As an ex-christian I am amazed at how much I myself actually believed. I was willing to just let go of so many questions. When I started questioning my faith I was quickly ignored out of the community. People were talking behind my back, and most didn't want to spend time with me anymore. It's so sad that believers are so full of the 'love and grace of God' until they aren't. Suddenly you are an antichrist, devil, deceiver and false teacher... I didn't change, I just started asking the difficult questions and finding answers they didn't want to hear... Christianity definitely is the biggest cult out there.

Did the same 45 years ago.  Walked away from Southwestern Theological Seminary and never looked back.  I  have had such a wonderful life so far......> The only part of the delusion I miss is the idea of seeing loved ones again.  That had its own comfort when my folks/friends way back then died.   Accepting that this is all there is? Both liberating and crushing that we have so little time.

The waking up from a dream metaphor is my experience as well. I was a Latter-Day Saint and encountered my first anti-Mormon literature and people around the age of 17. It was an emotional shock and I ended up spending the next 18 years becoming an obsessed apologist for the faith. Lots of experiences later, I found myself in my apartment in Winchester, VA while working on my doctorate in music. There I was praying fervently for any inkling of a sign that my Heavenly Father was hearing me. Suddenly, a feeling washed over me that was like your dream metaphor--I was at my bed talking to myself. I suddenly realized that there was no-one there.

The most difficult thing that followed for me was, "Who am I going to be grateful to for all the blessings in my life?" It took a lot of soul-searching (pun definitely intended) before I could allow myself to just "be grateful."

Today I find myself appreciating Stoicism and simply trying to appreciate the things in life that I can be grateful for.

1. Doubted the teachings of Christian sect I participated in. Studied and prayed more thinking it was my lack of faith. Prayers unanswered.
2. Realized I had to choose between the Bible and my church. Left my church, studied harder and prayed to know which Christian sect was right in God's eyes. Prayers unanswered.
3. Thought maybe I was too closed minded; asked God to direct me and studied the Quran all the way through and some of the Bhagavad Gita. Neither seemed to be right. Prayers unanswered.
4. Realized there were too many Christian sects, let alone religions to seriously study every one.
5. Read the Bible again without previous church bias or study aids, tried to write down all the characteristics of God so I could know Him better.
6. Had just a long list of human characteristics but exaggerated. Tried to find out more about how the Bible came to be.
7. Learned what actual academics and specialists had to say. Actually started to get answers.
8. Left it all behind. Finally felt at peace with this life.

I’m a recovering seminarian too. I went to Reformed Theological Seminary.

All I know is that in the years since Justin posted this video, Doug has blessed him more than god ever did.

Back in the late 1980s, I was broke. I mean, living in a car. I got a decent job at some factory (can't remember what they produced). I worked my tail off, never complained, did everything my boss told me to with as much enthusiasm as I could. I would take my lunch out back to a picnic table that they had and spend a couple of minutes praying. I didn't ask for anything, just thanked Gawd for the job, the opportunity, and what little pay I was getting. Just before the 3-month mark, another guy who was doing basically the same thing I was doing got fired for doing something wrong. I never did get the details. But the boss called me into his office and said, "Well, it's just not working out." -- I was stunned. I asked if he could tell me what I did wrong or give me the chance to make things right, but he adamantly refused to give me any details. It was pretty much then that I realized that there was no Gawd and my prayers were nothing but childish superstitions.

Thanks for this. I’ve pieced your story together over the last few weeks of your work. Was feeling grateful for the moment where my deconstruction (from catholic-light high school) started: I came home from school in my junior year, and my dad stopped me. “Hey kid, do you really believe what they’re teaching you at that school?” Having been taught to NEVER doubt god, but also picking up on my dad’s tone, I replied “I don’t think so.” He just said “Good,” and went back to his TV show. THAT moment gave me permission to think critically for the first time. That was 35 years ago, and here I am, following you.

Beliefs drive behaviours. And behaviours impact all of us. Your work in critically challenging flawed religious beliefs and their associated damaging behaviours is not just inspiring, but addictively educational and fun to watch.

Praise Doug.

I'm so thankfull to my parents, that they always tought me that religion is just a worldview, and that we don't really know the truth about how or whether the universe started, although my mom was and is a believer. I tried to read the bible once and it was unbearable. Even more I couldn't understood why would you even read it. Certanly if there is a deity, that created you and wants you to worship them - it would let you know somehow, because, you know, it's kinda important. It wouldn't be a problem for him. And yet there is not even a smidge of a hint that there is even diety. I really love your channel for the moments, when you brake the script that was tought to people, when they transform into pretzels, or when they admit that their god is just horrible. Although it's kinda sad that we have to have conversations like this in the first place, it's also really fun to see how the whole world is crumbling before their eyes. I think you doing a great job of educating people! I'm from Russia and although faith creeps in some aspects of life here, and just like your leader, our leader also exploiting some aspects of it, it's not yet so severe like in US. I think with bold educators like you we have a chance as a humanity. Keep it up!

Deconstruction hurts…the realization that you’ve been lied to, intentionally or not, your entire life kills something inside you, even if just a small amount. It’s like waking up from the matrix.

Ive tried to read the book, but it's just so damn dry!  Thanks for sharing your knowledge.  This year I tried to put on a Christian hat and live life that way.  I grew up going to church, but I never really believed.  I had moments where I was manipulated with emotions or positive experiences, being made to believe they were personal experiences with God.  But, anyway, this year I started going to church and trying to read the Bible (got through only a little bit of the New Testament and got through Genesis, then halfway through Exodus).  The sermons at the church were always undermining humanity with the usual message of us terrible sinners needing a savior.  It truly felt, as it always used to, like an attempt to gas light me into giving in because I had something "impure" about me.  It didn't work... I tried asking the pastor why we should trust books written by men to be divinely inspired, and he jokingly said I should get over myself.  That remark was the final straw for me.  I stopped going to church after that.  I had just been continuing to go for some sort of concept of community, but it really wasn't that great of a community.  

I felt like everyone around me was doing everything they could to fit themselves into the premade boxes Christianity makes for them, but I wanted to have more courage than that.  I would much rather take up the mantle of uncertainty and go into the insanity of life with curiousity, reason, empathy, and some form of understanding even if complete certainty is not possible.

Again, thanks for your videos.  This heathen appreciates them.

Always speak with confidence you for nothing to lose but your chains of religious ignorambimus and the freedom to anyone who will come across this video with an open mind.

Wow, I loved your video man. It reminded me of myself, I attended Moody Bible Institute and Liberty University, I took this stuff so seriously and I eventually studied my way out of Christianity. The more and more that I studied the text, the more I saw less of a god and more like men that concocted this book we call the Bible. Interestingly, god started out with us but slowly moved into the caves, then the mountains, then the heavens and ultimately beyond our comprehension. 😂 It’s a bunch of fiction pawned off as truth. Sadly, I was stayed in it for 22yrs and now that I left, it was the best thing ever for me. I always find it funny when people say we were never Christians, but have no idea how seriously we took Christianity/the Bible. SMH After further study, I couldn’t believe the fiction any longer and hit the lottery when I left it all behind. Keep telling your stories, so many of us are inspired by them.

The attitude of women that the Bible and it's adherents have. This has awoke in me lately with vengeance, and at the same time a crushed heart. A rabbit hole opened up for me on YouTube some time back and it's brought me to find Justin. I find Justins talks on this subject to help me see a glimmer of hope in this dark world all around me. I've become really sensitive to a careful listen of even the words out of female mouths; to see the ruin that still exists from our delinquent/degenerate archetypes of the past. I have to fantasize back to caveman days to imagine the attitude wasn't as cruel: as humans have grown to be so negative to half it's population now living among us. The "god" concept fogged my reading of the Bible in the past, but now I'm more "eyes wide" to how this "thought virus" has persisted to this day. Thanks for being you Justin, you display a good heart online, and it's great to see debate with you in this specific corner of the ring. Gr8! Peace ☮💜

I really appreciate this video, as an autistic person trying to overcome deficits and believing there cannot be a god that created me, this video is helpful.

In all cases, it is when a religious person withdraws the primary projection that the numinous experience is objective that the first stage of deconversion begins. Religion refuses to withdraw this primary projection and therefore will never admit that it is a fantasy system. Congratulations to all those who have succeeded in withdrawing this primary projection!

Former Mormon, or Formon here.  Glad I found your channel.  Love the content.  You are obviously very well versed on the subject and don’t hold back.

I found that becoming an Atheist made me a far better person.
I did some charity but now, when I can help I do more often, less selective and with no expectation of reward or recognition.  
Just because it is right.

Thank you for sharing. I've been on a deconstruction journey for about 8 years and really appreciate listening to stories like your own. Thank you.