OF COURSE believe that those who have walked away have been deceived. This is a given that we believe that those who have chosen to walk away should accept about us. Our belief about this is not going to change no matter how much you want it to. And if you are confident in your choice then it shouldn’t matter to you what we believe anyway. Yes?
Yeah, I certainly don’t think my article is going to change what anyone believes, and I don’t feel like I need Christianity’s permission to change my mind either.
What I’m trying to illuminate is the way that these 13 arguments (and the ones I missed) tend to be counterproductive to what you hope to accomplish, when you insist that an ex-Christian is wrong and needs to return to what you believe. It only confirms that your entire perspective is stuck inside of Christianity and you can’t see the bigger picture. (I’m using the word “you” but I don’t mean you specifically, as I don’t know if this applies to you.)
Years ago I heard a radio interview with famous atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair’s son. He was reminiscing about a time when his mother was asked, “Since you do not believe there is a God, then why do you fight so hard against Him?”
Your article kinda reminded me of that interview… if there is no truth to what we believe and have experienced… then why do you spend any or much time “fighting” against us or our beliefs?
Of course, “fighting against God” makes as much sense to me as fighting against Santa Claus. It makes no sense to oppose something that you perceive as fictional.
However, if Santa Clausism had the same kind of grip on society and negative impacts on people that Christianity does, I’d oppose that as well.
I actually wrote another article that might help you understand what I mean.
The other reason I talk so much about these topics is because there are a lot of people who lose their faith and are then traumatized by the ways their closest family and friends refuse to listen to them, instead hurling all these dogmatic invalidations at them — or worse, disowning them entirely. I write to support those people, so they will know they’re not alone.
Go your way and we will go ours…
Sorry, I have a hard time believing that.
but of course I will go away with much prayer that you come back and go further in your faith than you went before. That you turn back to God and experience Him in a real and personal way… instead of Christianity being a strict, rule oriented religion where God is way up there and you are supposed to just have faith that He is there.
Jer. 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” God is MUCH more interested in your heart and you knowing Him intimately then He is in watching you follow religious rules and doctrines. He loves YOU.
I appreciate your intention, but this isn’t necessary. How would you feel if I said I was rooting for you to adopt a clear, scientific view of the world so that you will no longer be trapped inside a religion and be free to enjoy life for what it is? Does it not come across like “your life must be miserable, being so wrong”?
Again, I have heard all these things before. I’ve always been 100% clear that believing in Jesus isn’t about following religious rules and doctrines while he sits above distantly. I did seek with all my heart, and nothing happened. I reached the conclusion that some people’s brains are wired to produce a convincing placebo when they pray, and other people’s aren’t. That explanation makes a lot more sense to me than anything supernatural.
