From Gina: Dear Webmaster, I came across your site by accident. Since I don't believe in coincidence I read your testimony and comments from other people. What stood out most in your testimony was the following: Later that night, in the dark and quiet of my room, I got down on my knees confessed my sins, repented as much as I knew how, and accepted Christ into my heart. It was a mind-altering experience for me. In my mind’s eye I visualized the Creator of all physically with me in the room. I felt overwhelmed with what I believed was a personal and direct manifestation of the LORD. I cried and cried. The emotional cleansing and reality of that moment has never left me, and as I write about it now, it comes alive once again This is where you find God, and come to truly know Him. Find that quiet place again, grab the NIV bible and fall to your knees. Like one other person said " Stop looking for God in man, religion, churches." Many people are not honest with themselves ...

Sent in by Naudia I am confused. I am a Christian still (maybe). I have been browsing this site for a year or 2 now I guess. I have had a lot of questions and read many more things on this site that has disturbed me to the point of lots of research. I have found an answer that has been satisfying for me at least to most of the questions that I have been faced with about the Bible's authority in our lives. I however can not make myself truly believe without doubt about Christ anymore. I can not see how we can trust the way the Bible was canonized. I'm speaking of the canonization of the New Testament. I am scared because I don't want to burn in hell. Which I suspect is why the majority of Christians actually came to Christianity in the first place. I am afraid that if I come to the conclusion Christ is a fabrication and I am wrong then I will burn in Hell for eternity or for however long it is. Does anyone have any information or know where I can read more about the authen...

From Jackie: I have been an ex-Christian for about a year now. I work with a guy who desperately wishes I would "come back to the fold". Too bad... I won't. I overheard him and another gentleman talking about the evidence for Christianity and authors like Tim LaHaye and CS Lewis, who used to be atheists. They mentioned the book by Josh McDowell, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". I have not read this book yet. I was wondering if anyone here has and if you could tell me how ridiculous it is. I'm still learning to be tactful. Sometimes, just coming back with the "no evidence" argument isn't enough when they think they have all they need.

A letter from Kyle M I only do this because this is the only place a care to post. God forgive you all in the end of days i pitty you all. Remember, no matter what God will forgive you for your transgressions against his holy name. I know that without God I would have killed myself by now and you need to wake up to the world you live in if any of you would like to debate me I would love to talk to you. Thank you.

Sent in by Eris Discordia What I find interesting and a little disturbing is the fact that so many people feel it is necessary to pry into my personal belief system! When I finally broke free of the bonds of my prison religion I was made to feel uncomfortable by old friends and relatives, and even people I meet in the coffee shop who insisted on quizzing me as to how I spend my Sunday mornings! "What church are you going to now?" "What happened?" "Why don't you attend church any longer?" "How can you survive without a church family to give you strength in the Lard?" Blah blah blah blah.............. When I reply that I no longer attend church the barrage of questions ensue. The inquisition gets under way! At this point I am afraid that I have been less than tactful and lashed out inappropriately. However, looking back on it, it still angers me that my Christian friends and family are so nosy about my personal beliefs. It has been s...

Sent in by Jan from deep within the buckle of the Bible Belt I'm a member of your ex-christians group and this is a newslink to my old church that is in the news here in Atlanta again. I was a member of Earl Paulk's Cathedral of the Holy Spirit for over 13 years. I left there in 1992 after Earl's Brother Don had an affair with one of my roommates and dear friends. The whole time I had been there I had heard rumors about the Paulks being sexually depraved, but I never believed the rumors... I mean, after all, they were my pastors, right? Good people... They'd never hurt me. Uh-huh. In 2005 I started an online support group for people who have left CHHC and we work constantly to keep the stories of Earl Paulk, Donnie Earl Paulk, Don Paulk, and the whole hillbilly gang in the public eye, both here in Georgia and everywhere else. This most recent scandal is outlined here on pt. 1 and pt. 2 of this FOX-5 I-Team report . The paulks are being sued by a bunch of different...

Sent in by Geoff As I'm sitting here at 1:06 a.m. in the morning, something occurred to me: What if everyone stopped believing in gods? No, really. What if everyone everywhere just gave up Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc., etc. Would a god still exist? If it's as Christians say, and everyone really knows deep down that God exists, then regardless of whether or not anyone believes or disbelieves in God, HIS existence should still be obvious to everyone, right? But it's not obvious to everyone, so religionists evangelize and evangelize and evangelize and evangelize... Christians, when pushing their dogma, always point to nature as proof for a creator. But does beauty in nature really show anything except for the fact that nature is beautiful? How many people can honestly say with a straight face that when they look at a beautiful flower they think to themselves, "This must have been made by the Judeo-Christian god, who in the beginning made two people and a s...

From Janice S I came across your Website by accident, read your comments. My heart goes out to you. You have no true understanding of God, Jesus or the Holy Sprite. I was amazed that you would ask for a donation in an attempt to prove your case. In asking Christains for a donation, to support your anit-God beliefs, you are asking Christains to further the work that Satan is doing thru you. (You can not sever two masters, either hate the one and love the other or love the one and hate the other) Also in your sad attempt to get money to support your views, you are suggesting to us the same arguement that Satan purposed to Jesus in the widlerness. Jesus's reply as is my own (Thou shalt not temp the Lord they God.) We do not have to prove anything to you or anyone else, we know in our hearts that we are saved by the shed blood of Jesus and that the Sprite of God is living and dwelling in us. It is a long and painful process but daily we are being renewed. And yes, we make mistakes a...

I happened upon your website, it made me sad to see the Ex-Christians and all of your stories.. How can people give up on God? There will come a day when you will see that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only way. I can't understand the point where anyone would say ok I am not a Christian anymore.. then you probably were never one. The Lord says in His holy word that it is better for you to have never know me than to known me and to walk away or turn your bcak on Him. I pray that you and your members will return to His way before its too late. MaryG

From Gary T To all "ex", "Non" christians, and all others reading this who feel they are disapointed or confused by the amount of ignorance, lies, perversion and confusion that is rapidly overtaking much of the Christian world today - I understand much of your heartaches, and I'm a Christian. I have'nt been going to a "church" religiously for many years now. We are at a time where we are experiencing "abominations that are causing desolation" due to the enemy within, and its growing strength. The strength of evil forces expanding throughout the world as more an more people fall prey to the temptations of an ever growing babylonian lifestyle, which intern causes lies, deciet, subversion and satanic influence within so - called church leaders, and the congregation. There is also much debate over the truth of the scripture, and there are many people who have many diferent views, all must be taken with a grain of salt and thouroughly examin...

Sent in by Bryan B Why is it that fundamentalists have to have a complete lack of sense of humor? Why is it so hard for them to detect shades of sarcasm, or hints of mockery? I guess the reason I'm asking is because I sent a satirical letter to Answers in Genesis, and it went like this: "Dear Creationists, I, like you, am offended at the exclusive teachings of evolution in public schools. I feel it is important for students to critically consider both sides (creation and evolution), not to be brainwashed by one side. As a member of the native Kiowa Apache tribe, I take pride in our creation story, which never changes, no matter what other men say. I still believe the world was formed by a creator mixing the sweat of 4 different gods, and a tarantula pulling cords to make the earth its present size. Secular scientists say there is no proof of this, but unbiased Kiowa Apache scientists have found just the opposite! Also, our sacred teachings predicted that many peop...

From Jannah B I've been thinking about Christianity and the crutch it is since my leaving it. Recently, a friend was set alight and attacked with a screwdriver (by a complete stranger... can you believe it?) and they did not know if she would survive. In all honesty I prayed out to anything, just by the off chance she would be okay, or that it may help. I knew whilst saying it, that i was talking to thin air. But, it assisted me to cope with the grief and the anxiety of not knowing. The question I have is, how has everyone coped in their grief since leaving behind the lies of Christianity? I have chosen to allow myself to feel out of control and know that there is no cosmic force aligning itself with my prayers. But, I still feel the need to pray in those times of grief, anxiety or even when i just need a little help with something... What do you do? How do you cope? How do you address stress? Is it okay to cry to the God that doesn't exist? Is it okay to pray? Or am I merely c...

From Chris A Since commencing a reevaluation of my beliefs earlier this fall, I've become consumed with doubts, and I was hoping that perhaps some of the former Christians here could give my troubling questions an answer. I would have gone straight to your excellent forums with this, but something seems to have gone wrong with the sign-in process... As I recall, this ordeal started when, while attempting to improve my debating technique, I decided that a Socratic analysis of my deepest convictions and why I held them might help me reach a better understanding of the art of argument. This was a mistake, albeit an enlightening one; after some analysis, I had stumbled onto an important aspect of the relationship between the position of atheism, and the position of Fundamentalist Christianity. As I see it, any atheist position will rest on two or three assumptions, the most common being that human reason is sufficient to determine the validity of any proposition. However, in assuming t...

From Diane I'm a freelance writer based out of New York, and I'm looking for a religion story. Could you direct me to any Ex Christians here that would be willing to talk to me? What are the major issues in terms of Ex-Christians that are being underreported by the media? Any help would be greatly appreciated. dianabritton AT gmail DOT com

From Lori K Just Kinda wanted to say hi, I left the Christian church and my husband three years ago. It's still been a struggle. My 7-year-old son when he visits his Dad, is being told awful stories about how if he doesn't believe in God, he will go to hell, and how I'm full of the devil. Now this poor kid lives day today, confused and in fear. It's just nice to see others who have been through the same thing. I just go day by day, but I worry about my boy.

From Saphire I have only read a few of the posts on here...some from "christians" and a few from the webmaster, and a few from non-christians. I am truly amazed and almost want to laugh at some of the things being said. Laughing though, is not the answer because it really is a serious subject, and some people are really stuggling with their effort to find the truth. The bible is not an easy read, its long, and takes some real attention. To make an intelligent argument for or against christianity, a person needs to be able to comprehend what's written, and actually read it. Not parts of it, but all of it. Anyone who really wants to find the truth, first needs to do that. I dont think anyone should rely on what others are saying, and I mean to say, what ANYone is saying. People have their own agenda's, their own beliefs, and some just wont budge even when they dont really know the facts for themselves. Everyone needs to figure it out for themSELVES by looking ...

A letter to the WM from Joe McG Your words make it questionable if you were a true Christian ever in your life. Sadly, you seek to put down the very Gospel you said you once embraced. Perhaps your human intelligence has overtaken the truth of God's word in your heart. Perhaps the god of this world (satan) has blinded your mind to the truth. Perhaps some unresolved pain from church members has made you bitter to the true and living Lord of the Universe - Jesus. Upon death you will see that all your negative efforts against the Lord were for nothing. Hopefully in a quiet moment you will truly examine your life and see the emptiness that remains there. Hopefully your worldly gain now is worth what you will lack in the God-less eternity you face in the future.

A letter from Nisa: Hello my name is nisa, a 34 year old single mother of two. I TOO AM AT A CROSSROAD IN LIFE. i can truly identify with webmaster's testimony from beginning to the end. I was brought up in the pentacostal church, even as i type i am still confused of God's existence. See, i rebelled at the age of 13-14 and fell into the life of herion, prositution, sadomasocisim and exotic dancing... we all know how that story goes; however, the only thing that keeps me believing in a supernatural prescence is that I have experienced undoubtly, supernatural experiences. Like, the night i was going to commit suicide and as i was about to jump i felt as if someone was "holding me back" which make me rethink the whole situation or the numerous times when i sincerely bowed my knee and felt undoubtly great sense of contement in peace. Does our minds have the ability to create this?? Was this all in my head or can there be something greater existing beyond ourselves?...

A question from Berkley H This past weekend I was relaxing on my lawn (NOT really all that visible from the road), mostly dozing off (as one might do on a weekend in nice weather), when I was awakened by an "evangelical Christian" who had decided that I should be preached to on the subject of saving my soul. Now, I have chased these idiots off in the past with verbal abuse. You would think that they would have gotten the word by now, but apparently this one hadn't. Being in a reclining position on a chaise, I reached up my hand as if requesting assistance in sitting up. The god-shouter reached for my hand with his fingers spread wide. Instead of grasping his hand in mine, or grasping his wrist, as he apparently expected, I grabbed his middle finger (it was his right hand -- the left was holding "The Good Book" and a bunch of Chick comics) and bent it sharply back. I think I dislocated it. At any rate, it caused him great pain, apparently, because he yelle...

Sent in by NZC70 I've been a reader of this outstanding site for quite a while, and I've made it part of my daily reading. I've been wanting to participate more, but time hasn't allowed it. However, I've come across a new (at least to me) xian disturbing method of brainwashing that I just had to address. Here's a prime example of how some xian preachers are now re-enforcing the hold they have over their "flock". They have the congregation hold up their bibles and repeat the following: "This is my bible: I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I'll boldly confess. My mind is alert; my heart is receptive; I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living Seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same - never, never, never! I'll never be the same, in Jesus' Name." Boy, talk about brainwashing! It alm...

Sent in by Jeff Dear friend, thanks so much for your note of concern regarding my absence from the church community of late. I’m sorry I’m just replying to it! Grab hold, I’m going to share what I think. I share this with you in confidence, as I’m in the wrong community (a small Texas town) for this to be general knowledge. In all honesty, you and I have shared some of the questions of faith that I’ve encountered over the last couple of years, and I have appreciated having an “ear” for that limited dialogue. I think it would be fair to you and Pastor to let you know that my “faith journey” has changed fairly significantly and dramatically since my return to Texas, and perhaps had the seeds of change much earlier, prior to our move from Utah. I find at present that it is very difficult for me to be honest with myself (and therefore others) during our worship, and I somehow feel that I’m not entirely being genuine as I pray the prayers and recite the creeds, because in fact I no long...

Sent in by KW In all senses of the word, I am a "Christian". (Yipes!) I am a respected man in my church, I have a thriving buisness, I have a wonderful "Christian" family. But I don't like what being a Christian has become. So I have a bit of empathy for your site. I find it interesting and insightful. I think you all are a bit angry, but you have a right to be. Somewhere along the line, you became bitter and agnostic because these "Christians" continue to do the things that pissed you off in the first place. Well, they piss me off too. But human nature is what it is. There is a huge gulf between Christianity (as we know it), and having a personal connection with the Main Man. That's a personal issue. But there IS something to it, and I think it would be unwise to completely throw out the baby with the bathwater. To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

A letter from Glenn B Religion and her twin sister, mass self-righteousness, have been the stated cause of every war man has ever fought. It's the cause of most of the hate, bigotry and hypocrisy in the world today and always has been. The prisons are full of Christians and Muslims. Then they have the nerve to say that it's us, the atheists, who are being mislead and are bad people. Atheists don't brainwash their kids into thinking that they're better than everybody who doesn't believe what they do. Or that you can go out and rape, torture, murder and steal all you want, as long as it's in the name of some invisible guy in the sky who's never saved anyone. Atheists don't pull that cowardly old "I was in the grips of Satan and am not responsible for the terrible things I've done" crap. Sorry to spoil any atheist bashing, but we don't believe in Satan, so of course we don't worship him. Technically, you have to be a Christian to wors...

Sent in by Deborah K My mother is 80 years old, a retired missionary to Africa! I have recently discovered that Christianity in it's fundamental, evangelical form is certainly not for me. My siblings are current foreign missionaries. I know it will break my mother's heart to hear of my change so I am keeping it to myself and just nodding in agreement to her crazy remarks. I know the subject will surface soon and I will have to confess to my new thoughts, and I was wondering if anyone else has been through this to give me some encouragement or advice. I mean a very real, true ultra conservative, evangelical environment. I don't want to bring her "shame" that's why I fell it is important just to go with the flow until one day I'm found out. Thanks To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

From Martin R Hi, I run an atheist group in Brisbane Australia which meets once a month. If possible pls pass this information onto your members who may be interested in joining us for these meetings. Details at the website: http://atheists.meetup.com/501/ To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

Your gospel story quiz made me angry. I took it twice, the second time through I recorded the opposite response to each question and still received a zero. Maybe you think it's clever to quiz people on the contradictions, my time is valuable and you wasted it with your impossible quiz. Get a life. ~Alana Cooke, MA, MEd To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

My name is Jayson Cooke and I am a Psych Science student at Griffith University Gold Coast campus in Queensland Australia. I am in the process of starting an on-campus cultural group "Griffith University Society for Skeptics and Freethinkers." I was hoping you may be able to help out in some way, any way really. I really believe we can contribute towards something great here and any assistance would be greatly appreciated. The Centre for Inquiry On Campus group ( http://www.campusfreethought .org/ ) has kindly provided promotional and educational material which has been a great help but in order to achieve our goals of not just preaching to the “converted” I will need all the help I can get. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated and I have just finished setting up a myspace group page to be found at http://groups.myspace.com /gussf Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and for the inspiration. Jayson D Cooke To monitor comments posted to this topic, use...

A letter from Michelle N I have enjoyed reading this site for months now. I'm not good with computers and mine is an antique. I left the faith a few years ago. The main reason was the hell doctrine. My mother took me to a Lutheran church as a child (pretty laid back,no fire and brimstone). My dad would drop us off and go get a coffee. My mother had faith but was not fanatical: more of a "Sunday Christian." It was the warnings of hell by an elderly women at a friend's youth group that scared the shit out of me. I tried to feel close to god, but was convinced He hated me. I was also convinced at age 22 that I had somehow committed the Unpardonable Sin. I practically had a nervous breakdown, just waiting to die and face my unchangeable fate. Every night was spent weeping for all the people who were destined for hell. I started to realize that being a Christian meant shutting off the part of the brain that feels compassion. How could anyone accept their loved ones -...

Sent in by Cathy M I do not consider myself a part of the Christian-sect; however, I find this site to be filled with the most cynical of former Christians -- and what's the point? Why would these folks need encouragement? I think it's because they still carry the Christian belief that they will burn in a place called hell for turning their backs on a God whom they believe to be vengeful. (case in point: why does the anti-spam question ask if fire is hot or cold? Freudian slip?) It seems to me the whole purpose of this site is for folks to reassure themselves they made the right decision in leaving the Christian doctrine; yet over half of the arguments are illogical, lame -- as if the bloggers aren't quite sure they did the right thing. One blogger argues against God and somehow introduces religion as part of his argument against God -- there is no relation between the two: God is God. He did not create religion -- religions were invented by men who attempted to control t...

Sent in by BTG I would like to submit my full story sometime later on when I have the time. Until then, I would like to bring up something that crossed my mind as I was sitting down on a bench in the middle of a garden. I began to gaze at a mamey tree. The cycle of life came into my mind. Obviously, it was birthed out of a pod from a previous tree, and it grew into what it is right now. That tree, which is currently full-grown, has had many different pod-filled fruits come out which it will hope to birth dozens more trees. And then, someday that tree will die. What becomes of the tree? Surely, it's seedlings live on to hopefully become trees, but does the tree in question go to some sort of magical garden in Heaven? Or does it wither away and vanish from existence for all eternity, as I fear may be the truth? This applies to all living microbes, animals, insects, and humans that are on this earth right now. When we die, what becomes of our consciousness? Does our consciousness liv...

Sent in by The Atheist Tooth Fairy Before I state my question, first some basic history about myself. My wife is a very devout Christian woman, while I'm now a complete atheist, one who not only doesn't believe in God and the bible, but also sees zero evidence for anything supernatural on this earth as well. You can surely imagine how the debates must go between my wife and I. My ongoing efforts to show her with extensive proof that the bible is nothing supernatural to 'worship' and her telling me that she'll be praying for God to give me my faith back, for to my wife my problem is surely just a matter of 'fixing' my faith to get me back on track etc. In all my research of the supposed supernatural things of the bible that Christians and atheist debate about, there is one interesting item I never see anyone talk about. This subject came up during one of our many little debates with my wife, about the extraordinary claims of the bible. If one assumes that fol...

Sent in by Monk First, let me say that I am adamantly atheistic. I want to make that known to put my question(s) in the proper context and identify myself as a sincere seeker of knowledge (as opposed to a rabble-rousing “troll”). Having said that, I ask: How is it possible to make an informed decision about anything when so many sources claim to have the inerrant truth? (This could apply to several subjects, but let’s limit it to religion for now). I reasoned my way out of what little faith I ever had using solid, verifiable evidence…but what about the religious masses? The findings of science, scholarly history, atheism, etc., etc., are enough for me. Yet, what is true and reasonable to me may not seem that way to someone else. In my experience, you cannot combat faith with reason. Why? Because you cannot combat emotion with reason, and I would argue that faith is nothing more than an aberrant and misguided combination of otherwise healthy emotions. How can we, as non-believers, pro...

Sent in by Jim Before I ask my question, I want to provide a brief overview of my religious background--a mini-testimonial. My Mother was a very religious person (Southern Baptist) who dedicated me to God at birth, bred me for the ministry, read to me from the Bible every evening, required me to say my prayers with her every evening, and she took me to our church for every single event which occurred there: weekly prayer meetings; Sunday morning and evening Bible study and services; Bible Study classes during special weeks during the year; revival services; Vacation Bible School; etc. I attended the Baptist college in my state as a ministerial student, majoring in philosophy with a minor in religious studies. After graduation from college, I attended seminary and earned my B.D. degree. During my first year in seminary, mymother died, and as a result of that, I was able for the first time in my life to begin to "decide" what I really wanted to do with my life. During the secon...

Sent in by SailorFraud This is in reference to the YMCA evicting the atheist youth group, Camp Quest, posted in March 2007 . I sent a letter to Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and got a response that they will respond when they have the time. AU recently sent me an email with detailed questions. The letter is posted below. Can you please answer their questions, or direct me to someone who can answer them, or perhaps post it on your site so the audience can answer them? Thanks! Thank you for contacting Americans United. I apologize that it has taken a while to get back to you. As you might imagine, our office has been extremely busy. Because the YMCA is not a public entity, its actions probably do not constitute an Establishment Clause violation. Do you know if the YMCA is receiving public funds to maintain these camp grounds? Do you know if the YMCA owns this land or if it rents it from the city? I look forward to your response. To monitor comments posted to...

On Sunday, July 1st, Internet Infidels released the first installment of a series of debates called The Great Debate: God or Blind Nature? Philosophers Debate the Evidence . It aims to bring together nine distinguished philosophers in a series of four debates, each with a different focus on evidence for and against naturalism and theism. You can view the first installment, a series of exchanges between physicalist Andrew Melnyk and dualists Stuart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro on "Mind and Will," here: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/debates/great-debate.html This is the "live" table of contents for the entire series of debates, giving you a general idea of what's planned for the forthcoming installments. The remaining installments will be released about every two months after the release of the first, i.e., September 1, November 1, and January 1. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you would assist me by linking to the Great Debate Project website i...

From Andrew D I am sorry that the curch as we know it has failed so many people. Chritianity is about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not a personal relationship with man although that is part of it. If there is no love, all other things are meaningless. I would like to encourage those who have been hurt, neglected or condemned by fellow man, there is a thing called unconditional love but you won't experience it from man. Man will fail each other time and time again. We have to look past the ills of man and hope for better things. I am a Christian and I understand why people have turned there back on God, I have come close but I realise that it has always been because man has let me down or because I can't see the resons for certain things happening in my life. Our understanding is so limited and if we would realise surrendering our lives completely and trusting in God we would see drastic changes in our lives for the better but we fear not been in control of our...

Dear sir/madam, I am writing to you out of concern, and i really hope that you might spend a short time to read this email. i dont write this email to try to stir or offend you but i was googling "christian forums" when i stumbled upon your website. I attend christian forums as a born again believer and i believe they are helpful for dicussion of hard topics and current affairs etc that might be causing a christian some struggles etc. The chrisitan forums websites are used to encourage each other - and to lift one another up. Your website however seems to only have the sole purpose of bringing people down. I;m not the smartest or most knowledgable person around but i do know that what you are doing is sin and i think it a real trajedy that you would encourage others to leave behind God and to not return to Him after trials. Life is hard, i will grant you. But what do we deserve?? nothing! We are sinners, all of us - and there is no denying that every single person on the...

Sent in by Jake O i am extremely disapointed in this web site. indeed athiesm is a belief and should be repected, indeed religion has flaws and can be challenged, but at no time should you ever critisize others and put them down, and to insult them because you dont agree. you think you are so sophisticated and intelligent over those who believe in a higher being. you think that religion is the source of all of what is bad in the world when really the worst people in history were athiest. ex. adolf hitler, napolean, stalin. not to mention how many people has religion given hope, comfort, and healing to? To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

I am hoping that you can give me some sort of rebuttal concerning the so-called fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, particularly the one involving the rebirth of Israel in 1948. I have been presenting various information to a friend of mine to illustrate that the Bible is full of errors and a very shady history as far as how it was constructed. This particular friend keeps harping on the fact that the rebirth of Israel was predicted in Ezekiel 37 & 38. He also constantly reiterates the fact that the much-hyped "Mark of the Beast" scenario was not ever possible until the generation that we are currently living in (computer technology, lasers, Digital Angel tracking, etc.) What would be your reply to such a person?

Sent in by Harry Hey everybody. This is my latest posting here on this site. I have written quite a few times before and at various points in time have had differing opinions. Despite having gone to church for years, and bible college, I have come to the conclusion (yet again) that I am not comfortable with religious doctrines/heaven and hell/salvation/etc. I'm not really sure whether I am an Agnostic or an Atheist. While I don't believe in a personal god that answers prayer and is in control of the universe, etc., I do have an appreciation for the beauty of life and nature. I understand why people believe the things they do about their respective religions: Faith is comforting (for the adherent). At this point in time, I am having mixed emotions at the prospect of not believing in the religious God(s) I have come to know over the years. I feel more free and clear-minded than I have ever felt before... yet at the same time, I feel nervous. This site has been a huge help to me ...

Sent in by Mike Brown help me please, I am a christian, I'll admit it. I know such a confession on a site like this is like painting a target on yourself but here goes. I've been accused of "soliciting" trying to "convert" you name it I've gotten it in the last two day. I'm sure some of you are annoyed with me and have me shoved into the same old box of "just here to try out the latest evangelism techniques. That's just not so... See I'm in semonary working towards my MDiv. We've been talking about some pretty difficult stuff for the church. Things like how to deal with the post modern world, how our faith can withstand the changes in the world, how are we to adjust our lives and message to an evolving context. These things are hard for us because the paradigm of the world is shifting. As believers we have to figgure out what shifts and what does not, what remains constant and what does not. It's not easy trying to figgure thi...

Sent in by Anna Dear Dave: I could have written the anti-testimony you posted myself. The similarities are eerie. The questions I asked however resulted in a physical beating or two (once when I was pregnant, killing the baby), but very similar. It was made painfully clear to me that Christianity..no denomination.. had a place for me. Believe me, I gave it a good go> My husband and I were even pastors for a short while. I graduated from Christian school. Had a full time ministry, etc etc ... Anyway, Christianity is a cult!! No thinking man can reconcile the inconsistencies and outright lies. But, that is not God's fault. In fact I am sure it makes Him mad too. I will not detail in angry lamenting all the reasons why I know that...you no doubt hear that ad nauseum. Instead I offer this... It is only with the courage to UNlearn that I learned anything worthwhile. Like you, I walked the path of complete disconnect for a while. Not in as high tech a fashion as you have found,how...

Sent in by Stephen G You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. Your sickness will never change the fact that there is not a man or woman in Hell right this moment that does not know Christ Jesus! Please Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Only the Grace and Mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ has allowed your life to be spared from an eternity in Hell. Give it up brother, but then your pride in all your foolish opinions won't let you , will it? Sounds like someone else I have read about. Your god. Satan. he loves you so much, he wants to take you to Hell with him. That, my friend' makes you a LOSER, because he is the greatest LOSER of all time. Thank God your mother was PROLIFE! Get ready and don't be surprised, your life is going to change. You will never admit it when it does, but you still won't be able to fool yourself. When it does though, do me a favor, let me know. I won't tell anybody. I promise. To monitor comments posted to this to...

Sent in by Dominique A i've looked at this website and have found that so many of are not necessarily looking for the Truth, but are more bent on proving that the Truth isn't. When Jesus the Christ was speaking to people who questioned Him (Pharisee and "ordinary" folk alike), He knew what was in their hearts. He understood those who came to Him looking for Him (the Truth) and He also understood those who came looking to make a point of their own; those who came to prove Jesus wrong and show their own intellectual/emotional/spiritual fortitude or ability. As for the writer's comment that his Bible teacher told him that we are not supposed to know everything there is to know about GOD, I say "Right on!" We are not supposed to know everything. I wish, for the life of me, that I fully understood this issue of "pre-destination" or "non-pre-destination", but I do not. Does that mean that I should reject Jesus? Does that mean that, b...

Sent in by Chris This message goes out to all the asshole Christians who regurgitate the same nonsense bullshit on this site over and over. I can't read any more of your shit. It's repulsive to me, as a new Ex-Christian, because I didn't used to think that Christians could be so rude. This especially goes for the ones who say they are doing it in love. No you're not, you self-righteous pricks! You're doing it to earn brownie points with your bloodthirsty god, or to feel better about yourselves because you've done something productive by "saving" someone else. Don't bother replying to this message for my sake, because I won't bother wasting any more time reading your comments. I'll come on to this site only to read the front page articles from now on. You've lost your chance to show me the respect and love that you believe Jesus taught. Prior to my de-conversion I was much more of a Christian than any of you are. You make me sick with yo...

Sent in by Niece For those of you here that are Christians but desire to somehow convince these people that they are errant in their ways, please stop. These people are hardened by annoying if not mean persons who believe they are 'acting for Christ.' This is not a holy crusade to visit this website and tell these people they are wrong, that's called harassment. Simply fitting into that Superman shirt will not allow you to save these people, that's God's job. If you so desire to 'help' these ex-Christians, then do as Jesus and pray. He knew when to keep his mouth shut, so should Christians. A problem with Christians is that they claim everything they do is in the name of Jesus but is it really? Couldn't it be more for your own ego or somehow perversed superiority? Jesus washed feet, he came to serve...so with a servants heart act. Do these people desire your comments? Most likely not. The first step a Christian could make while on this site is t...

Sent in by Jim T I thought this was pretty funny and I wanted to pass it along. I recently got Sirius Satellite Radio because I love radio and I just couldn't take regular radio anymore. Anyway, I was listening to Howard 100 and Howard 101, which is Howard Stern's radio stations on Sirius, and Howard invited a guy named Bill Keller to host a weekly live prayer show on his radio station. Howard basically did it as a "goof" and thought it would make for entertaining radio to have this guy interact with his listeners on his radio station. It was pretty entertaining to say the least. His first day Howard put a prostitute and a transvestite on the air with Bill Keller and it was pretty typical. He basically told them they were both going to "hell" and he was going to pray for them before they did. I wrote Bill Keller an e-mail and told him that I am an ex-christian, and I explained to him why I left Christianity. He had said life is a "mess" withou...

Sent in by Gina L I was born and raised in a strict Catholic family. Since the time I was a child I questioned certain things about Christianity that I never found answers to. First, if God is all-knowing, he knew Adam and Eve would sin. He knew he'd redeem sinners through his son Jesus. He also knew that many people wouldn't live up to the standards to allow entry into heaven, thus condemning them to an eternity in hell. The New Testament stresses the loving, forgiving nature of God. But what I have always wondered is, if "God is Love" then why would he create us knowing most of us will be damned for all of eternity. Second, if we need to live a certain way and believe certain things in order to obtain salvation, why are our lives so short? Doesn't it seem like an insurmountable task to be completed in an average lifespan? Thirdly, if we were created in "the image of God" and God loves all of us as his children, why is the feminine aspect of ou...