I was baptized once. I truly believed it. I worshiped him for 20 years. In that time I was sexualy and verbally abused. I had a pastor flat out tell me that this was god teaching me something. What is a child supposed to get out of sexual abuse. This rubbed me the wrong way. I've left my faith. I'm never going back.
They always have something to say... Don't question God! You need to pray more! The Lord is not answering your prayers because you need to be here three times a week! Brother Jim died this week...do you see what happens when you miss Sunday morning church! I forgot the devil! Oh, that's coming from the devil!!! You are allowing the devil to play with your mind! The devil is out to seek and destroy you you need to get on your knees and you need to start tithing! 😩 I burnt my finger on the stove and my aunt said to me, if you think that hurts can you imagine what hell would be like?? Me: sister Ann I love nail polish! Sister Ann: in God's Time he would take the desire away from you! No pants no makeup that is only for Jezebels! 😩 Pentecostal never got the gifts! Be true to thy own self! I just thought it was all fake it never sat right with me! Slaining in the spirit! Being drunk in the spirit! Everybody spoke the same way the minister would speak when he spoke in tongues! They all emulated him! Sorry for the rant ✌🏻
"It could not have been easy being a white guy in the middle east" is the best line, ever! Warning edit: Do not go into the reply section. Just... just leave it alone...
If you really want to show Christianity for what it really is, you gotta talk about its association with white supremacy. There’s no way around it. You’ve been dancing around it and you gotta do it.
The absolute gall of them to say we were never real christians. I lost my faith while trying to prove it. The deeper I went trying to prove it, the less I could justify holding on
@@nanth6480 ah, this makes much more sense. I was like, this is such an off spelling but I completely forgot the actual spelling for like two minutes and just stared at the word lol. After that, I felt like I just had to leave a comment xD
Yeah, that was crazy to try and get that off. “…so thats how it all went down.” “Yeah but none of that happened.” “Right. But im real and Im telling you what happened.” “But none of that happened.” “But I was there because Im telling you it happened.” “But it DIDNT happen. At all.”
The manipulation implicit in "if you leave, you never were a real believer" is grotesque and would be labeled a "cultish" if these same Christians witnessed other religions engaging in it.
@Jamal Ramadan I've left my faith a few years ago but I'm still coerced to come to church by my family. One thing that I now find unsettling is the emphasis on the blood of Jesus washing away sin and making our bodies clean. Like, if we did that literally, people would rightfully see that as quacky. Another thing is their wish to be with God during Revelation times while he sets everyone else to eternal torture, and they rejoice in that. I don't see how genuinely good people can be this unempathetic for billions of others.
@@cornupswar Your description of christian beLIEf show you are free from this perverse view of a "god" needing torture and murder to be appeased for "creating" something "imperfect". Besides the lunacy of blood being a cleanser, imagine folks in the old testament thinking that cutting off the end of a man's (baby's) penis, ensured a contract/covenant that your race would be "chosen" and survive being persecuted. Seriously ? How do people buy-bull like that ??
Everyone has a different criteria for what is considered a cult but for me that difference is defined by how easy it is to leave. Ironically, this is why I actually DON’T consider the Roman Catholic Church to be a cult because my formal defection took about 15 minutes and I’m still welcome at thanksgiving with my family.
My father was a Pentecostal preacher. He later admitted to me that he had lost his faith pretty early on but he felt that so many were depending on him that he couldn’t step down. He said he basically faked it until he found someone to replace him. They know it’s not true.
The Clergy Project helps pastors, vicars, priests etc. who come to terms with the fact that it's all bullshit, and need to get out of their life of self-delusion and lies. I find it hard to believe that anyone who gets to the point of earning money from practicing religion isn't also fully aware that it's all a scam, and the longer they do it the more obvious it must be to them. I applaud your father for his eventual honesty.
@@ziploc2000 we had talked about The Clergy Project. He liked the idea. He has been out for quite a while now and is enjoying his senior years in peace. It’s amazing what happens when you stop worrying about burning in hell 😂
@@prestonpans4822 it's mental freedom...athiests score better across the board in good traits....the christians and Muslims are scary....it's a dangerous cult
As a non-believer I love to listen to believers' mental gymnastics when they try to find a way to convince themselves and then me that Bible has no contradictions.
@Harold Zwingley the thing is bible has no evidence at all, or to put it in a perspective the evidence for god in the bible is the same as evidence for dwarves, elves and dragons in Tolkien's works.
@Harold Zwingley so those who cannot believe are predetermined to hell by God? What’s up with the whole you have to make the choice to follow Christ thing? I’ve heard this ideology before, it just has never made any sense to me so if you could explain that’d be great.
@Harold Zwingley There is no such thing as blind faith. Faith is inherently blind because it is make belief. Therefore, having faith is always foolish.
It depends on how you're defining a contradiction. If you're referring to the fact that the Greek manuscripts have minor differences like a, an, and the, then you're being deceptive in suggesting those are contradictions, because they don't change the meanings or theology in any way. If you're referring to some translation variations between the Old Testament and New Testament, then again if there's no meaning change, then that's simply a matter of language differences. If you're referring to the three big things in The New Testament: the long ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery in John, and the trinitarian line added in 1 John 5, then those are all King James things that don't change the theology in any way, and were most likely scribal additions from the manuscripts the King James used. Regardless, inerrancy isn't something that Christianity demands. Whether the number of four thousand or forty thousand in one passage that is seen as an error of one order of magnitude has no theological implication. I suspect your concept of contradictions in the Bible is probably one of the things mentioned, which no Christians deny, and doesn't change the narrative of something like Jesus being crucified on a cross and rising from the dead on the third day.
I was a Christian for a good chunk of my life. I remember sitting in church and seeing people raising their hands (which BTW weird me out now) and feeling like something was wrong because I didn't feel anything. I went through the motions of it but I felt nothing. The day I realized my true feeling on religion was such a weight lifting moment. I felt more in control of myself and aware than I did in that moment than I did most of my life.
I remember going to my first church where dancing and hand waving was a thing and being weirded out too. I am neurodivergent, so unless there's a good reason to go along with a social custom, I'm skeptical of doing it because I want to understand why I'm doing it first. I think a lot of people just kinda "when in Rome" it though
@@SashaRomeroMusic The dancing and movement is the same thing people do at gigs. It's just something people do when they're feeling in the moment during certain types of performance, and I believe it comes from black churches. So you might want to look into historical factors of how black culture and expression was allowed to be expressed in churches where all other cultural behaviours were stripped away. Singing and dancing is very important for black culture in surviving difficult times and while not all of them probably fully converted at the time, it gave them community and a way to connect, and destress. I think a lot of churches in America keep that going even when they're white dominated. I could be wrong, I'm coming at this from the lens of a mixed British person, but that's how it looks to me, and I think it's kinda beautiful in a way. In the few black churches I've been to, that kinda behaviour was optional and they were more comfortable with kids covering their ears or curling up to block it out (most likely ND kids doing that too), without getting offended. Whereas the congregation I was from wasn't like that at all, and while free movement wasn't allowed, you also would get in trouble as a kid for covering your ears or not conforming. Maybe I just like the freedom more even though I know I wouldn't have done more than stemming during most of those churches, just because it feels a bit more natural than sitting motionless with a plastic smile for 2-3 hours.
To lie, you have to know you are lying. You can be deceived and teach a false narrative, but not be lying. I am an atheist now, but I was an evangelical pastor for 28 years.
I got it worse than "you were never a christian". My auntie, whom I used to spend all of our time together with discussing our faith, told me that satan was taking over in my heart. It's amazing how quick someone will flip on you if you arent subscribing to the same worldview as them. I didnt change one bit in reality: I still spend my days as the caregiver for my mom, her sister, changing diapers, cooking meals, dealing with some serious psychological issues (both from the severe stroke and the 70 years of being told she is dirt because someone else wanted knowledge thousands of years ago, but I digress), and still doing what I can to maintain her faith even though I dont believe. I know she does and even though I think it is wrong to face life in untruth, I wont rob her of what she held dear for her life, even if it is responsible for holding her back in many real ways. When I'm told I didnt believe I just want to laugh. For five years I spent almost everyday at the nursing home, before I was able to get my mom out to be home with me, and when I would drive there some days I would have tears streaming down my face as I praised god in my car. I took it SERIOUS. As in, it was TRUTH to me and I sought to spread the good news as far and wide as possible. I wont go into why I dont believe anymore, as that is a lot to unpack. Suffice to say, I didn't leave a wishy washy faith. I left after years and years (21 years in fact) of true belief, of many trials where I was sure God was at my side, and I lived in a world where jesus was as real to my as any person you know. If anyone tries to tell me that wasn't my life or that it was all faked, I will see their true purpose. To marginalize me, in order to ensure their view remains unchallenged.
I’ve been telling people that god cares about your soul, but won’t get involved with your physical life. Someone cited Bible stories about god getting in peoples lives and I said that wasn’t god. There were many gospels that were left out when the Bible was compiled because they didn’t have the same message and the monks couldn’t reconcile them.
Same. My mom said Satan had come into my heart and hardened it, and I was being lead by Satan. Why this happened? Not because I spent a lot of time thinking, reading, and wrestling within. It was cause I watched too many ghost shows -.- like... bruh
Perfect love casts out fear... Those words are true and where the root of me realising the bible is just a book. A tool used by many to cause those looking for help/salvation to fear they may be damned. But why would a child have to fear a good father and why would that father destroy their own children for failure. Also just obviously if its a guide for life it needs a better layout/format. It's a very weirdly presented set of books if it's intended as a guide. Rigidly holding to a book as sacred saying 'I believe the bible' is an odd side step from 'we preach Christ and him crucified'. An odd focus shift from their god who gave himself to save to a book not put together till much later by individuals who from their own writings we know to be at least morally manipulative. To me it shows a strong disconnect that we preach an infallible book and not a good man who died for sin. If I believed in Satan as an enemy of God I would say that switcheroo was one of his more efficient ones
@@Ripdric You don't understand. "If you die before you die you won't die when you die" the over all message is its not the world that needs to change its the individual. Make amends to all those we've wrong by taking a personal inventory of ourselves. Fix yourself before you even consider telling others ANYTHING. Once you live by these golden rules a Epiphany follows. God reveals himself to you through a epiphany hence the name epiphysis gland which is your Pineal gland or 3rd eye. "If thine eye be single then thy whole body be full of light"
Or, just shift the goal posts and pretend their previous assertions never happened. Watching current science with the James Webb as well you can be sure that when it comes up trumps there will be another load of rewrites
How actually dare that guy call deconstruction "sexy" and trendy, that shit destroys people's lives and its done at the risk of losing entire families, friends groups and communities as well as the massive, massive avenue of comfort and confidence in yourself and your life. It drives some people to end their lives because of the struggles, judgement and abandonment it can come with, when it shows you the real and ugly underside of that "unconditional love" they talk about so much. It is the height of ignorance and privilege to call that sexy and trendy, same for the assholes that say that about being gay or any other kind of lgbt+ person, I know because I've personally deconstructed in that terrifying, and life threatening way, because I discovered I was lgbt+
It's painful but necessary. Rather like sitting on your foot for a while so it goes numb but once you release it then the pins & needles sensation start but you need to release that foot otherwise you cut off the circulation.
Absolutely. When I transitioned from a believer to a non-believer, my entire goal was to confirm and strenghten my faith. In hindsight, I would still do it, but had I known in the moment what it would lead to, I would still be a christian to this day!
Jesus: No one is perfect, so don't shame/judge people. Me: That's why I don't think we should judge people of different Faith's and people who are LGBTQ. My pastor: No, they are evil, god hates them and we must hate them Actual conversation I had before leaving evangelicalism
Everyone judges everyone. Consider that Martin Luther King famously said “I dream of a world where people are not judged on the color of their skin but ARE JUDGED on the content of their character.” Good man and certainly a hero but people tend to forget that he was a Christian minister too.
@@ChristianF15cher You make a good point that you believe everyone judges. It is evident that some people fail to judge, and they are gullible and give their Amex card numbers to telephone charlatans. The same poorly applied cognitive ability is why some people go to church, as it requires a suspension of their judgment.
@@ChristianF15cher Even MLK later stepped back and “regretted” those sentiments because they were too optimistic, given that [conservatives] only latched on to those specific words - still do - to completely dismiss what he was trying to pass across. They twisted it so much.
Well, thank you for leaving evangelicalism over that! I gotta move to a larger city; the queer-friendly churches I've found so far around here have nothing but old people in them. What a sorry state for the faith to be in... 😿
I remember the exact moment the cracks in my family’s religion started to show + I knew I didn’t believe like I had before. I was sitting in church listening to the pastor who was supposedly telling a very personal family anecdote. He was kind of a substitute for a while, since our pastor was on mission (I think?) but I recognized the story, almost word for word bc our home pastor told exactly the same story 2 years before. I asked others if they remembered + my brother’s face when he remembered the story but our parents didn’t, I could tell it hit him too that the pastor was lying. Also the guy’s story involved a part where he said specifically “my wife doesn’t remember this so don’t ask her.” Super convenient. Went home + started looking up sermons only to find that almost all of them are just copy/pasted from pastors to other pastors. That got me down the rabbit hole of all the other things in church they’d been lying to us about. It was a wild rabbit hole ride, damn Edit: spelling
I have a friend that had a similar experience. I always assumed everybody knew this (but of course, I am very biased as I grew up an atheist and was taught to see sermons as speaches to convience people, just that). For her it was a breaking point
@@anainesgonzalez8868 I think most people do by now but when this happened I was maybe 11 years old? Maybe younger, but for me that was the first time I started to see beyond what they wanted us to see
I knew a guy who was a youth pastor. He had been telling everyone that he had been addicted to drugs and then he got saved and overcame his addiction. It was his "personal testimony" Then, a few years later, he told his girlfriend he had been lying the whole time, never touched a single drug his whole life, and ended up checking himself into the psych ward on a 72 hour hold. He is now an actual pastor of an actual church. And completely nuts as well.
As the video displayed to the right shows “They made it all up” or Alan Watts Opens Up About Relgion. He was an Episcopalian priest who resigned to become a Buddhist philosopher.
Being on the outside now, and not believing in the concept of sin, this story seems really weird. Like a scientologist telling me I pissed off their space lizard
The longer I'm out of Christianity, the stranger Christian behavior seems. It's like fundamentalist are constantly trying to bridge the gap between myths in the Bible and reality, if that makes any sense. As an extreme example, groups that handle deadly snakes. After some of them end up in the ER or worse yet, the morgue, they still swear up and down it's normal behavior because the Bible says they won't be hurt if they believe.
@Jamal Ramadan i think that a cult is more about group dynamic than the original belief or product on sale.. the same rules are: "we are the only ones with the truth, everyone else is evil / doomed / against us, never question the leaders / beliefs", and, eventually, "give us all your money / time / individuality, and be miserable, while pretending to be happy, or else!".
For real. I’m not Christian so any time people try to say Jesus requires me to worship him I’m like “But I don’t believe in him… that’s how this works”
Deconstruction is one of the more traumatic things a person of former faith can go through. You can feel like you've lost your entire identity and everything about yourself in the process. For the people still in the church to talk and treat those who go through this so horribly, really exposes how little empathy they have.
This is actually a reason that I feel like an asshole if I’m challenging someone’s faith and have reason to believe that it’s gonna be a straw that breaks their faith.
@@ChristianF15cher I agree to an extent. As painful as deconstruction was, it was among the first in many steps I needed in order to deal with my growing mental health issues. Not to mention that I have endured significantly less religious trauma post decon- than pre.
We actually have a program at our Unitarian Universalism church to unpack previous religious trauma because trauma is not a good foundation to build on.
@@siximpossiblethings6388 the simple fact is that I don’t like hurting people. I remember how I felt when I figured out God wasn’t real and I don’t take any joy in making someone feel like that.
The whole 'they were never Christian" attack is merely just a defense for them to avoid the fact that they can't really tell who is going to deconvert and who won't. Because if they were honest, they'd have to admit that those people were just as Christian as they are, and yet, stopped believing. It highlights their insecurity that their beliefs are just as prone to crumbling. They only way they can avoid facing that possibility is to claim that the others weren't true believers, like they are.
all the pruiests and pastors and cardinals and the like mthat i know are all primates the same as me... they have no special powers of knowledge that is not available to me... 'talking to god; should be mentally certifiable in my opinion, belief or not.... biggest scam ever...
@Jamal Ramadan My denomination would use the No True Scotsman fallacy because they believed once filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit could never leave within you. They kind of had to use this defense to make sense of it, I guess.
I dont believe its meant as an attack, but I believe a better question to ask instead of only claiming "they were never a Christian" is "did you know the Lord?" If the answer is "I thought so but since I don't believe it anymore, then the answer is no", that means , by their own admission, they were never a Christian because Christians know the lord. I understand how it can be hurtful to be told "you were never a Christian" but its just the reality of the situation- and I don't wish that situation on anyone. I want everyone to know the lord and repent and put their faith in christ.
@@Justin374 "did you know the Lord?"" Your suggested answer is wrong. The correct answre to the question is, "As much as you do" Of course, "knowing the Lord" is not a requirement for being Christian, so your question is wrong, too. Ask the right question: "Did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" Amd hey will say, "I sure did" That means they were Christian.
When I was around 8 or 9 I overheard my dad and the pastor's wife lamenting the fact that I liked to ask a lot of questions because "it's so much harder for the smart ones". They were genuinely sad for me because I was smart and liked to read. Damn right, I read the bible during sermons, and that is how I learned Christianity is bullshit
I asked questions and got zero answers. Priests acted very irritated. There's only two answers: "You must believe" and "It's a mystery." Those aren't answers. I knew at 10 years old that the priests were dirty grifters and 100% full of shit.
You did not read the bible and figure out it was all a lie. You could not comprehend because you went in looking with bias and you mind already made up so you did not take into account the time or context or meaning of what you read. It is so clear when the heart is open and the mind is cleared up. You are angry and can not see because of it. Our emotions destroy our intellect in the moment. It takes an honest loving heart and clear conscience to really start to see and hear and understand everything in this world. Your heart knows better than your mind. Your conscience knows things you do not know. How is that even possible? How does it know right from wrong in every circumstance? How is it we all have that gut feeling we say we should have listened to? How was it right when we could not know the danger coming? Why is it that I slammed on my breaks for no reason the other day right before a child came running out on the road from behind a parked car he could not be seen behind? Just a coincidence? How when I could not have known? I was not brought to Christianity through the Bible. It was the many who listened to God over the years and came up to me as complete strangers who asked me if I knew Jesus. They all had the same unconditional love in them and I could feel it. I eventually realized it was because they had the Holy Spirit. I recognize the Holy Spirit in strangers today before I even talk to them. I feel his presence and see the glow around them. God loves you and he is not a God of rules. He warns us of our own dangers we put ourselves in. He does not cause our suffering. We cause it most often but sometimes others who are hurt and cruel cause us pain also. We need not let them affect us if we love them unconditionally anyways. That does not mean to accept the wrong as being ok but keeping the heart protected form resenting people. It never helps and only hurts people to resent. It is the first thing we teach in 12 step programs for addictions and alcoholism. You do not need any church to tell you God loves you and to love him back and love your neighbors as yourself. You do need Gods help to be able to do those things though.
As a pastor’s kid myself, I can say this definitely seems to resonate with how my dad approaches dealing with contradictions in the faith. He definitely is a believer, and the only person I think he’s lying to is himself. He certainly seems to have fallen for misinformation and had to do some pretty wild mental gymnastics; I see him more as a victim of misinformation than someone who is actively deceptive. He’s more of a hypocrite than he is a liar. I just hope he eventually can start to see how his faith has harmed those he loves, and how clinging to it so fervently makes him vulnerable to actual liars weaseling their ways into his life.
Posting for God's called out ones... ❤️If the shoe fits, wear it. ❤️ The religious are guilty of all innocent blood shed on Earth (yes, you heard that right, ALL INNOCENT BLOOD SHED ON EARTH). The Real Christ is a threat to every single man made place of worship and religion on Earth. If you say you serve ONLY Christ and the Kingdom given to him (the only Kingdom Christ proclaimed) by God and not some preacher and the kingdom he/she made for him/herself, then you become unprofitable to that self exalted preacher and a threat to his/her kingdom/place of worship/tax free business, just like the rest of the True sent Messengers of God, were a threat to the religious leaders and their places of worship in the past/today/forever (Acts 7:48, Mark 13:2, Leviticus 26:31, and so on and so fourth). The True sent ones, are definitely hated by all (just as Christ said several times, "you will be hated by ALL") who love their crime plagued religions and unauthorized by God places of worship and self exalted preachers ("these false teachers will make merchandise out of you"). This is why the religious have ALWAYS taken out many MANY True Messengers of God. They turned their backs on God and went wh-oring like an unfaithful wife, with their favorite preachers ("they seek preachers that tell them what they want to hear and tickle their ears with lies") Whoever stays in all these, disgusting, perverted, merciless, hateful, greedy, lustful religions of humans (which is ALL religions), and not repent and cleanse themselves of all that filth, will die in the sins of their favorite crime infested religions (which is all religions! You do not throw your Spouse/God aside, to fornicate-adulterate with your side who-res called "religions" ❤️Revelation 18:4-5 COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.❤️💃💕 ❤️❤️JOHN 6:45 “For it is written in The Prophets, 'All of them will be taught of God.' Everyone, therefore, who has heard from The Father and has learned from him, comes to me.” 💃💕1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s Temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s Temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. BEWARE! DO NOT LET SELF EXALTED PREACHERS KEEP DEFILING YOUR BODY/GOD'S HOUSE AND TEMPLE, WITH THEIR ENSLAVING DOCTRINES OF DEVILS AND MEN. 1 John 2:27 YOU NEED NO MAN TO TEACH YOU! 💃💕❤️WHO WHOO!! BE TAUGHT OF GOD!
There are no contradictions. Only misunderstandings. The Bible is solid and stands up to science also. One has to know the Bible to know this. Most do not read it for themselves to know. The mental gymnastics are yours. The truth is simple but to those who can not understand because their hearts are not open and their minds confused who cling to logical fallacies pridefully without any investigation of their own. Show me the contradictions you think are there and I will show you what you are not comprehending correctly in teh Bible. No gymnastics. Just logic and science and facts. I will make it easy for you here. ruclips.net/video/0qjrTSra0pQ/видео.html
They are all hypocrites...I asked my mom about some verses from The Quran and after hearing them she proceeded to say how evil those things were...I then showed her it was actually The Bible I got the verses from and in the end she was crying and saying that I was "PERSECUTING" her for being a "Christian"...I am sad what religion does to the minds of good people.
It’s REALLY traumatizing to me that Joshua Harris wrote the book that defined teen purity culture in the early 2000’s and caused so much abuse to myself and fellow teens is no longer Christian. I’m glad he’s okay, but we were not okay
Virtual hugs over the internet. It's hard, but empathizing with others, sincerely loving those who need it and not allowing oneself to be abused is the key to fulfilment and even some happiness.
As a post deconstruction person, the most infuriating thing is when someone says to me "you were never a real Christian, you never knew God" without knowing the years of prayer, bible reading, HAPPILY going to church and doing service, and genuinely trying to convert people. That they can discount the tears and the agony of realizing you were never talking to god, you just wanted to believe you were.
Maybe if faith is the ability to Doublethink, then you never really _did_ have it. Maybe they all live with cognitive dissonance, and the willingness to keep straddling that impossible line is what makes a "real Christian." Which would make both of you right, to yourselves (something a moral absolutist like them would not accept, but a moral relativist by definition must). It's like they're describing the paradox of Schrodinger's Cat, and you're saying they can't call it that if the whole point is that no one knows if the cat exists. They're treating the cat as if it does exist... saying "If there is a god, then I must alter my behavior to God's standard, whatever I can discover it to be." Whether you believe the hypothetical is nonsense or not is irrelevant to whether they will stop addressing it. The only recourse for dealing with people in this world who believe in god-ordained standards (aside from genociding them, which tends to be agreed upon to be immoral and never works anyway) is to judge the standards as presented and then call the followers out on any and all hypocrisy.
My mom would always guilt trip me shen she didn't think I was being a strong enough Christian. I'd be minding my own business and she'd just come at me out of nowhere like "Do you even read your Bible anymore? Do you pray? Are you even a Christian anymore?" And I was younger then so it's just like, what do you want me to do? I'm a kid. I'm just going about my day and you're out here accusing me of not being a good Christian when I'm just trying to build some Legos and not worry about where my eternal soul is gonna end up.
that's so sad. also, all these religious stories so weird to me. Where I grew up, nobody ever mentioned the existence or the non-existence of any deity. I first saw prayer in a random scene of a random U.S. movie, and it looked weird, to say the least. I was 9, I think, and it already beyond bullsh!t
@@SimonWoodburyForget i feel like my parents are the same type of people to believe the exocrist is real and that those who do bad things is because of the devil's evil spirit. And not believing that mental illness exists.
@@SimonWoodburyForget When my children were young, I feared they might be kidnapped or harmed in an accident. But I never doubted that any terrible thing they might encounter was caused by evil or negligent people, not by supernatural beings with transcendent agendas. I'll never forget the dawning of reason in my son's eyes when I explained that the world was exactly the same outside, regardless of whether it was illuminated in bright sunlight, or cloaked in black darkness.
So obvious infact that people made endless interpretations and some deny it. Unless you're talking about the truth of their actions, that would be the case for religious beliefs in general.
Rewritten multiple times to avoid your tubs (sense sores). The planet is getting hotter. But its getting colder in winter in Texas because the warming air weakens the jet stream... And the (hottening) is definitely caused by human activity, but we are in a period of natural (hottening) following the end of the last ice age. ... \/×n$ and (ms) work, even though areas with (m) man dates and high \/×n$ rates are seeing high levels of infection and even death. Many of those people had underlying (hlth) conditions, also the constantly mutating (see nineteen) evades things like \/×n$. Also, even though many people died of complications or other causes, but for the (see nineteen) they would have lived. Even cases where people came to the hospital for other causes, such as vehicle accidents, they were found to be sick and eventually succumbed...to a complication or other cause, but again: but for the (see nine teen) they would have lived. ... Abraham Lincoln ended (involuntary service) and is a great historical figure, even though he said things that would be (rcst) by today's standards. Also he vowed that he wasn't prosecuting the civil war to end (involuntary service), and the emancipation proclamation only covered states "still in rebellion" Also Lincoln issued multiple orders that exceeded his authority (the draft and the blockade) and was responsible for the war crimes committed by the Union Army and its Soldiers But again, great historical figure
The "Judas hung himself on a weak branch that subsequently broke and so he fell off a cliff and was disemboweled" story was breathtaking in its burning need to be accepted by both the man telling it and the listener. That was some good drama right there. And every word of it was absurd nonsense.
So you’re telling me that Judas searched and found a tree that had a branch that spanned over a cliff? Then proceeded to tie himself to this weakening overhanging branch to hang himself -ultimately falling. Why not just jump off the cliff?
Today is the 99th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter, a true Christian. He left the Southern Baptist Convention when they refused to adopt a policy of protecting women and children from violent men. Now we find out that the head of this organization is guilty of abusing little girls. Jimmy Carter and his wife Roselyn have been happily married for 77 years. Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter!
My father passed away from cancer when I was a girl and I remember him and my mother going to see faith healers like Benny Hinn. My heart breaks for us all over again hearing about the screening process. I know what it feels like to hope so hard that you are chosen for a miracle. It's so messed up.
Your father must have doubted hed die and go to heaven....I'd committ suicide right now if I knew that was true...why spend even one minute in this life if heaven is a heartbeat away?.no...deep down they all know it's bull
Benny Hinn as well as his followers have serious mental health issues, this whole thing is not Christian at all and is a thing that people in other parts of the world find absurd and terrifying
I remember one time I was at a Christianity-themed summer camp in high school and the people running the camp were talking about the story where Jesus said to let the one who is without sin cast the first stone, and back then I sincerely believed all that stuff, but I thought to myself, wouldn't it be funny if Jesus had given that speech and then, once he'd talked everyone down, he had thrown a stone at the adulteress since Jesus was canonically sinless, so he'd be allowed to throw the first stone without violating the thing he'd just said? I voiced this thought I'd just had, and I was only trying to be silly, but everyone got mad at me because apparently I was missing the point.
I always thought It would be funny If a random person threw a stone, because well, from their perspective, how would this random guy know, right? And then after the first, ANYONE could "rightfully" throw stones, then they rain stones into the woman and... Well, children think some silly things XD
yeah I think that does miss the point lol. The point is that even if you were sinless, Jesus, even HE didn't cast the first stone. The only person who had a right to cast the stone didn't.
Jesus/god could have just forgiven the world, and being omnipotent, done it in a way that people knew he was god...how did the people wondering in the desert for 40 years know it was god leading them to the promised land...even though it was the longest way to get there ? Instead, jesus/god had to be betrayed by a follower that jesus picked, betrayed by the jews, get tortured and murdered as a sacrifice...then "rise again" from the dead, because you can kill the body of a god? Any time one explains how they can buy-bull like this, it just gets ridiculous.
"The bible can contain true accounts of false stories" Wow, never heard that one before to rationalize contradictions in the bible. Is it possible that's because it's stupid?
But it is true because the bible is a book of stories, and allegories, it tells the reader that. None of the characters ever existed, including Jesus, Moses, Noah, and Abraham, none of them. There is not one piece of archeological evidence to prove it, yet our museums have fossils, dinosaur bones, prehistoric artifacts, and cave drawings to name a few over 50,000 years old. The numbers don't add up. This is the one true thing religion is not lying about, the stories are false; every one of them - it is all fiction. Truth told.
I was so religious I even did a bachelor degree in theology learning ancient Hebrew and Greek. The more I learned the less faithful I became. Especially when I started many many god people who were atheists. Religion is nothing more than mass hypnosis and manipulation. Keep up the good work and I think you are a lot of people struggling with life after religion.
Interestingly, many who took the same "trek" as you came to the very opposite conclusion, converting to Christianity, affirming the credibility of the Bible, and embracing the light of the saving Gospel. These are very educated, smart, competent, well-read individuals. Both time and truth will reveal who the fool is. Hint: I think it's you.
@@peterpulpitpounder I appreciate your sentiment and have seen many people benefiting from belonging to a church community. However, I’ve seen the devastation AIDS caused in Africa often killing new born babies. Babies of very religious people. Guess what. The all knowing all powerful loving god was nowhere to be seen. Why would he not stop this tragedy? Is it because he works in mysterious ways or don’t always do what we think he should? That makes him very evil and selfish. This is just one example, I can mention many more where innocent people suffered due to no fault of their own.
@@M_MTsc Well, I would say this regarding the matter of human suffering. If God exists, and I believe He does, and for very good reasons, then the creature cannot possibly be superior to the Creator. You obviously have some issues with God. That is clear from your comments. But can you, being the creature, possibly love more, care more, or be upset more than the One who made you? That cannot be possible. And the reality is that when people shake their fists at God, what they are really declaring is that they are superior to the Lord, which is a rather silly and ridiculous claim. As the book of Romans declares, "Let God be true and every man a liar." This simply means that if there is a problem between man and God, man is the one with the deficiency. God, being totally righteous and pure, cannot sin. I have a lot of question marks that I have tucked away in the pocket of my soul, and I believe that One day the God of heaven and earth will answer all of them, as only God can. Such is the promise of Scripture. God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of those who love and trust him. Of course, if you don't believe God, well, you only have a rock to kick and blame for all the bloodshed, death and carnage in the world today. It's all the product of time, chance and naturalism, right?
@@peterpulpitpounder why do we need suffering. God knows the future and according to the bible he wants the best for. It is in his power (otherwise he is not all powerful) to stop the suffering and let us live trouble free fruitful lives. One counter argument is that through suffering we can appreciate his love more when he takes it away. That means though god is happy to watch suffering, and for some it’s life long, for more appreciation at the end. Why does he need this validation? It can’t be that he is so insecure that he needs this appreciation…or does he? Form a more rational perspective let’s consider genesis. Adam and Eve had 2 boys. Where did their children come from? To accept the biblical version we have to accept ongoing incest. Even if we ignore the morality of this we know inbreeding causes significant issues. Does this sound like a perfect plan by a perfect god? I don’t think so.
the worst feeling though was how the idea of hell was the hardest and last thing to get over.. tbh its an AMAZING TOOL to keep people from leaving and to often pull people back who left..
@@InanisNihil ohhhh yes. Probably a decade before I finally left, I was just clinging to that fear that I was going to lose my Heaven card. I was 22 and quit believing and practicing, but I still sung the songs and told people that I was a Christian. I was living alone and had no support so I clung to the only thing I knew
I was fully convinced, tears in my eyes, convinced that the Holy Spirit was moving me, guiding me. Journals of prayer to god. Hours in study of the scripture. "Loving on" people. Yet, I still deconstructed, because it's all bullshit. They're drawing weird conclusions about the faith & deconstruction of a lot of ex christians behind a superiority complex. "If you leave, you weren't really ever a christian. My faith is strong because I truly know god." Ya, dude, I thought I did, too, until I learned better. But glad to know they've got that pride is in check. /s
This same thinking is at the root of why the conservatives in power won’t hold Trump accountable for his misbehaviors and crimes or critically examine supply side economic policy.
@@scottgrohs5940 did you ever notice that Trumpoids always resort to whataboutism? It’s like Trumpianity is incapable of morality because it never checks its own moral failings and always has to babble about “Antifa riots” and “Joe Biden is a pedophile” as though no one in the Left doesn’t already condemn an of that.
Lots of group religious experiences are no more religious than a rave, especially black churches with deafening music and incense. Of course they treated me like Satan as soon as I missed a few ceremonies. The true holy spirit comes from diligent self study
I've had a lot of people questioning me if I was a Christian. I reluctantly did get baptized 11 years ago. I still regret it. I still cannot believe I was around this insanity.
No real church would baptize you without a full testimony. They should never have baptized you yet if you did not believe and actually know God on a personal level and see the miracles he was doing in your life. We can not hold onto our wrongs and sins and pretend to follow God in our hearts. We can not hold unto resentments and unforgiveness and have a clouded conscience and see clearly. Sounds like you were confused all along.
@@paulmerritt2484 I was baptized before I was old enough to speak or give consent. And I call BS on miracles in your life. Every miracle ever claimed has been either dismissed for no evidence or could have been done at least one other way deeming it a non miracle.
@@paulmerritt2484Or maybe the guy did change his mind. Maybe he began to think criticaly (which most christians dont dare to do) and realized that he believed in a lie.
Ironically some of the most earnest believers are the ones who end up losing our faith because we care. We care enough to think about things most Christians ignore. We have faith that we can traverse those tough areas because we have faith that God is real so it must just be some misunderstanding. Up until the very last moment that is what I thought, that I must just be missing something, misunderstanding. The moment I realized I didn’t believe anymore I collapsed. I had never been alone for a moment of my life…it was such a devastating feeling. I healed eventually with time, found a way to exist. But when family and friends said things like “You didn’t really get filled with the Holy Spirit” or “You weren’t fully committed and you wanted to find an excuse to do what you wanted” it crushed me. Thanks for your videos. It really helps to diminish that gaslighting feeling.
Yep, agree 100%. I was the same way, I even went to seminary to answer my questions. Deconstruction started there and took 10 years because I was trying so hard, convinced I just didn’t understand.
I'm honestly at the point where I'm very ok with having my parents go to their graves believing I'm still 100% on board with Christianity, mostly because I know exactly what I'll deal with if they find out I've been deconstructing my beliefs. Only case where I'd like feel the desire to have that conversation would be if any of my siblings come out as gay, trans, changing religions, (basically anything my parents would consider worse than deconstruction) - I'd probably get very honest about my situation, if only to help take some of the heat off of said sibling. It doesn't seem a likely scenario at present though.
This is the reason I don't try to deconvert people. That's a lot of pain to put someone through intentionally, even if their life might be better at the end. I guess I don't consider religion (at least most religions) to be as bad for people as some here. I do try to help my friends who are out of their religions/beliefs find and excise the leftover behaviors that make their lives worse.
What I learned in my few years (even in a quite liberal) protestant church as a curious teenager: You can not be curious when it comes to religion. Questions are not welcome. Neither is logic. I still wonder how 7 people on Noah's ark were able to shovel the manure of all these animals day after day for 150 days.
I'd go further...if your an all powerful god why not just kill off every body but Noah....not to mention all those poor innocent animals that drowned...question...who exactly wants to spend eternity with a mass killer like that....Satan looks a lot more palatable than that monster...
@@richardlawson6787 Some traditions and books actually believe exactly that. That everything attributed to god is actually the devil, and god is some much higher force not actively interacting with the world, or even creating it. That, for example, it was the true god, or his servants, who gave knowledge to Adam and Eve, so they would have the wisdom to resist the lies, but the devil wrote the bible and called knowledge a sin.
In my own experience in seminary during a particular part of the course known as textual criticism, all the problems with the Bible were covered in detail. At the end of class, the instructor flat out told us, "Never preach this from the pulpit because you'll cause people to stumble in their faith." I was too young and too indoctrinated to overcome the cognitive dissonance back then. Took more than 30 years for it to hit me like a sack of bricks a couple of years ago. I've since discovered that while the human brain is an amazing thing, it's about as trustworthy as a guilty death row inmate. But yes, in a way--at least those who have attended seminary--they all know.
I am a believe and see the mistakes made in seminary and preached in churches. We are also only human and are not God so we make mistakes if we are not very careful and very faithful. Humans making mistakes does not mean God is not real. You went to seminary and did not even once experience the presence of God and know him personally? How could you turn your back on God? Forget about the school and church. What about God who loves you?
@@paulmerritt2484 Of course I experienced all of that, and so do people of every other religion. Such experiences are the products of suggestibility and priming, and are not at all unique to the Abrahamic religions.
I feel like a lot of pastors fall into the trap of basically just regurgitating what they were told by their pastor, and their pastor before them and so on
The finance transparency was one of the only things I liked about the small more fundamentalist church I attended in college, they had a financial meeting every month right after service while everyone was still there sitting down, that discussed the tithes collected and where it was being allocated and handed out a finance sheet to show it, and more than one person was in charge of it to prevent dishonesty
@Nanami Haruka I hope the committee meeting was held in a bar with 90% used for "refreshments" and 10% -waste- invested on the poor. They could use the balance in the same bar, so the money would stay in the community.
What actually pushed me over the edge was realizing just how easy it was to get people to believe in supernatural stories that aren't true. So I thought "then none of them could be true". Yeah, I was freaking out for about ten minutes at that point, then pulled myself together and moved on. Though I was majorly bummed for about a year after that. Now I am just used to that idea. Now I just shake my head at how quick people I know swallow something was a ghost or a healing. Gosh these people don't look into all that at all. They just jump to "yeah, it's a ghost" and walk on, and I sit there and look and ponder and figure out what it actually was. People swallow things way to easily.
I didn't realize there was a "deconstructionist movement." Wow. I wish someone had told me that the Bible-related doubts I had to explore on my own, against the hostility and manipulation of my brethren, were instilled in me by a movement I've never heard of even now.
Haha, I like what you did there... And, I am sorry you had to suffer like that. I hope you are able to find something that makes sense and works for you.
the "deconstructionist movement" for me was a GMOSkeptic video where I learned what the word "atheist" meant. I had gone my whole life practicing religion, but in my last few years of practicing, I was not really believing that god existed or that any of the scriptures were legitimate. I spent 2 decades of my life struggling with the idea of a merciful god and hell, of believers and their geological locations, and of missing miracle claims. Once I heard the word atheist I had "converted" immediately because I had done the work to realize it was propagandistic nonsense.
I live in Germany and when studying theology at a university here, like I did, it IS the deconstruction 😂. We got people like Bultmann, Drewermann and others who did away with all the supernatural claims. That's why I mostly don't feel any deconstruction videos do anything for me personally. But I can understand how important it is when you grew up evangelical or fundamentalist. I never got indoctrinated as a child (it's just not a thing, even though my grandad was a pastor but critical thinking and making your own decisions was always a much more important value than becoming a Christian). I am in no church. I still consider myself a Christian though. Might be the reason, Germany is considered one of the least Christian countries in Europe. We even have a saying that captures this perfectly: "I have no problem with God just with his ground crew."
Long ago when I was a kid I read Superman comic books. They had a letters from readers section. What the readers would do is find contradictions between stories in different issues of Superman comic books, or small continuity problems within a given issue. It was always phrased as a challenge to the editors who would always find SOME creative way to harmonize it. This is what I'm reminded of when believers say the Bible is inerrant and then go to tortuous lengths to harmonize every little detail.
A lot of people don't know what it means to say the bible is inerrant. As a theological Statement, it means that the bible got everything right about salvation; but not necessarily on every single thing like how many animals were in the ark. Also, taking the bible exclusively "literally" was never a thing before the enlightenment. Only in the 19th century did the opinion become widespread that if something was not factual, it was not true (instead of being symbolic, a metaphor, illustrating the general idea of something etc.).
My major problem with the discrepancies in the gospels being "different eye witness accounts" is the fact that only one mentions a bunch of guys coming back to life and wandering around. A zombie apocalypse would definitely be the first thing ANY witness would have brought up.
IIRC that is in the gospel of Matthew. At the crucifixion he claimed there was an earthquake, three hours of darkness, the temple tapestry torn in half, and the tombs opened and the dead wandered the streets of Jerusalem and interacted with people. The ancient world had many chroniclers/historians recording contemporary events. Yet not one of them wrote about any of these thing occurring during Passover. The temple tapestry would have been news all over Judea. That tapestry separated the common area of the temple with the holy area where on a select few high ranking priests were allowed to go. Yet the thing ripped and everyone shrugged.
@@emptyhand777 actually there's Cornelius Tacitus. Phlegon of Tralles and Thallus who each wrote about this event taking place. All were alive at the time. Thallus was a non believer and believed it to be an eclipse
@@josephstocks7495 - please link to these sources, I would love to read them. As far as I've ever found, there is no parallel record to the zombie event in other gospels or contemporary documents, and the account in Matthew does not have enough detail, for example, no explanation is given for the delay between the opening of the tombs on the day of Jesus' death and the appearance of raised holy people in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection, so the story is mainly taken for its fairly clear symbolism.
I know there are some, many who genuinely believe in what they say and believe they’re doing the right thing. Who help their community and more out of genuine compassion and would never bring harm to anyone except in dire self defense. My problem isn’t with these people. My problem is with the wolves who took on the robes of the shepherd, and devour their own flock while threatening the farms and houses of others. My problem is the vipers who fill the minds and hearts of the innocent with poison, turning them hateful. These are the ones I have a problem with. Is there a god? I don’t know anymore, and I don’t care. But if they’re anything like the Christian’s say, a god of love and compassion and mercy… then we know which churches have him, and which are just empty boxes.
Hey, I appreciate this comment, its nice to see a wholesome comment that isnt just bitterness and generalizations towards theists as a whole. While important to share the stories of crimes committed by certain people, like the wolves you mentioned, it sometimes goes from sharing a story to circle-jerk hatred and generalizations against all christians and other theists in general.
The genuine believers are fine as long as the supernatural does not exist. If it does, then they are dangerously easy to manipulate into helping an evil plan by school kid level acting by an evil spirit.
"Overcoming doubt" is one of my least favorite phrases ever. I make it clear to everyone I talk to about my (very recent and ongoing) deconstruction that I don't see my doubt as a struggle. It's not a battle. If I give them that, then I'm assigning a morality status to my doubts about Christianity, implying that Christianity is something I want to get back to. My doubts aren't something to overcome, and however painful they've been, I wouldn't want to live without them.
explore doubts, dont overcome them. i am still Christian, though i am not sure many christians would think i am anymore. i am. and i love questions and not knowing everything anymore. it is brilliant.
There is a whole organization that helps pastors whom no longer believe get out of preaching, which is needed because they often don't have the work skills needed to switch to a different job.
I’m a pastor, this is the first time I’ve seen your channel. I see why from your point of view that so many struggle with their Faith in Christ. I’ll keep up with your channel, I feel knowing your point of view better is only going to help me become a better pastor. Thank you.
@@christophermanley3602 I agree, these videos have really made me triple check that what I am saying is not only backed up by scripture “is” in scripture. You would be surprised how many things you thought were in scripture until you actually try to look it up. In this, my faith has been strengthened as well.
@@PastorJamesAndrews do you ever talk about the nasty stuff in the bible? Like that one man that offered his daughters up for mass rape so the crowd wouldn't harm the 2 angels? Or how about that talks about selling your daughter into slavery? I could go on. I think all preachers/pastors should start at page 1 and go all the way through, but they won't because they know it will turn a lot of people off, and make it really hard to keep pushing the narrative that god is loving and wants the best for us (but will drown us if some of us behave badly). Can you see how someone might not buy into it?
@@joecoolioness6399 Hi Joe. I’ve preached all the way through each book of the Bible and continue to teach that way. You’re right, it doesn’t always make for the most impactful preaching to speak what is happening in the Bible. But God always gives me the reason why the Bible is written the way it is before I preach those messages so I can share what God wants people to hear in it. Shoot me over a passage and I’ll be happy to reply about it here. Jimmy
Hey man. Im hoping you are right. I want to believe that my girlfriend, niece, all my grandparents and my mom all lived lives of suffering to go somewhere better. However i believe you only deal an opiate to the masses. I wish you and your family and church goers nothing but the best.
Honestly, this one somehow hurt the most. While I did have a few genuinely power hungry narcissist types come across my path over the years, the bulk of pastors, mentors, and friends in the church were all just genuinely nice people doing what they thought was the best possible thing. It led a lot of us into some heavy blind spots where cognitive dissonance took over and we accepted some very nasty things because questioning them meant tearing everything down. I think the reason it hurts the most is because I see myself in those people. It's super easy to look at the Falwells and Hagees out there and say, "Yeah, I knew that guy was a loon even when I was a believer." It's much harder to see someone really trying to be a good person with the tools they were given and watch them continually fail to be good people because they are so dedicated to a single worldview.
agreed sure there are people who are just power hungry manipulators, but most genuinely believe in the ideology and evangelicalism is best for everyone sadly.
Given the cruelty inherent in the bible, the contradictions, the hypocracy, and the pedophilia hidden in EVERY church, I have to assume there is a much higher rate of narcissism among their populace, and that EVERYONE else involved is a narcissistic enabler.
Hearing Matt Chandler say that deconstruction is "a sexy thing to do" in this day and age made me laugh so hard. What a tremendous misrepresentation and slander on ex christians. What a cowardly and weasely way of responding to it. Jfc
Deconstruction has become the “sexy thing to do”? That just shows that that guy has no idea what deconstruction is like… for me, my deconstruction took me YEARS, and it was a very hard process. In fact, my life would have been easier if I could have just kept believing in god, but once I got into my deconstruction, I couldn’t just turn back to how I was before. Yes, I am glad I went through deconstruction, but unlike what that guy says, I wouldn’t call it the “sexy thing to do”.
And it's a spectrum. Some of us deconstruct our whole lives not to approach some other destination, but to continue learning. I haven't left my community or vocation but I'm very clear about my boundaries within that context, especially when it comes to some folks' obsession with monitoring the thoughts and beliefs of others.
@@richardlawson6787 Hi Dick, Look, I know this probably won't make a difference to talk to an Internet edgelord, but this is for the onlookers who feel the sting of this. Some of us *did not have access* to outside information. I was a homeschooled Christian. My only consistent source of community was my family. I had been spanked enough to have my "rebellious attitude" curtailed. I definitely was asking questions about whether or not I was saved when I was 12, but for me to just say "oh this is bunk" took years more. Not until I was 20, after years of access to the internet, reading apologetics, and learning real information, was I ready to say an ecstatic farewell. Anecdotally, the folks I know who "knew it was bullshit in middle school" don't tend to be the ones who were, themselves, reading the Bible every day in earnestness, who personally prayed to God every day even when not required, who were entirely invested. They often had access to "reality" (i.e. going to public school) in ways some of us didn't. Congrats to those of us for whom the deck was stacked against, but got out anyway.
Hey I'm a Christian undergoing the deconstruction process. Just wanted to leave comment letting you know I really appreciate your videos you are giving me a lot to think about 💜
@@Chaosflower what do you mean by "doing better?" There us nothing wrong with deconstructing and critically analyzing your beliefs. In fact I think it is a sign of healthy faith.
The pandemic really opened my eyes to this stuff. Because as I learned how antivaxers and conspiracy theorists talked, argued, and thought I realized it's exactly how my pastors and fellow Christians talked. I realized I had been drinking the kool-aid just as much as antivaxers had been. That was what started my deconstruction in earnest.
Define an anti-vaxxer. I'm an athiest but what are the beliefs of an anti-vaxxer? Because I'm vaccinated but I also realize what the vaccines do and what they do not do and they are certainly not without risk, therefore you now must do a ROI assessment that certainly for many would side on not getting the vaccine. You probably have false notions of the vaccine, such as it will make you immune to covid (it won't) or that it will make you less likely to transmit covid (it won't). I would bet money you believe in one or both of those false notions. And they are both patently false. So if I'm a 26 year old healthy person with zero comorbidities, I'm not getting vaccinated. And that decision affects literally nobody. But if I'm 66 and obese, I am getting vaccinated. I'm quite sure by your language you are sorely misinformed on the function of the vaccines, which have but one, which is to attenuate the probability that...IF you were to get covid (notably a variant no longer in play) you would require hospitalization. That is the sole function of the vaccines, by design. No more, no less. So I would literally recommend millions of people to be "anti-vaxxers" based on age and overall health. I think you lack critical thinking skills. You swallowed the CNN kool-aid. Trust me, don't argue. You have no idea my credentials. Instead if I were you, I would research (if you know how) what l just educated you with, and be humbled. And...anticipating your reply, if it is at all political? You have further proven my point.
You have no idea how much this video has helped me. For years I’ve been struggling with feeling betrayed and manipulated by people at my former church. “How could they smile in my face and lie? Who can I trust?”. So the closest I’ve gotten to joining a new community was watching atheist videos. But it helps me to know that they genuinely did care and that they weren’t teaching me with malicious intent.
Hugs through the internet. Beware of those who are too sincere, they will fool you every time. Best regards plus wishes to live well and to finding happiness in satisfaction.
i think one quote that took part in my deconstruction was from uncle iroh from avatar: the last airbender "it is important to draw wisdom from many different places. if you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. understanding others will help you become whole" and that's what i did. i'm not saying i deconstructed because of iroh 😂just that i took that as an inspiration and started listening. not just to people pointing out contradictions in the bible but different opinions and different experiences. i wondered to myself if it would be kinder if i silence them and lead them to christ or would i be more christ-like to silence myself and see the world in their eyes. it was when i made peace with the fact that i cannot and will never have all the answers was when i felt the most free and the most okay.
Indeed. I know a quote that follow along similar lines. "The insight and experience of others is a valuable source of inspiration and motivation. And learning from successful leaders and entrepreneurs is a fantastic way to grow. Life throws curveballs. And while there might be blockers to success, it's imperative to keep pushing with the knowledge mistakes will be made and failure is inevitable. Even the world's most successful individuals have experienced their fair share of setbacks and hardships. And there's much to learn from their challenges as well as their success."
Let's wake up to reality and start Investing because the longer you live, the more you will realize nothing ever goes as planned in this accused world that the only things that truly exist in this reality are merely pains, sufferings.
Heard someone say the best season for a fin.ancial breakthrough is now, especially with inflation running at a four-decade high. I have approximately $250k stagnant in my port_folio that needs growth. What is the best way to take advantage of this downturn?
@@Alessandroabbatecola An uptick in volatility is not necessarily a bad thing, there are opportunities to be found even in this whirlwind. Best advice just get yourself a coach to guide you in this current market
I left the church bc I wanted to have the opportunity to actually choose it for myself, I figured if God was real and christians were right then my heart would bring me back to him but that's not at all what happened. The more I distanced myself from that worldview the more objectively I could look at it and honestly it's not a pretty sight.
That almost sounds like what I'm doing. I am keeping my distance, but there's a really weird reason. I'm waiting for something to happen. I really want Christianity, the Bible, and everything surrounding it, and the actions of its' devout believers, raked over the coals, and for one of their flock to actually rise to the challenge of really defending it. I'm not asking for a theologian here. I want someone, who's had to deal with a lot of miserable, unfair crap in their life, really stand up and give a valid justification for why they'd dare to be stupid enough to play these pretend games, to hold onto the concept of Faith.
I got the "You are not a true Christian" bit but that actually happened when I was still one. Long story short, I was being an asshole to someone else and that someone else used that line on me. That really gave me food for thought and that got me started on my own deconstruction.
In this era of remakes, reboots, and unnecessary sequels, someone should just step up and say, "screw it, let's make a sequel to the bible; all of it." I'm for it; dutch angles and everything.
@@shooblers890 Mormons strike again. The Book of Mormon is kind of an interquel to the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants is a sequel, and the Pearl of Great Price... Uh... It's a collection of short stories spanning time, I guess?
A note for the survival side of it - one of the really hard things to face with deconstruction is the possibility of nothing after death. That is a hard thing to wrap the mind around when you've spent your whole life believing that there is continued existence after this. It really can trigger flight or fight when the topic comes up. I'm pretty sure it's one of the big points that delayed a lot of my own deconstruction journey.
I deal with existential dread daily now, but I live a happier freer life. I'm enby, bi, and proud, and no book can ever take that freedom away from me.
When figuring that topic out, I came to the conclusion that two things will happen when I die. Either I fade to white, then black and that's it, or I start seeing the afterlife or something like"the next level". The only way to figure that out is to take the journey that EVERY human had taken before me and will afterwards, but also do so, solo. There is comfort to that.
When I was leaving Christianity, people said "pray for faith". I prayed for truth instead. The result was really a foregone conclusion. It's hard to have faith when things don't stack up.
Ooooohhhh boyyyyyy, thank you Trevor for my dose of balance to my family's evangelical mentality... if they knew how little I believe what they believe, I'd never hear the end of it
They think it's so easy for us to let go. I was absolutely destroyed when I realized I didn't believe anymore, when I realized there was no God who listened to my prayers, and there would be no heaven waiting for me when I die. It was not easy to accept that everything I've believed in since I was a child was untrue. I have never felt so alone.
Virtual hugs through the internet. You are not alone. Smile at others and look for a sincere smile back. Not a needy smile back, not a manipulative smile back...but a knowing one. There are more people "out there" than you know...and all are now very guarded about being lied to and taken advantage of. Practice doing things with caution and for fun...those who have the same virtue will soon be apparent and be friends.
I think the church I grew up in definitely taught that anyone who walked away wasn't a true believer, but their spin on it was that only those with weak faith would leave. It was ok to question, as long as we came to the "correct" conclusion, that it was all true. I was terrified of questioning because, deep down, I was terrified of being proven to have little faith. It was something the wife of one of the pastors would tell me as a way of trying to get me to change. She even said that my weight (being overweight) was a reflection of my lack of faith several times. It was so painful because she had basically been a second mom to me growing up. She knew all of my hardships and insecurities and used them against me, though I doubt she realizes that she did this; I don't want to believe that she knew what she was doing since she still does these things to her actual kids to this day.
Wow. Virtual hugs through the internet. One thing to take to heart, is if you want to really be a loving person, love yourself respectfully first. Otherwise, that Golden Rule doesn't work at all.
@@justabee9692 Add a "High Five!" to the virtual hug. May you live long enough to enjoy seeing that for every 4 problems, screw-ups or pieces of crap that happens in life, that each act of kindness, each thoughtful gesture, ultimately provides 10x more goodness to the world, that one often doesn't see, and that (sadly) most people take for granted (Don't be one of those). Best regards.
Religion has a remarkable way of condescending and guilting because it turns everything into a moral/personal success or failure of one's individual will and determination. Don't believe? It's because you're not trying hard enough, and the devil has control over you.
honestly, I think contradictions are kind of the point. You tell people they must follow the rules or else they're bad, then make the rules impossible to follow in order to keep them in unending moral debt.
Christianity is not about following rules. The laws you find in the Old Testament do not apply to Christians. What does apply is what Jesus said, to love God and love other people like yourself.
Thank for making such great podcasts! Me (an ex-evangelical) and my friends (ex-Orthodox and ex-Mormon) are starting our own chats about our deconversions and comparing our faiths and how they are becoming more and more fascist. Maybe one day it will become a podcast as good as yours!
I think the big thing you mentioned was that whenever the faith of a religious person is challenged they go in a self defence mode because if they don't and give into doubt, their entire world would collapse. This psychological phenomenon is not just true for religion, but all kinds of world views or ideologies. Maybe not the best comparison, but I am someone who is aware of the drawbacks of consuming a lot of meat, be it the health risk, the suffering of the animals or the environmental aspects. I am not someone to belittle people who eat meat though. Far from it. I am still eating meat myself, though as little as possible, but whenever people who eat a lot of meat are confronted with the facts they pull off the same mental gymnastics to justify their behaviour so they don't have to change their ways. It is way easier to cheat your brain than to change your ways or your world views.
Couldn’t agree more. I became convinced that veganism is more ethical than eating meat about a year ago and have shared the arguments I heard for it with my friends. You’d be surprised at the ridiculous mental gymnastics people jump through to justify their beliefs when they are threatened. It’s extremely similar to theological debates.
When you touch a hot stove you feel pain. When you doubt a core part of your identity you feel mental pain. They're trying to avoid pain by refusing to properly grapple with these ideas by making fun of it or just dismissing it without deep thought. Its all just avoiding pain.
Personally I think it's a lot less individual than this, it's less that people individually have trouble squaring what they think is ethical with their own behavior, but rather even if they did think it was unethical, there are systems in place that deters them from making the ethical decision, and so they have a sense of cognitive dissidence as a sort of self-defense mechanism. In church, these systems are the possible collapse of your Social Circle, the pressure to conform from those around you, the integration of religion into many other aspects of your life, etc. Humans are but the sum of the forces that act upon us, and as a result we tend to take the path of least resistance. Large societal change can only be made on the societal scale, most of the time simply convincing individual people to change their behavior is not enough, you have to put new systems in place that incentivize the more positive behavior. A good example of this is climate change, no matter how much an individual person lowers their carbon footprint, it will not make any significant impact on climate change because most of the problem stems from large Industries. Individuals cannot solve systemic problem, only systematic Solutions can solve systemic problems. This is why it's so hard to solve any problem, because you first have to have a group of people large enough to affect the systems in place, but in order to do that you have to work against the systems to build that group. Tradition works against you. And I think a lot of this behavior is completely unconscious. TL;DR this defensiveness is not a result of an individual failure to change one's beliefs, but rather the pressure to stick to your beliefs once their concrete from the outside. If you change somebody's environment, you can change them. A meat eater might have difficulty consciously changing their eating habits, but if they live with nobody except vegans, and are often cooked meals by them, you'll probably see them possibly start eating less meat even if they don't realize it, not because their core beliefs about the ethics of eating meat has changed, but because their environment has changed.
What's hilarious about the Bible contradictions is that the mental gymnastics to explain them away are so unnecessary. Only biblical literalists need to explain away contradictions. Educated Christians know that the origins of the Bible are murky and unreliable, and they don't have to explain contradictions. They can always say "one or both of those things could be wrong" and go about their business. But because literalists believe the Bible is inerrant, they have to waste a lot of time and energy making themselves look stupid trying to explain this stuff away.
As someone who is going through exactly what Rhett and Link were talking about going through like, right now, this video was deeply affirming. Thanks for what you do
27:50 really gets under my skin. I believed with all my heart in God and the Bible. That God wasn’t some genie, but a father and creator that wanted us love him. That Jesus really did sacrifice himself for me. There were times when I thought no one could believe more than me. And then at some point the doubts wouldn’t go away. And my eyes were opened to other ways of thinking and slowly but surely I stopped believing. Deconstruction was a beautiful and terrifying thing. I really did believe. And really thought I experienced God. Don’t tell me otherwise.
No one should tell you otherwise. Only you know what you experience, no one can and no one should tell you otherwise. They can say that they don't see a ghost or that there is spontaneous remission of some cancers, but one should always do one's best to verify reality...especially when it affects one's ability to relate honesty to oneself and those one respects and loves. Best wishes to live a good and satisfying life.
There is one thing I've always wondered about the "cast the first stone" story. Based on my experience of people in the late 20th and early 21 centuries, I have come to the conclusion that if some guy said the same thing to a mob of people about to throw rocks at someone for being bad, that there would be at _least_ two or three people that would be self-righteous enough to throw their rock. Not because they are without sin, but because they are without the ability to feel guilt, or shame, or exercise self-reflection. I don't think people have changed _that_ much in 2000 years. So, the woman from the story would have likely been stoned to death like the modern equivalent I posited above. *THAT* is how I came to conclude that the story in the gospels is fake. The fact that pastors lied about *everything else* in their lives is what taught me that they were likely lying about their beliefs, and the faith that they claimed they held.
I agree with this! If man were so brazen and awful to the point where the creator felt like he had no choice to flood the earth and murder them, why would people NOT still throw the stones? Jesus woulda got it too😂
Apologetics: the academic discipline of mental gymnastics. Also, I hate when they say that we deconstruct because we never had a true belief or whatever. It tells me that are NOT listening. It's a very common story that unbelievers get more zealous in their faith right before they stop believing.
This was a big breakthrough for me when I was a Christian - why do we brush away the end of Mark (scary snake handler stuff) but embrace the story of the Woman caught in Adultery? - They both are missing from early manuscripts. Ultimately it's because we like the story that teaches well, and we don't like the other story that causes snake bites.
Jordan Peterson had an interesting theory on the snakes in Exodus and how that applied in psychological terms as opposed to literal terms. His theory made more sense ( to me ) than anything else I had heard or misunderstood on my own. It's a clip from a Joe Rogan interview. Tldr: snakes are a metaphor for our fears whatever they may be.
Thanks so much for these videos. I actually grew up without religion. My Father is an atheist, my Mother is agnostic (and European, they are lower key about their faith). Despite not going to church, religion had a deeply negative impact on my life. It still does. In reflection, the most horrifying thing was how cruel they were to children: especially their own. They were kicking out and disowning their underaged kids because they were gay, or into rock music, or had mental illness. They interfered with other families too (one mom called me "an evil cancer" when I 15, and the story gets worse from there). I was still raised with ethics and morality, which I found out were similar to teachings of Jesus and Buddha. I thought at some point that the community aspect would have been nice, until I watched entire communities reject individuals over helping them. These videos are giving me some great insight on behavior that has been inexplicable to me. My heart goes out to anyone hurt in the name of someone's god.
when I first started deconstructing, I got a choir job at an episcopal church and started attending the college bible study because some of my friends went. I was amazed by these people who openly had doubts and admitted they didn’t know what the absolute truth or the absolute interpretation of the Bible is. I was raised Evangelical and it was so weird for me to see people talking about the history of the Bible and what the context of the verses were. That weekend I had a sit down with the priest and I ended up crying because I felt so ashamed of where I was with my faith. I hadn’t “felt God” in worship in so long and I was confused by how comforting it was to express my doubts in the Bible study. She said “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, I think you’ve just outgrown that kind of relationship with God.” And explained how the dimmed lights and smoke machines of those kind of churches could put people in a panic response that forces them to have an emotional reaction. She was the first adult I ever came out to, and with that I realized how much pain and doubt I’d been holding inside because I couldn’t admit to myself that I wasn’t straight. Meanwhile the pastors at my old church where I had been a part of the worship team for YEARS just patted me on the back when I left and did a prayer circle to pray for me as I went into this “spiritually dead place.” They didn’t want me there if I wasn’t going to sell their brand of Christianity, so I left and I’ve never regretted it
This is a great topic, thanks for discussing it. I want to add my experience too. I grew up very non-religious and into sex drugs and rock n roll, and I then had a Christian phase of my life. I was so hard core about it. My friends and I started a Christian band and played festivals everywhere, eventually getting a record deal and moving to America. We played at hundreds of churches. One of our trademarks is we’d never say no to a gig. If we just came off stage at a big festival and some kid invited us to their youth group we’d agree. We’d even play people’s back yards and birthday parties. It was pretty fun because he had songs on the radio, played huge shows, but we would also play a youth group in the middle of nowhere with 20 kids. Over our time travelling, 10+ years I was exposed to countless denominations with such a huge variety of doctrines and ways. One thing that was really consistent was generally how honest and genuine people were about their faith. They really believe it. Nowadays I’m free from the prison of evangelical Christianity. I’m full atheist 🤘 but one thing that stands out, having lived in both camps, is how wrong each side gets it. When I was a Christian I was frustrated by how my fellow believers thought the unsaved were all depraved, selfish wretches who lived depressed sad lives without the love of god. I knew this wasn’t true. And now being on the other side of the fence, whenever I hear a fellow heathen assume that religion is all a scam and Christians knowingly lie to keep the facade going, I’m quick to remind them that’s also not the case. Are there liars and scammers among christians? Of course! Peter Furler from the Newsboys is a spiteful, emotionally abusive jerk who constantly rips people off financially. Seriously, fuck him. But the majority of believers take their shit seriously and believe it wholeheartedly.
If humanity wasn't ALL basically wanting no harm, empathy and some basic rules, we wouldn't have all the nice things we have (homes, cars, phones, credit cards, access to food, etc). Plus humans want community, which can be wonderful. But this is where it can get tribal and that is where the harm happens.
Oh my God, THANK YOU!! Why aren't comments like yours more popular? That's my one and only gripe with several atheists at large, they are too quick to jump to delusional, generalizing extremes about all theists and all religions, putting them under an unfair monolith of bad faith and negativity. Sound familiar? That's right, its what some theists do to other groups, seems a bit hypocritical when some atheists act like its okay when atheists do it huh? I would have no issues with atheists or atheism otherwise, but way too many are blinded by their own bad past experiences, and the preachings of stereotypical weirdos like youtube atheist skeptic channels and people like Richard Dawkins, people who prey on the initial emotional highs of those who initially leave religion behind, preying on their rage to instill this sense of hatred for religion in the same way some religions or individual extremists will try to prey on people who are in a bad spot in life, to convert them to suit an agenda. This comment, in short, is nice because while it does criticize religion, it also realizes that atheists can be prone to bull-honkey stereotypes too, and I am deeply appreciative that you call it all out. As a Deist, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 Richard Dawkins preys on people ? Seriously ? Maybe he is just as fed up as I am when "nice" people hand over money to groups who want to teach the "controversy" of the age of the earth, evolution and other nonsense and have it taught in schools as part of science. If critical thinking is not a thing with people, they will certainly be triggered by Dawkins and other "popular atheists". When 63% of people thank jesus after a successful surgery, there are those that will "prey" that people see the science. Otherwise it is like the christians would rather spit in someone's eyes to cure blindness than see what Dawkins is actually saying.
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 thank you, I was very keen to add my pretty extensive experience of American Christians. Not many people get to be exposed to the sheer diversity of christianity like I was. Most people stay close to their own ponds.
My moms Methodist pastor came to the hospital before a major surgery as she couldn’t. He asked me if I wanted him to pray with me. I said, “ No, I don’t believe in all that stuff. “ To my shock he said neither did he. Vanderbilt divinity school educated that out of him and 1/3 of his divinity class left after the first year calling the schools teachers heathens.
Omg I had no idea Rhett and Link were deconstructing Christians, that clip you showed really resonated with me, the closer I got to God, the more I actually read the Bible, the more I couldn't shake the feelings of doubt and disagreement I had with it. I need to check out their deconstructing stuff.
Same here. I started watching them like... 6-7 years ago I think? I only ever watched them for GMM so I had no idea they were religious or anything except from like vague stories they'd tell on GMM.
Deconstructing Christian here. This was a very solid video! I like that you were not straight up, bashing Christianity, and I can see your heart for it. But we have to learn to be honest with what we see and call out the dysfunctional aspects of it. This is helping me in my journey a lot. First time seeing any of your videos, and I hope to see more!
I remember being a kid, only 7 or 8, wondering if someday all the adults in my life would come clean and tell me that the Bible was all made up.. glad to know that past me and present me are on the same page!
Me too ! Once they told me Santa wasn't real, I was waiting for they day when they said "Yeah, we just to to church to find friends because the internet hasn't been invented yet ;-) "
Man, oh man. I felt EXACTLY the same way at the same age. I was sure that, like Santa Claus, religion would just be shown to be a cultural thing. Alas I grew up, but many haven't.
I remember being very confused in middle school. I could crack jokes about myths and gods from Greece or Egypt or wherever, but the moment I said anything about big-G "God" or Jesus, everybody acted like I'd just pissed on their grandmothers. I couldn't figure out why these people were so attached to what were, to me, clearly the same kinds of myths and stories as minotaurs and basilisks.
Yup. I guess you couldn't be bothered? Just going through the motions unlike all the "real" believers... :/ so sad how they gotta discredit anyone who no longer believes
I’m an ex Catholic and currently a Satanist. I always find it amusing when Protestant nutters talk about Catholicism AS Satanism…like “dude I’ve been both and your ignorance could fill a library”.
If the Catholic religion goes back to St. Peter as they claim, it's older than the New Testament. Could explain why they follow their doctrine and the New Testament.
The older I get the more I realize that there really isn't much of a difference between "grifters" and "true believers," albeit with religion or just life in general. The only major difference is that one lies to others while the other lies to themselves. But I also think that over time the distinction between these two types of people begins to blur. A person who lies to others guarantees that they will lie to themselves, as they are likely to fool themselves as easily as they are able to fool others. And a person who lies to themselves will in turn lie to others to protect their own confidence in their worldview.
My grandpa was a pastor, my dad is a pastor, and here I am picking up the pieces. I recently won my battle with self-delusion, but it is always nice to have these videos as a reminder of the blatant and sometimes sneaky ways that I have been manipulated.
It was back in 1981 that a friend of mine told me that he wanted to go see a faith healer. He had a condition where his spine was compacted, so his chin was buried into his chest and his knuckles hung down past his knees. In response, I told him that I would drive him from our Indiana town, all the way to Akron, Ohio to the Ernest Angley Ministries. I drove him just over 300 miles to get there. When we got to the place where he was doing his faith healing, I was shocked. What I saw was a bunch of people throwing money on the stage. Along the side of the stage was a LONG line of people who were handicapped to varying degrees, as well as people literally on their deathbeds, being wheeled up. The line had markers that tell you how many hours you may have to wait to get on stage to get healed. Had we gotten into line, we'd have to wait roughly 7 hours. My friend looked at the line, looked at me, and said, "These people need this more than me. Let's go." Some ask me if I wonder what would have happened, like if baby jebus would have caused his spine to stretch out on the spot. I don't. I have no wonder or curiosity about it, because in my 57 years I have NEVER seen anything that would lead me to suspect that maybe there's a god out there. Nothing.
My deconversion was in large part due to learning what evidence and proof are and how they work. But the initial moment I started to doubt I am able to pinpoint. One of the leaders of my youth group started dating a member of our group. Everyone else seemed to take this well, but it struck me as deeply problematic, to the point where at one point, both leaders took me aside to explain to me how what he was doing is biblically defensible, and that making it public would be sinful on my part. I grudgingly accepted it, as I was still a believer at the time, but deep down, I still knew it was wrong, and over time, it slowly dawned on me that the scripture was just a means of controlling how people think and act. Thankfully, she has since divorced him, but she is badly damaged emotionally by the experience. I wish I had said something to someone outside the church way back when. I wish I had known that they were all vipers who would defend each other before they would ever help an exploited child.
7:55 I went to a chiropractic college with an acquaintance once a couple years back (they were thinking of attending), and the school presenters did the same leg lengthening 'magic' trick, though they said it was because of their spine adjustment rather than the power of prayer. I think I was the only one in the room who knew the trick..
@@gamejunky98 Same here. I was able to tell my acquaintance about how they were being scammed by the trick, at least, so they rejected going to school there.
@@historicalbiblicalresearch8440 I mean... actual doctors have been scammers too. There was a Doctor Moon in Redding California who convinced dozens of people they had huge heart issues, his surgeon buddy operated on some of them and they were completely making it up Dx So yea. If your chiro is ethical and well trained, nothing wrong with seeing them. Always good to get a second opinion!
As an ex-Mormon, the whole "if you fall away you never believed in the first place" narrative never made sense to me. One thing that Mormon doctrine emphasizes is that faith is active, and thus requires active maintenance through consciously living the Church's precepts. The conversion process, they say, is a great change in one's heart, but that change can be undone by the influence of the world if one is not careful to properly maintain their faith. Looks like the world got to me. :)
My dear mother was the best apologist. She had a “childlike faith” as recommended in the Bible. If any of us brought up a question or doubt that might threaten one’s faith, she would say, “When we get to Heaven, we will ask Jesus.” I’m sure she is chatting with him at this moment.
I was baptized once. I truly believed it. I worshiped him for 20 years. In that time I was sexualy and verbally abused. I had a pastor flat out tell me that this was god teaching me something. What is a child supposed to get out of sexual abuse. This rubbed me the wrong way. I've left my faith. I'm never going back.
“If I could stop a person from raping a child, I would. That’s the difference between me and your God.” Tracie Harris❣️❣️
you did not deserve that, and that pastor was an arsehole.
I'm so sorry to hear that, the church is truly evil for allowing child abuse to thrive in their organization. You can't convince me otherwise.
They always have something to say... Don't question God! You need to pray more! The Lord is not answering your prayers because you need to be here three times a week! Brother Jim died this week...do you see what happens when you miss Sunday morning church! I forgot the devil! Oh, that's coming from the devil!!! You are allowing the devil to play with your mind! The devil is out to seek and destroy you you need to get on your knees and you need to start tithing! 😩 I burnt my finger on the stove and my aunt said to me, if you think that hurts can you imagine what hell would be like?? Me: sister Ann I love nail polish!
Sister Ann: in God's Time he would take the desire away from you!
No pants no makeup that is only for Jezebels! 😩 Pentecostal never got the gifts! Be true to thy own self! I just thought it was all fake it never sat right with me! Slaining in the spirit! Being drunk in the spirit! Everybody spoke the same way the minister would speak when he spoke in tongues! They all emulated him!
Sorry for the rant ✌🏻
It would have been priceless to see the pastor's reaction to "Yeah, it did teach be something - it taught me that your religion is a pile of crap!"
"It could not have been easy being a white guy in the middle east" is the best line, ever!
Warning edit: Do not go into the reply section. Just... just leave it alone...
The only people in the Middle East are philipino
Superstore is a great show
@@Hchris101 and china is a part of the African diaspora
If you really want to show Christianity for what it really is, you gotta talk about its association with white supremacy. There’s no way around it. You’ve been dancing around it and you gotta do it.
@@heavenly2k africa Europe and Asia are all one country that uses the American pound
The absolute gall of them to say we were never real christians. I lost my faith while trying to prove it. The deeper I went trying to prove it, the less I could justify holding on
Same here.
What about France now?
@@westernwizard13 twas a typo, meant gall
@@nanth6480 ah, this makes much more sense. I was like, this is such an off spelling but I completely forgot the actual spelling for like two minutes and just stared at the word lol. After that, I felt like I just had to leave a comment xD
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Angel’s Egg. The ultimate movie about losing your faith.
Next time im caught in a lie, I'll simply say, "i wasn't lying! I was giving a true account of a false story!"
Yeah, that was crazy to try and get that off.
“…so thats how it all went down.”
“Yeah but none of that happened.”
“Right. But im real and Im telling you what happened.”
“But none of that happened.”
“But I was there because Im telling you it happened.”
“But it DIDNT happen. At all.”
😂 I love this. I'm stealing it! X
😂😂😂A grown ass man actually says these words out of his mouth and believes it. That’s greater than any miracle in the bible.
I love this cute kitty in your profile 🐱
The manipulation implicit in "if you leave, you never were a real believer" is grotesque and would be labeled a "cultish" if these same Christians witnessed other religions engaging in it.
@Jamal Ramadan I've left my faith a few years ago but I'm still coerced to come to church by my family.
One thing that I now find unsettling is the emphasis on the blood of Jesus washing away sin and making our bodies clean. Like, if we did that literally, people would rightfully see that as quacky. Another thing is their wish to be with God during Revelation times while he sets everyone else to eternal torture, and they rejoice in that. I don't see how genuinely good people can be this unempathetic for billions of others.
@@cornupswar Your description of christian beLIEf show you are free from this perverse view of a "god" needing torture and murder to be appeased for "creating" something "imperfect".
Besides the lunacy of blood being a cleanser, imagine folks in the old testament thinking that cutting off the end of a man's (baby's) penis, ensured a contract/covenant that your race would be "chosen" and survive being persecuted. Seriously ? How do people buy-bull like that ??
@Jamal Ramadan Christians are a cult. They sure the fuck don't follow the bible.
Everyone has a different criteria for what is considered a cult but for me that difference is defined by how easy it is to leave.
Ironically, this is why I actually DON’T consider the Roman Catholic Church to be a cult because my formal defection took about 15 minutes and I’m still welcome at thanksgiving with my family.
Oh that's a common hypocrisy with Christians. They'll talk shit about Islam while doing pretty much the same thing.
My father was a Pentecostal preacher. He later admitted to me that he had lost his faith pretty early on but he felt that so many were depending on him that he couldn’t step down. He said he basically faked it until he found someone to replace him. They know it’s not true.
The Clergy Project helps pastors, vicars, priests etc. who come to terms with the fact that it's all bullshit, and need to get out of their life of self-delusion and lies.
I find it hard to believe that anyone who gets to the point of earning money from practicing religion isn't also fully aware that it's all a scam, and the longer they do it the more obvious it must be to them. I applaud your father for his eventual honesty.
@@ziploc2000 we had talked about The Clergy Project. He liked the idea. He has been out for quite a while now and is enjoying his senior years in peace. It’s amazing what happens when you stop worrying about burning in hell 😂
@@prestonpans4822 it's mental freedom...athiests score better across the board in good traits....the christians and Muslims are scary....it's a dangerous cult
Pathetic. He should have used his posision of power to actually get chystians to be good people rather than followers of the church.
exactly most of them do know but feel telling the truth will hurt more people than good
As a non-believer I love to listen to believers' mental gymnastics when they try to find a way to convince themselves and then me that Bible has no contradictions.
@Harold Zwingley the thing is bible has no evidence at all, or to put it in a perspective the evidence for god in the bible is the same as evidence for dwarves, elves and dragons in Tolkien's works.
@Harold Zwingley In your face evidence? LMAO.
@Harold Zwingley so those who cannot believe are predetermined to hell by God? What’s up with the whole you have to make the choice to follow Christ thing? I’ve heard this ideology before, it just has never made any sense to me so if you could explain that’d be great.
@Harold Zwingley There is no such thing as blind faith. Faith is inherently blind because it is make belief.
Therefore, having faith is always foolish.
It depends on how you're defining a contradiction. If you're referring to the fact that the Greek manuscripts have minor differences like a, an, and the, then you're being deceptive in suggesting those are contradictions, because they don't change the meanings or theology in any way. If you're referring to some translation variations between the Old Testament and New Testament, then again if there's no meaning change, then that's simply a matter of language differences. If you're referring to the three big things in The New Testament: the long ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery in John, and the trinitarian line added in 1 John 5, then those are all King James things that don't change the theology in any way, and were most likely scribal additions from the manuscripts the King James used.
Regardless, inerrancy isn't something that Christianity demands. Whether the number of four thousand or forty thousand in one passage that is seen as an error of one order of magnitude has no theological implication.
I suspect your concept of contradictions in the Bible is probably one of the things mentioned, which no Christians deny, and doesn't change the narrative of something like Jesus being crucified on a cross and rising from the dead on the third day.
I was a Christian for a good chunk of my life. I remember sitting in church and seeing people raising their hands (which BTW weird me out now) and feeling like something was wrong because I didn't feel anything. I went through the motions of it but I felt nothing. The day I realized my true feeling on religion was such a weight lifting moment. I felt more in control of myself and aware than I did in that moment than I did most of my life.
I remember going to my first church where dancing and hand waving was a thing and being weirded out too. I am neurodivergent, so unless there's a good reason to go along with a social custom, I'm skeptical of doing it because I want to understand why I'm doing it first. I think a lot of people just kinda "when in Rome" it though
@JohnRomeroMusic Always nice to meet a fellow neurdivergent!
If its not real, you cant feel it. Falsehoods cant be experienced. that's why the christian religion cannot be experienced.
@@SashaRomeroMusic The dancing and movement is the same thing people do at gigs. It's just something people do when they're feeling in the moment during certain types of performance, and I believe it comes from black churches. So you might want to look into historical factors of how black culture and expression was allowed to be expressed in churches where all other cultural behaviours were stripped away. Singing and dancing is very important for black culture in surviving difficult times and while not all of them probably fully converted at the time, it gave them community and a way to connect, and destress. I think a lot of churches in America keep that going even when they're white dominated.
I could be wrong, I'm coming at this from the lens of a mixed British person, but that's how it looks to me, and I think it's kinda beautiful in a way. In the few black churches I've been to, that kinda behaviour was optional and they were more comfortable with kids covering their ears or curling up to block it out (most likely ND kids doing that too), without getting offended. Whereas the congregation I was from wasn't like that at all, and while free movement wasn't allowed, you also would get in trouble as a kid for covering your ears or not conforming. Maybe I just like the freedom more even though I know I wouldn't have done more than stemming during most of those churches, just because it feels a bit more natural than sitting motionless with a plastic smile for 2-3 hours.
@@SashaRomeroMusic 🏳️⚧️💜
Try this at home, everybody: The next time you tell a lie, just call it a true account of a false story. 🥴
To lie, you have to know you are lying. You can be deceived and teach a false narrative, but not be lying. I am an atheist now, but I was an evangelical pastor for 28 years.
@@fortuneski1 oh no its sad 28 years waste of life
@@iamdoctorcat6347 none of those years were wasted, people can always improve. Well, maybe your life is being wasted 🤔🤔
@@ferretappreciator I think you don't understand life time
I prefer "alternative facts".....
I got it worse than "you were never a christian". My auntie, whom I used to spend all of our time together with discussing our faith, told me that satan was taking over in my heart. It's amazing how quick someone will flip on you if you arent subscribing to the same worldview as them.
I didnt change one bit in reality: I still spend my days as the caregiver for my mom, her sister, changing diapers, cooking meals, dealing with some serious psychological issues (both from the severe stroke and the 70 years of being told she is dirt because someone else wanted knowledge thousands of years ago, but I digress), and still doing what I can to maintain her faith even though I dont believe. I know she does and even though I think it is wrong to face life in untruth, I wont rob her of what she held dear for her life, even if it is responsible for holding her back in many real ways.
When I'm told I didnt believe I just want to laugh. For five years I spent almost everyday at the nursing home, before I was able to get my mom out to be home with me, and when I would drive there some days I would have tears streaming down my face as I praised god in my car. I took it SERIOUS. As in, it was TRUTH to me and I sought to spread the good news as far and wide as possible. I wont go into why I dont believe anymore, as that is a lot to unpack. Suffice to say, I didn't leave a wishy washy faith. I left after years and years (21 years in fact) of true belief, of many trials where I was sure God was at my side, and I lived in a world where jesus was as real to my as any person you know. If anyone tries to tell me that wasn't my life or that it was all faked, I will see their true purpose. To marginalize me, in order to ensure their view remains unchallenged.
I’ve been telling people that god cares about your soul, but won’t get involved with your physical life.
Someone cited Bible stories about god getting in peoples lives and I said that wasn’t god.
There were many gospels that were left out when the Bible was compiled because they didn’t have the same message and the monks couldn’t reconcile them.
Same. My mom said Satan had come into my heart and hardened it, and I was being lead by Satan. Why this happened? Not because I spent a lot of time thinking, reading, and wrestling within. It was cause I watched too many ghost shows -.- like... bruh
@@mutedroar time to blame the video games. Lol.
@@mutedroar I was stripped of all my Goosebumps novels. Joke's on them, I'm going to buy and read the entire Goosebumps library.
That's a difficult situation to be in.
“No need to fear, there is no contradiction” is very revealing.
Fear is at the root of a lot of these mental gymnastics.
Stockholm syndrome !!!
There is no war in Ba Sing Se.
_"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"_
Perfect love casts out fear... Those words are true and where the root of me realising the bible is just a book. A tool used by many to cause those looking for help/salvation to fear they may be damned. But why would a child have to fear a good father and why would that father destroy their own children for failure. Also just obviously if its a guide for life it needs a better layout/format. It's a very weirdly presented set of books if it's intended as a guide. Rigidly holding to a book as sacred saying 'I believe the bible' is an odd side step from 'we preach Christ and him crucified'. An odd focus shift from their god who gave himself to save to a book not put together till much later by individuals who from their own writings we know to be at least morally manipulative. To me it shows a strong disconnect that we preach an infallible book and not a good man who died for sin. If I believed in Satan as an enemy of God I would say that switcheroo was one of his more efficient ones
@@Ripdric You don't understand. "If you die before you die you won't die when you die" the over all message is its not the world that needs to change its the individual. Make amends to all those we've wrong by taking a personal inventory of ourselves. Fix yourself before you even consider telling others ANYTHING. Once you live by these golden rules a Epiphany follows. God reveals himself to you through a epiphany hence the name epiphysis gland which is your Pineal gland or 3rd eye. "If thine eye be single then thy whole body be full of light"
"Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain
Yes and he was a born again Christian.
@@paulmerritt2484 how would you even know that, you´re just pulling that out of your ass
@@paulmerritt2484which means absolutely nothing
@@paulmerritt2484you mean brainwashed?
@@paulmerritt2484 That is logical fallacy
Love how their way to "solve" contradictions is to just provide more unsubstantiated claims.
Or, just shift the goal posts and pretend their previous assertions never happened. Watching current science with the James Webb as well you can be sure that when it comes up trumps there will be another load of rewrites
*contradictions?
@@BenState oops. Me and my dumb thumbs. Fixed it. Thanks.
Hit them with the smoke screen
Yay! I get to make unsubstantiated claims!!
How actually dare that guy call deconstruction "sexy" and trendy, that shit destroys people's lives and its done at the risk of losing entire families, friends groups and communities as well as the massive, massive avenue of comfort and confidence in yourself and your life. It drives some people to end their lives because of the struggles, judgement and abandonment it can come with, when it shows you the real and ugly underside of that "unconditional love" they talk about so much.
It is the height of ignorance and privilege to call that sexy and trendy, same for the assholes that say that about being gay or any other kind of lgbt+ person, I know because I've personally deconstructed in that terrifying, and life threatening way, because I discovered I was lgbt+
It's painful but necessary. Rather like sitting on your foot for a while so it goes numb but once you release it then the pins & needles sensation start but you need to release that foot otherwise you cut off the circulation.
@@lemsip207 having blood circulation is "sexy" and "trendy" apparently
Absolutely.
When I transitioned from a believer to a non-believer, my entire goal was to confirm and strenghten my faith.
In hindsight, I would still do it, but had I known in the moment what it would lead to, I would still be a christian to this day!
My late mother was right when she said a preacher is a man too lazy to go get a job
For real. Shunning isn't just for the Amish or JWs.
Jesus: No one is perfect, so don't shame/judge people.
Me: That's why I don't think we should judge people of different Faith's and people who are LGBTQ.
My pastor: No, they are evil, god hates them and we must hate them
Actual conversation I had before leaving evangelicalism
Everyone judges everyone. Consider that Martin Luther King famously said “I dream of a world where people are not judged on the color of their skin but ARE JUDGED on the content of their character.”
Good man and certainly a hero but people tend to forget that he was a Christian minister too.
@@ChristianF15cher
You make a good point that you believe everyone judges. It is evident that some people fail to judge, and they are gullible and give their Amex card numbers to telephone charlatans. The same poorly applied cognitive ability is why some people go to church, as it requires a suspension of their judgment.
@@ChristianF15cher Even MLK later stepped back and “regretted” those sentiments because they were too optimistic, given that [conservatives] only latched on to those specific words - still do - to completely dismiss what he was trying to pass across. They twisted it so much.
@@wonpilspiano equal opportunities don’t mean equal outcomes. People make their choices and people live with the consequences of those choices.
Well, thank you for leaving evangelicalism over that! I gotta move to a larger city; the queer-friendly churches I've found so far around here have nothing but old people in them. What a sorry state for the faith to be in... 😿
I remember the exact moment the cracks in my family’s religion started to show + I knew I didn’t believe like I had before. I was sitting in church listening to the pastor who was supposedly telling a very personal family anecdote. He was kind of a substitute for a while, since our pastor was on mission (I think?) but I recognized the story, almost word for word bc our home pastor told exactly the same story 2 years before.
I asked others if they remembered + my brother’s face when he remembered the story but our parents didn’t, I could tell it hit him too that the pastor was lying. Also the guy’s story involved a part where he said specifically “my wife doesn’t remember this so don’t ask her.” Super convenient. Went home + started looking up sermons only to find that almost all of them are just copy/pasted from pastors to other pastors. That got me down the rabbit hole of all the other things in church they’d been lying to us about. It was a wild rabbit hole ride, damn
Edit: spelling
I have a friend that had a similar experience. I always assumed everybody knew this (but of course, I am very biased as I grew up an atheist and was taught to see sermons as speaches to convience people, just that). For her it was a breaking point
@@anainesgonzalez8868 I think most people do by now but when this happened I was maybe 11 years old? Maybe younger, but for me that was the first time I started to see beyond what they wanted us to see
I knew a guy who was a youth pastor. He had been telling everyone that he had been addicted to drugs and then he got saved and overcame his addiction. It was his "personal testimony" Then, a few years later, he told his girlfriend he had been lying the whole time, never touched a single drug his whole life, and ended up checking himself into the psych ward on a 72 hour hold.
He is now an actual pastor of an actual church. And completely nuts as well.
As the video displayed to the right shows “They made it all up” or Alan Watts Opens Up About Relgion. He was an Episcopalian priest who resigned to become a Buddhist philosopher.
@@casperl.valentinewtf? I had no idea
I am always blown away by their lack of shame
Being on the outside now, and not believing in the concept of sin, this story seems really weird. Like a scientologist telling me I pissed off their space lizard
@@SimonWoodburyForget What? How?
The longer I'm out of Christianity, the stranger Christian behavior seems. It's like fundamentalist are constantly trying to bridge the gap between myths in the Bible and reality, if that makes any sense. As an extreme example, groups that handle deadly snakes. After some of them end up in the ER or worse yet, the morgue, they still swear up and down it's normal behavior because the Bible says they won't be hurt if they believe.
@Last man Walking
😂😆🤣
@Jamal Ramadan i think that a cult is more about group dynamic than the original belief or product on sale.. the same rules are: "we are the only ones with the truth, everyone else is evil / doomed / against us, never question the leaders / beliefs", and, eventually, "give us all your money / time / individuality, and be miserable, while pretending to be happy, or else!".
For real. I’m not Christian so any time people try to say Jesus requires me to worship him I’m like “But I don’t believe in him… that’s how this works”
Deconstruction is one of the more traumatic things a person of former faith can go through. You can feel like you've lost your entire identity and everything about yourself in the process. For the people still in the church to talk and treat those who go through this so horribly, really exposes how little empathy they have.
They really display the tribalism endemic to the parent religion Judaism and the Catholic elder brother sect.
This is actually a reason that I feel like an asshole if I’m challenging someone’s faith and have reason to believe that it’s gonna be a straw that breaks their faith.
@@ChristianF15cher I agree to an extent. As painful as deconstruction was, it was among the first in many steps I needed in order to deal with my growing mental health issues.
Not to mention that I have endured significantly less religious trauma post decon- than pre.
We actually have a program at our Unitarian Universalism church to unpack previous religious trauma because trauma is not a good foundation to build on.
@@siximpossiblethings6388 the simple fact is that I don’t like hurting people. I remember how I felt when I figured out God wasn’t real and I don’t take any joy in making someone feel like that.
The whole 'they were never Christian" attack is merely just a defense for them to avoid the fact that they can't really tell who is going to deconvert and who won't. Because if they were honest, they'd have to admit that those people were just as Christian as they are, and yet, stopped believing. It highlights their insecurity that their beliefs are just as prone to crumbling. They only way they can avoid facing that possibility is to claim that the others weren't true believers, like they are.
@Jamal Ramadan No True Scotsman is the conventional name for this logical fallacy. It's more to project onto other people than to genuinely engage.
all the pruiests and pastors and cardinals and the like mthat i know are all primates the same as me... they have no special powers of knowledge that is not available to me... 'talking to god; should be mentally certifiable in my opinion, belief or not.... biggest scam ever...
@Jamal Ramadan My denomination would use the No True Scotsman fallacy because they believed once filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit could never leave within you. They kind of had to use this defense to make sense of it, I guess.
I dont believe its meant as an attack, but I believe a better question to ask instead of only claiming "they were never a Christian" is "did you know the Lord?"
If the answer is "I thought so but since I don't believe it anymore, then the answer is no", that means , by their own admission, they were never a Christian because Christians know the lord. I understand how it can be hurtful to be told "you were never a Christian" but its just the reality of the situation- and I don't wish that situation on anyone. I want everyone to know the lord and repent and put their faith in christ.
@@Justin374 "did you know the Lord?""
Your suggested answer is wrong. The correct answre to the question is, "As much as you do"
Of course, "knowing the Lord" is not a requirement for being Christian, so your question is wrong, too. Ask the right question:
"Did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"
Amd hey will say, "I sure did"
That means they were Christian.
When I was around 8 or 9 I overheard my dad and the pastor's wife lamenting the fact that I liked to ask a lot of questions because "it's so much harder for the smart ones". They were genuinely sad for me because I was smart and liked to read. Damn right, I read the bible during sermons, and that is how I learned Christianity is bullshit
The entire philosophy of America lmao. Be stupid amd ignorant so you don't see all the awful things you should be pissed about.
Yes, actually reading the Bible is one of the main ways people become atheists. Religion is for the stupid, lazy and weak.
I asked questions and got zero answers. Priests acted very irritated.
There's only two answers: "You must believe" and "It's a mystery." Those aren't answers. I knew at 10 years old that the priests were dirty grifters and 100% full of shit.
Good for you. Think for yourself.
You did not read the bible and figure out it was all a lie. You could not comprehend because you went in looking with bias and you mind already made up so you did not take into account the time or context or meaning of what you read. It is so clear when the heart is open and the mind is cleared up. You are angry and can not see because of it. Our emotions destroy our intellect in the moment. It takes an honest loving heart and clear conscience to really start to see and hear and understand everything in this world. Your heart knows better than your mind. Your conscience knows things you do not know. How is that even possible? How does it know right from wrong in every circumstance? How is it we all have that gut feeling we say we should have listened to? How was it right when we could not know the danger coming? Why is it that I slammed on my breaks for no reason the other day right before a child came running out on the road from behind a parked car he could not be seen behind? Just a coincidence? How when I could not have known?
I was not brought to Christianity through the Bible. It was the many who listened to God over the years and came up to me as complete strangers who asked me if I knew Jesus. They all had the same unconditional love in them and I could feel it. I eventually realized it was because they had the Holy Spirit. I recognize the Holy Spirit in strangers today before I even talk to them. I feel his presence and see the glow around them. God loves you and he is not a God of rules. He warns us of our own dangers we put ourselves in. He does not cause our suffering. We cause it most often but sometimes others who are hurt and cruel cause us pain also. We need not let them affect us if we love them unconditionally anyways. That does not mean to accept the wrong as being ok but keeping the heart protected form resenting people. It never helps and only hurts people to resent. It is the first thing we teach in 12 step programs for addictions and alcoholism. You do not need any church to tell you God loves you and to love him back and love your neighbors as yourself. You do need Gods help to be able to do those things though.
As a pastor’s kid myself, I can say this definitely seems to resonate with how my dad approaches dealing with contradictions in the faith. He definitely is a believer, and the only person I think he’s lying to is himself. He certainly seems to have fallen for misinformation and had to do some pretty wild mental gymnastics; I see him more as a victim of misinformation than someone who is actively deceptive. He’s more of a hypocrite than he is a liar. I just hope he eventually can start to see how his faith has harmed those he loves, and how clinging to it so fervently makes him vulnerable to actual liars weaseling their ways into his life.
Posting for God's called out ones...
❤️If the shoe fits, wear it. ❤️
The religious are guilty of all innocent blood shed on Earth (yes, you heard that right, ALL INNOCENT BLOOD SHED ON EARTH).
The Real Christ is a threat to every single man made place of worship and religion on Earth. If you say you serve ONLY Christ and the Kingdom given to him (the only Kingdom Christ proclaimed) by God and not some preacher and the kingdom he/she made for him/herself, then you become unprofitable to that self exalted preacher and a threat to his/her kingdom/place of worship/tax free business, just like the rest of the True sent Messengers of God, were a threat to the religious leaders and their places of worship in the past/today/forever (Acts 7:48, Mark 13:2, Leviticus 26:31, and so on and so fourth). The True sent ones, are definitely hated by all (just as Christ said several times, "you will be hated by ALL") who love their crime plagued religions and unauthorized by God places of worship and self exalted preachers ("these false teachers will make merchandise out of you"). This is why the religious have ALWAYS taken out many MANY True Messengers of God. They turned their backs on God and went wh-oring like an unfaithful wife, with their favorite preachers ("they seek preachers that tell them what they want to hear and tickle their ears with lies")
Whoever stays in all these, disgusting, perverted, merciless, hateful, greedy, lustful religions of humans (which is ALL religions), and not repent and cleanse themselves of all that filth, will die in the sins of their favorite crime infested religions (which is all religions! You do not throw your Spouse/God aside, to fornicate-adulterate with your side who-res called "religions"
❤️Revelation 18:4-5 COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.❤️💃💕
❤️❤️JOHN 6:45 “For it is written in The Prophets, 'All of them will be taught of God.' Everyone, therefore, who has heard from The Father and has learned from him, comes to me.”
💃💕1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s Temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s Temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
BEWARE! DO NOT LET SELF EXALTED PREACHERS KEEP DEFILING YOUR BODY/GOD'S HOUSE AND TEMPLE, WITH THEIR ENSLAVING DOCTRINES OF DEVILS AND MEN.
1 John 2:27 YOU NEED NO MAN TO TEACH YOU! 💃💕❤️WHO WHOO!! BE TAUGHT OF GOD!
Same same same
There are no contradictions. Only misunderstandings. The Bible is solid and stands up to science also. One has to know the Bible to know this. Most do not read it for themselves to know. The mental gymnastics are yours. The truth is simple but to those who can not understand because their hearts are not open and their minds confused who cling to logical fallacies pridefully without any investigation of their own. Show me the contradictions you think are there and I will show you what you are not comprehending correctly in teh Bible. No gymnastics. Just logic and science and facts. I will make it easy for you here. ruclips.net/video/0qjrTSra0pQ/видео.html
You’ve also described my father though he isn’t a pastor.
They are all hypocrites...I asked my mom about some verses from The Quran and after hearing them she proceeded to say how evil those things were...I then showed her it was actually The Bible I got the verses from and in the end she was crying and saying that I was "PERSECUTING" her for being a "Christian"...I am sad what religion does to the minds of good people.
It’s REALLY traumatizing to me that Joshua Harris wrote the book that defined teen purity culture in the early 2000’s and caused so much abuse to myself and fellow teens is no longer Christian. I’m glad he’s okay, but we were not okay
Virtual hugs over the internet. It's hard, but empathizing with others, sincerely loving those who need it and not allowing oneself to be abused is the key to fulfilment and even some happiness.
@@onedaya_martian1238 Go hug a tree.
"It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that trouble me. It's the parts that I do understand."
Mark Twain.
As a post deconstruction person, the most infuriating thing is when someone says to me "you were never a real Christian, you never knew God" without knowing the years of prayer, bible reading, HAPPILY going to church and doing service, and genuinely trying to convert people. That they can discount the tears and the agony of realizing you were never talking to god, you just wanted to believe you were.
Amen ❤
"no shit I didn't find God, he's not real" 😂
Maybe if faith is the ability to Doublethink, then you never really _did_ have it. Maybe they all live with cognitive dissonance, and the willingness to keep straddling that impossible line is what makes a "real Christian." Which would make both of you right, to yourselves (something a moral absolutist like them would not accept, but a moral relativist by definition must).
It's like they're describing the paradox of Schrodinger's Cat, and you're saying they can't call it that if the whole point is that no one knows if the cat exists. They're treating the cat as if it does exist... saying "If there is a god, then I must alter my behavior to God's standard, whatever I can discover it to be." Whether you believe the hypothetical is nonsense or not is irrelevant to whether they will stop addressing it.
The only recourse for dealing with people in this world who believe in god-ordained standards (aside from genociding them, which tends to be agreed upon to be immoral and never works anyway) is to judge the standards as presented and then call the followers out on any and all hypocrisy.
😢😢😢😢😢
When you were still a Christian, did you ever tell people who left Christianity that they were never real Christians?
How did you respond to them?
My mom would always guilt trip me shen she didn't think I was being a strong enough Christian. I'd be minding my own business and she'd just come at me out of nowhere like "Do you even read your Bible anymore? Do you pray? Are you even a Christian anymore?" And I was younger then so it's just like, what do you want me to do? I'm a kid. I'm just going about my day and you're out here accusing me of not being a good Christian when I'm just trying to build some Legos and not worry about where my eternal soul is gonna end up.
that's so sad. also, all these religious stories so weird to me. Where I grew up, nobody ever mentioned the existence or the non-existence of any deity. I first saw prayer in a random scene of a random U.S. movie, and it looked weird, to say the least. I was 9, I think, and it already beyond bullsh!t
@@SimonWoodburyForget Be a responsible parents and not believe in absurdity because it's harming my child.
@@SimonWoodburyForget i feel like my parents are the same type of people to believe the exocrist is real and that those who do bad things is because of the devil's evil spirit. And not believing that mental illness exists.
Dang, are they TRYING to make people atheists!? I'm Christian, I read mine every day (almost) but that's messed up.
@@SimonWoodburyForget When my children were young, I feared they might be kidnapped or harmed in an accident. But I never doubted that any terrible thing they might encounter was caused by evil or negligent people, not by supernatural beings with transcendent agendas. I'll never forget the dawning of reason in my son's eyes when I explained that the world was exactly the same outside, regardless of whether it was illuminated in bright sunlight, or cloaked in black darkness.
Nothing requires more endless explanation and apologia than perfect and obvious truth.
So obvious infact that people made endless interpretations and some deny it. Unless you're talking about the truth of their actions, that would be the case for religious beliefs in general.
@@ghostagent3552 Yep.
That's one of the things that lead me to being an atheist. The endless pile of excuses as to why the thing they said didn't actually work.
Apologetics: making up excuses and shifting blame for your imaginary friend(s).
Rewritten multiple times to avoid your tubs (sense sores).
The planet is getting hotter.
But its getting colder in winter in Texas because the warming air weakens the jet stream...
And the (hottening) is definitely caused by human activity, but we are in a period of natural (hottening) following the end of the last ice age.
...
\/×n$ and (ms) work, even though areas with (m) man dates and high \/×n$ rates are seeing high levels of infection and even death.
Many of those people had underlying (hlth) conditions, also the constantly mutating (see nineteen) evades things like \/×n$.
Also, even though many people died of complications or other causes, but for the (see nineteen) they would have lived.
Even cases where people came to the hospital for other causes, such as vehicle accidents, they were found to be sick and eventually succumbed...to a complication or other cause, but again: but for the (see nine teen) they would have lived.
...
Abraham Lincoln ended (involuntary service) and is a great historical figure, even though he said things that would be (rcst) by today's standards. Also he vowed that he wasn't prosecuting the civil war to end (involuntary service), and the emancipation proclamation only covered states "still in rebellion"
Also Lincoln issued multiple orders that exceeded his authority (the draft and the blockade) and was responsible for the war crimes committed by the Union Army and its Soldiers
But again, great historical figure
The "Judas hung himself on a weak branch that subsequently broke and so he fell off a cliff and was disemboweled" story was breathtaking in its burning need to be accepted by both the man telling it and the listener. That was some good drama right there. And every word of it was absurd nonsense.
Also having to wedge as much symbolism as possible into one death; "How can we get his body defiled?" "Drop him off a cliff so he pops like egg!"
That was pretty stupid. I always figured he popped in the sun and that was more newsworthy than the hanging.
What if it was true?
@@MunsonX There is no way it could ever be demonstrated to be true.
So you’re telling me that Judas searched and found a tree that had a branch that spanned over a cliff? Then proceeded to tie himself to this weakening overhanging branch to hang himself -ultimately falling.
Why not just jump off the cliff?
Today is the 99th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter, a true Christian. He left the Southern Baptist Convention when they refused to adopt a policy of protecting women and children from violent men. Now we find out that the head of this organization is guilty of abusing little girls. Jimmy Carter and his wife Roselyn have been happily married for 77 years. Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter!
Stand up guy, perhaps the only modern US president who isn’t a war criminal? But I might be wrong
my glorious king jimmy carter
My father passed away from cancer when I was a girl and I remember him and my mother going to see faith healers like Benny Hinn. My heart breaks for us all over again hearing about the screening process. I know what it feels like to hope so hard that you are chosen for a miracle. It's so messed up.
Your father must have doubted hed die and go to heaven....I'd committ suicide right now if I knew that was true...why spend even one minute in this life if heaven is a heartbeat away?.no...deep down they all know it's bull
Benny Hinn as well as his followers have serious mental health issues, this whole thing is not Christian at all and is a thing that people in other parts of the world find absurd and terrifying
I remember one time I was at a Christianity-themed summer camp in high school and the people running the camp were talking about the story where Jesus said to let the one who is without sin cast the first stone, and back then I sincerely believed all that stuff, but I thought to myself, wouldn't it be funny if Jesus had given that speech and then, once he'd talked everyone down, he had thrown a stone at the adulteress since Jesus was canonically sinless, so he'd be allowed to throw the first stone without violating the thing he'd just said? I voiced this thought I'd just had, and I was only trying to be silly, but everyone got mad at me because apparently I was missing the point.
I always thought It would be funny If a random person threw a stone, because well, from their perspective, how would this random guy know, right? And then after the first, ANYONE could "rightfully" throw stones, then they rain stones into the woman and...
Well, children think some silly things XD
yeah I think that does miss the point lol. The point is that even if you were sinless, Jesus, even HE didn't cast the first stone. The only person who had a right to cast the stone didn't.
@@mymyscellany Well of course it missed the point if the story. That's the joke.
Many of us have thought it. But you had the stones to say it.
I'll show myself out.
Jesus/god could have just forgiven the world, and being omnipotent, done it in a way that people knew he was god...how did the people wondering in the desert for 40 years know it was god leading them to the promised land...even though it was the longest way to get there ? Instead, jesus/god had to be betrayed by a follower that jesus picked, betrayed by the jews, get tortured and murdered as a sacrifice...then "rise again" from the dead, because you can kill the body of a god?
Any time one explains how they can buy-bull like this, it just gets ridiculous.
"The bible can contain true accounts of false stories"
Wow, never heard that one before to rationalize contradictions in the bible.
Is it possible that's because it's stupid?
I never lied to you, I told you the perfect truth about a lie I made up.
@@TheUltrahypnotoad
Signed: I am who I am
But it is true because the bible is a book of stories, and allegories, it tells the reader that.
None of the characters ever existed, including Jesus, Moses, Noah, and Abraham, none of them. There is not one piece of archeological evidence to prove it, yet our museums have fossils, dinosaur bones, prehistoric artifacts, and cave drawings to name a few over 50,000 years old. The numbers don't add up.
This is the one true thing religion is not lying about, the stories are false; every one of them - it is all fiction. Truth told.
A book of Christian Mythology is truly a book Christian mythology.
When he actually said that, he literally stated facts of the biblical stories being mythology. That's enough not to take it seriously.
I was so religious I even did a bachelor degree in theology learning ancient Hebrew and Greek. The more I learned the less faithful I became. Especially when I started many many god people who were atheists. Religion is nothing more than mass hypnosis and manipulation. Keep up the good work and I think you are a lot of people struggling with life after religion.
Interestingly, many who took the same "trek" as you came to the very opposite conclusion, converting to Christianity, affirming the credibility of the Bible, and embracing the light of the saving Gospel. These are very educated, smart, competent, well-read individuals. Both time and truth will reveal who the fool is. Hint: I think it's you.
@@peterpulpitpounder I appreciate your sentiment and have seen many people benefiting from belonging to a church community. However, I’ve seen the devastation AIDS caused in Africa often killing new born babies. Babies of very religious people. Guess what. The all knowing all powerful loving god was nowhere to be seen. Why would he not stop this tragedy? Is it because he works in mysterious ways or don’t always do what we think he should? That makes him very evil and selfish. This is just one example, I can mention many more where innocent people suffered due to no fault of their own.
@@M_MTsc Well, I would say this regarding the matter of human suffering. If God exists, and I believe He does, and for very good reasons, then the creature cannot possibly be superior to the Creator. You obviously have some issues with God. That is clear from your comments. But can you, being the creature, possibly love more, care more, or be upset more than the One who made you? That cannot be possible. And the reality is that when people shake their fists at God, what they are really declaring is that they are superior to the Lord, which is a rather silly and ridiculous claim. As the book of Romans declares, "Let God be true and every man a liar." This simply means that if there is a problem between man and God, man is the one with the deficiency. God, being totally righteous and pure, cannot sin. I have a lot of question marks that I have tucked away in the pocket of my soul, and I believe that One day the God of heaven and earth will answer all of them, as only God can. Such is the promise of Scripture. God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of those who love and trust him. Of course, if you don't believe God, well, you only have a rock to kick and blame for all the bloodshed, death and carnage in the world today. It's all the product of time, chance and naturalism, right?
@@peterpulpitpounder why do we need suffering. God knows the future and according to the bible he wants the best for. It is in his power (otherwise he is not all powerful) to stop the suffering and let us live trouble free fruitful lives. One counter argument is that through suffering we can appreciate his love more when he takes it away. That means though god is happy to watch suffering, and for some it’s life long, for more appreciation at the end. Why does he need this validation? It can’t be that he is so insecure that he needs this appreciation…or does he?
Form a more rational perspective let’s consider genesis. Adam and Eve had 2 boys. Where did their children come from? To accept the biblical version we have to accept ongoing incest. Even if we ignore the morality of this we know inbreeding causes significant issues. Does this sound like a perfect plan by a perfect god? I don’t think so.
@@peterpulpitpounder Bullshit.
The best feeling I had when leaving the religion was realizing I didn’t have to do the mental gymnastics anymore! Anyone relate?
Like the song " Should I stay or should I go?"
I never had any friends in the Catholic Church to begin with so leaving wasn’t as hard as many of you had it.
@@johnnyrigger5760 you should GO!
the worst feeling though was how the idea of hell was the hardest and last thing to get over.. tbh its an AMAZING TOOL to keep people from leaving and to often pull people back who left..
@@InanisNihil ohhhh yes. Probably a decade before I finally left, I was just clinging to that fear that I was going to lose my Heaven card. I was 22 and quit believing and practicing, but I still sung the songs and told people that I was a Christian. I was living alone and had no support so I clung to the only thing I knew
I was fully convinced, tears in my eyes, convinced that the Holy Spirit was moving me, guiding me. Journals of prayer to god. Hours in study of the scripture. "Loving on" people. Yet, I still deconstructed, because it's all bullshit. They're drawing weird conclusions about the faith & deconstruction of a lot of ex christians behind a superiority complex. "If you leave, you weren't really ever a christian. My faith is strong because I truly know god." Ya, dude, I thought I did, too, until I learned better. But glad to know they've got that pride is in check. /s
This same thinking is at the root of why the conservatives in power won’t hold Trump accountable for his misbehaviors and crimes or critically examine supply side economic policy.
@@scottgrohs5940 did you ever notice that Trumpoids always resort to whataboutism? It’s like Trumpianity is incapable of morality because it never checks its own moral failings and always has to babble about “Antifa riots” and “Joe Biden is a pedophile” as though no one in the Left doesn’t already condemn an of that.
What led you to the conclusion that it was all fake? Genuinely curious.
Lots of group religious experiences are no more religious than a rave, especially black churches with deafening music and incense. Of course they treated me like Satan as soon as I missed a few ceremonies.
The true holy spirit comes from diligent self study
@@PcCAvioN the difference between a cult and a religion is that a religion doesn’t mind if you leave.
Let he who is without sin cast the first comment.
Well thank you, I did.
Got 'im, Droid!
Blam-O!
Isn't that an argument against ANY punishment for any crime/act?
@@h.g.wellington2500 Yeah, probably.
But it sounds boss if used sparingly.
I've had a lot of people questioning me if I was a Christian. I reluctantly did get baptized 11 years ago. I still regret it. I still cannot believe I was around this insanity.
No real church would baptize you without a full testimony. They should never have baptized you yet if you did not believe and actually know God on a personal level and see the miracles he was doing in your life. We can not hold onto our wrongs and sins and pretend to follow God in our hearts. We can not hold unto resentments and unforgiveness and have a clouded conscience and see clearly. Sounds like you were confused all along.
@@paulmerritt2484 I was baptized before I was old enough to speak or give consent. And I call BS on miracles in your life. Every miracle ever claimed has been either dismissed for no evidence or could have been done at least one other way deeming it a non miracle.
Here's the good news: Whether or not you were baptized to begin with is completely meaningless.
you can get an de-baptism from satanist if you think that can help you 🖤🖤
@@paulmerritt2484Or maybe the guy did change his mind. Maybe he began to think criticaly (which most christians dont dare to do) and realized that he believed in a lie.
Ironically some of the most earnest believers are the ones who end up losing our faith because we care. We care enough to think about things most Christians ignore. We have faith that we can traverse those tough areas because we have faith that God is real so it must just be some misunderstanding. Up until the very last moment that is what I thought, that I must just be missing something, misunderstanding. The moment I realized I didn’t believe anymore I collapsed. I had never been alone for a moment of my life…it was such a devastating feeling.
I healed eventually with time, found a way to exist. But when family and friends said things like “You didn’t really get filled with the Holy Spirit” or “You weren’t fully committed and you wanted to find an excuse to do what you wanted” it crushed me.
Thanks for your videos. It really helps to diminish that gaslighting feeling.
I feel ya.
Yep, agree 100%. I was the same way, I even went to seminary to answer my questions. Deconstruction started there and took 10 years because I was trying so hard, convinced I just didn’t understand.
:: DING! ::
I'm honestly at the point where I'm very ok with having my parents go to their graves believing I'm still 100% on board with Christianity, mostly because I know exactly what I'll deal with if they find out I've been deconstructing my beliefs. Only case where I'd like feel the desire to have that conversation would be if any of my siblings come out as gay, trans, changing religions, (basically anything my parents would consider worse than deconstruction) - I'd probably get very honest about my situation, if only to help take some of the heat off of said sibling. It doesn't seem a likely scenario at present though.
This is the reason I don't try to deconvert people. That's a lot of pain to put someone through intentionally, even if their life might be better at the end. I guess I don't consider religion (at least most religions) to be as bad for people as some here.
I do try to help my friends who are out of their religions/beliefs find and excise the leftover behaviors that make their lives worse.
What I learned in my few years (even in a quite liberal) protestant church as a curious teenager: You can not be curious when it comes to religion. Questions are not welcome. Neither is logic. I still wonder how 7 people on Noah's ark were able to shovel the manure of all these animals day after day for 150 days.
I'd go further...if your an all powerful god why not just kill off every body but Noah....not to mention all those poor innocent animals that drowned...question...who exactly wants to spend eternity with a mass killer like that....Satan looks a lot more palatable than that monster...
@@richardlawson6787 Some traditions and books actually believe exactly that. That everything attributed to god is actually the devil, and god is some much higher force not actively interacting with the world, or even creating it. That, for example, it was the true god, or his servants, who gave knowledge to Adam and Eve, so they would have the wisdom to resist the lies, but the devil wrote the bible and called knowledge a sin.
lets talk about how every land animal could fit inside. that means there was a section for bugs, birds, reptiles, and so on. and what about feed?
@@Viteaificationor that two penguins walked from Antarctica to Asia to get on the ark in the first place.
They're still shoveling the manure from the "Ark." Boy are they shoveling manure.
In my own experience in seminary during a particular part of the course known as textual criticism, all the problems with the Bible were covered in detail. At the end of class, the instructor flat out told us, "Never preach this from the pulpit because you'll cause people to stumble in their faith." I was too young and too indoctrinated to overcome the cognitive dissonance back then. Took more than 30 years for it to hit me like a sack of bricks a couple of years ago. I've since discovered that while the human brain is an amazing thing, it's about as trustworthy as a guilty death row inmate. But yes, in a way--at least those who have attended seminary--they all know.
I am a believe and see the mistakes made in seminary and preached in churches. We are also only human and are not God so we make mistakes if we are not very careful and very faithful. Humans making mistakes does not mean God is not real. You went to seminary and did not even once experience the presence of God and know him personally? How could you turn your back on God? Forget about the school and church. What about God who loves you?
@@paulmerritt2484 Of course I experienced all of that, and so do people of every other religion. Such experiences are the products of suggestibility and priming, and are not at all unique to the Abrahamic religions.
I feel like a lot of pastors fall into the trap of basically just regurgitating what they were told by their pastor, and their pastor before them and so on
The finance transparency was one of the only things I liked about the small more fundamentalist church I attended in college, they had a financial meeting every month right after service while everyone was still there sitting down, that discussed the tithes collected and where it was being allocated and handed out a finance sheet to show it, and more than one person was in charge of it to prevent dishonesty
My grandma church had that too you can always get a tax on your tithing if you gave so much. It kept down arguing
@Nanami Haruka
I hope the committee meeting was held in a bar with 90% used for
"refreshments" and 10% -waste- invested on the poor. They could use the balance in the same bar, so the money would stay in the community.
What actually pushed me over the edge was realizing just how easy it was to get people to believe in supernatural stories that aren't true. So I thought "then none of them could be true". Yeah, I was freaking out for about ten minutes at that point, then pulled myself together and moved on. Though I was majorly bummed for about a year after that. Now I am just used to that idea. Now I just shake my head at how quick people I know swallow something was a ghost or a healing. Gosh these people don't look into all that at all. They just jump to "yeah, it's a ghost" and walk on, and I sit there and look and ponder and figure out what it actually was. People swallow things way to easily.
I didn't realize there was a "deconstructionist movement." Wow. I wish someone had told me that the Bible-related doubts I had to explore on my own, against the hostility and manipulation of my brethren, were instilled in me by a movement I've never heard of even now.
Haha, I like what you did there... And, I am sorry you had to suffer like that. I hope you are able to find something that makes sense and works for you.
the "deconstructionist movement" for me was a GMOSkeptic video where I learned what the word "atheist" meant. I had gone my whole life practicing religion, but in my last few years of practicing, I was not really believing that god existed or that any of the scriptures were legitimate. I spent 2 decades of my life struggling with the idea of a merciful god and hell, of believers and their geological locations, and of missing miracle claims. Once I heard the word atheist I had "converted" immediately because I had done the work to realize it was propagandistic nonsense.
I live in Germany and when studying theology at a university here, like I did, it IS the deconstruction 😂. We got people like Bultmann, Drewermann and others who did away with all the supernatural claims. That's why I mostly don't feel any deconstruction videos do anything for me personally. But I can understand how important it is when you grew up evangelical or fundamentalist. I never got indoctrinated as a child (it's just not a thing, even though my grandad was a pastor but critical thinking and making your own decisions was always a much more important value than becoming a Christian). I am in no church. I still consider myself a Christian though. Might be the reason, Germany is considered one of the least Christian countries in Europe. We even have a saying that captures this perfectly: "I have no problem with God just with his ground crew."
Long ago when I was a kid I read Superman comic books. They had a letters from readers section. What the readers would do is find contradictions between stories in different issues of Superman comic books, or small continuity problems within a given issue. It was always phrased as a challenge to the editors who would always find SOME creative way to harmonize it. This is what I'm reminded of when believers say the Bible is inerrant and then go to tortuous lengths to harmonize every little detail.
A lot of people don't know what it means to say the bible is inerrant. As a theological Statement, it means that the bible got everything right about salvation; but not necessarily on every single thing like how many animals were in the ark.
Also, taking the bible exclusively "literally" was never a thing before the enlightenment. Only in the 19th century did the opinion become widespread that if something was not factual, it was not true (instead of being symbolic, a metaphor, illustrating the general idea of something etc.).
My major problem with the discrepancies in the gospels being "different eye witness accounts" is the fact that only one mentions a bunch of guys coming back to life and wandering around. A zombie apocalypse would definitely be the first thing ANY witness would have brought up.
IIRC that is in the gospel of Matthew. At the crucifixion he claimed there was an earthquake, three hours of darkness, the temple tapestry torn in half, and the tombs opened and the dead wandered the streets of Jerusalem and interacted with people.
The ancient world had many chroniclers/historians recording contemporary events. Yet not one of them wrote about any of these thing occurring during Passover.
The temple tapestry would have been news all over Judea. That tapestry separated the common area of the temple with the holy area where on a select few high ranking priests were allowed to go. Yet the thing ripped and everyone shrugged.
@@emptyhand777 actually there's Cornelius Tacitus. Phlegon of Tralles and Thallus who each wrote about this event taking place. All were alive at the time. Thallus was a non believer and believed it to be an eclipse
@@josephstocks7495 - which event, the tapestry, 3 hours of darkness, earthquake, or the zombies?
@@josephstocks7495 - please link to these sources, I would love to read them.
As far as I've ever found, there is no parallel record to the zombie event in other gospels or contemporary documents, and the account in Matthew does not have enough detail, for example, no explanation is given for the delay between the opening of the tombs on the day of Jesus' death and the appearance of raised holy people in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection, so the story is mainly taken for its fairly clear symbolism.
Night of the Living Dead came from the zombies wandering Jerusalem after Jesus sprung back to life. What a freak book the Bible is.
I know there are some, many who genuinely believe in what they say and believe they’re doing the right thing. Who help their community and more out of genuine compassion and would never bring harm to anyone except in dire self defense.
My problem isn’t with these people.
My problem is with the wolves who took on the robes of the shepherd, and devour their own flock while threatening the farms and houses of others. My problem is the vipers who fill the minds and hearts of the innocent with poison, turning them hateful. These are the ones I have a problem with.
Is there a god? I don’t know anymore, and I don’t care. But if they’re anything like the Christian’s say, a god of love and compassion and mercy… then we know which churches have him, and which are just empty boxes.
Here Here! 🍺
Well said.
This!
Hey, I appreciate this comment, its nice to see a wholesome comment that isnt just bitterness and generalizations towards theists as a whole. While important to share the stories of crimes committed by certain people, like the wolves you mentioned, it sometimes goes from sharing a story to circle-jerk hatred and generalizations against all christians and other theists in general.
As a strong Christian who happened to stumble onto this video. I agree with you!
The genuine believers are fine as long as the supernatural does not exist. If it does, then they are dangerously easy to manipulate into helping an evil plan by school kid level acting by an evil spirit.
"Overcoming doubt" is one of my least favorite phrases ever. I make it clear to everyone I talk to about my (very recent and ongoing) deconstruction that I don't see my doubt as a struggle. It's not a battle. If I give them that, then I'm assigning a morality status to my doubts about Christianity, implying that Christianity is something I want to get back to.
My doubts aren't something to overcome, and however painful they've been, I wouldn't want to live without them.
explore doubts, dont overcome them. i am still Christian, though i am not sure many christians would think i am anymore. i am. and i love questions and not knowing everything anymore. it is brilliant.
The "overcome Doubt "that Christians say is really Overcome common sense and rational thinking that's because all religions hate to be challenged.
There is a whole organization that helps pastors whom no longer believe get out of preaching, which is needed because they often don't have the work skills needed to switch to a different job.
I’m a pastor, this is the first time I’ve seen your channel. I see why from your point of view that so many struggle with their Faith in Christ. I’ll keep up with your channel, I feel knowing your point of view better is only going to help me become a better pastor. Thank you.
Amen. Good for you. I’m also a believer, and these videos have actually strengthened my faith in some respects.
@@christophermanley3602 I agree, these videos have really made me triple check that what I am saying is not only backed up by scripture “is” in scripture. You would be surprised how many things you thought were in scripture until you actually try to look it up. In this, my faith has been strengthened as well.
@@PastorJamesAndrews do you ever talk about the nasty stuff in the bible? Like that one man that offered his daughters up for mass rape so the crowd wouldn't harm the 2 angels? Or how about that talks about selling your daughter into slavery? I could go on. I think all preachers/pastors should start at page 1 and go all the way through, but they won't because they know it will turn a lot of people off, and make it really hard to keep pushing the narrative that god is loving and wants the best for us (but will drown us if some of us behave badly). Can you see how someone might not buy into it?
@@joecoolioness6399 Hi Joe. I’ve preached all the way through each book of the Bible and continue to teach that way. You’re right, it doesn’t always make for the most impactful preaching to speak what is happening in the Bible. But God always gives me the reason why the Bible is written the way it is before I preach those messages so I can share what God wants people to hear in it. Shoot me over a passage and I’ll be happy to reply about it here.
Jimmy
Hey man. Im hoping you are right. I want to believe that my girlfriend, niece, all my grandparents and my mom all lived lives of suffering to go somewhere better. However i believe you only deal an opiate to the masses. I wish you and your family and church goers nothing but the best.
Honestly, this one somehow hurt the most. While I did have a few genuinely power hungry narcissist types come across my path over the years, the bulk of pastors, mentors, and friends in the church were all just genuinely nice people doing what they thought was the best possible thing. It led a lot of us into some heavy blind spots where cognitive dissonance took over and we accepted some very nasty things because questioning them meant tearing everything down. I think the reason it hurts the most is because I see myself in those people. It's super easy to look at the Falwells and Hagees out there and say, "Yeah, I knew that guy was a loon even when I was a believer." It's much harder to see someone really trying to be a good person with the tools they were given and watch them continually fail to be good people because they are so dedicated to a single worldview.
Well worded.
agreed sure there are people who are just power hungry manipulators, but most genuinely believe in the ideology and evangelicalism is best for everyone sadly.
Given the cruelty inherent in the bible, the contradictions, the hypocracy, and the pedophilia hidden in EVERY church, I have to assume there is a much higher rate of narcissism among their populace, and that EVERYONE else involved is a narcissistic enabler.
@@ddjsoyenby Yep; sadly deluded, they are.
So well put; beautiful articulation of some vexing conflicting emotions & experiences.
Hearing Matt Chandler say that deconstruction is "a sexy thing to do" in this day and age made me laugh so hard. What a tremendous misrepresentation and slander on ex christians. What a cowardly and weasely way of responding to it. Jfc
Some pastors are 100% con men. And the rest are fools.
Well-put and so true.
Deconstruction has become the “sexy thing to do”? That just shows that that guy has no idea what deconstruction is like… for me, my deconstruction took me YEARS, and it was a very hard process. In fact, my life would have been easier if I could have just kept believing in god, but once I got into my deconstruction, I couldn’t just turn back to how I was before. Yes, I am glad I went through deconstruction, but unlike what that guy says, I wouldn’t call it the “sexy thing to do”.
it's not it usually costs us our circles.
And it's a spectrum. Some of us deconstruct our whole lives not to approach some other destination, but to continue learning. I haven't left my community or vocation but I'm very clear about my boundaries within that context, especially when it comes to some folks' obsession with monitoring the thoughts and beliefs of others.
I mean it is the sexy thing to do only because Christians and other religious people are incredibly unsexy
It took you years to see reality?..I figured this out at twelve ..and I used the bible itself to disprove it ...
@@richardlawson6787 Hi Dick,
Look, I know this probably won't make a difference to talk to an Internet edgelord, but this is for the onlookers who feel the sting of this.
Some of us *did not have access* to outside information. I was a homeschooled Christian. My only consistent source of community was my family. I had been spanked enough to have my "rebellious attitude" curtailed. I definitely was asking questions about whether or not I was saved when I was 12, but for me to just say "oh this is bunk" took years more. Not until I was 20, after years of access to the internet, reading apologetics, and learning real information, was I ready to say an ecstatic farewell.
Anecdotally, the folks I know who "knew it was bullshit in middle school" don't tend to be the ones who were, themselves, reading the Bible every day in earnestness, who personally prayed to God every day even when not required, who were entirely invested. They often had access to "reality" (i.e. going to public school) in ways some of us didn't.
Congrats to those of us for whom the deck was stacked against, but got out anyway.
Hey I'm a Christian undergoing the deconstruction process. Just wanted to leave comment letting you know I really appreciate your videos you are giving me a lot to think about 💜
❤❤❤
I’m 1 year late but I hope you are doing better
@@Chaosflower what do you mean by "doing better?" There us nothing wrong with deconstructing and critically analyzing your beliefs. In fact I think it is a sign of healthy faith.
@@arcanearya513 no no I hope you are feeling good right now I’m not trying to be rude or anything I was saying I hope you are doing ok
@@Chaosflower my bad I misunderstood.
The pandemic really opened my eyes to this stuff. Because as I learned how antivaxers and conspiracy theorists talked, argued, and thought I realized it's exactly how my pastors and fellow Christians talked. I realized I had been drinking the kool-aid just as much as antivaxers had been. That was what started my deconstruction in earnest.
The world is becoming less self deceptive. Welcome aboard !!!
And then antivaxxers talk about Jesus is gonna protect them from Covid…
Scamdemic is brought to you by a dog killer named Fauci.
Your Gawd Fauci rots.
Define an anti-vaxxer. I'm an athiest but what are the beliefs of an anti-vaxxer? Because I'm vaccinated but I also realize what the vaccines do and what they do not do and they are certainly not without risk, therefore you now must do a ROI assessment that certainly for many would side on not getting the vaccine. You probably have false notions of the vaccine, such as it will make you immune to covid (it won't) or that it will make you less likely to transmit covid (it won't). I would bet money you believe in one or both of those false notions. And they are both patently false. So if I'm a 26 year old healthy person with zero comorbidities, I'm not getting vaccinated. And that decision affects literally nobody. But if I'm 66 and obese, I am getting vaccinated. I'm quite sure by your language you are sorely misinformed on the function of the vaccines, which have but one, which is to attenuate the probability that...IF you were to get covid (notably a variant no longer in play) you would require hospitalization. That is the sole function of the vaccines, by design. No more, no less. So I would literally recommend millions of people to be "anti-vaxxers" based on age and overall health. I think you lack critical thinking skills. You swallowed the CNN kool-aid. Trust me, don't argue. You have no idea my credentials. Instead if I were you, I would research (if you know how) what l just educated you with, and be humbled. And...anticipating your reply, if it is at all political? You have further proven my point.
“Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” (Voltaire)
You have no idea how much this video has helped me. For years I’ve been struggling with feeling betrayed and manipulated by people at my former church. “How could they smile in my face and lie? Who can I trust?”. So the closest I’ve gotten to joining a new community was watching atheist videos. But it helps me to know that they genuinely did care and that they weren’t teaching me with malicious intent.
Hugs through the internet. Beware of those who are too sincere, they will fool you every time. Best regards plus wishes to live well and to finding happiness in satisfaction.
there´s channels like holy Koolaid or Darkmatter2525 which can help you come out of religion and make you realise what bs it is
These videos are so incredibly affirming. Thank you for making them. If only I had had these when I was growing up.
i think one quote that took part in my deconstruction was from uncle iroh from avatar: the last airbender
"it is important to draw wisdom from many different places. if you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. understanding others will help you become whole"
and that's what i did. i'm not saying i deconstructed because of iroh 😂just that i took that as an inspiration and started listening. not just to people pointing out contradictions in the bible but different opinions and different experiences. i wondered to myself if it would be kinder if i silence them and lead them to christ or would i be more christ-like to silence myself and see the world in their eyes. it was when i made peace with the fact that i cannot and will never have all the answers was when i felt the most free and the most okay.
Indeed. I know a quote that follow along similar lines.
"The insight and experience of others is a valuable source of inspiration and motivation. And learning from successful leaders and entrepreneurs is a fantastic way to grow.
Life throws curveballs. And while there might be blockers to success, it's imperative to keep pushing with the knowledge mistakes will be made and failure is inevitable.
Even the world's most successful individuals have experienced their fair share of setbacks and hardships. And there's much to learn from their challenges as well as their success."
This is why Iroh is the GOAT haha
I’m not Christian but for what it’s worth, I think “silence myself and see the world in their eyes” is absolutely the more christ-like option.
Let's wake up to reality and start Investing because the longer you live, the more you will realize nothing ever goes as planned in this accused world that the only things that truly exist in this reality are merely pains, sufferings.
Heard someone say the best season for a fin.ancial breakthrough is now, especially with inflation running at a four-decade high. I have approximately $250k stagnant in my port_folio that needs growth. What is the best way to take advantage of this downturn?
@@Alessandroabbatecola An uptick in volatility is not necessarily a bad thing, there are opportunities to be found even in this whirlwind. Best advice just get yourself a coach to guide you in this current market
@Robert Domingues That's fascinating. How can I contact your Asset-coach as my portfolio is dwindling?
@Robert Domingues Pardon please
@Robert Domingues On web?? Don't want a bumpy ride while trying to trade in this financial market. I'll appreciate more tip or pointers.
I left the church bc I wanted to have the opportunity to actually choose it for myself, I figured if God was real and christians were right then my heart would bring me back to him but that's not at all what happened. The more I distanced myself from that worldview the more objectively I could look at it and honestly it's not a pretty sight.
similar to me
That almost sounds like what I'm doing.
I am keeping my distance, but there's a really weird reason. I'm waiting for something to happen.
I really want Christianity, the Bible, and everything surrounding it, and the actions of its' devout believers, raked over the coals, and for one of their flock to actually rise to the challenge of really defending it. I'm not asking for a theologian here. I want someone, who's had to deal with a lot of miserable, unfair crap in their life, really stand up and give a valid justification for why they'd dare to be stupid enough to play these pretend games, to hold onto the concept of Faith.
With any luck you'll go into a STEM field and influence others to give up the supernatural.
@@1aundulxaldin I have lived Hell on Earth.. if that helps..
I got the "You are not a true Christian" bit but that actually happened when I was still one. Long story short, I was being an asshole to someone else and that someone else used that line on me. That really gave me food for thought and that got me started on my own deconstruction.
"It's always when I've not been strong in my prayer life", 24:21, translates to 'when I have not been auto-hypnotizing myself'.
Exactly !!
Prayer of obedience ? Chant of self-enslavement !
“A true account of a false story.” Those words can be said for any work of fiction.
"The Bible has definitely not been changed," says the Protestant pastor
😂😂😂
Which version?
I'm shocked nobody uses the "Well, that's just a translation error" excuse. English translations always ruin something.
Mormons do all the time, but Mormons aren't your typical Evangelical Christian sect.
I think because it would still require them to admit that the version of the Bible they believe is is flawed
In this era of remakes, reboots, and unnecessary sequels, someone should just step up and say, "screw it, let's make a sequel to the bible; all of it." I'm for it; dutch angles and everything.
@@shooblers890 You just summed up what I liked best about Supernatural, lol.
@@shooblers890 Mormons strike again. The Book of Mormon is kind of an interquel to the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants is a sequel, and the Pearl of Great Price... Uh... It's a collection of short stories spanning time, I guess?
A note for the survival side of it - one of the really hard things to face with deconstruction is the possibility of nothing after death. That is a hard thing to wrap the mind around when you've spent your whole life believing that there is continued existence after this. It really can trigger flight or fight when the topic comes up. I'm pretty sure it's one of the big points that delayed a lot of my own deconstruction journey.
I deal with existential dread daily now, but I live a happier freer life. I'm enby, bi, and proud, and no book can ever take that freedom away from me.
I sincerely believe after I die I’m gone and that’s that. I have been given the opportunity my entire life to do good. I know right from wrong.
When figuring that topic out, I came to the conclusion that two things will happen when I die. Either I fade to white, then black and that's it, or I start seeing the afterlife or something like"the next level". The only way to figure that out is to take the journey that EVERY human had taken before me and will afterwards, but also do so, solo. There is comfort to that.
When I was leaving Christianity, people said "pray for faith". I prayed for truth instead. The result was really a foregone conclusion. It's hard to have faith when things don't stack up.
I wouldn’t say it’s ‘hard’.. as if you’re trying to. It’s stupid to have faith when things don’t stack up
Ooooohhhh boyyyyyy, thank you Trevor for my dose of balance to my family's evangelical mentality... if they knew how little I believe what they believe, I'd never hear the end of it
They think it's so easy for us to let go. I was absolutely destroyed when I realized I didn't believe anymore, when I realized there was no God who listened to my prayers, and there would be no heaven waiting for me when I die. It was not easy to accept that everything I've believed in since I was a child was untrue. I have never felt so alone.
Virtual hugs through the internet. You are not alone.
Smile at others and look for a sincere smile back. Not a needy smile back, not a manipulative smile back...but a knowing one. There are more people "out there" than you know...and all are now very guarded about being lied to and taken advantage of.
Practice doing things with caution and for fun...those who have the same virtue will soon be apparent and be friends.
❤
Yep, same.
Almost killed myself driving recklessly - and then again driving carelessly.
I think the church I grew up in definitely taught that anyone who walked away wasn't a true believer, but their spin on it was that only those with weak faith would leave. It was ok to question, as long as we came to the "correct" conclusion, that it was all true. I was terrified of questioning because, deep down, I was terrified of being proven to have little faith. It was something the wife of one of the pastors would tell me as a way of trying to get me to change. She even said that my weight (being overweight) was a reflection of my lack of faith several times. It was so painful because she had basically been a second mom to me growing up. She knew all of my hardships and insecurities and used them against me, though I doubt she realizes that she did this; I don't want to believe that she knew what she was doing since she still does these things to her actual kids to this day.
Wow. Virtual hugs through the internet.
One thing to take to heart, is if you want to really be a loving person, love yourself respectfully first. Otherwise, that Golden Rule doesn't work at all.
@@onedaya_martian1238 Thank you, I appreciate you!
@@justabee9692 Add a "High Five!" to the virtual hug.
May you live long enough to enjoy seeing that for every 4 problems, screw-ups or pieces of crap that happens in life, that each act of kindness, each thoughtful gesture, ultimately provides 10x more goodness to the world, that one often doesn't see, and that (sadly) most people take for granted (Don't be one of those).
Best regards.
Religion has a remarkable way of condescending and guilting because it turns everything into a moral/personal success or failure of one's individual will and determination. Don't believe? It's because you're not trying hard enough, and the devil has control over you.
Control and manipulation Christianity is mass social rape.
honestly, I think contradictions are kind of the point. You tell people they must follow the rules or else they're bad, then make the rules impossible to follow in order to keep them in unending moral debt.
This!!!
Christianity is not about following rules. The laws you find in the Old Testament do not apply to Christians. What does apply is what Jesus said, to love God and love other people like yourself.
@@LettersFromAFriend Excuses, excuses, excuses.
@@LettersFromAFriend if the laws and stories don't matter, why do you even include the book?
Thank for making such great podcasts! Me (an ex-evangelical) and my friends (ex-Orthodox and ex-Mormon) are starting our own chats about our deconversions and comparing our faiths and how they are becoming more and more fascist. Maybe one day it will become a podcast as good as yours!
@Win I’d like to be there too. I consider myself gnostic, though I haven’t studied formally and I like to reinterpret the Bible.
awesome and yeah he's cool.
What's it called and where we find it?
I'd definitely be interested as well.
I'm a former Muslim, Christian and now consider myself a secular Buddhist and agnostic.
I'd love to listen to that
I think the big thing you mentioned was that whenever the faith of a religious person is challenged they go in a self defence mode because if they don't and give into doubt, their entire world would collapse. This psychological phenomenon is not just true for religion, but all kinds of world views or ideologies.
Maybe not the best comparison, but I am someone who is aware of the drawbacks of consuming a lot of meat, be it the health risk, the suffering of the animals or the environmental aspects. I am not someone to belittle people who eat meat though. Far from it. I am still eating meat myself, though as little as possible, but whenever people who eat a lot of meat are confronted with the facts they pull off the same mental gymnastics to justify their behaviour so they don't have to change their ways. It is way easier to cheat your brain than to change your ways or your world views.
Couldn’t agree more. I became convinced that veganism is more ethical than eating meat about a year ago and have shared the arguments I heard for it with my friends. You’d be surprised at the ridiculous mental gymnastics people jump through to justify their beliefs when they are threatened. It’s extremely similar to theological debates.
The meeting of Nonbeliever Vegans for Climate Change Awareness will now commence lol
When you touch a hot stove you feel pain. When you doubt a core part of your identity you feel mental pain. They're trying to avoid pain by refusing to properly grapple with these ideas by making fun of it or just dismissing it without deep thought.
Its all just avoiding pain.
Personally I think it's a lot less individual than this, it's less that people individually have trouble squaring what they think is ethical with their own behavior, but rather even if they did think it was unethical, there are systems in place that deters them from making the ethical decision, and so they have a sense of cognitive dissidence as a sort of self-defense mechanism.
In church, these systems are the possible collapse of your Social Circle, the pressure to conform from those around you, the integration of religion into many other aspects of your life, etc. Humans are but the sum of the forces that act upon us, and as a result we tend to take the path of least resistance. Large societal change can only be made on the societal scale, most of the time simply convincing individual people to change their behavior is not enough, you have to put new systems in place that incentivize the more positive behavior.
A good example of this is climate change, no matter how much an individual person lowers their carbon footprint, it will not make any significant impact on climate change because most of the problem stems from large Industries. Individuals cannot solve systemic problem, only systematic Solutions can solve systemic problems.
This is why it's so hard to solve any problem, because you first have to have a group of people large enough to affect the systems in place, but in order to do that you have to work against the systems to build that group. Tradition works against you. And I think a lot of this behavior is completely unconscious.
TL;DR this defensiveness is not a result of an individual failure to change one's beliefs, but rather the pressure to stick to your beliefs once their concrete from the outside. If you change somebody's environment, you can change them. A meat eater might have difficulty consciously changing their eating habits, but if they live with nobody except vegans, and are often cooked meals by them, you'll probably see them possibly start eating less meat even if they don't realize it, not because their core beliefs about the ethics of eating meat has changed, but because their environment has changed.
@@pennyforyourthots I agree, great analysis.
What's hilarious about the Bible contradictions is that the mental gymnastics to explain them away are so unnecessary.
Only biblical literalists need to explain away contradictions. Educated Christians know that the origins of the Bible are murky and unreliable, and they don't have to explain contradictions. They can always say "one or both of those things could be wrong" and go about their business.
But because literalists believe the Bible is inerrant, they have to waste a lot of time and energy making themselves look stupid trying to explain this stuff away.
As someone who is going through exactly what Rhett and Link were talking about going through like, right now, this video was deeply affirming. Thanks for what you do
Jesus wrote on the sand.
"Dad come pick me up, I'm scared."
We all know it.
"The bible has never been changed"
Which version? All of em?
27:50 really gets under my skin. I believed with all my heart in God and the Bible. That God wasn’t some genie, but a father and creator that wanted us love him. That Jesus really did sacrifice himself for me. There were times when I thought no one could believe more than me. And then at some point the doubts wouldn’t go away. And my eyes were opened to other ways of thinking and slowly but surely I stopped believing. Deconstruction was a beautiful and terrifying thing. I really did believe. And really thought I experienced God. Don’t tell me otherwise.
No one should tell you otherwise. Only you know what you experience, no one can and no one should tell you otherwise. They can say that they don't see a ghost or that there is spontaneous remission of some cancers, but one should always do one's best to verify reality...especially when it affects one's ability to relate honesty to oneself and those one respects and loves.
Best wishes to live a good and satisfying life.
@@onedaya_martian1238 Of course there is spontaneous remission of disease of all kinds but until someone actually grows a leg, I'll remain atheist.
There is one thing I've always wondered about the "cast the first stone" story. Based on my experience of people in the late 20th and early 21 centuries, I have come to the conclusion that if some guy said the same thing to a mob of people about to throw rocks at someone for being bad, that there would be at _least_ two or three people that would be self-righteous enough to throw their rock. Not because they are without sin, but because they are without the ability to feel guilt, or shame, or exercise self-reflection.
I don't think people have changed _that_ much in 2000 years. So, the woman from the story would have likely been stoned to death like the modern equivalent I posited above.
*THAT* is how I came to conclude that the story in the gospels is fake.
The fact that pastors lied about *everything else* in their lives is what taught me that they were likely lying about their beliefs, and the faith that they claimed they held.
I agree with this! If man were so brazen and awful to the point where the creator felt like he had no choice to flood the earth and murder them, why would people NOT still throw the stones?
Jesus woulda got it too😂
Apologetics: the academic discipline of mental gymnastics.
Also, I hate when they say that we deconstruct because we never had a true belief or whatever. It tells me that are NOT listening. It's a very common story that unbelievers get more zealous in their faith right before they stop believing.
This was a big breakthrough for me when I was a Christian - why do we brush away the end of Mark (scary snake handler stuff) but embrace the story of the Woman caught in Adultery? - They both are missing from early manuscripts. Ultimately it's because we like the story that teaches well, and we don't like the other story that causes snake bites.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Well some Christians embrace the snake handling bit enthusiastically.
@@dthatcher7 It's true! Thankfully the circles I was in were not snake people - though you could argue Snake Handlers are more "Biblically Correct"
Jordan Peterson had an interesting theory on the snakes in Exodus and how that applied in psychological terms as opposed to literal terms. His theory made more sense ( to me ) than anything else I had heard or misunderstood on my own. It's a clip from a Joe Rogan interview.
Tldr: snakes are a metaphor for our fears whatever they may be.
@@nevermindthebull0cks Fair enough - a lot of people manage to make sense of Christianity by making virtually everything metaphorical
Thanks so much for these videos. I actually grew up without religion. My Father is an atheist, my Mother is agnostic (and European, they are lower key about their faith). Despite not going to church, religion had a deeply negative impact on my life. It still does. In reflection, the most horrifying thing was how cruel they were to children: especially their own. They were kicking out and disowning their underaged kids because they were gay, or into rock music, or had mental illness. They interfered with other families too (one mom called me "an evil cancer" when I 15, and the story gets worse from there). I was still raised with ethics and morality, which I found out were similar to teachings of Jesus and Buddha. I thought at some point that the community aspect would have been nice, until I watched entire communities reject individuals over helping them. These videos are giving me some great insight on behavior that has been inexplicable to me. My heart goes out to anyone hurt in the name of someone's god.
when I first started deconstructing, I got a choir job at an episcopal church and started attending the college bible study because some of my friends went. I was amazed by these people who openly had doubts and admitted they didn’t know what the absolute truth or the absolute interpretation of the Bible is. I was raised Evangelical and it was so weird for me to see people talking about the history of the Bible and what the context of the verses were. That weekend I had a sit down with the priest and I ended up crying because I felt so ashamed of where I was with my faith. I hadn’t “felt God” in worship in so long and I was confused by how comforting it was to express my doubts in the Bible study. She said “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, I think you’ve just outgrown that kind of relationship with God.” And explained how the dimmed lights and smoke machines of those kind of churches could put people in a panic response that forces them to have an emotional reaction. She was the first adult I ever came out to, and with that I realized how much pain and doubt I’d been holding inside because I couldn’t admit to myself that I wasn’t straight. Meanwhile the pastors at my old church where I had been a part of the worship team for YEARS just patted me on the back when I left and did a prayer circle to pray for me as I went into this “spiritually dead place.” They didn’t want me there if I wasn’t going to sell their brand of Christianity, so I left and I’ve never regretted it
This is a great topic, thanks for discussing it.
I want to add my experience too. I grew up very non-religious and into sex drugs and rock n roll, and I then had a Christian phase of my life. I was so hard core about it. My friends and I started a Christian band and played festivals everywhere, eventually getting a record deal and moving to America. We played at hundreds of churches. One of our trademarks is we’d never say no to a gig. If we just came off stage at a big festival and some kid invited us to their youth group we’d agree. We’d even play people’s back yards and birthday parties. It was pretty fun because he had songs on the radio, played huge shows, but we would also play a youth group in the middle of nowhere with 20 kids. Over our time travelling, 10+ years I was exposed to countless denominations with such a huge variety of doctrines and ways. One thing that was really consistent was generally how honest and genuine people were about their faith. They really believe it.
Nowadays I’m free from the prison of evangelical Christianity. I’m full atheist 🤘 but one thing that stands out, having lived in both camps, is how wrong each side gets it. When I was a Christian I was frustrated by how my fellow believers thought the unsaved were all depraved, selfish wretches who lived depressed sad lives without the love of god. I knew this wasn’t true. And now being on the other side of the fence, whenever I hear a fellow heathen assume that religion is all a scam and Christians knowingly lie to keep the facade going, I’m quick to remind them that’s also not the case.
Are there liars and scammers among christians? Of course! Peter Furler from the Newsboys is a spiteful, emotionally abusive jerk who constantly rips people off financially. Seriously, fuck him. But the majority of believers take their shit seriously and believe it wholeheartedly.
If humanity wasn't ALL basically wanting no harm, empathy and some basic rules, we wouldn't have all the nice things we have (homes, cars, phones, credit cards, access to food, etc). Plus humans want community, which can be wonderful. But this is where it can get tribal and that is where the harm happens.
Oh my God, THANK YOU!! Why aren't comments like yours more popular? That's my one and only gripe with several atheists at large, they are too quick to jump to delusional, generalizing extremes about all theists and all religions, putting them under an unfair monolith of bad faith and negativity.
Sound familiar?
That's right, its what some theists do to other groups, seems a bit hypocritical when some atheists act like its okay when atheists do it huh? I would have no issues with atheists or atheism otherwise, but way too many are blinded by their own bad past experiences, and the preachings of stereotypical weirdos like youtube atheist skeptic channels and people like Richard Dawkins, people who prey on the initial emotional highs of those who initially leave religion behind, preying on their rage to instill this sense of hatred for religion in the same way some religions or individual extremists will try to prey on people who are in a bad spot in life, to convert them to suit an agenda.
This comment, in short, is nice because while it does criticize religion, it also realizes that atheists can be prone to bull-honkey stereotypes too, and I am deeply appreciative that you call it all out. As a Deist, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 Richard Dawkins preys on people ? Seriously ? Maybe he is just as fed up as I am when "nice" people hand over money to groups who want to teach the "controversy" of the age of the earth, evolution and other nonsense and have it taught in schools as part of science. If critical thinking is not a thing with people, they will certainly be triggered by Dawkins and other "popular atheists". When 63% of people thank jesus after a successful surgery, there are those that will "prey" that people see the science. Otherwise it is like the christians would rather spit in someone's eyes to cure blindness than see what Dawkins is actually saying.
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 thank you, I was very keen to add my pretty extensive experience of American Christians. Not many people get to be exposed to the sheer diversity of christianity like I was. Most people stay close to their own ponds.
I mean my attitude is that they either are liars on some level or they are stupid, there really isn't any other option.
My moms Methodist pastor came to the hospital before a major surgery as she couldn’t. He asked me if I wanted him to pray with me. I said, “ No, I don’t believe in all that stuff. “ To my shock he said neither did he. Vanderbilt divinity school educated that out of him and 1/3 of his divinity class left after the first year calling the schools teachers heathens.
Omg I had no idea Rhett and Link were deconstructing Christians, that clip you showed really resonated with me, the closer I got to God, the more I actually read the Bible, the more I couldn't shake the feelings of doubt and disagreement I had with it. I need to check out their deconstructing stuff.
Same here. I started watching them like... 6-7 years ago I think? I only ever watched them for GMM so I had no idea they were religious or anything except from like vague stories they'd tell on GMM.
Deconstructing Christian here. This was a very solid video! I like that you were not straight up, bashing Christianity, and I can see your heart for it.
But we have to learn to be honest with what we see and call out the dysfunctional aspects of it. This is helping me in my journey a lot. First time seeing any of your videos, and I hope to see more!
Judas hanging himself and falling off a cliff is the most "Suicide is badass" thing I've ever heard.
Yes, I have to admit, I found that most amusing.
I thought the simpler explanation was that his corpse rotted and his guts spilled. Like, the cliff dive is a hilarious over-complication.
I remember being a kid, only 7 or 8, wondering if someday all the adults in my life would come clean and tell me that the Bible was all made up.. glad to know that past me and present me are on the same page!
Me too ! Once they told me Santa wasn't real, I was waiting for they day when they said "Yeah, we just to to church to find friends because the internet hasn't been invented yet ;-) "
Man, oh man. I felt EXACTLY the same way at the same age. I was sure that, like Santa Claus, religion would just be shown to be a cultural thing. Alas I grew up, but many haven't.
I remember being very confused in middle school. I could crack jokes about myths and gods from Greece or Egypt or wherever, but the moment I said anything about big-G "God" or Jesus, everybody acted like I'd just pissed on their grandmothers. I couldn't figure out why these people were so attached to what were, to me, clearly the same kinds of myths and stories as minotaurs and basilisks.
I'm an ex-Catholic, so I must be in the "never truly looked for Jesus" box.
Yup. I guess you couldn't be bothered? Just going through the motions unlike all the "real" believers... :/ so sad how they gotta discredit anyone who no longer believes
I’m an ex Catholic and currently a Satanist. I always find it amusing when Protestant nutters talk about Catholicism AS Satanism…like “dude I’ve been both and your ignorance could fill a library”.
Are you sure? My family insists I'm in the "You actually still believe, you're just being stupid" "phase"
@@a.m.hofmeister725 “you’re just a stupid kid in a phase”.
I’m 41 and been an atheist since I was 15. Kind of a long phase, right?
If the Catholic religion goes back to St. Peter as they claim, it's older than the New Testament. Could explain why they follow their doctrine and the New Testament.
The older I get the more I realize that there really isn't much of a difference between "grifters" and "true believers," albeit with religion or just life in general. The only major difference is that one lies to others while the other lies to themselves. But I also think that over time the distinction between these two types of people begins to blur. A person who lies to others guarantees that they will lie to themselves, as they are likely to fool themselves as easily as they are able to fool others. And a person who lies to themselves will in turn lie to others to protect their own confidence in their worldview.
This is a daily thought after deconstructing.
My grandpa was a pastor, my dad is a pastor, and here I am picking up the pieces. I recently won my battle with self-delusion, but it is always nice to have these videos as a reminder of the blatant and sometimes sneaky ways that I have been manipulated.
Virtual hugs through the internet !!
It was back in 1981 that a friend of mine told me that he wanted to go see a faith healer. He had a condition where his spine was compacted, so his chin was buried into his chest and his knuckles hung down past his knees.
In response, I told him that I would drive him from our Indiana town, all the way to Akron, Ohio to the Ernest Angley Ministries.
I drove him just over 300 miles to get there. When we got to the place where he was doing his faith healing, I was shocked. What I saw was a bunch of people throwing money on the stage. Along the side of the stage was a LONG line of people who were handicapped to varying degrees, as well as people literally on their deathbeds, being wheeled up.
The line had markers that tell you how many hours you may have to wait to get on stage to get healed. Had we gotten into line, we'd have to wait roughly 7 hours.
My friend looked at the line, looked at me, and said, "These people need this more than me. Let's go."
Some ask me if I wonder what would have happened, like if baby jebus would have caused his spine to stretch out on the spot. I don't. I have no wonder or curiosity about it, because in my 57 years I have NEVER seen anything that would lead me to suspect that maybe there's a god out there.
Nothing.
My deconversion was in large part due to learning what evidence and proof are and how they work.
But the initial moment I started to doubt I am able to pinpoint. One of the leaders of my youth group started dating a member of our group. Everyone else seemed to take this well, but it struck me as deeply problematic, to the point where at one point, both leaders took me aside to explain to me how what he was doing is biblically defensible, and that making it public would be sinful on my part.
I grudgingly accepted it, as I was still a believer at the time, but deep down, I still knew it was wrong, and over time, it slowly dawned on me that the scripture was just a means of controlling how people think and act.
Thankfully, she has since divorced him, but she is badly damaged emotionally by the experience. I wish I had said something to someone outside the church way back when. I wish I had known that they were all vipers who would defend each other before they would ever help an exploited child.
7:55 I went to a chiropractic college with an acquaintance once a couple years back (they were thinking of attending), and the school presenters did the same leg lengthening 'magic' trick, though they said it was because of their spine adjustment rather than the power of prayer. I think I was the only one in the room who knew the trick..
Aaaaand that is why I don't trust chiropractors. Never know which ones are all science or all woo.
@@gamejunky98 Same here. I was able to tell my acquaintance about how they were being scammed by the trick, at least, so they rejected going to school there.
@@gamejunky98 I'm extra sceptical about everything but a chiropractor cured a neck/arm pain that stopped me sleeping in 60 seconds
@@historicalbiblicalresearch8440 I mean... actual doctors have been scammers too. There was a Doctor Moon in Redding California who convinced dozens of people they had huge heart issues, his surgeon buddy operated on some of them and they were completely making it up Dx
So yea. If your chiro is ethical and well trained, nothing wrong with seeing them. Always good to get a second opinion!
@@gamejunky98 W O O
As an ex-Mormon, the whole "if you fall away you never believed in the first place" narrative never made sense to me. One thing that Mormon doctrine emphasizes is that faith is active, and thus requires active maintenance through consciously living the Church's precepts. The conversion process, they say, is a great change in one's heart, but that change can be undone by the influence of the world if one is not careful to properly maintain their faith.
Looks like the world got to me. :)
My dear mother was the best apologist. She had a “childlike faith” as recommended in the Bible. If any of us brought up a question or doubt that might threaten one’s faith, she would say, “When we get to Heaven, we will ask Jesus.” I’m sure she is chatting with him at this moment.
“When I was a child I thought as children did. When I became a man I put away childish things.”
1 Corinthians 13:11
That sounds like horrible apologetics wtf
“Stop yelling at me!” I felt that when I was in church lol