My path from fundamentalist Pentecostal to Atheist.
Hoo boy, this is gonna be a monster of a post, but I will try to keep it manageable. I have a few key points that are the overall drivers of my departure from religion, so I will focus on those and try not to get lost in the weeds.
Turning point #1: Being absolutely honest about people that claim to led by God or any supernatural influence.
The ministry in my former church always made the claim that they were the "watchmen on the wall", the mouthpiece of God, the under Shepard, etc. There was always a lot of teaching about the importance of a pastor, and the need to trust a Man of God in your life.
We were always taught to follow them as they followed Christ, and if they ever went off-course from the Bible, it was our duty to not follow them. So the questions is: what should be the point of no return? What could such a minister do that would warrant leaving their assembly?
How about settling a defamation lawsuit for a considerable amount of money, because they were on course to losing that lawsuit? And in the settlement, ensuring the silence of the opposing party? The lawsuit itself being caused by the minister sharing private information shared in confidence?
How about being found guilty of breaking child labor laws? The pastor kept over $4,000 from teenagers working on his lawn care business. They got a department of labor complaint filed against them, and had to pay the kids back.
They left a ministerial organization, which made them become unlicensed ministers. The church is still untaxed as a charitable organization, but the pastor is no longer required to make the finances of the church public record. So, they bring in $500,000 a year, but no one is allowed to see where the money goes.
They teach unbiblical doctrines, such as 10% tithe as a salvation issue, with the strong recommendation that you give an additional 5% offering on top of that. So, a widow bringing in $700 a month on SS is required to pay $70 as tithes, when she's barely able to get by on what she makes. A young married couple loses their house because they can't keep up payments; doesn't matter, just pay your T&O. Another young married couple can't afford rent, they move in with their parents; doesn't matter, just pay your T&O. I could go on. It's greed, pure and simple.
They teach against facial hair, they teach shirt sleeves must be past the elbow, and many other legalistic standards that exist purely to create an outward appearance of holiness, regardless of the condition of the heart. Most of the standards are just things they made up, they aren't based on a scriptural mandate.
They teach that miracles exist today. You can be healed of spinal cord injuries, cancer, even the common cold. Pray for parking spaces close to the mall entrance, pray for sunshine during sunday school activities, the list goes on. Utter nonsense. Being in that church for over 30 years, I never once witnessed a person being healed of anything.
Excessively controlling? Check. The ministerial leadership of the church actually taught against oral sex, even between lawfully married couples. Nobody in their right mind should ever consider listening to that garbage. They also had special classes for families that had children in the Christian school that they ran. In those classes they actually told people what style of underwear girls were allowed or not allowed to wear while in school. I'm shocked that people could hear someone teach something like that and not immediately walk out.
In light of all this, anyone who truly believes what the Bible teaches CANNOT continue to attend such a church in good faith. Or anyone who has an ounce of common sense, for that matter. Obviously, such men are not led by any Holy Spirit.
Turning point #2: Understanding the true history of your belief system/religious denomination.
So, my specific background is Oneness-only Apostolic Pentecostal, which teaches that Jesus is the revealed name of the one true God, and there is no Trinity. Acts 2:38 is the foundational scripture passage that defines our interpretation of the salvation process in the New Testament.
I was taught my entire life that the Pentecostal church has always existed, that from the ending of Revelation until now, Pentecostals have always kept the faith alive. This, of course, defies the historical evidence that Pentecost as a movement originated in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. There is zero historical evidence of a church that matches the Apostolic Pentecostal movement anywhere from AD 150 to AD 1900.
The people in the church will just tell you to read some book, written by a guy that supposedly can tell you why all the historians are wrong. It's a dangerous mindset to actively deny the preponderance of evidence against their particular cult.
This brought me to the understanding of this crucial turning point, and how so many people are led astray by crazy cult groups. If your understanding of a group is restricted to just what they tell you, then you exist in a vacuum, or an echo chamber. Without data about a group that comes in from outside the group, you're left with a strongly biased information source: the members themselves.
Most normal people will tell you that the Church of Scientology is absolute rubbish. To call them a cult would be to insult cults everywhere. Most people are astounded that people would buy into a "church" founded by a sci-fi novel writer. Not even a good sci-fi novel writer, at that. But people within the CoS exist in a vacuum, without the benefit of external data to provide a critical insight into the organization they have joined. Pentecost is very similar to this, they never critically evaluate their belief system, but simply take it at face value.
Many churches have the same mentality, almost a tribalism culture, where everyone outside of the "group" is bad, but everyone who drinks the Kool-Aid is good. In my previous church, it was discouraged to even hang out with members of other churches that believed the same doctrine. Information was tightly controlled if at all possible.
They even taught against e-mail and texting when those technologies became popular. The Internet has been preached against countless times, as well as social media. Every effort has been made over the years to control the information people have access to. They will continue to lose this battle as time goes on.
To summarize, the Pentecostal denomination did not exist until the 20th century. Since we know this to be true, it must be classified right alongside every other group of crazies that has sprung up as long as humans have been around. How can you take a religion seriously that's younger than the country it started in?
Turning point #3: Understanding the Christian belief system in context.
Context is essential to understanding almost everything. With a belief system, you need to understand not only where it originated from in world history, but also who developed it and what their motivations were.
The Bible can make a great deal of sense when you consider who wrote it and the culture that existed at the time of it's writing. The passage in Genesis 1:7 that speaks of a firmament that divided the waters above and below can be difficult for modern Christians to grasp.
Knowing the common understanding of the sky in ancient times, however, we can surmise that the firmament speaks of a solid dome that surrounded the earth. Really, the earth was just a snow globe in the eyes of ancient Hebrews. The blue sky was simply a vast expanse of water held back by the clear dome between them and it.
Science has clearly proven the Bible to be incorrect, time and again. The concept that every living creature was created as an adult pair is ludicrous, DNA evidence has demonstrated without a doubt that all living things are directly related to each other. Humans are descended from the other primates, and there is no point in denying this fact.
Context helps us to understand Bible verses that speak of slavery and genocide in the name of God. The verses are senseless if we assume they were written by a loving, patient, forgiving God. They make a great deal more sense if we assume they were written by barbaric tribespeople with little understanding of true morals.
Many old testament passages are shocking if read with modern enlightenment. OT verses speaking about treating women like property simply could not be inspired by a perfect deity. Apologists constantly have to invent new methods of dancing around such issues.
Contrasting different belief systems from various cultures globally is also beneficial. It allows us to understand how each belief system is influenced by the history of the people that founded it. Looking at religion from a global perspective makes it clear that all religion is created by man without any supernatural influence.
Moreover, many religions borrow ideas from one another. Christianity was not exempt from this. Many of the concepts of Hell are derived from Zoroastrianism. A messiah born of a virgin in the month of December is not unique to christians. Of course, some of the biggest flaws in christianity are the attempts to tie it into the old testament, which as we have already discussed, is riddled with it's own flaws.
Turning point #4: Understanding the fundamental flaws in all faith.
Your life cannot be governed by a system of blind faith, because blind faith is a highly subjective system that varies depending on who has faith in what. Is the Muslim believer correct just because he has faith in Allah? Is the Hindu believer correct because he has faith in Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma?
A person must govern their life based on what they can prove. If your evidence is solid, then your beliefs are likewise solid. If a person believes in a flat earth, of course the evidence is non-existent and so the belief system collapses in the face of the slightest critical examination.
A person who believes in a literal worldwide flood, as in the story of Noah, has to contend with a veritable mountain of scientific evidence. Believing in Mount Olympus or the gods of Norse mythology is just as credible, at that point.
With modern science, we now understand that humanity was never reduced to just one man and one woman, or 3-4 couples from Noah's Ark. Genetics tell the story of a humanity that emerged from evolution in the tens of thousands, if not more.
These are the major spheres of conflict that brought me to the realization that I must cut religion from my life: the local church has insurmountable issues that cannot be the result of divine leading, the denomination the church is founded upon is false, the root teaching the denomination branches from is unsupportable, and any teaching that states the supernatural exists is nonsense.
My journey is not yet complete. I don't know where it will lead, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm actually seeing things correctly. Religion blinds you to truth. Religion wants to drag us back to the Dark Ages, where bishops and priests were the only bastions of knowledge.
I, for one, cannot go back.
Turning point #1: Being absolutely honest about people that claim to led by God or any supernatural influence.
The ministry in my former church always made the claim that they were the "watchmen on the wall", the mouthpiece of God, the under Shepard, etc. There was always a lot of teaching about the importance of a pastor, and the need to trust a Man of God in your life.
We were always taught to follow them as they followed Christ, and if they ever went off-course from the Bible, it was our duty to not follow them. So the questions is: what should be the point of no return? What could such a minister do that would warrant leaving their assembly?
How about settling a defamation lawsuit for a considerable amount of money, because they were on course to losing that lawsuit? And in the settlement, ensuring the silence of the opposing party? The lawsuit itself being caused by the minister sharing private information shared in confidence?
How about being found guilty of breaking child labor laws? The pastor kept over $4,000 from teenagers working on his lawn care business. They got a department of labor complaint filed against them, and had to pay the kids back.
They left a ministerial organization, which made them become unlicensed ministers. The church is still untaxed as a charitable organization, but the pastor is no longer required to make the finances of the church public record. So, they bring in $500,000 a year, but no one is allowed to see where the money goes.
They teach unbiblical doctrines, such as 10% tithe as a salvation issue, with the strong recommendation that you give an additional 5% offering on top of that. So, a widow bringing in $700 a month on SS is required to pay $70 as tithes, when she's barely able to get by on what she makes. A young married couple loses their house because they can't keep up payments; doesn't matter, just pay your T&O. Another young married couple can't afford rent, they move in with their parents; doesn't matter, just pay your T&O. I could go on. It's greed, pure and simple.
They teach against facial hair, they teach shirt sleeves must be past the elbow, and many other legalistic standards that exist purely to create an outward appearance of holiness, regardless of the condition of the heart. Most of the standards are just things they made up, they aren't based on a scriptural mandate.
They teach that miracles exist today. You can be healed of spinal cord injuries, cancer, even the common cold. Pray for parking spaces close to the mall entrance, pray for sunshine during sunday school activities, the list goes on. Utter nonsense. Being in that church for over 30 years, I never once witnessed a person being healed of anything.
Excessively controlling? Check. The ministerial leadership of the church actually taught against oral sex, even between lawfully married couples. Nobody in their right mind should ever consider listening to that garbage. They also had special classes for families that had children in the Christian school that they ran. In those classes they actually told people what style of underwear girls were allowed or not allowed to wear while in school. I'm shocked that people could hear someone teach something like that and not immediately walk out.
In light of all this, anyone who truly believes what the Bible teaches CANNOT continue to attend such a church in good faith. Or anyone who has an ounce of common sense, for that matter. Obviously, such men are not led by any Holy Spirit.
Turning point #2: Understanding the true history of your belief system/religious denomination.
So, my specific background is Oneness-only Apostolic Pentecostal, which teaches that Jesus is the revealed name of the one true God, and there is no Trinity. Acts 2:38 is the foundational scripture passage that defines our interpretation of the salvation process in the New Testament.
I was taught my entire life that the Pentecostal church has always existed, that from the ending of Revelation until now, Pentecostals have always kept the faith alive. This, of course, defies the historical evidence that Pentecost as a movement originated in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. There is zero historical evidence of a church that matches the Apostolic Pentecostal movement anywhere from AD 150 to AD 1900.
The people in the church will just tell you to read some book, written by a guy that supposedly can tell you why all the historians are wrong. It's a dangerous mindset to actively deny the preponderance of evidence against their particular cult.
This brought me to the understanding of this crucial turning point, and how so many people are led astray by crazy cult groups. If your understanding of a group is restricted to just what they tell you, then you exist in a vacuum, or an echo chamber. Without data about a group that comes in from outside the group, you're left with a strongly biased information source: the members themselves.
Most normal people will tell you that the Church of Scientology is absolute rubbish. To call them a cult would be to insult cults everywhere. Most people are astounded that people would buy into a "church" founded by a sci-fi novel writer. Not even a good sci-fi novel writer, at that. But people within the CoS exist in a vacuum, without the benefit of external data to provide a critical insight into the organization they have joined. Pentecost is very similar to this, they never critically evaluate their belief system, but simply take it at face value.
Many churches have the same mentality, almost a tribalism culture, where everyone outside of the "group" is bad, but everyone who drinks the Kool-Aid is good. In my previous church, it was discouraged to even hang out with members of other churches that believed the same doctrine. Information was tightly controlled if at all possible.
They even taught against e-mail and texting when those technologies became popular. The Internet has been preached against countless times, as well as social media. Every effort has been made over the years to control the information people have access to. They will continue to lose this battle as time goes on.
To summarize, the Pentecostal denomination did not exist until the 20th century. Since we know this to be true, it must be classified right alongside every other group of crazies that has sprung up as long as humans have been around. How can you take a religion seriously that's younger than the country it started in?
Turning point #3: Understanding the Christian belief system in context.
Context is essential to understanding almost everything. With a belief system, you need to understand not only where it originated from in world history, but also who developed it and what their motivations were.
The Bible can make a great deal of sense when you consider who wrote it and the culture that existed at the time of it's writing. The passage in Genesis 1:7 that speaks of a firmament that divided the waters above and below can be difficult for modern Christians to grasp.
Knowing the common understanding of the sky in ancient times, however, we can surmise that the firmament speaks of a solid dome that surrounded the earth. Really, the earth was just a snow globe in the eyes of ancient Hebrews. The blue sky was simply a vast expanse of water held back by the clear dome between them and it.
Science has clearly proven the Bible to be incorrect, time and again. The concept that every living creature was created as an adult pair is ludicrous, DNA evidence has demonstrated without a doubt that all living things are directly related to each other. Humans are descended from the other primates, and there is no point in denying this fact.
Context helps us to understand Bible verses that speak of slavery and genocide in the name of God. The verses are senseless if we assume they were written by a loving, patient, forgiving God. They make a great deal more sense if we assume they were written by barbaric tribespeople with little understanding of true morals.
Many old testament passages are shocking if read with modern enlightenment. OT verses speaking about treating women like property simply could not be inspired by a perfect deity. Apologists constantly have to invent new methods of dancing around such issues.
Contrasting different belief systems from various cultures globally is also beneficial. It allows us to understand how each belief system is influenced by the history of the people that founded it. Looking at religion from a global perspective makes it clear that all religion is created by man without any supernatural influence.
Moreover, many religions borrow ideas from one another. Christianity was not exempt from this. Many of the concepts of Hell are derived from Zoroastrianism. A messiah born of a virgin in the month of December is not unique to christians. Of course, some of the biggest flaws in christianity are the attempts to tie it into the old testament, which as we have already discussed, is riddled with it's own flaws.
Turning point #4: Understanding the fundamental flaws in all faith.
Your life cannot be governed by a system of blind faith, because blind faith is a highly subjective system that varies depending on who has faith in what. Is the Muslim believer correct just because he has faith in Allah? Is the Hindu believer correct because he has faith in Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma?
A person must govern their life based on what they can prove. If your evidence is solid, then your beliefs are likewise solid. If a person believes in a flat earth, of course the evidence is non-existent and so the belief system collapses in the face of the slightest critical examination.
A person who believes in a literal worldwide flood, as in the story of Noah, has to contend with a veritable mountain of scientific evidence. Believing in Mount Olympus or the gods of Norse mythology is just as credible, at that point.
With modern science, we now understand that humanity was never reduced to just one man and one woman, or 3-4 couples from Noah's Ark. Genetics tell the story of a humanity that emerged from evolution in the tens of thousands, if not more.
These are the major spheres of conflict that brought me to the realization that I must cut religion from my life: the local church has insurmountable issues that cannot be the result of divine leading, the denomination the church is founded upon is false, the root teaching the denomination branches from is unsupportable, and any teaching that states the supernatural exists is nonsense.
My journey is not yet complete. I don't know where it will lead, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm actually seeing things correctly. Religion blinds you to truth. Religion wants to drag us back to the Dark Ages, where bishops and priests were the only bastions of knowledge.
I, for one, cannot go back.
Hey Isaac,
ReplyDeleteGreat articulation of your altering beliefs. The springboard of intellectual growth has always been the ability to see realities and facts outside of your current reality. When I left the Apostolic Pentecostal cult, a phrase made a lot of sense to me. Closed Minded Leaders, close Minds. Another phrase I heard often, now makes more sense and correlates with what you have said.
"What man believes in his heart with emotion, becomes reality, whether or not it is."
In order for a fundamentalist religious system, such as the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, to function, is a darkness of understanding. This cessation of information is identical to the early Catholic church in disallowing adherents to even read the Bible as it was known then, and controlling what articles, publications and books they could consume.
Many people died at the hands of the Roman Catholic church for the heresy of reading a letter that spoke against the Roman Catholic Church. As such, today, many Christians have had their faith and future murdered by people who would keep their minds closed in order to keep them enslaved to the cult's fundamental belief system. Control the mind, control the people.
While I do still find much evidence, even among the ancient structures such as the Sphinx and the Pyramids, the Grand Canyon and canyons around the earth as showing signs of a global flood, there is also a giant void between fundamental interpretations of the Bible accounts and the reality of historical proofs.
Looking forward to reading more of your journey, and perhaps getting a lesson in Eve Online.
Ralph, thanks for the support. To clarify, the Grand Canyon most certainly cannot be evidence for a global flood. It takes many twists and turns, whereas land deformed by receding flood waters always shows straight lines. Receding flood water does not bother to make meandering pathways.
DeleteI would say the ancient Egyptians never once indicated that they had experienced a major flood, rather surprising given their close proximity to the locale where the Noah's Flood myth was written.
Great job condensing it all down to a few turning points. I was unable to write about my own deconversion so succinctly. Glad you're seeing things more clearly now.
ReplyDelete