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Goodbye Jesus

Testimony Of An Ex-atheist


Dra_Mucd_Uha

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This is a testimony of an "ex-atheist" I found while surfig the net

 

http://www.ex-atheist.com/from-skepticism-to-worship.html

 

It's interesting. He expresses all these reasons about not believing - and even seems very intelligent - and yet he goes back to Christianity why? Because it all made sense to him after he read the Bible and assumed it to be true. He changed his perspective, thus altering how he reacted to it. But does that really make it anymore true? Towards the end he even expresses how afterwards he ignored the errors in the Bible.

 

I think many people end up going back to Christianity because "it just makes sense." They take any explanation they can get their hands on and run with it. Hell, it doesn't matter if it has evidence for it or not - as long as it has an explanation that works. With that attitude you could end up believing in any religion, not just Christianity.

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Heck, he doesn't give the reason to why he saw it to be "true" all of a sudden. He says:

What I had to say about who Christ was, said more about me than it did about Him.

 

At this moment, I saw it. I saw what the truth of the Bible was! And I was humbled. More than humbled, I was broken. The truth wasn't about cud chewing bunnies or how much precipitation fell during Noah's flood. It was the truth about human nature and our efforts to rise above it! It was the truth about human spirit being led by divine spirit! It was the truth about each of us, imperfect in our love for one another, needing to be made complete by the perfect love of God! The truth was about how one man, without sin, had died for us so that we could live! The truth of the Bible was and is JESUS CHRIST!

 

The moment I was made aware of my despicable nature, I realized that Jesus had died for me. I never had recognized sin and, therefore, thought that Christ had died for nothing. But this man was able to see the horrible nature present in all of humanity and yet he had sacrificed himself to save us from ourselves. In a very real sense, my sinful nature had caused the death of an innocent man. I never believed in hell prior to this, but one of my first thoughts, after seeing how hellish a person that I was, was that I deserved to be in it.

 

What did he see? That he had a lot of opinions about Jesus, and that's why Jesus is true? And he admits to being full of "sin", when the concept of "sin" is a religious one and not a humanistic one. So how can he realized "sin" in his life? Doesn't make sense. :shrug:

 

He "realized" Jesus had died for him, that can only mean that he thought the secondhand and retelling of the stories must be true, so it takes belief first, before you can believe the story.

 

So all the similarities and connections to paganism, astrology, etc, etc, falls on its face, because of this argument and reason: At this moment, I saw it. I saw what the truth of the Bible was! Wow. I'm so impressed. That must be the best counter argument for everything that can be said about anything.

 

I didn't believe in Zeus, but at this moment, I saw it. I saw what the truth of Zeus was!

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Maybe ya have to feel sorry for poor schmoes who turn to Jesus because they just can't find enough birch branches to beat the imagined blackness out of their souls.

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Very true Pitchu.

 

If "sin" is such a struggle in someones life, then it is not surprising they need a crutch to lean on.

 

Lately I have found that I can't approve the word "sin" anymore. There's no unique, unifying, identifying concept of it, so how can someone have it, or be in it? It's like saying "I'm full of goobydryx, and only Jexyblurb can take it away from me." Huh?

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Lately I have found that I can't approve the word "sin" anymore. There's no unique, unifying, identifying concept of it, so how can someone have it, or be in it? It's like saying "I'm full of goobydryx, and only Jexyblurb can take it away from me." Huh?

 

 

My stance, exactly. Never did understand the concept of sin. Ethics and morality and the breaching of same, yes. Sin? WTF is that??

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Thanks Pitchu!

 

It's funny though. It is a word that have been in my vocabulary for all these years, but it is such a volatile and vague concept. Is it "disobedience", or "missing the mark", or "acting wrongfully", or "breaking the commandments", or "not being saved", or "not believe in Jesus"? Damn, if there's not one understanding, how can we have it. AAARGH!

 

So when someone like this ex-atheist say "I lived in sin", to me it sounds like that he always believe there was "sin" vs "righteousness". He never truly came out of his Catholic background. He always had a small pilot light of belief he couldn't get rid off. And maybe his anger, frustration and opposition against faith was built upon resentment, and not true understanding or freedom of though? Just like some hard core anti-homosexual people are closet gays. Maybe he was closet Christian? :HaHa:

 

(Or maybe I should say "he was never a True Atheist". hehe)

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Yeah, I thought the same about him, HanSolo. I was reading his testimony, and as I read I was thinking "wow, this guy must have had a damn good reason for going back after all this." I was quite disappointed when I read the part you quoted. "I saw it!"

 

Saw what?

 

"The truth of the Bible!"

 

And that is...?

 

"JESUS CHRIST!"

 

:banghead:

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Maybe ya have to feel sorry for poor schmoes who turn to Jesus because they just can't find enough birch branches to beat the imagined blackness out of their souls.

 

Indeed - makes me think of amy marie, who seems like the standard Xian in need of Jeezus™ as a cure-all crutch. I hate how Xianity really plays up on that human tendency to be too hard on ourselves and turns people who need good advice and real support into self-hating, self-abusive shadows of human beings :ugh:

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I think many people end up going back to Christianity because "it just makes sense."

 

Some people do. I'll bet my bottom dollar that very, very few ex-Christians return to the fold, and those that do either never really stopped believing (dropped it to look cool and intelligent in high school) or just desperately want that good old fellowship back.

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Looks like this guy never had a healthy spirituality. And having a healthy spirituality doesn't necessarily have anything to do with having a god in your life. It's simply how you feel about yourself and your place in the world.

 

Christianity offers a package deal of security if you just "do what we say." It's easier than having to figure it out for yourself. There are so many people in this world who just don't know how to tolerate themselves and their existance. It's very sad, really.

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Some people do. I'll bet my bottom dollar that very, very few ex-Christians return to the fold, and those that do either never really stopped believing (dropped it to look cool and intelligent in high school) or just desperately want that good old fellowship back.

 

Many times I have been tempted to go back just for that fellowship again. But, you know what they say, I'm not supposed to fall into peer pressure. :P

 

Christianity offers a package deal of security if you just "do what we say." It's easier than having to figure it out for yourself.

 

Very true. It's much easier to just follow a system that has already be laid out for you. I think it is more worthwhile and beneficial for you in the end to develop your own way of life.

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You read his words, he doesn't give any rational arguments whatsoever as to the truth of religion. He doesn't give any arguments for the words of the bible being divinely inspired. He gave no reasons why the Bible could not be the work of man. He merely found religion beautiful. It made him feel good, it seened right, and it filled a need he had. That's a common I often heard from Christians; how beautiful they found their belief. But just cause you think it's pretty doesn't mean it's true.

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It made him feel good, it seened right, and it filled a need he had. That's a common I often heard from Christians; how beautiful they found their belief. But just cause you think it's pretty doesn't mean it's true.

 

Indeed; hell, crack makes people feel good, too. But do Xians want to be confronted with the truth that, for so many of them, their acceptance and passion for Jeezus™ is almost exactly like the acceptance and passion a crack addict has for his little white rocks?

 

For people like that, Jeezus™ is their drug.

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I think that a lot of people turn to christianity because it seems so absolute. Its all laid out. and they also don't need to worry about anyone hurting them because "god" would never let anything happen to his children-like when we were kids, nobody could hurt us because we had parents.

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This from this dope's article:

 

What was I doing when I condemned this god for commanding Moses to kill? Was I arrogantly making my morality superior to that of the being who allegedly authored all of morality?

 

:twitch:

Well, DUH! HELL YES! My morality is far and away above this callous cruel god's morality. YHVH most obviously is not the author of all morality.

 

Was I condemning the actions of an entire nation, which was trapped in a kill or be killed situation?

 

Don't ya just love how he has to give authenticity to the story of the Israelites being held in bondage by the Egyptians for hundreds of years for this to come close to making any sense? There is STILL NO EVIDENCE that the Jews were EVER enslaved in Egypt! Oh that's right. The Egyptians could never admit defeat, so they expunged all evidence of the Jews having escaped them from every piece of historical record as well as eliminating ALL physical evidence. I actually have had a Christian try to tell me this once. :ugh:

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And here we have it:

 

My accusing finger turned around and pointed right back at me. I sucked! Christianity wasn't what was wrong with the world! A lack of education wasn't what was wrong with the world! I was what was wrong with the world.

 

The self-deprecation of the Christian. You know, after reading this guys article, it seems that he has some issues with his self-image and may be suffering from clinical depression. He's the terrible thing and Jesus is gonna make him all better. Uh huh. :loser:

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I actually have had a Christian try to tell me this once.

Yeah, that's why I try to avoid debating Christians. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good conversation every now and then, but most Christians don't even consider the possiblity that they are wrong, thus rendering the whole conversation pointless and unproductive. They always find some kind of explanation that says they are right, and no matter how far fetched it is they will believe it.

 

On the opposite side of things, I do try to consider the possiblity that I'm wrong as well so the conversation has a better potential of being productive. But the more I talk with Christians and research Christianity, the harder it is for me to do that.

 

The self-deprecation of the Christian. You know, after reading this guys article, it seems that he has some issues with his self-image and may be suffering from clinical depression. He's the terrible thing and Jesus is gonna make him all better. Uh huh.

Yeah self-deception is a big part of Christianity. And I'm not saying that Christians don't sincerely believe in Christianity - it's just that they don't realize the intellectual trap they have fallen into. It's kind of sad, really. Reminds me of the Matrix.

 

Note to Christians who are following me around on the Internet: For the second time, I know you are there. I would appreciate if you would respect my privacy and stop following me. Really. It's getting somewhat aggravating. If you want my opinions on Christianity, ask me, I'll be glad to share them. But stalking me is ridiculous.

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We should invite people from that website for debate because they believe we use "Strawman" techniques for debating.

 

here's what it says how atheist/agnostics argue:

 

Christian: Genesis 1:29 reads…”I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food…"

 

Skeptic: That's absurd. If you ate all of the vegetables and fruits in the whole world all at once your stomach would explode...

 

Christian: You're not supposed to eat them all at once...

 

Skeptic: Let me give you an analogy. If one country is more advanced than another, does it have the right to force the less advanced country to can and package its fruits and vegetables?

 

Christian: That's not the same thing.

 

Skeptic: Aha! So now you agree with me that slavery is wrong!

 

Christian: No I didn’t!

 

Skeptic: Oh you didn’t? So you admit then that the Bible promotes slavery?

 

Christian: It does not!

 

Skeptic: It says right here in Leviticus 25:47, “You may buy male and female slaves from the nations around you.” If you go against what the Bible says, you’re a hypocrite.

 

Christian: But that isn’t what it means!

 

Skeptic: Are you saying that the Bible doesn't mean what it says? You Christian slave mongers have a lot of nerve coming in here trying to save my soul.

 

Christian: I wasn’t trying to save your soul!

 

Skeptic: Oh you weren’t? You mean you don’t even care if I go to Hell??!! What kind of a Christian are you, anyway?

 

When an audience is less informed about the subject that is being debated than those who are debating it, it ends up relying on the presentation of the argument as much as the content when it makes its decision regarding it; in other words, it only listens with one ear! Now the audience will walk away with the distinct impression that you are a slave monger, a hypocrite, and an uncaring person; a person who doesn't eat his vegetables! This type of debate will not only aggravate you, but it effectively limits your opportunity to discuss anything of importance. You will end up feeding junk food to a person who is spiritually starving, discussing Greek instead of the gospel. When Christianity is attacked or questioned and we attempt to respond with apologetics, frequently we will find ourselves launched into debate instead of a meaningful discussion. When this happens, a Christian needs to be battle savvy in order to present his views with enough intelligence that hopefully will turn the debate back into a dialogue worth having. This example was designed to make you laugh and of course the deception here was blatant. But it’s the same technique that Darrow used in the Scopes trial.

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Yeah, I read that too. It made me question even more if this guy was really an Atheist or not. It doesn't appear so.

 

You could try to debate them. I personally do not think I would have the patience to.

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It's interesting. He expresses all these reasons about not believing - and even seems very intelligent - and yet he goes back to Christianity why?

 

Or did he even?

As for me, I'm :close: to dismissing all ex-atheist, ex-evilutionist or ex-whathaveyou babble right from the start. I see no reason to believe why a horde of habitual liars should happen to tell the truth when babbling about what's supposed to be their past.

I admit I didn't (yet?) read this one, so I may well be wrong, but all "ex-evo" or "ex-athy" claims I read so far were soooooo full of shit that it's simply unbelievable that they're for real. :Hmm:

 

I propose that it's all just a lie to hopefully impress "us ebil unbeliebers".

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I admit I didn't (yet?) read this one, so I may well be wrong, but all "ex-evo" or "ex-athy" claims I read so far were soooooo full of shit that it's simply unbelievable that they're for real.

Let me save you some time - don't read it. It's another one of those. I'm new to the ex-Christian scene, so seeing things like this is new to me. I'm learning...

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Buddhism makes more sense to me than Christianity, and yet I can't literally believe in it. Though I find Eastern religions interesting.

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I don't know much about Buddhism, but what I have seen looks interesting. I've been meaning to start researching it just to see what it is.

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Ah... this guy is funny. He compares reading the Bible to looking at optical illusions. :funny:

 

"Well, you see... you have to look at it a certain way to understand it... that doesn't mean it's not right... I don't actually have any evidence to believe in what I do."

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