Greetings to all!! I am brand new here... I want to share my story with you all, so here goes!
My name is Glenn, and I am 34 years old. I am the proud father of 4 beautiful daughters and married to the love of my life for 13 years. Life is great... let me rewind and share a little bit of how I ended up where I am now.
I born and raised in an evangelical home (Pentecostal). From an early age I was taught and indoctrinated in the teachings of the trinty and the holy spirit. I was baptized in the spirit (Speaking in tongues) when I was 12 years old. I pretty much had no life outside of church. My entire existence was built around the construct of religion. I was leading worship in churches and writing worship songs that were sung in many different churches other than the one I attended. I opened up a recording studio and produced many worship CDs (in the vain of Chris Tomlin, Brian Doerksen, Starfiel,etc.). I became a full time worship pastor (On salary) at a large Pentecostal church in Canada. We ran 3 full services every Sunday and averaged around 800 people to each one. I don't want to get into too much detail of my falling out... but I will say this: I quickly realized how much politics and manipulation was involved in what I had for so many years believed without question to be true and honest. I began to ask my senior pastors pointed questions and they would repeatedly inform me that I was stepping out of line. Short version - I quit. I moved my family 800KM away from all the religious and family influence (I should add that BOTH my wife's and I's parents are pastors of 2 thriving Pentecostal churches). It has been a long journey for me. It was NOT an overnight fling decision. I simply began asking myself "Why do you believe in god"? ...well because I was taught that it was right, and if I don't I will go to hell. It got deeper and deeper to the point where I was quickly labelled a rebel and a shit disturber because I would always debate with my friends. So here I am. 30 years of being a dedicated born again christian.... to being a born again Atheist. I do not believe in the holy spirit. I do not believe in the fairy tale of Jesus. I do not allow my emotions to give in to the fear and bondage that the modern day church uses as weapon to enslave people to their propoganda. I am FREE... SOOOOO FREE! I battled guilt for a while. I would lie in bed at night and ask myself... "What If I am Wrong.. what I there IS a god and I fucked myself by walking away and turning my back"... I worked these deep emotional issues. One by one... day by day. It is quite amazing when I look back on my life and see the radical shift that I have taken. I mean 180o is an UNDERSTATEMENT!! LOL There is much more to my story, but I think this paints a pretty clear picture. My thoughts and ideals come from the vantage point of being in the back pew, the front pew, the stage, the boardroom, and having my own office in a mega church. I have been shunned by many, embraced by handful and understood by few. So here I am.... My name is Glenn. I am an Atheist... Pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to being a part of the dialog and conversation on this site. CHEERS!
P.S. I started my own blog at http://www.rattleshock.com
It is where I air out my thoughts and musings regarding religion and religious ideals. Feel free to visit and read some of the posts on there if you are interested in my opinons on matters.
My name is Glenn, and I am 34 years old. I am the proud father of 4 beautiful daughters and married to the love of my life for 13 years. Life is great... let me rewind and share a little bit of how I ended up where I am now.
I born and raised in an evangelical home (Pentecostal). From an early age I was taught and indoctrinated in the teachings of the trinty and the holy spirit. I was baptized in the spirit (Speaking in tongues) when I was 12 years old. I pretty much had no life outside of church. My entire existence was built around the construct of religion. I was leading worship in churches and writing worship songs that were sung in many different churches other than the one I attended. I opened up a recording studio and produced many worship CDs (in the vain of Chris Tomlin, Brian Doerksen, Starfiel,etc.). I became a full time worship pastor (On salary) at a large Pentecostal church in Canada. We ran 3 full services every Sunday and averaged around 800 people to each one. I don't want to get into too much detail of my falling out... but I will say this: I quickly realized how much politics and manipulation was involved in what I had for so many years believed without question to be true and honest. I began to ask my senior pastors pointed questions and they would repeatedly inform me that I was stepping out of line. Short version - I quit. I moved my family 800KM away from all the religious and family influence (I should add that BOTH my wife's and I's parents are pastors of 2 thriving Pentecostal churches). It has been a long journey for me. It was NOT an overnight fling decision. I simply began asking myself "Why do you believe in god"? ...well because I was taught that it was right, and if I don't I will go to hell. It got deeper and deeper to the point where I was quickly labelled a rebel and a shit disturber because I would always debate with my friends. So here I am. 30 years of being a dedicated born again christian.... to being a born again Atheist. I do not believe in the holy spirit. I do not believe in the fairy tale of Jesus. I do not allow my emotions to give in to the fear and bondage that the modern day church uses as weapon to enslave people to their propoganda. I am FREE... SOOOOO FREE! I battled guilt for a while. I would lie in bed at night and ask myself... "What If I am Wrong.. what I there IS a god and I fucked myself by walking away and turning my back"... I worked these deep emotional issues. One by one... day by day. It is quite amazing when I look back on my life and see the radical shift that I have taken. I mean 180o is an UNDERSTATEMENT!! LOL There is much more to my story, but I think this paints a pretty clear picture. My thoughts and ideals come from the vantage point of being in the back pew, the front pew, the stage, the boardroom, and having my own office in a mega church. I have been shunned by many, embraced by handful and understood by few. So here I am.... My name is Glenn. I am an Atheist... Pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to being a part of the dialog and conversation on this site. CHEERS!
P.S. I started my own blog at http://www.rattleshock.com
It is where I air out my thoughts and musings regarding religion and religious ideals. Feel free to visit and read some of the posts on there if you are interested in my opinons on matters.
