Introduction to Deconverted

If you are reading this, you are probably a Christian. If you are not a Christian, please keep reading as you might identify with the narrative and argument presented in this book. But if you are a Christian, then you might be one the the two kinds of Christians I have in mind, as I write this. For the first kind, I have to be rigourous and careful with everything I say, because you are most likely examining this with a magnifying glass waiting for me to slip and say something like, "Jesus is not God", "The Bible is just a book", "The church is hypocritical", or "Believe a false gospel!". I don't want to attack you with this book, but I am against you. This should not be seen as a bad thing, or even a negative thing. Two people can oppose each other and heighten the awareness of the good, the positive, or the beneficial. I think fundamentalist/evangelical Christianity is heading toward a disasterous outcome, and I think this because of its many erronious beliefs. But I recognize that they must believe the same thing about me, and I understand that they must be extra-critical of others who do not look or act the same as they do. It is because of this that I write to you. Examine me. Criticize me, please. If the door to your heart is closed then unleash your mind upon me, and give it your full attention.

If you are the other kind of Christian, then you might not even want to call yourself a Christian at all. You might not even be a Christian. You struggle with doubt. You think the Bible is a record of violence, immorality, and authoritarian hypocrisy. You might think history and science has closed the book on Christianity and that the only reason to cling to faith is some emotional handicap. It may not be that blatant, but I bet the thought has crossed your mind. Maybe you are really good at locking it down, but in the stillness, it's there. For some reason you really want to be a Christian, or a spiritual person, but you simply can't identify with it. Maybe you go along with the desire, thinking that it's good enough, but the reality is that you are deeply afriad that all you are is a fake.

Deconversion is not an unconversion. Etemologically speaking, they are, but by deconversion, the idea of conversion is not being violated. When a person gets unconverted, they loose their salvation. Their conversion is lost, forgotted, or abandoned. A person who is deconverted, finds the source of his conversion. When you deconvert money you get gold, or the source of money. Deconversion can be just as tragic as loosing one’s salvation, and it could lead to this end as well, but if this is not risked then the reward is not earned. This is not a book which seeks to question the idea of Christianity, or is going to claim that Christianity has got it all wrong for thousands of years. I don't want anyone to loose their conversion to Christ, but just the opposite, it is my hope that every reader will experience their conversion in a new light through the deconstruction of their faith.

Deconstruction is not a villianous term. It is not negative or positive. It makes no claim for relative or objective truth. And the term itself is often misinterpreted. This book does not ask one to abandon one's faith in order to rediscover it. Nor is it asking one to be willing to destroy one's faith in the service of that faith. What this book will do, though, is examine evidence and arguments in an unbiased manner, and consider what it means to be a Christian, in light, of what the fairest considerations are of this process.

Deconversion is an intellectual process that will enable you to develop a discipline of conversion for every moment. Deconversion is a claim that as a Christian the one thing we should never take for granted is our own conversion. Deconversion is a building up and not a tearing down. When you can look at your faith and your beliefs in the same light that anyone else might look at them, and then still find a reason to make the same choices then you have been deconverted. When you can recognize what those reasons are, and what your faith truly means in light of those reasons then you have been deconverted.

To the first kind of reader, the fundamentalist, this means something far more than what is going to be asked of the second reader, the believer in exile. To the fundamentalist, you will have to question your core beliefs about the Bible, Jesus, God, and faith in order to truly understand your conversion and to be able to sustain it in a modern world. You will most likely have to be willing to sacrifice good standing with family and friends in order to fulfill this process, but in the end your identity will be your own. And if, in the end, you can still maintain in good conscience a position in fundamentalism then you are free to do so. I am not against fundamentalism. I no longer identify myself as one, because I believe it is wrong, but I think it is possible for a fundamentalist to be able to hold to their faith in good conscience, just not likely.

To the second kind of reader, you will be asked to actually devote your whole being to Christianity. You will not need to have your core beliefs questioned, because most likely you have already questioned them. But maybe in this process you have become disconnected and alienated from your own faith. Maybe you have become comfortable in the wasteland of doubt. You cannot reside there. You will need to be willing to hope and have an identity to yourself. I can't claim to give you the answer you need, because a conversion is really about finding that answer yourself, but I can claim to remove many obstacles that exist today for effectual faith.

I will tell my own journey and the beliefs that have been questioned in me, and the answers I have found. This is a journey that all believers must go through in one way or another, because sadly, the Christianity represented by most of our churches is not the Christianity that should exist in the 21st century. Many preachers and church leaders are unwilling to change, and rightly so. There is a lot to fear in the modern world as it relates to traditional ideas in the Christian faith. But it can't be said the church that was founded two thousand years ago was unprepared to make the changes and adaptations it would need to in order to live in the 21st century.

In fact, we will find that the opposite is true. Through deconversion we will find that the Christianity founded over two thousand years ago was perfectly suited to adapt and change to its surroundings and environment and that it was able to thrive and grow and blossom in such environments. Our modern world has provided one of the most difficult environments for Christianity to adapt to. Only when we embrace the critical tools that the modern world has given us can we fully embrace Christianity in a modern setting and live in good conscience with a simple faith.

In this book the topics of the Bible, Jesus, God and faith will be discussed, deconstructed, and rebuilt. In the end we will have a faithful representation of Christianity for the modern world, without agenda or bias, it will be up to the reader at such a point to determine if such a representation is for them or not, but the requirements of good conscience will be set. Let the choice at that moment reflect your character.