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| Open Forums for ExChristian.Net > Debating with Christians > Why did you leave Christianity? |
| Posted by: Reach Jan 10 2005, 08:10 AM |
| Just a simple poll from our old forum... Thanks for casting your vote. --------------------------------------------------- I left for non-belief, after almost ten years of study. |
| Posted by: Tocis Jan 10 2005, 09:08 AM |
| Let's start the discussion with one of the unusual reasons (thus I voted "other")... ...for me, christianity (specifically, German protestantism) has always been an almost exclusively social thing, just like most of the German christians see their religion. However, when I started reading the Poetic Edda, within two pages my heart, spirit and soul were touched more than I ever experienced it before. That pushed me from christianity to Asatru. I left my former "faith" in peace, and it wasn't until I started searching the internet for info about the "status quo" of christianity that I started to see the horror of fundyism alive and well in today's 4th reich. |
| Posted by: LloydDobler Jan 10 2005, 10:01 AM |
| Disillusionment is the best description for me, in that the 'illusion' of god existing and acting in the world was destroyed for me through many observations. The god that the bible describes and his followers testify to does not actually deliver what he promises. I tried to convince myself that he does, but it just didn't work. |
| Posted by: sexkitten Jan 10 2005, 10:37 AM |
| A combination of the above is most true, but out of them the ONE that best describes it is that I no longer believe. I had very slowly come to the realization how similar the Christian religion is to the old pagan myths, and over time moved from believing Christianity was THE truth, to believing it was an operating myth that was true and meaningful for me, to realizing that Christianity itself does not really allow for degrees of truth or revelation, and the story of Christianity really did not speak to me in the way that other stories (stories which were definitely, no questions ask, completely fictional) did. |
| Posted by: Saviourmachine Jan 10 2005, 11:01 AM |
| Disillusionment. Loosing faith in biblical text, writers. Doubting the validity of prophecy fulfillments. Unsure about the relation between my own spiritual experiments and xianity/Jezus. |
| Posted by: Mr. Neil Jan 10 2005, 11:48 AM |
| I voted "other". I didn't really leave "Christianity" (I no longer consider myself a former Christian), but I did leave theism, and the reason why I did so was because of a number of philosophical incompatibilities. Mainly the revelation that the existence of God does not answer the question of where the universe comes from. It makes the problem much, much worse. I was going to post this in the Antony Flew topic, but I guess I can post it here instead... Despite agreeing with the theists that the universe is amazingly complex and orderly, I don't feel that divine creation is a valid conclusion to draw. It's one thing to say that we have this amazingly complex universe, but another entirely to say that we also have this amazingly complex God, who also happens to be amazingly conscious and alive, despite apparently having no requirement of a corresponding environment in which to exist. Not only is an uncreated universe less of a leap than an uncreated creator, it's also the only entity of the two that we actually know to exist. Is there mystery in the universe? Yes. Does God solve these mysteries? No! |
| Posted by: ratbag Jan 10 2005, 11:54 AM |
| Disillusionment, or "hey, wait a second... none of this makes any goddamn sense" at about 12-14. |
| Posted by: The Silent One Jan 10 2005, 12:26 PM |
| Other: I enlightened myself. Once you start learning, it's rather hard to continue to believe in something that has no basis in facts, and in truth tends to go contrary to them. |
| Posted by: bob Jan 10 2005, 01:42 PM |
| Disillusionment. It became evident to me that not only was I not living as I thought a christian should live, but I also could not find any other christians that were living as I thought a christian should live. That was the beginning of my fall from grace. It took about another 15 years for me to hit the ground. And if I ever experienced a rebirth, it was that day. The day I admitted to myself that I was no longer a believer. |
| Posted by: Cerise Jan 10 2005, 05:12 PM |
| Spiritual needs went unmet: I needed a Spirit, if it existed, to speak up when I needed it to. It did not. Therefore, I deconverted. |
| Posted by: Lokmer Jan 10 2005, 05:31 PM |
| I took my faith too seriously, sought God too deeply, studied too hard, and was too honest about it.. My faith peeled away like an onion, and it did so because I took the claims of Christianity seriously. I studied my way out in the process of writing a theology book on Christian Art and Ethics. -Lokmer |
| Posted by: JasonLong Jan 10 2005, 09:17 PM |
| Because it's only natural to change positions once the absurdity of the previous position is sufficiently demonstrated |
| Posted by: nivek Jan 10 2005, 09:28 PM |
| A bit of a stew Reach: "All of the Above".. For the most part, couldn't live a *sinless, sexless life* at all.. Not wired to tie my crank in a holy knot and pretend it didn't work "that way"... That and the total sluffing of responsibility and *authority* upstairs by the church elders and finally pastor, not one of those sons_a_bitches would give a man a direct friggin' answer... ""Bibull says "XXXXXXX and RRR, YYYYY" "How do you get to EEEE and RRR" from here?"" "Umm, you'll have to go to bibulle Kollege for that!" After a long bit and the slip and dodge, said "fuckkit, I'm ridin' outa here".. And did n |
| Posted by: euphgeek Jan 11 2005, 03:46 AM |
| I voted "Other". I left when I realized that I was more moral than the Christian God in that I would never send anyone to hell. |
| Posted by: Clearview Jan 11 2005, 06:46 AM |
| Disillusionment. The preacher told me that the Catholic way of eating Jesus at Mass will not get him into your heart. He said I had to have a relationship with Him. So I said, "Hey Jesus, want to be my friend?" He never answered. |
| Posted by: Reach Jan 11 2005, 06:55 AM | ||
I apologize for inadvertently omitting those like you who were never Christians and/or rejected Christianity or theism. I've added the category. |
| Posted by: Ian Jan 11 2005, 03:57 PM |
| never was a xtian even though I was dragged to church and baptized. never rang true ..even as a kid... |
| Posted by: Lanakila Jan 12 2005, 01:30 AM |
| I voted non-belief. After years of being a fundy (a good one even) and much Bible study and even Bible college training, I studied myself out of the faith. |
| Posted by: Fyrefly Jan 13 2005, 07:10 PM |
| I just didn't believe in it anymore, so I deconverted. Not only that, but I was damaged emotionally and psychologically by Christianity and Christians alike, and I don't wish to subject myself to that ever again. |
| Posted by: I Broke Free Jan 14 2005, 07:03 AM |
| One day at the age of 18, I was on my way to church and had to pull into a parking lot to cry my eyes out. This feeling was not unusual for me on my way to church. For some reason that day was different. It just clicked. Christianity is a total bullshit lie! This is not how I am supposed to be living my life. I never bothered to read anything, or learn why I now I felt this way. I just "knew" it was bullshit and never looked back. |
| Posted by: lycanthrope1983 Jan 14 2005, 09:52 AM |
| i gradually fell away christianity requires its believers to surrender logic and reason. something i can never do i always question wat evidence support 6000yrs of creation? y does god require our worship? wtf is wrong with Him when it came to Job?at the same time i question the mentality of god who seems infantile to me that a supreme being will bother with lower beings like us. |
| Posted by: Reach Jan 17 2005, 04:26 AM |
| Fascinating poll results!!! Thank you to everyone who voted and posted here!  I'll enjoy showing these results to Christians who think we all left, 1.) to "sin" or, 2.) because we got emotionally wounded by the church. Like we never did any serious thinking about this, at all... Reach |
| Posted by: Lizard Jan 17 2005, 06:04 AM |
| I voted "other"..doubt crept in..as it has many times over the nearly 25 years since I started all of this. It started with the contradictory nature of christians vs. Jesus...them doing exactly what he told them not to. Mainly in the "love your enemy" and "forgive seventy times seven" categories.. Then it moved to the concept of hell..and how everyone throughout all time who did not believe, nor have heard..are in hell..it just seems ...ludicrous.. To hear them tell it..god is a god of justice and is holy..therefore, he would have to send them to hell for nonbelief..doesn't seem like justice to me..nor does it seem quite so holy. I'm not an athiest..I'm not sure what I am..agnostic doesn't fit either. Nor does deist or theist..hmm..I'm just me.. |
| Posted by: ficino Jan 17 2005, 06:19 AM |
| hey, IBF - I felt like that too but you're lucky you were 18 when you had your moment and wasted a minimal amount of time! cheers |
| Posted by: Reach Jan 17 2005, 06:57 AM | ||
One day last year, I was in the shower and had to rush myself through the whole routine to get out to cry my eyes out. This feeling was not unusual for me, at that time. For some reason that day was different. It just clicked. Christianity is a total bullshit lie! This is not how I am supposed to be living my life. I had read too much and I knew why I now I felt this way. I just "knew" it was bullshit and never looked back. Reach P.S. Thank you, IBF. I used most of your words. |
| Posted by: Light_of_Reason Jan 17 2005, 07:54 AM |
| I voted for spiritual needs unmet, because though I read the Bible and went to church regularly, I always felt that something important was missing. That was when I began searching for it in earnest, first within the religion and its various flavors. After not finding it there, I broadened my search to many other religions and philosophies. I still haven't found what's missing, but at least I know where it is not. Also, the research done when I started my spiritual search led me to many new facts and interpretations that clearly showed the religion to be false, so in a way, I guess non-belief would work as well. |
| Posted by: Reach Jan 18 2005, 10:03 AM |
| Light of Reason, I would surmise that, with the exception of purely emotional reasons alone, one exit point is as good as another. I'm not sure I ever welcomed you here, before. Good to have you with us. Reach |
| Posted by: Josh Adkins Jan 18 2005, 05:55 PM |
| I voted non-belief as I was never really a firm believer. My mother took us to church a few times when we were kids, but we never went that much and she never forced religion on us. Eventually I started learning about all the other religious ideas in the world and just came to the realization that religion is subjective -- there is not one right religion. My second year of college I even lived with three fundies and went to church and Bible study groups with them to see if I could make it click, but I never could. It just didn't feel right. I had a few of the "what if I am wrong" thoughts, but they eventually faded away and that was that. As I have gotten older, more mature, more world-wise and gained more knowledge religion just didn't make any sense and didn't even seem to be plausibly acceptable. Anyway, I feel like I am rambling a bit so I will cut it off there. |
| Posted by: DanInPA Jan 18 2005, 06:05 PM | ||
This may be a little late, as I haven't really kept up with the thread, but I also, in a sincere search for the Truth™, discovered that all religion is man-made  , and gave up.Dan |
| Posted by: Merlinfmct87 Jan 18 2005, 06:25 PM |
| Never was a christian. Mum was a freethinker when she had me(although she still bears the scars of fundamentalism). It's incredibly humbling to read some of the stories here. I hope I can show the same strength you have in my life. Merlin |
| Posted by: cu_mhorrigan Jan 19 2005, 06:30 AM |
| Like some of the others here it was a little bit of everything. Disillusionment, Hypocrasy, Hurtful actions, Realising that I was becomming a real dick head., seeing alot of the theology I had crammed down my throat was actually Horseshit. a bunch of things really. |
| Posted by: Matthew Jan 19 2005, 12:54 PM |
| There is precious little I can write in a post like this that I have not elaborated on elsewhere. I might be considered a veteran poster here and so most people who know me from my original activity on here know full well my reasons for leaving the Christian faith. The main reason I left the faith was biblical errancy. I became convinced that the Bible contained internal discrepencies (contradictions among the resurrection accounts, Peter denial accounts, virgin birth, fig tree cursings), external discrepencies (Bible contains errors such as Jesus saying men were with David, errors in history and science) and failed prophecies (Failed Land Promise, failed eternal throne for David). Thus it was discrepencies on multiple levels which convinced me that the Bible was not what evangelical Christians said it was. Matthew |
| Posted by: BlueGiant Jan 21 2005, 12:51 AM |
| The beginning for the end for me was a homily on what heaven was like. It was then that I realized that something was very, very wrong here, and that I would have to find my own truth. At the time it grated on me. It still does, to the point that I can barely stand sitting in any chruch service, not so bad if I respect the priest/pastor, agonizing if I know the guy at the front is a twit. As I said though, it was the beginning of the end, I guess an "Eureka!" moment, if you will. |
| Posted by: Mo Biggsley Jan 21 2005, 08:14 AM |
| An idiot, wannabe youth leader trying to cast the "demon of pride" out of me had a lot to do with the timing of my decision that I didn't believe in God, but I never really could completely buy into their beliefs no matter how much I tried. |
| Posted by: Pseudonym Jan 24 2005, 02:43 AM |
| The question doesn't specifically apply to me as I've never been an adherent of any particular "faith", but I suppose you could ask "why do I reject Christianity and biblical faith in general?" Put quite simply, reading the bible objectively and with a critical eye towards the attitudes, psychological templates and modes of behaviour it espouses, one can do nothing but object to it. |
| Posted by: quicksand Feb 16 2005, 04:30 PM |
| Other Well I rejected Christianity when I was in 6th or 7th grade – during confirmation of all ironies. Nothing like study to open one's mind. Now, the supernatural is something fun to watch at the movies. But not something I can reasonably believe in. |
| Posted by: Bruce Feb 16 2005, 04:47 PM |
| I selected non-belief. For those who are new to the board, by that I mean post 2003, my deconversion was cemented when I took graduate level apologetics. As a person studying to be a Christian minister, what I found in these classes put me in a delimma. Professional theologians have known from time immemorial that the "proofs" used in apologetics are fraut with error. It has been known for hundreds of years that many of the proof texts are out-rght frauds, have been redacted or have a combination of these problems. They teach you how to defend against these claims in apolgetics. Anyone with a rational mind can see what the game is. I am a basically honest person and studying to be a better servant of God, I could not willingly perpetuate lies for societal or organizational reasons. The end result is I began a long, difficult process of admitting the truth to myself and walking away from a belief and comfortable life wrapped up in Christianity. Ironically my journey led me to Dave's ExChristian community. //Bruce// |
| Posted by: Java Feb 16 2005, 04:55 PM |
| OMFG I never posted here? o_O;; I left because of simple logic. Life was unbearable. I prayed to God continuously to stop the pain. God has a duty to give us coping mechanisms to deal with the pain if he can't remove it. If God didn't help, and if the definition of God includes that he can and will help, then he cannot exist as I believed. |