What Was/is The Single Thing In Christianity That You Found Unbelievable

[Tsathoggua]

For me, the single most damning thing was the fact that the Genesis account simply doesn't conform to scientific findings. I noticed this discrepancy very early on, since I read quite a bit as a child. It was hard see how adults saw this supposed "Holy Word" as any different from say, Norse or Greek mythology.

 

That, and the fact that Jehovah is presented as a deranged homicidal maniac -- a disturbed, psychotic toddler with the power to flood the earth, turn people into salt, etc. Scary like a horror movie, but not half as fun!

[GraphicsGuy]

Maybe I don't quite understand the question, but when I was a Christian I believed it ALL...

 

...well...except for one thing...

 

The common-held, Evangelical End-Times bullshit. That one I thought people were reading way too much into. I had to come to my own interpretation of that in order to swallow it at all.

 

...er...no...two things...all Christian "theology" about demons. People had some really messed up ideas about demons and there was no Biblical evidence to back up their claims, so I didn't believe that either. Again, I had my own views.

 

Otherwise, I accepted pretty much everything I heard.

[EyesOpened]

Maybe I don't quite understand the question, but when I was a Christian I believed it ALL......well...except for one thing...The common-held, Evangelical End-Times bullshit. That one I thought people were reading way too much into. I had to come to my own interpretation of that in order to swallow it at all....er...no...two things...all Christian "theology" about demons. People had some really messed up ideas about demons and there was no Biblical evidence to back up their claims, so I didn't believe that either. Again, I had my own views.Otherwise, I accepted pretty much everything I heard.

I know what you mean about the question GG. I took it as "what was the most unbelievable thing that led you to deconversion". Good point. If you were suppose to be a true Christian you were suppose to believe everything and question nothing.

[RenaissanceWoman]

Maybe I don't quite understand the question, but when I was a Christian I believed it ALL...

 

Yes, I read the question the same as you, but we do seem to have two interpretations going -- which I am enjoying either way! I believed it all too, except for the "personal relationship with Jesus" people. And a few other things here and there.

 

As for what caused me to convert, it was more along the lines of what ConsiderTheSource spelled out above.

 

A fun thread for me, no matter which angle you take the question. Carry on!

[00LukeMan]

Due to my fundamentalist upbringing, I managed to believe all of it, until I went to bible college that is. In one of my theology classes I was presented with the idea that God is as good as it gets, better than I could ever imagine and all the good I could ever want. I swiftly realized that if there were a god, than that god was not as good as the one I wanted.

Then came research and I found out the whole thing's a sham.

[ConscientiousObjector]

Wait, what? The one thing I found unbelievable? How can you possibly narrow it down? That's like asking me to pick a single album to take to a desert island and listen to for the rest of my life.

 

I said in my extimony that it started when I learned about evolution, but come to think of it, I remember being intensely horrified by the childrens bible my mother read to me when I was very young. The pictures in it were well drawn, but appalling. I can't recall the name of the guy that god asked to sacrifice his son to prove his devotion (I'm tired and up past my bedtime, I'm sure one of you can straighten me out), but the illustration haunts me to this day. I remember staring at the image of this man, with his son bound on an altar, and holding a knife to his throat. I couldn't help thinking: What kind of god would ask this of a person he supposedly loved, and what kind of father would do that to his son? It turns my stomach even as I type.

 

I think that was the card at the foundation of my "Jeebus house of cards" that toppled my faith. At the end of the process, and about 30 years later, it was a tie between science and my inability to grasp faith. Every christian I had ever met seemed to have this perfect relationship with the holy trinity, this complete faith, and I simply didn't. All my life, I blamed myself for not having faith, wondering what I was doing wrong, praying all the time for just one thing: faith. One night last February, I prayed to god, begged him, "Lord, this is all I've ever really asked for, and if you can't help me find it, I cannot in good conscience raise my kids as christians." The next morning, I woke, and for a split second I was disappointed that I hadn't had a prophetic dream. Suddenly, logic kicked in, and I realized that god was never going to answer, because god was not real. I feel happier and more confident than I ever have.

 

On second thought, maybe I should give Brother Jeffs prayer a shot. Rofl at Jeffs post and sylens response. All the above comments are awesome, wish I could upvote them all. I found Consider the Sources' post particularly resonant.

[Becks]

What I found unbelievable as a Christian was that a loving Jesus had such an angry murderous father and when Jesus allowed himself to be murdered by him for ME- because I deserved it-then suddenly the father became a loving God.

What made me second quess this whole mess was my college physics class on astronomy. When I got just a slight comprehension of the vastness of the universe and how insignificant the earth is in comparison I just could not believe the genesis story of creation any longer. It did take time to work my way through all the dearly held excuses for the bible's inconsistencies and came down to saying to myself "it's not real" over and over. My anxiety is quickly waning.