Relationships, whether work-based, romantic, or other, with people who are not of the same religion or who are not religious have also played a significant role in deconversion.
Embracing progressive political ideology and being turned off by religious right-wing political parties contributes to the rejection of religion. Research also indicates that the more religious people are, the more likely they will be right wing in their political beliefs. Therefore, someone who tends toward progressive political ideals finds religious right-wing groups and institutions stifling to their beliefs, which results in walking away from that belief system.
Many non-Christians who grew up in Protestant and Catholic households were ingrained with a deep fear of Satan and hell. As they grew up, this fear became so overwhelming that they began to resent this aspect of Christianity, which led them to question their beliefs. The intensity of the fear also can lead to the need to escape such a feeling, which results in deconversion. Encountering religious friends, colleagues, or acquaintances who act in ways that are counter to their religious beliefs generates much unease and doubt, which contributes to the loss of faith.
Clergymen who act immorally play a large role in regard to the rejection of religion as well. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Atheists, agnostics, and the spiritual but not religious are caught up in a spiritual war. Their minds are held captive in spiritual darkness. They are not the enemy; the enemy is the one who seeks to hold them captive in their sin of unbelief.
Proclaiming the Gospel to them is pronouncing their liberation. It is pronouncing their freedom. Yet, many of them view believers as the ones held captive and see themselves as the ones who are free—free to think for themselves.
But we know that human reason is thoroughly corrupted by sin. No amount of self-diagnosis will help us see the true depths of our corruption. Not lousy, just different. But in those differences, we can actually become better together. Imagine how Jesus would ever imagine a government-employed tax collector like Matthew would serve side by side with an anti-government zealot like Simon. But still the two and the other nine of His apostles served God in a way that impacts many nations until today.
If there's one thing to be sure of, it's that you will fail at some point when serving God. But in your failure, Jesus wants Himself invited to your circumstances. In 2 Corinthians , Jesus reminds us that His "power is made perfect in weakness.
Fear is the number one enemy of faith, and it takes a whole lot of faith to serve God. But we need not worry about fear because God also promises, "there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. We can have many reasons to fear, but we always have one all-sufficient reason to press on: God loves us and is there for us. Fearing for his life after a misguided attempt at vigilante justice, he had retreated to Midian in his forties for some easy living in a remote country.
While you may tell yourself that you would never have the audacity to reject God to his face, the truth is that you probably do this more than you think. God is constantly pushing us through the Scriptures to live lives filled with love and impact, and this can feel daunting or downright impossible, depending on your level of faith.
The good news is that we can learn from Moses! Fear in and of itself is not a bad thing. Fear is baked into our system to provide several benefits , including keeping us safe in dangerous situations. When we talk about fear in a spiritual context, however, we tend to refer to the idea that we will choose the path of least resistance and avoid situations that make us feel uncomfortable.
For example, one of the things I am regularly afraid to do is initiate conversations with people that may lead to conflict. Part of being a good friend is bringing up the things that will help their lives, regardless of the fact that they may not enjoy hearing you tell it to them. When God called Moses to lead his people , he was calling him to do a lot more than just have uncomfortable talks.
I have to believe that Moses understood this, so his apprehension is somewhat warranted. Luckily for him, God had a solution for his fear. Eternal One: 12 Do not fear, Moses. I will be with you every step of the way, and this will be the sign to you that I am the One who has sent you: after you have led them out of Egypt, you will return to this mountain and worship God.
A strong relationship with God is one that gives us the courage to do what we would never do on our own. God is big on change — change we can experience in our personal lives, and change we can inspire others to make for theirs. I live in Silicon Valley, and the attitude and mindset here is one of constant innovation. Influencing others to change can be tough. We are all subject to getting set in our ways, and anyone who pushes us out of our comfort zone can be met with hostility.
Remembering this will embolden you to say what needs to be said, no matter the reaction you get. Hopefully you have had at least one person stick with you through hard times.
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