One by one, collecting tales of loss of faith in the Bible Belt.
A continuation of a series inspired by a blog at Godless in Dixie. Part 1 can be found here. One of my absolute favorite things to do is stumble across religious-themed songs in pop music. Something about my sheltered childhood, in which the Top-40 Station was labeled "Satan's Station," grew in me a hidden, junk-food-like... Continue Reading →
Inspired by Neil Carter's post at Godless in Dixie awhile ago, I thought it would be interesting to start a series on music that has narrated our departures from faith. Do you have a song that helps to tell your story of leaving? If so, please leave it in the comments! The comments on Neil's... Continue Reading →
For some reason, despite being knee-deep in many of the Nonreligious blogs at Patheos, I just today discovered one of its oldest: Daylight Atheism. The author of this blog, which is over ten years old, is my age (early thirties), which seems so strange when I consider how conservative I was myself a decade ago. ... Continue Reading →
Sidenote: I am still collecting people's stories, but am waiting for the next long holiday to reach out, interview some people over the phone (rather than via email), and put their experiences together in a way that honors what they've felt and seen on their ways out of faith. Like many of us, I've been... Continue Reading →
I just finished reading Amber Cantorna's incredible story of moving from a child who loved Adventures in Odyssey and whose father worked for Focus to one who realized she loves women, not the men she was raised to select among for her future romantic partner. And I knew it would be a difficult story, but... Continue Reading →
Sometimes, the hard moments hit when things are going well.
From the personal blog of the Storytelling Skeptic.
One of those days with a burn.
A month ago, I moved to a new country for an incredible job. It’s been remarkable, but on top of that, I have continued to process my loss of faith. I’ve been meeting periodically with Bart Campolo, an incredible resource for people going through this transition, and also one of the few who offers a vision of what life can be after deconversion in a positive way.
The country to which I’ve moved is Muslim-majority, and while that didn’t seem like a big deal, its impact has crept up on me lately. In addition, I had a meeting with Bart in which we tackled the toughest part of this yet: the realization that, no matter what, when I die, that is it. No part of me will live on, watching peacefully from heaven as my myriad of nieces and nephews build…
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It's not always us who lose faith...click through to see the last stanza.
One of the most piercing things that I have felt as faith dies is the relentless physical sensation of the person I was. I am still her, but a woman so drastically changed that she--the person I was, who couldn't have believed where I ended up--can no longer conceive of it. The psyche feels haunted, in... Continue Reading →
I recall being young, six or seven, and sitting in a bright room with a few other kids and two teachers. The female among them, a friendly person, was describing the creation of the world. It was Sunday School in the early nineties, and we were learning about how God created light. There may have... Continue Reading →
Reprinted with permission.
Words of Wonder, Worry and Whimsy
Chrissy Stroop: Writer, Speaker, Exvangelical
News and views from nowhere in particular, somewhere in Texas
Writer, editor, professional overthinker
Storytelling Skeptic 