Why I Left Christianity

TheHonestAtheistDecember 22, 2015

Although I am now an atheist, I was at one time a hardcore Christian - I mean really hardcore. I was raised a Baptist, but upon entering college I rethought all of my theology and realized I was really a Reformed Baptist. It was at that time I made a recommitment of faith and began to evangelize. Yeah. I became one of those proselytizers. I thought I had all the answers to any question people would ask me, theology, life, science, you name it. I also thought evolution and science a real sham. I had bought into the things taught by Ray Comfort and Ken Ham.

I remember one occasion while evangelizing, I met a young lady who was an atheist. In my mind I was thinking, "Oh, goody. I'm going to hit her hard with arguments and soon she will have doubts in her mind about her atheism." I was so wrong and so arrogant. I asked her "where she could possibly get her morality from," a stupid question to ask any atheist and one overly repeated by evangelicals. She eventually left fed up with my arrogance.

Presently, I am an atheist because it is the most rational approach to understanding the world, not because Christianity didn't work out. This clarification is necessary in the event someone tries to discredit the reasons I left Christianity as an argument to leave atheism and return to Christianity.

  1. Christianity sets unreal expectations for its believers. Expectations like (a Christian must...):
    • be holy (1 Peter 1:15)
    • be joyful always (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
    • pray always (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
    • give thanks for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
    • be perfect (Matthew 5:48, 1 Peter 1:15, 16)
    • abstain from all evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
    • love our brothers (1 John 4:21)
    • not sin (1 John 5:18)
    • not be an idolater (1 Corinthians 6:9, Eph. 5:5)
    • (trust me, I'm aware of the refutation to all of these. This is but a short list and a literal reading of the verses.)
  2. There are so many Christians who are hypocrites. If indeed the avenue of the Holy Spirit is working in each of them, there should be a lot less.
  3. Christian celebrities, those most celebrated by Christians, are really not the most theological or sound Christians but really just the nicest Christians. Two examples of Christian celebrities with questionable theology/soundness are Rick Warren and John Piper. In comparison, you've probably not heard of Paul Washer or Tim Conway, both adept in theology and not really well-liked because they preach Scripture faithfully.
  4. Sanctification is elusive and unattainable.
  5. Christianity has a fear of addressing and understanding sexuality. For instance, when was the last time you heard a sermon on sex?
  6. The God of the Bible is at best: to be understood as a megalomaniacal, furious judge (yes, that's right: best!) with no mercy, or he is at worst misunderstood as a loving and forgiving God who is no more worthy of worship than our grandparents (who are usually more kind to show themselves to us).
  7. No repercussions exist for the false Christians, meaning the whole faith is an absolute laughingstock for there is not even an attempt internally to weed out truth from falsity.
  8. There cannot be and there is no standard for the pop culture of today, meaning that the Bible cannot address every area and/or is too old to well represent a standard of truth today. Examples of pop culture that divides the Christian camp could be either Harry Potter (witchcraft) or Led Zeppelin ("worldly" music--whatever that means).
  9. There exists too much irrational thought (that which is passed off as "we can't understand this because it comes from the mind of God": the Trinity, man's responsibility vs. God's sovereignty, Jesus as fully God and fully man) amidst the rational thought (such as attempting to derive truth from God's word apart from human interpretation).
  10. Christians prioritize politics more than evangelism, even when they are called to evangelism firstly.
  11. Christians are just as often idolaters as the next person. Movies, music, pop culture, clothes, sports, books, friends, theology, politics, lust, money are often idols of the Christian, who are called to rid themselves of idols.
  12. Christianity is called a reasonable faith, but I have found it a faith with a little reason.
  13. Christians expect the opposition to have all the answers. For instance, rejection of my Christianity brought on questions like "How did the world begin?" or "Where will you go when you die?" even though I made no such claim of knowledge. To clarify, a rejection of one idea does not rally the acceptance of another. Also, a rejection of an idea does not have to be filled with another. For instance, one could reject my statement "Wortattle rodents can travel through time" simply on the basis as I have no evidence without believing that wortattles exist or time travel is not possible, or any other multitude of beliefs.
  14. Christians are arrogant enough to believe that they have all the answers. I was raised to believe the Bible had all the answers for everyday life (the big questions).

So, to sum up, here are some reasons I have rejected Christianity. These are not an irrefutable, watertight argument of why no one should believe Christianity as that is not my purpose. But these are reasons I have rejected Christianity and why others should question it.