I have never been more proud to be an atheist as you exemplify everything we [atheists] believe this universe to be and offer. With a brother atheist as yourself I feel hope growing stronger and much more positive for a future without the religious bigotry, social intolerance and the perpetuation of hate cloaked in a type of love that only makes sense to the people that allow themselves to be nothing more than robots, serving a mythical deity.

Welcome to the universe as it really is, brother.

I’ve yet to find a community as generally accepting (as long as you aren’t gay) as the two congregations of which I’ve been a member.

Well since I realized I didn’t literally believe in what was going on, I sometimes wonder about my kids. But my dad was a pastor and I figured it out. Oddly it was his insistencethat Christianity was a rational religion that ultimitely wore away my faith. So I insist my kids not to to themselves and try to be rational. I figured it out, they can too. And if there comes a time when there is a true secular alternative to organized religion, they are always free to choose it.

Now that I am among the ranks of hypocrites in church, I truely realize how widespread the practice is. I even know pastors who no longer really believe in god, yet continue to attend for exactly the same reasons I do.

SHHH.
I’m a hypocrite

i kid.

In other words, we were paralyzed by a belief that we had some “solution” that we actually did not have. Search: “Atheism: Paradigms” on Youtube for a video that I created.

Have you read Karen Armstrong’s “The Spiral Staircase?” In it she talks about her convent years and how she started experiencing strange mental sensations that neither she nor the other nuns could explain. This went on for several years and caused all kinds of problems in the convent as everyone thought it was a spiritual issue. No one thought of calling in a doctor. Well, my first reaction when she started describing her experiences was, “Get thee to a neurologist, fast!” Finally about halfway through the book, she does go to a neurologist and the diagnosis was just as I suspected–temporal lobe epilepsy. How did I know this? Because I too have temporal lobe epilepsy. And I too thought it was a spiritual thing–until the day I had, without warning, a grand mal seizure. I was very, very lucky that I was not behind the wheel when it happened. So I know all about Dark Age medicine for real life problems.

,I wasn’t raised to think of illness in spiritual terms, so where did I get this notion that what was going on in my head, the hazy dreamy sequences that came on unbidden, were spiritual in nature? Because not long before they started occurring, I had been rather heavily involved in a charismatic prayer group that did believe such things, and even though I was no longer part of that group, their influence still lingered. I did not go to anyone or tell anyone because quite frankly i did not know what to do or who to go to.

In all my time in that group the possibility that anyone in that group who was experiencing similar problems had a recognized medical condition was something that was never even considered, I never once heard anyone who was seeking prayer being told, “We think you need to see a doctor about this,” Instead there was a lot of talk about “oppression” and “demons”.

Now I see that Dr. M. Scott Peck, author of “The Road Less Traveled”, is endorsing exorcism and saying the mental health field ought to recognize demon possession as being a legitimate medical health condition (see his “Glimpses of the Devil.” If that doesn’t make your hair stand on end, I don’t know what will.

I applaud your courage in telling such a painful story, and I hope that the Christians who are reading this will take heed and take a look at some of the more toxic elements of their faith.

IT DOES MATTER if something is REALLY TRUE or not. My story is sad but true. My twin sister died because of her belief in Christianity’s lessor known teachings. The Bible describes demonic forces and there ability to take hold on people. It also teaches that people are susceptible to control from demons and only God can dispel them.

You see, our family has a history of schizophrenia; but we did not know it at the time. Because we were all convinced of the existence of the supernatural (such as demons); this lead to my sister becoming involved with pseudo-spiritual activities. I was overseas during most of this, but my family was so faithful in their beliefs that priests and pastors were brought to dispel the demons. This method had absolutely NO affect whatsoever.

She committed suicide in depression and wrote a note specifically to me stating that God was merciless and had forsaken her. What really happened was far less dramatic. A genetic disease that has been well diagnosed and studied in medical circles inflicted her severely.

It was worsened through the use of excessive pain relievers and alcohol; as well as psychiatric drugs. We could have done so much more for her if we had not applied DARK AGE MEDICINE to a REAL LIFE PROBLEM. If only we had not applied bedtime stories to our real life; we might still have her with us.

For my own mental health, I have to just accept that the god she cursed could be no more real than Zeus or Poseidon. This has been an immeasurable help to us. We don’t always overtly admit it, but we know that our deity is just a belief; perhaps nothing more. We don’t know for sure if Jesus is a myth, but we still try to be good people. But from now on, if we have a problem, we will use cold ruthless logic. Reason is a character trait for Christians anyway so we don’t have to be bitter, disobedient, or desperate.

Not only were there no demons any more than there were flying reign deer or pink unicorns; our religious activities lead to incredible despair and unimaginable sorrow for all of us. This is not to depress you, if you are a Christian; but it is to WARN you. Don’t be like us. DO NOT let Christianity harm the people you love!

ALWAYS use reason, logic, and science during your lifetime; as well as character and goodness. This is better than any myth. If God is real, He will understand; if He doesn’t, than He is not God. ;o)

http://jamesongraber.blogspot.com/2009/09/de-conversion-stories.html

Even when we stopped going I still didn’t know I had de-converted. Christianity and morality/spirituality were so connected in my being that I couldn’t cut that cord. I guess it’s been in the past year or so that I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot believe in a personal God, or if there is a personal God, I do not like Him and do not choose to worship him. It is difficult to make such a bold choice as one small human in front of such a big god. But I have seen “his people” begging for mercy and him not stepping in too many times. It does not add up and it all starts to look like a farce after a while.

I am a little turned off by some of the atheists who seem so proud of their logic. They surprisingly remind me of the Christians I just left. LOL I can’t say that I lost my faith as a result of great studies. To be honest, my eyes just gradually opened. All the verses started sounding redundant and hollow. They claimed to meet needs that they do not meet. Turning to them actually dried up my spirit instead of watering it. I feel like I had more of a spiritual de-conversion instead of the logical one that many people here had, if that makes any sense. Although of course logical was involved. My husband made a logical de-conversion at about the same time I made my spiritual one. Kinda funny huh? He admits his faith was never as much of a part of him as mine was, so it wasn’t as much of a loss to him. He doesn’t miss Jesus. I think I will always miss Jesus. I can see how it would be tempting to turn that loss into anger at the church or some new kind of wisdom, but I don’t really want to go there. I think I’ll just accept that I miss Jesus. And eventually maybe I’ll figure out how to “come out.” LOL