New Ager to Christian to Atheist

[Davka]

So, after the trip and 18 years it all came down to going to hell, you dumped Christianity over your fear of hell,

Not even close. The doctrine of hell was ONE of the things that i found myself wrestling with. Like I said, it's the Cliff's Notes version of the story.

You're welcome to ask questions about my journey, but please don't leap to unfounded conclusions.

...why not the great and loving relationship with the Creator of the universe, that's a relationship that can't be had any other way except through Christ, wasn't this important...

Yes, it was. In fact, part of my journey was the rather unsettling discovery that this "relationship" can be and is found in other religions. In my travels, I had the opportunity to have long, searching conversations with Muslims, Pagans, Orthodox Jews and others - and their stories of the transcendent love of their respective deities were identical to the stories Christians tell.

Because I love to read and to learn, I eventually became fascinated with studies about how our brains work. It seems that there is an area in our brain which, if stimulated, causes ~70% of people to have a "religious experience." Add to this the dopamine rush we get from group activities (like singing or prayer), and you're a long ways towards explaining that apparently "supernatural" love.

You never stated why God told you to go to Israel and it seems that you ran from that mission, if it was one, because you got scared and lost trust in the God that supposedly sent you there.

That's quite a leap. It's also completely inaccurate. Cliff's Notes, remember? 35 years doesn't compress easily.

It seems to me that middle Tennessee was a destination you picked, why, because you never said God told you to leave Israel.

Again, Cliff's Notes. "God" told me to move to Nashville. And it's a good thing too, because I might never have come down off that acid trip if i had stayed among intelligent, well-educated Christian scholars in Israel. People there actually admitted that I was asking tough questions, instead of trying to shut me down.

Your story is curious at best and not very believable at worst, not in the sense it didn't happen, but in the sense that you might have never been a Christian.

I wondered how long it would be until someone said that. It's what I used to believe as a Christian, too. Even though the scriptures clearly teach otherwise, the Church says you can't be "truly saved' and then walk away. Why? Because they fear ex-Christians far more than simple heathens.

You tell me, how is it that one can come to actually know God and then deny His existence,

Read your Bible. The end of Luke chapter 9, for example. Or the Pauline Epistles, specifically where he talks about those who have tasted the fruits of the kingdom and turned away. (I'd give you chapter and verse, but BibleGateway has made searching a lot harder recently).

The Bible teaches that True BelieversTM can and do turn from "god." In fact, the people who selected and edited the books of the Bible were extremely clever, making certain to include lots of passages warning the faithful against former believers who dare to use rational thought to probe irrational doctrine.

You should have come to East Tennessee and talked with my pastor who studies the scriptures from the Greek. This is another reason I find your story hard to believe, God wouldn't send you to a place where there was no one to teach you, He doesn't work that way.

Did you actually read my story? I speak Hebrew, dude! I studied Biblical Hebrew as well, and spent years among some of the foremost Biblical scholars in the world! I also learned how to study the scriptures from the Greek. There were dozens of people to teach me, and to answer - and honestly wrestle with - my questions.

I lived in Jerusalem, and deliberately sought out teachers and scholars. Ones who were actually educated, not semi-literate backwoods pastors who studied Koine Greek in Podunk for a semester and think they can translate from the original.

I walked on streets where Jesus supposedly walked. I explored the archaeological layers beneath the streets of Jerusalem. I traveled the country for 7 years, and asked hard, probing questions of Biblical Archaeologists at digs in the Galil as well as the Negev. I was surrounded by teachers!

Ever heard of Origen? Justin Martyr? Polycarp? Clement of Rome? Augustine? Whatever you do, don't read what they had to say. You won't like it. Actually studying the first-century context of the New Testament is the last thing anyone should do if they want to remain a Christian. Don't examine the Books too closely, because (like any fantasy story) they don't hold together well under scrutiny.