Thanks to everyone for watching. I'm overwhelmed and surprised. Thanks for the comments and the emails. I wasn't expecting the response I've gotten. I apologize that I've been so long without another video and for the emails I haven't answered yet. My life got pretty hectic not long after uploading this video. The biggest thing is I'm now a father! Yay! It was quite unexpected, but my wife and I were presented with an opportunity to adopt a beautiful little girl who was born January 12th. Although we weren't planning for kids at the time we jumped at the opportunity and couldn't be happier. However, our baby girl had some issues and is still in the hospital as of right now about 3 hours from home. It's been a bit hectic between working 3rd shift, trying to get our house ready for a new addition to the family, work through the adoption process, and do all this while trying to spend every possible second with our baby who is 3 hours away. She's doing a lot better, and we're hopeful that maybe in a week or two she'll be ready to come home. Maybe sometime in the future I'll finally squeeze in a little time to make some more videos. I have a few things in mind, including one issue that I'm especially wanting to talk about. Until then I'll try to answer the emails that I haven't gotten around to yet. I'll be honest I try to read the comments, but it's hard to keep up with. If you have anything you'd especially want me to see you can email Joe.therebelsadvocate@gmail.com Thanks again guys, take care.
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell I know I'm a bit late, but I hope your new child is finally home and doing well. Excited to see new videos from you one day!
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell Congratulations! I hope she is fine and dandy. By the way, is your wife any religious? Are you going to raise your daughter with religion, with atheism, or just dont Bring up religion? Hope there will be more videos soon. Also the bible says that you shall not have any god above God m, therefore you wont get punoshed for that unless you believe in The Holy Spagghetti Monster. ;-)
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell I think your video was so popular is because it's about Atheism, there is so many of us that remain quite we go alone with the B. S. just to get alone but we still have the need to socialize with like minded people
MinecraftDudes my wife is what I call a non practicing Christian. She does in fact believe in God, but doesn't go to church or really let her beliefs affect her life in any way that I can see. She is very supportive of me. As far as our baby, I hope to teach her HOW to think, and not WHAT to think. I'll let her make her own decisions. I can't shelter her from hearing about religion so I'll just teach her about ALL religions.
Hearing a southern accent talk about atheism in a positive light is something I thought I'd never see, haha, your story is very inspiring, mine is like yours but a bit less glorious and not really a happy ending for me yet seeing as I'm underage and can't really "get away" from religion so to speak. I'm from Southern Arizona, so you know, everyone is catholic here, but thank you for sharing!
Us older guys think you're lucky to have recognized your skepticism at this stage in your life and your having access to other skeptics. You won't be as indoctrinated and you'll be more able to question and evaluate freely.
As an honest-to-goodness cat-owning ex-christian atheist, i really enjoyed listening to your story. I remember when my Christian friends started to worry about me and would give me books like "The Case for Christ", the weak, lopsided arguments i found there just served to push me farther away. And Sam Harris made a huge impact on me as well. Keep up the nice work! You have a new subscriber!
A story of a man made from dirt and a woman made from a bone meeting up with a talking snake is hard to believe even if you will suffer eternal damnation for not believing it's true.
Lets look at those passages mentioned from a different perspective. Man made from "dirt". The translation is "rudiments" so, elements basically. We are O2, Fe, C etc. Woman made from rib. Translation is "side" (as to be an equal partner) but can also translate "curve". DNA is curved, so if the X chromosome was "extracted" its possible. A talking snake. Its an idiom we still use today, not literal. So, everything you mentioned has a scientific, Biblical, and common sense explanation, you just had wrong perspective.
Buddy, listening to your story was like listening to my own. I remember exactly where I was standing when I realized “Holy shit! I am an atheist.” It was as much a shock to me as anything. I’ll follow and keep track of your story.
Greetings from another southern atheist (currently living in Minnesota)! I also left the faith relatively late in life, at the age of 42. What did it for me was studying Christian theology. I've had Christian friends hear that I'm now an atheist, and immediately assume some horrific, disillusioning experience on my part, and I'm like, "No, I just think too much!" Great to hear your story man! I'm subbed up, and enjoy catching up on your stuff.
Thanks so much. I enjoy hearing other's stories of how they left religion. Seems like a lot of these stories involve people reading and studying the bible. Religious people say you are running from God, yet it was while doing something that should draw you closer to him that ultimately led you away.
@@TheRebelsAdvocate Thank you from alifetimer atheist and online apologist. Your talk was one of the best. Stunning and brave,as they say and some of it humorous. 'Heck, I ain't no atheist,I just don't believe in God, that's all" £
Good vid! I broke free from a religious cult a few years ago, so I get the power of religious brainwashing. As a young child I questioned this mess and was told to hush & never question "god". Well, I'm glad to be free from it all, so you're not alone.
@@StennMathis no, I grew up Christian from Baptist to A.M.E. Zion to Non denominational. Then when I turned 25 I joined a group that's called Hebrew Israelite, which became a cult.
You appear to be a very sweet and gentle guy. Keep up the good work. I like your innocent, yet measured quality, to your quest for truth. This was a good first video.
A shout-out from a Southern atheist 👍... Good job on your story I can relate. I'm 41 myself, grew up in Atlanta Georgia and been atheist for about 10 years. Hope to see more videos from you
I also grew up in a fundamental church! Same thing! No TV, women could not work or wear pants, no makeup... We had church 7 times a week and would go out witnessing or "soul winning" every Saturday. I left when I was 19 and went through a lot with coming to terms about myself. I am glad seeing somebody else like me.
Hey, I was Pentecostal as well, but not oneness. Isn't it funny how even though we were same denomination, our churches were still very different with vastly different beliefs? Thanks so much for watching. I do plan on making more. I'll try my best not to ramble so much next time, and make them a bit shorter lol.
Joseph Stine Pentecostals make the fundamental mistake of ruling out the possibility of other religions being saved. When it comes to their rhetoric about the Catholic Church they go even further and demonize that religion, so when Pentecostal church members do any research and learn that the very bible they look to for Gods word was assembled by a group of Catholic priests they leave. Once you see one hypocrisy you start to see the rest of them and then the house of cards falls. That’s my sad truth.
Great video, Joe. I was "that" kid as well. So many questions and they never got answered. I was in an Independent Baptist church and school. Proud to be an atheist!
MetalJet666 Same! I asked things like how do eyes work and why is the sky blue when I was younger. As I got older they shifted into fundamental questions that were about my religion such as, "Why does God love the Jewish more than us? Why did he pick them?" Or, "Why does God hate gay People when he claims to love everyone...? If he loved everyone and he's omnipotent, shouldn't he understand why we feel the way we feel and respect that?" Those questions eventually shifted me towards atheism, because all I heard from Christians was complete BS.
Thank you for sharing your story. I can definitely relate even though we grew-up half a planet away from each other. I grew up in a small town in Greece and I was practically a Greek Orthodox altar-boy until I was around 13 years old. Our journeys were similar and at a certain point it became harder and harder for me to believe in an all-loving, ethnic-cleansing, blood-sacrifice obsessed god. I'm so happy that I no longer carry all that baggage around with me and I can confirm what a relief it is to only be driven by seeking the truth. Peace!
Ever since my deconversion back in 2013. I look from time to time, just out of curiosity, for videos like this one. This is by far, one of the best theist to atheist stories I've seen. Thank you so much for sharing this. I had the same exact feeling you described, when you were describing the feeling that comes over you when it hits you like a ton if bricks, "Wait a minute, this book is nonsense, I'm an atheist!!" Then you feel, to me anyway the way you feel when you think you've been "born again". Only 1000 times better. Instead of being so sad about not being immortal and getting the chance to go to heaven. You instead have such a wonderful relief that you no longer need to worry about ridiculous-horrific concepts like "Hell" or as you said, "feeling guilt just for being alive". No more feeling bad just for thinking thoughts that you have just as much control over as the earth's rotation around the sun. As for me. I actually hated going to church. I went there because I felt that if I didn't, that I would go to hell. What finally got me out of my delusion was when a friend of mine pointed out about this committee that decides what is going to be in the bible. He was telling me about these stories that didn't make the cut so to speak. I did some research on it, not that I didn't believe him actually. He's not the lying type, but like many atheists. Out skeptical brains are what eventually leads us out of all the dogma. So after I realized that. Instantly I was a deist. I was a deist for about 5 years. The only thing standing in my way at that point was this silly notion that there has to be some creator. What finally lead me into atheism was my love for science. I would have probably been an atheist in high-school if it wasn't for my family and friends telling me not to listen to scientists telling me about what is now one of my favorite subjects: Evolution by natural selection. However part of me knew this to be a fact. So maybe deep down I was already an atheist, but deeply in denial or was buried deep in my subconscious. So anyway I finally watched some youtube videos and looked up data, and was blown away by just how wrong the bible or any religious texts described how humanity got started. Furthermore. Evolution explains things so detailed and just makes perfect sense. The puzzle pieces all fit now. If I were to narrow down one moment that lead me instantly from deist to atheist. It would be just how imperfect we are as humans. This notion of "bad design" instantly made utter, "I'm an atheist". I finally realized that if there really was a god behind everything. He, she, it would be creating things ass backwards. Anyway. I love talking about this stuff. I'm so glad to be an atheist now. I just hope that we can change the world faster than we are at the moment. Sorry for how long this was. I'm no writer and it's not easy for me to condense my thoughts sometimes when I have so much to say and passion in what I'm talking about, but again thanks for sharing this wonderful story.
Thank you for the kind words about my video. But also thank you for sharing your story as well. I love hearing how others broke free from the indoctrination. It's amazing how similar many of our stories are. I hope you're doing well. Thanks again.
For starters, I have 4 cats, so I must be a hard line atheist. lol. I come from a fundamental family too. My grandfather and grandmother were pastors. My dad does seminars on the End Times. He's been doing them since the 1980's I became a pastor and my brother became a pastor. In College I was nicknamed the RBS (Resident biblical scholar) After pastoring about 4 years things started to change. My wife first started asking questions and I searched for the answers. Couldn't find them. At first I was thinking that our theology was wrong, but one by one my beliefs crumbled as I researched the Bible. I don't speak out much since I live and work in a very conservative area. I have moved to another state, so my family doesn't know where I stand, although I think they know I'm not a Christian anymore. It's hard to come out and say what you have said. I'm not there yet. Thanks for your thoughts.
thanks for sharing joe. my faith was lost by reading the bible studying ever chapter as well. so many flaws. That was the straw that broke the bible's back. we are the ones who will lead the world to a better place. a place thats not perfect but a place we can learn,grow and make man kind prosper.
Rewatching this video 3.5 years later during the Covid Crisis. It's grounding for me! I was raised a Lutheran and finally awoke after the death of my mom in 2001. Love your channel, Joe!
I just got done watching... our stories are very similar. I started watching Christopher Hitchens on youtube when I was a believer and I thought that man is lost LOL. ... then months later I became an atheist too.
Sitting here in the third world watching ppl give their small savings and underaged daughters to holy men, and thinking, 'you thought Hitchens was lost.' But it's the congregation that's lost.
It's cool to see you went almost exactly the opposite way the story usually goes. Usually it's: "I was in an accident that would surely kill me, I prayed to God, and God saved me and I rededicated myself to my faith." But you, you went through that accident and it shook your faith so deeply you actually came out believing _less_ than before! :D
Hey, there are very conservative atheist out here that have dogs and hunt. Just don't hold your breath till you find one of us. I was a Christian for more than 35 years. Reading the bible opened my eyes to the absurdity of the abrahamic religions. Good luck.
Wow!! I understand understand understand!! Oh man. I know you made this 6 years ago; I hope you have remained happy in your pursuit of meaning in this world. These questions and answers inspire learning, creativity and compassion toward others. Obtaining self knowledge is where it’s at! Am subscribing and thanks.
I just got this video 7 years after you posted it. Your story is and will always be relevant to those who deconstructed from religion, any religion. Great video!
I watched the entire video, all the while thinking about the Roberta Flack song "Killing Me Softly." After I was done watching, I had to go listen to the song before commenting, because that's exactly what you did. You told my story. It's like you were reading my letters out loud.Unbelievable how much my story is like your story. The only thing you didn't mention was the sadness that comes with losing faith. For me, I was somewhat sad for a while, felt lonely for the first time in my life, but I got over it. Great video man.
Thanks so much! I had to go back and listen to the song as well lol. I felt the loneliness as well, mostly because I began to lose a lot of friends after losing my faith. Most of that was of no fault of my own, but looking back I see how I could've acted differently and maybe salvaged some of those relationships. I was a little overzealous early on, and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I'm considering making a video about that. I thought maybe talking about mistakes I made might help someone else avoid them before they alienate themselves from people they care about.
+Joe Stilwell, Yes, I think that's a good idea. There are different phases, and shouting from the Mountaintop is certainly one of them. After the new non-believer accept the fact that he/she is an atheist, he feel the need to tell everybody. And some time we can be a little heartless about it, by not considering that we were once where others are now. By the way, that song is a true story about Roberta going to see Don McLean in concert. "Strumming my pain with his fingers" is about him strumming his guitar.
Look at what the lies of religion do to people, constantly paranoid and worried all the time about made up bullshit.... I feel for you bro, glad you broke free.... Good luck to you
I watched from start to finish. I really enjoyed your story and really appreciate you sharing it. I saw a lot of personal parallels. I'm subscribing and hitting the thumbs up. If you keep putting out videos, I'm sure you'll build a solid fan-base. You're a likable guy with good insight and you did just fine on camera. You'll only get better at it and more comfortable, the more you do it. I really hope to see lots of content from you.
I was recommended this video today (7 years late but hey!). Just wanted to say, not bad for your first video. As a person born and bread in Sweden (religion wise, pretty much the polar opposite to the USA) it's really interesting to hear your point of view. From this video it sounds as if you're doing well, hope that's still true. Great video and I look forward to watching more of your videos
This is awesome! lol I am that person your talking about in the end...the one with questions...lol thanks for putting your story out there....your story is just like mine....church....questions....and more questions and more after that... yay for the renegade life.... :)
Great video! Thanks for sharing your story. Keep being who you are - those who know you will question their own beliefs too, even if they don’t admit it. I love your words at 40:33. You want to share this for those who are questioning as you were.
Damn, this was an amazing post. I’m very much on the same page with you. Loved what you had to share. Makes total sense. You did a fantastic job. Thanks
I totally know what you are talking about with the peace of not having to do mental gymnastics to make sense of your beliefs anymore. It all becomes so much simpler when you realize it didn't make sense because it just wasn't real in the first place. Christians talk about the peace that passes all understanding. Well, I thought I had that, but I have much more peace now that I've stopped believing. That was a totally unexpected benefit. When I was a Christian, I thought all atheists were deeply sad and just living for temporary pleasures with no real peace, and that's just not true either.
I first watched this video a while ago and lovex it. Now I'm watching for the second time and love your candid down to earth way of telling your story. I watched it to the end both times. Thanks.
Awesome video. My story is similar, and it's encouraging to hear another erstwhile believer who's not afraid to own his unbelief. Thanks for sharing your story with the world!!
In my fundamentalist raising: can't dance, women can't cut their hair or wear pant or talk loud. No drinking ANY alcohol ever, of course no sex before marriage, no short skirts or anything that men may find tempting, no swearing, no swimming with men around...absolutely no swim suits without tshirt coverings even when women only, no jewelry and the list goes on. I was so dedicated even as a teen. I wore skirts to my knees when miniskirts and bell bottom jeans were the style. I did not rebell because I wanted more than anything for my family to think I was good. Fundamentalists survive because the are perfect at making people feel guilty no matter how good you are. It has ruined my self esteem, confidence and self esteem. It takes along time to heal after experiences like that. I understand, man.
Thoroughly enjoyed this! I hadn't really thought hard about religion but like you always questioned. Once I began to really be curious, that was the end of belief for me.
Hey Joe ..Thanks for doing this... everytime someone does their story like this, it helps a lot more people than you realize. A lot of people are still in the closet as Non-Believers. It always makes others glad to know they aren't alone. I am here if you ever need to talk etc brother.
Thank you for sharing your story, it was very moving and you tell it well. You come across as very sincere. I posted this in reply to someone else in the comments but here it is for everyone to see: *"I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me understand."* I live in the US bible belt, where religious fundamentalism dominates large swaths of the country, and like many people raised in this stifling environment it took me several years to reason my way out of the childhood indoctrination. It's a difficult process because it involves questioning everything you've believed to be true up to this point. Some people have a sudden epiphany and never look back, but most of us go through stages, first accepting that our beliefs might not be true, then accepting that they probably aren't true, then accepting that they cannot possibly be true, and then finally cutting ties and rejecting them altogether. Every step of the way you worry about going to hell and that you will make your children go to hell and you wake up in the middle of the night with horrible visions of that. The reason the whole process is so traumatizing is that the brainwashing occurs during two critical periods, both your early and your formative years, when generally you have not yet begun to think for yourself. So by the time you are an adult these beliefs have been completely internalized, and to reject those beliefs is to reject a core part of yourself as well as to reject your family, your friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Your spouse might divorce you, you might lose custody of your kids, you lose your support network, you might be shunned by your entire community. It might affect your job or career: if you own a business, if you are a contractor, a salesperson, a lawyer, whatever---the community may decide they no longer want to do business with you. Your children may be bullied in school because their father or mother is an atheist. They may become socially isolated because the only activities in your town are church-related, and they certainly won't be invited to friends' homes any longer because now they are seen as a bad influence. Recently I saw a sign posted at the entrance of a youth baseball practice field that said "As an athlete I pledge......to show good sportsmanship, respect my coaches and the other athletes, attend practice regularly..." etc. The first line of that pledge was "I believe in God." Some people even consider having to move to another state just to get away from the toxicity. The smaller the town you live in, the worse it will be, and the US is full of small towns where virtually everyone believes the exact same way (these are the types of people who elected Trump). Many people who become atheists keep it a secret, they continue attending church but just sort of back off and become less involved and don't really believe anymore. Others brave the consequences for the sake of intellectual integrity and being able to live in an authentic way, but not everyone is able to make that choice, depending on their personal and family circumstances. So yeah, coming out as an atheist in the Bible Belt of the US can turn your life upside down. I was lucky, it wasn't that bad for me, I live in a small city of 37,000 people so it wasn't nearly as bad as a smaller town. But I've heard some sad stories.
I’m in a town w/similar population, Bible Belt beliefs, etc. I am also bipolar, ptsd. developing my own belief system has been the most liberating process in my life. I could go on to encapsulate years of self hatred and absolute incompetence, but l’ll spare you that tirade. I finally realized that I was not benefiting from psychological treatments that are standard for someone such as myself. I began to study on my own and found that the pursuit of knowledge straight up leads to freedom. Leads to less subjectivity, observing the reality of this moment lends itself to finding solutions to temporal problems or questions. The act of self education is a balm of it’s own. Dismantles and rebuilds. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to see that good use of the mind gives me options and is intimately rewarding. All schools of learning are interconnected. Ultimately, l learn about others through the same lens l use to examine my own experiences or thoughts. Because of this, today l see connections between myself and others. The isolation of manic depression is much less persuasive as my (more balanced!) acquaintance w/the world increases. I take care of myself. I avoid toxicity as much as possible. I care about people. All people. Today I am part of the whole. Ironically, group think religion has been proven to strip people of respect for individual mind. To get along, embrace cult-thought. The great preachment of Jesus, to love others as we love ourselves, goes ignored in the rejection of any thinking that’s different from our own. I’m going to stop. Thanks very much.
@@myrawells5691 Yes, I know how you feel. I'm bipolar as well and found it difficult to deal with that condition while in the grip of a cult. It was so freeing to be able to think on my own and make my own decisions about what I believed and not worry about going to hell because of it. My relationships improved and my general outlook on life became so much more positive. Best of luck with your journey!
Thanks for making this video. I've been thinking for a long time about making my own video about atheism but haven't had the courage to do it. Your video has given me the confidence to.go ahead and make one.
I enjoyed your video. I am a 5th generation freethinker/atheist. So I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me to understand. I think there is a lot we can learn from each other. Again, thank you for sharing your story. I'm camera shy too BTW. It seems to go away. You gained another sub!
*"I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me understand."* I live in the US, where religious fundamentalism dominates large swaths of the country, and like many people raised in this stifling environment it took me several years to reason my way out of the childhood indoctrination. It's a difficult process because it involves questioning everything you've believed to be true up to this point. Some people have a sudden epiphany and never look back, but most of us go through stages, first accepting that our beliefs might not be true, then accepting that they probably aren't true, then accepting that they cannot possibly be true, and then finally cutting ties and rejecting them altogether. Every step of the way you worry about going to hell and that you will make your children go to hell and you wake up in the middle of the night with horrible visions of that. The reason the whole process is so traumatizing is that the brainwashing occurs during two critical periods, both your early and your formative years, when generally you have not yet begun to think for yourself. So by the time you are an adult these beliefs have been completely internalized, and to reject those beliefs is to reject a core part of yourself as well as to reject your family, your friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Your spouse might divorce you, you might lose custody of your kids, you lose your support network, you might be shunned by your entire community. It might affect your job or career: if you own a business, if you are a contractor, a salesperson, a lawyer, whatever---the community may decide they no longer want to do business with you. Your children may be bullied in school because their father or mother is an atheist. They may become socially isolated because the only activities in your town are church-related, and they certainly won't be invited to friends' homes any longer because now they are seen as a bad influence. Recently I saw a sign posted at the entrance of a youth baseball practice field that said "As an athlete I pledge......to show good sportsmanship, respect my coaches and the other athletes, attend practice regularly..." etc. The first line of that pledge was "I believe in God." Some people even consider having to move to another state just to get away from the toxicity. The smaller the town you live in, the worse it will be, and the US is full of small towns where virtually everyone believes the exact same way (these are the types of people who elected Trump). Many people who become atheists keep it a secret, they continue attending church but just sort of back off and become less involved and don't really believe anymore. Others brave the consequences for the sake of intellectual integrity and being able to live in an authentic way, but not everyone is able to make that choice, depending on their personal and family circumstances. So yeah, coming out as an atheist in the Bible Belt of the US can turn your life upside down. I was lucky, it wasn't that bad for me, I live in a small city of 37,000 people so it wasn't nearly as bad as a smaller town. But I've heard some sad stories.
Thanks Joe. Really interesting. For me, it came down to understanding how the Bible came into being. There was no turning back from that and nobody is going to convince me otherwise..other than the man himself! :O) The wool that's pulled over our eyes is that we're lead to believe, even in less fanatical countries, that there was some sort of direct line of Scripture which resulted in what we know as the Bible (or, for some, insert "Holy Book" of choice) we know today. Nothing could be further from the truth and many early and later Christians knew this, up to the point where they were burned as "heretics!":O)
Loved your video, man. I was literally talking to my wife today about how I wanted to put my deconversion story on TH-cam so I’d have an outlet for my thoughts on religion aside from just talking shit about it on Facebook all the time.
Thanks for sharing man, I know it can be daunting putting this out there with how things are. Welcome to the freedom and wisdom of doubt! I have a cat too.
Glad you're finding out that you're not alone. And know you can find yourself free to become more educated on subjects that previously you may have shied away from because of you previous fundamental religious beliefs. After all knowledge is the true enlightenment.
Right, Michael. Religions preach and are against "knowledge" outside the church. You would think that if they really believe what they are preaching about the bible and their faith that it could withstand knowledge and questions.
Hey. Thanks for your story. I always love hearing people's stories about their path away from belief partially because I'm fascinated with how the human mind works and how we can value acceptance without evidence or reason and how we can even get violent to defend such a vacuum of knowledge. The path from such things really shows where values lie and where harm can be done if such things gain more power than they should. I'm even contemplating making a video to tell my stories and my thoughts on such matters. That's still just a huge maybe, though.
Thank you for a glimpse into how you ended up changing your mind about such a major part of your life. I am always interested in how people come to believe the things they believe.
Thanks for watching. I remember a few years ago feeling like I was mostly alone with my skepticism, but I have found that to be far from true. Just wanted to add my voice to help others feel less alone.
Thanks for sharing yourself, Joe. Humankind needs more people as brave as you, unafraid to reveal who they are, unafraid to expose religion as pure superstition, unsupported by evidence. People convince themselves it's valid only to avoid ostracism, and to find the illusion of comfort in a world filled with trauma. I look forward to more videos.
Thanks for this. I loved your simple, sincere honesty. I watch a lot of deconstruction and atheist videos, to help me make sense of my past beliefs, and this one was refreshing. I love me some Sam Harris, but to hear from someone who has a shared life experience is healing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this video!!! I was raised Southern Baptist in the Bible Belt. In church every time the doors were open and have just recently realized I don’t believe in the things I was raised with. It’s great to hear someone who sounds familiar that believes the way I do.
Your video came on my feed so I decided to watch. I grew up in a religious household and such and even went to a religious school, but the school I went to was actually more progressive, so they would say some parts of the Bible were allegory and just stories, while other parts are true. Of course as a kid I just took what they said as fact not really thinking into it, and maybe thinking I would know better down the line. Well, here it is about 40 years later and the questions I had as a kid still aren't answered and it turns out that they will never be. I was never really that religious, but I did believe and was more spiritual. Now, I don't like religion at all and spirituality is a silly concept to me now. Life actually got better cuz I didn't feel the need to judge people anymore and my mind is open to other things when I became atheist. I know this video is older, but if you're still an atheist good luck with your journey.
i have been an atheist for about 2-3 about weeks now lol but I've always questioned' the Bible and it's contents. I honestly don't remember how It happened, I think I saw a video in my TH-cam recommended que and when I watched it, I was completely brain fucked. I continued to look up other videos and did my own research and looked into everything for my self. the video that really hit home for me was called "how to remain Christian" by AtheistMinority (of course, the video is sarcastically titled) and I was speechless. once I started thinking logically and freed my mind of all that forced illogical mythical hateful bullshit, I was able to see the world in such a different way and it was honestly humbling. I am no longer paranoid or sad and I've been so genuinely happy. it's made me a better person and made me want to learn even more.
I had my awakening before i started goin to school. My family literally had to bribe me to go to church, they would take me to the dollar store after the service. Lol i cleaned up on they ass and now im 30 and doing way better than them financially and physically
haha I was literally dragged by the arm and threatened by my mother for refusing to go to Gospel Church in the UK. However, I went for the little gifts they had at Sunday School which was a bribe, but I thought the religious paintings on the gifts were quite beautiful. I even went to a Convent and even then they never got me to believe in God
... you still have time to read testimonies of people who saw hell; research yourself this is probably the first time in history that such information is readily available: “He (JESUS) saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit...” Titus 3:5. th-cam.com/video/kqw5ULMe5ns/w-d-xo.html And th-cam.com/video/2fYZ7JNpLkE/w-d-xo.html And th-cam.com/video/gzChuZNQ_60/w-d-xo.html And th-cam.com/video/_B0K7TZabmo/w-d-xo.html And th-cam.com/video/mnExEgiRfFE/w-d-xo.html And th-cam.com/video/VlqZ2b1ECfI/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing your story. I grinned when you said you were going to forget everything you were told and read the Bible for yourself. That move is usually fatal to religious beliefs. Glad you made it out!
I really enjoyed hearing your story. I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home (Independent Fundamentalist Baptist), as well, and found my way clear of it about ten years ago.
I'm also an atheist who went to a christian school. Our bible teacher always had us watch Kent Hovind. I remember loving watching him DESTROY THE EVOLUTIONISTS but now I laugh at his ridiculous arguements. - This just in. I didn't know this but he is now making youtube videos. As I am typing this, he uploaded a video 4 hours ago. He's still at it.
Thanks to everyone for watching. I'm overwhelmed and surprised. Thanks for the comments and the emails. I wasn't expecting the response I've gotten. I apologize that I've been so long without another video and for the emails I haven't answered yet. My life got pretty hectic not long after uploading this video. The biggest thing is I'm now a father! Yay! It was quite unexpected, but my wife and I were presented with an opportunity to adopt a beautiful little girl who was born January 12th. Although we weren't planning for kids at the time we jumped at the opportunity and couldn't be happier. However, our baby girl had some issues and is still in the hospital as of right now about 3 hours from home. It's been a bit hectic between working 3rd shift, trying to get our house ready for a new addition to the family, work through the adoption process, and do all this while trying to spend every possible second with our baby who is 3 hours away. She's doing a lot better, and we're hopeful that maybe in a week or two she'll be ready to come home. Maybe sometime in the future I'll finally squeeze in a little time to make some more videos. I have a few things in mind, including one issue that I'm especially wanting to talk about. Until then I'll try to answer the emails that I haven't gotten around to yet. I'll be honest I try to read the comments, but it's hard to keep up with. If you have anything you'd especially want me to see you can email Joe.therebelsadvocate@gmail.com
Thanks again guys, take care.
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell
I know I'm a bit late, but I hope your new child is finally home and doing well. Excited to see new videos from you one day!
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell Congratulations! I hope she is fine and dandy. By the way, is your wife any religious? Are you going to raise your daughter with religion, with atheism, or just dont Bring up religion? Hope there will be more videos soon. Also the bible says that you shall not have any god above God m, therefore you wont get punoshed for that unless you believe in The Holy Spagghetti Monster. ;-)
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell I think your video was so popular is because it's about Atheism, there is so many of us that remain quite we go alone with the B. S. just to get alone but we still have the need to socialize with like minded people
TheRebel'sAdvocate Joe Stilwell Thank you for sharing your story and adding your perspective to the atheist community.
MinecraftDudes my wife is what I call a non practicing Christian. She does in fact believe in God, but doesn't go to church or really let her beliefs affect her life in any way that I can see. She is very supportive of me. As far as our baby, I hope to teach her HOW to think, and not WHAT to think. I'll let her make her own decisions. I can't shelter her from hearing about religion so I'll just teach her about ALL religions.
They say, "the best way to de-convert, is to read the Bible."
The Observant Atheist I de-converted but studying the bible, and observing the activities of Christians.
The Observant Atheist ..... just the opposite for me the bible made my faith stronger
The Observant Atheist .... I had the opposite reaction.... the bible only made my faith even stronger!
You also have to read the bible from a skeptical point of view, but basically yeah.
Joseph Stine Sometimes these people begin to doubt when they read cover to cover without devotionals and and the theological doctrine of others
Hearing a southern accent talk about atheism in a positive light is something I thought I'd never see, haha, your story is very inspiring, mine is like yours but a bit less glorious and not really a happy ending for me yet seeing as I'm underage and can't really "get away" from religion so to speak. I'm from Southern Arizona, so you know, everyone is catholic here, but thank you for sharing!
Us older guys think you're lucky to have recognized your skepticism at this stage in your life and your having access to other skeptics. You won't be as indoctrinated and you'll be more able to question and evaluate freely.
Once you give up the belief, the accent will gradually disappear.
hahaaa good one mystic!
That's tough when you're still dependent on your parents. Hang in there a little longer.
what about dusty?
As an honest-to-goodness cat-owning ex-christian atheist, i really enjoyed listening to your story. I remember when my Christian friends started to worry about me and would give me books like "The Case for Christ", the weak, lopsided arguments i found there just served to push me farther away. And Sam Harris made a huge impact on me as well. Keep up the nice work!
You have a new subscriber!
A story of a man made from dirt and a woman made from a bone meeting up with a talking snake is hard to believe even if you will suffer eternal damnation for not believing it's true.
Lets look at those passages mentioned from a different perspective. Man made from "dirt". The translation is "rudiments" so, elements basically. We are O2, Fe, C etc. Woman made from rib. Translation is "side" (as to be an equal partner) but can also translate "curve". DNA is curved, so if the X chromosome was "extracted" its possible. A talking snake. Its an idiom we still use today, not literal. So, everything you mentioned has a scientific, Biblical, and common sense explanation, you just had wrong perspective.
'nobody's going to watch this video anyways' *gets 1.3k views* Great video, man.
Thanks. I was pleasantly surprised lol.
Rick c-137 actually now 8.1
@@jeremymcadams7743And now 24k 😊
Buddy, listening to your story was like listening to my own. I remember exactly where I was standing when I realized “Holy shit! I am an atheist.” It was as much a shock to me as anything. I’ll follow and keep track of your story.
Greetings from another southern atheist (currently living in Minnesota)! I also left the faith relatively late in life, at the age of 42. What did it for me was studying Christian theology. I've had Christian friends hear that I'm now an atheist, and immediately assume some horrific, disillusioning experience on my part, and I'm like, "No, I just think too much!" Great to hear your story man! I'm subbed up, and enjoy catching up on your stuff.
Thanks so much. I enjoy hearing other's stories of how they left religion. Seems like a lot of these stories involve people reading and studying the bible. Religious people say you are running from God, yet it was while doing something that should draw you closer to him that ultimately led you away.
@@TheRebelsAdvocate Thank you from alifetimer atheist and online apologist. Your talk was one of the best. Stunning and brave,as they say and some of it humorous. 'Heck, I ain't no atheist,I just don't believe in God, that's all"
£
Good vid! I broke free from a religious cult a few years ago, so I get the power of religious brainwashing. As a young child I questioned this mess and was told to hush & never question "god". Well, I'm glad to be free from it all, so you're not alone.
that was gaslighting yes you should never question anything, appalling isn't it?
@@beaulieuc8910 very appalling, but brainwashed people can only brainwash others
Were you an adventist?
@@StennMathis no, I grew up Christian from Baptist to A.M.E. Zion to Non denominational. Then when I turned 25 I joined a group that's called Hebrew Israelite, which became a cult.
Honesty plus integrity, welcome to freedom from religion
Hi from an Aussie atheist. Thanks for sharing your story
Your story was heartwarming and your way of telling it, charming. I'm glad you mentioned how no longer "believing" eventually brought peace and calm.
You appear to be a very sweet and gentle guy. Keep up the good work. I like your innocent, yet measured quality, to your quest for truth. This was a good first video.
Hey, Joe! Glad to hear that even fundies can come to their senses. Quite inspiring. Thank you.
Great story👍 I'm a new atheist in the UK.
A shout-out from a Southern atheist 👍... Good job on your story I can relate. I'm 41 myself, grew up in Atlanta Georgia and been atheist for about 10 years.
Hope to see more videos from you
@bearraaaaTV 🤘🤓 Stone Mountain for me 😎
I also grew up in a fundamental church! Same thing! No TV, women could not work or wear pants, no makeup... We had church 7 times a week and would go out witnessing or "soul winning" every Saturday. I left when I was 19 and went through a lot with coming to terms about myself. I am glad seeing somebody else like me.
Thanks for this Joe. There are tons of us in the world who can relate.
Thanks for watching.
BUT YOU DONT COUNT -JOE STILWELL
please....would've not 'would of'.
oh but he does nik.
Glad to hear your history and deconversion, it helps all of us atheists to hear from others who have been through it, too.
I grew up oneness pentecostal too, so I feel your pain. I found your video interesting, and I hope that you'll post more.
Hey, I was Pentecostal as well, but not oneness. Isn't it funny how even though we were same denomination, our churches were still very different with vastly different beliefs?
Thanks so much for watching. I do plan on making more. I'll try my best not to ramble so much next time, and make them a bit shorter lol.
lasjan2001 .... seems pentecostals have the most trouble keeping their faith
Joseph Stine Pentecostals make the fundamental mistake of ruling out the possibility of other religions being saved. When it comes to their rhetoric about the Catholic Church they go even further and demonize that religion, so when Pentecostal church members do any research and learn that the very bible they look to for Gods word was assembled by a group of Catholic priests they leave. Once you see one hypocrisy you start to see the rest of them and then the house of cards falls. That’s my sad truth.
Me too. UPC pastors kid. I’m finally free.
Great video, Joe. I was "that" kid as well. So many questions and they never got answered. I was in an Independent Baptist church and school. Proud to be an atheist!
MetalJet666 Same! I asked things like how do eyes work and why is the sky blue when I was younger. As I got older they shifted into fundamental questions that were about my religion such as, "Why does God love the Jewish more than us? Why did he pick them?" Or, "Why does God hate gay People when he claims to love everyone...? If he loved everyone and he's omnipotent, shouldn't he understand why we feel the way we feel and respect that?" Those questions eventually shifted me towards atheism, because all I heard from Christians was complete BS.
Thank you for sharing your story. I can definitely relate even though we grew-up half a planet away from each other.
I grew up in a small town in Greece and I was practically a Greek Orthodox altar-boy until I was around 13 years old. Our journeys were similar and at a certain point it became harder and harder for me to believe in an all-loving, ethnic-cleansing, blood-sacrifice obsessed god. I'm so happy that I no longer carry all that baggage around with me and I can confirm what a relief it is to only be driven by seeking the truth. Peace!
Ever since my deconversion back in 2013. I look from time to time, just out of curiosity, for videos like this one. This is by far, one of the best theist to atheist stories I've seen. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I had the same exact feeling you described, when you were describing the feeling that comes over you when it hits you like a ton if bricks, "Wait a minute, this book is nonsense, I'm an atheist!!" Then you feel, to me anyway the way you feel when you think you've been "born again". Only 1000 times better. Instead of being so sad about not being immortal and getting the chance to go to heaven. You instead have such a wonderful relief that you no longer need to worry about ridiculous-horrific concepts like "Hell" or as you said, "feeling guilt just for being alive". No more feeling bad just for thinking thoughts that you have just as much control over as the earth's rotation around the sun.
As for me. I actually hated going to church. I went there because I felt that if I didn't, that I would go to hell. What finally got me out of my delusion was when a friend of mine pointed out about this committee that decides what is going to be in the bible. He was telling me about these stories that didn't make the cut so to speak. I did some research on it, not that I didn't believe him actually. He's not the lying type, but like many atheists. Out skeptical brains are what eventually leads us out of all the dogma. So after I realized that. Instantly I was a deist. I was a deist for about 5 years. The only thing standing in my way at that point was this silly notion that there has to be some creator.
What finally lead me into atheism was my love for science. I would have probably been an atheist in high-school if it wasn't for my family and friends telling me not to listen to scientists telling me about what is now one of my favorite subjects: Evolution by natural selection. However part of me knew this to be a fact. So maybe deep down I was already an atheist, but deeply in denial or was buried deep in my subconscious. So anyway I finally watched some youtube videos and looked up data, and was blown away by just how wrong the bible or any religious texts described how humanity got started. Furthermore. Evolution explains things so detailed and just makes perfect sense. The puzzle pieces all fit now.
If I were to narrow down one moment that lead me instantly from deist to atheist. It would be just how imperfect we are as humans. This notion of "bad design" instantly made utter, "I'm an atheist". I finally realized that if there really was a god behind everything. He, she, it would be creating things ass backwards.
Anyway. I love talking about this stuff. I'm so glad to be an atheist now. I just hope that we can change the world faster than we are at the moment. Sorry for how long this was. I'm no writer and it's not easy for me to condense my thoughts sometimes when I have so much to say and passion in what I'm talking about, but again thanks for sharing this wonderful story.
Thank you for the kind words about my video. But also thank you for sharing your story as well. I love hearing how others broke free from the indoctrination. It's amazing how similar many of our stories are.
I hope you're doing well. Thanks again.
For starters, I have 4 cats, so I must be a hard line atheist. lol. I come from a fundamental family too. My grandfather and grandmother were pastors. My dad does seminars on the End Times. He's been doing them since the 1980's I became a pastor and my brother became a pastor. In College I was nicknamed the RBS (Resident biblical scholar) After pastoring about 4 years things started to change. My wife first started asking questions and I searched for the answers. Couldn't find them. At first I was thinking that our theology was wrong, but one by one my beliefs crumbled as I researched the Bible. I don't speak out much since I live and work in a very conservative area. I have moved to another state, so my family doesn't know where I stand, although I think they know I'm not a Christian anymore. It's hard to come out and say what you have said. I'm not there yet. Thanks for your thoughts.
thanks for sharing joe. my faith was lost by reading the bible studying ever chapter as well. so many flaws. That was the straw that broke the bible's back. we are the ones who will lead the world to a better place. a place thats not perfect but a place we can learn,grow and make man kind prosper.
and I'm still here
It's true what they say: if you want to become an atheist, read the bible.
Rewatching this video 3.5 years later during the Covid Crisis. It's grounding for me! I was raised a Lutheran and finally awoke after the death of my mom in 2001. Love your channel, Joe!
What about your moms death made you wake up?
22:53 "if you ever become an atheist you'll own cats" that was brilliant! i'll try to live by that rule. i have a cat and he's like a god.
*looks at cat in the corner*
I just got done watching... our stories are very similar. I started watching Christopher Hitchens on youtube when I was a believer and I thought that man is lost LOL.
... then months later I became an atheist too.
Sitting here in the third world watching ppl give their small savings and underaged daughters to holy men, and thinking, 'you thought Hitchens was lost.' But it's the congregation that's lost.
It's cool to see you went almost exactly the opposite way the story usually goes. Usually it's: "I was in an accident that would surely kill me, I prayed to God, and God saved me and I rededicated myself to my faith." But you, you went through that accident and it shook your faith so deeply you actually came out believing _less_ than before! :D
Hey, there are very conservative atheist out here that have dogs and hunt. Just don't hold your breath till you find one of us. I was a Christian for more than 35 years. Reading the bible opened my eyes to the absurdity of the abrahamic religions. Good luck.
Wow!! I understand understand understand!! Oh man. I know you made this 6 years ago; I hope you have remained happy in your pursuit of meaning in this world. These questions and answers inspire learning, creativity and compassion toward others. Obtaining self knowledge is where it’s at! Am subscribing and thanks.
Watched all of it, kept my attention the whole time. I was in for 24 years, glad you’re out bud. Welcome to reality.
I just got this video 7 years after you posted it. Your story is and will always be relevant to those who deconstructed from religion, any religion. Great video!
I watched the entire video, all the while thinking about the Roberta Flack song "Killing Me Softly." After I was done watching, I had to go listen to the song before commenting, because that's exactly what you did. You told my story. It's like you were reading my letters out loud.Unbelievable how much my story is like your story. The only thing you didn't mention was the sadness that comes with losing faith. For me, I was somewhat sad for a while, felt lonely for the first time in my life, but I got over it. Great video man.
Thanks so much! I had to go back and listen to the song as well lol. I felt the loneliness as well, mostly because I began to lose a lot of friends after losing my faith. Most of that was of no fault of my own, but looking back I see how I could've acted differently and maybe salvaged some of those relationships. I was a little overzealous early on, and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I'm considering making a video about that. I thought maybe talking about mistakes I made might help someone else avoid them before they alienate themselves from people they care about.
+Joe Stilwell, Yes, I think that's a good idea. There are different phases, and shouting from the Mountaintop is certainly one of them. After the new non-believer accept the fact that he/she is an atheist, he feel the need to tell everybody. And some time we can be a little heartless about it, by not considering that we were once where others are now.
By the way, that song is a true story about Roberta going to see Don McLean in concert. "Strumming my pain with his fingers" is about him strumming his guitar.
THIS VIDEO IS EXCELLENT
Nicely done. Welcome to the club...
Look at what the lies of religion do to people, constantly paranoid and worried all the time about made up bullshit.... I feel for you bro, glad you broke free.... Good luck to you
I agree. Religion is the cause of most people being admitted to asylums.
I watched from start to finish. I really enjoyed your story and really appreciate you sharing it. I saw a lot of personal parallels. I'm subscribing and hitting the thumbs up. If you keep putting out videos, I'm sure you'll build a solid fan-base. You're a likable guy with good insight and you did just fine on camera. You'll only get better at it and more comfortable, the more you do it. I really hope to see lots of content from you.
free from fear of hell and self guilt everyday since i became an athiest 7 yrs ago. Finally got peace of mind, happiest day of my life.
I was recommended this video today (7 years late but hey!). Just wanted to say, not bad for your first video. As a person born and bread in Sweden (religion wise, pretty much the polar opposite to the USA) it's really interesting to hear your point of view. From this video it sounds as if you're doing well, hope that's still true. Great video and I look forward to watching more of your videos
You have no idea how much I needed this video. Thank you so much for sharing you story.
This is awesome! lol I am that person your talking about in the end...the one with questions...lol thanks for putting your story out there....your story is just like mine....church....questions....and more questions and more after that... yay for the renegade life.... :)
Great video! Thanks for sharing your story. Keep being who you are - those who know you will question their own beliefs too, even if they don’t admit it.
I love your words at 40:33. You want to share this for those who are questioning as you were.
So proud of you and grateful for you! Thanks for sharing your story with us!
Damn, this was an amazing post. I’m very much on the same page with you. Loved what you had to share. Makes total sense. You did a fantastic job. Thanks
Great video. I hope that bit by bit, things are working out for you. I love your attitude.
I totally know what you are talking about with the peace of not having to do mental gymnastics to make sense of your beliefs anymore. It all becomes so much simpler when you realize it didn't make sense because it just wasn't real in the first place. Christians talk about the peace that passes all understanding. Well, I thought I had that, but I have much more peace now that I've stopped believing. That was a totally unexpected benefit. When I was a Christian, I thought all atheists were deeply sad and just living for temporary pleasures with no real peace, and that's just not true either.
I really enjoyed this video. In many ways it parallels my thought process as i was going through the same. Thanks for sharing your story.
Wow, what an honest vid, rare to see that on youtube now a day. Thank you for your story :)
I first watched this video a while ago and lovex it. Now I'm watching for the second time and love your candid down to earth way of telling your story. I watched it to the end both times. Thanks.
Awesome video. My story is similar, and it's encouraging to hear another erstwhile believer who's not afraid to own his unbelief. Thanks for sharing your story with the world!!
Thank you for sharing your story. The more we are courageous enough to share our deconvesion story, more we all don't feel like we are the only one.
In my fundamentalist raising: can't dance, women can't cut their hair or wear pant or talk loud. No drinking ANY alcohol ever, of course no sex before marriage, no short skirts or anything that men may find tempting, no swearing, no swimming with men around...absolutely no swim suits without tshirt coverings even when women only, no jewelry and the list goes on. I was so dedicated even as a teen. I wore skirts to my knees when miniskirts and bell bottom jeans were the style. I did not rebell because I wanted more than anything for my family to think I was good.
Fundamentalists survive because the are perfect at making people feel guilty no matter how good you are. It has ruined my self esteem, confidence and self esteem.
It takes along time to heal after experiences like that.
I understand, man.
Wow! Did we go to the same church??? Lol. We believed every single one of those things you mentioned.
Thank you brother. Powerful.
I was raised Apostolic Pentecostal. I really enjoyed your video. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thoroughly enjoyed this! I hadn't really thought hard about religion but like you always questioned. Once I began to really be curious, that was the end of belief for me.
Great video! You're not awkward at all. You're very genuine. I watched the whole thing, thanks for sharing.
Great analysis and thought provoking. Happy journey.
Great video. I watched the whole thing. I enjoy hearing other people's views, both those that agree with me and those that disagree with me.
Dude.. thanks for uploading!
Friend I am so glad I found your channel, good for you! I'm gonna stay subbed, looking forward to seeing what you're up to!
Thank you!
Joe: muchos respect from The Netherlands! *^_^*
Thank you!
You are a fine storyteller. I had a similar background and I can relate. Keep looking for the truth and share what you find. btw, I have two cats.
Hey Joe ..Thanks for doing this... everytime someone does their story like this, it helps a lot more people than you realize. A lot of people are still in the closet as Non-Believers. It always makes others glad to know they aren't alone. I am here if you ever need to talk etc brother.
Thank you for sharing your story, it was very moving and you tell it well. You come across as very sincere.
I posted this in reply to someone else in the comments but here it is for everyone to see:
*"I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me understand."*
I live in the US bible belt, where religious fundamentalism dominates large swaths of the country, and like many people raised in this stifling environment it took me several years to reason my way out of the childhood indoctrination. It's a difficult process because it involves questioning everything you've believed to be true up to this point. Some people have a sudden epiphany and never look back, but most of us go through stages, first accepting that our beliefs might not be true, then accepting that they probably aren't true, then accepting that they cannot possibly be true, and then finally cutting ties and rejecting them altogether. Every step of the way you worry about going to hell and that you will make your children go to hell and you wake up in the middle of the night with horrible visions of that.
The reason the whole process is so traumatizing is that the brainwashing occurs during two critical periods, both your early and your formative years, when generally you have not yet begun to think for yourself. So by the time you are an adult these beliefs have been completely internalized, and to reject those beliefs is to reject a core part of yourself as well as to reject your family, your friends, neighbors and acquaintances.
Your spouse might divorce you, you might lose custody of your kids, you lose your support network, you might be shunned by your entire community. It might affect your job or career: if you own a business, if you are a contractor, a salesperson, a lawyer, whatever---the community may decide they no longer want to do business with you. Your children may be bullied in school because their father or mother is an atheist. They may become socially isolated because the only activities in your town are church-related, and they certainly won't be invited to friends' homes any longer because now they are seen as a bad influence. Recently I saw a sign posted at the entrance of a youth baseball practice field that said "As an athlete I pledge......to show good sportsmanship, respect my coaches and the other athletes, attend practice regularly..." etc. The first line of that pledge was "I believe in God."
Some people even consider having to move to another state just to get away from the toxicity. The smaller the town you live in, the worse it will be, and the US is full of small towns where virtually everyone believes the exact same way (these are the types of people who elected Trump). Many people who become atheists keep it a secret, they continue attending church but just sort of back off and become less involved and don't really believe anymore. Others brave the consequences for the sake of intellectual integrity and being able to live in an authentic way, but not everyone is able to make that choice, depending on their personal and family circumstances.
So yeah, coming out as an atheist in the Bible Belt of the US can turn your life upside down. I was lucky, it wasn't that bad for me, I live in a small city of 37,000 people so it wasn't nearly as bad as a smaller town. But I've heard some sad stories.
I’m in a town w/similar population, Bible Belt beliefs, etc. I am also bipolar, ptsd. developing my own belief system has been the most liberating process in my life. I could go on to encapsulate years of self hatred and absolute incompetence, but l’ll spare you that tirade. I finally realized that I was not benefiting from psychological treatments that are standard for someone such as myself. I began to study on my own and found that the pursuit of knowledge straight up leads to freedom. Leads to less subjectivity, observing the reality of this moment lends itself to finding solutions to temporal problems or questions. The act of self education is a balm of it’s own. Dismantles and rebuilds. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to see that good use of the mind gives me options and is intimately rewarding. All schools of learning are interconnected. Ultimately, l learn about others through the same lens l use to examine my own experiences or thoughts. Because of this, today l see connections between myself and others. The isolation of manic depression is much less persuasive as my (more balanced!) acquaintance w/the world increases. I take care of myself. I avoid toxicity as much as possible. I care about people. All people. Today I am part of the whole. Ironically, group think religion has been proven to strip people of respect for individual mind. To get along, embrace cult-thought. The great preachment of Jesus, to love others as we love ourselves, goes ignored in the rejection of any thinking that’s different from our own. I’m going to stop. Thanks very much.
@@myrawells5691 Yes, I know how you feel. I'm bipolar as well and found it difficult to deal with that condition while in the grip of a cult. It was so freeing to be able to think on my own and make my own decisions about what I believed and not worry about going to hell because of it. My relationships improved and my general outlook on life became so much more positive. Best of luck with your journey!
@@ericpierce3660 thanks Eric I appreciate your response. It’s great to hear from folks who know what this is about. Best of luck to you as well!
love the cat reference! got one laying across the laptop watching Joe!
Gwen Lee You are a true atheist.
Thanks for making this video. I've been thinking for a long time about making my own video about atheism but haven't had the courage to do it. Your video has given me the confidence to.go ahead and make one.
I enjoyed your video. I am a 5th generation freethinker/atheist. So I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me to understand. I think there is a lot we can learn from each other. Again, thank you for sharing your story. I'm camera shy too BTW. It seems to go away. You gained another sub!
*"I have found it hard to understand fundamental Christianity. I love to hear these stories to help me understand."*
I live in the US, where religious fundamentalism dominates large swaths of the country, and like many people raised in this stifling environment it took me several years to reason my way out of the childhood indoctrination. It's a difficult process because it involves questioning everything you've believed to be true up to this point. Some people have a sudden epiphany and never look back, but most of us go through stages, first accepting that our beliefs might not be true, then accepting that they probably aren't true, then accepting that they cannot possibly be true, and then finally cutting ties and rejecting them altogether. Every step of the way you worry about going to hell and that you will make your children go to hell and you wake up in the middle of the night with horrible visions of that.
The reason the whole process is so traumatizing is that the brainwashing occurs during two critical periods, both your early and your formative years, when generally you have not yet begun to think for yourself. So by the time you are an adult these beliefs have been completely internalized, and to reject those beliefs is to reject a core part of yourself as well as to reject your family, your friends, neighbors and acquaintances.
Your spouse might divorce you, you might lose custody of your kids, you lose your support network, you might be shunned by your entire community. It might affect your job or career: if you own a business, if you are a contractor, a salesperson, a lawyer, whatever---the community may decide they no longer want to do business with you. Your children may be bullied in school because their father or mother is an atheist. They may become socially isolated because the only activities in your town are church-related, and they certainly won't be invited to friends' homes any longer because now they are seen as a bad influence. Recently I saw a sign posted at the entrance of a youth baseball practice field that said "As an athlete I pledge......to show good sportsmanship, respect my coaches and the other athletes, attend practice regularly..." etc. The first line of that pledge was "I believe in God."
Some people even consider having to move to another state just to get away from the toxicity. The smaller the town you live in, the worse it will be, and the US is full of small towns where virtually everyone believes the exact same way (these are the types of people who elected Trump). Many people who become atheists keep it a secret, they continue attending church but just sort of back off and become less involved and don't really believe anymore. Others brave the consequences for the sake of intellectual integrity and being able to live in an authentic way, but not everyone is able to make that choice, depending on their personal and family circumstances.
So yeah, coming out as an atheist in the Bible Belt of the US can turn your life upside down. I was lucky, it wasn't that bad for me, I live in a small city of 37,000 people so it wasn't nearly as bad as a smaller town. But I've heard some sad stories.
Thanks Joe. Really interesting.
For me, it came down to understanding how the Bible came into being. There was no turning back from that and nobody is going to convince me otherwise..other than the man himself! :O)
The wool that's pulled over our eyes is that we're lead to believe, even in less fanatical countries, that there was some sort of direct line of Scripture which resulted in what we know as the Bible (or, for some, insert "Holy Book" of choice) we know today.
Nothing could be further from the truth and many early and later Christians knew this, up to the point where they were burned as "heretics!":O)
Rewatched this - great video - Thanks these stories are important.
Loved your video, man. I was literally talking to my wife today about how I wanted to put my deconversion story on TH-cam so I’d have an outlet for my thoughts on religion aside from just talking shit about it on Facebook all the time.
Thanks for sharing man, I know it can be daunting putting this out there with how things are.
Welcome to the freedom and wisdom of doubt!
I have a cat too.
You had me at "cats..."
Glad you're finding out that you're not alone. And know you can find yourself free to become more educated on subjects that previously you may have shied away from because of you previous fundamental religious beliefs. After all knowledge is the true enlightenment.
Right, Michael. Religions preach and are against "knowledge" outside the church. You would think that if they really believe what they are preaching about the bible and their faith that it could withstand knowledge and questions.
Hey. Thanks for your story. I always love hearing people's stories about their path away from belief partially because I'm fascinated with how the human mind works and how we can value acceptance without evidence or reason and how we can even get violent to defend such a vacuum of knowledge. The path from such things really shows where values lie and where harm can be done if such things gain more power than they should. I'm even contemplating making a video to tell my stories and my thoughts on such matters. That's still just a huge maybe, though.
Brilliant first video thank you. I have just found you so I have loads to catch up on.
I subbed in case you decide to make more videos. I enjoyed your ramble. You're easy to listen to, and your story is interesting.
Thanks for sharing. Great video!
Thank you for a glimpse into how you ended up changing your mind about such a major part of your life. I am always interested in how people come to believe the things they believe.
I'm in the bible belt as well. I've enjoyed this video. My deconstruction began with one question for which there is only one answer...it's not true.
Thank you for sharing your story. It really resonated with me
great vid, I resonate with you a lot, growing up in Alabama as Church of Christ.
Thanks for watching. I remember a few years ago feeling like I was mostly alone with my skepticism, but I have found that to be far from true. Just wanted to add my voice to help others feel less alone.
R. R. Arkansas church of Christ here but not any more.
Thanks for sharing yourself, Joe. Humankind needs more people as brave as you, unafraid to reveal who they are, unafraid to expose religion as pure superstition, unsupported by evidence. People convince themselves it's valid only to avoid ostracism, and to find the illusion of comfort in a world filled with trauma. I look forward to more videos.
100th sub! Congrats on coming out especially in the bible belt
The best video!!!
Thank you so much for this.
Thanks for this. I loved your simple, sincere honesty. I watch a lot of deconstruction and atheist videos, to help me make sense of my past beliefs, and this one was refreshing. I love me some Sam Harris, but to hear from someone who has a shared life experience is healing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this video!!! I was raised Southern Baptist in the Bible Belt. In church every time the doors were open and have just recently realized I don’t believe in the things I was raised with. It’s great to hear someone who sounds familiar that believes the way I do.
Your video came on my feed so I decided to watch. I grew up in a religious household and such and even went to a religious school, but the school I went to was actually more progressive, so they would say some parts of the Bible were allegory and just stories, while other parts are true. Of course as a kid I just took what they said as fact not really thinking into it, and maybe thinking I would know better down the line. Well, here it is about 40 years later and the questions I had as a kid still aren't answered and it turns out that they will never be.
I was never really that religious, but I did believe and was more spiritual. Now, I don't like religion at all and spirituality is a silly concept to me now. Life actually got better cuz I didn't feel the need to judge people anymore and my mind is open to other things when I became atheist.
I know this video is older, but if you're still an atheist good luck with your journey.
congratulations on this publishing this first video
and you're insane if you tell everybody that real atheists must have cats
SpaceCaseZ06 It's not my rule. The great atheist god, nothingness commanded it in his invisible book of rules.
Wow! This, so much. It's like listening to myself and a lot of what I went through and felt.
"Wow. That's crazy. It makes no sense whatsoever" Your comment about the animal sacrifices lmaooo
i have been an atheist for about 2-3 about weeks now lol but I've always questioned' the Bible and it's contents. I honestly don't remember how It happened, I think I saw a video in my TH-cam recommended que and when I watched it, I was completely brain fucked. I continued to look up other videos and did my own research and looked into everything for my self. the video that really hit home for me was called "how to remain Christian" by AtheistMinority (of course, the video is sarcastically titled) and I was speechless. once I started thinking logically and freed my mind of all that forced illogical mythical hateful bullshit, I was able to see the world in such a different way and it was honestly humbling. I am no longer paranoid or sad and I've been so genuinely happy. it's made me a better person and made me want to learn even more.
I had my awakening before i started goin to school. My family literally had to bribe me to go to church, they would take me to the dollar store after the service. Lol i cleaned up on they ass and now im 30 and doing way better than them financially and physically
haha I was literally dragged by the arm and threatened by my mother for refusing to go to Gospel Church in the UK. However, I went for the little gifts they had at Sunday School which was a bribe, but I thought the religious paintings on the gifts were quite beautiful. I even went to a Convent and even then they never got me to believe in God
... you still have time to read testimonies of people who saw hell; research yourself this is probably the first time in history that such information is readily available: “He (JESUS) saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit...” Titus 3:5.
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You are part of a larger group then you think. It's good to have you with us and keep up the videos.
Most of Europe
Good video, keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing your story. I grinned when you said you were going to forget everything you were told and read the Bible for yourself. That move is usually fatal to religious beliefs. Glad you made it out!
Dude, you make a great video. Keep it up.
I really enjoyed hearing your story. I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home (Independent Fundamentalist Baptist), as well, and found my way clear of it about ten years ago.
Your video is just fine. Keep up the good work and welcome to the fold (or the unfold as the case may be :) ).
I'm also an atheist who went to a christian school. Our bible teacher always had us watch Kent Hovind.
I remember loving watching him DESTROY THE EVOLUTIONISTS but now I laugh at his ridiculous arguements.
- This just in. I didn't know this but he is now making youtube videos.
As I am typing this, he uploaded a video 4 hours ago. He's still at it.