After 25 years as an evangelical pastor, I realized that Christianity is fiction - Bruce Gerencser

Today I spoke with Bruce Gerencser, who pastored mostly Baptist churches for 25 years until he realized that Christianity is mythology and fiction, and deconverted.
We discussed many topics including:
• Attending Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Churches, starting with Tim LaHaye's church (of the "Left Behind" book series).
• Feeling close to god as he grew up.
• Saying the sinner's prayer at age 5 but rededicating his life as a teenager during a revival service and sharing with his church that he felt called to be a preacher.
• Attending an IFB College to prepare for the ministry.
• Hearing endless sermons about the need to fight against worldliness and sinfulness.
• Thinking that god was leading and directing personally in his life.
• Eventually realizing that the Bible is not inerrant or infallible, and that the Bible is full of errors and contradictions.
• Realizing that Christianity is just mythology, and deconverting.
• Sensing overwhelming peace upon deconversion.
• Observing Christians frequently ostracize and act hateful toward deconverted Christians.
Thanks to Bruce for sharing his story and for his many contributions to the community!
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Connect with Bruce:
brucegerencser.net
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MythVision:
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Dragons in Genesis:
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--Tim
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Ending music by Eyal Raz, "Friends"
• Friends
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[@chainedmindsasylum]

As a former Baptist Fundamentalist Christian myself I appreciate this conversation between the two of you. It took me a long time to break the chains and see that this is at it's core a religious control system

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@brucegerencser]

@@noneofyourbusinessna740, Satan/Devil is a myth. Whatever “deception” we see in the world is of human origin. We are the problem, not Satan. 😈

[@garyrolen8764]

I've often thought that had I been raised baptist (a far calmer version of Christianity) instead of Assembly of God I might still be a Christian. But, perhaps not.

[@brucegerencser]

@@garyrolen8764 I have wondered that too. Had I been raised in progressive/liberal Christianity, would the outcome have been different? Maybe, but I can’t know that for sure. It is what it is, and I have zero interest in organized Christianity.

[@rebeccahart6770]

You follow Christ as a Christian, not a religious system.

[@MrsBridgette2012]

I was saved when I was twelve years old. That was after we were shown a film on what hell was going to be like if we didn’t accept Jesus as our savior. I always had questions and many times the answer was,”You must be careful about questioning God’s word”. Or being told not to read anything but the Bible for my religious questions. Now I know I was just asking questions they didn’t want to answer because the jig would be up.

[@JamesRichardWiley]

Religion is fear of the unknown.

[@FRWHELAN]

We are not comfortable with mystery, so, we create myths to explain the unknown. I have no problem with this a poetry or allegory. But, once its required dogma it reveals man's fear. Emerson said: "The village blasphemer sees fear in the face, form, and gait of the minister."

[@cherylmcelveen2817]

Sounds just like the coC. Questions were typically met with anger.

[@gtron7692]

I can relate.... my mom made me watch the "left behind" movie when I was about 5 and it messed me up in the head pretty bad for at least 7 years.

[@MrsBridgette2012]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 yes all made up by men for their own agenda.

[@SaffronHammer]

Born in and raised JW--44 before I woke from the fundamentalist biblical shame and fear based faith / belief system. I can relate to just about everything you both shared. I am so thankful that I am out, awake, and free. An atheist, I am now far happier, more at peace and able to truly love--and free myself from fear and guilt and shame as a motivator.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Hi, Abigail, if you are interested in doing an interview, please feel free to reach out! facebook.com/timandjuliemills or my email is: [e-mail] Thanks!

[@SaffronHammer]

@@HarmonicAtheist THANK YOU!

[@bobbiefritz2525]

I too was born a JW and left at 44! Twins!!! Lol I too love way more..far less judgmental. I however have lost my family, they shun me. I hope in time they will realize that shunning is not love . I don’t believe in the god of the Bible but I still think there must be something out there… looking into Taoism and Buddhism. Still search but I’m enjoying enjoying the world and all sorts of people and beliefs.

[@memyself2630]

@@bobbiefritz2525 Blessings to you on your new journey!🙏🏾

[@bobbiefritz2525]

@@memyself2630 thank you!! ☺️

[@AronAroniteOnlineTV]

" it's burning away like a paper, God we honor you and where are you ? ' Most intense words and so true.

[@kslique]

After over 20 years in “full-time” ministry, it is very scary to walk away from it. I’m 51 and had to figure out how to re-invent myself. Every bit of training and experience I had “professionally” was in the church. That doesn’t translate well to a resume. I am so glad that I am no longer under the thumb of religion, but I’m still VERY unsure about my future. Everything I poured all of my time, talents, energy and money into is now gone. All I have to show for it is regret, anger and confusion. And I know I stayed in it far longer than I should because it was all I knew. I was scared to leave, so I stuck it out until I finally sub-consciously self-sabotaged and had to leave. The church is a cult and now I am left picking up the pieces of a life fully surrendered to it. Thankfully my wife and kids are all in the same page as I am.

[@Plethorality]

Welcome out! : ) I am still a Christian but not like i used to be. So many churches have turned into cults and pushed God and people out, while they can stay, doing all the things that Jesus yelled at the pharisees for doing... It gets old. It gets so draining. Dont let yourself get caught in some other cult, because it is familiar... Enjoy your wife and family. Unchurching and anthologying, and undeniminationaling and questioning one's culture can be painful, but wonderful. I did not become an atheist, but cant blame those who do... So much of what we had forced into us, was church, pretending to be God, and even the bible got wrapped in idolatry. Just love yourselves and everyone and the planet. If Jesus does come back, i bet He would prefer to find that, instead of, "we got all the doctrine right, Lord"... Ugh. And i looooove not having to put up with the repetitive songs that i had had a gutful of since 1970. I was five.

[@johnhowell9277]

I fully understand as I was in the same situation here in Oxford UK. I'm still recovering but times for me and family are now really good. One thing that helps me is to focus on those I helped by way of good works and encouragement. Sadly for me the spiritual side became too much having been raised in a pentecostal church. Also, being prone to depression and anxiety didn't help. Thankfully I'm now free. I left the flock nearly 30 years ago, taking control - a long journey but a journey through which I thought for myself and dared to question. Take care my friend. Very best wishes, John

[@user-qg9ck9de8d]

Have you checked out The Clergy Project? It was setup for people with similar experiences as yours. Might be worth checking out.

[@johnpro2847]

i was a believer simply because intelligent well educated folk believed.I realised they were misled like me..amen

[@salahuddinabdul-aziz6924]

I am a recovering Muslim, it angers me at times when I think of all the years I wasted in believing that nonsense! There is no difference between Islam and Christianity. They both believe in Jesus and the many other fairytales of the so called prophets and messengers that didn’t exist!

[@HarmonicAtheist]

If you'd be open to doing an interview, please reach out! On FB: facebook.com/timandjuliemills/ or by email: [e-mail]

[@brennanando]

Muslim communities are clueless about the levels of apostasy, because it's so dangerous to walk away. I'd love to know how many people are still going to mosque to avoid losing their families.

[@commentsedited]

Believe in, no. The term is completely different and has different meaning. Muslims believe that Jesus was a real human. Unlike Christians who believe that Jesus was more than human but a demi God. There is a big difference. Jewish beliefs says that the messiah will come to save them from their oppression. Some jews thought it was Jesus. But it was not within the parameters for the title of the messiah. Originally ✝️ were Jewish, only jews who had the idea that the messiah had come. Unto he died without doing anything that the messiah was supposed to accomplish. So if you think that Muslims are the same thing as Christians. Think again. Plus, both Islam and Christianity were aimed at the pagan. Only Islam removed a lot of the mis wording so that it was not pushing the wrong message to the gentiles. As Christianity failed to do, it is the reason why we see Christianity in its current idol worshiping format.

[@UnknownMoses]

What will you do if the mark of the beast is forced on you?

[@Farmfield]

​@@seeleygirl6178 If you actually read the letters of Paul and the gospels you'll find there's no heaven or hell, the idea is that Jesus will create an actual kingdom on earth. With him as actual king. And God will. resurrect the dead to live in this kingdom. And he said it would happen in the lifetime of his disciples. Now, you can chose to read up on what I wrote above, or continue to believe the distorted view you have, but your view is not what the Bible says. We know John is the last of the gospels, written as a reply to Luke, which is based on Mark and Matthew. John is written 60-80 years after the proposed Jesus lived. It's written outside Palestine, in Greek, by an author who are not an eye witnesses, nor claim to be. And the text is proven to be a literary construct following Greek writing tradition. It's a made up story by a Jewish sect to explain to the jews why God allowed the temple to be destroyed and it's meant to create tradition to replace the temple sacrificial traditions no longer viable after the temple was destroyed.

[@satie321]

Deconversion stories alwasy fascinate me, Thank you Bruce for being so vulnerable.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤️

[@athena3865]

So very sorry to know your story of your BPD mom. I know your pain; I am 65. I was in Los Angeles for a couple years as a little girl (age 5 - 6) and was also uprooted over and over because of a mentally ill mother. I was forced into nine different grade schools in two states, two of which were in third grade (not military related). She forced Catholic Catechism on me at age seven till I was 'confirmed' at age 13. She also did not want me attending college because I was not a boy, yet was not allowed to leave home till I was married; it ruined the foundation for my life. (I put myself through college, later). I de-converted at age 61, husband is still entrenched with the make-believe child indoctrination. Thank You for sharing your story.

[@Thumbelina298]

It's okay Athena. We appreciate the freedom from the shackles of religion, at whatever point in our lives. 48years, begun deconversion early this year, along with my 29 year old daughter. We are enjoying our lives sans the fear...and look forward to the future with peace and the nomalcy of a normal human being without the religious 🕶️ Thank you for sharing your story.

[@matthewgodbee9141]

Bruce became closer with his wife after deconverting. Happy for him. It might be nice to hear her side of the story.

[@debralucas9519]

@@an4yb7ack Who mentioned nihilism?

[@debralucas9519]

@@an4yb7ack That is entirely untrue. Adults of sound mind do not need to hold religious beliefs to live full lives.

[@klappapa]

Heartwarming thank you op 💖

[@butterbeanqueen8148]

@@an4yb7ackdo you even know what nihilism means? It’s not what you think it means. Just because a person doesn’t believe in god doesn’t mean they don’t have morals or principles.

[@butterbeanqueen8148]

@@damianedwards8827 atheist overcomplicate things? Did you listen to this? God isn’t simply love. “He” is many, many things. Vengeful is one of them. Angry is another. If you believe the Bible.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

I change religious affiliation every week: I’m currently a Papuan animist; last week I was a Hellenic polytheist; I was a born-again Evangelical in the third week of January. I hope to get to my polemical atheist phase by the first week of May.

[@SqwarkParrotSpittingFeathers]

Even if you could call the bible evidence, it’s poor. If the bible is egregiously faulty then the main character’s existence is likely fantasy. If the existence of Yahweh is a fiction then the god man Jesus cannot stand. Faith based on the contents of the bible is worthless for the following reasons… There is real historical evidence of John the Baptist, but not of the greater Jesus. There is historical evidence of Appolonious, a character similar to Jesus, but not of Jesus. There is an historical record of Jesus Ben Pandera but, no Jesus the Galilean outside of the bible. Nothing. There’s Jesus ben Ananias, a rude peasant, who went around Jerusalem in 66CE prophesying its fall in 70CE; he’s recorded in documents outside the bible, but not the biblical Jesus. His alleged disciples never wrote anything they were uneducated peasants. His enemies never recorded his miracles nor his troublesome nature. The bible account says he was widely known and a divisive figure that the Romans never recorded, and neither did the Jews. There were a number of people with the name Jesus, exhibiting Jesus behaviours, many have been recorded; but, not the Jesus of the bible. Was he a fiction? Indeed, you don’t require any actual person to have actually existed for a “reality” to grow from nothing. King Arthur and Robin Hood, along with William Tell, and others, come to mind. Was the biblical Jesus based on a composite of these other Jesus’s with reference to the Old Testament plagiarise to elevate these people to one divine god. The rest of the Jesus/Yahweh tale is equally murky. There’s no evidence that all the first born were killed either in Egypt nor by Herod. I think the Egyptians would have recorded such a calamity and the calamities of the plagues, but nothing. Could the Jews have made it all up? The first line of the bible is clearly incorrect. The Earth was formed 9.8 billion years after the heavens. How did the creator get that wrong? And, the rest of the creation is wrong. It’s as if an ancient ignorant tribe wrote it all by themselves, no god to help. There are no waters above the firmament, for a start. Heaven isn’t up there either, we’ve been there. The tribes of the Middle East wouldn’t have known oceans could be frozen but for the heat of the sun. But, water was everywhere before the sun was “created” in the biblical account. More evidence of a fiction by an ignorant tribe with no access to a god creator. Adam was made from dirt by magic and he, this god, forgot about Eve, an afterthought. so not an all knowing and wise god then? Snakes and donkeys talk, nonsense fiction, right up there with Harry Potter, though JK Rowling was clearly a better writer with fewer continuity errors. This god set up Eve by placing this magic apple within her reach. Then punished humanity thereafter. What a vicious god, if not a fictional one. Nonsense fiction, by an ignorant ancient people writing about their mythology, their nation’s origins, steeped in the mists of the past, just the same as the Greek, Persian and Babylonian cultures write about their make believe gods who were equally fervently worshipped. Inanna, the dying and rising goddess was such an example. But many more dying and rising gods in the lexicon of ancient myths. Virgin births were pretty common too. Adam and Eve’s children (as Eve was a clone of Adam) and grandchildren (as Cain, Able and Seth only had Eve to produce offspring or with their unknown sisters) could only have been produced by incest, then double incest, according to the biblical account. Clearly god didn’t know that the inbreeding of the biblical account would lead to genetic problems. None of it true, nothing a creator god would have penned. It was a fiction by a Jewish ancient people. The Exodus apparently didn’t happen according to all evidence, acknowledged by the Jewish archaeologists who have tried to find it. The Egyptians never wrote of their army being swallowed by the sea. Mosses may never existed. There is a massive amount of genocide in the bible by a god who failed to get the locals to behave. Genocide because the Israelites needed a land to make home. If a creator of the universe and humans could have just thought a new land, a new island, south of Cyprus, it would have appeared. Easy for a god, not so for an ancient tribe to pull off? Then, this god could have told these others how to behave and punished individuals, if that’s what was needed. But no, he went straight to mass murder. What? And, the greatest god in the universe was defeated by iron chariots: Judges1:19. That is so ridiculous, such a puny god. Or, is it because the story was a creation of a tribe that had no concept of future technologies or tactics to defeat these new Iron Age chariots. I’m sure that a human Napoleon type tactician could have done better than the all wise, all powerful fictitious god of the universe. Genesis 19 tells us of Lot being raped by this daughters. And yet this god is moral? He could have changed the course of their predicament, found him a younger wife or servant to sleep with, if a god. More incest. The Jewish religion was at its heart, a blood sacrifice barbaric religion. The books that were supposedly written by Mosses consist of a linguistic style that didn’t exist at the time of his “life”. It’s a fictitious narrative, written by the Jews to give their new nation an historical legitimacy, and unify them, in the midst of other powerful cultures in the Middle East. Didn’t help much though, they were constantly being invaded and subjugated by more powerful “gods” of other warring nations. Even Yahweh acknowledged there were other gods. Remember the Ten Commandments tablets that were conveniently broken and then without fuss, lost. An all powerful creator of the universe who missed the opportunity to create the tablets out of an advanced technology, such as, I don’t know, Titanium? Is that because the Jews didn’t know about such a thing and so had no understanding of the future? The forging of such a technology would have cemented the truth of their god. Broken disappeared stone tablets: clearly, no god involved. Convenient. Noah and his flood occurred when the Egyptians where going about their cultural and religious practices that continued afterwards; and, their religion was not replaced by the flood family’s immediate ancestors, fanning out from the ark. The Pharaohs and their gods continued unabated. No Yahweh? More incest? The Chinese culture and writing developed along a continuum and they too were never taken the religion of Yahweh from the Middle East, by Noah’s relatives. And, the ancient Britons and Australians failed to notice they were meant to be dead. The New Testament, if it is read, critically, is inconsistent and evolves over time. Indeed, the gospels were not written for decades after the death of this Jesus, whose birth and death are still questionable and no date can be asserted with clarity. There was no census when Herod was alive, that story was made up after the event. Nazareth was not a town in the first century and was only “discovered “ when Constantine’s mother, Helena, went looking for it. The gospel writers mistook the word Nazarene for a town. And there are many problems with the census and the way it is told. Because it was written as fact over one hundred years after the supposed birth of this Jesus. More fiction? The whole point of a census is to count the number of people in an area. The census of the bible is an artificial device to get Mary to give birth in the town of David where the biblical messiah was to be born. And, boulders weren’t placed in front of tombs until later, about 50 years, one of the reasons that the gospels are thought to have been written many years after the myth of Jesus. And, the crucified where left to rot on the cross/pole on which they were hung as a warning to insurrectionists? No empty tomb, it’s a fiction to turn a myth into a “fact”. To turn man into god. Pilate was, in real history, recorded history, a truly nasty contemptuous man, he would never have allowed the process of crucifixion as a warning to have been undermined. And, the alleged trial is a tale of the blood cult of scapegoating. Even Barabbus was a literary device representing scapegoating, suggesting it never occurred. Barabbus means, son of the teacher, or son of the father. The gospel writers where representing the two characters as essentially the same, one became the goat sacrifice. And, the twist was that the Jews shouted to let the murderer go, allowing the blame for Jesus’s death to be placed on the Jews and not the imperial Romans. It was very much a political narrative because the Jews and Romans where essentially at war, the destruction of the Temple in 70AD/CE, and this new sect/cult needed to distinguish themselves from the Jewish troublemakers, and the ongoing violence of the time. Paul never knew Jesus and only depicted him as a spiritual vision. He knew nothing of the man and nothing of his life or his teachings. More evidence that the Chrestos (anointed) was mythical? And, he writes to an “ancient” congregation which suggests that his Chrestos was at least a first century BC/BCE figure. The first time the gospels where mentioned was in 180AD/CE by Irenaeus. Indeed, a very prominent Christian, Theophilus, said that he came to believe in Jesus from reading the Jewish Scriptures or, Torah. No mention of the gospels, no quoting of anything Jesus allegedly said. That was circa, 170-182AD/CE. The myth of the god man Jesus was created over many years. But, Mark was first written, not until at least 70AD/CE but, as above, could have been much later. No record of the star of Bethlehem, of the graves emptying, or the sky darkening. It’s fiction. Christians may need to believe in this lie. Still, it’s a lie.

[@graemegeorgeharrison2468]

😂

[@dh8323]

I have been a Christian all my life but I'm in a struggle... I'm just taking a step back and listening to every one

[@kentwood9821]

I hope you investigate and consider Eastern Orthodoxy before heading for the door. A lot of folks getting fed up with their Christianity are really getting fed up with the chaos, personality cults and emotional manipulation that is very common in many flavors of modern Protestantism. In any case, God bless and thank you for your service.

[@darkeyeze]

I thank god it didn’t take me a quarter century to leave the church, still longer than it should have. Congrats to everyone that finds their freedom from fear.

[@jm1733]

You left the great whore, the desolate woman, not the church. The church is the called out ones.....those who have been rescued from religion by God and never again seek understanding from religious frauds, imposters. Good for you for leaving christianity...it is bondage and we are to be free from it. I'm guessing you have much more peace now, especially if you were one affiliated with a "conservative" sect of the great harlot.

[@JamesRichardWiley]

I thank god that gods don't exist.

[@Theresia66]

Thank god i don't believe in god either haha

[@ShiniGuraiJoker]

Yeah, I just affirmed in myself I have stopped believing in the Abrahamic god at least. For 20 years it was major part of my life. It is odd reconciling that.

[@aligator9552]

How? @@JamesRichardWiley

[@doraduplessis2727]

I had This Present Darkness and all Tim La Hay's storybooks on the end-times on my bookshelf. I recently threw them all away. I would not even give it to someone else who may be interested.

[@briobarb8525]

I had all those types of series as well. I also would not pass them on. So I trashed them. I couldn't in good conscience contribute to the enslaving indoctrination of others.

[@deewesthill1213]

@@briobarb8525 When i find a propaganda book like those or "The Case for Christ", i pencil in detailed notes of criticism for someone who might read them. I hope my notes will help such a person think for themselves.

[@jojomullin2909]

I have been Christian for 20 years I just told my son I want to leave Christianity my most hurt has been in the church Christians are mean the pastor always teach about God punishing you I was depressed for years in the Baptist church and I still struggle with depression

[@sundayoliver3147]

Yes, I've had a similar experience -- I realize now that a lot of that depression was my deep unconscious feeling that I would have to be punished -- I didn't grow up fundamntalist, but the basic teaching of the Abrahamic religions is that we are bad from the beginning and have to be punished, earthly life being part of that punishment. I can't help wondering that if so many of us weren't unconsciously programmed with this, unconsciously living it out, would life on earth stop being so punishing?

[@beccasteele6874]

I always liked Joel Osteen for his positive way of teaching because like you the vengeful raging punishing God was too grim for me

[@KarenDUlrich]

@@beccasteele6874 Joel Osteen, the multi-millionaire profit pastor who preaches feel good messages so people give more? Recognize the scam and stop supporting it.

[@RichLunaMusic]

I've always found other religions fascinating but could never research them living in a Catholic household. I believe I've already lived my past lives in other faiths which is what brings me to the path I'm on now. Religious trauma syndrome is real. Fight the system.

[@bellabong8862]

Just like Mr. Gerenser's wife Holly, when I was a true believer, I felt something was wrong with me because I couldn't feel any real "relationship" with God. I prayed really hard for him to let me know clearly once and for all whether he wanted me as his servant or not. I waited but got no answer for years. I concluded that I must be so unappealing that I even left God cold. I don't believe that any more. While I think about existential matters very often and have some guesses, I don't know anything for sure except that all creatures (human, animal and even plamts) -- unless they are too far gone in psychopathy-- need and respond to unselfish love. So that's what I hold to and try to love others as much I can while loving and caring for myself too. Also try to enjoy life as much as possible and accept that suffering is simply a part of existence on earth. That's it. I wish everyone peace, love and good health.

[@marionopisso212]

Your thinking has produced wisdom! Transformation rather than transactional efforts.

[@carolwilliams8511]

The Golden Rule is all we need to live a worthwhile and good life. Not religion of any kind.

[@sally-kz7nz]

I loved your comment cos it's much the same for me. My ex genuinely believes he was visited by the Holy Spirit - but I've never felt any kind of connection - despite prayer - which has been so disappointing so eventually I gave up and just try my best to be a good person - but not by biblical definition obviously!

[@katherineheufel6953]

My deconstruction journey began back in 2018 when I extracted myself from ultra traditional catholicism. At first I moved into mainstream Christianity, but then when covid hit and the churches were all closed, I deconstructed totally. To be able to have the scales fall from my eyes and to throw off the shackles of guilt and shame is incredibly freeing. The peace and tranquillity I feel is amazing.

[@Captain_Of_A_Starship]

If you were forgiven why would you have the guilt and shame? Isn't the guilt and shame a result of now owing God your own payment for rejecting His payment on your behalf? I'd be running back to my faith for the peace and tranquility of knowing that God and me are cool.

[@Captain_Of_A_Starship]

@@digbycrankshaft7572 One can numb themselves to reality but it doesn't change the reality kzbin.info/aero/PLYoxKtcLY8u08AwXRFaAXnPkE76KCnrNM

[@eprd313]

​@@Captain_Of_A_Starshipwhat "forgiveness"? Have you sold all of your posesions and given them to the poor? Did you leave your family behind and started hating them? Have you cut your sinning hand? Not everyone who says "lord lord" will be saved. You are never enough compared to a perfect god. We fall short of his glory. He chooses who is saved and who isn't despite our will and efforts. We are only "valuable" as his subjects of praise. That's "forgiveness". Walk the narrow path that I tell you or suffer eternally. That's "feee will".

[@stevenhogenson4880]

@@Captain_Of_A_Starship Is this this the same god that Christians call "perfect" who, even though he is supposedly omniscient and knew how things would turn out, created man and then down the road saw "their wickedness" and regretted his creation and decided to wipe it out via the flood? First, if he knew how it would turn out, why would there be regret if he'd already foreseen it? Secondly, if he could speak the whole universe into existence, he needed a flood to fix things? Couldn't he just speak out of existence the things he didn't like? So just to be clear, we're talking about THIS genocidal god, right? Genocide...oh, that's right. The same god who decided the best way to free Israel from Egypt (which modern archaeology has proven never happened...they were never there to begin with) was to kill all the first born Egyptians? Genocide seems to be this "perfect" god's "go to" approach to problem solving. And then when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness and some of them built and worshipped a golden calf while Moses was up getting the commandments, their punishment was to be swallowed up by the earth. Small scale genocide...again. And then when the children of Israel reached the Promised Land, what were they commanded to do? Oh, that's right. Kill the existing populations. Men, women, children, even livestock. Or just the men and then take the women and children as slaves and concubines. This perfect god sure loves his genocide and doesn't seem to have issues with slavery or human trafficking. This time he committed it by proxy, but Hitler could make the same claim: "I didn't do it." regarding the Holocaust. And even in the new testament in the bible...where the "good news" is supposed to be, what happens to the husband and wife who lie about what they did with the money they made from selling some land? They die. Wow....yeah, that's REALLY a perfect and loving god. I wouldn't want anything to do with an abomination like that, period. Satan evil? Puh-lease. He's a wanna be and pretender compared to god himself.

[@dthomas9230]

@@stevenhogenson4880 God himself stole the Noah story from a Sumerian tale 5000 years earlier. God never existed but for controlling the masses.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

I'm just thankful I was raised in the Methodist church where fundamentalism didn't take hold. It made an effort in the early 80s. But gratefully our Pastor stayed the course. Now years later, it was so much easier to embrace rationalism and understand that atheism is indeed the path of reason and modern enlightenment.

[@marksip01234]

I went to a baptist church in the UK 3 times on a Sunday and also midweek prayer meetings , young peoples congregation etc until I as 17. I never believed a word of it, I must have heard thousands of sermons. What I realised coming from a very dysfunctional family with a sociopath religious stepmother, was that some people in the church were lovely, others were horrible, and therefore religion played zero part in forming their natures. Needless to say I haven't been in a church service since, other than the odd carol service where I marvel at the mumbo jumbo the righteous listen to. It took me until I was 40 to declare myself atheist, but it made me very happy.

[@daodejing81]

Good observation. You are the living Scriptures! The Guidance is within you.

[@carolwilliams8511]

I love carols. And the fable of the baby in manger. The doctrines are all bunk but some of the trappings are glorious in the Anglican Church. The choral tradition, incense and candles. Services are too early in the day for me. I might go if it were afternoon. But no prayers thanks!! Much more silence and music. Reflection.

[@billguthrie2218]

Wow! 25 years preaching. Same age as me, 64. Just started listening. I'm excited to listen.

[@sdozer1990]

Interesting! My dad's age is 64!

[@JnTmarie]

I’m 64 also. Do you think it’s a thing? Lol. I was brought up Christian didn’t really believe the whole thing calling the creator a guy in a robe w a beard I’m supposed to call daddy. Yuk. I married a Jewish man Became a Buddhist but then discovered when my parents died they were Jewish I realized all organized religions are BS For any good religion may do the negatives and harm is so much greater. It creates an unnecessary division that causes wars.

[@billguthrie2218]

@@JnTmarie I left when I was 33 after studying to be a minister. I did an interview with Tim over a year ago... kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJSpfqyai9WdgtU

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@eprd313]

​@@brucegerencserall my respects!!! You are truly humble and brave

[@AzimuthAviation]

Bruce and Polly are fantastic and their story has helped me in my role as an administrator for a cult survivor's group for more than a decade.

[@brucegerencser]

Thank you, my friend. ❤️❤️

[@AzimuthAviation]

@@brucegerencser Well, speak of the Devil, lol! Howdy Bruce!

[@--Ezra--]

Glad to see people even after years of living in fear they can free themselves of it all and live a happy free life

[@marcomoreno6748]

​@@Catholictomherbertwhat what? What are you trying to say?

[@eprd313]

​@@Catholictomherbertwalk the narrow path that I tell you of suffer for eternity. Wow, so much for free will.

[@eprd313]

@@Catholictomherbert why would I care about what a zealot says about an imaginary place? All I know is Christian theology makes no sense at all. It's flawed from the very beginning and praises an evil entity that murders kids, promotes rape and slavery and likes bloodshed.

[@Brian.001]

@@Catholictomherbert 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@davydeuce]

@@CatholictomherbertDid John Calvin actually go to hell in order to do his research. Or is it again just more human assumption? Do you know yourself if he’ll exists or do you just believe everything you’ve been told from a young age?

[@melbied6215]

You showed up on my algorithm today and I’m glad! Subscribed. I was raised Conservative Baptist so really resonated with his deconversion.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Awesome! And thank you for subscribing. So glad you escaped.

[@melbied6215]

@@HarmonicAtheist Me too. Especially as a woman. Never was very good at submitting. 😉

[@sundayoliver3147]

@@melbied6215 I know, that got me, too!

[@samanthac8655]

Thanks for sharing your story Bruce . I admire your vulnerability when you talked about your trauma. I believe it’s so healing for us and others to share our stories this way!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤️❤️

[@mizotter]

I appreciate Bruce's honesty about the unfair balance of labor between he and his wife. Husbands rarely realize that their careers are often made possible by the free labor of their wives in the home. The Lord is quite shitty at housework and childcare, no matter how much homemakers pray.

[@mayhorse66]

I became conservative for a while - but it meant submitting to all the alpha males that wanted me barefoot and pregnant tied to the kitchen sink! That phase didn't last long thankfully.

[@Instramark]

Love this comment.

[@isaacmadhavan]

The labor of the wife is NOT "free" --- it's NOT like the husband doesn't buy anything for the wife (APART from paying for the mortgage, the food, the utilities, the toiletries, the car/cars, the gas, and so on). *Moreover, the man & woman, both, labor FOR THE FAMILY (kids or not).* The family is a UNIT and each member should/must do their part. Edit: The concept of family as a unit is NOT a religious one; it holds true across cultures.

[@Amerikaner1974]

​@@isaacmadhavan💯

[@davidwilliama.7296]

I deconverted back in 2021 and it was very messy. When I realized that God wasn't real, it tore me up. I remember screaming and weeping in my car when it happened. I didn't tell my family until about a month or two later. I kept going to church and this men's group and I felt sick in my stomach. I hated hiding from my family, but I dreaded how they'd react, especially my parents. My mom asked me a direct question about God (I forget exactly what she asked), but I just came out and said I don't believe in God anymore. My siblings heard us talking and they confronted me. For weeks after, they basically interrorgated me with questions, accusations and arguments. I had watched a bunch of videos that helped me with answering them, but they were not happy with what I said. My mom looked so miserable about it and it grieved me to see my her and my siblings so upset. Eventually, things calmed down a bit when they saw I wasn't changing my mind. We still got into arguments and occasionally still do, but we didn't break apart. However, that peace comes at the sacrifice of me not pushing back or saying what's on my mind. I live with them currently, but plan to move out soon. I can't fully be me around them or I risk ruining our relationship. I don't have anyone else at the moment and I do still care about them, but I have to leave for my own sanity. I need to find some other people to talk to with similar values. P.S. I wouldn't say that my family are necessarily bad people (although they've got some harmful beliefs, especially my dad). I just need to get away so I'm not surrounded by their beliefs . I enjoy being around them usually, especially my sister, but I just can't express myself or say what's on my mind fully and it sucks.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤ My wife’s family were all Independent Fundamentalist Baptist pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. We were quite close when we all believed the same things, but once we made our unbelief known, we became a pariah to the family. We eventually stopped going to family functions. My wife’s mom - who died last year - made it clear to Polly that Jesus and her church were more important than her. This broke my wife’s heart. 😢

[@rhodarose3451]

@@brucegerencser Bruce and David, Don't throw the Baby out with the dirty bath water .. I had a conversion in 1996 .. to question everything I was supposed to "believe". It took many years and many Truths came and still are. My whole idea of my Creator has changed, enough so that I can't and don't claim to be a "christian" anymore. The doctrine, dogma and traditions they practice is no longer what I believe. Please read John 15:14-16 and Hear what it is saying .. "Jesus" wasn't a "christian" and if we do as he says he calls us Friends! I call him Friend because it is all about Relationship and not "religion". Our Creator is Spirit, Truth and Good .. never would he ask for, or want, a blood sacrifice of innocent life for any reason. The god of the OT, YHWH, is the opposite of the Father we are told to seek. Here is the "great deception" and the "falling away" we are to look for. "Jesus" said he is Lord of the Sabbath, the 7th Day (as a thousand years) not the sabbath of the "week/weak" the world church has their flocks honor. We are asked to enter his Rest .. read Genesis 2:1-3 .. His yoke is easy, his burden is light. Don't give up on the True Creator "Jesus" came to show us. There is so much more Truth I've been shown that brought me to the firm Foundation I stand on. The Open, Little Book given to John in Revelation 10 that he was asked to go and tell the Good News .. he did, in his first 2 letters he wrote as our Elder. Much more Truth is given there. Thank you for your conversation I know how hard it is to turn from all you've been taught but the peace it brings in the long run is worth the heartache.

[@brucegerencser]

@@rhodarose3451 , there’s much that I could challenge here, but I will leave it at that. I’m confident that I am right where I need to be. I’ve concluded there’s no baby in the bath water. Thanks for the discussion. ❤️

[@rhodarose3451]

@@brucegerencser Thank you Bruce for the reply. I am cking out your website and looking for your blog. I want to learn more of your findings on our bible book.

[@james9524]

I wish you all the best. I was lucky. When I became an atheist, I realized that a lot of people around me felt the same way I did.

[@dmichael100]

Committed evangelical believer (Baptist) for 40 years. Have graduated degrees in biblical theology. Finally at about age 50, I found the courage to admit- as meaningful as it was and to most of the people around me, the Bible simply is not a product of any divine intervention, control, influence; there is no intentional supernatural deity that controls earthly events. It was tough for me to admit; but. it simply happens to be reality.

[@TheLucidscreamz]

ezekeil 36-39 prophesied the reformation of isreal and current events ,

[@attackhelicopter-up3dh]

​@@TheLucidscreamzhaha you see what you want to see, if the end times prophesy was real it would have happend in 1948 and dozen times before, ow and let me remind you israel at the moment is attacking not defending.

[@tonyedward6909]

The authors if the protocols of the learned elders of zion are also prophets.😂

[@TheLucidscreamz]

@@attackhelicopter-up3dh and has been eye for eye longer than 3000 years

[@TheLucidscreamz]

@@attackhelicopter-up3dh eye for eye , why is isreal attacking hostage taking and civilian killing muzzo terror group

[@cindiballard900]

Great interview! Bruce is so personable and likeable. And Tim, great to see you! I check literally every day to see if you have a new show; it's really a lifeline for me. Thanks so much for everything you're doing!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@Bbarfo]

Awesome interview, thanks. I deconverted from Christianity at age 58. Educated my way out of it. Books by Bart Ehrman, William Dever (archaeologist), Israel Finkelstein, and many more guided my way out of it.

[@bobertjones2300]

The Ark Before Noah by Finkelstein is a great read and shows how Biblical writers borrowed stories from the captivity period, even the concept of scriptures, angels and wisdom literature.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

@@bobertjones2300 - You’re thinking of Irving Finkel, the distinguished Assyriologist and cuneiform specialist at the British Museum. Israel Finkelstein is a noted archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Service and professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University. Both first-rate scholars.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Bbarfo - As an archaeologist, I’m gratified!

[@madmartinline6]

Yes, going to Uni certainly helped me.I guess that is why so many religions are against people getting properly educated. They claim to be the truth but in fact they are very much against people searching for the real truth. They think of faith as a virtue but it just blinds people from the truth. Would they buy a house without seeing it or having a survey yet many are prepared to devote their lives to something they haven't checked out at all .

[@voxpopuli348]

I was 55. Catholic, then Protestant, Kabbalah, New Age, Unitarian. After much study... Atheist.

[@Jemawin]

What a terrific and wise person Bruce is. Thanks, Tim for the splendid interview.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@tayrowell]

Deconverted after having too many history classes and finding about about the discipline of critical scholarship and textual criticism. Happy evening to all here!

[@tayrowell]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Very weak argument. There's no way Buddhism is not real though. It's actually pretty dang effective, especially since Buddha never lied and claimed himself to be supernatural. The gospels are just literature.

[@philmabarak5421]

I found this story somewhere on the internet. I think it was actually a KZbin site. Anyway, it just illustrated to me how evil religion is. "Religion so abused my friend Marsha it led to her trying to commit suicide. Here’s part of a story I wrote about her. When I was in my 30s I went to a Baptist church because my friend Marsha wanted me to. It was a Wednesday night and the church was packed with hundreds of people. The preacher commenced to belittling and telling everyone there they were all going to hell. He ranted and raved like a madman. He was psychologically damaging everyone in that church. It got to the point I couldn’t take any more verbal abuse so I nudged Marsha and said I was leaving. I hoped she would follow but peer pressure kept her there. I got up and walked down a hall toward the exit. As I walked three women opened the door and walked toward me. They saw I was leaving and they told me in a hateful tone “where do you think you’re going?” I told them “I’m going outside where a real god might be” That really pissed them off. If their eyes were daggers I would’ve been sliced more than a Freddy Kruger victim. As soon as I walked though the exit door I was outside under a perfectly clear sky. I looked up and saw it filled with stars. I thought if there was a god he was outside, not inside that horrible, hate filled Baptist church. A year later my friend Marsha tried to commit suicide. She was brought up by ultra rightwing religious parents who taught her every good thought she had was ‘god’ and every negative thought she had was ‘satan’. She constantly had a war going on in her head between what she believed was god and satan. Her own identity was crushed under the constant war that was going on. Then one day I felt something was wrong. I hadn’t heard from Marsha so I began calling around. I finally got her sister and I was told the bad news. Marsha succumbed to the religious war going on in her head 24 hours a day. She cut both wrists and was sent to a state hospital in Galveston. As soon as I could I drove to be with her. I burst out crying when I saw her in a wheelchair with her arms bound to the armrests so she couldn’t hurt herself. I visited Marsha every day in the Galveston hospital. I had very little money but I used what I had for gas money so I could be there for her. I brought her a poster of a seagull flying across the sun at sunset. She had the staff put it on the wall in her room. After a month in the Galveston state hospital they moved her to the state hospital in Austin. Having little cash I still went to visit her there every weekend. I had a van so I slept in the van at night while Marsha had to go back in the hospital. Marsha told me the poster of the seagull I got her gave her hope. She also told me she wouldn’t be alive except for me being there for her. Marsha was in the two hospitals for almost a year and a half. Not once did anyone from her church visit her. Not once did anyone in her family visit her. So much for those hundreds of ‘Christians’. I’m proudly NOT a christian but I was there for Marsha. I was a good friend who she could always talk with without being judged. She could always count on me being there for her. She couldn’t rely on any christian. Her entire church was filled with judgmental hypocrites. Her parents never once came to visit their own daughter. And they claimed to be Christians. But this story and others are not unique. The level of hypocrisy in Christians knows no bounds. Marsha was a victim of religious abuse like countless millions of others. And oftentimes those victims victimize others by spreading their poisonous beliefs especially to their children who have no defense against their parent abusing them with religion."

[@MisterRorschach90]

After over 3 decades with half of that time being extremely devout in a baptist church and ultra right wing family, living in the Bible Belt, in a city with a church or 3 on literally every single corner, ranging from hole in the wall single room buildings to multi 100 million dollar mega complex mall sized entertainment churches with walls of video games, computers, coffee shops, skate parks, indoor playgrounds like McDonald’s, and gift shops, I have come to the conclusion that it’s literally not possible to not be a hypocrite or hypocritical as a Christian. They kind of set themselves up for failure by limiting even natural behaviors and calling them sins. This also applies to right wing/conservative ideologies, and conspiracy theorists. All hypocrites. Idk if it’s just because I’ve been noticing it more, which in turn makes me keep noticing it more and more, but it really seems like 100% are hypocrites.

[@bobertjones2300]

Phil, thanks for your heartfelt testimony. It seems that Christians are often programmed to not be the best person they could be being closed-minded, judgmental, hypocritical, compartmentalized, fearful, ignorant and unspiritual. Oh yes, arrogant: That their pitiful self possesses the Truth!

[@kelvinhooks9399]

Your story is so very sad, it is definitely a example of how religion can be down right evil and must be called out for the lives it destroy but while your story and many more like it are so common there are stories that are the opposite. It all depends upon who is feeding the flock but sometimes that itself isn't true. If people were to just think logically they would probably see through the hate, but most people have been taught to put god first before all. I can't see myself following a leader or a deity that is that insecure. You are truly gifted to have been able to walk out of that cesspool and to see it for what it was, you looked up into the sky and you knew that place was wrong. I hope you and your friend find solace and for her I hope she stay far away from those miserable people until they realize what lies and poison they have been feed and see just how awful of individuals they have been to her and just how unchrist like they are, and I do mean christ like as a concept, not literally. Be well 😥

[@c.merritt7884]

What became of Marsha?

[@cbl1984]

The way I see it....when someone says they're a 'Christian'...RUN....RUN!!!!

[@jacqueline5625]

I've been reading Bruce's blogs for years. I'm so glad you interviewed him on your show! And Tim, you have such a gift for relating to people and helping them share their story, I'm glad you two met and have been able to exchange reflections on your time as Christians and attending Bible college, working in ministry, and your deconversion experiences.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@ericapoe]

Tim is back! 🎉 thanks for the upload.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Thanks, Erica! More content and updates coming soon. Btw, if you are interested in doing an interview, please feel free to reach out! facebook.com/timandjuliemills or my email is: [e-mail] Thanks! --Tim

[@gleanerman2195]

I was an evil christian for 56 years, now I'm an "All Loving" Atheist. Life is so good without superstition.

[@philippeberaldin5457]

Congratulations👏👏👏and all best wishes for your new life. From a 65 years old atheist who never had to believe in any gods, due to the love of my lovely parents. Have a good life!!!

[@gleanerman2195]

@@Mrz-sb1hw The sad thing is jebus told his fake followers that they would live to see his return, man sure did screw the pooch when they made up the buybull. Yet sheeple still fall for it.

[@catherinekramer7459]

I feel so sorry for you guys ...Mock on Jesus all you want and you are gonna find out soon enough .Jesus is King .THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES ...FOR EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS AND KNEE SHALL BOW ...To JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD

[@believestthouthis7]

So in other words you think you're a good person?

[@gleanerman2195]

@@believestthouthis7 Yes, there is no comparison from then and now. There's no hate like christian love.

[@ingersollbob]

I am half way thru the interview - excellent! I discovered Bruce's blog just a few months ago and greatly enjoy it.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤

[@barbarafraingower9276]

HATS OFF TO BOTH OF YOU! 👏👏👏👏👏 Thank you for sharing your inspiring stories. I lost my daughter and my 5 grandchildren to fundamentalist Christianity. My heart is broken every day.

[@Thumbelina298]

I am so sorry Barbara. I do not know how to unbreak your hurt, but we here, in this community, love you. I hope you have at least one friend or family that still walks with you, no matter what. 🥰🥰🥰

[@aligator9552]

You lost your daughter?

[@Plethorality]

​@@aligator9552yo a church. Sounds llike the church might be cultty and controlling , since she felts like she has lost her daughter to this.

[@mouthpiece200]

That takes balls to admit you went down the wrong path.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@carolwilliams8511]

Yes have to admire pastors who deconvert. For us ordinary pew folk it is simpler.

[@bobgarbett3229]

Great interview! I’m not atheist yet I’ve discovered a whole wide welcoming world outside the narrow confines of Church. I look back now on the so called “ fundamentals of faith” and they have no relevance anymore for me.

[@letsgetshwiftyy]

I remember my seed of doubt. Around 8 or 9, I had asked my pastor, "If God is all-powerful, then why can't he get rid of Satan?", and I distinctly remember that he did not have an answer or rather he did not know. With how my thought processes work, I don't think he could've given me an answer that would have satisfied me, but it seemed like such a logical question.

[@sundayoliver3147]

It does, so logical that I'm wondering why I never asked it!

[@DanielWinne]

Very much enjoyed this conversation! Hey I'm also from Lancaster, a pastors kid. My dad was the pastor at LEFC in Lititz.

[@DanielWinne]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Yes all of them are in error.

[@SterlingTate]

Still a christian, though i understand much of the bible to be made up, contradictory etc. Bless your journey. Not easy to leave and be true to yourself

[@larryparker8677]

When I read this story or any other, I become a person of wonder, to where we would be without the internet. There are drawbacks to the internet but overall people are being educated to an extent like never before. This world will be changing quicker than at any time in history.

[@juliuscorazo5113]

In the 1980’s movie “In The Name of the Rose” the Benedictine (Catholic) Monk William of Baskerville in 1327 AD during the Dark Ages (played by Sean Connery) said this when asked why they’re censoring Aristotle’s book: “He has ideas that did not come from us (the Church) and it can create doubt among men. Any doubt is the enemy of Faith. We can never allow doubt.” Still like that today, the Church abhors Doubt except that readers can now access far more literary sources in libraries or Internet or Google. The Church had lost control of critical information not like in the Dark Ages when they controlled everything. This ability to control information gave the Church enormous power and influence. Not anymore. Fabulous interview btw. Thanks Tim and Bruce for the wonderful insights from both your personal experience and perspective.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@bobertjones2300]

The opposite of faith is certainty. Christianity has been off the rails since early on.

[@AwakenedWarrior]

Good to see so many brothers and sisters are waking up.

[@who6184]

thank you guys,this was much appreciated.

[@who6184]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Yes they are all based on mythical stories with fictional characters. All religions were created for two purposes, the first being psychological and the second is community.

[@Jon45678]

I love this interview. Tim, you are so good at letting your guests talk and you just ask questions when needed instead of talking over them. That is one of the things that makes your channel so valuable. It would be awesome to hear your whole story. Is there a video you did about your deconversion?

[@brucegerencser]

Tim is a wonderful interviewer.❤️

[@CHEFDINO2012]

Thank you Bruce for sharing your story happy you have peace Enjoy your family and take care of your self

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@jennyjones4279]

Loved this discussion. Thank you.❤

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Yes, Bruce is awesome! Hearing his story and insights was very helpful to me. Btw, Jenny, if you fully deconverted and are interested in doing an interview, please feel free to reach out! facebook.com/timandjuliemills or my email is: [e-mail] Thanks! --Tim

[@christahewitt2758]

This was a great story, I like Bruce’s calm demeanor and his candor about his life and deconvertion. I appreciate this and all your videos Tim!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤❤

[@kendalkemp2369]

​@@brucegerencserwho could be that smart too write such a compling book?

[@brucegerencser]

@@kendalkemp2369 , I’m not sure what you are asking?

[@kendalkemp2369]

@@brucegerencser the bible, the book thay fooled the world.

[@korynkoryn6052]

I became a Christian in 2022… Today, 2024 I am OUT and NEVER going back !

[@andrewliamdesigndevelopment]

50:19 Thank you Bruce for apologizing to those two queer adults for the harmful comments you may have made in front of them. That shows an immense amount of character and courage. As a person who is apart of the community, I sincerely appreciate that. Hearing that made me cry, but in a trauma releasing kind of way.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@jahng385thib]

coming from a family of Catholic, Methodist on my father's side; but a firm Baptist', independent, fundamentalist vein~ from my mother's side of relatives, etc. I can understand from where the doctrinal Baptist domination of living permeates almost everything in personal and social conditioning, growth and development as a child to an adult. Albeit, from a life of many experiences in both the religious & secular realms of American society'... at this time of life, I have been on a slow path of deconstruction with the help of Tim, and Bart Ehrman, other channel host and reading some other book sources & authors., plus seeing alot of hypocrisy and double talk from alot of religious and secular authorities at present. Thanks Tim for all the research, digging, and searching you have done and look forward to the BIG PRESENTATION' to come when you have that to share with everyone!!!

[@jon4574]

We went from just reading the Bible to studying and thinking about what were reading, which led me to a liberal belief and eventually ex belief. She developed a much more liberal and universalist belief. The real thing that helps is we both moved together from the false belief that the Bible is perfect.

[@jeanhartely]

I am a new subscriber and I find these deconversion accounts absolutely fascinating. They also reinforce my belief that I was extremely lucky growing up in a non-religious home. I have never had to experience the trauma of losing faith, community, friends and often family as I tried to discover the truth of my own convictions. These people strike me as very brave. Good luck to all of them! Thank you for giving them a forum to tell their stories.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@markmcgee2417]

I'm really glad I came across your channel Tim! Looking forward to more of your content.

[@debranelson1987]

I'm so happy that this ex pastor/christian woke up and smelled the coffee, saw the proverbial light😉 and started using his critical thinking skills to get himself out of the sham of religion.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks ❤❤

[@littlerascal5150]

Thank you both! Very real and very honest conversation. It “brought me peace”.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@ritahemmerly4224]

Religion is for people who are scared of hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there!

[@jeanmitchell5834]

That's a great saying and so true

[@marcmeinzer8859]

My favorite clergy are the ones who quit. The ones who quit are the ones who do not suffer from narcissistic personality disorder. Naturally some who remain are well adjusted but I was especially impressed by a Catholic priest I knew who quit for two years then admitted to me that the only reason he returned was because he couldn’t find a job. To me that’s someone who you can really trust since he’s not playing the game of being on a pedestal vis a vis the laity. I tried being a Benedictine monk and quit after eight months. The other monks typically had quite low levels of belief and were there just because they were seeking refuge from the rat race.

[@carolwilliams8511]

That is very interesting. But how could they stand all the prayer???

[@marcmeinzer8859]

Chanting the psalms is hypnotic and some people really enjoy doing that even if their beliefs aren’t the most orthodox.@@carolwilliams8511

[@marcmeinzer8859]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Buddhism is older than Christianity by at least 500 years.

[@maxdoubt5219]

Bruce is right. I also delved too deeply into the mines of Moria and found...The Documentary Hypothesis; the Synoptic Problem; the anachronisms & contradictions. But now I see the bible for what it is: mostly myth & legend, sure, but a priceless window into the minds of ancients. I just _wish_ I could unearth a trove of ancient religious writings like the bible. I'd be rich for life.

[@kelvinhooks9399]

@@Catholictomherbert the bible is not the word of any God

[@oppositeofh8]

tim, thanks for this well thought out interview & for sharing your story. i hope your wife comes around & your relationship is able to be free of the oppression of religion. wishing you strength & happiness.

[@normakwestel6003]

"God created man in his own image and likeness and then man returned the compliment." (Voltaire)

[@MajesticRidez]

I sat in Bible school and realized everything they taught wasn’t actually what the Bible was saying first thing that alerted me to something is wrong

[@everettst.claire870]

As a recovering Christian myself, I commend you good sir.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@walterlahaye2128]

@@brucegerencser , You never were a disciple! You’re self deluded and and self deceived!!

[@usainbolt5153]

Recovering from what ?drugs? 😂😂😂

[@jfarr206]

Great interview. Very interesting. I enjoy hearing this from a former pastors point of view.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@trilithon108]

A long one (fell asleep listening in bed😄) but it was captivating hearing both of you talk. Born nominally Christian, I have been more attracted to Eastern persuasions (meditation, yoga etc). God or Spirit or Transcendental Being is not considered to be judgemental and does not care what one believes. Ultimately there is no mind, as in the think, think mind.

[@deannapowell7237]

My uncle plays Santa for events and the mall every year and makes very good money!! Why waste that great beard and smile!! It's a gift!!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@martifingers]

Bruce is immensely likeable. I was struck by his point about losing friends over (in my eyes) minor doctrinal differences. That in itself would be enough for me to question the Bible as a reliable source of revelation.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤️

[@SqwarkParrotSpittingFeathers]

Even if you could call the bible evidence, it’s poor. If the bible is egregiously faulty then the main character’s existence is likely fantasy. If the existence of Yahweh is a fiction then the god man Jesus cannot stand. Faith based on the contents of the bible is worthless for the following reasons… There is real historical evidence of John the Baptist, but not of the greater Jesus. There is historical evidence of Appolonious, a character similar to Jesus, but not of Jesus. There is an historical record of Jesus Ben Pandera but, no Jesus the Galilean outside of the bible. Nothing. There’s Jesus ben Ananias, a rude peasant, who went around Jerusalem in 66CE prophesying its fall in 70CE; he’s recorded in documents outside the bible, but not the biblical Jesus. His alleged disciples never wrote anything they were uneducated peasants. His enemies never recorded his miracles nor his troublesome nature. The bible account says he was widely known and a divisive figure that the Romans never recorded, and neither did the Jews. There were a number of people with the name Jesus, exhibiting Jesus behaviours, many have been recorded; but, not the Jesus of the bible. Was he a fiction? Indeed, you don’t require any actual person to have actually existed for a “reality” to grow from nothing. King Arthur and Robin Hood, along with William Tell, and others, come to mind. Was the biblical Jesus based on a composite of these other Jesus’s with reference to the Old Testament plagiarise to elevate these people to one divine god. The rest of the Jesus/Yahweh tale is equally murky. There’s no evidence that all the first born were killed either in Egypt nor by Herod. I think the Egyptians would have recorded such a calamity and the calamities of the plagues, but nothing. Could the Jews have made it all up? The first line of the bible is clearly incorrect. The Earth was formed 9.8 billion years after the heavens. How did the creator get that wrong? And, the rest of the creation is wrong. It’s as if an ancient ignorant tribe wrote it all by themselves, no god to help. There are no waters above the firmament, for a start. Heaven isn’t up there either, we’ve been there. The tribes of the Middle East wouldn’t have known oceans could be frozen but for the heat of the sun. But, water was everywhere before the sun was “created” in the biblical account. More evidence of a fiction by an ignorant tribe with no access to a god creator. Adam was made from dirt by magic and he, this god, forgot about Eve, an afterthought. so not an all knowing and wise god then? Snakes and donkeys talk, nonsense fiction, right up there with Harry Potter, though JK Rowling was clearly a better writer with fewer continuity errors. This god set up Eve by placing this magic apple within her reach. Then punished humanity thereafter. What a vicious god, if not a fictional one. Nonsense fiction, by an ignorant ancient people writing about their mythology, their nation’s origins, steeped in the mists of the past, just the same as the Greek, Persian and Babylonian cultures write about their make believe gods who were equally fervently worshipped. Inanna, the dying and rising goddess was such an example. But many more dying and rising gods in the lexicon of ancient myths. Virgin births were pretty common too. Adam and Eve’s children (as Eve was a clone of Adam) and grandchildren (as Cain, Able and Seth only had Eve to produce offspring or with their unknown sisters) could only have been produced by incest, then double incest, according to the biblical account. Clearly god didn’t know that the inbreeding of the biblical account would lead to genetic problems. None of it true, nothing a creator god would have penned. It was a fiction by a Jewish ancient people. The Exodus apparently didn’t happen according to all evidence, acknowledged by the Jewish archaeologists who have tried to find it. The Egyptians never wrote of their army being swallowed by the sea. Mosses may never existed. There is a massive amount of genocide in the bible by a god who failed to get the locals to behave. Genocide because the Israelites needed a land to make home. If a creator of the universe and humans could have just thought a new land, a new island, south of Cyprus, it would have appeared. Easy for a god, not so for an ancient tribe to pull off? Then, this god could have told these others how to behave and punished individuals, if that’s what was needed. But no, he went straight to mass murder. What? And, the greatest god in the universe was defeated by iron chariots: Judges1:19. That is so ridiculous, such a puny god. Or, is it because the story was a creation of a tribe that had no concept of future technologies or tactics to defeat these new Iron Age chariots. I’m sure that a human Napoleon type tactician could have done better than the all wise, all powerful fictitious god of the universe. Genesis 19 tells us of Lot being raped by this daughters. And yet this god is moral? He could have changed the course of their predicament, found him a younger wife or servant to sleep with, if a god. More incest. The Jewish religion was at its heart, a blood sacrifice barbaric religion. The books that were supposedly written by Mosses consist of a linguistic style that didn’t exist at the time of his “life”. It’s a fictitious narrative, written by the Jews to give their new nation an historical legitimacy, and unify them, in the midst of other powerful cultures in the Middle East. Didn’t help much though, they were constantly being invaded and subjugated by more powerful “gods” of other warring nations. Even Yahweh acknowledged there were other gods. Remember the Ten Commandments tablets that were conveniently broken and then without fuss, lost. An all powerful creator of the universe who missed the opportunity to create the tablets out of an advanced technology, such as, I don’t know, Titanium? Is that because the Jews didn’t know about such a thing and so had no understanding of the future? The forging of such a technology would have cemented the truth of their god. Broken disappeared stone tablets: clearly, no god involved. Convenient. Noah and his flood occurred when the Egyptians where going about their cultural and religious practices that continued afterwards; and, their religion was not replaced by the flood family’s immediate ancestors, fanning out from the ark. The Pharaohs and their gods continued unabated. No Yahweh? More incest? The Chinese culture and writing developed along a continuum and they too were never taken the religion of Yahweh from the Middle East, by Noah’s relatives. And, the ancient Britons and Australians failed to notice they were meant to be dead. The New Testament, if it is read, critically, is inconsistent and evolves over time. Indeed, the gospels were not written for decades after the death of this Jesus, whose birth and death are still questionable and no date can be asserted with clarity. There was no census when Herod was alive, that story was made up after the event. Nazareth was not a town in the first century and was only “discovered “ when Constantine’s mother, Helena, went looking for it. The gospel writers mistook the word Nazarene for a town. And there are many problems with the census and the way it is told. Because it was written as fact over one hundred years after the supposed birth of this Jesus. More fiction? The whole point of a census is to count the number of people in an area. The census of the bible is an artificial device to get Mary to give birth in the town of David where the biblical messiah was to be born. And, boulders weren’t placed in front of tombs until later, about 50 years, one of the reasons that the gospels are thought to have been written many years after the myth of Jesus. And, the crucified where left to rot on the cross/pole on which they were hung as a warning to insurrectionists? No empty tomb, it’s a fiction to turn a myth into a “fact”. To turn man into god. Pilate was, in real history, recorded history, a truly nasty contemptuous man, he would never have allowed the process of crucifixion as a warning to have been undermined. And, the alleged trial is a tale of the blood cult of scapegoating. Even Barabbus was a literary device representing scapegoating, suggesting it never occurred. Barabbus means, son of the teacher, or son of the father. The gospel writers where representing the two characters as essentially the same, one became the goat sacrifice. And, the twist was that the Jews shouted to let the murderer go, allowing the blame for Jesus’s death to be placed on the Jews and not the imperial Romans. It was very much a political narrative because the Jews and Romans where essentially at war, the destruction of the Temple in 70AD/CE, and this new sect/cult needed to distinguish themselves from the Jewish troublemakers, and the ongoing violence of the time. Paul never knew Jesus and only depicted him as a spiritual vision. He knew nothing of the man and nothing of his life or his teachings. More evidence that the Chrestos (anointed) was mythical? And, he writes to an “ancient” congregation which suggests that his Chrestos was at least a first century BC/BCE figure. The first time the gospels where mentioned was in 180AD/CE by Irenaeus. Indeed, a very prominent Christian, Theophilus, said that he came to believe in Jesus from reading the Jewish Scriptures or, Torah. No mention of the gospels, no quoting of anything Jesus allegedly said. That was circa, 170-182AD/CE. The myth of the god man Jesus was created over many years. But, Mark was first written, not until at least 70AD/CE but, as above, could have been much later. No record of the star of Bethlehem, of the graves emptying, or the sky darkening. It’s fiction. Christians may need to believe in this lie. Still, it’s a lie.

[@jackscalibur]

Greek should honestly be the text to strive for. Hearing how many people are reading the KJV of the Bible is concerning.

[@RrayBean]

I've been following Bruce's Blog for years! Thank you for having him as a guest. Your feed came up for the first time this morning.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Thanks, Randy!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@sarah-lee-cupkakes]

I have PTSD from the combination of personality disordered parents and their fundamentalist FRIENDS coercing me into all the dogma around honoring your father and mother, forgiveness, tolerance, unconditional love, all you need is god -- tenets of Christian Counseling by the way, which is a whole topic itself. So glad to hear other people 's experiences leaving abusive religion.

[@irisstormo6913]

I went to a church that the preacher drug a disabled man up front. He had a stroke and was in horrible shape. The Christian preacher told the man the for hated him for being a sinner, that was why God made him have a stroke. I never went back.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Wow, that's awful!

[@danielrice2741]

Polly sounds like me, razed as a Christian, could not take the alter call as a young person. Glad I didn't. Now as an older man, I understand; to meet God , is to understand your self. Meditation

[@rhondah1587]

Has this ex-pastor heard of The Clergy Project? There are many hundreds of ex-clergy in that group. He might enjoy joining them. New subscriber here. I'm 70 years old and deconverted at age 32 on my own by reading and researching the origins of the belief in Yahweh.

[@brucegerencser]

I helped get the Clergy Project up and running. I was already out of the ministry (2005) and deconverted (2008) when the Clergy Project started. I’m still a member, but not very active. ❤️

[@rhondah1587]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 It's not uncommon for multiple mythologies to incorporate the same fictional characters. Many of those fictional characters are based on legends built around an actual individual that gets mythologized.

[@rhondah1587]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Please learn the origins of where your so-called god came from in ancient history, and you will find it isn't what you think it is. Also, the human history of ancient god beliefs is very informative if you even care to know any truth about what is real and what is ancient mythology and legends. I'm sorry for you because you sound quite unknowledgeable about the whole gods thing and quite gullible to believing total nonsense. I hate to see that in a fellow human being. It makes me very sad for you.

[@awakeenlighten2298]

Another gem of a video interview Tim. Thanks for having all these different guests on who are so open about talking about their deconversions. “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”― Isaac Asimov

[@richardwilliams473]

Actually it was just reading the Bible that turned me into an atheist. I mean a TALKING SNAKE in the Garden of Eden?????

[@JnTmarie]

Lol right? The Big Bang theory is real. We disprove so many myths with science religion looks more and more ridiculous. The daddy thing is just creepy. Social services would step in if a father wanted his children to fear him and told them they needed to repent constantly. Sick mother f*Er. It feels great to be free Sad for all the mindless devotees who are afraid of atheists like we have no moral compass without some mythical god.

[@elisavintervejr]

Amazing interview. Thank you both.

[@brucegerencser]

Thank you! ❤️

[@snola-d2v]

Bruce you are an inspiration.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks!❤❤

[@calumbutter6124]

This video was a long investment for my time but very worthwhile. You know, some things are overstated but other things, like Bruces story, should be heard more often. 😉

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤❤

[@kinglyzard]

It's good to hear this and other deconstruction stories. It's a true reflection of our continued evolution as a species.

[@kinglyzard]

@blessedloveandsave8809 You are correct, but for the wrong reason. Islam and Christianity come from the same book. Both mention Jesus for this reason. Both religions make physically impossible claims. This is why they are wrong. Not because they mention Christ. All religions are artificial mindsets for dealing with death and difficult questions.

[@GonzalesLanguages]

We Southern Baptist used to look down at JW, Mormons and even Catholics and found out we were also stuck in another bubble not much different with full of man made rules. Glad i also woke up.

[@GodEqualstheSquaRootof-1]

When I was 8 years old, my position was that all religious claims are fictional.

[@deewesthill1213]

At age 9 i identified as agnostic because despite church every single Sunday (and sometimes also on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings) i just could not feel any "faith". For years thereafter i had a vague "faith" that i would have religious "faith" one day, but that day never came. My mother decided to change from fundamentalism to a pantheist "New Thought" religion, and finally i got to quit going to church. Years later i realized i'd always been an atheist but didn't know it.

[@thevulture5750]

First verse of the KJV Bible has ten words. What's the square root of ten?

[@GodEqualstheSquaRootof-1]

@@thevulture5750 the square root of the Bible = 100%BS

[@james9524]

I was 10 when I realized that the Bible was fiction. By my mid teens, I realized that about 30% of the people in my church felt the same way.

[@reneemillz8701]

Why he left starts at 1:35:00.

[@user-ox1bn7te1s]

Thank you!!!!

[@NanaOkyere]

Thank you

[@normsky5504]

He finally saw the real light, the light of true enlightenment, the realization that there is no God, and religion is man made and fake.

[@subcitizen2012]

It's god's final revelation, and we're part of it. That's a terrible and tragic and beautiful thing.

[@Martin-tn5lm]

​@@subcitizen2012Rubbish.

[@lisabeth61lk]

I feel this so much. Both of you have my story. Thank you. Now I think i may nor be crazy.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️

[@mburns3919]

Good job Tim and Bruce. I've been reading your blog for some years now, Bruce, and will continue to do so, but it was nice to listen to you on video for a change. You are well spoken and seem like a nice guy with an amiable personality. Best wishes to you and Polly regarding your health.

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@alirowan1999]

I have to reply here rather than on Ammon's interview because Tim has blocked me from making any further interaction there ... That should answer your questions. Ammon will NEVER debate me - he knows I will expose all his fraudulence as I have done in copious comments which he hides on his own channel. I knew him before he started the Lady Babylon shows as an insider and he refused to answer my questions there and eventually had me evicted for "undermining him" (his words).

[@mrs.marple2268]

I love this channel because it reminds me of the beauty of NPR’s StoryCorp.

[@MelissaThompson432]

I had bad GERD for years and ended up self-diagnosing with something called SIBO. I self-diagnosed because 3 GI doctors in a row did nothing for me. I started taking herbs that stimulate digestive fluids and went on keto, and I found out that not eating processed foods (especially processed carbs,) and food additives, besides fixing my digestion, also had a hugely beneficial effect on my "normal" aches and pains. I'm not saying it will work for anyone else, but I do strongly urge anybody who's curious to do their own research and decide for themselves.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Melissa Thompson - I’m glad you’re feeling better. I completely agree: doing one’s own research is essential. I have a friend who is suffering from severe IBS/Crohn’s Disease. Same story: Gastroenterologists have done nothing: they keep insisting that diet is not an issue. She has recently also been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I desperately want to help her. May I ask: what sort of herbs did you take and in what form? Any further tips you may have on diet would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[@MelissaThompson432]

@@dorianphilotheates3769 I think she probably needs something different than what I used if her issues are in her lower GI. I used herbs like ginger and cardamom to stimulate stomach enzymes and increase digestive efficiency in the upper GI. I still use oregano oil capsules if I need a boost. I would probably turn to mainly diet for IBD, and just guessing, I'd probably use the same diet as for SIBO: low carb, keto, or even carnivore, depending on what the digestive system can tolerate. Bread/wheat is my worst enemy, even more than sugar, because I can avoid sugar. Wheat is in everything. With SIBO, I also had to avoid sulphur containing foods like garlic and onions, and most vegetable fiber, because fiber (prebiotics) feed bacteria, and I already had too many bacteria. They also loved iron; I ended up with pretty bad anemia. As I said before, it's better for her to do the research and find what suits her specific needs, but in general processed foods are, imo, not a good idea for anybody. Intestines are a fascinating subject of study. Not only are they the first line of immune response, they actually contain "brain" cells. Doctors are people who work for you. You can't think of them as people you can surrender your responsibility to. I'm not lecturing, and I don't mean anyone should act against the best advice of a qualified practitioner. But the more you can know about the way your own body works, the better off you'll be. That said, I love a good cup of Bigelow's vanilla chai, and it has lots of good digestive spices in it. She might find chai soothing.

[@MelissaThompson432]

I feel bad about hijacking the comments on an atheist post, but I wanted to put this out there for Bruce, the guest, in case he found it useful.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

@@MelissaThompson432 - Thank you so much, Melissa! I very much appreciate you taking the time to respond with this very thoughtful comment. I will pass on your reply to my friend. G-D bl...err..I mean, thanks again! 🙂

[@MelissaThompson432]

@@dorianphilotheates3769 😁 yvw! I accept all blessings sincerely offered. I don't think Anyone Out There will object.... 🙏☺

[@eternalriver7866]

After almost 20yrs being saved born again Christian speaking in tongues fasting praying all of it, I was fooled by an ahole that either doesn’t exist or is a complete narcissist. I ended up in depression with cptsd. Finding my healing and continuing my journey believing I Am All the power I need within

[@marionhtjtlu]

So much blasphemy in your words...and I do agree with you! I'm happy that you're looking for your own energy, instead of some abstract idea from outside.

[@JohnCook-om3iq]

I wish this speaker would stop saying the phrase "you know" all the time it sounds awful improve your spoken grammar for Christ's sake, you know.

[@eternalriver7866]

@@tonyastairs8133 it’s difficult in that questioning stage. I too have the gift of prophecy and now studying law of attraction and energy it just means your in tune with a higher vibration. I wish you peace ☮️ I know how confusing and disappointing it can be to realize!! But you’ll get all your power back and more. It’s only up from there. No more guilt boundaries or punishment to fear

[@StennMathis]

@@tonyastairs8133 There is a you. And as long as you are here on earth that's all that matters...As a song lyric once said "I realised I am the one i was looking for"...What in the world interests you? Hiking? Sailing? Metal detecting? Theatre productions? Start from there...

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Not a criticism, just a question. Is that a typo or is there something called cptsd? Like, a type of ptsd maybe? Just wanting to learn. Also, yeah me too. We didn't speak in tongues but I wouldn't describe it as a liberal church. Southern Baptist. And I fell for it.

[@sidstovell2177]

Bruce: Wishing you less pain. I so enjoyed listening to your history. Tim: You do such a great job. I love listening to case histories.

[@HarmonicAtheist]

Thank you, Sid!!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤️❤️

[@TheFrancis2003]

All ex Christians can tell their story without fear of losing their head

[@jon6815]

Yes, but only because secular society in the West developed norms and laws to prevent it

[@TheFrancis2003]

@@jon6815 have you ever been to the Christian Republic ?

[@jon6815]

@@TheFrancis2003 I have no affiliation with the Jesus Idolisation Cult. I didn't realise it already has a republic.

[@Disappointed739]

I recently had an epiphany while watching a video by Francis Schaeffer. I was rather shocked to finding many of his statements about Christian history to be not only not accurate but rather crude and unstudied, and on the face of it just lacking in plain scholarship. I suddenly realized that his primary goal was to make a case for Protestant Christianity, not to provide an historically accurate picture of Christian history. It was disappointing. I had cut my intellectual teeth on his teaching while I was in grad school, and had gone to a L'brie Conference and had heard him speak in person many times. But now, fifty years later, I find him shrill and shallow.

[@scottharrison812]

❤Yep… with you on this… it was all convincing at the time, but for all his books he wasn’t a serious academic or theologian- more an apologist and defender of presuppositionalism. I went to L’Abri in the early 1980s … they were wonderful years of cetitude which, of course, had to give way as I began to for want of a better word “deconstruct” all the received wisdom. It was also hugely disappointing to find how Schaeffer’s ideas fed into conservative Evangelicalism’s more lunatic fringe - J Falwell etc, Dominionism, the radical (and cruelly unchristlike) anti-abortion lobby… there were theological similarities it seems between the Reform theologian Cornelius Van Til and F Schaeffer… which explains a bit why I found l Schaeffer disquieting. Schaeffer’s son Frank abandoned his faith (kinda) and has interesting views of his father’s ministry.

[@ac9938]

I am an empath and having to read the bible and the tremendous amount of harsh judgements and the pressure to be “perfect” js what really made me change my perspective. We live in a fallen world having to be away from sin contradicts itself on its own.

[@sundayoliver3147]

What if the "fallen world" is the myth of Eden that has gone so deep, being acted out by humans who believe it? What if we stopped believing it, and lived another story?

[@MissOne]

Indeed.😮 Looking at the bible empathetically, really opened my eyes

[@mynorby206]

thank you for sharing

[@joeglennaz]

Hello, I’m a Christian here, but it’s refreshing to hear you guys as atheist talk normally and kindly and not be so aggressive. Often times we are atheist that are just aggressive and of course we can see Christians that are the same way. As I’ve said comments I’ve noticed a pattern and these kind of video is where people Were wronged by a church that claimed to be Christians or they were wrong by people that claimed to be Christians. There’s an awful lot of churches out there and there’s an awful lot of people out there clean to be Christian but they’re not just remember because one $20 bill is fake. It doesn’t mean all $20 bills are fake.

[@queentangy]

49:47 This is so healing for me to hear

[@deeder001]

It's OK Pastor, it's not just the God of Abraham. It's all the rest of the gods and deities, and for all the same reasons that you almost certainly dismissed or disbelieved in their existences, too. Congratulations on your liberation!

[@deeder001]

@@blessedloveandsave8809 Thank you for restating what I already wrote I'm glad you need to repeat it -- "not just the God of Abraham. It's all the rest of the gods and deities"

[@wordscapes5690]

When ex fundamentalists tell me they no longer believe, my first emotion is relief. After that, I begin to wonder about how many LGBTQ people they harmed, or at least put in harms way politically. 😢

[@brucegerencser]

I indeed caused harm. 😢 Can’t undo the past. All I know is to do better now. ❤️

[@wordscapes5690]

@@brucegerencser Thank you for admitting as much. I send you a solemn embrace, and a very deep curtsy. Much love.

[@brucegerencser]

@@wordscapes5690 ❤️

[@gregcorricello8997]

Tim, you have become my favorite content producer on YT! Bruce is an interesting guy with a story that I can relate to. Thanks!

[@brucegerencser]

Thanks! ❤

[@gbtusa1325]

Wonderful conversation! Loved it as always.