Ex-Christians, why are you glad you left?

Question

I saw an essay on atheism.about.com today about the pleasures of being atheist rather than Christian, written by an ex-Christian atheist.

http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutatheism/a/PleasureAtheism.htm?nl=1

And though I'm Pagan, I am glad for many of the same reasons.

I saw another reason why I'm glad I left surfing around the religious area of the about.com website. Christian teens are being advised to be careful at the prom, so they don't compromise their faith. Even the "modesty" of their prom dresses needs to be addressed. After all, they need to "set a godly example" and be a "good witness" all the time, even on prom night!

http://christianteens.about.com/od/advice/a/PromChristianTe.htm

I'm very grateful I don't have to worry about being anyone's example or witness anymore. I only have to think whether I can live with myself. That's my pleasure.

So how about you?

That's funny--someone here thinks I must just let it all hang out! Believe me, nobody wants to see my "all I got" even if I did show it off. I'm an admin assistant. I look like one.

Answer 1

I'm glad, now I don't have to go along with someone's rules: "Homosexuality is bad. Pro-Life is bad. Harry Potter is bad."

I go with what feels right in my heart. I live my life knowing that I'm accountable for what I say and do, there's no "absolution" or "forgiving me of my sins"; I must live with I say and do, and harm none do what I will.

I know many people that act bad one moment, then go get forgiven by their priest/minister/preacher the next - their "slate wiped cleaned". I don't believe this is the way to live. You need to be accountable for your own actions!

And working with the elements (along with much more) is AWESOME!

There's so much more to say, but a long posting gets boring!

Answer 2

I am very happy that I converted to Buddhism, I was awaken to the fact that many christians are being mistaught by the teachers that preach. They use fear deception and hate to keep thier followers. And while they preach this giving a illusion of holiness they themselves are in the dark doing the same things that they are against. I have seen pastors preach about homsexuality being taboo and then you see him comming out of a hotel room with 2 teenage boys. Then its the infusion of the Bible in everyday life if we did that we would be still riding horses we would never advance as a culture. The faith I am with now doesn't have a god as the center but the self instead. Beacause its the self is that what you have to live with.

Answer 3

I'm relieved to be in a faith where I can ask questions (I'm Pagan) A faith where instead of staving of the effects of my actions with a quick "I'm sorry" I am held accountable for everything I do. A faith where some invisible entity isn't controlling my actions, or seeking out to corrupt my soul over an ancient vendetta against it's creator. A faith where the divine isn't seen as a vengeful monster-god who wags a finger at us and threatens us with eternal torture. Where misogyny isn't rewarded, and where everything is respected as having an equal right to exist on this planet, and having an equal duty to protect it. I am thankful that I can have my own faith, and still respect other faiths so long as they harm no one. I do NOT respect people who twist the faith of others in an effort to gain money or prestige.
(Oh, and to the person who asked, a pagan comes from the Latin meaning "Country dweller, and is an inclusive term referring to any of several polytheistic, or spiritualist paths. It denotes a faith with a reverence for the earth and respect for the natural cycles of life. No, that's not a copy/paste BTW I was raised southern baptist, and have been a practicing Pagan for over 10 years.)

Answer 4

I was not actually going to respond to this question, although it is GREAT question… but I read what little Sir Offenzalot had to say and well, just had to pop my penny’s worth in as well.

He stated that:

“people who leave Christianity only do so because they want to leave their lives without the prospect of being accountable one day for their actions.”

This statement alone shows who the “egotistical and selfish” person really is here, for if he had any sort of education he would understand that people do things for “different” reasons and that you can not lump “everyone” into one neat little category, that is just plain well, egotistical and stupid!

I know many that have left Christianity, and most of them did not do so to run naked and party hard! Most did so because they felt the RELIGION or worse the CHURCH let them down and worse yet, there are some that even felt as if GOD himself let them down.

What little Sir Offenzalot does not apparently understand as well is that many of EX Christian folks leave because they don’t feel they are sinners, or they don’t believe in a God that would be so cruel as to punish his children in such a horrifying fashion as Hell is described.

To be honest some leave because there is so little BALANCE in the Christian religion, it is a very MALE oriented and MALE dominated religion, even in this modern time.

Some leave because there are so many hypocrites within the religion. They call themselves Christians but then sit and do things that the Bible preaches against, or teaches differently.

Even though I was born into a Tradition of Witchcraft, not Wicca, I tried to move away from tradition and I became a very active part of the Baptist Church. For several years while growing up I was at the church most often several times a week… I felt safe in the church and I felt happy in the religion… until I grew older and started learning even more. There seemed to be more unanswered questions than answers. There seemed to be a growing amount of inaccuracies in the teachings of the Bible and in the manner those things were even taught from church to church and denomination to denomination.

And to be honest… there was not any ONE reason why I left, I guess part of it was because my heritage seemed to have a stronger hold than my Christian learning’s… and I drifted back into the ways of the Witch.

I am not here to defend myself or my spirituality, but anyone that thinks Witches are just immoral bozo’s are sadly mistaken.

There are many Witches that many would think were GOOD CHRISTIANS due to their morals and values and actions, but they are not Christian… it is our willingness to take actually take responsibility for our actions good and bane, big and little, all our actions and not to lay that blame at the foot of sin… sin is just a cop out, a way to blame your own actions on something else! If you do something bad, YOU KNOW IT! Take responsibility for it, learn from it and try your best to better next time! But no… witches are not immoral or weak minded

There are many that know me that believe I am a Christian through my knowledge of the Bible, because I believe that Jesus really existed (being I don’t believe in sins I don’t believe he died for MY sins, but I believe he died just like many have… for what he believed in and I think that is commendable!)

The bottom line is that we each must find our own way… and none of us should follow blindly! Religion is personal and should have real meaning to the one practicing it… if Christianity does not have meaning to someone, then they should find a religion that does have meaning… or become an atheist either way!

______________

By the by… little Sir Offenzalot also asked… . “By the way, can you explain what a pagan is?”

The term Pagan has become an umbrella term that covers those that practice a NON Christian, NON Jewish and NON Muslim type religion, so Pagans can be literally anyone else.

It has older meanings as well, that some feel more comfortable with, but since you really don’t want to know the answer and were just trying to make a dig, I’ll not waste my time trying to educate someone that really doesn’t want to learn.

Answer 5

Philosophically I am much better off as an Atheist.

I remember really straining to understand the will of God through the bible and other Christian points of view for years.

It was terrible, because in the end, it all comes down to convincing yourself that you have enough faith to ignore scientific fact, and biblical inconsistencies.

I used to get depressed reading scientific studies on biology and geology, but was very interested in both. I would get extremely frustrated trying to find meaning in the Bible, when there were clear problems with the origin of Sin and the existence of hell. It was heart wrenching, just reasoning through it all.

In the end it became clear that I either had to ignore reality and fact, and the inconsistencies in the bible and replace it with blind faith, or give up on my dearly held belief system.

I chose personal honesty, and have felt much better ever since. Its not a matter of giving up morals and doing anything I want, it is about being honest with myself and finding real meaning in life through helping others.

The fact that there are so many Christians answering this question with answers like "you weren't a real Christian" and "you didn't have the Holy Spirit" and "Satan loves a weak mind" shows how frightening this really is to them. I feel sad for them all, I WAS there and really searched and was an honest Christian, but they can't accept that because it means there is a flaw in the system.

The Bible teaches specifically about people who fall from the fold, so those saying "you weren't a real Christian" are either lying or haven't really read the bible. The bible also states that the unforgivable sin is rejecting the Holy Spirit, which clearly indicates that people can leave the faith after having experienced it. Once again you have to be lying or not reading the bible to claim that an atheist must never have had the H.S. Stating that the devil loves a weak mind, is a pompous statement claiming that all Atheists are morons, and forgets the fact that God created those weak minds.

Answer 6

1) Too much idolatry: From using trinkets of Saints to conjure up luck, to bowing down to statues, to beliving the presence of God inhabits a piece of bread and some wine, kissing the ring of the Pope, to praying to Mary (the rosary has "prayer" beads after all). 2) Complete disregard for the Bible. Catholics are completey against Sola Scriptura. This means that they do not believe that the Bible has any authority over any person. This is a complete disregard of God's word. 3) The idea that the Church started from the time of Jesus. What ever happened to Abraham and Moses? Do people honestly think God never wanted to establish a church for the first 4,000 years of human civilization? Of course there are hundreds more but you only asked for the top three.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, many of the people who call themselves "Christians" or "religious leaders" are anything but that through their actions. They taint what God really meant for humanity to be. Some of the cruelest people around can be Christians because they really only think of themselves. The main thing I've noticed that atheists and agnostics focus on is the well being of themselves, not of others; this in turn produces self seeking and self righteous people. Don't get me wrong Christians are like that to and if they are, they never knew Him to begin with, so really their not Christians. The only thing I see that atheists and Christians have in common is that both try to strive for something better, atheists do it by fulfilling themselves, and Christians by fulfillment through God. To strive for something better, i think, is plain old human nature no matter how you do it.

Answer 8

I totally understand the desire to turn away from church or organized religion. I've been christian for 17 yrs and time and time again I have seen what some call "christianity" utterly destroy people. After seeing the deluge of sin and chaos in the church, I sought refuge. I myself tried to leave Jesus many times and tried to stop going to church many, many times but was unable to. I was too convinced that Jesus was/is who He said and I loved Him too much to leave. But the sin in the church was unbearable and it was starting to really affect me. I was much, much worse off then before I came to Jesus. Christians made me so sick, I started to physically get sick... alot. Because I couldn't separate myself from Jesus. But being close to Jesus does not mean that I have to subject myself to harm and it doesn't mean that I must follow Him for anyone elses sake or to be their example. If that is a side effect, that's great... but the relationship between G-d and I is just that.... between G-d and I. Anyway, G-d did not want me to be sick or surrounded by harm/sin so I stayed away from church... as long as I could and just spent time at home, alone with G-d. But, you may ask... why is the "christian" world this way?! Could it be this way because the church is filled with "sinners" (who don't know they are supposed to be saints or havent really come to Him in the first place) and are taught mostly about grace and not enough about G-d's law and how important it is to know and follow it for your own wellbeing if nothing else? Probably. That's why I searched and searched and finally became Messianic so that I could still worship and fellowship with other believers. I wanted to be Jewish and not associate with Christians at all, but I truly know Jesus very well, and I KNOW He IS the Messiah so, Messianic was my compromise so that I can still associate with those who love G-d's law AND trust Jesus' grace at the same time. I do think modesty is good... I have always loved modesty and always loved all those things that are good for you, and hated all the bad things that can cause harm in the kind of world we live in, but the path is very narrow and there are few who find it and can walk it. I know it is hard to find a good balance in this world, but I believe if you can get to know G-d really personally, you will find that peace and find that balance.

Answer 9

I am profoundly relieved. When I first began to question my faith I took an inventory of all that I believed in. As I went through the list I became more and more convinced that anyone who honestly, seriously believed in such nonsense should be heavily medicated and forced to undergo intensive therapy.
I even went to see a psychologist about it. I took an interest in psychology for a time and eventually found myself reading excerpts from Freud:

"Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis."

Sigmund Freud / 1856-1939
The Future of an Illusion / 1927

"The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a
friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will
never be able to rise above this view of life."

Sigmund Freud / 1856-1939
Civilization and its Discontents / 1931

And this one from Nietzsche:

"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything."

Friedrich Nietzsche / 1844-1900

I found that my life was not my own and that virtually everything I said and did to conform to my religion appeared to be designed to pacify the narrow-minded people around me.
Whenever I asked a question, they would seem to get upset. I never once heard a rational answer that made any sense at all. Every answer that came close to logic and reason was quoted from the Bible, they didn't have an answer of their own or any thoughts on the matter that they had developed themselves. It was like a conversation with a computer- every answer was like a programmed response.
I remember sitting in church and hearing myself chant phrases from the back of the hymnal like a robot. I even sounded like one. To my astonishment there were even phrases along the lines of "I listen and obey." It made me sick. I felt as if I had no dignity or self-respect when I saw myself that way.
It seemed more and more that these people were brainwashed conformists who lived in constant fear. And so was I.

I'm free now. I'm no longer afraid of some self-righteous, angry, tyrant of a flawed god. I feel free to think my own thoughts and no longer feel guilty when I do. I can question all things and not feel as if I've done something wrong by exercising my own brain.

I no longer need to rely on religion as a moral compass. Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told- religion is doing what you're told, no matter what is right.
I offer this quote that held special importance in my departure from the church for your consideration. Every day bigoted, right-wing fanatical Bible thumpers quote from their book to answer questions.
I have every right to quote from mine:

"The good, say the mystics of spirit, is God, a being whose only definition is that he is beyond man's power to conceive - a definition that invalidates man's consciousness and nullifies his concepts of existence. The good, say the mystics of muscle, is Society - a thing which they define as an organism that possesses no physical form, a super-being embodied in no one in particular and everyone in general except yourself.... The purpose of man's life, say both, is to become an abject zombie who serves a purpose he does not
know, for reasons he is not to question."

Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957
(Thank you, Mary.)

Answer 10

I like all of the answers in that article. As a pagan, I'll say I'm glad I left for all of those reasons and:

Responsibility. Pagans, atheists, buddhists, etc.. take responsibility for our actions and our lives, because we have no evil demon or anti-christ to blame our mistakes and poor choices on. We have only ourselves. By the same token, we can rejoice in our successes as our own because we don't have to feel unworthy of ourselves and our good choices.