disillusionist

My new post about disrespect toward De-converts from christians.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thedisillusionist/

That is where you will find all my posts from this point forward. It will also be the new and improved version of my blog. I will be posting more often with more thoughts and experiences.

Please follow me there! Please share my blog on Patheos with everyone! Thanks so much!

No matter what happens with my blog, you first readers and followers will always be my favorite!

It is official! My blog is now on Patheos! You guys are so smart,some of you figured it out right away!

My posts from now on will be on Patheos. I will be posting a link to my blog there. Also, I will be blogging more often. I am really committed to posting my thoughts and my situation more often.

Once I get situated there I encourage you all to join me and to share my journey with others.

Thanks!!!

I was informed that 2 atheist teens were brought to hear me speak recently. The church that brought me in to speak has been trying to convert them for months. The pastors were really excited to talk to them about my message and try to show them “the truth” through it. They thanked me for being such a great speaker.

It is killing me inside! This has been the hardest thing to deal with so far in my journey associated with my job in ministry. I had to hide my disappointment. I had to pretend it did not bother me to be a part of the proselytizing process. I could not help but think “I hope they did not take everything I said to heart.” I desperately wanted to walk away from my job right there.

It means more to me now than ever that I build a way out of ministry in the church market. I have been working hard towards leaving the religious market and have the groundwork in place to really push the change in my life without my family being totally devastated.

I spoke at great lengths, after the service, with the pastoral staff. I gained much more insight into the situation. I will do another post soon about the atheists that came to the show and what I learned.

I have my first opportunity to potentially generate a small amount of income in the faithless world. More importantly, it is an opportunity to get my story out to more people. Maybe I can be an encouragement to someone questioning their faith, or help others understand how difficult it is when someone realizes the truth about their belief and needs to walk away.

You will be the first to hear the news! The announcement is coming soon! Stay tuned for details!

I saw a meme on social media, it was clouds that looked like 4 men riding horses. I am fairly sure it has been photoshopped. That does not really matter. A friend, and someone with whom I use to attend church, posted the following comment attached to the post: “Proof that God is returning soon to call home His people.”

It amazes me how ridiculous this seems. I wonder if I ever would have thought the same thing. I am sure I would have found beauty in it, and I am sure I would have thought of god. I am not sure if I would have considered it photoshopped or even cared.

Even if the clouds were real and natural they had nothing to do with the end times. The need or obsession with seeing “signs” in everything now looks like insecurity in some of faith and some kind of superstition in others.

Even if god was real, I do not think he/she/it would manipulate clouds in one localized area as a sign of the apocalypse.

What are some of the crazy things you have seen religious people believe as a sign from god?

Today in the USA I exercised my right to vote. I found a problem within myself this morning. My inclination was to vote for whomever was the person I felt to be the least religious. My mind was screaming to vote for anyone but a religious person. I think that is a problem.

When I was a christian, I voted for the most religious person whenever possible. I was willing to forsake everything else and ignore the heart of the political issues just to have a leader that seemed more christian.

I do not want to be anti-theist in my mindset. I do not want to be anti-religious in my politics. I will tell you what I do want. I want to make the best decisions I can make. I do not want to get into one point of view and lose my ability to look objectively at multiple points of view.

I want to keep my mind open, my senses sharp, and use my brain to vote for whomever I think is best, not who is the least religious or fundamental.

That being said, I evaluated the candidates, I thought about who I should vote for and why I should vote for them. I voted with intent and purpose. (I did not vote for a candidate that I consider driven by religious convictions.)

I would like to do a Question & Answer time. I am sure some of you must have questions about me and my beliefs, change of beliefs, or how maybe even my old beliefs. So, now is a good time to ask.

I will be honest, but I will not risk exposing my identity yet. I will tell you what I think, how I feel, etc. I may not be able answer all questions.

One of my objectives in this blog is to take people on my journey with me. I think it can be a learning experience for people. I want to give a peek behind the curtain.

Fire Away!

I am pondering an idea, a hypothesis. I have not studied it, and have not ever heard it suggested. This is just a concept that came to mind, and I thought I would put it here for you and look for your input.

Could our present place in the evolutionary process be the reason for a rise in homosexuality? Now first of all, maybe we are not experiencing a rise in homosexual behavior, but we just hear about it more. Maybe we are having a rise in homosexuals or maybe we will in the future.

Many years ago species fought to survive. Reproduction was high on the priority list. It was necessary for the survival of the species. Reproduction is no longer as high on the priority list for long term survival. Humans are not in danger of becoming extinct. It seem that a rise in homosexuality would not hurt Homo Sapien’s chance to survive at this point.

I also think that there may not be a need for out physical bodies to evolve any longer. We can built or create anything we need to accomplish any task we come across. Our bodies need nothing more. So what is the next step in evolution? Brain capacity! Could it be that our stage in evolution is mostly or strictly cerebral at this point?

It seems reasonable that our best way to move forward  is to think more and be more creative. We can understand our universe and we can create things never before conceived.

If, in fact, our creativity and mental processes are expanding could it be that we have reached a place where homosexuality is becoming more natural? Maybe, our natural sense of beauty has become more important, in a growing segment of people, than our natural instinct to reproduce.

It seems reasonable that if we are more creative or evolving our creativity we could see beauty in both sexes and we could find new ways to pleasure and be pleasured. Sexual variety would be stimulating.  We could more naturally explore stimulation when reproduction is not the driving force behind sexual encounters.

It seems that women naturally see beauty easier than men. In many cases, they can instinctively find other women attractive. Everyone likes comfort. Both men and women enjoy the softness and gentleness of a maternal figure. Could it be that those tendencies provide the base for creativity and sexuality to increase same-sex desires in women?

Could it be that men no longer need to feel as threatened by other men? Could the instinct to reproduce with females be subsiding a bit because our species is safe from extinction and we can dominate all other species? Men can explore their desires for other men without as much fear of a struggle for dominance?

Could it also be that an increase in homosexuality is better for us? Could we instinctively realize that a higher percentage of homosexuals could slow our population rate as we come to understand that our natural resources are finite? We need to fine ways to be more efficient with the earth, develop the ability to tap resources outside of our atmosphere, and even look to start expanding our habitat beyond our planet. Could it be homosexuality could be a evolutionary balance to human longevity and depletion of our habitat?

Could we be at a place where homosexuality is not just increasing, but is a part of our evolution? Could it be that homosexuality is useful or even necessary?

I would like your feedback!!!! It will be interesting to see where this goes!

 

 

Ever argued with a christian and felt like they did not listen at all to what you said? Ever feel like they completely ignored simple facts and evidence? Did you feel frustrated that they could just ignore everything you said with ease? Ever wonder how they could do that?

Here is why…

• To be clear I do not mean ALL christians. I am being general when I use that term, but I will say it does refer to a majority of them in the context below.

Christians won’t listen to logical reasons to disbelieve their god because it is against their nature. They got to where they are in their belief by faith not logic. Faith is believing in god or doctrine based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

If the average christian wanted to think for themselves or reason out the truth about their version of their deity and the evidence to support their belief, they probable would not be a believer. They do not want to use logic, they don’t feel compelled to be logical about god, or be totally objective in regards to their deity. As a matter of fact, they probably find it much easier to believe what they have been conditioned to believe and would stick with it even if they knew they were wrong. (I know that from personal experience.)

It is unnatural for a person of faith to listen to logical arguments against their faith and to honestly try to see the truth. They became christians by not doing that! Accepting what they cannot explain and accepting does not make sense is exactly what they do! It is what they are good at.

Why would a christian believe evidence against their deity? Why should they stop doing what they do naturally and truly be objective?

Christians are not going to change even if your argument is sound and the evidence is clear. Ignoring opposing facts and evidence is basically the definition of faith. Faith is so ingrained in them it is natural. It would be unnatural for them to listen to you or to change.