#ex-Adventist

[lazy-vegetarian]

#Adventist #ex-Adventist

[fairiencarnate]

I hate when christians try to christian-splain me as if I didn't spend 18 years devoting myself to it and believing nothing else. Like quote any bible verse at me and I'll tell you 5 different interpretations bitch. But also don't because you're wasting my time and emotional energy

#i am seventh day adventist by BLOOD bro #my entire family tree is devout christian #everyone i know is christian #i KNOW christianity #you dont get to tell me i dont understand it properly #i lived that shit every second of every damn day #and i am here to tell you for a FACT that its all dangerous harmful bullshit #personal #ex christian #ex sda #deconstructing #tw aggressive

[that-cunning-witch]

Seventh Day Adventists want to be Jewish so bad but the SDA isn't ready to hear that

#this is coming from someone who is ex-adventist #i was raised sda #i know what i'm talking about #worship on saturday #no pork #sunset to sunset time #huge importance of the old testament #no jewellery on sabbath #sda #seventh day adventist #judaism #jewish

[iscariotapologist]

recovering from growing up adventist is like 50% unlearning the belief that the world is ending 15% trying to accept feeling normal human attraction to other people 15% acting normal on saturdays and 20% convincing yourself that you won't forfeit your eternal soul and make god hate you by eating pork or shrimp

#i don't really like pork + don't care for the state of animal welfare on pig farms generally so i only eat it if its being given to me #but i cant pretend like i dont still have a dumb hangup about it. like oh my god we are not going to get brain worms and die please shut up #and i really hate the texture of shrimp but i'm working on my other seafood tolerance #would actually love to see a paper on the incidence of disordered eating among diet restricted adventists. for normal reasons #it's not even that they just eat 'kosher' (they don't they don't ever know what that actually means) but the whole 'health message' bs #is so like. i could have turned out way worse #and i'm not doing great! tbh #thinking about the time my mother threw a whole fit in a public restaurant because i got something that happened to have bacon bits #god anyway i am totally normal about being invited over for dinner involving pork #me #ex sda

[heartshapedcaskett]

Do you ever get to the lowest point in your life that you debate going back to church? I’ve been agnostic since age 16; yet it’s not God or rather Christianity that I’m pining for. It’s community and the performance of Sunday mornings. I miss the life I envisioned for myself as a child in the pews. I miss the nativity scenes we re-enacted in plays. I miss weeping amongst the congregation. I was publicly allowed to fall to my knees and scream as loud as I could. A type of vulnerability I can never truly experience again. Perhaps I am pining for God. That little girl inside of me is still asking, begging, pleading for Jesus to save her.

#any ex Christians wanna weigh in with their opinions #specifically Adventist + Southern Baptist or Pentecostal #writing #on religion

[whatremainsisnolongerhuman]

2.

I was never a doubtful child because I enjoyed being Seventh Day Adventist for the most part. I didn’t like not being able to eat certain things or go to friends birthday parties on Saturdays but by the time I was in middle school I didn’t really care about any of that. Something happened in and around the 6th grade— I don’t know if it was the change in demographic of my church which comes with a change in beliefs and practices, but i remember getting like 20x more religious somehow. I became vegetarian in the 7th grade, I decided to be homeschooled for 8th grade, I (for a short period of time) started dressing a little more modestly.

I do remember that i had an older friend form church — I think in the 7th grade she started teaching me how to use my violin which turned into weekly Bible and Ellen g white literature study. I think at the time she was in college— definitely out of high school (homeschool) so at least 20. I think that made me more religious too— feeling connected to someone and being told how I’m “different” and really kind of one of the good ones (™️) from someone who was young and beautiful and kind. She used to tell me that when she was young (so long ago) she had “lost her way” and done something bad (so bad she wouldn’t say what it was and didn’t think it was funny to guess) and then somehow in that realized she needed to come back to god and get rebaptized. I was always wondering what that was.

But yes I think that’s what it was— the church got kind of conservative overall with all these new people. We had youth meetings where we would be told that somehow drums and the vibrations / frequencies were related to Satan and the end times. How the dinosaur bones were propaganda. There was a sermon where I know I wasn’t listening because I and most other people knew it was crazy , but there was this PowerPoint slide up with 2 pictures crossed out: a pile of flour and the pope. And if you don’t know we think the pope is the antichrist. Or at least I did.

I wasn’t like 100% down with everything— a big part of adventism is arguing in Bible study so no one’s expecting you to agree with everything— but I was in as deep as I could allow because I wanted to be. My family was well liked, I had a lot of friends, and there were a lot of people who really liked me and loved to tell me I was Better than the other kids (sorry to break it to them). So it was like not even a problem— I was pretty happy like that.

#ex evangelical #journal #deconstructing religion #lgbtq #deconstruction #spilled thoughts #seventh day adventist #sda #ex Adventist

[ivebeenmade]

Originally posted on reddit but I wanted to share here too

#tw child abuse #tw medical abuse #journal #hashimoto's #hypothyroidism #personal #tw religious trauma #ex adventist

[dingbat-drummerboy]

I think my Adventist upbringing is responsible for my fascination with cosmic horror and esotericism

#cosmic horror #esotericism #ex adventist #exvangelical #ex christian #ex cult

[wentthevent]

Nothing screams religious trauma more than me waking up from a dream and being worried that the pastors and little us were right about us being a prophet because we dreamed California was on fire and it could be clearly seen from Nevada.

I wish we could have a normal relationship with our dreams now but years of conditioning has made it difficult.

#dreaming #religious trauma #tw religious trauma #prophet #ex seventh day adventist #ex evangelical #ex christian #ex sda #exchristian

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Eliel Cruz for Teen Vogue:

When I was a teenager in the early aughts, conversion therapists reigned supreme in evangelical Christian spaces, spewing pseudo-scientific techniques as a supposed “remedy” for LGBTQ identities. Growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist church and school system, LGBTQ identities were vilified and demonized at the pulpit and in our classrooms. The answer to our sexualities, according to the church, was to deny ourselves love or a partner, stay celibate, or to work on “changing” our sexuality so that we were no longer queer. There were groups and conferences with self-proclaimed “ex-gay” speakers providing testimonies about how they “overcame” their sexuality and therapists eager to “help” others pursue the same path.

According to a Williams Institute report, 7% of LGB adults ages 18 to 59 in the United States have undergone conversion therapy. About 81% of those individuals were in “therapy” with religious leaders, which heightened suicidal thoughts and ideation in comparison to LGB people who have not gone through conversion “therapy” practices. Across the globe, these numbers fluctuate between 2% all the way up to 34% of LGBTQ+ people having undergone conversion practices. By the mid-2010s, these groups and their influence began to dwindle as national organizations like Exodus International, one of the longest-running and largest ex-gay organizations, shuttered its doors after 37 years, admitting that not only did conversion or reparative therapy not work, it was harmful to the LGBTQ people subjected to it. Former Exodus International President Alan Chambers said: "I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn't change,” admitting his own attractions to men had not gone away, despite being married to a woman and having children.

The closing of Exodus International signaled the end of a decades-long push for ex-gay therapy, or so it would seem. But in recent years, as legislation has passed across the country to ban conversion therapy for youth, a new push for so-called “change therapy” has re-emerged with the same flawed premise and tactics of the ex-gays of old. A group called Changed Movement, formed in response to legislation banning conversion therapy in California, is one such group using new language to promote the same-old conversion therapy. Conversion or reparative therapy, loosely defined, is any attempt to influence and change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Often, these counselors blame trauma or violence, family dynamics, or your upbringing as the root of the deviant sexuality or gender identity. Changed Movement shares stories of individuals blaming these roots as the cause of their sexuality or gender. This assertion is false and only serves to shame the individual, often for reasons beyond their control. Importantly, ex-gay groups like the Changed Movement do not seem to reckon with the fluidity of sexuality and gender and, as proponents of this ideology typically do, seemingly view things as either gay or straight, trans or cisgender.

[...] In a report by the Trevor Project, researchers found at least 1,320 conversion therapy practitioners in almost all 50 states, including states with active conversion therapy bans for minors. Almost half of those counselors are unlicensed, and most are attached to some sort of religious ministry. While couching their language and pretending to be there to help LGBTQ people, the danger of these groups and practitioners cannot be understated.

Recently, an ex-gay group called Coming Out Ministries bought a building across from my alma mater, Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist University, intending to “work closely” with the university on LGBTQ issues “from a redemptive perspective.” Groups like Changed Movement and Coming Out Ministries see LGBTQ young people’s identities as “confusion” instead of who they are intrinsically. Their ideology stems from a theological understanding of sexuality that does not take into account science or the world as it exists around them. Anti-LGBTQ theology fuels conversion therapy, and it’s not only flawed but also inherently harmful and violent. As a queer person of faith, I reject theology and religious practices that cause harm, as it is not from God. The history and devastating impacts of ex-gay practices are clear in the irreparable damage it has caused to large swathes of the LGBTQ community raised in religious settings.

Eliel Cruz writes in Teen Vogue the changing history of anti-LGBTQ+/anti-trans medical pseudoscience practice of conversion therapy.

#Conversion Therapy #Ex Gay #LGBTQ+ #Transgender #Religion #Changed Movement #Exodus International #Coming Out Ministries

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

hope you’re faring ok, thank you for introducing me to Blowfly Girl’s blog via your substack

hey anonymous; to blowfly girl: you:re welcome! i think she:s a really cool person -- not-so-much because of the 'pains' she ends up in, but more-so because she doesn:t hide her heart at all (in her writing, real life: who knows!).

to me: i:ll blog a little, but roughly i:m doing 'OK;' i just finished reading my 4th book this month (scientology: a new slant on life, people like us, boogiepop vs imaginator part 1, boogiepop vs imaginator part 2); i bought my mom chairs for our porch, and a blender since she was dropping hints (the chairs were what led me to reading again -- i don:t spend as much time online anymore since i started leaning heavily into my disconnection policy, so i started replacing that time with reading outdoors / unhealthy amounts of exercise); i:ve been slowly exploring leesburg after memorizing most of the roads/stores via google maps, and an old online friend from ~8 years ago has been helping me with going out every few weeks; reconnecting with leesburg/lawn-chairs made me feel 'in alignment' with yuko (chainsaw man yuko), and incidentally exploring leesburg led me to a conversation about faygo (@ a dollar tree) which led me to discovering i really like insane clown posse and have been having fun going through their albums (riddle box is my favorite); i returned to the SDA church on a whim and haven:t freaked out yet (i:m not a christian, but i just feel like it:s important for me to enmesh with the adventists, a little) -- incidentally, i feel closer to chiral faith than ever; i think i might be over a lot of my anger towards my ex, too; --so: overall, i:m doing ok; my life is simple, and dull (i:m basically a housekeeper), and i don:t really make art anymore, but i:ve been pretty ok lately.

there:s still some bad; i:m struggling with a few things, but i don:t want to share them; those are thoughts i only want to offer to boogiepop and my prayers.

thanks for the message, anonymous, and make as many mistakes as you want in life -- you:d be surprised how high the threshold is, ok?

[papirouge]

im interested in converting to christianism but im confused as i dont know what are the differences between christians, catholics, orthodoxes and protestants. how do i chose? how do i know which one is the correct one? i heard there are also several different bibles? i got one free "the bible" in my non-christian country christians and i dont even know which version it is

Basically speaking, the biggest crux of opposition between Catholics and Protestans is that Catholics worship Mary, pray with idols and sustain the idea the Mary remained virgin AFTER Jesus birth, when the very two commandments and Matthew 12:46-50 contradict such positions😭 They also have a whole literature called Cathechism where they establish a set of rules and you'll often see Catholics pull it out to explain their doctrine...to defend their belief system going against what Bible explicitely condemns (ex: praying for the dead, idols, saints worshipping, etc).

Protestant have their whole share of questionnable beliefs too - especially USAmerican evangelicals. They're the ones who've been managing the church like a whole business - which is ironically what they've been accusing the Catholics of doing during the Roman Catholic Empire era lel. They don't have the same concern about social issues as Catholics do (in Europe, many NGO are Catholics, and help the poor, offer shelter, etc) ; they tend to be quite hypocrite too : like they'll go off against gays and abortion but will be silent about any social injustice they'll snarkily downplay as "woke culture".....

I'm not familiar with Orthodoxy but it comes off as Catholicism lite™️

And you don't have to "choose" any denomination, anon. There are thousands of Christian denomination, which is a heresy. There shouldn't be any divison within the Church. No denomination is "correct" in the sense that there shouldn't be any to begin with.

And yes, there are countless versions of the Bible. I often see debate of USAmericans as of which version is the best (King James Version, NIV, ESV, NASB, etc.) and all of this so.....pointless and tone deaf? 1 BILLION of Christian and there you have, a handful of self centered english speaking Americans arguing over one (1) version of the bible just because...?

Real talk anon: unlike what's often being said, the Bible can be altered. Look at the Jehova Witnesses. Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons.... Even during slavery, slave owners cropped some Bible passages (about freedom) to not give ideas to slaves....

Yes, the Bible is the Word of God, but these words on a paper can be altered and manipulated. The Bible isn't some sort of magical book turning any person reading it a Christian granted you read the "right" version. Some atheists have read the Bible more than actual Christians. I knew an agnostic Christian theologian student ; she was studying the Bible while not being Saved herself. Jehova Witnesses do think that "their" bible is the real deal. Same for Mormons or whatever other Christian sect.

That's why THE HOLY SPIRIT is so important. Because while human can twist and alter words written on a book, the Holy Spirit will never lie and no one can bend it over falsehood. That's precisely why Jesus is called "the Word" "made flesh" (John 1). By PRAYING and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, you can be set free from the bondage of falsehood and He will guide you towards truth.

I've read/watched plentiful of testimonies from former Mormons/Jehova Witness/7th Day Adventist/witches/satanists, etc, etc and guess what? Not a single one said "I read the KJV version of the Bible and realized I was wrong". It just....doesn't work this way. They instead went to a point were they got troubled in their belief, prayed, and asked for the Lord to show them the way. This leap of faith happened because of the Holy Spirit ; the change of heart that changes us from sinners to repentance comes from God, not a Bible version.

You'll be good with your random Bible anon. It's already a blessing you've got one between your hands. Just rely to the Lord, not a name stamped Bible version to build a real relationship with God. First Christians didn't have any Bible to build up their walk with God (could they even read?). Yes, the Bible is extremely helpful, but it shouldn't be the be all and end all of Christianhood.

#answered #Christian

[lady-merian]

"I simply don’t believe it’s good to even encourage or celebrate the attraction, let alone act on it"

can I ask why? why is it wrong to love someone of the same gender?

First, just so we’re clear, not all love is the same. Let’s get that out of the way. What you mean is to love in a romantic sense, and to have sexual relations.

Second, this isn’t my arbitrary standard. It’s in the Bible. I know people will talk about there being mistranslations, but my sources tell me that the original Greek and Hebrew in the Old and New Testament are equally clear: the Bible explicitly states that marriage is between one man and one woman, and sex should only take place in marriage. Any sexual relations that are not between a married man and woman are equally wrong.

Marriage is meant to be a picture of God and the Church, in too many ways for me to go into now (I’ve put a lot more time into this than I expected, but I need some rest and I don’t imagine you’ll want to wait weeks for me to list the points here.)

http://www.drpipim.org/homosexuality-contemporaryissues-47/68-testimony-from-an-ex-gay.html

This link hopefully will answer some genuine questions you might have. It contains verses which talk about where in the Bible it’s stated to be wrong, as well as an account of some of the consequences this man experienced. I’m not myself a Seventh Day Adventist (I don’t know enough about the denomination to say where we differ) but I can say I read this and saw that it’s not a conversion therapy he used or anything like that, it’s the genuine heart change that only Jesus can offer.

#Anon I have prayed for you and will continue to #I want to thank you for the conversation and the fact that it didn’t devolve into swearing #Or continuing to insist that people of my faith hate gays (or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community)

[iscariotapologist]

to be quite honest i'm not entirely over having my teenage body scrutinized and deemed overly scandalous and inappropriate at various times by insane staff and faculty in evangelical high school for existing in leggings or a dress. just things i'm thinking upon and getting enraged over this nye. imagine having a normal body image

#couldn't wear leggings or tight pants in the cult school and once was pulled aside by a male teacher who told me my shirt was too low #(the shirt had literally been given to me by the dorm dean) full offense but i hope he dies painfully #and then at the next (liberal by adventist standards) school had dress check every fri night and sat morning to go to mandatory church #in last two years had a fully evil head dean who pulled me aside on my way to sunday breakfast to look at my ass and tell me no one wanted #to see that and when we had (also mandatory) 'banquets' instead of prom she told me at the (mandatory) dress precheck that the dress i #borrowed was too tight around the armpits (?) and i needed to fix it (i just hiked it up higher when i had to walk past her to leave and #she didnt notice) i dont even remember what kind of dress it was #this woman was so cartoonishly evil. people whose skin i would rip off and burn in front of them #also if i were skinny u know none of these evil motherfuckers would have looked twice #i literally will never be able to afford enough therapy to fix the damage these people + my mother did to my self image....anyway #oh plus purity culture..........wow its crazy how my eating habits are abnormal idk why #i hate adventists sm #wait im not done. this woman also put up a sign on the front doors of the dorm about how us girls have to 'protect the men of our campus' #by not wearing leggings etc. die in a fire. ok im done #me #ed tw #(?) just in case #ex sda

[unwelcome-ozian]

I've seen other asks, I'm a system and ex sda as well, do you think Seventh Day Adventists do programming and ritual abuse, intentionally or otherwise? Never thought to frame it like that but I was severely traumatized by that church growing up,developed severe scrupulosity ocd :/

The Seventh Day Adventists are considered a cult. They use methods of indoctrination and spiritual control.

There are some concerns about what occurs in the church.

“Unfortunately, violence against women is also prominent and an issue in the Church. The Seventh-day Adventist Church may be, both especially prone to domestic violence cases and yet have a protective measure at the same time. This is explained by the fact that domestic violence is said to be more common in small, theologically conservative religious groups. At the same time, domestic violence is twice as likely in families where the spouses belong to different religions. Given the low rate of Adventists marrying outside of their faith, this is likely a protective barrier. However, a random sample study conducted in 2006 of 1,431 Seventh-day Adventists from 70 churches across a five state region, found that 46% of survey participants reported that they experienced common couple violence, 29% reported experiencing sexual violence, while 10% reported severe physical violence. Though Dr. Williams shared several statistical figures, he emphatically declared, “the bottom line is [that] sexual harassment is common.” Source

Finding Justice for Victims of Sexual Abuse in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Emily – Seventh Day Adventist Church

Oz

#answers to questions #Seventh day adventist #spiritual abuse #7th day

[dykefaggotry]

I think it's really funny that my dad, an ex pastor, made me really interested in religion growing up but not in the way he expected or wanted. like instead of being a seventh day adventist I'm just a jew-ish (elaboration: ethnically jewish and planning on converting religiously when I have 2 seconds) person with a special interest in the history of religion and specifically how it evolved and how made up by humans it all is

#not that like.... the concept of God is made up more like #I really love learning abt how the Idea of God has evolved through time into what it is #did u all know that originally he was part of a pantheon with a wife and brother