“Christian Deconversion”? – Part 1
There are many professing Christians that I’ve encountered throughout the years that downplay the vast important of Biblical doctrine. They tell me that “salvation is not a matter of doctrine”. Can a genuine follower of Jesus Christ actually possess such a mindset?
Salvation certainly is a matter of doctrine, especially when we as followers of Christ must, and can only, point to the scriptures to provide the answer to life’s most important question that must be answer by all …”What must I do to be saved?”
“Christian” deconversion stories. Whether or not these professing Christians where ever genuine followers of Christ is of course an issue intrinsic to the issue of the eternal security of the believer [and can never, in my opinion, be settled on a subjective level since we cannot know with assurance if any person other than ourselves is, or ever was the genuine article].
Instead, the answer can only be found through the objective truths that the scriptures provide to the question, “Will any Holy Spirit regenerated person ever permanently renounce their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior [and/or the faith once delivered to the saints? [ Jude 1:3].
Contained within the many deconversion testimonies I’ve heard over the years, there are two tragic recurring common denominators that I’ve noticed. First, the virtual equating of allegiance to their particular church denomination [or group of people] with allegiance to their God. In other words, to depart from their particular religious organization = departing from their God. [i.e. – a person cannot possibly serve or walk with God apart from being attached to an organized church group].
Secondly, and intricately related to the first point, these “deconverters” make statements providing compelling evidence that they never had a firm grasp at all concerning the question, “what must I do to be saved”? Frequently they say that it was their water baptism that saved them, or their service to the Pastor, church etc., etc.
In other words, did these people ever truly believe that it is only “by grace through faith and not of works” that a person can be saved with such admissions? They often complain about their inability to have confidence in answering that question [when they were “Christians”] since there are so many conflicting opinions. Most say that they
had never even come to the assurance that God had forgiven them of all of their sins [one day they believe they are on the way to Heaven, the next they believe they are on their way to the Lake of Fire … depending on their behavior from day to day … so very sad indeed!].
It appears to me that they have little to no understanding of what Christ’s shed blood accomplished for all those who have placed all their hope, faith, and trust on His finished work … rather than even 1% of their own works for their justified status before God. It appears to me that no regenerated person will ever permanently renounce their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior [and/or the faith once delivered to the saints [Jude 1:3].
To further illustrate my points [although certainly not to provide compelling evidence for my position], consider the following excerpts taken from one of the many Christian deconversion websites entitled, “Graceful Atheist” :
“DECONVERSION FROM CHRISTIANITY”
A VERY COMMON MESSAGE
Atheism, Deconstruction, Deconversion, Humanism
A Deconversion Story [by David] :
These kinds of messages have become cliché, but I find the need to write it anyway. Mostly this is an attempt to communicate to my friends and family as succinctly but thoroughly as possible the what and the why of my deconversion from Christianity. This is also for those of you readers who have had doubts and have struggled to keep
them contained.
What I am
I am no longer a Christian. In the summer of 2015 after it became increasing more difficult to hold my beliefs against surmounting evidence to the contrary I admitted to myself I no longer believed. I was a Christian for approximately 27 years, until the Jenga tower of contradiction between belief and facts came crashing down. I could
no longer sustain the mental effort it required to maintain belief against the overwhelming lack of evidence for that belief.
I am an atheist. Others, wiser than I, have pointed out that this does not tell you very much about me. To say that I am not something is not very descriptive. The list of things I am not is infinite. But I am not afraid of this moniker. I am not a theist. This means I do not believe in God or gods. I do not believe in the supernatural of any kind. The natural is more than sufficient.
Which Faith?
I happened to grow up in the United States in a nominally Christian household. When I became a Christian in my late teens it was within the context of a culture soaked with Christian themes. But what if I had been born in Saudi Arabia? Wouldn’t I have become a Muslim? What about India? A Sikh or a Hindu? How can I honestly say I would
have become a Christian if I had been raised in a different culture. The answer is I can’t.
I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
Even within Christianity we have a tremendous amount of disagreement. Catholics and Protestants. Evangelical and Main liners. There are something like 2000 different Christian sects alone. As an evangelical we call many of them cults. But how do we determine what is a cult and what is gospel?
How does one determine whether one faith is more right than another? If your answer is the bible re-read the line about 2000 different sects of Christianity. Most of them use the same Christian bible.
Even within a narrow group like Evangelicals , who or what decides between two contradictory beliefs? Is pre-destination correct or is it human choice? Is baptism submersion or will a sprinkling do? Is it pure grace or good works that saves a person? I had strong opinions on
each of these as do those who would have disagreed with me. But there is no way to determine which is true and which is false.
It comes down to cultural microcosms. If you were raised Baptist, then pre-destination is true. If you were raise Pentecostal then speaking in tongues is true. All the while both groups point to the other with disdain.
It was when I began to look at what my in-group considered to be cults trying to understand why a person would believe these “crazy” things, that it occurred to me that they saw my beliefs as just as crazy. And atheists thought we were all crazy.”
“Is it possible for a Christian to convert to atheism?” <
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”
