Last fall I had the opportunity to address a room full of deconverts like myself at a conference especially designed for “apostates” like us. Apostacon was held in Dallas, TX, last year from September 18-20, keynoted by Penn & Teller, who were as entertaining as always.

I spoke on the second day of the conference on the subject of what Christians say to me upon learning that I left my faith, and on what I typically say in response. It is among one of my favorite talks that I’ve given because it touches on such a wide range of topics that regularly come up in conversation for people like me. The talk is about 28 minutes long, and the audience was wonderfully responsive. It was a lot of fun to discuss.

In the video, I respond to each of the 17 most common things I hear in conversations about leaving my faith:

Unhelpful Suggestions

Try reading the Bible.

Read this one book that I’ve never read but heard is great.

Why don’t you try praying about it?

Writing You Off

If only you had known True Christianity.

You must not have ever really believed.

It’s a phase. You’ll grow out of it.

If only you knew it’s a relationship, not a religion.

Questioning Your Sincerity

You just want to be your own boss.

Why are you angry at God?

Don’t judge God by the behavior of his people.

Pulling Your Heartstrings

Your mother will be so worried for you.

When times get tough, you’ll see. You’ll change your mind.

How can you look at your beautiful children…?

Gotcha Moves

But what if you’re wrong? Are you willing to take that risk?

I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.

Then where do you get your morals?

Where did everything come from?

There are many more, but I wanted to keep the talk under a half an hour. Enjoy!