When I walked away from Christianity one year ago, I didn't have all the answers. I continued to read and think and to remain open to evidence that I hadn't seen yet. I first looked at the New Testament and I tried to understand how it came to be and wha… more »

Part 1: Growing up in a fundamentalist church (1980-1998) Part 2: Switching to a slightly less legalistic fundamentalist church (1998-2002) Part 3: My time as a youth minister (2002-2004) Part 4: Leaving the faith (2004-2007) more »

The Bible Unearthed is a 90-minute documentary that aired on the History Channel. The sound gets a little out of sync on this YouTube video, but I haven't been able to find a better version. If you can't stand it, check your TV listings or just read th… more »

Part 3 of this series is here: Religious Autobiography 1998-2002. After quitting my job at the church, I kept my promise to become less involved. I went to Sunday morning services, but that was it. No Sunday school, no Bible studies and no volunteeri… more »

Part 2 of this series is here: Religious Autobiography 1998-2002 As expected, the church in Adrian offered me a job after I graduated. We moved to Adrian, bought a house and I became the associate minister at Adrian Christian Church. My duties inclu… more »

Part 1 of this series is here: Religious Autobiography 1980-1998. Before I left for college, I was warned by a couple of members in my home church that the church of Christ in Kirksville was not sound. You see, they had a kitchen in their basement.… more »

I know that religion is not considered a topic for polite conversation, but that's never stopped me from talking about it on this site. I've written about religion as a pastor, as a former member of a strange group and more recently as an atheist. But… more »

It's hard to imagine anyone who is more evil than Adolf Hitler. But think for a minute about why we consider him to be so bad. The worst things he did were also done or commanded by the God of the Old Testament. I should clarify that I think that Yahw… more »

When I discussed slavery and the Bible a few weeks ago, I tried to deal with the various responses that I might hear from people who believe that the Bible is inerrant. Apparently there was one that I didn't think of, but I heard it today. I was talkin… more »

I came across a quote that pretty well sums up my current view of religion: What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. - Christopher Hitchens Which is very similar to Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.… more »