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Goodbye Jesus

Intro + Brief Testimony


Luke6188

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Hello all, 

I lost my faith, I believe, in the summer of 2008. It was Youtube, reading articles on Infidels and Talk Origins that did it. From Youtube, Thunderf00t, Profmth Mitch, and cdk007 come to mind -- ah, early Youtube atheism! Reading about Evolution literally blew my mind. I recall actually having an identity crisis; like, whoa, so I have no soul? Then who am I? Trying to grapple with the problem of evil and God's silence also really shook me. Richard Carrier's essay Why I Am Not a Christian really had an impact on me.There was one night, though, that I remember quite clearly because it was the first time I realized I had completely lost my faith. It was after I had finished David Mills' book Atheist Universe.

For about 5 years I was really into the whole atheism/theism debate. I read some of the best books and articles out there -- or tried to. I "accidentally" grabbed J. L. Schellenberg's book Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason way too early in my journey. Didn't attempt it until 6 years later, lmao. Biblical scholarship, philosophy of religion, cognitive science of religion was my thing.

Virtually everyone in my family is a Christian. Some tried to bring me back into the fold. Got invited to church, out for coffee, you know the drill. After I attended a multi-part apologetic sermon series with family in 2012, I decided to put together an anthology to give them as a way of showing them what I believe and why; to show them why I don't accept the standard arguments; and to hopefully show them that I searched hard for the truth. 

My interest in these big issues has waned considerably over the last couple years due to issues I won't get into. I do, however, still enjoy reading the stories of recent deconverts. This is long enough for in intro, I guess! I might not interact much, but I look forward to reading posts here.

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Great job Luke. You are so much more studious than I am but I'm very glad the resources are out there for someone like you to get the information you need to sort through all the details regarding what is true and what is not. It is just shocking to discover how many deceptions are involved in keeping intelligent people from questioning their faith. A big part of learning from my Christian experience has been coming to terms with how I will accept things that are not only false but obviously false, hopelessly false and then continue the self deception going so far as to convince myself I have learned great truths and then continuing in this self deception year after year. Where else in my life have I chosen to do this? Why do I choose to put away reason sometimes and why don't I see it when I make the switch to this false reasoning? I think I wish it were really hard to figure out that Christianity is just another religion made up by some socially primitive, scientifically ignorant men but instead it is a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes". For the most part the Christians around you will misunderstand anything and everything you have to say about why you no longer believe in Christianity. After all their faith depends on never asking basic simple fundamental questions regarding whether or not the basic story is true so try not to let that frustrate you when dealing with your network of Christian family and friends. Everything that really matters involves where do you go from here and maybe what can you learn from your Christian experience to make your new life even better. Think about commenting on some posts from others who find themselves in situations similar to ones you've been in and above all enjoy and appreciate all the opportunities you've given yourself by choosing to look carefully at what you think you are seeing and asking questions including hard questions. I wish you all the best.

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Thanks for the comment, Dan! Will consider contributing to certain discussions for sure!

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Welcome Luke. I think you will find this site helpful. 

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2 minutes ago, Geezer said:

Welcome Luke. I think you will find this site helpful. 

 

Thank you, Geezer! Glad to be here, sir :)

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Welcome to Ex-c Luke. Glad you are here with us and hope you will share lots more with us! Sounds like you got the intellect we need to hear from! Don't you be shy!! Lol

Seriously, welcome!

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47 minutes ago, Margee said:

Welcome to Ex-c Luke. Glad you are here with us and hope you will share lots more with us! Sounds like you got the intellect we need to hear from! Don't you be shy!! Lol

Seriously, welcome!


Thanks Margee! Appreciate the warm welcome.

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On 6/22/2019 at 9:54 AM, Luke6188 said:

Hello all, 

I lost my faith, I believe, in the summer of 2008. It was Youtube, reading articles on Infidels and Talk Origins that did it. From Youtube, Thunderf00t, Profmth Mitch, and cdk007 come to mind -- ah, early Youtube atheism! Reading about Evolution literally blew my mind. I recall actually having an identity crisis; like, whoa, so I have no soul? Then who am I? Trying to grapple with the problem of evil and God's silence also really shook me. Richard Carrier's essay Why I Am Not a Christian really had an impact on me.There was one night, though, that I remember quite clearly because it was the first time I realized I had completely lost my faith. It was after I had finished David Mills' book Atheist Universe.

 

Welcome aboard, Luke!

 

FYI, I am NOT your father! 

 

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1 hour ago, Joshpantera said:

 

Welcome aboard, Luke!

 

FYI, I am NOT your father! 

 

Haha, Thanks Josh!

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Hi Luke

 

Welcome to Ex-C.

 

Glad to have you with us. Your experience will be helpful for new deconverts.

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10 hours ago, LogicalFallacy said:

Hi Luke

 

Welcome to Ex-C.

 

Glad to have you with us. Your experience will be helpful for new deconverts.

 

Thanks, LF! Appreciate it :D

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Welcome to Ex-C, @Luke6188.

 

Regarding the anthology that you put together (are putting together?)? Have you presented it to your fams? I'm interested in their responses as attempts to introduce concepts from Carrier, Hitchens, Hawkins, Minwel et al to family members have led me to the conclusion that folks have to be questioning already to really appreciate enlightenment on that level. Perhaps the mere mention will cause them to question - down the road.

 

Fodder for another topic, that.

 

Welcome again and hope to hear more from you. 

    - MOHO (Mind Of His Own)

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45 minutes ago, MOHO said:

Welcome to Ex-C, @Luke6188.

 

Regarding the anthology that you put together (are putting together?)? Have you presented it to your fams? I'm interested in their responses as attempts to introduce concepts from Carrier, Hitchens, Hawkins, Minwel et al to family members have led me to the conclusion that folks have to be questioning already to really appreciate enlightenment on that level. Perhaps the mere mention will cause them to question - down the road.

 

Fodder for another topic, that.

 

Welcome again and hope to hear more from you. 

    - MOHO (Mind Of His Own)


Hi MOHO,

It was put together over a span of about 6 years. Though I keep it updated as I like to go through certain sections myself, to remind me of the ground I've covered. I have given it recently to a select few who have talked to me over the years since I lost my faith, with the expectation that they may share it with others. So far, only crickets. In fairness, however, I imagine they haven't come close to getting through it and find it rather daunting, as it clocks in at over 1200 pages, with 4 generous further reading sections >.<  That was not my original plan! Back in 2012 I planned to finish it rather quickly, thinking it might be 200 pages, and covering just the standard arguments for God that one finds in a philosophy of religion textbook (e.g., fine-tuning, cosmological and moral arguments). But I just kept going and going as I encountered new arguments and read more books. I ended up wanting to cover nearly everything, like the doctrine of Hell, the ugliness of Yahweh, the Resurrection, the origins of Christianity and religion, death, awe and wonder, meaning in life, and so on. It became a serious project. 

Carrier is in there, yup. So are the so-called Four Horsemen, though they actually are not really a main attraction. I'd say it's filled mostly with professional philosophers, scientists, and biblical scholars that aren't part of the "new atheism" crowd.

So, yeah, they may just be looking at certain sections or have just put it aside to read when they have a lot more time. I'm not sure. Will be interesting to see how/if they respond.

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On 6/22/2019 at 9:54 AM, Luke6188 said:

For about 5 years I was really into the whole atheism/theism debate. I read some of the best books and articles out there -- or tried to. I "accidentally" grabbed J. L. Schellenberg's book Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason way too early in my journey. Didn't attempt it until 6 years later, lmao. Biblical scholarship, philosophy of religion, cognitive science of religion was my thing.

Hello and Welcome! It's good to know that X-Xian self-expression doesn't only land on deaf ears and that sometimes it does communicate and persuade people. What a powerful impact it can have on an individual's life, if they have the earnestness and courage to face it! Anyways, glad you're here!

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