Guest questioner4 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Is anyone here aware of any ex-Christians who have been well-known in their days as a Christian, for being a Christian? I'm just wondering. It would be something if we ever saw the day that Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson became an ex-Christian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Gods Fail Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Not a lot of those. Who's going to give up their billion-dollar ministry even if they stop believing? The most famous Ex-C I can think of right off the bat is Sam Kinnison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Atheist Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I think a more important question is: Can anybody name any Christians who used to be atheists? And then, when half the Christians you're talking to say, "Yes, I used to be an atheist myself, but I saw the light and you can as well!" you can reply, "In that case, can anybody name any Christians who used to be well-known atheists who published material on atheism? In other words, any respected and intelligent figure who actually did investigate the situation and come to the rational conclusion that Christianity is true? Unlike Josh "hard-nosed-skeptic McDowell who became famous and started writing things AFTER his conversion." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Checkmate Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Famous ex-Christians, huh? Well, I know of three right off the bat, but then maybe they aren't TOO famous, since you have to ask. Former Evangelist Charles Templeton. His book is called Farewell To God. Templeton, now deceased, was a contemporary and friend of the "great" Billy Graham. Templeton's apostasy shook the religious community as he was considered every bit as powerful and important as Graham. Then there is Ex-Minister/Musician Dan Barker. Some of you already know of Barker as his work is frequently referred to on these boards and on the Secular Web/Internet Infidels. He's even appeared on Oprah, Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael back in the '80s. Barker's book is Losing Faith In Faith. I've got both books and they make for interesting reading. Comedianne Julia Sweeney, Saturday Night Live alumnus, is also an ex-C. Again not-so-famous, but very influential. She's written at least one book, I THINK it's called, "God said, 'Hah!", or something like that. She has been around the country, touring and speaking about her former beliefs. She's very funny. You can download an audio clip of her routine at This American Life. The episode is dated 6/03/2005, #290, titled "Godless America". Sweeney's bit begins around the 39 minute mark of the program. Well, that's all the people I know of. Later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Atheist Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Farrell Till. Once fundamentalist Church of Christ preacher. Made the serious mistake of trying to analyse the Bible in order to prove to himself that it really wasn't. Went to far, couldn't stop, discovered it was actually nonsense. Became famous as debater of Christians and editor of the Skeptical Review. I love his work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kryten Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 As AGF implied, it is hard for a FAMOUS and POPULAR christian to give it up, since those are the ones making the money. The more famous and wealthy a christian is, the less likely they could admit it's a lie even if they knew it. It could happen, but the biggest problem with christians is that they DON'T look too closely or examine any evidence. It would also take some honesty, which is not one of their strong points. The true test of christian maturity and growth is to have faith strong enough to disregard all evidence, no matter how overwhelming. And to keep those tithes and offerings coming in... *Edit* - make that intellectual honesty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qadeshet Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Is anyone here aware of any ex-Christians who have been well-known in their days as a Christian, for being a Christian? I'm just wondering. It would be something if we ever saw the day that Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson became an ex-Christian. Ex COG Minister Darrell Conder has his own website. Check out his articles and deconversion story. Darrell W Conder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Is anyone here aware of any ex-Christians who have been well-known in their days as a Christian, for being a Christian? I'm just wondering. It would be something if we ever saw the day that Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson became an ex-Christian. I don't think a lot of the names mentioned so far would qualify. Were any of them as prominent as Falwell or Robertson? Templeton was perhaps at one time, but he, along with all of the others, were unknown to me until I left Christianity and started doing my own research on the web. (Who's Sam Kinnison?) I think that, to answer the question, it would have to be someone openly and widely known for their Christian faith, in order to have any great impact. It would take someone like Falwell, Robertson, or the Pope to shake up the Christian world with a deconversion. If a more liberal Christian (Like John Shelby Spong) would leave the church, it would be no big deal to the evangelical/fundy crowd, as they probably don't think Spong's a True Christian anyway! It'd be much more shocking if the president of the Southern Baptist Convention drop-kicked Jesus out of his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkepticOfBible Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Is anyone here aware of any ex-Christians who have been well-known in their days as a Christian, for being a Christian? I'm just wondering. It would be something if we ever saw the day that Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson became an ex-Christian. Dan Barker is one. I do remember him composing famous christian songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurekid Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Maybe not quite on the same topic, but can anyone here think of any leading world-class intellectual of the past 30 years who was a Christian? One of the things I certainly thought about during my deconversion is that while Isaac Newton was a scientist and a theologian, Einstein certainly wasn't born again and Stephen Hawking goes so far as to speculate that the universe is self-contained and perhaps spawned itself. The most recent Christian of a serious level of intellectual achievement I could think of was C.S. Lewis and he died in 1963. History really has shown a pattern of those who are the foremost thinkers of humanity freeing themselves from religion and other superstitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evelyn Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Ex-COG, Sam Kinnison was a comedian who was a child evangelist who "left the fold". Unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scepticjoe Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 How about Marjoe? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoe_Gortner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorena Rodriguez Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 The most recent Christian of a serious level of intellectual achievement I could think of was C.S. Lewis and he died in 1963. History really has shown a pattern of those who are the foremost thinkers of humanity freeing themselves from religion and other superstitions. Hey future kid, Can you tell me more about C.S. Lewis's deconversion? I never heard of that one. I know that his last book, after his wife's death, is a bitter one. But as far as I know, he never did renounce the faith. Is there a place where I can read about that? Christian swear by him, that's why I'm shocked. Thanks, Lorena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Dave Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 The most recent Christian of a serious level of intellectual achievement I could think of was C.S. Lewis and he died in 1963. History really has shown a pattern of those who are the foremost thinkers of humanity freeing themselves from religion and other superstitions. Hey future kid, Can you tell me more about C.S. Lewis's deconversion? I never heard of that one. I know that his last book, after his wife's death, is a bitter one. But as far as I know, he never did renounce the faith. Is there a place where I can read about that? Christian swear by him, that's why I'm shocked. Thanks, Lorena I think you misunderstood his post. CS Lewis never deconverted AFAIK. I also don't consider him much of an intellectual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 The most recent Christian of a serious level of intellectual achievement I could think of was C.S. Lewis and he died in 1963. History really has shown a pattern of those who are the foremost thinkers of humanity freeing themselves from religion and other superstitions. Hey future kid, Can you tell me more about C.S. Lewis's deconversion? I never heard of that one. I know that his last book, after his wife's death, is a bitter one. But as far as I know, he never did renounce the faith. Is there a place where I can read about that? Christian swear by him, that's why I'm shocked. Thanks, Lorena I think you misunderstood his post. CS Lewis never deconverted AFAIK. I also don't consider him much of an intellectual. For evangelical tastes, he was as intellectual as they could stand. Also Francis Shaeffer. (sp?) Evangelicals love people who sound high-falutin', but still are spouting the same-old-same-old just like the corner Fundy church. By the way, I've always found it interesting how the evangelicals seem to have made C.S. Lewis one of their own, when he was actually an Anglo-Catholic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandrian Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 C.S. Lewis seems to be claimed by everyone. Roman Catholics love his work just as well as anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sbwilley Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 C.S. Lewis seems to be claimed by everyone. Roman Catholics love his work just as well as anyone. Yes, this is true. A Catholic co-worker who I'm talking to about evolution gave me an ethics article rife with C.S. Lewis quotations. I agree that C.S. Lewis wasn't much of an intellectual. A lot of his statements on ethics are rather straightforward and difficult to dispute. They can be true without god in the picture though. I came to this post looking for answers to a different question: Can any of you name great philanthropists who were atheists (not necessarily ex-Christians)? I know that Ayn Rand gave quite liberally and was always an atheist. Who can name some others? PS: It would be good for the site to have links for giving. For example, www.give.org has lists of charities that have been investigated by the Wise Giving Alliance. Many of the charities are secular. Others are religious. Another idea is for Ex-Christian.Net to create a charity that automatically funnels a very high percentage of Paypal and credit card donations directly to programs for the needy. The only administration required would be our own effort to provide a list of links and to certify that the charities are secular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurekid Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I think you misunderstood his post. CS Lewis never deconverted AFAIK. I also don't consider him much of an intellectual. After reading the first few chapters of Mere Christianity (courtesy of those who still believe;) I am inclined to agree. Lewis' primary argument for the existance of God is that we as a society have certain standards that we by-and-large explicitly adhere to. In other words, we attempt to justify our behavior to others based on this unwritten standard rather than saying "to hell with your standard". Upon deeper examination, this seems an extremely weak basis to insist that God exists. Studies of the behavior of many higher animals have shown that they display contract based behavior and when an individual deviates from the accepted standard as set by the other animals of the pride/pack/herd, it will be soundly reminded of the social interests of the entire group. Would Lewis really think that a hyena waiting its turn for a chance to gnaw the bones of a carcas was observing the will of God rather than avoiding the wrath of the larger/more dominant creatures currently eating? Oh, sorry for hijacking this thread... In regards to the original question, it really would take a person with strong values and a bit of humility to admit to having been mistaken for so long and I doubt too many of these exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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