Defecting From Bethel
As someone who exited what I call “revivalist charismatic” churches in the early 2000’s, but who still has family and friends in these streams of Christianity, I was struck again by the need for...
Author: daniel sinclair
Why I Believed 05 – The Crises that Precipitate Losing Faith: OT Ethics
This post is part of a series. In the previous post, we discussed the challenge of evolutionary (and creationist) views of origins to faith. That may seem insurmountable to some, but this challenge is...
Why I Believed 04 – The Crises that Precipitate Losing Faith: Evolution
This post is part of a series. In the previous post, I discussed author Kenneth Daniels’ high level reasons for leaving the faith. In Chapter 2, he tells his personal story, from believer to...
Unlearning – the need to emtpy the glass first
The Principle When exiting a strongly manipulative world view or system, we must take some radical steps to clean up the mess before rebuilding. Before we can take in new ideas (truths), we must...
Self-love is not selfish
The Principle Self-love is not always selfish. Healthy self-care is responsible stewardship, not selfish indulgence. The Practice In religious circles, it is often verboten to spend any time in self care, self exploration, self...
The End of Diplomacy
The Principle If an omniscient God really exists, then he will not be fooled by my pretending to believe. It is better to stop fooling myself and live honestly regarding what is going on...
Unlearning – letting go of ideas we’ve tightly held
The Principle Letting go of ideas that we’ve held tightly, out of fear or habit, is painful but necessary in leaving faith. The Practice Try this experiment. Close a fist and hold it as...
Pensees 03 – T.S. Eliot on Despair
This post is part of a series. OK, I admit it, I AM going to blog through Pascal’s Pensees. Here’s another interesting quote by T.S. Eliot from the Introduction to Pensees: His despair, his...
Pensees 02 – T.S. Eliot on Christian v. secular logic
This post is part of a series. Though I am not blogging through Pascal’s Pensees, maybe I should! Here’s another interesting quote by T.S. Eliot from the Introduction to Pensees: The Christian thinker–and I...
Pensees 01 – T. S. Eliot on Skepticism
This post is part of a series. “For every man who thinks and lives by thought must have his own skepticism, that which stops at the question, that which ends in denial, or that...