Why Christian Responses to Deconstruction Are So Predictable

Whether you deconstructed Christianity recently or years ago, you’ve almost definitely been told “You just left because you want to sin. You hate god because life isn’t perfect. You’re trying to destroy the faith by sharing your story. You were never a true Christian. Your faith was obviously theologically weak,” and the like. Everyday Christians, as well as certain Christian apologists respond to deconstruction stories in these ways far too often, making them predictable. Why is this? With the help of some terms from the field of social psychology, I explain.

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4 replies	Author	Time	Post
Why Christian Responses to Deconstruction Are So Predictable (Original post)	ItsjustMe	Sep 2021	OP
Funny I thought it was because I wasn't a rank hypocrite and a fanatic with the critical thinking...	Thomas Hurt	Sep 2021	#1
These idiots always have an excuse for literally everything that goes wrong w/ the Church,	SWBTATTReg	Sep 2021	#2
Interesting	atreides1	Sep 2021	#3
speaking of "deconstructing" their faith	RussBLib	Sep 2021	#4

Response to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 04:03 PM

Thomas Hurt (13,691 posts)

1. Funny I thought it was because I wasn't a rank hypocrite and a fanatic with the critical thinking...

skills of a turnip.

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Response to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 04:10 PM

SWBTATTReg (19,508 posts)

2. These idiots always have an excuse for literally everything that goes wrong w/ the Church,

reduced membership numbers, reduced influence, etc. Tired old excuses that repeat themselves again and again and again...

Well, at least people are getting smarter as time goes on, and they learn to ignore the worst of these thugs, such as Falwell, Jr., etc. and their excesses.

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Response to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Sat Sep 25, 2021, 05:07 PM

atreides1 (15,792 posts)

3. Interesting

I left because of the hypocrisy, the hate filled rhetoric, and the blatant greed...and I don't believe there are any "true Christians" in existence, out of the 30 to 40 thousand sects of Christianity!!!

There are some who try to emulate Christ, but those people are the exception and were never the rule...

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Response to ItsjustMe (Original post)

Mon Sep 27, 2021, 01:19 PM

RussBLib (7,014 posts)

4. speaking of "deconstructing" their faith

Andrew Seidel had another good column recently entitled, "A LOVE LETTER TO #EXVANGELICALS AND THOSE DECONSTRUCTING THEIR TOXIC FAITH" in Religion Dispatches. (The article title was all caps already)

snip

I’m astounded by people who have the intellectual honesty, courage, and fortitude to examine their most deeply held beliefs. Not just examine, but challenge and reject beliefs that shape how their entire world is constructed—beliefs that they have been told were unequivocally true, by their most trusted sources, since they were little—beliefs that have been deliberately and systematically ingrained.

The reverse of indoctrination, the process of systematically pulling apart those beliefs is sometimes called “deconstructing.” And deconstructing is having something of a media moment. This gives me hope for our species because it shows that humans are capable of the intellectual courage and honesty that our species needs, but which is far too rare.

snip

Certainty is not truth. Comfort is not truth. Faith is not truth. It’s scarier to think that the universe doesn’t care what happens to you. It doesn’t. But I do. And some of your fellow humans do too. We give life meaning. Do good. Love blindly. Practice empathy. Forgive readily. Create beauty. Learn with abandon. Challenge tradition and injustice everywhere. Above all, find something bigger than yourself to fight for. Make a difference in this life and in this world, because they’re the only ones that we get.

https://religiondispatches.org/a-love-letter-to-exvangelicals-and-those-deconstructing-their-toxic-faith/

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