Several years ago, Neal asked, Bruce, are you certain Christianity is false?
Neal shared with me his thoughts about the validity of religion in general, saying that while he believes Christianity is false, he has been unable to “completely dismiss Christianity wholesale.” Neal goes on to say, “I want to be able to do so, but I am not sure what to with this lingering doubt it is remotely possible.”
Evangelicals will seize on Neal’s doubts as a sure sign that the Holy Spirit is still working on him, and that his doubts are God saying, “Neal, trust me. By faith, believe what the Bible says is true.” Some Evangelicals, hoping to capitalize on Neal’s lingering doubts, might try to use Pascal’s Wager to draw him into the fold. What if you are wrong, Neal? Wouldn’t it be better to believe (get saved) and be wrong than to not believe and find out after death that Christianity was indeed true? Evangelicals, via Pascal’s Wager, attempt to use fear of being wrong to motivate someone such as Neal to choose Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Of course, Pascal’s Wager doesn’t work, because if Neal really wants to be certain, he would have to embrace every religion’s god or gods. If the goal is to cover all your bases, then Pascal’s Wager requires seekers to be promiscuous in their beliefs, worship, and devotion. Christians, of course, want people such as Neal to only consider their God. Perhaps, the real question is why the Christian God, and not any other God?
There is, perhaps, a far different reason for Neal’s niggling doubts, and that would be what I call an Evangelical/Christian/Fundamentalist hangover. Vestiges of past beliefs lie buried in our memories, and it is these memories that cause fear and doubt. Every Evangelical-turned-atheist has had, at one time or the other, the thought, What if I am wrong? What if the Christian God really is the one true God and the Bible is his Word? What if there is a Heaven and a Hell, and where we spend eternity depends of whether we are saved/born-again?
As long as these memories remain in our minds, they can make an appearance. These memories are the same as having thoughts about a girl we dated over forty years ago or thoughts about traumatic experiences in our past. I find such thoughts amusing. Here I am, married for forty-seven years, yet out of the blue, thoughts come to mind of a girl I dated for five months in 1975. Such is the nature of our minds and memories.
I have concluded that the claims of Christianity are false. Four years ago, I wrote a post detailing sixteen reasons why I am not a Christian:
- I no longer think the Bible is a God-inspired text
- I no longer think the Bible is an inerrant text
- I no longer think Jesus is God
- I no longer think Jesus was virgin-born
- I no longer think Jesus turned water into wine, walked on water, healed the sick, or raised the dead
- I no longer think Jesus resurrected from the dead
- I no longer think there is a Heaven or a Hell
- I think the belief that God will torture all non-Christians in Hell for all eternity is repugnant, abhorrent, revolting, repulsive, repellent, disgusting, offensive, objectionable, cringeworthy, vile, foul, nasty, loathsome, sickening, nauseating, hateful, detestable, execrable, abominable, monstrous, appalling, insufferable, intolerable, unacceptable, contemptible, unsavory, and unpalatable
- I think the Bible shows a progression of belief from polytheism to monotheism
- I think the Bible teaches multiple plans of salvation
- I think much of the history found in the Bible is fictional
- I think the Bible God is an abhorrent, vile deity, one I would not worship even if I believed it existed
- I think science best explains the natural world
- I no longer think humans are sinners
- I think humanism provides a moral and ethical basis for life
- I see no evidence for the existence of the Christian God; thus I am an atheist
Today, I would add several more reasons to this list Christian:
- There are no non-Biblical contemporary reports of Jesus’ miracles, his resurrection, and the events surrounding his death: the temple veil being rent in twain, dead people coming alive and walking the streets of Jerusalem.
- Christianity no longer makes sense. (See The Michael Mock Rule: It Just Doesn’t Make Sense)
- Suffering, pain, and death experienced by humans and animals alike, are ever-present reminders that either the Christian God doesn’t exist or he is totally indifferent towards his creation.
Years ago, I wrote a post titled The Danger of Being in a Box and Why It Makes Sense When You Are in It. I wrote a sequel to this post titled What I Found When I Left the Box. In these widely-read posts, I talk about Christianity being a box, and as long as someone is in the box everything makes sense. Once outside of the box, however, things look different. Free to roam the wild, wonderful, dangerous streets of intellectual inquiry, I found evidence that suggested to me that Christianity was not what I thought it was; that the Bible was not what Christians claimed it was. Over time, I began to see that I had bought a false bill of goods; that Christianity was an ancient blood cult. Using critical thinking skills allowed me to dig through the “facts” of Christianity and conclude that Christianity, in totality, was built upon an irrational foundation of faith.
I explain my life this way: When it comes to the God question, I am an agnostic. I am confident that the extant Gods of human creation are false, but it is possible that someday a creator God of some sort might make itself known to us. I can confidently reject Christianity, having fully, completely, and thoroughly investigated its claims. While I am relatively certain that there is no God, I can’t say for certain, there is no God. As with all such questions, it’s all about probabilities. Is it possible a God exists who hasn’t made itself known to us? Sure, that’s within the realm of possibility; as is the belief that human existence is some sort of Westwood-like game simulation. However, the probability of the existence of such a God is so low that I do not waste time thinking about such things (outside of writing for this blog). I live my day-to-day life as an atheist. Thoughts of God never enter my mind, and I attempt to daily live my life according to the humanist ideal.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I wonder if people who live in countries where the dominant religion is not Christian have their own version Pascal’s wager. Believe in Allah, Vishnu etc just in case. What do you have to lose. It’s easy to dismiss any other religion as nonsense but not so much for the religion to which you have been subjected your whole life.
As follow-up of Dave’s question, I wonder how many worldwide religions are exclusive like much of Christianity is – believe/follow this, or you’ll be (insert bad result here).
I think we all have “Christian hangover” thoughts from time to time, especially those of us indoctrinated as kids.
One can’t definitely say it’s impossible that God, (or A God) exists, a negative being inherently unprovable. Vishnu? Allah? All the same. Should it ultimately be revealed that there was all along a God lurking unknown, unseen, secretly watching, such a discrete God is more credible than the various iterations to which we are treated, (subjected) which shows all the signs of being fabricated by man for the purpose of empowering man over other men. The possibility of an unknown God seems so much more coherent than a polytheistic irrational confusing, angry, God with regimented, bureaucratic, corporate organizational structures with arbitrary rules that must be obeyed on pain of preposterous sorts of punishment for all eternity. I may be putting myself in God’s place by speculating how I would conduct myslf if I were God. I don’t mean to blaspheme by so doing. Any believable God would value my honesty.
I never thought of Christianity as something that could be true or false. Rather, I thought of it as being about how we live our lives.
I always understood the Bible has having human authors, and therefore was fallible. And I took the expression “the word of God” to be a metaphor.
I left Christianity when it became clear that most people who say they are Christian were not even trying to live as Jesus taught.
This is something I am currently wrestling with. There are times when I feel very connected to my current religion (Catholicism), and other days where I feel like it is something I’m doing more as an identity than anything. I’m the only Catholic in my family, and my wife’s family, too. I was confirmed in 2018 (I’m 53 now so you can do the math). Before this I loosely ascribed to zen/eastern meditation. More and more I feel like my natural spiritual leaning is more Deist than Christian. Politically I am not in lockstep with the Church’s teaching on a lot of issues.
I wholeheartedly agree with Bruce regarding morality. You don’t “need” religion to be a good and morally upright person. As the Black Collar Crime series demonstrates, many religious fundamentalists are also very immoral people.
I’m also wrestling with the idea that many who are devoutly religious are doing so out of fear instilled in them from childhood (my indoctrination station was the Assembly of God Church. Where was yours?). Also, it seems like their good deeds are often done to be seen (in contradiction to Christ’s teaching about being discreet) and as a means to evangelize those whom they are helping.
I truly enjoy reading the stories and comments on this site, and I am grateful that you all read and dialogue with me when I comment. Any thoughts or advice on my journey are welcome.
John, I was around your age when my difficult journey out of religion accelerated. Having chosen a career in healthcare I saw more suffering every day than anyone should witness. I can’t begin to guess the number of prayers I offered on behalf of these people but none made a difference. I allowed myself to finally challenge the other claims of my religion and these also failed to hold up. I pled daily for god to keep me from falling away but experienced only silence in return. Ultimately the sunk cost fallacy could not keep me in the fold. Just because I had spent my life in a certain belief system didn’t mean I had to cling to nonsense just because I was in my 50’s. I finally let go and experienced a sense of freedom that surprised me. Your journey is your own and I wish you well but know that others like me have escaped religious superstition. Be well.
Thanks Dave. Very good insight that is greatly appreciated. Be well, also!
That’s pretty much my attitude Neil. It must be because my indoctrination was so erratic and un-inspired that it just didn’t “take”. As life went on I’ve become progressively more skeptical of all the “beliefs” that wouldn’t make objective sense, no matter how I tried.