Dan the Deconversion Man.

Posted on by Ark

Dan Barker is an eloquent, softly spoken man who, in this video, tells his story of deconversion.

If you want to understand why bloggers such as Mel Wild, Colorstorm, Wally Fry and the rest behave the way they do, then grab a coffee and a sandwich and sit back and listen to Dan Barker.

For those who have been there done that, you will be smiling, maybe laughing, maybe even sit there with a bit of lump in your throat.

This is truly a marvelous testimony and well worth 40 minutes.

 

 

Ark

20 thoughts on “Dan the Deconversion Man.”

    1. I thoroughly enjoy listening to him, and I was never more than a Cultural Christian.
      I can see so many Fundamentalist Bloggers right here on Word Press represented in Dan Barker.
      Most come across as clones of one another, and especially in the way they react and interact toward Christians from other sects.
      Consider Mel and a Young Earth Creationist such as Wall Fry.

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  3. I definitely see a lot of myself in him. It is interesting to have experiences both inside and outside of religion. You can’t have empathy for, and understanding of both sides if you haven’t lived them both. You can’t understand what it feels like to leave religion behind and you can’t understand how much it can hurt, if you haven’t lived through it. In fact, most Christians reject the idea that deconverts were ever really believers because they are in too deep to ever see a reason to leave it themselves. I know what it is like to believe in, and hope for, heaven. I know what it feels like to have that taken away. I was a true believer. I was a real Christian. I once thought like all of the “strong in Christ” Christians think. Now I don’t. I can’t. I will never again.

    Great video. Thanks for sharing.

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      1. I probably would have said the same thing back when I believed. “If you leave the faith, you never had salvation. You only thought you had it.” It’s like Christians go out of their way to add their personal translations and make the Bible their own instead of taking it at face value. I read the same Bible they did and the requirements for salvation are easy to follow. When people start saying “No, it means this.” or “No, wait. It actually means this” what they are actually saying is that the ordinary person (for whom the Bible is supposedly written) is too stupid to understand it themselves. They need “God’s chosen ones” to tell them what it means. The “once saved, always saved” mentality is what believers have because their egos tell them they are special. “If I believe it and if I know I’ll always believe it, anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.” It’s bullshit. All of it.

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        2. The Bibles and its translations were written by very clever men on a mission.
          Just because someone was in the past doesn’t make him any less intelligent or able than us. And a lot of them were of far superior intellect than the average boofwit/oaf today (offence intended only where/if due) despite our computers, cars, iPads, atomic bombs, spaceships, designer-drugs, and stuff.

          Their mission was nothing less than (a) to ‘spread the good word’ (least likely), or (b) garner power and wealth (most likely) (highly probable).

          Unlike we who seek Rationality … they have succeeded.

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  4. Hello Ark. I will watch the video later. I just had an interesting long conversation in the comment section of my blog. I told Nan I wished you could have been there. I did direct the young man here. A 15 year old Muslim boy from Pakistan came to my blog to tell me I was wrong about my cartoon post about Islam. As the comments went on it turned out he was not very religious and was more questioning than indoctrinated. As he was young and nice I was trying to be very gentle and nice in return. But I on questions about the Koran I had to do a lot of quick googling in order to know what he was trying to say. Could have used the group here. Hugs

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      1. He got nicer and less religious as time went on, by the end he was insisting he was not religious, his parents were not , the women in his family did not wear the head covering, and he did not think gays were evil or sinning. But Ark what i really wanted to know is if you had tips for me on doing this. You and the others have done this for years and are great at it, this was basically my first solo conversation, and I was wondering where I need to get better. Thanks. Hugs

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        1. Tips? Me? Hmmm …. from the thread you were doing just great.
          He came across as somewhat of an arrogant indoctrinated little shit. Ignorant as the rest of them and disingenuous.
          There really is little one can do with such people except expose their stupidity/lies for others who may be reading along.

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