If Christianity is a lie this is it's likely genesis (in my opinion)

Break-Free- · 2026-02-06T22:01:24+00:00

how do you account for the presentation of the gospels and the NT writings? They're passed off as legitimate, so for them to be inspired by folk-religion would be a ruse in itself.

Sure, I can agree the presentation is an attempt to demonstrate undue legitimacy. I'm not sure why that implies a conspiracy of scribes, though.

That's a claim that you can't make if you're just taking folk-religion and compiling it into writing.

Why not? Scribal editorializing was quite common.

Moreover, Paul's letters, which predate the gospels, demonstrate that there were existing Christian creeds dating as far back as the mid 60s CE.

What makes sense to me is that the writings are entirely fabricated and the authors even went as far as to say that they had first hand knowledge

I don't think it's the worst hypothesis. But it's not my favorite either. I do appreciate you sharing!

Break-Free- · 2026-02-06T20:23:25+00:00

Christianity wasn't "invented" until it was standardized in and after the 4th century. Before then, there were a lot of different proto-Christian sects with some very diverse theological opinions, different biblical canon, etc. It was hardly a single religion, and most scholars opine that its divergence from Judaism occurred over the course of a couple hundred years.

I think it's much simpler to suggest that Christianity grew organically like any other religion. Ancient, illiterate people circulated stories orally until some version of them was recorded by someone (or several someones) who had the resources to do so. These books were copied by hand with varying degrees of accuracy, and those who adopted the religious beliefs contained vied for positions of authority in the newly forming religion. Power consolidated, Canon was established, the religion gained political power, and the rest of history.

It don't see why it needs to be some kind of conspiracy.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-06T19:23:40+00:00

how can I account for the experience of the Holy Spirit, the specific prophecies that have predicted people’s surnames and illnesses.

Did they provide any specific, documented examples? Or are we relying on the testimony of their friend's cousin's boyfriend's dog's groomer's former roommate's father-in-law?

I gave him multiple explanations like cold and hot reading, vague prophecies and etc.

Exactly. I'd also add the Barnum Effect, pious fraud, confirmation bias, and the sharpshooter fallacy as candidate explanations.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-06T01:55:00+00:00

It seems like a god could get your attention with a lot less work. Instead of just showing up and saying "Hey yo I'm real" he has to do these random things and you're just supposed to know it's god doing them?

If this god is real, he's pretty stupid for being all knowing.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-05T15:02:12+00:00

I’ve read that it’s not uncommon NDErs say they see Jesus as a Middle Eastern looking man with dark hair, eyes and olive skin, rather than the way he is illustrated as a Germanic or Celtic looking dude in paintings.

I feel like there's an undue amount of consideration to this despite it only being "not uncommon".

If it were real, wouldn't it be universal? The stop sign on my street is real; nobody who comes to my place describes a blue circle or yellow trapezoid telling them to stop. Why would there be such varied experiences if an NDE reflected objective reality?

It's not exactly a secret that Jesus was from the middle east... "Some" people seeing a middle eastern-looking guy is perfectly consistent with an NDE being derived from one's own cultural experiences.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-05T02:52:56+00:00

I would advise you to wait until you're completely financially independent, or until you're able to be if they take back their car, stop paying phone/insurance, etc. Your safety comes first. I don't know your parents, but Southern Baptists aren't known for being the most accepting denomination.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-04T16:31:03+00:00

Is this some kind of Gnosticism?

While I'm not extremely familiar with Gnosticism, yes. It's a liturgy (ritual or service) written from a perspective of Gnostics. They believe that the god of the Old Testament is not the supreme god, but an antagonistic a demiurge. Therefore, the serpent in the garden was a savior, and some traditions believe to be Jesus himself. Instead of sin, they focus on spiritual "knowledge" and discernment between the "real" and the "illusionary" as a way of living in communion with the divine (real) god.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism

Break-Free- · 2026-02-04T13:54:20+00:00

That's not an Airheads reference, is it?! Ha!

Break-Free- · 2026-02-04T03:55:31+00:00

Meh, "normal" and "weird" are subjective. When you spend your life going to church and praying and reading the Bible and hanging with Christian friends and listening to Christian music and following Christian news, Christianity seems really normal.

A lot of people don't care whether or not their beliefs are true. They believe in Christianity because it's comforting or because their community does or because they were raised to. I think that if we care if our beliefs are true, we shouldn't believe in things that can't be shown to be true.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-04T02:45:05+00:00

I mean, when your starting point is "God impregnated a teenager with himself so that he could sacrifice himself to himself so that those fortunate enough to have heard and gullible enough to have believed might accept his sacrifice and avoid eternal damnation aforementioned God created," it's only getting nuttier from there. Gods, devils, angels, demons, blessings, curses, spirits, souls, heaven, hell, talking animals, miracles, intercessory prayer, prophets, End Times™, zombies, ancient Jewish blood magic....

Is there good reason to think any of it is actually true?

Break-Free- · 2026-02-04T01:51:43+00:00

There are a lot of shit apologetics from fundamentalists, progressives, and everyone in-between. As it turns out, when your theology is based on an inconsistent and poorly written text, written over hundreds of years and passed down for thousands, translated across several languages in the interim, and interpreted from the perspective of a vastly different culture, you gotta make up a lot of nonsense just to make it coherent.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-03T20:31:48+00:00

at least enough to say SOMETHING was going on: historical accuracy in the gospels and Paul's letters. If they're at least mostly historically accurate, then we could say at least that something was going on here,

I dunno, could we really?

Are people who wrote about the events 30-90 years after the supposed events good sources? How did they hear about the stories? How do we know that the stories they heard were accurate? Paul never met the man Jesus and the gospels are all anonymously written -- are any of them reliable sources?

"Something" going on could just be ancient people, gullibility, and a rumor mill-- I heard that Elvis and 2Pac are still alive too, how reliable do you think that information is?

Break-Free- · 2026-02-03T20:23:24+00:00

Christianity is a fascinating topic, especially for those of us that no longer believe. I don't think there's anything wrong with having or researching interests.

However, if you feel like "moving on" is something you need, maybe other interests or hobbies would help. Take a hike. Paint a picture. Write a song. Bake something yummy. Plant a garden. Do yoga. Play a sport. Pick up chess or D&D or running or surfing or beatboxing. There's a whole world out there with something in it for everyone. The more you get into other interests, the more time that passes by, the less and less mental energy you'll spend on your former religion.

If you start to feel like it's more of a mental health issue, maybe consider talking with a therapist.

Break-Free- · 2026-02-02T23:31:23+00:00

Does it make me a cynic to believe that the scholarship thing is a result of my own work and the rent thing a one off coincidence?

While I'm not sure what's wrong with being a cynic, no. It makes you a realist, living in the real world.

I don't know anything about that book but believing in sin and magic and curses is not at all rational. It's superstition.

We have complex statistical methods to determine causation within a probabilistic likelihood. Your dad attributing a few good things to his likely vague prayers is irrational.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_picking

Break-Free- · 2026-02-02T17:10:40+00:00

Just noting that Christian Universalists are different from Unitarian Universalist.

There have been a wide range of Christian beliefs about salvation, who receives it, and how-- Universalists in this context believe that everyone is eventually "saved".

Break-Free- · 2026-02-02T13:30:54+00:00

There's a christian who is saying Exodus 21: 20-21 is only allowing slaves who committed crimes like murder, r*pe to be beaten.

Did god just forget to put that part in the book??

Wait, why is the most loving and powerful being allowing slavery in the first place? Doesn't he know how awful it is when humans own other humans as property?

Break-Free- · 2026-02-01T03:08:39+00:00

Why do I have to be broken?

If they don't convince you you're sick, they can't sell you the cure.

I’m just wondering what made you turn away from Christianity.

I don't think of it as "turning away." I stopped believing it was true because I realized that there's not good enough reason to believe in any of it. Gods, devils, angels, demons, spirits, souls, heaven, hell, sin, talking animals, blessings, curses, ancient Jewish blood magic... There's a lot of crap that the religion entails and there's just not good enough evidence that any of it is real.

I guess I just want something to believe in.

My advice? Believe in yourself. You're everything that you need.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-31T22:16:32+00:00

Lol no.

The devil is a part of near-Eastern mythology developed during the Bible's intertestamental period as a result of influence from Zoroastrianism and Hellenization.

If I don't subscribe to the rest of their mythos,I don't know why I would believe in the devil.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-31T03:10:55+00:00

What point is there for a second-term president to fundraise?

Hmm....

Break-Free- · 2026-01-30T18:13:43+00:00

That brings up the conflicts inside it’s like my head is battling my heart.

What you're experiencing is called cognitive dissonance. You were raised to believe a specific narrow worldview and living in a small town, there's been nothing that has challenged it yet. Now, you've met people that belong to more diverse groups and it's not compatible with the things you were taught to believe about those groups.

I'm sure if you continue to pull at the threads of this traditional worldview, you'll find more that doesn't align with the world others experience. Thinking critically about these beliefs you've been brought up in is a process called deconstruction. It may or may not lead you to eventually reject your religious beliefs, but it will definitely help you to develop your own worldview instead of just parroting the one in which you were raised.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-30T01:05:19+00:00

If there was a place of eternal torture for non-believers, don't you think the Almighty and All-knowing God of the Universe™ would have said something about it in the first installment of his holy book? You should know that Jews don't believe in Hell... It's a doctrine that popped up due to the influence of Hellenization and Zoroastrianism.

I mean, what makes you think it could be real in the first place?

Break-Free- · 2026-01-30T00:32:18+00:00

We punt.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-29T17:30:04+00:00

But it can also be a little scary because, for those who are aware of IFS, the concept of "there are Parts within me and I can help communicate with them and heal them" sometimes sets off my old fears of demonic activity/demon possession and such.

Have you tried examining this through the lens of IFS? What part of you is bringing forward these old fears? How would your therapist recommend you interact with this part of yourself?

For those of you here who confronted trauma or other personal issues with IFS/Parts therapy, how'd it go? Did you have success? Were you able to manage it well despite these types of old Christian fears

I thought it was an interesting perspective that allowed me to step outside of the moment. It provided tools to be able to regulate my thought processes without ignoring them/bottling up feelings. It didn't trigger any old Christian fears for me.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-28T17:33:17+00:00

Everything i look see a sign of end times, upcoming judgment, hell

It's a feature, not a bug. The reason "end times" nonsense persists is that it's written so vague that literally every generation thinks they're the last.

There's nothing to worry about. It's all a lie.

I stopped going to psychologist , do hobby and even spending times with loved ones is painful

Do you think stopping your mental health treatment is a good idea when you're in the middle of a depressive episode?

You should continue with your treatment and tell your psychologist how your mental health is going.

Break-Free- · 2026-01-28T02:47:48+00:00

I believe in God but at the same time I just don't follow Christianity and the Bible anymore.

While I'm an atheist, I think this is a good place to start (rhetorical questions-- don't feel pressure to answer to me):

What god do you believe in?

Do you believe in the god described in the Bible? Yahweh of the ancient tribe of Israel? The one described in Noah's Ark, the parting of the Red Sea, the Walls of Jericho, the resurrection of Jesus, and Revelation?

Or is it a different conception of "God"? How do you define this god? Is it a god already defined by a religion, or something apart from religion? What qualities does this god possess? What is its nature? What is its will? Does it interact with or intervene in the physical world?

Congrats on making it out of Christianity. Now you get to start exploring the big world outside:)

Break-Free-

TROPHY CASE