Category Deconversion

Bob Jones University and the death of ideas

My first impression of Bob Jones University was a glowing one. Every year, hundreds of high school students are bussed onto the campus from conservative churches and schools (half-jokingly referred to as “feeder schools” by students and faculty at BJU) to visit for a week. This year, I was one of those lucky kids. Getting my first glimpse at real college life was a moment I’d long anticipated, and for the week I was there it was everything I wanted.

Real Deconversion Story #11 – Dan Yowell

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs, as you can see from the various accounts. Dan Yowell was put on to me by contributor Cody Rudisill who has posted the occasional article. I thank MLC for his contribution. Please check out my book of deconversion accounts, edited with Tristan Vick, which can be bought from the sidebar over there >>>, or by clicking on the book cover. The previous accounts can be found here:

Ex-Muslim movement growing in Middle East?

This fascinating Dutch article (to which I do not have a link, unfortunately) was translated by a facebook friend Leon Korteweg:

My translation (aided by Google Translate) of an article that appeared in the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant. Reading and translating this article made me somewhat emotional: I’m delighted by the rise of atheism exactly where it is most needed, which gives me hope, but I’m also saddened by how many victims it takes to make that change happen.

Beyond Faith: deconversion

With John posting about Bruce Gerencser’s deconversion account the other day, I thought it would be opportune to mention that his full story is published in a great book I edited called Beyond An Absence Of Faith: Stories About the Loss of Faith and the Discovery of Self which documents some sixteen deconversion accounts from different religions and denominations. Let me tell you about a few of them.

Another great review for Beyond An Absence Of Faith

Here is another great review for the anthology of deconversion accounts that myself and Tristan Vick compiled and edited. The accounts cover different religions and there is a fair gender split of accounts. It’s a great book and we are well pleased with the results. Here is a review from Amazon in the UK from the last couple of d

Real Deconversion Story #9 – Void

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs, as you can see from the various accounts. Void is a frequent poster here, and it is great to get posters involved with the blog as a whole. I thank him for his contribution. The previous accounts can be found here:

Real Conversion Story #8 – Kaveh Mousavi

Kaveh Mousavi is a blogger over at Freethought Blogs (FTB) who very kindly reviewed my Beyond An Absence of Faith book on his One the Margin of Error blog. He is an atheist living in Iran; I have a lot of respect for such courageous people. Here is his account:

I already have written a very long book as my memoir to narrate my experience as an atheist in the theocratic Iran, and its name is the same as my blog, On The Margin of Error. First I wanted to choose some various excerpts for this guest post, but ultimately decided to choose one single excerpt which chronicles my deconversion. This is in the honor of Jonathan’s (and Tristan Vick’s) book, Beyond an Absence of Faith, a book which I greatly enjoyed. Chapter three of the book is the shortest chapter, and here it is.

On the Margin of Error’s excellent review

Kaveh over at On the Margin of Error on Freethought Blogs has read Beyond an Absence of Faith and has given a great review. Here is an excerpt. Check it the full review over at FTB:
Beyond an Absence of Faith is an anthology of 16 accounts of atheists talking about their deconversion and struggle with religion. It’s been co-edited by Jonathan MS Pearce (who writes the blog The Tippling Philosopher) and Tristan Vick (who writes Advocatus Atheist) and our own Jeremy Beahan (of Reasonable Doubts) wrote a foreword to it. It also happens to be my number one favorite atheist book that I have ever read. In this review I want to explain why.

Beyond an Absence of Faith – a cracking read!

The new book that I have co-edited with Tristan Vick called Beyond an Absence of Faith: Stories About the Loss of Faith and the Discovery of Self has been really favourably reviewed by those who have read it, and hopefully some of those reviews will filter trough the internet.

Real Deconversion Story #7 – Phil Stilwell

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs, as you can see from the various accounts. Phil Stilwell, someone whom I came across on facebook (The Unbelievable page). It is a few years old now, but well worth the read. Happy reading. The previous accounts can be found here:

Beyond an Absence of Faith

Tristan Vick (Advocatus Atheist) and myself are editing a book of deconversion anthologies entitled Beyond an Absence of Faith. It has been, unfortunately, on the backburner for a whole since our workloads have been phenomenal. There are a potential couple of exciting additions to the anthologies of such accounts to add, and then we are there. This is the Foreword that I have pencilled in. Let me know what you think:

A Tippling Philosopher interviews Counter Apologist

Counter Apologist is a new blogger on the block with a lot of sensible stuff to say. I interviewed him recently and the video is now on You Tube for all to see, embedded here. We talked about his deconversion, heaven, hell and some other stuff. Hope you enjoy it. Please check out his blog, he has a lot of good stuff to say.

Real Deconversion Story #4 – Mike D.

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs. Mike’s account is centred around his involvement with Youth Group. Happy reading. The previous accounts can be found here: