★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/magazine/from-bible-belt-pastor-to-atheist-leader.html?_r=2&pagewanted=5&hp&pagewanted=all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeasabird Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Pretty good article. Even though I think I could tell that the journalist was a non believer as well, the article seemed very thorough and even handed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Rose Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I have to say, I can't even imagine what it must be like to be a preacher and realize that you don't believe in the god you preach of and go from preaching to be thrust into public life as an atheist. I have a lot of admiration for Jerry. He's a super sweet guy and is still friends with a lot of his religious friends on Facebook and he always takes the time to talk to them when they question some of his posts. But maybe it's easier, in some ways, to just suddenly be "out". No more pretending, no more hush-hush. Well, easier if you're in a position to be able to find other similar-minded people that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akheia Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The poor guy's lost everything--his home, his job, his friends, and most awful of all, his marriage. What really broke my heart is the oblique reference to his wife. After years of living and marinating in a religion that commands spouses to stay together even through disbelief, of knowing that a believing wife "sanctifies" a disbelieving husband, how quickly she decided those verses weren't literal! It really was awful to read about, even knowing how often marriages get shaken up by deconversion. I bet he'd find a lot of support and fellowship among the men of our forum who are struggling the same way (but hopefully not to the same result). I also hope that he either rekindles that marriage one day when his wife realizes he's not an evil bastard after all, or that he finds someone who loves him for who he is, not for the lie she wants him to live. Slightly OT but hopefully not too badly so, I wonder how long it'll be before a support group springs up for those fundie women who leave their deconverted husbands... I looked a bit online but only found pages (not entire groups) devoted to fundie women whose husbands are "addicted" to pornography (their word, not mine). The writer of that piece was distinctly sympathetic to Jerry but in an even-handed way, I thought; there's not really a way you can present Christians destroying this man's life and threatening his safety in a way that reflects well of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I was a minister when I left the church-cult. I was not a pastor of any church but trying to work my way up the ladder, so to speak. A minister or pastor knows when it is time to throw in the towel, or they should anyway, when preaching the 'good news' leaves a foul taste in your mouth because your heart is no longer in it because your brain finally kicks into gear and it reveals religion for what it is--mindless slavery to an idea fostered by bronze-age shepards who were more impressed with their own penis' and treated their women like cattle (see the story of Jephthah's daughter). I got my own hate-mail from good Christians but they finally quit after two or three years and I never responded. Now they stalk me on Facebook until I block them. Some are harmless others are just a pain in the ass, some should be on medication. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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