When I was going through my deconversion, the Common Sense Atheism site was a big help to me. There is a ton of stuff on his site no matter where you are in your journey. Today I want to link you to his personal deconversion story. It seems that many believers think that somehow people who ‘lose their faith’ must have never really been a true Christian in the first place. They must not have experienced God the way a true Christian knows that they do in their own life. I don’t know that those of us who have deconverted can ever convince them, but when I read Luke’s story, I don’t see how he could have been any more sincere and sure about his faith. And I related so much when he says,
I started to panic. I felt like my best friend – my source of purpose and happiness and comfort – was dying. And worse, I was killing him. If only I could have faith! If only I could unlearn all these things and just believe. I cried out with the words from Mark 9:24, “Lord, help my unbelief!”
So I hope if you are at any point in a deconversion journey that his story will help you know that you’re not alone. If you’re a Christian maybe reading his story will give you some more insight into what it’s like to go from being a true believer to someone who just can’t believe anymore. And if you’ve already been through your own deconversion I’m sure you’ll relate to his story.
[Note: Luke has moved onto other things so he no longer posts at that site, but all the previous material is there for our exploration.]
Left Christianity 