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William Wren

@william-wren.bsky.social

Ex-Christian writing about why I left and why it matters for all of us. Politics, philosophy, and the pursuit of greater understanding.

44 Followers  |  213 Following  |  5 Posts  |  Joined: 19.03.2025  |  1.4767

Latest posts by william-wren.bsky.social on Bluesky

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The Greatest Love Story Ever Told Wuthering Heights, the Bible, and the love we were trained to call romantic

"I am Heathcliff" hits different when you realize biblical "love" demands the same erasure of self. Both are sold as romance. Both are actually psychological abuse.

#WutheringHeights #Christianity #Bible

17.02.2026 01:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Reading Backwards How Christians Decide What the Bible Means Before They Open It

"Broadly speaking, there are two common strategies for dealing with a sacred text that contains material you find morally repulsive."

#Christianity #hermeneutics

14.02.2026 02:57 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1
We don't let children sign contracts. We don't let them vote or consent to medical procedures. We recognize—correctly—that they lack the cognitive development to make binding commitments about complex matters. But we let them be baptized, confirmed, and catechized into metaphysical worldviews before they can evaluate the claims being made. We teach them that doubt is dangerous, that faith is a virtue, and that the consequences for disbelief are eternal. Then we act surprised when they struggle to think independently about religion as adults. Religious formation of children isn't education in any meaningful sense. Education equips you to evaluate competing claims. Indoctrination equips you to reject them.

We don't let children sign contracts. We don't let them vote or consent to medical procedures. We recognize—correctly—that they lack the cognitive development to make binding commitments about complex matters. But we let them be baptized, confirmed, and catechized into metaphysical worldviews before they can evaluate the claims being made. We teach them that doubt is dangerous, that faith is a virtue, and that the consequences for disbelief are eternal. Then we act surprised when they struggle to think independently about religion as adults. Religious formation of children isn't education in any meaningful sense. Education equips you to evaluate competing claims. Indoctrination equips you to reject them.

"Education equips you to evaluate competing claims. Indoctrination equips you to reject them."

13.02.2026 15:07 — 👍 6    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 2
When someone tells you they were harmed by their religious upbringing—that they spent years believing they deserved hell, that they suppressed their identity to conform to doctrinal expectations, that they lived in fear of a God who would punish thought crimes—the correct response is not "that wasn't real Christianity." It was Christianity. It was a recognizable, scripturally grounded, institutionally supported version of it. The people who taught those doctrines weren't fringe actors. They were pastors, elders, Sunday school teachers operating within established theological traditions. You can argue that your version is better. You might be right. But you don't get to retroactively excommunicate every harmful expression of the faith just because it makes the tradition look bad. The harm happened inside the house.

When someone tells you they were harmed by their religious upbringing—that they spent years believing they deserved hell, that they suppressed their identity to conform to doctrinal expectations, that they lived in fear of a God who would punish thought crimes—the correct response is not "that wasn't real Christianity." It was Christianity. It was a recognizable, scripturally grounded, institutionally supported version of it. The people who taught those doctrines weren't fringe actors. They were pastors, elders, Sunday school teachers operating within established theological traditions. You can argue that your version is better. You might be right. But you don't get to retroactively excommunicate every harmful expression of the faith just because it makes the tradition look bad. The harm happened inside the house.

"The harm happened inside the house."
#atheism #religious-trauma #trauma #religion

11.02.2026 17:49 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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#atheism #philosophy

11.02.2026 15:42 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

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