For me, it came from a place of not feeling satisfied enough with what the church limits us to see and hear. I wanted to feel closer, so I took a deep dive to really try to know the roots of christianity closer than the church has ever taken me. Now I know why the church doesn’t like you to do that, but just stay in the pen and be a good sheep. It’s not enough to deconstruct, I’ve made christians dead to rights on some arguments, and THEY STILL walk away with “I know you defeated my defense and debunked my argument, but I’m still going to believe.” The courage to accept those facts is what’s required. Otherwise they’ll just go la-la-la-la-la 👉😣👈 right at the face of it.

@@peppermintpsaki1157 exactly. That is true for so many. Congratulations on breaking free.. it isn’t easy

It's true when you try to discuss the probems with the Bible, God, and Jesus instead of acknowledging failures they say "You have to have faith." Cognitive Dissonance. They can't face reality and logic.

Well...Not much for me. I was young when I decided to be an atheist. However, I do experience religious trauma. Being afraid of hell, ghost, magics, and other supernatural things that makes me feel anxious for me being an atheist. Keep on going, Pap! The community support your recover. 😁

Yes I practiced Christianity for 55 years or more..I’m almost 62 and it didn’t start with doubts about a god but here in the south the good ole Bible Belt and all the remnants of slavery and all the white white churches, I started thinking my mind is still enslaved and I will no longer be dedicated to being stupid

I have. I saw a pretty girl and my middle leg started to grow

​@@taboo_lullaby I guess they don't call you tripod for nothing.

​@@taboo_lullaby Wow you took that too the next level. Lmao

you’re missing out

No one has because it doesn't happen in real life. If that were to happen, trust will spread throughout the world in seconds, with pictorial evidence as back-up.

@@tasmarkou5681 I will definitely look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Great conversation. My deconstruction was similar. When you love history and have intellectual questions, you can't look at the religion the same once you "in all your getting, get understanding."

As a lifelong 60 year old atheist, I'm curious to hear perspectives on how you replace the benefits of having a community of people that can act enmasse to do volunteer work in emergencies or sustained charitable efforts, locally or nationwide? It seems this kind of association would be very hard to sustain with generally disassociated atheists. The emotional baggage created over a lifetime of religious manipulation and fear mongering is something I've observed many times that seems like it's really difficult to work through. I wish you good luck, I'm all out of thoughts and prayers.

@@wickedguppy3715 I was only a Christian for a few years recently, so I wasn’t in as deep as many are. However, in my experience, people in the church don’t make it easy to maintain a relationship afterwards. I don’t think it’s because they’re being mean or shunning or anything like that. It’s just another unfortunate byproduct of the faith: they’re constantly going to be trying to bring you back and “re-convert” you. It makes a normal and healthy relationship very difficult. But the great commission doesn’t really leave them much choice.

The church I went to didn’t ever outright say to not befriend nonbelievers but they did encourage keeping your distance because they bring worldly temptations with them.

I started feeling bad took some Tylenol and started feeling better in about 45min. Jesus heals

That reminds me of something somebody posted: “I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Treatment was a longshot, so I prayed for god to save me. Miraculously, after one year of following doctor’s orders for intense, rigorous treatment and radiation therapy, I was healed! Thank you god!!!” Sheesh. Almost makes it sound like it was GOD who was in the room and the DOCTOR who was the invisible ghost🤦🏻‍♀️

why didn't you ask buddha or allah?

@@peppermintpsaki1157The LORD GOD allows it to rain on the just and unjust. I was COMPLETELY healed of a hereditary heart condition praying THROUGH in TONGUES - 1Corinthians 14:2, 4, Romans 8:26-27. I did not know what the cause was for the condition. While praying The LORD gave me a vision of my ancestors standing in a line with my mother in the first position on the right. The LORD GOD is The MOST LOVING FATHER and TEACHER beyond human imagination and HE KNOWS what each person can handle in real time. Ephesians 3:20. Instead of going to The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS CHRIST in my PERSONAL Relationship with HIM (I HATE religion and do NOT identify as a christian), I could have gone to a doctor. It was the same with the vaxx I asked The LORD if I should take it. HE said NO and that settled it.

@ktermalkut8332 Buddha is good for minor aches and pains but Jesus got that extra strength healing 🙏

You got to play that hypnotic music when people are coming in and sitting down, thats crucial.

It's worse than that. It's about controlling the mind. Whereas the communal hymn singing I grew up with respected the mind.

The AC team is a big part of youth conferences. Shutting it down during prayer and activities to trigger a physical response to amplify the emotional and mental influences.

If it's only about emotions, the whole thing won't carry far. And trying to control someone's emotions sounds off-putting to me. However, facilitating certain emotions seems to me to be something we do all the time in daily life and not as such despicable or proof that something is amiss.

"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool." Voltaire

I agree. But doing so wont take away the wrong we have done and continue to do to others which we all will have to answer to after we die.

so will you agree if a person LOVES their dog they should be allowed to marry them?

@@ktermalkut8332 knock it off, OMG, get your GED

HE WAS NEVER BORN AGAIN This is a ploy by Satan.

He also thought the world was going to be destroyed soon. Should we believe that? He was an apocalyptic preacher, after all. He also said to keep the Jewish law. Should we do that?

Perhaps there are other forms of leadership and devotion (consistent with your current views) to which you can apply your skills and interests. Participation in religious rituals does fulfill psychological needs. But those needs can be addressed in other activities.

​@@tasmarkou5681do you recommend this trash in every comment? 🤦🏾‍♂️

@@tasmarkou5681 Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical...it doesn't matter anymore if you acknowledge how scant the evidence is for the basis of Christianity. For a person who's just starting to question the strict infallibility of the Bible or a very literal interpretation of it, then going to a more liberal view is a palatable step, but if they are really honest with themselves they will see that this is also just an emotional crutch to hang on. These other liberal views are also based on little to no real evidence. Might as well make a clean break of it.

@@exoplanet11 Yeah I've been meaning to check out my local Quaker church. Silent worship sounds pretty cool.

Have you ever thought about getting into something like motivational speaking or making your own music? Maybe this will scratch the same itch!!

They want us to believe they went in believe in Jesus Christ , his deity and resurrection (Being greater than themselves) to seeing no evidence the brain they are using to rely on has a Creator. This is why I'm an atheist skeptic , very skeptical of atheist skepticism.

Irrelevant. You bible has no authority here.

@@Eric_01 Everyone agrees the Bible was written by men even if they reject it as the word of God. Pride have caused this generation to think they have arrived while believing their ancestors didn't know anything. Pride before destruction.

Thats what the Holy Spirit told me a few minutes ago

Ah yes. The "he was never a true believer" claim. Nothing more condasceding and insulting to someone who spends their whole life dedicated to ministry and then go through an arduous process of doubt and deconversion, then some internet stranger says, "you were never a real believer"

Bethal is not a good church body no doubt. Keep the faith! and never judge God based on the actions of man. And when you attend a church, test the spirit there by looking to see if what they are saying is aligning with God's word. A lot of flashy churches give the appearance of a healthy "Godly" church, but are very toxic. But community and accountability is so important in this walk with Jesus. So hope you keep looking for something good. Not all churches will be perfect no doubt(or else no one should walk through the doors), but a church who actually uses scripture to guide itself through issues and problems and not through feelings or favoritism... is a good start.

​@@tasmarkou5681why do you keep spamming the same comment. I was hoping to read a different original reply to the commentator. Reading the same reply on every comment is annoying.

@Turn_lemons -- Experiences with people can be incredibly hurtful. As difficult as it is, we can try to look past this to God, who is never unfaithful and is totally true to his word and fully dependable. And as for suffering abuse, torture and all sorts of things at the hands of others, Jesus knows how it feels and cares for you. All the best to you 🙏

Bethal is very evil and Hell song Jesus Image; Satan is the great deceiver for sure.

So he is using this plat form to try to blame real Christany for his situation.

@@tasmarkou5681 your religion isn’t true no matter where you go, you’re just easily accessible to cults

So what happened was your ancestors cousins (my ancestors) left because your ancestors were being jerks about it but seems like their great grand children gave it up and but our family lines across the ocena kept it up.

Englandastan? no, you just swapped it for islam.

@@Alex-yg5uhBuddy, your bigotry is showing. It's rude to leave that hanging out in public like that.

Unfortunately it's still very much alive in the UK.

@@rainbowkrampus wut? Not seeing bigotry in that comment

@@tasmarkou5681so he gave up bullshit for non-diluted bullshit?

@@tasmarkou5681 already with the Ad Hominems

Or in the case of Derek's interviewee, all you need to do is construct a coherent birth narrative for Jesus.

@@tasmarkou5681I want to grant the benefit of the doubt that you are being genuine, though I’ll say it’s difficult because this sort of question gets rather tiring. If every wild claim required DIS-proving, we would never reach the end of going down one rabbit hole after another…perhaps some of them useful, but most not. It’s more practical if any given claim be required to demonstrate its validity, rather than first asking g others to disprove it. In this way we can focus on claims for which there is evidence at hand … in order to see if it’s sufficient to warrant some level of believability.

@@tasmarkou5681 Take care in who you’re replying to. I believe you’re referring to bluntforcetrauma’s claim, this was not mine.

That’s why religion hates it so much. Comparing faith to knowledge is like eating pictures of food versus an actual meal. They want you to eat the pictures in ignorant happiness.

Exactly. After all, "...my people are destroyed by lack of knowledge." I have **YET** to see any deity punish anyone for pursuing knowledge. In this case, if god has no problem with my pursuing knowledge (this is absolutely critical in today's world), I don't see why god would have any problem anyone with pursuing knowledge. That's all I can draw from this one.

Yeah sure... because you'll have all the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before you die. Good luck with that. Faith doesn't require you to know everything. Quite a burden you've saddled yourself with.

​@@peppermintpsaki1157What an interesting way of putting it, and a bloody good one

​@@jeffhannah1250Even if they had the knowledge of how everything works in the universe before they die, what's that gonna do? Guess what, you don't know either buddy, you just blindly follow in delusion hoping there is something more after death. Maybe there is, I don't know, but don't act like God is the fix it all to everything. The only thing you get is the comfort you tell yourself so hard to believe in. In the end you don't know. It could be the Hindu God after all.

This is so good God healed the man of cancer. Are you bearing false witness, or have you been gullible to believe others bearing false witness,?

@@Amfrabrikerbabbin I’ve known the guy my whole life. I was there. If you want to claim I’m lying, and I’ve been lied to that’s fine. I won’t lose any sleep over your protest.

I’d like to state that stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence per se. Survival rates vary widely dependent on many factors, but stage 4 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fatal, mostly yes, but not always.

If it was Jesus, it would make things only worse. Despite praying, Children die every day of hunger, bone cancer and terrible pain. But look! God chose to heal a 50 year old man who probably got treatment.

@@ep8569 I originally posted about him because of all the treatment he got. I’m glad you are here to call me out.

RN ? MOST of the Mega churches are evil

​@@tasmarkou5681respectfully you believe myths...not sure why

@@tasmarkou5681 Do you understand that I have spent the best part of thirty years researching the historicity of the bible and the Abrahamic religions including Christianity firstly as a believer ?

@@tasmarkou5681 After some just five years of research and side by side learning about scientific reality , my religious blinkers were peeled away to reveal the truth of reality and rationality. The ancient roots of Judaism and Christianity are an evolutionary development of earlier polytheistic and messianic belief systems from Egypt , Greece , Mesopotamia and in particular Zoroastrianism from ancient Persia. Absolutely NONE of them are based on historical accuracy let alone reality , and ALL of them stem from man-made stone age and bronze age superstitious nonsense that became institutionalized religions !

@@tasmarkou5681 so you just told a person that you don't he is been lied and When I just say you believe myths I'm condescending. What do you believe and why do you believe that ?

@@tasmarkou5681 so for you if you were omnipotent all powerful you could stop a rape in a blink of an eye you wouldn't do it because you have a good reason not to do it ?

You know it’s that specific experience in worship services that I still find very compelling and upon which a lot of my faith had been built. The phenomenon of a “religious experience” is under appreciated by non religious critics. It’s an incredibly compelling and “real” phenomenon. Even being in the skeptical state of mind that I am these days, I still find worship and prayer very soothing. I do wonder how much genetics plays a roll in people’s religious experiences. It seems like some people are just more able to connect with it.

@sean_miller I think I get what you mean. I was very spiritual in my past but the best I managed was out-of-body experience through meditation. I bonded with the universe (I thought). Animate, euphoric experiences were limited to music gigs. I can see how it could be such an involved experience if tied to something one thinks is bigger.

@@mdug7224 Very interesting. Your experience was indeed probably similar to some of mine, though I would have used more religious language ("encounter with God," etc). Thanks for sharing!

I'm not sure God is a feeling... actually the idea that God is a feeling sounds very unscientific.

You are right

Well, if behaviorism is all you got out of it, ok. But faith in the deity is quite a different thing. It is uncommon for humans to not have faith in the deity, however one understands that. We have a demonstrable affinity for ascribing meaning to the first cause of all things. All human cultures do this, and it doesn’t mean we are stupid or bigoted for doing this very human activity.

Good for you. And so good of Jesus to have picked you out among the thousands of people which are suffering. He must have liked you a lot!

@@montychitonsuffering is a part of life wether you believe in God or in an atheistic evolutionary worldview. In the latter, suffering or pleasure is ultimately meaningless.

@@DK-lz7kg I beg to disagree...

@@montychiton you would disagree with prominent atheists then, because this is a sound and logical conclusion, that they also say.

@@DK-lz7kg Life is meaningless, but not to the person itself or the people around that person. But OK, indeed for me (atheist) suffering or pleasure in itself has no higher meaning. But what higher meaning has suffering or pleasure for a Christian or other believer? Nearer to God?

In the last days there will be a great falling away that's what's happing in this video

​@@theodoreritola7641🤣

Your works don’t save . Jesus on the cross and being resurrected saves. God’s grace is the key. Your righteousness is like filthy rags in God’s eyesight.

Sounds like you never understood Christianity. It's understandable since many if not most 'Christian' church's are false works based churches.

@@michaelenquist3728 Actually, you just have to read his word.

Our sinful nature is put to death???? WHAT??? Good luck with that. This guy sounds like a false convert deceived by charismatic/word of faith and discovered this.

@@cogforreal5952 Who taught you that?

And I'll be watching yours in a bit. 😊

@@tasmarkou5681 thanks for your input… but I’m good

@@tasmarkou5681 you’ve been lied to thinking Christianity is legit. It’s not.

@@tasmarkou5681 it’s funny how you make an assumption about what I was as a Christian based off ONE comment on a video. 😄

Christianity was politically organized by Constantine to control and exploit the non-elite resources

After 30 years of being a Christian and defending it, I renounced being a Christian to my congregation in 1995 from my pulpit.

Good for you, bad for the kids that god let's die of hunger daily. He's real to you in your comfort, not real to the rest of us who think about others outside of our own echo chamber.

@@MajorPayne175you have no moral standard to be upset with child hunger if you believe in an atheistic worldview of molecules to man. It’s simply evolution. Because that child would be ultimately meaningless wether it exists or not.

@@MajorPayne175 blame instead the parents who indulge in immoral acts then later on denies any kind of responsibility. was it also god who told them to make kids that they cant raise properly?? this is the problem with our decaying society that doesn't have any sense of morality.

what is faith and how does one use it properly? i honestly don't know. to me, faith is synonymous with gullibility. my understanding of faith is that you don't need evidence to believe in whatever it is you want to believe, and through faith you can rest assured that it IS True.

@@JohnnyBGood-vm7rx kids in Africa and war torn countries over religion? You're blaming the parents? Moral grandstanding. Your god is a fiction of your imagination. Make sure you "thank it" next time it helps you find a good parking spot.......

It's interesting isn't it. Christians who leave never really live like they have really left.

Maths is the language of God, Arithmetic, Algebra, Algorithms, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry; all came from Islamic teachings, and there is no such thing as Coincidence, and there is only one God, the Great Mother Spirit, Kythera, Amarru, Titicaca, Gaia, Papuatunuku. Who we call God is her messenger Pan, the Slavic word for LORD, also known as Sabazios or Bacchus. Dionysians believed in Reincarnation every 216 years (six times six times six) there are 2160 years in an Astrological age and the moon is 2160 miles in diameter, the interior angles of a cube also add up to 2160 When Jesus was at Mt Hermon (Moon/Sin) and at the entrance to the Grotto (Grove) of Pan and he turned to Peter (Peter and Paul at the Pearly Gates) he asked Peter (Pan and his lost boys) "Who am I?" It's a riddle: Peter and the Disciples are literary elements that anthropomorphise the 12 Constellations. Like King Arthur, Author, Ator, Athor, Atum, Attis.. etc. For example Scorpio is Set aka Judas, the kiss of Death. So Capricorn is a Satyr, a Fairie King He's talking about Pan.. _"You are Messiah"_ replied Peter. The Messiah incorporates the entire book and all the Constellations, ergo all the miracles of all the Prophets, E Io, the spirit of Infinite Man, the Phoenix of the Phoenixions, Ionians of X. He is the Sun and Moon, and the Planets form his Ring of Solomon. He Captains the Ark, and builds the Temple, which is the Earth itself. He suffers the scourge of plagues and doesn't Blaspheme, he doesn't take the Lord's name in vain. He flees like Jonah and realises he cannot escape his fate. _"I and the Father are one" Joseph of Arimathea, Arimathea means the first lunar month (Tammuz) and relates to Leo I Eo, which is next to Gemini. Arimathea means a Lion dead to the Lord _"From the Hunter something sweet"_ The constellation has no key star, instead it's seen as bees. Bees have one Queen, no King, like the Dionysians and Orphics _"You are of your Father the Devil"_ It's accusations in a mirror based on the Zodiac. He cursed himself, as Pan, Capricorn, the Capstone of the Pyramid, denoting Aquarius and esp Fomalhault, shaped like the All Seeing Eye of Providence (Prophecy) representing Apotheosis aka the _Sight._ Akurios also means LORD, as in Aquarius, the Cupbearer, a servant of God, a slave. The symbol of Capricorn relates to the Boatman or Ferryman, and Founder of Athens (Aten's) Esus was a character created by Joseph of Arimathea, the Author, who was a Celt, the King of Tyre, the Bible is the Phoenician Almanac, Esus the God of Death, Polaris, the Pole Star. Ergo the Pen is mightier than the Sword. Issa is the uncursed version of Jesus, because they recognise that he didn't die for anyone's sins; it was a curse: anyone who dies on the tree is cursed, ergo anyone who judged in his name or from the Osirian Book of the Dead (Byblos Baal) cursed their own soul. The God of the Grove is Saturn, aka Satan. That's why it's called the Idol of Wood in Revelations. The Serpent of the Garden. And why all things reverse when the New Moon rises in the West; including Marriage. It's written backwards, in a mirror, just as Egyptians made their astrological records of the Zodiac. It can thus be written I|Eos: Zeus, or E Io Esus: Josephus; Son of the Zypherot, Typhon or Set, Thoth himself is the Scion of Set, Ladon, the World Serpent; Jormungand. This can be the Milky Way, Hydra, or Eradinus, (the Red Serpent). Or all three, ergo Rainbow Spirit, Rainbow Serpent, or Rainbow Covenant. E Io Ari Matea means the clear first month of the lunar Zodiac, and correlates with the Hebrew Month of Tammuz. The Cry of Tammuz, the Fool; first step of the Mythical Hero's Journey. This is the Great Work of the Freemasons, whose Capital was in Tyre: which means Bitter Rock, as in Wormwood, Bitter as in sea, Jerusalem as in Uruku Salaam, the New Moon Due West of Tyre, rising from the Bitter Waters. Ergo Black Rock: Gatestone; and Saturn, aka Santan, or Sanatan. Baal Shem or Baal Shamen, the Great Shamen of Samhain, Great Teacher... The House (Masion) of the Torch bearers (Ferre: to ferry or carry) of Isis, which sits at 33 degrees of the Zodiac. Pharoah means Great House or House of Light. He is the intercessor between God and the People, the Guidestone or Compass The Tattoo on the inside of the Messiah's thigh, and the scar left on Jacob's thigh is the Half moon and Saturn in the Thigh of Aquarius on Dec 18 2023, three days short of the Summer Solstice aka Saturnalia. Saturn also means LORD. The Cry in the Wilderness _is_ Pan; the Satyr or Setian, like John the Baptist, who wore a Goatskin pelt, his birthday is on June 14, the Summer Solstice, Saturnalia. He is the Ante Christ, born on the Day of Osiris, the Day of the Pharoah, when the Nile would Flood. The feast of Trumpets relates to the Bagpipes made from goatskins, ergo the Scapegoat of Sukkot, when the Seed of Abraham is persued into the Desert for 1260 days. It was on Saturnalia that Druids harvested Mistletoe, a parasitic plant with their famous Golden sickles, denoting the Summer Solstice. And when Joseph of Arimathea travelled to England he buried a Holly tree upside down, denoting the underworld, Tropic of Capricorn, for which the Summer Solstice is at Xmas. E Io and Kore of ancient Greece, representing Hercules and Persophenes are also found in Maori Lore in New Zealand, as well as He Uenuku, the Rainbow Spirit or Unicorn, as well as Po Marie: Night, and Pohutukawa: a native tree that blooms red at Xmas, and has a native mistletoe as well. They also still have the famous wisdom "As Above so Below, As without, so within." E Io Arimatea literally reads in Maori as it did in Ancient Greece. This barely scratches the surface though. This is the secret of the labyrinth of Pan, the secret of the ages, the Treasure Map of Aladdin, the Buried Treasure of the Templars. The Solomonic Calendar is three days behind, the Covenant is broken, a Phoenix is sent to reset the clock, and break the wheel. Agathos Daemon: Servant of Solomon; and Adaemon has already been cast upon the Swine We are up to Chapter 12 of Revelations The Tribulations have begun

Jesus said to them,if you were blind,you would have no sin;But now that you maintain "We See" your sin remain.John 9:41

Esus is the Celtic God of Death: a curse on the Romans. Israel is the name of the Messiah, which they took for their own; Blasphemy So they cursed themselves Which is why it is said by a man's own lips alone only is he so judged, that he who lives by the word so must die by the word, and let No Man speak in my name: for the wages of Sin is Israel; The Angel of Most Untimely Death ESV You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god-your images that you made for yourselves, NIV You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god -- which you made for yourselves. Amos 5:26 _Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven_ “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, *and the power of His Messiah has come, for the Accuser of our brethren, who **_*Accused them_* before *our God day and night, has been cast down!* Revelation 12:12 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the *remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah"* Revelation 12:17, KJV The Covenant was to not have a State before the Messiah Palestine are the remnant of Abraham's seed Palestine _is_ Israel: Canaan and Phoenicia are _one and the same._ "Israel" is Canaanite for _Saturn,_ or *El* and *Bael:* their *Father and Son Diety* Fruit of Isis and Ra The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the root of the flower of Death *Pan* which is Slavic for *LORD*

When I first had an out of body experience that's when I realised religion was false. No God can grant you eternal life cause our true nature is that we are immortal beings just stuck in a physical body. Sadly most people will not realise this until after they die and see themselves outside their own body.

@@Bennyhinn3 I was blinded by FAITH --- Faith = believing without sufficient evidence = gullible!

The LORD JESUS never formed or endorsed any religion. HE CAME to the earth to cleanse us from the traps of evil for which we had no escape and to bring us into a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with The LORD GOD as Our ONLY FATHER and Teacher, HE IS ALIVE. Ask HIM to show you HIS EXISTENCE and TRUTH. John 17, Matthew 23:8-10 As someone who was brought up roman catholic and associated with the occult I know The LORD JESUS CHRIST is TRUTH and is the ONLY protection against an enemy WIRED to KILL STEAL DESTROY - read John 10:10. The LORD GOD The LORD JESUS can ONLY DO GOOD - James 1:17. What a person believes CREATES THEIR REALITY - Proverbs 23:7

@@ktermalkut8332 The bible is a collection of CLAIMS (and scientifically impossible scenarios), you have to demonstrate how such claims are true. You'd still have to define god in a coherent unambiguous and internally consistent way and prove it exists. Going off your own absurd holy book, (Isa 45:7) your "Lord" created the evil it must save us from. I've asked and asked yet I've never been "shown" this beings existence and simple logic shows it cannot be true. There's just reality, no one "creates" their own.

@@ktermalkut8332 personally, i would have expressed it as "What a person believes can strengthen their grip on reality or can loosen their grip on reality," but, hey, I agree with your sentiment. My suggestion, do good because it is good, but be prepared to answer for what we take on as good. No centaur ever came back later and benefitted the Greeks, nor Thor for the Norse, no matter how many were willing to sacrifice their lives because they believed in them, and no matter how much good they did while they were alive.

@@_Omega_Weapon, Religion is the tool that the oppressor uses to keep you from having a relationship with God. Jesus called out the Religious Orders in His Day, and knew others would try in the future to do the same with Him, and that is why the scriptures state Jesus told Peter to request to have himself crucified upside down. It is the inversion of the image of God, the warning from Christ to not follow the popes.

@@Michael_the_Servant Define this god in a coherent unambiguous and internally consistent way and prove it exists.

Are you SURE they're not holy? Have you completely opened your heart and let them speak to you?

That's why I would recommend you listen to Jay dyer whi went from baptist to catholic 10 years to orthodox, totally different to watered down protestantism

You never knew GOD.

Can be good w the myth. In fact doing good to get into heaven is a threat, not morality

Examples of what "supernatural presence of God" is?

@@Eric_01 feeling someone embrace you with infinite love (but there is no one around you), or having your hands "atrophied " for a few minutes with no apparent reasons, or being push down to the ground by no one, or having tingling all over your body for a few minutes in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. All that while being an atheist and checking with doctor for any "medical causes ". God is real. He's a person like you and me. But is he the one described in religious texts? Probably not. Religion is man made but God is real. And so is the supernatural.

That's my experience too!

​@@tasmarkou5681who told you that those 40 authors are consistent with each others? Because, according to the book itself, they are definitely not in agreement with each others. The Hebrew scriptures and the Greek scriptures are completely opposed. And the Greek scriptures don't agrees with itself in multiple instances. It's clearly man made and not "God breathed ". But like many religious and philosophical books, there are grear valuable teachings in it.

What do you mean by spiritual?

@@ziploc2000well I like to think of God outside of church or religion and just being the creator of the universe and follow Jesus’s example on how to treat others and be at peace I don’t know if that makes any sense but I grew up in the church and the Christian schools and I could never wrap my head around some of the scripture

If religious organisations didn’t exist, no one would even consider for a moment the existence of a ‘god’.

@@jerryodonovan8624I disagree because if you look at the native peoples they did not have organized religion until the European peoples forced it on them and they always believed in the creator

That's dumb. The belief and worship of a higher power, particularly a god, is religion 🤦🏾‍♂️

If by the "word" you mean the bible, are you serious? This book is so full of holes, twisted and manipulated I'd sooner trust a complete stranger who I knew nothing about than that book. Rather than just believe everything in that book like a blind dogmatic believer, why don't you research it's history, real history, other ancient texts and really analyze it and see it for what it is, a tool to manipulate and control the masses and the centralization of power. If I'm to believe your book, the world is flat, 6,000 years old and has talking snakes!

You know, you don't have to return to church or to preaching, to ask GOD into your life. It's clear that many of the people you dealt with were not filled with the Holy Spirit and were simply filled with religious spirits instead. Religious spirits turn people away from GOD. I just want to tell you that the way you felt was completely understandable and I too cannot stand anyone or anything that is disingenuous. Thankfully GOD is as real as they come, and all He asks is that you open yourself to Him and let Him work wonders into your life. He wants to have a relationship with you! Bless you brother. Don't let people like the ones in this videos who never knew GOD, to further discourage you. The Lord awaits.

I'm late to the party, but this comment made my day.

Your trying to test God, to see if he exists?

@@leehighland5435 He's questioning why god doesn't have any problems with helping people find their car keys, but he has problems fixing whatever issue his friend has. Where is the bar for what god decides to help through prayer and which things does he ignore?

@@plattbagarn Who is he or you to demand the creator does things the way your want? God is not going to answer prayers from people who don't believe in him, is he?

@@leehighland5435 Clearly pinky and his friend believe he exists since they pray to him in the first place. And still he decides not to help pinky's friend with whatever issue he has. So the question still remains, how does god choose which prayers he answers? Also, why shouldn't he answer prayer from people who don't believe in him? That would be a great way to show people he exists and wants a relationship with them. Petty god.

@@plattbagarn John 9:31 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. I think that may answer your first question. If people look back in their life, many will have said, wow, that was lucky that happened and never thought that God had saved them or helped them or given God any thanks at all. I can see from your response you have a low opinion of God, however without God you would not even exist to say that. Do you think you are being ungrateful?

good works are like filthy rags without The LIFE of The LIVING GOD - Isaiah 64:6 The LORD JESUS did not form or endorse any religion. HE called us into a PERSONAL Relationship with The LORD GOD as Our ONLY Father and Teacher - John 17, Matthew 23:8-10. christianity is the MOST SATANIC of all religions because it uses The NAME OF THE ONLY LIVING TRUE LORD GOD. It is rooted in pagan sun god worship roman catholicism which was officially recognized close to 300 years AFTER THE LORD JESUS LEFT the earth. roman catholicism was in CONTROL of the scriptures for several centuries and it is VERY Dangerous to take the PRINTED text at face value. The LORD GOD IS THE WORD HE SPEAKS TO YOU as you read or hear anything. What registers with your spirit in PEACE or as PEACE WITHIN is HIS VOICE- Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3, Colossians 3:15, Isaiah 55:12. I cite scriptures that have spoken to my spirit. If you are sincere and wait upon The LORD you will DISCERN HIS VOICE and know the difference between your emotions and desires and HIS VOICE. Before I talk to THE FATHER I bind all voices that could speak to me that are not of HIM (including any idols in my heart) in The NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST and ask that I will only hear HIS VOICE. Your responsibility is to test EVERY SPIRIT including mine, before The LORD GOD. Ask HIM - HE is ALIVE - 1John 4:1 The LORD JESUS can ONLY DO GOOD and HE IS ALIVE - James 1:17. It is satan who is wired to KILL STEAL DESTROY - John 10:10.

no it isn't. There's no such thing as sin its a construct, and before you go there, other cultures had morality laws long before Judaism.

The false Church is not the Lord Jesu Christ

Do you know, I think you are so right. I am trying to hang in at my church in my extreme liberal agnostic way but now we have a pastor with an extreme way of seeing bible, been in echo chamber all his life and am worried he is possibly Calvinist leaning and seeing bible as inerrant 🙄🙄

So these are 2 so called atheism now

Maybe you had faith in GOD

this nonsense? 😂😂

@@JohnnyBGood-vm7rx If you put enough laughing emojis, I'm sure it'll make you feel better.

@@HangrySaturn was that based on your personal experience kiddo?

Not deconstructing but reconstructing. I was also an atheist who thought secularism, Marxism and existentialism have the answers to my spiritual and secular problems but what I found out was emptiness and worrying hopelessness. Meaninglessness and boring existence entertain only momentarily by escapades, listening to classical and rock music and sometime adventures. I also found science as cold pursuit that can not provide the ultimate answer. Science answers piece by piece or step by step. Love from loving human being like my wife, children, sisters or some friends are not enough. There must be higher someone who can permanently fill the void by true love and peace. Love and peace can not on its own and there must be a person that has the capacity to love and to give peace. I tried to listen to those in organized religion including Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism, their ideas made sense but are not enough. Some are difficult to accept because these are not reality or sensical. But I came across to one of the truth claims like in Jeremiah, God said "you can seek Me and find Me, when you search Me with all your heart? and what Jesus said " I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me." Priests or ministers of organized religions could have many explanations on these two verses but only interpretations that one must accept through faith which is very easy but palpably full of loopholes. Cause and effect analysis and design arguments coupled with Biblical verses and theology are secondary and supportive to the final and ultimate answer for the central and primary problem whether God or the Lord Jesus are real and true. In Genesis, God appeared to Abram and Moses. They had interaction with each other. The Word became flesh. After resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared physically before the doubting Thomas and to Saul, the persecutor who was later called Paul. It said in the Bible, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Are these true? May be, you deconstruct because you don't really know what is meant by with all your heart? That you only rely on mere belief. Just the many people, God is spirit and that He is invisible. You forget that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God who is express image of the invisible God. Do you think, it is difficult for the Lord Jesus Christ to appear to you privately and with all your heart? When you deal with relatives, friends and strangers with sincerity, humility and patience which is what it means by with all your heart, is this not also required of you when dealing with God or the Lord Jesus? Don't compare the Lord with celebrities who enjoy to be seen and heard publicly or under the building of organized religion with their respective monotonous rituals. Search God or the Lord Jesus with all your heart alone. When He appears to you, don't tell it to others your encounter because they will not believe. Pain is private and only you can feel your own pain. You will no longer ask for another encounter because once is enough. The same with your encounter with God. The result is question which religion is true, whether there is life after death or heaven and hell, morality, evil, these are all secondary or on the sidelines. You don't fear death anymore because you know 100%, the Lord will immediately be there when it is time to go. Then, that is the time you will be able to meaningfully and interestingly read the Bible and to truly evaluate and re examine what atheists, Biblical scholars, priests and pastors have said.

Is there a negative impact on children when you tell them they are a accident and their life has no real meaning and their time is short? When you tell them they are just animals?

Why can't god heal amputees!!. They diagnosed the problem wrong the first time.

@@gleanerman2195, God can do whatever he wants to do. He is the potter, and we are the clay. he does not always choose to perform miracles, however. he wants to know we love him in spite of what he can do for us. he also builds our character and teaches us life lessons through our adversities. Life is eternal. Once we are in heaven, this life will have seen like a spec in time. in addition, he is the beginning in the end, the alpha and the omega. he understands the fullness of time and sees the entire picture. We only see a pixel. i’m sorry for your affliction, but the closer you draw to Jesus, the closer he draws to you. He wants you to be a part of his family. Confess him to be your Lord and Savior and turn from your sins. He will help you through this life into the next. The next second is not promised to us, so your decision should be done with urgency. may God bless you.

He just did that as a way to dump you.

@@superdoobo He didn’t dump me so 🙄

A lot of religions use that tactic. To not become "unevenly yoked" with a non-believer of whatever their flavor is. It's a very generic cult tactic that fits directly into the BITE model. I grew up in a similar situation, and following those rules made my life miserable. Having left it behind, now I'm shunned by my entire family, former community and friends, and even my own children. Still, best decision I ever made.

Praying hand emojis make seriously pissed off.

Yep, I totally share that. I get annoyed with this silly trend. I can follow a conversation without stock images. I don’t think Derek listens…. He is kind of full of himself…. Just my opinion.

Then I really don't think that you were properly listening. Try again....No? surprise!

How about you get the cotton out of your ears 🤭?

@@peppermintpsaki1157 The fact that you didn’t tell me shows it’s not there.

@@offgrid405 You didn’t tell me what it is.

How about the fact that the authorship of the stories is unknown? And the writings of Bart Ehrman, which he mentioned? Here's a sample: “One of the striking and to many people, surprising facts about the first century is that we don't have any Roman records, of any kind, that attest to the existence of Jesus. We have no birth certificate, no references to his works or deeds, no accounts of his trial, no description of his death - no reference to him whatsoever in any way, shape, or form. Jesus's name is not even mentioned in any Roman source of the first century.” @@ericstewart9742

I hadn't heard of 'Nazarene' churches. I know Carrier believes that the Jesus was seen as a 'Nazarene' as opposed to him coming from Nazareth. Can anyone explain how these thoughts of RC tie in with Nazarene and a Nazarene church please?

@offgrid405 Nazarene is a real denomination. Both my parents attended the Mid America Nazarene College in Olathe Kansas too.

@@manymusings With respect I was asking, maybe in a roundabout way, why the name Nazarene is used for these churches. Geographical or ancient cult?

@offgrid405 I can't be sure because I never really followed the instructions 😅. I believe they are named as such because the believe Jesus was a Nazarene. As in from Nazareth.

@@offgrid405 they creep me out.

You're crazy

Millions do grow out of it. You might too, and then think it was an important stage in your development. But many die still in it.

I'll bite, please describe you meeting God. What actually transpired in your meeting ?

Describe how you met this god and how you know it was what you claim it to be.

@@sciptick you can’t grow out of knowing something happened. The closest possibility would be to forget it happened.

@@frenchfry5675 I just typed a long reply but it got deleted. I’d be happy to chat via other means.

What spirituality do you have that you are being drained of?