usage shows El was not just a generic noun, but often a proper name for Israel’s God (e.g., Gen 33:20: “El, the God of Israel”)." "I should add here that it is very clear from the grammar that the noun nachalah in v. 9 should be translated “inheritance.” *Yahweh receives Israel as his “inheritance” (nachalah), just as the other sons of El received their nations as their inheritance (nachal, v. 8).* With this verb, especially in the Hiphil, the object is always what is being given as an inheritance. Thus, Israel is given to Yahweh as his inheritance. ((Here I’m indebted to Dan McClellan.)) It would make no sense for Elyon to give himself an inheritance. Moreover, as I’ve argued elsewhere, it is not just the Gentile nations that are divided up according to the number of the *sons of El.* It is all of humankind, i.e., “the sons of Adam.” This clearly includes Israel. And the sons of Adam are not divided up according to the number of the *sons of El,* plus one (i.e., plus Elyon). They are divided up, according to the text, *solely* according to the number of the *sons of El.* *Thus, that Yahweh receives Israel as his inheritance makes Yahweh one of the sons of El mentioned in v. 8. Any other construal of the text would constitute its rewriting.* A Sumerian hymn speaks to the goddess: “Nanshe, your divine powers are not matched by any other divine powers.” *Does this mean that Nanshe was the high goddess, that there were no gods above her? No, it does not.* Nanshe was the daughter of Enki, the high god. *In Sumerian mythology, as with Ugaritic, Israelite, Babylonian, and others, in the ancient past, the high god (Enki, in this case) divided up the world and assigned his children certain domains.* Nanshe was given a limited domain (the modern Persian Gulf) and was tasked with maintaining social justice there. *This is exactly what we see in Deuteronomy 32 with Yahweh. Yahweh is given a limited domain (Israel) and is given authority over his people, to punish them, as well as to protect and defend them against foreign enemies.* That Yahweh, like Nanshe, is said to have incomparable divine power *does not* mean that he is not subordinate to the high god who gave him his domain. *It is also of note that Nanshe, like Baal, Yahweh, and so many other deities, evolved over time. Her domain increased, and she was promoted in the pantheon (although she never became the high goddess)."* *"The Most Heiser: Yahweh and Elyon in Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32 - Religion at the Margins"* based on the *majority scholarly consensus.* (Written by Thom Stark who is a Christian) *"Michael Heiser: A Unique Species? - Religion at the Margins"* (A second response to Michael Heiser) *"Excerpt from “Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan” by John Day - Lehi's Library."* *"The Table of Nations: The Geography of the World in Genesis 10"* - TheTorah.com (Excluding the short narrative on Nimrod (vv. 8-12), *which appears to be a later addition,* Genesis 10 contains *70* names of nations or cities, a number that was symbolic of totality. Similarly, the descendants of Jacob were *70* in number (Gen 46:37; Exod 1:5), *as were the sons of the supreme Canaanite god El, with whom YHWH became equated.)* *"Polytheism and Ancient Israel’s Canaanite Heritage. Part V | theyellowdart"* (Of course, much of this [i.e., that Israel worshiped El and Asherah alongside YHWH] is really to be expected given that recent syntheses of the *archaeological, cultural, and literary data* pertaining to the emergence of the nation of Israel in the Levant *show that most of the people who would eventually compose this group were originally Canaanite. As the Hebrew Bible notes, the Hebrew language itself is a Canaanite language, literally the “lip of Canaan” (שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן; Is. **19:18**), and so it cannot often be distinguished by modern scholars from other Canaanite inscriptions on purely linguistic grounds.)* *"Ugarit - New World Encyclopedia"* (Ugaritic religion centered on the chief god, Ilu or El, whose titles included "Father of mankind" and "Creator of the creation." The Court of El was referred to as the (plural) 'lhm or ***Elohim,*** a word ***later used by the biblical writers to describe the Hebrew deity*** and translated into English as "God," in the singular. El, which was ***also the name of the God of Abraham,*** was described as an aged deity with white hair, seated on a throne.) *"Mark Smith: Yahweh as El’s Son & Yahweh’s Ascendency - Lehi's Library"* (Mark Smith is a Catholic) *"God, Gods, and Sons (and Daughters) of God in the Hebrew Bible. Part III | theyellowdart"* *"02 | December | 2009 | Daniel O. McClellan - Psalm 82"* (Daniel McClellan is a Mormon) *"Elohim | Daniel O. McClellan"* (Refer to the article "Angels and Demons (and Michael Heiser)") *"God's Wife Edited Out of the Bible - Almost."* (Pay attention to whose wife Asherah (Athirat) is in the Ugaritic/Canaanite texts and how she became the wife of YHWH/Yahweh) *"Yahweh's Divorce from the Goddess Asherah in the Garden of Eden - Mythology Matters."* *"Asherah, God's Wife in Ancient Israel. Part IV - theyellowdart"* *"The Gates of Ishtar - El, was the original god of the bible."* *"The Gates of Ishtar - Anath in the Elephantine Papyri"* (In addition to Asherah (Athirat) being the consort of Yahweh, it appears some Israelites also viewed the Canaanite goddess Anat(h) as Yahweh's consort) *"Canaanite Religion - New World Encyclopedia"* (Refer to the section "Relationship to Biblical Religion") *"The Syncretization of Yahweh and El : reddit/AcademicBiblical"* (For a good summary of all of the above articles) Watch Professor Christine Hayes who lectures on the Hebrew Bible at Yale University. Watch lecture 2 from 40:40 to 41:50 minutes, lecture 7 from 30:00 minutes onwards, lecture 8 from 12:00 to 17:30 minutes and lecture 12 from 27:40 minutes onwards. Watch *"Pagan Origins of Judaism"* by Sigalius Myricantur and read the description in the video to see the scholarship the video is based on. Watch *"How Monotheism Evolved"* by Sigalius Myricantur and watch up to at least 21:40. Watch *"Atheism - A History of God (The Polytheistic Origins of Christianity and Judaism)"* (By a former theist) Watch *"The Origins of Yahweh"* by Derreck Bennett at Atheologica.
Really? That man is everything that Jesus warned us about! What on earth was your faith in, to start with? That would be interesting to find out about. Did you live in a bubble or something? Trump was always a vile man.
To all atheists who don’t believe in an afterlife. Read the book “Evidence of the Afterlife “ by Dr. Jeffrey Long. He has another book called “God and the Afterlife “ that is also very convincing. I went from being an atheist to a believer after I read these 2 books.
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Nowhere in the Bible does " the sinners prayer " is mentioned. The beginnings of religious trauma.
Bingo!👍
.?when you pray *jesus *becomes your friend-lol some friend -you have to be delusional to believe that--No One Is Coming to Save You--
The good news that Jesus taught is that the kingdom of God is within us. That is the gospel. Not the sinners prayer. Take paul's writings out of the bible and Jesus makes more sense.
Its not political, its not religious. Cant even do a cult if we love ourselves and each other, as He commands us.
Calvin was wrong and a mass murderer. Should never count as a theologian.
Thanks for all that you do Tim! Your honesty, calm nature, etc. Are so needed on this topic and in this world. I am so impressed and thankful for your advocacy for women also!
I remember as a teen the church sent us to the downtown area to preach the Gospel. I felt terrible because I was very shy, I am an introvert. What I did and other teens that followed was to pray for each business. I would come in and asked if we could pray for their business. I didnt dare to tell them to accept Jesus lol, for a while I felt awful, like I wish I wasnt shy and because of me they would burn in hell. But now I think "what the heck? God you made us and knew all this would happen and now the salvation of people is my responsibility?!!!! What the hell. I enjoy every interview, is like food for my mind , keep the good work Tim!
Yeah. That burden was on me since i was four. I am still a Christian, but unrecognisable to what i used to be.
God has a plan but it’s your responsibility to carry it out.
_Sorry bro not interested in the position or assignment, but then he knew that because I’m doing exactly as he programmed me_
You weren’t programmed he gave you free will
_Excellent I’m exercising my free will and refusing the offer_
He’s going to burn you for all eternity for that!
Wow, i can relate to most of this. It frustrating to think of all the time and energy i wasted 😮😅
Same. And how bout all that tithe $$$$$$ ?!?! Makes me sick
If it makes you feel any better I’ve always been an atheist, but sometimes I feel like I missed out on having a religious community. All of life’s experiences are valuable and interesting. Even if they are based on myths that you think are true.
Thats 100% true...
@@ohsnapitsmom
There is absolutely nothing wrong with tithing.
Ex Christian here
I still give to this poor village ministry in uguanda that uses my money to buy food or supplies for the children etc
I do it because I believe in charity to those who have NOTHING. If you look at tithing like it was a waste of money simply cause your a non believer now,
Then you were never truly tithing from an authentic genuine standpoint or goodness in your heart. And that's a shame
@@AntoineM-b7n Tithing is the same as giving to those who are for example about to die of starvation or unclean water or easily cured disease? I don’t think so. Saving a human life like that through a highly efficient organization such as those espoused on the eminent Ethicist Peter Singer’s list cost between $500-$3000. That’s what’s wrong with tithing.
You are helping me more than you know Tim and i appriciate all your work! Testimonies are so powerful. I get to feel not alone in this deconstruction journey.
We have similar religious backgrounds Steph. I'm in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Thanks so much for sharing your journey! 😊 💖
I recently saw a video put out by a man in the process of deconstructing his faith and he said that if women ever wake up to what Christianity is really about, meaning the whole submission to the husband and dying to self bit, putting everyone else first, free domestic labor, etc - then Christianity will not survive. Let's hope the women wake up sooner rather than later.
What’s the name of the video?
My evangelical dad told me last night that because I’ve rejected god, I have “no hope and no future.”
What a sick, sick religion 😔
I'm sorry he said that. It was cruel.
I think he means to say he is trying to protect you from eternal damnation. You can see through the mind games of evangelical Christianity, but he imagines a reality in which there is a heaven and hell and a YHWH and all who reject the gospel "whatever that is" are enemies of the faithful and are dammed to hell. You might just let him know that you are thankful for such a caring father and if he really cared he should "man up" take a deep breath and consider the reasons why he thinks you have no hope and no future??? You can then address each of his concerns with a minimum reply of "is that idea true and why?" and make your objective to repair your relationship with him. Let him know you are open to recommitting your life to Jesus once you are convinced of the Christian worldview but you are not open to follow a set of dogmas or claims you believe are FALSE. Let him remain evangelical or he can become agnostic if he studies enough and is open to the truth. You can do as the Christian and "win them over by your love" LOL.... It takes time but only proceed as you are comfortable and let the rest work itself out!!!
No love like Christian love!
Tell your father that because he rejected Odin he is in on his way to Helheim to meet the death godess Hel if he doesnt repent.
It's a strange feeling to understand that our parents , the ones who guided our early life and whom we had so much awe and respect for have been fantasy prone book fanatics entirely dedicated to one particular ancient fantasy book yet they insist all that is the one and only true reality.
It's like discovering they only have half a brain. Or that they escaped from a loony bin before you were born.
Great interview.
Thanks Steph and Tim. 🙏
My answer is that my moral compass is love.
With the crazed look in the eyes of the members of that religion, and my instincts about people, and how they were trying to explain the talking snake and magic apple story for me, I knew at age sixe this was not going to be something I was going to accept as accurate or ever making much sense.
Yep. Once you realize the Bible isn't reliable, it all collapses . The hard part is being open to that possibility then learning to trust your own reasoning and critical thinking abilities. Once you overcome those barriers, it's all over.
It probably does for a lot of Christians with especially an American evangelical background, when it is so black and white. Either it is a literalist interpretation (read: confessional reading like Pentacostal) of the Bible, or it is nothing but fire and brimstone. It's fragile. There are many Christians however who are both queer and Christians, and who interpret it from a queer perspective. For example Linn Tonstad.
@@smackyay So?
@@smackyay
Thinking that a reinterpretation of the Bible equates a new found reliability sounds like illogical dreaming guided
by superstitions bias.
@@FoursWithin It is not a re-interpretation.
@@smackyay
Every sect/denomination has their own particular interpretation. Some are widely different while some only have tiny differences.
From one interpretation over
to another is often labeled as
a re-interpretation.
So folks may want to label it something else, though no matter what it's labeled as it still won't make the Bible reliable.
Yes people at my church (pastor's wife, a friend of mine at the time) told me her daughter was raped by a criminal because she wasn't going to church regularly. Even at the time I told her it wasn't her daughter's fault but no one listened to me. Just horrible.
So God sent a rapist to do his bidding. !?
A Sick and twisted ideology that will never cease to harm believers.
What a b.... of a mother. That is inhuman. No love in that. Blaming her daughter? Cant blame the one who attacked her? Had to make herself feel spiritually superior? Narcissistic, abusive mother, in denial about the trauma her own daughter suffered, while making church an idol.
I am sorry that mum was a church idolising narcissist.
i can relate to some of the things she said, although i was struggling with my faith for a couple years, the story of Job never sit right with me , but the final nail to the coffin for me was 2016, when i saw the massive support Trump got from christians. specially my family, being a latino that really hurt me. so i thought christians are not good people neither is the religion because everything that Trump stands for is the opposite of what i thought christianity was.
Lovely interview Tim. All the best for your future Steph. You now have the freedom to work life out for yourself, with humility, grace, awe and love. Clearly you are a deep thinker too. Absolutely great.
I would love to see you interview people beyond traditional Christian faith
My heart 💔 goes out to your guest Steph. I lost my so sister to suicide. It’s HARD. REALLY HARD. Hugs❣️
Steph and Tim, Thank you
I went to high-school in lancaster. Turkey Hill ice cream was delicious.
Small world.😊
I live in Conshohcken,not far from Reading 😅
thank you for sharing your story with such honesty, courage, and most importantly, with a gentle spirit concerning such a sensitive matter.
Another excellent interview!!
Thank you Steph for sharing the story of your journey through the cult of Christianity.
Lots of good stuff to help those on a similar journey ! ❤
Tim great interview mate .really enjoyed it .❤❤❤💪💪💪
A real father should be proud when his children are able to think independently and stand on their own two feet out in the real world. If there is a God, and He rejects His children for thinking for themselves, then He is not a loving Father.
Doing great work Tim 👍
I'm loving all the new stuff you're producing lately.
And I hope you do get to do the tour you mentioned at the end. Getting to see some of your interviewees in person sounds like a beautiful reunion of sorts for you. Excited for you to experience that !! 😊
Mentally I have been struggling with reconnecting withmyself.
Great talk, Tim !
👍👍👍
"I am God!" Mic drop. Love it!😅
The first paragraph of Genesis is a game stopper for anyone outside the god cult.
First few sentences for me when I was a kid …
“and god said let there be light”
Who was god talking to?
Yep "in the beginning" is where the BS belief system begins it's mythical propaganda of lies.
How people get past Genesis thinking they've found all the answers (or any answers) is just bizarre.
@@jamesaston410 The word translated as God in Genesis is Elohim, meaning powerful ones. It is plural. That is the Hebrew. "God" may be a mistranslation.
Hello, fellow crocheters! 🧶😃
WOW her story from the beginning to the end I definitely can relate to.
"I was asking for stones" so true
I used to go to church and bible class when i was a child . Never once do i remember anyone questioning the accuracy of the stories. I remember being told that no one could disprove the bible which wrongly convinced me everything in it must be true. I did not realise at that time that how could you prove or disprove some stories in the bible unless yo u had a time machine and knew exactly where and when you were going. Some of the stories looking back you could drive a horse and cart through like why put or would you put or need a tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of eden at all . i cant say everything in the bible is incorrect but there is no way of telling which stories are true and which are false so it cant be relied on for historical information .
The Bible contains a lot of specific names of places, people, cities, descriptions of geographical features, descriptions buildings and architectural sites, etc. If it was made up, it should be pretty easy to disprove some of those. But actually outside historians, archaeologists, etc. corroborate that those things existed the way the Bible describes. Contrast this with the Book of Mormon, for example, where there is zero outside historical or archaeological evidence that those people and places ever existed, and there are a ton of anachronisms.
I did not get this type of religious treatment as a child--but I am struck by the added burden of these beliefs , as if there are not enough problems in daily life without having to live in terror from the Holy Eye In The Sky.
Are any of these downloaded on something like Spotify?
OMG This was an amazing testimony. 🤜🏾💖🤛🏾 Thank you!
Again Tim nailed it. He could have but he didn’t…then when WE don’t, we get a first class ticket to hell from him😂
Why did Balaam NOT think his talking donkey was miraculous? Why did he react like it was totally normal? Why would he argue trivialities with a miraculous talking donkey, then insult it and then threaten harm . . . if he thought it was from God? No, he was not being rebellious either since he dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness as soon as the angel appeared, suddenly realizing his mistake.
The story ONLY makes sense if read as a fable. Fables of old often had talking animals and listeners played along with the fantastical parts for fun.
So what else in the Bible is unmarked fable, myth, legend or metaphor? Maybe a lot. Maybe most of it.
@@mrfabulous4640 OK, a hallucinating prophet I will accept. A type of insanity defence, if you will. And just think, so many apparent contradictions in the Bible could be explained in this manner.
For example, the narrator of Genesis must also have been hallucinating when he reports that liquid oceans existed on Earth BEFORE the creation of the sun.
Forget that science says the sun came before the earth by a billion years or so but without a nearby the sun, any liquid on a plant would be frozen solid.
But all that is OK, it was just a mad narrator.
@@mrfabulous4640You said: "I am saying because he was mad he accepted the super-natural as normative."
So, by extension, that would apply to the angel as well? Because he was mad he accepted the super-natural angel as normative?
My larger point is Bible contradictions of which Balaam is only one example. How do you explain liquid oceans on earth BEFORE the creation of the sun? Pretty hard to put that one down to madness. You would have to say God himself was mad.
@@douglascutler1037unless the first and second chapters were two separate stories. And the original language is very different to English.
Ethopians dieing without Jesus.... Anything wrong with this picture? 😉❤
Ethiopians were Christians before Protestants or Catholics were even a thing.
@@bluecafe509 precisely
If Hell is real, and the devil is the one who deceives people into going there, isn’t he ultimately the winner in the war for souls? After all, traditional interpretation of the Bible says that more people will end up in Hell than in Heaven. If so, how can we really call Sata
1:28:20
Question of the day (paraphrasing): Is there a heaven for turtles?
"God killed someone as a fetus as a punishment for their mom being naughty"
Apologist will rebuttal that of course it’s infallible, the authors were human. However, the story are inspired by God through revelations given by him. It’s not his fault the authors are infallible men, and that the truth reveals itself through faith from God himself.
But the doctrines themselves are also problematic and some of them straight up go against reason and logic, tools we use to discover what is or isn’t true or valid. People lack information and the reason they believe what they do is based on the type of information they come across, they don’t know the vast sea of information that does exist and they selectively are biased; also it’s psychology, we cannot choose or force ourselves to become convinced it’s not possible. And if it is God who decides who believes and who doesn’t, still there is no free will in this respect. Peace.
If your god is omnipotent, why couldn’t he “inspire” a book that did not result in thousands of competing denominations, each one convinced that THEIR ‘interpretation’ of this “inspired word” is the only truth, which has led to a history of horrific persecution and bloodshed among christians themselves.
@@maggiebarrett7300 God does not mind control. The human mind is infallible, and subjectivity creeps into all interpretations, even if God spoke to a person directly, it’s their subjective mind that has to do the understanding. God does not treat us as computers, but as persons with free will, and thus, he may choose to send a message, like I am to you. However, I cannot convey my thoughts directly into you as though you are a part of me, doing so would be a form of slavery. I can only speak, in this case write, and hope my message can be understood. Granted, we both are equal beings. Imagine trying to convey your ideas to a being of lower intelligence. You’d have to keep it as simple as possible, therefore subjectivity has a chance to creep in.
@@sushi0085 “the human mind is infallible”? So the human mind is incapable of making mistakes!!!
If your god is omniscient he KNEW that his “inspired word” would lead to christianity’s bloody history.
It seems your god was bored so created his own horror movie; well I suppose even sadistic gods must get their entertainment somehow.
@sushi0085 Yahweh isn't real. He's no more real than Anu, Marduk, Baal, El (the father of the gods in ancient Canaan, including Yahweh), Chemosh or any of the other fictional gods from the ancient Near East.
Scholarship below.
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According to the general consensus of scholarship *(even critical Christian scholars),* YHWH was originally incorporated into the Canaanite pantheon as a son of the Canaanite high god El before inheriting the top spot in the pantheon and El's wife Athirat (Asherah) before religious reforms "divorced" them. El's pantheon in Ugarit (modern day Ras Shamra in Syria) is called the *Elohim,* literally the plural of El. Interestingly, the Biblical god is also referred to numerous times as Elohim. If you want to see if El is fictional, just read his mythology in the Ugaritic/Canaanite texts.
"The mysterious Ugaritic text Shachar and Shalim tells how (perhaps near the beginning of all things) *El* came to shores of the sea and saw two women who bobbed up and down. *El* was sexually aroused and took the two with him, killed a bird by throwing a staff at it, and roasted it over a fire. He asked the women to tell him when the bird was fully cooked, and to then address him either as husband or as father, for he would thenceforward behave to them as they called him. They saluted him as husband. He then lay with them, and they gave birth to Shachar ("Dawn") and Shalim ("Dusk"). Again *El* lay with his wives and the wives gave birth to "the gracious gods", "cleavers of the sea", "children of the sea". The names of these wives are not explicitly provided, but some confusing rubrics at the beginning of the account mention the goddess *Athirat (Asherah),* who is otherwise *El's* chief wife, and the goddess Raḥmayyu ("the one of the womb"), otherwise unknown."
*"First, a god named El predates the arrival of the Israelites into Syria-Palestine.* Biblical usage shows El was not just a generic noun, but often a proper name for Israel’s God (e.g., Gen 33:20: “El, the God of Israel”)."
"I should add here that it is very clear from the grammar that the noun nachalah in v. 9 should be translated “inheritance.” *Yahweh receives Israel as his “inheritance” (nachalah), just as the other sons of El received their nations as their inheritance (nachal, v. 8).* With this verb, especially in the Hiphil, the object is always what is being given as an inheritance. Thus, Israel is given to Yahweh as his inheritance. ((Here I’m indebted to Dan McClellan.)) It would make no sense for Elyon to give himself an inheritance. Moreover, as I’ve argued elsewhere, it is not just the Gentile nations that are divided up according to the number of the *sons of El.* It is all of humankind, i.e., “the sons of Adam.” This clearly includes Israel. And the sons of Adam are not divided up according to the number of the *sons of El,* plus one (i.e., plus Elyon). They are divided up, according to the text, *solely* according to the number of the *sons of El.* *Thus, that Yahweh receives Israel as his inheritance makes Yahweh one of the sons of El mentioned in v. 8. Any other construal of the text would constitute its rewriting.*
A Sumerian hymn speaks to the goddess: “Nanshe, your divine powers are not matched by any other divine powers.” *Does this mean that Nanshe was the high goddess, that there were no gods above her? No, it does not.* Nanshe was the daughter of Enki, the high god. *In Sumerian mythology, as with Ugaritic, Israelite, Babylonian, and others, in the ancient past, the high god (Enki, in this case) divided up the world and assigned his children certain domains.* Nanshe was given a limited domain (the modern Persian Gulf) and was tasked with maintaining social justice there. *This is exactly what we see in Deuteronomy 32 with Yahweh. Yahweh is given a limited domain (Israel) and is given authority over his people, to punish them, as well as to protect and defend them against foreign enemies.* That Yahweh, like Nanshe, is said to have incomparable divine power *does not* mean that he is not subordinate to the high god who gave him his domain. *It is also of note that Nanshe, like Baal, Yahweh, and so many other deities, evolved over time. Her domain increased, and she was promoted in the pantheon (although she never became the high goddess)."*
*"The Most Heiser: Yahweh and Elyon in Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32 - Religion at the Margins"* based on the *majority scholarly consensus.*
(Written by Thom Stark who is a Christian)
*"Michael Heiser: A Unique Species? - Religion at the Margins"*
(A second response to Michael Heiser)
*"Excerpt from “Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan” by John Day - Lehi's Library."*
*"The Table of Nations: The Geography of the World in Genesis 10"* - TheTorah.com
(Excluding the short narrative on Nimrod (vv. 8-12), *which appears to be a later addition,* Genesis 10 contains *70* names of nations or cities, a number that was symbolic of totality. Similarly, the descendants of Jacob were *70* in number (Gen 46:37; Exod 1:5), *as were the sons of the supreme Canaanite god El, with whom YHWH became equated.)*
*"Polytheism and Ancient Israel’s Canaanite Heritage. Part V | theyellowdart"*
(Of course, much of this [i.e., that Israel worshiped El and Asherah alongside YHWH] is really to be expected given that recent syntheses of the *archaeological, cultural, and literary data* pertaining to the emergence of the nation of Israel in the Levant *show that most of the people who would eventually compose this group were originally Canaanite. As the Hebrew Bible notes, the Hebrew language itself is a Canaanite language, literally the “lip of Canaan” (שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן; Is. **19:18**), and so it cannot often be distinguished by modern scholars from other Canaanite inscriptions on purely linguistic grounds.)*
*"Ugarit - New World Encyclopedia"*
(Ugaritic religion centered on the chief god, Ilu or El, whose titles included "Father of mankind" and "Creator of the creation." The Court of El was referred to as the (plural) 'lhm or ***Elohim,*** a word ***later used by the biblical writers to describe the Hebrew deity*** and translated into English as "God," in the singular.
El, which was ***also the name of the God of Abraham,*** was described as an aged deity with white hair, seated on a throne.)
*"Mark Smith: Yahweh as El’s Son & Yahweh’s Ascendency - Lehi's Library"*
(Mark Smith is a Catholic)
*"God, Gods, and Sons (and Daughters) of God in the Hebrew Bible. Part III | theyellowdart"*
*"02 | December | 2009 | Daniel O. McClellan - Psalm 82"*
(Daniel McClellan is a Mormon)
*"Elohim | Daniel O. McClellan"*
(Refer to the article "Angels and Demons (and Michael Heiser)")
*"God's Wife Edited Out of the Bible - Almost."*
(Pay attention to whose wife Asherah (Athirat) is in the Ugaritic/Canaanite texts and how she became the wife of YHWH/Yahweh)
*"Yahweh's Divorce from the Goddess Asherah in the Garden of Eden - Mythology Matters."*
*"Asherah, God's Wife in Ancient Israel. Part IV - theyellowdart"*
*"The Gates of Ishtar - El, was the original god of the bible."*
*"The Gates of Ishtar - Anath in the Elephantine Papyri"*
(In addition to Asherah (Athirat) being the consort of Yahweh, it appears some Israelites also viewed the Canaanite goddess Anat(h) as Yahweh's consort)
*"Canaanite Religion - New World Encyclopedia"*
(Refer to the section "Relationship to Biblical Religion")
*"The Syncretization of Yahweh and El : reddit/AcademicBiblical"*
(For a good summary of all of the above articles)
Watch Professor Christine Hayes who lectures on the Hebrew Bible at Yale University. Watch lecture 2 from 40:40 to 41:50 minutes, lecture 7 from 30:00 minutes onwards, lecture 8 from 12:00 to 17:30 minutes and lecture 12 from 27:40 minutes onwards.
Watch *"Pagan Origins of Judaism"* by Sigalius Myricantur and read the description in the video to see the scholarship the video is based on.
Watch *"How Monotheism Evolved"* by Sigalius Myricantur and watch up to at least 21:40.
Watch *"Atheism - A History of God (The Polytheistic Origins of Christianity and Judaism)"*
(By a former theist)
Watch *"The Origins of Yahweh"* by Derreck Bennett at Atheologica.
I lost my faith because of Trump!
I would love to hear that story!
Really? That man is everything that Jesus warned us about! What on earth was your faith in, to start with? That would be interesting to find out about.
Did you live in a bubble or something? Trump was always a vile man.
To all atheists who don’t believe in an afterlife. Read the book “Evidence of the Afterlife “ by Dr. Jeffrey Long. He has another book called “God and the Afterlife “ that is also very convincing. I went from being an atheist to a believer after I read these 2 books.
🥱🥱🥱
I'm curious as to what you thought of Steph's testimony in this video?