by Joseph Jackson

Created on: October 01, 2009   Last Updated: October 04, 2009

There once was a time in which I believed in this occurrence people call "God". It took me 16 years to realize that I didn't believe. From the beginning, I always thought I would stay a Christian for the rest of my life. My mom and dad always believed in god, and to every single problem they had, he seemed to be the answer. I was always too afraid to tell them that I secretly doubted my conviction, and was more open to the idea of evolution. Once I told them, though, people in churches I once attended got involved and began looking down on me for being even slightly open to the concept of evolution, and I always wondered why prejudice like that could exist in "God's House".

I still remember the moment I fully realized that I no longer believed. It was in my tenth grade Biology class, and we were discussing evolution. More specifically, the evolution of the human eye. The teacher asked us all, "how do you think that the human eye evolved from [a prehistoric creature who's name I can not remember]'s eye?"

A girl next to me raised her hand, and when the teacher called on her she looked at him with a scowl, and in a snide tone of voice she stated, "That's NOT how it happened. God created us and everything about us, because God is our personal lord and savior. Evolution never existed, and I think you will go to hell for teaching this."

Needless to say, I was shocked that she would say it like that. My teacher, whom I respected, could only turn away speechless. As I looked around the room and saw all the people whom I knew to be Christians as well, all nodding with approval at her comment, the realization came to me. I no longer wanted to be a part of their kind. I began telling my friends about the realization. Some of them were very supportive of me, and some had already realized the same thing. Others tried to convert me back, but I was determined to stick to my new beliefs. When the rest of the school found out, however, Some of the so-called Christians threatened me with death.

To this day, I do not regret my decision in the least. I'm happy with what I've made of myself and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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