Hello, everyone! Name's...well...call me Hime. The reason that the hello here is so tentative is that I'm really quite shocked to find myself on an atheist forum. I don't want to anger the forum gods (oh, the irony!) by posting a deconversion story here instead of in the proper place so I'll try to keep it to a minimum, eh?
I'm young, I admit. I started uni last year and, being faced with loads of different religions, each more improbable than the last, I came to realize that the religion I was raised under was (just maybe!) not the truth to end all truths. Taking a few steps further I watched debate after debate between prominent theists and atheists and read books and books, trying to decide whose argument was better.
As I am here, atheism is clearly winning.
The real problem comes now with telling my family. Following a turbulent, abusive childhood (in which my father was not involved, only my mum), I come from a single father family and he is FERVENTLY christian. When I say fervently christian, I mean he'd pull me out of uni right now if he knew I was deconverting. He's always sworn never to let me marry a non-christian or help me in life if I wasn't his brand of (purely fundamental, hellfire-and-brimstone, sexist, all ye be damned) christianity.
Thing is...he's all I've got. Well, he and a big brother who is married now and doesn't really give tuppence about anything else. I'd hate to lose him. But I find it harder and harder to live a lie, especially on holiday when I go home and get grilled by his church. Not fun.
Suppose I'll keep up the illusion until I'm financially independent (which will be a while as I'm shooting for medical school). Sad, no?
Nevertheless, pleased to meet you! Please take care of me
I'm young, I admit. I started uni last year and, being faced with loads of different religions, each more improbable than the last, I came to realize that the religion I was raised under was (just maybe!) not the truth to end all truths. Taking a few steps further I watched debate after debate between prominent theists and atheists and read books and books, trying to decide whose argument was better.
As I am here, atheism is clearly winning.
The real problem comes now with telling my family. Following a turbulent, abusive childhood (in which my father was not involved, only my mum), I come from a single father family and he is FERVENTLY christian. When I say fervently christian, I mean he'd pull me out of uni right now if he knew I was deconverting. He's always sworn never to let me marry a non-christian or help me in life if I wasn't his brand of (purely fundamental, hellfire-and-brimstone, sexist, all ye be damned) christianity.
Thing is...he's all I've got. Well, he and a big brother who is married now and doesn't really give tuppence about anything else. I'd hate to lose him. But I find it harder and harder to live a lie, especially on holiday when I go home and get grilled by his church. Not fun.
Suppose I'll keep up the illusion until I'm financially independent (which will be a while as I'm shooting for medical school). Sad, no?
Nevertheless, pleased to meet you! Please take care of me
