The Delusion of Christianity
by David
I recently turned my back on Christianity, and in doing so put an end to a 3-year marriage to my extremely fundamentalist wife. She and I are now free to move our separate ways and to be with partners that share our belief systems.
My hopes in writing this quick observation would be that some Christian who may be having problems with his faith will read this, use rational thought, and do what I did: walk away from the superstition that is Christianity.
Have you ever noticed that Christianity proclaims that those who accept Jesus are going to get special favors, such as supernatural wisdom, special healing from above, and that by accepting Christ as their saviour, and that they are no longer of this world and will be above it?
Have you ever seen any evidence in your life to back this up other than their constant reiteration of 2000-year-old scripture? I for one, have not! And that was a big reason that I finally decided that there was a major difference between what I heard in service on a weekly basis and what I observed in the real world.
Christianity is a lie, plain and simple. I have noticed that Christians are losing their homes at the same rate as non-Christians during this economic debacle. Christians are losing their jobs just like their pagan counterparts. Christians have a just as high, if not higher, rate of divorce than those who do not subscribe to religious belief systems. And yet, they all spend their time praying for this wish or that desire, as if their capricious God is suddenly going to get off his throne and grant their wishes...
Instead of praying for something, get off your butt and take action! I am saddened when I see all these hopeless people at these Joyce Meyer conferences, with their hands up in their air, just waiting for some miracle that will never come, regardless of whether they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Christianity is a lie, plain and simple.
Have you ever noticed that Christians die in the same ways and manner as those who do not worship a deity? For example, I always found it interesting that Christians were killed at Columbine (and in fact, were often singled out) and in the Virginia Tech massacre a few years ago. I would think that this omnipotent being who wants the best for his special people on Earth so that you can spread his message, would take extra special care of you while on this planet, but I have not noticed any evidence of that... When a perpetrator pulls a gun's trigger, and that bullet is aimed at a Christian, there is no supernatural force field to deflect the bullet, although it would certainly be very easy for this omniscient being to do so. (He did create the world in just seven days, and anything is possible with God... so how come it never materializes?) But then you get into that Christian argument of interfering with our free will if he did so. My question would be, how is this God ever supposed to answer anyone's prayer, because the answer will undoubtedly affect some person's free will?
A Christian pastor was gunned down in front of his congregation earlier this year in Illinois without any help from his saviour. A Christian musicians' adopted daughter is run over by his son horsing around in the family SUV while God just sits on his throne and watches this tragedy unfold without ever laying his supernatural hand down to help. Instead we get the family on Larry King proclaiming that this tragedy perpetrated by Satan will not tear them apart and will only bring them close to Jesus -- this Jesus who did nothing to help their daughter. A Christian pastor just passes away from his disease a week ago (story is posted on this website a few days earlier) despite thousands of heartfelt prayers for his recovery for Jesus to rebuke the disease and save him. And then when this man passes, Christians don't ask, "Why didn't God answer my prayers to save this man? Hmmm... could it be that He doesn't exist?" They just go on and on about how, "God has brought this one home; you cannot question his eternal wisdom; he created us and how dare we question his truth..." Now we must pray for his family?! Wake up! If God didn't answer your first prayer to save this man of the Lord, why in the world do you think he will answer your prayers now to offer comfort to his family?
I watched American Greed last week and in short, it told the story of hundreds of Christians who were sucked into a religious ponzi scheme. Some of these people lost over 50K because they had believed that God had answered their prayers for financial blessing and had provided them a financial vehicle for their retirement. When the scheme blew up, and they found out that their money was gone; obviously they were devastated. In my opinion God has let them down -- BIG TIME! When asked how this experience affected their faith, do you think that any one of them questioned how God could let this happen and express their doubts about their belief system? No, they just stated that their masterminds of this scheme will have to answer to God, and that they have even more faith in Jesus now because of this experience. WHAT?! Are you crazy? Defending this God who just silently lets you blow your money without every giving you any supernatural wisdom that you were putting your hard earned money into a ponzi scheme? This kind of thinking can not help the future of mankind.
Bottom line is that Christianity promises a lot, but other than the companionship that you can develop with other human beings, there is absolutely no evidence of any supernatural interference or benefits in their lives.
To any Christian who is thinking of leaving the fold:
I applaud your decision, and although it may be difficult, you will eventually learn to enjoy the remainder of your life without the Jesus-tinted glasses you have become accustomed to. The biggest discovery you make in leaving Christianity is that you have learned to think rationally for yourself and to break away from a lemming mentality. (Lemmings are small animals that will follow one another to their death as they leap off cliffs...)
Thank your rational brains and anyone who has helped you to question your belief system so that this lemming gene wont be passed on to the next generation.
I recently turned my back on Christianity, and in doing so put an end to a 3-year marriage to my extremely fundamentalist wife. She and I are now free to move our separate ways and to be with partners that share our belief systems.My hopes in writing this quick observation would be that some Christian who may be having problems with his faith will read this, use rational thought, and do what I did: walk away from the superstition that is Christianity.
Have you ever noticed that Christianity proclaims that those who accept Jesus are going to get special favors, such as supernatural wisdom, special healing from above, and that by accepting Christ as their saviour, and that they are no longer of this world and will be above it?
Have you ever seen any evidence in your life to back this up other than their constant reiteration of 2000-year-old scripture? I for one, have not! And that was a big reason that I finally decided that there was a major difference between what I heard in service on a weekly basis and what I observed in the real world.
Christianity is a lie, plain and simple. I have noticed that Christians are losing their homes at the same rate as non-Christians during this economic debacle. Christians are losing their jobs just like their pagan counterparts. Christians have a just as high, if not higher, rate of divorce than those who do not subscribe to religious belief systems. And yet, they all spend their time praying for this wish or that desire, as if their capricious God is suddenly going to get off his throne and grant their wishes...
Instead of praying for something, get off your butt and take action! I am saddened when I see all these hopeless people at these Joyce Meyer conferences, with their hands up in their air, just waiting for some miracle that will never come, regardless of whether they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Christianity is a lie, plain and simple.
Have you ever noticed that Christians die in the same ways and manner as those who do not worship a deity? For example, I always found it interesting that Christians were killed at Columbine (and in fact, were often singled out) and in the Virginia Tech massacre a few years ago. I would think that this omnipotent being who wants the best for his special people on Earth so that you can spread his message, would take extra special care of you while on this planet, but I have not noticed any evidence of that... When a perpetrator pulls a gun's trigger, and that bullet is aimed at a Christian, there is no supernatural force field to deflect the bullet, although it would certainly be very easy for this omniscient being to do so. (He did create the world in just seven days, and anything is possible with God... so how come it never materializes?) But then you get into that Christian argument of interfering with our free will if he did so. My question would be, how is this God ever supposed to answer anyone's prayer, because the answer will undoubtedly affect some person's free will?
A Christian pastor was gunned down in front of his congregation earlier this year in Illinois without any help from his saviour. A Christian musicians' adopted daughter is run over by his son horsing around in the family SUV while God just sits on his throne and watches this tragedy unfold without ever laying his supernatural hand down to help. Instead we get the family on Larry King proclaiming that this tragedy perpetrated by Satan will not tear them apart and will only bring them close to Jesus -- this Jesus who did nothing to help their daughter. A Christian pastor just passes away from his disease a week ago (story is posted on this website a few days earlier) despite thousands of heartfelt prayers for his recovery for Jesus to rebuke the disease and save him. And then when this man passes, Christians don't ask, "Why didn't God answer my prayers to save this man? Hmmm... could it be that He doesn't exist?" They just go on and on about how, "God has brought this one home; you cannot question his eternal wisdom; he created us and how dare we question his truth..." Now we must pray for his family?! Wake up! If God didn't answer your first prayer to save this man of the Lord, why in the world do you think he will answer your prayers now to offer comfort to his family?
I watched American Greed last week and in short, it told the story of hundreds of Christians who were sucked into a religious ponzi scheme. Some of these people lost over 50K because they had believed that God had answered their prayers for financial blessing and had provided them a financial vehicle for their retirement. When the scheme blew up, and they found out that their money was gone; obviously they were devastated. In my opinion God has let them down -- BIG TIME! When asked how this experience affected their faith, do you think that any one of them questioned how God could let this happen and express their doubts about their belief system? No, they just stated that their masterminds of this scheme will have to answer to God, and that they have even more faith in Jesus now because of this experience. WHAT?! Are you crazy? Defending this God who just silently lets you blow your money without every giving you any supernatural wisdom that you were putting your hard earned money into a ponzi scheme? This kind of thinking can not help the future of mankind.
Bottom line is that Christianity promises a lot, but other than the companionship that you can develop with other human beings, there is absolutely no evidence of any supernatural interference or benefits in their lives.
To any Christian who is thinking of leaving the fold:
I applaud your decision, and although it may be difficult, you will eventually learn to enjoy the remainder of your life without the Jesus-tinted glasses you have become accustomed to. The biggest discovery you make in leaving Christianity is that you have learned to think rationally for yourself and to break away from a lemming mentality. (Lemmings are small animals that will follow one another to their death as they leap off cliffs...)
Thank your rational brains and anyone who has helped you to question your belief system so that this lemming gene wont be passed on to the next generation.
Comments
This blog exists for the express purpose of encouraging those who have decided to leave religion (Christianity) behind. It is not an open challenge to Christians to avenge what they perceive as an offense against their religious beliefs.
It is evident that you are upset over something you have read, as your reply reads like something an angry junior high student would write. Furthermore it makes no sense, you are making assertions that cannot be proven.
Most importantly, you should not criticize someone for thinking without first trying it yourself.
This blog exists for the express purpose of encouraging those who have decided to leave religion (Christianity) behind. It is not an open challenge to Christians to avenge what they perceive as an offense against their religious beliefs.
It is evident that you are upset over something you have read, as your reply reads like something an angry junior high student would write. Furthermore it makes no sense, you are making assertions that cannot be proven.
Most importantly, you should not criticize someone for thinking without first trying it yourself.
Ok... ever heard of cognitive dissonance? You call yourself "Hope" and then plead with someone (who is obviously taking steps to heal in healthy ways) to prostrate himself in blood and sorrow in order to make things better? Holy crap. Is that "hope" to you? If someone believes that another person's disgusting loss of life will cleanse his sins and even repair broken relationships, I'd say that's beyond hopeless... it's a love of destruction and death that only survives as long as it is couched in the cloak of religion.
Get out in the world and see some real suffering... kids who need rescue from abusers, elderly neglected in their last years, poverty beyond your wildest imagination (or maybe not) and then DO SOMETHING. Pain is inevitable at some point in life, but that's when you get off your butt and move for change.
That's your miracle, honey.
The exaggerated grief over that one person's path to crucifixion, (brought on by supposed anti-establishment preaching) belies all the other immense suffering that happens to humans, most of it in no way sought out. Babies and children suffering painful and excruciating illnesses...hard-working families going through slow starvation.
What have humans done to deserve the many illnesses and natural disasters? The question is false and misleading.
There is no previous sin and degredation. Nature proceeds naturally. Humans do good, bad and indifferent things to themselves and others. All is part of the unfolding of nature. Pain and suffering happen, but not because there is an angry god nor because we have transgressed against that myth.
If the many-faced deity of the bible did exist, I would be much more than an atheist: I would be an agressive and constant attacker and enemy.
The bible quotes and defenses of that deity sometimes cause me to attack that non-existent being because the believers give the idea a body and a life that in the moment seems real.
As a community organizer in the 60s and 70s I learned that it is a very bad tactic to mess with people's icons and revered saints. It's a serious challenge: how to reveal the myth and fiction without losing the attention of the believer. Every insult to their sacred myths is a sacrilege. When one defines a particular desecration as a sacrilege, one also brings up the sense of scandal, disgust, hurt and personal attack embodied in that word.
My present approach is to keep it human, keep present and to keep asking for deeper thought and consideration...without going into faith gear. Validating the human strengths as experienced and countering the leaps of faith with firm steps on the ground.
Not easy.
Its time to take God out of the box you put him in and let him BE HIM!
Great post David, thank you for having the courage to walk away from delusion and lies. I'm sorry about your relationship not surviving the change though, it's never good when a marriage breaks down. I hope all is well with you, and if not, that it gets better.
Perhaps someone is sad. And? So whAT?
You have never seen God.
No sh*t, and neither have you, nor has any other human being. There's a logical reason for this, one that is much simpler than the bloated rationalizations that Theists are always chompin' at the bit to offer, just as I suspect you are.
You are basing your "facts" off very surface level arguments.
Really? 'Curious......what do you think "facts" should be based on? What makes something a "fact"?
Bad things have happened in history and current and bad things have happened in the name of God. But that does not mean that God made them happened. Man did, and found it to be convenient to hold God responsible for people's actions.
We have objective confirmation that throughout history up until the present, human beings do things like behave unethically and judge others, etc. So, if "God" exists, then either, a) "God" permits its "followers" to commit dispicable acts in its name, b) is unable to prevent its "followers" from committing dispicable acts in its name, c) is a "deistic" god that doesn't give a rusty f%ck what "man" does, or d) is non-existent, altogther.
One of the above is true.
If "a" is true, then why shouldn't man blame "God"? If "b" is true, then "God" is evidentally not all-powerful, in which case, it is seriously under-qualified for the job-title "God". If "c" is true, then the question becomes "so what?", since a person trying to strike up a relationship with an impersonal/impartial "God" is pointless. If "d" is true, then everything regarding man, who is simply imperfect by nature, makes good sense. No bloated rationalizations needed.
I met a young man at a coffeehouse who seemed very bright, friendly and communicative. I soon found out that this architecture intern is also a deeply devout Christian. He was not raised in it but sought it out when he was a very young teenager. He seems to have gotten some pushback in college from professors and from other students but he is firm in his fundamental, literal acceptance of the bible. He suffered as a little boy because he was effeminate and nerdy and now claims to be protected by his faith but he does consider being gay a sin and is putting it all 'in god's hands'.
What saddened me was how firm he is in his beliefs because when we talked about architecture and art he was so open, interesting and avant garde.
I didn't argue much but made it clear how we were on very different planes. As he attempted to explain/defend the contradictions/errors in the bible his arguments were tired, predictable and so illogical that I had great cognitive dissonance: within such an intelligent young man, such rigid blind belief!
He doesn't know about this site but I could see him be one of the fundies that visits us to correct our erroneous ways...
The faith 'meme' is such a strong virus!
I showed him one of my poems to illustrate how absolutely different my thinking is to his. Our mutual judgment of each other is an ironic mirror image. Parallel to my feelings about him, I know he judges me to be a lost sinner who needs to return to the fold.
Yuck.
How sad that you think you have seen god. You are basing your 'facts' off very tenuous, unproven arguments and experiences. Bad things have happened because that is in the evolutionary mix. There is no god, so there is no god to blame. Now, if I were to believe in your bible god, I would be totally, crazily angry at that bearded old liar. I would hold that deity up to his/her/its promises.
But those promises were written and revised by human beings over thousands of years...and like you and me, they exaggerate.
We are as humans responsible for creating the best world possible, without any intervention, interference, reward/punishment from any external spirit.
Go preach to your believing community.
How sad that you think you have seen god. You are basing your 'facts' off very tenuous, unproven arguments and experiences. Bad things have happened because that is in the evolutionary mix. There is no god, so there is no god to blame. Now, if I were to believe in your bible god, I would be totally, crazily angry at that bearded old liar. I would hold that deity up to his/her/its promises.
But those promises were written and revised by human beings over thousands of years...and like you and me, they exaggerate.
We are as humans responsible for creating the best world possible, without any intervention, interference, reward/punishment from any external spirit.
Go preach to your believing community.
I met my friends through work, over the back fence (figuratively), through our kids, and volunteering in the community. Met my husband at college. One daughter met her husband volunteering at a 4H camp. They worked with each other there for years before they became a couple.
But really, I always thought I would like to go to a bar, just because it always looked like fun in movies. By the time smoking was banned, I didn't really care to try it anymore.
Where was the God of "Do unto others..." while Christians were enslaving, torturing and murdering subject peoples for 400 years?
Where was the "Merciful God" during pandemics that annihilated whole populations?
Where was the Jesus who "loves the little children, all the children of the world" when they were being led into the huge gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau or were being buried alive in sand pits at the behest of Hauptmann Christian Wirth at Belzec?
Where was the merciful God in Democratic Kampuchea, in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, in Rwanda (where at least one Christian clergyman was implicated DIRECTLY in the genocide)?
Simple: he wasn't there. Non-existent beings never are.
Where was the God of "Do unto others..." while Christians were enslaving, torturing and murdering subject peoples for 400 years?
Where was the "Merciful God" during pandemics that annihilated whole populations?
Where was the Jesus who "loves the little children, all the children of the world" when they were being led into the huge gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau or were being buried alive in sand pits at the behest of Hauptmann Christian Wirth at Belzec?
Where was the merciful God in Democratic Kampuchea, in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, in Rwanda (where at least one Christian clergyman was implicated DIRECTLY in the genocide)?
Simple: he wasn't there. Non-existent beings never are.
The only Christians who will listen are the ones who have already been questioning and are looking for an open door to get out.
At least, that's as far as I see it, and I certainly could be wrong. I've certainly been wrong before (believing that there was a god).
keep trying to point out to the fundies who long ago distanced them-
selves from anything resembling reality and common sense. It is
why apologetics is called apologetics; constantly apologizing and
making excuses for a supposedly all-powerful being who can't do
squat. Or is given credit for something someone's hard work and
perseverence accomplished.
I am very sorry to hear of the breakup of your marriage. I hope you and
your ex will be able to get through it as best you can and move on.
Bad things happen to all people, but when tragedy strikes believers,
w e l l l l l then it's because The Lard loves them and wants to draw them in closer to Him. ( terrific guy ) BUT, if the same exact tragedy strikes a non-believer, w e l l l l l then that is clearly The Lard's punishment to that person for rebuking The Lard !
What simple-minded, hypocritical clap-trap infests fundies ( brains ? ).
By The Way... isn't Joyce Meyer a trip ! I wonder if she actually believes one/ tenth of the nonsense she spews to deluded, worshiping, brain-dead idolizers that cough up their hard earned $$$$$$$ to her.
pitiful saps.
I'd take that a step further. In Sunday school we're taught this song, which every child takes to heart. Then, when you're older you enter Catechism where you learn that any child who doesn't hear, doesn't understand, doesn't accept the gospel will spend eternity in hell. Not to mention, children aren't even morally accountable until they're about 8 years old, but they are often believed to have a depraved nature. I've heard christians say things like, "children are sinful! Why else is toddler always saying 'NO' to everything?" (It's called discovering their independance...) Moreover, in most Calvinist circles, children were predestined to hell, if they were not "elect". It becomes apparent that God doesn't love "all" the little children.
You hit on a very interesting top re. impacting the "free will" of another person. I had a chat with a conservative Calvinist re. "free will". This chap told me he believed God created his wife just for him. I asked the chap what would have happened if he decided not to marry this woman God had created. The chap told me it was "God's will" that they be married, so this chap really didn't have a choice in the matter. He claimed his "free will" was subordinate to "God's will", so he didn't actually have a choice. I think that is the most FUBAR thing I ever heard, and it is why I despise Calvinism and this crap about God's will.
I hope you find suppport and value on this board. Beware the troll invasion. Funny thing about these recent trolls is they seemingly refuse to say what church they belong to. Not exactly a glowing testament of their convictions...
Welcome aboard.
In Europe, perhaps. Here, there are tens of millions of them.
If you would please ponder on the fact that many people distort the message of Christ, but that in fact the path of Jesus is one littered with brokeness and pain, as he also suffered.
Oh, big fucking deal! He suffered for what - 24 hours, max? There are people who know nothing but misery and pain throughout their entire lives! I am sick to death of you people fetishizing Jesus' ordeal - "Oh, no one in history has ever suffered as much, he experienced all the pain of humanity, blah, blah, blah..." None of this is supported by the biblical account, which is highly suspect to begin with. Seriously, grow up.
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