How Christianity Attacks the Idea of Truth | A Response to My Old Pastor

Christians often claim that "the world" thinks everything is relative and that they're the only ones standing up for the idea of truth. But this is absolutely untrue. Not only does Christianity propose untrue things, but actively undermines the only reliable methods we have of inquiring into truth. This is especially dangerous in this current age of rampant misinformation. In this video, I will take a look at a sermon by my old pastor for an example of this.
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[@SapientCephalopod]

Funny how a major impetus for Martin Luther starting the protestant reformation was the notion that "the common man" should have direct access to the scriptures, because relying on church authority to interpret it was somehow in error. Now centuries later we have protestant ministers telling their flock how to read the Bible.

[@chloeryanvtuber]

even worse, they treat you like an apostate if you critique their interpretation. Or just an ignorant person, since they are Scholars

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

Martin Luther fought for the Bible to be readable in the local language by the laymen of the church. The KJV undid all of that progress in the English speaking world. 🤷‍♂️

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

All the Rest is History podcast is doing a great series on Luther presently…Luther was very influenced by a number of arguments through the fourteenth, fifteenth, and then early sixteenth centuries emphasizing the importance of the vernacular and Bible translation in terms of praise, worship, and general understanding of scripture so that lay persons would not be forced to rely on (potentially) corrupt priests and a (potentially/likely) corrupt Roman church. In England John Wycliffe, who had been supported by no less than John of Gaunt, son of Edward III and patron of Chaucer, was a massive influence on this movement (1360s-1400ish) and the Wycliffite Bible was one of the most significant early translations of scripture into the vernacular well before the KJV roughly 230 years later. In fact post-Reformation Catholics dug up Wycliffe’s bones in an absurd display over 200+ years after his death and then “burned” them in public to promote the idea that Wycliffe was a heretic…

[@AndrewChristiansen-rx4mx]

What was in fashion, shall come back into fashion. Same with Religion as it is with clothing.

[@goofusmaximus1482]

​@chloeryanvtuber that's more accurately a HERETIC. An APOSTATE is one who formally renounces their (formerly held) religious beliefs.

[@al4nmcintyre]

When he asked people to hold up their Bibles, I half expected to hear, "This is my Bible. There are many like it but this one is mine. Without me, my Bible is useless. Without my Bible, I am useless...."

[@zerocero5850]

Awesome take. Even better if you’re a Marine.

[@istvansipos9940]

damn! Your comment is pure GOLD. Love it.

[@joesoap1401]

😂 "This is my Bible, this is my gun, .."

[@cliftongaither6642]

​@@joesoap1401 crap! yuh beat me to it . hahaha 😂😂

[@Angel-Kitten]

Me too.

[@hidden546]

I was addicted to porn before giving my life to Christ. 30 years of being a Christian just made me feel guilty every day because it never went away like my pastor said it would. My brother is an asshole, he’s also a very strong Christian whatever that means. My dad is a horrible person. When he gave his life to Christ he just became a bigger asshole because he now believes God has chosen him specifically. My mom is very fundamentalist Christian. She hates my dad and fights with him every day. She’s also a drunk because she hates that she can’t leave him because the Bible says it’s a sin. Christianity didn’t change me at all. It just made me hate myself more because I always thought I was imperfect and struggling with sin every thought. When I started to deconstruct I prayed every day for Jesus to appear to me and give me a little bit of encouragement. I got nothing. Just like how all 30 years of my Christian experience always was. We mistakenly say “we believe in God” but what Christian’s really mean is “we believe in the Bible” Nobody I know in my church has seen nor heard God. They just listen to their pastor. The funny thing is everyone I know doesn’t read their Bible. When I started to bring up the disgusting stuff found in the OT Christian’s just say “oh that’s the Old Testament before Jesus” Most Christians and most Christian churches stay in the 4 gospels and that’s it. Nobody touches revelation, and very rarely will they go through any other book besides rarely touching on key passages in Paul’s letters that fit some practical application. Christian church is 30% music 10% asking for money 20% jokes from the pastor 5% or less of reading the Bible 35% bullshit stories on practical application of a single scripture taken out of context

[@TheBeingReal]

Great summary!

[@fpcoleman57]

This is so true. Becoming a "Christian" didn't really change my behaviour, it just filled me with a huge burden of guilt. Always falling short, damage to my self-worth, and the constant cycle every week of committing cherished sins and confessing them and being "forgiven" every Sunday. I'm surprised that I didn't end up in a mental hospital. Also, the passing of the "sin" onto another person and starting each week with a clean sheet takes away all the personal responsibility for my wrongdoing. I've been an atheist for over 30 years and I now take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences. No more infantile "passing the buck". It may be a surprise to some, but the bar of my personal morality is quite high. It's centred mainly on causing the least harm to myself, those around me, and the world. Respecting others, even when I don't agree with them, is also a keystone of my morality. The only thing I miss is being part of a focused community and having an active role. Over many hundreds of years, churches have perfected that sense of belonging to something bigger than the individual. All religions and cults are good at that.

[@coreyfaller2500]

​@@fpcoleman57 As a lifelong atheist, looking "in from the outside" I always got the impression that all those things you listed at the beginning of your statement was the purpose of Christianity. To hold you to a standard so high and so vague, that you can't help but feel like you are falling short, and therefore feel guilty, or sinful, or unclean...however these brain worms manifest. Morality without christ or the church seemed easy to me. I don't want to be raped, murdered or swindled, so why would I do that to others? All that to say congratulations to you for getting out of that mental space, I came to understand later how hard it is to deconvert for those that were true believers. You are the best kind of person to support others looking to get clear of the church, like Zod here, and Paulogia, Seth Andrews, and many others here on KZbin! Continued luck and good fortune to you!

[@Ipsolus]

Trying to deny my sexuality did far more damage than good. Not only did I also "struggle" with porn, but I was in heavy denial about my bisexuality, I was instead "being confused by Satan". Really, porn just made me feel guilty because I was told to feel guilty. I was ashamed of being bi because I was taught to think that way. And trying to deny yourself? You'll definitely not be in a good place. I was literally inducing vomit almost daily in order to teach myself to even just not have certain thoughts. My time as a Christian was the worst time, mental health wise. But that seriousness I took to the faith with is what got me away from it, actually reading the Bible and studying the faith. And now? I'm so much better off. People have urges and needs; it's good to recognize that porn is unrealistic and maybe isn't the best, but then you can take the initiative and just find your own path - whether it's by yourself or with others. And I have no fear about being bi anymore. It's just who I am.

[@hidden546]

@@Ipsolus my brother who is a Christian is gay and would literally be crying asking for prayer to “pray the gay away” He’s still a “gay Christian” but struggles with severe depression and anxiety because every moment he feels he’s going to Hell and God is silent in not answering him. The funniest part about all of it is that people believe what they want to believe. My dad has always been a conspiracy theorist, so he’s the type of Christian that aligns with flat earth and the Bible is corrupt and only the KJV is the true translation. He found the type of Christianity that fit his beliefs. People who are racist and bigoted tend to lean towards Calvinism or Southern Baptist because the idea of feeling “chosen” or “selected” by God fits their prerogative. With all the thousands of denominations out there - each person claiming to speak to God - and no God to clear up the confusion. Seems to me the exact type of thing we would expect if it’s just humans making up shit.

[@grapeshot]

Church was boring even when I was a Christian. I imagine how it would be if I went as an atheist.

[@tomcaniff6437]

this comment made me realize I had a dream about that exact thing, it was uncomfortable.

[@chloeryanvtuber]

especially the music. It's so fucking terrible and uninspired, and I kept wondering what kind of God would be impressed by this "worship" that consists of regurgitating the same empty phrases and lazy chord progressions

[@douglaswise6797]

Actually it's WAY more fun going to church as an atheist. Keep a counter on all logical fallacies said in the sermon. Then practice SE on people willing to talk to you!

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

It depends on the church service. 🤷‍♂️ Going to a classmate's Episcopalian ordinations as a transitional decon and then as a priest were both fairly boring pseudo Catholic services. Going to a Russian Orthodox wedding was kinda trippy. They crown 👑 the husband and wife like chess pieces. After the somewhat boring, _vamping what I'm doing,_ formal portion of the ceremony, the priest was much more jovial, acknowledging that most of us weren't from his particular faith, explaining what the ceremony consisted of and the meaning they place on each aspect of it. It was like a cross between the Reverend Sarducci and Yakov Smirnoff. 😅

[@JeantheSecond-ip7qm]

I think I’m an atheist because my mom found church boring. We didn’t go to Sunday service. She made me go to Bible school to learn the mythology, but I just never got the full indoctrination.

[@garrettlaturski6703]

Part of what made me stop believing in god was that I started noticing similarities between how Christians would would try to prove that god was real and how a flat earther would try to prove the earth is flat. And that some people would flat out refuse science because it didn’t agree with what the bible said.

[@tomcaniff6437]

my worldview changed a lot once I realized just how effortlessly people will buy into completely unfounded unproven nonsense just because.

[@oldschoolman1444]

Self denial, its a hell of a drug!

[@madtabby66]

What changed me was going through Hell on earth and being told that the only reason bad things happened to me was because I didn’t have enough faith. I was neurotic trying to prove to God that I had enough faith. I tried to fast for 40 days and passed out. I was angry at myself for being hospitalized and getting a glucose feed because that meant I had failed my fast.

[@dirtypickle77]

Sad thing is there's actually more evidence for a flat earth than a God, lol. Not saying there's a flat earth by the way.

[@ianchisholm5756]

Flat earthers are very often Bible literalists.

[@tos100returns]

I find it weird that Christians simultaneously call themselves "seekers," while also acting as if they've already found.

[@hackman669]

⛳🏌️‍♂️⛳🏌️‍♀️⛳😅

[@istvansipos9940]

I love that the entire world calls them BELIEVERS, yet they pretend to KNOW magic.

[@stylis666]

It's called feigning sincerity, it's a feature of faith, not a bug, and not a personal flaw of some believers that they can overcome by learning and growing. They have no intention to grow, only to learn how to fake their bullshit better to avoid having to actually think about things honestly. With some exceptions of course: ex-theists. They figured that god would value their honesty which a god cannot unless they exist and make themselves known to everyone equally and show actually loving behaviour, which they do not and cannot. So you have two types of theists: dishonest hypocrites and (soon to be) ex-theists.

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

The best way to contend with them is through the Bible itself. Galatians 3:13, Hosea 13:4, Hosea 13:7-8, Revelation 13:1-8, Galatians 4:14, Psalm 74:14 is complete and total checkmate for Christianity.

[@CJFCarlsson]

Those are mystics and people making up their own religion, same as you would look around in a buffet, for your favourite dishes, being " a seeker".

[@MasamiPhoenix]

"Render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's." Churches should pay taxes. Period.

[@michaelparks5669]

they do idiot.

[@grimlund]

Pastors like to ignore that vers. The Bible is made for cherrie picking. There is a verse for everyone in that book.

[@michaelparks5669]

pastors do pay taxes. why are you lying?

[@grimlund]

@@michaelparks5669 Churches in the US are extempt from taxes. So he is not lying.

[@drlegendre]

Yes, THIS.

[@ZenWithKen]

"They were just told a lie that was easy to swallow and believe." Well, he got that right I guess.

[@zehkiel8018]

Now he just needs to reflect on those words.

[@zeemon9623]

The way this pastor talks about Catholics is kind of like the English talk about people from other countries in the UK. - Person from Scotland does something bad -> Scottish - Person from Scotland does something great -> British

[@ColinWrubleski-eq5sh]

Cannot remember the name of the male tennis player in question, a dual-citizen of Canada and the UK, but no joke---> when he won a match, the British press identified him as British, but when he lost, the same press identified him as Canadian. Bizarre...

[@ColinWrubleski-eq5sh]

Egads, it sure is annoying hearing the Prophet of Zod drone on and on about people being "transphobic", which is the stupidest and most nonsensical word imaginable. No one is afraid of trans-fats (even while most people concede that said fats may be potentially be unhealthy). Most sensible people, however, are legitimately leery of allowing perverted men masquerading as women into what should be female-only spaces.

[@EnglishMike]

There's a old bit from Flanders and Swann (1960s satirists) where they talk about how when anything good happens it's "Great Britain triumphs again" but it something bad happens it's "Another failure for England", so it's not just the Scots who feel that way! It's from the intro of their "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice" which is mean enough about non-English British nationalities that it wouldn't get air time today even if it's intended to poke fun at the prejudices of the English themselves: _"The English are moral, the English are good_ _And clever and modest and misunderstood!_ _And all the world over, each nation's the same_ _They've simply no notion of playing the game_ _They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won_ _And they practise beforehand, which ruins the fun!"_

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

​@@ColinWrubleski-eq5sh Greg Rusedski, iirc. It was pretty awful the way the press spun that.

[@The-Doubters-Diary]

No true Scottman! 😅

[@UranusKiller]

I lost it when he told his whole congregation to edit their bibles. If I was a believer in the inerrant word of god, that would have been the end for me. Absolutely wild!

[@davidhoffman6980]

He also forgot to mention that Jesus didn't speak in Greek. He spoke Aramaic, so reading a whole lot into the exact Greek wording is already a bit of a stretch.

[@donnievance1942]

@@davidhoffman6980 Also, it's a very weird fact that the entirety of the New Testament is a set of original Greek literary compositions with no compelling evidence that any of it was translated from any underlying Aramaic sources.

[@SadisticSenpai61]

@@donnievance1942 It's more that there's a lot of the New Testament and the Gospels in particular that don't translate directly into Aramaic (at least not without a lot of editing and all that in order to preserve the meanings) that rather indicate it wasn't something originally said or taught in Aramaic. But yeah, the so-called "words of Jesus" are mostly composed of stuff that we can be sure Jesus didn't say (I'm granting a historical Jesus here for the sake of argument). Basically everything in John? Yeah, Jesus didn't say that. Any of it.

[@davidhoffman6980]

@@SadisticSenpai61 well I think we skeptics all know that, but you're never going to get the Christians to accept that. But most Christians know and have no problem accepting that the gospels were written in Greek, which means that pastor's argument doesn't even hold up to a Christian internal critique.

[@brianm6337]

@UranusKiller There are verses in Revelations that say specifically not to do this, or else. So.. now you have that.

[@bradypustridactylus488]

Redefine morality, redefine truth, redefine inerrancy. If the current vocabulary doesn't support you, tell your people, "It doesn't mean what you think it means."

[@samuelschick8813]

About 5 years ago my daughter who was not religious cut all communications with me. She would not reply to emails about my grandchildren. Well about a month ago out of the clear blue she started talking ( DM) to my wife. Turns out she had a come to Jesus moment and talked ( DM) wife and they talked about God, Jesus and the Bible. Then daughter said she wanted to talk to me, wife walks in the room and hands me the phone: Me: " Hi Dusty, how's the family and grandchildren?" Dusty goes straight into a religious teaching/lecture telling me how great God is, how I need Jesus in my life. Me: " I do not need a religious lecture." Dusty: " YOU HATE GOD!!!!!" and hangs up on me and has not spoken to me since. All in, it took less than 2 minutes for my daughter to shun me because I did not share her religious beliefs. Yes, the only reason she decided to get in touch was to bring me to Jesus. An old saying comes to mind,,, " There's no hate like Christian love." Sounds like she has taken her whole family down the religious rabbit hole. Daughter is part Filipino and they tend to have Buddha statues around for good luck, Dusty had one. Well one of her sons 12 years old saw the Buddha sitting on a shelf that they forgot about. He went running to Dusty telling her Buddha was a false god and it was idol worship. So Dusty, husband and the 4 grandchildren went and picked Buddha up, carried him to the trash and threw him away. They then held a family prayer circle asking God to forgive them for the sin of having Buddha in their house. Religion poisons the mind and kills critical thinking skills. " Christianity changes people. Yes it does, but not always for the better. A lot of times it results in a " holier than thou" attitude.

[@CodeNameX001]

The story about the door-to-door proselytizers get's funnier/sadder when you imagine they were just delivering his Postmates

[@bigtombowski]

Lol

[@madtabby66]

My favourite was I was on day 3 without sleep, had sold the house, cleaning for the handover, everything going wrong. Had one show up. I told her I really didn’t have time to talk to her. And she gasped and said “you don’t care what happens when you die!?” I burst into song… “The worms go in, the worms go out the worms play pinochle on your snout!”

[@SadisticSenpai61]

Delivery driver: uh... Whatever man, here's your lunch.

[@davidoswald5293]

Yeah, every preacher/pastor really wants to be the Pope of his own religion

[@A-WallfromAL]

And the more power they acquire, the worse they get.

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

Without the biblical authority to be lead any "church".

[@hackman669]

So they get nun 🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒👀😐🤔🙄😕😒

[@A-WallfromAL]

@@digbycrankshaft7572 Does anyone have that authority? 😆

[@agingerbeard]

A lot of mind readers among my fellow atheists! I wish I could determine the sincerity of someone's belief, or know the motivations of an entirely non-homogeneous group! 🤔🤦😅

[@firebornliger]

"... They have just been told a lie that was easy to swallow and believe..." Man, that's a self report.

[@LHRPG_Official]

He's right. We need to tell everyone about Jesus. "Hey, everyone! Jesus is fake!"

[@omarvasquez6851]

Good one.

[@chameleonx9253]

Depends what you mean by "fake." I reckon he's about as real as King Arthur, or Robin Hood, or (at best) Socrates. We simply have to take every piece of information we "know" about him with a grain of salt the size of Everest.

[@Stupidityindex]

@@chameleonx9253 One must be insanely arrogant to suggest knowing something of a God. It is by boldness, Moses became the world's worst navigator, by having one foot in some fantasyland. There is a fine line between fishing & standing on the shore, looking like an idiot. Fail to get the Jews to buy it for 2000 years & they should know who their Messiah is. Jesus is a fake, to immortalize the war against the Jews. Jesus Christ is crucified for all time in literature & the subjects of Rome are illiterate. Freud wrote, "The antidote to Christianity is literacy" & the joke is in the scriptures. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" Galatians 3:13 An improvement on your God & faith; would outlaw indoctrination & abuse of the vocabulary of fiction on children.

[@byron739]

Now that's a painful doubt I have: was JC a grifter-charlatan type?; or a fundie nutjob with a narcissism issue?; or was he for real?!? We know that he existed, JC wasn't a fiction character as some have said...but then again, what was he up to FFS?!?

[@chameleonx9253]

@@byron739 It's impossible to say for sure given the utter lack of reliable information about the man. All we can do is speculate based on other apocalyptic cult leaders that we've experienced throughout history. It's fairly likely that he was genuinely convinced of his own hype, at least to the extent that he was willing to take his claims to the grave with him. That said, it's entirely possible that he tried to recant or renounce his heretical beliefs in private, where his followers couldn't hear it, but by that point it was too late to save him. We simply don't know enough about the historical Jesus (or Yeshu), since all the sources we have for him are saturated in mythological embellishment.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

9:30 *_This is my Bible. There are many others just like it, but this one us special because this one is mine. Without me, my Bible is nothing; without my Bible, I am nothing._*

[@6Haunted-Days]

Be original

[@hackman669]

Got his Bibe on his mind. And is mind is looney.😅 🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚🌔🌖🌛🌜🌙🌚

[@E.J.Crunkleton]

​@@6Haunted-Days Naw it's perfect. A juxtaposition of what is generally considered two distinct types of psychological indoctrination that highlights their similarities.

[@ryaneakins7269]

My usual reason as to why I'm not religious is the sheer number of religions. Even within Christianity, there are tens of thousands of sects. If your book has so many interpretations, how do I decide which sect to follow? Oh, and Pastor? Please read Matthew 6:5-8 again. It's my favourite passage.

[@wesley3300]

Lol that’s a pretty dang good reason, though. One among many, to be sure.

[@rickmartin7596]

Oh, and Pastor? Please explain Genesis 38 in a children's Bible study. Then wait for a visit from some concerned government agencies.

[@dirtypickle77]

Yes, the Holy Spirit is very confused.

[@kellydalstok8900]

My grandfather left his church, because in the village where he used to live he had observed attendees of different churches walk past each other on Sundays completely ignoring each other. That totally undermined the idea of christian love for him. Later he lived in a town that was more secular, and without the controlling village life he was free to live life the way he chose anyway.

[@Fufiloofa]

I have asked xtians in comments "which denomination is correct in it's interpretation and why?" Never got an actual answer, only nonsense like "gods church/denomination"

[@simonkoster]

There is no arrogance like Christian humility.

[@kenshiloh]

In all respect, Christians have a basis for knowledge. How do I know that Christ rose from the dead? Is it because of my obviously superior intellect (jk)? No, Christians know the truth because the 'Truth' is a person, Jesus Christ. It is a friendship with God. That is why true Christians are humble. We do not boast of ourselves, but boast at the marvelous love and kindness of God. My boast is that I am loved and accepted by Christ. Yet, an atheist has to worship himself. They have to be oh-so-smart, smarter than the Christian. They must put Christians down to vaunt themselves up, to claim that, through their high and mighty thought processes, they know what the truth is. It is laughable and damnable. Therefore, I warn atheists that 'pride comes before a fall.' God has no use for the proud and mighty, but for those who humbly know and love Him, who are friends with God. Do not be deceived. If you die in your amoral pride, it won't go well for you in eternity. Without God, eternity will be hell. It is torment and it lasts forever. Fools mock what they do not understand! Christ died on a Cross so that we may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

[@nathanmiller9918]

It's wild. Were I to accept that I'm the intentional end product of some divine deity, that IT had a special plan for me, and that my life would be eternal my position would in no way include more humility. Add it to the list of their projections, I suppose. Arrogance, faith, worship, religion, lack of solid moral foundation, inability to accept evidence...

[@thebirdygrace]

This needs to be on a greeting card 😂

[@hellonewman5855]

Preacher never speaks of evidence because he wants blind acceptance of authority. He doesn't give a rat's ass about truth; he wants your submission to his authority. His message is bend your knees everybody.

[@franciscosustek7249]

And gimme your moneys...Ferraris don't pay themselves, ya know?

[@corneliahanimann2173]

I don't know about that, my preachers weren't like that, I think this has to be a phenomenon that is rare in europe and apparently common in the US

[@hellonewman5855]

​@@corneliahanimann2173I won't speak concerning Europe, but in America the preacher featured by POZ is typical. There are many thousands of them, and they are uncompromising dogmatic authoritarians. The Bible is a cudgel used unrelentingly in their war of us against them. In America this is not universal, but it is prominent and socially and politically pernicious.

[@donnievance1942]

@@corneliahanimann2173 Wherever is the most grifting is where the most religion is.

[@corneliahanimann2173]

@@donnievance1942 this is probably true lol. I just yesterday had this conversation with my sister. We could not imagine our pastors denying evolution ever, that's not what we learned to be important about christianity. My pastor even did a project day with all kids (of all religions) and invited some westafricans into school, and explained to us that black people are this black, because they live closer to the equator and evolved to have more sun protection. And then we learned how they practice christianity, learned to cook a meal of their culture, about their music, and I think that was a great day. I wish more christians has this christian upbringing. I think I was seriously disappointed to eventually notice that I don't just not believe in the bible, because the bible was not the kindnatured book my pastors talked about, and that the christians across the world...well they dominated the world not with kindness.

[@heiyuall]

99.99999% of people who ever lived were confused cultists, meaning the universe was made only for this pastor and some of his congregation. Humble.

[@hackman669]

Whatever 😂

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

I would say more people rejected or paid no more than lip-service to the cults for a good deal more of history than you would credit.

[@exmormonroverpaula2319]

I sometimes attend LDS church services when visiting my family. I am always stunned by how ridiculous the meetings and classes are. It's weird, because I remember that I used to actually believe this stuff. Now, it's all I can do to stop myself from laughing during meetings.

[@GrantStraks]

“If you don’t go around telling EVERYONE about God you deny Christ” JW: 😀 Catholics: 👁️👄👁️

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

_It's the _*_GREAT COMMISSION, Charlie Brown!_* 🎃 _Good grief._ 😖

[@rhondah1587]

Catholics sent priests and monks all over the world from early days to convert the "pagans" to christianity. Example: St. Patrick. He wasn't from Ireland. He proselytized to them.

[@GrantStraks]

@@AnnoyingNewsletters 😆

[@GrantStraks]

@@rhondah1587 st Patrick was kidnapped…

[@rhondah1587]

@@GrantStraks Where was he kidnapped from? He got free and became a traveling monk type teaching and preaching and telling everyone to convert. There was another one who went to Scotland.

[@Zahaqiel]

Kinda weird that he starts off the sermon with the claim that Jesus said that "the gates of Hell will not prevail"... that's a bit like me saying that the shelves I put together will never beat me. Didn't God make those gates? It's a weird brag that God's gonna beat a hurdle God made. And then it's doubly a weird brag because he thinks a few hundred million out of an estimated 117 billion humans who have ever lived won't go to Hell. That's less than a 1% victory my guy. Starting this sermon... just... _real_ strong.

[@sandorski56]

The stone so big that even It couldn't lift it.

[@madtabby66]

Well if they taught the Bible as it’s written… God does the torturing, not Satan. Satan, and all the devils are going to be right beside us. Jesus has the keys to Hell. Jesus will condemn people to Hell. Even people who think they’re good Christian’s will end up in Hell.

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

He also didn't quote the whole verse. "I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church" because that was Christ founding his church upon Peter the first leader or pope and so he deliberately left that bit out to try and preserve his false protestant religion.

[@quotedotes]

@@digbycrankshaft7572they're both false. They're just a cult trying to differentiate itself from a different cult, that shares origins

[@chameleonx9253]

Yeah, it's really funny how inept and pathetic they believe their God is when you really stop and think about it for more than ten seconds. Like, legit, my 3 year old could probably design a better plan for a universe than this supposedly tri-omni God.

[@sandracraft517]

I remember how I learned to take Xtian stories with a large grain of salt -- it was a newspaper article I read as a teenager. It was all about how a Xtian youth group had been arrested for singing gospel songs, and was full of complaints from various of the youths about how this was persecution and a sign of godlessness, etc, etc. Then down at the very bottom of the article were the details that the singing had been going on in a residential neighborhood at 4 a.m. Now, I was still trying to be a Xtian myself at the time but honestly, I'd have called the cops too!

[@PokemonRules333]

Funny how that information was placed at the bottom of the article almost like that was done on purpose

[@KianaWolf]

I wouldn't even know how to begin tackling this subject, because it's just so vast and blatant. It's like being asked to give directions to a mountain directly in view, best I can do is gesture toward it and say "Use your eyes."

[@FocusReborn44]

Perfectly said.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

_Well, what you're gonna wanna do is head that-a-way until you're there._ *spits tobaccy* 🏔️

[@gregsanich5183]

Lol. You realize they feel exactly the same way when conversing withyou guys, right? Its gona seem equally obvious from either perspective depending on the fundamental presuppositions a person adopts for their worldview.

[@JGM0JGM]

Unless you are talking about an invisible shapeless mountain, I'm not sure your analogy is correct. I mean, it's not clear to me whose POV your talking about.

[@KianaWolf]

@@JGM0JGM I am referring to the title. Christianity's long history of denying reality is just so blatantly obvious to me (as someone that was raised in it) that it's difficult to articulate just how pervasive it is.

[@tonymiller3788]

WTH is faith in truth? There's no need to have faith if you have truth.

[@quotedotes]

"truth" in this case has had the meaning subverted, meaning "whatever I decide to cherry-pick from the Bible"

[@emmatessier600]

When what they believe becomes what they "know", they can't look at the world logically anymore, they're no longer observing they're interpreting and judging

[@johnknight3529]

"There's no need to have faith if you have truth." Of course there is, because there is no magical way to bypass one's own fallibility to just know "the truth". Life ain't so simple . .

[@EdwardHowton]

The problem here is that you're mistaking that verbiage for English. It's a different language, one I call Theistspeak. You can look up the definition of 'faith' and 'truth' all you want in English, but they won't help you here. Cultists use words the same way that guy in _King of the Hill_ uses pocket sand, or fighter aircraft use flares and chaff. "Faith" in that language means "really good-ity" and "truth" translates to "being obedient to Magic Space Wizard". So 'faith in truth' just means being a good little sheep and doing what god's personal messenger (the pastor) says you should think and do, without question, because questions are evil. With a passing interest in Linguistics, this stuff gets obvious. Attack someone's ability to express themselves, and you've got them trapped. It's exactly like Newspeak from _1984._ Hell, I should've said 'doubleplus good' earlier, now I think of it...

[@johnknight3529]

@@EdwardHowton - "Attack someone's ability to express themselves, and you've got them trapped." Just like in '!984', eh, Mr. Doublespeak ; )

[@brushdogart]

I'm an outsider to Christianity (I was raised UU/Atheist) so a lot of what Christians say and do seem really weird and alien to me. I appreciate former Christians like yourself explaining these behaviors to me in ways I can understand. The Christian explanations make a lot of jumps where they assume I understand and agree with what they just said without really explaining things very well.

[@istvansipos9940]

because christian explanations don't exist. Only christian excuses and rants do. really, they still have not explained the g0d. The very basic of this magical bullsh!t

[@agentcallisto]

On the opposite side of the spectrum, growing up in Christianity meant I took so much for granted that explanations like this help me understand where my thinking went wrong. It never occurred to me to be remotely critical about the conclusions reached by church leaders because in our paradigm, Christianity was the starting point.

[@EdwardHowton]

@@agentcallisto You're making me wonder what it would look like if a christian or former christian tried to do some rubber duck debugging on their religion. If you're unfamiliar with what that is, some programmers keep a rubber duck on their desk so that when they're trying to debug their code, they can explain the code to the rubber duck. Saying it out loud to the duck helps them notice where the code doesn't work. And it's an actual useful tool, too; you don't need the duck, but I remember doing it in my head when I was in high school writing QBASIC games for fun. I have a programmer cousin who told me rubber ducks were banned from their IT lab, because they'd get flung around in anger when programmers finally noticed the obvious mistakes.

[@agentcallisto]

@@EdwardHowton That’s an interesting idea. Unfortunately (for some) Christian theology breaks down in so many places that I think the rubber duck would be chucked a minute into the exercise!

[@dalex60]

Christianity’s “truth”, is whatever they claim it to be…

[@RoninTF2011]

Rather like: whatever is convenient for them...

[@hackman669]

A touth of convience.😅

[@dalex60]

@@RoninTF2011 - They love imposing their morals onto non-believers while indulging in their daily hypocritical walk with their lord.

[@mila-evans]

I watch a lot of NDE videos on youtube and it's very interesting how they all believe heavenly ones until a gay person goes there and suddenly it's a "lie from satan" or whatever

[@Aster_druid]

Zod: "I don't have a big channel" My brother in Darwin, I heard about you when I was still a Fundamentalist. I'm glad I'm watching you now, it's helping my deconstruction journey (2 years!) Also, why do so many fundamentalist pastors sound like those they're choking on something?

[@checkoffgames]

I actually have a pretty bad way of speaking, probably because of abnormal muscle weakness, so if I had to guess why pastors sound like this guy... Weak breathing and posture muscles.

[@cliftongaither6642]

they're choking on the BS they sling out of their mouths.

[@skepticus5705]

Religion is not a search for truth. It is a quest for power.

[@acebailey2478]

Zod, you have a wonderful face! I'm glad you dropped the static

[@6Haunted-Days]

Omfg that was annoying 😂😖

[@hackman669]

Super human samurai 😅

[@quotedotes]

I liked the static, but I like his face too

[@SoThatsGoot]

No complaints here 😍😍

[@Apost8Paul]

Prophet of Zod. That's a really great name even though I don't really know what it means, and the static head was really weird at first but then I got to really like it and thought it was cool and added some mystery. Yes he does have a very nice countenance and a very honest look about him, unlike the phony baloney Christian apologist bullshitters. Keep up the great work Zod

[@Captainmrah]

I really appreciate your use of the term “childishly loaded language” to describe transphobic bigotry because the language always seems off and that perfectly describes why.

[@tickytickytango5634]

Asking questions is an attack the truth in the same way refining is an attack on iron: It isn't. All it does is remove the stuff that isn't and leave you with a result that is strong enough to be used as a tool.

[@quotedotes]

The truth has nothing to fear from inquiry.

[@mapmoop451]

refining iron is a really really good allegory for questioning things about your beliefs, and one of these days im going to use that!

[@fpcoleman57]

If American Christians are being persecuted, then I must be living on Mars.

[@The-Doubters-Diary]

😅😅😅 You got that right!!!

[@donnievance1942]

Look through history. Almost every group that's setting up to persecute, starts out by chanting about how they're being persecuted.

[@michealforguson5317]

Projection at its finest.

[@PokemonRules333]

Christianity in America is the majority religion and is the most privileged the fact that Christians claim they are persecuted seems to me the only reason they want to be persecuted is because their book told them so

[@Ex_christian]

Ya, the American Christian’s ARE the persecutors!

[@bovinejonie3745]

“If you don’t harass people, you’ll go to hell.” .. that’s all I heard.

[@James-wv3hx]

Thank you Zod. ❤. If there is a God, he should look like you then he wouldn't want to hide.

[@ScottM1973]

If a religious person started praying right after I said I didn't want to I would have said Have fun talking to yourself, then walk away.

[@jeremysmetana8583]

"Lord, I want this man and woman to be in heaven with me." Ew.

[@agingerbeard]

If you consider that if a Christian is sincere in their belief, this would not be a gross or malicious statement but one of kindness and hope for the person. Delusional? Probably. Gross? A bit of a reach/strawman to imply anything nefarious.

[@awkwardukulele6077]

@@agingerbeardnot really, even if he did really want people to go to heaven, he obviously said it to be condescending and as a show of superiority. No amount of “good intentions” makes him _not_ gross for saying it the way he did in that conversation.

[@agingerbeard]

@@awkwardukulele6077 agree to disagree I suppose

[@donnievance1942]

@@agingerbeard All Christians need to be alerted: if they take the Bible's description of God's character at face value, they have no assurance he won't fry their little asses along with everyone else. After all, he deliberately hardened Pharoah's heart and lied to Pharoah's prophets so that he could have the excuse to kill all the Egyptian first-borns to show off. God is a notorious liar. That's not the only Biblical instance of God's lies. The Bible explicitly says that God created EVERYTHING, including all the evil in the world. I think that part is in Isaiah. If you haven't abased every scrap of your identity in adoration of God and contempt for your own sinful self, you're going to the bad place. Get down on your knees, and heap revulsion on your own soul. God is the ultimate narcissist, and he demands complete self-repudiation of everyone in favor of utter and comprehensive adoration of himself. Anyone who can't or won't meet that standard is doomed. The only people going to heaven are the bottoms in the God/humankind BDSM relationship. And the Bible is pretty damn explicit that not many of them are going to make it. The "saved" are going to be statistically negligible. And if they do get to heaven, they're going to share it with that same psychopathic God-- eternity spent singing his praises and kissing his "ring." Fun. And if that isn't what they are hungering for, in every fiber of their being, they won't even get there.

[@samgott8689]

Not only is *Roman* cohort not there, but a cohort is largely a hypothetical “paper* number that could vary greatly. Is it the double strength First Cohort? Is it an Auxiliary cohort? Is it an understrength cohort (as most usually were)? Super numerary? Is it ALL of the cohort, it’s officers, attendants, signifers, skirmishers? The word in practice means nothing: it’s just an organizational/logistical label for the smallest tactical unit capable of independent operations: it can and was in practice a wildly varying number.

[@ponyboygarfunkel1675]

Not to contradict the learned preacher, but I believe it is Popeye who said, "I yam."

[@agingerbeard]

He put some Olive Oyl on his yam I bet.

[@cliftongaither6642]

​@@agingerbeard😂😂😂

[@GriffinsAdventures]

A functional level of humility... I'm going to steal that quote. Its sad that I believed pastors just like this one years ago, how I did that without throwing up in my own mouth I just don't know now.

[@FluidThinker]

That means you have developed your sense of rational thinking and improved yourself. I know, it makes me sick too that I believed all of that but isn't it better than still being delusional?

[@shawnpuller5219]

I really appreciate your channel. I am in the process of untying all of these knots of “truth” that have plagued my life. Thank you.

[@elainejohnson6955]

Matthew 6:6 says to pray in private, not to pray infront of others.

[@hackman669]

Makes sense.😊

[@EdwardHowton]

I don't even need to look it up, I remember most of what that passage probably is. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who pray on the street corner for all to see. Verily I tell you they have their reward. Instead, when you pray, go into your closet and pray to your Lord, who is in secret." I've never even been a christian and I've only been forced into a church for the rituals I was too young to question the necessity of. How close did I get?

[@tofu_golem]

The irony is that they use _appeal to authority_ fallacies as their sole means of determining truth, so for them, truth is completely arbitrary. They are the ones who deny objective truth. To them, truth is not what is proved, but things are true or false based entirely on who says it.

[@nicklj2480]

Some pastors also talk about how the laws of the OT don’t always apply. Some are cultural, some are priestly, etc. When I asked how it is determined which is which, I got no answer, just some spitballing. There is no method.

[@kellydalstok8900]

The ones they like apply and the ones they don’t do not. It’s as simple as that.

[@horsewithnoname5264]

Last thing in the world that people who believe in something out of rote want to know: the truth.

[@johnburn8031]

Adding a pre-emptive comment to feed the KZbin algorithm.

[@acebailey2478]

Amen

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

The Big Al gives and the Big Al takes. May your views be many and your search engine optimized. Go Rhythm!

[@prrfrrpurochicas]

☝️

[@acebailey2478]

@@AnnoyingNewsletters blessed be the name of the algorithm.

[@Vanix9696]

Adding a mid-video comment to feed your algorithm feeder

[@TheTechnicolorRobot]

Holy cow. Like 2.5 years ago, minutes 31-32 would have sent me in a spiral. So good to be free

[@hackman669]

Moo 🐮🐮 🐄🐮🐄🐮🐄🐮🐄🐮🐄🐮🐄🐮 🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛🍼🥛😅

[@WAKMM]

You brought up a valuable point that I've been thinking of for a long time but I've never heard anybody else say. The idea of evaluating elements of guilt and how they got there, and if it's really a rational or personal choice or if it's something that's just been trained into you

[@gmontezuma6770]

Whether it’s a religion or a political ideology, those who are financially or emotionally involved don’t really care what truth is. They don’t care about evidence, they don’t care that the party or religious organization willfully hurt and deceive people. It’s sort of a selfishness that says- “I don’t really know and I’m not going to look too deep into it, I’m just going to accept it.”

[@ScottM1973]

Christian says: Satan attacks the definition of Truth to mislead people Christian Pastor thinks: What a great idea! Atheist: Houston, we have a problem!

[@Sammedi1]

Your eyes are always so bright like you’re on the verge of tears.

[@bigtombowski]

I have that problem. I think all my students have accepted it as part of my weirdness by now

[@squidpope9344]

I've gotta say, I love your switch to a more natural speaking cadence, your earlier work had a cadence that made it difficult for me to listen to so I for one am happy for the change!

[@redfoxninja3173]

Religion offers ignorant excuses for things it refuses to know, reality gives factual evidence for things we have yet to understand! They are not the same!

[@hackman669]

Like the guys who don't believe in dinosaurs! Or the stupid that think angels are space aliens 👽🙄🤔

[@Crimenocerous]

Uuuuuuugh. I really appreciate you wading through this garbage on our behalf, Zod.

[@zerocero5850]

It is a hard thing for people to accept that the limits of their sense of control begins with the emergence of cosciousness and ends with its dissolution. Existential courage is not for everyone. In a better world it would be.

[@SapientCephalopod]

Yes, James & John were "Commercial Fishermen", because, you know, modern concepts of capitalism and commerce were a thing in 0 BCE.

[@definitivamenteno-malo7919]

Duh. Didn't you know that history began in the XVII C. ? smh /s

[@Zahaqiel]

Yeah, after James and John's IPO, nobody thought they'd ever give it up, but along came Jesus and convinced them to do a share buyback to repay their investors...

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

_It is easier for a camel 🐪 to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven without diversifying his portfolio._

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

_Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s*, and to God the things that are God’s._ *Unless you sink your investments into shell corporations and offshore accounts.

[@madtabby66]

Yes they were commercial fishermen. Not in the way we think of, but they’d do the fishing then the women (mother, wives, sisters) would probably do the selling of the fish. You could look into the history of the time.

[@JanetDax]

Sometimes I want to scream; "Truth? You can't handle the truth." Sometimes Christianity only exists to control others.

[@tommartin2360]

As far as meeting Jesus changes lives and therefore must be supernatural…. Other things that people claim sometimes legitimately changes their life: joining the military, getting hooked on a MLM, graduating from college. There are a lot more. None of these claim supernatural but all have a big impact on

[@Nocturnalux]

And if you were ever part of a fandom, you’ll know of people whose life was changed by a character, the story, whatever. It is extremely common and often moving.

[@kellydalstok8900]

The birth of your children, the death of one of them.

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

Getting out of an MLM too.

[@A-WallfromAL]

Satan told the truth in the Garden, not God. Read it carefully. (Well … the snake told the truth. The idea that it was Satan was retconned into the story.)

[@wesley3300]

It makes sense that Christians interpret the snake as Satan when you understand that in the story, the serpent represents the desire to know. If the human knows for himself what’s right and wrong, they have no need to be told what is by some “orthodox” dogma; they are then less likely to be herded and controlled.

[@A-WallfromAL]

@@wesley3300 I know. I was a Christian for 40+ years. 😁

[@madtabby66]

Except the snake wasn’t Satan. The Bible never says he was Satan. It’s more of a “how the snake lost his legs” myth.

[@A-WallfromAL]

@@madtabby66 That was my point. It was an interpretation read back into the text.

[@ColinWrubleski-eq5sh]

Wrong!!! The literal Hebrew is best translated into English as God saying to A and E, "On the day you eat of it, to die you shall be dying." In that regard, God was 100% correct. Satan, deceitfully masquerading as a serpent, of course denied the accuracy of what God had said. No surprise, since as Jesus identified in John 8:44, Satan was a liar and a man-killer from the beginning.

[@Frynge357]

hey, I've had people come into my store and insist I pray with them. I'm an atheist. more than once I've said no just to have them go into it anyways, myself. guys, time and place. also respect for the beliefs (and lack thereof) of others.

[@timothyblazer1749]

Really sounds like a used car salesman to me. Like, pitch perfect.

[@quotedotes]

Because they share quite a few things in common with used care salesmen

[@istvansipos9940]

at least, he could hope to sell something usable, if he was a used car salesman.

[@kellydalstok8900]

The used car salesman has something tangible to sell, the pastor only sells an illusion.

[@JohanKylander]

A car salesman that doesn't let us drive the car, touch the car, look under the hood, know who owned it, or even let us see it! I asked another salesman about the same car and he described an entirely different one! All I saw were salesmen in an empty lot.

[@Kattlarv]

An irony to me, is the "every accusation is a confession". Like the "You just became an atheist to sin!" When in reality: "Why did you become a chrisitan? - Oh, they let me wallop my wife, kids. Drink, do any and all sins I want. And *all* I have to do is say sorry once a week!"

[@oldschoolman1444]

Christians changing reminds me of a South Park episode called "smug alert" where people enjoyed smelling their own farts.

[@hackman669]

Americans ⛽⛽⛽⛽⛽⛽⛽⛽clouds ⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😎😳🤣⛅😑😐😅

[@Xenophon122088]

I agree. ANY changes to the written Bible are an act of blasphemy. I don't understand how people can live with such denial and pseudo-reasoning.

[@madtabby66]

The Bible states many times that changing one word is evil. But that’s conveniently ignored.

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

They don't have original manuscripts for most of it, and none of it was written in Modern English (or any form of English).

[@donnievance1942]

@@DavidSmith-vr1nb What's crazy is that the entire New Testament was written in original Greek, so that its connection to any previous writings in Aramaic are entirely hypothetical. Obviously, some of its sources stemmed from messianic Judaism, but also, it is clearly a hybrid product of a Hellenized eastern Mediterranean larger world.

[@karenbrown938]

These people are so intellectually and morally bankrupt. Prophet of Zod you are a calm clear voice of reason, humility and humanity.

[@Queldonus]

A few minutes in I had the thought of what the evangelical sermon bingo card would look like, and that “we are SO persecuted”/“christianity is under attack” would be the free space in the middle. Checked that off at 36:24

[@BlairOutLoud]

The pacing and content was great here. I’ve watched you for years and this was one of the best.

[@valkeakirahvi]

I'm not super familiar with the Bible or Koine Greek, but as someone who studied Classical Greek I can't see how that Greek sentence implies that there is a "he" in addition to "I am" in it.

[@valkeakirahvi]

The other passage with "Roman cohort" doesn't have Roman in it. In fact to me it implies that the cohort was also Judean. But I'm not sure how that word is usually used.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

It's not so much that it's from the Greek as it is grammatically correct English. 🔔 *Hello?* 📞 _May I speak to Jesus?_ *This is he.*

[@awkwardukulele6077]

It would imply “he” if that’s the common way English people would phrase the sentence when translated from Greek. Like how Russian doesn’t have a lot of articles, so a Russian Bible might translate someone saying, “Where is the wolf?” as, “where wolf?” That makes sense in Russian, but anyone in English who sees that exact translation is going to think “big man-wolf monster that gets killed with silver bullets,” not “person asking where a wild animal is.” That’s the problem with translating the Bible and arguing about choices in translation. You either have to be a full-on scholar dedicating your life to the book, or you have to pick and choose, and ANYONE can come along and disagree without much either person can do to remedy the disagreement.

[@agentcallisto]

Your breakdown of the, as we called it in Mormonism, “missionary moment” was so good. I always felt so much guilt about never sharing the gospel with my friends and acquaintances. Contemplating doing so was deeply uncomfortable to me, but of course missionary work is a core tenet of Mormon faith. After all, as a former prophet said, “every member a missionary.” Anyway, I loved your explanation of why you might be uncomfortable about evangelizing (that it doesn’t correspond with your priorities, personal values, or understanding of appropriate social interactions).

[@justinkasse6340]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity... - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

[@soyevquirsefron990]

The last time someone asked if they could pray for me, I shrugged and said “I don’t think I can stop you”

[@phoenixanderson3995]

Why do so many preachers use such a clearly fake voice when preaching? I have never heard a preacher in one of these videos use a voice that sounds natural to them. I have heard the shouty preacher, the long winded “peaceful” preacher, the old old dudes that pause between every two words, but they all sound like they are hiding something. Like they are trying to make you believe something that they aren’t saying. And I guess they are doing that most of the time, but it’s so transparent and creepy. Like uncanny valley where you don’t feel like you’re watching a human person talk but instead an AI propaganda program. This guy in particular really tries to lengthen his speeches and it gets ridiculous.

[@quotedotes]

Because they're *salesmen* and they are incentivized to use certain tactics and manipulation techniques to *sell* you, keep selling you, and convincing you to open your wallet, on the ideology that they sold to you.

[@wolfpayne9253]

I know I didn't watch the video yet, but I'm putting down a like. How can't I with a smile like that?!

[@georgeweller1]

Your channel has very quickly become one of my favourites.

[@believethehype1045]

Hands down the best intro/outro music in the anti religious game!! Also amazing video. Takes me back to the million sermons I’ve heard in my life that all had stories every week about how righteous these people think they are and how wrong and bad everyone else is. Bunch of ego strokers who are just there to fleece their flocks!!

[@Specialeffecks]

Since there is disagreement about "Truth" among religions, here’s an idea: why don't we take the hypothesizes, examine them via evidence, testing, and adjudication through demonstrable predictive power, have the results go through rigorous peer review, discard anything unfalsifiable or does not pass, then accept what remains as agreed by everyone? If this was diligently done, my prediction: The world would have less than or equal to one religion. Since that has not happened, it is NOT time to accept any supernatural claim - unless you're only interested in belonging to a fan club, rather than interested in the truth.

[@jaecat]

“The Holy Spirit prompted me…” ah yes I get intrusive thoughts, too, we all do

[@donnievance1942]

Um, no. We all don't. That's a variable characteristic, with its ultimate expression in schizophrenia.

[@MrKit9]

I've never met a truthful Christian in my entire 62 years of life.

[@stultusvenator3233]

I have never met a real Christian, a lot who claim to be but none that are according to the Bible.

[@Tessilla-ie4pn]

I have read many religious books and a few different versions of the Bible that I could get to looking truth. What I found was people telling story's to explain what was going on, sometimes what they believed to work well, myths to stop children from potential harm in their social group, myths to encourage the dominance of the group, and myths to stop desire and promote life. Love the video and hope have a great day.❤

[@alasdairwhyte6616]

my question is 'why do people like this still exist today?'

[@grimlund]

Its the fear of hell and damnation that keeps people stucked in to this shit. If it wasnt for the fear of hell this pastor wouldnt give a f--k about his dear Jesus.

[@Oxxyjoe]

polarizing stuff! I don't mean that your presentational style is in any way polarizing, in fact, it's very baseline, rational and agrees with what I already think, regarding a person's place in the world, the humility implied there, in respect to any larger than life truth such as the destiny of souls or what the universe's supposed creator's will is and so on but the pastor is super polarizing, and you're countering the major parts of it with simple reason. It's like bull fighting sorta, and I'm aware of the need of such a thing, because I also grew up in a Christian environment, and deconstructing that has been quite an adventure. There is this famous saying that goes, "in fighting monsters, try not to become a monster yourself." And in that respect, my older self agrees with my newer self. the Christian I used to be and the agnostic I am now both agree that fighting the "devil" toe to toe is foolish, because it's way over our heads. What I see is someone appointed over others as a leader, with having supposedly divine appointment and authority, and it totally skewing their perception into bizarre stuff. It's no wonder they all are so skeptical of each other, thinking They are the only church who has it right, and so on

[@Fr3nchfrii]

Algorithm offering

[@zachreads]

And one from me

[@shotgunblues627]

​@@zachreads brŕrrrŕzzzztttt

[@crow-dont-know]

The new unscripted, face-to-face content you’re doing is next level. Your content was good before, but this is a such an improvement. Feels more authentic and relatable.

[@DrPhilGoode]

Everyone freaks out when calling people or pastors narcissists, but this homie is not even Psychology 101 intro study. He is way too easy. Checks every box as if he was proudly checking the boxes himself.

[@donnievance1942]

I don't think the narcissism is entirely his personal characteristic. The entire Abrahamic religious complex is framed in the concept of a narcissistic dominator god and his chosen henchmen. This points to its origins as the ideological instrument of religious/political elites in ancient Canaan. In this cultural context all life is seen as part of a "great chain of being" in which religious leaders are part of a hierarchy of authority sharing in the privilege and knowledge deputed by God. It's a structural part of their whole psychological perspective. "Ahm speakin' fer Gawd cawse he told me to." Christianity and Islam are the ultimate religious instantiations of narcissism.

[@kellydalstok8900]

This type of pastor/church in particular is very 1984 Orwellian: The party (read: church) told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

[@thing1thing2themediamaniac43]

A few weeks ago my pastor relayed the story of a famous art critic in the 1890's studying a painting of two men playing one of the men was about to win but the man who was losing still had another with his king. And my pastor relayed this story a week after you relayed it on your channel. It never ceases to amaze me how church pastors can take the most mundane events and make them exciting for their congregants

[@digbycrankshaft7572]

And it's all false anyway

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

Playing chess?

[@donnievance1942]

@@DavidSmith-vr1nb No. There are kings in a deck of cards, if you never noticed. In cards, kings are high value elements. In chess, the king is the least powerful piece on the board.

[@philw4025]

The whole 'if you forgive someone you should never bring it up again' is sending mega-abusive vibes.

[@10deximo41]

Find it so funny when Christians look at me dead serious and say "There is a war on Religion" as if I have never lived in an American city where there werent dozens of churches within walking distance of my home, all of which had full congregations every Sunday

[@donnievance1942]

It's more like fundamentalist religion, whether Islamic or Christian, is making war on the rest of society.

[@PokemonRules333]

They want their cake and eat it too

[@CatDaddyGuitar]

"I want you two to be in heaven with me"... Why?? What does he benefit from having those people in heaven with him? Nothing. They're just another notch in his "saved" belt.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Does it buy him a seat closer to god?

[@OscarSommerbo]

Evangelicals/Charismatic Churches really have weponized Matthew 5:10-12, and dredge up every single little thing that doesn't go the way they feel it should and then shout look how persecuted we are, we must be the best Christians. Edit: was too quick. NOOO!! The snake was just a talking snake, Satan doesn't show up until Job, and the only identified as "The Adversary" (further hinting at the polythestic roots of the hebrew bible.

[@toney5173]

As long as some people believe God will put them in hell if they don't go to church , these pastors can say whatever they want and the church goers will believe it, even when the pastor is lying. Great video and summation.

[@BeachsideHank]

When biblical text is *ultimately proven to be false, plagiarized or scientifically or theologically unworkable,* all of a sudden it becomes a didactic parable, a metaphor, an allegory, hyperbole, a paraphrase or a rhetorical statement. An all encompassing truth wouldn’t need to rely on such things if they weren’t particularly designed by humans. You can accurately describe science through concrete logic and equations, not abstract concepts that rely on linguistic contexts. With that pliable and hopeless liability, one can easily torture the text until the Bible says what you want it to say. Truth about the Bible- it is *purposely* written as such a vague and ambiguous book that it can mean *anything,* which reduces it to meaning *nothing.*

[@leonardpaulson]

“If people are part of the cults of the world, they are not your enemy, they’ve just been told a lie that’s easy to believe and they need someone who cares to show them the way…” Thanks for the explicit approval for me, as an atheist, to proselytize the truth to you, your kids and grandkids, and lobby for laws to ban religious teachings… I guess, everywhere. After all, the truth is too important to just accept a difference of opinions on this matter.

[@suicune2001]

No wonder people stopped going to his church. Yikes. 😬

[@hackman669]

I thought they watched Super Bowl 🏈🥣🤔 instead.😅

[@gmontezuma6770]

It’s hypocritical for conservative Christians complaining about law enforcement treating them bad, because according to them, if a Black or Latino were to make a similar complaint, law enforcement tactics are ALWAYS justified.

[@jargontrueseer]

Idk if you've been told this, but your eyes are so shiny and beautiful and your voice is really soothing. When I'm sad about things Christians are doing to make sure people like me can't exist, I turn to your videos and they always calm me down. Thank you ❤💜

[@Jcewazhere]

Should send this video to the pastor's whole contact list and congregation.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

Uh oh not Pastor of Zod, again. 😅