Hello Everyone! It's getting harder to respond to all of the comments, but I do want to just share... I did/do know that having a relationship with Jesus is *NOT* because of things you do. I understand, from the Christian perspective, that a relationship with Jesus means accepting the free gift of His sacrificial death as the absolute payment for one's own sin, and trusting in the miraculous resurrection as the power of forgiveness. Simply in trusting in Christ's death and resurrection is the restoration of a person's relationship with God from the moment of acceptance into eternity. I never considered any of my works as means for salvation, it was always solely on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The reason I shared that I was a Bible school student, youth pastor, and passionate about apologetics was to communicate that I was serious about my faith. I was never the type of Christian that just showed up on some Sundays and didn't care about my faith -- my faith permeated throughout my entire life. I hope this helps to clarify. Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts. Please remember, even though there may be disagreements, to share in love and kindness! ❤
Your stupid body art gives you away. You're a culture whore. Christianity is to be IN JESUS, and he IN YOU. You love the praise of men, and so you have received your reward. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."
I had the complete opposite experience. I never grew up in the church nor read the bible. The last 10 years I was seeking for some kind of spiritually. I did EVERYTHING I could-became a Buddhist Yoga Teacher, plant “medicine”, Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, meditation, chakras, cards-you name it. Had so much knowledge but never felt like I was healing. No connection to God that was meaningful. In my mind God was like an impersonal energy blob. Felt more lost than ever. Depressed, anxiety, no purpose. I couldn’t understand why. I had all this spiritual knowledge-why did it not work? I never really prayed to Jesus personally before. But one night as I was falling asleep, a youtube video was reciting Christ’s words. It said to pray in his name. So I prayed and cried and asked for something very specific In his name. Not even a week went by and it happened. So I continued to pray and asked “SHOW ME THE TRUTH”. My eyes were opened. It was undeniable to me. I accepted Jesus into my heart. I have never, ever, in all the years of searching, felt peace like this. I thank Jesus everyday for never giving up on me. And I realized recently, even when I didn’t really KNOW him, he blessed me 😭😭 and gave me SO much. What a love. I threw away all my spirituality books and things -and realized WOW. It was so simple all along. One book. All I need. Everyday I humble myself to the Lord and thank Him for our relationship. No more searching. i hear your experience and I also want you to know, I wish you so much goodness and love brother! So much 🙏❤️
I am the exact same. I am still affected by an incident that happened last year and asked god with all my heart to save me and he did my life has been better ever since
we are lost children and we always do come back. we start experimenting with our identities and phases and just end up confused. then we come back to Christ lost but he was just waiting for us to get up again.
Your story is the same as mine, I was brought up in traditional Christianity and felt like something was not right about Christianity so I left it and I went into New Age/New Thought self love oneness ideals. It felt really amazing at first, like I was reaching a new spiritual enlightenment. I started communicating with at the time higher beings feeding me spiritual knowledge as well. I then had a event where I had went to a spiritual psychedelic ceremony where I felt like I died and went to a place of "oneness" where I felt like i connected to billions of souls there, it was all love and wisdom...then it turned into confusion. Everyone there thought they were God, I felt like i was stuck in that state of confusion of who is God forever and I was there for all eternity. After that I had external demonic attacks. They even went after my wife. We prayed and asked Jesus to help...they never came back. I also had a miracle happen to me when I got food poison and tried all that new age/new thought teachings to try to heal myself, i went to prayer and surrendered to Jesus for help and I was instantly healed and felt like I was shot with 5 red bulls & full state of joy. After that day I realized I fell for the greatest deception of light, I was in so much pride thinking I could be enlightened...at even one point saying I am part of God and I am God. I am now a born again Christian and never felt more at peace before. In my earlier days I was to focused on doing the right things and totally missed understanding the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. Also God being a Just and Loving God. These spirit guides are demons acting as light beings, I speak from experience. They are lying to you about past lives, they tried to do the same thing to me. The bible is right the devil comes both in the form of dark and light. I know there will be people that read this will say this is all fear stuff as it will conflict with their ideals, but it is not. Look at all the New Age to Christianity testimonies on youtube of people similar experiences as me. It is all about you being your own God (truth) by your feelings alone. There is no root in that without the word of God. That is not God, that is you being God...The first sin committed by humans. Eat this fruit and you can be like God, that is Satan in the light form. He wants you to feel ok with sin and totally take out the Grace of Jesus Christ.
New Age destroyed my sister's brain. She tried communicating with space aliens according to books she read and she ended up literally going bonkers with psychotic episodes and can't go without anti psychotic medications. She quit bathing and hasn't showered since her mental collapse in 1995. STAY AWAY FROM NEW AGE.
I've been a Christian for over 50 years. I once thought that anyone who loves Jesus would never reject Him. Since RUclips has been around and I watch videos like yours I have been shown that I was wrong on this notion. I don't know if I will ever reject Jesus. So far my desire is to wash and kiss the feet of Jesus when I get to heaven.
I've had to learn this lesson too. I think it's taught sometimes almost on the same level as Christian theology because so many people are afraid of giving any legitimacy to anyone who has legitimate reasons for leaving or critiques against the religion. I don't really know how to make peace with it other than to just do my best to follow truth, and understand that most everyone else that truly thinks about it is doing their best to. We just sometimes land in different places. If I want people to assume I'm seeking truth in good faith, then I need to do the same for others.
What is 'spirit'? Why should sentence be in book have any authority over anyone? God wrote it? Inspired it? When to you demonstrate the existence of this god?
@@sweetsummerrain8086 ”spirit” is the Holy Spirit. The words in the Bible are like a study guide to life, just like the books of law for our justice system that we have to follow. The existence of God can be found in science. There are plenty of scientist that have said the probability for life to happen on this earth the way it does and if anything was off by a fraction we would all either burn to death or freeze to death. So for it all to come together the way it did would be as likely as a tornado to tear down airplane and put it back together perfectly.
What authority does this new age teaching spirit live teach have. What's the difference of me writing a book that the earth is made out of cheese. The authority of the bible is one it has proven it prophecies. The rise and fall of kingdoms from Babylon to the Roman empire. It even mention medopersia will replace Babylon. Not like Nostradamus,etc whose prophecy very vague. Another point it's prenciples applied to life is very effective. Example is the concept of quarantine.
I was a Christian for over 2 decades. After diving into the bible deeply, included the banned books, I fully deconstruct and living the best life I ever lived. So many great things has been happening because I'm no longer living in fear and depression.
@@Bebopeep // banned and made illegal with a little help from Emperor Constantine and the Roman military. Books they deemed "not worthy " which is crazy.
I was raised in a christian home broken but we believed in Jesus. I felt trapped in it and wanted more. I find out about “The secret” and the law of attraction and I was hooked. Many crazy things happened to me, people liked me better and they were telling me how positive I was. I had out of body experiences and success came over my life more and more. Long story short I opened up my Bible and read about Jesus and Mammon and that money was the rot of all evil I was upset with God. I screamed and told him that I was happy with my success and that I was loving and kind. The next day he answered. Now 13 years later my life isn’t easy I’m not rich. But I have a beautiful wife and three kids and we are all living for Jesus. Salvation isn’t a one time thing it’s a commitment and we have to take up our cross daily. Brother I love you thank you for your testimony ❤
There are so so many people who have the opposite journey of escaping the emptiness and endless striving within the New Age movement, spirit guides, energy, occultism, etc. and found rest and comfort in Jesus. While I didn't get into the "deeper" things, I myself would sit and meditate and find temporary peace and have hallucinogenic experiences that I felt connected me with the universe - but there was always a hovering existential fear in back of it. This went away completely in Christ.
I want you to consider that you did not have a relationship with Christ while you were in the “new age”. John, has had a relationship and developed discernment and wisdom from a life in the church. He is going into these explorations with his eyes wide open. Christ is still with him. He has left the religion, not Christ.
@@sterlingwalters Like him, I was Christian prior to this. Baptized at about 13, prayed, went to youth group, etc. I had a relationship with Jesus, who was calling me out of my rebellion.
@@sterlingwaltersThat's incorrect. Christ is no longer with him. There can't be multiple truths. Either you're with Christ or you're of the world, can't have it both ways.
John you and I have incredibly similar stories. I went from Bible College Grad to Youth music ministry, to a megachurch worship leader. I asked all the same questions, and received the same answers and ended up where you are today. I have a closer relationship with the creator than I ever had in fear based religion. Today I am a free soul that wants nothing more than to love and connect with God and love other people and do as much good in the world as possible! You are exactly where you are supposed to be and your son is lucky to have you as a father! I have a wife and daughter who are my whole world as well and I'm thankful for the truth that I have been shown. Sending you and your family Love and Light! Keep up the great work my friend!
So it's all love & no justice? Well, that must be comforting to all your victims (and all of us have victims because all of us are sinners). Ugh, to think so highly of yourself must be comforting, but it's obviously false.
Where was your relationship with Jesus though. God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of Love, power, and a sound mind. If you received all the same answers, it came from your own heart. Seek Jesus and He opens your eyes. As for asking church questions, if you received the same answer John did, then you didn't heed the warnings. I don't serve God out of feelings or fear, but reverence and love. He has taken me places and done what no one can do. Reconsider because patience is required. You seek Him He comes. We make it so hard. It's due to our stubborn hearts. Now if you genuinely think this, okay fine, however you are deceived and there is no way to be close to God without Jesus, at this point it's all feelings. No truth in this my friend. Please talk to Jesus and He will show you. If you truly sought Him out, because words of humans are just words, then you have deceived yourself, because God makes it clear that when you seek Him with your whole heart you will find Him, I did and many others, so why not you? What was your motive? Because many people have the same stories and yet their motives aren't so clear and others are you just want to know Him, yet people look in the devil's places, lack education on spiritual matters, and so on, and this is the fault of the teachers but also the fault of us not studying bible and seeking God for understanding. Many have gone down this line and been deceived. It took years for them to receive the consequences of this slow burn you are taking. God warns us my friend, He warned you not to be deceived and you were. But He is waiting with open arms to welcome you back. He is not religion what you are doing is, He is love and truth. Sacrificial love. There is much sin in what you have latched onto. I pray you return before it bites you. Please God loves you and wants for none to perish. But He will take you through this long season to reveal to you what must be. Don't worry. We all love you. Shalom to you and happy Thanksgiving.
I was a full blown militant atheist with a muslim background and long story short, one night hundreds of demons came and tried to abduct me (i thought it was alien abduction) and something in my spirit (holy spirit) made me cry out to Jesus and all the demons left and I saw Jesus and I was instantly converted to christianty. ALL GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!!!!
Hey John, thank you for sharing your story. I went through a similar process in finding the truth. The truth led me to Jesus Christ. In my mid 20s I starting getting involved with New Age and different forms of meditation as you mentioned in your video. One day I was meditating and decided to meditate in a holy place instead of a bedroom. I went to a Catholic Church that was two minutes away from my apartment. I went into an adoration chapel and sat in front of a monstrance that contained the Holy Eucharist. This was the beginning of my conversion back into the Catholic Church. I experienced peace, revelation, and healing like never before. At first I sat in stillness, then I started praying and noticed Jesus was receptive to my prayers. About a month later, I went on a retreat and someone taught me the Rosary. I prayed three Rosaries in a row, then I had an experience that was so beautiful, child-like, innocent, and so pure. This was my home and I knew this was where I belonged. At this moment, I knew Mary was the mother of all the children in the world. Once I went Catholic and started abandoning Hinduism and Buddhism, I started experiencing attacks. I would pray the Rosary and these demonic spirits would be defeated. Jesus has narrowed it down for me. I experience the fullness of the Lord when I am in front of the Holy Eucharist praying, worshipping, or receiving Holy Communion. There is a lot to share, but you can message me if you want to know more about why I believe what I believe.
Hi John, I actually went from visiting psychic medium religiously, not a Christian, to becoming a Christian which is the last thing I would have thought would ever happen. I had left my very weak Christian upbringing faith freshman year of highschool and my life got nothing but better so I never thought I would ever become a Christian again, it would have to be a miracle. Years later when I was not a Christian a friend invited me to visit a psychic medium and I had no clue what it was but she was so lovely so I preceded with a tarot card reading. For the next year and a half I went to her for tarot card readings and just to hangout several times throughout a week. To allow myself to do this I believed the Bible was either a form of control or manipulated to be a form of control all I knew is Christianity didn't work for me so I was really open to this. Over that time some rather extreme manifestations started happening. I would pray at times to my spirit guide but many times I would find myself praying to a God I didn't believe in for protection. But no way was I ever going to go back to becoming a Christian! One time I was scared so hard I concluded that I couldn't be my Uncle when things rattled around the room and she said the spirits think its funny you are scared of them... This is over a year into this many experiences at this point. You see I had been taught that light and darkness coexist, she didn't say it at first but then she finally told me she worked with both. (More on this later) I got to this point in life where life events started to change and I realized I was not in control as much as I thought I was. For the first time in my life I wanted God and his will as I figured if he truly had a good plan for me I actually want it. I prayed God if you are real can you show me who you are and what all this psychic stuff is? A day later I meet a pastor at random in a coffee shop and very rapidly God in the most incredible ways started pulling Christians into my life not in normal ways at all... I even had a random stranger come up to me and tell me to obey God and trust in Christ. there was a testimony of a former psychic medium God used where I had recognized specific witchcraft and this really helped clear this up as well. I was just blown away at all God has done leaving me with not an inch of doubt. (There's so much more). I had came across 1 John 1:5 and it said God is light and in him there is no darkness at all..... literally left me speechless. When I was going to a medium I didn't Know who God was, his purpose for this world, his will for my life. When I became a Christian I knew God is good, man has fallen, and in love his will is redemption for mankind. Plenty of places throughout the Bible it says my will is mercy rather than sacrifice, even Jesus said it. So here is my question for you, do you know who God is? Do you know his will for your life? Do you know his purpose with this world? Because I had an unbelievably cloudy picture of God full of question marks when I was going to a psychic medium and it appears you have the same dilemma as you stated towards the end you just go off your instincts. Absolutely none of this is an attack, I genuinely would love to kindly and respectfully converse more.
As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion! 😊
@@fatpigsflybears So you don't want people to become more like Jesus Christ? Is Kim Jong Un spiritually free and would I be encroach on his spiritual freedom to tell him God will one day judge the world in righteousness and he'll have to give an account? You can burn sage, palo, you can read tarot all you want, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ you are not free and you can not help others become free either because the freedom and hope is found in Jesus Christ. The love he had for us on the cross i ought to seek to show the world! Who can set me free? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! I speak from experience, when i was doing tarot card readings twice i got told I would have unplanned children and divorces...... that's the devil and praise the lord his plans are so much greater for my life than that!!! Last point, you said you blaspheme Jehovah and the Holy Spirit, I don't go around blaspheming Buddha, Allah, Krishna ect. because they are not who i have to contend with upon my death, they are still buried exactly where they were originally. So you know who the Lord is and you know he can save you but you still decided to fight against the Holy spirit who only wants good for you? My friend i pray for you that God will do a supernatural work in your life to show you where you stand, his love for you, and the plan he has to redeem you for his glory!
@@cj6814 did you read my comment at all? I used to be Christian but renounced all faith so I know every argument you will make. I am very free thank you without jesus. It's Christians who are in bondage by fear, you have never been free a day in your life.
@@fatpigsflybears What freedom do you have I don't? I don't live in fear, this world is wicked to the core, transgender children, pedophilia, people with power and money getting away with murder wanting to be their own god untouchable by the law.....but thank God they have a fierce judgement and accounting to do one day. I simply found out the truth and had not an inch of doubt, it was Jesus Christ the mediator on my behalf to be redeemed, to be set free, to be forgiven, to be made acceptable for Heaven where I have a mansion I'm so unworthy of. If the requirements of Heaven is Jesus not only is that a really good requirement so Heaven isn't corrupt but I fall really short of that. Only Jesus could make it so I could be there and that's because of his love for me, he died for me and the sins I committed in this life, that's insane love. I've put weights on peoples shoulders they could not bear, I've put people down instead of helped people out, I have cared more about me and less about those in need, I cared about how others would think of me and tried to live up to their expectations never realizing not only there's a God but he has so much good work he wants to do in my life while I'm here. Your version of freedom is not freedom. People often times try to stand up for themselves and in a sinful manner, in an unbearable manner they become intolerable, ever meet someone oblivious to how much pain they cause someone else, maybe indifferent even? It's so hard to admit but we all are, we are not good, so freedom to do what again? It's only your perspective I live unfree in my head but I know just because I'm not living for myself and how I see fit like the rest of the world doesn't mean I'm free, I'm more free because I'm forced on the Lord and his plan for me on this earth... embrace that over everything else and it's no religion or practice, it's actual freedom. Isn't that witchcraft, harm none, unless they seek to harm you? My witch was very nice but held judgement of what was right and wrong in her eyes and she knew a little more than the average. Here's freedom, Jesus said love your enemies pray for those who persecute you and bless those who curse you. The world wouldn't look at that as freedom because they are not in control but by walking in this extreme love and forgiveness and compassion for others I am in control because no matter what anyone does for me I have the love of the Father, I have Jesus Christ, I have a hope in Heaven and all my hope is not in this dying world. My freedom is not found in the situation but my focus is on the cross and how the other person needs the same hope, the great majority of people have resentment or unforgiveness to someone in their life, not that I don't struggle, and certainly not that I've always had good people and good situations, but because of God's work in my life I forgive all.... that's freedom. I know Christians at times have came off as hypocrites, unloving, unfaithful to others and even the God they claim to serve, but I'm here to tell you freedom is found in Jesus Christ, no reason following an idols that God could destroy. I look back at my childhood and think back where are all the genuine Christians looking to make a stand, to stand up for me? But I know now as a follower of Jesus Christ I can stand up for those who hurt the very best i can and I can walk in freedom so I don't hurt others but help them be free. Let me ask you this, you don't seem to care about the truth, you are not telling me you found the truth, you are simply saying you chose to walk away from Christianity and now you subjectively see yourself as free, if Christianity was true would you become a Christian?
For me those cracks in my faith started to develop when I was finishing my BA in Christian Studies and one of my professors asked the class if a person MUST confess their sin and ask Jesus for forgiveness in order to be saved. Most of the class said yes, absolutely. My daughter was a newborn at the time and I couldn't imagine God sending her to hell if she died before she could comprehend sin and salvations, before she could talk, etc. I began to pull that thread and extended it to people with cognitive disabilities and people in remote tribes that have never heard of Jesus. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to believe in God, and I wasn't willing to devote any more energy to religion.
well here's the thing brother that's wrong, and some people in authority have fallen away from scripture. here's why that's wrong Matthew 19:14 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. implying that heaven is for those like little children, and no verse in the Bible ever states that babies will go to hell Now, the way we are saved is not by our own works but by Gods grace. because we've all broken Gods law, and we all have strayed from God. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Hebrews 10:16-17 This is the covenant that I will make with them, After those days, says the Lord, I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. When we confess our sins is to acknowledge that Jesus took the penalty and the judgment of our wrong doing, so when we go to judgment day, we are not in wrong because we have trusted in the death of Jesus because he took the wrath and the judgment of what sin does. As a response to the salvation of Jesus and the way he died on the cross, we dont want to sin anymore So confession of sin is to acknowledge our sin and to acknowledge our wrong doings not in a forced based, but on a heart basis that we have done wrong and sin is so severe that Jesus wanted and took the beating, humiliation and judgment of our sin and wrong doing so that we dont have to. confession of sin is to acknowledge what God did and a response in the severity of sin and also our wrong doing. However Confession isn't why we are saved, it's because of Jesus, confession is our heart posture and when we believe in Jesus the confession of Jesus as our Lord will be a result of that, not because its the reason to why we are saved Sorry this was long but Hope this helps.
I never comment on RUclips videos but your story really moved me. You remind me a lot of myself. I would argue that a lot of the things that you went through are indeed indicative of Jesus' ideals for the human race-open-mindedness, acceptance, curiosity, love. I believe that your experiences with other ways of interpreting spirituality show how vast and diverse God's love and power truly is. I have recently returned to Christianity after being raised in a Jewish preschool, studying Taoist theory and meditation, converting and then leaving Islam because of how much I love the concept of God's oneness, attempting to follow the practices of Jains, and studying Tibetan Buddhist meditation and philosophy in an online group every Sunday. I love the Upanishads, the Baha'i Faith, Zoroaster, Ram Dass, Alan Watts, and Eckhardt Tolle. I have also done my fair share of psychedelics and can absolutely attest to the power and beauty of experiencing the world through that kind of alternate perspective. My thinking is that people could be followers of Jesus and not even know it. I know people who are so turned off by organized religion but so fired up for Jesus-I would be shocked if they went to a place like Hell for that. People also may be living with principles that coincide with everything that Jesus is, they just don't feel the need to put a label on their entire being. In my mind what someone says that they are and what they actually are may not be able to be reconciled by something as limited as human language. Also, I think people tend to underestimate how much they don't know, myself included. I have accepted that I have no right to judge what other people do or why they do it-it's between them and God. I will never have access to their full inner and outer lives, either past or present, so why should I proclaim to know what their fate will be? I don't know where people go when they die. I don't know if they live millions of lives in millions of forms or just one life as a human being. I don't know why there is so much suffering and evil in the world. I don't know why there are so many interpretations of faith, race, sex, or gender in the world. I just don't know and I don't need an answer. All I know is that I know God because I have seen God work in my life and in other peoples' lives. Everything I have experienced via all these different avenues of spirituality has pointed me to following Jesus once again. I believe that He is the manifestation of everything we will ever know or discover about spirituality and philosophy, that His way of being is the absolute ideal for what humans can be. That doesn't mean that I think that all these religions and philosophies can't coexist in the world or even in me. I don't agree with most churches about how they legalize their faith in Jesus; those same types of practices are why I left Islam. I believe that God is the essence of freedom, and Jesus wants us to seek truth with all of our hearts, not to limit us to one way of seeing the world. So all this is to say that regardless of where you may stand in your belief in Jesus, I know and see that God has made you a very special person who is on this particular journey for a reason. I wish you and your family all the love and luck in the world, and I am so happy that you have found peace within yourself and with the eternal question of God. I came up with a saying that you may like, it's "If you question nothing, you'll never get wise. If you question everything, it's too much for size." Much love!
I have a very similar outlook as you. The only thing is, most Christian’s would say that’s a heretical view. I genuinely don’t know what I believe at this point and it’s just so tiresome.
After deconstruction of my 25 year life as a christian, I eventually experienced more peace...more freedom...more ease...more joy...more laughter...and more empathy & acceptance of life, self and others than ever before. What an ironic unexpected journey.
@@bgorg1 Yeah...I am sure people should NOT want more peace, freedom, ease, joy, laughter, empathy and acceptance of life/self/others in their lives. Thank you for calling out my absurd desire for these things wrapped up in the word "happiness." Which ones should I release? What objective truth do you refer to?
@@chrissilver8461 it's hard to believe someone has born such wonderful fruits as you've proclaimed with the sort of nasty passive aggressive response you gave to an earnest question.
@@chrissilver8461 // this Art guy is always calling me out also as if we shouldn't want more peace, happiness, laughter, etc. He uses any and every word we write against us.
Hi thank you for sharing, my testimony is the reverse of yours! I was into past lifes, spiritual practices like reiki, and i followed Alan watts and eckert tolle and other consciousness and meditative thinkers. I came to know The Lord through seeking The Truth about 4-5 years ago, and since then have had no desire for those things. God's Spirit and Word fills me up to do works for God's Will. I think its important to remember that leaning on our own understanding can lead us into us making God into our image instead of God restoring us back into His image, as we were created to Be with Him. Personally I struggle also with the idea of "good" people going to hell for not believing. But when I think more about how there's nothing to lose by making God God, instead of making ourselves God(like satanic teachings teach). Paradoxically we have everything to gain by putting the One True God on the throne in our lives. I think God is sovereign and all loving and He gives everyone the opportunity to accept Him even on their death bed, when hearing and accepting Christ in their hearts is the only thing they can do to receive peace and remission of sins, at their hour of death. I also used to believe in reincarnation, and I think the Bible may support a reincarnation or sorts(like when John came as in The Spirit of Elijah) , that is not the same as the common belief of Buddhist or Tibetan reincarnation. If we believe God is Spirit and Love and is Just with how he decides to judge souls or redeem them (if they so choose to be redeemed also), then when happens after we die is for God to know alone. And it is up to us to Love and worship God in Spirit and Truth. The Fear of God is the only good fear that leads to Wisdom and Eternal Infinite Love the rids us of all fear.(Proverbs 1,4,9 and 1 John 4:18) His Loving and Just Judgment is The Truth of How The Will and Laws of Creation point towards a Relationship with Him. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by believe in Him. I'm praying that you'll find humility and The Lord's compassionate and patient Love, return to Him and lead others to The Way, The Truth, and The Life and True Light of The world. You can shine a Light(knowledge of Truth) on many in darkness(ignorance) but we can't do it alone. We have consciousness, but we are not consciousness we are much more... consciousness is a gift, We are not our own. We have free will, given in Love, Created for Love by God, who is Love. Let us choose Truth in Love, rather than love the self.
How odd. Knowing as I do that 'THE Lord' = Jesus (?) isn't real, is a fictional person, make me question what emotional and psychiatric needs you may have had that yo allowed this.
I actually had an encounter, out of genuine curiosity you may want to seek him for yourself....I know without a doubt with some humility HE will reveal himself to you as well.
I am coming from so called New Age (without knowing), trying all things spiritual. I realised it is an addiction. Everytime I venture something new I am high on knowledge, and then there is a period of depression after, ups and downs. And also "new age" has so many paradoxes. I have hope Jesus came to me to save me, that's how it felt. But I don't want it to be just another "high". Thank you for sharing your story, I also read the case study of in- between lives. I just started to doubt hypnosis. What is the real source of the information? We cannot be sure. Nevertheless, I pray to Jesus now, not fully sure he is the truth, while letting go of astrology, tarot and even yoga. Carefully considering a baptism. I am very grateful to hear stories from both sides. People who grew up as spiritual non-christians and christians who changes their believes. I do am longing for Jesus' promise of peace. Since many other spiritual practices created rollercoasters of excitement, ups and downs. Always more to manifest, always more to heal..... It would be amazing to just hand it over to Jesus❤. I am still hoping to find truth
John, I think there is a core belief at the center of following Jesus versus the path you are taking, and that is how we believe and understand ourselves to be. Your path now seems to be more about trusting yourself and your experiences. My personal testimony is that I can't do that. The reason I am convinced now more than ever that I need Jesus, is because as I look at myself, I can't deny my brokenness. For all I try to do well and good, there is so much more I find that is not good in me. If I'm honest with myself, I am quick to judge people harshly, I hate, I get impatient , I am selfish, I look to my own comfort and am agnostic over the suffering of others, I crave glory and attention, I get envious of other people... The list goes on. I have found no other answer that gives me hope that somehow things can be different in my life and in the world other than trusting in the goodness and perfect love of Jesus Christ. And that he has offered that all who trust in him will find healing and redemption, starting now and being completed in the new earth. The story of how much you love your son, Miles, really struck me at the end. It is true, God loves you much more than you even love your son. Imagine Miles saying that he loves you, but then he just looks to other people and things for the love that you want to give him. Imagine him not listening to you or believing what you say. It would break your heart and grieve you. I think in the same way we grieve God when we look to our own whims for truth and a relationship with him, instead of listening to him and understanding who he has already revealed himself to be through his son, Jesus.
And yet, I can't imagine that John would ever condemn his son to eternal damnation - even if his son rejected him. No loving or just parent could torture their child for eternity - no matter WHAT that child did for the brief time they were on Earth. Is God less loving than the average human parent? Every child makes mistakes, most rebel at some point, to some degree. Many kids entertain strange beliefs, etc. Does a loving parent cut that child off forever, or does the parent teach them to do better? Why was it necessary for God to kill his most perfect child, who was also himself(?), in order to forgive his other children for being the way He made them? I don't have to kill someone to forgive someone else, so the whole idea makes no sense to me. If God wanted us to all believe the same thing, why weren't we born with the knowledge of who God is and what he wants? Why is it that even Christians don't agree on the basic tenents of salvation (ie. faith/works)? I believe in a Creator - but Christianity makes no sense to me.
@firstinthedance Hi, recent christian convert here. I can't really debate deeply since I'm really new , I've only read First four books of the new testiment and few old ones but, You know in old testament they used to sacrifice animals. They did that for forgiveness of their sins. Something innocent had to take our sins and die. So later God gave Jesus who was sinless and innocent and became the ultimate sacrifice for all our sins and all we have to do for salvation, to go to heaven is to repent our sins and trust Jesus. God does love all and doesn't cut off anyone. We are the ones who are cutting him off. He also gave us free will because of his love. God actually wants all to go to heaven (Hell exists for Satan) but because of Sin since adam, we can't. (Because of Sin, we basically condemned ourselves to Hell) Thats why he came in flesh and showed us the way. (Everything happened because of the Sin since Adam. Sin is really serious and leads to death and destruction. We can see even around us. To clean us from Sin, Before Jesus and after too, he sent The Holy Spirit through which God cleanse us from our Sins and shows his love. )
@@petestone6327What you should really take note of is how Christians believe that atheists will suffer immensely for eternity, and that they DESERVE IT. You will not meet one single atheist who believes that Christians DESERVE to suffer immensely for eternity. NOT ONE.
@@petestone6327 What you should really take note of is how Christians believe that atheists DESERVE to suffer immensely for eternity. You will not find one atheist who believes that Christians DESRVE to suffer immensely for eternity. NOT ONE.
@firstinthedance As a follower of Christ, I appreciate your questions and understand how Christianity's teachings can be challenging to grasp. The central belief behind Jesus' sacrifice is rooted in the concept of atonement and redemption. Christians believe that Jesus, as the Son of God, offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to reconcile humanity with God, bridging the gap caused by sin. This act demonstrates God's profound love and mercy, offering forgiveness and the opportunity for eternal life to all who accept it. Regarding the diversity of beliefs within Christianity, it's important to recognize that Christianity is a diverse religion with various interpretations of its teachings. While core beliefs such as the divinity of Christ and the concept of salvation through faith are widely held, differences in interpretation can lead to varying views on specific doctrines like faith versus works. As for why we aren't born with innate knowledge of God, Christians believe that faith and understanding of God are personal journeys that require free will and the ability to choose to believe. This allows for a deeper relationship with God based on personal choice rather than instinctual knowledge. Ultimately, Christianity emphasizes love, forgiveness, and the pursuit of understanding, and I encourage you to continue seeking answers and engaging with these questions in a way that resonates with you.
Your illustration regarding love between your child and you is so powerful. When i thought about something similar if my child were to be banished to hell, i would plead to go to hell for them as a substitute, that is when my belief in hell began to erode. It was a scene in The Shack. Prior to that i had read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and began sifting through Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. These began supporting the right to question my religious upbringing. The Journey of Souls brought me round full circle. I can relate to the entire description of lives between lives. It so resonates with me. I heard same description of souls after life on earth before somewhere, and thought omg thats it!! Then with further studying of biblical history and digging into history of religion going back to Mesopotamia and the Sumerians, up to modern day, i no longer believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God, but rather that it is man's inspired word about God. Coming to that understanding and knowledge, what could a Christian stand on? For some it is belief alone, and that is good enough for them. It was not for me. What i dont understand is why ppl are taught there is a hell? Why are religions so fear based? All my family are Christian Evangelical (basically) going back generations. Since i no longer call myself a Christian, they think im off my rocker. Hell is a significant focal point in how they speak about Jesus saving and about their faith. Nothing they have to say can impact me. I have heard it all. The belief in hell creates such division and judgement - unfortunately it is a Hallmark for most Christians. Their entire belief system seems to hinge on who is and isn't going to hell rather than living a life of radical love. I just wonder what our souls have to say about the experience related to religion once they transition from this human life experience.
I went through your story in reverse. I was born Catholic but 'the people' turned me away from the church. So went through many years of learning myself, spiritual research, and trying to live my best life. Seeing all of the evil things going on in the world had me shaking my head. My life was in shambles but I had gotten used to it. I felt peace... but I was really just 'not dealing with my issues'. I watched a video on all of the Biblical stuff associated with the eclipse I rolled my eyes. Then every other video was something that hit me in my gut. I took a good hard look at my life and took all of my problems and left them at God's feet. My anxiety went away, I didn't even know I had it until it went away and peace came over me. I confessed my sins to God out loud, asked to restore His Grace upon me, I asked for the Wisdom to discern His will, and the courage to stand firm in Faith against the schemes of the enemy. I saw a video by Girls gone Bible and learned that I need to declare my healing. Work and I started to fight about things... I prayed for a job where I was left alone to do my work, my car broke down so I wanted a company vehicle, but I didn't want to be a supervisor or manager, I just wanted to do my job and come home. I got two job offers that filled those criteria the next day. One was a temp job, that paid $100 for 3.5 hours of sitting at a gate. The second job, I have an interview Monday morning for a full time position. I have been praying almost every morning and trying to let God take care of everything. God bless you brother... I hope everything works out for you better than it did for me.
It is impossible to really know Christ and then abandon Him. It is very possible to fill your mind with theology and your time with religious activity, only to walk away from that. Hebrews warns quite strongly about that very possibility.
You just have to take me at my word since no one can know anyone else's heart other than their own... I was extremely genuine in my relationship with Jesus, both in public and private life and devotion. I expected the response that I was never a Christian to begin with, but, if you knew me personally and could peek into my heart, I think you'd feel different. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Have a lovely day.
@@JohnRaineyChannel perhaps I may direct you to John 6, where a large number of Christ's disciples left off following Him after some very difficult teaching. Note the response of Peter - "Where will we go? In the process of departing from Christ, have you found the answer to life after death? The mystery of life itself, its origin and purpose? Concerning the universe, the order and evident design speaks for itself - if it wasn't the triune God of the Bible that put it all together, then what or Who did? Where did we come from and why are we, reasonable and logical creatures, here? When one walks away from the most reasonable, self-evident system of truth that transformed the world, it should be for something better, but usually it is not. Usually it is to be free from the moral bonds placed upon the person by their Creator (Psalm 2) that the conscience might be soothed while it departs to seek its own way. I hope you someday find your way back to the truth that is in Christ alone, for it is He you have rejected, not just a system of religion.
I just honestly do not see why an all-powerful, all-loving Creator God is only conceivable from within the Christian Biblical worldview alone. I am a theist, I believe in God who created all things. I have come to believe that the Bible is full of truths, but honestly believe the Biblical writers were likely mistaken in certain doctrinal areas. And, off my God-given intuition, I can look at the especially horrific passages like Numbers 31 or the doctrine of eternal Hell as completely morally unintelligible and cannot possibly be from an all-loving God. And I know here is usually where the Christian response is - yes, God is all-loving but also just. I believe in justice, yes! If that's a conversation you'd like to have... I believe in justice after death, in a karmic system that I believe to be way more fair than an eternal hell that damns a finite being into an infinite punishment.
Very weak. This "no true scotsman" argument is silly from the beginning. If you change your mind about the beliefs I hold, you must not have believed. So that's a nice closed circle and you don't really have to think anymore, pointing out how ridiculous it is.
@@Tom-fo5ce then you must explain the passages which claim God finishes the work He begins, (Philippians 1, Romans 8), men may have some enlightening by the Holy Spirit and then fall away (Hebrews), and that all that are in Christ cannot be removed John). Your argument has no bearing whatsoever unless it has its basis in Scripture, and Scripture says otherwise.
My critique/response: 1. Catholic woman: Catholics DO believe in salvation through trust in the historical Jesus. I don’t think the Bible (or Protestant theology) excludes devout Catholics from being saved because of theological differences, as long as at the core of it all they are still trusting in Christ. 2. Mormons do NOT believe in the historical Jesus. They believe in a fictitious character created by Joseph Smith. They are millions of miles apart from the theology commonly shared by Protestants and Catholics. 3. I’m equally as disturbed by the numbers of people that myself as a Christian have to logically assume are going to hell based off of biblical teaching and the few number of people who are Christians. My response however is not to leave the faith, but to step deeper into faith in Christ and go out to use my life for preaching the gospel. I’ve found my faith growing through this practice of acting on my convictions. I’m still baffled by hell though! 4. I’m surprised you never had any substantial teaching on hell throughout the majority of your life as a Christian. I think this is symbolic of the shallowness of many church’s teaching and pastoral responsibility to teach all of scripture. 5. Consulting mediums is called witchcraft in scripture. I think it’s very possible have “positive” experiences in witchcraft while still being led astray from truth and true life. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” - Prov 14:12. How would the way seem “right” if there was no positive subjective experience? But in end it leads to death. 6. Your search for “truth”. Where do we get our source of truth? God must exist for their to be any objective truth. How do we identify who God is and what his nature is… how we can relate to him… etc? Historical truth, scientific truth, moral truth, prophetic truth etc. The Bible fulfills these criteria of truth far more accurately than new age spiritualism… doctrine of hell aside. 7. There is no objective evidence of reincarnation. Fascinating experience to listen to nonetheless. 8. Loving your son story: beautiful! I love to hear how strong you experience that love and can relate that to God. However, back to the source of truth- how do we know truth about God? We need evidence (fulfilled prophecy, historical accuracy, scientific support, etc). Comparing God to an earthly father only goes so far. The God of the Bible is - Holy. Holy, holy, holy. We cannot understand his judgement aside from this. He is purer than pure. More innocent than innocence itself. Sin separates from him. And yes he does forgive and desire for all to know him! But there is real sin and evil in this world- he will judge murderers, rapists, extortioners, etc. Although we might be seemingly “good” people, we still have sin! Lastly!! I appreciate this video because I can relate to the hell piece… and I’m happy that you feel in a peaceful place. However I just think there’s so much space for all of these conversations and struggles while remaining a disciple of Christ. The search for truth IS the search for Christ. He is the Bread of Life. The Light of the World. Eternally conscious, eternally aware, eternally loving- Father, Son, and Spirit. Respect bro!
1. it wasnt the hypothetical catholic... it was the idea that there are so many different theologies. Hes also not making an argument, it was just something that started a thought process. This is a huge thing that really separates christians from non-believers. non-believers can wrestle with an idea and follow where the idea takes them openly instead of thinking that it must conform with their god-belief. 2. who cares what mormons think. In the end, christianity and mormonism arnt great descriptions of history, biology, truth etc... they are just separated by some 100s of years. 3. Hell is not a real place. there isnt much biblical evidence for it and certainly isnt any real evidence for it. Plus, if it existed then god is a sadist. 4. meh. fallacy. 5. literally everything leads to death. do drugs! 6. Maybe "A God" must exist (theres arguments that one doesnt need to exist) but it probably isnt the christian god. shrug. 7. There is no objective evidence of a lot of christian miracles too! 8. youtube is a great place to watch videos on each and every prophecy being debunked. they dont even take much scrutiny. theres also a lot of contradictions in the "perfect" bible.
@@chottstuff Hey, there’s plenty of biblical evidence for the existence of hell. Here’s on very clear verse, a quotation of Jesus himself. Matthew 10:28 And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
It's so nice to hear people speak with such honesty and vulnerability. There is one side where there are people who say believing on God is stupid, and another side that says you'd be making a mistake to leave your faith and that you're damning yourself. It's like you're alone. Thank God for youtube, as finding someone with similar stories and struggles is just a quick search away.
For me it was the opposite, started as an atheist then went into the new age rabbit hole and now am trusting in Jesus alone. When I was in that “spirit guide” life I was being assaulted by demons and etc. it was an opened door.
Brother keep the Church and religion aside try Jesus as a personal one I come from from Hindu religion and Tasted Jesus Love I tried and tested Jesus and he is the life Giver...Keep Jesus as centre not church and religion
I studied eastern religions for years,until I heard a voice said: Saint John 3:16 in my sleep and the voice woke me up and I checked the Bible. If anyone wants to know God , they should seek Him himself/herself, believe in second hand knowledge, someone else book , someone else saying could be a big mistake. Walking with God is difficult, we need to plan our daily activities, I have been walking with God for over 14 years, very difficult but there’s no better option ❤
@rboland2173 Who are you to call God a monster your just a normal human who will face God on Judgment day you made the choice not to follow God not him We were not created to go to hell nor is it God's will for us to go there it's your choice God won't force you to choose him. You have to choices in life you can choose God as your Father or Saton the one you choose is the one you choose to spend eternity with at the end of the day its all about choices and God will not force you to choose him.
How did you come to learn about Jesus? You heard it from another human being right? How is that different from every other religion? Try as you might to separate Jesus from religion, at the end of the day belief in Jesus as god/son of god is a religion
This video is so sad. He is now lost, he saw the glory of Christ but it was not beautiful to him , he rather do new age spirituality. Russell Brand left all that stuff for Christ. That makes me glad.
Heck ya, thanks so much for sharing your story! I deconstructed about two years ago and the whole "what if I'm wrong/am I going to hell" stage was the worst. Watching decon channels, reflecting/processing my years at Christian college, therapy, and believe it or not studying Christianity even more, are what helped me overcome it. Now I get to just live and enjoy it ☺️. I'm glad that you've been on this journey for yourself and can't wait for more content!
@monica23maldonado, watching channels that focus solely on deconstruction is placing yourself in an echo chamber like the ones atheist claim about Christians. Be careful about your own unconscious bias and go where the evidence leads. I personally believe one can believe in Jesus or believe in chaos those are the options. By chaos I mean hope is gone, you don’t know where you or any of your family go when they die or if you’ll ever see them again. Love, hope, evil, none of it makes sense in a world guided by random mutations and natural selection which is chaos. Christianity has a lot of explanatory power.
You have delight in your antichristian narrative and new age agenda. I think you were either a poser or you never were a christian and this is all a lie. DO you have any proof you went to biola?Do you have any proof of your claims. @@JohnRaineyChannel
@@JohnRaineyChannel CONGRATS on leaving orthodox Christianity is igorance they follow YEHWEH WHOM IS ACTUALLY BAD AKA EVIL LOOK IT UP so there for explore and expand bro for real !
@@JohnRaineyChanneldude why do you have so many tattoos when you were a Christian And why do you have a snake tattooed Something is shady about you Go watch the testimonies of people who die and go to hell
I think it’s a very common first step away from Christianity. The first time I really realized and truly accepted that I was no longer a Christian was when I realized that I could not believe that the truly loving God I’d been brought up to believe loved all the children in the world would condemn a person who was living a good life trying their best to make the world a better place to eternal torture simply for not believing in his son. I couldn’t reconcile a merciful God who truly loved humanity with one who would value belief, worship and servitude over empathy, compassion, and reason. I never went down the spiritual road you journeyed on, but it’s very common to start exploring all forms of spiritual enlightenment and expression when you shift from a faith
I don't believe God would ever condemn a person based on the goodness of their heart, character, and deeds. God only judges a person by their sins and the true nature of their heart. God is all things good and he is righteous. So in his eyes, sin is sin no matter how trivial in our human eyes (ex, stealing vs murdering or lust vs having an affair) No human is completely upright, moral, without any evil in their hearts or thoughts. We get jealous, envious, angry, hateful, etc that lead to bad thoughts. Or are placed in unfortunate situations where we feel that we have to do bad things such as stealing from others. If there is ever a man who is 100% good in their character, heart, and by their deeds... even if they do not know of God, God will not judge him for his ignorance, only his sins. So if this man had no sins by deeds, thoughts, or nature (in his heart) he will go to heaven. But the only man to exist to do that is Jesus. I don't believe God condemns his children to hell. I believe we condemn ourselves. I think it's wrong to blame God for everything. We have free will, so we should learn to take accountability. If I steal, rape, murder and get sent to prison, I would be wrong to blame the judge or jury. It would be wrong of me to get angry at my parents for not protecting me and help stop my inevitable punishment (which I brought upon myself). You don't have to believe or love God. We're all free to live without him, but why should we expect to live in heaven with him after we die???
If you read the Bible in its entirety, you will see that everything God does is good, and despite how your feel, He will still exist as Lord over all. His name is Jesus.
11:12 How do you go from being a pastor or pastor's wife to channeling?? There is a big chunk of the story missing from right before the channeling part.
I don't know if I mentioned, but my wife had been privately experiencing doubt for a while, in terms of Christianity and whether or not the resurrection was a historical event. We had some conversations about it, they were difficult, but she was in her own journey and I gave her the space to do that. She is her own person, I'm not the lord over her. I know the scripture that says the man is to lead the household, yes, but we operate differently and I allow her space to figure things out as she needs to... that's maybe a little window into what led up to that.
@@JohnRaineyChannel Oops! I didn't expect to get the host's attention! I sort of figured I was speaking into the void. I haven't had a chance to finish the video so you might have mentioned her journey later in the video. I have to say this first - I've been in video and film for a lot of years and I was really drawn in from the first few seconds. You have a face/voice/manor that is very engaging. That's not flattery - I say it as a caveat. It's a gift. Be careful how you use it. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the video. I have too many thoughts to express right now but it always breaks my heart to hear a story like this. However, I know I need to hear you out. You always learn more from people you disagree with than from those who just parrot the ideas you already have.
Hey thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate it! 🙏🏻 I know my story is hard for people of faith to hear, especially if they're more empathetic and compassionate opposed to hard-lined and judgmental. So thanks for your kindness! Have a good one!
he had loooong left Jesus or he never really knew him, from God to essentially witchcraft without discerning this? So he goes on demonic trips on mushroom, his house was built on sand Matthew 7:24-26, the devil took his mind and basically molded to whatever he wanted, sad, he has no clue how real the devil is, this is the most basic playbook he uses to lead people astray, crazy a "pastor" would fall so easily, he must have never experienced the power of God to be blown away with little child's play demonic revelations (also, who do you think is telling these mediums about you?) - I pray you cry out to Christ and "reconcile" back to him- as a pastor how did you miss "2 Corinthians 11:14 ??? And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" this is just not adding up
Something I here in a lot of these stories is something like …”the loving God I believe in wouldn’t do X” which is simply creating a God in your own mind instead of the foundation of what Jesus said.
Tha is for sharing this! I went through a “crisis of faith” going from tradition Christianity to a Course in Miracles and really resonated with the parts where you were in between. In between the old beliefs yet seeing this beautiful truth. I really respected that you seem to be in a place of loving those in your past that may have disagreed with your process. I think that’s the mark of truth when a person is able to love and forgive all. Thanks for sharing
I'm with you John. I'm a former preacher's daughter. I say former because my dad passed away years ago, but even before his death...things never sit right with me, (especially the HELL doctrine) so as I grew older, I did my own research..after reading a lot of material and digging deep...I mean deep which included, but not JUST the "Epic Tale of Gilgamesh, " (which was the first book EVER written) only to find that the Bible was taken from many different books written BEFORE the Bible was put together. "The Epic Tale of Gilgamesh," which I said was written wayyy BEFORE the Bible has stricking similarities to the Bible. Yes, the flood story, etc., was ONE thing among many others that led me to leave religion. Not only because of the Epic Tale of Gilgamesh, but LOTS of research. I still believe in a creator, but I no longer put myself in a religious "box" full of man's dogma. Peace and Love to you John. ❤❤❤ I felt the need to come back and add: you probably already know this, but many will leave comments telling you you're wrong and act as if deconstructing our faith was easy because it was so embedded in our brains. They also think we've somehow "missed" something in the Bible.. Stay the course John and keep bringing us these wonderful videos.
I do not do what to me is organized religion….I just can’t….I’m like u i believe in a creator….strongly….but I cannot mesh with religion…I tried real hard at one time in my life….but I finally realized it wasn’t right for me…near death experiences also taught me alot
The Bible is full of wisdom that will tell us to leave these harlot houses people mistakenly refer to as a church. These places are idols temples and we are instructed to come OUT of them. Those places are the synagogues of Satan. Thousands of divided denominations and sects that oppose each other and follow men of reprobate minds. The scriptures are all you need to feel very comfortable with leaving these temples made with hands.
Learning about The Epic Tale of Gilgamesh made you leave Jesus? I'm confused why? If anything, that should have strengthened your faith in the veracity of the Bible! The authors of the Bible had supreme knowledge of events spanning back thousands of years prior, which are verified by documents like the one you mentioned. Hallelujah!
@ArtKrishnamurti // read my comment again. I didn't say I didn't believe in a creator, but one I firmly believe is that MAN wrote the Bible. With the re-translating over and over and then the Church throwing books completely out that didn't fit their agenda, let alone the contradictions...I can't trust it. Let me know if you understand my point because I didn't say what you said I said. Until then, have a great day.
Wow, wow, wow. Subscribed. You're speaking to my heart, John. I've been struggling for a decade with crippling depression, spiritual turmoil, and a sense of dread arising from being surrounded by people who won't stop expressing their hatreds. It has all been leading me ever closer to suicide. A few weeks ago, a friend offered me a psychedelic drug called DMT, because he heard it helps some people with depression. That drug, one I would have treated like poison through most of my life, has suddenly exposed me to a sense of love and awe and connection I never imagined could be real. It was the most overwhelmingly spiritual experience I've ever enjoyed: a few minutes of mildly pleasant visions of interesting lights, then thirty minutes of the most profound sense of love. I sensed that love at first emanating from my friend who was helping me through the experience, and then love from all of creation, expressed to me in the plainest, most unmistakable language, speaking directly into the depth of my soul. Seeing your pile of books on the table, now I realize why the creator has been trying to guide me to the writing of Alan Watts and Eckart Tolle. As soon as I quit typing, I'll begin my own quest for the truth of the universe. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your love with us!
As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion! 😊
The story about loving your son unconditionally made me cry. Been on a similar path as you for a while and still have moments of panic based on years of what the church said. I am trying so hard to be a parent in the future, and would never push my future child away for their happiness, so this spoke deeply to me. Thank you for this video- love that you come from a spiritual perspective because that's the road I've taken- divine love and acceptance and not a book to live by
Hi John, I myself went in the opposite direction. I come from a Jewish background and was really interested in Jewish mysticism, spirit guides (which introduce themselves very often as extraterrestrial beings), reincarnation etc. until I met Yeshua HaMashiah. I must say that although I can really understand what you're talking about, I completely disagree about the benefits of such practices that I was involved in before I came to faith. I don't know how much you know about the subconscious mind, but the subconscious mind is a very deceptive part of our brain. And the reason is that the subconscious mind is formed during the early stages of our childhood. It's very tempting to think that memories of children claiming of past lives are actually their memories and not some other memories, which were implanted in those children's subconscious minds by some evil spirits. Spirit guides/grey aliens/Anunnaki are demons, masquerading as angels of light that try to deceive humanity by making it think that by following them and not God, the humankind will reach enlightenment using Chakras/ Sphirot (in Jewish mysticism) and other methods. Their tactics are the same since the days of Noah as portrayed in the book of Enoch. These are the spirits of the Nefilim and the offspring of the Fallen Angels which Jesus, Jude and James spoke about. You probably know what I'm talking about. Although these spirits may offer some "positive" energy, the source is impure and demonic. One can feel tranquility and a certain level of peace when being affected by some kind of vibration/energy level, but it's not the peace of God. It's often heard that even children of Christian parents experienced sleep paralysis because of the attack of these inter-dimensional beings/spirits. The children didn't believe in Christ in the time and as soon as they did, these phenomena stopped completely. And this is very interesting, indeed! It's better to rely on Scripture rather than on experiences. God bless you! YT
Can verify. I’ve had hundreds of outer body experiences because of my condition. The things that I experienced and seen on that other side. There’s definitely a spiritual realm around us.
fr, demons have access to much more than us and if you open yourself up to their deception they always try to make it seem like you can be 'enlightened' or basically your own savior.
Hey John. Your story resonates so much with my own. I left my Christian faith on a mission trip to Peru, up in the Andes mountains. I found my spiritual footing after using psychedelics as well. I have a son whom I adore and who is the best argument against Yahweh I've yet encountered. My path led me to something similar to yogic Kashmir Shaivism in the Sanatana Dharma (Hindu) tradition. At the end of the day, the path doesn't matter. They all lead back to the One Living God... a consuming fire that burns up all dogmas and creeds and theologies in Its ineffable Brilliance. I salute your journey, thank you for sharing it with us.
@@johnpinckney7269 Really appreciated your witness to the gospel of Jesus when you called my beliefs stupid. Can't say I'm surprised, though I'm often disappointed.
Former Christian here, I know this is a year old and I hope you're doing well. If you've not checked out Peter Boghossian or Anthony Magnabosco, I highly recommend. Peter coined the term "street epistemology" it's essentially the art of asking questions that help guide people to reflect on their beliefs using the tools they currently use to understand the universe and their beliefs. It helped me to stop arguing with people that have differing beliefs, and it's helped me understand why people believe the things they do. Please never conclude; never stop learning. I wish you well.
I'm sorry but a lot of what is said here doesn't make much logical sense. I took away a couple things listening to the video. 1. The 'Christianity' being described was purely based on, "love others, and spread love", etc. 2. A clear misunderstanding of the capability of demons. Full transparency, I'm Christian, I fail everyday, and I'm no scholar. I've been in the "Dark night of my soul". Christianity, specifically in the west (primarily the U.S.) has been so perverted that most people in my experience forget that it's not just about "love". God it Love, absolutely, but what is love? Love is not unconditional acceptance, love is not 'being nice', etc. Sometimes love hurts, and especially if we don't want to hear it. But more than this, YHWH is HOLY! We forget this fact, and I don't know why, probably because of the perversion of the western mindset of faith. When Yeshua returns, he's not returning as a meek teacher, in love, no, he's returning as a King bearing the sword on a white horse! I could keep going but I think that gets the point across. Second, all the past life/historical facts that were brought up in hypnosis...do we really believe that demons wouldn't know facts like that? Demons have been around for millennia at a minimum, are vastly superior in intelligence, know every language on Earth, both dead and alive...and we don't think that a demon could speak through someone in hypnosis, giving facts out? That's not logical, especially if you understand the spiritual realm, and the Bible clearly explains their capabilities. New Age beliefs are essentially old beliefs, repackaged for the modern era to deceive people.
Great points all! I'm sorry, but I just can't listen to these deconstructionists spouting their "wisdom" as I know the real source of this "wisdom." You're God or you can be God sounded much better when the serpent said it, but it was false then & it's false now. I'm just waiting for one of these people to say they're horrible human beings but they know God isn't real. Instead, they all say they're good people so why would God send them to hell? Well, the Devil wants you to think that - he wants you to think you don't need God. Any philosophy/religion based on human goodness is WRONG and FALSE. We're sinners who deserve Hell - we need a savior.
You didn't adress some serious points that he has talked about. You know why? Because you cannot adress them. If you really think about reallity of hell and endless suffering and you know most of people are not Christians and will not be, but you actually do not care about the others. Next time you go for a shopping in a mall look at people faces, remember them, and imagine them in endless suffering. If you would believe in reality of this you should fell on the knees and start preaching gospel through the mall. Same for dear and wonderfull people you trully love and are not Christians. If Christians trully think and believe in reallity of hell then streets should be full of preachers. I say you are indoctrinated. I will sumarize what you believe in: "God created humans because of his glory and because of his love. He gave them free will. But if you do not love him back you will be tortured in hell or destroyed" Nice free will, nice good news - at the end satan will win because of majority of humans will be in hell. Where is Gods glory in that? And look at he NDE's accounts, 70% of them are postitive regarding unconditional love and unity - but then Christians say this is demonic, demons can look like angel of light. But on the other hand they fully ok to embrace 30% of them which are hellish experience. Why aren't hellish experiences also demonic?
The actual explanation for this past life stuff is that it's a cold reading. You don't need to blame evil paranormal entities for what's obviously just a fraudulent huckster.
@@chrispaige8880 No its not a great point. It is screaming victim mindset. Why you need somebody from outside to save you? I genuinely asking you. Did you know that we have a gen that is about worshipping external things when it is on? What it is doing with your subconnces when you constantly speaking to yourself that you are a sinner you are full of shit and dont deserve good in your life? You programing yourself for failure. Feeling that you dont have a power in your life is very concerning and please dont call this shit on your opinion whats god is. I'm not christian, I grew up as katolic and I SUFFERED FOR YEARS because what church done to me as a kid from something called religious trauma syndrome that is very much similar to cptsd. Now I found a god and for me god is in every being that is around me. God is light, a sound, a peace of grass in air. I dont need to go for some church for some dude tell me what to believe. It is so heartbreaking form me that christians believe that because I dont agree with them I will burn in hell and they dont even care if I am a good person or not. Thats just sad. I hope you find your peace in whatever you believe but please let us live and believe because scaring us that we will burn in hell doesnt work any more
I am 76 years old. My journey for truth started when I was a teen, raised in a "hell, fire & damnation" church. Hell and burning forever, plus the "wrath" of a punishing God, never made sense to me. I refused to go to the altar and "get saved". I have spent a lifetime seeking the truth and saw the books set out in your video. I recognized most, including the law of one. In my early 30s while studying a spiritual text, I was suddenly unaware of time and space; just an experience of oneness and love is the best I can explain that which defies explanation in the physical world. I have studied the mystics of several religions, Stoic philosophy, and authors of many spiritual paths. I am now at complete peace with my understandings and that which I do not know. That being said, I do not reject the writings of the ancients, including the bible, as completely worthless. However, one has to understand the context, underlying truths pointed to, and the alterations, mistranslations, and corruption of the text by men with an agenda for power and control of others. The best way to keep someone in a box is to put a kernal of truth in the belief system, then place rules with punishments on all sides that are extrapolated from that truth.
Only problem is - there are no alterations or corruption of the text. The gospels were written at a time when there was no "almighty Roman catholic church" to make such changes in all the manscuripts that were already in circulation. It also becomes quite obvious when looking at all the teachings of the church that contradict the Bible and Jesus. If they had the power to change the text, why didn't they change it to "confirm" their teachings? For example, Jesus taught we should not swear but only say, yes or no. But the church came up with "eternal vows". Peter was married and probably all the Apostels but the church came up with mandatory celibacy. Jesus said to leave one's family to follow him but the church came up with "family values". Jesus told us to see him in people who are sick and in jail but the current church came up with hatred for LGBTQ people. Jesus taught that "salvation comes from the jews" and the church called them "christ killers". All these things make it clear that the Bible and the sayings of Jesus weren't "corrupted" to fit the wrong teachings of Christians through the ages.
I promise you'll eventually come back. You emit the same vibe like millions of new age people and frankly I can't believe how much you dabbled in these things while you were Christian. It's pointless to argue considering your state. You want the secrets of universe. Oh really? Try eating from the tree then. Cos why not. "Open minded" expression is meaningless. Rebellion of your wife got you on board too. God bless you both and welcome back from this lost way, rather sooner than later. I'm on my vacation, and i intensively listened to a bunch of religious podcasts and just stumbled upon your testimony. I'm shocked. So many red flags and so many points show just how naive you were to go down this way. But don't despair. God will grow you through this experience and use it for good at the end. Good bless you and your family. Can't help but to think that all of these ridiculous ideas was brought by your wife into the family. I don't know why, but the whole of your testimony seem to be strongly influenced by your wife dabbling in these things too. So many eastern practices, occult stuff, mind altering states, ... bizarre that you two didn't see what is going on. Good luck.
Yup, happens to people brought up in a church their whole lives. Once things hit the fan they will come back. He’s lived a happy life with God, he’s going to experience life and life can be harsh.
YES! I was a new ager for years. It is so obvious it is vile lies when Jesus leads you out but when you are in the thick of it, living and breathing it, teaching it all feels amazing and positive. Such lies of the demonic realm to keep you away from the one true Saviour, Jesus. SO RELIEVED I am walking with the Lord not going my own dumb way.
I also deconstructed my faith much like you and never foresaw myself ever returning to God, but then He drew me back to Him. It started with small deceptions that lead to large deceptions leading up to the point where I thought I was better than the Christian God. However, it was my own pride and selfishness that lead me to this thinking. And I'm going to tell you I can see a lot of myself in the things you are talking about. I know you think that you're going to help people by telling them this story, but actually you are going to lead a lot of good well meaning people astray and strengthen those who wish to lead us astray in this way.
A human has never existed that was as evil as the God of Abraham, that evil wrath has never been matched which is proof we were not created in his image. Satan kills not one person in the Bible. Jesus tells us in John that we are not to become Christians or he will not know us. Sol of Tarsus was a lying and Jesus warned the apostles not to believe him. Jesus proves your religion is wrong. “Only the Father”
@@lyndaranson1728 You're the typical narcissistic tool that keeps perpetuating fairy tales! No one can argue with you're own bubble of protection you create.
@@lyndaranson1728 I definitely feel that too myself. I know I accepted Jesus as my savior as a child, but it was as though the seed had been sown among the rocky soil and the thorns when I look at it in hindsight.
It's irritating, but expected to see all of the christians in the comments saying things like "you never were a christian" / "your faith wasn't that strong then." It's almost like the people making those comments cannot comprehend that people can have valid and logical reasons for deconverting from christianity. As someone who was a christian for running on two decades before I deconverted, I get it. It's wild how you can be so invested and genuine in your god belief, and before you know it, that same belief is shattered on the ground in the past. I'm glad I deconverted, and hopefully your journey has been well since this video came out (I noticed I'm 8 months late to the party xd )
I find your story interesting and similar to mine. It’s not surprisingly how those so called “Christians” judge others and those that are searching and asking questions. Reading some of these comments on how a person is deceived by the Satan and the devil is probably the most unchristian thing to do. Throwing bible verses and believing that that calling you were never saved and never had a relationship is the most unChristlike thing that Jesus would oppose. Thank you for sharing your experience and wish the best on your spiritual path of discovery.
After reading scripture myself I started questioning if there are actually any true Christians out there?!! Bc everyone I knew, including myself seemed like a bunch of Pharisees! But if one is known by their works or deeds then I’m thinking there are a lot of atheists who are actually the ones acting like “Christians” according to scripture.
What if they are speaking truth in love and you just don't like what you hear? Many get angry when their way of living is not affirmed as it goes against God's will for humanity.
I appreciate you for being so brave to come on here despite what people may feel. For the past couple of years I have been trying to deconstruct & I continue to be paralyzed by the fear that I am the “very elect who’s been deceived” I go through a dark knight of my soul every other week it feels & I’m so tired of being afraid to live. Thank you for your courage. I pray I get to this point soon.
I hear you and this video is made for you. I was hoping to provide peace and solidarity to those going through similar experiences. I have gotten a range of comments, that was expected, but this is the type of comment that shows me the video is worth it. Just to let you know you're not alone. This life is wild. There are so many different beliefs out there and it is crippling to "find" the right one with the limited time that we have. I have found peace by looking deep within, I believe you can too. Nothing but love!
@@JohnRaineyChannelBlind faith in invisible people you blindly trust with your life and spirit is not peaceful. You're walking off a cliff and taking others with you.
Do you have a Himalayan salt lamp for negative energy? Have you seen any double blind studies on this? Is there any other explanation for why the smell of salt and amber light might be calming??? Is there testable evidence of negative energy? Or is there repeatable studies of what reducing it does????
Wow.. not on board 💯 with everything but who is ever?? Haha . Absolutely, love your story. Im feeling compelled to share my story too. Very similar, but different. More people need to realize this is more normal than talked about. Im a deconstructed Christian too. The father son analogy is great.. i feel that way too. A man changed against his will, is if his opinion still. Good book recommendations too. Ive read some of those, but not "the journey of souls".. ill check that out. Glad youre finding your truth and sharing the journey. Much love and luck to u!!!
I am in complete awe of your dedication to find your own truth and I really admire your journey and dedication to it. I believe as humans it’s our birthright to discover our own connection to God, Source, Universe in whatever path we connect with. I wasn’t raised with any sort of religious influence but always felt there was something greater than me - Universe, spirit, energy. And though I can’t relate to your Christian background, I so relate to your discovery and spirituality. I loved your story telling and I cannot wait to hear more from you!
Thank you so much for your kindness and support!! I'm glad there were bits you resonated with. I agree -- we do have this life to live and it's our right to discover truth wherever that may lead us. It's a wild journey, but I'm here for it! Thanks again and have a lovely day!! ❤️
So sorry to learn that you missed out on so much of Kingdom of God while doing apologetics and Bible schools..the sad reality of shallowness of cerebral/rational Christianity. It seems like you had ignored your inner life totally. So despite the experiences and the feelings, wht do you do with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? You clearly say many times "belief in Christianity" and other phrases that show how wrong about Jesus Christ you have been since the beginning.. explore what Jesus has to say about these spiritual experiences and what He has to offer. You'll be blown away!
I was born Catholic, raised Christian. I did that to the age of 20 and went down the rabbit hole of witchcraft and being successful with it and getting things in life. The thing was, i was still missing something in my life. I found jesus again, and my life has never been better. Good video though brother i feel you ❤
I’ve been on a existential crisis! Feeling anxiety and confused for weeks this video is so healing and comforting to know I’m not the only one who struggled with all that you said ! The fear is slowing going away the more I intuitively connect to God and oneness Thank you! Thank you so much 🎉❤
Well…the Christian Bible says a lot of things…. It’s true we’re most definitely are not GOD But the “I exclusively have the answer to God” because of one verse “I am the way, I am the truth…NO ONE comes to…blah blah”. Would mean most people through history would not get there. 1500 years of corrupt Catholicism and NO Protestants of reformation. The worshipping of saints the paying priests for the absolving of sins for centuries and centuries and the millions killed in the name of El Savador Jésus Cristos- El Salvador also being the first human slave port in the history of mankind all in the name of Jesus El Salvador… 😢 I would say to you. DO NOT WORRY Just pray to “whoever” And call it “HEAVEN” or “wherever my dead loved one are” or “Whoever created me- THANK YOU. I’m confused…please help me be calm and happy” let’s just follow christians their belief not mine. There words. Just take the Kings James Christian Bible or any Christian Bible. The New Testament is diametrically opposed to the Old Testament. Not the Hebrew words. The Christian account of the Hebrew Bible. Let’s read the Jesus Christ Bible which refutes any such thing as “follow the words of Jesus and be a Christian according to any church denomination of which there are thousands” I’m just going to quote JESUS and the words of any CHRISTIAN BIBLE. Not my opinion. It’s YOUR OPINION YOUR BELIEF AND WORDS as Christians. Not mine. I’m no new age, we are all gods and I’m no “I AM SAVED and everything else is Satan…devil stuff”. You know you could just read Mark 16:16-18 and realize that the New Testament is laughable (and definitely changed / interpolated) where Jesus says “believers in ME (Jesus) can pick up snakes and drink deadly poison and NO HARM will come to said Christians 😂 “ PLEASE UPLOAD A VIDEO NOW CHRISTIANS TO PROVE YOU FOLLOW JESUS AND DRINK THAT DEADLY POISON HEAL THE SICK SPEAK MANY LANGUAGES AND PICK UP SNAKES. FOLLOW JESUS. You say you believe. Upload the video and prove to the world your faith and PLEASE get as many Christians as possible to join you. Or you could of read Romans 13:1 “God placed ALL authorities (like the Roman senate 😂) to make the laws and if you disobey them, GOD uses those authorities to carry out GOD’S wrath 😂😂”. What did people forget about God’s wrath on Sodom, God’s wrath on the Pharaoh, the whole of mankind in Noah’s time!!! Did God suddenly say, “I will let all the socialist psychopaths crazy communists and repugnant Royalty like the Roman Empire make the rules and brutalize every human if they real the AUTHORITIES rules so I can have tea and eat cake 😂” Paul ‘the obvious Roman government agent’ Apostate might as well wrote “SOCIALISM OR DEATH” like Fidel Castro. He might as well have written “Caesar is the Savior of the Roman land and then the whole world” like Stalin. You could of saved yourself a lot of pain by reading Deuteronomy 4:35. or Ezekiel 18:20. (No one can die and pay for anyone else’s sins) Perhaps JESUS’ parable of the Prodigal Son. Where the Father (an allegory for God and the Nature of God’s love) forgives the Son because he realizes his error and returns with a contrite heart. The father rejoices…The father doesn’t ask the servants to erect a WOODEN CROSS in the yard immediately and then NAIL the good obedient son who remained with him to the CROSS saying “HE MUST DIE. I NEED BLOOD before I can look at my wayward son who has now returned” COME ON 😂 Isaiah 11 - enemies will becomes friends - the wolf and the lamb together. The MESSIAH will FEAR GOD. Not the messiah IS GOD. Nothing prophesied happened during Jesus’ time in Isaiah 2 or 11 in the Christian Bible. enemies didn’t not become friends, quite the opposite wars increased and then increased some more once Christianity was adopted by any country in Europe. The Greek New Testament. Why written in Greek if everything happened in Roman Judea. Surely the people around Jesus and the San Hedrin speaking to the Jews spoke Hebrew. Jesus spoke the sister language of Hebrew. Why Greek. The language of the Elite in Rome. Jesus didn’t go to Rome. The gospel isn’t based around Rome. Greek was the language of the educated and the favoured Romans. The Roman people didn’t speak or read Greek. That’s like the London Government writing all the countries laws in LATIN. Who would be able to understand the Gospel that should be evangelized to the WORLD 😂 when only a tiny percentile of the population would have been able to read it. 😂 What were the most common temples in Greece. The temple of Apollo. APOLLO. Lets look him up and see what the Greek people called APOLLO shall we…. The beautiful SON OF GOD (Zeus and Goddess Leto) The healer The patron of shepherds (the good shepherd) The Truth The light of the world Offerings given to APOLLO on the SUNDAY. Born in a remote place. Humble beginnings. His sacred day - Winter solstice celebrated on the 25th of December. He killed the PYTHON (the snake) He brought the laws for the world Jesus did all these things And he wore a crown of thorny like Laurel. At the time of Jesus he was the most influential of all the Etruscans mythology and Roman mythology he had temples and statues holding a sheep or killing a Snake which were later renamed as Iesous but were once Apollo. Whoops. Any coincidences. 😂 Literally the whole of it is identical. So if you believe in Jesus and you worship Jesus you are worshipping like the Greeks. Personally I wouldn’t worry. Because WHO is to say that the Greek sages and philosophers who have so much wisdom to the ancient world and it is still relevant today weren’t worshipping the 12 Olympians (who later became 11 disciples and Jesus) but they had different names for the same Angels sent by Zeus who maybe just another manifestation of Yahweh or Jehovah or Allah or El or even Horus and Osiris. God is everywhere. Why would GOD of all humans just appear through Jesus two thousand years ago, why not 500 years before that and 500 years before that and 1000 years before that and since the beginning of time. Horus (God the Father) and Osiris (the Son the King who resurrects again and again). The Egyptians fell away and then it landed to the Israelites. Then the Israelites fell away and it landed to Persians. Then the Persians fell away and it landed to the Greeks. So on and So on. The flood story is in all cultures. Why couldn’t GOD send angels (for pagans human gods or lesser gods as poets and healers and warriors) Maybe the story of a savior sent from heaven is like the myth of Sisyphus - doomed to repeat the same message the same task of showing a culture and appearing in peoples dreams and myths and legends over and over again. So that every tribe hears a similar legend in their culture. God…ooooh He is smart. GOD has a way for EVERY culture that has ever existed to BOW down before Him. He doesn’t go by just ONE name. GOD is TOO smart for that. Christians think it’s ALL about them…. and God doesn’t ‘find a way’ to reach indigenous people for thousands of years. 😂😂 that’s laughable and blasphemy.
I would strongly recommend "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" by Fr. Seraphim Rose. I'll leave it at that, that's my shameless plug lol. The Western world has made it difficult to feel secure and grounded, even for someone that has fully embraced their beliefs, so I sympathize with you.
This is the description of what pursuing divinity or transcendence or meaning, or spirituality, or relationship with God looks like when we do it on our own terms, by our own wisdom, and in our own power. It always ends the same way in every case. We will either be humble, or be humbled. Seeing this same story play out is so sad. Love you and praying for you John!
This video is very inspiring. I’m currently at a peculiar point in my life. Having been a Christian my entire life, I was raised Catholic and then converted to Evangelical at 19. I grew within the church, eventually becoming a preacher and a leader for more than 10 years. Like you, I always struggled with the concept of hell and never supported attacking others for their beliefs, or lack thereof. After three years of praying for clarity and witnessing behaviors from church leaders that didn’t align with Christian values, I decided to leave the church and "the faith". That was seven years ago, and since then, I have felt an immense sense of relief-no shame, guilt, or fear. However, I am still searching for my truth and often battle with concerns about what others think of me for leaving the church after being a preacher. These thoughts are a constant struggle and I consider it a religious trauma, but despite this, I am happier than I have ever been. I continue to work on constructing my own truth in this religious world. If there is any book or resource you recommend to ease this path, I would greatly appreciate it.
I've always struggled with the concept that no faith healers ever really heal anyone like the deaf and blind who are attendees at the church that that person is healing at supposedly and they never get healed there's never any actual documentation usually when you follow up on it it was fake or the person just had adrenaline and walked and then still has bad arthritis or ended up dying from the cancer that they thought they were healed from. Jesus was healing blind and it's not just symbolic blind he was healing actual blind and he said that we'd be able to do that kind of stuff and no one ever has ever ever it's just BS
Very interesting and I look forward to hearing more. I had a very negative experience in the churches as a child. I am not knocking them, it was just me and my experience. I've also met a lady,very recently, that is "spiritual" as she put it, and not that I wasn't open to it, but I had a hard time understanding it. I think you might of given a better rendering of what she was trying to communicate with me. Like I said, looking forward to hearing more. Also, where does one find a Spiritual guide? I use to live in SD, Ca., but i am no longer there. Phoenix Az. area. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing and I am sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with church as a child. Ya, follow along with my channel and I will be coming out with videos explaining what I believe it. For spirit guides, in short, I believe that we all have guides who watch over us, communicate to us through thought form, inspirational ideas, dreams, other people, etc. That are guiding us on our path to spiritual ascension. Whether we realize it or not, they are guiding us. But if we are in-tune with them, listen, communicate with them, etc. They will show up. They do for me! To be clear, this happens often when I am writing in my journal, I sense my pen being hi-jacked. Also, when i specifically express gratitude for them, share that my heart and ears are open, and I speak on the most important topic that comes to mind, it seems as if my vocal chords are hi-jacked and they speak the truth that I need. I know that sounds funky, haha, but it's a cultivated practice for me.
Hi.your spiritual guide is The Holy Spirit.He will guide you in all truth and show you the way.its not about a church or Pastor bt your relationship with God.Proverbs 3vs5-6.
When you’re telling your story, I feel like you are describing exactly what I went through so I don’t believe it was a coincidence that I came across the video that you just posted because I found myself doubting 🫘 my self and confused and guilty the last few weeks for questions the Bible and this really helped me so thank you Thank you.
I almost cannot believe I’m hearing this from a stranger on this topic. Technically you’re not a stranger cos I know you’re the one behind all Jenna’s videos and the voice behind the lens 😅 But I did not expect this topic to show up. I just assumed you enjoyed books that I seem to gravitate to lately. You have no idea how grateful I am to hear this. I’m not trying to rally believers who have fallen out. I literally asked my therapist 2 weeks ago if my transformation/growth is making me unable to identify as Christian. I still know I love God and I absolutely believe in faith. Not THE faith. I don’t know what I’m saying tbf. I just know I’m in a strange place now
Thanks for sharing. I hear you. It is strange to reconcile all of these things -- of God, life, observations, intuition -- it's hard to reconcile that with a Christian faith that has such strict boundaries. And if you question, oftentimes you're told to not doubt or just dig your nose into Scripture, etc. I hope all the good things for you and that you find clarity and peace of God. ❤️❤️
I think I'm very good channel to watch is mind shift with Brandon. He lays out just how absurd the Bible is and how absurd God is in the Bible according to the Bible and it is just irreconcilable he was a very devout Christian also and the more he read the more absurd it was and made no sense and made God so inconsistent
6:52 I love this. My relationship with “god” is my own and I feel so strongly in that. I was not raised Christian and as hard as I’ve tried, the idea of having to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved is so ridiculous to me I could never commit to any church or theology. My interpretation of god doesn’t need dogma to be true and meaningful in my life 🤷🏼♀️
John, I really appreciated this genuine video. I grew up in church, and similar to you, have my earliest memories rooted in Jesus. I went to a Bible college in Missouri and was a defender of the faith lol When I turned 24, I had an encounter with God I will never forget. It was definitely supernatural. In the years following, I had dreams, visions, healings, and have known things about others that I could never have known. This was all still in the context of following Jesus. The problem arose when the churches I went to didn’t believe or accept the spiritual side. At this point in my journey, I am getting down to the roots of what Jesus taught. What did he really say without all the “traditions” added onto it? What did he really mean? I appreciated this video because it does feel scary when the world view we have held onto since childhood comes crumbling down. I could definitely relate! For me, the fear came when I realized that “church” as we know it maybe wasn’t what Jesus intended or meant at all. On the other hand, it’s been amazing to see that Jesus refuses to be put in our little boxes of which I think mine was the tiniest! How could we do that or even think we could do that to the Creator of the Universe? Some of the books that are are impacting me now are Copernicus and the Jews by Daniel Gruber and the Anguish of the Jews by Edward Flannery. It is definitely helping me see how much “religion” is tied up in everything! Praying for you! And pray for me!! I know God will show us the way!❤❤
Thanks for sharing, I am glad that my video and story has resonated with you! The spiritual journey is a crazy one with ups and downs, but I always remain grounded knowing God loves me and I just do my best to love others the very best I can. ❤️
I left the church but would still consider myself Christian. Don't forget: "Wherever there are two or three gathered in my name, I am amongst them." nobody needs a church.
@@MrSeedi76As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion!
Hi John. Yeah, I've an opened minded Christian who has researched and been exposed to the knowledge of what you shared. I think that your wife was instrumental in leading you away from God to honor yourself supremely. You have changed religions like so many others have done. I believe that in the end you will experience a deep seated regret for leaving Jesus for the worship of self. This is what Lucifer the devil did; and what he tempts others to do. In my open minded searches for truth and reality, I always have honored the Word of God as the ultimate authority and test of my personal experiences. This has kept me in the narrow pathway of righteousness. We really only get one probationary life to choose. Past lives are a deception, a delusion, a misunderstanding. Of course Judgement Day will reveal everything and bring closure and answers to all our questions. For myself, I maintain that trust in God and the Holy Bible is the best pathway for humanity. However, God has given us personal choice in this probationary experience. Blessings.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You mentioned in your open-minded search, you maintain the Bible as authoritative. Is that *really* open minded? How could you open-minded to consider Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Baha'i, etc.etc. as the correct worldview if you remain constant belief that the Bible is the only inerrant Word of God? You simply can't. Every-time you experience anything outside the Biblical perimeters, it's immediately demonic or heresy. I respect your conviction and hold no judgment over you, it's just an observation.
@@JohnRaineyChannel Hi John. Thanks for your reply. I concede and agree that pagans do have good things about them. For example, I enjoy meditation. I do contemplative meditation or just relaxation for the sake of healing rest. This is so needed in such a stressful world. I think Christians should emphasize more the benefits of Godly meditation on the Word and for healing rest. Stretching and exercise are also valuable experiences. These might be similar but different from yoga with it's own world view. I've thoughtfully considered the teachings of every religion I have heard about. The one that most resonates with me is the Seventh Day Adventist view point. They do teach annihilation of the wicked and that they will cease to exist. I've thoughtfully entertained the idea that they might yet repent, be born again upon dying the second spiritual death to sin, and walking out of the lake of fire into the New Jerusalem. I've studied this for years. In the end, we'll just have to trust God for how it all turns out. The most important doctrine I know is: God is love. If the wicked perish, it will come down to their own choice, I believe. Blessings.
The hypocrisy and irony of you allowing your ego to tell this guy that he has decided to become an egomaniac ("for leaving Jesus for the worship of self."), while being a judgmental egomaniac who CANNOT STAND that this guy left your tribe is absolutely stunning. There IS NO SIGN that this guy has decided to worship himself. Jesus would take exception to you insulting others just so that you can feel superior about the fact that you are part of the choosen "good tribe". What EVIDENCE gave you the idea that he has chosen to "worship self"? What was it? What is the timestamp?
@@Delsha777I wouldn’t say your open minded if your a fundamentalist Christian. From your experience and perspective you have come to believe the bible is complete authority and other ideas are false and of the devil. this is your belief and perspective which is fine but it is a very strict specific way of thinking and seeing things.
@@stussysinglet What is the definition of "open minded?" I look and think of other ideas. I allow them to have their own weight of evidence. Then I pick the one I agree with most. I'm not open in the sense of being gullible and believing every error out there. I test the spirits, discern the doctrine, and examine the evidences for my faith and the principles I live by. I think things through carefully. By the way, do you think you have to be a devil worshiper to be open minded?
Your story is so similar to mine. I've been in church for over 40 years. But I just couldn't believe that I'm supposed to fear a loving God, that there was an eternal hell, and felt like God was being put in a little box. I was sitting in church 2 weeks ago and just looked up and was like, "I don't believe this anymore." I haven't been back. I'm on a new journey of spiritual growth. And I'm happier and more at peace than I have been my entire life.
All Humans need to repent & Believe in Jesus as their God. Why? Because all Humans have sinned (lied, lusted sexually, stolen, dishonoured parents, unbelief etc). Avoid the fires of Hell (justice of God) and choose Heaven today. Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. GOD IS HOLY
That is what happens when you mix christian faith with your fleshly desires: Social media, crazy tattoos, crazy books, the worship of yourselves, ... John 17:17 "Father sanctify theme by your truth, Your Word is Truth"
Social media: you're on it right now. Crazy tattoos: what?! Plenty of Christian's have tattoos. This makes no sense whatsoever and is just judge mental. Crazy books: I only read books that are spiritually focused, no they're not all "Christian," but I am trying to discover if the universe and open to the idea it might actually not be Christianity! How could one know without exploring? Do you suggest just staying within an echo chamber to never see what's outside? That's not life, that's not finding truth. It's staying within one's culture with blinders on. Worship of self: the main and only driver of my entire journey was discovering the truth of GOD. If my main goal was to worship myself, I would explore other modalities of personal pleasure and experience, but that's not the case in the slightest. I've been begging, praying, and meditating on the truth of GOD this whole time.
I was born in a Christian family. I left church at 33. I accepted Im gay and life hasnt ever been so great! Im agnostic now and each time and more conviced this was one of the best decisions of my life.
Thank you for sharing your story John. I know from personal experience how difficult and uncomfortable it can be to be so sure of your beliefs and then find yourself adrift, not knowing what to believe, and then coming out the other side. For context, I'm a 64-year-old mom/grandmother who claimed Christianity in a Baptist church in 1967, when I was 7 years old. Back then we had little sheets of paper in the pew that asked if we wanted to proclaim our belief in Jesus. I filled in that paper and taped it to my bedroom door. It's too long a story to tell but like you, I was a Sunday School teacher, Homeschooling mom, sang in the choir, and worship group. And beyond that, I truly hungered for wisdom through Bible studies and personal devotions. But, in my 40s, through a series of events, I studied deeply into the history of my faith and the church (which of course means the Catholic Church) and found myself questioning everything and my church/pastor couldn't explain it. There's much more but this is getting long! So, nearly 20 years later, I feel mostly at ease in my new beliefs and a sense of freedom. However, the first decade or so, I felt a feeling of looking over my shoulder sometimes as if a bolt of lightning might "get" me. Having spent so many years in the church it took such a long time to feel the calm I have now. Many people have helped on my path, Timber Hawkeye who wrote "Faithfully Religionless" (boy, do I relate to that!), and Byron Katie author of "The Work" through her several books such as "I Need Your Love, I That True?". And finally, when I lost my Sister a few years ago, I started looking deeply into NDEs (near-death experiences). Thanks, John for your thoughts here and book recommendations. I haven't seen too much more from you, and I hope you will continue. If you haven't checked into the YT channel "MythVision" it might be of interest.
Great timing. I am also embarking on my spiritual (and watercolor) journey lol.. been a christian all my life and i had the same questions as u stated. One great thing happened when a team wanted to pray for my son, he’s been sick and they said they were lead by the spirit to visit us.. they had an acoustic guitar and a beat box w them, and just started humming, singing “Adonai elohim” repeatedly.. in the most beautiful way you could ever imagine. I felt so weak, i tried to kept my eyes open, awake and sober but the spirit was just too powerful… i kept on massaging my legs bc they felt so weak that i ended up kneeling! it was the most powerful, beautiful experience that i ever had. It lasted for 30mins and they ended it by saying how much God loves me, its like they saw and interpreted what I felt. It was crazy. I’ve also tried psilocybin, etc. in my younger years but this is by far the MOST powerful thing ever. No hallucinations, no paranoia, just pure, intense power. I’ve been so hungry to experience God.. and Christianity and church was just not doing it for me recently. I also struggle with condemnation but all I could say is that He still remains true, His love is incomparable and most of all, He never fails to meet us where we are. :) PS. I hope you could do a video the bible and its role in this journey. Huge thanks to Jenna for sharing your channel! 🎨🪷🧘♀️
Condemnation is not from God or Jesus. Condemnation, guilt and fear are the psychological tools that were used when the Roman Empire created a fear-based religion to control the poor serfs.
If you're an example of a Christian Soldier that is coming forth from my branch, I'm almost fifty. I'm grateful, things are getting more beautiful. Pick up that pouty lip and know you can't be separated from the love of God. Be grateful for you may be the fruit of the Greatest Vine being prepared for God's harvest. If not, your branch is tender. ❤
Psilocybin or mushrooms changed my life from one of being a total loser to one of accomplishment. I had smoked marijuana in college and dropped out with no direction in life. One night I was in my best friend’s dorm room and we decided to try psilocybin. During the experience I saw how at one point in my life I wanted to be an important man like my father who was a physician, but how I began to fear failure. So, I decided if I didn’t try, I couldn’t be said to have actually failed. Dumb, right? But while tripping I saw if I didn’t try I would always fail. But if I tried real hard, even a dummy like me might succeed. So, I immediately, the next day, re-enrolled in college, got great grades and graduated. I became a Probation Officer and discovered I enjoyed going to Court and had a penchant for it. So I entered law school graduating cum laude, on the honor society. I got a job as a Prosecutor and developed procedures for successfully prosecuting child abuse cases and within six years of graduating law school was made a Judge. All because of that trip on psilocybin fifteen years earlier.
The worst trip of my life I didn't have to get high I went the other way to rock bottom. August 17th 2006 I had a Car Bobbin after losing my mother and my aunt & uncle told me they hated my guts eat -------- & Die. Everyone betrayed me I lost everything. That Car Bobbin was absolutely my Rock Bottom. The day of the Car Bobbin I almost died. My worst trip I was wide awake & Sober and a bad trip was a living nightmare. That Car Bobbin at 75mph was the worst trip of my life. Had the Car Bobbin in White Georgia.
This is such a powerful testament to plant medicine, which was first used by Indigenous communities for thousands of years and long before these communities were colonized and forced into Christianity. I think one key thing that you did was integrate the wisdom that was given to you during your psychedelic experience into your every day life. You were able to not use the psychedelic as an escape, but rather use it as a teacher. I'm so happy through your own personal transformation you have helped so many others. ❤
You started understanding eden on my birthday back in 2020. That was a turning point that I needed back then. But then you deleted your channel. This August I’ve been channeling and now all of a sudden you’re back online at the same time that I need to make sense of what’s going on. Somehow you and Jenna have been spirit guides and thank you for that. The Gemini ♊️ air signs forces the rest of us towards hard lessons and enlightenment
Brother, not to be offensive, but did you find your wife on a craigslist?? First she deters you from your work that you truly loved as pastor, then she introduces you to channeling and spirit guides? This is the kind of thing church warns about. And then she introduces you to mushrooms? Brother, this is very sad to watch. I hope you come back. God bless.
No, that is purposefully being offensive. Shameful, some of the responses I have heard coming from Christ followers... if you truly value your relationship and want to live like Jesus, reconsider the way you speak to people. It should always be in love. I chose to leave my job by my own will. We have a marriage where I don't lord over here and command her to do or not do anything, we honor and respect each other, so if she felt compelled to go explore what channeling is all about, I'm not her master to tell her that she can't. She is living her own life and I respect that, and although we have freedoms, we continually respect and love. Mushrooms are plants made by God that have proven to help with visual and auditory issues, which is why I used them in the first place -- bc my eye problem. People think they're drugs, you're ignorant to the truth. Read "How to change your mind," and then you will have a better understanding. Until, it is just ignorance.
@@JohnRaineyChannel My apologies brother, for offending you. However, it does say in the Bible that man is the head of wife as Christ is the head of man. As a man of the house you are the one steering the ship, not her. Women haven't been given authority over man, but man has been given authority over his wife. I'm sorry you don't see that. It is very obvious to me that she was the one steering the faith ship for you. Luke 14:33 "You must leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower."
It's all good brother, thank you for recognizing and apologizing. Nothing but forgiveness, love, and blessings. As far as it goes for man being the master of the home and this and that -- ya, I believe that is very archaic thinking that leads to very dangerous ideology. People have taken this Scripture so out of context to do horrific things. Yes, we may agree that in those instances Scripture was used inappropriately, but the point here is this: it is archaic thinking, it is in the Bible and people *do* take information like that and use it inappropriately, so I believe it's best to do away with teachings such as this. There are beautiful, higher truths and virtues within the Bible, yes! I believe that to this day. But things like the man must be in total control and run the house, etc. This is too old school and must be done away with.
@@JohnRaineyChannel I agree that many men take it out of context and do terrible things, I'm with you completely on that. But it also says in the Bible that man should love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her. A man must love his wife self-sacrificially. The marriage is a reflection of Christ and church. The man shouldn't be some tyrannical dictator running the house. Rather, he should be like Jesus, serving in order to lead, but when it comes to whos will shall be done, then the family should do their father's will. Just like men submit their own will to Jesus and Jesus to heavenly Father, wife and kids should submit their will to their man. As to Bible being archaic that doesn't mean it's not true and right. We still use ancient Greeks philosophy and logic even though it's archaic. Anyway brother, I apologize again for offending you and your wife, I have my own biases obviously, but it wasn't right of me to say that. I wish you and your family all the best. God bless
I understand that is how a husband is Biblically supposed to act with his wife, j guess my point is why leave it open for misinterpretation if it will inevitably be used inappropriately. I agree with you in the sentiment that just bc teachings are old does not inherently make them untrue or no longer useful! Much of what I am currently reading comes from ancient teachings. I guess the way I see a teaching like this, in the way we relate to one another, I see this particular teaching as old school and needs to be done away with. I'm really to reconcile this idea if a husband truly loving his wife as Christ does the church with the fact that that model does have this undertone of sexism. I admit, it's not exactly that, especially when you get to the nitty gritty of what Christ loving the church actually looks like. It just feels archaic and too old to me. That's personal preference at this point. Either way, interesting note to reflect on. We run our houses differently, and that is perfectly okay the way I see it, so long as the house is filled to the brim with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
I have heard a number of deconversion stories and in each, I fail to hear why the person became Christian in the first place. They always start with "I grew up in a devout Christian home" as if that makes them a Christian. Maybe they went to a Bible college, became a youth pastor, led others to Christ, went on mission trips, etc., etc. and they felt good about themselves. But none of that makes them Christian. You can't just wander into Christianity, there has to be a need for God. So I ask what was that need and why is it no longer needed?
Thanks for your question. Of course growing up in a Christian home, going to Bible college, or having a profession focused on leading people to Christ does not make the person a Christian. Your upbringing does have a significant impact on you becoming one (for ex. Depending on where you're born, you're chances of being a certain religion will increase greatly. That fact doesn't make you a genuine follower, but it is statically true). I was a Christian bc I came to understand myself as a sinner separated from God, I observed the world and saw brokenness and saw the Christian worldview as the answer to how it got broken and how it could be fixed again. I accepted Jesus death and resurrection as the power that forgave all my sin and restored my relationship to God. I didn't outline this very clearly in the video, but I did say I loved my identity rooted in Jesus and I did say my view of salvation (in comparisons to the catholic), which was purely and only and acceptance of Jesus.
Oh no I love God tremendously! My relationship w God is my priority in life. It's just no longer within the confines of Christianity, tho I hold no judgment on anyone within that faith!
Thanks for your story. your story is yours. No one can take anything away from it, especially not strangers. Being a born again Christian who has grown up doing psychedelics and living around new age and heavy drug taking in my teenage life, as well as dealing with the HUGE questions that you have also wrestled with, I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is God, He is Lord and He is THE way, THE truth and THE life, and the ONLY righteous judge over life. Ive seen countless miracles and been set free from sin, drugs and porn as well as myself. Before i was in Christ, i was worshipping myself. I believe we are a worshipping people, that people are made to worship. If Jesus is true, sinless and His life is historically accurate, and is still working today; then He is the only one worthy of our submission. If someone raises from the dead, He is worth listening to. I dont pray that you are won back to Jesus by doctrines or rules. But I pray you are won by His heart for you. The Gospels say that He never casts them away that come to Him. Blessings to you.
As a "Christian" I struggled with my faith about 20 years ago because I had never really accepted Jesus as God. In my own mind I felt I was being unfaithful to God to accept Jesus is God too. My struggles took me to some dark places. Actually, I now know underneath it all was a lot of serious guilt and sin that I had buried and not sought forgiveness for properly. It was only when I finally came back to Jesus, broken with the guilt of what I had done to others in the past that I found an incredible peace and an understanding of forgiveness that God can forgive anything, no matter what, if we come in true repentance. Your story John is very interesting. But what confuses me, is this: how can you leave Jesus out of the picture but believe in God? I mean, who or what do you think Jesus is? (I am aware that if you were a mormon you have different views from me on whether Jesus is truly God or just a god but nonetheless the question is till relevant) Because if Jesus is a real person, which even non Christian historians from around the time on earth agree that he was real, they also claimed he performed miracles and that he died on a cross as a result of Pontius Pilate, so if Jesus is who he claims to be, the Son of God, then it seems you are missing something John if you think he is irrelevant to knowing God?
@@jacliveshere Hi, I shared my story because I struggled with the concept of Jesus, and in this video John has left his Christian faith (belief in Jesus as God) for a belief in a god he has "found" by other means. Fundamentally we can all believe whatever we like. It doesn't make it right though. If your or John's view of God is different from mine, who is right, because we can't both be right? So there's the dilemma. If the Bible is your starting point as mine is, once you start subtracting from that, you are the one who is deciding what God is like, otherwise why would he give us an instruction manual? If you had an instruction manual how to build a car, you wouldn't skip pages and expect to build the car properly would you? As far as Jesus, there's 2 questions for you. 1) Do you know of any other historical figure, with eye-witness and contemporary historical accounts of, who claimed to be God? 2) Is there any other religion, apart from Christianity, that tells its followers they don't get to heaven because of the good things they have done, they get to heaven because they believe in that god and repent of the bad stuff they have done?
@@jacliveshere That's not quite right what you have said about the Christian faith. We believe that we are changed by accepting Jesus as saviour and repenting, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. The evidence of this is doing good BUT on your deathbed you could repent & accept Jesus without ever having done something good, and Jesus, as a loving God would welcome you, just as the father welcomes his son the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) You are wrong about Islam. It is a faith based on works- read sura 101 verses 6-11 Every Muslim I have met seems to think there will be a time of punishment for many people before heaven, or permanent hell, except of course those martyrs who blow themselves & others up who go straight to paradise..... Hindhusim & buddism are based on works as they believe in reincarnation. You seem to imply that Christianity is based on some pagan religion, and yet you ignore the historic facts of Jesus (look at Josephus and Tacitus, contemporary non Christian historians), and the historic facts that his followers were so convinced that he was the Son of God that they were willing to, and did die for their faith. I have studied a lot about Islam, I know a bit about other religions too. When you look at the evidence for what they claim, you have to ask yourself "how do they know that". The answer is either through one man (with absolutely no witnesses to his revelations such as Mohammed, and Budda) or through multiple stories from different cultures with no apparent credible witnesses (Hindhuism). As far as the Jewish religion, they were the people who crucified Jesus (or insisted the Romans did it). They had a tradition of sacrifice for their sins which has NEVER been repealed by God, according to strict Jewish reading of the Torah & prophets, so they are in effect not even following their faith. Obviously it is up to each person to make their own mind up about faith, but my point is that unless you follow your instruction manual (holy book) you are going out on a limb where truth becomes what you determine it to be , not what in my case God determines it to be.
It is not true that historians believe Jesus was a real person. Some do. Some don't. I don't think I ever heard that the crucifixion was ever confirmed.
Faith is a gift, a given. It’s not something we will have only if we “try hard”. “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Romans 1:16-17 NLT I never heard about the gospel until I was 19, thanks to missionaries like you once were. Today I’m 40, and my life completely changed because of the gift of faith in Christ’s salvation. I hope you’ll dig deeper into the scripture and I pray that you’ll find the true God and His way. ❤
When you say, "Faith is a gift," you're not defining faith or given any information. "A banana is a gift." "The sky is a gift." "This comment is a gift." It's a definition. A definition of faith would be something like this: pretending to know something I cannot actually know. So the scripture you quoted would read, "It is through _pretending to know things they cannot possibily know_ that a righterous person has life." If you object to this definition, then tell me, if you have evidence and facts, say, like knowing the sun doesn't revolve around the earth (like the Bible teaches and the church murdered people over) do you use faith? Is it by faith you know you live in a heliocentric solar system or faith? It's knowledge that leads to your ability to know things, not faith. Faith is a bad epistomology (you know this is true since you disagree with every faithful person on the planet except those you agree with due to the fact their faith alings with yours). If you're evangelical, you KNOW Mormons are wrong, just like Mormans know, via "faith" that you're wrong. If you use faith as an epistomolgy, how do you say the Hindus, Mormons, and Muslims have it wrong? You cannot logically say, "Oh, when brown people use faith, they're wrong, but when white people in Kanas or Nebraska use faith, they get it right."
@@michaelsbeverly You responded to this person's comment and jumped to make it racial, assuming that she was a white person from "Kansas or Nebraska" and that her confidence in the Christian faith is due to her assumption of superiority. That's the implication of your comment. However it appears that the person you responded to is in fact Chinese. Perhaps Korean, idk, but its clear from her profile she is not a Nebraskan. Christianity is the Truth for all people, all over the world, for all time, to be reconciled to God and saved from our sins.
@@tuckerchisholm1005 Not, I wasn't assuming anything about the person, just pointing out that historically, Christianity was comprised of westerners. That said, yes, Christians suppose they're superior to everyone else, I mean, just listen to them...lol Jews are wrong. Muslims are wrong. Traditional Asians are wrong. Traditional Africans are wrong. Hindus are wrong. Everyone is wrong but the Christians. It is, by definition, bigotry.
I just want to thank you for this video. I was in the middle of a spiritual crisis. This popped up at the perfect time for conformation. THANK YOU! Peace and love to you
I used to be in the New Age. I fled and ran to Christ and have been with him since then. I watch videos like this to examine my own faith. I feel that a lot of his reasoning is off the mark, and I pray that he finds the truth again.
@@milanterzic859As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion!
Such a good experience listening to your life changes. At 62 during covid I did deep study about Mormons and why the can believe what they do. I wound up seeing all the parallel beliefs I had been taught as a "Christian" from birth. Then realized I had been blindly believing the Bible is 100% true, all far out stories were true, that we had the one true way to heaven, Earth 6,000 yrs old--and decided to open my heart and mind and have walked away from 60+ years of Religious opression, especially as a Woman. I've just begun my journey!
Wow you’re so happy about it too. Idk it’s just weird I left the church not too long ago wasn’t committed just went randomly on Sundays but used to be in my 20’s. But wow how do you get to that point where you can just be happy?
Thanks for the teaching. I’ll figure out what’s real when I’m gone. Until then, I’m living here in this moment enjoying the piece of heaven I experience now. Thank you lord for all that you do. Thank you life!!
Hi John, Thanks for sharing your journey. Of course, I come here through watching your amazing wife. Watched out of curiosity and now feeling it was divine intervention that has led me here. I have a similar story. Raised in conservative Christian home and schools, even went to bible college. About 10 years ago got out of the bubble and really started questioning all those answers for everything that I had been fed all my life. It created an existential crisis for me. It has been a long road of going through that crisis, rejecting all spirituality to forging my own beliefs and now feeling more connected to God than ever before. I still miss the community of church and so to stumble upon someone who has also gone through this is a joy. I look forward to your future content. Maybe a book club might be a good idea? I would love to have a group of people to read and explore new ideas on spirituality with.
Whoa, thanks for sharing! I am glad that you clicked and came on over! As far as the book club goes, I don't know if you saw, but I am kind of doing that on Instagram -- @johnreadingthings check it out! ❤️
Just subscribed 🎉 Was in a Christian worldview for 47 years 😅 April this year after truly reading the Bible for the 2nd year running gave me so much to question 🙋♀️ Started reading 😊 ‘Goodbye Jesus’ ‘The God Delusion’ ‘God is not great’ ‘Godless’ I’m truly OUT now. Reality has come and I’m finally free but it’s a journey. No guilt, no shame, no heaven, no hell. Thank you for sharing!
Did you find yourself questioning truth after reading scripture? I had never read scripture through until 2018 and started questioning everything since…
@@Bebopeep yes it was in reading the Bible in the way my church had guided believing it to be the inerrant word. The shocking things God’s people did on God’s behalf and the way they were treated by God as well is appalling and immoral. Justifying this whilst worshipping a living God creates such cognitive dissonance that I had to know how the Bible was formed and who decided what went in it and why so much left out. Such manipulation throughout the centuries!
@@Tessinentdecken There's proof Jesus existed on this earth. There's no proof that Jesus remained dead and was buried. So the fact he resurrectted is proof that statement from Jesus is true.
@@Tessinentdecken By that logic, we shouldn't trust any historical documents or biographies. His existence and resurrection is recorded in historical data. So you're saying you don't believe any historical data whatsoever bc the fact someone writing them cancels out whether it could be true?
You spent almost 40 minutes just to say you never had faith in God to begin with. You were on the right track and had confusion cast upon you from Satan. You literally experienced Satan driving you away through new age practices and earthly "solutions." I love you, brother, and I hope you find your way back to Christ, who you know in your heart is the truth.
1977. I was gung ho to become a pastor. Enrolled in college to do it. Freshman year, it was mandatory that we took psychology. What the class focused on was bringing people to agree with your point of view. Scripture was secondary to that. One of many red flags. I ended up dropping out and fell into my life-long career.
@@JohnRaineyChannelhey I really like your story! One thing that bothered me was that Jesus healed people a blindness and of real things but so far we just have faith healers either lying or having people say oh like my arthritis feels better but then there's deaf and blind in those churches with a sign language interpreter and those people are never ever getting healed ever! So you're saying nowhere in history a Christian has ever been able to heal an actual blind person it's always people that have a medical problem that can be handled with medicine and sometimes they get healed without praying at all and then sometimes they don't get healed when they do pray and it's just all random. But seriously why would no blind or deaf ever be healed? Why are Miracles always debatable and similar to coincidences but we just don't notice when the coincidences don't take place so when they do it seems miraculous
I've never felt freedom as much as I have since I left religion. The thought of going back to any religion feels like a prison sentence. I lived with so much fear as a Christian. My story started when so many people from my church kept trying to break up my husband and me because we are interracial... in the 2000s, like what? 😂 This was the beginning, but I started considering how I might have treated non-Christians. If I'm a part of such a judgmental and controlling group, what's the likelihood that I'm not doing the same to others somehow? I never want to make someone feel the things I felt. That was enough to challenge the way I saw people. I went to two private schools, was in church leadership, etc., and I am so glad that I went through all that pain because if I didn't, I wouldn't have likely been challenged enough to look at it all as an "outsider."
I'm confused. Where in the bible or anywhere within God's teachings does he speak against interracial relationships or marriages? It's easy to use the flaws of man to serve as a justification to leave the faith. The folk that crucified Jesus were religious, church going fools, so what does that tell you?
My biggest pain as a Christian is seeing my brothers and sisters leaving Christ for people’s mistakes. Try and taste Jesus love not the church or religion
I understand your story completely. I’m going through the same journey. I became a Christian right out of high school. I went to Bible college, youth pastored, a trained singer who sang solos in church. Then, suddenly, everything Christian fell apart. I’ve gone through several spiritual paths and still am. I’m still searching at the moment, but I consider myself an esoteric Christian now, but I’m looking into enlightenment. I want to be one with God and the universe. I believe that oneness is the true spiritual path. Christianity, to me, doesn’t offer oneness. Christianity is very dualistic.
@@JohnRaineyChannel yes, but the scriptures trump our feelings. Conviction based on feeling doesnt hold up under pressure. Conviction based on something unchanging(i.e. scriptures, or rather, the promises and historical accounts in the scriptures) holds fast. The point of my comment is that you asked the Holy Spirit for an alarm, while blatantly ignoring the alarm.
I’m almost in tears hearing someone else verbalize all the questions and realizations that I’ve come to over the last few years…but fear verbalizing myself because I don’t want to have my husband think I’m crazy. 😂 I’m excited to check out the recommended books. Hopefully Audible or Chirp have them because I’m too busy with art and jewelry to find time to read. So glad I followed Jenna’s link because its wonderful to feel like I have “permission” to explore more for myself. I’ll be finishing your video after work and tuning into your channel going forward. Your authenticity is a breath of fresh air.❤
Thanks for your thoughtful response! I appreciate you. Embarking on a new spiritual journey is especially difficult when marriage and parenting is involved... I am hoping all the best for you and yours!
I've been through a similar experience these past 6 years (Michael Pollan included), but I haven't been able to drop my deep fear of hell until hearing you say all of this. I can't thank you enough. ❤
Been going through a crisis of faith for quite sometime myself. It’s often a lonely experience. This video helped my journey immensely (especially that last part about your love for your son). Thank you for sharing and good luck to you and your fam as you continue to find your way.
dude, from a 19 year old who was DEEP in the church, this video means the world. just feel cathartic to watch u explain your rational on this shit. leaving christianity feels like insanity, you’re doubting yourself, you’re doubting everyone around u, doubting your own moral compass, but ur not doing it for no reason. what ppl don’t understand is no one would fucking want that for themself, but at a certain point you can’t deny what your own morality is telling you
I’ve never felt so understood. I’ve never known how to put it into words! I had the same hypothetical, but instead a real Buddhist Japanese lady when I was stationed in Japan. This lady was elder and very joyful - but very devout in her beliefs. That’s where it all snapped for me
All Humans need to repent & Believe in Jesus as their God. Why? Because all Humans have sinned (lied, lusted sexually, stolen, dishonoured parents, unbelief etc). Avoid the fires of Hell (justice of God) and choose Heaven today. Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. GOD IS HOLY
That thing you said about loving your son and how God is capable of loving us more, it really touched my heart. Thank you for sharing that ❤ I’ll always remember this story.
I'm currently studying Kabbalah, so I'm not hostile to esoteric interpretations and explanations for accounts of "reincarnation" experiences. But the idea that an individual soul has had another identity, is not the only explanation for a person's ability to "remember" events from the life of a person who has lived (and died) at some time in the past. All of our lives are ultimately linked in any case, even if no "soul" has ever actually "reincarnated". So, I don't find the ability to "recall" "past life" information particularly surprising or remarkable at all. And none of that constitutes a refutation of any Christian doctrines like "bodily resurrection". I do intend, however, to purchase a copy of David Bentley Hart's book. Thank you for listing it. JPB
Hello Everyone! It's getting harder to respond to all of the comments, but I do want to just share... I did/do know that having a relationship with Jesus is *NOT* because of things you do. I understand, from the Christian perspective, that a relationship with Jesus means accepting the free gift of His sacrificial death as the absolute payment for one's own sin, and trusting in the miraculous resurrection as the power of forgiveness. Simply in trusting in Christ's death and resurrection is the restoration of a person's relationship with God from the moment of acceptance into eternity. I never considered any of my works as means for salvation, it was always solely on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The reason I shared that I was a Bible school student, youth pastor, and passionate about apologetics was to communicate that I was serious about my faith. I was never the type of Christian that just showed up on some Sundays and didn't care about my faith -- my faith permeated throughout my entire life. I hope this helps to clarify. Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts. Please remember, even though there may be disagreements, to share in love and kindness! ❤
Please watch Dr james white before you leave the faith. As atheism offer far higher anxiety.
You can leave Christianity and still be a follower of Christ like Swami Yogananda who wrote the Autobiography of a Yogi..
Your stupid body art gives you away. You're a culture whore. Christianity is to be IN JESUS, and he IN YOU. You love the praise of men, and so you have received your reward. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."
But don't judge a matter before its conclusion. You have to go prodigal for a while.
But, I'd feel better if you we're so interested in living out loud. A seeker seeks when no one's watching.
I had the complete opposite experience. I never grew up in the church nor read the bible. The last 10 years I was seeking for some kind of spiritually. I did EVERYTHING I could-became a Buddhist Yoga Teacher, plant “medicine”, Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, meditation, chakras, cards-you name it. Had so much knowledge but never felt like I was healing. No connection to God that was meaningful. In my mind God was like an impersonal energy blob. Felt more lost than ever. Depressed, anxiety, no purpose. I couldn’t understand why. I had all this spiritual knowledge-why did it not work?
I never really prayed to Jesus personally before. But one night as I was falling asleep, a youtube video was reciting Christ’s words. It said to pray in his name. So I prayed and cried and asked for something very specific In his name. Not even a week went by and it happened. So I continued to pray and asked “SHOW ME THE TRUTH”. My eyes were opened. It was undeniable to me. I accepted Jesus into my heart. I have never, ever, in all the years of searching, felt peace like this. I thank Jesus everyday for never giving up on me. And I realized recently, even when I didn’t really KNOW him, he blessed me 😭😭 and gave me SO much. What a love. I threw away all my spirituality books and things -and realized WOW. It was so simple all along. One book. All I need. Everyday I humble myself to the Lord and thank Him for our relationship. No more searching.
i hear your experience and I also want you to know, I wish you so much goodness and love brother! So much 🙏❤️
Amen!
Yeah this is a lie, like obviously
Truth!!!!
I am the exact same. I am still affected by an incident that happened last year and asked god with all my heart to save me and he did my life has been better ever since
we are lost children and we always do come back. we start experimenting with our identities and phases and just end up confused. then we come back to Christ lost but he was just waiting for us to get up again.
Your story is the same as mine, I was brought up in traditional Christianity and felt like something was not right about Christianity so I left it and I went into New Age/New Thought self love oneness ideals. It felt really amazing at first, like I was reaching a new spiritual enlightenment. I started communicating with at the time higher beings feeding me spiritual knowledge as well. I then had a event where I had went to a spiritual psychedelic ceremony where I felt like I died and went to a place of "oneness" where I felt like i connected to billions of souls there, it was all love and wisdom...then it turned into confusion. Everyone there thought they were God, I felt like i was stuck in that state of confusion of who is God forever and I was there for all eternity. After that I had external demonic attacks. They even went after my wife. We prayed and asked Jesus to help...they never came back. I also had a miracle happen to me when I got food poison and tried all that new age/new thought teachings to try to heal myself, i went to prayer and surrendered to Jesus for help and I was instantly healed and felt like I was shot with 5 red bulls & full state of joy. After that day I realized I fell for the greatest deception of light, I was in so much pride thinking I could be enlightened...at even one point saying I am part of God and I am God. I am now a born again Christian and never felt more at peace before. In my earlier days I was to focused on doing the right things and totally missed understanding the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. Also God being a Just and Loving God. These spirit guides are demons acting as light beings, I speak from experience. They are lying to you about past lives, they tried to do the same thing to me. The bible is right the devil comes both in the form of dark and light. I know there will be people that read this will say this is all fear stuff as it will conflict with their ideals, but it is not. Look at all the New Age to Christianity testimonies on youtube of people similar experiences as me. It is all about you being your own God (truth) by your feelings alone. There is no root in that without the word of God. That is not God, that is you being God...The first sin committed by humans. Eat this fruit and you can be like God, that is Satan in the light form. He wants you to feel ok with sin and totally take out the Grace of Jesus Christ.
New Age destroyed my sister's brain. She tried communicating with space aliens according to books she read and she ended up literally going bonkers with psychotic episodes and can't go without anti psychotic medications. She quit bathing and hasn't showered since her mental collapse in 1995. STAY AWAY FROM NEW AGE.
You were never born again to begin with. Being "raised" Christian does not mean you had a genuine relationship with God
Powerful testimonies! Thank you for sharing!!
so you tapped out when it got tough
@@planes3333 How did you draw that conclusion?
I've been a Christian for over 50 years. I once thought that anyone who loves Jesus would never reject Him. Since RUclips has been around and I watch videos like yours I have been shown that I was wrong on this notion. I don't know if I will ever reject Jesus. So far my desire is to wash and kiss the feet of Jesus when I get to heaven.
Not me.
That is disgusting wash and kiss the feet of Jesus what the hell are you on.
I've had to learn this lesson too. I think it's taught sometimes almost on the same level as Christian theology because so many people are afraid of giving any legitimacy to anyone who has legitimate reasons for leaving or critiques against the religion. I don't really know how to make peace with it other than to just do my best to follow truth, and understand that most everyone else that truly thinks about it is doing their best to. We just sometimes land in different places. If I want people to assume I'm seeking truth in good faith, then I need to do the same for others.
You talk as though this is something that happens TO you over which you have no control. You will never reject Jesus if you decide not to.
@@whome9936 ,that goes for any God.
Timothy 4:1
``The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.``
What is 'spirit'? Why should sentence be in book have any authority over anyone?
God wrote it? Inspired it? When to you demonstrate the existence of this god?
@@sweetsummerrain8086 ”spirit” is the Holy Spirit.
The words in the Bible are like a study guide to life, just like the books of law for our justice system that we have to follow.
The existence of God can be found in science. There are plenty of scientist that have said the probability for life to happen on this earth the way it does and if anything was off by a fraction we would all either burn to death or freeze to death. So for it all to come together the way it did would be as likely as a tornado to tear down airplane and put it back together perfectly.
What authority does this new age teaching spirit live teach have. What's the difference of me writing a book that the earth is made out of cheese.
The authority of the bible is one it has proven it prophecies. The rise and fall of kingdoms from Babylon to the Roman empire. It even mention medopersia will replace Babylon. Not like Nostradamus,etc whose prophecy very vague. Another point it's prenciples applied to life is very effective. Example is the concept of quarantine.
@@HNAA2025bot
The demons got him his reasoning is very childish and it’s crazy he got decked out in tattoos in a matter of a few years lol
I was a Christian for over 2 decades. After diving into the bible deeply, included the banned books, I fully deconstruct and living the best life I ever lived. So many great things has been happening because I'm no longer living in fear and depression.
What banned books are you referring too?
@@Bebopeep // banned and made illegal with a little help from Emperor Constantine and the Roman military. Books they deemed "not worthy " which is crazy.
I want to read banned books
@zachdyer // You can actually Google them. I think at one point, they compiled them and have them on Amazon.
@@BebopeepEnoch, Jubilee, Jasher, etc...
I was raised in a christian home broken but we believed in Jesus. I felt trapped in it and wanted more. I find out about “The secret” and the law of attraction and I was hooked. Many crazy things happened to me, people liked me better and they were telling me how positive I was. I had out of body experiences and success came over my life more and more.
Long story short I opened up my Bible and read about Jesus and Mammon and that money was the rot of all evil I was upset with God. I screamed and told him that I was happy with my success and that I was loving and kind. The next day he answered. Now 13 years later my life isn’t easy I’m not rich. But I have a beautiful wife and three kids and we are all living for Jesus.
Salvation isn’t a one time thing it’s a commitment and we have to take up our cross daily.
Brother I love you thank you for your testimony ❤
There are so so many people who have the opposite journey of escaping the emptiness and endless striving within the New Age movement, spirit guides, energy, occultism, etc. and found rest and comfort in Jesus. While I didn't get into the "deeper" things, I myself would sit and meditate and find temporary peace and have hallucinogenic experiences that I felt connected me with the universe - but there was always a hovering existential fear in back of it. This went away completely in Christ.
I want you to consider that you did not have a relationship with Christ while you were in the “new age”. John, has had a relationship and developed discernment and wisdom from a life in the church. He is going into these explorations with his eyes wide open. Christ is still with him. He has left the religion, not Christ.
@@sterlingwalters Like him, I was Christian prior to this. Baptized at about 13, prayed, went to youth group, etc. I had a relationship with Jesus, who was calling me out of my rebellion.
@@sterlingwaltersThat's incorrect. Christ is no longer with him. There can't be multiple truths. Either you're with Christ or you're of the world, can't have it both ways.
There is neither truth in the Christian religion nor in any cults. There are no supreme saviors, not god, not king, not hero.
100%
John you and I have incredibly similar stories. I went from Bible College Grad to Youth music ministry, to a megachurch worship leader. I asked all the same questions, and received the same answers and ended up where you are today. I have a closer relationship with the creator than I ever had in fear based religion. Today I am a free soul that wants nothing more than to love and connect with God and love other people and do as much good in the world as possible! You are exactly where you are supposed to be and your son is lucky to have you as a father! I have a wife and daughter who are my whole world as well and I'm thankful for the truth that I have been shown. Sending you and your family Love and Light! Keep up the great work my friend!
So it's all love & no justice? Well, that must be comforting to all your victims (and all of us have victims because all of us are sinners). Ugh, to think so highly of yourself must be comforting, but it's obviously false.
Fear based is a crazy skewed take on the Bible.
Where was your relationship with Jesus though. God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of Love, power, and a sound mind. If you received all the same answers, it came from your own heart. Seek Jesus and He opens your eyes. As for asking church questions, if you received the same answer John did, then you didn't heed the warnings. I don't serve God out of feelings or fear, but reverence and love. He has taken me places and done what no one can do. Reconsider because patience is required. You seek Him He comes. We make it so hard. It's due to our stubborn hearts. Now if you genuinely think this, okay fine, however you are deceived and there is no way to be close to God without Jesus, at this point it's all feelings. No truth in this my friend. Please talk to Jesus and He will show you. If you truly sought Him out, because words of humans are just words, then you have deceived yourself, because God makes it clear that when you seek Him with your whole heart you will find Him, I did and many others, so why not you? What was your motive? Because many people have the same stories and yet their motives aren't so clear and others are you just want to know Him, yet people look in the devil's places, lack education on spiritual matters, and so on, and this is the fault of the teachers but also the fault of us not studying bible and seeking God for understanding. Many have gone down this line and been deceived. It took years for them to receive the consequences of this slow burn you are taking. God warns us my friend, He warned you not to be deceived and you were. But He is waiting with open arms to welcome you back. He is not religion what you are doing is, He is love and truth. Sacrificial love. There is much sin in what you have latched onto. I pray you return before it bites you. Please God loves you and wants for none to perish. But He will take you through this long season to reveal to you what must be. Don't worry. We all love you. Shalom to you and happy Thanksgiving.
I was a full blown militant atheist with a muslim background and long story short, one night hundreds of demons came and tried to abduct me (i thought it was alien abduction) and something in my spirit (holy spirit) made me cry out to Jesus and all the demons left and I saw Jesus and I was instantly converted to christianty. ALL GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!!!!
stop taking drugs dude 👍 100 demons 🤣🤣🤣
@@DonPascquale Bro 😂
can you tell me more or are you lying
@@vasilijeglusica7472 He's the son of God, so they sent hundreds of Demons after special man here
@@vasilijeglusica7472 Ne lazem, ja sam bosanac.
Hey John, thank you for sharing your story. I went through a similar process in finding the truth. The truth led me to Jesus Christ. In my mid 20s I starting getting involved with New Age and different forms of meditation as you mentioned in your video. One day I was meditating and decided to meditate in a holy place instead of a bedroom. I went to a Catholic Church that was two minutes away from my apartment. I went into an adoration chapel and sat in front of a monstrance that contained the Holy Eucharist. This was the beginning of my conversion back into the Catholic Church. I experienced peace, revelation, and healing like never before. At first I sat in stillness, then I started praying and noticed Jesus was receptive to my prayers. About a month later, I went on a retreat and someone taught me the Rosary. I prayed three Rosaries in a row, then I had an experience that was so beautiful, child-like, innocent, and so pure. This was my home and I knew this was where I belonged. At this moment, I knew Mary was the mother of all the children in the world. Once I went Catholic and started abandoning Hinduism and Buddhism, I started experiencing attacks. I would pray the Rosary and these demonic spirits would be defeated. Jesus has narrowed it down for me. I experience the fullness of the Lord when I am in front of the Holy Eucharist praying, worshipping, or receiving Holy Communion. There is a lot to share, but you can message me if you want to know more about why I believe what I believe.
The Catholic Church is demonic and you are still being deceived. Bead counting saves no-one. You just need Jesus.
Hi John, I actually went from visiting psychic medium religiously, not a Christian, to becoming a Christian which is the last thing I would have thought would ever happen.
I had left my very weak Christian upbringing faith freshman year of highschool and my life got nothing but better so I never thought I would ever become a Christian again, it would have to be a miracle.
Years later when I was not a Christian a friend invited me to visit a psychic medium and I had no clue what it was but she was so lovely so I preceded with a tarot card reading. For the next year and a half I went to her for tarot card readings and just to hangout several times throughout a week. To allow myself to do this I believed the Bible was either a form of control or manipulated to be a form of control all I knew is Christianity didn't work for me so I was really open to this.
Over that time some rather extreme manifestations started happening. I would pray at times to my spirit guide but many times I would find myself praying to a God I didn't believe in for protection. But no way was I ever going to go back to becoming a Christian! One time I was scared so hard I concluded that I couldn't be my Uncle when things rattled around the room and she said the spirits think its funny you are scared of them... This is over a year into this many experiences at this point.
You see I had been taught that light and darkness coexist, she didn't say it at first but then she finally told me she worked with both. (More on this later)
I got to this point in life where life events started to change and I realized I was not in control as much as I thought I was. For the first time in my life I wanted God and his will as I figured if he truly had a good plan for me I actually want it. I prayed God if you are real can you show me who you are and what all this psychic stuff is? A day later I meet a pastor at random in a coffee shop and very rapidly God in the most incredible ways started pulling Christians into my life not in normal ways at all... I even had a random stranger come up to me and tell me to obey God and trust in Christ. there was a testimony of a former psychic medium God used where I had recognized specific witchcraft and this really helped clear this up as well. I was just blown away at all God has done leaving me with not an inch of doubt. (There's so much more).
I had came across 1 John 1:5 and it said God is light and in him there is no darkness at all..... literally left me speechless.
When I was going to a medium I didn't
Know who God was, his purpose for this world, his will for my life. When I became a Christian I knew God is good, man has fallen, and in love his will is redemption for mankind. Plenty of places throughout the Bible it says my will is mercy rather than sacrifice, even Jesus said it. So here is my question for you, do you know who God is? Do you know his will for your life? Do you know his purpose with this world? Because I had an unbelievably cloudy picture of God full of question marks when I was going to a psychic medium and it appears you have the same dilemma as you stated towards the end you just go off your instincts. Absolutely none of this is an attack, I genuinely would love to kindly and respectfully converse more.
:/
As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion! 😊
@@fatpigsflybears So you don't want people to become more like Jesus Christ? Is Kim Jong Un spiritually free and would I be encroach on his spiritual freedom to tell him God will one day judge the world in righteousness and he'll have to give an account? You can burn sage, palo, you can read tarot all you want, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ you are not free and you can not help others become free either because the freedom and hope is found in Jesus Christ. The love he had for us on the cross i ought to seek to show the world! Who can set me free? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! I speak from experience, when i was doing tarot card readings twice i got told I would have unplanned children and divorces...... that's the devil and praise the lord his plans are so much greater for my life than that!!!
Last point, you said you blaspheme Jehovah and the Holy Spirit, I don't go around blaspheming Buddha, Allah, Krishna ect. because they are not who i have to contend with upon my death, they are still buried exactly where they were originally. So you know who the Lord is and you know he can save you but you still decided to fight against the Holy spirit who only wants good for you? My friend i pray for you that God will do a supernatural work in your life to show you where you stand, his love for you, and the plan he has to redeem you for his glory!
@@cj6814 did you read my comment at all? I used to be Christian but renounced all faith so I know every argument you will make. I am very free thank you without jesus. It's Christians who are in bondage by fear, you have never been free a day in your life.
@@fatpigsflybears What freedom do you have I don't? I don't live in fear, this world is wicked to the core, transgender children, pedophilia, people with power and money getting away with murder wanting to be their own god untouchable by the law.....but thank God they have a fierce judgement and accounting to do one day. I simply found out the truth and had not an inch of doubt, it was Jesus Christ the mediator on my behalf to be redeemed, to be set free, to be forgiven, to be made acceptable for Heaven where I have a mansion I'm so unworthy of. If the requirements of Heaven is Jesus not only is that a really good requirement so Heaven isn't corrupt but I fall really short of that. Only Jesus could make it so I could be there and that's because of his love for me, he died for me and the sins I committed in this life, that's insane love. I've put weights on peoples shoulders they could not bear, I've put people down instead of helped people out, I have cared more about me and less about those in need, I cared about how others would think of me and tried to live up to their expectations never realizing not only there's a God but he has so much good work he wants to do in my life while I'm here. Your version of freedom is not freedom. People often times try to stand up for themselves and in a sinful manner, in an unbearable manner they become intolerable, ever meet someone oblivious to how much pain they cause someone else, maybe indifferent even? It's so hard to admit but we all are, we are not good, so freedom to do what again? It's only your perspective I live unfree in my head but I know just because I'm not living for myself and how I see fit like the rest of the world doesn't mean I'm free, I'm more free because I'm forced on the Lord and his plan for me on this earth... embrace that over everything else and it's no religion or practice, it's actual freedom.
Isn't that witchcraft, harm none, unless they seek to harm you? My witch was very nice but held judgement of what was right and wrong in her eyes and she knew a little more than the average. Here's freedom, Jesus said love your enemies pray for those who persecute you and bless those who curse you. The world wouldn't look at that as freedom because they are not in control but by walking in this extreme love and forgiveness and compassion for others I am in control because no matter what anyone does for me I have the love of the Father, I have Jesus Christ, I have a hope in Heaven and all my hope is not in this dying world. My freedom is not found in the situation but my focus is on the cross and how the other person needs the same hope, the great majority of people have resentment or unforgiveness to someone in their life, not that I don't struggle, and certainly not that I've always had good people and good situations, but because of God's work in my life I forgive all.... that's freedom.
I know Christians at times have came off as hypocrites, unloving, unfaithful to others and even the God they claim to serve, but I'm here to tell you freedom is found in Jesus Christ, no reason following an idols that God could destroy. I look back at my childhood and think back where are all the genuine Christians looking to make a stand, to stand up for me? But I know now as a follower of Jesus Christ I can stand up for those who hurt the very best i can and I can walk in freedom so I don't hurt others but help them be free.
Let me ask you this, you don't seem to care about the truth, you are not telling me you found the truth, you are simply saying you chose to walk away from Christianity and now you subjectively see yourself as free, if Christianity was true would you become a Christian?
For me those cracks in my faith started to develop when I was finishing my BA in Christian Studies and one of my professors asked the class if a person MUST confess their sin and ask Jesus for forgiveness in order to be saved. Most of the class said yes, absolutely. My daughter was a newborn at the time and I couldn't imagine God sending her to hell if she died before she could comprehend sin and salvations, before she could talk, etc. I began to pull that thread and extended it to people with cognitive disabilities and people in remote tribes that have never heard of Jesus. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to believe in God, and I wasn't willing to devote any more energy to religion.
well here's the thing brother that's wrong, and some people in authority have fallen away from scripture.
here's why that's wrong
Matthew 19:14
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
implying that heaven is for those like little children, and no verse in the Bible ever states that babies will go to hell
Now, the way we are saved is not by our own works but by Gods grace.
because we've all broken Gods law, and we all have strayed from God.
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Hebrews 10:16-17
This is the covenant that I will make with them, After those days,
says the Lord, I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,
“And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”
Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
When we confess our sins is to acknowledge that Jesus took the penalty and the judgment of our wrong doing, so when we go to judgment day, we are not in wrong because we have trusted in the death of Jesus because he took the wrath and the judgment of what sin does.
As a response to the salvation of Jesus and the way he died on the cross, we dont want to sin anymore
So confession of sin is to acknowledge our sin and to acknowledge our wrong doings not in a forced based, but on a heart basis that we have done wrong and sin is so severe that Jesus wanted and took the beating, humiliation and judgment of our sin and wrong doing so that we dont have to.
confession of sin is to acknowledge what God did and a response in the severity of sin and also our wrong doing.
However Confession isn't why we are saved, it's because of Jesus, confession is our heart posture and when we believe in Jesus the confession of Jesus as our Lord will be a result of that, not because its the reason to why we are saved
Sorry this was long but Hope this helps.
Leaving what is taught today as Christianity vs losing faith in God are really two different things. No one talks about that.
That’s a good point. The modern church is completely lost.
Put your faith in Jesus and not the Institution. Frank Turek says IT nicely; dont blame Beethoven, someone playes him Bad.
@YH-Jesus-is-King-WH Yes! Christianity and your belief in God is different.
If you're smart you ditch the entire idea
@@Jeremy-iv9bcyep. Thankfully, I had other models of Christian faith growing up.
I never comment on RUclips videos but your story really moved me. You remind me a lot of myself. I would argue that a lot of the things that you went through are indeed indicative of Jesus' ideals for the human race-open-mindedness, acceptance, curiosity, love. I believe that your experiences with other ways of interpreting spirituality show how vast and diverse God's love and power truly is.
I have recently returned to Christianity after being raised in a Jewish preschool, studying Taoist theory and meditation, converting and then leaving Islam because of how much I love the concept of God's oneness, attempting to follow the practices of Jains, and studying Tibetan Buddhist meditation and philosophy in an online group every Sunday. I love the Upanishads, the Baha'i Faith, Zoroaster, Ram Dass, Alan Watts, and Eckhardt Tolle. I have also done my fair share of psychedelics and can absolutely attest to the power and beauty of experiencing the world through that kind of alternate perspective.
My thinking is that people could be followers of Jesus and not even know it. I know people who are so turned off by organized religion but so fired up for Jesus-I would be shocked if they went to a place like Hell for that. People also may be living with principles that coincide with everything that Jesus is, they just don't feel the need to put a label on their entire being. In my mind what someone says that they are and what they actually are may not be able to be reconciled by something as limited as human language.
Also, I think people tend to underestimate how much they don't know, myself included. I have accepted that I have no right to judge what other people do or why they do it-it's between them and God. I will never have access to their full inner and outer lives, either past or present, so why should I proclaim to know what their fate will be? I don't know where people go when they die. I don't know if they live millions of lives in millions of forms or just one life as a human being. I don't know why there is so much suffering and evil in the world. I don't know why there are so many interpretations of faith, race, sex, or gender in the world. I just don't know and I don't need an answer. All I know is that I know God because I have seen God work in my life and in other peoples' lives.
Everything I have experienced via all these different avenues of spirituality has pointed me to following Jesus once again. I believe that He is the manifestation of everything we will ever know or discover about spirituality and philosophy, that His way of being is the absolute ideal for what humans can be. That doesn't mean that I think that all these religions and philosophies can't coexist in the world or even in me. I don't agree with most churches about how they legalize their faith in Jesus; those same types of practices are why I left Islam. I believe that God is the essence of freedom, and Jesus wants us to seek truth with all of our hearts, not to limit us to one way of seeing the world.
So all this is to say that regardless of where you may stand in your belief in Jesus, I know and see that God has made you a very special person who is on this particular journey for a reason. I wish you and your family all the love and luck in the world, and I am so happy that you have found peace within yourself and with the eternal question of God. I came up with a saying that you may like, it's "If you question nothing, you'll never get wise. If you question everything, it's too much for size."
Much love!
I have a very similar outlook as you. The only thing is, most Christian’s would say that’s a heretical view. I genuinely don’t know what I believe at this point and it’s just so tiresome.
This is really beautiful and I appreciate you sharing it. I've had a very similar path with similar conclusions. Peace to you.
After deconstruction of my 25 year life as a christian, I eventually experienced more peace...more freedom...more ease...more joy...more laughter...and more empathy & acceptance of life, self and others than ever before. What an ironic unexpected journey.
Sounds like your happiness is the most important thing. Is there any objective truth that still exists for you in this new view?
@@bgorg1 Yeah...I am sure people should NOT want more peace, freedom, ease, joy, laughter, empathy and acceptance of life/self/others in their lives. Thank you for calling out my absurd desire for these things wrapped up in the word "happiness." Which ones should I release?
What objective truth do you refer to?
@@chrissilver8461 it's hard to believe someone has born such wonderful fruits as you've proclaimed with the sort of nasty passive aggressive response you gave to an earnest question.
@@chrissilver8461 // this Art guy is always calling me out also as if we shouldn't want more peace, happiness, laughter, etc. He uses any and every word we write against us.
@@ArtKrishnamurti // how was that a nasty response? Are you miserable?
Hi thank you for sharing, my testimony is the reverse of yours! I was into past lifes, spiritual practices like reiki, and i followed Alan watts and eckert tolle and other consciousness and meditative thinkers. I came to know The Lord through seeking The Truth about 4-5 years ago, and since then have had no desire for those things. God's Spirit and Word fills me up to do works for God's Will. I think its important to remember that leaning on our own understanding can lead us into us making God into our image instead of God restoring us back into His image, as we were created to Be with Him.
Personally I struggle also with the idea of "good" people going to hell for not believing. But when I think more about how there's nothing to lose by making God God, instead of making ourselves God(like satanic teachings teach). Paradoxically we have everything to gain by putting the One True God on the throne in our lives.
I think God is sovereign and all loving and He gives everyone the opportunity to accept Him even on their death bed, when hearing and accepting Christ in their hearts is the only thing they can do to receive peace and remission of sins, at their hour of death. I also used to believe in reincarnation, and I think the Bible may support a reincarnation or sorts(like when John came as in The Spirit of Elijah) , that is not the same as the common belief of Buddhist or Tibetan reincarnation. If we believe God is Spirit and Love and is Just with how he decides to judge souls or redeem them (if they so choose to be redeemed also), then when happens after we die is for God to know alone. And it is up to us to Love and worship God in Spirit and Truth. The Fear of God is the only good fear that leads to Wisdom and Eternal Infinite Love the rids us of all fear.(Proverbs 1,4,9 and 1 John 4:18) His Loving and Just Judgment is The Truth of How The Will and Laws of Creation point towards a Relationship with Him. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by believe in Him.
I'm praying that you'll find humility and The Lord's compassionate and patient Love, return to Him and lead others to The Way, The Truth, and The Life and True Light of The world. You can shine a Light(knowledge of Truth) on many in darkness(ignorance) but we can't do it alone. We have consciousness, but we are not consciousness we are much more... consciousness is a gift, We are not our own. We have free will, given in Love, Created for Love by God, who is Love. Let us choose Truth in Love, rather than love the self.
How odd. Knowing as I do that 'THE Lord' = Jesus (?) isn't real, is a fictional person, make me question what emotional and psychiatric needs you may have had that yo allowed this.
I actually had an encounter, out of genuine curiosity you may want to seek him for yourself....I know without a doubt with some humility HE will reveal himself to you as well.
I am coming from so called New Age (without knowing), trying all things spiritual.
I realised it is an addiction. Everytime I venture something new I am high on knowledge, and then there is a period of depression after, ups and downs.
And also "new age" has so many paradoxes.
I have hope Jesus came to me to save me, that's how it felt. But I don't want it to be just another "high".
Thank you for sharing your story, I also read the case study of in- between lives.
I just started to doubt hypnosis. What is the real source of the information?
We cannot be sure.
Nevertheless, I pray to Jesus now, not fully sure he is the truth, while letting go of astrology, tarot and even yoga. Carefully considering a baptism.
I am very grateful to hear stories from both sides. People who grew up as spiritual non-christians and christians who changes their believes.
I do am longing for Jesus' promise of peace.
Since many other spiritual practices created rollercoasters of excitement, ups and downs.
Always more to manifest, always more to heal.....
It would be amazing to just hand it over to Jesus❤. I am still hoping to find truth
There is no mystery here. The left side of your brain is vastly underperforming. ;-)
John, I think there is a core belief at the center of following Jesus versus the path you are taking, and that is how we believe and understand ourselves to be. Your path now seems to be more about trusting yourself and your experiences. My personal testimony is that I can't do that. The reason I am convinced now more than ever that I need Jesus, is because as I look at myself, I can't deny my brokenness. For all I try to do well and good, there is so much more I find that is not good in me. If I'm honest with myself, I am quick to judge people harshly, I hate, I get impatient , I am selfish, I look to my own comfort and am agnostic over the suffering of others, I crave glory and attention, I get envious of other people... The list goes on. I have found no other answer that gives me hope that somehow things can be different in my life and in the world other than trusting in the goodness and perfect love of Jesus Christ. And that he has offered that all who trust in him will find healing and redemption, starting now and being completed in the new earth.
The story of how much you love your son, Miles, really struck me at the end. It is true, God loves you much more than you even love your son. Imagine Miles saying that he loves you, but then he just looks to other people and things for the love that you want to give him. Imagine him not listening to you or believing what you say. It would break your heart and grieve you. I think in the same way we grieve God when we look to our own whims for truth and a relationship with him, instead of listening to him and understanding who he has already revealed himself to be through his son, Jesus.
And yet, I can't imagine that John would ever condemn his son to eternal damnation - even if his son rejected him. No loving or just parent could torture their child for eternity - no matter WHAT that child did for the brief time they were on Earth. Is God less loving than the average human parent? Every child makes mistakes, most rebel at some point, to some degree. Many kids entertain strange beliefs, etc. Does a loving parent cut that child off forever, or does the parent teach them to do better?
Why was it necessary for God to kill his most perfect child, who was also himself(?), in order to forgive his other children for being the way He made them? I don't have to kill someone to forgive someone else, so the whole idea makes no sense to me. If God wanted us to all believe the same thing, why weren't we born with the knowledge of who God is and what he wants? Why is it that even Christians don't agree on the basic tenents of salvation (ie. faith/works)?
I believe in a Creator - but Christianity makes no sense to me.
@firstinthedance Hi, recent christian convert here. I can't really debate deeply since I'm really new , I've only read First four books of the new testiment and few old ones but, You know in old testament they used to sacrifice animals. They did that for forgiveness of their sins. Something innocent had to take our sins and die. So later God gave Jesus who was sinless and innocent and became the ultimate sacrifice for all our sins and all we have to do for salvation, to go to heaven is to repent our sins and trust Jesus.
God does love all and doesn't cut off anyone. We are the ones who are cutting him off. He also gave us free will because of his love.
God actually wants all to go to heaven (Hell exists for Satan) but because of Sin since adam, we can't. (Because of Sin, we basically condemned ourselves to Hell) Thats why he came in flesh and showed us the way.
(Everything happened because of the Sin since Adam. Sin is really serious and leads to death and destruction. We can see even around us. To clean us from Sin, Before Jesus and after too, he sent The Holy Spirit through which God cleanse us from our Sins and shows his love. )
@@petestone6327What you should really take note of is how Christians believe that atheists will suffer immensely for eternity, and that they DESERVE IT. You will not meet one single atheist who believes that Christians DESERVE to suffer immensely for eternity. NOT ONE.
@@petestone6327 What you should really take note of is how Christians believe that atheists DESERVE to suffer immensely for eternity. You will not find one atheist who believes that Christians DESRVE to suffer immensely for eternity. NOT ONE.
@firstinthedance
As a follower of Christ, I appreciate your questions and understand how Christianity's teachings can be challenging to grasp. The central belief behind Jesus' sacrifice is rooted in the concept of atonement and redemption. Christians believe that Jesus, as the Son of God, offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to reconcile humanity with God, bridging the gap caused by sin. This act demonstrates God's profound love and mercy, offering forgiveness and the opportunity for eternal life to all who accept it.
Regarding the diversity of beliefs within Christianity, it's important to recognize that Christianity is a diverse religion with various interpretations of its teachings. While core beliefs such as the divinity of Christ and the concept of salvation through faith are widely held, differences in interpretation can lead to varying views on specific doctrines like faith versus works.
As for why we aren't born with innate knowledge of God, Christians believe that faith and understanding of God are personal journeys that require free will and the ability to choose to believe. This allows for a deeper relationship with God based on personal choice rather than instinctual knowledge.
Ultimately, Christianity emphasizes love, forgiveness, and the pursuit of understanding, and I encourage you to continue seeking answers and engaging with these questions in a way that resonates with you.
Your illustration regarding love between your child and you is so powerful.
When i thought about something similar if my child were to be banished to hell, i would plead to go to hell for them as a substitute, that is when my belief in hell began to erode. It was a scene in The Shack. Prior to that i had read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and began sifting through Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. These began supporting the right to question my religious upbringing.
The Journey of Souls brought me round full circle. I can relate to the entire description of lives between lives. It so resonates with me. I heard same description of souls after life on earth before somewhere, and thought omg thats it!!
Then with further studying of biblical history and digging into history of religion going back to Mesopotamia and the Sumerians, up to modern day, i no longer believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God, but rather that it is man's inspired word about God. Coming to that understanding and knowledge, what could a Christian stand on? For some it is belief alone, and that is good enough for them. It was not for me.
What i dont understand is why ppl are taught there is a hell? Why are religions so fear based? All my family are Christian Evangelical (basically) going back generations. Since i no longer call myself a Christian, they think im off my rocker. Hell is a significant focal point in how they speak about Jesus saving and about their faith. Nothing they have to say can impact me. I have heard it all. The belief in hell creates such division and judgement - unfortunately it is a Hallmark for most Christians. Their entire belief system seems to hinge on who is and isn't going to hell rather than living a life of radical love.
I just wonder what our souls have to say about the experience related to religion once they transition from this human life experience.
You capture my journey and world view perfectly.
I went through your story in reverse.
I was born Catholic but 'the people' turned me away from the church.
So went through many years of learning myself, spiritual research, and trying to live my best life.
Seeing all of the evil things going on in the world had me shaking my head. My life was in shambles but I had gotten used to it. I felt peace... but I was really just 'not dealing with my issues'.
I watched a video on all of the Biblical stuff associated with the eclipse I rolled my eyes. Then every other video was something that hit me in my gut.
I took a good hard look at my life and took all of my problems and left them at God's feet. My anxiety went away, I didn't even know I had it until it went away and peace came over me.
I confessed my sins to God out loud, asked to restore His Grace upon me, I asked for the Wisdom to discern His will, and the courage to stand firm in Faith against the schemes of the enemy.
I saw a video by Girls gone Bible and learned that I need to declare my healing.
Work and I started to fight about things... I prayed for a job where I was left alone to do my work, my car broke down so I wanted a company vehicle, but I didn't want to be a supervisor or manager, I just wanted to do my job and come home.
I got two job offers that filled those criteria the next day. One was a temp job, that paid $100 for 3.5 hours of sitting at a gate.
The second job, I have an interview Monday morning for a full time position. I have been praying almost every morning and trying to let God take care of everything.
God bless you brother... I hope everything works out for you better than it did for me.
It is impossible to really know Christ and then abandon Him. It is very possible to fill your mind with theology and your time with religious activity, only to walk away from that. Hebrews warns quite strongly about that very possibility.
You just have to take me at my word since no one can know anyone else's heart other than their own... I was extremely genuine in my relationship with Jesus, both in public and private life and devotion. I expected the response that I was never a Christian to begin with, but, if you knew me personally and could peek into my heart, I think you'd feel different. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Have a lovely day.
@@JohnRaineyChannel perhaps I may direct you to John 6, where a large number of Christ's disciples left off following Him after some very difficult teaching. Note the response of Peter - "Where will we go? In the process of departing from Christ, have you found the answer to life after death? The mystery of life itself, its origin and purpose? Concerning the universe, the order and evident design speaks for itself - if it wasn't the triune God of the Bible that put it all together, then what or Who did? Where did we come from and why are we, reasonable and logical creatures, here? When one walks away from the most reasonable, self-evident system of truth that transformed the world, it should be for something better, but usually it is not. Usually it is to be free from the moral bonds placed upon the person by their Creator (Psalm 2) that the conscience might be soothed while it departs to seek its own way. I hope you someday find your way back to the truth that is in Christ alone, for it is He you have rejected, not just a system of religion.
I just honestly do not see why an all-powerful, all-loving Creator God is only conceivable from within the Christian Biblical worldview alone. I am a theist, I believe in God who created all things. I have come to believe that the Bible is full of truths, but honestly believe the Biblical writers were likely mistaken in certain doctrinal areas. And, off my God-given intuition, I can look at the especially horrific passages like Numbers 31 or the doctrine of eternal Hell as completely morally unintelligible and cannot possibly be from an all-loving God. And I know here is usually where the Christian response is - yes, God is all-loving but also just. I believe in justice, yes! If that's a conversation you'd like to have... I believe in justice after death, in a karmic system that I believe to be way more fair than an eternal hell that damns a finite being into an infinite punishment.
Very weak. This "no true scotsman" argument is silly from the beginning. If you change your mind about the beliefs I hold, you must not have believed. So that's a nice closed circle and you don't really have to think anymore, pointing out how ridiculous it is.
@@Tom-fo5ce then you must explain the passages which claim God finishes the work He begins, (Philippians 1, Romans 8), men may have some enlightening by the Holy Spirit and then fall away (Hebrews), and that all that are in Christ cannot be removed John). Your argument has no bearing whatsoever unless it has its basis in Scripture, and Scripture says otherwise.
My critique/response:
1. Catholic woman: Catholics DO believe in salvation through trust in the historical Jesus. I don’t think the Bible (or Protestant theology) excludes devout Catholics from being saved because of theological differences, as long as at the core of it all they are still trusting in Christ.
2. Mormons do NOT believe in the historical Jesus. They believe in a fictitious character created by Joseph Smith. They are millions of miles apart from the theology commonly shared by Protestants and Catholics.
3. I’m equally as disturbed by the numbers of people that myself as a Christian have to logically assume are going to hell based off of biblical teaching and the few number of people who are Christians. My response however is not to leave the faith, but to step deeper into faith in Christ and go out to use my life for preaching the gospel. I’ve found my faith growing through this practice of acting on my convictions. I’m still baffled by hell though!
4. I’m surprised you never had any substantial teaching on hell throughout the majority of your life as a Christian. I think this is symbolic of the shallowness of many church’s teaching and pastoral responsibility to teach all of scripture.
5. Consulting mediums is called witchcraft in scripture. I think it’s very possible have “positive” experiences in witchcraft while still being led astray from truth and true life. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” - Prov 14:12. How would the way seem “right” if there was no positive subjective experience? But in end it leads to death.
6. Your search for “truth”. Where do we get our source of truth? God must exist for their to be any objective truth. How do we identify who God is and what his nature is… how we can relate to him… etc? Historical truth, scientific truth, moral truth, prophetic truth etc. The Bible fulfills these criteria of truth far more accurately than new age spiritualism… doctrine of hell aside.
7. There is no objective evidence of reincarnation. Fascinating experience to listen to nonetheless.
8. Loving your son story: beautiful! I love to hear how strong you experience that love and can relate that to God. However, back to the source of truth- how do we know truth about God? We need evidence (fulfilled prophecy, historical accuracy, scientific support, etc). Comparing God to an earthly father only goes so far. The God of the Bible is - Holy. Holy, holy, holy. We cannot understand his judgement aside from this. He is purer than pure. More innocent than innocence itself. Sin separates from him. And yes he does forgive and desire for all to know him! But there is real sin and evil in this world- he will judge murderers, rapists, extortioners, etc. Although we might be seemingly “good” people, we still have sin!
Lastly!! I appreciate this video because I can relate to the hell piece… and I’m happy that you feel in a peaceful place. However I just think there’s so much space for all of these conversations and struggles while remaining a disciple of Christ.
The search for truth IS the search for Christ. He is the Bread of Life. The Light of the World. Eternally conscious, eternally aware, eternally loving- Father, Son, and Spirit.
Respect bro!
Lastly lastly, you are living in a serious lala land 😮
1. it wasnt the hypothetical catholic... it was the idea that there are so many different theologies. Hes also not making an argument, it was just something that started a thought process. This is a huge thing that really separates christians from non-believers. non-believers can wrestle with an idea and follow where the idea takes them openly instead of thinking that it must conform with their god-belief.
2. who cares what mormons think. In the end, christianity and mormonism arnt great descriptions of history, biology, truth etc... they are just separated by some 100s of years.
3. Hell is not a real place. there isnt much biblical evidence for it and certainly isnt any real evidence for it. Plus, if it existed then god is a sadist.
4. meh. fallacy.
5. literally everything leads to death. do drugs!
6. Maybe "A God" must exist (theres arguments that one doesnt need to exist) but it probably isnt the christian god. shrug.
7. There is no objective evidence of a lot of christian miracles too!
8. youtube is a great place to watch videos on each and every prophecy being debunked. they dont even take much scrutiny. theres also a lot of contradictions in the "perfect" bible.
@@jamesSwhite what do you mean by that?
@@chottstuffwhat’s the best contradiction
@@chottstuff
Hey, there’s plenty of biblical evidence for the existence of hell. Here’s on very clear verse, a quotation of Jesus himself.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
It's so nice to hear people speak with such honesty and vulnerability. There is one side where there are people who say believing on God is stupid, and another side that says you'd be making a mistake to leave your faith and that you're damning yourself. It's like you're alone. Thank God for youtube, as finding someone with similar stories and struggles is just a quick search away.
For me it was the opposite, started as an atheist then went into the new age rabbit hole and now am trusting in Jesus alone.
When I was in that “spirit guide” life I was being assaulted by demons and etc. it was an opened door.
Brother keep the Church and religion aside try Jesus as a personal one
I come from from Hindu religion and Tasted Jesus Love
I tried and tested Jesus and he is the life Giver...Keep Jesus as centre not church and religion
👍 Jesus is a living God, a living person. All sins are forgiven. But people are spiritually dead. This death was lost in Adam.
I studied eastern religions for years,until I heard a voice said: Saint John 3:16 in my sleep and the voice woke me up and I checked the Bible.
If anyone wants to know God , they should seek Him himself/herself, believe in second hand knowledge, someone else book , someone else saying could be a big mistake.
Walking with God is difficult, we need to plan our daily activities, I have been walking with God for over 14 years, very difficult but there’s no better option ❤
@rboland2173 Who are you to call God a monster your just a normal human who will face God on Judgment day you made the choice not to follow God not him We were not created to go to hell nor is it God's will for us to go there it's your choice God won't force you to choose him. You have to choices in life you can choose God as your Father or Saton the one you choose is the one you choose to spend eternity with at the end of the day its all about choices and God will not force you to choose him.
Bingo! Thats the difference between works and faith.
How did you come to learn about Jesus? You heard it from another human being right? How is that different from every other religion?
Try as you might to separate Jesus from religion, at the end of the day belief in Jesus as god/son of god is a religion
This video is so sad. He is now lost, he saw the glory of Christ but it was not beautiful to him , he rather do new age spirituality. Russell Brand left all that stuff for Christ. That makes me glad.
Heck ya, thanks so much for sharing your story! I deconstructed about two years ago and the whole "what if I'm wrong/am I going to hell" stage was the worst. Watching decon channels, reflecting/processing my years at Christian college, therapy, and believe it or not studying Christianity even more, are what helped me overcome it. Now I get to just live and enjoy it ☺️. I'm glad that you've been on this journey for yourself and can't wait for more content!
Haha, that stage IS THE WORST! Absolutely terrifying! Glad to hear that you're enjoying your journey and life! ❤️❤️
@monica23maldonado, watching channels that focus solely on deconstruction is placing yourself in an echo chamber like the ones atheist claim about Christians. Be careful about your own unconscious bias and go where the evidence leads. I personally believe one can believe in Jesus or believe in chaos those are the options. By chaos I mean hope is gone, you don’t know where you or any of your family go when they die or if you’ll ever see them again. Love, hope, evil, none of it makes sense in a world guided by random mutations and natural selection which is chaos. Christianity has a lot of explanatory power.
You have delight in your antichristian narrative and new age agenda. I think you were either a poser or you never were a christian and this is all a lie. DO you have any proof you went to biola?Do you have any proof of your claims. @@JohnRaineyChannel
you tapped out when it got tough
Please don't join islam it's more than christiany now
You think you are better and more compassionate then God. Mans heart and pride knows no bounds.
Love your honesty! There’s a lot of us in the same boat right now and it’s comforting to hear other peoples journeys. Thank you ❤
You are so welcome! ❤️
@@JohnRaineyChannel CONGRATS on leaving orthodox Christianity is igorance they follow YEHWEH WHOM IS ACTUALLY BAD AKA EVIL LOOK IT UP so there for explore and expand bro for real !
@@JohnRaineyChanneldude why do you have so many tattoos when you were a Christian
And why do you have a snake tattooed
Something is shady about you
Go watch the testimonies of people who die and go to hell
Confusion can seem comforting... at first...
@@JohnRaineyChannelReconcile with the Jesus of the Bible. Leave the spiritism and other abominations. Before it is too late for you.
I think it’s a very common first step away from Christianity.
The first time I really realized and truly accepted that I was no longer a Christian was when I realized that I could not believe that the truly loving God I’d been brought up to believe loved all the children in the world would condemn a person who was living a good life trying their best to make the world a better place to eternal torture simply for not believing in his son.
I couldn’t reconcile a merciful God who truly loved humanity with one who would value belief, worship and servitude over empathy, compassion, and reason.
I never went down the spiritual road you journeyed on, but it’s very common to start exploring all forms of spiritual enlightenment and expression when you shift from a faith
That's why he gave us the catholic church. Read Vatican 2
I don't believe God would ever condemn a person based on the goodness of their heart, character, and deeds.
God only judges a person by their sins and the true nature of their heart.
God is all things good and he is righteous. So in his eyes, sin is sin no matter how trivial in our human eyes (ex, stealing vs murdering or lust vs having an affair)
No human is completely upright, moral, without any evil in their hearts or thoughts. We get jealous, envious, angry, hateful, etc that lead to bad thoughts. Or are placed in unfortunate situations where we feel that we have to do bad things such as stealing from others.
If there is ever a man who is 100% good in their character, heart, and by their deeds... even if they do not know of God, God will not judge him for his ignorance, only his sins. So if this man had no sins by deeds, thoughts, or nature (in his heart) he will go to heaven.
But the only man to exist to do that is Jesus.
I don't believe God condemns his children to hell. I believe we condemn ourselves. I think it's wrong to blame God for everything. We have free will, so we should learn to take accountability.
If I steal, rape, murder and get sent to prison, I would be wrong to blame the judge or jury. It would be wrong of me to get angry at my parents for not protecting me and help stop my inevitable punishment (which I brought upon myself).
You don't have to believe or love God. We're all free to live without him, but why should we expect to live in heaven with him after we die???
If you read the Bible in its entirety, you will see that everything God does is good, and despite how your feel, He will still exist as Lord over all. His name is Jesus.
One can become so open minded that their brain falls out. Just say no to demons, bro. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
11:12 How do you go from being a pastor or pastor's wife to channeling?? There is a big chunk of the story missing from right before the channeling part.
I don't know if I mentioned, but my wife had been privately experiencing doubt for a while, in terms of Christianity and whether or not the resurrection was a historical event. We had some conversations about it, they were difficult, but she was in her own journey and I gave her the space to do that. She is her own person, I'm not the lord over her. I know the scripture that says the man is to lead the household, yes, but we operate differently and I allow her space to figure things out as she needs to... that's maybe a little window into what led up to that.
@@JohnRaineyChannel Oops! I didn't expect to get the host's attention! I sort of figured I was speaking into the void. I haven't had a chance to finish the video so you might have mentioned her journey later in the video. I have to say this first - I've been in video and film for a lot of years and I was really drawn in from the first few seconds. You have a face/voice/manor that is very engaging. That's not flattery - I say it as a caveat. It's a gift. Be careful how you use it. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the video. I have too many thoughts to express right now but it always breaks my heart to hear a story like this. However, I know I need to hear you out. You always learn more from people you disagree with than from those who just parrot the ideas you already have.
Hey thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate it! 🙏🏻 I know my story is hard for people of faith to hear, especially if they're more empathetic and compassionate opposed to hard-lined and judgmental. So thanks for your kindness! Have a good one!
he had loooong left Jesus or he never really knew him, from God to essentially witchcraft without discerning this? So he goes on demonic trips on mushroom, his house was built on sand Matthew 7:24-26, the devil took his mind and basically molded to whatever he wanted, sad, he has no clue how real the devil is, this is the most basic playbook he uses to lead people astray, crazy a "pastor" would fall so easily, he must have never experienced the power of God to be blown away with little child's play demonic revelations (also, who do you think is telling these mediums about you?) - I pray you cry out to Christ and "reconcile" back to him- as a pastor how did you miss "2 Corinthians 11:14 ??? And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" this is just not adding up
@@JohnRaineyChannel you are to lead your wife, your wife essentially was eve, gave you the fruit to eat and was led astray
Something I here in a lot of these stories is something like …”the loving God I believe in wouldn’t do X” which is simply creating a God in your own mind instead of the foundation of what Jesus said.
Exactly…
Tha is for sharing this! I went through a “crisis of faith” going from tradition Christianity to a Course in Miracles and really resonated with the parts where you were in between. In between the old beliefs yet seeing this beautiful truth. I really respected that you seem to be in a place of loving those in your past that may have disagreed with your process. I think that’s the mark of truth when a person is able to love and forgive all. Thanks for sharing
I'm with you John. I'm a former preacher's daughter. I say former because my dad passed away years ago, but even before his death...things never sit right with me, (especially the HELL doctrine) so as I grew older, I did my own research..after reading a lot of material and digging deep...I mean deep which included, but not JUST the "Epic Tale of Gilgamesh, " (which was the first book EVER written) only to find that the Bible was taken from many different books written BEFORE the Bible was put together. "The Epic Tale of Gilgamesh," which I said was written wayyy BEFORE the Bible has stricking similarities to the Bible. Yes, the flood story, etc., was ONE thing among many others that led me to leave religion. Not only because of the Epic Tale of Gilgamesh, but LOTS of research. I still believe in a creator, but I no longer put myself in a religious "box" full of man's dogma. Peace and Love to you John. ❤❤❤
I felt the need to come back and add: you probably already know this, but many will leave comments telling you you're wrong and act as if deconstructing our faith was easy because it was so embedded in our brains. They also think we've somehow "missed" something in the Bible.. Stay the course John and keep bringing us these wonderful videos.
I do not do what to me is organized religion….I just can’t….I’m like u i believe in a creator….strongly….but I cannot mesh with religion…I tried real hard at one time in my life….but I finally realized it wasn’t right for me…near death experiences also taught me alot
The Bible is full of wisdom that will tell us to leave these harlot houses people mistakenly refer to as a church. These places are idols temples and we are instructed to come OUT of them. Those places are the synagogues of Satan. Thousands of divided denominations and sects that oppose each other and follow men of reprobate minds. The scriptures are all you need to feel very comfortable with leaving these temples made with hands.
Pastors daughter here too 🤗
Sorry for the loss of your father.
Learning about The Epic Tale of Gilgamesh made you leave Jesus? I'm confused why? If anything, that should have strengthened your faith in the veracity of the Bible! The authors of the Bible had supreme knowledge of events spanning back thousands of years prior, which are verified by documents like the one you mentioned. Hallelujah!
@ArtKrishnamurti // read my comment again. I didn't say I didn't believe in a creator, but one I firmly believe is that MAN wrote the Bible. With the re-translating over and over and then the Church throwing books completely out that didn't fit their agenda, let alone the contradictions...I can't trust it. Let me know if you understand my point because I didn't say what you said I said. Until then, have a great day.
Wow, wow, wow. Subscribed. You're speaking to my heart, John.
I've been struggling for a decade with crippling depression, spiritual turmoil, and a sense of dread arising from being surrounded by people who won't stop expressing their hatreds. It has all been leading me ever closer to suicide.
A few weeks ago, a friend offered me a psychedelic drug called DMT, because he heard it helps some people with depression. That drug, one I would have treated like poison through most of my life, has suddenly exposed me to a sense of love and awe and connection I never imagined could be real. It was the most overwhelmingly spiritual experience I've ever enjoyed: a few minutes of mildly pleasant visions of interesting lights, then thirty minutes of the most profound sense of love. I sensed that love at first emanating from my friend who was helping me through the experience, and then love from all of creation, expressed to me in the plainest, most unmistakable language, speaking directly into the depth of my soul.
Seeing your pile of books on the table, now I realize why the creator has been trying to guide me to the writing of Alan Watts and Eckart Tolle. As soon as I quit typing, I'll begin my own quest for the truth of the universe.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your love with us!
As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion! 😊
Is truth just a feeling or experience. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s hard to trust myself and loving oneself is the path to self destruction.
@caleburias5596 May you find peace and contentment in Jesus, my friend!
Don't use a drug to cure ur depression; love Jesus and thats how.
@caleburias5596I love the threats from you and your god keep it coming burning in hell what a joke.
The story about loving your son unconditionally made me cry. Been on a similar path as you for a while and still have moments of panic based on years of what the church said. I am trying so hard to be a parent in the future, and would never push my future child away for their happiness, so this spoke deeply to me. Thank you for this video- love that you come from a spiritual perspective because that's the road I've taken- divine love and acceptance and not a book to live by
Hi John,
I myself went in the opposite direction. I come from a Jewish background and was really interested in Jewish mysticism, spirit guides (which introduce themselves very often as extraterrestrial beings), reincarnation etc. until I met Yeshua HaMashiah. I must say that although I can really understand what you're talking about, I completely disagree about the benefits of such practices that I was involved in before I came to faith. I don't know how much you know about the subconscious mind, but the subconscious mind is a very deceptive part of our brain. And the reason is that the subconscious mind is formed during the early stages of our childhood. It's very tempting to think that memories of children claiming of past lives are actually their memories and not some other memories, which were implanted in those children's subconscious minds by some evil spirits. Spirit guides/grey aliens/Anunnaki are demons, masquerading as angels of light that try to deceive humanity by making it think that by following them and not God, the humankind will reach enlightenment using Chakras/ Sphirot (in Jewish mysticism) and other methods. Their tactics are the same since the days of Noah as portrayed in the book of Enoch. These are the spirits of the Nefilim and the offspring of the Fallen Angels which Jesus, Jude and James spoke about. You probably know what I'm talking about. Although these spirits may offer some "positive" energy, the source is impure and demonic. One can feel tranquility and a certain level of peace when being affected by some kind of vibration/energy level, but it's not the peace of God. It's often heard that even children of Christian parents experienced sleep paralysis because of the attack of these inter-dimensional beings/spirits. The children didn't believe in Christ in the time and as soon as they did, these phenomena stopped completely. And this is very interesting, indeed! It's better to rely on Scripture rather than on experiences. God bless you!
YT
❤❤❤
Absolute gibberish. Christian’s use “demons” for everything.
Agreed ... If they are not for the lord they are not for me :)
Can verify. I’ve had hundreds of outer body experiences because of my condition. The things that I experienced and seen on that other side. There’s definitely a spiritual realm around us.
fr, demons have access to much more than us and if you open yourself up to their deception they always try to make it seem like you can be 'enlightened' or basically your own savior.
Hey John. Your story resonates so much with my own. I left my Christian faith on a mission trip to Peru, up in the Andes mountains. I found my spiritual footing after using psychedelics as well. I have a son whom I adore and who is the best argument against Yahweh I've yet encountered. My path led me to something similar to yogic Kashmir Shaivism in the Sanatana Dharma (Hindu) tradition. At the end of the day, the path doesn't matter. They all lead back to the One Living God... a consuming fire that burns up all dogmas and creeds and theologies in Its ineffable Brilliance.
I salute your journey, thank you for sharing it with us.
Thank you for sharing! Sounds like quite the journey you're on as well! Peace and blessings!
so stupid Jesus said there is only one way
@@johnpinckney7269 Really appreciated your witness to the gospel of Jesus when you called my beliefs stupid. Can't say I'm surprised, though I'm often disappointed.
@@benjiyogi639 leave me out, what did jesus say? i am not important.
@@johnpinckney7269 Your opinion is certainly not important. Or helpful.
Former Christian here, I know this is a year old and I hope you're doing well. If you've not checked out Peter Boghossian or Anthony Magnabosco, I highly recommend. Peter coined the term "street epistemology" it's essentially the art of asking questions that help guide people to reflect on their beliefs using the tools they currently use to understand the universe and their beliefs. It helped me to stop arguing with people that have differing beliefs, and it's helped me understand why people believe the things they do. Please never conclude; never stop learning. I wish you well.
I'm sorry but a lot of what is said here doesn't make much logical sense. I took away a couple things listening to the video. 1. The 'Christianity' being described was purely based on, "love others, and spread love", etc. 2. A clear misunderstanding of the capability of demons. Full transparency, I'm Christian, I fail everyday, and I'm no scholar. I've been in the "Dark night of my soul".
Christianity, specifically in the west (primarily the U.S.) has been so perverted that most people in my experience forget that it's not just about "love". God it Love, absolutely, but what is love? Love is not unconditional acceptance, love is not 'being nice', etc. Sometimes love hurts, and especially if we don't want to hear it. But more than this, YHWH is HOLY! We forget this fact, and I don't know why, probably because of the perversion of the western mindset of faith. When Yeshua returns, he's not returning as a meek teacher, in love, no, he's returning as a King bearing the sword on a white horse! I could keep going but I think that gets the point across. Second, all the past life/historical facts that were brought up in hypnosis...do we really believe that demons wouldn't know facts like that? Demons have been around for millennia at a minimum, are vastly superior in intelligence, know every language on Earth, both dead and alive...and we don't think that a demon could speak through someone in hypnosis, giving facts out? That's not logical, especially if you understand the spiritual realm, and the Bible clearly explains their capabilities. New Age beliefs are essentially old beliefs, repackaged for the modern era to deceive people.
Great points all! I'm sorry, but I just can't listen to these deconstructionists spouting their "wisdom" as I know the real source of this "wisdom." You're God or you can be God sounded much better when the serpent said it, but it was false then & it's false now. I'm just waiting for one of these people to say they're horrible human beings but they know God isn't real. Instead, they all say they're good people so why would God send them to hell? Well, the Devil wants you to think that - he wants you to think you don't need God. Any philosophy/religion based on human goodness is WRONG and FALSE. We're sinners who deserve Hell - we need a savior.
You didn't adress some serious points that he has talked about. You know why? Because you cannot adress them. If you really think about reallity of hell and endless suffering and you know most of people are not Christians and will not be, but you actually do not care about the others. Next time you go for a shopping in a mall look at people faces, remember them, and imagine them in endless suffering. If you would believe in reality of this you should fell on the knees and start preaching gospel through the mall. Same for dear and wonderfull people you trully love and are not Christians. If Christians trully think and believe in reallity of hell then streets should be full of preachers. I say you are indoctrinated. I will sumarize what you believe in: "God created humans because of his glory and because of his love. He gave them free will. But if you do not love him back you will be tortured in hell or destroyed" Nice free will, nice good news - at the end satan will win because of majority of humans will be in hell. Where is Gods glory in that? And look at he NDE's accounts, 70% of them are postitive regarding unconditional love and unity - but then Christians say this is demonic, demons can look like angel of light. But on the other hand they fully ok to embrace 30% of them which are hellish experience. Why aren't hellish experiences also demonic?
U a sheep bro
The actual explanation for this past life stuff is that it's a cold reading. You don't need to blame evil paranormal entities for what's obviously just a fraudulent huckster.
@@chrispaige8880 No its not a great point. It is screaming victim mindset. Why you need somebody from outside to save you? I genuinely asking you. Did you know that we have a gen that is about worshipping external things when it is on? What it is doing with your subconnces when you constantly speaking to yourself that you are a sinner you are full of shit and dont deserve good in your life? You programing yourself for failure. Feeling that you dont have a power in your life is very concerning and please dont call this shit on your opinion whats god is. I'm not christian, I grew up as katolic and I SUFFERED FOR YEARS because what church done to me as a kid from something called religious trauma syndrome that is very much similar to cptsd. Now I found a god and for me god is in every being that is around me. God is light, a sound, a peace of grass in air. I dont need to go for some church for some dude tell me what to believe. It is so heartbreaking form me that christians believe that because I dont agree with them I will burn in hell and they dont even care if I am a good person or not. Thats just sad. I hope you find your peace in whatever you believe but please let us live and believe because scaring us that we will burn in hell doesnt work any more
I am 76 years old. My journey for truth started when I was a teen, raised in a "hell, fire & damnation" church. Hell and burning forever, plus the "wrath" of a punishing God, never made sense to me. I refused to go to the altar and "get saved". I have spent a lifetime seeking the truth and saw the books set out in your video. I recognized most, including the law of one. In my early 30s while studying a spiritual text, I was suddenly unaware of time and space; just an experience of oneness and love is the best I can explain that which defies explanation in the physical world. I have studied the mystics of several religions, Stoic philosophy, and authors of many spiritual paths. I am now at complete peace with my understandings and that which I do not know. That being said, I do not reject the writings of the ancients, including the bible, as completely worthless. However, one has to understand the context, underlying truths pointed to, and the alterations, mistranslations, and corruption of the text by men with an agenda for power and control of others. The best way to keep someone in a box is to put a kernal of truth in the belief system, then place rules with punishments on all sides that are extrapolated from that truth.
Wow so true love how you explain that in the end that’s how I felt at church wow
So well said.
❤
Only problem is - there are no alterations or corruption of the text. The gospels were written at a time when there was no "almighty Roman catholic church" to make such changes in all the manscuripts that were already in circulation.
It also becomes quite obvious when looking at all the teachings of the church that contradict the Bible and Jesus. If they had the power to change the text, why didn't they change it to "confirm" their teachings? For example, Jesus taught we should not swear but only say, yes or no. But the church came up with "eternal vows". Peter was married and probably all the Apostels but the church came up with mandatory celibacy. Jesus said to leave one's family to follow him but the church came up with "family values". Jesus told us to see him in people who are sick and in jail but the current church came up with hatred for LGBTQ people.
Jesus taught that "salvation comes from the jews" and the church called them "christ killers". All these things make it clear that the Bible and the sayings of Jesus weren't "corrupted" to fit the wrong teachings of Christians through the ages.
THANK YOU!! I'm at the beginning of this journey - and you've worked through some of my deep deep questions. I appreciate you so much!!
I promise you'll eventually come back. You emit the same vibe like millions of new age people and frankly I can't believe how much you dabbled in these things while you were Christian. It's pointless to argue considering your state. You want the secrets of universe. Oh really? Try eating from the tree then. Cos why not. "Open minded" expression is meaningless. Rebellion of your wife got you on board too. God bless you both and welcome back from this lost way, rather sooner than later. I'm on my vacation, and i intensively listened to a bunch of religious podcasts and just stumbled upon your testimony. I'm shocked. So many red flags and so many points show just how naive you were to go down this way. But don't despair. God will grow you through this experience and use it for good at the end. Good bless you and your family. Can't help but to think that all of these ridiculous ideas was brought by your wife into the family. I don't know why, but the whole of your testimony seem to be strongly influenced by your wife dabbling in these things too. So many eastern practices, occult stuff, mind altering states, ... bizarre that you two didn't see what is going on. Good luck.
Have a great vacation! ❤️
@@JohnRaineyChannel Thanks!
Yup, happens to people brought up in a church their whole lives. Once things hit the fan they will come back. He’s lived a happy life with God, he’s going to experience life and life can be harsh.
YES! I was a new ager for years. It is so obvious it is vile lies when Jesus leads you out but when you are in the thick of it, living and breathing it, teaching it all feels amazing and positive. Such lies of the demonic realm to keep you away from the one true Saviour, Jesus. SO RELIEVED I am walking with the Lord not going my own dumb way.
I also deconstructed my faith much like you and never foresaw myself ever returning to God, but then He drew me back to Him. It started with small deceptions that lead to large deceptions leading up to the point where I thought I was better than the Christian God. However, it was my own pride and selfishness that lead me to this thinking. And I'm going to tell you I can see a lot of myself in the things you are talking about. I know you think that you're going to help people by telling them this story, but actually you are going to lead a lot of good well meaning people astray and strengthen those who wish to lead us astray in this way.
If you deconstructed your "faith", then you didn't do a very good job and I guess it was more of a temper tantrum as you returned.
A human has never existed that was as evil as the God of Abraham, that evil wrath has never been matched which is proof we were not created in his image. Satan kills not one person in the Bible. Jesus tells us in John that we are not to become Christians or he will not know us. Sol of Tarsus was a lying and Jesus warned the apostles not to believe him. Jesus proves your religion is wrong. “Only the Father”
I think that those who are led astray probably never really knew or belonged to Jesus in the first place
@@lyndaranson1728 You're the typical narcissistic tool that keeps perpetuating fairy tales! No one can argue with you're own bubble of protection you create.
@@lyndaranson1728 I definitely feel that too myself. I know I accepted Jesus as my savior as a child, but it was as though the seed had been sown among the rocky soil and the thorns when I look at it in hindsight.
It's irritating, but expected to see all of the christians in the comments saying things like "you never were a christian" / "your faith wasn't that strong then." It's almost like the people making those comments cannot comprehend that people can have valid and logical reasons for deconverting from christianity.
As someone who was a christian for running on two decades before I deconverted, I get it. It's wild how you can be so invested and genuine in your god belief, and before you know it, that same belief is shattered on the ground in the past.
I'm glad I deconverted, and hopefully your journey has been well since this video came out (I noticed I'm 8 months late to the party xd )
I find your story interesting and similar to mine. It’s not surprisingly how those so called “Christians” judge others and those that are searching and asking questions. Reading some of these comments on how a person is deceived by the Satan and the devil is probably the most unchristian thing to do. Throwing bible verses and believing that that calling you were never saved and never had a relationship is the most unChristlike thing that Jesus would oppose. Thank you for sharing your experience and wish the best on your spiritual path of discovery.
After reading scripture myself I started questioning if there are actually any true Christians out there?!! Bc everyone I knew, including myself seemed like a bunch of Pharisees! But if one is known by their works or deeds then I’m thinking there are a lot of atheists who are actually the ones acting like “Christians” according to scripture.
What if they are speaking truth in love and you just don't like what you hear? Many get angry when their way of living is not affirmed as it goes against God's will for humanity.
I appreciate you for being so brave to come on here despite what people may feel. For the past couple of years I have been trying to deconstruct & I continue to be paralyzed by the fear that I am the “very elect who’s been deceived” I go through a dark knight of my soul every other week it feels & I’m so tired of being afraid to live. Thank you for your courage. I pray I get to this point soon.
I hear you and this video is made for you. I was hoping to provide peace and solidarity to those going through similar experiences. I have gotten a range of comments, that was expected, but this is the type of comment that shows me the video is worth it. Just to let you know you're not alone. This life is wild. There are so many different beliefs out there and it is crippling to "find" the right one with the limited time that we have. I have found peace by looking deep within, I believe you can too. Nothing but love!
Maybe just avoid the paganism?
@@JohnRaineyChannelBlind faith in invisible people you blindly trust with your life and spirit is not peaceful. You're walking off a cliff and taking others with you.
@nursekyra759 I relate to your comment on so many levels
Do you have a Himalayan salt lamp for negative energy?
Have you seen any double blind studies on this?
Is there any other explanation for why the smell of salt and amber light might be calming???
Is there testable evidence of negative energy? Or is there repeatable studies of what reducing it does????
Wow.. not on board 💯 with everything but who is ever?? Haha . Absolutely, love your story. Im feeling compelled to share my story too. Very similar, but different. More people need to realize this is more normal than talked about. Im a deconstructed Christian too. The father son analogy is great.. i feel that way too. A man changed against his will, is if his opinion still. Good book recommendations too. Ive read some of those, but not "the journey of souls".. ill check that out. Glad youre finding your truth and sharing the journey. Much love and luck to u!!!
I am in complete awe of your dedication to find your own truth and I really admire your journey and dedication to it. I believe as humans it’s our birthright to discover our own connection to God, Source, Universe in whatever path we connect with. I wasn’t raised with any sort of religious influence but always felt there was something greater than me - Universe, spirit, energy. And though I can’t relate to your Christian background, I so relate to your discovery and spirituality. I loved your story telling and I cannot wait to hear more from you!
Thank you so much for your kindness and support!! I'm glad there were bits you resonated with. I agree -- we do have this life to live and it's our right to discover truth wherever that may lead us. It's a wild journey, but I'm here for it! Thanks again and have a lovely day!! ❤️
So sorry to learn that you missed out on so much of Kingdom of God while doing apologetics and Bible schools..the sad reality of shallowness of cerebral/rational Christianity. It seems like you had ignored your inner life totally.
So despite the experiences and the feelings, wht do you do with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
You clearly say many times "belief in Christianity" and other phrases that show how wrong about Jesus Christ you have been since the beginning.. explore what Jesus has to say about these spiritual experiences and what He has to offer. You'll be blown away!
I was born Catholic, raised Christian. I did that to the age of 20 and went down the rabbit hole of witchcraft and being successful with it and getting things in life. The thing was, i was still missing something in my life. I found jesus again, and my life has never been better. Good video though brother i feel you ❤
I’ve been on a existential crisis! Feeling anxiety and confused for weeks this video is so healing and comforting to know I’m not the only one who struggled with all that you said ! The fear is slowing going away the more I intuitively connect to God and oneness
Thank you! Thank you so much 🎉❤
So glad to hear the fear is going away. it is so hard to wrestle with, but there is NO fear in true love. Take care!
@@JohnRaineyChannel amazingly said ❤️ love is the highest frequency thank you !
Well…the Christian Bible says a lot of things…. It’s true we’re most definitely are not GOD
But the “I exclusively have the answer to God” because of one verse “I am the way, I am the truth…NO ONE comes to…blah blah”. Would mean most people through history would not get there. 1500 years of corrupt Catholicism and NO Protestants of reformation. The worshipping of saints the paying priests for the absolving of sins for centuries and centuries and the millions killed in the name of El Savador Jésus Cristos- El Salvador also being the first human slave port in the history of mankind all in the name of Jesus El Salvador… 😢
I would say to you. DO NOT WORRY
Just pray to “whoever”
And call it “HEAVEN” or “wherever my dead loved one are” or “Whoever created me- THANK YOU. I’m confused…please help me be calm and happy”
let’s just follow christians their belief not mine. There words.
Just take the Kings James Christian Bible or any Christian Bible. The New Testament is diametrically opposed to the Old Testament. Not the Hebrew words. The Christian account of the Hebrew Bible.
Let’s read the Jesus Christ Bible which refutes any such thing as “follow the words of Jesus and be a Christian according to any church denomination of which there are thousands”
I’m just going to quote JESUS and the words of any CHRISTIAN BIBLE.
Not my opinion. It’s YOUR OPINION
YOUR BELIEF AND WORDS as Christians.
Not mine. I’m no new age, we are all gods and I’m no “I AM SAVED and everything else is Satan…devil stuff”.
You know you could just read Mark 16:16-18 and realize that the New Testament is laughable (and definitely changed / interpolated)
where Jesus says “believers in ME (Jesus) can pick up snakes and drink deadly poison and NO HARM will come to said Christians 😂 “
PLEASE UPLOAD A VIDEO NOW CHRISTIANS TO PROVE YOU FOLLOW JESUS AND DRINK THAT DEADLY POISON HEAL THE SICK SPEAK MANY LANGUAGES AND PICK UP SNAKES. FOLLOW JESUS. You say you believe.
Upload the video and prove to the world your faith and PLEASE get as many Christians as possible to join you.
Or you could of read Romans 13:1 “God placed ALL authorities (like the Roman senate 😂) to make the laws and if you disobey them, GOD uses those authorities to carry out GOD’S wrath 😂😂”. What did people forget about God’s wrath on Sodom, God’s wrath on the Pharaoh, the whole of mankind in Noah’s time!!! Did God suddenly say, “I will let all the socialist psychopaths crazy communists and repugnant Royalty like the Roman Empire make the rules and brutalize every human if they real the AUTHORITIES rules so I can have tea and eat cake 😂” Paul ‘the obvious Roman government agent’ Apostate might as well wrote “SOCIALISM OR DEATH” like Fidel Castro. He might as well have written “Caesar is the Savior of the Roman land and then the whole world” like Stalin.
You could of saved yourself a lot of pain by reading Deuteronomy 4:35.
or Ezekiel 18:20. (No one can die and pay for anyone else’s sins)
Perhaps JESUS’ parable of the Prodigal Son. Where the Father (an allegory for God and the Nature of God’s love) forgives the Son because he realizes his error and returns with a contrite heart. The father rejoices…The father doesn’t ask the servants to erect a WOODEN CROSS in the yard immediately and then NAIL the good obedient son who remained with him to the CROSS saying “HE MUST DIE. I NEED BLOOD before I can look at my wayward son who has now returned”
COME ON 😂
Isaiah 11 - enemies will becomes friends - the wolf and the lamb together. The MESSIAH will FEAR GOD. Not the messiah IS GOD.
Nothing prophesied happened during Jesus’ time in Isaiah 2 or 11 in the Christian Bible. enemies didn’t not become friends, quite the opposite wars increased and then increased some more once Christianity was adopted by any country in Europe.
The Greek New Testament. Why written in Greek if everything happened in Roman Judea. Surely the people around Jesus and the San Hedrin speaking to the Jews spoke Hebrew. Jesus spoke the sister language of Hebrew.
Why Greek. The language of the Elite in Rome. Jesus didn’t go to Rome.
The gospel isn’t based around Rome.
Greek was the language of the educated and the favoured Romans.
The Roman people didn’t speak or read Greek. That’s like the London Government writing all the countries laws in LATIN.
Who would be able to understand the Gospel that should be evangelized to the WORLD 😂 when only a tiny percentile of the population would have been able to read it. 😂
What were the most common temples in Greece. The temple of Apollo.
APOLLO. Lets look him up and see what the Greek people called APOLLO shall we….
The beautiful SON OF GOD (Zeus and Goddess Leto)
The healer
The patron of shepherds (the good shepherd)
The Truth
The light of the world
Offerings given to APOLLO on the SUNDAY.
Born in a remote place. Humble beginnings.
His sacred day - Winter solstice celebrated on the 25th of December.
He killed the PYTHON (the snake)
He brought the laws for the world
Jesus did all these things
And he wore a crown of thorny like Laurel.
At the time of Jesus he was the most influential of all the Etruscans mythology and Roman mythology he had temples and statues holding a sheep or killing a Snake which were later renamed as Iesous but were once Apollo.
Whoops. Any coincidences. 😂
Literally the whole of it is identical.
So if you believe in Jesus and you worship Jesus you are worshipping like the Greeks.
Personally I wouldn’t worry. Because WHO is to say that the Greek sages and philosophers who have so much wisdom to the ancient world and it is still relevant today weren’t worshipping the 12 Olympians (who later became 11 disciples and Jesus) but they had different names for the same Angels sent by Zeus who maybe just another manifestation of Yahweh or Jehovah or Allah or El or even Horus and Osiris.
God is everywhere. Why would GOD of all humans just appear through Jesus two thousand years ago, why not 500 years before that and 500 years before that and 1000 years before that and since the beginning of time.
Horus (God the Father) and Osiris (the Son the King who resurrects again and again). The Egyptians fell away and then it landed to the Israelites. Then the Israelites fell away and it landed to Persians. Then the Persians fell away and it landed to the Greeks. So on and So on.
The flood story is in all cultures.
Why couldn’t GOD send angels (for pagans human gods or lesser gods as poets and healers and warriors)
Maybe the story of a savior sent from heaven is like the myth of Sisyphus - doomed to repeat the same message the same task of showing a culture and appearing in peoples dreams and myths and legends over and over again.
So that every tribe hears a similar legend in their culture.
God…ooooh He is smart.
GOD has a way for EVERY culture that has ever existed to BOW down before Him.
He doesn’t go by just ONE name.
GOD is TOO smart for that.
Christians think it’s ALL about them….
and God doesn’t ‘find a way’ to reach indigenous people for thousands of years. 😂😂 that’s laughable and blasphemy.
I would strongly recommend "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" by Fr. Seraphim Rose. I'll leave it at that, that's my shameless plug lol. The Western world has made it difficult to feel secure and grounded, even for someone that has fully embraced their beliefs, so I sympathize with you.
😢
This is the description of what pursuing divinity or transcendence or meaning, or spirituality, or relationship with God looks like when we do it on our own terms, by our own wisdom, and in our own power. It always ends the same way in every case. We will either be humble, or be humbled. Seeing this same story play out is so sad. Love you and praying for you John!
And the evidence for this is where?
Plenty of individuals who are not Christian who are thriving.
This video is very inspiring. I’m currently at a peculiar point in my life. Having been a Christian my entire life, I was raised Catholic and then converted to Evangelical at 19. I grew within the church, eventually becoming a preacher and a leader for more than 10 years. Like you, I always struggled with the concept of hell and never supported attacking others for their beliefs, or lack thereof.
After three years of praying for clarity and witnessing behaviors from church leaders that didn’t align with Christian values, I decided to leave the church and "the faith". That was seven years ago, and since then, I have felt an immense sense of relief-no shame, guilt, or fear.
However, I am still searching for my truth and often battle with concerns about what others think of me for leaving the church after being a preacher. These thoughts are a constant struggle and I consider it a religious trauma, but despite this, I am happier than I have ever been. I continue to work on constructing my own truth in this religious world.
If there is any book or resource you recommend to ease this path, I would greatly appreciate it.
I've always struggled with the concept that no faith healers ever really heal anyone like the deaf and blind who are attendees at the church that that person is healing at supposedly and they never get healed there's never any actual documentation usually when you follow up on it it was fake or the person just had adrenaline and walked and then still has bad arthritis or ended up dying from the cancer that they thought they were healed from. Jesus was healing blind and it's not just symbolic blind he was healing actual blind and he said that we'd be able to do that kind of stuff and no one ever has ever ever it's just BS
The Bible
Very interesting and I look forward to hearing more. I had a very negative experience in the churches as a child. I am not knocking them, it was just me and my experience. I've also met a lady,very recently, that is "spiritual" as she put it, and not that I wasn't open to it, but I had a hard time understanding it. I think you might of given a better rendering of what she was trying to communicate with me. Like I said, looking forward to hearing more. Also, where does one find a Spiritual guide? I use to live in SD, Ca., but i am no longer there. Phoenix Az. area. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing and I am sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with church as a child. Ya, follow along with my channel and I will be coming out with videos explaining what I believe it. For spirit guides, in short, I believe that we all have guides who watch over us, communicate to us through thought form, inspirational ideas, dreams, other people, etc. That are guiding us on our path to spiritual ascension. Whether we realize it or not, they are guiding us. But if we are in-tune with them, listen, communicate with them, etc. They will show up. They do for me! To be clear, this happens often when I am writing in my journal, I sense my pen being hi-jacked. Also, when i specifically express gratitude for them, share that my heart and ears are open, and I speak on the most important topic that comes to mind, it seems as if my vocal chords are hi-jacked and they speak the truth that I need. I know that sounds funky, haha, but it's a cultivated practice for me.
Hi.your spiritual guide is The Holy Spirit.He will guide you in all truth and show you the way.its not about a church or Pastor bt your relationship with God.Proverbs 3vs5-6.
When you’re telling your story, I feel like you are describing exactly what I went through so I don’t believe it was a coincidence that I came across the video that you just posted because I found myself doubting 🫘 my self and confused and guilty the last few weeks for questions the Bible and this really helped me so thank you Thank you.
I almost cannot believe I’m hearing this from a stranger on this topic. Technically you’re not a stranger cos I know you’re the one behind all Jenna’s videos and the voice behind the lens 😅 But I did not expect this topic to show up. I just assumed you enjoyed books that I seem to gravitate to lately. You have no idea how grateful I am to hear this. I’m not trying to rally believers who have fallen out. I literally asked my therapist 2 weeks ago if my transformation/growth is making me unable to identify as Christian. I still know I love God and I absolutely believe in faith. Not THE faith. I don’t know what I’m saying tbf. I just know I’m in a strange place now
Thanks for sharing. I hear you. It is strange to reconcile all of these things -- of God, life, observations, intuition -- it's hard to reconcile that with a Christian faith that has such strict boundaries. And if you question, oftentimes you're told to not doubt or just dig your nose into Scripture, etc. I hope all the good things for you and that you find clarity and peace of God. ❤️❤️
I think I'm very good channel to watch is mind shift with Brandon. He lays out just how absurd the Bible is and how absurd God is in the Bible according to the Bible and it is just irreconcilable he was a very devout Christian also and the more he read the more absurd it was and made no sense and made God so inconsistent
6:52 I love this. My relationship with “god” is my own and I feel so strongly in that. I was not raised Christian and as hard as I’ve tried, the idea of having to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved is so ridiculous to me I could never commit to any church or theology. My interpretation of god doesn’t need dogma to be true and meaningful in my life 🤷🏼♀️
John, I really appreciated this genuine video. I grew up in church, and similar to you, have my earliest memories rooted in Jesus. I went to a Bible college in Missouri and was a defender of the faith lol When I turned 24, I had an encounter with God I will never forget. It was definitely supernatural. In the years following, I had dreams, visions, healings, and have known things about others that I could never have known. This was all still in the context of following Jesus. The problem arose when the churches I went to didn’t believe or accept the spiritual side. At this point in my journey, I am getting down to the roots of what Jesus taught. What did he really say without all the “traditions” added onto it? What did he really mean?
I appreciated this video because it does feel scary when the world view we have held onto since childhood comes crumbling down. I could definitely relate! For me, the fear came when I realized that “church” as we know it maybe wasn’t what Jesus intended or meant at all.
On the other hand, it’s been amazing to see that Jesus refuses to be put in our little boxes of which I think mine was the tiniest! How could we do that or even think we could do that to the Creator of the Universe?
Some of the books that are are impacting me now are Copernicus and the Jews by Daniel Gruber and the Anguish of the Jews by Edward Flannery. It is definitely helping me see how much “religion” is tied up in everything!
Praying for you! And pray for me!! I know God will show us the way!❤❤
Thanks for sharing, I am glad that my video and story has resonated with you! The spiritual journey is a crazy one with ups and downs, but I always remain grounded knowing God loves me and I just do my best to love others the very best I can. ❤️
I left the church but would still consider myself Christian.
Don't forget: "Wherever there are two or three gathered in my name, I am amongst them." nobody needs a church.
@@MrSeedi76As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion!
Hi John. Yeah, I've an opened minded Christian who has researched and been exposed to the knowledge of what you shared. I think that your wife was instrumental in leading you away from God to honor yourself supremely. You have changed religions like so many others have done. I believe that in the end you will experience a deep seated regret for leaving Jesus for the worship of self. This is what Lucifer the devil did; and what he tempts others to do. In my open minded searches for truth and reality, I always have honored the Word of God as the ultimate authority and test of my personal experiences. This has kept me in the narrow pathway of righteousness. We really only get one probationary life to choose. Past lives are a deception, a delusion, a misunderstanding. Of course Judgement Day will reveal everything and bring closure and answers to all our questions. For myself, I maintain that trust in God and the Holy Bible is the best pathway for humanity. However, God has given us personal choice in this probationary experience. Blessings.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You mentioned in your open-minded search, you maintain the Bible as authoritative. Is that *really* open minded? How could you open-minded to consider Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Baha'i, etc.etc. as the correct worldview if you remain constant belief that the Bible is the only inerrant Word of God? You simply can't. Every-time you experience anything outside the Biblical perimeters, it's immediately demonic or heresy. I respect your conviction and hold no judgment over you, it's just an observation.
@@JohnRaineyChannel Hi John. Thanks for your reply. I concede and agree that pagans do have good things about them. For example, I enjoy meditation. I do contemplative meditation or just relaxation for the sake of healing rest. This is so needed in such a stressful world. I think Christians should emphasize more the benefits of Godly meditation on the Word and for healing rest. Stretching and exercise are also valuable experiences. These might be similar but different from yoga with it's own world view. I've thoughtfully considered the teachings of every religion I have heard about. The one that most resonates with me is the Seventh Day Adventist view point. They do teach annihilation of the wicked and that they will cease to exist. I've thoughtfully entertained the idea that they might yet repent, be born again upon dying the second spiritual death to sin, and walking out of the lake of fire into the New Jerusalem. I've studied this for years. In the end, we'll just have to trust God for how it all turns out. The most important doctrine I know is: God is love. If the wicked perish, it will come down to their own choice, I believe. Blessings.
The hypocrisy and irony of you allowing your ego to tell this guy that he has decided to become an egomaniac ("for leaving Jesus for the worship of self."), while being a judgmental egomaniac who CANNOT STAND that this guy left your tribe is absolutely stunning. There IS NO SIGN that this guy has decided to worship himself.
Jesus would take exception to you insulting others just so that you can feel superior about the fact that you are part of the choosen "good tribe".
What EVIDENCE gave you the idea that he has chosen to "worship self"? What was it? What is the timestamp?
@@Delsha777I wouldn’t say your open minded if your a fundamentalist Christian. From your experience and perspective you have come to believe the bible is complete authority and other ideas are false and of the devil. this is your belief and perspective which is fine but it is a very strict specific way of thinking and seeing things.
@@stussysinglet What is the definition of "open minded?" I look and think of other ideas. I allow them to have their own weight of evidence. Then I pick the one I agree with most. I'm not open in the sense of being gullible and believing every error out there. I test the spirits, discern the doctrine, and examine the evidences for my faith and the principles I live by. I think things through carefully. By the way, do you think you have to be a devil worshiper to be open minded?
Your story is so similar to mine. I've been in church for over 40 years. But I just couldn't believe that I'm supposed to fear a loving God, that there was an eternal hell, and felt like God was being put in a little box. I was sitting in church 2 weeks ago and just looked up and was like, "I don't believe this anymore." I haven't been back. I'm on a new journey of spiritual growth. And I'm happier and more at peace than I have been my entire life.
All Humans need to repent & Believe in Jesus as their God. Why? Because all Humans have sinned (lied, lusted sexually, stolen, dishonoured parents, unbelief etc). Avoid the fires of Hell (justice of God) and choose Heaven today. Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. GOD IS HOLY
That is what happens when you mix christian faith with your fleshly desires: Social media, crazy tattoos, crazy books, the worship of yourselves, ...
John 17:17 "Father sanctify theme by your truth, Your Word is Truth"
Social media: you're on it right now. Crazy tattoos: what?! Plenty of Christian's have tattoos. This makes no sense whatsoever and is just judge mental. Crazy books: I only read books that are spiritually focused, no they're not all "Christian," but I am trying to discover if the universe and open to the idea it might actually not be Christianity! How could one know without exploring? Do you suggest just staying within an echo chamber to never see what's outside? That's not life, that's not finding truth. It's staying within one's culture with blinders on. Worship of self: the main and only driver of my entire journey was discovering the truth of GOD. If my main goal was to worship myself, I would explore other modalities of personal pleasure and experience, but that's not the case in the slightest. I've been begging, praying, and meditating on the truth of GOD this whole time.
I was born in a Christian family. I left church at 33. I accepted Im gay and life hasnt ever been so great! Im agnostic now and each time and more conviced this was one of the best decisions of my life.
Thank you for sharing your story John. I know from personal experience how difficult and uncomfortable it can be to be so sure of your beliefs and then find yourself adrift, not knowing what to believe, and then coming out the other side. For context, I'm a 64-year-old mom/grandmother who claimed Christianity in a Baptist church in 1967, when I was 7 years old. Back then we had little sheets of paper in the pew that asked if we wanted to proclaim our belief in Jesus. I filled in that paper and taped it to my bedroom door. It's too long a story to tell but like you, I was a Sunday School teacher, Homeschooling mom, sang in the choir, and worship group. And beyond that, I truly hungered for wisdom through Bible studies and personal devotions. But, in my 40s, through a series of events, I studied deeply into the history of my faith and the church (which of course means the Catholic Church) and found myself questioning everything and my church/pastor couldn't explain it. There's much more but this is getting long! So, nearly 20 years later, I feel mostly at ease in my new beliefs and a sense of freedom. However, the first decade or so, I felt a feeling of looking over my shoulder sometimes as if a bolt of lightning might "get" me. Having spent so many years in the church it took such a long time to feel the calm I have now. Many people have helped on my path, Timber Hawkeye who wrote "Faithfully Religionless" (boy, do I relate to that!), and Byron Katie author of "The Work" through her several books such as "I Need Your Love, I That True?". And finally, when I lost my Sister a few years ago, I started looking deeply into NDEs (near-death experiences).
Thanks, John for your thoughts here and book recommendations. I haven't seen too much more from you, and I hope you will continue. If you haven't checked into the YT channel "MythVision" it might be of interest.
Great timing.
I am also embarking on my spiritual (and watercolor) journey lol.. been a christian all my life and i had the same questions as u stated.
One great thing happened when a team wanted to pray for my son, he’s been sick and they said they were lead by the spirit to visit us.. they had an acoustic guitar and a beat box w them, and just started humming, singing “Adonai elohim” repeatedly.. in the most beautiful way you could ever imagine. I felt so weak, i tried to kept my eyes open, awake and sober but the spirit was just too powerful… i kept on massaging my legs bc they felt so weak that i ended up kneeling! it was the most powerful, beautiful experience that i ever had. It lasted for 30mins and they ended it by saying how much God loves me, its like they saw and interpreted what I felt. It was crazy.
I’ve also tried psilocybin, etc. in my younger years but this is by far the MOST powerful thing ever. No hallucinations, no paranoia, just pure, intense power.
I’ve been so hungry to experience God.. and Christianity and church was just not doing it for me recently. I also struggle with condemnation but all I could say is that He still remains true, His love is incomparable and most of all, He never fails to meet us where we are. :)
PS. I hope you could do a video the bible and its role in this journey.
Huge thanks to Jenna for sharing your channel! 🎨🪷🧘♀️
Thanks for sharing! Embarking on spiritual and watercolor journeys, hah, the Rainey's are here for you!!! ❤️
Jesus IS the truth. I really hope you find the only way through Christ. Ask Him for guidance, and trust in Him. God bless you.
Condemnation is not from God or Jesus. Condemnation, guilt and fear are the psychological tools that were used when the Roman Empire created a fear-based religion to control the poor serfs.
@@sanderdragsund7373 How do you know?
@@joshuaneal7552 If you truly seek Him, you will know with 100% certainty
Jesus likely had the year 2023 in mind when he said, ... iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
If you're an example of a Christian Soldier that is coming forth from my branch, I'm almost fifty. I'm grateful, things are getting more beautiful. Pick up that pouty lip and know you can't be separated from the love of God. Be grateful for you may be the fruit of the Greatest Vine being prepared for God's harvest. If not, your branch is tender. ❤
Psilocybin or mushrooms changed my life from one of being a total loser to one of accomplishment. I had smoked marijuana in college and dropped out with no direction in life. One night I was in my best friend’s dorm room and we decided to try psilocybin. During the experience I saw how at one point in my life I wanted to be an important man like my father who was a physician, but how I began to fear failure. So, I decided if I didn’t try, I couldn’t be said to have actually failed. Dumb, right? But while tripping I saw if I didn’t try I would always fail. But if I tried real hard, even a dummy like me might succeed. So, I immediately, the next day, re-enrolled in college, got great grades and graduated. I became a Probation Officer and discovered I enjoyed going to Court and had a penchant for it. So I entered law school graduating cum laude, on the honor society. I got a job as a Prosecutor and developed procedures for successfully prosecuting child abuse cases and within six years of graduating law school was made a Judge. All because of that trip on psilocybin fifteen years earlier.
The worst trip of my life I didn't have to get high I went the other way to rock bottom. August 17th 2006 I had a Car Bobbin after losing my mother and my aunt & uncle told me they hated my guts eat -------- & Die. Everyone betrayed me I lost everything. That Car Bobbin was absolutely my Rock Bottom. The day of the Car Bobbin I almost died. My worst trip I was wide awake & Sober and a bad trip was a living nightmare. That Car Bobbin at 75mph was the worst trip of my life. Had the Car Bobbin in White Georgia.
This is such a powerful testament to plant medicine, which was first used by Indigenous communities for thousands of years and long before these communities were colonized and forced into Christianity. I think one key thing that you did was integrate the wisdom that was given to you during your psychedelic experience into your every day life. You were able to not use the psychedelic as an escape, but rather use it as a teacher. I'm so happy through your own personal transformation you have helped so many others. ❤
You started understanding eden on my birthday back in 2020. That was a turning point that I needed back then. But then you deleted your channel. This August I’ve been channeling and now all of a sudden you’re back online at the same time that I need to make sense of what’s going on. Somehow you and Jenna have been spirit guides and thank you for that. The Gemini ♊️ air signs forces the rest of us towards hard lessons and enlightenment
You're so welcome. I hope that you continue trusting your intuition and if that means listening to the Rainey's, well, we're here! ❤️
I love this so much! I’m glad that I’m not alone on this kind of phase. Thank you, John!
Brother, not to be offensive, but did you find your wife on a craigslist?? First she deters you from your work that you truly loved as pastor, then she introduces you to channeling and spirit guides? This is the kind of thing church warns about. And then she introduces you to mushrooms? Brother, this is very sad to watch. I hope you come back. God bless.
No, that is purposefully being offensive. Shameful, some of the responses I have heard coming from Christ followers... if you truly value your relationship and want to live like Jesus, reconsider the way you speak to people. It should always be in love. I chose to leave my job by my own will. We have a marriage where I don't lord over here and command her to do or not do anything, we honor and respect each other, so if she felt compelled to go explore what channeling is all about, I'm not her master to tell her that she can't. She is living her own life and I respect that, and although we have freedoms, we continually respect and love. Mushrooms are plants made by God that have proven to help with visual and auditory issues, which is why I used them in the first place -- bc my eye problem. People think they're drugs, you're ignorant to the truth. Read "How to change your mind," and then you will have a better understanding. Until, it is just ignorance.
@@JohnRaineyChannel My apologies brother, for offending you. However, it does say in the Bible that man is the head of wife as Christ is the head of man. As a man of the house you are the one steering the ship, not her. Women haven't been given authority over man, but man has been given authority over his wife. I'm sorry you don't see that. It is very obvious to me that she was the one steering the faith ship for you.
Luke 14:33 "You must leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower."
It's all good brother, thank you for recognizing and apologizing. Nothing but forgiveness, love, and blessings. As far as it goes for man being the master of the home and this and that -- ya, I believe that is very archaic thinking that leads to very dangerous ideology. People have taken this Scripture so out of context to do horrific things. Yes, we may agree that in those instances Scripture was used inappropriately, but the point here is this: it is archaic thinking, it is in the Bible and people *do* take information like that and use it inappropriately, so I believe it's best to do away with teachings such as this. There are beautiful, higher truths and virtues within the Bible, yes! I believe that to this day. But things like the man must be in total control and run the house, etc. This is too old school and must be done away with.
@@JohnRaineyChannel I agree that many men take it out of context and do terrible things, I'm with you completely on that. But it also says in the Bible that man should love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her. A man must love his wife self-sacrificially. The marriage is a reflection of Christ and church. The man shouldn't be some tyrannical dictator running the house. Rather, he should be like Jesus, serving in order to lead, but when it comes to whos will shall be done, then the family should do their father's will. Just like men submit their own will to Jesus and Jesus to heavenly Father, wife and kids should submit their will to their man.
As to Bible being archaic that doesn't mean it's not true and right. We still use ancient Greeks philosophy and logic even though it's archaic. Anyway brother, I apologize again for offending you and your wife, I have my own biases obviously, but it wasn't right of me to say that. I wish you and your family all the best. God bless
I understand that is how a husband is Biblically supposed to act with his wife, j guess my point is why leave it open for misinterpretation if it will inevitably be used inappropriately. I agree with you in the sentiment that just bc teachings are old does not inherently make them untrue or no longer useful! Much of what I am currently reading comes from ancient teachings. I guess the way I see a teaching like this, in the way we relate to one another, I see this particular teaching as old school and needs to be done away with. I'm really to reconcile this idea if a husband truly loving his wife as Christ does the church with the fact that that model does have this undertone of sexism. I admit, it's not exactly that, especially when you get to the nitty gritty of what Christ loving the church actually looks like. It just feels archaic and too old to me. That's personal preference at this point. Either way, interesting note to reflect on. We run our houses differently, and that is perfectly okay the way I see it, so long as the house is filled to the brim with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
I have heard a number of deconversion stories and in each, I fail to hear why the person became Christian in the first place. They always start with "I grew up in a devout Christian home" as if that makes them a Christian. Maybe they went to a Bible college, became a youth pastor, led others to Christ, went on mission trips, etc., etc. and they felt good about themselves. But none of that makes them Christian. You can't just wander into Christianity, there has to be a need for God. So I ask what was that need and why is it no longer needed?
Thanks for your question. Of course growing up in a Christian home, going to Bible college, or having a profession focused on leading people to Christ does not make the person a Christian. Your upbringing does have a significant impact on you becoming one (for ex. Depending on where you're born, you're chances of being a certain religion will increase greatly. That fact doesn't make you a genuine follower, but it is statically true). I was a Christian bc I came to understand myself as a sinner separated from God, I observed the world and saw brokenness and saw the Christian worldview as the answer to how it got broken and how it could be fixed again. I accepted Jesus death and resurrection as the power that forgave all my sin and restored my relationship to God. I didn't outline this very clearly in the video, but I did say I loved my identity rooted in Jesus and I did say my view of salvation (in comparisons to the catholic), which was purely and only and acceptance of Jesus.
@@JohnRaineyChannel Have you then definitely decided that God does not exist?
Oh no I love God tremendously! My relationship w God is my priority in life. It's just no longer within the confines of Christianity, tho I hold no judgment on anyone within that faith!
@@JohnRaineyChannel So wait, you love God but kinda dumped His Son?
Thanks for your story. your story is yours. No one can take anything away from it, especially not strangers. Being a born again Christian who has grown up doing psychedelics and living around new age and heavy drug taking in my teenage life, as well as dealing with the HUGE questions that you have also wrestled with, I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is God, He is Lord and He is THE way, THE truth and THE life, and the ONLY righteous judge over life.
Ive seen countless miracles and been set free from sin, drugs and porn as well as myself.
Before i was in Christ, i was worshipping myself. I believe we are a worshipping people, that people are made to worship.
If Jesus is true, sinless and His life is historically accurate, and is still working today; then He is the only one worthy of our submission.
If someone raises from the dead, He is worth listening to.
I dont pray that you are won back to Jesus by doctrines or rules. But I pray you are won by His heart for you. The Gospels say that He never casts them away that come to Him. Blessings to you.
As a "Christian" I struggled with my faith about 20 years ago because I had never really accepted Jesus as God. In my own mind I felt I was being unfaithful to God to accept Jesus is God too.
My struggles took me to some dark places.
Actually, I now know underneath it all was a lot of serious guilt and sin that I had buried and not sought forgiveness for properly. It was only when I finally came back to Jesus, broken with the guilt of what I had done to others in the past that I found an incredible peace and an understanding of forgiveness that God can forgive anything, no matter what, if we come in true repentance.
Your story John is very interesting. But what confuses me, is this: how can you leave Jesus out of the picture but believe in God? I mean, who or what do you think Jesus is? (I am aware that if you were a mormon you have different views from me on whether Jesus is truly God or just a god but nonetheless the question is till relevant)
Because if Jesus is a real person, which even non Christian historians from around the time on earth agree that he was real, they also claimed he performed miracles and that he died on a cross as a result of Pontius Pilate, so if Jesus is who he claims to be, the Son of God, then it seems you are missing something John if you think he is irrelevant to knowing God?
@@jacliveshere Hi, I shared my story because I struggled with the concept of Jesus, and in this video John has left his Christian faith (belief in Jesus as God) for a belief in a god he has "found" by other means.
Fundamentally we can all believe whatever we like. It doesn't make it right though.
If your or John's view of God is different from mine, who is right, because we can't both be right? So there's the dilemma.
If the Bible is your starting point as mine is, once you start subtracting from that, you are the one who is deciding what God is like, otherwise why would he give us an instruction manual? If you had an instruction manual how to build a car, you wouldn't skip pages and expect to build the car properly would you?
As far as Jesus, there's 2 questions for you.
1) Do you know of any other historical figure, with eye-witness and contemporary historical accounts of, who claimed to be God?
2) Is there any other religion, apart from Christianity, that tells its followers they don't get to heaven because of the good things they have done, they get to heaven because they believe in that god and repent of the bad stuff they have done?
@@jacliveshere That's not quite right what you have said about the Christian faith. We believe that we are changed by accepting Jesus as saviour and repenting, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. The evidence of this is doing good BUT on your deathbed you could repent & accept Jesus without ever having done something good, and Jesus, as a loving God would welcome you, just as the father welcomes his son the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)
You are wrong about Islam. It is a faith based on works- read sura 101 verses 6-11 Every Muslim I have met seems to think there will be a time of punishment for many people before heaven, or permanent hell, except of course those martyrs who blow themselves & others up who go straight to paradise.....
Hindhusim & buddism are based on works as they believe in reincarnation.
You seem to imply that Christianity is based on some pagan religion, and yet you ignore the historic facts of Jesus (look at Josephus and Tacitus, contemporary non Christian historians), and the historic facts that his followers were so convinced that he was the Son of God that they were willing to, and did die for their faith.
I have studied a lot about Islam, I know a bit about other religions too. When you look at the evidence for what they claim, you have to ask yourself "how do they know that". The answer is either through one man (with absolutely no witnesses to his revelations such as Mohammed, and Budda) or through multiple stories from different cultures with no apparent credible witnesses (Hindhuism).
As far as the Jewish religion, they were the people who crucified Jesus (or insisted the Romans did it). They had a tradition of sacrifice for their sins which has NEVER been repealed by God, according to strict Jewish reading of the Torah & prophets, so they are in effect not even following their faith.
Obviously it is up to each person to make their own mind up about faith, but my point is that unless you follow your instruction manual (holy book) you are going out on a limb where truth becomes what you determine it to be , not what in my case God determines it to be.
@@jacliveshere May God bless you brother, I pray that you will find your faith again. Whatever took you away from it?
It is not true that historians believe Jesus was a real person. Some do. Some don't. I don't think I ever heard that the crucifixion was ever confirmed.
Thank you for standing up for our saviour and Lord.
Faith is a gift, a given. It’s not something we will have only if we “try hard”. “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Romans 1:16-17 NLT
I never heard about the gospel until I was 19, thanks to missionaries like you once were. Today I’m 40, and my life completely changed because of the gift of faith in Christ’s salvation. I hope you’ll dig deeper into the scripture and I pray that you’ll find the true God and His way. ❤
Thanks for watching and sharing! ❤️
When you say, "Faith is a gift," you're not defining faith or given any information. "A banana is a gift."
"The sky is a gift."
"This comment is a gift."
It's a definition.
A definition of faith would be something like this: pretending to know something I cannot actually know.
So the scripture you quoted would read, "It is through _pretending to know things they cannot possibily know_ that a righterous person has life."
If you object to this definition, then tell me, if you have evidence and facts, say, like knowing the sun doesn't revolve around the earth (like the Bible teaches and the church murdered people over) do you use faith? Is it by faith you know you live in a heliocentric solar system or faith?
It's knowledge that leads to your ability to know things, not faith. Faith is a bad epistomology (you know this is true since you disagree with every faithful person on the planet except those you agree with due to the fact their faith alings with yours). If you're evangelical, you KNOW Mormons are wrong, just like Mormans know, via "faith" that you're wrong.
If you use faith as an epistomolgy, how do you say the Hindus, Mormons, and Muslims have it wrong? You cannot logically say, "Oh, when brown people use faith, they're wrong, but when white people in Kanas or Nebraska use faith, they get it right."
@@michaelsbeverly You responded to this person's comment and jumped to make it racial, assuming that she was a white person from "Kansas or Nebraska" and that her confidence in the Christian faith is due to her assumption of superiority. That's the implication of your comment. However it appears that the person you responded to is in fact Chinese. Perhaps Korean, idk, but its clear from her profile she is not a Nebraskan. Christianity is the Truth for all people, all over the world, for all time, to be reconciled to God and saved from our sins.
@@tuckerchisholm1005 Not, I wasn't assuming anything about the person, just pointing out that historically, Christianity was comprised of westerners.
That said, yes, Christians suppose they're superior to everyone else, I mean, just listen to them...lol
Jews are wrong.
Muslims are wrong.
Traditional Asians are wrong.
Traditional Africans are wrong.
Hindus are wrong.
Everyone is wrong but the Christians.
It is, by definition, bigotry.
@@michaelsbeverly Hebrews 11:1 defines faith: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
I just want to thank you for this video. I was in the middle of a spiritual crisis. This popped up at the perfect time for conformation. THANK YOU! Peace and love to you
Don’t leave Jesus
This sounds like the New Age.
The origin of religion: ruclips.net/video/S0C9uJMQicE/видео.htmlsi=19tG2zlfCuA2Ys3m
I used to be in the New Age. I fled and ran to Christ and have been with him since then. I watch videos like this to examine my own faith. I feel that a lot of his reasoning is off the mark, and I pray that he finds the truth again.
Thank you for comment.@@colereece3902
it is New age. Sounds like he met a few demons on the way!
@@milanterzic859As a Christian, believing I had the power of a prophet, had the sheer audacity to curse everybody who wasn't Christian to "worship or die". If this happened to be true, many would have died. This was the cruelest curse in human history. Down with the Bible that advocates behavior such as my own! Do not encroach on people's spiritual freedom. I was no better than the witch hunter of medieval history. I am eternally sorry to the people I have hurt with such a curse, as I evilly tried to twist your free will to get you to worship the maniacal god, Jehovah who I now openly blaspheme! I wish worldly people well but Christians you are ferociously scared little girls who worship fear mongering and the threats of hell. I know because I was one and had I not been punished I'd still be walking the Earth devouring your free will and trying to persuade you to this horrendous orthodoxy. I blaspheme the holy spirit! Please stay out of churches! Do not be entrapped by this heinous religion!
Such a good experience listening to your life changes. At 62 during covid I did deep study about Mormons and why the can believe what they do. I wound up seeing all the parallel beliefs I had been taught as a "Christian" from birth. Then realized I had been blindly believing the Bible is 100% true, all far out stories were true, that we had the one true way to heaven, Earth 6,000 yrs old--and decided to open my heart and mind and have walked away from 60+ years of Religious opression, especially as a Woman. I've just begun my journey!
Wow you’re so happy about it too. Idk it’s just weird I left the church not too long ago wasn’t committed just went randomly on Sundays but used to be in my 20’s. But wow how do you get to that point where you can just be happy?
Who told you the Bible is all literal?
Thanks for the teaching. I’ll figure out what’s real when I’m gone. Until then, I’m living here in this moment enjoying the piece of heaven I experience now. Thank you lord for all that you do. Thank you life!!
Hi John, Thanks for sharing your journey. Of course, I come here through watching your amazing wife. Watched out of curiosity and now feeling it was divine intervention that has led me here. I have a similar story. Raised in conservative Christian home and schools, even went to bible college. About 10 years ago got out of the bubble and really started questioning all those answers for everything that I had been fed all my life. It created an existential crisis for me. It has been a long road of going through that crisis, rejecting all spirituality to forging my own beliefs and now feeling more connected to God than ever before. I still miss the community of church and so to stumble upon someone who has also gone through this is a joy. I look forward to your future content. Maybe a book club might be a good idea? I would love to have a group of people to read and explore new ideas on spirituality with.
Whoa, thanks for sharing! I am glad that you clicked and came on over! As far as the book club goes, I don't know if you saw, but I am kind of doing that on Instagram -- @johnreadingthings check it out! ❤️
Just subscribed 🎉
Was in a Christian worldview for 47 years 😅 April this year after truly reading the Bible for the 2nd year running gave me so much to question 🙋♀️
Started reading 😊
‘Goodbye Jesus’
‘The God Delusion’
‘God is not great’
‘Godless’
I’m truly OUT now.
Reality has come and I’m finally free but it’s a journey. No guilt, no shame, no heaven, no hell.
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing and for following along!! Peace and blessings!
Did you find yourself questioning truth after reading scripture? I had never read scripture through until 2018 and started questioning everything since…
@@Bebopeep yes it was in reading the Bible in the way my church had guided believing it to be the inerrant word. The shocking things God’s people did on God’s behalf and the way they were treated by God as well is appalling and immoral. Justifying this whilst worshipping a living God creates such cognitive dissonance that I had to know how the Bible was formed and who decided what went in it and why so much left out. Such manipulation throughout the centuries!
@@eyeswideopenaprilthanks for responding. I’m in the same place and seeking out truth hard right now.
@@Bebopeep your so welcome, this side looking back I’m actually astounded about what I believed
I grew up an atheist and became christian few months bc God revealed himself to me :/
No man comes to the Father but by me Jesus said.
I believe that He will not let you go..
❤️❤️
We don’t know if Jesus ever said this.
@@Tessinentdecken There's proof Jesus existed on this earth. There's no proof that Jesus remained dead and was buried. So the fact he resurrectted is proof that statement from Jesus is true.
@@OUrNit03 Jesus doesn‘t make and statements. People write stories about him.
@@Tessinentdecken By that logic, we shouldn't trust any historical documents or biographies. His existence and resurrection is recorded in historical data. So you're saying you don't believe any historical data whatsoever bc the fact someone writing them cancels out whether it could be true?
You spent almost 40 minutes just to say you never had faith in God to begin with. You were on the right track and had confusion cast upon you from Satan. You literally experienced Satan driving you away through new age practices and earthly "solutions." I love you, brother, and I hope you find your way back to Christ, who you know in your heart is the truth.
Nothing wrong with not having faith as long as he's not harming anybody. Worry about yourself.
Fr
@@metalbassplayer94 you people are definitely sick.
@@muniaisworthitEverything is wrong with not having faith in Jesus. Every knee shall bow
Very convenient explanation
1977. I was gung ho to become a pastor. Enrolled in college to do it.
Freshman year, it was mandatory that we took psychology.
What the class focused on was bringing people to agree with your point of view.
Scripture was secondary to that.
One of many red flags.
I ended up dropping out and fell into my life-long career.
Just curious if you’ve heard of Emotion Code. Would you consider it? I’m reading it now. I was led to this book randomly
I have not heard of it, but I'll check it out!
@@JohnRaineyChannelhey I really like your story! One thing that bothered me was that Jesus healed people a blindness and of real things but so far we just have faith healers either lying or having people say oh like my arthritis feels better but then there's deaf and blind in those churches with a sign language interpreter and those people are never ever getting healed ever! So you're saying nowhere in history a Christian has ever been able to heal an actual blind person it's always people that have a medical problem that can be handled with medicine and sometimes they get healed without praying at all and then sometimes they don't get healed when they do pray and it's just all random. But seriously why would no blind or deaf ever be healed? Why are Miracles always debatable and similar to coincidences but we just don't notice when the coincidences don't take place so when they do it seems miraculous
I've never felt freedom as much as I have since I left religion. The thought of going back to any religion feels like a prison sentence. I lived with so much fear as a Christian. My story started when so many people from my church kept trying to break up my husband and me because we are interracial... in the 2000s, like what? 😂 This was the beginning, but I started considering how I might have treated non-Christians. If I'm a part of such a judgmental and controlling group, what's the likelihood that I'm not doing the same to others somehow? I never want to make someone feel the things I felt. That was enough to challenge the way I saw people. I went to two private schools, was in church leadership, etc., and I am so glad that I went through all that pain because if I didn't, I wouldn't have likely been challenged enough to look at it all as an "outsider."
I'm confused. Where in the bible or anywhere within God's teachings does he speak against interracial relationships or marriages? It's easy to use the flaws of man to serve as a justification to leave the faith. The folk that crucified Jesus were religious, church going fools, so what does that tell you?
So you left Christ because of stupid Christ followers? Does that make sense to you, truly?
My biggest pain as a Christian is seeing my brothers and sisters leaving Christ for people’s mistakes. Try and taste Jesus love not the church or religion
Unfortunately, you have never understood what freedom and religion are. Religion is the way to freedom.
@@to9362 Were the religious Pharisees free?
I understand your story completely. I’m going through the same journey. I became a Christian right out of high school. I went to Bible college, youth pastored, a trained singer who sang solos in church. Then, suddenly, everything Christian fell apart. I’ve gone through several spiritual paths and still am. I’m still searching at the moment, but I consider myself an esoteric Christian now, but I’m looking into enlightenment. I want to be one with God and the universe. I believe that oneness is the true spiritual path. Christianity, to me, doesn’t offer oneness. Christianity is very dualistic.
"Holy Spirit, you need to sound the alarm if this is wack" he did, in the bible.
There's personal experience and conviction, no? This is inherent within every believer.
@@JohnRaineyChannel yes, but the scriptures trump our feelings. Conviction based on feeling doesnt hold up under pressure. Conviction based on something unchanging(i.e. scriptures, or rather, the promises and historical accounts in the scriptures) holds fast.
The point of my comment is that you asked the Holy Spirit for an alarm, while blatantly ignoring the alarm.
@slythawyrda if the Holy Spirit was real it could speak up at any time instead of relying on yourself to interpret your favorite mythology.
The Spirit also did so at 16:55, 26:20 and 31:15.
@@danieldelanoche2015 The Spirit _did_ raise the alarm. Specifically at 16:55, 26:20 and 31:15.
I’m almost in tears hearing someone else verbalize all the questions and realizations that I’ve come to over the last few years…but fear verbalizing myself because I don’t want to have my husband think I’m crazy. 😂 I’m excited to check out the recommended books. Hopefully Audible or Chirp have them because I’m too busy with art and jewelry to find time to read. So glad I followed Jenna’s link because its wonderful to feel like I have “permission” to explore more for myself. I’ll be finishing your video after work and tuning into your channel going forward. Your authenticity is a breath of fresh air.❤
Thanks for your thoughtful response! I appreciate you. Embarking on a new spiritual journey is especially difficult when marriage and parenting is involved... I am hoping all the best for you and yours!
I've been through a similar experience these past 6 years (Michael Pollan included), but I haven't been able to drop my deep fear of hell until hearing you say all of this. I can't thank you enough. ❤
I too left Christianity thanks for sharing your story all the best to you and family love peace and lots of happiness
Been going through a crisis of faith for quite sometime myself. It’s often a lonely experience. This video helped my journey immensely (especially that last part about your love for your son). Thank you for sharing and good luck to you and your fam as you continue to find your way.
15:19 you saying “i don’t recommend them” is so funny. This is my first time at your channel but I’m enjoying myself! 💜
dude, from a 19 year old who was DEEP in the church, this video means the world. just feel cathartic to watch u explain your rational on this shit. leaving christianity feels like insanity, you’re doubting yourself, you’re doubting everyone around u, doubting your own moral compass, but ur not doing it for no reason. what ppl don’t understand is no one would fucking want that for themself, but at a certain point you can’t deny what your own morality is telling you
How too become a Gnostic Heretic 101. Protestant’s continuing to post L’s by falling out of “Christianity” into CIA drug cults.
I’ve never felt so understood. I’ve never known how to put it into words! I had the same hypothetical, but instead a real Buddhist Japanese lady when I was stationed in Japan. This lady was elder and very joyful - but very devout in her beliefs. That’s where it all snapped for me
All Humans need to repent & Believe in Jesus as their God. Why? Because all Humans have sinned (lied, lusted sexually, stolen, dishonoured parents, unbelief etc). Avoid the fires of Hell (justice of God) and choose Heaven today. Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. GOD IS HOLY
That thing you said about loving your son and how God is capable of loving us more, it really touched my heart. Thank you for sharing that ❤ I’ll always remember this story.
I'm currently studying Kabbalah, so I'm not hostile to esoteric interpretations and explanations for accounts of "reincarnation" experiences. But the idea that an individual soul has had another identity, is not the only explanation for a person's ability to "remember" events from the life of a person who has lived (and died) at some time in the past. All of our lives are ultimately linked in any case, even if no "soul" has ever actually "reincarnated". So, I don't find the ability to "recall" "past life" information particularly surprising or remarkable at all.
And none of that constitutes a refutation of any Christian doctrines like "bodily resurrection". I do intend, however, to purchase a copy of David Bentley Hart's book. Thank you for listing it.
JPB