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13 Fallacies Used to Discredit Ex-Christians
When believers won’t accept deconversion at face value
Many people reject Christianity after decades of whole-hearted devotion. Meanwhile, most Evangelicals are convinced this is impossible, so they argue against the stories of former believers in order to discredit them.
It makes sense that hearing about deconversion is triggering. From a Christian perspective, there’s a lot riding on faith: believing the right things about Jesus is what divides people into Heaven and Hell, and nothing could be more true or important, so they naturally resist contrary thinking. Also, churches can’t afford to have their members’ confidence shaken, so they’ve trained attendees to distrust and shun anyone who leaves the faith.
It’s not fair or reasonable, though, to make false assumptions about the personal history of people you don’t know. The 9th commandment says “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Sometimes the rabid defense of faith even leads Christians to make hurtful accusations against those they love most.
In this article, I want to reassure ex-Christians that everyone gets these kinds of reactions from Christians. It’s nothing to take personally — you’ll hear them your whole life, no matter how well you explain yourself.
