FreeFromGuilt Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 I'm not ready to share my testimony yet, but this page has been a huge comfort during my deconversion. I just want to say how awesome it is to be free from all the guilt tied to Christianity! A Bible verse that always bothered me (as a Chrsitian) was Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I grew up in a liberal Christian home but became a fundy born again believer at 20 years old. It didn't take long after that for me to realize my life was actually much harder as a believer than it was before that. I had to feel extreme guilt over everything from my thoughts, my words, how I spent my time, how I didn't spend my time... I stuck with it for years, but it was hard. I was developing anxiety from this "light burden." While deconversion is difficult and has a lot of struggles, I must say it's a much lighter burden! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Welcome aboard...glad you found your way out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanForsman Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Great thoughts FreeFromGuilt. There is nothing in life more gratifying than trusting your inner voice and being true to yourself. Christianity can offer many things but this clear simple statement of who you are is not one of those things. Living the life of a fundamental christian makes you appreciate life even more when you finally decide to leave the cult behind. You do have to bear the full weight of responsibility for your actions when you say goodby to christianity but I found that trade off to be a bargain (kind of like the gains we make when we become an adult). Glad to have you here and posting and I look forward to reading your deconversion story when you choose to share it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Religion’s survival depends on making their adherents feel guilty & fearful. No believer can ever know for sure that they’re “saved” and that is by design. One can never do enough to feel safe and be certain they’re destined for heaven. For every verse in the Bible that offers hope and assurance, there is an offsetting verse that cast doubt and uncertainly. Doubt and uncertainty makes the faithful work harder and give more money in the hope that they can somehow please the God they worship and fear. Congrats for figuring out their game and freeing yourself from their clutches. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeFromGuilt Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Geezer said: For every verse in the Bible that offers hope and assurance, there is an offsetting verse that cast doubt and uncertainty. Funny thing is that is what caused me to become a more serious Christian. I grew up going to a church that mostly taught feel good, happy sermons. When I started reading the Bible for myself, I quickly discovered it was not a giant "love letter" as I had been led to believe. But instead of that realization turning me away, it drew me in deeper for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 18 minutes ago, FreeFromGuilt said: But instead of that realization turning me away, it drew me in deeper for years. WELCOME! I have known 2 or 3 people that went through that cycle. I'm glad you found your way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 1 hour ago, FreeFromGuilt said: Funny thing is that is what caused me to become a more serious Christian. I grew up going to a church that mostly taught feel good, happy sermons. When I started reading the Bible for myself, I quickly discovered it was not a giant "love letter" as I had been led to believe. But instead of that realization turning me away, it drew me in deeper for years. How do you turn a believer into a non-believer? Make them actually read and study the Bible! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted April 15, 2020 Moderator Share Posted April 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Geezer said: How do you turn a believer into a non-believer? Make them actually read and study the Bible! Sadly that's not working for my fundie family who read it ad nauseum. The believer has to be first willing to admit it might not be true. @FreeFromGuilt Welcome to Ex-C. Glad you've found us and hope your enjoy your times here. Feel free to ask questions and post away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator buffettphan Posted April 15, 2020 Super Moderator Share Posted April 15, 2020 11 hours ago, Geezer said: How do you turn a believer into a non-believer? Make them actually read and study the Bible! 8 hours ago, LogicalFallacy said: Sadly that's not working for my fundie family who read it ad nauseum. The believer has to be first willing to admit it might not be true. Yeah, they've got to remove their god-goggles first in order to read and study the buybull objectively. Unfortunately sometimes it seems like those goggles are superglued to their faces! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 16 hours ago, FreeFromGuilt said: I'm not ready to share my testimony yet, but this page has been a huge comfort during my deconversion. I just want to say how awesome it is to be free from all the guilt tied to Christianity! A Bible verse that always bothered me (as a Chrsitian) was Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I grew up in a liberal Christian home but became a fundy born again believer at 20 years old. It didn't take long after that for me to realize my life was actually much harder as a believer than it was before that. I had to feel extreme guilt over everything from my thoughts, my words, how I spent my time, how I didn't spend my time... I stuck with it for years, but it was hard. I was developing anxiety from this "light burden." While deconversion is difficult and has a lot of struggles, I must say it's a much lighter burden! Welcome. Guilt over thoughts that caused no harm is what made me cut loose the final tendrils of Christianity. It isn't really a light burden either. It's more of a taught obsessive compulsive disorder, imo. Glad you got out of it. (ex Pentecostal here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqualung Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Welcome FreeFromGuilt! It's so good to see that you are truly free from guilt! You'll find plenty of support here at Ex-c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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