#r/exchristian
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Someone in r/exchristian made the observation that viral, anti-Halloween sign doesn't seem to make sense given that Christmas is "handouts" on a much bigger scale
but that actually points to a key element of understanding "generosity" within American slaver Christianity
The sign:
[Handwritten note behind a mesh window. Some of the words are underlined and/or all caps for emphasis. "
*Attention Satanic Socialists*!!! This is the home of a *Patriotic Christian Family*!
We *work hard* and *pay taxes*!
We *do not* celebrate *Satan's Day*
We *do not give away free candy to lazy entitled freeloaders!
*No Handouts*! Welcome to *America*!!
If you want candy, **Get A Job**!! and *Find Jesus*!!!!]
The reason why giving out the pittance of Halloween candy is more offensive to these people than buying extravagant Christmas gifts is that, traditionally, you can't control who shows up at your door.
If trick-or-treaters knock, you are obliged to provide candy.
A white evangelical can be generous, of course. A Christian business owner might give out a bonus on Christmas, for example. An extravagant bonus, even.
But they’d rather shut down than let a union take hold, let alone a co-op.
So long as those Christians retain the power in the gifts they extend, they can always recall their gifts.
They may be willing to be extremely charitable in lots of things—but never power.
Because if told to obliterate earthly hierarchies—exactly as their most radical, inerrant scriptures call for explicitly—you’ll see slaver Christians become vicious and cruel beyond imagination preserving their wealth, racial privilege, patriarchy, etc.
Slaver Christians don’t hate socialism because it makes anything worse or anyone worse off.
No, they hate socialism because they and those they deem deserving of power would lose some ability to control others they regard as undeserving.
The end of these Christians' ability to control, coerce, and dominate others is terrifying and repugnant to them b/c they can only ever imagine being a slaver or enslaved; if they don't have the whip, they assume they're the slave
They can't imagine everyone equal and free.
Moreover, we’re still being sued by The Satanic Temple in federal court. TST is now *also* suing Newsweek for writing about us and that case. Check the pinned post for more.
#Christianity#slaver Christianity#exChristian#r/exchristian#satanic socialism#satanic socialists#anarcho-satanism
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i wonder if the person on r/exchristian that recommended i listen to judith by a perfect circle knew what they were doing to me
#it’s been like 6 months and i feel like a 40 y/o cishet man bc i’m just like ‘wow tool is so good’#marc.txt
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Hey I read your post about leaving HCGs and I'm an ex-Catholic. I really felt what you said about being an Exmo and "breaking your shelf" and I relate to a lot of it, actually. I have my qualms and doubts but processing it all has been hard and the only support I have is my 2 atheist/agnostic friends who still don't really Get™️ why I still pretend to be religious just to hold onto my family and friend ties. I'm so, so scared of losing that support system but I want to finally live a life in alignment with what I believe. Can I ask you for the Ex-mo resources you used to help deal with religious trauma?
Honestly, my best answer is Reddit. Reddit has a lot of specific "ex-[religion]" groups and they have good resources and communities, especially as we all have different needs. I didn't grow up with a concept of original sin or hell, so it didn't hit me as hard as it does other Christian apostates.
This seems to be a great resource for ex-Catholics, and I know the term "Recovering Catholic" is used a lot in groups to unpack some of the ideas. R/excatholic and R/exchristian are good places to check out. There are also usually Facebook groups, too (though in my experience Exmo Facebook groups are a mixed bag).
Dare to Doubt is another resource, especially for religious based trauma.
I will say the r/Exmormon subreddit is wide open to all, and we talk a lot about things that are applicable to many HCGs and leaving, and there's lots of resources in the sidebar that might be of use to you as well. We also have excellent memes.
Like, for all the cringey reddit Atheist edgelord memes, it really is a huge and helpful resource for people leaving religion.
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I was reading a thread from the subreddit r/exchristians, asking, "what was it like, psychologically, being a Christian?" And jeeeez louiseus.
I wasn't really convinced that the congregation I grew up in was a cult. We never lived on a commune, or gave our church money. We didn't even have a centralized authority. It was just a small group of right-wing, radicalized fundies.
But. most of those people's experiences they mentioned weren't sheer terror and dread. They had logical, thought out reasons to be Christian. They did theology, or apologetics, or whichever. They went to public school, did normal holidays, had normal non-religous food restrictions. (if any.)
I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just. Feel reminded that my congregation was more than a little fucked up.
And isn't it weird? Isn't it alienating? To be in a (digital) roomful of people, supposedly from the same background as you, and suddenly realized that in so many ways you're nothing alike?
#ex-mormons; ex-jws; is this how y'all feel all the time?#I can't imagine that most ex-christian spaces overlap with your hyper-specific experiences and former theologies#I know mine almost never does...#exchristian#exmessianic#exhebrewroots#exvangelical#ex fundamentalist#cultish??? cult-lite. idk. religious abuse.
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i'm sorry if i'm overstepping any boundaries, but there's a subreddit called r/exchristian and it's helped me a lot whenever i was questioning my religion. i see a lot of how i used to feel in some of the things you post and it hurts my heart. i would love to talk about it sometime if you ever felt like it (i was a christian for most of my life) but overall i wish you peace of mind
I'll give it a peek, thank you!
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Is it just me or does it feel like something is happening... via /r/atheism
Is it just me or does it feel like something is happening...
I was indoctrinated from birth into Duggar-style fundamentalist Christianity for 30 years and inexplicably beat that indoctrination to become the anti-theist that I am. I would not have been able to do so had it not been for the internet and subs like r/atheism and r/exchristian. I just would never have met with and talked to enough Atheists and people outside of my religion to be challenged. The internet and so many Atheist content creators out there are causing people to research and come to new conclusions about the gods they believe. I am one of them and it seems that more and more are pouring over the fence each day. Religion, in America atleast, is cornered and bleeding like a rabid raccoon. It's on it's last leg but it's also more dangerous because of it.
Unless the internet is canceled or blocked, there is only one inevitable thing: the collapse of religion. And it feels like sometime in the near future, we're going to reach a singularity point where MASSIVE amounts of people leave religion. Maybe we find alien life and that allows people to further drop the masks. Who knows what could cause all of us to look at new information and come to the understanding that our "holy books" are silly and full of inaccuracies and immorality that make it completely irrelevant to people's lives today. And when that happens...what's next?
Submitted February 02, 2023 at 04:46AM by ccmcdonald0611
(From Reddit https://ift.tt/1LQjYiW)
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We were discussing with our therapist about religion and indoctrination and cognitive dissonance and... I just kept coming back to the Eucharist.
I can’t believe as a child, I was taught that bread and wine become LITERALLY flesh and blood. It didn’t matter if it didn’t look like it or tasted like it or if there was literally no physical change at all, it LITERALLY becomes that because the Catholic Church and the Vatican says so.
My grandmother almost didn’t go to our Confirmation, at an Episcopal church we stopped going to, unless she knew if they believed in the “True Presence”. Imagine believing your grandchild was going to rot in hell because they didn’t go to a church where it was believed that you were eating flesh and blood? What type of fucked up shit is that? How does anyone think this is normal or okay?
Naturally, my therapist was horrified when I mentioned we were supposed to eat the flesh and blood of a human god. Her face was twisted and she was like “you were taught you were basically a cannibal when you were a small child????”. Like yes!! Basically!!
I was also taught that the physical world around me is wrong. It doesn’t matter logically what’s happening. It doesn’t matter if what I’m seeing is or isn’t real. No wonder I can’t ever relax myself when I’m having an anxiety attack or psychosis!!! I have so much ingrained cognitive dissonance, because apparently reality doesn’t matter anymore. Reality can be anythimg you want to believe (in this case, what you’re told to believe).
It makes me angry that my family thought this was normal. That I was dressed up in a white dress when I was 9 and took Communion, flesh and blood in their eyes, to be “saved”. It angers me beyond belief. I have suffered from delusions and paranoia and I fucking blame Catholicism for making it worse.
#ok to reblog but Catholics don’t clown#the world took an adhd bipolar child#and gave it religious truama and OSDD#to be saved#I am filled with so much hatred#it’s hard to even describe#don’t even bother trying to explain the Eucharist to me#I KNOW#I’ve read the books and been to church and fucking everything#dont act like I’m somehow stupid and just didn’t understand#sorry you’re still caught up in this fucked up indoctrination but I’m free#Catholics pay for my meds and therapy challenge#Foster speaks#and psych I think#idk we r so fucking blurry#religious trauma#exchristian#excatholic#ex catholic#ask to tag
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Ideas to help with religious trauma
These are not a substitute for actual professional help, but getting therapy is not always possible for everyone, whether it's because of financial issues, family problems or you simply haven’t found the therapist right for you.
Watch debunking videos. Surround yourself with facts and logic when you're doubting your choices or are curious about arguing against faith.
FriendlyAtheist
Holy Koolaid
Telltale
Read experiences from other apostates. It's easier to imagine a future for yourself when you've seen proof that others managed it too.
Reddit: r/excatholic, r/exchristian, r/muslim, etc
DaretoDoubt blog
Research topics that are relevant to you. How to spot emotional abuse, how to understand your own trauma, etc, is eye opening when you've never thought about how much your experiences actually affected you.
Learn new skills. Learn to how to cook for yourself, how to repair household items, how to sew or knit or crochet, how to start an indoor garden or learn how to can produce. Not everyone had functional parents who taught them life skills, but fortunately there are hundreds of kind strangers eager to share their knowledges.
Dad How Do I?
Mom How Do I?
A masterpost
Journal. Trauma is a bitch that can make you forget things, doubt your own memories, lie to you. Write down what you feel, what dreams you had, what you are scared of. When you doubt if it was really all that bad you can re-read what you wrote. Plus it's great to bring along to therapy sessions!
Make art. It doesn’t have to be related to trauma. It can be hopeful, bright, warm and loving. It can also be angry, bloody, dripping with hate and sadness. Don't be afraid to express yourself the way you want to, and don't feel pressured to make your art look or sound pretty. Make it for yourself.
Look at 'faith in humanity posts'. The world isn't an evil, shitty place as religion likes to paint it to be. Humans help each other all the time, they love to share things that make others laugh (or cry) and they are eager to spread happiness. Even if the world is bad sometimes, there's enough good to go looking for.
r/HumansBeingBros
r/MadeMeSmile
faithinhumanityr tumblr
Make a self care kit. Use a shoebox or a drawer and fill it with things that make you happy. Candy, bath bombs, your favorite book, a journal full of poetry, your favorite stuffed animal, pictures, etc. It's your own corner of happiness during bad days.
Wikihow: Self Care Box
Cheap DIY self care box ideas
Do the things you don't want to do. Write that resignation letter to your church. Apply for that job you need. Book a doctor's appointment. Make that phone call you are dreading. It's not fun, but it's important. And you'll thank yourself later when you get it over with.
Get to know your body. It's not a temple for any god, it's yours. It's not sinful, nor does it deserve to be starved, abused or insulted by anyone. Even if you can't say good things about your body, try body neutrality.
Develop your own style. If you always wanted to try a different hair color, fashion style or get a buzzcut, this is your sign to do it. Go wild! You can try out what you like. It might seem silly but it's exciting to experiment around and it can be a way to reclaim your body as well by changing it the way you want to, not the way you were told to keep it.
How to curate your personal aesthetic
Surround yourself with loving people. Easier said than done, but there are people out there who will accept and love you no matter what. If you don’t have any friends, put yourself out there! Visit conventions, go to bars, join a reading club, try out group activities or get to know people in online communities.
I hope this helps in some way. I love you, get plenty of rest, drink something and don’t forget your meds if you have any 💖
#masterpost#life hacks#ex religious#religious trauma#trauma#felix speaks#long post#adulting#help#idk i hope this helps someone#lots of these things i did myself and found they worked#ofc its different for everyone#but maybe something will work for you!
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[ on r/exchristian - vibing, as you do ]
[ another atheist uncritically bringing up replacement theory in a discussion of Japanese secularism ]
[ war flashbacks to gamergate ]
[ID: a screenshot from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with the main character walking down an alley away from the camera & saying, "ah 'shit,' here we go again." End ID.]
#gamergate#oh for the love of hell can we get away from this problem for 5 minutes#atheism#fellow skeptics we must not turn alt right at any cost
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I’m scared to have sex. Until I was about 7-8, I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday where they told us we would be dirty if we had sex before marriage. Stuff like we will instantly become unpure and can’t go to heaven. I know now it’s not true, virginity isn’t worth much at all, but now I’m scared to have sex before marriage and I’m not sure why it’s still over my head. I’m not religious anymore, I do other stuff that would make me “unpure” (masturbating), but SB4M seems to be (1)
What gets me the most. I know I’m also scared of it hurting my first time. I know if you do foreplay and stuff it won’t be too bad, but even when masturbating I can barely do one finger without it hurting (which is why I choose to not do it that way usually.) I’m just really confused on what to do. Thinking about sex absolutely repulses me sometimes and I feel sick, but other times it doesn’t. I think church really screwed me up on both SB4M and sexuality.. (2, end)
I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through that.
Religious trauma, like any other kind of trauma or abuse, isn’t a logical thing, and those fears can linger for a long time after you’ve gotten out of that situation - in your case leaving the church and not being religious. It’s not silly or unreasonable for you to feel this way - even if you know in your head that sex before marriage is okay and isn’t harmful, that doesn’t necessarily make those irrational fears that have been drummed into your brain disappear straight away.
Your experience is a pretty common one from what I understand, and I’m sure you would be able to find a lot of support in communities of other people who have been through the same thing. There are a lot of online support communities for ex-religious people who internalised a lot of harmful rhetoric because of their time in the church, and I’m sure they would be able to help you overcome your fears, and you can speak to people or read experiences from people who have been in your situation and learn from them how they overcame it. I’m not usually a big fan of Reddit, but they tend to be pretty good in terms of finding supportive, niche communities like these - posting your story somewhere like /r/exchristian or /r/exchristianwomen should get you some helpful insights from people who have been in similar situations.
It’s also worth considering therapy or counselling if it’s available to you - therapy isn’t just for mentally ill folks, and the guidance of a therapist would probably be really helpful for you in terms of overcoming these feelings.
Also, pain from inserting something that small isn’t normal, and you might be suffering from vaginismus, which is an involuntary contraction of the muscles around the vagina that can make it too tight to be penetrated without pain. It’s frequently results from anxiety about penetration or sex, like what you suffer from, though it can also be caused by underlying health problems like an infection. Obviously I’m not a doctor and couldn’t diagnose you with anything based on a very short description, but it’s worth looking into, and speaking to your doctor about. It’s a very treatable condition.
Society normalises pain for people with vaginas and uteri way too much, but it’s not normal for you to experience pain from insertion, whether that’s during PIV sex, masturbation, or something like inserting a tampon. Pain is a sign that there’s something wrong, so I strongly recommend you seek advice from a medical professional.
I wish you strength in overcoming these feelings - this fear and pain won’t be forever, and it’s something you can get past and develop a healthier outlook about 💕
#advice#negative /#anxiety /#sex /#religious trauma /#trauma /#religion /#not a suggestion#i love queue#long post#Anonymous#answered
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Religion and Debate Server Ads
r/ExChristian SubReddit
A community for former Christians of all denominations.
https://discord.gg/THYWtJQ
Humanities
An academic server for humanities, geography, anthropology, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, science, religion, & general chat.
https://discordapp.com/invite/xBPr56Q
Antitheist Discord
Server dedicated to discussions about religion, economics and science.
https://discordapp.com/invite/RBKQcxd
Emirate of Discord
An Islamic (Sunni) server. Everyone is welcome regardless of religion to join, discuss or spend time in a friendly environment.
https://discordapp.com/invite/978P4Nd
Bible Study
We are a religous discord, we do bible studies for orthodox based religions and we have roles/channels for atheists to chat in.
https://discordapp.com/invite/G2NgVzz
NEWS and POLITICS
NEWS and POLITICS, active political server with endless news channels and debate topics such as - trump china economy mgtow race issues ect.
https://discordapp.com/invite/yMpGJxX
Debate (and everything else)
A server for pretty much everything (but mostly debate). -social -political talk -formal debate -active voice chat.
https://discordapp.com/invite/DBvmYCY
Atheism-rewritten
A community of love and respect, basically atheist community and a lot of debates and discussions. and I hope this is server for you.
https://discordapp.com/invite/kgVKeFf
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It does seem a little backwards now that I think about it... Found on reddit.com/r/exchristian https://ift.tt/2Skzh0y
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Spiritual First Aid (Resources Pt. 1)
When I was deconverting at university, I spent months poring over sacred texts, spiritual commentary, and works of philosophy to try to find what’s true. I thought what I needed was a theological rehab – to detox from harmful ideas and to replace them with healthier ones. But what I really needed was more like spiritual first aid – something to immediately address the frustration and guilt I was experiencing right then and there. I mourned the death of God even as I rejected him, and I felt tangled up in this ambiguous sense of loss.
Apart from a few close friends, I deconstructed privately. I thought the more open I was about my questions the less social support would be available from my community. (This was only half true.) I had also internalized the idea that I was responsible for the spiritual well-being of those around me, so I should keep these potentially destabilizing questions to myself because to do otherwise would be morally irresponsible. I would have said that it’s like throwing the biblically inexperienced into the theological deep end (which is patronizing and ridiculous). So, I often felt alone. Years of immersion in evangelical culture made me blind to the shame-loops that fed that sense of isolation and deaf to the language I needed to describe my own experience.
Even years later I’m still figuring that out. But I’ve found the trick to unlocking that language is just tuning in to the right conversation. These days, they are happening all around us in podcasts, books, and other media. Some of the best advice to those deconstructing—and in general— is simply to keep reading.
So here are some of the resources that I had (or wish I had) when I was deconstructing, and a map to show how they meet different needs. After all, someone reshaping their faith (deconstructing) needs something different than a someone dropping it entirely (deconverting). Those of us who are hurting need something different than those who are rebuilding. So, here’s the chart I’ve used to help catalog the books I’ve found most useful.
The reverent/irreverent x-axis describes whether the author sees religion as sacred and useful or delusional and hurtful. So, on the reverent side, you have secular pluralists who see religion as a force for good and Christians boldly asking the hard questions in an authentic attempt to deepen their faith. On the irreverent side, you have secular thinkers who say organized religion is mostly just harmful, but it’s normalized in ways that make this hard to see. If you’re deconstructing as a Christian – because you think the earth maybe wasn’t created in 7 days or because the Bible is hard to make sense of – then I’d point you to the reverent side of this map. For those deconverted or deconverting, you might find the irreverent items more relatable.
The processing/structuring y-axis captures whether the writer is exploring the personal experience or writing about the structure of beliefs that follow. Writers who are “processing” are often those who have abandoned a formerly cherished belief and are working through that change out loud with friends. “Structuring” writers are a few steps removed from the tension but can help answer the question "What am I supposed to believe now?" These writers can help us replace bad theology with a healthier, coherent alternative.
For brevity, this post is focused solely on the processing quadrants – I’ll pick up the structuring quadrants another time. These are a handful of resources that I’d describe as being Spiritual First Aid because they help make sense of pain and can even provide community for those struggling. I have a few books listed, but many of these are literal conversations in the form of podcasts. As you’re reading these consider adding them to your Facebook feed, Spotify rotation, or Amazon wishlist.
Oh. And one last thing: the point of this series is to encapsulate for the church what it’s like to deconstruct and how that impacts relationships. If you’re a person of faith reading this, I encourage you to listen in on some of these podcasts yourself – not because I think they’ll deconvert you but because they’re a primer for bigger conversations. They can be immensely helpful if you want to know reasons people leave the faith, why they might harbor resentment toward the church, and whether your church is participating in these harmful practices (I know that I was). So, even if the quadrant is “for you” it can offer a sense of what experiences others are up against.
Irreverent and Processing
These are conversations where people explore personal experiences of religious trauma syndrome, process the emotional damage of belief, and reject their spiritual upbringing with varying degrees of force. These can be useful for knowing you are not alone when you feel betrayed or hurt by religion in ways that are hard to express. They may even supply language to better articulate those experiences. Everything I listed here is produced by deconverted Christians who have firsthand experiences deconstructing their faith and fishing out the toxic ideas they once accepted.
The Life After (Podcast)
Here, two deconverted pastors interview courageous people about their journey of faith deconstruction, unraveling religious indoctrination, spiritual abuse experiences, religious trauma, mourning the death of God, and what it's like rebuilding a community after leaving Christian fundamentalism. Their trauma-informed approach and irreverent humor add levity to a series of heavy topics. (If this paragraph is the first time you've ever heard of spiritual abuse or religious trauma then you can read a short blurb about religious trauma syndrome (RTS) from one of the lead researchers on the topic, here.)
I found two episodes on purity culture and RTS with sex therapist Jamie Lee Finch to be especially illuminating. These are the episodes "Unbuckling the Bible Belt" and then “You Are Your Own.” The best introduction to this podcast might be the episode called “Born Again Again” with Katie and Joe Bauer who talk about deconstructing as a couple and what it’s like for spiritual leaders to leave the faith.
The Life After also has a Facebook group that began as a trauma-informed home base for listeners to relate their deconversion experiences, but now it hosts book clubs, a mentor network, and a stream of blasphemous insights from those who have deconstructed into non-Christian spirituality or secular humanism. They even have affinity groups focused on specific challenges like how to be body-positive after living in purity culture or deconverting in a marriage where one partner stays a believer.
Born Again Again (Podcast)
Two former worship leaders talk through their own deconstruction experiences and how they make sense of their spiritual upbringing as secular adults. They have some fascinating stories about their experiences with Campus Crusade for Christ and the Hillsong movement. In fact, in "This Is Your Brain on Worship" the hosts share how they had a formula to help congregants speak in tongues based on hypnosis. Wild!
Another is "A Personal (or Abusive) Relationships with Jesus?" where the hosts show the dark side of trading religion for a "relationship with Jesus.” They start with the descriptions provided by Campus Crusade for Christ, John Piper, and Billy Graham to define what a relationship with Jesus means, then they break down how these definitions in any other context are textbook cases of abuse that are just normalized through false consensus. They also talk about what it did to them to buy into this relational framework themselves, and how Cru’s organizational structure can pressure young college students to do the same.
r/exvangelical, r/exChristian, e/TrueAtheism (Reddit Boards)
r/exvangelical and r/exchristian are moderated communities of post-fundamentalist Redditors. This might be of use for those who describe themselves as something like "culturally Christian but theologically agnostic.” It’s a moderated group of individuals that works like the Life After Facebook group. People share their experiences, seek advice, and connect on the process of deconversion. It’s a very welcoming, affirming community where pretty much every trepidatious Redditor is met with a chorus of supportive replies.
r/TrueAtheism is similar but not specifically made up of post fundamentalists. It was recommended from the Born Again Again hosts. This particular thread of “honest questions from an atheist” is an incredibly exhaustive list of troubling bible verses and hard-ball questions about the faith that many of us may find relatable or articulate a dissonance we’ve experienced before.
Reverent and Processing
These may be good resources for people who grew up Christian and have an active personal faith but aren't sure where they fit anymore. After all, the church has changed a lot in the last ten years. Maybe you describe yourself as a Christian mystic, agnostic, or just a believer trying to find your place. If the phrase "spiritual nomadism" resonates with you, you might feel at most at home exploring questions of faith with these spiritual thinkers.
The Liturgists Podcast (Podcast)
Michael Gungor and Co. are believers in the in-between talking about faith issues and modern events in this podcast. Sometimes we conflate deconstruction with deconversion and overlook the ocean of gray area between Christian fundamentalism and secular humanism. This podcast is hosted by a community of believers that live in that space.
In "Is Deconstruction Bad?" they talk about the emotions felt in deconstruction, the social cost (especially for spiritual leaders), and how to embrace a healthy outlook in the midst of it. It's a serious look into what is lost when we challenge our assumptions about faith and why it becomes hard to stop. A similar episode is called "Does Being Good Mean My Beliefs Shouldn't Change?"
Among my favorites, though, is "Swapping Fundamentalisms.” Sometimes we move from one restrictive, dogmatic set of beliefs to another because we've internalized fundamentalism so thoroughly that we take it with us wherever we go next.
Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious (Book)
Chris Stedman was raised in a staunchly homophobic faith community when he began to realize he was gay. His memoir is a story about his unconventional deconversion experience. Stedman would say that the hostility expressed by his church toward the LGBTQ community is hard to too similar to what new atheists express toward the church today. Stedman rejects militant atheism for a more pluralistic approach to interfaith relationships. He believes that mutually incompatible religions can exist in harmony and not just competition.
He's an atheist committed to interfaith organizing and believes that rallying faith groups on the common ground of our humanist ethics can help us create a better world together. If you think the new atheists are too harsh on religion or overlook the good that religion has does for the world, then you might be sympathetic to his approach.
The Sacredness of Questioning Everything (Book)
David Dark a Christian writer who thinks that if you read the Bible and don't have any questions then you weren't reading very closely. "The God of the Bible not only encourages questions; the God of the Bible demands them." In The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, Dark talks through why interrogating our belief is a spiritual discipline and what believers fall prey to once they stop.
Importantly, Dark shows how deconstruction isn't just for the deconverting. Instead, it's an act of theological hygiene. If the God we believe can’t accept protest, interrogation, or dissent, then we’re in trouble. In fact, without the right questions, our conception of God can exist strictly to keep us in line and keep our heads down so we don't get burned. Dark is a Christian who wants to disabuse Christians of that narrow conception of God and show why questions are essential for spiritual growth.
Conclusion
So there’s my spiritual first aid kit. Hopefully at least one or two of these resources will resonate with you. I can say that at different points in my life, each of these things provided an insight that made deconstruction less shameful and more clear. If you have other books, podcasts, or communities that have helped you process in deconstruction, then don’t hesitate to add them in the comments.
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Normally I’m not into Meta reddit posts, but r/exchristian has turned into a place where Christians go to pretend they are exchristians to push not-so-subtle Christian apologetics. Is there a real sub for exchristians anymore? via /r/atheism
Normally I’m not into Meta reddit posts, but r/exchristian has turned into a place where Christians go to pretend they are exchristians to push not-so-subtle Christian apologetics. Is there a real sub for exchristians anymore?
The title pretty much says it all, but I will add, I know this sub is great for general atheist and secular news and discussion, but I am looking for a place specifically where I can go and rant about how shitty my missionary/pastor parents were and have others commiserate without having some asshole fake exchristian tell me “not all Christians are like that” and then have the mods defend them. If anyone knows where I can go I’d greatly appreciate it.
Submitted September 15, 2022 at 01:55AM by ABBAMABBA
(From Reddit https://ift.tt/8riQXch)
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題名未設定
