Reading Time: 7 minutes OnlySky · Our biggest mistake: We did as we were told | Neil Carter Those of us who broke up with Jesus (he wouldn’t return our calls) are accustomed to having our motives and our sincerity questioned by those still happy with their faith. We get it all the time. We hear that we weren’t authentic enough, […]
deconversion
Posted inLeaving Religion
The two main reasons I left my faith
Reading Time: 5 minutes OnlySky · The two main reasons I left my faith | Neil Carter For us ex-evangelicals, the Christian message was framed as an invitation to a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. It wasn’t until after we accepted the invitation that they turned around and shamed us for wanting such a thing. It […]
Posted inLeaving Religion
The core reason homosexuality and Christian belief are incompatible
Reading Time: 8 minutes In 2021, an Ipsos poll of participants from 27 countries found that 80% of people recorded themselves as heterosexual, with 3% gay, 4% bisexual, 1% asexual, 1% other (non-binary, trans, fluid etc.), and 11% didn’t know or wouldn’t say. In the whole scheme of things, that’s a lot. For example, if you were designing the […]
Posted inLeaving Religion
Why I broke up with Jesus
Reading Time: 3 minutes OnlySky · Why I broke up with Jesus | Neil Carter It’s been more than a decade since I broke up with Jesus, and people often ask me why. There were plenty of reasons, but I think the main reason is that he wouldn’t return my calls. Since I couldn’t get in touch with him myself, […]
Posted inReligion
Baptists think they know exactly how to avoid deception
Reading Time: 11 minutes Back when I was Pentecostal, I found myself debating a pair of Southern Baptist guys. At the time, I believed in speaking in tongues, and I rejected the Trinity. They were deeply concerned that I’d go to hell over this huge deception, so they sought to persuade me I was wrong. I’m sure you’ll be […]
Posted inPsychology
When therapists push religion
Reading Time: 8 minutes Leaving religion can be a very challenging undertaking, particularly in the US, and especially in communities outside of large urban centers, where unbelief is rarely the norm. Given the often daunting psychological challenges that can accompany the task of deconverting, psychiatric help can be very important. But despite what one might expect and hope for, […]
Posted inCulture
Are you listening? What we talk about when we talk about podcasts
Reading Time: 3 minutes I’m a huge fan of mutual uplift. What’s the point of having a platform if it’s not being used to raise up others, too? Why should we reinforce a culture that loves putting individuals on unsustainable pedestals, when we can celebrate excellence in healthier ways? Many “nones” detest religious cults of personality, but we all […]
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
Why Christians push a false narrative of hopelessness
Reading Time: 12 minutes Christians’ false narrative of hopelessness represents a big part of their current marketing to their target customers. But in truth, it only worsens the actual hopelessness that their salespeople claim to be alleviating.
Posted inLeaving Religion
There’s nothing sexy about deconstruction
Reading Time: 8 minutes A pastor recently said people are leaving their faith because it’s sexy. But if approval had really been our goal, we’d have stayed.
Posted inLeaving Religion
How Phanatik’s faith pool drained
Reading Time: 10 minutes Last week, popular Christian rapper Brady Goodwin, aka Phanatik, announced his deconversion. He released a video on his Facebook account describing how it happened. And his extimony perfectly illustrates a concept I call the faith pool. Today, let me show you what this concept means and how it worked for Phanatik.