Atheists & Agnostics

ItsjustMe

(11,571 posts) Sat Sep 25, 2021, 02:55 PM Sep 2021

Why Christian Responses to Deconstruction Are So Predictable

Whether you deconstructed Christianity recently or years ago, you’ve almost definitely been told “You just left because you want to sin. You hate god because life isn’t perfect. You’re trying to destroy the faith by sharing your story. You were never a true Christian. Your faith was obviously theologically weak,” and the like. Everyday Christians, as well as certain Christian apologists respond to deconstruction stories in these ways far too often, making them predictable. Why is this? With the help of some terms from the field of social psychology, I explain.

4 replies

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Why Christian Responses to Deconstruction Are So Predictable (Original Post) ItsjustMe Sep 2021 OP

Funny I thought it was because I wasn't a rank hypocrite and a fanatic with the critical thinking... Thomas Hurt Sep 2021 #1

These idiots always have an excuse for literally everything that goes wrong w/ the Church, SWBTATTReg Sep 2021 #2

Interesting atreides1 Sep 2021 #3

speaking of "deconstructing" their faith RussBLib Sep 2021 #4

Thomas Hurt

(13,925 posts)

1. Funny I thought it was because I wasn't a rank hypocrite and a fanatic with the critical thinking...

Reply to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 03:03 PM

Sep 2021

skills of a turnip.

SWBTATTReg

(23,991 posts)

2. These idiots always have an excuse for literally everything that goes wrong w/ the Church,

Reply to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 03:10 PM

Sep 2021

reduced membership numbers, reduced influence, etc. Tired old excuses that repeat themselves again and again and again...

Well, at least people are getting smarter as time goes on, and they learn to ignore the worst of these thugs, such as Falwell, Jr., etc. and their excesses.

atreides1

(16,332 posts)

3. Interesting

Reply to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 04:07 PM

Sep 2021

I left because of the hypocrisy, the hate filled rhetoric, and the blatant greed...and I don't believe there are any "true Christians" in existence, out of the 30 to 40 thousand sects of Christianity!!!

There are some who try to emulate Christ, but those people are the exception and were never the rule...

RussBLib

(9,649 posts)

4. speaking of "deconstructing" their faith

Reply to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Mon Sep 27, 2021, 12:19 PM

Sep 2021

Andrew Seidel had another good column recently entitled, "A LOVE LETTER TO #EXVANGELICALS AND THOSE DECONSTRUCTING THEIR TOXIC FAITH" in Religion Dispatches. (The article title was all caps already)

snip

I’m astounded by people who have the intellectual honesty, courage, and fortitude to examine their most deeply held beliefs. Not just examine, but challenge and reject beliefs that shape how their entire world is constructed—beliefs that they have been told were unequivocally true, by their most trusted sources, since they were little—beliefs that have been deliberately and systematically ingrained.

The reverse of indoctrination, the process of systematically pulling apart those beliefs is sometimes called “deconstructing.” And deconstructing is having something of a media moment. This gives me hope for our species because it shows that humans are capable of the intellectual courage and honesty that our species needs, but which is far too rare.

snip

Certainty is not truth. Comfort is not truth. Faith is not truth. It’s scarier to think that the universe doesn’t care what happens to you. It doesn’t. But I do. And some of your fellow humans do too. We give life meaning. Do good. Love blindly. Practice empathy. Forgive readily. Create beauty. Learn with abandon. Challenge tradition and injustice everywhere. Above all, find something bigger than yourself to fight for. Make a difference in this life and in this world, because they’re the only ones that we get.

https://religiondispatches.org/a-love-letter-to-exvangelicals-and-those-deconstructing-their-toxic-faith/

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