#004: I Was a Teenage Apologist: My Journey from Christianity to Atheism

A Leap of Doubt

In this episode, I perform a reading of an autobiographical essay I wrote a just a little over a year ago on my blog, Skeptical Inquests. This essay is entitled, “I Was a Teenage Apologist: My Journey from Christianity to Atheism.” As the title suggests, this essay tells the story of my deconversion; how I went from devout Christian believer and aspiring “defender of the faith” to the godless heathen and skeptic of the supernatural that I am today.

Thanks to Jeanne Ikerd, “Amy with a Why” (of the Secular Soup podcast), Charone Frankel (of the Habeas Humor podcast), and Lydia Finch for contributing audio recordings of themselves reading various quotes that I included in my essay from which I'm reading.

Jeanne reads the selection of flat earth Bible verses, Amy reads the James Randi quote about UFOs, Charone reads a passage from Victor Stenger’s 2011 book “The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning,” and Lydia reads a passage from my favorite poem, James Thomson’s “The City of Dreadful Night.”

Relevant Links

My guest spot on Justin Clark’s podcast Reason Revolution: http://reasonrevolution.org/reason-revolution-episode-33-reviewing-fire-and-fury/

My essay “I Was a Teenage Apologist: My Journey from Christianity to Atheism”: http://trollingwithlogic.com/skeptical-inquests/2017/01/20/i-was-a-teenage-apologist-my-journey-from-christianity-to-atheism/

William Lane Craig vs. Alex Rosenberg, “Is Faith in God Reasonable?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBTPH51-FoU

James Randi’s book “Flim-Flam!”: https://www.amazon.com/Flim-Flam-Psychics-Unicorns-Other-Delusions/dp/0879751983

Victor J. Stenger’s book “The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning”: https://www.amazon.com/Fallacy-Fine-Tuning-Why-Universe-Designed/dp/1616144432

Lawrence Krauss’ lecture “A Universe from Nothing” (Atheist Alliance International 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ImvlS8PLIo

The Atheist Experience: http://www.atheist-experience.com/

James Thomson’s 1874 poem “The City of Dreadful Night”: http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/ctdnt10.htm

Carl Sagan, “Does Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization,” Skeptical Inquirer 20, no. 2 (March/April 1996): https://www.csicop.org/si/show/does_truth_matter_science_pseudoscience_and_civilization

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The opening clip is an excerpt from the audiobook “God is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens, courtesy of Hachette Audio. Text Copyright 2007 by Christopher Hitchens. Audio production copyright 2007, Hachette Audio. Used with permission.

The opening and ending music is “Jade” by Esther Nicholson and is used under license.