To Christians, from a fellow Christian
From Natasha
I would like the chance to say something, although I am quite aware that this is not a forum for Christians. I hope to echo the letter I read called "In Defense of Dave," but from the Christian perspective. If you are a Christian, and you are visiting this site, then please please please, think about what you are posting.
This is a website, clearly for people who WERE Christians, and now are not. Many of them were hurt by their church, or by Christians in their lives, and many see us Christians as uneducated, and illogical. Let’s face it guys, congregations can hurt people, and Christianity is illogical. It is not your job as a Christian to get into debates with these people who often have been hurt by the church. It is our job to apologize, and be humble. It is our job to admit that we have screwed up, and that people have been hurt. It is our job to hold each other accountable to the Christian beliefs we espouse. It is NOT our job to judge people who don’t even hold to the same beliefs we do. It is NOT our job to argue and hate – you are just proving their point when you do this.
People who are ex-Christians are not people who have never heard the gospel – in fact many of them, from what I have read on this site, are better educated than we are about our own faith. They are not looking for your “insight” and you would be hard pressed to present some argument they have never heard. They are looking for healing, and support, and we owe it to them to do whatever we can towards that goal. We are called to be loving, not judgmental.
If you are a Christian, and you haven’t read Dave’s testimony, then do that before you begin to assume anything about anyone else on this site. Try to see everyone here as a person deserving of your love, not a demon possessed soul in need of your judgment.
I would like the chance to say something, although I am quite aware that this is not a forum for Christians. I hope to echo the letter I read called "In Defense of Dave," but from the Christian perspective. If you are a Christian, and you are visiting this site, then please please please, think about what you are posting.
This is a website, clearly for people who WERE Christians, and now are not. Many of them were hurt by their church, or by Christians in their lives, and many see us Christians as uneducated, and illogical. Let’s face it guys, congregations can hurt people, and Christianity is illogical. It is not your job as a Christian to get into debates with these people who often have been hurt by the church. It is our job to apologize, and be humble. It is our job to admit that we have screwed up, and that people have been hurt. It is our job to hold each other accountable to the Christian beliefs we espouse. It is NOT our job to judge people who don’t even hold to the same beliefs we do. It is NOT our job to argue and hate – you are just proving their point when you do this.
People who are ex-Christians are not people who have never heard the gospel – in fact many of them, from what I have read on this site, are better educated than we are about our own faith. They are not looking for your “insight” and you would be hard pressed to present some argument they have never heard. They are looking for healing, and support, and we owe it to them to do whatever we can towards that goal. We are called to be loving, not judgmental.
If you are a Christian, and you haven’t read Dave’s testimony, then do that before you begin to assume anything about anyone else on this site. Try to see everyone here as a person deserving of your love, not a demon possessed soul in need of your judgment.
Comments
I principly left christianity because I realized that it was a mind control system, a Cult, and the bible was a series of mind control documents. You'll never see or understand that as long as you are a christian.
RAmen!
First: Thanks for asking Christians to practice some of the things they preach, but I’m worried that now YOU will begin to taste their wrath…
Second: I believe you put an inordinate amount of emphasis on the idea that people are ex-Christians because of the evils of the church. I think a very small percentage of folks are here because of what the church has done to them.
For every person that becomes an ex-Christian because of the sins of the church, there are millions that remain Christians despite history.
I think what happens much more often is that when people begin to realize that religion is a fraud, they can look at the church with open eyes instead of just seeing what they’re told to look at.
There’s a epiphany or a EUREKA! moment when you see those pieces start coming together... Often there’s some anger at all the lies you’ve been told over the years… And sometimes there’s some embarrassment associated with the realization that you were a part of an organization that has slaughtered millions of people…
But rarely do people become angry at the church until AFTER they realize the hoax.
In my case it was not being hurt by the church that caused me to dump christianity.
It was the theology itself, the self-contradictory nature of the god it preaches, and the flaws in just about all of it's pre-suppositions.
Once you bother to research outside material, and be honest with yourself, there's no going back.
Thank you for your post. It comes across as sincere and genuine. I feel, though, that you may be a voice in a VAST wilderness, no biblical pun intended.
The reason I say that is, though your sincerity may be unquestionable and even justifiable, I'm afraid it's a little naive.
Evangelization is the cornerstone of MANY christian denominations, maybe even yours. I'm sure you're aware of that.
That being said, the christians that come onto this website are merely following the edicts prescripted in their particular version of christianity.
Atheists, for fundamentalist christians, may be the easiest to speak to, in many ways. The burden of conversion is much less difficult when trying to persuade the unpersuadable, yet highly satisfying if the christian somehow manages to crack the armor of atheism and get underneath, even a little. In the tally for souls gained, it's sort of a win-win situation for them. And, never let it be underestimated, the need for conversion by evangelists is paramount. This is by NO means a fringe element in today's christian movement.
There are those christians who feel that evangelization and conversion by those means may be an extreme version of christianity. That is anyone's right to think that way. But, make no mistake, that mindset is, truly, becoming a minority in "The Church," these days.
There's no room for christian moderates, anymore.
Sam Harris, in his insightful works, makes the case that religious tolerance is a very disingenuous aspect of the face of christianity. Religious tolerance is a euphemism, more to the point, a skin deep facade used as a form of political correctness by those religious, when forced to live with a belief system a christian KNOWS to be false. This is, of course, according to the christian.
"We tolerate the catholics (many protestant denominations don't even consider them christian), the muslims, the buddhists, the jews, even though we KNOW they're going to be damned for not accepting christ as their personal lord and savior."--the bible tells them so.
These christians, with whom you plead tolerance, may, very likely, turn and call you such things as to make your christ-loving ears bleed. You are obviously lost, they will say, because you are not winning souls for the cause... you're an un-believer, a heathen, etc.
To make a long post even longer...lol...please consider the fallout when YOU post. The things I have posted here are very possible...and I'm not even a christian...lol
Lee
the world is only six thousand years old
dinosaurs never existed
the world is flat and the earth is the center of the universe
the Sun goes around the earth
demons, invisible spirits, ghosts, holy ghosts, demons, angels, exist
snakes, bushes, and donkeys, can talk
virgin birth is possible
god and jesus live in the clouds above
prayer has secret powers over a god
miracles and blessings regularly occur
invisible souls can either be saved or unsaved, depending on what a person decides to
believe in their heart
the heart is the center of all thought and emotion
people can talk to god and jesus with their heart
there is no such thing as a brain
Jesus is alive walking around somewhere
people can be raised from the dead
people can walk on water
water can be turned into wine
5000 people can easily be fed with two loaves and two fishes
only invisible jesus can save invisible souls
bacteria and diseases are caused by demons
knowledge is of the devil
a person can live in the belly of a whale for three days and nights
preachers hate money
For me to say "I believe" something, it has to make sense in my brain. That we can go to heaven because Jesus died makes no sense. That is the ONE and ONLY reason I deconverted. If, indeed, I ever truly believed. I trusted that "when I got older" I would understand. "Older" presumably meant the age of my mentors at the time. That age has come and gone and I am none the wiser as to what they believed. I do know that my own sisters all of whom are younger than me believe and say the things these "older" people used to say. IT MAKES NO SENSE.
Time to move on.
I did not mean to imply that the primary cause of people leaving the church was anger, or being hurt, I was merely trying to say that even if one person left for that reason, ever, then my responsibility as a Christian is not to condemn them, but to love and support them - not because I want to "get them back in," but because that's what I believe true Christianity is all about. – love. Obviously there are others with a different "brand" of Christianity who may disagree with me, and I don’t mind dealing with a fallout if it were to happen. I am fully aware that there are other logical reasons (including the Bible, lack of evidence, the fact that it doesn't make sense) for leaving the church, and that the majority of people leave for those reasons. That’s why I left too. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear about that in my post – it’s so hard for me to realize how things will sound to other people, especially electronically.
Yes, my particular denomination is evangelical, and we don't deny it, but personally I see it slightly differently than many. I believe Christ asks us (me) to spread the Gospel - by making sure that it is heard in all of the nations of the world. That doesn't mean that I have to convert people, because I don't believe I could. I agree with the statement posted - " One overwhelming fact that the hard core evangelizing Christians just can't seem to grasp is the fact that once we have that "Eureka !!!!!!!" moment, no amout of Biblespeak or Christian logic could ever get us to believe again without evidence." I totally agree, which is why I don’t choose to debate myself. I hope my postings don’t come off that way, I am just trying to explain myself, since I wrote that original post, and it was read and responded to.
Dan, I am not a nice person because I'm a Christian. I know there are nicer people who are not, and less nice people who are. I am a Bible-believing Christian, but I believe that it needs to be studied in historical context. I do believe that Jesus died and rose again, and I do believe in eternal life. I believe God is just, but I can’t begin to explain His justice. I am a youth minister at a Lutheran church. I know some of you feel sorry for me, and maybe you don't think I should get a salary for "indoctrinating" the youth, but all the money doesn’t just go to teaching about six days of creation (I think we have discussed creation once, but I allowed anyone to voice whatever opinion, as long as I got to join in on the conversation). I think there is a place for teaching creation, and noah, but only in context, with the understanding that we don't necessarily understand! (yeah, I know it’s the faith card, and I know that probably sounds naive to most of you)
My youth spend time each week talking about morality, and I ask them to listen to what I have to say, but I also want to hear what they have to say - which often is not the same. My youth spend much more time talking about how they see things than I spend telling them how I see things. I like to think of it as an open forum - so we do talk about ethics and morality from many points of view, and we spend a lot of time doing things that I think anyone would agree benefit society - refurbishing the homeless referral service’s building, rebuilding houses in New Orleans, etc. We don’t do this to make converts, or to earn a good place with God, but because – as I said before, I believe it is the Christian thing to do, show the love we believe God first showed us.
The ideal thing would be for you to keep your love for mankind, and get rid of all the Mythology that you have rattling around in your head.
A theoretical God could, theoretically do anything it wants, but refuses to fix all of the bad stuff here on planet earth.
Maybe if some of us go about life demonstrating goodness, compassion, empathy, and blind love, instead of blind (cultish), faith, she will take another look at us, and deem us worthy of surviving "religion."
Maybe we can, crawl out of our caves, and stand tall, without all of the Pagan baggage of Blood sacrifice, inherited sin, fiery hells, angels, demons, etc.
If we can get rid of some of the religious opposition, to things like stem cell research, and science in general, and survive as a species, we could theoretically live much longer lives, free of some of the pain and suffering we experience now.
Dan (Feeling sorry for all the victims of Faith)
Your expressed ideals are commendable. I don't see why someone needs to believe in Jesus or any god to have those high ideals.
In reality, I haven't really known any Christians who lived the ideals you subscribe to, so I don't see how a god, or a Jesus, or a Bible has anything to do with it at all.
Just my opinion. And, I'm not a youth. Not even close.
Can someone please provide for me some links to show all of this evidence you all seem to know about that debunks Jesus and Christianity?
I have a question, in all sincerity, what would your life be like if you had never heard of God or Jesus?
Without a belief in a God or Jesus:
Would you be so vile and mean that you would find pleasure in pushing crippled people off of sharp cliffs, just to watch them die?
Would you intentionally run over children and animals with your car, just to be mean?
Would you jump up and down and curse people that go to church?
Would you live a life of a cannibal and eat human flesh?
Would you go to a hospital and steal babies and then chop them up?
Natasha: "I believe Christ asks us (me) to spread the Gospel - by making sure that it is heard in all of the nations of the world."
Did you know that millions of people lived over here in America thousands of years, without a Bible or never heard of Jesus?
Where were you? How could these people lived and died without the gospel of Jesus?
There's only one place on this Earth that sin and hell exists, and that is in a book, that was written down by men over 2000 years ago.
Now there over 10 billion people on the earth, so now you have been lead to believe that you have been assigned a great commission to spread the gospel of Jesus, I would be willing to bet that every person in the USA has heard the gospel of Jesus, at least over 50 times each single person in America and that's being conserative, possibly every person in the USA has heard the gospel of Jesus at least 2000 times each since the invention of TV.
So I suggest you get on your bicycle and go over to China and spread your gospel of Jesus, otherwise your belief is not worth the paper it is written on, you're wasting your time here in America.
"Can someone please provide for me some links to show all of this evidence you all seem to know about that debunks Jesus and Christianity?"
Dan to truthandfiction:
Christianity is supposed to make you a good moral person, and seek the truth, and be honest. You are on a website where you can find at least a BILLION arguments pleading the case for apostasy.
Time after time young and old professed Christians have come to this website and tried every conceivable kind of witnessing to us, trying to convince us of the "truth." Their arguments have become convoluted to the point of sheer idiocy, but the only evidence they have ever come up with for the existence of God and Jesus is: "I believe, because the bible tells me to."
The intelligent design people have spent millions of tax dollars trying to get I/D taught as science, but the only evidence they have ever come up with is: "God did it"
We don't think Jesus, if he existed at all, was anything more than just a teacher. There is no real evidence to come to any other conclusion.
When Emperor Constantine started calling himself a Christian, he had a lot of the oral and written stuff about Judaism, and the cult figure, called Jesus put together into a rather, poorly written book, which after thousands of translations, became the bible. Every story including the Jesus story was taken from religions that preceded Christianity.
I am not a scholar, but scholars abound on this site, so if you want evidence that debunks Christianity, you will find enough here to keep you reading for a VERY long time.
Dan (There are some threads with pictures, truthandfiction)
My objections to the indoctrination of youth isn't just about 'Creationism' or 'Noah'.
What I hate is innocent kids being told they are worth no more than clay to the god who supposedly loves them.
That he will dispose of them without a second thought unless they get their life right.
That there is a malevolent devil 'out there', trying his cunning best to make such a thing happen, waiting to drag them to hell - because he hates them so much.
That he is even inside their own mind, tempting and deceiving - and that every time they fail to resist him they are nearer to that eternity of torture in hell, and heaping more suffering onto the burden Jesus bore at the cross.
The guilt and the fear.
That's the indoctrination I hate. Preaching Creationism only serves to make it even more real to them, and the guilt and fear even more inescapable.
Having these invisible characters inside your head, battling for your eternal soul, with all the responsibility on your own self to decide which way you'll fall, heaven or hell - yet human nature and even your own mind betraying every effort - can cause untold mental damage to those who take it seriously, the way they're 'supposed' to.
It's insidious, and turns beautiful, innocent kids into sycophantic god-dependent cowards.
thanks!
A number of gospel passages also led me to disbelieve. Christ said, for example, that there would appear "false teachers, even in my name," which suggests that many, MANY christian and catholic preachers and priests are telling lies, despite the fact that they have all "accepted Jesus," and should be "sanctified" and "filled with the holy spirit," and therefore should be able to accurately interpret the bible, and shouldn't disagree with each other over it's correct interpretation. With so many denominations of christianity, only one could hold the absolute truth, if any do. The disagreement among the many countless denominations of christianity is another reason to disbelieve. I don't think any of them really understand that book, and I can see why after reading it myself. It's a mess. Christians are fooling themselves when they say that they can accurately interpret the bible. They're not fooling me. I've never met anybody who can explain that book in its entirety and if there are any christians out there reading this who say that they can, then let them speak now! Are there any christians out there who claim to be able to explain the bible in it's entirety? I'd love to ask you a few dozen questions about it.
The christian church may say that the gospel must be spread around the world before the "end" can occur, yet the christian church hardly touches the gospels, from my experience as a christian for about thirteen years and a catholic for about twenty years. There are so many passages in the gospels that the church ignores and cannot explain, yet they won't admit it. Christ's words before the transfiguration in Luke, for example, telling us that if any man would "follow after him," he must "take up his cross DAILY." I don't have my bible with me and I don't recall the exact words. The christian church seems to think that to "follow after Christ" is to go to heaven upon dying for having "accepted him." This "acceptance of Jesus," supposedly, guarantees entry into heaven, and there is no need to "take up ones cross DAILY." The passage in Luke suggests that the "road to heaven" is one that one must walk daily. Throughout the gospels Christ repeatedly defies the famous christian doctrine of salvation, which is absurd, really. God wants you to "accept Jesus," so you can go to heaven. Absurd. Another example is the use of John 3:16 in support of said doctrine, when, according to John 3:19, the "condemnation" of John 3:16, appears to be the "fallen state of grace," and not eternal torment in the afterlife. This, again, according to Christ, not me. The church has always used the threat of eternal torment to strike fear into non-believers and scare them into joining. They've also always used guilt over the death on the cross for the same purpose. That's just plain chicken shit. I wish christians and catholics would just be honest and admit that the bible is a mess. I could go on and on, but I guess I've ranted enough. Thanks for listening.
Christ said that one may not enter into heaven unless one becomes as a child, and that it is harder for a rich man to enter in (whether or not he accepts Jesus is of no consequence here) and that ones righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees or one will not enter in. So much for the christian "salvation!" According to Christ, christians aren't "saved!" They must DO these things! It's enough to make a christian hate Jesus (LOL!) BTW, there's ANOTHER way into heaven! One may confess with ones mouth that Christ is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, and one will be "saved!" Imagine that. There are two ways in. WTF. In the end times, one will be saved merely by saying the name of Jesus! THREE ways into heaven! Perhaps being "saved" isn't what the church would have us believe. It may very well be that being "saved" means being "lifted up" out of the fallen state of grace, which would not only make more sense, it would explain the gospels more clearly and correlate the teachings of Christ with those of other religions (I've studied nine of them.) Anyway, that's just my personal observation. The bible is a mess, really, and christian doctrine is absurd...
I second the webmaster's thanks and commendation. I too rarely hear a Christian who talks like you. I can only name off one in fact, myself (prior to deconverting). There were times when I was fighting the lone battle like you've done here.
It's refreshing to see someone else who takes the approach of listening first and trying to understand others. Keep it up. The world is a harsh place, so it's good to know that there's at least one Christian out there who thinks responsibly and tries to help out on both sides.
In my case you're partially right about getting hurt. I was hurt, but not by the church or other Christians. I was hurt to have believed in a heavenly father who would always be there for me, but when I needed to feel his presence the most he failed to exist. When I prayed to him asking for bread, he didn't give me a snake, but he also didn't give me bread. He gave me nothing. It turns out he's not my father after all. It turns out that he doesn't exist, and that's what hurts. I'm getting over it though, and looking forward to the day that I can be the father that I never had.
People who don't believe in God, or more specifically, the "ONE true God" touted by Christians, Jews and Muslims, most often do not believe in Him because they would rather feel in control of their lives. But let's all face it, we're not in control of our lives. None of us. You may be able to make your own choices, but the choices of others still have an effect on your life that you have no control over. It's up to you whether you want to give up that control to someone else, or continue to *think* that you are actually in control.
Dear sweet uncle Loki, it's yet *another* monotheist who thinks she has mind-reading powers.
I do not worship your god because I do not think it to be worthy of my respect. I do think gods are possible, but think the Abrahamic god (Yahweh/Allah) to be more unlikely than most. And its behaviour, as described in various "holy" books, is truly disgusting.
But let's all face it, we're not in control of our lives.
We do not need to be 100% in control. I'll settle for 51%, thanks.
It's up to you whether you want to give up that control to someone else...
Based on the content of your post, Abby, I'm going to assume that you're trying to say "give up control to my god".
No. Not going to happen any time soon. At least I have a *chance* of succeeding as I blunder along with my human emotions, my mortal body and my less-than-omniscient brain. If I put my faith in an invisible and probably imaginary being renowned for its world-destroying hissy fits, I have no chance at all.
Actually, it doesn't really matter who you give up control to, God, the universe, your uncle Loki... You don't have any control in the first place. Sure you have control over your own body, but only to a point. Even the people you work for have more control over your life than you do.
My belief in God has no bearing on you, or who has control over your life.
But I do believe that if you want to have control over what morals you go by, you are your own "god" or whatever you call it. But that doesn't mean you actually have ANY control.
I do not attempt to control my own life. I make decisions on what I can, like what food I put into my body, where I put my furniture, etc., but I don't have control over whether there is money in the bank to buy that food. My husband is the one with the job that pays the bills. And he could be laid off or get sick, and would not make any money if that were the case. If I have to go out and find a job, the place I apply at have control over whether they hire me.
It's not an atheist thing, this wanting to have control, it's pretty much a human thing. Everyone WANTS to be in control of their own destiny, but none of us really are. Unless of course you commit suicide, but then, what if someone finds you and sends you to the hospital. No control. It's sad how we try and try, and yet fail to be in control of anything. We rely on other people to make the right decisions that affect our lives, and dare I say it, some of us even rely on God to guide those decisions and hope that he has our best interest at heart, because we all know that most people outside of ourselves do NOT have OUR best interest at heart, but their own.
Atheists are really good at attacking Christians without much substance. I really find it sad when Christians retaliate in the same way. I hope I've shown you what I mean about control without attacking your position. Whether you believe in him or not, Satan really does have a lot of control on your thoughts. He is, after all, the reason there is atheism in the world.
Actually, I don't give up control to *any* of the Æsir, Vanir, Jotnar, or the gods of any other pantheon. These are not gods that one prays to in the Christian sense of the word; rather, they are archetypes and role models. Their actual existence is possible, but completely unnecessary. I may occasionally turn my thoughts to them when I'm in need of ideas, or raise a glass in toast to them, but in the final analysis it's Me who has to deal with My Stuff.
You don't have any control in the first place. Sure you have control over your own body, but only to a point. Even the people you work for have more control over your life than you do.
That's a horrible, fatalistic and extremely detrimental way to view the world, Abby. And, in my case, an inappropriate analogy. I myself have tossed away two high-paying jobs (executive secretary and computer technician) when they ceased to be fun. Currently I pretty well do what I want, when I want. I'm self-employed as a music teacher, pick up the odd renovation gig, and do medical transcription part-time. All my choices, all fascinating jobs. Life is truly entertaining.
We rely on other people to make the right decisions that affect our lives...
*eep* That's, in my opinion, abrogating your responsibility to yourself.
"Whether you believe in him or not, Satan really does have a lot of control on your thoughts. He is, after all, the reason there is atheism in the world.
Never seen any credible proof of the existence of Satan. (Or of any gods, for that matter, including my own.) For all intents and purposes, all of us attract the virtual presences that we choose to believe in. I believe that if you permit yourself to see powerful adversaries hiding in every corner, you will find them and will have to battle them, because the paradigms in your own mind are setting you up for a fall.
I am not an atheist, by the way. (I call myself an agnostic Buddhist Ásatrúar.)