"God does not work salvation for fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin vigorously.... Do not for a moment imagine that this life is the abiding place of justice; sin must be committed." You took this out of context... Here is the complete saying of the above quote... "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. if the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us ...

Dear Dave, My name is Jason and I am a Youth Pastor. I read your testimony and must say that your honesty is refreshing. Although I disagree with your conclusions (so far) with agnosticism, I can respect your "throughing in the towel" on your christian religious jouney. I went to Bible college and am about to complete my masters in Theology and can understand your theological dismay, I too have vasilated back and forth between how I view scripture and election, thinking that my eternal salvation was at stake. My current status is that of a more Barthian view of scripture (seeing the Bible as more a witness to the Word of God) and of predestinarian universalism ( I see hell as redemptive rather than punitive). Although we have come to different places, I think we both are finally being honest with God (and/or ourselves). This is the place that I think God wants us, since I do believe that God is infinitely more interested in us rather than our behavior ...

I am not an ex christian if you are wondering, but I was researching Charles Templeton to see if he became a Christian at the end of his life. I understand that you have doubts about the Christian faith- I have had many in the past. But I was not willing to give up my faith just because of those questions. I have buried myself in research and I have found the answers to the questions. Such questions are about the trinity, evolution proving Christianity wrong, and why is there suffering if God is so loving. I found all those answers and many more. If you are willing to actually research the Christain Faith I will recomend you books. The two I started out with was the Case For Faith and The Case For Christ by Lee Stobel. Please write me if you want any information. I will also answer any questions and I am willing to listen to your side of things. Hope to hear from you. jana smith

Dave, I found your testimony very well written, carefully thought out and genuinely persuasive. Not knowing the best way to communicate with you or your site I have attached a pdf document. The first page is a response to your testimony, the second page an essay inspired by one of your contributing members. Taking the time to respond to you has been well worth the effort to me personally, and I hope you find my thoughts worth your while to read. I will continue to enjoy your site - your articles reflect a mind I truly respect. Best Regards. David Hooten below is the pdf file's text reproduced without editing Your testimony resonates with those who, like you and I, have sorted through their own faith fallacies. Those of us who have actually wrestled with the problems you’ve described so well have no difficulty authenticating what you have written. Your transparency gives you credibility, but your capacity to articulate true experience is what gives your message i...

Dear Sir, i just happened to stumbble onto your site via your livejournal. you see, im in a band called nihilist and i was just looking to see who all had "nihilist" as a intrest. well... your beliefs are interesting. i dont agree with them, i mean, im a messiah jew, meaning that i think that Yeshua is the Messiah, but i was just wondering.... what could you say was the big turning point for you in your faith? im just wondering cause everyone in my band doesn't know why they dont have it anymore (faith in the lord), im the only one that does have it, but id like to know from someone who is as educated as you are. im not trying to pick a fight or anything, id just like to have a nice chat via email. thanks man! deric Hello there Deric, While I have no problem chatting with people about nearly anything, I did spend some time to write out my whole testimony from conversion to deconversion. If you are interested you can read it HERE BTW I too am a former professional musicia...

I was raised in a fundamentalist baptist home in which there was room for the love of god but not for the love of anybody else, including the children. I never heard the phrase "I love you" in the house I grew up in, but there were 3 services a week filled with "God loves us and we love him". There was money for the missionaries but not for better food, or shoes, or college. They did not speak to us, hug us, or spend any time with us. Their only social life was through the church. My father is a deacon in the church. My mother was the church secretary until she retired (she was also the church pianist). My parents held services in the local "mission" and at the various convalescent home. They have no idea what it did to me to grow up in an atmosphere centered on "sin, guilt and death", and they would never understand it. Their world view is centered on their cult. I do not know what hurt them with they were children, but I wish that t...

Great site, Just found it on the net, I can relate to your story in spirit although I never became as immersed in Christianity as you did. But the guilt and fear of a Catholic upbringing still haunts me to this day. I can remember growing up I was depressed about life. I think I saw life a lot different than most of my friends. While I would party with them and all, all they wanted to do was drink and get high. Meanwhile I was contemplating things like what happens when we die, almost obsessively (this probably stemmed from my father dying when I was 12). I would see Christians on T.V. and decided I wanted that ‘peace and harmony’, I gave my life to Christ. Nothing happened! Years of reading, praying, worshipping, and nothing, I would hear people talking about the power of the Holy Spirit and I wondered why I didn’t have it. I was consistently told there’s something I’m doing wrong, and that’s why I didn’t have the spirit, or hear God talking to me. One day it w...

Man, do you have to be so insecure that you have to write a webpage listing the "cliches" that Christians will say to you, hoping that it'll influence what they'll write to you? Your website is pretty vulgar, to say the least. The only reason why "atheist" ideas seem more unique is because they blurt static. YES YES YES, YOU NEVER WERE A REAL CHRISTIAN. EX-CHRISTIAN IS A NON-WORD. Honestly, I am feeling insecure and hateful towards others right now, but that's why I know I need God.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to create and maintain this web site!! I visit it almost daily and it has helped me quite immensely. Here's my story if you care to read it. After 9-11 I was in a total state of panic. With all the talk about it being the beginning of the end of the world and such I didn't know what to do. I started to talk to a co-worker who is a devout Christian and out of fear he convinced me to accept Jesus. I'm sure with no malice intended he saw an opportunity to convert another lost soul. He told me I needed to read the Bible daily and that God's word would be revealed to me. I started reading everyday and attending weekly Bible classes, but the problem was that none of it made sense to me and I couldn't understand it. There was so much contradiction it didn't make any sense. When I asked why I couldn't make sense out of it I was assured that I would understand when God decided to reveal himself to me. ...

Hello, I just had to tell you how much I appreciate your site. I'm an ex-Christian also, and might just take you up on your offer to send along my own "testimony" in the near future. One thing stood out when I read your story, and I just wanted to mention it because my experience was similar. When I was in 15 or so I attended one of these Billy Graham movie things too. There was an altar call at the end, and instead of responding to it, like you, I memorized the prayer to say at home later. And now I'm 41, and wonder why I did that - what made me delay my response? The only conclusion I can offer is that somehow I knew - deep down - that it was wrong for me. I had doubts, too many doubts, to commit in such a public way. Yeah, I did the whole youth group, street evangelism, Bible study thing too. But no one ever saw me make the commitment. Oh, don't get me wrong, my response in making the private repentance/conversion was just as real as yours. I ...

I found your websites. I was wondering if you had any information on charitable work by atheists. I am trying to research this. Second, I would send you $10, but it is also written not to throw pearls to pigs and whatnot. In balance, I would do it, but just curious where the money is going. Richard Hutnik Well, to date I have received two donations of $10.00 - a whole $20.00! The whole point of my plea is not really to make money, the point is to show that Christians refuse to obey the actual words of Jesus, if it involves money and contradicts their common sense. Jesus does not ask his followers to use their brains, he asks them to OBEY. That is the whole point of that rant. However to answer your question, my sites cost money to keep running. Server space and bandwidth cost money. My time is not even part of the equation, so any donations are to keep the site up, and alive. Atheistic Charities to give to? Atheism is not an organized sect of some ...

Chad says: I was 16 when I became a Christian. I became a Christian because I needed forgiveness and the Lord drawed me to Him. I will always serve the Lord even unto death if necessary I am from Olathe KS USA He wrote: If you say you used to be a Chrsitian, you simply are mistaken. Those who truly turn to the Lord became a new person. John 14:6- Jesus said unto him, " I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me. IF you say you used to be a CHristian, you need to turn to the Lord because you are sadly mistaken. You may have had a interest in Christianity at one time. You may have faithfully attended a church one time. You may have done a lot of good things in your life. WIthout Jesus your hopeless, your good works can't get you to heaven. Ephesians 2:8,9 - For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves 9 It is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. You can ...

Hi Dave, I am interested in the atheist / christian debate and have therefore spent some time in your website. I am initially shocked at the personal attacks made on christians themselves as distinct from their beliefs. I read your testimony and was interested to see that you counted yourself among them once. From what I gather (please correct me if I'm wrong) it would seem that, in time, you were intellectually unable come to terms with much of the teachings of christianity. Your own sense of reason overcame the 'bondages of faith' if I can put it that way. Now, I can see where this can become a very emotive issue (as indicated by the letter to you from Janine), but what I fail to understand is why no one FROM EITHER SIDE seems to be willing or capable of entering into a mature debate that doesn't degenerate into a name-calling debacle. I can understand that both atheists and christians believe themselves to be right. I can also understand that they both can...

Hi Exchristian, At the extreme end, yes fanatics fly planes into buidings. But, my interpretation of a fanatic is anyone who has an extreme and unreasonable enthusiasm or zeal with regard to religious matters. Regards, Nev Randle

I admit I have lots of exposure to atheists who have been so more or less since birth (myself included), and as a given hardcore Christians and such, but it is rare indeed to encounter a "fallen one," hehe. I look forward to perusing your website after reading your opening statement and follow-up to it. Here's a cool quote I recently came across.... "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Fickle, fickle Lord." -Solomon Short Frank V Thanks Frank! Hope you enjoy the site! Dave VanAllen webmaster of ExChristian.Net

You are an arshole! from Janine you are a self righteous, pompus arshole who blames the world and especially christians for all ur trouble in life. U should take responibilty for ur actions and stop blaming Christ. Only u r responsible for ur life NO ONE ELSE. U have choosen to walk way from christ because of ur pride and hurt that God wasnt a give me god who gave u everything u ever asked for. People in the church make mistakes and so do u. u alone are to blame for the postion u are in!!! U choose to not come under any leadership of the church by going to lots of diffent churches and when they tried to help u, u left because ur pride was hurt.. U werent in it for christ but rather for ur self and what u could get out of God. Christianity is not about u! and wat u can get from God. It is bout u being lost in ur sin and God choosing to save u of his own free will. GOD DOES NOT OWE U ANYTHING!!!! The world does not owe u anything, I dont owe u anything. ur life is your ...

my site Your site I think runs rings round mine (am too poor to get my own domain and too lazy to learn snazzy web publishing techniques).. Your testimony is very moving and at the same time reminds me that it is so easy to fall for the fundy trap, especially with the current rise of fundamentalism in many parts of the world (here in Singapore its getting a wee bit out of hand).. Wishing you all success in your endeavors Balaji Balaji, Thanks for the return visit and the compliment. Just remember that it is content, not looks, that really matter when it comes to a website. Keep up with the writing! webmaster

Hello, you have a great web site.Your site is a great resource for me. I am not an exchristian however I did go to a baptist church as a child. I discovered early that I was far more interested in the girls at sunday school than any scriptures. I also always felt that the bible and "nature" didnt seem to mix to well. For the past few years my feelings toward religion mainly christianity have grown more intense with absolute disgust. After the terror attacks on 9/11 these feeling have multiplied. I joined a web blog community{xanga} back in january and have since been debating with younger christians.Mainly between the ages of 15-30. I just joined your forum last night under foolsparade. I would also like to join a christian forum,do you have any recomndations?I probably would see more action by going there.I envy you with your knowledge of the bible,I still do not have enough disciplin to sit down and read the book cover to cover.I love reading writers such as Neitzsche, C...

Hello Dave, I stumbled upon your site today and have read much of its contents with interest. I think God wanted me to put off registering my Website to pursue your site. I'm 41 now and was saved at about 15. I'm currently about half-way through my one-year bible as this is nearly July. I don't have your extensive background, but have been in and out of church since junior-high. You may find it interesting that I am dismayed at what I read in the old testament. How can a God of love, incapable of evil, do such things? Today I am reading in 1 Kings 20--21 where God spoke through a prophet to Ahab the then King of Israel, verse 20:42: "This is what the LORD says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die instead of his people." From the prophet Elijah to Ahab, verse 21:20: "The LORD is going to bring disaster to you and sweep you away. He will not let a single one of your male descendants, slave or free alike, survive in Israel!...

From: Will Smith [mailto:areo50ad@mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 6:28 PM Greetings. I just found your site and read your anti-testimony, as well as the testimonies of many others on your site. I am still a Christian, but have gone through much of what you yourself have, and I can say that I, too, have "lost my original faith", just not quite the same way you did. I was raised in an Independent Baptist Church (which means to the right of Southern Baptists) and also spent much time reading Seventh Day Adventist literature. I believed that the 1611 King James Bible was the "infallible, inerrant word of God" and that anyone who didn't believe so was going to hell. Furthermore, we were saved by faith, not works. The services were dry and booring. Jesus was always portrayed as one having and showing no emotion. I was told that the earth was made in six days and that the earth was only six-thousand years old. The church I went to had four barren walls a...

Dave, I have read so much of your experiences and beliefs I feel I have known you for ages. I admire your sharp mind and your grasp of the English language which I can not claim with my 9th grade education but when you write about reason I can only think that you reason much differently than I do. I too have so much trouble believing everything in the bible but why should we stop believing there is a god (a creator} just because we don't except a book that claims it's from him ? I look at the world we live in and the universe around us,the order of things such as being able to tell the height of the tide at any given time and place,the rising of the sun and the moon etc. and then I cannot comprehend any one thinking all this came about at random ! for example throw a pile of timber into a lot and watch a house build itself, or mix a quantity of ingredients in a large bowl and sit back and wait for a cake or anything else for that matter to develop and it will never happe...

Hello, I noticed on your site that you could supposedly prove that there was not god. I didn't really notice that you had any evidence to support this. I also didn't notice that you had talked to any people who held PHD's in the feild or had a degree in archaology, or history. Anyway there is a book written by a law journalist who used to cover some of the most controversial cases to date. I suggest that before you say you have evidence that there is no god that you read this book with an open mind. It is called "the Case for Christ". I believe you need to look at both sides of a case before you can make a truly educated decision. Until you have looked at all the facts you should not spread your word as if it is the truth. Anyway I just wanted you to try reading the book berfore you make any harsh decisions. Your Truly, Autumn Girard Thanks for your post. Perhaps you did not really read the article closely, but be that as it may, I think you must be re...

Dave, I am a new "freethinker" per se. I really like your testimony on the Exchristian.net website. I have never sit down and put together a "testimony". But if I did it would be similar to yours when you describe the years of diligence studying of the Word that you did. I spend most of my live in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist church environment (I'm 35 now). As I read your "testimony" I could identify with everything you wrote. I look back now at the number of years I spent in the church and I wouldn't change a thing. That may sound funny but I look at that time in the church as a test. I waged a war of the mind through a controlling belief system that few overcome. Think about it Dave, we're free and on the other side of this religionist illusion now. Millions of people will never escape because they are afraid or refuse to think and ask the question that we did. For years I was suspicious of religious fraud, toward the end of...

I recently rec'd the following e-mail from a creationist Christian friend of mine. He was once into eastern religions before he became a Christian. He attempts to psychoanalyze people who have "left the fold." If anyone would like to respond to this, please send your responses to me at ed.babinski@furman.edu and I'll cut and paste them together and send them on to James. Sincerely, Edward T. Babinski (author of Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, Prometheus Books, 1995; editor of Cretinism or Evilution? at the talk origins archive; and author of "The Uniqueness of the Christian Experience" at www.infidels.org ) Just my thoughts: I have visited some of those Websites for people who have decided to abandon the Christian faith and have banded together to discuss their Christian experience. They have a number of different names on their sites: "Ex-fundies", "Infidels" (founded by a former ministe...

I am a devout Catholic, and this may suprise you. I am not going to say that you are going to hell, I'm not going to say that you are in the hands of the devil, and I am not going to say that you are evil or anything like that. This is your opinion and you are entitiled to it. Besides, it is not my position to judge you or anyone else. However, I ask that you, in turn, don't judge anyone who is a Christian, Catholic, Jew, ect.. . I pray all goes well with you. Please remember me. With Love - Amelia Barber

Hi. I am a believer who will be reading you site, since I find the stories of former Christians who have abandoned the faith fascinating. I still love Jesus and will read your "testimony". I was just going to mention though, that you have an excellently formatted site, very well done, but you might want to increase the size of your font. It's a little too small. Paul (St. Paul) told me not to wish you maranatha or God speed, so I will just say have a nice day, James Foard Hello, Thanks for the "have a nice day". Concerning the font, if you are using Internet Explorer, you can change the font size by clicking on "view" then "text size" then "largest". This may help. Otherwise, I am afraid you are stuck with the font size as it is. You see, I like it that way! LOL. Though I am not forbidden from wishing you anything at all, I no longer believe in gods or goddesses, so wishing you God-Speed...

I pity you that you do not know the Lord or my personal savior Jesus Christ. I'm sorry I won't be seeing you in heaven. Have fun in Hell, but don't ever forget, Jesus Christ loves YOU! No signature, No email return address. GOD LOVES ME SOO MUCH HE IS THROWING ME IN HELL!!!! Thanks friend!

Dave! The following was posted on your website, but I thought that I would send it as an email as well! I just want to say that I am sorry for the junk you have copped from some individuals in the Church. There is a lot of crap in the Church because the problem with it is that it's full of humans, not perfect angels - though some pretend to be so! I have known Christians who try to force God and speaking in tongues on people before - that shows an insecurity and need to control on people. That is not what Christianity is about! The Bible makes it clear that God is the one who does the work of convincing. We're just called to be His witnesses that is all and to avoid foolish arguements, trying to live peaceably with everyone, but giving an answer to the hope that is in us when asked to. Again, I say a big huge, "SORRY!" to you for any pestering from individuals in the Church. Those individuals don't represent us all though! Just like yourself, they are...