You seem to have a fair and inquiring mind…

I was once very much a believer in the Judeo-Christian tradition. In my defense, I was indoctrinated into it from early childhood, but that aside, I had a natural interest in God, and was very interested in finding him. Yet I had a scientific and inquiring nature so it was a long and painful road (over 45 years now) to the realization that Christianity, and even my belief in a personal God was based on absolutely zero concrete evidence, and my faith was pretty much destroyed. It took me a very long time because in spite of the extreme inaccuracies and misinformation and contradictions in the Bible, I merely dismissed them as due to my current lack of understanding and I clung to the faith that somehow further inquiry would clear up the contradictions.

I did delve into it very deeply, reading not only scientific literature and getting a degree (B.Sc.) in Geology but reading many works by popular Christian authors such as Hal Lindsay and Lee Strobel, and other works such as “The Historical Reliability of the Gospels” and others by leading Christian theologians and apologists. Now, I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am to no longer be a believer in Christianity or for that matter, God. At first I was appalled and shaken to the core and wondered where my morality would come from. Then I slowly began to realize that I did not need God to be a moral person. And if my morality comes from God anyway, without my knowledge, that’s OK too.

Perhaps I am mistaken in my current beliefs regarding religion, but that is where I am now. You must make up your own mind. And since fear was such a large part of my Christianity, perhaps it is in yours as well. I eventually felt that looking for the truth and double checking everything should not make God angry. Rather he should be very pleased.

You seem to have a fair and inquiring mind and I wish you well on the difficult journey you have before you. Perhaps you shall one day show me to be wrong, perhaps not. But I am proud of you for trying to find out rather than just accepting what you are told. As for me, I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am to no longer be a believer in Christianity or for that matter, God.

Having said that, I am not absolutely dismissing the possibility of there being a personal God interested in my salvation. I just have no evidence for it. It’s just that if there is a God, he certainly is nothing like the butchering megalomaniac psycho serial killer portrayed in the Bible. If the Bible has any truth in it at all, and if Jesus really is who we think he is, that is, the Son of God come to save us, then it lies buried under a ton of bullshit mud and rubble which we can never extract the real truth from. Maybe that is why it is written in Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away…” (NIV). I figure God would never mention such a thing unless he knew it would happen. Therefore it did. Yes, I realize I am trying to prove something is true using a book whose words I don’t trust to be true. But that’s another story.