You have shared the Truth about evangelical christianity so eloquently: "It's all fear-based; it's not based on love. Love is more of a cover for the fear."
I was in a fundamentalist (Evangelical) congregation, with negative vibes to many things.... I personally did not leave religion, but I changed to progressive views, and found totally different interpretations on life and belief!
They are all about growing their community with members and donations. I meet some of them and they make discrimination of my religion. I am eastern orthodox christian and they are saying my religion is not good just their religion. What can I do?
Wow amazing! Great for you. I can somewhat relate. I grew up Catholic. However, I being skeptical at about 8 years old. I was a child prodigy. I remember crying at night thinking about children in other parts of the 🌎 being sent to hell. Eventually my emotional maturity caught up to my intellect. I never gave it up much thought off my skepticism until I realized that Christian extremists were a threat to my country. I'm only 40 but have 1 kid in college and a lovely neice & nephew. 6 & 8. I lost my favorite aunt 💔 to evangelical extremists. I'll see her in a week, but w her history of mental health she's gone..Very proud of you, congrats. Your helping people now without accepting a celestial bribe, must feel wonderful 😁
Every deconversion story I've ever heard goes essentially the same way, "I started thinking and asking questions, and pretty soon everything I'd been taught as a Christian seemed wrong."
I think a lot of people as they're getting older can be scared to question it too hard because so much of your life and worldview hinges on it. That is, if you grow up ultra Christian. Once you've lived a good chunk of your life with a militant religious attitude, it's hard to process what you'll even do or where you'll go, who you'll talk to, if you let your faith slip.
I wanted to understand my faith better and so I started reading about the history of the Bible. A few Bart Ehrman and Richard Carrier books later and I understood the Bible to be unreliable at best. I also was told by the conservative fundies that I wasn’t really a Christian, and I definitely wasn’t like them! I finally became a believer in some vaguely Christian god. I made several atheist friends online, and had tons of Christians attacking me. I became extremely apathetic about the god idea because of the problem of evil. Hundreds of thousands of people dying in one big wave that god allowed was bad enough, but when the Sandy Hook massacre of the innocents happened, I knew that the god I had believed in wouldn’t have allowed that to happen. I suddenly knew that MY god was all in my head, and didn’t exist in reality. Even if it DID exist Sandy Hook made it clear that it wasn’t worthy of worship. I realized that I had been making excuses for my god forever. What excuse CAN one make for god allowing innocent toddlers to be mowed down by a madmad? A good god would have cured the madman, or jammed the gun. A good god wouldn’t have sat on it’s “spiritual” hands and watch the little bodies be ripped apart. If any god does exist, it has a lot of fucking explaining to do!
@Erin Readinger My parents left the church (catholic) when I was 12 (they were in their 40's). They left behind a lifetime of inculcation. I've never missed it, tho' I did go thru an agnostic and searching period - starting around your age - and before I hit 30 I was, and still am, an atheist. It's liberating in the long run. Good luck on your path.
@@erinreadinger4992 with my respect I urge you to seek the truth about Religions further by researching Credible, unbiased sources , You have been given a brain to research, to reason and to analyze the facts. Faith is not to be accepted blindly، It must come from knowledge, logical reasoning and conviction, explore and Find out and clarify things for yourself to research to reason and to analyze the facts, Check how Religion started, how it developed, and how it continues to be practiced to this day. It's going to be an interesting journey I assure you, But, at the same time, we must always look around and search for answers on our own seek your own ways that comply with what you think,Only then will you get the real idea about Religions , if you have any misconceptions. You have the right to decide what you want to believe, please focused on reading actual articles and books, rather than media aimed at ignorance towards the people, I'm afraid I can't delve deeper into this since I'm not scholar ,but I highly recommend everyone to research anything from credible nonbiased sources before coming to a conclusion,
@@erinreadinger4992 I'm Australian 😊.. I've been disowned by my own mother after I came out athiest, but I feel so much better off not believing or being involved with such nonsense anymore 🤤🤤🙄😂
"it's based on fear it's not based on love. Love is more of a cover for the fear-base. Because fear is a strong motivator. And that's how you stay with those views because if you go against that, if you start questioning, then the fear will keep you there." --- perfectly stated.
I've left Christianity, after years reading the bible I acknowledged the many inconscistencies in the bible and the whole process began...and I notice how fear based is the whole thing, like imagine some visions of Hell like Dante's or Augustine's, it is simply the worst thing imaginable that can happen to someone
When you talked about how freeing it is to not be locked into the rigid mindset of Christianity it really hit home for me. If I could sum up my de-conversion in one word it would be ‘liberating.’
Thanks for sharing! I’m currently a Christian minister and don’t believe anymore. I have been training for a new profession for about a year now and am so thankful to hear echos of my own story in other people’s journeys.
@@luisdiegomarin2574 many pastors don’t have any marketable skills or education. Imagine being raised in a fundamentalist home and being home schooled and then going into the ministry. Of course it’s a career change, but the change in thought occurs first then the career change. Many do have anything else to fall back on. This is the exact reason The Clergy Project was created.
For me it's not so much the hate as it is the cheesy grin while they deliver it, and the "aw shucks what did I do it's just my opinion" when they get told off. I have more respect for the ones who refuse to hide their hatred and anger.
Hi Dee! I can relate to nearly everything in this story. I deconverted from evangelical Christianity (Pentecostal) over the last year. I also did missions work in Scotland and England and was rattled by their “secular attitude”. Happy for you that you found your way out as well!
The problem is once you stop spiritually growing the only way is down. Nobody is fighting to devil. You was Pentecostal you should of known that. I fight the devil at least every week. God will give us the power to fight the devil but we must fight him to prevail and stay spiritual.
.After listening to your story, and in light of the fact that you are from Arkansas, my guess is that you were of the Church of Christ faith, as I was. You hit the nail on the head when you said Christianity was fear-based, which is a huge motivator. (If you can't be persuaded by the message, then they throw a little terrorism into the equation to convince you.) As a child, I was horrified about going to hell, not just for myself, but for the people I loved, and was haunted by the burning forever and ever, because a mere couple of years of "the wailing and gnashing of teeth" wouldn't have been enough punishment. People, it is not a good idea to tell your children that they are BAD or sinful, or were born BAD, and that if they don't believe in Jesus, they will go to hell and burn for all eternity. I was a sensitive and serious kid. Christian dogma like this marred my childhood. It was a huge problem I didn't know how to deal with. I suffered needlessly over this. Thanks, young lady, for sharing your deconversion. Best of luck and happiness to you! My deconversion was back in 1974. Good riddance! I've never looked back!
This is excellent, Dee! Thank you. It was a 7-year journey for me to extract myself from a fundamental Christian church. For me, it took accepting myself for being gay. At that moment in time, I got a gift. I was able to simultaneously embrace my lesbian orientation, while letting go of the Bible. I’ll never forget the moments of revelation standing their in my non-air conditioned living room in the middle of July. When I let go of the Bible, it felt like chains falling from me. I never looked back. It was complete freedom from the fear-based stuff I had been indoctrinated to believe for 24 years prior. So few of us make it out. It’s truly a wonder when people can walk away from religion.
The fear is real. My reconversion took about 4 years, and it was a painful process, realizing all of the things that didn't line up and recognizing the amount of control exerted in Evangelical Christianity. I completely identify with the freedom that not living in religion brings! I still struggle with the fear sometimes, not raising my kid to be Christian, sometimes I worry about the hell thing. Then I remind myself that if God is that way, There is NO way I am wasting my life and breath serving and praising someone who is that cruel and callous.
I can relate. I was "Born and raised" in the faith. went to a tiny Christian College- that was non accredited and the only reason to go was to be a missionary OR get a husband who is studying to be a minister. It took a year or so, but the hypocrisy and insanity of following this so called all perfect loving god who will throw every person born into a lake of fire unless they are lucky enough to be Christian - who HAD to brutally murder his own son to save us cuz we are so horrible on our own...where is the perfect god in that? and what about the trillion people who were born and died and never heard of Jesus? Just chuck them right into the fire then. it was just insane..I noped right on out of there.
You represent my voice, and I'm sure many others. I have recently deconverted, and I'm still trying to find my way to where I fit in now. Thank you so much for your prospective!!
Vishoth 911 Is that glory your talking about the time when Lott’s daughters got him drunk and raped him in the cave ? Or when the supposed god wiped out everyone and everything a couple of times , including woman , the elderly , pregnant mothers , babies and children in the flood ? Or was it when he ordered the murdering of a rival nation and the slaughtering of all the men and women and babies and children and livestock , but for them to keep the young girls for themselves ? Or maybe the condoning of slavery ? That’s just a few of the examples of your supposed god in your bible ...
I lost my faith when I was 15, because my whole worldview was based on the personal experiences of myself and other people in my religion. I was questioning beforehand, but hearing the personal experiences of other people who were just as devout as me loosing their religion was what made me completely stop believing. It wasn’t as hard or scary as I thought, I just stopped one day. I always thought I would be depressed or feel like there was a missing part of my soul, but it’s been a year and I don’t feel that. Thank you for sharing your story
I left religion, but not God. I was very happy with your video. You must do what's right for you. You are a strong woman, hearing your true was so liberating.
Does this mean leaving The Bible behind as well? I've noticed people mean different things when they leave religion but not god. Or is your belief more deistic in nature now? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm genuinely interested.
God and religion are different things, but also inside religion there are huge differencies. I was in my teen years in a fundamentalist church... and later came to find out it was NOT a "true religion"... later I found different interpretations... still believing in God, but in a very different, none condemning way.
Which god, which version? If you remain in abrahamic world, tell me, which one is your god? How do you see it? Does he has a face? Do you understand that contradictions exist not only in the Torah or old testament but within Judaism. Please check online how the old testament was written of course from a reliable, non religious source. They have poisoned everything.
it took me forty years to get rid of the religious conditional mindset I had and your reasons were the same as mine..true ''if one is not one hundred percent their view is right they have NO RIGHT to impose it on others''!!!! Love your video regards from Melbourne Australia 💜
I can relate to this. Happened so similarly to me! I was trying to reach people for Christ but they politely told me their reasoning for rejecting the Christian faith. If they hadn't been so kind and sincere, I wouldn't have listened. Over several months, or maybe over a year, I de-converted. It was difficult, yet impossible not to.
Good for you Dee. I'm always happy when a new person jumps on the freedom wagon and start thinking and discovering and interpreting life for themselves.
One of the best decisions I've ever made was to question my evangelical christian faith. Im agnostic now and my life has been so much better. I've grown so much as a person and learned so many new things I was reluctan to lear such as real science.
Exactly the same for me. No fire and brimstone, the focus in my church was put on the grace of Christ, but I still felt guilty, ashamed and troubled for a good while when I was deconstructing.
Wow. I had to pause at 5min so I could comment. I just want to say thank you for sharing your story! I resonate so much with your “deconstruction” story. I really appreciate people like you sharing your story because there are so many of us out here and it’s nice to feel like you’re not alone. I recently found Phil Drysdale on TH-cam and insta I feel like you’d enjoy his videos
Great coming out video! Mirrors a lot of what I experienced when I was having doubts and eventually left the religion and then came out. I laughed when you said people asked if you're on drugs. 😅
I liked what you said about how religious belief often is fear based, and how you shouldn't have to contort the world to match your beliefs. And it is freeing! Best of luck on your journey.
I come from the video you made with the Thinking Atheist (published on his channel on the 7th of April 2022.) It's the first video of yours I am watching right now, and I know it's already been two years since you made it, but I still want to say that I really respect the way you think. I have had my own 'deconversion' but I was not raised in any kind of strict environment. In fact I always was encouraged to think for myself. And it was still hard to accept that I didn't believed in what I had thought as true for so long. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, considering how much you believed in it, and how much your entourage was mostly composed of people who shared the similar beliefs. But you chose to think for yourself, and get to your own conclusion, based on your understanding of the world. So bravo for your daring to ask questions, to act upon your own conclusions, and to speak about it so openly. And thank you for making a video about it, I do believe it will help a lot of people over the years.
I started questioning my own beliefs when I read that God created the sun and the moon on Day 4, one day after the plants sprouted. The author didn't know about photosynthesis. With my beliefs shattered, I felt lost until I watched "Earthlings". This movie highlights that animals (including pigs, cow, and chickens) are very sentient with human emotions like fear, love, and sorrow. To see the horror in their faces in factory farms brought me to tears. That day I felt like I woke up from the Matrix and refused to be another animal grave. Why people eat cows and not cats highlights a little-known psychology disclosed by a great psychologist, Dr. Melonie Joy. This psychology is what I believe, as it explains a lot, including how the masses enter war.
Thank you for sharing your story. My deconversion story is different, but what strikes me is that neither of us were persuaded by atheist scientists/philosophers, rather we started asking real questions of the teachings we had been brought up with, and found the answers came up short. It seems to me deconversion is rarely a one off, overnight decision, but usually a long process - mine was over several years. Wishing you the very best in your journey of freedom and discovery! :)
i’ve ALWAYS had questions about christianity. how on earth would noah’s ark even work? a wooden boat in a worldwide flood? what’s the point of prayer if God knows everything? why is being gay wrong? why would getting drunk be wrong when you’re not harming anyone? why would God kill off the people he created when he made the blueprint for our lives anyway? so many questions😂
@@thinkislamcheckmychannel he didn’t say he had views on morality, he said he had questions. Either you didn’t understand him, or you’re being deliberately dishonest
God is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe who created everything for a reason. Muslims believe that He created humankind with a simple purpose to worship Him. He sent messengers to guide people in fulfilling this purpose. Some of these messengers include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon all of them. They all taught a consistent message about God by affirming His greatness as the Creator and guiding people to worship Him alone. God, the All Wise, did not create us to simply wander aimlessly or to only fulfil our basic instincts and desires. Rather, God describes this life as a test. Every person is being tested as to who will choose to acknowledge God and follow His guidance, and such as the part of the test of this life, He has made it our responsibility to use the abilities He has given us to acknowledge Him. This means that only those who are sincere, humble and reflect deeply will recognise and believe in Him.
There had to be all the dinosaurs on the boat, two by two, unless old Testament believers don't believe there ever were such creatures in the last 6k years. As well as every insect in the world, many species of which are still being discovered.
You are a brave young woman. I hope your life and channel grow and bring solace to yourself as well as people you touch. You're on the right track to self actualization and support for others. The world is amazing ... and lovely, and so are you.
Congraulations, you're still young when you found your way out. I was an old man when it happened for me. FRustrating when you've lived most of your lives in the bounds of what amounts to your brain constructing shit to make it fit the beliefs that you accepted at a time when your critical thinking wasn't working too well. (Childhood usually)
If you don't mind me saying, what you view as an emotional/moral deconversion, I view as a deconversion borne of sound, logical thinking. Mad props to you for taking this journey, following reason, and living authentically!
You became a human and just tried to relate to other humans where they were at. I went through a very similar experience as you did and was a Christian for 39 years. Been non Christian now for 5 years.
Great video, the sincerity, strong faith, similar experiences among people from other religions were one of the things that made me think and also when i started reading up on what my ancestors believed in before the europeans came here and converted people to christianity. Great video....enjoy the real freedom.
Thank you for your "testimony". This somewhat parallels my own deconversion experiences, so I understand where you're coming from. Congrats on finding your freedom.
This video is a praise to the golden value of leaving your usual circles of family, friends, community and meet other circles with a bit of open mind. And you seem to possess much more than just a bit of open mind. Congratulation on your journey. And it is just the beginning :)
I am a Christian, but I am struggling so much, who I was before hand was nice and caring, and pretty normalish, I now have lost everything and everyone, and I feel crazy all the time, I lost my 30s to church, and gave up the chance of having a family because I couldnt date a non christian..I am so broken by this faith, I don't even think straight, and I have no idea how to leave. God has helped so much at times, literally prayers have healed me on the spot. also my conversion was massive, like life changing, dark things I had with me for years just left, and I truly did love for a while...but it turned so sour. I've experienced a lot of abuse in christianity...I am so scared to leave, and to have lost a whole big chunk of my life and my sanity, and deal the the damage it has done to my loved ones as I rejected them all. I really have no idea where to go..Thanks for sharing this. x
I'm so sorry to hear your story and wish you strength to deal with the challenges you're describing. There are many forms of Christianity, and there are many churches where abusive practices are not tolerated and where people are accepted for who they are and what they believe regardless of whether it fits some rigid creed. I'm Jewish btw but part of an interfaith family, and we have found Unitarian Universalist churches to be great places for anyone who values religion but not in the conservative, rigid, and abusive forms it sometimes takes.
In most cases it's the Christians that abandon you when you leave. Christianity in itself is insane. Thousands of denominations not agreeing on the book that is the base of their religion. Who has the right view if no one can agree on the bible? Some take it literally, some take some of it literally, it's open to interpretation so who has the correct interpretation? Just follow your heart and mind is all I can say. You can find friends that will love you if your a Christian or not. Unlike the church members that only love you if your a Christian
Sometimes you just need to hear it's going to be okay. And it will. This rough patch will settle, and little by little improve. Be gentle with yourself. It will be okay!
This breaks my heart. For your own sake, Katharine, get out of the Christian group that you are a part of and find a church that is gentle, merciful, and won't try to control your life. You still have time to mend relationships and maybe you'll find a fellow traveler along the way that, like you, desires healing from the hurts of the past. God can mend. All is not lost!
I left evangelicalism 10+ years ago, having been in it for a relatively short, but intense 4 years, and it was *hard*. But, ultimately, it was very freeing, being able to let go of all the restrictions, and just be my authentic self (as you put it so well). Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your channel, I’ve been in recovery from addiction and come across Christians and their teachings in rehabs ect and I’ve been keeping an open mind with it as I tried it out, but I’ve noticed how they push you into believing it to be fact and it’s just never going to sit that way with me. Need to keep my boundaries intact and quit the bible study that I’ve been taking part in if need be 😂
So true that religions like Christianity and Islam are based on fear. Fear if you have doubts or question the ideology. Fear, fear, fear. I am happy that you freed yourself from those superstitions.
I just posted my own deconversion story yesterday and have now been getting recced others stories and yours was so so good and I related to it so much. So glad yo know you are out there lol!
Thank you for sharing this part of your inspiring journey. Seems like one size does not fit all but it's not so lonely a journey when we meet kindred spirits along the way. Love, prayers and blessings for you and all your relations
Fantastic presentation and browsing through, wonderful channel (I caught you on the Seth chat). So reminds me of John Loftus's "The Outsider Test for Faith". My interaction with Muslems in Leicester England made me see that these evangelists for Islam were using all the same reasons and approaches as those recommended by William Lane Craig in the same way you saw it in Sydney. But I was already out, so I am very impressed with the way you figured all this out as a fully paid up evengelical.
i can hear the emotions behind where you're coming from and it sounds like quite a journey you've been on. I admire that you want to know the truth and that you're willing to seek it out even if it means leaving something once dear to you. I think I might feel similarly if I were in your shoes. It sounds like you were raised in a family that taught you about the bible and you were involved in church activities from an early age, I can imagine it can be really tough to see validity in something that is so normalized to you as you are learning about different worldviews, cultures and yourself. I'm sure it doesn't help that you had people in your life when you returned from Australia who didn't practice their faith in a way that seemed like it was important to them. My heart goes out to you! It's good that you're asking questions and seeking to be in line with truth. Never be afraid to ask questions :) Being filled with ideas that Christianity is fear-based sounds pretty scary and not true! I hope you end up seeing this comment. There's some interesting theological questions that I would love to ask you if you'd be open to communicate with me. PS: Biblical Christianity doesn't need to mean the earth is young, there were some early church fathers who had ideas of an old earth... It's unfortunate that a lot of people think that we HAVE TO read the days Genesis 1 as literal 24 hour periods... while the entire structured of the first chapter is poetical in its structure... but i digress. Would love to hear more about your testimony and how your views have changed!
Well, I am happy with the video. Bertrand Russell whom I read 30 years ago about it said that "fear was the basis of religion" and that resonated with my experience and then imperfect analysis. You came to it logically and experientially. Inspiring.
Thanks for this video. Your process was very different from mine, but we got to the same place. Using our minds rather than our feelings is when the jarring change takes place.
Yes I agree it was using my brain that actually led me to change my stance. I just wasn't open to any of the intellectual information until I started feeling those conflicting emotions about my beliefs.
Great stuff and welcome to the real world. I never had all the baggage of religion in my life but I can imagine it must be hard to see your way out of it. Congratulations !!
Thank you for telling your story. One of the reasons I left Christianity is I did a lot of studying and found that most religions including Christianity were made up by man and a lot of it was copied from old religions thousands of years ago.
Great video, I also had that same experience of seeing the sincerity of other believers of different religions (co workers) and realising that the same psychological mechanisms were in play, and the same types of apologetics were being used by their leaders to explain away obvious problems with their holy books. It made me realise that what we learn in our childhood from out parents and authority figures is 'holy' to us and it's very hard to break through that indoctrination, hence the importance Christians see in teaching the young (though for Christians, they see this a true education before the lies of the world set hold). Thanks for sharing your experience so openly. Sorry (but not surprised) to hear about the push-back your got from your Christian community.
I felt guilt and shame for a good while as I was deconstructing my Christianity but it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders when I finally said to myself "I'm not a Christian."
imagine how hard would it be for people who live in closed of communities with only like minded people. they never encounter honest talk with atheist or person of another religion.
I’m not from an evangelical background myself but I can really resonate with the emotional process you’re describing. I’ve very recently been trying to come to terms with my own thoughts/criticism towards Christianity and the church, questioning my own thoughts and experiences. I won’t go into details, but its a scary and confronting process. You have to come to a point where you’re honest with yourself. Because even if Christianity is true, God would know what’s happening in your heart. There’s still a lot of great life lessons to be learnt from the Bible, but is the message of the gospel actually true? How should we really know? And what about all the horrible stuff in the Bible? Just asking such questions to myself feels like a crime. Meanwhile the church is just doing their thing, pretending everything is fine while we can’t even agree among ourselves despite professing the same faith. Who is right and who is wrong? That’s a pretty important question if your soul depends on it. I hope you and everyone in the comment section who can relate to this are doing well.
Very sincere and well-spoken. You kept thinking in the face of reality conflicting with you beliefs - and had the moral courage to be true to yourself instead of settling for the cognitive dissonance so many retreat into. Well done.
Bravo! I had the same feeling of relief and freedom that you mention and the end. And I am still surprised that Christians defend there is freedom in their version of god...
👏🏼🤗👍🏼 Being Guilty for stuff I hadn’t done is what ‘Almost’ destroyed My Authentic Self. Participating in Bible Study was confusing & slightly mind numbing for me. I though being at Chuch was the only way I was going to meet ‘Good People’ (smh) in my Late 40’s. In regards to Richard Dawkins, he’s Interesting & Helpful in my Journey for the Last 4 yrs amongst others :) Thank You Debbie for Being You.
Where to begin. I am 47 years old and the process of deconstructing began four years ago. I was teaching in a private Christian school. “Dyed in the wool “Baptist from cradle until recently. I taught English and Bible at a private Christian school. I even taught Ken Ham’s curriculum Answers in Genesis. I feel the same as you do now. My devonversion began very long ago when my questions started. I have to be honest this may have begun as early as age 10. I had lots of questions and every time someone I knew was a Christian went to the altar and came back and said now I’m a real Christian... I didn’t know I wasn’t saved. I questioned. I was so confused by this. That uncertainty began the slow road to where I am now. Very similar to your story. I was a short term missionary to the UK. I also was a Christian camp counselor and met people from all over the world. I went to a Christian university. I’ve experienced it all and had all the conversations. I shared Christ one night with a beloved amazing human being who was a close friend. He said to me yup I love your faith but it’s not for me. He was a hero to me. One of the kindest loving beautiful souls I’ve ever known who didn’t have Christ and even after presenting my lesson on left behind he still didn’t believe me. He was destined for hell. I was broken. Again. More doubt. More questions. Finding you and hearing your brave voice is very comforting. Now I know I’m not alone. This is doable. It is so scary for me. But I know without any doubt it is time to face my biggest fear. I need to question. I must question. Thank you for sharing brave beautiful soul. May we all live authentically as you are.
Subscriber 500! Also you published this video on my birthday. Happy atheist here for about 28 years. I'm now 63! Former Mormon, Seventh-day Adventist and Anglican. For a while I was a Bible literalist, creationist and had the arrogance to believe that I had the truth and lived in constant fear that I wasn't a real Christian and wasn't going to heaven.
For me it was simply asking myself the question, "Why do I think I am right and everyone else is wrong, and, other religions think they are as right as I think I am right." What we are taught from birth to adulthood is a very very powerful influence on our mind. I am living now trying to be truly open and truly questioning everything that's unproven.
Yes yes yes, you are so right! Same here, same here. I loved your statement that it's fear disguised as love. So true. And I also am SO glad I got out.
I’ve decided to leave evangelical Christianity as well due to the extreme black and white political toxicity but I still want to remain a Christian I’m looking for a more preogressive church once the pandemic is over. Maybe Lutheran or Episcopalian. Trump kind of ruined church for me
Trump is a fraud who pandered to evangelical Christians for his own political ends. Here in the UK Christianity is thankfully free of the polarised toxicity that has prevailed in the USA.
@@joshuamartinpryce8424 but why? If it's not true, and full of hypocrites, why go to church? A more progressive church may seem more appealing, but isn't that just creating God in your own image? No one needs church. Aside from community, there are no benefits to attendance. The time and money could be so much better spent elsewhere.
My heart is soo with you. For me it was the list of "Do's and Don'ts" that made me feel inadequate and further away from God. Finally I decided to leave church, not saying everyone should, but I needed to be uninfluenced and started studying the New Covenant on my own. See in the beginning I was sold out on the unconditional love and safety in the Saviour. Although having good intentions, when churches preach law it becomes a whole legalistic religious organization that robs us of our true identity and freedom in the true Gospel. What I found is that religion says "Fix yourself and God/we will accept you" while the original Gospel says "Come just as you are and I will give you righteousness/(okayness) as a gift". Religion says "You have to work hard to stay forgiven and right" while the true Gospel says "With a single sacrifice I have made you perfectly accepted and irreversibly forgiven for ever". Religion says "You have to work to get close to God" the Gospel says "You cant get closer to your Father as He is in you and you are in Him". Religion says "God is in love with a future version of you" while the Gospel of Grace says "Dad loves you as you are right now unconditionally and is NEVER GOING TO CHANGE in this irreversibly restored relationship". Religion says "You are not good enough" and the true Gospel of Grace says "You are fully accepted, with a new heart which is righteous, holy and blameless. That's your identity, now live from your heart and be yourself". Religion is a bunch of rules to follow as a prerequisite to acceptance versus the Gospel of Grace providing immediate acceptance which will produce the "works" over time, but is secondary to the "Work Christ did". This reveals a bit of what I found please see this link for more: th-cam.com/video/RHxbZEwbhHg/w-d-xo.html This is 8 years later, in the mean-time I started a small bible study group where everyone is on the same level and unconditionally accepted, where their opinion is valid and important. God's love. Nicolas
Best of luck on your deconstruction! What collegiate and/or graduate training in STEM do you have? Other important courses or experiences are philosophy, logic, psychology, critical thinking, analytical reading, world and natural history.
Amazing how your description is exactly like an abusive relationship. ‘I only hurt you because I love you’. ‘Love me back or I am going to torture you’. It is so sick and twisted.
Just found your videos via Thomas Westbrook (Holy Koolaid). I hope you're finding a supportive community near you. I know that can be difficult in the bible belt. I've subscribed and look forward to more content from someone so well-spoken.
Thank you so much for the support! It's been a few years since my deconversion, which was in 2016, and I slowly restructured my whole social group and found supportive friends. But I am always willing to add more to my life! I'm still looking for a nonreligious community to be apart of in Houston. I know there are some, but I haven't been able to get involved and meet people since COVID-19 hit.
You have shared the Truth about evangelical christianity so eloquently: "It's all fear-based; it's not based on love. Love is more of a cover for the fear."
I was in a fundamentalist (Evangelical) congregation, with negative vibes to many things.... I personally did not leave religion, but I changed to progressive views, and found totally different interpretations on life and belief!
They are all about growing their community with members and donations. I meet some of them and they make discrimination of my religion. I am eastern orthodox christian and they are saying my religion is not good just their religion. What can I do?
Wow amazing! Great for you. I can somewhat relate. I grew up Catholic. However, I being skeptical at about 8 years old. I was a child prodigy. I remember crying at night thinking about children in other parts of the 🌎 being sent to hell. Eventually my emotional maturity caught up to my intellect. I never gave it up much thought off my skepticism until I realized that Christian extremists were a threat to my country. I'm only 40 but have 1 kid in college and a lovely neice & nephew. 6 & 8. I lost my favorite aunt 💔 to evangelical extremists. I'll see her in a week, but w her history of mental health she's gone..Very proud of you, congrats. Your helping people now without accepting a celestial bribe, must feel wonderful 😁
Once you realize the trauma religion gives you, it's an awakening..
Every deconversion story I've ever heard goes essentially the same way, "I started thinking and asking questions, and pretty soon everything I'd been taught as a Christian seemed wrong."
It is soooooooo true. You start thinking, searching for information, and the dogma crumbles.
I think a lot of people as they're getting older can be scared to question it too hard because so much of your life and worldview hinges on it. That is, if you grow up ultra Christian.
Once you've lived a good chunk of your life with a militant religious attitude, it's hard to process what you'll even do or where you'll go, who you'll talk to, if you let your faith slip.
I wanted to understand my faith better and so I started reading about the history of the Bible. A few Bart Ehrman and Richard Carrier books later and I understood the Bible to be unreliable at best. I also was told by the conservative fundies that I wasn’t really a Christian, and I definitely wasn’t like them!
I finally became a believer in some vaguely Christian god. I made several atheist friends online, and had tons of Christians attacking me.
I became extremely apathetic about the god idea because of the problem of evil. Hundreds of thousands of people dying in one big wave that god allowed was bad enough, but when the Sandy Hook massacre of the innocents happened, I knew that the god I had believed in wouldn’t have allowed that to happen. I suddenly knew that MY god was all in my head, and didn’t exist in reality.
Even if it DID exist Sandy Hook made it clear that it wasn’t worthy of worship. I realized that I had been making excuses for my god forever. What excuse CAN one make for god allowing innocent toddlers to be mowed down by a madmad? A good god would have cured the madman, or jammed the gun. A good god wouldn’t have sat on it’s “spiritual” hands and watch the little bodies be ripped apart.
If any god does exist, it has a lot of fucking explaining to do!
Great Video. Very honest. I’m 18 years old realizing how brainwashed I am. This video is helping me process how I am feeling :) thank you
BJ Giauque thank you :)
@Erin Readinger My parents left the church (catholic) when I was 12 (they were in their 40's). They left behind a lifetime of inculcation. I've never missed it, tho' I did go thru an agnostic and searching period - starting around your age - and before I hit 30 I was, and still am, an atheist. It's liberating in the long run. Good luck on your path.
@@erinreadinger4992 with my respect I urge you to seek the truth about Religions further by researching
Credible, unbiased sources , You have been given a brain to research, to reason and to analyze the facts. Faith is not to be accepted blindly، It must come from knowledge, logical reasoning and conviction,
explore and Find out and clarify things for yourself to research to
reason and to analyze the facts, Check how Religion started, how it developed, and how it continues to be practiced to this day. It's going to be an interesting journey I assure you, But, at the same time, we must always look around and search for answers on our own seek your own ways that comply with what you think,Only then will you get the real idea about Religions , if you have any misconceptions. You have the
right to decide what you want to believe, please focused on reading actual articles and books, rather than media aimed at ignorance towards the people, I'm afraid I can't delve deeper into
this since I'm not scholar ,but I highly recommend everyone to research anything from credible nonbiased sources before coming to a conclusion,
@@erinreadinger4992 I'm Australian 😊.. I've been disowned by my own mother after I came out athiest, but I feel so much better off not believing or being involved with such nonsense anymore 🤤🤤🙄😂
@ZebraZ It is said that science is the killer of religion . I myself agree with this.
"it's based on fear it's not based on love. Love is more of a cover for the fear-base. Because fear is a strong motivator. And that's how you stay with those views because if you go against that, if you start questioning, then the fear will keep you there." --- perfectly stated.
I've left Christianity, after years reading the bible I acknowledged the many inconscistencies in the bible and the whole process began...and I notice how fear based is the whole thing, like imagine some visions of Hell like Dante's or Augustine's, it is simply the worst thing imaginable that can happen to someone
When you talked about how freeing it is to not be locked into the rigid mindset of Christianity it really hit home for me. If I could sum up my de-conversion in one word it would be ‘liberating.’
Give me an example of the "rigid Christian mindset".
Thanks for sharing! I’m currently a Christian minister and don’t believe anymore. I have been training for a new profession for about a year now and am so thankful to hear echos of my own story in other people’s journeys.
That must be tough. How do you do the whole message prep and ministering thing if you don't believe? Is the congregation aware of your situation?
What made you feel like being a Christian minister in the frist place
When I read you have been training for a new profession it seems to me it is not so much deconversion as a career change.
@@luisdiegomarin2574 many pastors don’t have any marketable skills or education. Imagine being raised in a fundamentalist home and being home schooled and then going into the ministry.
Of course it’s a career change, but the change in thought occurs first then the career change. Many do have anything else to fall back on.
This is the exact reason The Clergy Project was created.
There is no hate like the kind called "Evangelical Christian love."
For me it's not so much the hate as it is the cheesy grin while they deliver it, and the "aw shucks what did I do it's just my opinion" when they get told off. I have more respect for the ones who refuse to hide their hatred and anger.
Open-mindedness + Humbleness + Ability to Reason = Quality Person
You will do well in this life.
This is the only life, so not sure what you mean with "this life"
Hi Dee! I can relate to nearly everything in this story. I deconverted from evangelical Christianity (Pentecostal) over the last year. I also did missions work in Scotland and England and was rattled by their “secular attitude”. Happy for you that you found your way out as well!
What are your views now
It gave you the perspective to see the faith box you were in.
The problem is once you stop spiritually growing the only way is down. Nobody is fighting to devil. You was Pentecostal you should of known that. I fight the devil at least every week. God will give us the power to fight the devil but we must fight him to prevail and stay spiritual.
Glad to hear as a Brit that being exposed to secular attitudes here helped you out of it.
.After listening to your story, and in light of the fact that you are from Arkansas, my guess is that you were of the Church of Christ faith, as I was. You hit the nail on the head when you said Christianity was fear-based, which is a huge motivator. (If you can't be persuaded by the message, then they throw a little terrorism into the equation to convince you.) As a child, I was horrified about going to hell, not just for myself, but for the people I loved, and was haunted by the burning forever and ever, because a mere couple of years of "the wailing and gnashing of teeth" wouldn't have been enough punishment.
People, it is not a good idea to tell your children that they are BAD or sinful, or were born BAD, and that if they don't believe in Jesus, they will go to hell and burn for all eternity. I was a sensitive and serious kid. Christian dogma like this marred my childhood. It was a huge problem I didn't know how to deal with. I suffered needlessly over this.
Thanks, young lady, for sharing your deconversion. Best of luck and happiness to you! My deconversion was back in 1974. Good riddance! I've never looked back!
Critical thinking is so underrated.
This is excellent, Dee! Thank you. It was a 7-year journey for me to extract myself from a fundamental Christian church. For me, it took accepting myself for being gay. At that moment in time, I got a gift. I was able to simultaneously embrace my lesbian orientation, while letting go of the Bible. I’ll never forget the moments of revelation standing their in my non-air conditioned living room in the middle of July. When I let go of the Bible, it felt like chains falling from me. I never looked back. It was complete freedom from the fear-based stuff I had been indoctrinated to believe for 24 years prior. So few of us make it out. It’s truly a wonder when people can walk away from religion.
Good for you, sweetie! 💕. I almost want to say “God Bless,” but instead I’ll say “Live Long and Prosper” since I’m a Star Trek fan. 😂
Awesome. Beautiful hearted people deserve to be happy and live authentically 💗☮️💗
Try non-fundie Christianity.
That's great, good for you! i'm still struggling :)
I myself don´t walk away from religion, because all religion is not the same, but I am sad that you were in a group where they condemn lesbian people.
The fear is real. My reconversion took about 4 years, and it was a painful process, realizing all of the things that didn't line up and recognizing the amount of control exerted in Evangelical Christianity. I completely identify with the freedom that not living in religion brings! I still struggle with the fear sometimes, not raising my kid to be Christian, sometimes I worry about the hell thing. Then I remind myself that if God is that way, There is NO way I am wasting my life and breath serving and praising someone who is that cruel and callous.
I can relate. I was "Born and raised" in the faith. went to a tiny Christian College- that was non accredited and the only reason to go was to be a missionary OR get a husband who is studying to be a minister. It took a year or so, but the hypocrisy and insanity of following this so called all perfect loving god who will throw every person born into a lake of fire unless they are lucky enough to be Christian - who HAD to brutally murder his own son to save us cuz we are so horrible on our own...where is the perfect god in that? and what about the trillion people who were born and died and never heard of Jesus? Just chuck them right into the fire then. it was just insane..I noped right on out of there.
Leaving evangelical Christianity was the best decision I've ever made. I'm happy you made it out! Have a lovely life! Take care :)
Meeting other people who's life was fine from all different backgrounds was a huge clue for me as well before I deconverted
What about meeting spiritual people in the faith who are fine and successful too (don't tell me you didn't run into any ?)
You represent my voice, and I'm sure many others. I have recently deconverted, and I'm still trying to find my way to where I fit in now. Thank you so much for your prospective!!
What do you believe now Pappa
Reading the Bible help me deconvert.
How? Reading the Bible shows the Lord's glory and power through the scripture.
Vishoth 911
Is that glory your talking about the time when Lott’s daughters got him drunk and raped him in the cave ?
Or when the supposed god wiped out everyone and everything a couple of times , including woman , the elderly , pregnant mothers , babies and children in the flood ?
Or was it when he ordered the murdering of a rival nation and the slaughtering of all the men and women and babies and children and livestock , but for them to keep the young girls for themselves ?
Or maybe the condoning of slavery ?
That’s just a few of the examples of your supposed god in your bible ...
Yeah I read the Bible there are some awful horrible stories in there
Bible is garbage
reading the bible increased my faith
I lost my faith when I was 15, because my whole worldview was based on the personal experiences of myself and other people in my religion. I was questioning beforehand, but hearing the personal experiences of other people who were just as devout as me loosing their religion was what made me completely stop believing. It wasn’t as hard or scary as I thought, I just stopped one day. I always thought I would be depressed or feel like there was a missing part of my soul, but it’s been a year and I don’t feel that. Thank you for sharing your story
I left religion, but not God. I was very happy with your video. You must do what's right for you. You are a strong woman, hearing your true was so liberating.
Does this mean leaving The Bible behind as well? I've noticed people mean different things when they leave religion but not god. Or is your belief more deistic in nature now? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm genuinely interested.
God and religion are different things, but also inside religion there are huge differencies. I was in my teen years in a fundamentalist church... and later came to find out it was NOT a "true religion"... later I found different interpretations... still believing in God, but in a very different, none condemning way.
Glad you still believe in God, your Creator.
Which god, which version? If you remain in abrahamic world, tell me, which one is your god? How do you see it? Does he has a face? Do you understand that contradictions exist not only in the Torah or old testament but within Judaism. Please check online how the old testament was written of course from a reliable, non religious source. They have poisoned everything.
it took me forty years to get rid of the religious conditional mindset I had and your reasons were the same as mine..true ''if one is not one hundred percent their view is right they have NO RIGHT to impose it on others''!!!! Love your video regards from Melbourne Australia 💜
I can relate to this. Happened so similarly to me! I was trying to reach people for Christ but they politely told me their reasoning for rejecting the Christian faith. If they hadn't been so kind and sincere, I wouldn't have listened. Over several months, or maybe over a year, I de-converted. It was difficult, yet impossible not to.
Good for you Dee. I'm always happy when a new person jumps on the freedom wagon and start thinking and discovering and interpreting life for themselves.
One of the best decisions I've ever made was to question my evangelical christian faith. Im agnostic now and my life has been so much better. I've grown so much as a person and learned so many new things I was reluctan to lear such as real science.
Was raised to be super mild Christian but even I had issues to leaving from Christianity. I have absolutely no idea how hard your trip was.
Exactly the same for me. No fire and brimstone, the focus in my church was put on the grace of Christ, but I still felt guilty, ashamed and troubled for a good while when I was deconstructing.
Wow. I had to pause at 5min so I could comment. I just want to say thank you for sharing your story! I resonate so much with your “deconstruction” story. I really appreciate people like you sharing your story because there are so many of us out here and it’s nice to feel like you’re not alone.
I recently found Phil Drysdale on TH-cam and insta I feel like you’d enjoy his videos
Great coming out video! Mirrors a lot of what I experienced when I was having doubts and eventually left the religion and then came out. I laughed when you said people asked if you're on drugs. 😅
Haha. Seriously I got asked that!
I liked what you said about how religious belief often is fear based, and how you shouldn't have to contort the world to match your beliefs. And it is freeing! Best of luck on your journey.
I come from the video you made with the Thinking Atheist (published on his channel on the 7th of April 2022.)
It's the first video of yours I am watching right now, and I know it's already been two years since you made it, but I still want to say that I really respect the way you think.
I have had my own 'deconversion' but I was not raised in any kind of strict environment. In fact I always was encouraged to think for myself.
And it was still hard to accept that I didn't believed in what I had thought as true for so long.
I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, considering how much you believed in it, and how much your entourage was mostly composed of people who shared the similar beliefs.
But you chose to think for yourself, and get to your own conclusion, based on your understanding of the world.
So bravo for your daring to ask questions, to act upon your own conclusions, and to speak about it so openly.
And thank you for making a video about it, I do believe it will help a lot of people over the years.
I started questioning my own beliefs when I read that God created the sun and the moon on Day 4, one day after the plants sprouted. The author didn't know about photosynthesis. With my beliefs shattered, I felt lost until I watched "Earthlings". This movie highlights that animals (including pigs, cow, and chickens) are very sentient with human emotions like fear, love, and sorrow. To see the horror in their faces in factory farms brought me to tears. That day I felt like I woke up from the Matrix and refused to be another animal grave. Why people eat cows and not cats highlights a little-known psychology disclosed by a great psychologist, Dr. Melonie Joy. This psychology is what I believe, as it explains a lot, including how the masses enter war.
Thank you for sharing your story. My deconversion story is different, but what strikes me is that neither of us were persuaded by atheist scientists/philosophers, rather we started asking real questions of the teachings we had been brought up with, and found the answers came up short. It seems to me deconversion is rarely a one off, overnight decision, but usually a long process - mine was over several years. Wishing you the very best in your journey of freedom and discovery! :)
i’ve ALWAYS had questions about christianity.
how on earth would noah’s ark even work? a wooden boat in a worldwide flood? what’s the point of prayer if God knows everything? why is being gay wrong? why would getting drunk be wrong when you’re not harming anyone? why would God kill off the people he created when he made the blueprint for our lives anyway?
so many questions😂
Your views are about issues related to morality.
By what standard do you judge?
How can you prove your views on morality are correct?
@@thinkislamcheckmychannel he didn’t say he had views on morality, he said he had questions. Either you didn’t understand him, or you’re being deliberately dishonest
God is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe who created everything for a reason. Muslims believe that He created humankind with a simple purpose to worship Him. He sent messengers to guide people in fulfilling this purpose. Some of these messengers include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon all of them. They all taught a consistent message about God by affirming His greatness as the Creator and guiding people to worship Him alone.
God, the All Wise, did not create us to simply wander aimlessly or to only fulfil our basic instincts and desires. Rather, God describes this life as a test. Every person is being tested as to who will choose to acknowledge God and follow His guidance, and such as the part of the test of this life, He has made it our responsibility to use the abilities He has given us to acknowledge Him. This means that only those who are sincere, humble and reflect deeply will recognise and believe in Him.
@@repelsteeltje90 dishonest
There had to be all the dinosaurs on the boat, two by two, unless old Testament believers don't believe there ever were such creatures in the last 6k years. As well as every insect in the world, many species of which are still being discovered.
You are a brave young woman. I hope your life and channel grow and bring solace to yourself as well as people you touch. You're on the right track to self actualization and support for others. The world is amazing ... and lovely, and so are you.
Congraulations, you're still young when you found your way out. I was an old man when it happened for me. FRustrating when you've lived most of your lives in the bounds of what amounts to your brain constructing shit to make it fit the beliefs that you accepted at a time when your critical thinking wasn't working too well. (Childhood usually)
I believe I am in the place you were. I’m looking for the exit.
Why do you think you found the truth?
Very sad it took you thst long...all the short sighted judgements you must have been dishing out..atleast you came right.
❤️
@@scottsmith2235 Go for it! The air is fresher outside.
If you don't mind me saying, what you view as an emotional/moral deconversion, I view as a deconversion borne of sound, logical thinking. Mad props to you for taking this journey, following reason, and living authentically!
More people like you are sorely need. Everywhere, but especially Arkansas. Great video!
You became a human and just tried to relate to other humans where they were at. I went through a very similar experience as you did and was a Christian for 39 years. Been non Christian now for 5 years.
this was the first video i watched that helped me start my de-conversion process. thank you so much!
Great video, the sincerity, strong faith, similar experiences among people from other religions were one of the things that made me think and also when i started reading up on what my ancestors believed in before the europeans came here and converted people to christianity. Great video....enjoy the real freedom.
Thank you! I always enjoy hearing what it was that changed people's minds. It's always different for everyone.
Thank you for your "testimony". This somewhat parallels my own deconversion experiences, so I understand where you're coming from. Congrats on finding your freedom.
Thank you for sharing! You are truly amazing, thank you for being so open!! ❤️
Carrot and stick....love and fear. Bravo, well done. Live in reality
This video is a praise to the golden value of leaving your usual circles of family, friends, community and meet other circles with a bit of open mind. And you seem to possess much more than just a bit of open mind. Congratulation on your journey. And it is just the beginning :)
I am a Christian, but I am struggling so much, who I was before hand was nice and caring, and pretty normalish, I now have lost everything and everyone, and I feel crazy all the time, I lost my 30s to church, and gave up the chance of having a family because I couldnt date a non christian..I am so broken by this faith, I don't even think straight, and I have no idea how to leave. God has helped so much at times, literally prayers have healed me on the spot. also my conversion was massive, like life changing, dark things I had with me for years just left, and I truly did love for a while...but it turned so sour. I've experienced a lot of abuse in christianity...I am so scared to leave, and to have lost a whole big chunk of my life and my sanity, and deal the the damage it has done to my loved ones as I rejected them all. I really have no idea where to go..Thanks for sharing this. x
I'm so sorry to hear your story and wish you strength to deal with the challenges you're describing. There are many forms of Christianity, and there are many churches where abusive practices are not tolerated and where people are accepted for who they are and what they believe regardless of whether it fits some rigid creed. I'm Jewish btw but part of an interfaith family, and we have found Unitarian Universalist churches to be great places for anyone who values religion but not in the conservative, rigid, and abusive forms it sometimes takes.
I can relate so much to everything you wrote
In most cases it's the Christians that abandon you when you leave. Christianity in itself is insane. Thousands of denominations not agreeing on the book that is the base of their religion. Who has the right view if no one can agree on the bible? Some take it literally, some take some of it literally, it's open to interpretation so who has the correct interpretation? Just follow your heart and mind is all I can say. You can find friends that will love you if your a Christian or not. Unlike the church members that only love you if your a Christian
Sometimes you just need to hear it's going to be okay. And it will. This rough patch will settle, and little by little improve. Be gentle with yourself. It will be okay!
This breaks my heart. For your own sake, Katharine, get out of the Christian group that you are a part of and find a church that is gentle, merciful, and won't try to control your life. You still have time to mend relationships and maybe you'll find a fellow traveler along the way that, like you, desires healing from the hurts of the past. God can mend. All is not lost!
I left evangelicalism 10+ years ago, having been in it for a relatively short, but intense 4 years, and it was *hard*. But, ultimately, it was very freeing, being able to let go of all the restrictions, and just be my authentic self (as you put it so well).
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your channel, I’ve been in recovery from addiction and come across Christians and their teachings in rehabs ect and I’ve been keeping an open mind with it as I tried it out, but I’ve noticed how they push you into believing it to be fact and it’s just never going to sit that way with me. Need to keep my boundaries intact and quit the bible study that I’ve been taking part in if need be 😂
So true that religions like Christianity and Islam are based on fear. Fear if you have doubts or question the ideology. Fear, fear, fear. I am happy that you freed yourself from those superstitions.
Good for you! Hopefully this video will help someone else who may be struggling with doubt and having concerns with guilt.
Thanks for posting this. This is great!
I just posted my own deconversion story yesterday and have now been getting recced others stories and yours was so so good and I related to it so much. So glad yo know you are out there lol!
Like Dorothy, when you realize the wizard of Oz is just a dude behind the curtain spinning tricks and magic.
The magic trick, once explained, can no longer deceive.
Anyone here after Trumpism?
That’s what opened my eyes!
These cult members thinking trump is a
God fearing man...
Thank you for sharing this part of your inspiring journey. Seems like one size does not fit all but it's not so lonely a journey when we meet kindred spirits along the way. Love, prayers and blessings for you and all your relations
Fantastic presentation and browsing through, wonderful channel (I caught you on the Seth chat). So reminds me of John Loftus's "The Outsider Test for Faith". My interaction with Muslems in Leicester England made me see that these evangelists for Islam were using all the same reasons and approaches as those recommended by William Lane Craig in the same way you saw it in Sydney. But I was already out, so I am very impressed with the way you figured all this out as a fully paid up evengelical.
Most religions control people with two doctrines: reward and retributions.
i can hear the emotions behind where you're coming from and it sounds like quite a journey you've been on. I admire that you want to know the truth and that you're willing to seek it out even if it means leaving something once dear to you. I think I might feel similarly if I were in your shoes. It sounds like you were raised in a family that taught you about the bible and you were involved in church activities from an early age, I can imagine it can be really tough to see validity in something that is so normalized to you as you are learning about different worldviews, cultures and yourself. I'm sure it doesn't help that you had people in your life when you returned from Australia who didn't practice their faith in a way that seemed like it was important to them. My heart goes out to you! It's good that you're asking questions and seeking to be in line with truth. Never be afraid to ask questions :)
Being filled with ideas that Christianity is fear-based sounds pretty scary and not true!
I hope you end up seeing this comment. There's some interesting theological questions that I would love to ask you if you'd be open to communicate with me.
PS: Biblical Christianity doesn't need to mean the earth is young, there were some early church fathers who had ideas of an old earth... It's unfortunate that a lot of people think that we HAVE TO read the days Genesis 1 as literal 24 hour periods... while the entire structured of the first chapter is poetical in its structure... but i digress. Would love to hear more about your testimony and how your views have changed!
Great job!! Thanks for sharing!
Well, I am happy with the video. Bertrand Russell whom I read 30 years ago about it said that "fear was the basis of religion" and that resonated with my experience and then imperfect analysis. You came to it logically and experientially. Inspiring.
Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s really helpful to know other people feel the same way that I do.
Well done! Thank you for this.
Thanks for this video. Your process was very different from mine, but we got to the same place. Using our minds rather than our feelings is when the jarring change takes place.
Yes I agree it was using my brain that actually led me to change my stance. I just wasn't open to any of the intellectual information until I started feeling those conflicting emotions about my beliefs.
@@DeetheHumanist: So true. You can lead the horse to water but you can't make him drink. The believer has to come to the realization on their own.
Great stuff and welcome to the real world. I never had all the baggage of religion in my life but I can imagine it must be hard to see your way out of it. Congratulations !!
Every second of this video is awesome. Thanks for sharing your story :)))
Thank you for telling your story. One of the reasons I left Christianity is I did a lot of studying and found that most religions including Christianity were made up by man and a lot of it was copied from old religions thousands of years ago.
I’d love to hear more about those other religion personal experiences. Would be a great single video.
Great video, I also had that same experience of seeing the sincerity of other believers of different religions (co workers) and realising that the same psychological mechanisms were in play, and the same types of apologetics were being used by their leaders to explain away obvious problems with their holy books. It made me realise that what we learn in our childhood from out parents and authority figures is 'holy' to us and it's very hard to break through that indoctrination, hence the importance Christians see in teaching the young (though for Christians, they see this a true education before the lies of the world set hold). Thanks for sharing your experience so openly. Sorry (but not surprised) to hear about the push-back your got from your Christian community.
Awsome video! I can relate so much to it. The freedom of deconverting is almost impossible to put into words.
I felt guilt and shame for a good while as I was deconstructing my Christianity but it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders when I finally said to myself "I'm not a Christian."
The exact same thing started swaying me. EXACTLY
imagine how hard would it be for people who live in closed of communities with only like minded people.
they never encounter honest talk with atheist or person of another religion.
I’m not from an evangelical background myself but I can really resonate with the emotional process you’re describing. I’ve very recently been trying to come to terms with my own thoughts/criticism towards Christianity and the church, questioning my own thoughts and experiences. I won’t go into details, but its a scary and confronting process. You have to come to a point where you’re honest with yourself. Because even if Christianity is true, God would know what’s happening in your heart. There’s still a lot of great life lessons to be learnt from the Bible, but is the message of the gospel actually true? How should we really know? And what about all the horrible stuff in the Bible? Just asking such questions to myself feels like a crime. Meanwhile the church is just doing their thing, pretending everything is fine while we can’t even agree among ourselves despite professing the same faith. Who is right and who is wrong? That’s a pretty important question if your soul depends on it. I hope you and everyone in the comment section who can relate to this are doing well.
Very sincere and well-spoken. You kept thinking in the face of reality conflicting with you beliefs - and had the moral courage to be true to yourself instead of settling for the cognitive dissonance so many retreat into. Well done.
Bravo! I had the same feeling of relief and freedom that you mention and the end. And I am still surprised that Christians defend there is freedom in their version of god...
Thanks for sharing your journey.
👏🏼🤗👍🏼 Being Guilty for stuff I hadn’t done is what ‘Almost’ destroyed My Authentic Self. Participating in Bible Study was confusing & slightly mind numbing for me. I though being at Chuch was the only way I was going to meet ‘Good People’ (smh) in my Late 40’s. In regards to Richard Dawkins, he’s Interesting & Helpful in my Journey for the Last 4 yrs amongst others :) Thank You Debbie for Being You.
Where to begin. I am 47 years old and the process of deconstructing began four years ago. I was teaching in a private Christian school. “Dyed in the wool “Baptist from cradle until recently. I taught English and Bible at a private Christian school. I even taught Ken Ham’s curriculum Answers in Genesis. I feel the same as you do now. My devonversion began very long ago when my questions started. I have to be honest this may have begun as early as age 10. I had lots of questions and every time someone I knew was a Christian went to the altar and came back and said now I’m a real Christian... I didn’t know I wasn’t saved. I questioned. I was so confused by this. That uncertainty began the slow road to where I am now. Very similar to your story. I was a short term missionary to the UK. I also was a Christian camp counselor and met people from all over the world. I went to a Christian university. I’ve experienced it all and had all the conversations. I shared Christ one night with a beloved amazing human being who was a close friend. He said to me yup I love your faith but it’s not for me. He was a hero to me. One of the kindest loving beautiful souls I’ve ever known who didn’t have Christ and even after presenting my lesson on left behind he still didn’t believe me. He was destined for hell. I was broken. Again. More doubt. More questions. Finding you and hearing your brave voice is very comforting. Now I know I’m not alone. This is doable. It is so scary for me. But I know without any doubt it is time to face my biggest fear. I need to question. I must question. Thank you for sharing brave beautiful soul. May we all live authentically as you are.
Subscriber 500!
Also you published this video on my birthday.
Happy atheist here for about 28 years. I'm now 63!
Former Mormon, Seventh-day Adventist and Anglican.
For a while I was a Bible literalist, creationist and had the arrogance to believe that I had the truth and lived in constant fear that I wasn't a real Christian and wasn't going to heaven.
I am 65 years old monotheist, manageably living in both hope for heaven and fear of hell.
This is what I was thinking... a few days ago before watching this video.
For me it was simply asking myself the question, "Why do I think I am right and everyone else is wrong, and, other religions think they are as right as I think I am right." What we are taught from birth to adulthood is a very very powerful influence on our mind. I am living now trying to be truly open and truly questioning everything that's unproven.
Thank you so much for sharing your story!
Yes yes yes, you are so right! Same here, same here. I loved your statement that it's fear disguised as love. So true. And I also am SO glad I got out.
Thanx for sharing --- very well done. Congratulations.
Thank you for sharing, wonderfully stated.
Beautiful video and testemony❤
Thanks for making this!
I’ve decided to leave evangelical Christianity as well due to the extreme black and white political toxicity but I still want to remain a Christian I’m looking for a more preogressive church once the pandemic is over. Maybe Lutheran or Episcopalian. Trump kind of ruined church for me
Well i suppose you will at least stay in church which is good. My advice is do not let people ruin church for you.
Trump is a fraud who pandered to evangelical Christians for his own political ends. Here in the UK Christianity is thankfully free of the polarised toxicity that has prevailed in the USA.
@@joshuamartinpryce8424 but why? If it's not true, and full of hypocrites, why go to church? A more progressive church may seem more appealing, but isn't that just creating God in your own image? No one needs church. Aside from community, there are no benefits to attendance. The time and money could be so much better spent elsewhere.
@@joshuamartinpryce8424 No one needs a church. Most of them promote ancient superstitions and are quite happy to see you leave your mind at the door.
I switched to the Episcopal Church and now I'm so much happier
My heart is soo with you. For me it was the list of "Do's and Don'ts" that made me feel inadequate and further away from God. Finally I decided to leave church, not saying everyone should, but I needed to be uninfluenced and started studying the New Covenant on my own. See in the beginning I was sold out on the unconditional love and safety in the Saviour. Although having good intentions, when churches preach law it becomes a whole legalistic religious organization that robs us of our true identity and freedom in the true Gospel.
What I found is that religion says "Fix yourself and God/we will accept you" while the original Gospel says "Come just as you are and I will give you righteousness/(okayness) as a gift". Religion says "You have to work hard to stay forgiven and right" while the true Gospel says "With a single sacrifice I have made you perfectly accepted and irreversibly forgiven for ever". Religion says "You have to work to get close to God" the Gospel says "You cant get closer to your Father as He is in you and you are in Him". Religion says "God is in love with a future version of you" while the Gospel of Grace says "Dad loves you as you are right now unconditionally and is NEVER GOING TO CHANGE in this irreversibly restored relationship". Religion says "You are not good enough" and the true Gospel of Grace says "You are fully accepted, with a new heart which is righteous, holy and blameless. That's your identity, now live from your heart and be yourself". Religion is a bunch of rules to follow as a prerequisite to acceptance versus the Gospel of Grace providing immediate acceptance which will produce the "works" over time, but is secondary to the "Work Christ did". This reveals a bit of what I found please see this link for more: th-cam.com/video/RHxbZEwbhHg/w-d-xo.html
This is 8 years later, in the mean-time I started a small bible study group where everyone is on the same level and unconditionally accepted, where their opinion is valid and important.
God's love.
Nicolas
Thanks for sharing. You are very courageous.
Best of luck on your deconstruction!
What collegiate and/or graduate training in STEM do you have? Other important courses or experiences are philosophy, logic, psychology, critical thinking, analytical reading, world and natural history.
Hope you find your light on the path you've had chosen..
Thanks for sharing your story. I have a story very similar in some ways.
Thank god it's finally over. So much pain has been inflicted on humanity. Great work Dee.. Keep keeping on!
I've been looking for preachers kid deconversion stories and can't find them
Beautiful! Good on you. Blessings along the way...
Amazing how your description is exactly like an abusive relationship. ‘I only hurt you because I love you’. ‘Love me back or I am going to torture you’. It is so sick and twisted.
So we'll said. I started reviewing material about narcissists,
Sociopaths and the clergy fits in large scale that description.
I tried to be a good Christian for ten years but I discovered over the time it was not for me too!
What's a good Christian?
where does it say in the Bible that non Christians will suffer in hell for eternity?
I was really devout Christian for over 10 years and now am agnostic atheist, borderline pagan.
Just found your videos via Thomas Westbrook (Holy Koolaid). I hope you're finding a supportive community near you. I know that can be difficult in the bible belt. I've subscribed and look forward to more content from someone so well-spoken.
Thank you so much for the support! It's been a few years since my deconversion, which was in 2016, and I slowly restructured my whole social group and found supportive friends. But I am always willing to add more to my life! I'm still looking for a nonreligious community to be apart of in Houston. I know there are some, but I haven't been able to get involved and meet people since COVID-19 hit.
Thank you for sharing.
Welcome to reality and thanks for sharing.