Once a Christian: How the Bible Convinced Me to Walk Away

"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:22-24).

Jesus spoke these words to a Samaritan woman, but the author believes that they should be directed to Christians of all denominations. Jesus preceded these words by stating that "the hour is coming when you will, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father." Central to the prophecies is a return to Jerusalem from where the Father will be worshipped forever. Why would Jesus contradict the Father?

Contradictions such as these were largely responsible for the author doubting the authenticity of the texts, or if the texts are authentic, then one must doubt the claims of Jesus being the prophesied Messiah. There were two key issues that the author sought to resolve separately: (1) Does Christianity truly follow the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth, or did Rome invent its own Jesus, a man who never was? and (2) Was Jesus the prophesied Jewish mashiach of the kingly line of David? Other contentious issues would resolve from those two. Resulting from wide-ranging research, the author concluded that neither Christian precept was true. Believing in God and walking away from Christianity was his only choice.