Stories of Recovery (79)

Rigby July 17, 2012

Recovering from former student of a Fundamentalist school from Philippines

I was not baptized as a Baptist, but my parents enrolled me in a Baptist academy that believes in the "literal truth" of the Bible

Ray A July 13, 2012

Recovering from born-again Christian from Ohio

When I was younger, my father had me accept Jesus into my heart. Currently, I consider myself a Humanist.

Brian June 19, 2012

Recovering from Pentacostal/ Former Liberty University Student from New England

Thank you all for your stories. Some I?ve read several times and every time they leave me a little stronger!

Alexandra May 13, 2012

Recovering from Charismatic, Prophetic, Apostolic, Fundamentalist

My older brother, who was also the only person in the world I trusted, died when I was a teenager

April K May 1, 2012

Recovering from Jehovah's Witness from Ontario, Ca

There is only one narrow path that is viewed as right, successful, or worthwhile. Unfortunately, it is one that I will never undertake.

Drew Stedman April 20, 2012

Recovering from Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian from Columbus, OH

Read Recovering Fundamentalists founder Drew Stedman's story of recovery from evangelical fundamentalism.

Nina April 17, 2012

Recovering from Convention Baptist indoctrination from Ontario, Canada

Used to believe, but after reading my Bible and really facing the contradictions, hatred and propaganda in it, I can no longer believe what I was taught.

Joel April 2, 2012

Recovering from born again charasmatic evangelical christianity with A/G influences from Long Island NY

Im am 49 year old who spent 30 Years as a Charasmatic Born Again Missionary/Youth Pastor/Worship Leader....done, tired, starting over happily but with emotional fallout

Ian Montez February 15, 2012

Recovering from Early life from Andrews, Tx

Hello all, I love people even though I usually fall short in that area. I love looking for truth and I love to engage a certain type of people and know where they come from.

Brent February 12, 2012

Recovering from Fundamentalist Christian Reformed from Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I never cease to be amazed how easily family tradition brainwashes people into religion and how my family kept me in the Church for such a long time.

Brandi M. December 21, 2011

Recovering from Southern Baptist (Evangelicalism)

I just never bought some of it. I hope my story can help someone.

Stepford Wives With Bibles September 20, 2011

Recovering from Catholic, Fundamental Baptist from Burlington

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Just change the dirty water.

Lisa Cox July 25, 2011

Recovering from Seventh day adventism from Alabama, USA

My journey from adventism to freedom

Glenn Dixon June 14, 2011

Recovering from Southern Baptist fundamentalism and non-denominational charismania from Fort Worth, TX

I was immersed in church life from 6 weeks of age until shortly after my 40th birthday. I was born-again at age 7. I spent my last five years in church leading praise and worship. My father just retired after 50 years in the pulpit.

Wendy Van Burn April 25, 2011

Recovering from Eternal Hell, and Legalism of Religion from Colorado Springs, Co

Since I was a child I always had a love for God. When I was 9 years old I started a ' church ' and invited all my friends to teach the bible. In my teenage years, I left God, angry over the circumstances in my life. A step father addicted to drugs , who abused my mother physically and while on drugs attempted to murder her.

Roger July 21, 2010

Recovering from Right Wing evanglical fundamental reformed calvinism from Utah

My heart is pounding and my pulse is beating hard as I write this story. You see, one year ago today I was spending my birthday with the love of my life and planning to get married. Today on my 33rd birthday I am reading other peoples testimonies about leaving Fundamentalist Christianity. I am questioning everything that my heart, mind, and soul believed passionately for twelve years. I was going to be a Pastor. I hold no hatred in my heart for her or her family, my hatred has turned into empathetic sorrow for them. I am sick inside from all the hatred and confusion that has come from my heart, and I blame Christianity.

Drew June 11, 2010

Recovering from orthodox Lutheran, evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity from Minneapolis

Dennis Diehl June 7, 2010

Recovering from Membership and Pastoring 26 years in the Worldwide Church of God from Rochester, NY

From Pastor to Bastard....

Mark Moffet May 20, 2010

Recovering from Assemblies of God/Fundamentalism from Portland, OR

My coming out of religion story, and my coming out of the closet story, are inextricably linked. But it is the process of coming to understand the role of fear in my life and its relationship to love, that made me understand that I was already on the right path, but the path is much clearer now.

Brian S May 5, 2010

Recovering from Jehovah's Witness from Grand Rapids, MI

And the 'tower came tumbling down.

Barbara Hanks April 29, 2010

Recovering from Mormonism

My husband, Kurt, and I recently wrote "The Collapse of Belief" about our religious and life journeys. We posted the entire book online. You can read it by clicking the link inside.

Anonymous April 21, 2010

Recovering from Evangelical Christianity from Tacoma, WA

The testimony of my deconversion is tied to my conversion story. Both events were planted in the same revelation ? a conversation my mother had with me as a young boy. That conversation is etched deep, painfully deep, in my consciousness.

Trevor April 15, 2010

Recovering from Fundamentalist Christian theology from Garden City, Kansas

John Dill April 13, 2010

Recovering from Evangelical, Charismatic Christianity from Sheridan, Oregon

This is the context of my state of sincerity during my struggle with faith and eventual ?falling away?.

Richard Rossi March 30, 2010

Recovering from Falwellian fundamentalism from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I was spiritually abused by Jerry Falwell. I attended Liberty University, his Nazi-like concentration camp college in which rock music, attending movie theatres, single dating and long hair was banished. I'm proud of the fact I survived.

Christine March 25, 2010

Recovering from born-again, baptized - Baptist, Evangelical Free - fundagelicalism from Moved a lot - Rural Minnesota

I author two blogs, Hot-For-Jesus Former Fundie and teandoranges. I hope that by telling my story others will be encouraged to tell theirs.

Rachel Weston March 23, 2010

Recovering from christian fundamentalism from Solihull, England

Hi my name is Rachel. I live in the Midlands in England. I was brought up in the Bretheren church originally. My dad was (and still is to this day) a pastor of an evangelical church.

Steve Smallwood March 18, 2010

Recovering from Evangelical Christian from Princeton, NJ

As a younger man, I wanted to be a pastor. Not to have a position of power, but just to help other people and make a difference. As an older man, I've called bullshit on religion and felt enormous freedom in letting go of old ways and religious beliefs, while still keeping my morals and values. It feels great.

Lori February 10, 2010

Recovering from Catholic from Upper Midwest

Fear was a central emotion growing up in a large devout Catholic family in the upper Midwest. I learned to be afraid of the devil, hell, sins, priests, and even my thoughts. All of these fears originated in church, in catechism and at home.

Webmdave February 8, 2010

Recovering from Evangelical, Charismatic, Baptist

I got down on my knees confessed my sins, repented as much as I knew how, and accepted Christ into my heart. It was a mind-altering experience for me. In my mind?s eye I visualized the Creator of all physically with me in the room. I felt overwhelmed with what I believed was a personal and direct manifestation of the LORD. I cried and cried. The emotional cleansing and reality of that moment has never left me, and as I write about it now, it comes alive once again.

Rob Wood February 5, 2010

Recovering from To believe in Santa Claus from Various towns and cities in Virginia and North Carolina

How can we argue convincingly about who or what god is (or even if there is a separate being who answers to that name), when we can't even agree on what an elephant is?

John Williamson February 3, 2010

Recovering from Fundamentalist Christian

This is my ?spiritual? or more accurately, ?psycho-spiritual-reflective?, autobiography I wrote for my senior seminar in theology class in college. I?ve since revised it and will continue to as my life unfolds. Hopefully some people can find it helpful and/or relate partially to it. I encourage everyone do this reflection ?exercise?, as I found it incredibly helpful and life-giving. The art of knowing thyself (for theological/psychological purposes or just in general) is so important and yet very undervalued in our busy-busy culture. Visit my blog at jasherwilliamson.wordpress.com for more reflections on issues of recovering from fundamentalism, religious addiction, healing, grace, etc.

HD February 2, 2010

Recovering from Muslim

Despite the fact that neither of my parents really were too religious, my life began with the chanting of the adhaan (Muslim call to prayer) into my ear. Every Muslim child has this done, and it is supposed to start off his or her life with Islam.

Donna February 2, 2010

Recovering from Funamentalist Churches

I am at peace with myself and my 'version' of God! bless you all in your journey!

Amy Black January 31, 2010

Recovering from Assemblies of God from Southern USA

I was a devout Christian until I was 19. A Christian University gone wrong woke me up to the hypocrisy and manipulation that goes on behind the scenes of church leadership. I started questioning my beliefs and eventually lost my faith in God. It was really hard to adjust to being an atheist because it was such a huge change for me. I have come to accept the changes in my life and have made peace with the possibility that I may never be sure if there's a god or not. I have a good life now and I am a happy non-Christian.

Emmi January 29, 2010

Recovering from Catholic at birth, later Non-denominational Fundamentalist from New York, NY

Walking away is a scary process, but honesty with yourself is necessary for life, growth and (if you choose to persue it) genuine spirituality.

Bill McCracken January 26, 2010

Recovering from Baptist/Pentecostal

I've left Christianity altogether now. To be honest, it hurt like hell. I didn't lose just a belief system, but a whole culture that I was raised in and that had become a huge part of my life.

Jim Etchison January 26, 2010

Recovering from Fundamentalist Christian from California

I visited Japan and ran across a statue of a dog I?d never heard of before. The dog came every day with his master to the train station and waited at the platform all day until his master returned from work. One day his master died while at work, and the dog waited for the rest of his life for his master to return, never leaving the station. Each day at the correct time he would sit and look at everyone getting off the train to see if his master was among them. The dog, named Hachiko, was remembered by the memorial where I stood. The story gripped my heart. I realized I was like Hachiko. I was patterning my entire life around an event?the return of Jesus?that was never going to happen. Once I allowed myself to be open to the painful truth, it crashed down upon me like a sledgehammer. There was no happy eternal ending for me. This life is all there is, and I was wasting it by waiting for a master who would never return.

April G. January 26, 2010

Recovering from Independent Baptist-Calvinist from Illinois

I was in the religious group for 19 years. Was told I was "saved by grace", but there were always religious hoops I needed to jump through...I got tired, tired of trying to measure up. I could never do enough, but held on for years because verbally we were told we were "saved by grace"...but that wasn't the reality of the burdens heaped on us. Been out for almost 3 years....YAAAY! Thank God! There's hope after an abusive religious experience!!!

Jim Moyers January 26, 2010

Recovering from Seventh-day Adventist from USA South & Midwest

I was born a fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist, and was for my formative years a devoted Adventist. But as a young adult I discovered that the beliefs I grew up with was no longer an adequate explanation for my experience of myself and the world. Questions for which there seemed to be no adequate answers led to doubts which led to more unanswered questions. What began as a few small cracks in the structure of my beliefs grew and spread until the whole structure came crashing down, leaving me with little to guide me as I entered into the world. In my journey since that time, I have come to a much fuller and richer understanding of the nature of myself and the cosmos than the beliefs that I had been taught to regard as "TRUTH" beyond all question. I've also learned that the question is often more important than the answer.

Larry January 26, 2010

Recovering from evangelical from Massachusetts

In my mind, it's really not strictly about "fundamentalism." Fundamentalism is simply an easy target. All religious lies are abuse. Why would anyone want to tell a chlld lies? My children were harmed by the whole nexus of events. Eight years after my deconversion, I still don't get it. Whether it's priests hitting on kids or pastors convincing men that they have to believe mind-numbing doctrine, it's all physical and mental abuse that has harmful consequences. It's pathological and anyone who loves children should think about it. Anyone who wants to be moral shouldn't use their authority to influence especially a child toward belief in any religious lunacy. My only regret is not figuring that out sooner. All children should be taught fidelity, kindness, compassion, giving, industriousness, responsibility, etc. But chief among all these values is honesty. Christianity is among the cruelest belief systems and the failure to be honest makes Christianity immoral by definition.

Mriana January 26, 2010

Recovering from Both Free Methodist and Church of God (Indiana)/Wesleyan from Missouri

This is my journey out of Fundamentalism and then Christianity altogether. I hope in sharing my story, it gives hope and encouragement to others leaving Evangelical Fundamentalism and/or religion entirely. The title of this first article I borrowed from Valerie Tarico's book "The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Truth and Love".

Mark Stidham January 23, 2010

Recovering from Pentacostal-AoG from Bassett, VA

Pastor forced to resign from denomination because he loved too much!

Marlene Winell January 20, 2010

Recovering from Pentecostal Christian from Daughter of Missionaries

I was one serious kid. Despite my healthy sense of humor, I worried a lot about the Big Questions. When in bed with a severe cold, I pondered my death. Especially as I hit puberty, I had to understand everything thoroughly. I wanted to get it right and make it mine. No hand-me-down religion. I was going to feel it for myself and work it out intellectually too. At sixteen, I decided to chronicle my spiritual life.

Leon Peek January 18, 2010

Recovering from Baptist from Illinois

I must admit that in the six years since my ALS (Lou Gehrig?s disease) diagnosis, I have been a bitter man trying to understand why this happened to me. After years of struggling, in and out of faith, the daily challenges of a marriage, raising children, and constantly grabbing at my economic wants, I have ALS. Just when life was getting wonderful, I have ALS.

Elisha Perlman January 13, 2010

Recovering from Conservative/Orthodox

I consider myself to have been "religiously abused." This means that I was forced to absorb -- and consider true -- a bunch of myths of the Jewish variety. I watched with great dismay as my parents became more and more religious.

Rachel January 11, 2010

Recovering from Christian from Ft. Oglethorpe, GA

In a world with as much chaos, hatred, bigotry, and over-consumption as what we live in - there is a need for the hope that faith brings. I think that when I fully embrace these beliefs and live in the knowledge of them, my faith seems clearer, my world looks brighter, and loving others is easier.

Leah January 11, 2010

Recovering from Mormon from Northern Arizona