Chibiabos Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hard to say. I guess the mark could be when I stopped going to church, which was in 1988 ... gah, 23 years! I still haven't let go of everything I should though. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panthalassa Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I've considered myself 'out' of Christianity for about two years, officially, though I stopped going to church about a decade ago. I'd hopped from church to church for a number of years before I realized that the reason I never seemed to "fit" anywhere was because I'd never really believed any of it to begin with. I don't miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhovanion Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I believed in the Christian God (more or less) until I was around 9 years old (18 years ago) but I never labeled myself as 'Christian' during that time. I didn't even know I was supposed to view Jesus and God as the same thing, I thought Jesus was Jesus and that God was God. I didn't grow up in a religious household (or a religious country) so even though I guess I believed, it was never a big part of my life. I just simply grew out of it. It was when we studied Norse Mythology in fourth grade that I decided I didn't want or need to believe in the Christian God anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody2Shoes Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 (first post!) Officially, it's only been about six -seven months, but there are other sort-of anniversaries: ~14 years: quit attending the church I'd been in, in one form or another, for about 20 years. ~13 years: formally resigned my membership in that church (usually not done). ~9 years since I stopped trying to find a new church/denomination. ~4 years since I told my family and friends to stop inviting me to church - I was never, ever attending another regular service (exceptions for weddings and funerals only). ~1 years since I started considering myself agnostic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody2Shoes Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Oops. Can't edit the above for some reason. My timeline is off by a year - I'm sick today and not all here. Officially, it's only been about eighteen months ~two years since I started considering myself agnostic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScifiChick Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'd put it between ten and twelve years. It was twelve years ago that I left the church, but leaving Christianity was a journey for me, not some definitive moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic76 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I've started having doubts 2 yeas ago. I was trying to send them away a couple of times, but they were always back to me. I'm in the process of deconverting myself now. Just got an email from my pastor were basically he is insulting me, saying that I'm choosing a road that will lead me to depression and frustration. is very interesting to note that if you attend a church you are a wonderful person, but as soon you decide to go out, you strangely become a really bad person, who is gonna live a very miserable life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScifiChick Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I've started having doubts 2 yeas ago. I was trying to send them away a couple of times, but they were always back to me. I'm in the process of deconverting myself now. Just got an email from my pastor were basically he is insulting me, saying that I'm choosing a road that will lead me to depression and frustration. is very interesting to note that if you attend a church you are a wonderful person, but as soon you decide to go out, you strangely become a really bad person, who is gonna live a very miserable life. Don't you just love that kind of attitude? I mean, is that supposed to make you change your mind? He's really doing you a favor. Mine threatened that God was gonna kill me, just like he killed Aaron. Whatever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic76 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 The Pastor told me that he want to inform the church about my decision of rejecting the christian faith. Do you think it will be my right to say no to that? What about my privacy? Just a thought.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Two years today! Three Years!! But had doubts for many years before !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 The Pastor told me that he want to inform the church about my decision of rejecting the christian faith. Do you think it will be my right to say no to that? What about my privacy? Just a thought.... I'd publicly confront the sick SOB with: "You use fear, intimidation, blackmail, punishment, social rejection all because you have a personal difference of opinion with me. Satan has hold of your heart and why I am leaving this evil place." If you're happy to burn your bridges, replace the last sentence with, "That's mighty Christian of you." Or just fantasise about saying it because who gives a shit what he thinks or who knows. What you think is important. Not someone that's willing to pull a stunt like that nor his flock who would see the fault with you instead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akatheist Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Left the church about 10 years ago, slowly deconverted over the next several years as I came to terms with what I was hinting at, but couldn't commit to. Been an atheist for about 3 years, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justified Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Started questioning the "one true religion" back about 7 years ago. 5 years ago I began to have serious doubts and the head over "heart" struggle began. Became certain 3 years ago that I was unable to continue trying to make myself believe what I was told was true. 2 years ago came out to my best friend, a Christian, that I didn't know what I believed and if I ever would know. 2 weeks after that told my mother the same thing and she praised me for being able to think for myself. 5 months ago began dating an Atheist. 12 days ago told my father through a letter that I wasn't religious and made a firm stance in defense of non-theists. He's determined to reconvert me..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zachary Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I've been free of omniscient beings for 11 years (I was 13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnJoshua Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 It has been 9 years now, almost 10, not sure how to pinpoint the exact moment, though I remember one day waking up and being absolutely sure. I was 15 on Sept 11, 2001, which sent my father into a downward spiral of paranoia and bloodlust, and it really made me want to wretch thinking how evil much of what is said in the bible actually is. I had been doubting my faith for 2 years at that point because of a very deep depression, so as soon as the depression ended, so did my faith, and my life actually began. It took 9 years to be able to (somewhat) calmly talk about this issue. I remember feeling extremely uncomfortable at about age 6 when my father told me Jesus died nailed to a wooden cross for my sins. I also remember feeling betrayed when he told me he loved god more than me and my brother and that he would still love me if I didn't believe in god, even if I was going to hell. He also constantly said mom is going to hell for being catholic. I 'found christ' when I was shipped off to a jesus camp one summer. Some of what happened at that camp really messed me up. Lack of responsible supervision can lead to awful things. Children will do things to each other left alone in groups that would not happen at gitmo. Children are NOT angels... The very first seed of doubt, however, goes back to the dentists chair when I was 6, when they accidentally discovered a benign bone tumour covering half of my face on an X-ray. I didn't think it then, but later on I thought about why that happened to me and why would god do that to me. My father told me there was a reason, but I couldn't see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder 34 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Proud to say that I've been out for 4 and a half years! This site was a help for me when I was getting out from the cult. Nice to see it is still going strong. (Haven't been here in about 2 years.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insaneloner Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I never really had any instant change from christian to atheist, it was a process for me. I think I really started pulling away from the beliefs during my pre-teen/teenage years though. But even when I was a kid, I don't think I was ever really completely convinced. I suppose you could say about 5-10 years ago was when I sort of began the whole deconversion process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbeezer Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I was going to church but just not believing in it. I was 15 when I began to question my beliefs; I'm about to turn 56 and haven't set foot inside a church in over 8 years. The reason I haven't "come out" to anyone in the family except my husband and kids, is because I truly believe it would kill my elderly parents if they knew the truth about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbeezer Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Can't figure out how to edit posts. I meant to say in the last sentence, "if they knew about my non belief" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I have always been a very unhappy Christian, but I really believed I'd be a Christian till I died, regardless of how I felt I would hold the faith. For the past 4 years I felt like I was an atheist some days while on other days I'd wake up and say Good morning lord! I didn't publicly utter the phrase "I'm not a Christian anymore" (to my old pastor) till a couple months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappySinner Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I had been doubting my faith for 2 years at that point because of a very deep depression, so as soon as the depression ended, so did my faith, and my life actually began. It took 9 years to be able to (somewhat) calmly talk about this issue. So I'm not the only one, eh... a major depression episode did my faith in, too. I started questioning my faith in my senior year of (christian) high school. First deconverted a little under a year later. The depression took hold shortly after that, and I reconverted. Begged gawd to remove my depression and doubt. After suffering with the depression for a little over a year and a half, I finally had it. I told gawd that I would fix myself and he could go f*ck himself. Have never looked back since. That was eleven years ago. Wow... And I still have moments when I cannot speak calmly about it all. Damn triggers. Still can't listen to christian music without rage. Haha.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpandOut Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I've been free for eight years. Today is actually the anniversary of my baptism. My family members run the church I used to attend, and while I'm open on facebook about identifying myself as a former Christian (I'm listed as agnostic), my aunts, uncles and cousins choose to believe I am doing it all for attention. My mother believes that I "really do believe deep down inside" which I find demeaning. I always identified as liberal in a church that preached extreme right-wing views, and that always identified me as an outsider. When my pastors starting spouting "you can't listen to secular music, watch the news (too violent), have friends outside the church" cult-like nonsense, I got out. I believed in a higher power, and I understood their views, but it just was a huge red flag. They were trying to control every aspect of our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openpalm45 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I've only been officially out for about 4 or 5 months. The process has been going on for about 7 or 8 months. It was a fast deconversion. 8 months ago, if someone were to have asked me "Is it possible for you to ever stop being a christian?" I would have said "no way." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamsongAZ Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 A few days HA! But I've been having doubts and questioning everything for a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normal02 Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Hello. This is my first post. I have been out of Christianity for 12 years. Even though this is true; I still struggle with the afteraffects of having believed. I am 44 years old and was born into a severly religiously addictive and abusive family. My father believed in both christianity and masonism. It's clear to see how everyone in my family from my mother down to my youngest brother were innocent by standers who were brain washed against our will to swallow and believe this garbage. I can hardly put into words just how severly affected I was. Some times I wonder if I'll ever fully recover. I cannot go into detail right now because it will take all night to tell my story. But as soon as I can set asside some time I will tell it because I want to help as many confused christians as possible to snap out of this horrible mess. Thank goodness we now have some place to go to be able to put a name to what's been wrong with us all these years. Now is a chance to fully recover and discover ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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