No one has because it doesn't happen in real life. If that were to happen, trust will spread throughout the world in seconds, with pictorial evidence as back-up.
Deconstructing one’s faith takes courage and bravery. It is the hardest thing I have ever gone through and I’m 64. I am always interested in stories about changing your thinking. I am full of admiration for anyone that does it well. Love this channel.
For me, it came from a place of not feeling satisfied enough with what the church limits us to see and hear. I wanted to feel closer, so I took a deep dive to really try to know the roots of christianity closer than the church has ever taken me. Now I know why the church doesn’t like you to do that, but just stay in the pen and be a good sheep. It’s not enough to deconstruct, I’ve made christians dead to rights on some arguments, and THEY STILL walk away with “I know you defeated my defense and debunked my argument, but I’m still going to believe.” The courage to accept those facts is what’s required. Otherwise they’ll just go la-la-la-la-la 👉😣👈 right at the face of it.
It's true when you try to discuss the probems with the Bible, God, and Jesus instead of acknowledging failures they say "You have to have faith." Cognitive Dissonance. They can't face reality and logic.
Well...Not much for me. I was young when I decided to be an atheist. However, I do experience religious trauma. Being afraid of hell, ghost, magics, and other supernatural things that makes me feel anxious for me being an atheist. Keep on going, Pap! The community support your recover. 😁
Yes I practiced Christianity for 55 years or more..I’m almost 62 and it didn’t start with doubts about a god but here in the south the good ole Bible Belt and all the remnants of slavery and all the white white churches, I started thinking my mind is still enslaved and I will no longer be dedicated to being stupid
I wish the comment section had the same energy as the actual podcast. I am a Christian, and I enjoy watching these kinds of podcast. I find it extremely interesting and insightful. It actually builds my faith more than anything else. I just wish that the same level of energy and respectful conversations that take place in the podcast could be carried over to the comment section. It would be great if people with different opinions could still respect each other's beliefs and engage in fruitful discussions.
I mean... sorry you have to feel that way here in this space. I wish you could see that we wished the real world didn't make US feel that way mostly due to christians.
That reminds me of something somebody posted: “I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Treatment was a longshot, so I prayed for god to save me. Miraculously, after one year of following doctor’s orders for intense, rigorous treatment and radiation therapy, I was healed! Thank you god!!!” Sheesh. Almost makes it sound like it was GOD who was in the room and the DOCTOR who was the invisible ghost🤦🏻♀️
@@peppermintpsaki1157The LORD GOD allows it to rain on the just and unjust. I was COMPLETELY healed of a hereditary heart condition praying THROUGH in TONGUES - 1Corinthians 14:2, 4, Romans 8:26-27. I did not know what the cause was for the condition. While praying The LORD gave me a vision of my ancestors standing in a line with my mother in the first position on the right. The LORD GOD is The MOST LOVING FATHER and TEACHER beyond human imagination and HE KNOWS what each person can handle in real time. Ephesians 3:20. Instead of going to The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS CHRIST in my PERSONAL Relationship with HIM (I HATE religion and do NOT identify as a christian), I could have gone to a doctor. It was the same with the vaxx I asked The LORD if I should take it. HE said NO and that settled it.
"He wasn't really a Christian!" "He didn't have the holy spirit!" "He was in the wrong denomination!" "God/the Bible said it. I believe it. That settles it." "Only believe, only believe..." I got tired of it all as well. It's especially hard when one has been groomed in it from early childhood. Thanks for speaking up!
just decide TO FLEE RELIGION. period! The LORD JESUS is not a religion, so trying to address issues where HE IS ABSENT is deception and destructive because it is a trap of the enemy to CONFUSE, kill steal and destroy - John 10:10. In that confusion people in religions console themselves with lies that it is god's will etc
@@geico1975 not sure which country you are from. I live in the US and "jesus" is a common name among spanish speaking people in the US. Spanish does not have a "j" sound and the name is pronounced "hesus." Not sure what hesus can do for you but if your daddy is satan/the enemy it will do as it is WIRED - that is to KILL STEAL DESTROY as The LORD JESUS CHRIST told us. The choice is yours!
I was the "sound man" in my old Pentecostal church. I never paid much attention to it until my later years, but the music and song directors do purposely choose songs that resonate with the mood they want to set. I controlled the lights too, and I dimmed and brightened them when needed. It's about controlling the emotions.
The AC team is a big part of youth conferences. Shutting it down during prayer and activities to trigger a physical response to amplify the emotional and mental influences.
If it's only about emotions, the whole thing won't carry far. And trying to control someone's emotions sounds off-putting to me. However, facilitating certain emotions seems to me to be something we do all the time in daily life and not as such despicable or proof that something is amiss.
I love these conversations. It helps a lot of people like myself to feel less guilty for walking away from being perpetually manipulated and fear mongered into a living in a very specific type of behaviorism.
Great conversation. My deconstruction was similar. When you love history and have intellectual questions, you can't look at the religion the same once you "in all your getting, get understanding."
As a lifelong 60 year old atheist, I'm curious to hear perspectives on how you replace the benefits of having a community of people that can act enmasse to do volunteer work in emergencies or sustained charitable efforts, locally or nationwide? It seems this kind of association would be very hard to sustain with generally disassociated atheists. The emotional baggage created over a lifetime of religious manipulation and fear mongering is something I've observed many times that seems like it's really difficult to work through. I wish you good luck, I'm all out of thoughts and prayers.
@@wickedguppy3715 I was only a Christian for a few years recently, so I wasn’t in as deep as many are. However, in my experience, people in the church don’t make it easy to maintain a relationship afterwards. I don’t think it’s because they’re being mean or shunning or anything like that. It’s just another unfortunate byproduct of the faith: they’re constantly going to be trying to bring you back and “re-convert” you. It makes a normal and healthy relationship very difficult. But the great commission doesn’t really leave them much choice.
The church I went to didn’t ever outright say to not befriend nonbelievers but they did encourage keeping your distance because they bring worldly temptations with them.
My story is almost the opposite. I was an atheist into my mid 30s, then I experienced the supernatural presence of God several times. I then became Christian but realized pretty soon that the Bible was not the "inspired " word of God. I still believe in God and the supernatural but just came to the conclusion that no one really knows the infinite God. Just trying to be a good son, father, husband, brother, cousin, friend, employee, neighbor and citizen. Basically to love God and each others. Thanks for the video
@@Eric_01 feeling someone embrace you with infinite love (but there is no one around you), or having your hands "atrophied " for a few minutes with no apparent reasons, or being push down to the ground by no one, or having tingling all over your body for a few minutes in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. All that while being an atheist and checking with doctor for any "medical causes ". God is real. He's a person like you and me. But is he the one described in religious texts? Probably not. Religion is man made but God is real. And so is the supernatural.
@@tasmarkou5681who told you that those 40 authors are consistent with each others? Because, according to the book itself, they are definitely not in agreement with each others. The Hebrew scriptures and the Greek scriptures are completely opposed. And the Greek scriptures don't agrees with itself in multiple instances. It's clearly man made and not "God breathed ". But like many religious and philosophical books, there are grear valuable teachings in it.
He also thought the world was going to be destroyed soon. Should we believe that? He was an apocalyptic preacher, after all. He also said to keep the Jewish law. Should we do that?
I went to Bethel. It was about power and very toxic and hurtful. I was spoken to harshly by a leader one day, so I asked my “mentor” what to do. She said do nothing, but I felt that I should follow biblical advice and go to the person directly and ask if everything was ok between us. Because I went to the person and asked that one question and didn’t blindly listen to my mentor, I was barred from continued volunteering in ministry unless I attended another year of ministry school. Apparently, I was “rebellious” and “didn’t trust authority,” although I’d never been called that in my life. I was completely shocked by the whole thing since I had grown up in a very loving, small, Presbyterian church where I was completely supported and encouraged by people who actually knew me. Anyway, I watch the videos and feel cognitive dissonance, yet I still struggle to forsake my faith. It’s not the church part, but the experiences I feel I’ve had with God, that are hard to let go of. I still want to believe God has spoken to me, although many of these “promises” I felt I’d received have not happened after many years. However, there were enough times that felt undeniable, and it’s comforting to know God cares especially when you feel pretty alone in the world.
Bethal is not a good church body no doubt. Keep the faith! and never judge God based on the actions of man. And when you attend a church, test the spirit there by looking to see if what they are saying is aligning with God's word. A lot of flashy churches give the appearance of a healthy "Godly" church, but are very toxic. But community and accountability is so important in this walk with Jesus. So hope you keep looking for something good. Not all churches will be perfect no doubt(or else no one should walk through the doors), but a church who actually uses scripture to guide itself through issues and problems and not through feelings or favoritism... is a good start.
@@tasmarkou5681why do you keep spamming the same comment. I was hoping to read a different original reply to the commentator. Reading the same reply on every comment is annoying.
@Turn_lemons -- Experiences with people can be incredibly hurtful. As difficult as it is, we can try to look past this to God, who is never unfaithful and is totally true to his word and fully dependable. And as for suffering abuse, torture and all sorts of things at the hands of others, Jesus knows how it feels and cares for you. All the best to you 🙏
I love this story because it is so much like mine. I was also a worship leader who started doing some research after many questionable events and my eyes were opened! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Great convo. I can totally relate. I was in the ministry for many years and I used to love leading worship and preaching. To this day that's what I miss most, but you can't hold back the desire to know the truth!
Perhaps there are other forms of leadership and devotion (consistent with your current views) to which you can apply your skills and interests. Participation in religious rituals does fulfill psychological needs. But those needs can be addressed in other activities.
@@tasmarkou5681 Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical...it doesn't matter anymore if you acknowledge how scant the evidence is for the basis of Christianity. For a person who's just starting to question the strict infallibility of the Bible or a very literal interpretation of it, then going to a more liberal view is a palatable step, but if they are really honest with themselves they will see that this is also just an emotional crutch to hang on. These other liberal views are also based on little to no real evidence. Might as well make a clean break of it.
Covid lockdowns are what got me out, too. I was hanging around because I didn't want to hurt my friends, but once I was out of the community I was done. I tried to go back, but I just can't. My faith is gone.
I left Christianity too and I'm the happiest I've ever been IN MY LIFE! It's so freeing!! The deconstructing journey is hard, but soooo worth it.. Question everything! I still believe in a creator and the supernatural, but definitely not the Bible or the "Christian God". I will never go back lol.
The LORD JESUS never formed or endorsed any religion. HE CAME to the earth to cleanse us from the traps of evil for which we had no escape and to bring us into a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with The LORD GOD as Our ONLY FATHER and Teacher, HE IS ALIVE. Ask HIM to show you HIS EXISTENCE and TRUTH. John 17, Matthew 23:8-10 As someone who was brought up roman catholic and associated with the occult I know The LORD JESUS CHRIST is TRUTH and is the ONLY protection against an enemy WIRED to KILL STEAL DESTROY - read John 10:10. The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS can ONLY DO GOOD - James 1:17. What a person believes CREATES THEIR REALITY - Proverbs 23:7
@@ktermalkut8332 The bible is a collection of CLAIMS (and scientifically impossible scenarios), you have to demonstrate how such claims are true. You'd still have to define god in a coherent unambiguous and internally consistent way and prove it exists. Going off your own absurd holy book, (Isa 45:7) your "Lord" created the evil it must save us from. I've asked and asked yet I've never been "shown" this beings existence and simple logic shows it cannot be true. There's just reality, no one "creates" their own.
@@ktermalkut8332 personally, i would have expressed it as "What a person believes can strengthen their grip on reality or can loosen their grip on reality," but, hey, I agree with your sentiment. My suggestion, do good because it is good, but be prepared to answer for what we take on as good. No centaur ever came back later and benefitted the Greeks, nor Thor for the Norse, no matter how many were willing to sacrifice their lives because they believed in them, and no matter how much good they did while they were alive.
@@_Omega_Weapon, Religion is the tool that the oppressor uses to keep you from having a relationship with God. Jesus called out the Religious Orders in His Day, and knew others would try in the future to do the same with Him, and that is why the scriptures state Jesus told Peter to request to have himself crucified upside down. It is the inversion of the image of God, the warning from Christ to not follow the popes.
I was a security guard in Sacramento during the 1980s. I remember guarding the construction site for the Capitol Christian Center, a multi million $ megachurch. I was still a Christian, & took my job seriously. I was told by my company that the contractor, & Pastor Cole had communicated their appreciation of my vigilance. One morning Pastor Cole & his wife visited the site to personally thank me. Mrs. Cole then asked me if could also feel God's presence there. I said that God was everywhere. Then I made the mistake of pointing out that JC not impressed with by displays of wealth, the camel thru a needle, & such. That very night I was got an angry call from my boss. Pastor Cole wanted me fired. My company moved me to a different site instead. I read the Bible from cover to cover after that. That was the beginning of the end of my faith.
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God cannot be tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died (1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful (Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
Hey Captainhowdy: Please don't give up reading God's Word. I was a non-believer in the 1980s, then I became a believer in 1988. I read many comments - and a large majority of t he comments talk about religion. I have gone to different Churches and I am thankful to that. Although I have left different Churches, I still read The Holy Bible. The people that speak evil of The Holy Bible - I could confidently say that probably less than 5 % have actually read the Holy Bible. I go through the Holy Bible at least once per year - and I also study God's Word; and I meditate on God's Word. What the majority of these people are saying - they don't realize they are fulfilling The Scriptures by mocking God and mocking God's Word. The devil in the garden influenced the woman to doubt God's Word; and then he influenced her to NOT BELIEVE in God's Word. Please do not doubt God's Word, but continue to read. In time you will start seeing things that many of these people cannot understand. Please don't give up. May God encourage you; and in his Word. Let me just paste this here below... THE WORD of GOD explains GOD 2Peter 1:19-21 Men Spake as they were Moved by THE HOLY GHOST 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2Timothy 3:16, 17 All SCRIPTURE INSPIRED BY GOD 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Psalm 138:2) David declares GOD MAGNIFIES HIS WORD 2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Isaiah 40:8 GOD'S WORD STANDS FOR EVER! 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Proverbs 30:5, 6 EVERY WORD of GOD is PURE 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. Jeremiah 15:16 The Prophet Jeremiah Trusted in God's Word Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. The Word of God is TRUTH - The Lord Jesus says So when He prayed to The Father in John 17 --- John 17:3 - 21 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The Curse on Those That Will Add to or Take From God's Word Revelation 22:18-20 The Curse 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. This is speaking about this Book (Revelation), but it will most likely apply to any part of The Holy Scriptures if someone tries to tangle with God's Word.
Not so much placebo as the power of suggestion. When I was studying to be a RN they always told us to tell the patient “this will make you feel better” when giving medication as it worked better if the patient believed it would.
So good!!! Very relatable too! All the best with the exciting journey we individually orchestrate as well as the symphony that we participate in solidarity with other travellers.
Jon is awesome, got a lot of respect for him. It takes a lot of guts to basically accept you will become a pariah in both your family and social circles simply for being your authentic self, for being true to yourself and the people around you when you say "i just don't believe any of it". They don't care that you're being honest with them and yourself, they liked you better before, when you were blowing smoke up everyone's ass. 😂 Props sir!
That’s why religion hates it so much. Comparing faith to knowledge is like eating pictures of food versus an actual meal. They want you to eat the pictures in ignorant happiness.
Exactly. After all, "...my people are destroyed by lack of knowledge." I have **YET** to see any deity punish anyone for pursuing knowledge. In this case, if god has no problem with my pursuing knowledge (this is absolutely critical in today's world), I don't see why god would have any problem anyone with pursuing knowledge. That's all I can draw from this one.
Yeah sure... because you'll have all the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before you die. Good luck with that. Faith doesn't require you to know everything. Quite a burden you've saddled yourself with.
@@jeffhannah1250Even if they had the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before they die, what's that gonna do? Guess what, you don't know either buddy, you just blindly follow in delusion hoping there is something more after death. Maybe there is, I don't know, but don't act like God is the fix it all to everything. The only thing you get is the comfort you tell yourself so hard to believe in. In the end you don't know. It could be the Hindu God after all.
Thank you Derek for interviewing so many ex- christian/ religious believers that have now broken free from the insanity of religious belief. As a former "born again " christian myself , it is good to know that there are so many more people out there in the world like me who have researched the roots of Christianity / religion and found the truth that is is all based on superstitions and fake history!
@@tasmarkou5681 Do you understand that I have spent the best part of thirty years researching the historicity of the bible and the Abrahamic religions including Christianity firstly as a believer ?
@@tasmarkou5681 After some just five years of research and side by side learning about scientific reality , my religious blinkers were peeled away to reveal the truth of reality and rationality. The ancient roots of Judaism and Christianity are an evolutionary development of earlier polytheistic and messianic belief systems from Egypt , Greece , Mesopotamia and in particular Zoroastrianism from ancient Persia. Absolutely NONE of them are based on historical accuracy let alone reality , and ALL of them stem from man-made stone age and bronze age superstitious nonsense that became institutionalized religions !
@@tasmarkou5681 so you just told a person that you don't he is been lied and When I just say you believe myths I'm condescending. What do you believe and why do you believe that ?
@@tasmarkou5681 so for you if you were omnipotent all powerful you could stop a rape in a blink of an eye you wouldn't do it because you have a good reason not to do it ?
I have been born again Christian since my youth. I am 53yr now and Jesus is more real to my daily experience. I avoid traditions of religion and stick to the Word of God. No church traditok can lead you to heaven. The actions of men in churches can distract from Jesus. So always focus on Jesus. He is the Author of our Faith.
Good for you, bad for the kids that god let's die of hunger daily. He's real to you in your comfort, not real to the rest of us who think about others outside of our own echo chamber.
@@MajorPayne175you have no moral standard to be upset with child hunger if you believe in an atheistic worldview of molecules to man. It’s simply evolution. Because that child would be ultimately meaningless wether it exists or not.
@@MajorPayne175 blame instead the parents who indulge in immoral acts then later on denies any kind of responsibility. was it also god who told them to make kids that they cant raise properly?? this is the problem with our decaying society that doesn't have any sense of morality.
what is faith and how does one use it properly? i honestly don't know. to me, faith is synonymous with gullibility. my understanding of faith is that you don't need evidence to believe in whatever it is you want to believe, and through faith you can rest assured that it IS True.
@@JohnnyBGood-vm7rx kids in Africa and war torn countries over religion? You're blaming the parents? Moral grandstanding. Your god is a fiction of your imagination. Make sure you "thank it" next time it helps you find a good parking spot.......
I actually just lost my boyfriend to the Bethel Church cult in Centralia, Wa. He’s only been a Christian for a year so was very vulnerable to their manipulation tactics and the circular reasoning of christian apologetics. His personality completely changed and having open minded conversations became impossible .If I didn’t believe what he believed then I was accused of being an unworthy blasphemous fool 🤦🏼♀️🙄 I’m glad I wised up and deconstructed That’s a story I never thought I’d tell
A lot of religions use that tactic. To not become "unevenly yoked" with a non-believer of whatever their flavor is. It's a very generic cult tactic that fits directly into the BITE model. I grew up in a similar situation, and following those rules made my life miserable. Having left it behind, now I'm shunned by my entire family, former community and friends, and even my own children. Still, best decision I ever made.
When I was seven, I felt the ‘presence’ of god after swallowing the communion wafer. So I tested the experience. I looked out the church window, focusing my attention on the outdoors. My feeling of god waned. My faith was shaken by this, because my Mom had been kneeling next to me through all of this, but my sense of her presence had never waned. I began to suspect god was a ‘brain-born’ experience.
Well, if behaviorism is all you got out of it, ok. But faith in the deity is quite a different thing. It is uncommon for humans to not have faith in the deity, however one understands that. We have a demonstrable affinity for ascribing meaning to the first cause of all things. All human cultures do this, and it doesn’t mean we are stupid or bigoted for doing this very human activity.
This is such a pleasant conversation and Jon seems to be a nice guy. You don't need to go through traumatic experiences, just a clear mind and a little bit of critical thinking to come to the conclusion that the Christian believes are standing on extremely thin ice.
@@tasmarkou5681I want to grant the benefit of the doubt that you are being genuine, though I’ll say it’s difficult because this sort of question gets rather tiring. If every wild claim required DIS-proving, we would never reach the end of going down one rabbit hole after another…perhaps some of them useful, but most not. It’s more practical if any given claim be required to demonstrate its validity, rather than first asking g others to disprove it. In this way we can focus on claims for which there is evidence at hand … in order to see if it’s sufficient to warrant some level of believability.
I cannot believe how many subs MythVision has now. I watched Derek when he had a little over a thousand subs and thought this content was a hidden gym. Deconstruction is a real thing now. Congrats!
I, too, was raised among the Nazarene and a few other fundamentalists religious entities. My mothers family were Pilgrim Holiness and later Nazarene, and my grandfather (Paternal) was an evangelist for the Nazarene church and my father and his 3 brothers were all pastors. My family left the Nazarenes before my birth for a significantly more legalistic organization (Bible Missionary). We were taught the Nazarenes were too liberal to be true, so for most of my early life we were separated from both sides of of my lineage… Because they weren’t teaching and preaching true bible “Holiness”. They even had televisions… Something I didn’t see in our home until I was about 18. In short, I resonate with nearly every facet of his experience. I went to college in 1979 and achieved a Bachelor’s of Theology and subsequently became a pastor in 1985. I left religion entirely in 1988 and since then have come to understand it was all poppycock for most of the same reasons he mentioned in his life. I appreciate your videos and the way you deal with the myriad issues involved.
Looking back upon my own Christian community it was clear that we were not really any better than non-christians. This shouldn't have been the case if we're now " born again", had God's spirit within us and the sinful nature is put to death at conversion and baptism. And when you leave Christianity the lack of empathy from those you leave becomes very apparent ( with a few exceptions) ❤
Your works don’t save . Jesus on the cross and being resurrected saves. God’s grace is the key. Your righteousness is like filthy rags in God’s eyesight.
Our sinful nature is put to death???? WHAT??? Good luck with that. This guy sounds like a false convert deceived by charismatic/word of faith and discovered this.
I came away from the cult of Mormonism and this is helpful. There's so much judgement inside churches. I think People are wanting to get away from the ideology of" Its my way or the freeway" thinking. Or the concept that we "A church" somehow own the truth.....What's wrong with, acceptance and love? The historical Jesus taught that..He was a radical. I believe in love and forgiveness to be the only real power, scientifically this can be measured. Enjoy your journey. My journey didn't start till I was 60, so you are doing well.
"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." ~1st John 2:19
They want us to believe they went in believe in Jesus Christ , his deity and resurrection (Being greater than themselves) to seeing no evidence the brain they are using to rely on has a Creator. This is why I'm an atheist skeptic , very skeptical of atheist skepticism.
@@Eric_01 Everyone agrees the Bible was written by men even if they reject it as the word of God. Pride have caused this generation to think they have arrived while believing their ancestors didn't know anything. Pride before destruction.
Ah yes. The "he was never a true believer" claim. Nothing more condasceding and insulting to someone who spends their whole life dedicated to ministry and then go through an arduous process of doubt and deconversion, then some internet stranger says, "you were never a real believer"
Oh, my one and only personal care client had cancer. I got annoyed with him when he asked me to sit in on discussions about end-of-life care. The doctor said to not ask him how long he had as anyone else would already be dead. Within a few months, he was diagnosed with a complete remission. In 2 years, the cancer remains absent. I told him to say he prayed to St Jerome and we get a free trip to Rome. We had medical documentation, names, dates, places, test results. We never got to Rome. He is as obnoxious and fascinating as ever.
I was born into a strict Muslim family. At the age of 15 I got a 'mystical' experience, lasted probably for a few minutes. After that I began to meditate on a regular basis, no previous experience before that. I lived in South Africa, but had to leave the land we lived on, government orders. I applied to a medical college in Dublin and, through grace, was accepted. Few years into my training I picked up a small booklet, Gospel of St Luke, opened the page where it said ...'seek ye first the Kingdom within and everything will be added unto you.... That line hit me between the eyes. Jesus was teaching meditation as far as I was concerned. More than one technique, another to his disciples. His words words became like a mantra to me, I think about that line everyday, I am now 83. And no, didn't become a Christian. When I qualified I would go to India for meditation retreats, the teachers would have pictures on thieir wall together with other saints, JC's picture was one of them. Iearned a lot about him over the years. I don't follow any religion, but I do consider it as a means, not an end..
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God cannot be tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died (1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful (Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
@@herneyse11please use critical thinking and reread the scriptures you just provided. Then you’ll know these “contradictions” aren’t actual contradictions and I laugh at them every time I see someone post them. Also why can only God judge in the Bible but on judgement day Jesus judges the world? I thought only God can judge?
@@Jacob538 Jesus was just prophet, He is not going to judge anybody, even He will be judged by God. In Bible Jesus was literally puting His head on ground and praying to God just like a human.
@@User12345_nod Prophet Muhammed's ( PBUH) family came from Abraham, all His grand parents already believed in Allah, not to any idols like others in that time.
You people don't even know that the most people affected by this Christian lies are my people including me. It hurts to see that all of this was all lies and foolishness that have drained us our spirituality. My African people most especially my Nigeria people are doomed, because we are so religious and nothing to show for nothing we are all living in delusional situations. Am out but when i try to speak they quickly tell me am possessed.
Thank you so much for making this, and I really appreciate your guest. He’s putting a lot of things into words for me my experience was somewhat similar.
The pandemic story reminded me of myself. During our Liturgy, everyone shares a spoon. At the time of the pandemic, I asked my husband if he would still share a spoon with everyone else. He said that he would do it in a heartbeat. I was convinced that he was being unreasonable. Now I would do it too. And I’m well aware how crazy it sounds. I never really believed in God before, but I believe in Him now. It’s not an easy journey. You need to ask questions. And there are answers to all of them. But the voice that says to give up on finding the Truth is the one you shouldn’t trust.
People confuse religion with God and I often wonder if religion didn’t exist if people would be more spiritual and less judgmental because the place I was judged the most came from being in church
@@ziploc2000well I like to think of God outside of church or religion and just being the creator of the universe and follow Jesus’s example on how to treat others and be at peace I don’t know if that makes any sense but I grew up in the church and the Christian schools and I could never wrap my head around some of the scripture
@@jerryodonovan8624I disagree because if you look at the native peoples they did not have organized religion until the European peoples forced it on them and they always believed in the creator
John was almost the opposite of me. I started out in an atheistic (or non-religious) Family after graduate school I "found Jesus" and got heavily involved in a charismatic church. Many things happened to cause me to question the leadership and authenticity of the particular church I was in, so I move over to the Nazarene church hoping to find more stability and honest. I took coursework toward ministry, but ultimately, the more I studied, the less sense it made to me. I also was involved in praise and worship as a guitar player, and I saw the manipulation. I was caught by the worship leader playing stairway to heaven, and I wasn't on the worship team much longer. I do appreciate what John went through and I can definitely relate.
I was invited to community event once. I had not been told it was a Christian event. The band were great but the lyrics and entranced involvement of the attendees was so alien to me. They were so invested in getting into the state that it was cultish. Needless to say, no supernatural spirit of any kind infused me and I politely took my leave earlier than the others.
You know it’s that specific experience in worship services that I still find very compelling and upon which a lot of my faith had been built. The phenomenon of a “religious experience” is under appreciated by non religious critics. It’s an incredibly compelling and “real” phenomenon. Even being in the skeptical state of mind that I am these days, I still find worship and prayer very soothing. I do wonder how much genetics plays a roll in people’s religious experiences. It seems like some people are just more able to connect with it.
@sean_miller I think I get what you mean. I was very spiritual in my past but the best I managed was out-of-body experience through meditation. I bonded with the universe (I thought). Animate, euphoric experiences were limited to music gigs. I can see how it could be such an involved experience if tied to something one thinks is bigger.
@@mdug7224 Very interesting. Your experience was indeed probably similar to some of mine, though I would have used more religious language ("encounter with God," etc). Thanks for sharing!
Very scary for an unbeliever. Coming from England, where this sort of thing has (thankfully) vanished since the Victorian age... A great channel. Many thanks.
So what happened was your ancestors cousins (my ancestors) left because your ancestors were being jerks about it but seems like their great grand children gave it up and but our family lines across the ocena kept it up.
It’s been about 20 years ago. Our entire church prayed for a guy in our sanctuary who had stage 4 cancer. A few weeks later his cancer was gone. He’s in his 70’s now, retired, and is running for local office and I’ll be voting for him.
@@Amfrabrikerbabbin I’ve known the guy my whole life. I was there. If you want to claim I’m lying, and I’ve been lied to that’s fine. I won’t lose any sleep over your protest.
I’d like to state that stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence per se. Survival rates vary widely dependent on many factors, but stage 4 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fatal, mostly yes, but not always.
If it was Jesus, it would make things only worse. Despite praying, Children die every day of hunger, bone cancer and terrible pain. But look! God chose to heal a 50 year old man who probably got treatment.
Im very much a believer and I found your interview very informative and honest. I would add that any community is broken and there is no such thing as a flawless community regardless of organization, creed, covenant or otherwise. Everyone on this planet is broken to give up on any community bc you discovered broken people breaking things is nothing new. What comes next is a choice but not just any choice, this decision will determine one’s eternity. Good luck, I hope you find what you’re looking for.
So true about the pandemic - I don't know if I could have left except that we weren't attending Mass during the pandemic. In traditional Catholic teaching, skiping Mass means you are in danger of damnation, so deconstruction during that time was likely a big part of feeling comfortable with not going back.
As a licensed massage therapist, some people with range of motion issues of the rotator cuff are just 5 minutes of active relief massage away from regaining their ROM. Im not saying with all cases, but unless you've had an injury or surgery there, a lot of it is mental and people not wanting to push their stretch any farther once they feel pain in that area.
Grew up fundy Baptist, went to Pensacola Christian College for 3 semesters (1988-89), quit church 7-8 years, went to Nazarene church, met future wife, moved for jobs & attended about 7 different churches over 20 years. I left church & belief 4 years ago, wife still in. As an adult, I was always on the edge of belief & then kept going for many years to not cause family disruption.
Please, please, please, let’s stop this new trend (Peterson’s etc.) of breaking up interviews with stock photography !! On the word Environment’ you flashed a factory, studying, a child writing! Most people here, I hope, are not idiots, we understand words and we can follow two men talking for 30 minutes without puking… thanks!
Yep, I totally share that. I get annoyed with this silly trend. I can follow a conversation without stock images. I don’t think Derek listens…. He is kind of full of himself…. Just my opinion.
Maths is the language of God, Arithmetic, Algebra, Algorithms, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry; all came from Islamic teachings, and there is no such thing as Coincidence, and there is only one God, the Great Mother Spirit, Kythera, Amarru, Titicaca, Gaia, Papuatunuku. Who we call God is her messenger Pan, the Slavic word for LORD, also known as Sabazios or Bacchus. Dionysians believed in Reincarnation every 216 years (six times six times six) there are 2160 years in an Astrological age and the moon is 2160 miles in diameter, the interior angles of a cube also add up to 2160 When Jesus was at Mt Hermon (Moon/Sin) and at the entrance to the Grotto (Grove) of Pan and he turned to Peter (Peter and Paul at the Pearly Gates) he asked Peter (Pan and his lost boys) "Who am I?" It's a riddle: Peter and the Disciples are literary elements that anthropomorphise the 12 Constellations. Like King Arthur, Author, Ator, Athor, Atum, Attis.. etc. For example Scorpio is Set aka Judas, the kiss of Death. So Capricorn is a Satyr, a Fairie King He's talking about Pan.. _"You are Messiah"_ replied Peter. The Messiah incorporates the entire book and all the Constellations, ergo all the miracles of all the Prophets, E Io, the spirit of Infinite Man, the Phoenix of the Phoenixions, Ionians of X. He is the Sun and Moon, and the Planets form his Ring of Solomon. He Captains the Ark, and builds the Temple, which is the Earth itself. He suffers the scourge of plagues and doesn't Blaspheme, he doesn't take the Lord's name in vain. He flees like Jonah and realises he cannot escape his fate. _"I and the Father are one" Joseph of Arimathea, Arimathea means the first lunar month (Tammuz) and relates to Leo I Eo, which is next to Gemini. Arimathea means a Lion dead to the Lord _"From the Hunter something sweet"_ The constellation has no key star, instead it's seen as bees. Bees have one Queen, no King, like the Dionysians and Orphics _"You are of your Father the Devil"_ It's accusations in a mirror based on the Zodiac. He cursed himself, as Pan, Capricorn, the Capstone of the Pyramid, denoting Aquarius and esp Fomalhault, shaped like the All Seeing Eye of Providence (Prophecy) representing Apotheosis aka the _Sight._ Akurios also means LORD, as in Aquarius, the Cupbearer, a servant of God, a slave. The symbol of Capricorn relates to the Boatman or Ferryman, and Founder of Athens (Aten's) Esus was a character created by Joseph of Arimathea, the Author, who was a Celt, the King of Tyre, the Bible is the Phoenician Almanac, Esus the God of Death, Polaris, the Pole Star. Ergo the Pen is mightier than the Sword. Issa is the uncursed version of Jesus, because they recognise that he didn't die for anyone's sins; it was a curse: anyone who dies on the tree is cursed, ergo anyone who judged in his name or from the Osirian Book of the Dead (Byblos Baal) cursed their own soul. The God of the Grove is Saturn, aka Satan. That's why it's called the Idol of Wood in Revelations. The Serpent of the Garden. And why all things reverse when the New Moon rises in the West; including Marriage. It's written backwards, in a mirror, just as Egyptians made their astrological records of the Zodiac. It can thus be written I|Eos: Zeus, or E Io Esus: Josephus; Son of the Zypherot, Typhon or Set, Thoth himself is the Scion of Set, Ladon, the World Serpent; Jormungand. This can be the Milky Way, Hydra, or Eradinus, (the Red Serpent). Or all three, ergo Rainbow Spirit, Rainbow Serpent, or Rainbow Covenant. E Io Ari Matea means the clear first month of the lunar Zodiac, and correlates with the Hebrew Month of Tammuz. The Cry of Tammuz, the Fool; first step of the Mythical Hero's Journey. This is the Great Work of the Freemasons, whose Capital was in Tyre: which means Bitter Rock, as in Wormwood, Bitter as in sea, Jerusalem as in Uruku Salaam, the New Moon Due West of Tyre, rising from the Bitter Waters. Ergo Black Rock: Gatestone; and Saturn, aka Santan, or Sanatan. Baal Shem or Baal Shamen, the Great Shamen of Samhain, Great Teacher... The House (Masion) of the Torch bearers (Ferre: to ferry or carry) of Isis, which sits at 33 degrees of the Zodiac. Pharoah means Great House or House of Light. He is the intercessor between God and the People, the Guidestone or Compass The Tattoo on the inside of the Messiah's thigh, and the scar left on Jacob's thigh is the Half moon and Saturn in the Thigh of Aquarius on Dec 18 2023, three days short of the Summer Solstice aka Saturnalia. Saturn also means LORD. The Cry in the Wilderness _is_ Pan; the Satyr or Setian, like John the Baptist, who wore a Goatskin pelt, his birthday is on June 14, the Summer Solstice, Saturnalia. He is the Ante Christ, born on the Day of Osiris, the Day of the Pharoah, when the Nile would Flood. The feast of Trumpets relates to the Bagpipes made from goatskins, ergo the Scapegoat of Sukkot, when the Seed of Abraham is persued into the Desert for 1260 days. It was on Saturnalia that Druids harvested Mistletoe, a parasitic plant with their famous Golden sickles, denoting the Summer Solstice. And when Joseph of Arimathea travelled to England he buried a Holly tree upside down, denoting the underworld, Tropic of Capricorn, for which the Summer Solstice is at Xmas. E Io and Kore of ancient Greece, representing Hercules and Persophenes are also found in Maori Lore in New Zealand, as well as He Uenuku, the Rainbow Spirit or Unicorn, as well as Po Marie: Night, and Pohutukawa: a native tree that blooms red at Xmas, and has a native mistletoe as well. They also still have the famous wisdom "As Above so Below, As without, so within." E Io Arimatea literally reads in Maori as it did in Ancient Greece. This barely scratches the surface though. This is the secret of the labyrinth of Pan, the secret of the ages, the Treasure Map of Aladdin, the Buried Treasure of the Templars. The Solomonic Calendar is three days behind, the Covenant is broken, a Phoenix is sent to reset the clock, and break the wheel. Agathos Daemon: Servant of Solomon; and Adaemon has already been cast upon the Swine We are up to Chapter 12 of Revelations The Tribulations have begun
Esus is the Celtic God of Death: a curse on the Romans. Israel is the name of the Messiah, which they took for their own; Blasphemy So they cursed themselves Which is why it is said by a man's own lips alone only is he so judged, that he who lives by the word so must die by the word, and let No Man speak in my name: for the wages of Sin is Israel; The Angel of Most Untimely Death ESV You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god-your images that you made for yourselves, NIV You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god -- which you made for yourselves. Amos 5:26 _Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven_ “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, *and the power of His Messiah has come, for the Accuser of our brethren, who **_*Accused them_* before *our God day and night, has been cast down!* Revelation 12:12 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the *remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah"* Revelation 12:17, KJV The Covenant was to not have a State before the Messiah Palestine are the remnant of Abraham's seed Palestine _is_ Israel: Canaan and Phoenicia are _one and the same._ "Israel" is Canaanite for _Saturn,_ or *El* and *Bael:* their *Father and Son Diety* Fruit of Isis and Ra The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the root of the flower of Death *Pan* which is Slavic for *LORD*
When I first had an out of body experience that's when I realised religion was false. No God can grant you eternal life cause our true nature is that we are immortal beings just stuck in a physical body. Sadly most people will not realise this until after they die and see themselves outside their own body.
Great job in the conversation with Jon. Refreshing change from academics. Very relatable and more representative of more exits from close minded congregations.
The biggest problem I find with such people who fall away from the faith in Jesus Christ, is much to do with knowing about Him, church etc, rather than knowing Him, sure they say they know Him as Lord and Saviour, but when you boil it down, it is a knowing about, rather than an intimate relationship with Christ. Another problem is thinking that attending Bible college is something that God calls us too, fact is He simply doesn't call anyone to attend such places, these are all man made institutes that cause more problems than doing any good. Having it drummed into you that you need to go to church, another man made idea, we should focus on being the church, a living organism where Jesus Christ leads and not any pastor, priest or pope; "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Matthew23:8-12
Bro was never rooted in sound doctrine to begin with. He had religion Rooted in false doctrine .. When you're Surrounded by false teachers it's no surprise to see things like this
If by the "word" you mean the bible, are you serious? This book is so full of holes, twisted and manipulated I'd sooner trust a complete stranger who I knew nothing about than that book. Rather than just believe everything in that book like a blind dogmatic believer, why don't you research it's history, real history, other ancient texts and really analyze it and see it for what it is, a tool to manipulate and control the masses and the centralization of power. If I'm to believe your book, the world is flat, 6,000 years old and has talking snakes!
I enjoyed this discussion immensely. It is all of our responsibilities to think critically about our beliefs and investigate where necessary. That is where freedom and free will are expressed and flourush.
I Found Jesus a long time ago but I still struggle with faith sometimes when I realize that God is so invisible and so hidden. It makes no sense why he wouldn't just reveal himself more and help people believe because even the devil and the demons believe his existence and they still choose to Rebel so that means if he revealed himself more we wouldn't be forced to follow him or like him we would still have free will but at least we would know he exists. The thing I don't like is we know politicians exist and we debate about them knowing they exist but the fact that God is so powerful and present and mighty and loving yet we can have debates on whether or not he merely even exists because he's so hidden? That's just so weird. It's messed up because then he'll judge people for not believing in him when there really is no good reason to when there's so many religions and so many people that are happy and fulfilled in them or some people that just don't see God they see the beauty of nature but they are unsure of where it came from it doesn't literally say hey we came from God. Then there's people that say for things to evolve this way naturally it would be like a one chance out of billions and billions and billions but then you look at space and there is billions and billions and billions of failures that didn't turn out to have life on planets . So if the number is super super super super super super rare and unlikely but it's still there maybe we are that one that accidentally happened and that's why they are literally light years worth of endless star systems of galaxies and planets that didn't turn out just perfect to support life conditions. And then that takes me back to why is God so hidden when really we should all just know he exists and then we debate things about him not whether or not he merely exists. I like the words that Jesus said but I swear even stuff in the Old Testament is ridiculous when they talked about the waters above the heavens in the sky and all that and then people look up and see blue so they think it's water that just sounds like something in ancient person wrote that just didn't understand what the sky was or what space was
@@ronaldrrootiii6040 We will probably always struggle. But I did get a minor miracle. It was unbelievable I begged him to take cancer pain away. It was a certain type of pain. It still hasn't come back. And it happened immediately I didn't really think it was going to happen. And I had a year and a half totally pain free. I'm now in hospital in pain again facing a lift changing operation. I knew it was just a holiday from pain. I always knew it was coming back. But this is a different pain this is Crohn's disease. The much worse cancer pain still hasn't returned. So you could say in a mysterious way I am lucky. Most people don't get any sort of revealing. I did and I'm still thankful for him taking that unbearable pain away. God bless
@@ronaldrrootiii6040absolutely! 💯 all of this, and then so much more. Why would an all-knowing God create Satan? Why would he create Adam and Eve, knowing they would sin, and then punish *everyone* afterwards, billions of billions of people, punished to hell? But he's supposed to love us above all else? All you have to do is conform to his rules. Which rules? Which translations? Which century? Which denominations? Which version? We could go on and on. The mental gymnastics required to disregard the pro slavery, anti female, anti LGBTQIA+, and so, so much more. It's cruel. I was a devout Christian for 30+ years and I am a million times happier and more at peace without it. _No looking back, no looking back..._
Many people leave their faith for similar reasons, often due to a lack of a personal relationship with God, focusing more on rituals than a genuine connection with Jesus. Jesus, in revealing God as Father, relied on the Spirit's demonstrations rather than academic scrutiny of scriptures. Even those well-versed in the law doubted him, but Jesus didn't conform to their demands, emphasizing the importance of his works as proof. Before leaving, Jesus didn't instruct his disciples to document everything he said, instead he turned their attention to the promise of the Spirit, highlighting the reliance on the Spirit over written records. The essence of Christianity lies in a personal relationship with God, not a rigid religious structure. Believers should anchor their faith in personal convictions from the inner witness, not just a collective belief system. Many are turning to historical accuracy for proof, but true faith involves seeking God directly through sincere prayer, not relying solely on intellectual pursuits. Just as Jesus prayed for the Spirit of Truth to guide believers into all truth, we should have the same desire and place it above all other pursuits as concerns the faith. Brother, God still loves you dearly. He hasn't given up on you.
I am looking for historicity, I compare the Scriptures time and again when in subtle doubt and each time God helps me to overcome these doubts giving me right sources. I never give up and for that reason He supports me in my faith.
Not surprised. We had an apostle who left Christianity long ago. And over the centuries we have experienced the same phenomenon. Still, Christianity goes on and on. I guess someone very powerful is keeping it.
Where does it say that an apostle left christianity? If you're referring to Judas, that's not what his actions were. In fact, his guilt was quite powerful. There were religious beliefs and multiple gods worshipped LONG before the Christ character and "Christianity". That humans have forever conjured hundreds of thousands of belief systems just to appease themselves is not even remotely a proof any single powerful entity. It's 100% human.
Eric: Read the gospels and you will see Judas was an apostle. And yes, he left Christianity when he betrayed Christ. Without Christ, there is no Christianity at all.@@Eric_01
How people sound when they claim medical miracles.. My TV broke. So I prayed to Jesus. Then I called a TV repair man. Now it's working. It's a miracle. Thanks Jesus
I've watched a lot of NDE, and seen similarities to attest to prayerful healing, white robe muscular angels, and much more, prayer is powerful in the name of Jesus.
I was an atheist until meeting God. 2 witnesses also converted with me. The Bible would have never convinced me. I still haven’t read it because it can’t compare to first hand knowledge. The guests on this channel debunk the Bible and the dogmas of churches. My only thought is “duh.” I don’t know how anyone could believe in God through reading a book or without firsthand, verifiable experience. But when you have that experience, there’s no turning back.
Enjoyed the interview. In my opinion, all the images you have edited in over the interview is a major distraction, and degrades the quality of the presentation. Looks like a manic attempt to keep the viewers from getting bored, and it's just not needed. Trust your material (the conversation) to hold our interest. It's so powerful!
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God cannot be tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died (1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful (Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God.
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God cannot be tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died (1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful (Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
A lot of people say they left Christianity and were never in Christianity in the first place, and have no idea how to go about being a part of it. I repented, was baptized by immersion in water, according to Acts 2:38, and was filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in unknown tongue just like they did in the tenth chapter of Acts. I received the revelation that Jesus Christ was God Almighty in the flesh the only supreme God there is or ever will be. Jesus said, in John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
I did not know what a "lay pastor" was, but now that I do I'd classify all of them as such. I've heard a lot of these ex fundies talk about 'worship teams', and I just hear the quote from the Breakfast Club. "So it's sort of social. Demented and sad, but social, right?"
As someone who used to play drums for a church, I can definitely attest to what he said about setting up the songs a certain way. It’s all about trying to hook people’s emotions.
I had some cavities and an appointment to fill em but before I went I prayed for them to be fixed by the lord and frfr I had no cavities to fill when I went to the dentist. Facts 💯
My extreme joint pains suddenly disappeared while listening to the Asbury Revival over 500 miles away. My doctor's plan of action went out the window when there was no further occurrence. I hadn't prayed for healing or gave it much thought, I highly doubt it had anything to do with power of suggestion.
I know I mentioned this the other day, but I’m really enjoying these deconversion stories you’re sharing. I still love listening to them, and I hear my own in them and remember things from my own journey in each of them. Thanks for another great video!
I am a lifelong Christian, and when I was two years old, (I'm 48) I was run over twice (the driver panicked and went over me, then reversed over me a second time). My father picked me up and watched guts coming from my mouth, then dropped me from a standing position. The neighbor heard the commotion outside from my mother's side of the family (12 brothers and sisters and their spouses, but for three who weren't married), got everything under control, and then called the ambulance. At the hospital where my father’s pastor met them, the doctors were trying to tend to me when the Pastor walked in and prayed for me, which resulted in me falling asleep with no issues. The hospital kept me for two weeks to run tests because they could not understand how there were no injuries. The tire marks went across my chest, and the driveway was made up of gravel rocks. So, God does heal yet this doesn't mean that there aren't many who are fleecing those in the church who are more superstitious than they are doctrinally sound. Therefore, I'd probably recommend some apologetic works by Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel for any objections as the Bible is still the most attested-to work of antiquity.
Why is that when most christians deconvert, they’re not looking to turn anyone from the faith, that those that remain in the faith, come out with their claws? When I left christianity behind, the vitriol you get is crazy. My leaving the church has nothing to do with parishioners. It is a personal journey I was upon. The minute it happens, they come to you in droves about to come back into the fold and how YOU were so wrong and how they can help you return to faith. When they fail to be able to do that, they turn mean and vicious. Why?
I was contemplating prayer today, and I can not think of a single prayer I prayed that was answered without a shadow of a doubt. Yes, I prayed for that job, but I probably would have still got it, I prayed for rain, but it would have rained either way, I prayed for a safe holiday, and and I would have returned home safely in any case. I prayed for a loved one that had serious issues, prayer, tears, fasting.....and nothing. He still has the same issue after 10 years of faithful prayer. Can't think of a single prayed that was answered, but I can think of thousands that were not.
@@leehighland5435 He's questioning why god doesn't have any problems with helping people find their car keys, but he has problems fixing whatever issue his friend has. Where is the bar for what god decides to help through prayer and which things does he ignore?
@@plattbagarn Who is he or you to demand the creator does things the way your want? God is not going to answer prayers from people who don't believe in him, is he?
@@leehighland5435 Clearly pinky and his friend believe he exists since they pray to him in the first place. And still he decides not to help pinky's friend with whatever issue he has. So the question still remains, how does god choose which prayers he answers? Also, why shouldn't he answer prayer from people who don't believe in him? That would be a great way to show people he exists and wants a relationship with them. Petty god.
@@plattbagarn John 9:31 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. I think that may answer your first question. If people look back in their life, many will have said, wow, that was lucky that happened and never thought that God had saved them or helped them or given God any thanks at all. I can see from your response you have a low opinion of God, however without God you would not even exist to say that. Do you think you are being ungrateful?
I appreciated Jon’s disclaimer at the end and the comment about “conversations of freedom”. I deconverted years ago.. still- haven’t told most of my old church family as it’s hard conversations that doesn’t really do anything productive. As I’m not interested in changing their mind about anything of their faith is working for them. It takes courage to just be yourself. Still-I convince myself I’m not ruffling feathers for their comfort as I really haven’t changed my lifestyle otherwise. Definitely a conversation of freedom and helpful to see others doing it respectfully.
These are people who have walked away from charismatic cults who think they can heal people. This is very different from Catholicism which springs from Pauls testimony and not directly from Jesus. Nevertheless, people do leave Catholicism too, but for different reasons; often because of behaviour of clergy or fed up with fear and manipulation that goes on in schools and parishes. Those that remain do so out of fear , ignorance or the benefits of living in a protective bubble with a hierarchy of power. Catholics that leave the church are often subject to rumours and negative speculation by the parish so as to deter others from leaving.
How about the fact that the authorship of the stories is unknown? And the writings of Bart Ehrman, which he mentioned? Here's a sample: “One of the striking and to many people, surprising facts about the first century is that we don't have any Roman records, of any kind, that attest to the existence of Jesus. We have no birth certificate, no references to his works or deeds, no accounts of his trial, no description of his death - no reference to him whatsoever in any way, shape, or form. Jesus's name is not even mentioned in any Roman source of the first century.” @@ericstewart9742
Relate?! Man, I laughed out load half a dozen times over how exact Jon experience was to mine: Taking a back seat in your own church, and seeing things on the other side - I was the same, worship leader for 15 years. Burnout and depression put me on the backseat. Turning to progressive faith in the attempt to cling on to something. Finding freedom to think for yourself during lockdown - exactly the same. A mushroom trip in summer 2020 was the most powerful medicine to reset my mind to a blank slate and get rid of the fear and guilt of embracing my doubts. Using that time to research - yep, documentary hypothesis etc, via the scholars on Mythvision and others. I'm amazed at how similar my story is to so many, yet at the time I felt like I was the only one in the world. A horrible place to find yourself in, but the freedom and liberation on the way up and out is the most life giving experience I could ever hope for. I just wish that the friendships I had for my entire adult life int he church could have endured the change in me. Keep up the good work Derek.
At 57, I have heard, people go from this religion to another faith. From Islam to no faith, from Christian to unbelief..I have also come to the conclusion that we are all on a Journey. But , after our brief life is Over, We will all give an account to The RISEN LORD, JESUS DOES , NOT FAIL... SINFUL MAN, WILL FAIL.TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
Greetings from Italy! I enjoy your channel a whole lot! Keep up the good work! I left Christianity in my second year of theological studies, especially when we started studying the history of the Church and the ecumenical councils! My undergraduate thesis was on the COUNCIL of EPHESUS! You run a wonderful channel with very valid personalities! In this particular video, I identify totally with the host. However, I believe that the tangibility we experience and then define as supernatural interventions or miracles is completely independent of the faith we profess hence, "we could have obtained similar results even if the prayer was in another or no name at all other than Jesus". I once prayed in "the name of Jesus", in the privacy of my room and obtained tangible supernatural natural results! Some years ago, I was abruptly awakened at around 3.00am by a crashing sound in my door! Once awake and completely conscious of all that was going on, I was immediately incapacitated, completely paralysed: I could not move even the tip of my finger, and I could not talk! After awhile I came to. I then rose from the bed and staggered towards the door. I actually expected it to be shredded but was suprised to find it still intact, key in place. Realizing it was just "the tangibility" of the spiritual, I said a short prayer! Then I was a Christian! I asked God to allow me to see with my physical human eyes what or who was behind all if it happened again! And this I said in "Jesus' name". A few days afterwards, the same crashing sound happened and this time, two tough looking men stood beside my bed, one at my feet and the second at the head of my bed. I was once again paralysed. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I was just looking at them. I was not afraid. I desperately wanted to talk to them but I just couldn't! My point is that, this very tangible experience did not make Christianity right to me after I discovered the facts at the base of its foundation! It is my believe, that I could have obtained similar results even if I was a Muslim, a Bhuddist, a Hinduist or of any other religious profession!
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God cannot be tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died (1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful (Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
I'm not the sharpest guy around, but I just look at the world that is getting worse and crazier by the minute, and can clearly see that satan is real and the book of revelation nailed it. I do still struggle with doubt sometimes I admit, but I think that not beleiving in God makes no sense at all. God has defenitely made a huge change in my life.
I've never seen a person with a missing limb have it grow back by a miracle.
I have. I saw a pretty girl and my middle leg started to grow
@@taboo_lullaby I guess they don't call you tripod for nothing.
@@taboo_lullaby Wow you took that too the next level. Lmao
you’re missing out
No one has because it doesn't happen in real life. If that were to happen, trust will spread throughout the world in seconds, with pictorial evidence as back-up.
Deconstructing one’s faith takes courage and bravery. It is the hardest thing I have ever gone through and I’m 64. I am always interested in stories about changing your thinking. I am full of admiration for anyone that does it well. Love this channel.
For me, it came from a place of not feeling satisfied enough with what the church limits us to see and hear. I wanted to feel closer, so I took a deep dive to really try to know the roots of christianity closer than the church has ever taken me. Now I know why the church doesn’t like you to do that, but just stay in the pen and be a good sheep. It’s not enough to deconstruct, I’ve made christians dead to rights on some arguments, and THEY STILL walk away with “I know you defeated my defense and debunked my argument, but I’m still going to believe.” The courage to accept those facts is what’s required. Otherwise they’ll just go la-la-la-la-la 👉😣👈 right at the face of it.
@@peppermintpsaki1157 exactly. That is true for so many. Congratulations on breaking free.. it isn’t easy
It's true when you try to discuss the probems with the Bible, God, and Jesus instead of acknowledging failures they say "You have to have faith." Cognitive Dissonance. They can't face reality and logic.
Well...Not much for me. I was young when I decided to be an atheist. However, I do experience religious trauma. Being afraid of hell, ghost, magics, and other supernatural things that makes me feel anxious for me being an atheist. Keep on going, Pap! The community support your recover. 😁
Yes I practiced Christianity for 55 years or more..I’m almost 62 and it didn’t start with doubts about a god but here in the south the good ole Bible Belt and all the remnants of slavery and all the white white churches, I started thinking my mind is still enslaved and I will no longer be dedicated to being stupid
I wish the comment section had the same energy as the actual podcast. I am a Christian, and I enjoy watching these kinds of podcast. I find it extremely interesting and insightful. It actually builds my faith more than anything else. I just wish that the same level of energy and respectful conversations that take place in the podcast could be carried over to the comment section. It would be great if people with different opinions could still respect each other's beliefs and engage in fruitful discussions.
I mean... sorry you have to feel that way here in this space. I wish you could see that we wished the real world didn't make US feel that way mostly due to christians.
You would say that! But, it won’t help you!
You xtians set the standard...so....
lol builds your faith on more bullshit
@@Chris_144_ 😆😆😆
I asked Jesus to cure me of my cold, and 3 days later, I was better!
I started feeling bad took some Tylenol and started feeling better in about 45min. Jesus heals
That reminds me of something somebody posted:
“I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Treatment was a longshot, so I prayed for god to save me. Miraculously, after one year of following doctor’s orders for intense, rigorous treatment and radiation therapy, I was healed! Thank you god!!!”
Sheesh. Almost makes it sound like it was GOD who was in the room and the DOCTOR who was the invisible ghost🤦🏻♀️
why didn't you ask buddha or allah?
@@peppermintpsaki1157The LORD GOD allows it to rain on the just and unjust.
I was COMPLETELY healed of a hereditary heart condition praying THROUGH in TONGUES - 1Corinthians 14:2, 4, Romans 8:26-27.
I did not know what the cause was for the condition. While praying The LORD gave me a vision of my ancestors standing in a line with my mother in the first position on the right.
The LORD GOD is The MOST LOVING FATHER and TEACHER beyond human imagination and HE KNOWS what each person can handle in real time. Ephesians 3:20.
Instead of going to The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS CHRIST in my PERSONAL Relationship with HIM (I HATE religion and do NOT identify as a christian), I could have gone to a doctor. It was the same with the vaxx I asked The LORD if I should take it. HE said NO and that settled it.
@ktermalkut8332 Buddha is good for minor aches and pains but Jesus got that extra strength healing 🙏
"He wasn't really a Christian!" "He didn't have the holy spirit!" "He was in the wrong denomination!" "God/the Bible said it. I believe it. That settles it." "Only believe, only believe..." I got tired of it all as well. It's especially hard when one has been groomed in it from early childhood. Thanks for speaking up!
They're using those same they still use today. This is why I'm glad I avoid man-made christianity at all costs.
just decide TO FLEE RELIGION. period! The LORD JESUS is not a religion, so trying to address issues where HE IS ABSENT is deception and destructive because it is a trap of the enemy to CONFUSE, kill steal and destroy - John 10:10.
In that confusion people in religions console themselves with lies that it is god's will etc
@@ktermalkut8332 Are you making the point that Jesus is okay, one can be down with Jesus just not religion?
@@geico1975 not sure which country you are from. I live in the US and "jesus" is a common name among spanish speaking people in the US. Spanish does not have a "j" sound and the name is pronounced "hesus."
Not sure what hesus can do for you but if your daddy is satan/the enemy it will do as it is WIRED - that is to KILL STEAL DESTROY as The LORD JESUS CHRIST told us.
The choice is yours!
@@ktermalkut8332Jesús is fake bro , cut it out , you’re an adult
I was the "sound man" in my old Pentecostal church. I never paid much attention to it until my later years, but the music and song directors do purposely choose songs that resonate with the mood they want to set. I controlled the lights too, and I dimmed and brightened them when needed. It's about controlling the emotions.
You got to play that hypnotic music when people are coming in and sitting down, thats crucial.
It's worse than that. It's about controlling the mind.
Whereas the communal hymn singing I grew up with respected the mind.
The AC team is a big part of youth conferences. Shutting it down during prayer and activities to trigger a physical response to amplify the emotional and mental influences.
If it's only about emotions, the whole thing won't carry far. And trying to control someone's emotions sounds off-putting to me. However, facilitating certain emotions seems to me to be something we do all the time in daily life and not as such despicable or proof that something is amiss.
"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool."
Voltaire
I love these conversations. It helps a lot of people like myself to feel less guilty for walking away from being perpetually manipulated and fear mongered into a living in a very specific type of behaviorism.
@@tasmarkou5681 I will definitely look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Great conversation. My deconstruction was similar. When you love history and have intellectual questions, you can't look at the religion the same once you "in all your getting, get understanding."
As a lifelong 60 year old atheist, I'm curious to hear perspectives on how you replace the benefits of having a community of people that can act enmasse to do volunteer work in emergencies or sustained charitable efforts, locally or nationwide? It seems this kind of association would be very hard to sustain with generally disassociated atheists. The emotional baggage created over a lifetime of religious manipulation and fear mongering is something I've observed many times that seems like it's really difficult to work through. I wish you good luck, I'm all out of thoughts and prayers.
@@wickedguppy3715 I was only a Christian for a few years recently, so I wasn’t in as deep as many are. However, in my experience, people in the church don’t make it easy to maintain a relationship afterwards. I don’t think it’s because they’re being mean or shunning or anything like that. It’s just another unfortunate byproduct of the faith: they’re constantly going to be trying to bring you back and “re-convert” you. It makes a normal and healthy relationship very difficult. But the great commission doesn’t really leave them much choice.
The church I went to didn’t ever outright say to not befriend nonbelievers but they did encourage keeping your distance because they bring worldly temptations with them.
My story is almost the opposite. I was an atheist into my mid 30s, then I experienced the supernatural presence of God several times. I then became Christian but realized pretty soon that the Bible was not the "inspired " word of God. I still believe in God and the supernatural but just came to the conclusion that no one really knows the infinite God. Just trying to be a good son, father, husband, brother, cousin, friend, employee, neighbor and citizen. Basically to love God and each others. Thanks for the video
Can be good w the myth. In fact doing good to get into heaven is a threat, not morality
Examples of what "supernatural presence of God" is?
@@Eric_01 feeling someone embrace you with infinite love (but there is no one around you), or having your hands "atrophied " for a few minutes with no apparent reasons, or being push down to the ground by no one, or having tingling all over your body for a few minutes in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. All that while being an atheist and checking with doctor for any "medical causes ". God is real. He's a person like you and me. But is he the one described in religious texts? Probably not. Religion is man made but God is real. And so is the supernatural.
That's my experience too!
@@tasmarkou5681who told you that those 40 authors are consistent with each others? Because, according to the book itself, they are definitely not in agreement with each others. The Hebrew scriptures and the Greek scriptures are completely opposed. And the Greek scriptures don't agrees with itself in multiple instances.
It's clearly man made and not "God breathed ".
But like many religious and philosophical books, there are grear valuable teachings in it.
Another testimony:
I have seen a persons brain completely growing back after he left Christianity.
I'm late to the party, but this comment made my day.
🤣🤣
Dude 😂
Comment of the thread! 😂
I cannot truthfully claim to have seen a person's brain growing back.
Whether you believe in Christ or not, we should all conduct ourselves as" Christ Like"!!! Loving, forgiving, humble, and kind!!
I agree. But doing so wont take away the wrong we have done and continue to do to others which we all will have to answer to after we die.
so will you agree if a person LOVES their dog they should be allowed to marry them?
@@ktermalkut8332 knock it off, OMG, get your GED
HE WAS NEVER BORN AGAIN This is a ploy by Satan.
He also thought the world was going to be destroyed soon. Should we believe that? He was an apocalyptic preacher, after all. He also said to keep the Jewish law. Should we do that?
I went to Bethel. It was about power and very toxic and hurtful.
I was spoken to harshly by a leader one day, so I asked my “mentor” what to do. She said do nothing, but I felt that I should follow biblical advice and go to the person directly and ask if everything was ok between us.
Because I went to the person and asked that one question and didn’t blindly listen to my mentor, I was barred from continued volunteering in ministry unless I attended another year of ministry school. Apparently, I was “rebellious” and “didn’t trust authority,” although I’d never been called that in my life.
I was completely shocked by the whole thing since I had grown up in a very loving, small, Presbyterian church where I was completely supported and encouraged by people who actually knew me.
Anyway, I watch the videos and feel cognitive dissonance, yet I still struggle to forsake my faith. It’s not the church part, but the experiences I feel I’ve had with God, that are hard to let go of. I still want to believe God has spoken to me, although many of these “promises” I felt I’d received have not happened after many years. However, there were enough times that felt undeniable, and it’s comforting to know God cares especially when you feel pretty alone in the world.
Bethal is not a good church body no doubt. Keep the faith! and never judge God based on the actions of man. And when you attend a church, test the spirit there by looking to see if what they are saying is aligning with God's word. A lot of flashy churches give the appearance of a healthy "Godly" church, but are very toxic. But community and accountability is so important in this walk with Jesus. So hope you keep looking for something good. Not all churches will be perfect no doubt(or else no one should walk through the doors), but a church who actually uses scripture to guide itself through issues and problems and not through feelings or favoritism... is a good start.
@@tasmarkou5681why do you keep spamming the same comment. I was hoping to read a different original reply to the commentator. Reading the same reply on every comment is annoying.
@Turn_lemons -- Experiences with people can be incredibly hurtful. As difficult as it is, we can try to look past this to God, who is never unfaithful and is totally true to his word and fully dependable. And as for suffering abuse, torture and all sorts of things at the hands of others, Jesus knows how it feels and cares for you.
All the best to you 🙏
Bethal is very evil and Hell song Jesus Image; Satan is the great deceiver for sure.
So he is using this plat form to try to blame real Christany for his situation.
I love this story because it is so much like mine. I was also a worship leader who started doing some research after many questionable events and my eyes were opened! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Great convo. I can totally relate. I was in the ministry for many years and I used to love leading worship and preaching. To this day that's what I miss most, but you can't hold back the desire to know the truth!
Perhaps there are other forms of leadership and devotion (consistent with your current views) to which you can apply your skills and interests. Participation in religious rituals does fulfill psychological needs. But those needs can be addressed in other activities.
@@tasmarkou5681do you recommend this trash in every comment? 🤦🏾♂️
@@tasmarkou5681 Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical...it doesn't matter anymore if you acknowledge how scant the evidence is for the basis of Christianity. For a person who's just starting to question the strict infallibility of the Bible or a very literal interpretation of it, then going to a more liberal view is a palatable step, but if they are really honest with themselves they will see that this is also just an emotional crutch to hang on. These other liberal views are also based on little to no real evidence. Might as well make a clean break of it.
@@exoplanet11 Yeah I've been meaning to check out my local Quaker church. Silent worship sounds pretty cool.
Have you ever thought about getting into something like motivational speaking or making your own music? Maybe this will scratch the same itch!!
Covid lockdowns are what got me out, too. I was hanging around because I didn't want to hurt my friends, but once I was out of the community I was done. I tried to go back, but I just can't. My faith is gone.
I left Christianity too and I'm the happiest I've ever been IN MY LIFE! It's so freeing!! The deconstructing journey is hard, but soooo worth it.. Question everything! I still believe in a creator and the supernatural, but definitely not the Bible or the "Christian God". I will never go back lol.
@EleanorsDish I hope you will embrace true Christianity, and I am glad you left toxic Christianity.
Religion is a plague upon humanity
The LORD JESUS never formed or endorsed any religion. HE CAME to the earth to cleanse us from the traps of evil for which we had no escape and to bring us into a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with The LORD GOD as Our ONLY FATHER and Teacher, HE IS ALIVE. Ask HIM to show you HIS EXISTENCE and TRUTH.
John 17, Matthew 23:8-10
As someone who was brought up roman catholic and associated with the occult I know The LORD JESUS CHRIST is TRUTH and is the ONLY protection against an enemy WIRED to KILL STEAL DESTROY - read John 10:10. The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS can ONLY DO GOOD - James 1:17.
What a person believes CREATES THEIR REALITY - Proverbs 23:7
@@ktermalkut8332 The bible is a collection of CLAIMS (and scientifically impossible scenarios), you have to demonstrate how such claims are true. You'd still have to define god in a coherent unambiguous and internally consistent way and prove it exists. Going off your own absurd holy book, (Isa 45:7) your "Lord" created the evil it must save us from. I've asked and asked yet I've never been "shown" this beings existence and simple logic shows it cannot be true. There's just reality, no one "creates" their own.
@@ktermalkut8332 personally, i would have expressed it as "What a person believes can strengthen their grip on reality or can loosen their grip on reality," but, hey, I agree with your sentiment. My suggestion, do good because it is good, but be prepared to answer for what we take on as good. No centaur ever came back later and benefitted the Greeks, nor Thor for the Norse, no matter how many were willing to sacrifice their lives because they believed in them, and no matter how much good they did while they were alive.
@@_Omega_Weapon, Religion is the tool that the oppressor uses to keep you from having a relationship with God. Jesus called out the Religious Orders in His Day, and knew others would try in the future to do the same with Him, and that is why the scriptures state Jesus told Peter to request to have himself crucified upside down. It is the inversion of the image of God, the warning from Christ to not follow the popes.
@@Michael_the_Servant Define this god in a coherent unambiguous and internally consistent way and prove it exists.
I was a security guard in Sacramento during the 1980s. I remember guarding the construction site for the Capitol Christian Center, a multi million $ megachurch. I was still a Christian, & took my job seriously. I was told by my company that the contractor, & Pastor Cole had communicated their appreciation of my vigilance.
One morning Pastor Cole & his wife visited the site to personally thank me. Mrs. Cole then asked me if could also feel God's presence there. I said that God was everywhere. Then I made the mistake of pointing out that JC not impressed with by displays of wealth, the camel thru a needle, & such. That very night I was got an angry call from my boss. Pastor Cole wanted me fired. My company moved me to a different site instead.
I read the Bible from cover to cover after that. That was the beginning of the end of my faith.
It's not about the christians or the church it's about respect and reverance for the life that Jesus lived
I'm so sorry that you lost your faith. Christianity is about following Christ and not man.
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted
(James 1:13) God cannot be tempted
(John 1:29) Jesus was seen
(1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God
(Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God
(Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man
(Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn
(Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn
(1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died
(1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die
(Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation
(Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation
(John 4:6) Jesus grew weary
(Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary
(Mark 4:38) Jesus slept
(Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep
(John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful
(Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful
(Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing
(Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing
Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
Hey Captainhowdy: Please don't give up reading God's Word. I was a non-believer in the 1980s, then I became a believer in 1988. I read many comments - and a large majority of t he comments talk about religion. I have gone to different Churches and I am thankful to that. Although I have left different Churches, I still read The Holy Bible. The people that speak evil of The Holy Bible - I could confidently say that probably less than 5 % have actually read the Holy Bible.
I go through the Holy Bible at least once per year - and I also study God's Word; and I meditate on God's Word. What the majority of these people are saying - they don't realize they are fulfilling The Scriptures by mocking God and mocking God's Word. The devil in the garden influenced the woman to doubt God's Word; and then he influenced her to NOT BELIEVE in God's Word. Please do not doubt God's Word, but continue to read. In time you will start seeing things that many of these people cannot understand. Please don't give up. May God encourage you; and in his Word. Let me just paste this here below...
THE WORD of GOD explains GOD
2Peter 1:19-21 Men Spake as they were Moved by THE HOLY GHOST
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2Timothy 3:16, 17 All SCRIPTURE INSPIRED BY GOD
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Psalm 138:2) David declares GOD MAGNIFIES HIS WORD
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Isaiah 40:8 GOD'S WORD STANDS FOR EVER!
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Proverbs 30:5, 6 EVERY WORD of GOD is PURE
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Jeremiah 15:16 The Prophet Jeremiah Trusted in God's Word
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
The Word of God is TRUTH - The Lord Jesus says So when He prayed to The Father in John 17 ---
John 17:3 - 21
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
The Curse on Those That Will Add to or Take From God's Word
Revelation 22:18-20 The Curse
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
This is speaking about this Book (Revelation), but it will most likely apply to any part of The Holy Scriptures if someone tries to tangle with God's Word.
Your answer was wise.
I hope you still beliving God.
Not so much placebo as the power of suggestion. When I was studying to be a RN they always told us to tell the patient “this will make you feel better” when giving medication as it worked better if the patient believed it would.
The placebo effect is caused by the power of suggestion.
So good!!! Very relatable too! All the best with the exciting journey we individually orchestrate as well as the symphony that we participate in solidarity with other travellers.
@@tasmarkou5681 your religion isn’t true no matter where you go, you’re just easily accessible to cults
Jon is awesome, got a lot of respect for him.
It takes a lot of guts to basically accept you will become a pariah in both your family and social circles simply for being your authentic self, for being true to yourself and the people around you when you say "i just don't believe any of it".
They don't care that you're being honest with them and yourself, they liked you better before, when you were blowing smoke up everyone's ass. 😂
Props sir!
@@NOMAD-qp3dd he is exactly who Jesus said he was from the beginning a sinner, he just thinks either he can save himself or sinning is not wrong.
@@NOMAD-qp3dd yes!
Takes tremendous guts to abandon ridiculous ideas knowing you will be rejected for waking up.
I love hearing others deconstruction journey especially when its so similar of your own. Knowledge beats faith.
That’s why religion hates it so much. Comparing faith to knowledge is like eating pictures of food versus an actual meal. They want you to eat the pictures in ignorant happiness.
Exactly. After all, "...my people are destroyed by lack of knowledge." I have **YET** to see any deity punish anyone for pursuing knowledge. In this case, if god has no problem with my pursuing knowledge (this is absolutely critical in today's world), I don't see why god would have any problem anyone with pursuing knowledge. That's all I can draw from this one.
Yeah sure... because you'll have all the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before you die. Good luck with that. Faith doesn't require you to know everything. Quite a burden you've saddled yourself with.
@@peppermintpsaki1157What an interesting way of putting it, and a bloody good one
@@jeffhannah1250Even if they had the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before they die, what's that gonna do? Guess what, you don't know either buddy, you just blindly follow in delusion hoping there is something more after death. Maybe there is, I don't know, but don't act like God is the fix it all to everything. The only thing you get is the comfort you tell yourself so hard to believe in. In the end you don't know. It could be the Hindu God after all.
Thank you Derek for interviewing so many ex- christian/ religious believers that have now broken free from the insanity of religious belief.
As a former "born again " christian myself , it is good to know that there are so many more people out there in the world like me who have researched the roots of Christianity / religion and found the truth that is is all based on superstitions and fake history!
@@tasmarkou5681respectfully you believe myths...not sure why
@@tasmarkou5681 Do you understand that I have spent the best part of thirty years researching the historicity of the bible and the Abrahamic religions including Christianity firstly as a believer ?
@@tasmarkou5681 After some just five years of research and side by side learning about scientific reality , my religious blinkers were peeled away to reveal the truth of reality and rationality. The ancient roots of Judaism and Christianity are an evolutionary development of earlier polytheistic and messianic belief systems from Egypt , Greece , Mesopotamia and in particular Zoroastrianism from ancient Persia.
Absolutely NONE of them are based on historical accuracy let alone reality , and ALL of them stem from man-made stone age and bronze age superstitious nonsense that became institutionalized religions !
@@tasmarkou5681 so you just told a person that you don't he is been lied and When I just say you believe myths I'm condescending.
What do you believe and why do you believe that ?
@@tasmarkou5681 so for you if you were omnipotent all powerful you could stop a rape in a blink of an eye you wouldn't do it because you have a good reason not to do it ?
I have been born again Christian since my youth. I am 53yr now and Jesus is more real to my daily experience. I avoid traditions of religion and stick to the Word of God. No church traditok can lead you to heaven. The actions of men in churches can distract from Jesus.
So always focus on Jesus.
He is the Author of our Faith.
Good for you, bad for the kids that god let's die of hunger daily. He's real to you in your comfort, not real to the rest of us who think about others outside of our own echo chamber.
@@MajorPayne175you have no moral standard to be upset with child hunger if you believe in an atheistic worldview of molecules to man. It’s simply evolution. Because that child would be ultimately meaningless wether it exists or not.
@@MajorPayne175 blame instead the parents who indulge in immoral acts then later on denies any kind of responsibility. was it also god who told them to make kids that they cant raise properly?? this is the problem with our decaying society that doesn't have any sense of morality.
what is faith and how does one use it properly? i honestly don't know. to me, faith is synonymous with gullibility.
my understanding of faith is that you don't need evidence to believe in whatever it is you want to believe, and through faith you can rest assured that it IS True.
@@JohnnyBGood-vm7rx kids in Africa and war torn countries over religion?
You're blaming the parents?
Moral grandstanding. Your god is a fiction of your imagination. Make sure you "thank it" next time it helps you find a good parking spot.......
I actually just lost my boyfriend to the Bethel Church cult in Centralia, Wa. He’s only been a Christian for a year so was very vulnerable to their manipulation tactics and the circular reasoning of christian apologetics. His personality completely changed and having open minded conversations became impossible .If I didn’t believe what he believed then I was accused of being an unworthy blasphemous fool 🤦🏼♀️🙄
I’m glad I wised up and deconstructed
That’s a story I never thought I’d tell
He just did that as a way to dump you.
@@superdoobo He didn’t dump me so 🙄
A lot of religions use that tactic. To not become "unevenly yoked" with a non-believer of whatever their flavor is. It's a very generic cult tactic that fits directly into the BITE model. I grew up in a similar situation, and following those rules made my life miserable. Having left it behind, now I'm shunned by my entire family, former community and friends, and even my own children. Still, best decision I ever made.
When I was seven, I felt the ‘presence’ of god after swallowing the communion wafer. So I tested the experience. I looked out the church window, focusing my attention on the outdoors. My feeling of god waned. My faith was shaken by this, because my Mom had been kneeling next to me through all of this, but my sense of her presence had never waned. I began to suspect god was a ‘brain-born’ experience.
I'm not sure God is a feeling... actually the idea that God is a feeling sounds very unscientific.
You are right
Well, if behaviorism is all you got out of it, ok. But faith in the deity is quite a different thing. It is uncommon for humans to not have faith in the deity, however one understands that. We have a demonstrable affinity for ascribing meaning to the first cause of all things. All human cultures do this, and it doesn’t mean we are stupid or bigoted for doing this very human activity.
This is such a pleasant conversation and Jon seems to be a nice guy. You don't need to go through traumatic experiences, just a clear mind and a little bit of critical thinking to come to the conclusion that the Christian believes are standing on extremely thin ice.
@@tasmarkou5681so he gave up bullshit for non-diluted bullshit?
@@tasmarkou5681 already with the Ad Hominems
Or in the case of Derek's interviewee, all you need to do is construct a coherent birth narrative for Jesus.
@@tasmarkou5681I want to grant the benefit of the doubt that you are being genuine, though I’ll say it’s difficult because this sort of question gets rather tiring.
If every wild claim required DIS-proving, we would never reach the end of going down one rabbit hole after another…perhaps some of them useful, but most not.
It’s more practical if any given claim be required to demonstrate its validity, rather than first asking g others to disprove it. In this way we can focus on claims for which there is evidence at hand … in order to see if it’s sufficient to warrant some level of believability.
@@tasmarkou5681 Take care in who you’re replying to. I believe you’re referring to bluntforcetrauma’s claim, this was not mine.
Thanks for sharing another personal story. So many are not able to expose their thoughts, doubts, experiences so openly.
I cannot believe how many subs MythVision has now. I watched Derek when he had a little over a thousand subs and thought this content was a hidden gym. Deconstruction is a real thing now. Congrats!
I, too, was raised among the Nazarene and a few other fundamentalists religious entities. My mothers family were Pilgrim Holiness and later Nazarene, and my grandfather (Paternal) was an evangelist for the Nazarene church and my father and his 3 brothers were all pastors. My family left the Nazarenes before my birth for a significantly more legalistic organization (Bible Missionary). We were taught the Nazarenes were too liberal to be true, so for most of my early life we were separated from both sides of of my lineage… Because they weren’t teaching and preaching true bible “Holiness”. They even had televisions… Something I didn’t see in our home until I was about 18. In short, I resonate with nearly every facet of his experience. I went to college in 1979 and achieved a Bachelor’s of Theology and subsequently became a pastor in 1985. I left religion entirely in 1988 and since then have come to understand it was all poppycock for most of the same reasons he mentioned in his life. I appreciate your videos and the way you deal with the myriad issues involved.
Looking back upon my own Christian community it was clear that we were not really any better than non-christians. This shouldn't have been the case if we're now " born again", had God's spirit within us and the sinful nature is put to death at conversion and baptism. And when you leave Christianity the lack of empathy from those you leave becomes very apparent ( with a few exceptions) ❤
Your works don’t save . Jesus on the cross and being resurrected saves. God’s grace is the key. Your righteousness is like filthy rags in God’s eyesight.
Sounds like you never understood Christianity. It's understandable since many if not most 'Christian' church's are false works based churches.
@@michaelenquist3728 Actually, you just have to read his word.
Our sinful nature is put to death???? WHAT??? Good luck with that.
This guy sounds like a false convert deceived by charismatic/word of faith and discovered this.
@@cogforreal5952 Who taught you that?
I came away from the cult of Mormonism and this is helpful. There's so much judgement inside churches. I think People are wanting to get away from the ideology of" Its my way or the freeway" thinking. Or the concept that we "A church" somehow own the truth.....What's wrong with, acceptance and love? The historical Jesus taught that..He was a radical. I believe in love and forgiveness to be the only real power, scientifically this can be measured. Enjoy your journey. My journey didn't start till I was 60, so you are doing well.
"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." ~1st John 2:19
They want us to believe they went in believe in Jesus Christ , his deity and resurrection (Being greater than themselves) to seeing no evidence the brain they are using to rely on has a Creator. This is why I'm an atheist skeptic , very skeptical of atheist skepticism.
Irrelevant. You bible has no authority here.
@@Eric_01 Everyone agrees the Bible was written by men even if they reject it as the word of God. Pride have caused this generation to think they have arrived while believing their ancestors didn't know anything.
Pride before destruction.
Thats what the Holy Spirit told me a few minutes ago
Ah yes. The "he was never a true believer" claim. Nothing more condasceding and insulting to someone who spends their whole life dedicated to ministry and then go through an arduous process of doubt and deconversion, then some internet stranger says, "you were never a real believer"
That was so kind. Thank you both ❤️❤️
Oh, my one and only personal care client had cancer. I got annoyed with him when he asked me to sit in on discussions about end-of-life care. The doctor said to not ask him how long he had as anyone else would already be dead. Within a few months, he was diagnosed with a complete remission. In 2 years, the cancer remains absent. I told him to say he prayed to St Jerome and we get a free trip to Rome. We had medical documentation, names, dates, places, test results.
We never got to Rome. He is as obnoxious and fascinating as ever.
I was born into a strict Muslim family. At the age of 15 I got a 'mystical' experience, lasted probably for a few minutes. After that I began to meditate on a regular basis, no previous experience before that. I lived in South Africa, but had to leave the land we lived on, government orders. I applied to a medical college in Dublin and, through grace, was accepted. Few years into my training I picked up a small booklet, Gospel of St Luke, opened the page where it said ...'seek ye first the Kingdom within and everything will be added unto you.... That line hit me between the eyes. Jesus was teaching meditation as far as I was concerned. More than one technique, another to his disciples. His words words became like a mantra to me, I think about that line everyday, I am now 83. And no, didn't become a Christian. When I qualified I would go to India for meditation retreats, the teachers would have pictures on thieir wall together with other saints, JC's picture was one of them. Iearned a lot about him over the years. I don't follow any religion, but I do consider it as a means, not an end..
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted
(James 1:13) God cannot be tempted
(John 1:29) Jesus was seen
(1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God
(Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God
(Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man
(Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn
(Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn
(1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died
(1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die
(Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation
(Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation
(John 4:6) Jesus grew weary
(Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary
(Mark 4:38) Jesus slept
(Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep
(John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful
(Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful
(Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing
(Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing
Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
@@herneyse11please use critical thinking and reread the scriptures you just provided. Then you’ll know these “contradictions” aren’t actual contradictions and I laugh at them every time I see someone post them. Also why can only God judge in the Bible but on judgement day Jesus judges the world? I thought only God can judge?
@@Jacob538 Jesus was just prophet, He is not going to judge anybody, even He will be judged by God. In Bible Jesus was literally puting His head on ground and praying to God just like a human.
@@User12345_nod Prophet Muhammed's ( PBUH) family came from Abraham, all His grand parents already believed in Allah, not to any idols like others in that time.
You people don't even know that the most people affected by this Christian lies are my people including me. It hurts to see that all of this was all lies and foolishness that have drained us our spirituality. My African people most especially my Nigeria people are doomed, because we are so religious and nothing to show for nothing we are all living in delusional situations. Am out but when i try to speak they quickly tell me am possessed.
What spirituality do you have that you are being drained of?
Thank you so much for making this, and I really appreciate your guest. He’s putting a lot of things into words for me my experience was somewhat similar.
RN ? MOST of the Mega churches are evil
The pandemic story reminded me of myself.
During our Liturgy, everyone shares a spoon. At the time of the pandemic, I asked my husband if he would still share a spoon with everyone else. He said that he would do it in a heartbeat. I was convinced that he was being unreasonable. Now I would do it too. And I’m well aware how crazy it sounds. I never really believed in God before, but I believe in Him now. It’s not an easy journey. You need to ask questions. And there are answers to all of them. But the voice that says to give up on finding the Truth is the one you shouldn’t trust.
People confuse religion with God and I often wonder if religion didn’t exist if people would be more spiritual and less judgmental because the place I was judged the most came from being in church
What do you mean by spiritual?
@@ziploc2000well I like to think of God outside of church or religion and just being the creator of the universe and follow Jesus’s example on how to treat others and be at peace I don’t know if that makes any sense but I grew up in the church and the Christian schools and I could never wrap my head around some of the scripture
If religious organisations didn’t exist, no one would even consider for a moment the existence of a ‘god’.
@@jerryodonovan8624I disagree because if you look at the native peoples they did not have organized religion until the European peoples forced it on them and they always believed in the creator
That's dumb. The belief and worship of a higher power, particularly a god, is religion 🤦🏾♂️
John was almost the opposite of me. I started out in an atheistic (or non-religious) Family after graduate school I "found Jesus" and got heavily involved in a charismatic church. Many things happened to cause me to question the leadership and authenticity of the particular church I was in, so I move over to the Nazarene church hoping to find more stability and honest. I took coursework toward ministry, but ultimately, the more I studied, the less sense it made to me. I also was involved in praise and worship as a guitar player, and I saw the manipulation. I was caught by the worship leader playing stairway to heaven, and I wasn't on the worship team much longer. I do appreciate what John went through and I can definitely relate.
I was invited to community event once. I had not been told it was a Christian event. The band were great but the lyrics and entranced involvement of the attendees was so alien to me. They were so invested in getting into the state that it was cultish. Needless to say, no supernatural spirit of any kind infused me and I politely took my leave earlier than the others.
You know it’s that specific experience in worship services that I still find very compelling and upon which a lot of my faith had been built. The phenomenon of a “religious experience” is under appreciated by non religious critics. It’s an incredibly compelling and “real” phenomenon. Even being in the skeptical state of mind that I am these days, I still find worship and prayer very soothing. I do wonder how much genetics plays a roll in people’s religious experiences. It seems like some people are just more able to connect with it.
@sean_miller I think I get what you mean. I was very spiritual in my past but the best I managed was out-of-body experience through meditation. I bonded with the universe (I thought). Animate, euphoric experiences were limited to music gigs. I can see how it could be such an involved experience if tied to something one thinks is bigger.
@@mdug7224 Very interesting. Your experience was indeed probably similar to some of mine, though I would have used more religious language ("encounter with God," etc). Thanks for sharing!
Very scary for an unbeliever. Coming from England, where this sort of thing has (thankfully) vanished since the Victorian age... A great channel. Many thanks.
So what happened was your ancestors cousins (my ancestors) left because your ancestors were being jerks about it but seems like their great grand children gave it up and but our family lines across the ocena kept it up.
Englandastan? no, you just swapped it for islam.
@@Alex-yg5uhBuddy, your bigotry is showing. It's rude to leave that hanging out in public like that.
Unfortunately it's still very much alive in the UK.
@@rainbowkrampus wut? Not seeing bigotry in that comment
It’s been about 20 years ago. Our entire church prayed for a guy in our sanctuary who had stage 4 cancer. A few weeks later his cancer was gone. He’s in his 70’s now, retired, and is running for local office and I’ll be voting for him.
This is so good God healed the man of cancer. Are you bearing false witness, or have you been gullible to believe others bearing false witness,?
@@Amfrabrikerbabbin I’ve known the guy my whole life. I was there. If you want to claim
I’m lying, and I’ve been lied to that’s fine. I won’t lose any sleep over your protest.
I’d like to state that stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence per se. Survival rates vary widely dependent on many factors, but stage 4 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fatal, mostly yes, but not always.
If it was Jesus, it would make things only worse. Despite praying, Children die every day of hunger, bone cancer and terrible pain. But look! God chose to heal a 50 year old man who probably got treatment.
@@ep8569 I originally posted about him because of all the treatment he got. I’m glad you are here to call me out.
Im very much a believer and I found your interview very informative and honest. I would add that any community is broken and there is no such thing as a flawless community regardless of organization, creed, covenant or otherwise. Everyone on this planet is broken to give up on any community bc you discovered broken people breaking things is nothing new. What comes next is a choice but not just any choice, this decision will determine one’s eternity. Good luck, I hope you find what you’re looking for.
So true about the pandemic - I don't know if I could have left except that we weren't attending Mass during the pandemic. In traditional Catholic teaching, skiping Mass means you are in danger of damnation, so deconstruction during that time was likely a big part of feeling comfortable with not going back.
Derreck, please let John know from me personally that as small and short as this interview is it is monumental and he is helping the world.
As a licensed massage therapist, some people with range of motion issues of the rotator cuff are just 5 minutes of active relief massage away from regaining their ROM. Im not saying with all cases, but unless you've had an injury or surgery there, a lot of it is mental and people not wanting to push their stretch any farther once they feel pain in that area.
Do you offer happy endings?
@@RealOGMudbone only if asked very nicely
Grew up fundy Baptist, went to Pensacola Christian College for 3 semesters (1988-89), quit church 7-8 years, went to Nazarene church, met future wife, moved for jobs & attended about 7 different churches over 20 years. I left church & belief 4 years ago, wife still in. As an adult, I was always on the edge of belief & then kept going for many years to not cause family disruption.
Please, please, please, let’s stop this new trend (Peterson’s etc.) of breaking up interviews with stock photography !! On the word Environment’ you flashed a factory, studying, a child writing! Most people here, I hope, are not idiots, we understand words and we can follow two men talking for 30 minutes without puking… thanks!
Yep, I totally share that. I get annoyed with this silly trend. I can follow a conversation without stock images. I don’t think Derek listens…. He is kind of full of himself…. Just my opinion.
Another religious believer who was blind and brainwashed , now seeing the light of truth and reality. Well done mate 👍👍.
Maths is the language of God, Arithmetic, Algebra, Algorithms, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry; all came from Islamic teachings, and there is no such thing as Coincidence, and there is only one God, the Great Mother Spirit, Kythera, Amarru, Titicaca, Gaia, Papuatunuku. Who we call God is her messenger Pan, the Slavic word for LORD, also known as Sabazios or Bacchus. Dionysians believed in Reincarnation every 216 years (six times six times six) there are 2160 years in an Astrological age and the moon is 2160 miles in diameter, the interior angles of a cube also add up to 2160
When Jesus was at Mt Hermon (Moon/Sin) and at the entrance to the Grotto (Grove) of Pan and he turned to Peter (Peter and Paul at the Pearly Gates) he asked Peter (Pan and his lost boys)
"Who am I?"
It's a riddle: Peter and the Disciples are literary elements that anthropomorphise the 12 Constellations. Like King Arthur, Author, Ator, Athor, Atum, Attis.. etc. For example Scorpio is Set aka Judas, the kiss of Death.
So Capricorn is a Satyr, a Fairie King
He's talking about Pan..
_"You are Messiah"_ replied Peter.
The Messiah incorporates the entire book and all the Constellations, ergo all the miracles of all the Prophets, E Io, the spirit of Infinite Man, the Phoenix of the Phoenixions, Ionians of X. He is the Sun and Moon, and the Planets form his Ring of Solomon. He Captains the Ark, and builds the Temple, which is the Earth itself. He suffers the scourge of plagues and doesn't Blaspheme, he doesn't take the Lord's name in vain. He flees like Jonah and realises he cannot escape his fate.
_"I and the Father are one"
Joseph of Arimathea, Arimathea means the first lunar month (Tammuz) and relates to Leo I Eo, which is next to Gemini. Arimathea means a Lion dead to the Lord
_"From the Hunter something sweet"_
The constellation has no key star, instead it's seen as bees. Bees have one Queen, no King, like the Dionysians and Orphics
_"You are of your Father the Devil"_
It's accusations in a mirror based on the Zodiac. He cursed himself, as Pan, Capricorn, the Capstone of the Pyramid, denoting Aquarius and esp Fomalhault, shaped like the All Seeing Eye of Providence (Prophecy) representing Apotheosis aka the _Sight._
Akurios also means LORD, as in Aquarius, the Cupbearer, a servant of God, a slave. The symbol of Capricorn relates to the Boatman or Ferryman, and Founder of Athens (Aten's)
Esus was a character created by Joseph of Arimathea, the Author, who was a Celt, the King of Tyre, the Bible is the Phoenician Almanac, Esus the God of Death, Polaris, the Pole Star. Ergo the Pen is mightier than the Sword. Issa is the uncursed version of Jesus, because they recognise that he didn't die for anyone's sins; it was a curse: anyone who dies on the tree is cursed, ergo anyone who judged in his name or from the Osirian Book of the Dead (Byblos Baal) cursed their own soul. The God of the Grove is Saturn, aka Satan. That's why it's called the Idol of Wood in Revelations. The Serpent of the Garden.
And why all things reverse when the New Moon rises in the West; including Marriage.
It's written backwards, in a mirror, just as Egyptians made their astrological records of the Zodiac. It can thus be written I|Eos: Zeus, or E Io Esus: Josephus; Son of the Zypherot, Typhon or Set, Thoth himself is the Scion of Set, Ladon, the World Serpent; Jormungand.
This can be the Milky Way, Hydra, or Eradinus, (the Red Serpent). Or all three, ergo Rainbow Spirit, Rainbow Serpent, or Rainbow Covenant.
E Io Ari Matea means the clear first month of the lunar Zodiac, and correlates with the Hebrew Month of Tammuz. The Cry of Tammuz, the Fool; first step of the Mythical Hero's Journey.
This is the Great Work of the Freemasons, whose Capital was in Tyre: which means Bitter Rock, as in Wormwood, Bitter as in sea, Jerusalem as in Uruku Salaam, the New Moon Due West of Tyre, rising from the Bitter Waters. Ergo Black Rock: Gatestone; and Saturn, aka Santan, or Sanatan. Baal Shem or Baal Shamen, the Great Shamen of Samhain, Great Teacher...
The House (Masion) of the Torch bearers (Ferre: to ferry or carry) of Isis, which sits at 33 degrees of the Zodiac. Pharoah means Great House or House of Light. He is the intercessor between God and the People, the Guidestone or Compass The Tattoo on the inside of the Messiah's thigh, and the scar left on Jacob's thigh is the Half moon and Saturn in the Thigh of Aquarius on Dec 18 2023, three days short of the Summer Solstice aka Saturnalia. Saturn also means LORD.
The Cry in the Wilderness _is_ Pan; the Satyr or Setian, like John the Baptist, who wore a Goatskin pelt, his birthday is on June 14, the Summer Solstice, Saturnalia. He is the Ante Christ, born on the Day of Osiris, the Day of the Pharoah, when the Nile would Flood. The feast of Trumpets relates to the Bagpipes made from goatskins, ergo the Scapegoat of Sukkot, when the Seed of Abraham is persued into the Desert for 1260 days.
It was on Saturnalia that Druids harvested Mistletoe, a parasitic plant with their famous Golden sickles, denoting the Summer Solstice. And when Joseph of Arimathea travelled to England he buried a Holly tree upside down, denoting the underworld, Tropic of Capricorn, for which the Summer Solstice is at Xmas.
E Io and Kore of ancient Greece, representing Hercules and Persophenes are also found in Maori Lore in New Zealand, as well as He Uenuku, the Rainbow Spirit or Unicorn, as well as Po Marie: Night, and Pohutukawa: a native tree that blooms red at Xmas, and has a native mistletoe as well. They also still have the famous wisdom "As Above so Below, As without, so within." E Io Arimatea literally reads in Maori as it did in Ancient Greece. This barely scratches the surface though.
This is the secret of the labyrinth of Pan, the secret of the ages, the Treasure Map of Aladdin, the Buried Treasure of the Templars.
The Solomonic Calendar is three days behind, the Covenant is broken, a Phoenix is sent to reset the clock, and break the wheel. Agathos Daemon: Servant of Solomon; and Adaemon has already been cast upon the Swine
We are up to Chapter 12 of Revelations
The Tribulations have begun
Jesus said to them,if you were blind,you would have no sin;But now that you maintain "We See" your sin remain.John 9:41
Esus is the Celtic God of Death: a curse on the Romans. Israel is the name of the Messiah, which they took for their own; Blasphemy
So they cursed themselves
Which is why it is said by a man's own lips alone only is he so judged, that he who lives by the word so must die by the word, and let No Man speak in my name: for the wages of Sin is Israel; The Angel of Most Untimely Death
ESV You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god-your images that you made for yourselves, NIV You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god -- which you made for yourselves.
Amos 5:26
_Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven_ “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, *and the power of His Messiah has come, for the Accuser of our brethren, who **_*Accused them_* before *our God day and night, has been cast down!*
Revelation 12:12
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the *remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah"*
Revelation 12:17, KJV
The Covenant was to not have a State before the Messiah
Palestine are the remnant of Abraham's seed
Palestine _is_ Israel: Canaan and Phoenicia are _one and the same._
"Israel" is Canaanite for _Saturn,_ or *El* and *Bael:* their *Father and Son Diety*
Fruit of Isis and Ra
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the root of the flower of Death
*Pan* which is Slavic for *LORD*
When I first had an out of body experience that's when I realised religion was false. No God can grant you eternal life cause our true nature is that we are immortal beings just stuck in a physical body. Sadly most people will not realise this until after they die and see themselves outside their own body.
@@Bennyhinn3 I was blinded by FAITH --- Faith = believing without sufficient evidence = gullible!
Great job in the conversation with Jon. Refreshing change from academics. Very relatable and more representative of more exits from close minded congregations.
That is what helped me deconvert. Any time there was I big test of god-a healing service, or an alter call, you could see later that nothing happened.
You never knew GOD.
Thanks to John for sharing his journey!
The biggest problem I find with such people who fall away from the faith in Jesus Christ, is much to do with knowing about Him, church etc, rather than knowing Him, sure they say they know Him as Lord and Saviour, but when you boil it down, it is a knowing about, rather than an intimate relationship with Christ.
Another problem is thinking that attending Bible college is something that God calls us too, fact is He simply doesn't call anyone to attend such places, these are all man made institutes that cause more problems than doing any good.
Having it drummed into you that you need to go to church, another man made idea, we should focus on being the church, a living organism where Jesus Christ leads and not any pastor, priest or pope; "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Matthew23:8-12
Bro was never rooted in sound doctrine to begin with. He had religion Rooted in false doctrine .. When you're
Surrounded by false teachers it's no surprise to see things like this
How do you know
I couldn't raise my right arm above my shoulder last night and then the God of self-chiropractic cured me!
*how could anyone in a Christian environment depend on men and not take root in the word instead!*
If by the "word" you mean the bible, are you serious? This book is so full of holes, twisted and manipulated I'd sooner trust a complete stranger who I knew nothing about than that book. Rather than just believe everything in that book like a blind dogmatic believer, why don't you research it's history, real history, other ancient texts and really analyze it and see it for what it is, a tool to manipulate and control the masses and the centralization of power. If I'm to believe your book, the world is flat, 6,000 years old and has talking snakes!
Naive people only.
I enjoyed this discussion immensely. It is all of our responsibilities to think critically about our beliefs and investigate where necessary. That is where freedom and free will are expressed and flourush.
Enjoyable! Amazing conversation.
I found jesus just over a year ago. And I thank him for what he has done for me. And I will never turn my back on him. Jesus is my lord and saviour ✝️
I Found Jesus a long time ago but I still struggle with faith sometimes when I realize that God is so invisible and so hidden. It makes no sense why he wouldn't just reveal himself more and help people believe because even the devil and the demons believe his existence and they still choose to Rebel so that means if he revealed himself more we wouldn't be forced to follow him or like him we would still have free will but at least we would know he exists. The thing I don't like is we know politicians exist and we debate about them knowing they exist but the fact that God is so powerful and present and mighty and loving yet we can have debates on whether or not he merely even exists because he's so hidden? That's just so weird. It's messed up because then he'll judge people for not believing in him when there really is no good reason to when there's so many religions and so many people that are happy and fulfilled in them or some people that just don't see God they see the beauty of nature but they are unsure of where it came from it doesn't literally say hey we came from God. Then there's people that say for things to evolve this way naturally it would be like a one chance out of billions and billions and billions but then you look at space and there is billions and billions and billions of failures that didn't turn out to have life on planets . So if the number is super super super super super super rare and unlikely but it's still there maybe we are that one that accidentally happened and that's why they are literally light years worth of endless star systems of galaxies and planets that didn't turn out just perfect to support life conditions. And then that takes me back to why is God so hidden when really we should all just know he exists and then we debate things about him not whether or not he merely exists. I like the words that Jesus said but I swear even stuff in the Old Testament is ridiculous when they talked about the waters above the heavens in the sky and all that and then people look up and see blue so they think it's water that just sounds like something in ancient person wrote that just didn't understand what the sky was or what space was
@@ronaldrrootiii6040 We will probably always struggle. But I did get a minor miracle. It was unbelievable I begged him to take cancer pain away. It was a certain type of pain. It still hasn't come back. And it happened immediately I didn't really think it was going to happen. And I had a year and a half totally pain free. I'm now in hospital in pain again facing a lift changing operation. I knew it was just a holiday from pain. I always knew it was coming back. But this is a different pain this is Crohn's disease. The much worse cancer pain still hasn't returned. So you could say in a mysterious way I am lucky. Most people don't get any sort of revealing. I did and I'm still thankful for him taking that unbearable pain away. God bless
@@ronaldrrootiii6040absolutely! 💯 all of this, and then so much more. Why would an all-knowing God create Satan? Why would he create Adam and Eve, knowing they would sin, and then punish *everyone* afterwards, billions of billions of people, punished to hell? But he's supposed to love us above all else? All you have to do is conform to his rules. Which rules? Which translations? Which century? Which denominations? Which version? We could go on and on. The mental gymnastics required to disregard the pro slavery, anti female, anti LGBTQIA+, and so, so much more. It's cruel. I was a devout Christian for 30+ years and I am a million times happier and more at peace without it. _No looking back, no looking back..._
If that's what works for you and makes sense to you, that's awesome
God is one thing. Abrahamic lies are another...
Many people leave their faith for similar reasons, often due to a lack of a personal relationship with God, focusing more on rituals than a genuine connection with Jesus. Jesus, in revealing God as Father, relied on the Spirit's demonstrations rather than academic scrutiny of scriptures. Even those well-versed in the law doubted him, but Jesus didn't conform to their demands, emphasizing the importance of his works as proof.
Before leaving, Jesus didn't instruct his disciples to document everything he said, instead he turned their attention to the promise of the Spirit, highlighting the reliance on the Spirit over written records. The essence of Christianity lies in a personal relationship with God, not a rigid religious structure. Believers should anchor their faith in personal convictions from the inner witness, not just a collective belief system.
Many are turning to historical accuracy for proof, but true faith involves seeking God directly through sincere prayer, not relying solely on intellectual pursuits. Just as Jesus prayed for the Spirit of Truth to guide believers into all truth, we should have the same desire and place it above all other pursuits as concerns the faith.
Brother, God still loves you dearly. He hasn't given up on you.
I am looking for historicity, I compare the Scriptures time and again when in subtle doubt and each time God helps me to overcome these doubts giving me right sources. I never give up and for that reason He supports me in my faith.
Not surprised. We had an apostle who left Christianity long ago. And over the centuries we have experienced the same phenomenon. Still, Christianity goes on and on. I guess someone very powerful is keeping it.
Hinduism keeps going on and on. Is someone very powerful keeping it?
Where does it say that an apostle left christianity? If you're referring to Judas, that's not what his actions were. In fact, his guilt was quite powerful. There were religious beliefs and multiple gods worshipped LONG before the Christ character and "Christianity". That humans have forever conjured hundreds of thousands of belief systems just to appease themselves is not even remotely a proof any single powerful entity. It's 100% human.
Eric: Read the gospels and you will see Judas was an apostle. And yes, he left Christianity when he betrayed Christ. Without Christ, there is no Christianity at all.@@Eric_01
Amen!
I'm not done with Jesus. I'm done with religion and all of its legalism.
You're crazy
Jesus is real.
How people sound when they claim medical miracles.. My TV broke. So I prayed to Jesus. Then I called a TV repair man. Now it's working. It's a miracle. Thanks Jesus
I've watched a lot of NDE, and seen similarities to attest to prayerful healing, white robe muscular angels, and much more, prayer is powerful in the name of Jesus.
I drink spirits but they are not holy
Are you SURE they're not holy? Have you completely opened your heart and let them speak to you?
I was an atheist until meeting God. 2 witnesses also converted with me. The Bible would have never convinced me. I still haven’t read it because it can’t compare to first hand knowledge. The guests on this channel debunk the Bible and the dogmas of churches. My only thought is “duh.” I don’t know how anyone could believe in God through reading a book or without firsthand, verifiable experience. But when you have that experience, there’s no turning back.
Millions do grow out of it. You might too, and then think it was an important stage in your development. But many die still in it.
I'll bite, please describe you meeting God. What actually transpired in your meeting ?
Describe how you met this god and how you know it was what you claim it to be.
@@sciptick you can’t grow out of knowing something happened. The closest possibility would be to forget it happened.
@@frenchfry5675 I just typed a long reply but it got deleted. I’d be happy to chat via other means.
Enjoyed the interview. In my opinion, all the images you have edited in over the interview is a major distraction, and degrades the quality of the presentation. Looks like a manic attempt to keep the viewers from getting bored, and it's just not needed. Trust your material (the conversation) to hold our interest. It's so powerful!
This is me! Thanks again Derek for the great interview and thanks everyone for all your comments!
These men don't fear God NOW. butt they will some day
There is a God…Jesus and one day you all will bow before Him😄❤️🙏✝️🇨🇦
No
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted
(James 1:13) God cannot be tempted
(John 1:29) Jesus was seen
(1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God
(Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God
(Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man
(Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn
(Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn
(1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died
(1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die
(Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation
(Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation
(John 4:6) Jesus grew weary
(Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary
(Mark 4:38) Jesus slept
(Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep
(John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful
(Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful
(Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing
(Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing
Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God.
Only 5 mins in and already such a great insightful conversation. Thank you. All this needs to be explored and said.
In the last days there will be a great falling away that's what's happing in this video
@@theodoreritola7641🤣
The Bible is the record of fulfilled prophecies about Jesus Christ. With him there is hope.
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted
(James 1:13) God cannot be tempted
(John 1:29) Jesus was seen
(1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God
(Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God
(Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man
(Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn
(Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn
(1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died
(1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die
(Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation
(Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation
(John 4:6) Jesus grew weary
(Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary
(Mark 4:38) Jesus slept
(Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep
(John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful
(Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful
(Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing
(Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing
Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
i lost my keys after praying to god i found them while millions are starving to death in Africa praying
if your neighbor was starving, would you feed him? the warlords want people starving over there, my family killed me, and no one cares
💀
Yep first world prayers over everything 😂
You guy’s storytelling and ability to stay on topic with one another in the correct way is impeccable! 🤩
A lot of people say they left Christianity and were never in Christianity in the first place, and have no idea how to go about being a part of it. I repented, was baptized by immersion in water, according to Acts 2:38, and was filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in unknown tongue just like they did in the tenth chapter of Acts. I received the revelation that Jesus Christ was God Almighty in the flesh the only supreme God there is or ever will be. Jesus said, in John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Such an impactful and relatable story Thanks to John for sharing
Fantastic conversation. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
I did not know what a "lay pastor" was, but now that I do I'd classify all of them as such.
I've heard a lot of these ex fundies talk about 'worship teams', and I just hear the quote from the Breakfast Club. "So it's sort of social. Demented and sad, but social, right?"
As someone who used to play drums for a church, I can definitely attest to what he said about setting up the songs a certain way. It’s all about trying to hook people’s emotions.
I had some cavities and an appointment to fill em but before I went I prayed for them to be fixed by the lord and frfr I had no cavities to fill when I went to the dentist. Facts 💯
My extreme joint pains suddenly disappeared while listening to the Asbury Revival over 500 miles away. My doctor's plan of action went out the window when there was no further occurrence.
I hadn't prayed for healing or gave it much thought, I highly doubt it had anything to do with power of suggestion.
Maybe you had faith in GOD
I know I mentioned this the other day, but I’m really enjoying these deconversion stories you’re sharing. I still love listening to them, and I hear my own in them and remember things from my own journey in each of them. Thanks for another great video!
@@tasmarkou5681 thanks for your input… but I’m good
@@tasmarkou5681 you’ve been lied to thinking Christianity is legit. It’s not.
@@tasmarkou5681 it’s funny how you make an assumption about what I was as a Christian based off ONE comment on a video. 😄
Christianity was politically organized by Constantine to control and exploit the non-elite resources
After 30 years of being a Christian and defending it, I renounced being a Christian to my congregation in 1995 from my pulpit.
I am a lifelong Christian, and when I was two years old, (I'm 48) I was run over twice (the driver panicked and went over me, then reversed over me a second time). My father picked me up and watched guts coming from my mouth, then dropped me from a standing position. The neighbor heard the commotion outside from my mother's side of the family (12 brothers and sisters and their spouses, but for three who weren't married), got everything under control, and then called the ambulance. At the hospital where my father’s pastor met them, the doctors were trying to tend to me when the Pastor walked in and prayed for me, which resulted in me falling asleep with no issues. The hospital kept me for two weeks to run tests because they could not understand how there were no injuries. The tire marks went across my chest, and the driveway was made up of gravel rocks. So, God does heal yet this doesn't mean that there aren't many who are fleecing those in the church who are more superstitious than they are doctrinally sound. Therefore, I'd probably recommend some apologetic works by Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel for any objections as the Bible is still the most attested-to work of antiquity.
Do you know what word COINCIDENCE means? 🙂There are millions who are praying all the time with no result. You're deluded.
@@Seticzechand why has that coincidence not made those range of them that you mentioned?
How firm is your faith
Why is that when most christians deconvert, they’re not looking to turn anyone from the faith, that those that remain in the faith, come out with their claws? When I left christianity behind, the vitriol you get is crazy. My leaving the church has nothing to do with parishioners. It is a personal journey I was upon. The minute it happens, they come to you in droves about to come back into the fold and how YOU were so wrong and how they can help you return to faith. When they fail to be able to do that, they turn mean and vicious. Why?
The honesty and integrity and thoughtfulness of your podcast is outstanding!! Great work.
I was contemplating prayer today, and I can not think of a single prayer I prayed that was answered without a shadow of a doubt. Yes, I prayed for that job, but I probably would have still got it, I prayed for rain, but it would have rained either way, I prayed for a safe holiday, and and I would have returned home safely in any case. I prayed for a loved one that had serious issues, prayer, tears, fasting.....and nothing. He still has the same issue after 10 years of faithful prayer. Can't think of a single prayed that was answered, but I can think of thousands that were not.
Your trying to test God, to see if he exists?
@@leehighland5435 He's questioning why god doesn't have any problems with helping people find their car keys, but he has problems fixing whatever issue his friend has. Where is the bar for what god decides to help through prayer and which things does he ignore?
@@plattbagarn
Who is he or you to demand the creator does things the way your want? God is not going to answer prayers from people who don't believe in him, is he?
@@leehighland5435 Clearly pinky and his friend believe he exists since they pray to him in the first place. And still he decides not to help pinky's friend with whatever issue he has.
So the question still remains, how does god choose which prayers he answers?
Also, why shouldn't he answer prayer from people who don't believe in him? That would be a great way to show people he exists and wants a relationship with them. Petty god.
@@plattbagarn
John 9:31
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.
I think that may answer your first question.
If people look back in their life, many will have said, wow, that was lucky that happened and never thought that God had saved them or helped them or given God any thanks at all.
I can see from your response you have a low opinion of God, however without God you would not even exist to say that. Do you think you are being ungrateful?
I appreciated Jon’s disclaimer at the end and the comment about “conversations of freedom”. I deconverted years ago.. still- haven’t told most of my old church family as it’s hard conversations that doesn’t really do anything productive. As I’m not interested in changing their mind about anything of their faith is working for them. It takes courage to just be yourself. Still-I convince myself I’m not ruffling feathers for their comfort as I really haven’t changed my lifestyle otherwise. Definitely a conversation of freedom and helpful to see others doing it respectfully.
It's interesting isn't it. Christians who leave never really live like they have really left.
I needed to hear this, thanks for sharing
this nonsense? 😂😂
@@JohnnyBGood-vm7rx If you put enough laughing emojis, I'm sure it'll make you feel better.
@@HangrySaturn was that based on your personal experience kiddo?
These are people who have walked away from charismatic cults who think they can heal people. This is very different from Catholicism which springs from Pauls testimony and not directly from Jesus. Nevertheless, people do leave Catholicism too, but for different reasons; often because of behaviour of clergy or fed up with fear and manipulation that goes on in schools and parishes. Those that remain do so out of fear , ignorance or the benefits of living in a protective bubble with a hierarchy of power. Catholics that leave the church are often subject to rumours and negative speculation by the parish so as to deter others from leaving.
Great episode as a cradle Catholic of 50+ years the story was remarkably similar to my own. Thank you for sharing.
"I'M DONE WITH JESUS " ...what a sad title.😮
Asking questions has that effect
@@eatfrenchtoast I have many questions and I'm definitely not done with Jesus.
I was hoping for some good reasons for dropping the whole thing and becoming an atheist but I didn’t hear any.
Then I really don't think that you were properly listening. Try again....No? surprise!
How about you get the cotton out of your ears 🤭?
@@peppermintpsaki1157 The fact that you didn’t tell me shows it’s not there.
@@offgrid405 You didn’t tell me what it is.
How about the fact that the authorship of the stories is unknown? And the writings of Bart Ehrman, which he mentioned? Here's a sample:
“One of the striking and to many people, surprising facts about the first century is that we don't have any Roman records, of any kind, that attest to the existence of Jesus. We have no birth certificate, no references to his works or deeds, no accounts of his trial, no description of his death - no reference to him whatsoever in any way, shape, or form. Jesus's name is not even mentioned in any Roman source of the first century.”
@@ericstewart9742
Great "radio" voice!
Jon has a great radio voice and glad for his awakening
Relate?! Man, I laughed out load half a dozen times over how exact Jon experience was to mine:
Taking a back seat in your own church, and seeing things on the other side - I was the same, worship leader for 15 years. Burnout and depression put me on the backseat.
Turning to progressive faith in the attempt to cling on to something.
Finding freedom to think for yourself during lockdown - exactly the same. A mushroom trip in summer 2020 was the most powerful medicine to reset my mind to a blank slate and get rid of the fear and guilt of embracing my doubts.
Using that time to research - yep, documentary hypothesis etc, via the scholars on Mythvision and others.
I'm amazed at how similar my story is to so many, yet at the time I felt like I was the only one in the world. A horrible place to find yourself in, but the freedom and liberation on the way up and out is the most life giving experience I could ever hope for. I just wish that the friendships I had for my entire adult life int he church could have endured the change in me.
Keep up the good work Derek.
At 57, I have heard, people go from this religion to another faith.
From Islam to no faith, from Christian to unbelief..I have also come to the conclusion that we are all on a Journey. But , after our brief life is Over, We will all give an account to The RISEN LORD, JESUS DOES , NOT FAIL... SINFUL MAN, WILL FAIL.TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
Man-made literature used for power and control through the ages.
Took me a long time to figure this out, but I'm glad I did🥲
Greetings from Italy! I enjoy your channel a whole lot! Keep up the good work! I left Christianity in my second year of theological studies, especially when we started studying the history of the Church and the ecumenical councils! My undergraduate thesis was on the COUNCIL of EPHESUS! You run a wonderful channel with very valid personalities! In this particular video, I identify totally with the host. However, I believe that the tangibility we experience and then define as supernatural interventions or miracles is completely independent of the faith we profess hence, "we could have obtained similar results even if the prayer was in another or no name at all other than Jesus". I once prayed in "the name of Jesus", in the privacy of my room and obtained tangible supernatural natural results! Some years ago, I was abruptly awakened at around 3.00am by a crashing sound in my door! Once awake and completely conscious of all that was going on, I was immediately incapacitated, completely paralysed: I could not move even the tip of my finger, and I could not talk! After awhile I came to. I then rose from the bed and staggered towards the door. I actually expected it to be shredded but was suprised to find it still intact, key in place. Realizing it was just "the tangibility" of the spiritual, I said a short prayer! Then I was a Christian! I asked God to allow me to see with my physical human eyes what or who was behind all if it happened again! And this I said in "Jesus' name". A few days afterwards, the same crashing sound happened and this time, two tough looking men stood beside my bed, one at my feet and the second at the head of my bed. I was once again paralysed. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I was just looking at them. I was not afraid. I desperately wanted to talk to them but I just couldn't! My point is that, this very tangible experience did not make Christianity right to me after I discovered the facts at the base of its foundation! It is my believe, that I could have obtained similar results even if I was a Muslim, a Bhuddist, a Hinduist or of any other religious profession!
(Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted
(James 1:13) God cannot be tempted
(John 1:29) Jesus was seen
(1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God
(Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God
(Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9) God is not a man
(Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn
(Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn
(1 Corinthians 15: 3-4) Jesus died
(1 Timothy 1:17) God cannot die
(Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation
(Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation
(John 4:6) Jesus grew weary
(Isaiah 40:28) God cannot grow weary
(Mark 4:38) Jesus slept
(Psalm 121: 2-4) God doesn't sleep
(John 5:19) Jesus wasn't all-powerful
(Isaiah 45: 5-7) God is all-powerful
(Mark 13:32) Jesus wasn't all-knowing
(Isaiah 46:9) God is all-knowing
Please re-read your scriptures properly Christians. And analyse the contradictions within. Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mighty messenger sent by God. The Messiah. Not God incarnate.
I'm starting to think the greatest Human deficiency is our propensity for self dilluson and confirmation bias.
I'm not the sharpest guy around, but I just look at the world that is getting worse and crazier by the minute, and can clearly see that satan is real and the book of revelation nailed it. I do still struggle with doubt sometimes I admit, but I think that not beleiving in God makes no sense at all. God has defenitely made a huge change in my life.
Paul Harvey nailed it with his 1965 speech "If I Were the Devil"
Well no. With humans things are objectively better than ever before. So you have it entirely wrong
@@Dan16673
How are they better?
how is the world worse than it was 100 years ago? This is the best time we've ever had to be alive.