What Did You Do With All Your Xtian Stuff

[truth]

As someone who has to force herself to regularly to purge junk, lest I become overwhelmed with crap that I really don't need but trick myself into needing... In the summer I did box up a bunch of stuff that I felt was not relevant to me anymore, but some off it is just sitting there..otherstuff I still have on my bookshelves on cds burried in drawers and boxes.

 

I think part of me is hesitant to get rid of this crap because I have known so many xtians who when they converted they were forced to burn or get rid of all of their secular crap... It has also been a part of me for so long that it is a little scary to tangibly to declare I no longer believe.Or the irrational fear that somehow I am wrong and god will smite me, for throwing away his stuff. Yah I know dumb.... but switching your thinking after 30 yrs I am discovering takes a bit of time.

 

Hhhm I do feel a cleaning purge coming on, I do feel much better after getting rid of junk. I usually have to bag it up in garbage bags and promtly throw it out in the trash lest I think I actually need it but really I don't think I will be needing any of this xtian parapanalia/brainwashing tools any longer.

[dibby]

Hi Truth

I left most of my christian books on the shelf at my mum's house. So they are still there when I go stay with her.

 

 

There was a time when I couldn,t even look at them.........now after 19 years out of christianity I quite often take them down and read bits of them. I,m amazed at how I was, and the stuff that I read in them. Some are still useful resources for reminding me of the way of thinking of fundies.

 

So keep some of them locked away.....pick 'em up in 10 years or so and you will be amazed at how far you have grown.

 

She still gets something called "Prophecy magazine" which I look at too. It's amazing how fundies think that things like tragic accidents eg. the London tube bombings are because god has removed his hand of protection from a sinful, wayward nation that has turned away from the bible.

[Panther]

I held onto stuff at first. Wow, there much so MUCH!

 

Usually when I get rid of things, I donate them, so this was my first thought pattern. Then I thought, no, I don't want to pass on THESE things and re-inforce somebody else's beliefs so I TRASHED it all.

 

I remember it feeling very good...

[Everglaze]

My four copies of the Bible and some of the Christian books that I used to read are all in my dad's room on his book shelf. I don't bother to look at them or even take them out to read. It's really useless trash to me.

[riverbank]

I have one CD by a Christian band which doesn't really contain 'christian lyrics' and one Christian book which I kept because it is funny. Other than that my Christian books and CDs went in the bin, along with my main bible.

[godlessgrrl]

I mostly had books, plus a few pieces of jewelry. I have no idea what happened to the jewelry, but I gave most of the books to my fundy mom. I kept a couple of Bibles - a KJV, my old NASB, and an interlinear English/Koine NT, plus a couple of other books (one being a modern poetic translation of the Psalms, for intance).

 

They live on the same shelves as all the other religious and philosophical works I own.

[The Sage Nabooru]

Well, I kept various Catholic-themed items that were gifts from Catholic friends, partially because of the friend's memory and also because in general I'm more tolerant of Catholicism than the austere Protestantism I was brought up with. My Catholic goods, however cheap, are the only acceptable expression of Christianity I allow in my eclectic current spiritual situation.

 

My own personal Protestant Bibles are long gone, as are the "teens" books for Christian teenagers eager to get the shit beaten out of them in public high schools. I still have a hand-embroidered wall hanging of indeterminate use and purpose that was given to me on my Lutheran confirmation (made by the Lutheran Ladies' Aid Society or whatever - why this aid was put into making embroidery for well-off confirmants and not in feeding the hungry is beyond me and I guess one of those things that falls under the heading of "God's Mysterious Ways"), and the wine glass that I was allowed to keep on confirmation. I really don't know why I keep them, but I can't bear to throw them out.

 

I also have a Nativity scene for Christmas, again Catholic in nature. It's really pretty........

[truth]

things I have found:

 

many tapes of xtian music (thinking of keeping... scott westly brown circa 84...amy grants christmas home for christmas

many cds of xtian music (ones thinking of keeping... jaci valesque circa 01 /.. praise canada 00

 

Thease were my favorite music to listen to when I was feeling like I needed god... they useto make me feel better..however the last time when I tried my usual religious coping mechanisms none of them worked...so I found new ways to deal with life.... I think it might be interessting just to keep them for a while as a kind of time capsual reminder. I also think that the scott westly brown tape is absolutly halirous... especially he yah heya misha...and the walls came tumbling down...

 

Some of this music I have found I haven't listened to in well over two years.... basically since I decided to move out from being roomates with a very fundy xtian.... I would occasionally listen to praise but not very often.

 

 

Books That are Going: Some are residing in my nightstand till I decide where they should go..

sex for christians--- (though this might be interessting to keep as a reference)

vison the story of hildegard

beatitudes of a beautiful women

streams in the desert

my utmost for his highest

allegory of love

unbound

i kissed dating goodbye

walls of my heart

on my knees prayer journal

river of god

ficton series... prarie/western junk

christmas in your heart

1250 healthcare questions...women ask.. (focus on the family)

 

Books I am thinking of keeping for mostly sentimental reasons:

Dear Zoe (story of a familys love for a child born premature..also talks a lot about god written by zoe's grandfather)

Small Miracles, children are blessings

Childrens book of prayer- Eliose Wilikin

 

I have yet to go into my closet...I really hope that I don't have too much xtian junk in there but I know I have a lot of junk I need to get rid of anyhow so I really should takle it as well.On second thought... I think I might save that for another rainy day..

 

I am just glad I don't have a bunch of xtian art to get rid off... thank goodness i could never stand any of it or afford the stuff I actually liked. I do have a picture frame my mothers friend gave me last year for christmas that I have hidden in a corner in my livingroom. I use to have a thomas kincaide book around somewhere that surprise suprise either my mom or other grandmother gave me for christmas.

 

I am sure that I recieve more junk from my family in the next few weeks. I am thinking of recycling a few things to my family and maybe the odd cd or tape to a friend.. Most of it however I would rather just put out in the trash or blue box.. luckily my landlords are either agnostic or atheists so they won't think I am going to hell for getting rid of this stuff if they happen to read a title or two.

 

I am keeping my little happy rock, that says jesus loves you on the bottom... It lives outside in one of my plant pots..my very xtian grandmother gave it to me years and years ago... she had a very excentic friend who painted thease rocks up with faces and stuff..and on the underside instead of signing them she wrote jesus loves you.

 

Yikes so much junk......and that is just the xtian junk.. I have tons of other crap to get rid of too that I need to get out of my space... that will require calling my mom or or some thrift store to come and haul away for me...It does feel good to get rid of stuff though.

[Blue elephant]

Hi Truth

 

I deconverted just after leaving my first husband 25 years ago. If Christianity was true, Iwould have to go back to this unhappy marriage, but if it was not true, I could leave this selfish man.

 

I left my husband and only took basic items I would need for a few weeks/months. So most of the books were left with my husband. At the same time he moved from a lukewarm position to embracing Christianity in a big way. So he was happy to have these things.

 

I am glad that I didn't have that stuff around immediately after deconverting.

 

Now, we have one Bible that my second husband owns. My children go to Catholic high schools (In Australia, the Catholic system provides a cheap quality education system that has a good focus on community service.) and they have copies of the Bible to complete their assignments. I have also borrowed a Concordance from my fundy mother to help them with their assignments because I can usually remember key phrases but have no idea where they come from (thank God NOT!).

 

One bible is useful to have around the house. One or two books that are more "off the planet" than most are useful to look back on in the future to ssee how far you have come. But any more contaminates your life in the here and now.

 

Don't worry about the value of the things or anything like that. Just regard it as being in the past. You will feel much better ifyou get rid of that stuff.

 

All the best with the decluttering, Truth.

[Brother Jeff]

I used to have quite a collection of christian books. Over time, I have sold almost all of them back at used book stores. The christian albums and CDs/tapes that I had I also sold back or just trashed, I think. It's been so long now that I can't even remember! I was a VERY ANGRY ex-Christian when I first deconverted, so not much Christian stuff stayed in my collection.

 

I currently have some praise music and some stuff by Amy Grant, Twila Paris, and Keith Green, but I very rarely listen to it, and then only because I like the music and not the words. As far as bibles go, I have a MacArthur Study Bible and a cheap NKJV Bible just for reading, though I rarely do.

 

John MacArthur is a YEC creationist, and it can be entertaining to read through his study bible and have a few laughs at the creationist nonsense he puts throughout his work. The bible is worth keeping just for the entertainment value - you know, all of the hilarious myths, fables, absurdities, etc. contained therein. Glory!

 

I did just recently buy a used copy of the first "Left Behind" book. I intend to mock it publicly on my site after I get done reading it. Glory!

[starelda]

So far I've kept some stuff (a few bibles, a couple rosary's and a necklace) but chucked others. I expect that given enough time the rest of the stuff will be thrown out too.

[Ramen666]

You will not belive what I did with one of my Bibles "The One Year Bible" when I became a deconvert I was so pissed off basically everything was going on that could go wrong. I have this giant dagger thing and I stabbed the Bible in the center. I was so angry for some reason. I through out anything with Christianity in it except two things. One a huge table top bible ( use for reference). and an old picture my grandparents got in the 60's with Jesus it however was on my wall for the longest and now it is in the back of the closet. I was in AWANA clubs back in the day and I through out alll the books. cups anything related.

 

My cousion got me a book " The Man in the Mirror" a book on how to grow up being a good christian and following the rules TRASHED IT! I will keep a Bible and use it for reference sake for argumenative pourposes.

[Guest dot_is_cute]

I threw out all my Christian CDs without exception when I realised how rubbish they all were.

I threw out most of my books as well - I was really important for me to throw out my personal bible - the one I had written in all my thoughts and underlined bits - because it seemed like the biggest symbol of all the lies I had.

I still have The Message and a New Living Translation bible. I keep The Message cos I find it quite interesting actually - like a really wierd story. I keep the New Living bible for doing crosswords.

[Jun]

I burned the lot. Baptism cert, first communion cert, records, bible, rosary, all are now ash long gone.

[willybilly30]

I still got a few bibles, lost books of the bible, topical bibles that's it. There sitting on the shelf with my other books. I hardly ever throw stuff away even if I don't use it anymore.

[Thurisaz]

Hhhm I do feel a cleaning purge coming on, I do feel much better after getting rid of junk. I usually have to bag it up in garbage bags and promtly throw it out in the trash lest I think I actually need it but really I don't think I will be needing any of this xtian parapanalia/brainwashing tools any longer.

 

Some time ago, I gathered all the morontheist stuff I have lying around here (some babbles, a copy of the koran, and other trash) and threw it into a cardboard box together with a printout of the accursed "mein kampf", then I wrote on top of that box, in fat black letters, "ACHTUNG FEINDPROPAGANDA!" (Warning - enemy propaganda!).

 

Just the right place for this kind of stuff (unless you want to use it for toilet paper or for lighting your fire)...

[Amethyst]

Well, this summer I threw out my Bibles. Actually shredded the pages of one of them. It was very cathartic. My shredder really got a workout, lol.

[Naughtyhamster]

I've already have got rid of most of my xtian stuff, but as I'm temporarily staying at my grandma's house right now anything I have left over is in storage. I'll still keep my Clay Aiken C.D.s though as almost all the music of these C.D.'s are secular. His latest album is all covers of popular 80's and 90's songs so it's well worth keeping. Problem is an xtian friend of my mother's has given us some xtian C.D.'s of pop music so I'll let my mother have them as those are all the very religious pop groups.

[Artur]

*

[smellincoffee]

All of my Christian/inspirational books are in a bag stuffed in my closet at my parents' house. I don't know what they'll do with them if they look around and find them. All of my Christian cds have been rudely stuffed into the same album, although I do listen to some of them from time to time; there's nothing like some fast choir music for when I'm playing a first-person shooter and need some inspiration. There's also this nagging part of me that thinks one day God might actually prove himself to me, and then I'd feel like an ass for throwing away all of that stuff away, since THEN it would be of use. That's my paranoid side, though....

[Ramen666]

I am sorry but this is a stupid question. Everyone keeps speaking of rosarys? What are those?

[smellincoffee]

A rosary is sort of a necklace made of beads, used by Catholics as an aid in prayer and meditation.

[Ramen666]

A rosary is sort of a necklace made of beads, used by Catholics as an aid in prayer and meditation.

 

I honestly never heard of that before . I thought it was a flower or something. I love being an Ex Christian because now I can actually find out what other religions do. Find about the other belief systems that I was always told were wrong. The thing that I always am amazed about Catholics is that they are organized that they are united on the other hand look at Christianity. Always fighting within itself, till the point it is just silly. How many denominations are there again? I look at Christianity as a joke more because they can't agree on one thing.

 

Being an atheist has changed a lot and it just keeps getting better and better. I can actually LEARN about other religions without being told I am going to hell.

[truth]

Yup aint it silly, that is what suppossed to be one religion and folks can't even agree on basic things. Even in the same denominatin or one actual church there is always bickering. If it were so true wouldn't it be easier to define the right way?

 

Isn't it nice to be free of all the xtian laws and sins. Now I just have to get rid of the bag of xtian stuff sitting on my couch.

[Amethyst]

I honestly never heard of that before . I thought it was a flower or something. I love being an Ex Christian because now I can actually find out what other religions do. Find about the other belief systems that I was always told were wrong. The thing that I always am amazed about Catholics is that they are organized that they are united on the other hand look at Christianity. Always fighting within itself, till the point it is just silly. How many denominations are there again? I look at Christianity as a joke more because they can't agree on one thing.

 

You do realize that Catholics are Christian right? They consider themselves a Christian denomination. Of course, if you ask some fundy churches like the Southern Baptists, nobody but them is a Real True Christian . But they are generally considered Christian.