A letter from Todd Image by HuNo (On & Off) via Flickr Thanks! I would like to express my appreciation for this site. I am like most of you: Someone who has "left the faith." I am also a survivor of a Christian cult . For some years I have sought to find a well established form such as this to hear the accounts of others like me. I hope to do more writing and submit to you my account of all the fucked up stuff that happened to me within the Christian community. Thanks again for being here. -Todd

Sent in by Ex Pastor Dan Image by badlogik via Flickr Well, it finally happened. I couldn't take it any longer. I BLEW! Some of you told me to try this approach, some of you offered a different one. Many told me to give up. I don't know if I was right or wrong, all I know is that it felt good to 'Let it ALL Go'! I think I was speaking to all of the ignorant, arrogant Fundies, who throw up the 'Not a True Scotsman' argument. So, for better or worse (you be the judge), here is our last exchange. My cousin makes it clear, in his response, that he wants no more to do with me. I guess Jesus changed his mind about me!? LOL It does still break my heart, but as Barbie-Brains says, "I can't understand it for you!" Ex-Pastor Dan wrote: Dear T. - Shame on you! You have stooped to a place that I thought (hoped) you would not. Your ad hominem replies to my heart-felt, gut-wrenching honesty to you... well, I'm appalled and disgusted. Your words ar...

From XPD Image by play4smee via Flickr Recently, I posted an exchange (just one of several) between myself and my cousin. The comments that I received from many of you here on Ex-Christian.Net helped me formulate a 'new' approach. I responded to my cousin with a more deferential tone. I really do think, that he thinks he is acting out of Love and Care for me (the Prodigal). I threw in some 'reason' about the Bible and how it came into being. I assumed that 'this' time he would 'hear' me and understand my heart. It seems that those hopes have been dashed as well. Read the exchange below. My dear Cousin, I am truly touched by your concern for me. I hope that we can remain loving, caring relatives. I am saddened that you continue to MIS-judge my words. I don't know how to make it any clearer to you. My vocabulary only goes so far and perhaps you cannot sense my true attitudes through just 'written' words. One last try, here goes: I...

From XPD I was recently contacted by one of my cousins who is still a Pastor of a Fundamentalist, Charismatic Church. After spending some time with my mother and brother (also a Pastor), he decided it was time for him to try and bring back the backslider (me). Below is one of our exchanges. It really relates how fundies think. I wish that I had Sconner and Boomslang sitting with me in my office as I wrote (I could just imagine the Bible concordance ruffling and the phrases flying from two great minds), which would have helped me with my arguments. I think I held my own, but it's hard to not just start railing against such stupidity. But, he is my cousin, and I love him. Please read this exchange and voice any helpful opinions that I may incorporate into further discussions that I will surely have with him. Dear Dan, Stunned and overwhelmed at your level of hatred, animosity and rancor is what I am. Though your precious Mom and my dear Aunt L. and your brother T. (my best fr...

From Edward Babinski Prometheus Books is interested in publishing a book of testimonies of college students who have left the fold, including the testimonies of founding members of the various freethought campus groups that have sprung up across the country in the last decade or so. There will also be room for testimonies by "leavers" from Christian colleges, even ex-seminarians. Though most of the contributors ought to still be fairly young. I am seeking intelligent, articulate and moving testimonies by young people who left the fold in college. I expect some may wish to remain anonymous which is fine; their name and the names of their church and family can be edited either before their submission or afterwards so that anonymity is maintained. I hope to publish the most intelligent, articulate and/or moving testimonies in full length format along with a photo of the contributor (unless they wish anonymity), and also include quotations from the testimonies of the remaining...

Image by Auntie Shadrach via Flickr From Randall Scott In 1990, a Faith/Religion survey was taken by Adherents.com . In this survey, only 8% of the American population claimed to be ‘Nonreligious.’ However, the same survey taken in 2005 showed that 16% of the population claimed to be “Nonreligious.” The numbers of the ‘Nonreligious’ DOUBLED in just 15 years. If one goes up, something must come down. In his "Untitled Short Doc," filmmaker Randal W Scott will peer into the hearts, minds, and souls of many valiant men and women who awakened from their dogmatic slumber and reject the religious indignation of Christianity and it’s teachings. Open, safe, group discussions and individual interviews will give birth to the story. Randal will tap into the conscious, heroic life of Ex-Christians by exploring four main points: their previous religious lives the grueling de-conversion process, their frightening experiences of coming-out-of-the-closet to family and friends, and/or ...

Sent in by David Image by Funky64 via Flickr I'm going through a sincerely difficult time right now. I have had an 'active faith' all my life. About two years ago I bought a major part of a collection of books from a theological seminary that was closing. The books were not only on Christianity, but also philosophy and Nature and many other topics that were similar. To make a long story short, after being exposed to philosophers like Democritus , Pathagerus, Empedocles ... all the way up to John Tyndall ... I have lost my faith. Today, and this is true, I went to a funeral for a gentle friend who was murdered by his lover of 21 years (who then committed suicide himself). I am sitting in this Episcopal church... and my heart is ripped apart over the sadness and loss I am feeling. And the minister begins to speak about how I should not think of my gentle and kind friend as being dead and that he is in heaven with Jesus, and that he died for us so we can all be together...

Image by rafaelm via Flickr From Gloria I have a question that I am hoping one or more of you can help me with. I suffer from OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder - and both of my daughters do as well. Mine are of the checking, counting, ordering type. My youngest daughter, 21, has always had sensory type obsessions with clothing and social anxiety issues. My other daughter who is 23 has gone through a large variety of OCD's, one often replacing another over the years. She has had anorexia , then compulsive eating, then panic disorder , depression, fear of germs, but the very worst thing she has faced, the obsession that is really most overwhelming is scrupulosity . She has dealt with this since she was 17. She is sure, on a regular, daily basis that she has sold or will sell her soul to the devil and she is terrified that god will reject her and turn his back on her. She deals with this fear constantly, day in and day out. It is overwhelming her. When she was 17, I sti...

Image via Wikipedia From Struggling Agnostic I became a Christian when I was in high school , and contrary to all other testimonies I've heard, my life had been perfect to that point, and I didn't accept Christ only when my life came crushing down. It's been about 5 years now, and being disappointed with the faith, and going through some serious depression and religious type of OCD , I've come to the decision that I don't want to believe in Christianity anymore and let go of old beliefs. I was successful at doing that for a week, however a few days later I experienced somewhat of a relapse similar to what alcoholics or people with depression experience. The information I read on this site against Christianity and in the books I purchased no longer speaks to me and encourages me the way they did before. I feel once again that Christ must be real and I should re-dedicate my life to him. All negative commentary on the Bible is easy to rationalize as a false conclusion...

Image by ahp00k via Flickr From Siarhei V So, I've been officially de-converted for about a week. It has been an interesting week of thinking, experimenting with stuff, telling my friends and family about it, and researching. However, after reading a ton of material on this website, it seems like there is one issue that keeps people believing, and there is no real counter-explanation offered by anyone. Even though I see many problems with Christianity, one thing keeps me doubting is the authority of Jesus over so called "spirits, demons , etc." that had been witnessed in counseling sessions and reported by many counselors in books, articles, and personal stories I've heard. We need some light shed on the topic, as it will help many of us to have a peace of mind and rest assured that we have made a right decision. What does everyone think, and what have your experience has been with supernatural , unexplainable, demon possession , and using the name of Jesus to deal w...

Image via Wikipedia A letter from Siarhei Hi guys, only few days ago I have started to seriously consider leaving my faith and I am trying to get as much info as possible now to help my mind and ease my doubts. Just wondering, 1) how did you dismiss the stories about demon possession/exorcisms. I've hear a ton of them in my years in church, and even from close friends and their relatives, so they are not lies. Is there another explanation to " demons " obeying the name of Jesus, and coming out of people with screams, laughs, and other weird stuff? 2) The Resurrection story- why did disciples were willing to die if they knew it was all a lie? 3) What about miracles of healing, provision, etc.? 4) What about people with near death experience who claim they saw Jesus, Hel , Heaven , but other claim they see their past lives, which is a case for reincarnation . Thanks, Appreciate your answer as I am at the beginning of my journey. S.V.

Hello. I wanted to tell you that my memoir, " Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America--and Found Unexpected Peace ," is available now in bookstores and on Amazon . I'd be honored if you'd buy this book and forward this announcement to your friends to help spread the word. I also have a calendar up on my website so I can see if I'll be coming to a town near you. I also wanted to share with you just some of the glowing reviews of the book. From the Christian Science Monitor: "Lobdell is a gifted writer. Avoiding the disparaging polemics that often characterize the debate between nonbelievers and people of faith, he turns his own story into a fast-paced, engrossing tale, one that is sure to be popular with nonbelievers, but deserves to be read by Christians as well." A starred review from the Booklist: "Lobdell's spiritual journey fascinates, not least on account of the irony of his trajectory from agnosticism to be...

From Paul Nichols I'm 23 years old, about a week away from my 24th birthday. Recently, I have had serious doubts about a God existing with all the terror and pain that is visible in our world. In my heart, I knew that if there was a God, he or she probably wasn't someone I would want to be around anyways. Anyone who could watch the brutality of this world and not do something about it when they could is not my ideal God. I remember watching a documentary about September 11th that my girlfriend said was terrific, and it was. However, while watching the film I started to feel the same pains that my original doubts brought to the surface. So much unnecessary death and why? Because the hijackers believed that what they were doing would bring them many virgins in the heaven they were seeking. The thought made me cry uncontrollably, which was very embarrassing in front of my girlfriend. The problem that persists for me after the realization of a world without a God is my ut...

Image by the mad LOLscientist via Flickr A letter from Mr. Incognito I just need to get this off my chest. My situation now is that although I lost faith 18 months ago, I’m still with the Christian girlfriend whom I met 9 months before my de-conversion. Although she’s pretty liberal in some ways (and pretty), I’ve just had an argument with her over the evils of Creationism and have realised possibly the main threat to our relationship, and it‘s not simply religion: I get angry about being lied to, while she doesn’t! She thinks I should stop being angry and bitter. ”Anything for an easy life”, she likes to say. “Anger rots the soul” (to which I replied it didn‘t seem to do Jesus any harm…). I’ve just successfully managed to get her accepting evolution again after a two year lapse (the lapse was due to a famous English proponent of pseudo-science ), but now to my complete dismay she tells me she has no problem with other people still believing in young-earth creationism - “peopl...

Image by Allie's.Dad via Flickr From Roger Like all others here, I am joyous to see that this site exists. The religious influence in my life was very minimal. My parents had us go to a Christian, Lutheran church until we reached a certain age to make our own decisions (basically, we stopped going before my teens). Additionally, I was very fortunate since the pastor at that church was very non-opinionated and open minded. If it weren't for him and his attribution that human kindness is inherent in all of us regardless of spiritual affiliation, I would have a deep seated hatred of religion beyond the ability of logical reason and understanding. He was very good at not always preaching, saying god, lord, Jesus in every sentence, or a constant thump of the Bible. Why, you may ask, am I talking of this pastor so much? Well, it turns out that one person that attended that church often, sexually abused hundreds of kids, myself included. He was a devout Christian, crucifixes plastere...