Ex Christians Reasons For Leaving Christianity

[Mriana]

What is the reason or reasons why you left the Christian faith?

 

Many reasons.

 

1. This started long before I left. Many many years before I left- I could not stand the barbarity of the crucifixion or even the cannibalism of theophagy (AKA communion). This got to me as a child and I never did get over it. It wasn't the fear of hell, it was what people did to said man and the idea of eating the body and blood of another living being... UGH! Can I puke now?

 

2. I could not tolerate the human hatred, cruelty, abuse, etc. (again, long before I actually left)

 

3. Illogical statements made by adults (again started when I was in elementary school)

 

4. I started doing research, which started when I was in high school with a literature of the Bible class.

 

5. Continued research and study with college courses, in which I discovered Xianity was no different than previous religions. I have studied Gnosticism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, Taoism, and many more.

 

6. Study of mythology, in which I discovered Xianity and other religions are just evolved mythology.

 

7. The sudden realization that Jesus never really existed or if he did, the man is too buried in myth to find.

 

8. The realization that God is just a human concept and each religion, even each individual has their own god concept. As well as heaven and hell also human concepts.

 

9. IF said religion (insert any religion) is the one true religion, then why are people of another religion based on culture? There is no one true religion anymore than there is one true god.

 

10. At the same time I was researching various mythologies and religion, I studied Psychology, with an emphasis on neuro-psychology. Said concepts are all in the mind and human beings use religion to explain the unexplainable, even in the face of science which shows what is written is not entirely accurate- ie a bat is a mammal, not a bird and humans evolved from a common ancestor of other primates, thus why we look so much like chimps and gorillas.

 

11. Study of chemistry and other sciences.

 

12. Study of Sociology.

 

13. Most of all, I started thinking for myself and the only angels I have ever seen is that of humans, not some supernatural being that looks like a fairy.

 

The list goes on and on, each of them having in depth, even detailed, answers and alike, but each new "revelation" and "epiphany" took me further and further away from modern mythology. However, not even I can keep "a good mother earth goddess" down. lol I am and always will be part of the earth, the universe. That is scientifically provable that we are not only made of substances found in the universe, but we are part of a vast eco-system and interconnected with every living being on earth, via evolution.

 

Need I say more? I could write a book.

[Mriana]

By the standards you presented, Star Trek is just as 'real' as Christianity.

 

Oh yeah! And far less barbaric. Give me a good Trek fantasy any day! Let me live that delusion. Oh but wait! Even the Borg exist in that fantasy. Resistance is not futile, but the Borg mentality still exists wherever you go.

[DarthOkkata]

Actually, 'Resistance is futile' is a lot older than Star Trek TNG.

 

President Truman said it to Japan as a warning after dropping 'the bomb' on them during WWII.

 

As far as I'm aware, he's the one who coined the phrase.

 

It was the third of the thirteen points of the Potsdam Declaration. "Resistance is futile. If Japan does not surrender it will lead to utter devastation of Japanese home land."

 

Implying that it would be by way of more mushroom clouds.

 

I know it's popularized by Star Trek, but I always liked the way Truman used it more. Carrying a big stick, and telling Japan to it's face he was going to fuck them up with it if they didn't sit down and shut up.

 

"We are Dyslexic of Borg. Your ass will be laminated."

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Waves, why do you keep spouting Bible verses here? Do you not know that many (perhaps most) of us here have studied the book and relevant histories to the point we finally understood it? Really understood? Do you not think we can match you verse for verse? You are addressing former pastors, teachers, missionaries and Biblical scholars.

 

I probably speak for others as well, but I certainly didn't leave the faith because I was "mad at god" or wished to indulge in sinful pleasures. I didn't walk away from Christianity because the people at church were hypocrites. I left the Christian religion because it fails in logic, coherence, efficacy, morality and veracity. I left because the basis for the religion, the Bible, is error-ridden, factually incorrect and generally unreliable - certainly not the word of any god.

 

Doubt is the reason you left. If you know the Bible so well you should know that is the reason.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

My deconversion story is highly personal. I offer it only to those people I deem worthy of the privilege of knowing something so intimate about me. I offer it only to people who will listen without judgment, and use what they have learned to understand me as an individual human being. I offer it to friends, and to people who share a common cause with me (such as the folks here at ex-C).

 

You are not worthy to hear my story, Waves. You are arrogant, judgmental, and condescending. You speak to people here as if we are faceless, inhuman statistics, as if there is no real human being behind the words on the screen. You treat us as if we are a pitiful curiosity, and you have no awareness of your own self-righteousness and no remorse for your arrogance.

 

I am not going to share my story with you just to become another exhibit in your freak show or a citation in some "research" or "paper" you probably aren't ever going to write. You don't deserve to know me.

 

So forget it.

 

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

None of that disproves, explains away, or rationalizes anything I posted. It's all perfectly valid, and plenty of good reasons not to take the Bible seriously, and very good reasons why it should never be used as a moral compass.

 

Saying the Bible is proof of God, and that I should fear any punishment is about as scary and/or inspiring is exactly the same as saying I should watch out for Orks, and be wary of the temptations of the One Ring because of Lord of the Rings proves that Lord Sauron is real.

 

Saying that it's valid because it takes place in real places and contains a few mentions of historical events is also not valid, because so does Gone With the Wind, The Three Musketeers, and Robin Hood.

 

To put it simply, tossing verses about here is about as effective as quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail at us, with great big pointy teeth.

 

The Bible was done before, many times, by many other religions, thousands of years before it was ever written. The story of Horus dates to before 3100 BC.

 

I personally don't see what faith and belief has to do with the matter.

 

I 'believe' someone when they tell me they 'washed their car' or 'didn't do their homework'. I choose to believe or not believe someone who tells me they did or didn't do something.

 

I am convinced there is no God because there's no evidence to support that there is one. Which is an entirely different stance all together.

 

All the pretty and/or threatening verses in the world aren't going to change that without some sort of evidence to back it up and give me a reason why I should take them seriously.

 

I'm not afraid of Hell, because I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to think that it's real.

 

I'm not afraid of 'God's wrath' because I have no reason to think it's any more a legitimate threat than Sea Monsters or Unicorn trampling.

 

I'm no more afraid of 'losing God's love' than I am of losing Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny's favor.

 

I read the verses, but I won't sit here and reflect on them any more than I'd reflect on Jurrasic Park, War of the Worlds, or A Christmas Carol. For the same reasons too. It's all fiction.

 

If I have to take the Bible as evidence of Jesus's divinity, then I've got to take the Vedas as evidence of Krishna's divinity, the Quaran as evidence of Allah's divinity, the Book of the Dead as evidence of Horus's divinity, and the Odyssey as evidence of Zeus's divinity.

 

All of them are equally valid, and have just as much supportive evidence as the Bible does.

 

Two thousand [i'm being generous with that estimate] year old poetry isn't going to change my mind. You might as well be quoting Beowulf.

 

The Bible is not history, it's not even well written fiction. It's complete plagiarism to begin with. The first few sections of my post are evidence enough of that.

 

To put it simply, I don't care what the Book of Jude says any more than I care what Goku from Dragonball says. Seriously. I don't.

 

A majority of these forums are in complete agreement with that. I only say 'a majority' because you're not the only Christian poster.

 

We. Don't. Care.

 

We read it all before, and we got tired of reading it. It doesn't work, it's not magical, and basing your life and morals on that atrocity isn't a good thing.

 

It just makes you gullible and naive at best, and an evil, self centered, arrogant, manipulative, overbearing, controlling, tool at worst.

 

An all powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent being would care about as much about you or I as I do about a microbe living in my kitchen sink.

 

That is literally the kind of scale we're talking about here.

 

Bible God is a human invention, even if there is really a god. Such a being wouldn't be so petty or have such completely fallible and human emotions. Bible God is imperfect in many ways. He's a reflection of humanity, not it's creator.

 

He's a selfish, arrogant, petty, mean spirited, vain, megalomaniac, who wouldn't have the faintest inkling about love or kindness.

 

No loving God would provide rules for slavery and rape.

 

No loving god would willfully murder thousands of others for the offenses of but a few.

 

No loving God would tell his chosen people to act like pirates and commit genocide.

 

No loving God would allow women to be treated like cattle and property with no will of their own.

 

No loving god would send anyone to an -eternity- of torture for but a short period of misbehavior on this world.

 

No loving God would make someone a homosexual, and then punish them for how -he- made them.

 

No loving god would willfully hide all evidence of his existence for thousands of years, and then punish those who don't believe in him because of it.

 

What the Bible describes is an evil overbearing tyrant and monster. Not a loving caring deity. He blames his creations for the imperfections he made, the mistakes he made, the unreasonable standards he set.

 

I've no respect for any faith or God that holds belief above acts, words above deeds, and faith above character.

 

A good person, be it an Atheist, Muslim, Pagan, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, or Christian is far more deserving of heaven than any Christian that believes with all his heart and soul and commits horrible acts, using confession or repentance to cover them up.

 

Character and deeds are more important than beliefs and faith.

 

The two do not necessarily go together.

 

If there is a real god, and if he is truly a kind and loving being, he doesn't give shit one whether or not you believe in him. What a loving God would care about, is what you do with your time here, and his punishments would fit the crimes.

 

Eternity indeed. Rubbish.

 

That book isn't worth lining a vulture's cage with, much less to be used as a guide for morals and life.

 

If that is what God truly is, he's not worthy of worship. He's a primitive barbarian that humanity at it's worst has moved beyond in terms of morals.

 

At least they want to save their own, he intends to kill all of us. I'd prefer not spend my eternity anywhere near such a monster.

 

Don't worry you have it in the bag, Never believe and you will never know. Good job keep it up.

[Kuroikaze]

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

 

Is doubt bad? Why? I happen to think a certain amount of skepticism is a virtue.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

 

Is doubt bad? Why? I happen to think a certain amount of skepticism is a virtue.

 

Doubt a virtue.....thats awesome! I haven't heard it all yet....but thanks for one step closer!

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Just for an update.....I found what it is I was looking for. The answer or key that i see every x christian sharing is doubt. Case closed.

[bdp]

Doubt? Are you serious?

[Mriana]

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doubt. There is nothing wrong with questioning. However, it is not your place to shout, "DOUBTER!" It really doesn't matter and I hardly believe doubt alone is what causes one to leave religion.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Doubt? Are you serious?

 

Welcome any challenge for proof of otherwise.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doubt. There is nothing wrong with questioning. However, it is not your place to shout, "DOUBTER!" It really doesn't matter and I hardly believe doubt alone is what causes one to leave religion.

 

What ever leads the person to doubt each hold a differnt story...however.....doubt is the door that all walk through.

[Mriana]

Just for an update.....I found what it is I was looking for. The answer or key that i see every x christian sharing is doubt. Case closed.

 

I don't think you have a clue nor did you actually pay attention to what anyone said.. IF that were the only thing, then there would be no reason to leave completely. Doubt alone is not substantial IMO. Education, reason, and knowledge is IMO. IF you had paid attention, you would have noticed that some of mentioned education, reason, and knowledge.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Just for an update.....I found what it is I was looking for. The answer or key that i see every x christian sharing is doubt. Case closed.

 

I don't think you have a clue nor did you actually pay attention to what anyone said.. IF that were the only thing, then there would be no reason to leave completely. Doubt alone is not substantial IMO. Education, reason, and knowledge is IMO. IF you had paid attention, you would have noticed that some of mentioned education, reason, and knowledge.

 

Did I say that doubt is the only reason? No. Its the turning point....the core.....prove me wrong.....and show me how unbelief.....is not the turning point and key to the person becoming an x christian. Doubt. I have no doubt of that....

[chefranden]

Just for an update.....I found what it is I was looking for. The answer or key that i see every x christian sharing is doubt. Case closed.

 

Every? That's a bit of a leap from such a small sample.

 

But I did doubt way back then. Yes sir I admit it. Yet, now I have no doubt about Christian God at all.

 

So what have you learned from your conclusion?

 

Perhaps you have learned never to doubt? Good luck with that.

[Mriana]

Allow me to help you. I don't know you, but i'll bet there is one part of your story i can sum up. DOUBT. The end.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doubt. There is nothing wrong with questioning. However, it is not your place to shout, "DOUBTER!" It really doesn't matter and I hardly believe doubt alone is what causes one to leave religion.

 

What ever leads the person to doubt each hold a differnt story...however.....doubt is the door that all walk through.

 

ROFL! I refer you to #1 on my list.

 

1. This started long before I left. Many many years before I left- I could not stand the barbarity of the crucifixion or even the cannibalism of theophagy (AKA communion). This got to me as a child and I never did get over it. It wasn't the fear of hell, it was what people did to said man and the idea of eating the body and blood of another living being... UGH! Can I puke now?

 

 

That is not doubt at all. That is a statement of fact as to my many reasons of leaving. Xianity is nothing but barbarism and cannibalism. It is very strong accusation too, but it is not doubt at all. Would you like to try again?

 

2. I could not tolerate the human hatred, cruelty, abuse, etc. (again, long before I actually left)

 

There's not doubt there either. It is much like the first one. Even in education and gaining knowledge, it is not a question of doubt, so much as it is learning, so I can apply the same thing to that. I thirst for knowledge and I got it. There is a difference between a desire to learn and doubt.

 

Again, I do not believe you have a clue which makes me point to #3 in my list of reasons as to why I left. People are illogical.

[Mriana]

Just for an update.....I found what it is I was looking for. The answer or key that i see every x christian sharing is doubt. Case closed.

 

I don't think you have a clue nor did you actually pay attention to what anyone said.. IF that were the only thing, then there would be no reason to leave completely. Doubt alone is not substantial IMO. Education, reason, and knowledge is IMO. IF you had paid attention, you would have noticed that some of mentioned education, reason, and knowledge.

 

Did I say that doubt is the only reason? No. Its the turning point....the core.....prove me wrong.....and show me how unbelief.....is not the turning point and key to the person becoming an x christian. Doubt. I have no doubt of that....

 

See my post of above. Not everyone's reasons include doubt. Maybe a testable hypothesis, but having a hypothesis is not the same as doubt.

[bdp]

Maybe I just don't understand your need to pin us all to a board like butterflies. I don't wish to wrangle over it in any case, I just feel marginalized when my whole excruciating journey is trivialized down to a single word.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Waves,

 

For some reason nobody ever wants to address my reason. I will challenge you with it anyway. If you go back to my second to last post prior to this one, you will find the situation with the medical suffering of my wife. Doubt you've ever had to face that because you are just too smug and smart assed or too young to know you are stupid.

 

Anyway,....if there is such a loving god, why did he not deal with the sin issue before the earth was formed? Why did he not deal with it fully at the time Lucifer fell and became Satan? Why allow man to be created, be tempted and go his own way when he could have dealt with it? If you say that it would have eliminated free will or the freedom to choose, then your god is not as all powerful as you thought. In fact, if the weight of law that we all are under in the USA and most countries which is derived in part from the Bible, you have something known as "Criminal Negligence", which is defined as one being able to prevent or stop a crime or accident with a reasonable amount of effort and willfully failing to do so, that person is then partially to blame. Thus, if the Bible god knew, as the Bible says, before the foundations of the earth were formed, he is criminally negligent and holds as much of the blame as anyone else. Thus, your god is not perfect and is guitly as sin.

 

Let's just go further. Not only is your god to blame for most if not all of the sin, ultimately he caused the suffering of the world because HE COULD HAVE STOPPED IT BEFORE IT STARTED AND DID NOT, and he then set up a law that nobody could keep and then broke it himself. The OT is littered with his murdering of innocents and then he sends his son to die,...before you go on...I know the gospel story, how god loved the world...that is a lie, but my point is HE COULD HAVE FUCKING PREVENTED IT.

 

After seeing my wife suffer with illness and have seen others suffer worse and know that there is suffering all over the world, the only conclusion is that such a god does not exist. The god of the Bible was a creation of man used to control people. He has all the emotional and psychological weaknesses of man. Such a god is not worth being worshiped but rather wiped from our collective memories or go the way of the Greek gods. No...you are the one without hope and without a soul of yourown. You are just a carrier of a mental virus, which leaves you without any compassion and without any true caring. All you want to do is infect others, otherwise your true colors would show through for the ass that you are.

 

As far as doubt, I would say that everyone on here started with doubt, but it led to the truth and truth led to the rejection of YOUR LIE!

You lost me after the smart *** and ect remarks.....be nice and maybe we can talk....I doubt it.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

Waves,

 

For some reason nobody ever wants to address my reason. I will challenge you with it anyway. If you go back to my second to last post prior to this one, you will find the situation with the medical suffering of my wife. Doubt you've ever had to face that because you are just too smug and smart assed or too young to know you are stupid.

 

Anyway,....if there is such a loving god, why did he not deal with the sin issue before the earth was formed? Why did he not deal with it fully at the time Lucifer fell and became Satan? Why allow man to be created, be tempted and go his own way when he could have dealt with it? If you say that it would have eliminated free will or the freedom to choose, then your god is not as all powerful as you thought. In fact, if the weight of law that we all are under in the USA and most countries which is derived in part from the Bible, you have something known as "Criminal Negligence", which is defined as one being able to prevent or stop a crime or accident with a reasonable amount of effort and willfully failing to do so, that person is then partially to blame. Thus, if the Bible god knew, as the Bible says, before the foundations of the earth were formed, he is criminally negligent and holds as much of the blame as anyone else. Thus, your god is not perfect and is guitly as sin.

 

Let's just go further. Not only is your god to blame for most if not all of the sin, ultimately he caused the suffering of the world because HE COULD HAVE STOPPED IT BEFORE IT STARTED AND DID NOT, and he then set up a law that nobody could keep and then broke it himself. The OT is littered with his murdering of innocents and then he sends his son to die,...before you go on...I know the gospel story, how god loved the world...that is a lie, but my point is HE COULD HAVE FUCKING PREVENTED IT.

 

After seeing my wife suffer with illness and have seen others suffer worse and know that there is suffering all over the world, the only conclusion is that such a god does not exist. The god of the Bible was a creation of man used to control people. He has all the emotional and psychological weaknesses of man. Such a god is not worth being worshiped but rather wiped from our collective memories or go the way of the Greek gods. No...you are the one without hope and without a soul of yourown. You are just a carrier of a mental virus, which leaves you without any compassion and without any true caring. All you want to do is infect others, otherwise your true colors would show through for the ass that you are.

 

As far as doubt, I would say that everyone on here started with doubt, but it led to the truth and truth led to the rejection of YOUR LIE!

You lost me after the smart *** and ect remarks.....be nice and maybe we can talk....I doubt it.

 

I am calling you a coward. You are wilting under some criticism. YOU ARE AFRAID!

O NOOOOOOOOO!!!! RUUN WHRE CAN I HUDE !!! HELLLP MMEEEE!! See if I believed what others said of me? I would be afraid.....lol O NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! NO NO STOPPP!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH lol Good job.

[Mriana]

You lost me after the smart *** and ect remarks.....be nice and maybe we can talk....I doubt it.

 

I am calling you a coward. You are wilting under some criticism. YOU ARE AFRAID!

 

I agree with you, Burnedout on all accounts- he's a smartass and he's afraid. Not only that, I would add that he has nothing substantial to support his statement or he would not be saying what he is saying now. He had nothing more knowledgeable to say. Maybe I should pull out what I know, which he cannot refute, either. Be that as it may, he has nothing and doesn't know what he is talking about.

[Mriana]

O NOOOOOOOOO!!!! RUUN WHRE CAN I HUDE !!! HELLLP MMEEEE!! See if I believed what others said of me? I would be afraid.....lol O NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! NO NO STOPPP!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH lol Good job.

 

Your debating skills are sorely lacking.

[Guest WAVESFORFUN]

O NOOOOOOOOO!!!! RUUN WHRE CAN I HUDE !!! HELLLP MMEEEE!! See if I believed what others said of me? I would be afraid.....lol O NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! NO NO STOPPP!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH lol Good job.

 

Your debating skills are sorely lacking.

 

 

Its not a de-bate....I wouldn't cross the street to convince a x christian who had a real true Born again christian experience that the reason they no longer believe is .....doubt.

[Mriana]

You are in the Lion's den, you know, so anyone could debate you on this. In fact, at least two of us have challenged you.