Love the new poster, and would make a good profile pic, or logo if it was simplified or pard down a bit. 👍 Kinda wish you hadn’t said anything about your existing logo, because now I can’t not see it either. 😬😅 (Not psychic, just have some graphics background.)
One of my other favourite apologetics related to "why do you keep talking about it if you don't believe?" Is "if you really care about harmful religions then why not talk about Islam?". I agree we should talk about Islam too but Christianity is what we in north America grew up in and around and affects our daily lives for most of us.
@@GameTimeWhy the whole “if you don’t believe” argument is total nonsense - don’t know which ‘fallacy’ that is, or if it is an official one - as if nobody ever talks about things they don’t believe in.
Christians love to hear testimony about how people joined the faith for purely emotional reasons, but when someone decides to leave the faith on the same basis suddenly it's a huge problem
So true. Its so annoying. Other than apologists who pretend to have converted for purely logical reasons, the only testimonies of conversions I hear from ordinary people are ALL, ALL bases on solely emotional grounds.
I’m 16, and I’ve been a Christian for 15 years. I’ve been doubting my religion since I was 10 and I’ve only gotten more doubtful. About a week ago I expressed my thoughts and doubts to my pastor and parents and instead of trying to “help me” they told me I deserved to go to hell, and threatened to send me away to my grandmas. For people who server an all loving god, I’ve never seen so much anger over someone else believing in something else. That day was honestly my tipping point, and now I’ve fully accepted that religion is just a cage I was put in at birth. Honestly, I’ve never been more happy and free since that day.
I do understand how you feel and am sorry you turned away. I have been in the same position, but I still believe. I have found that whilst there are people who will reject you if you have doubts, a true Christian should be prepared to listen and understand your feelings and opinions. Christians can be very hurtful, sometimes without realising it but we are human and make mistakes.
You’ve started your journey and I wish you well. You may experience touch times as you leave religion. Things like family, community and fear may try to drag you back. Continue to learn and ask questions and you’ll do great.
The problem is your idea of a "true Christian" is often not what another believes. I do think you can be a good Christian and be open to people but at the same time there are other people who think being aggressive and hostile is the true way to be a Christian and both are validated by passages of the bible but I do think the majority of Christians are open and loving.
@@BluStarGalaxy funnily enough had some retail training once upon a time, where that phrase was suggested as a way to not accept culpability (for potential legal implications).
I was raped by a preist as a child. I am hurt by religion. As a result of that hurt, I have come to study and understand the vulnerabilities to child abuse that religion creates. I dare anyone to tell me I’m “just hurt”. My critiques are legit.
I am so sorry to hear about your experience. Its an excellent point also that hurt and experience and emotion can be catalyst toward understand the truth and gaining more information. Thank you for being willing to share.
@@MindShift-Brandon "I’d really love to see you cover the case that religion makes kids more vulnerable to child abuse." Yes I really hope you see this comment, Brandon! You don't seem like one to shy away from tough topics. I think you'd agree that the institutional systemic abuse of children in christianity is a profoundly pertinent issue! One I think you'd be able to address very capably.
@@LifeStrike2030Being told your whole life that you have to obey authorities without question leaves you open to authorities that have no problem abusing you, I don't know how ignorant you have to be to not know that basic fact of reality LOL
Well, of course I'm hurt. I was endoctrinated into believing lies that shaped my life for so many years. The lies that I allowed to shape my life turned me into a homophobic bigot. I also, without wanting to admit at the time, thought I was superior to everybody else since my relationship with a mythological deity that I once believed to be the one true God gave me a sense of entilement. I also preached God's word and traveled all around Mexico preaching. I hurt so many people with harsh words due to my biblical standards. Now as an atheist, my own religious family, the Christian mother of my kids who soon will be my ex wife hate me and constantly tell me that I need to go back to church and worship God. Yes, I'm hurt.
Right! Theres nothing wrong with being hurt. For so many of us, its natural to feel hurt by these objectively hurtful attitudes and actions. It should not devalue our criticism!
I just got a text from my father saying, "I have sirloin steak, smoked queso, and chips in my office. If you come to worship, it's yours." like that will make me believe in God again. MindShift-Brandon
@@abiliv-lf9tz My father thinks I'm ruining my life by not attending church anymore. I guess he's desperate to get me to go that he's bribing me with food. I even replied that I won't accept, and he insists that I do since he grilled the steak and smoked the queso just for me, but that I need to go to church to get it. I guess he has a sermon about attendance or antiatheism today.
Has Christianity and Christians caused me harm? Yes. Is that why I don't believe in the claims of the religion? No. Is that question just a way to deflect and try to remove the value of the aarguement and also victim blame? Yes.
Absolutely it's a defense mechanism. It's almost like they have to have various methods like this of invalidating any logical points you may have because to entertain them would be a threat to their worldview, and therefore their identity, security etc...
Yes. It IS hurtful to spend years finally discovering that the people you looked up to and trusted told you all kinds of things that are wrong. It hurts even more when you confront them and they dig in 10 times deeper with their pride. It's also hurtful to pray for decades to a person who supposedly loved you so much they would die, but can't be bothered to say a single word to you individually. Ever. It's hurtful to feel the rug pulled out from under you when you finally come to understand that the foundation you we're actually on was not rock at all, but sand. It's hurtful to have the people that were closest to you for years or even decades turn against you, write you threatening letters and emails, and start making up stories about the reason that you left. None of which are ever true.
I definitely feel this, thank you for sharing! When the stakes are allegedly a person's eternal soul, then God playing hide and seek to test us is cruel.
"You sound hurt," well it did hurt when I told my mom that I am bisexual and her first reaction was "you are going to hell." Yes, that hurt, and it's fair for me to feel hurt about that.
When I came out to my parents, they spent six/seven months trying to convert me back to being cishet and Christian. It didn't matter that I was still 100% a Christian; what mattered was that they didn't believe I could be a Christian and also be LGBTQ+. After spending half a year dealing with conversion therapy tactics from people who had told me they understood and wanted to help, and narrowly dodging going through actual conversion therapy at the hands of a church counselor/my mom's best friend, I think I have a right to feel hurt. That being said, I can't make up my mind about how I want to approach my parents. On the one hand, I understand that they're a victim of the church too and everything else Brandon said; but on the other hand, I experienced a lifetime of neglect and then half a year of tactics that are degrading and abusive
@HeWhoWatchesTheStars I can relate. I'm still figuring out how to approach my parents too. It's not easy and it often feels like all options have hardships attached to it.
Christians who make these claims do so because they don't have a logical argument. You are the calmest, most rational, and most careful deconstructionist I've come across on TH-cam.
If religion was evidence based, personal issues would never be called in as defense. There's actually a problem in physics with many women leaving the field because of harassment and sexism but nobody is questioning physics itself.
_”Who hurt you?”_ Well, if your book is to be believed, then not only is the answer ‘your god,’ but doing everything He demands won’t even guarantee that He stops.
Ditto, ditto, Yes indeed. You described my life exactly. It was my extreme Christian life that led me out of Christianity. I read my Bible like an absolute nut-case. I carried my Bible into restaurants. I read it at work on both breaks and at lunch. I took it on plane flights and read it. I often read my Bible on weekends for over 8 hours a day. Once I read it 14 hours on a Saturday. I took it to the beach and read it. In all my sincerity I kept slowly seeing that pastors preached things that conflicted with much of the Bible. I knew the Bible so well that I could call out 4 verses for something and 4 against. I even could tell where the weight of scripture fell. One day, reading Job, I finally could see just how human the Bible was. I stopped believing. I thought about all I knew and reviewed all the problems with my new realization that this was EXTREMELY man-made and now all the Bible problems started making perfect sense. If you are a Christian, buy the book "The Bible Dilemma" and just try reconciling all the problems. If you think prophecies are true and proof of God, buy the book "When Prophecy Fails". Brandon, I'm sure like me, you heard most of those arguments when you were in Church. These Christians are just reiterating what they heard. It's what I heard and even what I used to say, "They must have been hurt." , "They weren't really saved; they weren't true Christians .", "They let sin and the Devil lead them astray." Christians, please realize that we all, as Christians, were taught those excuses. You are just repeating the same arguments that your pastors fed you. I used to say all the same things. Please, please, please .... Dig into the Bible. Read it slow and methodically. Think through the hard points. Ask yourself, "Does this sound like something an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God would do or is this something written by a man trying to influence people?" You will not remain Christian if you can think.
It isn't just any god, it's a very particular one - Yaweh, (Jehovah) that they are referring to -- the one the ancient Jewish people made up right alongside all the other gods of the time. They like to hide behind some nebulous "god thing," but what they really mean is a very particular god. When they try to prove the existence of "a god," they don't mean Rah, or Odin, or Zeus, or even some non descript vague idea of a god, they mean their specific god. Which when pointed out, makes it even more ridiculous.
I remember a good friend (who knew I was an atheist) telling me that every atheist he’d known had a bad relationship with their father. I looked at him and laughed (nicely), telling him that I disproved that argument and he should stop using it. Because my Dad was AWESOME, and both my sister and I loved him very, very much. It’s been 3.5 years since his passing now (the conversation with my friend was while he was still alive though), and we still miss him deeply.
Their argument is weak. Who didn’t have mixed feelings about one of their parents? I could make a similar argument that every theist was primed by indoctrination (I am not saying that).
The judgment and self-righteousness is what gets under my skin, probably because, as you said, I look back on the cring worthy attitude that I had. The insensitivity and disrespect that Christians throw at people in order to save face is frustrating...and I once had that mindset. I've since apologized to both my daughters (who aren't believers now) for subjecting them to that dogmatic fiction.
Realistically. I can see a Christian asking “who hurt you?” as being hurtful to many. My circumstances of my transition to nonbelief gave me no reason to struggle with my loss of belief or have animosity towards anyone. For those who really suffered… who were terrified and guilt-riddled over their loss of faith… and/or had to straight-up lie to everyone they love in order to not be hated by them… it’s different. In these instances, “who hurt you?” is incredibly condescending and invites revisiting the irrational fear and guilt resulting from being indoctrinated into a community of (either naive or hateful) isolationist xenophobic religious supremacists lacking in common human empathy. In these instances, “Who hurt you?” can often be honestly answered with the response “people like you hurt me.”
“You were just hurt” is such an obnoxious way to dismiss someone. Some people leave Christianity because they were hurt and that is a valid reason. Some people leave because the claims no longer make sense. And some leave for both of those reasons. We don’t need to justify to anyone why we leave. If they want to stay in our lives, they need to accept that.
One of my biggest gripes is when a devout believer suffers terrible tragedy, like say their kid is diagnosed with cancer. They then feel anger and betrayal toward God and other religious people try to "defend" God by saying this is "all part of God's plan to make you and your child better people and build your character." I have seen people make these arguments thinking they are being helpful when it is incredibly insensitive. Any human ruler that intentionally infected his citizens with a terrible disease to build their character would be deemed an evil tyrant that should be tried for crimes against humanity. Also, this causes the afflicted believer guilt and shame atop his original misfortune.
This leads me to think about one of the problems I have with the afterlife concept but specifically heaven. Now of course xtians don't all agree on what that even means so I'm going with my understanding of it. So religious people will talk about seeing loved ones in heaven & they make it sound like it's pretty much guaranteed. But (pretending I'm an xtian) say I go to heaven, not everyone I know or loved is so I guess they wouldn't be there. (Iv heard but not much that animals don't go to heaven or possibly any afterlife). So I'm in heaven but the people I want to see again aren't there. Plus my cats aren't. So me in heaven doesn't mind that? Or me in heaven has no memory of them? Either way that person isn't me as I am here on earth. 😶
A Christian told me that I must think it is funny making the Bible look like fiction. My response: never once did I refer to the Bible as fiction all I did was cut and paste Bible verses as my argument and he came to the conclusion that it is fiction all on his own. It was his own stark realization. He stopped dialog at that point. Talking trees, crying stones, one talking snake, one talking donkey, 30+ verses of dragons KJ, 9 verses of unicorns, two satyrs, zombies... need I go on?
I love those "you can't know" or "you're taking it out of context" or "you're deceived" comments. I'd ask them to explain the context or how I'm misunderstanding something like slavery and... crickets.
@@randomdude5950 Because you are not asking the question in good faith. You’re asking it as an insult and it’s obvious. Why would you even ask that question if you’re not a therapist? There’s nothing you can do to help them anyway.
Why is it that when someone leaves religion because of a negative experience, you’re irrational or someone hurt you, but if someone finds religion because of a negative experience, then that’s powerful testimony?
I thought posting 10 different bible quotes that all affirm the original point you made was the christian last resort tactic (you're just reading it wrong, obviously)
I have yet to meet a mathematician who tells me that I can only truly understand the concepts of geometry if I read the oldest Greek texts of Euclid's Elements in the Vatican Library, and that I've been led into error by the 12th century translation into Latin from the Arabic by Herman of Carinthia.
"Who hurt you?" raises the question "Why does god allow his followers to hurt others without rebuking them, especially if he knows church abuse will drive people away from the faith?" It implies god doesn't know about the abuse, doesn't care about the abuse, can't stop the abuse, or condones the abuse. All are immensely troubling.
I'm a Christian, and i am really amazed about the wide and exceptional knowledge You have about the bible brandon. Really like You're videos, that far from make me angry Gives more information about things in which i didn't think myself before. Greatings from LA ROMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC🇩🇴🇺🇲
Yep, I'm hurt that I feel like I was lied to. I went to war in Iraq, and the people there were just as convinced that they had the correct religion. They all can't be right. And if this God is so powerful, why doesn't he comedown to clear everything up.
Allows us to make decisions? I like making choices and using Stoic methods. Cool that you're a soldier....stay frosty. Avoid the needle, and thanks for your service.
The absolute best part of your videos (other than the fact that they are amazingly well done and informative beyond measure) is the comment section. The amount of members of the Christian excuse patrol that roll up here, thinking if they leave 150+ comments per video that, that will somehow prove your argument wrong is literally the best advertisement for atheism I can think of. All they do is show anyone who comes across their novels worth of comments of the power of religious indoctrination has on the mind and why it NEEDS to be avoided. Grab your popcorn, Brandon. They are going to be BIG MAD with this video….and I am here for it.
“You sound hurt” Yeah, I am. I’m trans and I’ve been hurt by both individual Christians and Christianity as a whole. Both the insults and the little things like “I love trans people, I just don’t agree with their lifestyle” hurt. I didn’t choose to be this way, and I’m getting hate from a religion that’s supposedly loving and accepting.
As a former Muslim, I am not angry at god. In fact, I wish God did exit. Sure Islam has problems, but I would love for there to be universal inescapable justice. I want to see victims get a happy ending and evil people get justly punished. I hate that good and innocent suffer while the evil profit and get rewarded for their crimes. However there's simply no proof that God exists. It is what it is.
It's simple. "God" is Love and by Love, I don't mean the emotion or feeling. By Love, I mean unity, non divisiveness, non separation. "God" is not "a being", an external entity from us that we are separate from. It's BEING. I remembered this directly in a profound NDE I had where "I" the seemingly separate "me" of the egoic mind, returned to pure awareness/consciousness. In the NDE, I saw that the greatest challenge in being human, is to remember who we ALL really are and are part of and then do our best to live our human existence from this recognition. We forget so easily. I forget repeatedly, even after the clarity of the NDE that I brought back. It's an ongoing challenge and process, it's not an outcome.
@@annemurphy8074 that sounds good but means little without the concrete benefits. In Gaza ten kids a day get amputations without anesthesia. Nothing means anything compared to that.
@@MindShift-Brandon it's my dad's main tactic because he knows I get really angry when he says it. And then he tells me my anger is a response to the fact that I'm afraid of knowing God.
I love this argument thanks Brandon. For myself, I liked my church and when I see it dying because no one that goes to it anymore is younger 60, it kind of makes me sad. I have somewhat fond memories in my youth. When I let myself be guided by the truth, and not blinded by faith, I simply found that the supernatural claims of the Bible have no merit. The conflicts with reality and the contradictions within the Bible back up my non-belief. There was harm from the religion because I lived my life for the next life and I did not fully live during the short time I have here now. The fear of hell and coming out of that was like drowning and then finally coming up for air. The realization that religion is all made up and your religion mostly depends on where you were born. My morals are now grounded in not harming others as much as I can. I find so much more peace and happiness in my life now that this supernatural god has no claim on my life anymore.
To the accusation that I left because I was hurt I have often responded that yes, I was hurt, but I didn’t leave in a fit of pique. I left because it no longer made sense and I was not able to believe. I left because the gospel message in and of itself is damaging and abusive.
"is damaging and abusive"? In what way is Jesus saving and rescuing me from your sins, being born again, being made a new creation in Christ, and given the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven, and know loving the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength... so "damaging and abusive" to my life?
Because unconditional love shouldn't fill you with self-loathing and suicidal despair (particularly the very special brand of "love" administered to LGBTQ+), because a God that would torment you for all eternity for the thought-crime of non-belief is a monster, and a God that would demand a human sacrifice via sadistic torture is evil incarnate. There is nothing loving about the bloodthirsty God of that wretched tale. If you derive comfort from your belief, then I am happy for you. I want none of it... so please do NOT make me your mission project. @ophergibson7155
@@christophergibson7155 - I typed in a reply that isn’t showing in my browser, so apologies if this is a double post. If you take comfort in your belief, I’m happy for you. It is not for me. IMHO, a God that demands a blood sacrifice is a monster. A God that would eternally torment me for the thought-crime of non-belief is a monster. A God that is supposed to love me unconditionally but only on the condition that I believe is a liar. Further, I sincerely doubt that many Christians in this country have ever been subjected to the “unconditional love” specifically handed to LGBTQ+. Last I checked, unconditional love shouldn’t fill you with self-loathing and suicidal despair. I repeat - it is not for me; nor am I willing to be your mission project.
@@MrFiddler1959Thank You for your reply. I can see by your response to my comment that you have not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. The very first understanding comes by knowing the gravity and seriousness of your own sinful ways. And if you understand nothing else; one thing is certain to know; that God is Holy, Righteous, and Just. And this understanding only happens by the grace of God to the convicted sinner. No matter which way you look at it, we can not escape the fact the truth of this now, or unfortunately in eternity. So many will not take the responsibility that they are a moral law breaker of the 10 commandments. They are quick to blame God or others for their own actions. It is just human nature to do so. Just like Adam told God that "it was the woman you gave to be with me." She made me do it. (Genesis 3:12) I have done this often in my life, but by the grace and mercy of God not any more. God's Love is only conditional in that everyone who comes to Jesus can be forgiven and cleansed from sin, be born again by the Spirit of God, and be made a new creation in Christ, and given the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. The "condition" is having the heart of a little child: humble, dependent, and trusting. Please do not harden your heart to the love of God that is in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Well, when you spent the best years of your life, believing in faith mindset and discovered you have been scammed by religious institutions, and have no place to have a voice and recover your dignity as human beings, you feel hurt by the justice and community 😭😭
When they tell you you have been hurt by whatever version of Christianity they practice, they are so grasping for straws. You are so logical and have such an amazing understanding of the Bible that they don’t know what else to say except to fall back on the old arguments of “you are angry” or “satan has taken over you” or “you misinterpreted the Bible.”
Like, if there is a God, then send it my way so I can have a real discussion with that entity. If I can't, then how can anyone say anything exists? Humans are evolving out of religion.
I think sometimes your hurt does come through, but that's not a detriment. It is part of what makes you so passionate and driven to create this content that is so helpful to so many. As a formerly extremely devout PK, your channel has helped me so much in my deconstruction and in becoming confident in my nonbelief. I think a big reason is because your content is not only extremely well-reasoned and sourced but also because of the fact that it is personal to you. You are not just speaking against Christianity because it's fun to tick people off, or from a place of superiority as someone who has never and could never have believed. You speak with compassion and empathy that comes from a place of shared experience. That is what makes it dangerous to people who do not want to ask the wrong questions and accidentally find themselves outside the church, and that is why they use any glimmer of emotion to dismiss what you're saying. Love your content, keep fighting the good fight. Feel free to take a break and have some fun now and then too though!
"you sound hurt" is something I'd probably say to the god of this religion. if this all-powerful deity is unable to suppress the pain it's experiencing without lashing out at its supposedly chosen people... how much greater than it are we that can take our hurt and turn it to something positive? thanks for sharing with us, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough that you actually get this comment regularly.
I like the “caring”, “you are really struggling with this aren’t you. You need to let go and let God”. After some reflection on this over the past few years, I believe that it’s actually the person(s) you come out to that are hurt as they feel a sense of betrayal because the reality is that we spend many intimate hours with them in prayer, common fellowship etc. I sad really. Thanks Brandon, we are well on our way to recovery because of you.
"You don't believe in Zeus, because you hate Zeus. You don't believe in Rah, because you were hurt. Who are you to question the word of Odin?" It's not just some nebulous god thing they're referring to. They are referring to a very particular god, Yaweh (Jehovah) - the god the ancient Jewish people worshipped and created.
So, if Job said, "You know what? This Yahweh character took my family away from me over what was essentially a dare. I'm not going to worship something that unethical, cruel, petulant, and destructive, even if he IS real." That would be "hurt". Sure he's hurt - he lost his original family! Who wouldn't be hurt, except a mindless automaton? So when Brandon expresses hurt over the "absence" of this being, who claimed he is everywhere and will answer prayers, his hurt is considerably less than that of Job...yet equally understandable, as he was emotionally invested to the gills for decades. When Christians use the "you must be hurt" bullshit, they're showing their hand: not to how sympathetic they are, but to how robotic and inhuman they are capable of behaving. Anyone who had faith and lost it will experience some degree of hurt feelings - great disappointment, upheaval, lack of trust, even anger over being misled and let down. None of that removes the arguments that "led" them to lose their faith. I've never met anyone who claimed that "God hurt me because _______ so I no longer believe"...ever. I've met people who said, "God hurt me because ________ so I'm confused," or no longer going to church, or gave up prayer, or even abandoned active faith in God, but they did not cease to believe in God as an entity - merely God's promises, or perhaps even a distrust of his character crept in. Anyone serious about faith who lost it? No way. The hurt we encountered isn't the reason for unbelief - it's a byproduct of belief.
I'm caught between believing in God as an Entity but not believing in his promises and not believing in God at all. It's been almost a year since I left The Christian Faith internally. But I still fluctuate between belief in God as Entity but not in his promises and total Non Belief.
11:55. - 12:40 As someone who experienced numerous religions first hand as a child this a great point, which is definitely overlooked by believers who comment that you just need their version of religion.
@MindShift-Brandon That's a sign that a Christian is losing the argument and resorts to mockery by saying, "Aww, bless your heart, who hurt you, sweetie so badly that you now hate God?"
@@MindShift-Brandon it’s part of the “loving” response script. They put it back on you, but cloak it in “love and concern”. Sort of like a backhanded compliment.
Brandon, I'm glad you mentioned that bit about "you must have been abused." No details here, except to clear my terrific parents, my religion did not encourage talking about this and in fact made us feel - especially girls - that somehow this was just punishment because we are just bad, or naturally seductive, or on and on. Really does a number on your head and heart.
@@blueStarKitt7924 thank you. I'm fine now. Realizing why I felt what I did, that I wasn't this tainted thing religion told me I was set me free of that fake guilt and I have peace - no anger, no shame, lots of joy just being.:)
Another amazing video!!!! You’re the best Brandon! The fact is we are all human and feel hurt. The thing I love about your channel is that you drive home the point that Christianity simply doesn’t make sense. A couple years ago at the end of a conversation with my father , who has been a Christian pastor for almost 50 years now, he said “I just have to hope that in the end it all makes sense.” It’s sad, and that’s why a channel like yours is so important. My father is too far gone, but many are not and they need to hear you.
I really loved the book "The Alchemy of Wolves and Sheep" which talk about the moral hurt and guilt of survivors who had to do things when they were endoctrinated. It really helped me. Keep doing your videos, they are great. Exjw here.
Brandon you are doing an excellent job please don’t stop. As a fellow Atheist I am learning from you & helping me a lot 👏👏. Thank you ❤️❤️. It is soooo great to be free of all religions & a god who doesn’t exist !! I’m soooo at peace!!
Around 12:40 you speak about looking back and regretting things you have said and believed in. I feel that in a big way. 10 years ago I got a huge tattoo of christ on my entire left torso. I have to live with this forever.
You are doing amazing work for all of those who see your videos, I just wanted to let you know how much of a difference you make. As someone who has left Christianity but is still spiritual, I believe people like you are doing the kind of work that really matters and spreads a message of love. The way you speak on these topics is amazingly gentle and understanding, and it leaves lasting impacts on the people who find your content. Thank you!
Being good Christians gave my abusers cover. They got tips from their church on how to abuse me further. It warped my mind and hurts my self esteem for decades after being out. Of course I'm hurt. My abusers told me god was telling them to abuse me as it was happening and I deserved it. And when I begged for help the church told me it was my fault and I had to submit. Who wouldn't be hurt by that?
Have so much I could say about the hurt Christianity has caused my family... but for now ... just... thank you. Thank you so much for understanding and helping.
After the hurts and disappointments and delusions brought on by family and church...and a long time in therapy and watching deconstruction videos such as this ( thank you Brandon) I see Christianity for what it is...a blood cult. I have never been happier and guilt free in my life. The truth will set you free.
GOD KNOWS that thousands of years ago, he authorized and sent Jesus Christ from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings GOD KNOWS that thousands of years ago, Jesus Christ was hated, insulted, falsely accused, tortured, and murdered for preaching and teaching the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to imperfect, suffering , and dying human beings GOD KNOWS that present time, Atheists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Born Again Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions are filling the world with - 1. the LIE and false claim that the BIBLE is just a worthless book of LIES, myths, fictions, fantasies, and fairy tales 2. LIES and UNBIBLICAL teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "heaven and hellfire", "rapture", and "reincarnation" But thousands of years and nothing has changed, the TRUTH remains.... GOD KNOWS that his favor and reward of ETERNAL LIFE and existence on earth without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness, and death as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4 is - 1. NOT for Atheists, Christians, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions 2. NOT for liars, slanderers, arrogant, cruel, merciless, and deceitful persons but ONLY for lowly, ordinary, kind, and respectful persons on earth who - 1. respect and value the lives, dignities, and existence of their co-humans beings 2. willingly submit to the authority of his Christ and believe his teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25,, 26 GOD KNOWS that all human beings will just return to dusts after their deaths just like the animals as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6 but he also KNOWS that the teaching of his Christ about the "RESURRECTION of the DEAD" is his guarantee that all loving, kind, and respectful persons on earth who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, King David, Jesus Christ's Followers, and many others will not remain as worthless dusts forever, instead, in the right and proper time, he will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can happily, abundantly, and peacefully live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects and citizens of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or His Kingdom and fully enjoy his and his Christ's eternal love, kindness, goodness, generosities, compassions, favors, and blessings for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as his Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
People rarely grasp the concept of there being multiple explanations/motives for something. I mentioned the fear of hell as a reason I held onto my faith, and my sister immediately jumped to ask, “that was the reason you believed?” No, there was a myriad of reasons why I believed, but fear of hell was ONE of them.
Beautifully said! I’m so grateful for your contribution in this space, it is so needed - thank you! I’m former LDS (Mormon) and so far I’ve tried to dismiss this argument against those who’ve left the fold, strictly for my mental health. The church did hurt me, and for my health and wellbeing it was essential for me to leave. Since leaving, I’ve deconstructed on an intellectual level as well. Now, because I’m in a mixed faith family of a high demand religion it continues to hurt me. Currently, I am putting on a wedding reception for my son and soon to be daughter-in-law, for a wedding I, as his mom, am not allowed to attend. It crushes me when I think about it. I used to believe that those who didn’t ‘want’ to take the proper steps to attend a temple wedding (sealing), just didn’t put the effort in - they could be there if the chose to. Oh how I’ve since learned how faith REALLY works. I don’t place blame with the members, they’re truly doing what they believe to be right and true. I do however have no problem calling out an institution that tells its members “not to take council from those who don’t believe”
The artwork is super cool! When it goes thumbnail size, the artist could accommodate design so it doesn't turn muddy because of amount of detail. The studio is warm & inviting, love the lighting especially. Glad to see your channel keeps growing, yay!
You've never sounded hurt to me, on the contrary your voice is one of the few voices of reason I know of. You point out the things that need pointing out, and yes the truth hurts sometimes but it also sets you free from this religious slavery. So I thank you for your great service in this war against fairytales and bad theology.
What all Christians agree on: "There is one true message from God". What all Christians disagree on: "No, my version is the one truth!" Does that sound like an omni God that wants its message to be known world-wide? Shall I comment on the non-Christian parts of the world now - including Judaism?
I really love the way you analyze every little aspect. I feel like you're taking the words right out of my mouth verbatim sometimes it's crazy. I've been making a lot of these same observations to my christian friends and family. I grew up evangelical. I went on numerous mission trips, led on the worship team, the whole 9. But I managed to find my way out of it by the end of my teen years and now, 25 years later I could never go back. I've just realized too many errors and too much mutually exclusive logic in these Abrahamic religions to ever be able to take them seriously again. I read this interesting book called "The Denial Of Death" by Ernest Becker and it talks about how the #1 existential human dilemma is our ability to grasp our own mortality and all other human psychology stems from that fear of death so it really can't be understated how much psychological incentive we have to create an afterlife narrative and religions pacify that fundamental existential fear.
To the extent that I’ve been “hurt“, it was being brought up to believe that there are demons after me and inside of me and that magical thinking is the only answer to my problems in life. I wish that I had been taught more philosophy and stoicism, things that would be helpful in life. My second hurt is that I can’t speak to my family without them trying to shoehorn their god and their pity into the conversation. We are inching closer and closer to the grave and yet we can’t just have a normal conversation. Their mythology makes a relationship effectively impossible.
The contradictions in those defensive responses are, in some ways, kinda the point. Keep people guessing and questioning themselves (am I listening to the right people? am I reading things the right way?) so they don't have time to question the underlying beliefs.
If you would have told me a year ago that I was gonna end up here I would have lost my mind. Going from torah observant to agonist has been one hell of a journey. So many ups and downs but came out on the other end finally free from it all.
Yes I was hurt when I learnt I had accepted a load of guff as true. I was annoyed with myself for being a fool and I was annoyed with the people that fed me all that bullshit.
I do have to admit that when I did finally take on the atheist label I damn well was pissed off. I had been lied to, misled and gaslighted for years into believing that I was worthless and born broken. You're damn right I was pissed.
exactly, The church never hurt me in anyway I enjoyed going and liked all the people at my church they are all really good people My problem was I never really went to church regularly my whole life until the last few years and it was during that time had a free wheel Baptist Church where they read all of the Bible that I actually found out what was in it Each week I would come up with new questions and they couldn't answer them very well so after about two years I told him I was going to take a break from church because things aren't adding up and I have to do a deep study on my own And have now spent 2000 or more hours in deep study but after probably a couple hundred of studying all the different ancient religions and finding out about the other flood stories and creation stories etc I knew there was no way I could hold onto my faith. It's in the first few months I was agnostic atheist and I don't even mind just saying atheist I'm just allowing for a tiny tiny sliver of possibility of a higher power even though it appears highly unlikely. But nothing really changed with me except Maybe now I don't believe gay people are "sinning" and going to hell for that lifestyle, anymore outside of that I don't think anything changed except for I think happens when I die and I'm no longer praying to invisible God .
28:47 now this is the insight I really think helps and I'm going to keep this in mind going forward with watching your videos. Making two separate arguments.
The demonic possession part and the huge differences between denominations is so funny. I was Roman Catholic so ghost hunting/exorcism was a real thing but so many other denominations don't believe in they stuff despite the Bible talking about it.
This video is an example of why you are one of my favorite youtubers. Very in-depth, you steel man the other side as best as possible, you're respectful and you really truly do understand the Christian mindset. One thing you said in the video that resonated with me was when you talked about people judging you based on a short sound bite they got from one of your videos. I get comments like that all the time. They read one small post I made and think they know me well enough to give me advice or tell me what I'm doing wrong. It's presumptuous and arrogant, but I can't control other people only myself so I've learned to shrug it off.
Regarding the issue of blaming parents, I'm not sure if I still blame my parents for my indoctrination, but I have a hard time seeing them as good people. Here's why: they had a belief that there was a real, non-zero possibility that their kids would end up being tortured forever by their all loving God, and they chose to force them into existence anyway. And they have never changed their mind about it, as far as I know. If they were really willing to think about it, they would have to admit that this risk for their kids only existed because the God they worshiped is evil. Seems to me like a kind person would see this as an unfair risk to their kids.
I do completely understand. My point was more, cant blame someone for being fooled in the same way we once were. That doesn’t mean all their actions are permissible though
In my own personal experience I've seen how it effects my family and friends that subscribe to the religion. I've honestly been scared or unsettled by the way it made my family act at times. Not to the point where i fealt my life was in danger but it got pretty close. My own brother said he was close to killing someone for questioning jesus and this faith. If this is the so called "love" that Christianity inspires as a religion i want nothing more to do with it. I've seen nothing but genuinely good people who i sometimes wondered if they actually did their research and stuck with it and I've seen total narcissistic, self centered and egotistical individuals who seemed to run as if religion somehow served them as if they were some self proclaimed messianic figure. To those still deconstructing and still going through some fall out i say this. I left when i was twenty and that was the biggest breath of fresh air i ever had in my life. It took the smack in the face of going back a second time to make me relise why i left in the first place and finally leave religion for good. Also yes it does get so much easier. Another great video brandon.
My wife has felt God, so she says. She also has communicated that if I don't believe, I don't have any business talking about it and she'll "counter-attack" me faster than I could verbalize any of my questions. So fine, I'll leave it alone, but that still leaves things I don't understand about her and I'm not the one hurt.
As you should be. Shutting down conversation and a partners opinion due to this religion is exactly the kind of thing we are talking about in terms of the harm this religion causes.
Happy Sunday, All. Thanks for being here!
Love the new poster, and would make a good profile pic, or logo if it was simplified or pard down a bit. 👍
Kinda wish you hadn’t said anything about your existing logo, because now I can’t not see it either. 😬😅
(Not psychic, just have some graphics background.)
"oh no, my aura" 😂
One of my other favourite apologetics related to "why do you keep talking about it if you don't believe?" Is "if you really care about harmful religions then why not talk about Islam?". I agree we should talk about Islam too but Christianity is what we in north America grew up in and around and affects our daily lives for most of us.
@@GameTimeWhy the whole “if you don’t believe” argument is total nonsense - don’t know which ‘fallacy’ that is, or if it is an official one - as if nobody ever talks about things they don’t believe in.
Keep on having kids, keep suffering going forever.
Christians love to hear testimony about how people joined the faith for purely emotional reasons, but when someone decides to leave the faith on the same basis suddenly it's a huge problem
Wonderful point!
True.
I shall not fear, for fear is the mind killer. Oh, wait, those were Bened Jesserats from Dune.
@@Bob-b7x6vBene Gesserit
So true. Its so annoying. Other than apologists who pretend to have converted for purely logical reasons, the only testimonies of conversions I hear from ordinary people are ALL, ALL bases on solely emotional grounds.
I’m 16, and I’ve been a Christian for 15 years. I’ve been doubting my religion since I was 10 and I’ve only gotten more doubtful.
About a week ago I expressed my thoughts and doubts to my pastor and parents and instead of trying to “help me” they told me I deserved to go to hell, and threatened to send me away to my grandmas.
For people who server an all loving god, I’ve never seen so much anger over someone else believing in something else.
That day was honestly my tipping point, and now I’ve fully accepted that religion is just a cage I was put in at birth.
Honestly, I’ve never been more happy and free since that day.
Oh man. Proud of you. And so sorry to hear about the family. Such a great life of freedom ahead of you though
I do understand how you feel and am sorry you turned away. I have been in the same position, but I still believe. I have found that whilst there are people who will reject you if you have doubts, a true Christian should be prepared to listen and understand your feelings and opinions. Christians can be very hurtful, sometimes without realising it but we are human and make mistakes.
You’ve started your journey and I wish you well. You may experience touch times as you leave religion. Things like family, community and fear may try to drag you back. Continue to learn and ask questions and you’ll do great.
The problem is your idea of a "true Christian" is often not what another believes. I do think you can be a good Christian and be open to people but at the same time there are other people who think being aggressive and hostile is the true way to be a Christian and both are validated by passages of the bible but I do think the majority of Christians are open and loving.
“It’s your fault you’re hurt.” is such a narc gaslighting tactic; disgusting!
Agreed!
Yup. So gross
I also got the, "I am sorry you feel that way" phrase when I got hurt by fellow Christians. What a non apology.
Just wait till you hear what they say to the disabled like me.
@@BluStarGalaxy funnily enough had some retail training once upon a time, where that phrase was suggested as a way to not accept culpability (for potential legal implications).
I was raped by a preist as a child. I am hurt by religion. As a result of that hurt, I have come to study and understand the vulnerabilities to child abuse that religion creates. I dare anyone to tell me I’m “just hurt”. My critiques are legit.
I am so sorry to hear about your experience. Its an excellent point also that hurt and experience and emotion can be catalyst toward understand the truth and gaining more information. Thank you for being willing to share.
@@MindShift-Brandon btw I’d really love to see you cover the case that religion makes kids more vulnerable to child abuse.
Please continue to heal my friend ❤️
@@MindShift-Brandon "I’d really love to see you cover the case that religion makes kids more vulnerable to child abuse." Yes I really hope you see this comment, Brandon! You don't seem like one to shy away from tough topics. I think you'd agree that the institutional systemic abuse of children in christianity is a profoundly pertinent issue! One I think you'd be able to address very capably.
@@LifeStrike2030Being told your whole life that you have to obey authorities without question leaves you open to authorities that have no problem abusing you, I don't know how ignorant you have to be to not know that basic fact of reality LOL
Well, of course I'm hurt. I was endoctrinated into believing lies that shaped my life for so many years. The lies that I allowed to shape my life turned me into a homophobic bigot. I also, without wanting to admit at the time, thought I was superior to everybody else since my relationship with a mythological deity that I once believed to be the one true God gave me a sense of entilement.
I also preached God's word and traveled all around Mexico preaching. I hurt so many people with harsh words due to my biblical standards.
Now as an atheist, my own religious family, the Christian mother of my kids who soon will be my ex wife hate me and constantly tell me that I need to go back to church and worship God.
Yes, I'm hurt.
Right! Theres nothing wrong with being hurt. For so many of us, its natural to feel hurt by these objectively hurtful attitudes and actions. It should not devalue our criticism!
I just got a text from my father saying, "I have sirloin steak, smoked queso, and chips in my office. If you come to worship, it's yours." like that will make me believe in God again. MindShift-Brandon
Some $10 chips is all god's worship is worth to your father?? 😭
Timeshare scams have better incentives. God gotta step his shit up. 🤣🤣
@@abiliv-lf9tz My father thinks I'm ruining my life by not attending church anymore. I guess he's desperate to get me to go that he's bribing me with food. I even replied that I won't accept, and he insists that I do since he grilled the steak and smoked the queso just for me, but that I need to go to church to get it. I guess he has a sermon about attendance or antiatheism today.
What’s not to be furious about when you discover how contrived and manipulative it all is? Damn!
Yes. Hurt is a very justified feeling and shouldn’t be used against us.
When you’re a woman, it’s “you sound so angry! What happened to you?” Because as an evangelical girl and woman, anger is NEVER allowed.
I have seen that first hand many times. Great point.
You really couldn't see past your worldview huh? If you think only women go through that, please think again. PROPERLY.
Has Christianity and Christians caused me harm? Yes.
Is that why I don't believe in the claims of the religion? No.
Is that question just a way to deflect and try to remove the value of the aarguement and also victim blame? Yes.
Absolutely it's a defense mechanism. It's almost like they have to have various methods like this of invalidating any logical points you may have because to entertain them would be a threat to their worldview, and therefore their identity, security etc...
Exactly
Yes. It IS hurtful to spend years finally discovering that the people you looked up to and trusted told you all kinds of things that are wrong. It hurts even more when you confront them and they dig in 10 times deeper with their pride.
It's also hurtful to pray for decades to a person who supposedly loved you so much they would die, but can't be bothered to say a single word to you individually. Ever.
It's hurtful to feel the rug pulled out from under you when you finally come to understand that the foundation you we're actually on was not rock at all, but sand.
It's hurtful to have the people that were closest to you for years or even decades turn against you, write you threatening letters and emails, and start making up stories about the reason that you left. None of which are ever true.
100%!
I definitely feel this, thank you for sharing! When the stakes are allegedly a person's eternal soul, then God playing hide and seek to test us is cruel.
"You sound hurt," well it did hurt when I told my mom that I am bisexual and her first reaction was "you are going to hell." Yes, that hurt, and it's fair for me to feel hurt about that.
Truth hurts does it m8? Believe me i've been there.
When I came out to my parents, they spent six/seven months trying to convert me back to being cishet and Christian. It didn't matter that I was still 100% a Christian; what mattered was that they didn't believe I could be a Christian and also be LGBTQ+. After spending half a year dealing with conversion therapy tactics from people who had told me they understood and wanted to help, and narrowly dodging going through actual conversion therapy at the hands of a church counselor/my mom's best friend, I think I have a right to feel hurt.
That being said, I can't make up my mind about how I want to approach my parents. On the one hand, I understand that they're a victim of the church too and everything else Brandon said; but on the other hand, I experienced a lifetime of neglect and then half a year of tactics that are degrading and abusive
@HeWhoWatchesTheStars I can relate. I'm still figuring out how to approach my parents too. It's not easy and it often feels like all options have hardships attached to it.
Christians who make these claims do so because they don't have a logical argument. You are the calmest, most rational, and most careful deconstructionist I've come across on TH-cam.
Compliment of the year. Thank you!
If religion was evidence based, personal issues would never be called in as defense. There's actually a problem in physics with many women leaving the field because of harassment and sexism but nobody is questioning physics itself.
This is a solid point!
This is a good example. Going to keep this in mind.
Hence, why religions require faith.
_”Who hurt you?”_
Well, if your book is to be believed, then not only is the answer ‘your god,’ but doing everything He demands won’t even guarantee that He stops.
Take my money, and keep thinking.
Ha! Appreciate the support very much. Thank you!
Ditto, ditto, Yes indeed. You described my life exactly. It was my extreme Christian life that led me out of Christianity. I read my Bible like an absolute nut-case. I carried my Bible into restaurants. I read it at work on both breaks and at lunch. I took it on plane flights and read it. I often read my Bible on weekends for over 8 hours a day. Once I read it 14 hours on a Saturday. I took it to the beach and read it. In all my sincerity I kept slowly seeing that pastors preached things that conflicted with much of the Bible. I knew the Bible so well that I could call out 4 verses for something and 4 against. I even could tell where the weight of scripture fell.
One day, reading Job, I finally could see just how human the Bible was. I stopped believing. I thought about all I knew and reviewed all the problems with my new realization that this was EXTREMELY man-made and now all the Bible problems started making perfect sense. If you are a Christian, buy the book "The Bible Dilemma" and just try reconciling all the problems. If you think prophecies are true and proof of God, buy the book "When Prophecy Fails".
Brandon, I'm sure like me, you heard most of those arguments when you were in Church. These Christians are just reiterating what they heard. It's what I heard and even what I used to say, "They must have been hurt." , "They weren't really saved; they weren't true Christians .", "They let sin and the Devil lead them astray."
Christians, please realize that we all, as Christians, were taught those excuses. You are just repeating the same arguments that your pastors fed you. I used to say all the same things. Please, please, please .... Dig into the Bible. Read it slow and methodically. Think through the hard points. Ask yourself, "Does this sound like something an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God would do or is this something written by a man trying to influence people?" You will not remain Christian if you can think.
Wow, that level of addiction is equal to a die in the gutter heroin addict. Glad you were able to pull yourself out of it.
"Extreme" indeed- 14 hours reading! Great comment- candid & heartfelt...
Same Here. Religion abuse
And after all this, I’m sure you’ll still get people responding to you, by stating that you were never a real Christian
@@johannOplease Been there!
I saw the doctor a few weeks ago. I'm pretty darn healthy. Definitely not hurt. And gods still don't exist.
It isn't just any god, it's a very particular one - Yaweh, (Jehovah) that they are referring to -- the one the ancient Jewish people made up right alongside all the other gods of the time. They like to hide behind some nebulous "god thing," but what they really mean is a very particular god. When they try to prove the existence of "a god," they don't mean Rah, or Odin, or Zeus, or even some non descript vague idea of a god, they mean their specific god. Which when pointed out, makes it even more ridiculous.
Are you sure that you're not making Him non-existent?
@@ThroneofDavid8 One can only 'make non-existent' a god which only ever existed in the imagination.
@berkah6240 It's hard to understand what you're saying. How about rewording it.
lol stawwpp
I remember a good friend (who knew I was an atheist) telling me that every atheist he’d known had a bad relationship with their father.
I looked at him and laughed (nicely), telling him that I disproved that argument and he should stop using it. Because my Dad was AWESOME, and both my sister and I loved him very, very much. It’s been 3.5 years since his passing now (the conversation with my friend was while he was still alive though), and we still miss him deeply.
I loved my Dad very much. I'd like to hug him just one more time.
Their argument is weak. Who didn’t have mixed feelings about one of their parents?
I could make a similar argument that every theist was primed by indoctrination (I am not saying that).
The judgment and self-righteousness is what gets under my skin, probably because, as you said, I look back on the cring worthy attitude that I had. The insensitivity and disrespect that Christians throw at people in order to save face is frustrating...and I once had that mindset. I've since apologized to both my daughters (who aren't believers now) for subjecting them to that dogmatic fiction.
Yes! Way to take responsibility and create change!
Realistically. I can see a Christian asking “who hurt you?” as being hurtful to many.
My circumstances of my transition to nonbelief gave me no reason to struggle with my loss of belief or have animosity towards anyone. For those who really suffered… who were terrified and guilt-riddled over their loss of faith… and/or had to straight-up lie to everyone they love in order to not be hated by them… it’s different.
In these instances, “who hurt you?” is incredibly condescending and invites revisiting the irrational fear and guilt resulting from being indoctrinated into a community of (either naive or hateful) isolationist xenophobic religious supremacists lacking in common human empathy.
In these instances, “Who hurt you?” can often be honestly answered with the response “people like you hurt me.”
You might be a good friend towards that person, but what that person said made that person totally fail at the friendship level. For shame!
Yes-they seem to magically know the exact frame of reference before asking.
“You were just hurt” is such an obnoxious way to dismiss someone. Some people leave Christianity because they were hurt and that is a valid reason. Some people leave because the claims no longer make sense. And some leave for both of those reasons. We don’t need to justify to anyone why we leave. If they want to stay in our lives, they need to accept that.
One of my biggest gripes is when a devout believer suffers terrible tragedy, like say their kid is diagnosed with cancer. They then feel anger and betrayal toward God and other religious people try to "defend" God by saying this is "all part of God's plan to make you and your child better people and build your character." I have seen people make these arguments thinking they are being helpful when it is incredibly insensitive. Any human ruler that intentionally infected his citizens with a terrible disease to build their character would be deemed an evil tyrant that should be tried for crimes against humanity. Also, this causes the afflicted believer guilt and shame atop his original misfortune.
This leads me to think about one of the problems I have with the afterlife concept but specifically heaven.
Now of course xtians don't all agree on what that even means so I'm going with my understanding of it.
So religious people will talk about seeing loved ones in heaven & they make it sound like it's pretty much guaranteed. But (pretending I'm an xtian) say I go to heaven, not everyone I know or loved is so I guess they wouldn't be there.
(Iv heard but not much that animals don't go to heaven or possibly any afterlife).
So I'm in heaven but the people I want to see again aren't there. Plus my cats aren't. So me in heaven doesn't mind that? Or me in heaven has no memory of them?
Either way that person isn't me as I am here on earth. 😶
A Christian told me that I must think it is funny making the Bible look like fiction. My response: never once did I refer to the Bible as fiction all I did was cut and paste Bible verses as my argument and he came to the conclusion that it is fiction all on his own. It was his own stark realization. He stopped dialog at that point. Talking trees, crying stones, one talking snake, one talking donkey, 30+ verses of dragons KJ, 9 verses of unicorns, two satyrs, zombies... need I go on?
thanks for the support and the interesting comment. Its pretty fun to hear it all in one place like that.
I love those "you can't know" or "you're taking it out of context" or "you're deceived" comments. I'd ask them to explain the context or how I'm misunderstanding something like slavery and... crickets.
“You sound hurt” is a very common phrase used by abusers. Variation: “Who hurt you?”
What? Nothing wrong with asking right? How are we going to know without asking or at least saying what we observed?
@@randomdude5950 Because you are not asking the question in good faith. You’re asking it as an insult and it’s obvious. Why would you even ask that question if you’re not a therapist? There’s nothing you can do to help them anyway.
@@randomdude5950
There are ways to ask about someone's pain appropriately. That is not the type of question being discussed above or in this video.
Why is it that when someone leaves religion because of a negative experience, you’re irrational or someone hurt you, but if someone finds religion because of a negative experience, then that’s powerful testimony?
Exactly!
When the gaslighting starts, you know they’ve get nothing left. Such a gross and transparently desperate move.
yes! last resort tactics for sure.
I thought posting 10 different bible quotes that all affirm the original point you made was the christian last resort tactic (you're just reading it wrong, obviously)
Ooh. I would love that picture as the new logo. It ties in perfectly with the idea of a shifting mind.
It really is perfect. Thanks
💯
I agree 👍
sorry, i find it creepy, with the red color makes me think of someone who got their skin ripped off, just my opinion...
To each their own
I have yet to meet a mathematician who tells me that I can only truly understand the concepts of geometry if I read the oldest Greek texts of Euclid's Elements in the Vatican Library, and that I've been led into error by the 12th century translation into Latin from the Arabic by Herman of Carinthia.
Of course I’m angry.
I always was triggered by lying liars.
It’s why I despise apologetics.
"Who hurt you?" raises the question "Why does god allow his followers to hurt others without rebuking them, especially if he knows church abuse will drive people away from the faith?" It implies god doesn't know about the abuse, doesn't care about the abuse, can't stop the abuse, or condones the abuse. All are immensely troubling.
Well, if someday you realize you've been lied to your whole live, that your whole identity was based on a lie, you might feel some kinda way about it.
Yup!
I'm a Christian, and i am really amazed about the wide and exceptional knowledge
You have about the bible brandon.
Really like You're videos, that far from make me angry
Gives more information about things in which i didn't think myself before.
Greatings from LA ROMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC🇩🇴🇺🇲
Appreciate the kindness despite any differences.
@@MindShift-Brandon thank's
Yep, I'm hurt that I feel like I was lied to. I went to war in Iraq, and the people there were just as convinced that they had the correct religion. They all can't be right. And if this God is so powerful, why doesn't he comedown to clear everything up.
Allows us to make decisions?
I like making choices and using Stoic methods.
Cool that you're a soldier....stay frosty.
Avoid the needle, and thanks for your service.
Cuz god gave us free will and with that freedom we get to choose however outcome our life goes.
The absolute best part of your videos (other than the fact that they are amazingly well done and informative beyond measure) is the comment section. The amount of members of the Christian excuse patrol that roll up here, thinking if they leave 150+ comments per video that, that will somehow prove your argument wrong is literally the best advertisement for atheism I can think of. All they do is show anyone who comes across their novels worth of comments of the power of religious indoctrination has on the mind and why it NEEDS to be avoided. Grab your popcorn, Brandon. They are going to be BIG MAD with this video….and I am here for it.
Ha!! Yes i get that for sure. We shall see
I have my popcorn ready and cant wait :D
“You sound hurt” Yeah, I am. I’m trans and I’ve been hurt by both individual Christians and Christianity as a whole. Both the insults and the little things like “I love trans people, I just don’t agree with their lifestyle” hurt. I didn’t choose to be this way, and I’m getting hate from a religion that’s supposedly loving and accepting.
As a former Muslim, I am not angry at god. In fact, I wish God did exit. Sure Islam has problems, but I would love for there to be universal inescapable justice. I want to see victims get a happy ending and evil people get justly punished. I hate that good and innocent suffer while the evil profit and get rewarded for their crimes. However there's simply no proof that God exists. It is what it is.
🌠✋️😎👍
Well said.
It's simple. "God" is Love and by Love, I don't mean the emotion or feeling. By Love, I mean unity, non divisiveness, non separation. "God" is not "a being", an external entity from us that we are separate from. It's BEING. I remembered this directly in a profound NDE I had where "I" the seemingly separate "me" of the egoic mind, returned to pure awareness/consciousness. In the NDE, I saw that the greatest challenge in being human, is to remember who we ALL really are and are part of and then do our best to live our human existence from this recognition. We forget so easily. I forget repeatedly, even after the clarity of the NDE that I brought back. It's an ongoing challenge and process, it's not an outcome.
@@annemurphy8074 that sounds good but means little without the concrete benefits. In Gaza ten kids a day get amputations without anesthesia. Nothing means anything compared to that.
I wouldn't wish for that particular god. Have you read the Quran? It's as murderous as the bible one.
I wouldn't even give any more of an answer to "Who hurt you?" than "The most important thing is what they hurt me with, not who did it."
Please do "what are you so afraid of" next. I get that told to me all the time!
Thats a good one!
@@MindShift-Brandon it's my dad's main tactic because he knows I get really angry when he says it. And then he tells me my anger is a response to the fact that I'm afraid of knowing God.
I love this argument thanks Brandon. For myself, I liked my church and when I see it dying because no one that goes to it anymore is younger 60, it kind of makes me sad. I have somewhat fond memories in my youth. When I let myself be guided by the truth, and not blinded by faith, I simply found that the supernatural claims of the Bible have no merit. The conflicts with reality and the contradictions within the Bible back up my non-belief. There was harm from the religion because I lived my life for the next life and I did not fully live during the short time I have here now. The fear of hell and coming out of that was like drowning and then finally coming up for air. The realization that religion is all made up and your religion mostly depends on where you were born. My morals are now grounded in not harming others as much as I can. I find so much more peace and happiness in my life now that this supernatural god has no claim on my life anymore.
To the accusation that I left because I was hurt I have often responded that yes, I was hurt, but I didn’t leave in a fit of pique. I left because it no longer made sense and I was not able to believe. I left because the gospel message in and of itself is damaging and abusive.
Spot On!
"is damaging and abusive"? In what way is Jesus saving and rescuing me from your sins, being born again, being made a new creation in Christ, and given the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven, and know loving the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength... so "damaging and abusive" to my life?
Because unconditional love shouldn't fill you with self-loathing and suicidal despair (particularly the very special brand of "love" administered to LGBTQ+), because a God that would torment you for all eternity for the thought-crime of non-belief is a monster, and a God that would demand a human sacrifice via sadistic torture is evil incarnate. There is nothing loving about the bloodthirsty God of that wretched tale. If you derive comfort from your belief, then I am happy for you. I want none of it... so please do NOT make me your mission project. @ophergibson7155
@@christophergibson7155 - I typed in a reply that isn’t showing in my browser, so apologies if this is a double post. If you take comfort in your belief, I’m happy for you. It is not for me. IMHO, a God that demands a blood sacrifice is a monster. A God that would eternally torment me for the thought-crime of non-belief is a monster. A God that is supposed to love me unconditionally but only on the condition that I believe is a liar. Further, I sincerely doubt that many Christians in this country have ever been subjected to the “unconditional love” specifically handed to LGBTQ+. Last I checked, unconditional love shouldn’t fill you with self-loathing and suicidal despair. I repeat - it is not for me; nor am I willing to be your mission project.
@@MrFiddler1959Thank You for your reply. I can see by your response to my comment that you have not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. The very first understanding comes by knowing the gravity and seriousness of your own sinful ways. And if you understand nothing else; one thing is certain to know; that God is Holy, Righteous, and Just. And this understanding only happens by the grace of God to the convicted sinner. No matter which way you look at it, we can not escape the fact the truth of this now, or unfortunately in eternity. So many will not take the responsibility that they are a moral law breaker of the 10 commandments. They are quick to blame God or others for their own actions. It is just human nature to do so. Just like Adam told God that "it was the woman you gave to be with me." She made me do it. (Genesis 3:12) I have done this often in my life, but by the grace and mercy of God not any more.
God's Love is only conditional in that everyone who comes to Jesus can be forgiven and cleansed from sin,
be born again by the Spirit of God, and be made a new creation in Christ, and given the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. The "condition" is having the heart of a little child: humble, dependent, and trusting.
Please do not harden your heart to the love of God that is in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Keep doing what you're doing! It really helps in my (after 4 years) deconstruction ❤
appreciate that and the support. Thank you!
Well, when you spent the best years of your life, believing in faith mindset and discovered you have been scammed by religious institutions, and have no place to have a voice and recover your dignity as human beings, you feel hurt by the justice and community 😭😭
😞🙏❤️
Lately, the first part of my day is checking my notifications for Brandon’s latest video.
Too kind! Every tues, thurs, and sun at 9 and sometimes sat. Thanks for being here for them.
When they tell you you have been hurt by whatever version of Christianity they practice, they are so grasping for straws. You are so logical and have such an amazing understanding of the Bible that they don’t know what else to say except to fall back on the old arguments of “you are angry” or “satan has taken over you” or “you misinterpreted the Bible.”
Exactly and thank you, Liz!
Like, if there is a God, then send it my way so I can have a real discussion with that entity. If I can't, then how can anyone say anything exists? Humans are evolving out of religion.
When a person launches personal attacks, it’s because they have no good arguments to direct at the subject matter. It’s actually very revealing.
I think sometimes your hurt does come through, but that's not a detriment. It is part of what makes you so passionate and driven to create this content that is so helpful to so many. As a formerly extremely devout PK, your channel has helped me so much in my deconstruction and in becoming confident in my nonbelief. I think a big reason is because your content is not only extremely well-reasoned and sourced but also because of the fact that it is personal to you. You are not just speaking against Christianity because it's fun to tick people off, or from a place of superiority as someone who has never and could never have believed. You speak with compassion and empathy that comes from a place of shared experience. That is what makes it dangerous to people who do not want to ask the wrong questions and accidentally find themselves outside the church, and that is why they use any glimmer of emotion to dismiss what you're saying. Love your content, keep fighting the good fight. Feel free to take a break and have some fun now and then too though!
Thank you for this.
"you sound hurt" is something I'd probably say to the god of this religion. if this all-powerful deity is unable to suppress the pain it's experiencing without lashing out at its supposedly chosen people... how much greater than it are we that can take our hurt and turn it to something positive? thanks for sharing with us, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough that you actually get this comment regularly.
I like the “caring”, “you are really struggling with this aren’t you. You need to let go and let God”. After some reflection on this over the past few years, I believe that it’s actually the person(s) you come out to that are hurt as they feel a sense of betrayal because the reality is that we spend many intimate hours with them in prayer, common fellowship etc. I sad really. Thanks Brandon, we are well on our way to recovery because of you.
Thank you and thats really great insight
Thanks!
Great content, wish it was required listening for many people.
Thank you so much!
"You don't believe in Zeus, because you hate Zeus. You don't believe in Rah, because you were hurt. Who are you to question the word of Odin?" It's not just some nebulous god thing they're referring to. They are referring to a very particular god, Yaweh (Jehovah) - the god the ancient Jewish people worshipped and created.
I love this so much! Stealing it 😆
Thanks!
So kind! Thank you for this very generous support!
So, if Job said, "You know what? This Yahweh character took my family away from me over what was essentially a dare. I'm not going to worship something that unethical, cruel, petulant, and destructive, even if he IS real." That would be "hurt". Sure he's hurt - he lost his original family! Who wouldn't be hurt, except a mindless automaton? So when Brandon expresses hurt over the "absence" of this being, who claimed he is everywhere and will answer prayers, his hurt is considerably less than that of Job...yet equally understandable, as he was emotionally invested to the gills for decades.
When Christians use the "you must be hurt" bullshit, they're showing their hand: not to how sympathetic they are, but to how robotic and inhuman they are capable of behaving. Anyone who had faith and lost it will experience some degree of hurt feelings - great disappointment, upheaval, lack of trust, even anger over being misled and let down. None of that removes the arguments that "led" them to lose their faith.
I've never met anyone who claimed that "God hurt me because _______ so I no longer believe"...ever. I've met people who said, "God hurt me because ________ so I'm confused," or no longer going to church, or gave up prayer, or even abandoned active faith in God, but they did not cease to believe in God as an entity - merely God's promises, or perhaps even a distrust of his character crept in. Anyone serious about faith who lost it? No way. The hurt we encountered isn't the reason for unbelief - it's a byproduct of belief.
Well said! Thanks
Great comment...
I'm caught between believing in God as an Entity but not believing in his promises and not believing in God at all. It's been almost a year since I left The Christian Faith internally. But I still fluctuate between belief in God as Entity but not in his promises and total Non Belief.
11:55. - 12:40
As someone who experienced numerous religions first hand as a child this a great point, which is definitely overlooked by believers who comment that you just need their version of religion.
thanks for adding in!
I got this same exact response from a commenter just this week. Thank you for covering it!
Its such a common christian cliche at this point and yet it surprises me every time.
@MindShift-Brandon That's a sign that a Christian is losing the argument and resorts to mockery by saying, "Aww, bless your heart, who hurt you, sweetie so badly that you now hate God?"
@@MindShift-Brandon it’s part of the “loving” response script. They put it back on you, but cloak it in “love and concern”. Sort of like a backhanded compliment.
Brandon, I'm glad you mentioned that bit about "you must have been abused." No details here, except to clear my terrific parents, my religion did not encourage talking about this and in fact made us feel - especially girls - that somehow this was just punishment because we are just bad, or naturally seductive, or on and on. Really does a number on your head and heart.
😔 May you heal and find peace. 🙏❤️
@@blueStarKitt7924 thank you. I'm fine now. Realizing why I felt what I did, that I wasn't this tainted thing religion told me I was set me free of that fake guilt and I have peace - no anger, no shame, lots of joy just being.:)
@@maggienewton8518 ☺️
Another amazing video!!!! You’re the best Brandon! The fact is we are all human and feel hurt. The thing I love about your channel is that you drive home the point that Christianity simply doesn’t make sense.
A couple years ago at the end of a conversation with my father , who has been a Christian pastor for almost 50 years now, he said “I just have to hope that in the end it all makes sense.” It’s sad, and that’s why a channel like yours is so important. My father is too far gone, but many are not and they need to hear you.
Thank you for this. Its such a sad feeling. That hopelessness for loved ones that we cannot imagine ever breaking free. Have a few myself.
I really loved the book "The Alchemy of Wolves and Sheep" which talk about the moral hurt and guilt of survivors who had to do things when they were endoctrinated. It really helped me. Keep doing your videos, they are great. Exjw here.
Looking that book up asap. Thank you!
@@MindShift-Brandon you're welcome. Let me know what you think of it
Brandon you are doing an excellent job please don’t stop. As a fellow Atheist I am learning from you & helping me a lot 👏👏. Thank you ❤️❤️. It is soooo great to be free of all religions & a god who doesn’t exist !! I’m soooo at peace!!
I mean you can learn from Testify too; He does an amazing job.
Thank you! And so glad to hear how well you are doing.
Around 12:40 you speak about looking back and regretting things you have said and believed in. I feel that in a big way. 10 years ago I got a huge tattoo of christ on my entire left torso. I have to live with this forever.
oh man, right there with you. i have 4 "christian tattoos" lol
You are doing amazing work for all of those who see your videos, I just wanted to let you know how much of a difference you make. As someone who has left Christianity but is still spiritual, I believe people like you are doing the kind of work that really matters and spreads a message of love. The way you speak on these topics is amazingly gentle and understanding, and it leaves lasting impacts on the people who find your content. Thank you!
Thats so encouraging. Thanks for taking the time to say so.
I did experience some hurt. But mostly I experienced anger. Lots of anger. I was angry at myself for blindly believing and never questioning anything.
Being good Christians gave my abusers cover. They got tips from their church on how to abuse me further.
It warped my mind and hurts my self esteem for decades after being out. Of course I'm hurt. My abusers told me god was telling them to abuse me as it was happening and I deserved it. And when I begged for help the church told me it was my fault and I had to submit.
Who wouldn't be hurt by that?
This vid exemplifies why this is one of the most honest channels on TH-cam.
Appreciate that, Robert!
I appreciate you Brandon....im glad youve moved past the abuses youve suffered by hypocrites.....stay sharp Brofessa.
Thanks so much, man!
Have so much I could say about the hurt Christianity has caused my family... but for now ... just... thank you. Thank you so much for understanding and helping.
Thank you for this.
After the hurts and disappointments and delusions brought on by family and church...and a long time in therapy and watching deconstruction videos such as this ( thank you Brandon) I see Christianity for what it is...a blood cult. I have never been happier and guilt free in my life. The truth will set you free.
GOD KNOWS
that thousands of years ago, he authorized and sent Jesus Christ from heaven to earth to preach and teach the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to imperfect, suffering, and dying human beings
GOD KNOWS
that thousands of years ago, Jesus Christ was hated, insulted, falsely accused, tortured, and murdered for preaching and teaching the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" to imperfect, suffering , and dying human beings
GOD KNOWS
that present time, Atheists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Born Again Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions are filling the world with -
1. the LIE and false claim that the BIBLE is just a worthless book of LIES, myths, fictions, fantasies, and fairy tales
2. LIES and UNBIBLICAL teachings and doctrines about "Armageddon", "Trinity", "heaven and hellfire", "rapture", and "reincarnation"
But thousands of years and nothing has changed, the TRUTH remains....
GOD KNOWS
that his favor and reward of ETERNAL LIFE and existence on earth without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness, and death as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4
is -
1. NOT for Atheists, Christians, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions
2. NOT for liars, slanderers, arrogant, cruel, merciless, and deceitful persons
but
ONLY for lowly, ordinary, kind, and respectful persons on earth
who -
1. respect and value the lives, dignities, and existence of their co-humans beings
2. willingly submit to the authority of his Christ and believe his teachings about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead"
as written in Matthew 28: 18, Luke 4: 43, and John 11: 25,, 26
GOD KNOWS
that all human beings will just return to dusts after their deaths just like the animals
as written in Ecclesiastes 3: 19, 20 ; 9: 5, 6
but
he also KNOWS that the teaching of his Christ about the "RESURRECTION of the DEAD"
is his guarantee that all loving, kind, and respectful persons on earth who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, King David, Jesus Christ's Followers, and many others will not remain as worthless dusts forever,
instead,
in the right and proper time,
he will let Jesus Christ RESURRECT them back to life so they can happily, abundantly, and peacefully live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects and citizens of the "KINGDOM of GOD" or His Kingdom
and fully enjoy his and his Christ's eternal love, kindness, goodness, generosities, compassions, favors, and blessings for eternity
under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as his Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
People rarely grasp the concept of there being multiple explanations/motives for something.
I mentioned the fear of hell as a reason I held onto my faith, and my sister immediately jumped to ask, “that was the reason you believed?” No, there was a myriad of reasons why I believed, but fear of hell was ONE of them.
Beautifully said! I’m so grateful for your contribution in this space, it is so needed - thank you!
I’m former LDS (Mormon) and so far I’ve tried to dismiss this argument against those who’ve left the fold, strictly for my mental health. The church did hurt me, and for my health and wellbeing it was essential for me to leave. Since leaving, I’ve deconstructed on an intellectual level as well.
Now, because I’m in a mixed faith family of a high demand religion it continues to hurt me. Currently, I am putting on a wedding reception for my son and soon to be daughter-in-law, for a wedding I, as his mom, am not allowed to attend. It crushes me when I think about it. I used to believe that those who didn’t ‘want’ to take the proper steps to attend a temple wedding (sealing), just didn’t put the effort in - they could be there if the chose to. Oh how I’ve since learned how faith REALLY works. I don’t place blame with the members, they’re truly doing what they believe to be right and true. I do however have no problem calling out an institution that tells its members “not to take council from those who don’t believe”
Appreciate that!
The artwork is super cool! When it goes thumbnail size, the artist could accommodate design so it doesn't turn muddy because of amount of detail. The studio is warm & inviting, love the lighting especially. Glad to see your channel keeps growing, yay!
I love the painting sooo much, I actually noticed it immediately. It’s perfect for your background!
Glad to hear it!
You've never sounded hurt to me, on the contrary your voice is one of the few voices of reason I know of. You point out the things that need pointing out, and yes the truth hurts sometimes but it also sets you free from this religious slavery. So I thank you for your great service in this war against fairytales and bad theology.
Thank you for this and all your encouraging comments!
What all Christians agree on: "There is one true message from God".
What all Christians disagree on: "No, my version is the one truth!"
Does that sound like an omni God that wants its message to be known world-wide?
Shall I comment on the non-Christian parts of the world now - including Judaism?
That artwork would make a perfect logo, the shifting gears of the mind, yessir !!!
Right, in the end it's an implied ad hominem. They're not explicitly saying "Because you sound hurt, you are wrong,." It's implied.
I TOTALLY AGREE with you, Brandon
Beautiful new picture! The symbolism is perfect. The lighting might be a little different too, it's looking great!
Thanks so much! Little by little
I really love the way you analyze every little aspect. I feel like you're taking the words right out of my mouth verbatim sometimes it's crazy. I've been making a lot of these same observations to my christian friends and family. I grew up evangelical. I went on numerous mission trips, led on the worship team, the whole 9. But I managed to find my way out of it by the end of my teen years and now, 25 years later I could never go back. I've just realized too many errors and too much mutually exclusive logic in these Abrahamic religions to ever be able to take them seriously again. I read this interesting book called "The Denial Of Death" by Ernest Becker and it talks about how the #1 existential human dilemma is our ability to grasp our own mortality and all other human psychology stems from that fear of death so it really can't be understated how much psychological incentive we have to create an afterlife narrative and religions pacify that fundamental existential fear.
Thank you for all this book and adding that book to my list!
Even if parents abuse in good faith, out of love, it's still abuse. Abuse doesn't mean somebody doesn't love you, abuse means they harm you.
20:45 my Ma needs to hear this. Thank you and back to the rest of the video 😊
To the extent that I’ve been “hurt“, it was being brought up to believe that there are demons after me and inside of me and that magical thinking is the only answer to my problems in life. I wish that I had been taught more philosophy and stoicism, things that would be helpful in life. My second hurt is that I can’t speak to my family without them trying to shoehorn their god and their pity into the conversation. We are inching closer and closer to the grave and yet we can’t just have a normal conversation. Their mythology makes a relationship effectively impossible.
Oh how i relate! I get both of these points so well! Thanks for sharing
A very simple thankyou Brandon for a Desire for Truth
Thanks, Brad!
That picture looks awesome!!
Yes so happy about it!
Great video (as usual). So many of the viewers' comments are absolutely amazing (candid, eloquent and so heartfelt)...
Thank you. Yes, the community here is just astounding.
The contradictions in those defensive responses are, in some ways, kinda the point. Keep people guessing and questioning themselves (am I listening to the right people? am I reading things the right way?) so they don't have time to question the underlying beliefs.
If you would have told me a year ago that I was gonna end up here I would have lost my mind. Going from torah observant to agonist has been one hell of a journey. So many ups and downs but came out on the other end finally free from it all.
Yes I was hurt when I learnt I had accepted a load of guff as true.
I was annoyed with myself for being a fool and I was annoyed with the people that fed me all that bullshit.
For sure! As anyone would be.
I do have to admit that when I did finally take on the atheist label I damn well was pissed off. I had been lied to, misled and gaslighted for years into believing that I was worthless and born broken. You're damn right I was pissed.
exactly, The church never hurt me in anyway I enjoyed going and liked all the people at my church they are all really good people
My problem was I never really went to church regularly my whole life until the last few years and it was during that time had a free wheel Baptist Church where they read all of the Bible that I actually found out what was in it
Each week I would come up with new questions and they couldn't answer them very well so after about two years
I told him I was going to take a break from church because things aren't adding up and I have to do a deep study on my own And have now spent 2000 or more hours in deep study but after probably a couple hundred of studying all the different ancient religions and finding out about the other flood stories and creation stories etc I knew there was no way I could hold onto my faith.
It's in the first few months I was agnostic atheist and I don't even mind just saying atheist I'm just allowing for a tiny tiny sliver of possibility of a higher power even though it appears highly unlikely.
But nothing really changed with me except Maybe now I don't believe gay people are "sinning" and going to hell for that lifestyle, anymore outside of that I don't think anything changed except for I think happens when I die and I'm no longer praying to invisible God .
28:47 now this is the insight I really think helps and I'm going to keep this in mind going forward with watching your videos. Making two separate arguments.
The demonic possession part and the huge differences between denominations is so funny. I was Roman Catholic so ghost hunting/exorcism was a real thing but so many other denominations don't believe in they stuff despite the Bible talking about it.
That painting has such impact! The idea is so well rendered, and it's beautiful.
Yes I am hurt. Very hurt I depended on a god that doesn’t exist. If it did, then it’s incompetent.
Totally fair!
This video is an example of why you are one of my favorite youtubers. Very in-depth, you steel man the other side as best as possible, you're respectful and you really truly do understand the Christian mindset. One thing you said in the video that resonated with me was when you talked about people judging you based on a short sound bite they got from one of your videos. I get comments like that all the time. They read one small post I made and think they know me well enough to give me advice or tell me what I'm doing wrong. It's presumptuous and arrogant, but I can't control other people only myself so I've learned to shrug it off.
Thank you for this and love your mindset also.
Regarding the issue of blaming parents, I'm not sure if I still blame my parents for my indoctrination, but I have a hard time seeing them as good people. Here's why: they had a belief that there was a real, non-zero possibility that their kids would end up being tortured forever by their all loving God, and they chose to force them into existence anyway. And they have never changed their mind about it, as far as I know. If they were really willing to think about it, they would have to admit that this risk for their kids only existed because the God they worshiped is evil. Seems to me like a kind person would see this as an unfair risk to their kids.
I do completely understand. My point was more, cant blame someone for being fooled in the same way we once were. That doesn’t mean all their actions are permissible though
I hurt and haven’t told my family my true feelings because I just don’t want my grandparents and parents wasting time praying for my soul
In my own personal experience I've seen how it effects my family and friends that subscribe to the religion. I've honestly been scared or unsettled by the way it made my family act at times. Not to the point where i fealt my life was in danger but it got pretty close. My own brother said he was close to killing someone for questioning jesus and this faith. If this is the so called "love" that Christianity inspires as a religion i want nothing more to do with it. I've seen nothing but genuinely good people who i sometimes wondered if they actually did their research and stuck with it and I've seen total narcissistic, self centered and egotistical individuals who seemed to run as if religion somehow served them as if they were some self proclaimed messianic figure. To those still deconstructing and still going through some fall out i say this. I left when i was twenty and that was the biggest breath of fresh air i ever had in my life. It took the smack in the face of going back a second time to make me relise why i left in the first place and finally leave religion for good. Also yes it does get so much easier. Another great video brandon.
I like the gift from your friend for the logo. It is very detailed and that could be a graphic design problem for a logo due to size.
My wife has felt God, so she says. She also has communicated that if I don't believe, I don't have any business talking about it and she'll "counter-attack" me faster than I could verbalize any of my questions. So fine, I'll leave it alone, but that still leaves things I don't understand about her and I'm not the one hurt.
As you should be. Shutting down conversation and a partners opinion due to this religion is exactly the kind of thing we are talking about in terms of the harm this religion causes.
Invite her to an open, honest discussion without anyone “attacking”. Consider what you might say and how she will take it.