069 Roland Watts: Raised Methodist in a small Australian Township. Blasphemed the Holy Spirit as a Child. Feared He was Damned for Years. Meeting the Christadelphians Brings Huge Relief. He's now an Agnostic Atheist.

Voices of Deconversion

Gidday Listeners!

My first guest from Australian shares his fascinating journey out of Christianity.

He was raised in a typical Methodist Christian home in a small Township in Australia. His dad was a brickmaker and his mother a homemaker. He was raised going to Sunday school. His dad attended prayer groups during the week and his mom went to women's church groups.

As a young teenager he was listening to a Fundamentalist preacher when a blasphemous thought entered his mind. Instantly he knew he was damned and going to hell. He couldn't dare tell anyone, as this may confirm his terrible reality. He kept all this to himself. He lived his day-to-day life, but every so often was reminded of his terrible fate. This thought tormented him for years.

A few years later he's invited to a meeting with the Christadelphians. As a Methodist, he was viewed as a damnable heretic. Conversely, he viewed them that way too. Following an intense discussion he has a realization and finally finds relief.

I loved his message to embrace the things we don't know. This is a huge part of what brings me peace as an atheist too. It's ok to not know or understand everything. It's the mystery of life that brings wonder and awe. It also leaves us with so much to discover in our world.

In difficult times, we gather comfort from something Roland reminded me near the end of our talk: We're in it together!