As a former Christian I look back to what I used to believe

and I wonder

how I could have been so naive

As a Christian I had very little knowledge about evolutionary biology

physics

geology

and chemistry

Yet I argued about evolution,

fossils

and radioactive dating.

I claimed to know problems that scientists just happen to miss when developing these thoroughly tested methods.

These supposed flaws were pointed out to me by other Christians.

Now I have read several books on each of these subjects

and understand more than I thought I ever would.

I know now that scientist have accounted for each of these supposed flaws.

As a Christian I vigorously denied the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions

but I was irritated when someone denied the existence of my God.

I had an emotional attachment to my belief.

My beliefs are now based on logic and reasoning and not emotional feelings.

As a Christian I felt insulted and "dehumanized"

when scientists said that humans evolved from other life forms

but I had no problem with the Biblical claim that people were created from dirt.

I ignored the evidence from millions of scientific tests that pointed to a different theory.

Now I study these scientific findings with an open mind.

As a Christian I laughed at polytheists

but I had no problem believing in the father

son

and Holy Spirit

that are separate

yet the same

To me a trinity made more sense that multiple gods.

Now I don't believe in any gods.

As a Christian I got upset when I heard of the violence attributed to Islam, or any other religion

but not when the bloodshed was committed by my God.

I made excuses for my God.

For Example: the slaughtering all the Egyptian babies in Exodus

and the genocide performed in "Joshua"

including women

children

animals

and trees.

I also claimed that my God was loving and kind.

As a Christian I thought Hindu beliefs that deify humans were just silly.

I believed Greek claims about gods sleeping with women were absurd.

Yet I had no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary

who then gave birth to a man-god

who got killed

came back to life

and then flew up into the sky.

I realize now that the difference between these beliefs is minuscule.

One is just as silly as the next.

As a Christian I was willing to spend my life

looking for loopholes in the scientifically established age of the Earth

which is a few billion years old

but I found nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen

sitting in their tents and guessing the age of the Earth.

As a Christian I believed that the entire population of this planet

with the exception of those who shared my beliefs

would spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering.

And I considered my religion "tolerant" and "loving".

I am free of the fear of hell now.

As a Christian I ignored the textual scholars

that showed evidence that the Bible was not a reliable source.

However

an emotional person

rolling around on the floor

screaming gibberish

was all the evidence I needed.

I know now it was just plain nonsense.

As a Christian

I thought that the double blind studies

showing prayer completely ineffective

were diversions from Satan.

I believed the unanswered prayers were simply God saying "No".

I ignored the fact that praying to any god produced the same results.

I also ignored the fact that if my god was the one true god,

my prayers would be answered more often than other religions

which would cause a statistical anomaly that could be measured.

I don't waste my time praying now.

As a Christian I actually knew little more about my religion than what I heard in church.

I did not study the history of Christianity

the early church

how the bible was written

what books were left out of the bible

the mistranslations from the original Hebrew

and the atrocities committed in the name of Christianity.

This knowledge was not needed to be a Christian.

Studying all of these items and actually reading the bible

the entire bible

helped me see the truth.

I am happy I do not believe in superstitions anymore.

I believe actions are more important than beliefs.