Leaving Christianity
Preface
Human beings are intelligent and psychologically rich animals. We have much potential which we can either use, misuse or squander. There can be far reaching ramifications both in our mental lives and in our interactions with others when we take on a huge belief system such as Christianity. Many of us who are bought up to believe that Christianity is what the universe is all about end up taking our religious beliefs most ardently, basing our personal, interpersonal and sometimes professional lives on this. It makes a big difference to our lives if Christianity is mistaken and we take it as very seriously true. It is therefore worth examining our beliefs. Some of us take up this challenge, or are forced into it by noticing difficulties with the claims of Christianity. We notice problems, think, read and often come to a startling conclusion.
There are many reasons why people leave Christianity, but the most common reason for a very serious Christian to leave is through research. Ironically this often happens when research is carried out in order be a better exponent of Christianity. This happens to apologists, theologians, missionaries, ministers, fundamentalists and liberals. The broad spectrum from professional to lay Christian of all Christian types.
The deconversion experience is one of the most dramatic transforming experiences that can happen to a religious person for which there is no "exit counselling" from the church. Where does one go with such a life changing discovery? Our Christian friends do not want to look that deeply into our lives, preferring only to coach us back to Christianity, believing we must be mistaken. Often they condemn us as hell-bound for "turning our backs on Christ," rather than facing the possibility that we have just found that the Christian belief system is untenable. The Internet is one of the few places where those who leave Christianity can turn easily for help and find people who have already been through this leaving process. Often new deconverts feel that they are in a very lonely situation as there is nobody around who will sympathetically listen to their thoughts. Therefore it can be a great thrill and relief to find others with similar stories to tell.
So what is it like to leave? Some quietly slip out of their religious beliefs without much fuss. There are many though, who were previously strongly convinced that their religion is utter reality. It is highly revealing to listen to those who have had experience into and out of Christianity and are in a position to know and authoritatively evaluate and relate their actual experiences. Deconversion for such people, although sometimes initially very emotional or traumatic, comes as a revelation far more spiritually enriching than conversions into religion. In the stories scattered over the Internet and in books ex-Christians have repeatedly said this enrichment of life is the case.
In our modern age with ease of access to information many of us are still bought up to believe the unexamined religion of our culture. It is not routine at church or school to research the historical claims of Christianity or to critically examine its dogmas. The fact that this examination has even occurred is rarely known, neither is the extent of the criticism appreciated. What percentage of Christians have done their "extra-Christian homework" and have well thumbed critical books on their bookshelves? Most study is devotional or inclined towards "what is God saying here?" Indeed, most Christians are surrounded by other Christians, seldom in an environment promoting critical examination of beliefs. It is usually left to the personal research of the curious amongst us, or the chance discovery of a student of religion to stumble across the historical, psychological, philosophical, anthropological and sociological problems of Christianity. This research, although often very long and arduous, can still come as a shock to the highly religious. As mentioned, some do find their discoveries hard to cope with initially, although this is rarer than might be thought.
Unfortunately, if ones closest friends and relatives are very religious then not being a Christian can cause problems in the family and amongst peers. We often hear how Christians claim high standards for "family values" and yet, especially amongst more fundamentalist Christians, ex-Christian family members who "come out" are not only shunned but are even told that they will go to hell. Belief in the justice of unrelenting torture for your family is not a way to bring family unity. Also Christians seldom do justice to the possibility of what we have read, thought and discovered, merely claiming we can't have been "true Christians" or asking "where did you go wrong?"
It is a common misapprehension to claim that those who leave Christianity never understood what Christianity was "really about." The full range of Christian types leave Christianity, from all denominations, doctrines, and persuasions. From the most liberal to the most fundamentalist. The philosophical liberal, the conservative orthodox, the born-again and the hyper-charismatic fundie.
Christianity was once the centre of the universe for the many former Christians who lived it, thought it, felt it, preached it, discussed it, prayed privately and publicly, led religious groups and been thanked for encouraging other Christians and helping them in their "walk with Christ." Certainly if we were not "true Christians" then our fellow Christians were not able to judge a tree by its fruit. Ex-Christians have felt moved by religious experience and lost in numinous feeling of connection with God, taken communion, partaken of all kinds of fellowship, retreats, Christian college courses, study groups and missionary crusades. They have written many words of Christian thought, coming from all theological and doctrinal positions.
Nobody I have heard of chooses whilst they are a believing Christian to leave Christianity, neither do they think that they (a "real Christian") would ever deconvert. But they do leave. Indeed, the idea of choice does not describe what happens. Rather than choosing "I will not believe this now" (psychologically impossible to not believe something you do believe!) instead researches lead to the inescapable conclusion that Christianity is false. Not only that but contrary to former beliefs ex-Christians are so often surprised to find a better inner life after deconversion.
I have found that ex-Christians frequently describe an enormous life affirming nature to the discovery that their beliefs were false. Reports from deconverts are of a life of honesty, free, and more loving, and often a passion for knowledge and interest in the world. No divine judging, spiritual separation from others or easy condemnation of different lifestyles. Instead the discovery of the poignancy and vulnerability of life. The desire to be moral because we can truly empathise with others in their messy humanity. Connection with the world rather than running against it.
Any major change of world view can bring a "conversion experience" or trauma - but there is more to it than this. All the feelings had when religious were human and natural feelings that were mistaken for divine and supernatural things. I think this stunts them, no matter how good they where thought to be at the time. Non-theistic Buddhists describe belief in a god as "unskilful" as it can actually harm the spiritual life of a person. The fact is that we were missing out as Christians on the real world. Not only was our view of reality mistaken, but we were also too often wrapped up in our own ego or "salvation." It makes a huge difference to intelligent complex animals like ourselves when we really believe something of such vast ramifications which is false. When we know the real source of our feelings they can be far more powerful. Such was the experience of many deconverts as the world comes more into focus out of the confusing mist of misinterpretation that is religion. The more seriously one took their religion then the greater this transformation experience may be.
It is always better to believe things that are true. If one wants to know what is true then how can it be wrong to do some research? However, if only one side of the argument is ever listened to then what kind of research is that? If Christianity is true then it should correspond to the facts of the world. Nobody should be afraid of finding out what those facts, thoughts and discoveries are. There is nothing to fear from knowing reality but instead everything to learn.
Over the years I have come to know and know of many ex-Christians most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc. Why should such people leave Christianity? These people are the best versed in Christianity and yet they leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing Christians and social pressures to stay. How can this happen if the evidence for Christianity is so good? If supernatural Christianity is true, shouldn't they have known better?
But what if the history and philosophical and moral implications of the various branches of Christianity are very different from that which is traditionally taught? The painful fact for many Christians is that through research and thinking this is the conclusion to which they often come. Why else should all these people leave, contrary to their world-view, culture, professions, and heavy investment in Christianity? Why would God go to the trouble of incarnation and crucifixion only to allow genuine seekers to find Christianity untenable, or give "spurious" experiences and "incorrect" interpretation to those who spend so many years trying to be Christians? From our research and testimonies it is apparent that Christianity is not what we once thought it was.
I hope that these collected stories and resources will be of comfort to new deconverts. It can be a great thrill to find fellow travellers in what is usually a very lonely journey with often few or no sympathetic people to turn to. I thought I was the first to deconvert from a genuine heartfelt Christianity until I discovered a few hints in books, some friends with similar stories and then the voluminous accounts on the Internet!
I hope to keep these pages fresh as I am still in the process of collecting stories and links and discussing this subject with various interested parties. Discussing religion can of course be very contentious and although primarily a resource for ex-Christians it is inevitable that some believing Christians, or others with different opinions, will surf here and wish to criticise this site. I have tried to avoid too much scornful material, although sometimes emotions rise in some of the reported on-line discussions - I am not from Vulcan! But if you think I have not been fair or really have missed something then I'd like to know. All criticism is welcome as long as it is not a knee-jerk at just reading a little of what I have to offer as such criticism is less interesting and causes too much repetition.
This site started partly as a FAQ when on debating lists and also as a collection of my bookmarks, so there is some of my own material here. However I don't think I have got the most to say, although I have included my own story with as much detail as I think is necessary for those who are interested. I am occasionally worried that I will one day be put in a corner by religious friends or relatives, so this is also my considered FAQ for any of them, rather than an emotional confrontation. Luckily it has not yet been needed - I have coped with carefully placed comments, so far! The bulk of the material is contained in the links to the writings of other people which is exactly the sort of information I wish I had found back in the mid 1980's when I was asking all those questions....
Contents
My Journey and thoughts
Why I left Christianity Includes notes for deeper investigation into what I read and thought.
Influential books - many with links to free on-line versions.
Asymmetry of Conversion My investigation into the asymmetry between the large number of well-churched Christians who leave Christianity versus the scarcity of those educated in the problems of Christianity who later become Christians. This also contains my essay on the resurrection and many further resources.
Selections of postings I have made to various newsgroups and mailing lists.
Feedback discussions I attempt to discuss with those who raise interesting points with me. If you are planning to evangelize, please check that I have not already had the conversation about your points here, or elsewhere in part 1 of this site.
A summary of my discoveries whilst researching and compiling this website, is now included in the preface above and originally only appeared as a guest essay I wrote for another website. To compliment this summary, I have compiled a quotes page of great snippets lifted from some of the deconversion stories contained within, or linked from, this site.
The journeys and thoughts of others
Main Links Includes resources for study and links to hundreds of informative deconversion stories and all the discussion groups for ex-Christians that I am aware of, both on the Internet and in real life!
Reciprocal Links Includes both those in accord with my site and those in disagreement.
Study Resources - Some of the best places I have found for serious study. This includes:
Main Links (Also see notes).
Ontario Consultants on religious tolerance. Good general research tool. Also required reading for any visitors to pro/con religious sites!
Testimonials page on the Secular Web. Some very heartfelt and well written accounts.
Collected deconversion stories This is a zip file (189kb) of deconversion stories in TXT, RTF and HTML formats mainly from the ex-Christian mailing list archives. Unless specific permission has been given to publish these stories I have removed references to full names.
List of Ex-Christian webring sites. Most of these sites contain deconversion stories.
List of Leaving Born Again Fundamentalist Christianity Webring sites
Deconversion stories emailed to me or found from personal websites not on the ex-Christian webring.
The Ex-tian homepage Mailing list and resource for ex-Christians.
The Secular Web's ex-Christians page. I now maintain this page myself. When I adopted this page I was asked to try to give preference to papers that are archived on the Secular Web but also to link to the good stuff that's out there. So it's mostly a high quality subset of my site. Well worth investigation for good quality material.
Walk Away from Fundamentalism Support, advice, and community for those who have left or are in the process of leaving fundamentalist Christianity.
Former conservative Christian women including details of their books and other writings.
The Courage to Walk Away: How to Escape From Cults. Includes a big download of deconversion stories (including from "main stream" Christianity) and other resources.
exchristian.org This is a database (started end Nov. 1999) where people may post their stories about losing their faith in biblical Christianity. It uses a form to enter descriptive keywords and either the text of the story or a URL. Hence readers can then search for ex-Christians with similar backgrounds to themselves.
Losing my Religion.com "A support site for those leaving the Christian faith"
USENET Testimonies. This page contains testimonials from ex-Christians extracted from Usenet.
Secular Testimonies. Deconversion stories from SecularLife.org
De-conversion stories collection on the Positive Atheism website.
Out of Christianity We were once not only Christians, but youth pastors, evangelists, nuns, and music ministers, yet we've left the Christian faith.
Deconversion stories from The Infidel Guy radio show. Note these are mp3 files.
From Minister to Atheist Joe Holeman (also see below).
Robin Savage a former preacher's wife.
Deconversion stories listed at Ebon Musings.
The Joy of Disillusionment by David Crews.
David wrote to me: 'The Joy of Disillusionment is directed at the same audience - those going through that especially difficult and lonely transition out of organized Christianity. I offer a philosophical, positive and hopefully helpful analysis of the new worldview of the recently de-religioned person, as well as some poetry and even a "revised" parable.'
I was very impressed with the way David identified and discussed some of the most poignant issues that confront a new ex-Christian, or those in the process of this awakening. I found his writings not only warm, humane and even "spiritual" but also purveying the real heat of the thoughts and emotions that so many of us have gone through. I am sure many visitors to my site will find David's quality writing to be very helpful.
Losing my Religion.com "A support site for those leaving the Christian faith"
The Clergy Project. A confidential online community for active and former clergy who do not hold the supernatural beliefs of their religious traditions. The Clergy Project launched on March 21st, 2011. Members use it to network and discuss what it's like being an unbelieving leader in a religious community. The Clergy Project’s goal is to support members as they move beyond faith. Members freely discuss issues related to their transition from believer to unbeliever.
Excerpts From Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker
Why I Left The Ministry And Became An Atheist By the ex-Methodist minister G. Vincent Runyon
The Reverend Don Cupitt explains how the scales fell from his eyes This is a section from the link below:-
The Sea of Faith Network The SoF Network explores the implications of accepting religion as a human creation. Many senior current and past churchmen (and women) are part of this organisation. Examples of transitions from traditional Christian to Sea of Faith non-realist are available in the accounts from Anne Horner, Jude Bullock and others at Personal essays. Also see my comments on Cupitt.
The Very Reverend Andrew William Ussher Furlong. Dean of Clonmacnoise in Ireland who (as of December 2001) has been suspended by his bishop for his progressive views. Andrew Furlong's Articles are available, both at his main link above and at The Center for Progressive Christianity. Furlong's transformation is outlined at Treasure In Earthen Vessels: Reflections of a Reformer. The Dean's publications can also be found in the theology section of Anglicans Online and at Furlong's articles in the TCPC library]. Frank Walker reviews Andrew Furlong's story in Tried for Heresy: a 21st-century journey of faith, published by O Books, 2003, 1903816521. Andrew muses on the accusation of heresy made against him by the Church of Ireland in 2002 in a recent Guardian Face to Faith column titled Pilgrim's Progress.
John Dominic Crossan. A leading scholarly member of The Jesus Seminar and a former Monk and Priest, Crossan explains why his scholarship led him to see religion as a purely human creation.
Marcus Borg another prominent scholar of the Jesus Seminar, describes his journey.
Gerd Lüdemann The German Lutheran theologian's reasons for leaving Christianity and the fall-out that this brought to his career. Also see Gerd Lüdemann at the Secular Web.
Geza Vermes - Fellow of the British Academy and Prof. Emeritus of Jewish Studies in the University of Oxford. Vermes was a Priest in the Sion Order but left the Priesthood and the Catholic church after his groundbreaking work on the Dead Sea scrolls, no longer considering himself a Christian.
Professor Michael Goulder Notes from an interview with this ex-Priest and renowned biblical scholar.
Bart Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Once he was a fundamentalist Christian, seminarian and graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, but became an agnostic during his studies. There are some interesting articles and interviews with Bart Ehrman at the following sites:
Bart Ehrman: "Misquoting Jesus" (scroll down to the end of the page for the audio interview). This includes Bart's account of his changing beliefs.
Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus' (includes audio interview)
Bart Ehrman's 'Lost Christianities' (audio interview)
Bart Ehrman With Jon Stewart (video interview)
From Fundamentalist to Humanist by Robert M. Price. Also see his Beyond Born Again. Robert Price has appeared as "the Bible Geek" on The Infidel Guy radio show. The free podcasts are here and you can also find more by searching for "Robert Price" and "bible geek" at YouTube.
Why I am agnostic The famous freethinker Robert Ingersoll describes the research and thinking that led him to agnosticism and the joy that this new world view gave him. Ingersoll's other writings are also available.
Why I Quit Going To Church by Robert Hughes (With Answers to Critics and Correspondents).
Joseph McCabe: Fighter For Freethought Short Biography of the famous ex-monk by Issac Goldberg.
From Minister to Honest Doubter: Why I Changed my Mind - a book by John W. Loftus, a former Christian apologist and student of Dr. William Lane Craig. John also runs the Blog Debunking Christianity - "This Blog has been created for the express purpose of debunking Evangelical Christianity. We are all ex-Christians. Most of us are ex-ministers, and even ex-apologists for the Christian faith..." The backgrounds and books written the contributors are available here.
Raymond Fontaine - former Priest, now Deist.
From Missionary Bible Translator to Agnostic. Kenneth Daniels gently yet powerfully describes his journey, including insights into the depths of his prayer life as he struggled with doubts and the respectful way he dealt with his critics. Captivating, sincere, detailed, and dramatic! Further articles documenting his views and journey are available here and his free on-line book is available at http://kwdaniels.com.
www.ministerturnsatheist.org. Joe Holman, a fundamentalist Church of Christ minister for nine years. Amoungst the aims of his website Joe writes that he "wants most of all to let other doubting and hurting religious people (like myself years ago) who are losing their faith know that there is life after religion!"
Dennis Diehl was for 26 years a pastor in the Worldwide Church of God. In his articles Dennis addresses the falacies of Fundamentalism and the negative effect it has on the human spirit.
Deconversion stories from The Skeptical Review. 29 testimonies including many from ex-ministers, missionaries etc.
22 deconversion stories from letters to Dennis McKinsey's Biblical Errancy magazine.
Converts' Corner Where people write in if they have lost their religion (or have been encouraged to come out of the closet) as a result of reading The God Delusion or other Dawkins books. From RichardDawkins.net
James describes his deconversion and includes correspondence with his family after they found out he no longer believed. It is a powerful example of someone who decided to confront issues fully and candidly with those who expressed dismay at his loss of faith. He has included his Tough Questions for the Christian Church at his site. Also don't miss these Tough Answers for the Tough Questions by John Love-Jensen.
Resource Center for Freedom of Mind. Some ex-Christians, particularly those from fundamentalist backgrounds, have discussed elements of cult phenomena in their churches. Steve Hassan is an ex-Moonie leader and has been involved in educating the public about mind control and destructive cults since 1976. A number of people on the ex-tian mailing list have remarked on how useful they have found Steve Hassan's writings. His site links to Walk Away (see above) and his Cults and Groups of Concern includes the Worldwide Church of God, Alcoholics Anonymous, Jews for Jesus, Marantha Campus Ministries and many others.
Dr. Marlene Winell, specialist in recovering from religious indoctrination, author of Leaving the Fold. Hear her talk in this windows media file from Freethought Radio.
More deconversion stories from reciprocal links.
Ex-Muslim Testimonies and Ex-Muslims' Survey. As Steve Hassan (above) observed, a successful way of seeing the problems with one's own religious views is to see the parallels in a belief system that one is not adverse to criticism of. Also see Faith Freedom International - a site created by ex-Muslims to help Muslims leave Islam.
Former Christian Priests and Missionaries who have Embraced Islam.
Testimonies of Jews who returned. Stories from born-Jews who converted to Christianity (often at the hands of the "Jews for Jesus" organisation), describing why they finally left Christianity, returning to the religion of their birth.
Charles Kluepfel An ex-Catholic examines the liberal side of Christianity.
Benefit of the Doubt by Dave LF.
AT LIBERTY Liberty Graduates Tell Their Stories. A site for Liberty Graduates who have significantly changed their beliefs after graduating from Liberty Baptist College or Liberty University. By Glen Draeger.
Winston Wu describes what it's like to combine Christian fundamentalism with mental health problems and how he recovered from them both.
Escape Religion by Scott R. Stahlecker. (Also see my review of his book "How to Escape Religion Guilt Free")
Why I’m Not a Christian by Jon Host.
Set Free from Jesus by Mark Smith. Amusing and thought provoking! Don't miss Contra Craig.
Einstein explains why he rejected religion. I realise that Einstein was of Jewish descent, rather than Christian, but he is often quoted as if he was a theist, so this link is to dispel that mistake.
The Secular Web. The largest and most heavily visited nontheistic web site on the WWW. You can find vast resources of information about secular thought here. There are writings of notable non-Christians including people who have left Christianity on the historical biographies page. Also of particular interest to ex-Christians is Lives of the Unbelievers.
ex-Christian books sold at Internet Infidels bookstore. Also see my main book link.
The Unitarian Universalist Association. Some ex-Christians, who have wished to maintain the community and structure of their old Christian fellowship without the dogma, have enjoyed being a part of this non creedal religion. Apparently very laid back and thoughtful - includes liberal Christians, agnostics, atheists and others - and I am told the sacramental drink is coffee....
Ex-Christian Sites. A collection from the Montana Freethinkers.
Former Creationists. An interesting sideline from Talk Origins. Not all subsequently left Christianity.
Newsgroups, Mailing lists, Forums and other discussion groups for ex-Christians. If any of these links below don't work for your browser, or your server does not have any of the newsgroups, then you may wish search for them at Google Groups (was Deja News).
Ex-tian This list is for and about ex-Christians. Hot topics here include coming out of the closet as an ex-Christian, how to deal with the family around Easter and Christmas, etc.
Leaving Born Again Fundamentalist Christianity E-Mail List This consists of ex-fundamentalists and those who are interested in walking away from born again fundamentalism or who aren't sure and have questions about whether to leave. This is a support group and is not intended to take you away from spiritual beliefs in which you are comfortable and in which you wish to stay. This list was set up by Mike McClellan who introduces his reasons for leaving fundamentalist Christianity which also leads to his website born again fundamentalism exposed.
Recovering from Religion Discussion Forum (a moderated, Christian-free forum).
Ex-Christian.net open forums. In particular see Testimonies of Former Christians.
XCharismatics From the mailing list intro: "I've spoken in tongues, healed and been healed through the laying on of hands, heeded prophesies given to me by others, been subjected to hours long exorcisms, and was taught to beat my own children in order to exorcise them. I've been out of the Movement for some twenty years now and I still wake up in a cold sweat and a frustrated rage over what was done to me and my family. If any of this rings true to you, then maybe we should talk."
Exit Fundyism
Ex-ICC Member's Discussion Forum This forum exists to provide a gathering place for ex-members of the International Churches of Christ, also known as the Boston Movement and the Crossroads Movement. In addition, family and friends of current ICC members are welcome to participate here. Current ICC members are free to read the forum, but are not allowed to post.
soc.atheism - provides a forum for discussion of the social aspects, ramifications, and benefits of being an atheist. Also discussed is what leads one to atheism.
"Tell us your story". Deconversion discussions from "Christian Biblical Errancy Debate" forum.
alt.recovery.religion
alt.recovery.catholicism
ExCatholic - Leaving Roman Catholicism.
alt.recovery.fundamentalism
alt.recovery.christian.abuse
Leaving Christianity - a discussion board in the SF Bay area
Also don't miss the Internet Infidels Discussion Forum. Particularly (for ex-Christians) see the "Secular Lifestyle & Support Forum"
Meetups - Meet others like yourself for informal chat. Meetup is a free service that organizes local gatherings about anything, anywhere.
Ex-Catholic Meetups. Arrange meetups with other local Ex-Catholics to discuss leaving the Church and what you believe now.
Ex-Protestant Meetup. Meetup with other local people who have left Protestant Christianity and discuss the virtues of your previous faith, what you believe now, and using the fervor that used to go into your faith.
Ex-Christian Scientists Meetup. Meetup with other local people who have left Christian Science.
Ex-Jesuit Meetup. Meetup with other local ex-Jesuits to discuss what they have been doing since leaving the Society and whether The Spiritual Exercises continue to influence their lives.
Ex-Mormon Meetup. Meetup with other former members of the LDS church.
And relatedly...
Other recommended sites in accord with my site. These include valuable resources on the theme of leaving Christianity but also related matters.
Adrian Barnett's collection of deconversion stories. Don't miss his main site Wasteland of wonders which contains Adrian Barnett's excellent essays etc. on religion and the problems with it.
Atheism Central for Secondary Schools "Help with homework assignments and general support for atheist students attending religious studies courses in secondary schools in the United Kingdom (age range 11-18)." Alan Urdaibay's site addresses the imbalance in RE teaching in UK schools. I have a guest essay at Alan's site, in which I summarise my findings to date in compiling Leaving Christianity. Alan also describes how he became disillusioned with religion.
Freethought crossroads "If you're at a crossroads between faith and reason, feeling the pull of each, this site is for you."
(Note this site appears to be no longer active and this version is therefore taken from the Internet Archive)
Religious Humanism and Belief Systems "The main purpose of this website is to provide some reasonable justification and some confidence for you who are in the process of walking away from your traditional belief system. -- to possibly give you a little head start by using some of the "spade work" that I have done. -- this may save you some effort and time."
Reasonworks.com "Audio Tapes and Articles for Agnostics, Atheists, Skeptics ... and Even Curious Religious Folk!" By former Mormon Mike Earl et al.
Honest Intellectual Inquiry Extensive book list, reviews and links. "The title link will take you to my review, a summary, the actual source, and/or some other information on the book." Don't miss the Christianity and the bible section.
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible. "This easily navigable site contains the entire text of the King James Version of the bible presented from a skeptic's point of view. It identifies the bible's absurdities, cruelties, sex and vulgarities, insults to women, injustices, foul language, false prophecies, and contradictions. Verses are classified using a four star rating system, with cross-referenced links and attached notes."
Steven Carr's home page "This page is designed to provided information about atheism and about specific religions. There are detailed examinations of Christianity and Islam and a set of links to the world's foremost source of secular information - The Secular Web" Steven also says, "It is my aim to provide space for anybody who disagrees with me or believes that they have a rebuttal of what I say." Steven also has engaged in some high quality debates. His sections on The Gospels - Eyewitness Records? (1) and (2) as well as his discussion of The Resurrection of Jesus are particularly interesting.
An intelligent and absorbing analysis: The Rejection of Pascal's Wager - A skeptic's guide to Christianity.
"The Central Thesis: The major claims of Christianity are demonstrably untrue and, on balance, it has brought more harm than good to the world."
Edward T. Babinski. A true romp of entertaining and intellectual deep thought. Good fun whilst also a wide range of perceptive and well-researched thinking on creation vs. evolution, leaving the fold, Christian history, biblical errancy etc. Incisive commentary on an extraordinary variety of other Christian beliefs and phenomena. Gentle yet serious deprogramming for the confused. Many people have written to Ed thanking him for helping then in their walk away from fundamentalism. Ed is the author of Leaving the Fold, which documented the testimonies of over 30 individuals who abandoned fundamentalism and religious fanaticism.
At From Young Earth Creationist to Evolutionist Edward T. Babinski describes how he was a YEC-evangelical Christian who turned evolutionist and agnostic. Read his account of the events and knowledge which changed his beliefs forever.
Also see ED B's story from the ex-Christian mailing list archives.
Ed also has a page on the secular web here.
The Hundredth Sheep by Curt van den Heuvel.
Kim Walker's Atheism and Philosophy Articles. ** Well recommended! ** (Note that this is the version from the Internet Archive as my original link to Kim's site died).
The Lowdown on Christianity - Why You Don't Want to Teach It To Your Kids
Secular Spirituality. " Secular Spirituality strives to be a supportive and informative resource for people who are seeking to cultivate a nontheistic, world-centered spirituality."
Reciprocal Links with Christian sites.
G. Zeinelde Jordan Previously a member of various freethought/atheist societies, he became a Christian. Our lengthy exchange is available in our discussion of the resurrection.
IN THE WORD Ministries by Mark McFall. Mark appeared in my feedback. Later he invited me to discuss "Apologetics In Practice In Light Of Evangelical Atheism (The Need for Quality Apologetics)."
On Christianity by Prof. Arnold Neumaier.
Other relevant sites that disagree with mine.
William J. Murray's page Madalyn Murray O’Hair's son.
Feel free to email me with any other collections of deconversion stories you know of, feedback or links to other sites I've missed that you think are particularly relevant. Also I would be glad to arrange reciprocal links to your site if it is relevant and especially if it disagrees with mine. I will also put up your own deconversion story if you wish, although now it is probably better to send it straight to the exchristian.org database to enable other readers to easily search for ex-Christians with similar backgrounds to themselves.
If you want to leave a message for everyone to see, then please sign my guestbook. Note that if you are writing to convince me that Christianity is true, please check that I have not already discussed your ideas to your satisfaction on my pages or in my feedback discussions.
Guestbook started 11th July 1999
How consistent are your beliefs? Check your Tension Quotient!
If you used to be active in an atheist organisation and considered yourself well-read in arguments against Christianity and yet subsequently became a Christian, I would be very interested if you could email me to explain, or put resources that convinced you in the guestbook if you would prefer to stay anonymous. See Asymmetry of Conversion for the background to this question.
If you are an ex-minister then you may wish to at the Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc. Dan is currently engaged in writing a book about former clergy who are now unbelievers. He is also an ex-minister and ex-missionary who has written a popular book about his deconversion (excerpts are available). I wrote to him in December 1999 to enquire about the progress of this and to maybe give him some more leads. He replied that he has over 20 stories so far, and is hoping to get a few more. The ones he has represent a wide cross section of belief: Baptist, Roman Catholic priest, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Church of Christ, and so on. Dan may well be interested in your story of why you are an ex-Christian and ex-member of the clergy.
The Ex-Christian Webring
Recovering from Religion Webring