These articles were published between January 2001 and February 4, 2010.
To view more recent posts, go to The Main Blog at ExChristian.Net
These articles were published between January 2001 and February 4, 2010.
To view more recent posts, go to The Main Blog at ExChristian.Net
Comments
These belief systems are manipulative, divisive, and are very psychologically damaging, especially for those who escape the more hardcore fundamentalist beliefs. Who are you to ridicule or judge him? You don't know the details of his life, or the specifics of his family.
My deconversion was extremely painful, and still is a wedge that remains driven between me and much of my family.
Please have some compassion.
Yes it was sappy, but he obviously had no line of communication open to his mother of he would have used it. It was apparant he could not talk to her and had to resort to the internet just to find some healing and validation.
I know their are a lot of "christians" out their that do not shed our faith in a good light. A mother refusing to acknowledge her son is a terrible thing. I just ask you all not to judge us all on these people.
A christian is a person that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. Nobody is a christian as a result of who their famliess are. It is a choice we have to make. I would just like to encouarge you all to do some research into christianty before you dismiss it. Books like Mere Christianty, by c.s. lewis and Case for Christ, by Lee Stobel can be very useful in understanding the christian faith.
Hope I havn't offended anyone. That was not my goal.
God Bless
I know their are a lot of "christians" out their that do not shed our faith in a good light. A mother refusing to acknowledge her son is a terrible thing. I just ask you all not to judge us all on these people.
A christian is a person that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. Nobody is a christian as a result of who their famliess are. It is a choice we have to make. I would just like to encouarge you all to do some research into christianty before you dismiss it. Books like Mere Christianty, by c.s. lewis and Case for Christ, by Lee Stobel can be very useful in understanding the christian faith.
Hope I havn't offended anyone. That was not my goal.
God Bless
In case you haven't noticed, the name of the site is exchristians. That means that we WERE CHRISTIANS but we no longer are.
Asking us to RESEARCH christianity could be called an insult, but I will instead call it a waste of time.
I invite you to read the testamonies of ex-Christians to see the pain and suffering that has been caused by the Christian faith before you pass judgement on the folks who are here.
A lot of us did follow Jesus' teachings and as the person stated in the video couldn't follow those teachings...murder, rape and treating others differently because of gender, race or belief.
I researched and researched and agonized. But unlike the gentleman in the video I pretended until my mother died. I then researched and researched some more just to make sure I knew I was doing the right thing for me.
Don't tell me that most Christians are not like the mother in the video, maybe your church is different, maybe they allow women to preach, teach and lead and gays to worship side by side, teach, preach and lead.
When I did my research there was only one denomination that stated everyone was equal but then they believed in the Bible so to me they were lying just to increase their membership.
Most people do not chose the Christian faith, they are born into it. Their parents had them baptised and took them to their church. They were not given differing points of view in which to make a decision so there was no decision to make.
My question to you is how much research have you done to determine that you want to remain a Christian. Or have you made that determination based on what has been told to you by your parents, friends and pastor?
For more information on C.S. Lewis and his books, click here.
No. A "Christian" is a person who picks up the Holy Bible and reads all, or some of it....OR, it may be a person who NEVER reads any of it, and who uses it to adorn their coffee table. A "Christian" is a person who goes to church every Sunday...OR, it may be a person who NEVER goes. A "Christian" is person who follows the "Commandments"...OR, a "Christian" is a person who sits in prison for NOT following the "Commandments".
Of course, "Christian" will probably stumble in here and say that the latter senarios for each example would NOT constitue what a "Christian" is, but they are dead wrong. They are wrong because it is the people THEMSELVES who elect THEMSELVES the title of "Christian". There is no litmus test in determining who is a "Christian", and who is not. Second or third parties cannot determine whether other people are, OR WERE, a "True Chrisitian"....not anymore than they can tell the person in question whether they're a "true pizza lover", or not. Like ALL religion, it's completely SUBJECTIVE.
Fundy: "Nobody is a christian as a result of who their famliess are."
Nobody is a "Christian" other than the result of saying to themselves "I am a Christian". It's simple. There's like 1,200 denominations of Christianity in America, all of whom sit around and say "we are Christians...Amen". If you have the authority to tell someone else they're not a Christian, then they have the same authority over you. Hell, NOBODY'S a "Christian".
Fundy: "I would just like to encouarge you all to do some research into christianty before you dismiss it. Books like Mere Christianty, by c.s. lewis and Case for Christ, by Lee Stobel can be very useful in understanding the christian faith."
Ironically, those books were NOT written for Faithless people, but for people OF "Faith". People of "Faith" need proof too, evidently. If the bible is the "Word of God" inspired by a "God", why so many "companion" books WRITTEN by the "Faithful"; purchased by the "Faithful"; pimped by the "Faithful"? Think about it.
So, is this kid just a drama queen seeking a world wide web audience? If he's bright enough to differentiate between Christianity and reality, he's bright enough to know that this video is a Pyrric gesture.
Whatever his intentions, I think that it WILL do some good. Thousands of free-thinkers are dealing with just this topic, rejection by their family and/or friends because they've woken up. The video will remind them that they're not alone and hopefully give them the strength they need to stay awake.
Personally, I think if he wanted to reach a bigger audience he should have picked the "numa numa" song as his backround score and danced a bit, but what the hell do I know? :P
boomSLANG wrote:
"If you have the authority to tell someone else they're not a Christian, then they have the same authority over you. Hell, NOBODY'S a "Christian."
Good stuff bro!
"I have to wonder about this fellow's motivation for making and posting this video. If his mother won't talk to him on the phone, what makes him think she'll stumble on to this on the website, or take the time and effort to seek it out if she's heard about it?"
Lorena responds:
Obviously, the clip is not really addressed to the guy's mother. The guy is reaching for a larger audience. He is letting the world know what it feels to be rejected by your own mother in the name of christianity.
The letter style is just a literary device to convey a message.
" know their are a lot of "christians" out their that do not shed our faith in a good light. A mother refusing to acknowledge her son is a terrible thing. I just ask you all not to judge us all on these people.
A christian is a person that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.
----
Well, lets look at some of the teachings of Jerkass Jesus.
Luke 14:25
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. "
Luke 14:25
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. "
**************
Ironically, this quote appears on the exact situation for which Jesus said it in the first place. This young man forsook his mother in the name of Truth.
I am an ex-Christian but I do not reject the truth that appears in Jesus' teachings. This happens to be one of them. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Those of us who choose truth as a way of life do so out of conviction that goes every bit as deep as does Christian faith.
Like this young man, I also had to choose between family and truth. That is when I understood this contraversial verse.
This is just one example of the pain that is caused my xianity, just one. The amount of pain and suffering caused by this cult can never be accurately measured.
I feel for him, I do... but that drove me nuts... reading it was almost more painful than what he's going through.
that was priceless
"Would it have been so hard for him to punctuate and capitalize that? I mean, if you're not going to talk... make a statement with your writing that says "I'm intelligent enough to find the shift key."
I feel for him, I do... but that drove me nuts... reading it was almost more painful than what he's going through."
""I'm intelligent enough to find the shift key."
that was priceless"
Yeah, right. Grow up.
Way to turn the tables. Matthew 10:34 was even better:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD." [oops, I couln't un-find the shift key].
Jesus got what he wanted; why shouldn't we try to enjoy what we have? He who loves father or mother more than reason and science is not worthy of reason and science, and he who loves son or daughter more . . . .
If that's mom's position, why value mom any longer? Do something worthwhile with your life. Success is the best revenge and will make her think twice about disowning you.
Maybe you must move on from identification with your parents if you want to have your own mind.
Accept the disowning. Realize that you might do the same thing. The young man in the video said he would never disown his kids for something they said or believed.
I think there are some things I would not tolerate from my kid -- advocating violent overthrow of the U.S Government, for example.
My Dad once told me he didn't want to communicate with me anymore and wouldn't read anything I sent him. He told me that I am "spewing forth lies from the depths of hell".
He said he would treat me as a demon, because I'm only trying to drag as many people to hell with me as I can...
I know my Mum was crying every day, and I know she still does cry, and literally mourn, because she 'knows' I'm going to hell.
I hate this situation, and I am not going to let christianity do this to my family.
So I had to use emotional methods, I had to turn up the melodrama and really appeal to them on that basic instinctual parent/child level, just to reach the humanity beneath their programming.
Now we do communicate more often and we do discuss these issues.
I think I've made some impact, though I know Mum still mourns for me, and Dad will never admit anything I say is right even if it has reached him.
Anyway, I can understand the guy using melodrama, even if it is turned on...
It's still evidence of a real love, and it seems to be more than they show to him.
I'm very disappointed with some of the comments above. The man is obviously dealing with and trying to lessen a lot of emotional trauma and pain. Those comments seemed intended only to insult him and increase his pain.
I know many Christians who behave a hellava lot better than that. The writers of those comments should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking those things, let alone writing them on this website.
And they should remember that, as I understand it, the purpose of the site is to support ex-Christians, not to tear them down even further.
I better stop before I really get angry.
I'm married now and have children and grandchildren. I hope she gets see my family before she dies. I still love her...just don't share her faith.
Very sad...when a person can choose a manmade religion over their own flesh and blood.
My heart goes out to all the children left behind in the name of God.
Post a Comment