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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
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Today's episode focuses on a large part of my Christian upbringing. I was prophesied over at age 11, and it significantly impacted my entire life. Here I break down the prophecy, the different phases I went through, and ultimately the harm from these false "gifts."
I cover the following:
-What Was Prophesied Over Me
-The Story Behind It
-How My Prophecy Affected My Life
-What Role My Prophecy Played In My Deconversion
-Thoughts On Prophecy In General
-My Deconversion
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Other Resources For You:
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:40 Why Am I Sharing This
2:01 What Was Prophesied Over Me
2:35 Background Context
3:52 Intentions
6:17 Phase 1 - Excitement
7:14 Pahse 2 - Trauma
13:15 Phase 3 - Awakening/Deconversion
14:11 Quick Tangent On Prophecy In General
15:32 Back To Issues With My Prophecy
18:30 Phase 4 Acceptance
20:08 Final Thoughts
#personalprophecy #prophecy #christianprophecy #prophecy #mindshift #atheism #atheist #exchristian - บันเทิง
Bit of a different one today, but wanted to share
One can see such prophecy can totally shapes you, inducing anxiety and trauma. Its russian roulette u always lose.
Legends says Brandon still use his knowledge today worldwide for all to see.
@@peterkeller7880ha! Love that last part snd yes right on about the above.
I'm not sure how to put this, but... congratulations on your sanity. And honesty.
Thanks for sharing your personal experience! What you said sounded so familiar to me as a teen in the 80’s.
Thank you, friend.
I don't technically consider myself an atheist. I go by agnostic, because I believe in a higher power, but I reject most religions. And I have huge beef with Christianity and have commented as such on other videos. But this Marcelle guy may have hit on something without meaning to. You are doing great work right now. You're helping pull back the curtain of lies that has been hiding the underbelly of Christianity for so long. You are sharing your story so that others in that same position can feel less alone and have hope for their future. That's pretty powerful stuff. In my interpretation of the divine, They want us to be happy and fulfilled and enjoy our time on Earth. They don't want us to be miserable. I'm of the opinion that you and the other folks sharing their de-conversion stories are helping in that cause. Keep doing what you're doing. You're presence is needed.
I attended a church that held a special event where the Elders prophesied over candidates that fasted and prayed before the event. Lots of things were said over several people. I may even still have the "prophesy" said over me. I don't remember anything coming of it. The church was vibrant with lots going on, but behind the scene there was other stuff going on, too. I started feeling invisible. Then there was a church-split. The facade crumbled. I still held on to my faith, but asked myself, "what does it mean to live by faith?" I started shifting away from Evangelicalism and became a Progressive Christian. Then after being in denial about my sexuality for 40 years, I came out as gay, but still held to my faith. As I studied to figure out how to reconcile my faith and sexuality, I de-converted. From asking the question about how to live by faith and de-converting took 20 years. To put it simply, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! There is much more to my story, but this is enough for now.
Its amazing how long we will hold on to something so obviously false and harmful. Glad youre free
I'm happy that you found the way to live a better life. Because you had the courage to ask questions and search for truth your personal life is better, and our society is better as well. Thank you for sharing something that's so difficult to go through. Peace. 💚🖖
@@_hs.edjw-._du And...? Quoting a bible verse means nothing to me.
@@_hs.edjw-._du Still, you quote another bible verse that means nothing. There is no reason to believe that a god exist, so "his book" has no meaning other than some interesting stories and maybe a few principles that can be helpful. Other parts of the book are made up mythology. Not history.
@@_hs.edjw-._duso you're saying gods plan A didn't work so he went to plan B? Seems like your all knowing god Fth up that's not good, how do we know plan B will work 😂😂😂
Imagine a relationship where one person always gets credit when things go right and the other gets blamed when things go wrong. Would you consider that a loving relationship and a healthy way to live? Yet we see people line up to get into that relationship and tell me I'm wrong for not wanting too. I will never understand it.
Me either. And to think I once did, now, just baffles me.
I’ve been waiting for years to hear a story like this. I had a terrifying experience at a charismatic meeting at age 19. This left me very traumatized and confused. Then, at age 22, I was the recipient of a prophesy twice (the second one reinforced the first). My messages were also vague, involving God having a special purpose for me. I went through initial elation and couldn’t wait to see what each day would bring. Then, like you, every single event that occurred in my life was viewed in the light of the “prophesy”, causing constant cycles of hope, confusion, disappointment, then reinterpretation of the messages. This lasted for decades. I always wondered if I was the only one who went through this. I am so grateful you shared this. You’re situation was much worse than mine because of your young age. I just wonder how many others experienced this.
I have no doubts that thousands of us exist if not more. I am so glad i could help normalize your experience!
They've done this to children since the beginning. I was in 3rd grad. I agree you never hear about this.
I remember going to a prophetic conference where we were taught how to give prophesies. And they taught us to not prophesy dates, mates, or babies and to be vague with them. Or in other words make it as unfalsifiable as possible which gives it no value.
Right. This is something many dont know. Many are taught these things in discipleship classes etc. it makes it even worse.
Oh boy, very similar to my story. I was in third grade and i now consider what happened to be child abuse. Im 65 and still i deal with the fallout.
I am so sorry to hear it. Child abuse 100% and i wish people would just wake up already and call a spade a spade!
Sorry for what you went through. May you heal and find peace.🙏❤️
At 65, one thing that shames me, many have looked me up on facebook telling me how much i affected their entire lives as a young youth leader. After a bunch of those i quit facebook.
Oh wow. That would be so hard to see the other side of the impact.
This reminds me of patriarchal blessings in the Mormon church. It’s personal scripture and revelation for your entire life given to you as a young teen.
Ive been leaning more about that lately. How insane that its paid for and essentially institutionalized within that religion. Makes it look even more like just a tool
The pressure this put on you as a kid is unconscionable. I was reminded of the Greek prophecies that always came true in ways that the seeker did not want. Prophecy is silly but your channel is doing good works.
Thats a great comparison and thank you kindly!
You're talking bout Pythia, right? Wise woman 😜
I'm incredibly impressed by people who are so deeply into religion that it's their whole life, sometimes for decades, yet they, somehow, manage to break free.
Its wild, people like me can be in for so long. It seems impossible looking back
Thanks for this video. I wish more people would speak out on the mental damage that this religion infects people with…I could never go back.
Thank you Hollie!
Another example of how religion harms. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks for watching
Congratulations on the fulfillment of that prophecy! You are doing wonders calling out these
people.
Ha. Thank you!
Exactly! That was my first thought.
Hearing all this made me realize that I was actually blessed (😉) to have been born into a family that never cared much about religion. Imagine having to check every action, every thought of yours to see if the Bible is okay with it.
Oh to be free of such dogma for a whole childhood. It is rare, in the world at large and in history, for someone not to grow up with some sort of ideology like this. Hopefully less children of the future will have this in their lives!
Dude! You have no IDEA how much self-censoring I did.
It combined with my OCD and made a hell of a mess of my relationship with my wife. So relieving to be free of it
Mormonism has the prophecy thing institutionalized. Most members sometime in their teens upon recommendation from their bishop will visit a designated "patriarch" to receive this kind of prophesy. I was sixteen when I got mine. It is hammered home to us that the promises made were conditional on our faithfulness.
Among other things I was promised that God would help me as I "tried to become the very best at what I eventually decided to do".
This led to a crisis of faith years later when I was unable to complete my PhD program. (Mathematics if that makes a difference)
I blamed myself so much for that. I wondered what I did wrong. What sin did I have in my life that derailed the plan God had for me?
Believers really underestimate the harm that this kind of thing can do.
Thanks for sharing. Im sure this happens so much everywhere but i havent heard many talk about. Thanks for adding in!
This was mine:
"Your heart beats in tandem with the Lord's, when His heart beats, your heart beats. Your feet walk in stride with the Lord's, when He moves His left foot forward, you move your left foot forward, when He moves His right, so will you. You are the starter of fires, as you walk, the forest burns before you"
I used to cause a lot of pointless conflict in those days. I was basically given a license to "know" that I was in the right for many things.
Of course, how could you not? That's a doozy right there - how many years did it take you to realize it was bogus?
@@leob3447 More than I want to admit.
Damn, man. Thanks for adding in. Hopefully others can see the abuse and harm of even the well meaning side of religion
Wow. Quite the prophecy, especially that final line. It's like they were _wanting_ you to cause the pointless conflicts that you did. That is particularly sick of them.
Damn, but that’s a beautiful piece of writing! Especially that last sentence. I’m in no way condoning its message, but look at the power of those words.
So sorry you went through this.
This reminds me of something I saw frequently, as a women, growing up in the church. Guys would go to girls and say they heard God say that they were supposed to get married. The pressure that put on them! 🤦🏼♀️
Thank goodness I married my husband said to me “Um, I don’t know if I can be your spiritual leader” I almost broke up with him. Now I’m sooooo thankful he is not that type of man!
So funny you bring up that example. I cover this in my upcoming Tuesday video!
As a Mormon, I had the opportunity to get my "Patriarchal Blessing" from a special guy in the ward. I think you usually get this before you go through the temple. It's done by a laying on of hands. It was recorded and transcribed, and ended up two pages single spaced long. It was supposed to give my lineage in the 12 Tribes of Israel and guidance and counsel for my life. My husband and I had to give an "offering" for it. It had exactly NOTHING to do with me while I was in LDS or my life then or since. It was more like a long astrology horoscope than anything.
Holy shite. Having to give an offering for it is next level. How awful all around!
Oh boy, I can`t imagine what it must`ve been like living under that pressure all those years. Stories like this remind me why I`m the strong atheist I am today, its not just that Religions false it really harms people.
But you know what I don`t think your prophesies were entirely wrong, you do do wonders you do wonders with your channel! thanks for sharing Brandon.
Very kind, my friend. Thank you!
Wow, what a mind job to drop on an 11 year old. Amazing what harm can be done by well intentioned, sincere people.
Exactly. Just everyone thinking they are doing whats right. Thats why the religion is so harmful at its core.
Wow, the pressure of this is incredible.
Im sorry it was such a heavy burden for so long. It is abusive! I also had a man give me a prophetic message over my life. I always questioned it a little but also really hoped it would happen. I definitely believed I messed up the opportunity to make it happen.
You are doing amazing things without signs and wonders! We appreciate you 🙌🏼
Thank you for this kindness!
Thanks! You are doing wonders! Just on the other side of the spectrum now,,,
Appreciate that!
I've had my own experiences with crazy, manipulative people, using the authority of God like they actually have it. It would benefit every Christian to watch this video.
Its just insane what religion creates.
@@MindShift-Brandon Well, yes, and it is good to be against what is evil, but this is what people do with everything. It is not only through religion that people destroy the lives of others.
This stuff messed me up and put me into the mental hospital,there was so much fear and anxiety and depression intrusive thinking. It's affecting my jobs, etc
I am so sorry to hear that. Assuming you’re doing better now?
@@MindShift-Brandon I'm still struggling but I'm for some reason hanging in there
Reach out if you need anything. Wishing you well.
Virtual hugs through the internet. Having experienced the "catholic" experience, please, please remember one key thing...and it can be hard to do... recognize that you are not the guilty one, you are not the "crazy" one....the people around you did some evil sh-t. The best "revenge" is to be angry and channel that emotion to prove they can't keep you damaged!
Sadly, people fail to realize that one can't follow the "golden rule" if one hates oneself.
It may be silly, but I tell folks who are sad, to take time when they see the moon at night, to look at it and smile, and know there is someone out there looking up and doing the same, hoping you know that there is love out there.
Warm regards and take care.
Thank you for sharing this. My first big prophesy came when I was 13 from our favorite evangelist. He put his "mantle" on me and said I would bring stadiums of people together and they would be saved. I am a voice calling. My second came from my youth pastor when I was 19. She told me god wanted me to go to Bible College and would make the way. 2.5 years in I realized god couldn't afford Bible College, and now I'm still paying off student loans 20 years later. The true gift of god I can never repay. How often do these messages show up in muscle and emotional memory?
Oh man. What a story! I hate this. I am so tired of this predatory religion.
@@MindShift-Brandon it is wild! My grandmother gave a hell of a lot of money to the Harold camping campaigns, and people still pour time, money, and resources into making prophesies come true. Prophesy a personal jet? A new church building? A plot of land for your trillion dollar summer camp? Joke is on me, maybe though. I live in Oklahoma USA where so much of human value aligns with whether you are God fearing and which God fearing type you are.
The problem is when you actually start taking Jesus at his word, things end up all glitched up. I too, took my faith very seriously and ended up an apostate. Mostly because I actually wanted to follow Jesus.
Notice that following "Jesus" is nothing like worshiping a collection of books, combined together and claimed infallible. If there was a real Jesus today (and why not), I'm sure that he would be electrocuted and the new followers would talk about the "redemption of the chair" !
Yup! The less seriously you take it all the more reasonable it all seems. But none of it is!
Wow Brandon, thank you for sharing this and being so vulnerable. The few times I encountered an AoG service, I was so shocked at the blind prophet worship that went on. I had a lot of friends who were devastated by the prophecies that went unfulfilled in their lives.
Yes i think this is much more common than people realize.
Thank you for this!
I can relate. I grew up Catholic and attended a more charismatic type church.
Was a conference and during worship I felt a hand on my back for a long period of time. I was young and didn't want to turn back and look.
Later, as I was walking around, a lady approached me and said "that was my hand on your back. You are being called to the preisthood" and then she turned and walked away🙄
That fucked me up for a good while.
I'm happily married with 2 beautiful daughters, and don't believe in god.
Somebody was wrong......
I hate that. There is zero accountability for these people in the church. Its so gross
I was raised Mormon in the 80's. We were always taught: "You are a chosen generation. God saved you for the very last days to prepare the world for his 2nd coming." Guess what? The generation before us were taught the same thing and the generation before them the same thing. And guess what else? The two generations that have followed have been taught that THEY are the chosen generation.
Right! Cant we just shake everyone awake yet?
@@MindShift-Brandon Careful, the political cultists will "see what you done there!" and shun you from THEIR cult ! /s.
Exactly!!
THANK YIU SO MUCH for this video.
I thought I was so broken and so “double minded” when I couldn’t decide what to do in my 20s.
In my mind god was going to open a door and I had to be ready to go “in season and out of season” at all times!
It was tremendous pressure I had on myself and I couldn’t figure out why.
It was prophesied I would be a world changer, filled with gods power and that he would open doors for me. So I felt like after I became an adult I was perpetually looking for that door. I was always waiting for that door to open and doing all that I could to be pleasing to god until it did.
I was just stuck in a holding pattern.
Thank you for helping us put this all together.
So glad to help normalize this insane experience for you. Glad you are now free of it!
Just incredible the pressure and doubt that was thrust upon you. The human spirit is an amazing thing and you transformed these trials into something positive in your life. Thank you for sharing this story and for everything you are doing on this channel. It is a gift to me and many, many others.
Thank you very much, my friend!
I was "prophesied over," one time... They said I'd go through a "desert of the soul," but I would come through the other side if I "gained wisdom."
.
What an absolute load of vague, easily re-interpretable, non specific bullshit.
Fucked with my head and emotions for like 8 years.
No joke. So obvious and stupid never to have a specific prophecy.
I'm so sorry you went through this. Me, also waited for God to reveal my mission and his plan for my life. Fortunately I have ADD, got distracted.
I wish you COULD make it rain. We could use the rain! I sometimes felt that my faith was so bad, smaller than a mustard seed, because not only could I not move a mountain, I couldn't even levitate a rock a few feet.
Love that you have done an interview with Tim!
Really enjoyed the chat with SR and Dadpool.
You have an amazing ability and I have gained the understanding, through your shares, of my own struggles. Thank you.
Thats really kind, thank you!
As someone who also grew up in fundamental Pentecostalism and who was fanatical myself, what I find most disturbing about prophetic words is the way they prey on the same core desire that Christianity itself taps into. We want to believe this life has meaning and that our purpose exists outside of us, that regardless of circumstances or how things play out as the years progress, the time we spent on earth had an impact. We want to believe our existence has significance, and that we matter. Prophetic words affirm the delusions of "being set apart" and "having a call on our lives" the same way that Christianity does, but they do it in a more manipulative way. They tap into the personalized aspect of it, an elitism to the elitism. It's never "You will be like every other Christian and God will be proud of your obedience." It's always, "Here are all the ways you are Special to God in like, a Special Way, as in more so than other people kind of way." Pentecostalism and its theology are heavily entangled in this sort of spiritual narcissism, the "every Christian has the Spirit of God but not in the way we do, we're Spirit-Filled and baptized uniquely in His presence and that's why we can do these miraculous things other dead churches can't" part of the doctrine.
But when you're a kid, it's not ABOUT all that. You're just a kid and you, like every other kid, want to be affirmed by the people that have authority in your life. God, pastors, parents, etc.
I was prophesied over by the Copeland family (yes, THAT family) and it was one of many in a long, long list of prophecies of my supposed significance from notable "leaders" in the faith. My parents were worship leaders to a congregation of thousands and I grew up around titans of the Charismatic movement, I started leading worship with them when I was just sixteen. Imagine the spiritual pressure that puts on a kid, leading THOUSANDS of people in worship at that age. The constant outpouring of "prophetic words" and "affirmations of my anointing" altered my sense of reality for the entirety of my life up until my early twenties. I was undiagnosed with autism and ADHD at the time, repressing my queer identity, and completely and utterly isolated from real, genuine friendships at school. Everything in my life was centered on my "gifting" and my parents were extremely encouraging of this mindset. My being autistic made this infinitely worse, for reasons that are too complex to go into in a comment because they require a more thorough discussion of ASD itself to explain. But it cemented an obsessive work ethic where my spiritual life and my areas of gifting were all that mattered. Train harder, be better, and sew the seeds yourself for this supposedly anointed life God was preparing you for because you don't want to let anyone down.
Imagine the impact it had on me, after years of that kind of "spiritual grooming" for kingdom significance and prophesy, when I got extremely sick at twenty-three. When I couldn't DO those things anymore because my mental health had deteriorated to such extremes from a lack of correct care that the faculty of my university had to intervene to save my life. When my body shut down entirely and I had trouble with basic tasks, when I couldn't work or even move much for four months. If I hadn't been set up for "significance" I could have been spared a life of pushing myself to BE significant and instead, I could have just... lived it. Reality wouldn't have been so warped for me, I wouldn't think of myself as the protagonist of this vast, important narrative that was letting everyone down by being "too weak" to hold it. I wouldn't have felt so much shame for wanting it all to be over because I was just so, so exhausted by the weight of prophetic purpose.
I know a lot of people want to hear that life has inherent meaning, and Christians often think atheism is somehow a hopeless existence. But realizing my own insignificance is the most beautiful gift deconstruction has given me. The only thing that matters is that time is finite and death is a guarantee and one day, I won't be here anymore. My only purpose is to enjoy this single, precious, very short life. That's it. And that gives me hope.
We are on the same page. Couldn't agree more with your last paragraph. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry for what you went through. Mental health education is a must. May you heal and find peace and love.🙏❤️
I'm a collector of quotes. From you I'm taking away, "When you don't live your life rationally and logically in the real world, adhering to real world rules and real world outcomes and circumstances and consequences, you're going to pay the price." I really wish I could recoup my losses, but thankfully I've finally woken up out of a state of fantasy and delusion.
Thank you for that. All we can do is move forward and not spend too much time grieving the lost time to this religion.
Thank you for sharing. I personally received multiple prophecies from different random people with the same "theme" BUT I come to the conclusion (after 19 years) that the 1st prophecy shape me to "think" that about myself and then the rest of the people just prophecy over me the same "theme" what I created in myself - like picking up my aura - but they believe they hear from God. It is truly much trauma to work thru, after realising the "words" you waited for patiently was never said by a "heavenly father".
My greatest loss in all my life was knowing I was never loved by a "heavenly father".
Thanks for sharing and adding to the collective of this trauma. Im glad you made it out.
oh Brandon, that's terrible! What an awful burden to lay on a child. It's amazing how you came through that sane and apparently so well balanced emotionally. I'm glad you mentioned the battle with the ego as well. I lost a brother and a friend to a cult. I was never taken in, largely because of what I thought of as seductive ego/power promises of all the wonders we will be able to do. Ran so counter to the teachings of humility they were pushing, the central concept of "empty your cup." Well, seriously, congrats on the battle not only for rationality but over yourself as well. Outstanding.
Man. I was in "gifts of the Spirit" type circles while a Christian. Really glad none were that into prophecy. Hadn't even occurred to me how badly someone could be traumatized by it. I remember, even as a Christian, being kind of skeptical of it. I remember one woman in a "non-denominational" group that prayed in tongues saying in a very gossipy voice that she KNEW that another woman's interpretation of tongues couldn't really be from the Lord because it included words that were Roman Catholic doctrine. I forget what, probably an invocation of Mary or a saint. But that was the level of prophecy going around those groups, just generalities that matched the person's doctrine. Interpretation of tongues just seemed kind of petty and suspect to me. So glad no one ever made a personal prophecy like that around me. I wouldn't want to be part of traumatizing someone else, either.
Thanks for sharing. I went to a school of prophecy and I’m embarrassed now how clearly manipulative prophecy can be. It’s simply a combination of hot and cold reading, and straight BS. I’ve given prophecies to people like the one you were given and I have a hard time forgiving myself for it.
Cant blame yourself just like i dont blame Marcel. Its this religion. All we can do after we wake up from it is try to help reign it in for others.
Wow…this really hit me hard. I’ve always admired people, who were deeply entrenched in their religion, that made it out. But this was palpable and caused me to really FEEL the damage that religion does. I was so lucky. I hadn’t been to church in decades & with the exception of AA, a 12-step program, I didn’t have god shoved down my throat. All it took was a Christopher Hitchens video and I was done. The fact that you and so many people like you, manage to get out is astounding, admirable and so brave. I would listen to your audiobook that tells your story……if you ever decide to do that. Hint-hint. 😉😊
So kind, Lori! Any chance you recall exactly which hitchens clip it was? And thank you dearly.
@@MindShift-Brandon Yes! Like it was yesterday. It was a talk he did at Google in reference to his book, “God Is Not Great”. It made sense to me. I was nodding my head in agreement as I watched and I remember the feeling I had when I said out loud, “This is all bullshit. It’s so stupid”! And I was by myself. Lol. I’ll never forget that feeling! It was really good and I felt so free. I was lucky. When I hear other people’s stories, that had their whole lives wrapped up in religion and made it out, I have such admiration for them because they have a much harder time than I did. Just one video did it for me and I’m so grateful! I may not agree with Hitch on everything he said but I feel like I owe the beginning of my free life to him. Everything after that, I did. 😊
Thank you for sharing, really appreciated.
My pleasure!
whoa! the prophesy came true; you are out & apart from your peers, have vast knowledge, power to reach, & speak to lots of people, and using glob's word to help people deconstruct, etc. thank you for sharing what must have been painful for you.
Ha! Thats amazing. Thank you so much
I am so sorry you had to suffer through that. I am happy you were able to work through it.
Thanks for the kind comment.
Thanks for sharing your story. Prophecies and prayers do indeed result in great harm. Still living with the effects of it myself. On the topic of Christians claiming Jesus as the Messiah, I find it crazy how the obvious fact, that the Gospel writers wrote stories to made Jesus fulfill prophecy, eludes them.
Right! If the only place that records bible prophecies fulfilled is also the bible, we have a problem.
Man this video REALLY resonated with me. I had a similar experience where I was prophesied over like that a few times, and spent years and years trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, not doing things I would have done otherwise, living in shame and guilt for not "fulfilling my purpose". I've just been processing my deconversion over the last two or three weeks, and just came out to my wife like 3 days ago who I'm not even sure will stay married to me. It's hard man, thanks for all you're doing to help people like me through the process.
Oh man. You are really going through it right now. Wish you nothing but the best in this. Reach out if you need anything!
@@MindShift-Brandon thank you! I will
I realised that I loved myself more than this religion or god wanted me to hate myself and that I simply could not keep living like that any more.
My sister's then-boyfriend prophesied over me, when I was a teenager, but he was a git so I promptly forgot whatever it was he said.
Ha! Wish I would have known better
Reminds me of a question I struggled with before deconstruction. As a teen who feared asking questions about God, I still wondered how he could be Omniscient but I have free will?
--I asked pastor(s) about it.
--They said God allows me to make decisions. He just knows what the outcome would be.
--I then replied with "well, God cannot be wrong, correct?" If so, then I must make decisions the align with His Omani-Clairvoyance. If God can be wrong, then He is not All Knowing, right?.
After that the conversation would just go in circles. It couldn't be both ways, I thought. I couldn't be free to do what I want, but everything I was going to do was already laid out. So liberated to not struggle with that anymore.
When you said that making this video was helpful for yourself to process how these past events affect your life currently, I knew immediately what you meant. When I lost my wife two and a half years ago, which was a year after my father died and 15 months after our daughter died, I found it therapeutic to write about my pain and loss in comments and replies to videos on TH-cam. Putting words on the page and getting empathetic responses from others helped me to get through many hard times. I hope that you find a similar benefit. Peace 💚🖖
I simply cannot imagine. I would go through another 100 lifetimes of religious trauma before i could ever conceive of the lain of losing a child and then a spouse. I am so very sorry for your losses. Thank you for tour kindness here
@@MindShift-Brandon Thank you for taking the time to reply. I truly appreciate your videos, and others like them, for working against the many people who are trying to force their biblical moral code on everyone in this country. The shallow selfish hypocritical thinking they shout out is the opposite of the ideals our society was founded on. Thanks again. Peace 💚
Sorry for your losses.😔 May you heal and find peace and love.🙏❤️
@@blueStarKitt7924 thank you
Great video idea! Makes me want to go and revisit old prophecies I’ve had. I had one in ‘98 when I was 14 that sure did a number on me.
Oh please do!
OMG! You and I should share stories. I came back to Jesus in the Vineyard and had so many prophetic things said over me as a musician and leader. Lol
I can only imagine. One if my beat friends growing up was a vinyard worship leader.
Thank you for sharing! I had enough pressure as a kid, I don't think I could have handled having a "prophecy" like that hanging over my head too.
Thanks for watching and your empathy
PART 1: 12:57 - I paused the video here to say this: I'm about to cry. I went through the same scenario as you, in a different way, though. When I was in high school, I felt God was calling me to pursue one career path, even though I really wanted to pursue another, with an equal chance to choose & study either. I chose the career I felt God called me to, and even though certain doors and opportunities opened up for me while studying for this career, I COULD NOT bring myself to enjoy it.
PART 2: From the time I was in college, and up until I had gotten a job in this certain field, I may have tolerated it, but I never fell in love with the work. Even when I prayed and begged God to help me like the work so I could fulfill my purpose, I couldn't. And after giving this career that I felt God called me to almost 2 years, I quit to do something else. And let me tell you, the guilt I felt because I wasn't in the "Will of God" and pursuing my purpose broke me.
PART 3 - I could go on about my experience, but I won't. I remember watching videos from pastors on TH-cam about the signs God gives you when he is calling you to a job or life task. One sign was that God would call you to something you enjoy doing. Very rarely did I like it. These videos also said another sign of God's calling was that when you got the job or started your calling, it would feel like you didn't deserve it. While I did feel lucky to get a job out of college, I had a few connections to help me get the job. And I HATE to admit I did this, but after I left "God's calling for me", I eventually called my former pastor and consulted him about my situation. And HE even said, "Well, could it be you only got that job because of your connections?"(I admitted to my pastor that I felt God called me to this line of work). He also tried comforting me about my grief, by saying, "Maybe you're feeling grieved because of your youthful ignorance. Just a little mistake." All in all, my pastor didn't say I was definitely out of God's will, or that God was making me feel grief for leaving my purpose (I'm sure now the grief and anxiety was because of me). He was rational and assured me I may be doing this to myself.
Thank you for the vid Brandon. During a Christian based week long camp I attended in Australia at around 15 years of age one of the counsellors was relaying the visions he had received for several of us. When it came to me he told me he had seen jail for me, in my future. I wasn't a bad kid at all, perhaps a little rebellious at times. Long ago, I recognised this for what it is - child abuse, pure and simple at the hands of those who should know better. Ironically, it is folks like this that are the best advertiserment for atheism. Fortunately for me none of that early stuff stuck but I did look over my shoulder a few times and think of this bullshit prophesy.
Makes me so damn mad. 100%! Abuse
my deconversion started with learning the truth about the doctrine of the rapture of the church. once I found that lie my eyes opened up and I left the church.
Ahh that will do it!
I just found your channel (Literal hours ago), and as a lifelong Atheist who grew up around religious families, but not part of one myself, it has always been incredibly difficult for me to truly understand the mindset, stress, and all-consuming impact that growing up in a deeply devout family/community could have on a person. Few other videos (possible exception being PoZ's series on his upbringing and deconversion/deconstruction) have properly conveyed the myriad issues, concerns, anxieties, and emotions that come as part and parcel of being told that you are this special tool of God, or even just the expectations placed upon believers at such a young age. If I hadn't heard this directly from you, I would have a hard time believing that someone with this kind of experience could have ever come to the realization that you did. At least not on their own. Thank you for sharing this story, truly. I always look for more ways to get new perspectives, and that of someone born into a deeply religious family has always been the most foreign to me.
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment. I, too, cant believe i made it out and its hard to believe that was ever me. Feels like two separate lives. Glad to have you here!
Excellent point about prophecy and free will.
Thank you much. Thanks for watching
Thanks! Great job never stop resisting.
Thanks for the support, Aubrey!
I'm sorry you had to go through that Brandon. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks very much, Sandi
Awesome. I love Harmonic Atheist.
It was a really great convo!
@@MindShift-Brandon Tim is a very sweet man. His conversations are great.
Thank you for sharing your story!
As a Brit, Marcel went to Glasgow and for all us old gits could he do walking into a wind or trapped in an invisible box.
Lol i feel I’m missing a reference here
@@MindShift-Brandon Marcel Marceau. Famous mime artist.
@@alisonhill3941 LOL.
You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy atheism, not join it! Bring balance to Christianity, not leave it in darkness!
Lol, couldn't resist. XD Seriously though, I can't imagine the weight something like that would put on a kid's shoulders. :(
Ha! No i love that. And thank you.
Anakin Skywalker was the chosen one as well - guess prophecies in Star Wars are just as 'accurate'.
Lol.
Marcel: "These are not the missionaries we are looking for."
You joke but the literal story was him doing a Jedi mind trick of saying, “these books are about your god” or “we serve the same god” or something like that.
The count of monte cristo on the bookshelf 🤘🏼
3rd favorite book!
Powerful video, you touch on something here I think are so important, confirmation bias, it can cause so much harm and keep people in things that harms them for way to long. I think my wife had something similar where someone gave her a prophecy, must ask her about that again. the two new pictures are done btw :) had to change my profile picture too now into one I hade made earlier :)
Mar 19! Well,...2017. That's my favorite (youngest) son's birthday!! Damon Maks...DMsdad
I'm grateful for the obstacles and pressures in your life, Brandon. Its because of them you're here, equipped with the knowledge you share.
I've met men that grew up through abuses nobody should imagine. They became warriors in special operations, great fathers, and the most loyal of friends.
All that to say, you've been forged into this, friend.
Without the depth of your experience, I would have been deprived of this beard.
May be divine intervention... 🤔
WRT the self-fulfillment nature of a "prophecy" - then it seems like we are able to write any story OURSELVES and "believe" in it, and change the course of our lives how we want it to be.
Yes, that's actually true-- some healers use this method.
"secretly sinning" that's just heartbreaking.
sorry you went through this
Funnily enough, it was Matthew 7: 15-20, the passage warning about false prophets, that always stuck with me, even when I was at my most deeply religious. I cannot recall whether or not I was ever given a personal prophecy, but anytime I heard something was supposed to be a prophecy, I always remained highly suspicious of whatever was said.
I would say that the crickets I got from apologists whenever I asked them this question after they tried to chastise me for demanding evidence served well in making me deconvert:
Which do you believe Jesus or God would prefer to have around: an atheist who demands evidence whenever a potentially false prophet appears, or a "good Christian" who does not demand evidence to check if the prophet is false or not?
Like George Carlin said, atheism is a non-prophet organization.
Such a great point!
@@MindShift-Brandon It was also why, despite everyone else saying otherwise, the one apostle I had any amount of respect for was Doubting Thomas, because he wanted to confirm that Jesus had indeed resurrected. Sure, he could have just accepted what he was being told by those who had to be his closest friends - i.e. the other apostles - but from how I interpreted it, he had to have felt that while he probably could trust that his friends believed they were telling the truth, he wanted to actually know for himself.
That, to me, made Thomas the best out of all of the apostles, because he was willing to check whether or not he was being fooled, and that, along with that passage from Matthew, formed the basis of my question to those apologists.
It also ended up factoring into why it took a long time for me leave Christianity and religion entirely, but that is what can be called a side effect. Even so, it became one of the biggest factors for why I never went back.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences! ❤
Thanks for watching!
Pneuma is the Koine Greek word for the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. It was literally the breath of life, as in matter in a gaseous state. That is why they represented the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire. Unfortunately, they had no idea at their stage of scientific development thamt gases will not aid in predicting the future.
*that
I am so sorry that you had to go through all of this.
Thank you for that and for watching
People in the church literally believed I was demon possessed because I wore all black, struggled with depression and anxiety, and I had gotten into cutting because of all the abuse I was going through. I was socially awkward, I didn't have hardly any friends. People at school ridiculed me and treated me as lesser than, because my science teacher in 7th grade (my 1st year in public school) asked if anybody believed a different belief than evolution and I immediately answered the evangelical answer of God created everything. That year was the 1st year I had any friends and I had 3. I was being abused at home and treated like crap by 99% of the school. By 8th grade I was suicidal and tried with utter failure to slit my wrist. To this day I'm afraid of people. I have a very tiny group of friends and most of them don't know much about me. But I won't even make the effort of making friends, because I don't trust them not to be abusive, and I don't trust my own judgement. So, if one of my friends has a friend that are good people, I will eventually warm up to them, but it takes months.
I read an interesting paper once arguing that, assuming (libertarian) free will and omniscience, an omniscient being knowing the outcome of a free choice DOES cause it to be made that way. The paper was of course arguing that this is a paradox, because merely knowing some fact shouldn't have a causal impact, but if knowing X will be freely chosen precludes Y being freely chosen, then the choice to Y has indeed been causally closed off. Somehow. So we'd be inclined to reject LFW, reject omniscience, or reject both. Libertarian free will has all sorts of problems generally, and compatibilist free will seems inclined to collapse into determinism anyway; consider the above example, and ask in what way "God knows you will freely choose X, so you will freely choose X" isn't basically just the same thing as "You will deterministically choose X."
Yes i think the biggest factor is that it isn’t just anyone having foreknowledge. Its god who then still chose to act and create. I think thats a level that is often lost when talking about god and freewill. Obviously that wouldn’t be part of the naturalist debate though.
I think the prophecy was true. You are the best atheist TH-camr I have ever seen. You are saying lots of things that I have thought about for years but haven't yet heard from any other atheist. I only discovered your channels few days ago but I have been absolutely enthralled with your content. You are certainly performing wonders.
I believe religion harms people because of those things and its flawed logics. Thanks for sharing this specific case. Different religions will damage society and individuals differently, I guess. I keep learning from you, my brother
Wow. Ugh. OMG.
The brave prophet, Marcel:
Your description of him reminded me of John Chau. Brave and caring (and stupid and ignorant) enough to go to his death trying to convert the lost.
Your age:
11 years. I was about 13 when the fear that I'd blasphemed against the Holy Ghost hit me. It took me 3 or so years to get rid of that fear, at a conscious level at least. Bloody theology and how it meddles with the mind.
Exclusively laying hands on you:
Indeed. Finding out that you are special, at such a young age, and from such a notable person. If that happened to me, the solar system would not have been able to have contained the size of my head. Christianity itself, tells believers that they are special, compared to the world. Christians say "no", that they are taught we are all equal before God. However, so many verses in the bible tell them that they are wise, in the light, joyous, healed, the holders of pearls, saved and so on while the world is foolish, in darkness, miserable, sick, swine, and in bad need of saving. They are apart from the world.
Doubt, guilt, etc:
Yes. Christian theologies have those two effects. Verses in the bible can be found to tell a believer to do A. Other verses can be found to tell believer to do not-A. And both verses are words from God, not to be questioned. God is so hidden that he's not there to answer your questions. You have to get answers from either yourself or from other fallible humans.
Power and ego:
You could have been a prophetic faith healer today and been a prosperity gospel preacher. If lucky, made millions. And yet ...
... no wonder you are in a much better position today.
What a comment! So thoughtful and relational. Thank you for also sharing your story to help normalize and bring awareness that its not just me. This religion is harmful at its core, especially for developing minds. Also, i see you have just signed up on Patreon. Thank you for supporting this channel!
@@MindShift-Brandon I'd do more but there are so many other good cause around as well, and they all need support.
That's just horrible, to put the weight of the world on a 12 year old's shoulders! Even if done by a "true believer" with "best intentions". I don't care what some people have in their heads, they simply must be kept away from defenseless children. I'm sorry for your trauma =(
As a kid, I was "prophecied" to be a great scientist or a painter, thank god I didn't take it seriously! Still, it was disappointing to grow up and realize the society didn't need my skills. Thanx to my mom though, I opened my online shop and am a happy artist now)
Hey, Brandon, this doesn't have much to do with prophecy, but it does have something to do with how a good friend of mine in high school was harmed by religion, if only to a lesser extent. We were at lunch together and he had told me, quietly and nervously, that he had ejaculated in his sleep. He talked about Onan who was struck dead by God for "spilling his seed on the ground." I tried to calm him down by explaining what a nocturnal emission was (I had read about it in a book about puberty my parents gave me). I told him it was perfectly natural and that divine punishment was NOT in store for him. He then told me he went to great extents to hide the evidence of what happened from his parents. He was genuinely terrified. I don't think he accepted my explanation about what had happened to him and I sincerely hope that eventually reality sunk in and he threw off the yoke of superstition. I'm sure he's far from the only one plagued with Biblical stories like this. The distrust and fear of your own bodily functions is a terrifying thing to those kept in ignorance.
OMG! What ignorance can do...!!🙄🙄🙄
Nice.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh! Religion f’d me up, only because as a teenager, ( the time I was first required to go to church @ 12 years ago) I just couldn’t connect with was preached in church, and the life my father was living. I just couldn’t believe he believed that nonsense. Because he believed the world would end in 2000 he saw no reason to see my old siblings got higher education. Parents stupid believes messed up their children lives. The only other effect was waking up each morning checking if my parents were raptured. I vowed never to do that to my children, thinking they’re going lose their parents, the support of their entire existence. Cruel thing to do to a child.
Oh man. I can relate. So sorry to hear that nonsense was so much a part of your life.
@@MindShift-Brandon . Sad thing is, it’s apart of all our lives, if we believe the nonsense or not. Keep on doing what you’re doing. You important
It's the "sincere" believers that scare me most, because whoever they are talking to... is talking back to them, and they are calling it God. This is how good people get talked into doing crazy evil things that they would never even think about doing otherwise, such as murdering your own child to prove your loyalty. eg. Abraham
What if that’s all that happened to Jesus? Some religious zealot told Jesus and his mom how Jesus would do great things and there ya go
Right! What a funny thought
LDS patriarchal blessings are very much in this vein of Personal Prophesies that become once-delightful sources of impressive strain. Each and every one has the caveat of only being possible depending on the faith and obedience of the recipient and parts of it come true in the next life.
Excellent accounting of this experience; of course you loved this, you are special, set aside and all the good you will do and be recognized for this. Who would not love this? I do admire the true believers like Marcel, they have the same ethos, possibly greater than Special Forces guys, living with the locals, in danger and they don't do it for the money.
Excuses and caveats. Religion floats on these, it is a way for us all to be special. "I'll explain that to god on judgment day" as if god is not all knowing and doesn't know what you are going to say before you say it. Hey, he knew it from all time! No need to talk, you are on your way to hell. Yikes! Whew, but once saved always saved. Thank god for props, cherry picking and self delusion.
Brandon, you went thru it, being in the spot light, realize how introspectively uncomfortable this was. Yes, you were worried about how your performance was effecting the faith of others. Terrible loop to be put in. All on you., "Shoot, did I just screw all this up?" Ha, made me laugh, maybe b/c I recognize that fear.
Appreciate all this! Yes what a ride!
It's easy to see patterns in things, which would equally apply to the alleged prophecies of Nostradamus. Vague assertions can be made to fit. That is why the alleged prophecies of Nostradamus can only be seen in retrospect. Furthermore, the problem with using biblical prophecy, as a means to prove biblical claims, is obvious. The only evidence for the fulfilment of a biblical prophecy is in the bible itself. Any literate person could have wilfully distorted historical accounts, in order to make it look like prophecies had been fulfilled.
Yes such huge problems for prophecy in general and especially biblical prophecy
@@MindShift-Brandon The complete lack of supporting evidence for biblical claims is an obvious red flag. It is infuriating to listen to apologists trying to make sense of this stuff.
Sounds like this guy Marcel should have a chat with Joel Osteen and so many of the other prosperity gospel ilk about what it really looks like to truly serve a god they believe in. Getting rich is the mark of a con man, not a servant.
Actually this prophet was very right! You are doing "gods work"😂❤
Ha! Thanks for watching
this is one example of why i prefer the company of dogs over humans------
🤔😔🙁 ok...🤷
I am 35 and happily married now. But at 12. At 12!!! I got a prophecy about marring the pastor son. Yes it is ridiculous as it sounds. for a kid who grew up in this it was a fate path. At the time he happened to be my closest friend it was the weirdest thing ever. It messed up 15 years of my life. We ended up dating for 4 years almost getting married. It was the worst years of my life thus far. We were good friends but he was so dammed unstable as a partner. Many times I tried to make sense of it with other people and everyone had a different excuse for that dammed prophecy. At the end I realize that I was going to die trying to make that working or go live my life. Not “thank to god” I moved on and made a beautiful life for myself :)
Andrew Wommack laid hands on me and said “You have a special calling from God; God is going to use you in a mighty way.” and it was followed with signs and wonders.
Within minutes I healed someone for the first time.
You have problems with many churches today, so does God.
Their doctrines are way off, their good works are for show and hardly any of them have even a single testimony.
It was the same in biblical times, man almost never gets it right.
BS lie again. Healed some one?
Bahahahaha
IF YOU'RE NOT JOKING, YOU NEED TO CARRY YOURSELF TO A RELIGIOUS CHANNEL DUDE. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
SERIOUSLY NO ATHEIST IS GOING TO FALL FOR THAT BS. Most Atheists like myself was religious in the past. So if you are just joking that's fine, but if not you're looking foolish.
Fascinating video. I'm not sure how I feel about the sacrificial life Marcel has chosen, but if there will not be any reward for him after he dies (or died) I'm not sure what to say about that.
Wow. Just wow !
What was exposed in this presentation, was that religion enables abuse. It is not just the disgusting behavior of priests. (I had a friend that killed himself in high school because of the shame of being "groomed" by a priest. That priest eventually was killed in jail because of others who testified about his depravity.) But abuse is also the "well meaning" beLIEvers who manipulate others into joining their cult world view. And really, is cult a not too strong of an adjective? The description of fear, and dread experienced from stepping outside the belief that you held, seems so terribly wrong (and what you addressed and are recognizing) and speaks to the exploitation of that component of the human spirit to be "a valuable part of something" and "to have purpose".
Keep up the great work! Perhaps this mission that is being laid out now, is far more important and consequential that even that missionary knew !! If there is something greater than "us", the joke's on Marcell.
P.S. Harmonic Atheist is FANTASTIC - looking forward to that conversation!
Thank you for this! This is what i wanted to point out. The harm in religion, even by well meaning, “true” believers etc.
A similar prophecy was spoken over me as a teenager. Several of the pastors said that I would be a prophet and a preacher. Over a decade later and none of that is even close to happening. I’m rapidly losing my faith in the Bible because of all of the problems in it that Aron Ra has pointed out in his TH-cam videos. Aron Ra completely destroyed Genesis 1 in his video titled “Rebutting Genesis Apologetics - Six Day Creation”.
And the Bible was completely plagiarized and stole stories from Sumerian mythology about the Anunnaki.
My uncle was prophesied over as a child, and they said that he would become a preacher. He’s now almost in his seventies and he still hasn’t become a preacher yet because they told him that “he’s not ready yet because he won’t let God use him”.
And he still believes in this prophecy even though it’s been like 50 years and it still hasn’t happened yet.
My aunt prophesied over me a few years ago saying that she had a dream of me meeting my wife on a street corner and I was wearing a suit and my hair was nice and my alleged future wife has curly hair just like I do, and is slightly taller than me. Interesting because I do like women with curly hair and my aunt didn’t even know that, but we’ll see if that prophecy comes true or not because I like many different races of women, not just one race. And my aunt knows that I like white women more than any other race of women, and she HATES that I like white women because she’s racist and prejudice, so she probably just made that prophecy up because she has a problem with me being attracted to white women, as if I can control who I’m attracted to. We can’t control who we’re attracted to. We don’t “choose” to be attracted to someone, it’s just natural to feel attracted to someone.
The only difference is that these failed prophesies never gave me mental trauma like it did with you. It effected me a little bit when it came to the nonstop sinning in my life and worrying about going to hell over that, but not to the level you experienced trauma.
I had an experience in a Catholic Charismatic group where the prayer leader, who supposedly had the "gift of discernment" said something to me about something she "saw" happening in my private life. She said I should "stop looking into darkness." She did not explain what she meant and I did not question her because that was something you just didn't do. I don't know if she was guessing or if she really did see something. As I am no longer in contact with either her or the group, I have no way of knowing this. BUT, there is something I have never revealed to anyone which may or may not have anything to do with her statement. My test of anyone who claims to be receiving messages from the Lord is this: they are to spontaneously tell me what this is, without my asking. It must be specific. I will know if you are just guessing, because the thing I have in mind is something that simply cannot be guessed. It will have to come from something outside this natural experience. More than that I cannot say. All I can say is so far I have not experienced anything to convince me that the supernatural world exists. But I have seen a lot of failed claims.