I joined here for an area to expand my thinking and viewpoints. I had been a Christian nearly all my life. I am now almost 25 and de-converted last year around the same time. This de-conversion was reluctant but necessary to uphold intellectual honesty.

The stimulus that caused this was a series of events and evidence that required me to face my world view. First reason being was the overall life full of setbacks and constant hardship. Being a preachers kid and seeing my family suffer constantly due to profiteering, short handedness and financial squandering by the church. You would think God would take care of his "shepherds" more at least to some degree. This has been a constant thorn in my walk of faith and was part of the catalyst. Second was horrors of human nature and inconsistency of "God's good deeds" War, famine, torture, and various other evils bore heavy consequences to my vision of a loving God. Then the final and inevitable debate with a knowledgeable free thinker. While I won the philosophical debate I could not refute the archeological debate he presented.

Once he presented an archeological fact that there is little evidence for the warring campaign of Joshua into the holy land it was a slippery slope. As I researched deeper and deeper, I found Hebrew religion borrow a lot from Sumerian and Akkadian religions. This and recent evidence regarding human evolution and evolution in general. I was forced to concede my world view at least the theistic one that indeed that the Abrahamic religions are just "another" religion. So far being in the bible belt it has been tough finding groups to discuss my religious de-conversion and gain acceptance. Fortunately my Christian brethren are accepting to some degree. I am still on my Journey for truth and reason. Minus the small empty hole religion has left, I rather feel liberated.

Welcome!

Hopefully no Catholics will try and fill that hole you have.

Welcome! If you don't mind my saying, I find philosophy to be a bunch of wanking anyway. Whereabouts in the Bible Belt are you? I'm in Charlotte, NC.

Greetings! My husband's father was a minister… Your de-conversion sounds similar to his.

Quote:Once he presented an archeological fact that there is little evidence for the warring campaign of Joshua into the holy land it was a slippery slope.

There is NO evidence for "Joshua." What exists is evidence that the some of the towns ("cities" is a little too grandiose a term) were destroyed over a period of 200 years and we have multiple candidates for the authors of such attacks; The Sea People, The Egyptians, The Phoenicians, and civil strife. Further, many of the towns claimed have never been identified and a number of others...like Ai and Jericho...were uninhabited at the time of the supposed "joshua." They were occupied in the 7th century BC when this crap was initially cobbled together.

Welcome aboard.

@the summerqueen, I am from Northern Louisiana. Being a Methodist preachers kid I moved around alot. So that is a complex question.

@festive1, It was not a comfortable experience really I was a rather potent feeling. Unlike some who de-convert due to anger or merely growing up in a irreligous home. I was hesistant, but I am also intellectual. It is a painful thing as I do missing the false sense of security that christianity did provide. I bet he will share the same sentitment. I do now feel more liberated.

@Minimalist by little I meant besides that fact that the hebrews did arrive in isreal and did influence the region. Not little as in there is some evidence of the military conquest, which your repeating what I already found .

Feel free to ask any questions.

Be sure to barbecue kittens, record the NFL without their permission and rip the tags off of your mattress.

How have your parents taken it? Have you told them?

Welcome by the way.

Welcome!

You may be the first ex-Christian I've run across who deconverted due to the lack of archaeological evidence supporting those grandiose bible tales.

The Christian mind virus is tricky and frequently believers will attempt to save things by claiming "absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence" or some such rot. Mormons do the same thing with the rather paltry evidence (i.e., none) for their Jesus/Jews in North American tales.

With my mothers possible death with in the next year or so. I rather not bust that card out, its more a respect to the fact that I rather not cause strife. I know it seems cowardly however I feel it is the better choice. However, I have send forward my objections towards the chruch and my disdain towards it and they seem to show acceptance to that aspect.

@JesusHChrist, Oddly enough my parents always taught my intellecual honesty. Regardless of their beliefs they wanted me to think for myself. Hence they NEVER supressed evolution, science or anything. In fact my father always taught me that science and faith can go hand and hand. Beyond my own doubts, it is refreshing that they are not like "other" preacher's families. I already had my doubts, however it was a hard choice to make.