How I Lost My Faith — Reflections of God’s Love and the Power of Indoctrination: lungfish’s Story, Part One

“I once called myself a Christian. I thought I was a child of God among the children of Satan. A shining light in a world of darkness. I was convinced of the absolute truth of the Bible and no amount of human reason could convince me otherwise. I believed the Holy Spirit lived within me, allowing me to be a reflection of Jesus and his love. But, when I finally looked into that reflection, I could not stand what I saw.”

The Reason I Despise Fundamentalist Christianity, As Revealed to Me In a Dream

“I couldn’t put my finger on either my anxiety when reading about the mistreatment of Christian girls or my strange negative reactions to other generic mentions of Christianity. Why did I cringe when I saw a post on Twitter recommending a book about God’s love? Why do I skim past the tweets with Bible verses and references to good times at church? I believe I got my answer in a dream I had Saturday night.”

Wrestling with God: By Caleigh Royer

“It’s been almost two full weeks since I last wrote. It’s been almost two weeks since hitting a really bad low. A low where cutting (I didn’t cut) was very appealing, a low where I actually couldn’t see up. I hit a low where I did the only thing I could think to do; called my therapist and said I need help now.”

I Didn’t Want to Be Broken, I Wanted to Be Whole: By Neriah

“I began to believe that my anorexia was a punishment from God intended to turn me toward him and my parents. It was my ‘pride’ and ‘haughtiness’ and my ‘lack of honor’ that caused me to come into such problems. Thus, if I listened to what God was trying to teach me, the hardships and pain of anorexia would be instrumental in my walk with God— and my depression and guilt and shame would go away.”

Crosspost: My Advice on How to Cope with the Outside World Post-Fundamentalism

“It’s embarrassing to say that I wasn’t even familiar with what masturbation was until I was 18 years old. I’m sure that are more people out there who are dealing with this right now. Though I’m definitely not the shining example of fitting into society, here are a few things that I have learned, and maybe, I hope that it will be able to help others who are dealing with this same problem. Here are my biggest tips on trying to adjust.”

The Lessons I Wasn’t Supposed to Learn: Andrew Roblyer’s Thoughts

“The NCFCA taught me that getting know a person’s heart and individual situation is of paramount importance to the development of relationship. I saw relationships ruined time and again because legalism got in the way of true listening and understanding. The integrity of the ‘assembly line’ often seemed more important than the individual students and parents involved.”

Sailboats And The Spirit: Finn’s Thoughts, Part Two

“The messages that get to the top are those that create an us vs. them mentality: Christians in a culture war, liberals trying to destroy the Constitution, America becoming increasingly immoral, etc. …The combination of these narratives with the homogenous nature of the speech and debate community creates a very real possibility for students to develop a fear of outside ideas.”

Sailboats And The Spirit: Finn’s Thoughts, Part One

“Students should ensure that any reference to God advances the overall message of the speech. If your message is that ‘sailboats are really cool and interesting,’ then make that point. Don’t leave me with a bunch of random spiritual concepts you threw out because they sounded good: leave me with knowledge about sailboats.”

Of Love and Office Supplies: Philosophical Perspective’s Thoughts

“We were a strange bunch — ‘like-minded,’ high-achieving homeschooled teenagers who liked to spend their spare time researching trade policy, arguing about Calvinism, and discussing the validity of resolutional critiques. We shopped for suits (at goodwill) and cooed over office supplies. We compared flow charts and rehashed debate rounds to figure out how we needed to boost our evidence boxes.”

The Bruises Becoming My Silent Screams: Timothy

“I couldn’t bring myself to accept myself as my own self. I’d simply punish myself, my body. I would think, I was predestined for hell. That’s what they probably were thinking anyways. I was a vessel for wrath; I was always a vessel for wrath; I might as well prepare myself for eternal punishment in the here and now.”