Never A Christian Anyway

[Mudflappus]

I think everyone here has been told at one time or another that because they left the faith that they were never a Christian to begin with. I've seen folks almost lose their minds trying to prove that yes indeed they were every bit as pious and certain as any Bible thumping Protestant to come down the Pike. I tried something the other day that seemed to work pretty well. I admitted to a believer in casual conversation that I no longer bear the torch for Christianity and while I was mildly shocked that they were so point blank in telling me that - you guessed it that I was never a real Christian to begin with, I was not surprised. They on the other hand were quite surprised when I told them that if that's the case, then I have never been sullied or stained by their religion and am therefore as pure as the driven snow. I took full advantage of the confusion, thanked him and made a hasty exit before he figured out what just happened.

I realize that there are many that invested too much time and energy into their faith just to have it dismissed with the wave of a fundies hand but I tell you, if you thank them for clarifying that you have never truly been part of their horrible little cult of death and that you feel much better knowing it, they simply don't know what to do. I guess they are waiting for the standard argument.

Give it a try. Cheers!

[Realist]

I think everyone here has been told at one time or another that because they left the faith that they were never a Christian to begin with.

 

.... I just treat them with the contempt they deserve by saying something like .... "yes, I wish I could truthfully state I never was a christian ... I would feel much happier if I truly could claim I was never that stupid and dumb to have fallen for that mythological bullshit in the first place." Gets them off the topic every time!

[Darklady]

I say, of course not, how can you be a real christian when christ never existed?

[JadedAtheist]

Most people from my old church aren't ballsy enough to tell me to my face I was never a true Christian because I was far more "spiritual" then them. I have had it from a couple people but I don't really care. I just try to avoid them and the subject in order to keep my frustration to a minimum.

[Overcame Faith]

I've seen too many people truly and deeply troubled by various issues taught by the Christian religion such as whether they will go to hell because of their renunciation of their former Christian religion, to buy the argument that these people were never Christians in the first place. Such statements by Christians are, to my way of thinking, a way for Christians to defend their faith in their own minds. I find it very interesting that even on this Board when someone who described themselves as a former Christian and subsequently decides to return to Christianity, a very similar accusation is sometimes made against them - that they never truly left Christianity in the first place. It's obviously a very human reaction for many people whether they are Christians or former Christians.

[oddbird1963]

That may actually be a good idea - thank them and express relief that you were never really a Christian. I might say, "Now maybe I don't have to feel ashamed of myself for being so gullible as to believe all that hullabaloo." (But of course I really do. It sucks feeling like the biggest jack-ass on the face of the planet.)

[OpheliaGinger]

Ask them this question:

 

If, in 30 years, there appears objective proof that god is not real, and that the whole thing was a sham

 

"That is, like, Satan messin' with us, just like he planted the fossils."

 

and the pope renounced his faith because of it

 

"The pope is like Catholic, duh ."

 

Of course I am being sarcastic, but that is about what you should expect if you do ask those questions to a Christian.

[BrotherJosh]

I've been told many many times now I must never have been a Christian...which always leads me to my asking what type of Christian they are, what denomination etc...which leads to "It's not a religion it's a relationship..."

 

It always comes down to that or "well, it just takes faith, I guess."

 

Those are some good responses to the "you've never been a Christian" though. Unless I am asked I don't pursue the topic with anyone, since it will end up with me battling a deluge of recycled Christian sayings and bumper sticker arguments.

[flockoff]

I haven't had the pleasure, but if it does come up, my response will go something like this:

 

"What is a Christian to you? If it's someone who believes what Christians believe and patterned a lifestyle, worldview and self image around it, then you're wrong. You don't know me from Adam and your efforts to protect your own delusions by dismissing mine are intellectually dishonest.

 

But if a Christian must fit the myth literally by having a 'relationship' with God, by being an eternal spirit inhabiting an earthly body for the short period of time before meeting his master in the sky and inheriting a blessed existence paid for by a 2000 year old blood sacrifice while the bulk of humanity burns in everlasting agony, then no, I was never one of those people. And neither were you. That is a mythical being. You could never have been one of those things any more than you could have been a centaur, a seraphim, a werewolf or a vampire. Snap out of it and grow the fuck up already."

[MiggyEvans]

They on the other hand were quite surprised when I told them that if that's the case, then I have never been sullied or stained by their religion and am therefore as pure as the driven snow.

 

Not to split hairs here, but driven snow is not actually a very pure thing. It is in fact ridden upon by wagon wheel and wandering foot. Just for information's sake.

 

EDIT: So I just looked it up and I am in fact completely wrong. There's that ol' preconceived notions gene at it again.

[lunaticheathen]

I've actually responded like this to that accusation. I remember, the first time some evangelical in college told me I was never a christian to begin with, I spat back "GOOD! I want no part in your evil cult and your bratty god anyway!"

I also (if the discussion is one I don't feel like having) have mentioned I'm unbaptised. That causes similar responses.

It's fun to pull the rug out from under them.

[ogilvy]

A man said that to me recently, and I thought later that if I hadn't really been a Christian, then neither was he, because when I was a Christian, I believed, spoke and acted exactly as he did. I wonder if he would have got the logic of that!

[Mudflappus]

I've actually responded like this to that accusation. I remember, the first time some evangelical in college told me I was never a christian to begin with, I spat back "GOOD! I want no part in your evil cult and your bratty god anyway!"

I also (if the discussion is one I don't feel like having) have mentioned I'm unbaptised. That causes similar responses.

It's fun to pull the rug out from under them.

 

 

Never being baptized is one of the things I must thank my mother for. I kept it a secret for many years simply because I didn't feel like dealing with the dip shits Hell bent (if you'll pardon the expression) on getting me in the dunk tank full of Kool Aid. Now that I hold nothing but disdain for these people, I imagine I would go through with it just to jump out of the water as if it were battery acid and run out of the building screaming bloody murder just for the effect. Your illustration is exactly what I was getting at originally. The faithful will never concede the point that you were ever as they are because it brings light to out how fragile and delicate their own faith actually is. They expect an argument and they (as we all know) have a counter position that is as clever as the self defense mechanisms built into Christianity itself. They however don't know how to respond to someone who shows palpable relief at never truly being the "Real Deal". It won't win any arguments but if I can kick the bastards in the shin occasionally it goes a long way to making me feel better about having to deal with them.