SuperBigV

Welcome to the forums. May I ask how old you are now? You mentioned that you stopped being a Christian at 40 and I’m curious how long you have been a non believer.

Your pattern of thinking reminds me of myself in some ways. If you don't mind sharing, what was your childhood like? What was your relationship with your dad when you were growing up? I posted my testimony previously, and shared that I grew up in the USSR. My dad was very strict. He only knew of one way to discipline, and that was spanking. Sometimes he'd hit me with the belt, at other times he'd use his hand or even a slipper. Hitting was bad, but, in retrospect, it wasn't the worst. You see, I don't remember my dad having compassion on me. When he would be set on punishmen

That’s a good question. My first panic attack happened when I thought I had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and thus have committed an unpardonable sin. However, thinking back on it, I’m convinced that my predisposition to panic likely a attached itself to what was very scary to me. Perhaps if I was an atheist, I would have experienced existential crisis and that would have caused a panic.

I’m glad for the site as well. I’m not a heavy poster in general but I find this site has a community feel to it. Almost like a church community except for the religious aspects.

Must have been the Holy Spirit, eh? (j/k) Thanks for sharing your thoughts. In my case, I felt overwhelmed by my dad. He used to tell me that I should listen to him "from the first time he said something". That, I think led to hyper alertness that resulted in on/off lifelong anxiety. Couple that with a church service, 4 sermons per service, and my mind was busy thinking of ways I made God angry. When I hit puberty, I was (kid you not) repenting for committing adultery. These were silent prayers but this shit was on my mind constantly. Freud hypothesized that the birth

https://thedeconvertedman.com/fear-makes-religion-powerful/ You are spot on on the fear. However there’s one component I’m trying to figure out for myself. Fear doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. You could have the same idea of Hell shared with the same group of kids (usually when the indoctrination starts) and some will grow up with panic attacks about Hell while others will brush it off. What is the difference between those who have the strength and those who continue in fear? Appreciate your thoughts on this.

If you don't mind sharing what is your blog and why is it geared towards men? I am intrigued by the subject, because I always "struggled" with porn/sexuality which actually flared up after my reconversion. I wonder if these are the issues that you cover. Btw, welcome to the forums.

LOL. Your grandfather was a funny man. I think it was Robert Price who said that with Christian apologists, if something is even remotely possible, however improbable, then for them it becomes highly likely. I really like Arif's style, because he kept bringing up alternative supernatural explanations that I thought caused Gary Habermas to stumble a bit.

Check out this debate with Habermas and Arif Ahmed.

When this text was written, the Scriptures consisted of the Old Testament, right? So what do we say about a spirit who tells you to ignore Moses and pretty much most of the Old Testament?

May I ask, what do you expect to gain out of Christianity?

Here is the link to the debate I mentioned in the previous post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg7rYJxHA4Y

Here is how I look at the Resurrection apologetics. And I do recommend you watch or listen to a debate on the Resurrection by Arif Ahmed and Gary Habermaas. I think Arif has very clever arguments against the resurrection. Basically, what Christians are doing, they are knocking down all the natural explanations (stolen body, swoon theory, mass hallucinations) and knocking them down as something that is highly unlikely. And then they propose a supernatural resurrection as the only viable alternative. However, as Arif argued, this conclusion is pre-mature, because once you are open to the su

thanks

You know, I can be calm thinking about my own death, but if I see it on the horizon or if docs start telling me I only have X months/years to live, then the fear becomes more intense. lol. I left USSR when I was a teen, but I can't believe people of older ages survived without functioning bathrooms, especially the females. Public restrooms were very rare. For example, I don't remember there being a bathroom in Kiev Metro. If you had to go, you'd have to get out and find something quick. Maybe that's why the underground passageways often smelled like a clogged bathroom.