"autobiography Of A 'died-Again Christian'"

[Geezer]

I found this and thought it was worth posting.

 

 

Dr. Jaco Gericke's Deconversion Story: "Autobiography of a 'Died-Again Christian'"

 

 

”It was a little late in the day, however, when I realized that studying theology can be a downright dangerous business for any believer. You go into it full of romanticized and naive ideas of what it is all about. You enter thinking you know quite a bit about the Bible, only to discover that you were grossly overestimating yourself on this matter. You expect to be spiritually fed, only to discover that all is not as it seems.”

[Geezer]

My own deconversion experience was a gradual process that ultimately took about ten years. It was much like James Fowler describes in his book, Stages of Faith. My experience was compartmentalized and went from one distinct stage to another as I obtained more information. The final stage often seems to involve some form of Deism as a last ditch effort to hold onto some form of spirituality.

 

Many former believers, as Dr. Gericke’s notes, struggle with the reality that we are on our own when they finally let go of their beliefs in a supernatural deity. That experience is often an un-nerving reality and in some cases a terrifying one.

[FeelHappy]

I think quite a few of us ended our christianity this way.  The shock of realizing the bible was man made was too much to get past.  Thanks for the article. 

[♦ ficino ♦]

 The final stage often seems to involve some form of Deism as a last ditch effort to hold onto some form of spirituality.

 

 

I can understand how one doesn't want to admit that there is no god, after usually a lifetime of believing in one.  I could never see the point of deism, though.  Someone who lives as though there is no god might as well say s/he believes there is no god, as far as I can see.

[Guest Pixie]

The article was fantastic. I related so much to this story of dwindling faith. I can already feel the changes that are starting to happen  inside of me. The shock - the disbelief that you may have been duped your entire life. It is very distressing. But I know now, that I am not alone in my questioning and for that I am grateful.

 

Many thanks for posting this article.

[sdelsolray]

 

 The final stage often seems to involve some form of Deism as a last ditch effort to hold onto some form of spirituality.

 

 

I can understand how one doesn't want to admit that there is no god, after usually a lifetime of believing in one.  I could never see the point of deism, though.  Someone who lives as though there is no god might as well say s/he believes there is no god, as far as I can see.

 

Many refuse to "admit" there is no god even when they have never believed in a god in the first place.  Indeed, most atheists will not "admit" there is no god.  They merely state the have no belief (or withhold belief) in a god.  This seems to be an intellectually honest position.

[♦ ficino ♦]

Good catch, sdelsolray.  I should have said "admit that he/she lives as though he/she believes there is no god," or something like that.

[Geezer]

 

 The final stage often seems to involve some form of Deism as a last ditch effort to hold onto some form of spirituality.

 

 

I can understand how one doesn't want to admit that there is no god, after usually a lifetime of believing in one.  I could never see the point of deism, though.  Someone who lives as though there is no god might as well say s/he believes there is no god, as far as I can see.

 

 

Based on my experience, I think Deism is probably the final stage in the deconversion process for many people. In order to understand this need to hang onto some element of spirituality I think the experience of having been a deeply committed believer for a long period of time is required. Some people can probably simply walk away but I think they are the exception not the norm.

 

The deconversion process, IMO, includes both an intellectual element and an emotional element. The emotional element is probably the most difficult one to deal with and often takes a significant amount of time to resolve.

[raoul]

 

 

 The final stage often seems to involve some form of Deism as a last ditch effort to hold onto some form of spirituality.

 

 

I can understand how one doesn't want to admit that there is no god, after usually a lifetime of believing in one.  I could never see the point of deism, though.  Someone who lives as though there is no god might as well say s/he believes there is no god, as far as I can see.

 

 

Based on my experience, I think Deism is probably the final stage in the deconversion process for many people. In order to understand this need to hang onto some element of spirituality I think the experience of having been a deeply committed believer for a long period of time is required. Some people can probably simply walk away but I think they are the exception not the norm.

 

The deconversion process, IMO, includes both an intellectual element and an emotional element. The emotional element is probably the most difficult one to deal with and often takes a significant amount of time to resolve.

 

Man, you nailed that right on the head (again)! I'm barely clinging onto deism by my fingernails and am ready to make the final plunge into full blown atheism. A couple of reasons (for atheism):

1. I know that through the years the definition of what is an atheist has evolved or changed for many people. I think that decades ago a atheist was someone who simply rejected any notion of a god.

2 However, during the past decade or so some atheists have suggested that there isn't any good evidence for god belief and unless evidence comes along to support theism, he/she will remain an atheist. This suggests they would change their view if said evidence does come out.

3. But there is a smaller segment (I think) that feels it doesn't matter one way or another - god belief is rejected. IE: even if a god did exist and especially if this god was in fact based on the bible - it wouldn't matter. In fact, it supports their stance since what you and I and others know about the bible and the bible god is odious to say the least. Everything supported by the xtian cult goes against anything a mentally balanced, ie: normal human being has to reject.

 

 

I'm finding myself more and more living under #3. In other words, whether a god exists or not - who gives a crap? It's meaningless for me. Hope this makes sense.

[LivingLife]

Well I am so far gone Lucifer and I are now drinking buddies

 

For me, I simply state that there is no god or gods and that all are man made myths indoctrinated into the populace as kids.

 

I politely state these days to theists "their" god is real, but only in their heads. That really gets their ire up because they know it is the truth. I think a common misconception of atheism seen by theists is that we are folk that are ignorant of the bible and church history and maybe some kid rebelling against parents and whatnot. The new atheist, folk like us invested a lot of searching looking for the slightest hint of "truth" but the more rocks you lift, you just see more critters, the critters synonymous with lies and deceit.

 

The short version is that I do not hedge my bets, I am quite happy making the positive assertion.

 

The four pillars of christianity contain the creation story (myth), the flood (myth), exodus (never happened so their was no burning bush or any laws of gawd give at mount Sinai. The last is the alleged jesus and even IF he was a real person (I doubt it) the entire teaching and foundation is moot as it traces back through all the three big lies to establish itself as legitimate.

 

A four legged barstool with three legs sawn off, well that stool just topples naturally.

[duderonomy]

I clicked on the link and read the whole thing, save for the comments. I don't know anything about the guy that wrote this, but IMHO there is far more going on in his mind than merely losing his faith.

It seems that he built his faith on what other people told him, from Sunday School through books and scholars and unto his higher learning. I fell into that same trap, until I realised that I was reading more about the Bible, and listening to what other people preached and taught about the Bible, than I was reading the Bible itself. It was only when I let go of the platitudes points and poems and read the thing for myself (I even bought one that had no footnotes or cross references at all), that I realised that I could no longer believe in the Bible.

 

I'm not sure about what the defenitions are regarding all of the pidgeon holes we force ourselves into. What is a Deist? A person who believes that there is a God somewhere that set this all in motion and then just let it be? A Theist...someone who believes in a God but isn't sure who that God is (or are Theists more sure of themselves than Deists)? What is an Atheist? Someone who believes that there is no higher power than what is at the top of the food chain on earth at the moment (and who's to say it's us?), or someone who claims that they personally have no God that they believe in (covered a bit in the comments on this thread above)?

I know that there are a lot of other paths and terms and conditions and blah blah blah.

 

Me, I'm an Agnostic. That means that I have no knowledge of whether or not there is a "God". I just don't know. I'm Mr. Inbetween.

I used to think that there was one for sure, and it was The Great I AM and Jesus and the Holy Spirit all at once. Now I don't know. I just don't know. God could be anybody. God could be nobody. God might be as screwed up as the author I read at the link, or as screwed up as me.

 

If there is a God, He might have really told Moses that he could look at His ass but not at His face. Go figger.

 

(Apologies in advance if anyone is offended. I'm at my end of the world party, and it's now after midnight here in Michigan. Nothing. Still, it's early in California, and then there's Hawaii).