How My Life Changed After Giving Up Christianity

[humblehumility]

I was a true believer for about 15 years, and have been a non-believer for about a year now. I'd just like to share the good things and the bad things in my "conversion" thus far, somebody may find it interesting. If anybody has questions as always, feel free.

The Bad

1) Extreme family tension. I was born and raised a Lutheran, and my family is all extremely religious. Now my mother cries herself to sleep over my eternal salvation and my dad has accused me of being a "demon" when my sister sent me some Lee Strobel material and called it 'science' and I replied with actual scientific sources contradicting what she said.

2) Losing the "faith" motivator. Having true faith in any religion has been scientifically proven to improve our psyche in a way. The comfort that someone is always watching over me gave me a little extra confidence in whatever I was doing.

3) When I was a Christian, I'd spend a little time daily to read the Bible, go to church weekly, and spend 10 or so minutes a day praying. Now I spend hours every day reading every piece of evidence from both sides of the fence, this is a negative because I'm spending all my time doing this lol.

4) I get much more upset when I see religious indoctrination now that I'm aware of it. When I watched my brother step up onto the altar with other confirmants and confirm that evolution is not science and is not real, I was fuming in the pew...I think smoke might have been coming out of my ears. It is extremely unfair what many religious people do to children, because getting into them at that age truly does strip their free will in the matter.

The Good

1) Life is much more raw and much more challenging. JFK when talking about going to the moon said "We do not do these things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard." Something along those likes. Accepting that there is no possible way to determine if life is eternal makes life here that much more bittersweet. It's a challenge figuring out why we're here and what our origins are. Giving up true religious belief is not only hard, it is almost unbearably hard, the foundations of your existence are rattled to the ground.

2) Dropping the religious set of morals has it's perks. I can go out and have a few drinks with my friends and not feel guilty about it. I can get intimate with a woman pre-marriage and not feel guilty about it. Know that I do have my own set of morals, for instance I DO NOT agree with just randomly hooking up with women for pure sexual pleasure (although if somebody wants to do that, that's their business). I believe you can have a truly loving connection with a woman without being married. Not only do I believe that, I've experienced it and can confirm it.

3) Probably my favorite thing is that I no longer believe in things like luck, fate, or karma. It's just kind of the mentality you have when you have religious belief...you do something good, something good happens to you, and you conclude that something good happened to you because of that good thing you did. Or if you do a bad thing, you shouldn't be surprised if something bad happens to you because of that bad thing you did. I get much less upset over my "bad luck".

4) I fear death much less, because I have no judgment to worry about (I understand you probably don't fear judgment either, but you will face it). It's a truly odd combination of excitement and anxiety, not knowing what happens next.

5) I feel much more in touch with nature, humanity, and existence...even though I now know considerably less about all three. I'm able to look at things from a truly "outside" perspective and judge on that basis. Christians have automated judgments that they must make because of their belief, I am free of that now. I can judge things at the level of just being a human being and not some sort of "child" of God.


All in all, it's been an interesting ride. There are things I miss about religion (mainly the comfort), but I realize that as tough of a bullet as it is to bite, I can't deny the reality that exists around me. When you think about things on a "human" level like I described and not a religious one, something like "Islam" is enough of an argument to disprove Christianity to me. They are both 100% faith based and 100% contradicting. That makes them both false by nature. There's no other way of looking at this unless you believe in 1 religion or the other, in which case you are a part of a false religion and therefore false yourself.

 

[drich0150]

I was a true believer for about 15 years, and have been a non-believer for about a year now. I'd just like to share the good things and the bad things in my "conversion" thus far, somebody may find it interesting. If anybody has questions as always, feel free.

The Bad

1) Extreme family tension. I was born and raised a Lutheran, and my family is all extremely religious. Now my mother cries herself to sleep over my eternal salvation and my dad has accused me of being a "demon" when my sister sent me some Lee Strobel material and called it 'science' and I replied with actual scientific sources contradicting what she said.

2) Losing the "faith" motivator. Having true faith in any religion has been scientifically proven to improve our psyche in a way. The comfort that someone is always watching over me gave me a little extra confidence in whatever I was doing.

3) When I was a Christian, I'd spend a little time daily to read the Bible, go to church weekly, and spend 10 or so minutes a day praying. Now I spend hours every day reading every piece of evidence from both sides of the fence, this is a negative because I'm spending all my time doing this lol.

4) I get much more upset when I see religious indoctrination now that I'm aware of it. When I watched my brother step up onto the altar with other confirmants and confirm that evolution is not science and is not real, I was fuming in the pew...I think smoke might have been coming out of my ears. It is extremely unfair what many religious people do to children, because getting into them at that age truly does strip their free will in the matter.

The Good

1) Life is much more raw and much more challenging. JFK when talking about going to the moon said "We do not do these things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard." Something along those likes. Accepting that there is no possible way to determine if life is eternal makes life here that much more bittersweet. It's a challenge figuring out why we're here and what our origins are. Giving up true religious belief is not only hard, it is almost unbearably hard, the foundations of your existence are rattled to the ground.

2) Dropping the religious set of morals has it's perks. I can go out and have a few drinks with my friends and not feel guilty about it. I can get intimate with a woman pre-marriage and not feel guilty about it. Know that I do have my own set of morals, for instance I DO NOT agree with just randomly hooking up with women for pure sexual pleasure (although if somebody wants to do that, that's their business). I believe you can have a truly loving connection with a woman without being married. Not only do I believe that, I've experienced it and can confirm it.

3) Probably my favorite thing is that I no longer believe in things like luck, fate, or karma. It's just kind of the mentality you have when you have religious belief...you do something good, something good happens to you, and you conclude that something good happened to you because of that good thing you did. Or if you do a bad thing, you shouldn't be surprised if something bad happens to you because of that bad thing you did. I get much less upset over my "bad luck".

4) I fear death much less, because I have no judgment to worry about (I understand you probably don't fear judgment either, but you will face it). It's a truly odd combination of excitement and anxiety, not knowing what happens next.

5) I feel much more in touch with nature, humanity, and existence...even though I now know considerably less about all three. I'm able to look at things from a truly "outside" perspective and judge on that basis. Christians have automated judgments that they must make because of their belief, I am free of that now. I can judge things at the level of just being a human being and not some sort of "child" of God.


All in all, it's been an interesting ride. There are things I miss about religion (mainly the comfort), but I realize that as tough of a bullet as it is to bite, I can't deny the reality that exists around me. When you think about things on a "human" level like I described and not a religious one, something like "Islam" is enough of an argument to disprove Christianity to me. They are both 100% faith based and 100% contradicting. That makes them both false by nature. There's no other way of looking at this unless you believe in 1 religion or the other, in which case you are a part of a false religion and therefore false yourself.

So I'm guessing this is one of your lasts posts? I seem just yesterday that a young lady came here looking to justify her recent thoughts to break up with Christ through logic and what she deemed as unanswerable questions..

When Her questions were seemingly easily answered or rather when she could not refute the answers she had been given, she turned to popular morality standards and demanded that "we" give an account for God's actions, in such things like cancer. (kinda surprised she did not mention the flood, it is a fav with people like her)

obviously thinking These questions surly can not be answered satisfactorily because she knew she held the keys of popular morality herself.. And yet when the biblically based answers kept coming she stopped responding there too.

And now since she can not find a "logical" (which was important because that what her new religion started off as being as witnessed by her lee strobel rebuke) reason to completely "break up" with Christ. she realized she did not need one. She could simply make a pros and cons list, and simply conclude this business and live the life she always wanted!

When/if you are ready, know that no matter how bad you think you get God will be waiting and watching the horizon for the first sign of your return. When/if you do come back know it does not have to be as a Lutheran.

 

[Utensil]

Are you familiar with the documentary "Why I am no Longer Christian?" I would very much like to hear how your experiances were similar / different to those explored by Evidence.

It is 3 hours. So good luck if you do decide to endure it.
YouTube - ‪Evid3nc3's Channel‬‏

 

[humblehumility]

Are you familiar with the documentary "Why I am no Longer Christian?" I would very much like to hear how your experiances were similar / different to those explored by Evidence.

It is 3 hours. So good luck if you do decide to endure it.
YouTube - ‪Evid3nc3's Channel‬‏

I just started the video series. Will update once finished.

 

[Utensil]

Thank you very much. I was born into a Christian family, half Orthadox half Protestant, the outcome was to agree to allow me to make my own decision on religion when I felt the desire to explore the area. I feel very priviledged to have been the first member of my family to not be intocrinated into a faith, this has led me to be very curious of those who have "deconverted" out of choice, as in my opinion it perhaps shows further knowledge and understanding of a religion than I could have never gained from personal experiance.

 

[Faulty]

I was a true believer for about 15 years, and have been a non-believer for about a year now. I'd just like to share the good things and the bad things in my "conversion" thus far, somebody may find it interesting. If anybody has questions as always, feel free.

The problems with that particular statement is...

... 1 John 2:19 states that "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."
1 John 2:19

... Jesus stated it was the good soil that produced fruit and all others either rejected the word outright, or accepted it for a time and then fell away (Mt 13, Mk 4, Lk 8)

... and over and over that true faith causes perseverence, and it's those who persevere to the end that are those who are saved


In a nutshell, there never was a true believer who became a nonbeliever, only those who went through the motions, having some form of religion, keeping some religious laws out of obligation, and being miserable the whole time.

To whom much has been given, much is required (Lk 12:48). To sit in these forums, or to sit in a pew at a church and hearing any truth of the gospel, will increase the judgment of those who reject it. Jesus stated that those in the cities who heard the gospel of Him, and rejected it, their condemnation will be far greater than for those who didn't have it given to them (Mt 10:15, 11:23-24).

You've dropped the "religion". Good for you. Now turn to Jesus alone as your savior from the coming wrath of God. The loss in infinitely greater in the end than the pleasure sin gives for a few short years.

 

[Utensil]

The problems with that particular statement is...

Just wanted to point out to Faulty that you are using scripture to try and undermine an Athiest principle. This is never likely to work. Perhaps you would like to bring some evidence to the table that isn't straight from "the good book" ?

 

[Incariol]

I was a true believer for about 15 years, and have been a non-believer for about a year now. I'd just like to share the good things and the bad things in my "conversion" thus far, somebody may find it interesting. If anybody has questions as always, feel free.

The Bad

1) Extreme family tension. I was born and raised a Lutheran, and my family is all extremely religious. Now my mother cries herself to sleep over my eternal salvation and my dad has accused me of being a "demon" when my sister sent me some Lee Strobel material and called it 'science' and I replied with actual scientific sources contradicting what she said.

2) Losing the "faith" motivator. Having true faith in any religion has been scientifically proven to improve our psyche in a way. The comfort that someone is always watching over me gave me a little extra confidence in whatever I was doing.

3) When I was a Christian, I'd spend a little time daily to read the Bible, go to church weekly, and spend 10 or so minutes a day praying. Now I spend hours every day reading every piece of evidence from both sides of the fence, this is a negative because I'm spending all my time doing this lol.

4) I get much more upset when I see religious indoctrination now that I'm aware of it. When I watched my brother step up onto the altar with other confirmants and confirm that evolution is not science and is not real, I was fuming in the pew...I think smoke might have been coming out of my ears. It is extremely unfair what many religious people do to children, because getting into them at that age truly does strip their free will in the matter.

The Good

1) Life is much more raw and much more challenging. JFK when talking about going to the moon said "We do not do these things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard." Something along those likes. Accepting that there is no possible way to determine if life is eternal makes life here that much more bittersweet. It's a challenge figuring out why we're here and what our origins are. Giving up true religious belief is not only hard, it is almost unbearably hard, the foundations of your existence are rattled to the ground.

2) Dropping the religious set of morals has it's perks. I can go out and have a few drinks with my friends and not feel guilty about it. I can get intimate with a woman pre-marriage and not feel guilty about it. Know that I do have my own set of morals, for instance I DO NOT agree with just randomly hooking up with women for pure sexual pleasure (although if somebody wants to do that, that's their business). I believe you can have a truly loving connection with a woman without being married. Not only do I believe that, I've experienced it and can confirm it.

3) Probably my favorite thing is that I no longer believe in things like luck, fate, or karma. It's just kind of the mentality you have when you have religious belief...you do something good, something good happens to you, and you conclude that something good happened to you because of that good thing you did. Or if you do a bad thing, you shouldn't be surprised if something bad happens to you because of that bad thing you did. I get much less upset over my "bad luck".

4) I fear death much less, because I have no judgment to worry about (I understand you probably don't fear judgment either, but you will face it). It's a truly odd combination of excitement and anxiety, not knowing what happens next.

5) I feel much more in touch with nature, humanity, and existence...even though I now know considerably less about all three. I'm able to look at things from a truly "outside" perspective and judge on that basis. Christians have automated judgments that they must make because of their belief, I am free of that now. I can judge things at the level of just being a human being and not some sort of "child" of God.


All in all, it's been an interesting ride. There are things I miss about religion (mainly the comfort), but I realize that as tough of a bullet as it is to bite, I can't deny the reality that exists around me. When you think about things on a "human" level like I described and not a religious one, something like "Islam" is enough of an argument to disprove Christianity to me. They are both 100% faith based and 100% contradicting. That makes them both false by nature. There's no other way of looking at this unless you believe in 1 religion or the other, in which case you are a part of a false religion and therefore false yourself.

Well, it makes sense, since Creationism is a bunch of nonsense. Not many Christians actually believe in it.

 

[NvxiaLee]

The Good [of Atheism]

1) Life is much more raw and much more challenging.

No matter what you believe, there are always more challenges than you can meet. Try learning a new language, try learning 100 new languages.

2) Dropping the religious set of morals has it's perks. I can go out and have a few drinks with my friends and not feel guilty about it. I can get intimate with a woman pre-marriage and not feel guilty about it.

I feel no guilt about going out and having a few drinks. Why should I? Jesus made more wine at a party than anyone could drink. As for women, I have a wonderful wife who I get to enjoy every day (almost), without any fears of disease, unwanted pregnancy, or heart break.

3) Probably my favorite thing is that I no longer believe in things like luck, fate, or karma.

You don't believe in luck? Why does one man win the lottery, but not the next man?

4) I fear death much less, because I have no judgment to worry about

No judgement, if you're right.

I don't believe in eternal torment, so I have no fear of Hell. If I am right with God, I get eternal life. Else I get what you're looking forward to.

5) I feel much more in touch with nature, humanity, and existence...even though I now know considerably less about all three.

I see no reason why you couldn't appreciate these things more as a Christian.

Being a Christian makes me happier.

 

[pgp_protector]

...snip...
You don't believe in luck? Why does one man win the lottery, but not the next man?
...snip...

Because one man picked the correct numbers, while the other didn't. Simple really.

 

[humblehumility]

In a nutshell, there never was a true believer who became a nonbeliever

In the Bible.

Any competent human being will admit the Bible was a book written for it's time. They didn't have any comparable science in Biblical times, simple as that. People are vastly different now, the definition has changed.

You've dropped the "religion". Good for you. Now turn to Jesus alone as your savior from the coming wrath of God. The loss in infinitely greater in the end than the pleasure sin gives for a few short years.

How can one drop religion and gain a faith in Jesus (1 man)? Are you seriously telling me I should put every real and literal possession into someone I don't truly believe in?

To do things in fear of the loss is the wrong reason to do something. This is a fundamental moral concept you won't understand. Under perfect morality, you do nothing out of fear. Under perfect morality, fear does not exist. Yet under the Bible, you should be God-fearing. It couldn't be more simple, yet theists usually like to complicate it to suit their specific belief.

 

[humblehumility]

No matter what you believe, there are always more challenges than you can meet. Try learning a new language, try learning 100 new languages.

Languages are all semantic, symbolic, literal. Existence is purely innate; and unique and beautiful for that reason.

I feel no guilt about going out and having a few drinks. Why should I? Jesus made more wine at a party than anyone could drink.

Ephesians 5:18

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

As for women, I have a wonderful wife who I get to enjoy every day (almost), without any fears of disease, unwanted pregnancy, or heart break.

Which is perfectly acceptable. I had a wonderful girlfriend of 3 years who I got to enjoy every day (almost) without any fears of disease, or unwanted pregnancy. Heart break was a 2 month process well worth the wait tenfold.

You don't believe in luck? Why does one man win the lottery, but not the next man?

Random choice. How else?

No judgement, if you're right.

I don't believe in eternal torment, so I have no fear of Hell. If I am right with God, I get eternal life. Else I get what you're looking forward to.

I don't believe in judgement because I don't think it's right, not because it isn't right. It could be right, I'd be apologetic in that case. I've said before here, if anything I'd look forward to some sort of reincarnation process where you get to live another human's life. Or another being's life.

That or humans discover life-extension technology before I die (which they're onto).

I see no reason why you couldn't appreciate these things more as a Christian.

Because they're not unknown. Not knowing the cause of existence is the biggest mystery known to mankind, and there are thousands of different explanations. Once you open your mind to all thousand(s) of them, everything becomes more interesting.

Being a Christian makes me happier.

It does for millions of people, and it does for me. I unfortunately cannot accept a delusional mentality. Even though Christianity brings more inner peace, it is not absolute truth and any free-thinker knows the joy of accepting the unknown.

I truly wish God could show himself to my face, but unfortunately nothing comparable has been accurately documented in all of humanity. There is literally no reason to believe in religion aside from personal upbringing, which includes negative upbringings that led to the "discovery" of Christ.

Being a realist is the path less traveled, but a brave one to accept. My goal is to live as many human years as possible, and discover as much unknown as I possibly can. If a technology came about to allow me to live forever, I would gladly accept it. I don't need any better than this Earth, I love my life.

 

[LinuxUser]

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

This came to me powerfully as I read your last sentence

 

[humblehumility]

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

This came to me powerfully as I read your last sentence

But that's your belief, and I don't fault you for that.

If I could live my life as it is now, eternally, I'd do it. I enjoy the green grass, the blue sky, the changing colors of the leaves, the sound of a breeze or creek, the view of a sunset over the mountains, the view of the milky way galaxy or the moon. I could literally go on all day. I walk outside and breathe the air as deeply as I can, and I love it. I'm grateful to be alive on this planet right now, and appreciating only that feels magnificent. I truly don't need any more.

 

[Varicose Brains]

Well, it makes sense, since Creationism is a bunch of nonsense. Not many Christians actually believe in it.

Every Christian I've met in my life (in person that is) is a Creationist. My family are Creationists and take the Bible literally; they're Word Of Faith as well which is even more annoying because you're not allowed to say anything bad around them because they believe your words have power and can affect your life. Sometimes I want to slap some reality into them but, of course, they're free to believe what they want to.

 

[Sketcher]

You'll be back if you were really a true believer.

 

[Varicose Brains]

You'll be back if you were really a true believer.

I don't understand why Christians keep saying this. A person either believes something or they don't. The OP was pretty clear that he was a believer and the notion that because he "fell away" meant he wasn't a "true believer" makes light of the fact that he spent so many years putting effort into his faith. It's as if those who are accusing him of not being a "true believer" haven't actually read the OP properly.

Let's say, for example, that I asked you whether you believed that Jesus was the Son of God and gave you several options as follows;

1. Don't believe it.
2. Not sure.
3. Believe it.
4. Really believe it.
5. I'm a true believer. I believe it so much I pass out every time I think about it.

See where I'm going? You either believe it or not and differentiating between believing and truly believing is nonsense. The OP was a "true believer". He couldn't believe it any more if he tried. Now he's not.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Are you seriously telling me I should put every real and literal possession into someone I don't truly believe in

Well God still loves you and won't leave you with out the ability to believe but it is going to be your choice to do so or not. Whether you will hang onto the life that you have found or well let go of it. For as you probably know the bible says you can "Gain the whole world and loose your soul".

I have created a web page that contains a long list of miracles that God has performed in my life. Real miracles, real God experiences, not just experiences as in feelings, but actual factual events that proove God. Have a read and if you still can't believe then I hope God in his mercy will do more to prove himself to you.

Have a read of Home

If you are reading this you have gone to far go back and read that link, it may well save your soul.

 

[elman]

But that's your belief, and I don't fault you for that.

If I could live my life as it is now, eternally, I'd do it. I enjoy the green grass, the blue sky, the changing colors of the leaves, the sound of a breeze or creek, the view of a sunset over the mountains, the view of the milky way galaxy or the moon. I could literally go on all day. I walk outside and breathe the air as deeply as I can, and I love it. I'm grateful to be alive on this planet right now, and appreciating only that feels magnificent. I truly don't need any more.

It is not going to go on as it is now. Do you not need some meaning for being alive and some hope of destiny other than oblivion? I am not against enjoying life. I am questioning your not needing anything relating to destiny and purpose.

 

[elman]

I was a true believer for about 15 years, and have been a non-believer for about a year now. I'd just like to share the good things and the bad things in my "conversion" thus far, somebody may find it interesting. If anybody has questions as always, feel free.

The Bad

1) Extreme family tension. I was born and raised a Lutheran, and my family is all extremely religious. Now my mother cries herself to sleep over my eternal salvation and my dad has accused me of being a "demon" when my sister sent me some Lee Strobel material and called it 'science' and I replied with actual scientific sources contradicting what she said.

2) Losing the "faith" motivator. Having true faith in any religion has been scientifically proven to improve our psyche in a way. The comfort that someone is always watching over me gave me a little extra confidence in whatever I was doing.

3) When I was a Christian, I'd spend a little time daily to read the Bible, go to church weekly, and spend 10 or so minutes a day praying. Now I spend hours every day reading every piece of evidence from both sides of the fence, this is a negative because I'm spending all my time doing this lol.

4) I get much more upset when I see religious indoctrination now that I'm aware of it. When I watched my brother step up onto the altar with other confirmants and confirm that evolution is not science and is not real, I was fuming in the pew...I think smoke might have been coming out of my ears. It is extremely unfair what many religious people do to children, because getting into them at that age truly does strip their free will in the matter.

The Good

1) Life is much more raw and much more challenging. JFK when talking about going to the moon said "We do not do these things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard." Something along those likes. Accepting that there is no possible way to determine if life is eternal makes life here that much more bittersweet. It's a challenge figuring out why we're here and what our origins are. Giving up true religious belief is not only hard, it is almost unbearably hard, the foundations of your existence are rattled to the ground.

2) Dropping the religious set of morals has it's perks. I can go out and have a few drinks with my friends and not feel guilty about it. I can get intimate with a woman pre-marriage and not feel guilty about it. Know that I do have my own set of morals, for instance I DO NOT agree with just randomly hooking up with women for pure sexual pleasure (although if somebody wants to do that, that's their business). I believe you can have a truly loving connection with a woman without being married. Not only do I believe that, I've experienced it and can confirm it.

3) Probably my favorite thing is that I no longer believe in things like luck, fate, or karma. It's just kind of the mentality you have when you have religious belief...you do something good, something good happens to you, and you conclude that something good happened to you because of that good thing you did. Or if you do a bad thing, you shouldn't be surprised if something bad happens to you because of that bad thing you did. I get much less upset over my "bad luck".

4) I fear death much less, because I have no judgment to worry about (I understand you probably don't fear judgment either, but you will face it). It's a truly odd combination of excitement and anxiety, not knowing what happens next.

5) I feel much more in touch with nature, humanity, and existence...even though I now know considerably less about all three. I'm able to look at things from a truly "outside" perspective and judge on that basis. Christians have automated judgments that they must make because of their belief, I am free of that now. I can judge things at the level of just being a human being and not some sort of "child" of God.


All in all, it's been an interesting ride. There are things I miss about religion (mainly the comfort), but I realize that as tough of a bullet as it is to bite, I can't deny the reality that exists around me. When you think about things on a "human" level like I described and not a religious one, something like "Islam" is enough of an argument to disprove Christianity to me. They are both 100% faith based and 100% contradicting. That makes them both false by nature. There's no other way of looking at this unless you believe in 1 religion or the other, in which case you are a part of a false religion and therefore false yourself.

Many Christians believe in evolution. Christians are able to enjoy nature. Many Christians do not believe in the hell described by Dante. You have decided there is no loving Creator, I guess. That is not knowledge, just an assumption on your part.