Deconversion Stories

- Truth -

What you have heard from the beginning

Persevere in Faith

Antichrist

3 Meanings of Antichrist in John’s Writings
1. A demonic spirit that opposes the truth about Jesus
2. The false teachers that embody this spirit
3. The person who will lead the final rebellion against Christ

3 Characteristics of the antichrists (false teachers) in John’s day
1. They abandoned the fellowship with other believers
2. They denied basic tenets of the faith (truth) that they had previously held
3. They tried to confuse and deceive the faithful

2 Characteristics of True Christians
1. Accept and believe the truth about Jesus and His teachings
2. Remain faithful

Step 1: Recount the Negatives of Your Evangelical Past
Step 2: Position Yourself as the Offended Party Bravely Fighting the Establishment
Step 3: Portray Your Opponents as Dogmatic and Narrow-Minded and Yourself as Open-minded and a Seeker of Truth
Step 4: Insist Your New Theology Is Driven by True Biblical Principles and is not a Rejection of Biblical Truth
Step 5: Attack the Character of Your Old Group and Uplift the Character of Your New Group

Barna Poll- 4% of American Millennials Now Hold to a Biblical Worldview

All worldviews are based on “faith premises”

“Western civilization appears to be in the process of trying to ditch God while still clinging to religious values but that is an intellectually indefensible position. Our concepts of morality truth and virtue have deep seated theological underpinnings.”

Timothy Keller

Reasons and Antidotes for Faith Deconstruction
1. Happy moral atheist
Truth antidote- Men and women created in God’s image

2. Suffering and Injustice
Truth antidote- Freedom of Choice- satan – Some suffering has some redemptive value

3. Corruption and Hypocrisy in the Church
Truth antidote- Right and wrong standards based on Biblical morality required to even identify corruption. We still live in a fallen world.

4. Heaven and Hell
Truth antidote- This is God’s universe. He knows and sees all things. There is a lot that we do not know about eternal punishment and rewards in the afterlife.

5. Apparent Scriptural Contradictions
Truth antidote- Thousands of ancient manuscripts, minimal transcription errors- no inconsistencies on any major doctrine- Eyewitness accounts always vary slightly

Generally Undisputed Biblical Facts

1. Jesus was a historical person that lived in the first century.
2. Jesus was executed and His body was place in a tomb.
3. Jesus’ tomb was found to be empty.
4. There were numerous allegations of post-crucifixion appearances of Jesus by His followers.
5. 11 of Jesus’ 12 disciples and scores of Jesus’ followers quickly believed that Jesus was resurrected.
6. These people committed their lives to propagating that belief in Jesus’ death, buried and resurrection coupled with obedience to His teachings were the foundations of a new way of living and brought eternal life with Jesus.
7. Many of these people were ostracized, tortured and killed because they believed and taught these truths.