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Hi,
I’m a student from the UK, currently living at home with my parents and four siblings. A friend introduced me to the site and having been raised an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian I was intrigued. For seventeen years of my life I religiously (if you’ll excuse the pun) attended a deeply conservative Baptist church, one that was also the home of the greater part of my wider family, with a strict Bible-based ministry founded in the literal reading of the Word of God. From as early as I can remember I had a competent understanding of the Christian message which only developed with time, as did my comprehension of, and thirst for, God’s Word. While I wasn’t home schooled at any point, from a young age I remember regular family meetings in which we would read from and discuss the Bible, were instructed in correct disciplines and attitudes and practiced prayer together. When I was about ten I dedicated my life to Christ and from that point on I knew that I wanted to live it out in complete servitude to the Lord. As I grew older this desire became stronger and I began participating more actively as a Christian in my home, church and my school where I headed Christian movements and regularly debated topics such as God, religion and evolution with my peers. I often found myself at loggerheads with non-believers as often as I did with other Christians, who chose to interpret the Bible after their own fashion and made compromises to fit their beliefs around their everyday lives. At this point in my life, I was utterly convinced that I was a born again Christian, saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Christ, living on a 6,000 year old planet awaiting Jesus’ imminent return.
However, about a year ago, things began to change. As a Christian I considered myself a reasonable, rational person; while ultimately my beliefs were grounded in my faith in Christ I felt I still had strong arguments and evidence which supported that faith. Of course there had always been questions I had struggled with and problems that seemed more significant than others, but I came to a point in my life where the reason behind my faith started to collapse. At first I was certain that the more I studied and examined, prayed and persevered, the more my beliefs would show themselves to be convincing; perhaps even to a greater extent than they had been before. This was not the case, quite the opposite; the more I examined just what I believed and what that was based upon, the more it seemed to fall apart. For a long time, I clung to the hope that my faith would pull through, that God would reveal himself to me in some new, unexpected way or that I would stumble across some unremembered piece of scripture. But, slowly I was forced to let go of my long-held beliefs. I realised that my ‘faith’ had been based upon fallacious arguments and assumptions that simply could not stand up to scrutiny. Although initially this was a painful, lonely experience, such feelings faded surprisingly quickly. I continued to study the Bible and the arguments I had previously relied upon as a theist, quickly becoming as convinced of my new position as I had been of my Christian life. I found new reasons for living, new joy in experiencing the world and new fulfilment in an existence suddenly devoid of God.
I am under no illusions as to the assumptions many of you will have already made about me. No doubt many of you will point out that I could never have been a ‘True Christian’ in the first place, that I have fallen into depravity and given my life over to Satan or that I am simply rebelling against the ‘norm’ as young people are want to do. Well, apart from the story I have just laid out I have no further way of convincing you of the credibility of my Christianity. However, perhaps some of you ‘True Christians’ will be able to concede that I was at least genuine in believing I had a relationship with God, even if you go on to say I was mistaken in that belief. As for my incentives behind renouncing my faith, I assure you that they were neither to do with a desire to give over to ‘worldly things’ or a simple matter of childish resistance. While many opinions and attitudes that were once dictated by my beliefs have now changed, my moral substance remains fundamentally the same. So far as ‘youthful rebellion’ goes, I never really went through that stage, or if I did I grew out of it too quickly for it to really have an impact on my Christian life. Ultimately, I became an atheist for the simple reason that religion no longer made sense to me, if it did then I’d be the first to ‘return to the fold’...but it does not.
So why am I here? Firstly let me assure you that my intention is not to ‘flame’ you for what you believe. While I strongly disagree with much of what I’ve seen on these forums I’m not seeking to shout down your beliefs in the way that some visitors seem intent on doing. Neither am I trying to ‘deconvert’ people, at worst I suppose I’d like to challenge your views and encourage you to consider opposing ones. However, my primary reason for joining the site is to speak out for those members who many seem intent on crushing; not just non-believers but theists too. It’s all well and good to chide those who speaks arrogantly or without substance or to suggest that someone read their Bible a little more but the attitude some members take toward others, for the simple crime of not agreeing with their point of view, is often openly hostile at best. When I was transitioning to atheism I found it overwhelmingly comforting to know there were other people out there going through the same things as I was and so here I hope to be a voice of consolation to those who need it. Not necessarily those who are questioning their beliefs but anyone who finds themselves isolated or attacked by the views and opinions expressed by members of this forum. There are other people in the same position as you, struggling in the same way, don’t be afraid.
Veritas vos liberabit
I’m a student from the UK, currently living at home with my parents and four siblings. A friend introduced me to the site and having been raised an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian I was intrigued. For seventeen years of my life I religiously (if you’ll excuse the pun) attended a deeply conservative Baptist church, one that was also the home of the greater part of my wider family, with a strict Bible-based ministry founded in the literal reading of the Word of God. From as early as I can remember I had a competent understanding of the Christian message which only developed with time, as did my comprehension of, and thirst for, God’s Word. While I wasn’t home schooled at any point, from a young age I remember regular family meetings in which we would read from and discuss the Bible, were instructed in correct disciplines and attitudes and practiced prayer together. When I was about ten I dedicated my life to Christ and from that point on I knew that I wanted to live it out in complete servitude to the Lord. As I grew older this desire became stronger and I began participating more actively as a Christian in my home, church and my school where I headed Christian movements and regularly debated topics such as God, religion and evolution with my peers. I often found myself at loggerheads with non-believers as often as I did with other Christians, who chose to interpret the Bible after their own fashion and made compromises to fit their beliefs around their everyday lives. At this point in my life, I was utterly convinced that I was a born again Christian, saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Christ, living on a 6,000 year old planet awaiting Jesus’ imminent return.
However, about a year ago, things began to change. As a Christian I considered myself a reasonable, rational person; while ultimately my beliefs were grounded in my faith in Christ I felt I still had strong arguments and evidence which supported that faith. Of course there had always been questions I had struggled with and problems that seemed more significant than others, but I came to a point in my life where the reason behind my faith started to collapse. At first I was certain that the more I studied and examined, prayed and persevered, the more my beliefs would show themselves to be convincing; perhaps even to a greater extent than they had been before. This was not the case, quite the opposite; the more I examined just what I believed and what that was based upon, the more it seemed to fall apart. For a long time, I clung to the hope that my faith would pull through, that God would reveal himself to me in some new, unexpected way or that I would stumble across some unremembered piece of scripture. But, slowly I was forced to let go of my long-held beliefs. I realised that my ‘faith’ had been based upon fallacious arguments and assumptions that simply could not stand up to scrutiny. Although initially this was a painful, lonely experience, such feelings faded surprisingly quickly. I continued to study the Bible and the arguments I had previously relied upon as a theist, quickly becoming as convinced of my new position as I had been of my Christian life. I found new reasons for living, new joy in experiencing the world and new fulfilment in an existence suddenly devoid of God.
I am under no illusions as to the assumptions many of you will have already made about me. No doubt many of you will point out that I could never have been a ‘True Christian’ in the first place, that I have fallen into depravity and given my life over to Satan or that I am simply rebelling against the ‘norm’ as young people are want to do. Well, apart from the story I have just laid out I have no further way of convincing you of the credibility of my Christianity. However, perhaps some of you ‘True Christians’ will be able to concede that I was at least genuine in believing I had a relationship with God, even if you go on to say I was mistaken in that belief. As for my incentives behind renouncing my faith, I assure you that they were neither to do with a desire to give over to ‘worldly things’ or a simple matter of childish resistance. While many opinions and attitudes that were once dictated by my beliefs have now changed, my moral substance remains fundamentally the same. So far as ‘youthful rebellion’ goes, I never really went through that stage, or if I did I grew out of it too quickly for it to really have an impact on my Christian life. Ultimately, I became an atheist for the simple reason that religion no longer made sense to me, if it did then I’d be the first to ‘return to the fold’...but it does not.
So why am I here? Firstly let me assure you that my intention is not to ‘flame’ you for what you believe. While I strongly disagree with much of what I’ve seen on these forums I’m not seeking to shout down your beliefs in the way that some visitors seem intent on doing. Neither am I trying to ‘deconvert’ people, at worst I suppose I’d like to challenge your views and encourage you to consider opposing ones. However, my primary reason for joining the site is to speak out for those members who many seem intent on crushing; not just non-believers but theists too. It’s all well and good to chide those who speaks arrogantly or without substance or to suggest that someone read their Bible a little more but the attitude some members take toward others, for the simple crime of not agreeing with their point of view, is often openly hostile at best. When I was transitioning to atheism I found it overwhelmingly comforting to know there were other people out there going through the same things as I was and so here I hope to be a voice of consolation to those who need it. Not necessarily those who are questioning their beliefs but anyone who finds themselves isolated or attacked by the views and opinions expressed by members of this forum. There are other people in the same position as you, struggling in the same way, don’t be afraid.
Veritas vos liberabit
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