Seven Problems in Christianity That Killed My Faith

I had open-heart surgery when I was 15. It was the day after Christmas.

Terrified that I might die on the operating table, I clung to the promise of heaven to maintain my sanity. My belief in Jesus mattered more to me than anything else.

I grew up visiting church twice a week and I accepted its teachings as truth. I asked to be baptized at age six, went on mission trips, was a leader in my youth group, and played in the worship band.

Then I went to Bible school for nine months, where my faith began to unravel — despite my strong belief that life would be meaningless without God.

This essay describes seven of the problems that had my B.S. detector screaming at levels I couldn’t ignore.

I will be referring to what I was taught in Baptist and non-denominational evangelical churches. Other denominations do not hold all of these beliefs as literal truth.

If you are a believer, I understand this won’t change your mind. That’s okay! I only want to show you that my deconversion was not a careless thing. These questions nagged me for a long time.

If you’re a lifelong atheist, imagine being a child, and the trustworthy adults in your life teaching you these things as literal truth. It’s not easy to reverse deep…