I have good reason to believe that Christian deconstruction stories are powerful testimonies on the work of Jesus. Typically a Christian will walk away from Christianity as an agnostic, like i did, and occasionally as an atheist. I think it's better to trod the path of agnosticism, for a while, until gnosticism, the priority of knowledge over faith, has a chance to dawn upon one's mind, as it once dawned on mine.
In a deconstruction story/testimony, Jesus doesn't get the glory, so-to-speak. But who says Jesus is interested in earthly glory? Agnosticism is actually an honest posture to hold, and probably even an essential posture to hold, if you interpret correctly the saying, "
Judge not". After all, agnosticism is all about withholding one's "judgement" until absolutely sure about something. In this world, the only way to be really sure about anything is to receive a seed of knowledge directly from Christ.
Given the corrupted nature of mankind, with it's tendency to assume it knows things, tendency to jump to conclusions, and to throw faith at problems that only knowledge can solve...it's predictable that the first religion/relationship people jump into, even after they receive a seed of knowledge, isn't going to be the path that takes them home, to Christ. It's predictable that everyone will pass through a sort of Judas state, where they betray what little knowledge they have been given to carefully curate.
Therefore, i believe going astray, off the narrow path, onto the broad path is priced in to the salvation of Christ. I believe that Christ plays the long game, spreading repentance over many multiple incarnations and re-incarnations until a mind is ready to accept Christ as Christ is, not as we would like to believe Christ to be.
Therefore, i believe these deconstruction testimonies deserve a place here, as equally, if not more important than the testimonies where people end up trapped in what may be called 'relationship religions', which are religions where people convince themselves they have a special relationship with Jesus.
Think about it for just one minute. Christ is about the truth. These deconstruction testimonies are all about people facing up to the truth, no matter where it leads, even if it leads them out of the relationship religion traps. It takes great courage for people to allow themselves to be led by the truth. Shouldn't Jesus get credit for this? After all, where does this courage come from? Where does the strength of mind come from?
Arguably, it requires a miracle for some people to find their way out of the relationship religion traps. I believe Jesus should get credit for those miracles, even if he doesn't require credit anytime soon. If Jesus didn't give seeds of knowledge unless people could guarantee they would never be led astray, then Christ would never be saved, because i estimate everyone is tempted to be led astray, for years, decades, and even multiple incarnational "life" experiences.
The salvation of Christ is a long game, much longer than the average time a fragmented mind spends trapped in a relationship religion.
12,514 views • Nov 21, 2020
Today I spoke with Hannah Timson, the former President at Humanist Students UK. Hannah joined me previously for a discussion with Mike Lawrence regarding the subject of the abusiveness of childhood indoctrination, but today we talked through Hannah's deconversion story. We focused on the early cracks in the foundation of her Christian beliefs, the issues and crucial questions that came to the forefront as she worked through whether or not the Bible stories were real or mythological, and the implications. We discussed her final steps toward deconversion, her exit from Christianity, and what it looks like to live a life free from a pretend deity and worldview, and from the horrific and bizarre teachings of the Bible and Christianity. Many thanks to Hannah for her openness and vulnerability, her bravery to tackle the hard questions, and her willingness to be a strong voice for the atheist and humanist communities.
