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Pastor Who Gave Up God For One Year keeps it going.


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So this guy couldn't just admit to himself (and others) that he didn't believe in God and he no longer wanted to be a follower of a religion, so he concocted a way to get himself out of what he perceived as a tight situation. I don't know whether to call the guy a genius or a total ball-less cop-out.

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So this guy couldn't just admit to himself (and others) that he didn't believe in God and he no longer wanted to be a follower of a religion, so he concocted a way to get himself out of what he perceived as a tight situation.

maybe, maybe not. obviously we can't look into his mind and read him, but it could also be that he had doubts and tried to sort them and then decided to do this. having doubts isn't the same as not believing at all, and sometimes the doubts quiet once looked into, and sometimes they create bigger rifts that lead to the leaving of a faith. who knows, he could have come back with a stronger faith, realizing that he did need that affirmation. what a testimony that would have been, eh? who knows, it ended the way that it did for a reason, though.

and also, who's to say he won't come back to the faith in a few years? maybe not sad specifically, but maybe a different christian denomination. or maybe he'll drift toward another faith entirely. the future isn't certain, we only know what he's done and what he's doing now.

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So this guy couldn't just admit to himself (and others) that he didn't believe in God and he no longer wanted to be a follower of a religion, so he concocted a way to get himself out of what he perceived as a tight situation. I don't know whether to call the guy a genius or a total ball-less cop-out.

If this is what indeed happened then it is sad that his community put him in this situation where he just couldn't be honest about what he felt and believed and they are the ones who should be judged.

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I will say one thing: LEAVIG Planet Adventist (yes, they are pretty much like heir own planet, at times) is the hardest thing I've ever done.

And I wasn't even a pastor. I was pretty young when I left, and when I grew up and was able to REALLY leave, I was still relatively young.

Rob Bell has it twice as hard as I do, and I drink nearly every day to forget my experiences on Planet Adventist. I really feel for this guy.

Also, I am still unable to come it as an atheist/non heterosexual to SDA people still in my life, not that I've got many left after all that nonsense.

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So this guy couldn't just admit to himself (and others) that he didn't believe in God and he no longer wanted to be a follower of a religion, so he concocted a way to get himself out of what he perceived as a tight situation. I don't know whether to call the guy a genius or a total ball-less cop-out.

That seems harsh to me. Losing faith is often like losing a best friend and it's difficult to just up and leave a best friend even though the relationship may no longer be working. It's not always (I'd hazard a guess that it's seldom) a sudden epiphany (irony intended) and flipping an off-switch. It also can't be easy to be in a place where others are looking to you for spiritual direction and not wanting to influence their faith negatively.

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ot, but i read that phonetically in my head as "yoo-yoo" :lol:

carry on.

That's how we say it, so you're on board.

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That's how we say it, so you're on board.

lol it reminds me of that m*a*s*h episode...

"you...you...!"

"don't you call me a you you!"

:lol:

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agree with everything here. it gets to a point where "fake it till you make it" is just no longer feasible. it's great that people have such a strong faith in a particular religion, but not everyone has the same convictions about the same path.

nowadays, i'm very strongly rooted in paganism, far stronger than i ever was in christianity. but it's a faith that i myself found, not one that was forced upon me from birth. as people grow and change and mature, they should feel free to change and adapt their personal beliefs with it. they may not change religions or go non-religious, but they should feel free to follow their own unique path without condemnation from anyone.

and, honestly, if anyone's faith is shaken because a pastor turned to atheism, then their faith is not very strong to begin with, and i would think they maybe have some issues they need to address within themselves. it may be a frightening, sometimes painful process (lord knows i know how that is) but it is worth it in the end, to either reaffirm what you believe or to find what you believe in something else and be confident in it.

I've been going through some soul-searching of my own in terms of religion and don't know where I am right now. As a lifelong Catholic, I'm taking the opposite approach this year - trying to include God versus his approach. I don't judge him for his conclusions, but admit I didn't really understand his logic. However, he seems like a good person and in the end, I think that's all that counts.

To the bolded statement - a priest at my parish once stated that he questioned God when his cousin died from pancreatic cancer in her early 30s, and left behind young children. In the end, his faith was restored. His honesty really struck a chord with me, though, and made me realize that it's OK to doubt God and not write everything off to 'it's His will."

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  • 5 years later...

I am not sure what lack of logic Rob Bell is showing. Sam Harris mentions how an all-knowing, all-powerful God let's 9,000 children starve CV to death each day. Where is the logic, the compassion in that? 

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