The biggest mistake we parents do is try to shield our children from the challenges to Christianity. Challenges are healthy. You must be able to defend the gospel IMHO. We need to be honest about those areas we are uncertain and be ready to explain that non-Christians have their own faiths too. They are simply ignorant to the fact they too must believe in something that is yet to be proven scientifically. Some of the best Christian music is written about that type of struggle.
Struggle and faith aren't opposed. Israel, after all, means "He who struggles with God". There was a BBC film I watched years ago where Jewish men in a concentration camp put God on trial following Jewish law, and found him liable for their misfortune... but then went on to the gas chambers praying anyways. I found it deeply moving, and deeply relevant to the age we live in. It says something profound about what faith should be.
@rmwestjr Great comment. I work in a secular workplace and the most common challenge given me from my workmates is "have you considered all options or do you live in a closed mind?". They make a very valid point if I want even the slimmest hope of being a believable witness to them. A good Christian won't have a closed mind. Well, for many years now, I have listened to all the options and frankly, the idea that evolution created everything and that man's mind can evolve its own sense of morals and good and evil just doesn't stack up. It takes a great deal more faith to believe such immense complexity of humans, animals and the universe itself (right down to molecular level) happened by chance or that it can improve itself as it goes along.
I agree. My story is different as I came to faith later on but people have to know there are things out there that will contradict your faith. The problem so many make is not allowing kids to see them and understand why they are not things you should follow
This saddens me so much. I only recently discovered Audrey's music and have been blessed by it beyond measure. I thought I had found someone who truly understood how I felt about God and was able to express it in music better than anyone else. Her story I have heard too many times. America is cursed by these closed fundamentalist bubbles that, although well meaning, produce mentally crippled adults. It is totally alien to my experience. I was raised by Christian parents who valued education highly and encouraged me to read widely. I studied Biology at universlty before becoming a science teacher, and my circle of friends throughout this time were all atheists. I pursued a personal spiritual journey which eventually led me to Christ at the age of 30. I hope that Audrey will one day return to singing songs of praise, and to sing them from the heart, in the realisation that God is not an evil monster who requires us to "obey the rules", but someone who loves us with no strings attached and simply wants us to receive his love,
Well said, and it sounds like you had a wonderful experience of being raised by open-minded parents and then coming to Christianity when you were in full, free-thinking adulthood. For those of us raised in a twisted version of Christianity, the journey of deconstruction and then healing is much more complex. However, I agree with all you said!
I know a million reasons to leave the faith, but there is one thing I cannot leave and that is the love of my friend Jesus who owned nothing and was rejected.Without that love I am a shipwreck.Thank you Audrey for your music which was a positive in my life.
Same! 1,000 times, same! I agree. I just learned about her yesterday or the day before... and I'm heartbroken. It's so very sad. Why are so many walking away?
So sad. I loved her early records that really ministered to me. I had her same questions and became familiar with Josephus and others. I took my questions to the Lord and after further research became even more convinced of Jesus as Messiah and the Word as true. God is big enough to handle our questions and struggles!
And God does not want us to live in fear. There is a healthy fear of God that is proper reverence of HIS sovereignty, HIS holiness and HIS power, but HE does not want us to be anxious or fearful. That is really sad that she has left for the world.
And that is the difference. You took it to the Lord. There's nothing wrong with having questions, curiosities, and even doubt and we go before the Lord with his Word open, letting the Holy Spirit teach us. Going before the Lord wanting HiM to teach us is not deconstruction. Deconstruction is walking away and would tell me that they never really were saved.
She had been told for fear based reasons to "stay away from so much". That is not a healthy approach. I'm a musician and a very curious one at that. I try to learn as much as I can about opposing world views. She should feel free to explore, including a Christian perspective that isn't as closed minded as the one she grew up in. After over 40 years of looking into multiple world views, I'm still in the faith. I hope she keeps searching with an open mind.
She says she didn’t even know who Martin Luther was!! Don’t these folks go to school?? I’ve seen a few of these sorts of videos now and I’m afraid I don’t recognise the Christianity they seem to have been in.
Christianity is taught, even in churches, as a fairytale. It’s not taught as truth that engages all of the human experience. People don’t know how deep is Christianity and it’s intellectual history and it’s actual impact in the world. If Christianity was taken seriously in the church then the outcomes would be different and more folks would come to Christ and remain in Christ.
@@Iamwrongbut she left the faith as an adult. You can't blame parents/ church at that point. She didn't learn about her faith because she didn't care to.
Wow... in my protestant denomination we were always taught to read and consider everything, that our beliefs could stand up to any scrutiny. I'm thankful for that.
Exactly she had no training in apologetics and succumbed to the false teachings of the world, the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God and she bought into the foolishness. Sad.
Personally my biggest frustration with music at church is modern contemporary Christian music is nauseating vapid. It has no real depth and most of the time "me" or "my" is the key word in most choruses. It doesn't inspire me at all and is often very self centered, so it's not surprising musicians are losing theirs too.
The great C.S Lewis detested church hymns. Fifth rate poetry set to sixth rate music, he said. Surely he would have considered modern Christian pop music a bore.
@@elstevobevo . . . C.S. Lewis loved Wagner operas, especially the Ring Cycle, Beethoven symphonies, Sibelius symphonies (and Finlandia, which reminded him of "Northernness") and some Mozart overtures.
@@elstevobevo . . . I think there was no worship music that Lewis especially liked. Even his non-worship musical tastes, though very good, were rather confined. Then there is this: Lewis also cared little for church sermons--"Sunday sermonizing" as he referred to them. He thought some clergy were apostate, many others far too liberal ("Christianity and water" he called it) and most other preachers a tad sophomoric for his tastes. He frustrated his local Headington Quarry pastor greatly because he would often leave before the pastor was finished with the Benediction. That said, although he was no Catholic and "not especially high" as an Anglican, Lewis seemed awestruck in the presence of the eucharist. And despite his distaste for perfunctory sermons he himself delivered (IMHO) the greatest sermon ever penned: "The Weight of Glory". If you are not familiar with it, do look it up.
Some view deconstructing different from apostasy because they want to nick pick what they like and don't and at the same time still be a part of the church or have their version of the church.
Agreed! To me this new terminology is just trying to put a less negative twist on sinfulness and rebellion. It’s sad that legalism has pushed so many away from Christ though! This is a great lesson to parents today to talk to our kids more, rather than isolate them from the world!
Because apostasy is turning your back on christianity whereas deconstruction Is about removing the negative, mental health-damaging elements of systematised theology.
I’m sure you don’t remember, but I got to meet you at a chicago concert over a decade ago. Not long after, your music had a great impact on my soul during the very hardest moments of my life. Your voice carried me through suicidal ideation and deep physical pain. Even if you aren’t making Catholic music anymore (which I do miss of course) please continue to bless us with your music! You have a gift, and maybe now it’s time for you to touch a whole new audience with the melodic groanings of a restless heart pursuing meaning and purpose. We love you no matter what your religion! 💛
Last I know, she was raised Christian in an almost cultish group and became Catholic after discovering some Catholic roots. I’m assuming that is what they mean by ex-Christian as in Protestant?
When my wife died at a young age her music 'abide with me', 'it is well with my soul' and 'how can i keep from singing' were the songs that got me through. Later it was 'Nothing to Fear' when the pains were creeping back. Now i see and hear a different soul in her song "Better". There are many things out there but only God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost is the TRUTH. "THINK OF JUDGEMENT AFTER DEATH".
I'm trying to be compassionate towards people that had the nerve to be Christian leaders when they didn't know what they believed. The Apostle John would say "they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us." Still, I'm trying. But if we learn nothing else from this, let's learn that making kids our hero worship leaders is a very bad idea.
i wonder why would anyone forbid the reading if Josephus? That's even the secular historian who proved there was such a person as Jesus who was worshipped by His followers.
I'm praying for Audrey! I Love her song, "I Shall Not Want." I pray she will fully embrace Jesus as her Savior, knowing that He said, HE is the truth and the Life and the way and that no man comes to the Father but by me".(John 14:6) I pray she will truly know in her heart that she needs or wants no other in this life. He alone truly satisfies. I pray she will grow in discernment as a beloved daughter "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1
She is right in a way. Churches directing people away from scripture as the ultimate authority leads to a bizarre, ritualistic, & thoughtless faith. But, it's a shame that (it sounds like) she has denied Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life as a result. If the latter is true, then she needs to repent and run into the embracing arms of Jesus, who is the only one that can save. Ask the hard questions, submit to the truth of scripture, and worship God with your mind (in addition to your heart).
@@Sanddollar1 you should not be reading the bible with the mindset of it already being true that’s confirmation bias.. you should be reading it with a critical and skeptical mindset.
Lack of Faith. This is the time of the great falling away. Afflictions come upon all and only the faithful will remain. All things will be shaken so the things that will be shaken will be shaken and the things that will remain will remain. Do not fear, do not fall away.
Right at the beginning when she talked about what is hidden. EVE jumped into my mind. She was also shown and told things that were forbidden and she fell for it. Same story here. May God have mercy on us all.
It boils down precisely to this: If you're actually saved, you will certainly be left with questions for your whole life. But, you judge issues whose ideas come from the world by the transcendent truth of God and pursue answers on the basis of that. That is faith, but it's not blind (which so many believe faith is meant to be). But, If you're not saved, but have lived a culturally devoted "Christian" life, when you're exposed to things from the world - especially those that resonate - you measure the transcendent on the basis of human ideas. Since fear is the context of this vid, one of the above is a fear of God (which is the beginning of wisdom), the other however *is* fear of man. It's still fear. How odd that fear of man has won for so many of these deconstructionists. And how odd they don't see that.
God is big enough to handle our doubts and to walk us through them - IF we go to Him with them. I don't say this to criticize or judge anyone, but hopefully to encourage those who might find themselves in similar spiritual turmoil. It can be even more depressing to one who's suffering to find so much 'company' among the ranks of those who once inspired us... I went through a crisis of faith many years ago precipitated by some traumatic events. I'm thankful for that time now - because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will never go through another. Sometimes it takes a 'shaking' to reveal what's unshakable. God is not only able to handle our doubts, He's able to walk us out of them much stronger than we ever were before our faith was tested. But we've got to go to HIM with them. Even during my own deep inner turmoil I knew better than to talk to other doubters. The answer is not to be found in intellectual reasoning. Doubts reveal where our faith is shallow. They reveal where we've built a belief system on something other than a true, vital, living relationship with GOD. This is actually a good thing. It is able to propel us to seek Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH because nothing else will do. If you're in anguish, plagued with doubts, I urge you to keep seeking. God is more real and more NEAR than you know, but it's the childlike, not the intellectually sophisticated, who encounter Him. And it is ultimately ALL about encounter. Those mystical experiences you've read about? They're not for a select few. The Bible is full of them, and we're all meant to have them - those times when God shows up for us, when He meets with us, when He confirms things to us in a way that only He can. Don't stop seeking! Don't give up! Those are moments of transcendent truth that no enemy from hell can steal!
This is so incredibly sad to me. I'm heartbroken by this. I was raised in the church and I was never "forbidden" from reading other literature, authors, etc. I was taught apologetics, reason, and critical thinking. I'm sad to hear that these former voices of faith turn away before testing the truth with these tools in their "toolbox" so to speak. All the hardest questions in life find an answer, bedrock, and meaning in the Word of God and His unchanging truth. I sincerely and deeply hope that all who have deconstructed find that the end of their journey ultimately leads them back home.. I've been through incredible hardship, and for me, my faith is what held me together through all the chaos and pain life has brought. I have studied other religions and I have tasted the "promises" of the world, and it's all empty and fleeting--nothing holds up outside of the One True, Almighty God, and the Word He has given us. May the truth always win.
This is crazy for me to see because I remember unsubscribing to her channel a couple of years back, I could tell she was a false conversion years ago. The American church is full of people just like this 😔
You never know - the end result of this might be an honest faith. I see an open person in this interview, and not a Gothic Audrey. I think there is a big difference from doing something because you "should do" and "must do" it, versus doing it because you are a child of God
Are you talking about 1 Timothy 4:1? _"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing a spirits, and doctrines of devils"_
@@polarisnorth4875 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NASB2020 The ESV translates it as “the rebellion” The KJV translates it as “the falling away” The NLT translates it as a “great rebellion against God” Pretty much the different translations are pointing towards a great turning away from God and people leaving the faith for what 1 Timothy 4:1 calls “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons”
I went through a difficult trial, during which time her music was very encouraging. So called science has derailed many....she never mentions the irreducible complexity of God's creation....she may have been disappointed in God for her illness, who knows?
Yeah Sad to learn she rejected Christ… I think she never had a real relationship with Jesus and then the enemy put doubts and confusion in her mind...We must pray for her.
Audrey is one of a growing trend of a movement away from institutions, and towards individual discovery. I look forward to what you'll be sharing with us as you travel this journey.
Salvation is of The Lord ( not of us ! ) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. I pray Audrey might know both the peace of forgiveness of sins and the joy of life eternal that only Jesus can give.
She speaks truth! I am so glad to have found her music before my deconstruction and still loving it throughout my deconstruction. I still find peace, and value in her music even as someone who has deconstructed my own Christianity.
I've heard several testimonies of CCM artists who leave the faith or who deconstruct. From what they say they never knew Jesus Christ in the first place. It's like an unbeliever saying that they have ceased to believe. And... kinda reminds me of how the Roman Catholic practice of infant baptism makes Catholics think they are saved when they are not. In the Protestant church that's analogous to people who are born to Christian parents and everyone assumes they are Christians. What finally happens with most of these people is not that they leave their faith in Christ Jesus (apostasize). What happens is that they simply discover, realize, find out, that they had never believed in that Person in the first place. Simply put, in New Testament Biblical terms, they are lost and in need of the Savior.
The channel "Genetically modified skeptic" made a video about modern "Christian" worship groups and how they emotionally manipulate you. He pretty much summed up my problems with those bands I had several years ago. Several years ago I started to doubt my faith because all this worship stuff became like worshipping myself instead of the Lord. It impacted me so much, I stopped being an active member of our little worship group in our church and I stopped singing worship songs. In fact I think that and something else I did lead to the collapse of our youthgroup (nothing illegal, just bad for group cohesion). I had a great voice. Yet because of my doubts I sealed it away. After a while I became so doubtful, I kind of fell away from the faith and opened myself to sin. Today, I still don't sing worship. At least not modern worship. But I have emersed myself for several years in studying and confronting my faith with atheist and Muslim polemics. Today my faith is stronger than before, but for now I am non-denominational. But I also have suffered "injuries". Once you open the flood gates of sin, it's hard to close them again. It's almost like Pandora's box. That which you do often is that in which you become proficient. And if you often sin then you become proficient in sin....
How in the world would Josephus' writings help someone deconstruct? Are we sure she's even talking about Josephus here? His writing are some of the strongest non-Christian evidence we have for the existence of Jesus.
when a person is given over to a reprobate mind i think they interpret things according to the foundations of lies. its the lens they now see the world. when one rejects the gospel, their only option is to believe the lies upon lies as though they were true. even able to twist truths.
He’s good evidence for the existence of Jesus yes, but what’s striking is the lack of support he offers for any of Jesus’ miracles, except for the notoriously forged passage of course.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It's not striking at all. Of course a follower of Judaism would deny Jesus' divinity, and his miracles. But the fact that Josephus was affirming Christ's death, the martydom of james, confirming that John the baptist was killed by Herod is evidence in favor of Christianity, not evidence against it. How in the world anyone would pick up Josephus and lose their faith over it is beyond me. It's quite odd. It makes me think she misspoke and was referring to another ancient writer?
@@reevertoun I highly doubt she doesn’t know who Josephus is.. and it is striking because for an ancient writer form the same time and region of Jesus, that knew of him, that fact he mentions nothing about Jesus’ miracles might lead one to believe he wasn’t a miracle worker at all like the Christian writers like make out.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It seems you also lack familiarity with Josephus. How anyone could read this passage from a non-christian historian and question their faith is hard to fathom(completely ignoring Josephus confirming the post-crucifiction conversion of James the brother of Jesus) Here is the non-disputed portion Testimonium Flavianum. " Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin" So please explain how someone could pick up Testimonium Flavianum or Antiquities of the Jews and view it as a disconfirmation of Christianity. It's a bizarre claim to make on its face. The emperor has no clothes.
Audrey, you look and sound sad to me in this video. As someone who has and continues to benefit from your songs that honestly and intimately proclaim God’s goodness in the midst of the shared human condition, I want more for you than what you are currently living. My main choice of songs to worship the Lord when I’m driving in the car have been yours since I discovered your music years ago. Your Peace album was the one that accompanied my journey through Advent last year and ushered in the joy of Christmas as I played “ Your peace will make us one” on the drive home from midnight Mass with snow on the ground and a wind chill of -2 degrees F. “Restless” was the main song that held our Newman Center in worship through college. Your album “ Oh Happy Fault” was one that I and a number of women guests listened to in the backwoods of Ontario while staying at a lay apostolate. Your songs have sprouted countless conversations with God for me, ones that matter and bring about such a deep and unwavering friendship with Him and a commonality with others. Truly, you have a magnificent gift from God, and it does not go unnoticed. I pray for your return to the fullness of faith, the fullness of joy and the fullness of everlasting life now in the Catholic Church and forever in Heaven that Jesus so tenderly offers you in His beautiful Body, His Eucharistic presence, and through His Bride, the Church. May the past traumas and current sufferings you face bring you into greater intimacy with Jesus. He’s the best!!! I don’t want you to miss out any longer on the love of God in it’s profundity in the sacraments. I’m zealous for your salvation because of the blessing that your gift has been to me and to so many fellow Christians I know who love your music and are saddened by your withdrawal. I don’t know you personally, but your work has influenced my life to such an extent that I can’t help but comment in hopes that you will read this. If you do read this: THANK YOU for sharing your talents so generously. May you benefit from them too! I would love to worship with you again someday and to hear the Good news of God still waiting to be proclaimed, in concert or in Heaven. :) “ And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” - John 8:32 You seem to me to be a truth seeker. I personally can’t stand being lied to, and Jesus is the most trustworthy person out there since He’s God Who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all- good. No personal experience or failures of other people within or outside of the Church can change that. He is unchanging, unwavering, He cannot be moved. His Bride the Church, although she is being attacked on every side, will not be overcome as she is the ship that is meant to carry all to Heaven. The devil knows this, and he has hated the very establishment of salvation since the moment he refused it. I’m certain you know this, but just thought I’d leave this here in case lies are surrounding you and roaring at you. You are so beautiful, Audrey! Praying for you that you may know the deep love of Jesus afresh this Christmas as He never stops pursuing you. Christ’s peace will make us one. 🙏🏻
Keep searching. God gave your mind the ability to reason. Don't listen to the skeptics. Use your intellect to arrive at your own spirituality. God will be there, along side you as you search on "your" unique path. Then, and only then, will you be an authentic child of God.
One who is truly born again will never ;leave. God will not let you. Sadly these folks were not born again. They may have said a prayer once as a child and believed themselves saved but they clearly weren't. Very sad. My faith was not fear based and was always based on evidence and what God had done and was doing in my life. I was saved at 31 and know well the truth.
Christianity and religions of man have error and fear, is not where you will find the True Creator. It's not on the outside of you, it's within. It's a personal journey with Spirit the Divine within.
East answer: “Christian Music” has become big business. Lots of folks get into it for that reason. They never were bonafide Christian followers to begin with.
…..” what you’re trying to do is critique and take down the structure you left behind…. “This raises an important point for those of us who have a deconstructing spirit, what are we after? What’s our motivating spirit? A reactionary spirit, that wants to reject the community of our youth, versus a spirit driven by the quest for truth whatever it might cost to find it.” From the podcast Rise & Fall or Mars Hill
Being true to one's own develpment is more important than the need to obey the rules, so for all you who think Audrey has gone astray, realize that her path as an artist is unique, and she has absolute divine right to follow her own curiosity into what more there is to discover. I think she's brilliant and inspiring!!!
18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
It’s hard to connect with what she is saying, as i tried to find truth everywhere - literally everywhere and after years heavy in the new age, found truth, freedom and love in Jesus our Lord. ♥️ I’ve never been the same since 🙏🏻
Love your song "Eden" so much! Don`t worry, deconstruction is a normal thing. We all need to do it from time to time. Jesus still is the lord and sees the heart! Do you know Melissa Denyce? She has a channel called "love covered life". Would like to see a interview between you and her. Or is there already one?
Musicians score high on the openness scale of the Big Five. So, they would be more drawn to all kinds of concepts. I can see them rebelling against tradition or feeling betrayed by restrictive Christianity.
I think this is key! And my conviction is the gospel is for everyone, so we need to be better at reaching and discipline those who have that kind of makeup.
@@danstirling7386 What’s interesting is you will learn different philosophies and religions if you went to theology school. I went to a fairly fundamentalist church as a young Christian but never stumbled by secularism or other world views. Purity of thought and being secluded (mentally) as a monk is not going to work. We need to understand these other worldview s and develope or have an answer. I’ve been studying CRT for a few years. I have an answer now.
Not to be rude but Christianity is not restrictive if you view it that way you don’t actually know what Christianity is. Most people still view it as Do and don’t and especially in the west a world of choice is freedom and also having loads of knowledge so we are encouraged to forever learn but told you are ignorant if you have faith and believe and actually come to a conclusion.
There's a paradox there as well. They explore other concepts due to their openness, but end up being more restricted than ever. True freedom can only be found in Christ.
So.... she grew disillusioned with her repressive Plymouth Brethren upbringing but then decided to leave the Christian faith altogether??? Leave your repressive Brethren sect and see what other Christians have to say. She says she's a thinking person but doesn't sound like she put much thought into her decision. Just emotion.
Praying Audrey returns to Christ. Her music touches my soul and has obviously been spiritually inspired. Pray she puts less importance on the restrictive approach she was raised with and seeks truth.
After my wife divorced me and moved to Florida my son moved with her and proceeded to breakdown over the lose of his family. He began drinking, smoking pot and sleeping around. Usually on Fridays he would call me, drunk, to trash me, for what he could never say. We talked for at least an hour each time. Finally, one Friday he told me he had been desperately trying to become an atheist, or at least an agnostic, for over a year but couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried her couldn't not believe in God and he blamed me for that! "You were always so reasonable and you knew so much. I never had a question you couldn't answer but you always told me if something was your opinion or really taught in the Bible. And you told me more than once that I had to decide what I believed. I've never forgotten that." Unfortunately, I found out a few years later from his sister that before our divorce and for years after his mother used to blame me for everything bad that had ever happened to her, and him! Sadder still, he is in thrall to his mother to this day.
She’ll be back. Deconstruction is a good thing. Yahweh will rebuild her foundations with His truth. I did this after becoming an atheist. I realized that there are many traditions that have crippled theology. Yahweh had me question everything, and stone by stone rebuilt me again. It was awesome!
That's too bad, there was a song she sang that helped me through a very hard time in my life where I was an alcoholic. I think the reasons I'm a Christian, is utterly rational from start to finish, too bad she seems unaware that is the case. I'm a non-denominational protestant raised guy, if she ever were to read this, which I'm almost certain she would not, but since she is (or was) a Catholic, I'd recommend that she read the Doctors of the Church. If she read and studied them, and TRULY understood what they wrote, she would understand that God exists, Christianity is true, and there is absolutely nothing that modernity, scientism, modern thinking, modern physics, modern psychology, whatever, can negate what they have written. Read and understand St Thomas Aquinas. Audrey, it is all true, every bit of it, and they can prove it.
The power of the Oxytocin Father, Serotonin Son, and the Holy Dopamine Ghost via Placebo Faith is very strong in you. If you don't mind doing a half an hour of reading on something that may challenge your beliefs? Please let me know. I would like your opinion.
@@bleirdo_dude I've read all kinds of things, and many have challenged my beliefs, and it's why I believe what I do today. There's absolutely nothing you can offer, that would in any way disprove or be more rational than the sources I just cited. Nothing. They were some of the greatest thinkers in history, and almost all of modern philosophy is spent developing or trying to refute ideas Thomas Aquinas has already thought of. Sorry... hyperbole isn't convincing. If you have any refutations for what I said, then you can state them, or just stfu.
@@fukpoeslaw3613 Really? And I'd go as far as to say that the "infinite multi-verse with every single physical potential is actualized, an infinite number of times" is as "scientific" as the non-empirical claim that all of space matter and energy coming from absolutely nothing! If there are is an infinite multi-verse, and there are no physical laws violated, then it is mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes exist, and talking donkeys. If all of space, matter and time just randomly spit out into existence, and have been doing so for eternity, then it is also mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes and donkeys are spit out into space, or within a universe, all the time. If the above are not true, then God exists. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you are utterly oblivious to the entire subject as a whole, and I'd probably save my hyperbole until I figured out what I was even talking about...
@@thegreatcornholio7255 "if the above are not true, then God exists." ehm... I don't get that so you might be right; I don't know what you're talking about.
Celebrating deconstruction - which is, in truth, forasaking the actual truth of the Gospel, Jesus, and salvation - is heart breaking. It's like, "ooh, look at us! look how smart we are! look how enlightened!" BUT, in actuality, unless we are missing something, you are forsaking your first love. And, it is not remotely anything to celebrate.
I don't think most people who deconstructed even wanted to go through it. It's so much easier not to go through that process esp a worship leader like her who has a following and people who look up to her. I wish people weren't so judgemental and understand that things are nuanced.
People who grew up with strict rules did not learn to cope with questions and doubts. In my opinion they are raised with a weird kind of perfection concerning their beliefs. This is so sad to see. It is their decision to leave, but I blame their parents too, who perverted the picture of God and destroyed so much. The kids were raised in fear. It is important to know Jesus Christ and in the first place to know a God of love. God created the world. If Gods intention was to know all details about the creation or whatever he would give us the information. I do not walk away from God, because things are not clear. Perhaps God created the world in a process similar to the evolution in 6.000 or in 6 billions years or in a different way? For me it makes no difference who is God.
That sounds pretty rough to be so pressured. I had a little bit of that growing up in my Christian home, but I looked at it like it was just a very human fear to go against what one has been taught. But what I cared about was the truth, hopefully, so that's why I stuck too keeping open mind about the world. Time and time again, I would keep coming back to Christianity as the true belief.
Allowing kids to be exposed to other beliefs, life styles and challenges to their faith can inoculate them from deconstructing later in life if the parents are secure enough to have honest discussions, pointing out fallacies of other beliefs in a non-judgemental way. Letting kids see the effects of sin in other lives will also help them stay away from it later in life. As parents, we need to pray and keep the lines of communication open.
all these people have one thing in common... they all blame people... the church,etc... have they even listen to the voice of God?... Christians follow God not man... stop blaming people and start following God...
If you never asked God to change your heart…..believe in your own goodness…..then you are ultimately lost…..if you truly have God living in your heart you can NEVER walk away💜
Genesis 2:16 16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” We have to be careful about learning about other things. Some things can't be undone. Some things can't be unseen. Some things are an aquired taste- not good at first but the appeal grows...and stays. The final part of Deuteronomy 12 explains in a nutshell what we should and shouldn't do. And if your life gets better after walking away from God it might be satan throwing you a bone. He tried with Jesus. But some religious groups do go beyond what is required. Jesus preached against it. The fourth commandment does make it hard to be a semi-pro or pro musician. I gladly gave it up. I do miss it sometimes but I would miss God so much more.
Sounds like the church she grew up in was all about control, which, frankly, a lot of churches are. I don't share some others' views here that Audrey was "never saved to begin with". God hasn't given up on her. Who are we to judge? We can judge her present take on Christianity perhaps, but to judge whether she is saved or not? That's God's territory, not ours.
Being a rebel from my early days under a wayward Methodist (splintered ) tradition, looking for truth seemed a natural path. Let’s pray you don’t find yourself entrapped, deluded by the deviancy that’s permeated the culture, Miss Audrey. From my remark below , (to an Ivan ?).. “The pursuit of knowledge as a way to truth should bring us back to the place of innocence, of true fellowship, as the Spirit helps us to see , as we forgive and get free of bitterness on the journey, to encounter the depths of His love… realizing His mercies are new, every morning. “
Another ‘Christian artist’ has left the faith. Shocking……not! It’s par for the course. I’ve never met a ‘Christian artist’ or ‘worship leader’ whose faith is as deep as we think it is. Notice I said “we think it is.” These people are hired or are famous because they’re great singers. Then people are shocked when they denounce the faith. I’m never shocked. “Another one bites the dust.”
Dear Andrey you don't have to live in fear, you can actually learn more about God, ask all the questions you want but if you really want to know about God, you shouldn't leave the source Dear Audrey, i pray you know who God is, not the God that is so fearful and you have to keep up with his laws but a God who is love, loves you enough to die for you, loves you now but wants to make you better Dear Audrey, Jesus sees you and He won't stop reaching out to you, you are so precious in his sight, He won't lay anything ill fitting to you, He will grant you rest Dear Audrey, God wants you to know him, to know his ways Dear Audrey, i would be praying for you
Deconstruction of anyone's faith is to be encouraged, if your faith is controlling you by dogmas, doctrines AND fear, if it doesn't hold up to your intelligence , logic, conscience & inner guidance, it's vital for you to question the beliefs. I deconstructed from Christianity 30 years back and found eastern religion & philosophy more suitable for my evolution as a spiritual being!🙏🙏
Man, people be praying for Audry Assad, this is God's plan, a master plan, he knew that at this time, Audrey Assad will go through this phase... He knows everything, and no one can change that.... Just love her for who she is, man!! Christians can be f**ked up sometimes. If God wants her path to deconvert, then come back to him(or not), then who are we to change that
It is the best feeling ever when you OPEN YOUR MIND and start to try and break the spell. you soon realise that there is a whole different world out there.
We can just as easily say that Atheism is a spell The question is where does the evidence point. It's the best feeling ever when you experience the forgiveness of your sins and the beauty and unspeakable reality of God actually living in you by His Holy Spirit.
Our pastor once told a story, can't remember if it was true or not, but doesn't matter. Maybe it was just metaphorical, but it totally impacted my life for Christ. He spoke of a silver miner who was the owner of a small silver mine and was making just enough to get by on. He made enough to pay for his food and supplies and that was about it. He got tired of NOT making the big strike he had always hoped for, so he sold the mine. The new owner spent a few weeks digging a few more feet into the mine and made the largest silver strike ever in that region. I decided that day, if my pastor gave up on the Lord, if my wife gave up on the Lord, if my best Christian friends gave up on the Lord, if everyone said Christianity is a fraud, the Bible is a hoax, I STILL will stick with Jesus Christ. It's just too great a future (eternity in Heaven as a member of God's family) to give up on. NOBODY knows for sure if Heaven is real or not, NOBODY knows for sure if Jesus really is waiting for us, NOBODY knows for sure if there is an eternal hell waiting for those who fail to trust in Jesus Christ. ALL of us will just have to wait and see. I, by God's grace, am not going to be like the foolish miner who gave up, just because things weren't working out quite the way he wanted. I am going to stick it out with Christ. I have been for forty years.
I will be completely honest and say to some degree, this actually makes total sense. What I'm getting from this is that she was extremely sheltered from real life experiences, and grew up with very little to no real life knowledge. Therefore her so called faith was extremely shallow and the only real reason she believed was because she was told what to believe all her life without question. She probably wasn't allowed to ask any questions about her faith at all, but just told what to believe and just accept it. As a result, she literally had no foundation for her beliefs and if one day she had to defend what she believes, she literally wouldn't have a single leg to stand on. I definitely have to say that although her parents were both believers and I'm sure they raised her good,they should've done a better job teaching her the ways of the real world and not shelter her from it. IJS 💯💯
Its sad what Audrey says, sadly alot of Christians are close minded. Once we build on foundation and work on spiritual relationship with Christ, through His Holy Spirit as the sustain and support system for the entire Christian journey we will not fall and grow to love and learn from others. I have spoken to atheists for years and held personal debates. I have never been proven wrong because the evidence against Christianity is really weak, and the evidence for atheism is also really weak. People tend to walk away and say nothing else, as it things went through one ear and out the other. The truth is musicians have often be led by emotions not by The Holy Spirit. Believing in the love of Christ is great, but when things go wrong or unjust things happen in our lives we can either walk away and say i was wrong God doesnt love, or we can move on and say its something to help us grow spiritually and develop our mindset and prepare us for future circumstances.
Oh, the irony. In my experience, the evidence for Christianity is incredibly weak, and Christians are led by their emotions. The "Holy Spirit" is literally just your emotions.
Yes the devil throws alot to confuse you. The Way is narrow. Call upon Jesus and let Him lead you. He is all we have. He is All in All. Study Scripture and at some time He will call you back into a church where He wants you to be. If you are His, He will never let you go. He is the Good Shepherd. Interesting that you were singing about someone you didn't even know. Get to know Him, then sing about Him. It will be a more beautiful thing. Prayerfully, 🕊❤
So often, when people walk away, they aren't looking for the truths found in Scripture, but rather, a place where they can be accepted with their beliefs just as they are. I don't have words to express how much this pains me for them. Did they ever truly believe? It's not for me, or any of you, to say. Only God knows her heart. I can only pray that she and so many others will come back to Him someday, someday soon.
to walk away from my saviour, who rescued me from the absolute wreck my life was. no intellectualism could make me turn from Him now. i love Jesus too deeply.
The heart of Christian faith isn't about what "I think" or even "I believe", but "Who do I belong to?" and "Where is my home"? People that allow questions to close the door on faith are making a sad and tragic mistake.
Overprotecting kids provokes them to shut out not only stiff religiosity, but with it, a biblical and vibrant relationship with Jesus. Audrey says much here about exploring her mind; nothing about exploring that relationship.
It's good to question, to learn and to scrutinize the Faith. I didn't get the sense from listening to Audrey that she has abandoned her faith in God. If that's so, then the Spirit of Truth will help her. If she was in a real relationship with the Lord (as it seems for how her music touches and moves so many of us), then she will find His help, feel his gentle nudge and return to His embrace. For this I pray.
Audrey is not “astray”. It is vastly more important that God knows exactly where Audrey is than the rest of the world. She is his child and is never lost to Him.
As a Christian, it bothers me how other Christians talk about those who deconstruct their faith. If God is truly Love, then you have nothing to worry about where Audrey is concerned. Our journeys to meaning are personal. I've been through deconstruction and reconstruction myself. You can learn a lot from non-theists if you'll listen. God is in them too.
Thank you! I'm a new Christian and I am shocked at how short sighted and hard hearted people are. This poor woman grew up in an oppressive cult. She may well end up in another kind of Christianity that doesn't contain the cultish abuse!
Wow m so glad I did listen to her because she didn’t say anything that comes to me as a surprise!!! Could happen to anyone who just followed what they did because they were raised that way. They tend to get curious and question life which isn’t wrong. Bible says it’s fine to do it. But Christ wants a relationship and that can’t come if you just follow parole or what you’re raised to believe. There has to come a point in your life where you desperately need a saviour and there is no other way. I’m sure God has a plan In everybody’s life including her. And just because she’s turned away dosent change anything or the fact that her music once was for Gods glory and has helped many through storms. Christ is the same yesterday today and forever!!!!
Everyone has a choice. I believe in Christ based upon what the Bible says about people and my observations of myself and others match. Deceipt is subtle and it's easy to wander. Faith is tested.
The biggest mistake we parents do is try to shield our children from the challenges to Christianity. Challenges are healthy. You must be able to defend the gospel IMHO. We need to be honest about those areas we are uncertain and be ready to explain that non-Christians have their own faiths too. They are simply ignorant to the fact they too must believe in something that is yet to be proven scientifically. Some of the best Christian music is written about that type of struggle.
wow that first sentence was very eye-opening, great points.
Struggle and faith aren't opposed. Israel, after all, means "He who struggles with God". There was a BBC film I watched years ago where Jewish men in a concentration camp put God on trial following Jewish law, and found him liable for their misfortune... but then went on to the gas chambers praying anyways. I found it deeply moving, and deeply relevant to the age we live in. It says something profound about what faith should be.
I'll be stealing that.
@rmwestjr Great comment. I work in a secular workplace and the most common challenge given me from my workmates is "have you considered all options or do you live in a closed mind?". They make a very valid point if I want even the slimmest hope of being a believable witness to them. A good Christian won't have a closed mind. Well, for many years now, I have listened to all the options and frankly, the idea that evolution created everything and that man's mind can evolve its own sense of morals and good and evil just doesn't stack up. It takes a great deal more faith to believe such immense complexity of humans, animals and the universe itself (right down to molecular level) happened by chance or that it can improve itself as it goes along.
I agree. My story is different as I came to faith later on but people have to know there are things out there that will contradict your faith. The problem so many make is not allowing kids to see them and understand why they are not things you should follow
This saddens me so much. I only recently discovered Audrey's music and have been blessed by it beyond measure. I thought I had found someone who truly understood how I felt about God and was able to express it in music better than anyone else. Her story I have heard too many times. America is cursed by these closed fundamentalist bubbles that, although well meaning, produce mentally crippled adults. It is totally alien to my experience. I was raised by Christian parents who valued education highly and encouraged me to read widely. I studied Biology at universlty before becoming a science teacher, and my circle of friends throughout this time were all atheists. I pursued a personal spiritual journey which eventually led me to Christ at the age of 30. I hope that Audrey will one day return to singing songs of praise, and to sing them from the heart, in the realisation that God is not an evil monster who requires us to "obey the rules", but someone who loves us with no strings attached and simply wants us to receive his love,
AMEN
Well said, and it sounds like you had a wonderful experience of being raised by open-minded parents and then coming to Christianity when you were in full, free-thinking adulthood. For those of us raised in a twisted version of Christianity, the journey of deconstruction and then healing is much more complex. However, I agree with all you said!
Thank you- very helpful to read that. Agreed.
Same here, I thought her hymn music was superb and now she's a disconstructionist???
Amém 🙌🙏
I know a million reasons to leave the faith, but there is one thing I cannot leave and that is the love of my friend Jesus who owned nothing and was rejected.Without that love I am a shipwreck.Thank you Audrey for your music which was a positive in my life.
Same! 1,000 times, same! I agree.
I just learned about her yesterday or the day before... and I'm heartbroken. It's so very sad. Why are so many walking away?
So sad. I loved her early records that really ministered to me. I had her same questions and became familiar with Josephus and others. I took my questions to the Lord and after further research became even more convinced of Jesus as Messiah and the Word as true. God is big enough to handle our questions and struggles!
Well said my bro✊🏾
Amen!!
Amen! I read Josephus myself many years ago and was encouraged in the faith instead of being dissuaded.
And God does not want us to live in fear. There is a healthy fear of God that is proper reverence of HIS sovereignty, HIS holiness and HIS power, but HE does not want us to be anxious or fearful. That is really sad that she has left for the world.
And that is the difference. You took it to the Lord. There's nothing wrong with having questions, curiosities, and even doubt and we go before the Lord with his Word open, letting the Holy Spirit teach us. Going before the Lord wanting HiM to teach us is not deconstruction. Deconstruction is walking away and would tell me that they never really were saved.
She had been told for fear based reasons to "stay away from so much". That is not a healthy approach. I'm a musician and a very curious one at that. I try to learn as much as I can about opposing world views. She should feel free to explore, including a Christian perspective that isn't as closed minded as the one she grew up in. After over 40 years of looking into multiple world views, I'm still in the faith. I hope she keeps searching with an open mind.
She says she didn’t even know who Martin Luther was!! Don’t these folks go to school?? I’ve seen a few of these sorts of videos now and I’m afraid I don’t recognise the Christianity they seem to have been in.
Christianity is taught, even in churches, as a fairytale. It’s not taught as truth that engages all of the human experience. People don’t know how deep is Christianity and it’s intellectual history and it’s actual impact in the world.
If Christianity was taken seriously in the church then the outcomes would be different and more folks would come to Christ and remain in Christ.
She didn’t know because her denomination Wouldn’t allow her to learn about it. Being raised in a sheltered environment is terrible for a child’s mind
@@gfujigo They didn't embrace the full power of the Oxytocin Father, Serotonin Son, and the Holy Dopamine Ghost via Placebo Faith.
@@Iamwrongbut she left the faith as an adult. You can't blame parents/ church at that point. She didn't learn about her faith because she didn't care to.
@@User_Happy35 she left faith as an adult because she learned about these things as an adult haha. Did you even watch the video?
Wow... in my protestant denomination we were always taught to read and consider everything, that our beliefs could stand up to any scrutiny. I'm thankful for that.
Exactly she had no training in apologetics and succumbed to the false teachings of the world, the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God and she bought into the foolishness. Sad.
If you listen to Gungar the arguments are so weak.
😂😂😂
@henrka both u and the one that commented are so weak with ur position....absolutely abysmal 😅😊
@@captainmarvel76927 how so ?
Personally my biggest frustration with music at church is modern contemporary Christian music is nauseating vapid. It has no real depth and most of the time "me" or "my" is the key word in most choruses. It doesn't inspire me at all and is often very self centered, so it's not surprising musicians are losing theirs too.
The great C.S Lewis detested church hymns. Fifth rate poetry set to sixth rate music, he said. Surely he would have considered modern Christian pop music a bore.
@@jamotter8967 what did Lewis prefer?
@@elstevobevo . . . C.S. Lewis loved Wagner operas, especially the Ring Cycle, Beethoven symphonies, Sibelius symphonies (and Finlandia, which reminded him of "Northernness") and some Mozart overtures.
@@jamotter8967 i meant for worship music. Did he have a preference?
@@elstevobevo . . . I think there was no worship music that Lewis especially liked. Even his non-worship musical tastes, though very good, were rather confined. Then there is this: Lewis also cared little for church sermons--"Sunday sermonizing" as he referred to them. He thought some clergy were apostate, many others far too liberal ("Christianity and water" he called it) and most other preachers a tad sophomoric for his tastes. He frustrated his local Headington Quarry pastor greatly because he would often leave before the pastor was finished with the Benediction. That said, although he was no Catholic and "not especially high" as an Anglican, Lewis seemed awestruck in the presence of the eucharist. And despite his distaste for perfunctory sermons he himself delivered (IMHO) the greatest sermon ever penned: "The Weight of Glory". If you are not familiar with it, do look it up.
Deconstructing used to be called apostasy. I don't see what was wrong with the word apostasy.
@Matthew Oakley It’s still called apostasy, but honestly I think the word probably gets avoid due to both “Perseverance of the saints” and “OSAS”.
Some view deconstructing different from apostasy because they want to nick pick what they like and don't and at the same time still be a part of the church or have their version of the church.
Agreed! To me this new terminology is just trying to put a less negative twist on sinfulness and rebellion. It’s sad that legalism has pushed so many away from Christ though! This is a great lesson to parents today to talk to our kids more, rather than isolate them from the world!
Because apostasy is turning your back on christianity whereas deconstruction Is about removing the negative, mental health-damaging elements of systematised theology.
@@polarisnorth4875 aka heresy
I’m sure you don’t remember, but I got to meet you at a chicago concert over a decade ago. Not long after, your music had a great impact on my soul during the very hardest moments of my life. Your voice carried me through suicidal ideation and deep physical pain. Even if you aren’t making Catholic music anymore (which I do miss of course) please continue to bless us with your music! You have a gift, and maybe now it’s time for you to touch a whole new audience with the melodic groanings of a restless heart pursuing meaning and purpose. We love you no matter what your religion! 💛
Last I know, she was raised Christian in an almost cultish group and became Catholic after discovering some Catholic roots. I’m assuming that is what they mean by ex-Christian as in Protestant?
@@love2sing20101 no she went woke feminist cringe. And turned all atheist fedora.
@@mike-cc3dd how horribly sad. I hope she finds God again.
Amen me to her voice God used to heal me of depression one day.
@@love2sing20101 Lets all just pray for her. Trust that God will find her. God will leave the 99 to save the 1.
When my wife died at a young age her music 'abide with me', 'it is well with my soul' and 'how can i keep from singing' were the songs that got me through. Later it was 'Nothing to Fear' when the pains were creeping back.
Now i see and hear a different soul in her song "Better". There are many things out there but only God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost is the TRUTH.
"THINK OF JUDGEMENT AFTER DEATH".
I'm trying to be compassionate towards people that had the nerve to be Christian leaders when they didn't know what they believed. The Apostle John would say "they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us." Still, I'm trying. But if we learn nothing else from this, let's learn that making kids our hero worship leaders is a very bad idea.
i wonder why would anyone forbid the reading if Josephus? That's even the secular historian who proved there was such a person as Jesus who was worshipped by His followers.
No, he reports on groups who claimed to believe in Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need to exist for that to be true.
You mean groups like the Jews, the Romans, and the Caesar of Rome? 😏🫴
Yeah, Josephus confirmed the existence of Jesus as a historical figure.
I'm praying for Audrey! I Love her song, "I Shall Not Want." I pray she will fully embrace Jesus as her Savior, knowing that He said, HE is the truth and the Life and the way and that no man comes to the Father but by me".(John 14:6) I pray she will truly know in her heart that she needs or wants no other in this life. He alone truly satisfies. I pray she will grow in discernment as a beloved daughter "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1
sad. You sound like a robot.
She is right in a way. Churches directing people away from scripture as the ultimate authority leads to a bizarre, ritualistic, & thoughtless faith. But, it's a shame that (it sounds like) she has denied Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life as a result. If the latter is true, then she needs to repent and run into the embracing arms of Jesus, who is the only one that can save.
Ask the hard questions, submit to the truth of scripture, and worship God with your mind (in addition to your heart).
Praying for Audrey as she searches for truth. It took me 60 years to find it. Look to Christ. Read and study the Bible with the heart of a child.
I’m pretty sure she’s read the bible before
@@Sanddollar1 most Christians should have
Read and study everything with the mind of an adult
@@Sanddollar1 judging from this discussion the more theology she read the weaker her faith become.
@@Sanddollar1 you should not be reading the bible with the mindset of it already being true that’s confirmation bias.. you should be reading it with a critical and skeptical mindset.
Lack of Faith. This is the time of the great falling away. Afflictions come upon all and only the faithful will remain. All things will be shaken so the things that will be shaken will be shaken and the things that will remain will remain. Do not fear, do not fall away.
definitely 😢
Right at the beginning when she talked about what is hidden. EVE jumped into my mind. She was also shown and told things that were forbidden and she fell for it. Same story here. May God have mercy on us all.
It boils down precisely to this: If you're actually saved, you will certainly be left with questions for your whole life. But, you judge issues whose ideas come from the world by the transcendent truth of God and pursue answers on the basis of that. That is faith, but it's not blind (which so many believe faith is meant to be). But, If you're not saved, but have lived a culturally devoted "Christian" life, when you're exposed to things from the world - especially those that resonate - you measure the transcendent on the basis of human ideas. Since fear is the context of this vid, one of the above is a fear of God (which is the beginning of wisdom), the other however *is* fear of man. It's still fear. How odd that fear of man has won for so many of these deconstructionists. And how odd they don't see that.
Love the comment
Well said 👍👌🙏
Praying for you dear! ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏
It's not saddening. It's MADDENING. It's sheer hubris under the cloak of "intellectual honesty".
God is big enough to handle our doubts and to walk us through them - IF we go to Him with them. I don't say this to criticize or judge anyone, but hopefully to encourage those who might find themselves in similar spiritual turmoil. It can be even more depressing to one who's suffering to find so much 'company' among the ranks of those who once inspired us...
I went through a crisis of faith many years ago precipitated by some traumatic events. I'm thankful for that time now - because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will never go through another. Sometimes it takes a 'shaking' to reveal what's unshakable.
God is not only able to handle our doubts, He's able to walk us out of them much stronger than we ever were before our faith was tested. But we've got to go to HIM with them. Even during my own deep inner turmoil I knew better than to talk to other doubters. The answer is not to be found in intellectual reasoning.
Doubts reveal where our faith is shallow. They reveal where we've built a belief system on something other than a true, vital, living relationship with GOD. This is actually a good thing. It is able to propel us to seek Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH because nothing else will do.
If you're in anguish, plagued with doubts, I urge you to keep seeking. God is more real and more NEAR than you know, but it's the childlike, not the intellectually sophisticated, who encounter Him.
And it is ultimately ALL about encounter. Those mystical experiences you've read about? They're not for a select few. The Bible is full of them, and we're all meant to have them - those times when God shows up for us, when He meets with us, when He confirms things to us in a way that only He can. Don't stop seeking! Don't give up! Those are moments of transcendent truth that no enemy from hell can steal!
This is so incredibly sad to me. I'm heartbroken by this. I was raised in the church and I was never "forbidden" from reading other literature, authors, etc. I was taught apologetics, reason, and critical thinking. I'm sad to hear that these former voices of faith turn away before testing the truth with these tools in their "toolbox" so to speak. All the hardest questions in life find an answer, bedrock, and meaning in the Word of God and His unchanging truth. I sincerely and deeply hope that all who have deconstructed find that the end of their journey ultimately leads them back home.. I've been through incredible hardship, and for me, my faith is what held me together through all the chaos and pain life has brought. I have studied other religions and I have tasted the "promises" of the world, and it's all empty and fleeting--nothing holds up outside of the One True, Almighty God, and the Word He has given us. May the truth always win.
This is crazy for me to see because I remember unsubscribing to her channel a couple of years back, I could tell she was a false conversion years ago. The American church is full of people just like this 😔
CCM is an apostate cesspool so when they become total infidels it's the fruit of that rotten movement.
You never know - the end result of this might be an honest faith. I see an open person in this interview, and not a Gothic Audrey. I think there is a big difference from doing something because you "should do" and "must do" it, versus doing it because you are a child of God
The great apostasy as predicted by the scriptures
Where exactly?
Are you talking about 1 Timothy 4:1?
_"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing a spirits, and doctrines of devils"_
@@polarisnorth4875 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NASB2020
The ESV translates it as “the rebellion”
The KJV translates it as “the falling away”
The NLT translates it as a “great rebellion against God”
Pretty much the different translations are pointing towards a great turning away from God and people leaving the faith for what 1 Timothy 4:1 calls “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons”
Is she an atheist now, she doesn't sing gospel song anymore
I went through a difficult trial, during which time her music was very encouraging.
So called science has derailed many....she never mentions the irreducible complexity of God's creation....she may have been disappointed in God for her illness, who knows?
Aww. I was just starting to discover her songs. Life is too unpredictable
The words are true. Nothing can change that even when we are faithless.
I didn't hear her say she was stopping making music.
You can still enjoy her music
Yeah Sad to learn she rejected Christ…
I think she never had a real relationship with Jesus and then the enemy put doubts and confusion in her mind...We must pray for her.
Audrey is one of a growing trend of a movement away from institutions, and towards individual discovery. I look forward to what you'll be sharing with us as you travel this journey.
Salvation is of The Lord ( not of us ! ) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. I pray Audrey might know both the peace of forgiveness of sins and the joy of life eternal that only Jesus can give.
She speaks truth! I am so glad to have found her music before my deconstruction and still loving it throughout my deconstruction. I still find peace, and value in her music even as someone who has deconstructed my own Christianity.
I've heard several testimonies of CCM artists who leave the faith or who deconstruct. From what they say they never knew Jesus Christ in the first place. It's like an unbeliever saying that they have ceased to believe.
And... kinda reminds me of how the Roman Catholic practice of infant baptism makes Catholics think they are saved when they are not. In the Protestant church that's analogous to people who are born to Christian parents and everyone assumes they are Christians. What finally happens with most of these people is not that they leave their faith in Christ Jesus (apostasize). What happens is that they simply discover, realize, find out, that they had never believed in that Person in the first place. Simply put, in New Testament Biblical terms, they are lost and in need of the Savior.
The channel "Genetically modified skeptic" made a video about modern "Christian" worship groups and how they emotionally manipulate you.
He pretty much summed up my problems with those bands I had several years ago.
Several years ago I started to doubt my faith because all this worship stuff became like worshipping myself instead of the Lord.
It impacted me so much, I stopped being an active member of our little worship group in our church and I stopped singing worship songs. In fact I think that and something else I did lead to the collapse of our youthgroup (nothing illegal, just bad for group cohesion).
I had a great voice. Yet because of my doubts I sealed it away.
After a while I became so doubtful, I kind of fell away from the faith and opened myself to sin.
Today, I still don't sing worship. At least not modern worship.
But I have emersed myself for several years in studying and confronting my faith with atheist and Muslim polemics.
Today my faith is stronger than before, but for now I am non-denominational.
But I also have suffered "injuries".
Once you open the flood gates of sin, it's hard to close them again. It's almost like Pandora's box.
That which you do often is that in which you become proficient. And if you often sin then you become proficient in sin....
well said. Spot on. Todays Churches are full of "cultural christians" not born again believers.
How in the world would Josephus' writings help someone deconstruct? Are we sure she's even talking about Josephus here? His writing are some of the strongest non-Christian evidence we have for the existence of Jesus.
when a person is given over to a reprobate mind i think they interpret things according to the foundations of lies. its the lens they now see the world. when one rejects the gospel, their only option is to believe the lies upon lies as though they were true. even able to twist truths.
He’s good evidence for the existence of Jesus yes, but what’s striking is the lack of support he offers for any of Jesus’ miracles, except for the notoriously forged passage of course.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It's not striking at all. Of course a follower of Judaism would deny Jesus' divinity, and his miracles. But the fact that Josephus was affirming Christ's death, the martydom of james, confirming that John the baptist was killed by Herod is evidence in favor of Christianity, not evidence against it. How in the world anyone would pick up Josephus and lose their faith over it is beyond me. It's quite odd. It makes me think she misspoke and was referring to another ancient writer?
@@reevertoun I highly doubt she doesn’t know who Josephus is.. and it is striking because for an ancient writer form the same time and region of Jesus, that knew of him, that fact he mentions nothing about Jesus’ miracles might lead one to believe he wasn’t a miracle worker at all like the Christian writers like make out.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It seems you also lack familiarity with Josephus. How anyone could read this passage from a non-christian historian and question their faith is hard to fathom(completely ignoring Josephus confirming the post-crucifiction conversion of James the brother of Jesus)
Here is the non-disputed portion Testimonium Flavianum.
" Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin"
So please explain how someone could pick up Testimonium Flavianum or Antiquities of the Jews and view it as a disconfirmation of Christianity. It's a bizarre claim to make on its face. The emperor has no clothes.
Audrey, you look and sound sad to me in this video. As someone who has and continues to benefit from your songs that honestly and intimately proclaim God’s goodness in the midst of the shared human condition, I want more for you than what you are currently living.
My main choice of songs to worship the Lord when I’m driving in the car have been yours since I discovered your music years ago. Your Peace album was the one that accompanied my journey through Advent last year and ushered in the joy of Christmas as I played “ Your peace will make us one” on the drive home from midnight Mass with snow on the ground and a wind chill of -2 degrees F. “Restless” was the main song that held our Newman Center in worship through college. Your album “ Oh Happy Fault” was one that I and a number of women guests listened to in the backwoods of Ontario while staying at a lay apostolate. Your songs have sprouted countless conversations with God for me, ones that matter and bring about such a deep and unwavering friendship with Him and a commonality with others. Truly, you have a magnificent gift from God, and it does not go unnoticed.
I pray for your return to the fullness of faith, the fullness of joy and the fullness of everlasting life now in the Catholic Church and forever in Heaven that Jesus so tenderly offers you in His beautiful Body, His Eucharistic presence, and through His Bride, the Church. May the past traumas and current sufferings you face bring you into greater intimacy with Jesus. He’s the best!!! I don’t want you to miss out any longer on the love of God in it’s profundity in the sacraments. I’m zealous for your salvation because of the blessing that your gift has been to me and to so many fellow Christians I know who love your music and are saddened by your withdrawal. I don’t know you personally, but your work has influenced my life to such an extent that I can’t help but comment in hopes that you will read this. If you do read this: THANK YOU for sharing your talents so generously. May you benefit from them too!
I would love to worship with you again someday and to hear the Good news of God still waiting to be proclaimed, in concert or in Heaven. :)
“ And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” - John 8:32
You seem to me to be a truth seeker. I personally can’t stand being lied to, and Jesus is the most trustworthy person out there since He’s God Who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all- good. No personal experience or failures of other people within or outside of the Church can change that. He is unchanging, unwavering, He cannot be moved. His Bride the Church, although she is being attacked on every side, will not be overcome as she is the ship that is meant to carry all to Heaven. The devil knows this, and he has hated the very establishment of salvation since the moment he refused it. I’m certain you know this, but just thought I’d leave this here in case lies are surrounding you and roaring at you.
You are so beautiful, Audrey! Praying for you that you may know the deep love of Jesus afresh this Christmas as He never stops pursuing you.
Christ’s peace will make us one. 🙏🏻
Keep searching. God gave your mind the ability to reason. Don't listen to the skeptics. Use your intellect to arrive at your own spirituality. God will be there, along side you as you search on "your" unique path. Then, and only then, will you be an authentic child of God.
One who is truly born again will never ;leave. God will not let you. Sadly these folks were not born again. They may have said a prayer once as a child and believed themselves saved but they clearly weren't. Very sad. My faith was not fear based and was always based on evidence and what God had done and was doing in my life. I was saved at 31 and know well the truth.
100% Truth! Truly born again will not leave, walk away, deconstruct. We go before the Lord and cry "help me in my unbelief."
Christianity and religions of man have error and fear, is not where you will find the True Creator. It's not on the outside of you, it's within. It's a personal journey with Spirit the Divine within.
East answer: “Christian Music” has become big business. Lots of folks get into it for that reason. They never were bonafide Christian followers to begin with.
…..” what you’re trying to do is critique and take down the structure you left behind….
“This raises an important point for those of us who have a deconstructing spirit, what are we after? What’s our motivating spirit?
A reactionary spirit, that wants to reject the community of our youth, versus a spirit driven by the quest for truth whatever it might cost to find it.” From the podcast Rise & Fall or Mars Hill
I actually love this. You’d have to be raised either as a Christian or in a cult to even have a context for where we are coming from.
smh why
Sounds like a very legalistic church n "religion". I hope she builds a relationship with the One True Jesus.
Being true to one's own develpment is more important than the need to obey the rules, so for all you who think Audrey has gone astray, realize that her path as an artist is unique, and she has absolute divine right to follow her own curiosity into what more there is to discover. I think she's brilliant and inspiring!!!
"Risking Hell is more important than the need to have Faith in Our Lord when nothing makes sense to us." I fixed that for you.
I'm not sure what you think you fixed for me, but let me assure you, you didn't@@bradosanz4479
18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
@@bradosanz4479lol, old fear spear to keep u in line right?
no need for anyone to obey anything the Church says - thats what free will is. The consequences will remain. @@thabangmakhayi8962
“Ex Christian…” Wow. What a gut punch after just discovering this amazing singer. I pray that your the LIght will shine on your path again.
Jon is an inspiration to us apostates. Christians don't realize how difficult it is to come out in a christian culture.
100%
So is she deconstructing from Christianity or her past and the strict environment she was raised in?
It’s hard to connect with what she is saying, as i tried to find truth everywhere - literally everywhere and after years heavy in the new age, found truth, freedom and love in Jesus our Lord. ♥️ I’ve never been the same since 🙏🏻
No, you dindn´t you didn´t try to find truth LITERALLY everywhere.
So what's your conclusion? @@Mavors1099
Love your song "Eden" so much! Don`t worry, deconstruction is a normal thing. We all need to do it from time to time. Jesus still is the lord and sees the heart! Do you know Melissa Denyce? She has a channel called "love covered life". Would like to see a interview between you and her. Or is there already one?
Musicians score high on the openness scale of the Big Five. So, they would be more drawn to all kinds of concepts. I can see them rebelling against tradition or feeling betrayed by restrictive Christianity.
I think this is key! And my conviction is the gospel is for everyone, so we need to be better at reaching and discipline those who have that kind of makeup.
@@danstirling7386 What’s interesting is you will learn different philosophies and religions if you went to theology school. I went to a fairly fundamentalist church as a young Christian but never stumbled by secularism or other world views. Purity of thought and being secluded (mentally) as a monk is not going to work. We need to understand these other worldview s and develope or have an answer. I’ve been studying CRT for a few years. I have an answer now.
Not to be rude but Christianity is not restrictive if you view it that way you don’t actually know what Christianity is. Most people still view it as Do and don’t and especially in the west a world of choice is freedom and also having loads of knowledge so we are encouraged to forever learn but told you are ignorant if you have faith and believe and actually come to a conclusion.
There's a paradox there as well. They explore other concepts due to their openness, but end up being more restricted than ever. True freedom can only be found in Christ.
@@Benjamin-fu5ij Yes. That’s true. The truth sets us free. Not licentiousness.
So.... she grew disillusioned with her repressive Plymouth Brethren upbringing but then decided to leave the Christian faith altogether??? Leave your repressive Brethren sect and see what other Christians have to say. She says she's a thinking person but doesn't sound like she put much thought into her decision. Just emotion.
It’s why we allow our kids to think.
Praying Audrey returns to Christ. Her music touches my soul and has obviously been spiritually inspired. Pray she puts less importance on the restrictive approach she was raised with and seeks truth.
After my wife divorced me and moved to Florida my son moved with her and proceeded to breakdown over the lose of his family. He began drinking, smoking pot and sleeping around. Usually on Fridays he would call me, drunk, to trash me, for what he could never say. We talked for at least an hour each time.
Finally, one Friday he told me he had been desperately trying to become an atheist, or at least an agnostic, for over a year but couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried her couldn't not believe in God and he blamed me for that!
"You were always so reasonable and you knew so much. I never had a question you couldn't answer but you always told me if something was your opinion or really taught in the Bible. And you told me more than once that I had to decide what I believed. I've never forgotten that."
Unfortunately, I found out a few years later from his sister that before our divorce and for years after his mother used to blame me for everything bad that had ever happened to her, and him! Sadder still, he is in thrall to his mother to this day.
🙏🙏🙏
She’ll be back. Deconstruction is a good thing. Yahweh will rebuild her foundations with His truth. I did this after becoming an atheist. I realized that there are many traditions that have crippled theology. Yahweh had me question everything, and stone by stone rebuilt me again. It was awesome!
Love your confidence in the Lord! I agree
That's too bad, there was a song she sang that helped me through a very hard time in my life where I was an alcoholic. I think the reasons I'm a Christian, is utterly rational from start to finish, too bad she seems unaware that is the case.
I'm a non-denominational protestant raised guy, if she ever were to read this, which I'm almost certain she would not, but since she is (or was) a Catholic, I'd recommend that she read the Doctors of the Church. If she read and studied them, and TRULY understood what they wrote, she would understand that God exists, Christianity is true, and there is absolutely nothing that modernity, scientism, modern thinking, modern physics, modern psychology, whatever, can negate what they have written. Read and understand St Thomas Aquinas.
Audrey, it is all true, every bit of it, and they can prove it.
The power of the Oxytocin Father, Serotonin Son, and the Holy Dopamine Ghost via Placebo Faith is very strong in you.
If you don't mind doing a half an hour of reading on something that may challenge your beliefs? Please let me know. I would like your opinion.
@@bleirdo_dude I've read all kinds of things, and many have challenged my beliefs, and it's why I believe what I do today. There's absolutely nothing you can offer, that would in any way disprove or be more rational than the sources I just cited. Nothing. They were some of the greatest thinkers in history, and almost all of modern philosophy is spent developing or trying to refute ideas Thomas Aquinas has already thought of.
Sorry... hyperbole isn't convincing. If you have any refutations for what I said, then you can state them, or just stfu.
I would even go so far as to assert the behemoth and jonas fish were as articulate as the snake and the donkey!
@@fukpoeslaw3613 Really? And I'd go as far as to say that the "infinite multi-verse with every single physical potential is actualized, an infinite number of times" is as "scientific" as the non-empirical claim that all of space matter and energy coming from absolutely nothing!
If there are is an infinite multi-verse, and there are no physical laws violated, then it is mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes exist, and talking donkeys. If all of space, matter and time just randomly spit out into existence, and have been doing so for eternity, then it is also mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes and donkeys are spit out into space, or within a universe, all the time. If the above are not true, then God exists.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you are utterly oblivious to the entire subject as a whole, and I'd probably save my hyperbole until I figured out what I was even talking about...
@@thegreatcornholio7255 "if the above are not true, then God exists."
ehm... I don't get that so you might be right; I don't know what you're talking about.
Her denomination is actually a cult which explains why she fell away
the whole christianity is a cut
Celebrating deconstruction - which is, in truth, forasaking the actual truth of the Gospel, Jesus, and salvation - is heart breaking. It's like, "ooh, look at us! look how smart we are! look how enlightened!" BUT, in actuality, unless we are missing something, you are forsaking your first love. And, it is not remotely anything to celebrate.
I don't think most people who deconstructed even wanted to go through it. It's so much easier not to go through that process esp a worship leader like her who has a following and people who look up to her. I wish people weren't so judgemental and understand that things are nuanced.
@@Varaidzo1 I agree nuance is often overlooked. But in this case she has openly shared that she has left the faith. Praying she returns.
People who grew up with strict rules did not learn to cope with questions and doubts.
In my opinion they are raised with a weird kind of perfection concerning their beliefs. This is so sad to see. It is their decision to leave, but I blame their parents too, who perverted the picture of God and destroyed so much. The kids were raised in fear. It is important to know Jesus Christ and in the first place to know a God of love.
God created the world. If Gods intention was to know all details about the creation or whatever he would give us the information.
I do not walk away from God, because things are not clear. Perhaps God created the world in a process similar to the evolution in 6.000 or in 6 billions years or in a different way? For me it makes no difference who is God.
I love Audrey and her whole journey!!!
“… my reason outpaced my need to obey “ gave me absolute chills
In what direction?
That is a frightening statement.
Staggering. I had no idea. So sorry. The River In The Rock blessed my wife and I so abundantly. So sad.
That sounds pretty rough to be so pressured. I had a little bit of that growing up in my Christian home, but I looked at it like it was just a very human fear to go against what one has been taught. But what I cared about was the truth, hopefully, so that's why I stuck too keeping open mind about the world. Time and time again, I would keep coming back to Christianity as the true belief.
Our failure is when our lives become all about us instead of finding the God who made thsi earth and what He created us for.
Allowing kids to be exposed to other beliefs, life styles and challenges to their faith can inoculate them from deconstructing later in life if the parents are secure enough to have honest discussions, pointing out fallacies of other beliefs in a non-judgemental way. Letting kids see the effects of sin in other lives will also help them stay away from it later in life. As parents, we need to pray and keep the lines of communication open.
The Bible tells the whole story
all these people have one thing in common... they all blame people... the church,etc... have they even listen to the voice of God?... Christians follow God not man... stop blaming people and start following God...
If you never asked God to change your heart…..believe in your own goodness…..then you are ultimately lost…..if you truly have God living in your heart you can NEVER walk away💜
Religions aren't Christianity believe in our saviour the lord Jesus Christ n his blood shall cleanse us from all sin you must be born again
Genesis 2:16
16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
We have to be careful about learning about other things. Some things can't be undone. Some things can't be unseen. Some things are an aquired taste- not good at first but the appeal grows...and stays. The final part of Deuteronomy 12 explains in a nutshell what we should and shouldn't do.
And if your life gets better after walking away from God it might be satan throwing you a bone. He tried with Jesus. But some religious groups do go beyond what is required. Jesus preached against it.
The fourth commandment does make it hard to be a semi-pro or pro musician. I gladly gave it up. I do miss it sometimes but I would miss God so much more.
So sad to see how mans failure has shaped individuals view of God.
Jesus set me free from fear with his love. ❤
Sounds like the church she grew up in was all about control, which, frankly, a lot of churches are. I don't share some others' views here that Audrey was "never saved to begin with". God hasn't given up on her. Who are we to judge? We can judge her present take on Christianity perhaps, but to judge whether she is saved or not? That's God's territory, not ours.
Being a rebel from my early days under a wayward Methodist (splintered ) tradition, looking for truth seemed a natural path. Let’s pray you don’t find yourself entrapped, deluded by the deviancy that’s permeated the culture, Miss Audrey. From my remark below , (to an Ivan ?).. “The pursuit of knowledge as a way to truth should bring us back to the place of innocence, of true fellowship, as the Spirit helps us to see , as we forgive and get free of bitterness on the journey, to encounter the depths of His love… realizing His mercies are new, every morning. “
Another ‘Christian artist’ has left the faith. Shocking……not! It’s par for the course. I’ve never met a ‘Christian artist’ or ‘worship leader’ whose faith is as deep as we think it is. Notice I said “we think it is.” These people are hired or are famous because they’re great singers. Then people are shocked when they denounce the faith. I’m never shocked. “Another one bites the dust.”
Dear Andrey you don't have to live in fear, you can actually learn more about God, ask all the questions you want but if you really want to know about God, you shouldn't leave the source
Dear Audrey, i pray you know who God is, not the God that is so fearful and you have to keep up with his laws but a God who is love, loves you enough to die for you, loves you now but wants to make you better
Dear Audrey, Jesus sees you and He won't stop reaching out to you, you are so precious in his sight, He won't lay anything ill fitting to you, He will grant you rest
Dear Audrey, God wants you to know him, to know his ways
Dear Audrey, i would be praying for you
Thanks for this.
Deconstruction: the act of getting tired of hiding that you are living a double life.
Deconstruction of anyone's faith is to be encouraged, if your faith is controlling you by dogmas, doctrines AND fear, if it doesn't hold up to your intelligence , logic, conscience & inner guidance, it's vital for you to question the beliefs. I deconstructed from Christianity 30 years back and found eastern religion & philosophy more suitable for my evolution as a spiritual being!🙏🙏
Man, people be praying for Audry Assad, this is God's plan, a master plan, he knew that at this time, Audrey Assad will go through this phase... He knows everything, and no one can change that.... Just love her for who she is, man!! Christians can be f**ked up sometimes. If God wants her path to deconvert, then come back to him(or not), then who are we to change that
It is the best feeling ever when you OPEN YOUR MIND and start to try and break the spell. you soon realise that there is a whole different world out there.
We can just as easily say that Atheism is a spell The question is where does the evidence point. It's the best feeling ever when you experience the forgiveness of your sins and the beauty and unspeakable reality of God actually living in you by His Holy Spirit.
Yep. An "open mind" allows all manner of pollutants in. The mind then becomes a cesspool.
Our pastor once told a story, can't remember if it was true or not, but doesn't matter. Maybe it was just metaphorical, but it totally impacted my life for Christ. He spoke of a silver miner who was the owner of a small silver mine and was making just enough to get by on. He made enough to pay for his food and supplies and that was about it. He got tired of NOT making the big strike he had always hoped for, so he sold the mine. The new owner spent a few weeks digging a few more feet into the mine and made the largest silver strike ever in that region.
I decided that day, if my pastor gave up on the Lord, if my wife gave up on the Lord, if my best Christian friends gave up on the Lord, if everyone said Christianity is a fraud, the Bible is a hoax, I STILL will stick with Jesus Christ. It's just too great a future (eternity in Heaven as a member of God's family) to give up on. NOBODY knows for sure if Heaven is real or not, NOBODY knows for sure if Jesus really is waiting for us, NOBODY knows for sure if there is an eternal hell waiting for those who fail to trust in Jesus Christ.
ALL of us will just have to wait and see. I, by God's grace, am not going to be like the foolish miner who gave up, just because things weren't working out quite the way he wanted.
I am going to stick it out with Christ. I have been for forty years.
I will be completely honest and say to some degree, this actually makes total sense. What I'm getting from this is that she was extremely sheltered from real life experiences, and grew up with very little to no real life knowledge. Therefore her so called faith was extremely shallow and the only real reason she believed was because she was told what to believe all her life without question. She probably wasn't allowed to ask any questions about her faith at all, but just told what to believe and just accept it. As a result, she literally had no foundation for her beliefs and if one day she had to defend what she believes, she literally wouldn't have a single leg to stand on. I definitely have to say that although her parents were both believers and I'm sure they raised her good,they should've done a better job teaching her the ways of the real world and not shelter her from it. IJS 💯💯
Jesus is King!!!! :)
All of Christ for all of life!
Yeah! The Bible says so, and I can prove it.
Absolutely! He is the greatest love in person ❤
...crown you in my heart...
I think you'll find that Elvis was King.
Its sad what Audrey says, sadly alot of Christians are close minded. Once we build on foundation and work on spiritual relationship with Christ, through His Holy Spirit as the sustain and support system for the entire Christian journey we will not fall and grow to love and learn from others. I have spoken to atheists for years and held personal debates. I have never been proven wrong because the evidence against Christianity is really weak, and the evidence for atheism is also really weak. People tend to walk away and say nothing else, as it things went through one ear and out the other.
The truth is musicians have often be led by emotions not by The Holy Spirit. Believing in the love of Christ is great, but when things go wrong or unjust things happen in our lives we can either walk away and say i was wrong God doesnt love, or we can move on and say its something to help us grow spiritually and develop our mindset and prepare us for future circumstances.
Oh, the irony. In my experience, the evidence for Christianity is incredibly weak, and Christians are led by their emotions. The "Holy Spirit" is literally just your emotions.
Yes the devil throws alot to confuse you. The Way is narrow. Call upon Jesus and let Him lead you. He is all we have. He is All in All. Study Scripture and at some time He will call you back into a church where He wants you to be. If you are His, He will never let you go. He is the Good Shepherd. Interesting that you were singing about someone you didn't even know. Get to know Him, then sing about Him. It will be a more beautiful thing. Prayerfully, 🕊❤
So often, when people walk away, they aren't looking for the truths found in Scripture, but rather, a place where they can be accepted with their beliefs just as they are.
I don't have words to express how much this pains me for them. Did they ever truly believe? It's not for me, or any of you, to say. Only God knows her heart.
I can only pray that she and so many others will come back to Him someday, someday soon.
to walk away from my saviour, who rescued me from the absolute wreck my life was. no intellectualism could make me turn from Him now. i love Jesus too deeply.
Wow, very well said!
Similar to my own journey and may others feel peace and comfort in their soul searching. There is no higher authority than Truth.
This is the result of a version of Christianity that lacks the life of God. Jesus is that life. I pray she finds Him if she hasn’t.
3:08 - It's not backsliding if you were never truly born again by God's Spirit.
Amen!
Is the point to figure out the truth? Or to be a Christian no matter what?
It's that curiosity she thinks is okay that led Eve to fall into the trap. Staying away from things isn't evil, it's absolute discipline.
Her voice and hymnal tone is beyond my Congregational upbringing in the, well. My upbringing in the Congregational church in the Pacific islands.
The heart of Christian faith isn't about what "I think" or even "I believe", but "Who do I belong to?" and "Where is my home"? People that allow questions to close the door on faith are making a sad and tragic mistake.
Overprotecting kids provokes them to shut out not only stiff religiosity, but with it, a biblical and vibrant relationship with Jesus. Audrey says much here about exploring her mind; nothing about exploring that relationship.
It's good to question, to learn and to scrutinize the Faith. I didn't get the sense from listening to Audrey that she has abandoned her faith in God. If that's so, then the Spirit of Truth will help her. If she was in a real relationship with the Lord (as it seems for how her music touches and moves so many of us), then she will find His help, feel his gentle nudge and return to His embrace. For this I pray.
Audrey is not “astray”. It is vastly more important that God knows exactly where Audrey is than the rest of the world. She is his child and is never lost to Him.
As a Christian, it bothers me how other Christians talk about those who deconstruct their faith. If God is truly Love, then you have nothing to worry about where Audrey is concerned. Our journeys to meaning are personal. I've been through deconstruction and reconstruction myself. You can learn a lot from non-theists if you'll listen. God is in them too.
Thank you! I'm a new Christian and I am shocked at how short sighted and hard hearted people are. This poor woman grew up in an oppressive cult. She may well end up in another kind of Christianity that doesn't contain the cultish abuse!
Wow m so glad I did listen to her because she didn’t say anything that comes to me as a surprise!!! Could happen to anyone who just followed what they did because they were raised that way. They tend to get curious and question life which isn’t wrong. Bible says it’s fine to do it. But Christ wants a relationship and that can’t come if you just follow parole or what you’re raised to believe. There has to come a point in your life where you desperately need a saviour and there is no other way. I’m sure God has a plan In everybody’s life including her. And just because she’s turned away dosent change anything or the fact that her music once was for Gods glory and has helped many through storms. Christ is the same yesterday today and forever!!!!
Sadly, she still sounds very confused.
Did she end up with a mus lim dude? Her name is Assad, and is a middle eastern Syrian 🇸🇾 Mus lim name
There are Christians in the Middle East, including Lebanon.
It's her maiden name. Father is from Syria.
We live in a fallen world, people think their life will never end, until it does. This is not the life that is going to matter, its the next one.
Really? What a weak excuse. How disappointing.
Everyone has a choice. I believe in Christ based upon what the Bible says about people and my observations of myself and others match. Deceipt is subtle and it's easy to wander. Faith is tested.