At this point, I realized I was deconstructing my faith, although I had never even heard the term deconstruction until I was already going through the process.

For me, deconstruction meant questioning everything I had been taught about Christianity and examining whether those beliefs could withstand honest scrutiny.

At first, I wanted to hold on to my belief in Jesus while rejecting the God portrayed in many parts of the Old Testament. I suppose I wanted to become what is often called a “Red Letter Christian”—someone who focuses solely on the teachings of Jesus, the words traditionally printed in red, while setting aside much of the rest of the Bible. My hope was that I could preserve the message of Christ without accepting the parts of Scripture that I found morally troubling.

Identifying as a “Follower of Christ” lasted less than a month as I could not rationalize rejecting most of scripture, but basing my beliefs on a small portion of The Bible. This didn’t make sense to me. Even Christ’s claims were wild, and difficult to fathom. Jesus rose from the dead; he ascended into Heaven; Christ was born of a virgin. Where does it all end? It ended with me making the most rational decision possible. My decision was to reject it all. 

Deconstruction is a journey, and doesn’t happen in an instant. After rejecting my faith, I guess my deconstruction journey is over. I see no evidence to suggest that a Deity exists. I briefly examined being a “Jesus Follower”, so that could be considered my reconstruction phase. At present, I consider myself as an agnostic, but I totally reject the God of The Bible. In truth, I have no idea what happens after death. No one does!

Fortunately, I am retired, and although I have a Master of Divinity Degree, I am not dependent on Christianity for an income. Thus, my decision to leave my faith was not as difficult as it might have been. 

Currently, I run “Faith Challenged”, a YouTube Channel that encourages people to challenge what they believe. No matter the faith, believers are generally instructed to never think critically about their beliefs, but to simply believe on faith alone. All faiths crumble like a house of cards when Critical thinking is applied. 

Some people need to believe in something greater than themselves in order to make it through life. As this is true, some require religion to get through life. The problem arises when people force their beliefs and values on others. In the case of Christian Nationalists, in the USA, the problem intensifies when Christians take control of the government, and change laws to reflect the Christian Nationalist values. 

My wife Sue, and I, live just outside of Halifax, NS, Canada. I have been involved in internet Broadcasting since 2015, including owning and operating several internet radio stations. Unfortunately, radio’s popularity is waning, so my focus has switched from radio to written and video content creation. That said, I have brought back my popular show, Forever Celtic. Currently, Forever Celtic is only available on MixCloud. To listen to Forever Celtic, please click here. 

For many years, I have taught the narrow and sometimes hurtful ways of Christianity. Now I feel it imperative to undo the harm by teaching the truth that Christianity is fictional, at best, and harmful, at worst. 

Thank you for your interest in Critical thought. I am always open to discussing your experiences with religion or things that you are going through. 

Garth