by J.D. Killarney I began collecting tattoos when I was sixteen. It would have been sooner, but in Virginia one must be at least sixteen with parental permission. I was raised a Christian, and from the ages of about 16-18 I was very Jesus-centric. During that time I got several tattoos reflecting as much, including: a cross, a lion of Judah, a very pretty and detailed portrait of Jesus on the side of my neck, and last but not least, 'Jesus Saves' on the back of my hands. That was over two years ago and in that time I have used my intellect and rationality to face facts and dismiss the bible as a fallacy. I am now an Atheist. Unfortunately, my tattoos don't know that. I still have elderly cashiers noticing my hands and smiling warmly say things like 'well God bless you' or 'can't nobody complain about THOSE tattoos!' The moral of the story is: listen to your Grandma, your religious views really may change some day. And having visible tattoos really DOES d...

Says Controversial Author in A New Book That Pokes Fun At The Holy Scriptures With people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens leading the way, more and more books discrediting the idea that a single sentient being created everything around us are being devoured by atheists tired of being labeled as un-godly and silenced legally, socially and culturally by the prevalent creationist systems lying behind the world’s most powerful (and arguably most violent) governments. The problem with all these books, as the author sees it, is these books are brilliant if you have mind for science, and/or a genuine interest in theology, but for a majority of people they are cumbersome to read. While making them popular with the intellectual elite, they are for your average literary hobbyist, complex, and far from entertaining. CJ Werleman, Australian-born author of “God Hates You, Hate Him Back” says, “I believe people learn more when they find reading a pleasure, and with an entire genre of...

Sent in by Lisa Image by star5112 via Flickr Yesterday, one of my daughter's friends had a terrible accident. Her husband called my daughter from the hospital . And here's what happened then: My daughter and her husband called another friend to go pick up the couple's baby from the hospital. My daughter took off to a town about an hour away to pick up her friend's mother from the airport. Her husband went to be with the friend's husband at the hospital. Today, my daughter made cookies and nut bread to take to the hospital for those who would be staying with the friend, then she and another friend took the young woman's nephews and baby to the park and then to her house so the adult family members could stay at the hospital without worrying about the kids. This evening, she and the other friend are making lasagna and several other freezable meals to take to the family so that when they come home to rest, they will not have to worry about food. Her husband ...

A letter from Emma Image by jenschmen via Flickr My sister became a Baptist in the UK four years ago. From being happy and smug for herself and her husband (whom she followed down this path), she has become paranoid about the Devil in the world and desperate to convert me and others she loves. She believes every word in the Bible is true and the Word of God - an indication to me that those that are teaching her are insane. I know many lifelong and good Christians who recognise the Bible as being man-made, mistranslated, having tenuous links to Christ's true message etc., etc., yet maintain their love of Christ and God and live according to Christ's word. My questions are: Do I try to show her the error of her ways? (So far a waste of time. She doesn't listen, only thinks up Bible-speak counterarguments and resorts to the old retort: "That's the Devil speaking in you"). Or, do I try to ignore it and seek the old personality of my sister that still in there so...

A letter from Lock Image by ideacreamanuelaPps via Flickr My question is for christians who visit this site. I myself am an ex-believer and I've posted comments on here in the past as anonymous . My question is "How can christians possibly explain the contradiction between the character of God in the Old Testament and the character of God that Jesus teaches in the New Testament? The Old Testament makes God out to be extremely vengeful, wrathful, and apparently hardens people's hearts so they won't repent . He even allows Moses to command the Israelite men to kill all the Midianite men, boys, and women who were not virgins, and sanctions the men to keep the young virgin girls for themselves. Jesus describes God as all loving and merciful. The New Testament says there is no partiality with God... ect... ect... How do christians reconcile this? When I was a believer, I was always taught that in the Old Testament it was the time before mercy, and that is why God's j...

A letter from Tina Dupuy Hello! I was referred to you by Troy Conrad AKA Comedy Jesus . I'm an investigative journalist and I'm working on a project about the " Satanic Panic " of the 1980's. I'm are looking for stories about people accused of devil worship by listening to the heavy metal genre of music in the 1980's. Did your mom take away your Faith No More records? Were you sent off to bible camp or a mental hospital? Did the hysteria over satanic cults impact your teenage years? I want hoping to contact any of your members who have experiences they'd like to share with me. Also if there is any other resources you can think of - I'd love to hear about them. Thanks in advance for your help. Note: Anyone with stories they'd like to share should send the stories and their contact information by clicking here . The stories and contact information will be forwarded to Ms. Dupuy.

A letter from Jari in Finland : I searched some skeptical/ex-Christian sites and wanted to ask my question to someone who possible may have some ideas of the things I am gonna ask and maybe provide some helpful information. I am myself agnostic at the moment. Was believer in past, but really started doubts some things in Christian faith. So much confusion and wrong prophecies, much fear instead spreading love and courage to peoples life. Since I lost my faith I have read much skeptical material from the net and from books too. My question to you is this: Have you or do you know if there is any study made about the current Christian miracle claims? I mean basically those extreme Charismatic meetings which report jewels materializing from thin air, instant weight loss, angel feathers from thin air, oils pouring from hands and gold/sapphire dust from bodies. Basically I first heard of those claims from my Christian friend, who watching Sid Roth "Supernatural" programs on Christ...

A letter from Mikel Image by bhardy via Flickr I was thinking back on times I had questioned a religious teacher, and thought up a short list of questions I asked. I asked all of these perfectly sincerely, maybe a bit naively. Anyone is welcome to try answering--most of the time I was just given "that look" as if I was just trying to disrupt the lesson, or was told that "that's just what we believe." I should also point out that none of these thing stands out as "the one thing" that caused to to leave Christianity. They are just little things that got my skeptical juices flowing. Why should I expect to apply a Biblical passage to my life, if it's history, poetry, or prophecy? (Asked when a Sunday School teacher wanted the class to write down what how passage or other applies to our lives.) Isn't claiming 'promises' from Psalms pulling those quotes out of context? How do you know your beliefs are true, when there are lots of sincere f...

A letter from Gee Will Image via Wikipedia Last weekend my wife and I sent out e-mails to notify our family members that we aren't going back to church and are actually not christians any more. All four parents and four siblings and each of their spouses are all committed evangelical christians - one brother is a pastor. None of them live anywhere close to us. We had talked directly to my wife's parents, and they took it very well - they are actually almost supportive. I talked with my younger sister on the phone when she called to talk about the elephant in the room . So, we got calm but questioning responses from my wife's brother and sister, with reassurance that a change in beliefs wouldn't change their love for us. But, I just got a response from my Mom, and as I expected, she is pretty much grieving my death. Though I'm not surprised, I'm still devastated that she is so hurt. I don't need a bunch of condolences or anything... just writing ther...

A letter from Lisa Image by zedzap via Flickr My daughter went to the gynecologist the other day for a sonogram (12 weeks) and the fetus no longer had a heartbeat. I went to my daughter and son-in-law's town to take care of the baby they are adopting while they went to the hospital for the procedure. Just got home. People were telling both them and me, "I am praying for you." "It was god's will." "It was meant to be." . . . None of us believe that god killed that potential (and very much wanted) child. And we don't believe "it was meant to be" for her to go through that whole in-vitro process twice in two years to end up with two dead babies before they ever got a chance to become babies. When they say they are praying, I say thank you. They mean well. But "meant to be" and "god's will" make me mad. Oh, and "God needed another little angel up in heaven," was lucky she was on the other end o...

A letter from Ian Image via Wikipedia I am a fully convinced ex-Christian, and have been for a couple of years. Before my de-conversion I was from a fundamentalist evangelical background and had lived in it all of my life. Whilst life is much better with a free mind I do have some challenges and difficulties resulting from my journey out of religion. I suppose it is the matter of a " moral compass " that I am not sure I can trust- or perhaps one that I have never learned to use. I have known morality as a set of rules imposed- instead of feeling equipped to make good moral judgments as I work through life. This was all very well when I wholly accepted the regime in which I lived, and I had no real choices because everything was simple and proscribed for me. Now I feel weighed down by the burden of having to work things out- and more to the point I feel I keep making bad decisions. My Christian friends see this as my natural moral decline after losing my relationship with ...

A letter from Dave Image via Wikipedia I recently attended the celebration of life ceremony of my best friend, who recently died from a bacterial infection while camping in Hawaii . I spent many years of my life discussing the deep questions with my friend, and both of us left the church together. His family did not take it the same way as my family. Both of his parents and other siblings constantly chided him and urged him to return to the fold. My friend refused to see the world in such morally black and white terms that Christianity presented to him. When he died, his family wanted so badly to believe that he would be in heaven with them, that they began saying he had went back to Christ days before his death. The family decided to hold a celebration of life ceremony at their long-time church. What started out as a celebration of stories and memories turned into the pastor explaining that our dear friend had returned back to Christ and that others should follow him. The pastor...

A letter from DS, "The voice of one crying in the..." Image by Colin Purrington via Flickr this is what happens when faux christians have a little bit of knowledge of the truth, but not enough to defend themselves against the onslaught of the lies of Satan . For example, it is a scientific fact that the theory of evolution is scientifically IMPOSSIBLE, according to all of the LAWS of SCIENCE, but most faux christians heve never learned this so the bald-faced, idiotic, asinine and absurd lie of evolution lingers around in their heads as a means to destroy the truth of God's Word... Genesis . I am writing a book about the truth where I expose all of the lies of Satan that keep people from coming to the knowledge of the truth, or steal the truth away from under-educated, ill-equipped christians. If anyone is interested, then e-mail me. The confusion and illogic of your site and the people that agree with you is staggering, but easily refuted. If you seek the truth y...

A letter from J Marco, Lord of the Medeci Image by ian murchison via Flickr I'm not sure if things have heated up around me lately, or if I am just more sensitive to it.The last several months it seems like Christianity in my area ( deep South , US) has gotten much more aggressive, and more militant. It is everywhere. It's not that "can I tell you about Jesus" type; no, it's that "we have to turn this nation back to God before he rains brimstone on us type". It's that "we have to fight against sin" type. It's that really scary unhinged junk I grew up in. It's really had me gritting my teeth. This website has been a godsend for me (minus the god, of course). It sounds silly, but I didn't know deconverting was an option until I started reading about how other people did it. It is also good to know your not the only exchristian in the world. Well, not too long ago I got mixed up with Facebook thanks to a sibling, and before you k...

A letter from Mark Image via Wikipedia This website has been great. I really get a kick out of the stories I read on this site and the great insight that you guys have. As a matter of fact, I can relate to many of your experiences in the church. On that note, let me share mine. And before I do that, I must say that my story is a little more difficult and more complicated than yours and hopefully I can get some help from you guys to finally be truly free at last from the depressing mess the church life has provided for me. So here goes: Well for me, let me start by saying that I was raised in a catholic background. We did not practice it on a steady basis or go to church religiously or anything like that, but I did receive my sacraments like baptism as a baby, communion, penance, confirmation, etc.... And growing up in the catholic religion, I always believed in god and always felt close to god. When I was in a crisis as a kid I always prayed to god. I would make the sign of the cross ...

A letter from deathbyluxury Image by Cayusa via Flickr I’d like to start out by saying that I enjoy this community. I find it reassuring that there are other people like me who have grown tired of defying their own common sense with Christianity, and have decided to pursue something more logical (whether unto themselves or otherwise). I, personally, have found myself to be in the ballpark de facto atheism (according to the spectrum Dawkins explained in “ The God Delusion ”), and this letter is aimed specifically at people of similar views. The path which led me here was a quick and brutal one. It started about two years ago, when a former coworker (who is an atheist) began inspiring me to challenge my beliefs. Despite the fact that I was beginning to doubt the existence of a supreme deity, I found myself holding desperately fast to the solace which I found in Christianity. While my belief in the supernatural decreased, my instinct to hold on to it increased. This created a feel...

A letter from Evelyn Image by miss karen via Flickr Does anyone have an amusing story? Something funny? lighthearted? Fun? Interesting facts about the brain, universe, etc... I just need a good laugh. Is there anything you did while being a Christian that you can laugh at now? What talents and abilities did you discover after leaving religion? How did it help you?

A letter from Lemsip I do not support christians whatever they do but to label them all as the same and bring them all down to the lowest common denominator sucks. This is what the fundies do to non christians. You do the same to christians and some are quite lovely people. I am an ex christian but am ashamed to call myself an atheist judging by how some of the atheists decided to gang up on me and call me names. I don't think many of them are ex christians. They've decided as soon as they could that religion wasn't for them before giving it a chance and to go further by blaming all society's ills on them just like Emperor Nero . To them christians are handy scapegoats that they can look down upon and project their weaknesses onto. Quite frankly this website sucks. It's getting very boring. Somebody makes a post and there are comments with platititudes and parrotted repitition. No one is allowed to differ on any point. I would like to inform you that this ...

Image via Wikipedia A letter from jahsgirl Your website is devilish, u don't know how much damage u are doing to yourself and others. I can't believe that u disrespect the God who created u and gives u the air to breathe every single second of your life. Hopefully u can ask for mercy soon before its too too too late. I will repent if I where you. Man I will sure pray for you; you need it.

A letter from Robin Image by LaMenta3 via Flickr I'm new on this website and have been lurking around a bit. I generally like the civility here. It feels like a caring and loving place, for the most part. Except for the few trolls, who are not even close to as bad as what I've seen... I'm really liking it here. Hell, I even like reading the troll responses... just so I can keep up on all of the insanity ;). It's rare to find this on anonymous forums. Very "Christ-like." I've felt for a long time that I'm a better "Christian" than they are... if we are gaging it by Christ's words... to help the poor, the sick, the disabled, the unfortunate... to love our neighbors as ourselves. Atheists and agnostics are fucking amazing people!!! But we knew that already, didn't we? I'm gay, 44 and have been in a loving and committed relationship for over 5 years. I'm an agnostic, but a former fundamentalist Christian . My mother, two sisters ...

From Jackie27 Image via Wikipedia I have a few thoughts that I want to share with everyone. We've all heard of the term "Freedom in Christ." Basically this means you have all the freedom you want, as long as you stick to the rules. You're not free to ask the difficult questions, not free to doubt, not free to think for your self, not free to do what you want (you should be doing what god wants). It's kind of like being put in jail and being told you have all the freedom you want to roam the grounds, but you don't have real freedom because you can't actually leave the 4 walls of the jail. There's another Christianese term "Freedom from the bondage of sin." Now that I'm an ex-Christian, I've realised that the only people that are "slaves to sin" are Christians themselves. They are the ones who are constantly asking god for forgiveness for their latest sin, or constantly trying to avoid sin and temptation. If you have unanswer...

A letter from Carleen Image by Darwin Bell via Flickr OK, so I realize that I might be as bad as his parents say that I am. They are just scared that he will be influenced by me away from his fundamental Christian Church. Originally I had no intention of doing anything of the kind, because I believed that no one person can fully understand "God," therefore no one person can be sure that they have the only "truth." After I had been with him for awhile, he was kicked out of his family's business and told that he should fear God because of his choice to date me -- as I stood there, looking on, silently. He has been told that by dating me he is is tainting his own and their names. All because (as far as they know) I am a liberal Christian. I was raised in a Methodist church, and that is how I answered the question of my faith when asked the first week of knowing Tim. Tim and I had many many conversations about religion, and he explained that he did not bel...

By Ray Image by Tomás Rotger via Flickr Since posting my testimonial, " Religions are ridiculous " on May 23, 2009, I've noticed a lot of "anguish" on the postings to this website. There seems to be a "trend" to leave Christianity and then take up some other religion or belief. Either that, or going "cold turkey" into the world of atheism . Another alternative (which is no alternative at all) is to sit around in a limbo of gloom and examine our navels. These approaches can be bad for our health, and resolve nothing! Remember that God did not invent religion, people did. Watching and listening to people like Joel Osteen at his Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas should be enough proof of that. I doubt if God needs this kind of quackery. Again, it is not necessary to give up on a Supreme Creator or Ruler of the Universe. But if you have to, then kick back and relax for a while. Get yourself a good bottle of wine (I suggest a white wine...

A letter from "Alone" Image via Wikipedia Did deconversion create intense loneliness, depression and anxiety for anyone? I began to have serious doubts about faith 2 years ago. I am desperate to still believe in God like I used to, but I just don't think I can anymore. When I go to church it feels like I am trying to breathe under water. When I see people praising God I remember what it was like to believe and I wish I could be happy like them, but I just feel that I can't live a lie. I can't just believe again because I feel that I will ALWAYS doubt and it will never go away. I don't think I can handle being like this for much longer. I just feel so incredibly afraid all the time. Like there's a pit in my stomach ALL THE TIME. I do not know who I am anymore and I feel really empty. When I think about religion my head actually physically hurts. I get terrified when I go to sleep and I struggle to get out of bed in the morning. It really affects my...

A letter from Trent Although I still hold to a belief in Christ, I definitely relate to the experiences described by the contributors to this site. I went through Bible College and received a master's degree in seminary before I started to realize the carnage Christianity has left in it's rear view mirror. I am writing a book in hopes of shedding light on these detestable practices and would love to include some of your real life experiences. I don't honestly know if it's a conflict of interest to for ex-Christians to help a fed-up Christian write a book scolding most Christians but figured it's worth a shot :) !!! If you would be game to help, please send me your experiences at trenttc11 AT gmail DOT com Thanks

Image via Wikipedia My name is Philip Francis, a doctoral student at Harvard Divinity School , writing a dissertation on religious disenchantment narratives and the arts. I am posting here to see if there are any readers who would be willing to contribute to my project a short memoir of their experience of leaving the Christian fold, making particular note of the role of the arts, creativity, literature, beauty, the combined work of a particular artist or aesthetic experience (most broadly conceived) in this process. This memoir could be sent to me directly at pfrancis@hds.harvard.edu or posted on Exchristian.net. Questions about the project may also be directed to my email address. The following are some basic guidelines and starter questions, but approach the writing anyway you like. The memoir may be as short or long as you like and assume any form. It may be signed or anonymous. Others have found it useful to structure their memoir as follows: 1. The Unsettling: reflect on your...

Questions from Saczino Image via Wikipedia I have been an atheist for 4 months now. I have been studying evolution as the alternative to creation (Most atheists seem to ‘believe’ in evolution). However, I have been highly disappointed by what I have discovered regarding evolution, it also seems to be taken by faith. There is no scientific proof for most of the evolutionary theories. There seems to be six sections or steps to evolution 1. Cosmic evolution – the origin of matter, space and time. There is absolutely no proof what-so-ever that matter, space and time can come out of nothing. The big bang (creation of matter, the rotation and the explosion of this matter) can not be proven in any scientific lab (i.e. no tests or experiments can be done to proof the big bang). As for something being coming out of nothing is just ridiculous!!! Generally accepted theory is that: All matter was condensed in a dot, and the dot came from nothing – this is just ridiculous!!! The very 1st st...