Pastor Justin Vollmar of the Virtual Deaf (sign language) Church de-converts to Atheism

In This Article from The Blaze Pastor Justin Vollmar of the Virtual Deaf (sign language) Church explains his de-conversion to Atheism after struggling with his faith for 4 years.

Pastor Justin Vollmar has spent the past few years releasing sign-language videos explaining Biblical concepts, but the preacher recently made a stunning revelation that will end his ministry: he’s now an atheist.

A Facebook page for Vollmar’s Virtual Deaf Church describes his initiative as “an online church for deaf people.” Through the Internet church, Vollmar has been releasing theology videos for quite some time.

But over the past few months, the online preacher has been posting fewer of his sign-language clips.

While he posted two last week, there was a five-month gap between those clips and the previous sermon he posted to the Virtual Deaf Church’s YouTube channel.

In his latest video, titled, “I Have Become an Atheist,” Vollmar admits that he has abandoned his Christian faith.

Below is the video of his confession online:
(No sound, since for deaf people, but, subtitles are posted)


The video describes his struggle with his faith, as well as his eventual enlightenment and de-conversion to Atheism.

While I'm default thumbs up for people turning the TV Fantasy Entertainment off, I'm a little surprised as quite often, folks will go Agnostic, or New Agey Spiritual after dedicating themselves to the service of a faith.

Whether you applaud, or blanche at this fellow's decision, his personal bravery in coming "out of the closet" should be commended. It's quite the bold move to make such strong statements in such a public way.





Note: I'm not a signer.
Is there anyone here that might could confirm or deny the accuracy of the text with the signing?

Edit; I've tried to make this post as an informative non-inflammatory post.
This isn't baiting or trolling.
Please discuss the topic and not each other.


EDIT 02:

More information about this fellow from an Atheist source:
Things turn distinctly ugly after deaf pastor Justin Vollmar declares his atheism on YouTube

FOLLOWING his astonishing “coming out” video that we reported on Monday, Vollmar went into greater depth about his loss of faith this week, claiming that doubts began setting in because had been overworked and underpaid at a church run by:

A tyrannical, golf-loving pastor who made $80,000 a year.

Hampshire View Baptist Deaf Church in Siver Springs, Md, where Vollmar worked for seven years, has hit back, branding him:

A vengeful, pathological liar who needs to repent of his sins.

How is it that faiths claiming all inclusive acceptance of everyone, sins forgiven, love, light and life everlasting tend to turn predictably quite ugly when one of the flock chooses a different path?

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


It's true. The fastest way to convert to atheism is to study the Bible. He's in good company with Bart Ehrman and Richard Carrier citing the evidence that changed his mind.

God is Silent
God is Inert
We have the wrong evidence
We have the wrong universe

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite

Some of what he's saying sounds a lot like what I went through. As Windword said above, "The fastest way to convert to atheism is to study the Bible." Getting too deep will end you up as an atheist or agnostic at best. For me, it was an overnight turn to atheism after decades as a fundamentalist. I applaud this man for coming out, probably knowing there would be backlash from the church. My family is fundamentalist, and I was known as a hardcore christian. So I blew some minds, just like this guy.

How is it that faiths claiming all inclusive acceptance of everyone, sins forgiven, love, light and life everlasting tend to turn predictably quite ugly when one of the flock chooses a different path?

I saw a lot of this in the church. The leaderships religion goes out the window when they are exposed as the frauds they are.

I am not a signer, so I don't know for sure if the text matches his signing, but it seems legit to this point.

Christianity isnt an easy walk, its hard and relies on faith.
Inside the church the most evil people are often the ones in leadership, who incidentally are not called into leadership but service.

Sounds like the conversion to atheism was encouraged by leadership hypocrisy
As a Christian I applaud this mans decision, he has a right to choose how he lives his life.It would be sad if he walks away without exposing the corruption and equally as sad if he acts like those he accuses.

Sounds like the typical Christian church, with typical human problems.

Klassified

I saw a lot of this in the church. The leaderships religion goes out the window when they are exposed as the frauds they are.

Thanks for the personal notes.

I'd think that anyone leaving the faith, in terms of community, according the teachings of the New Testament, would be given something of a "Survival Pack" for their journey into the "wilderness".

I thought test of faith, isolated from the insulation of the tribe, out into the desert, or wilderness where pretty standard biblical fare.
Moses goes up to the Mountain.
Jesus wanders alone to wrestle with temptation
...

In modern times, the "wilderness" could be literal or figurative?

One would think anyone even marginally familiar with the stories would see the same thing, and make any parting of ways more akin to a "See you later. We'll be happy to have you back if you return" with gifts and well wishes, and all the trappings of family and community that tend to stick with people any time they tend to leave a familiar close-knit community group.

Every similar story to this, however, even where a Reverend wanted to conduct an 'experiment' with atheism for a fixed time, all the folks seem to be met with vitriol, becoming shunned like lepers and outcasts, unwelcome, actively rejected; pariahs.

What's the saying?
You can gauge the sophistication and civility of a culture by how humanely, or barbarically it treats its criminals
... or something like that?

eh.

reply to post by Klassified


I couldn't agree more. I was told my whole life to "read your bible." Being the book worm that I am, I did. I read the bible from front to cover at least 7 times, and then of course random books various amounts of times.


I tried to keep on believing, I really did. Life would have been easier for me if I had kept on believing.

reply to post by calstorm


I tried too, and failed miserably. And honestly? I think I would be much worse off as a Christian. But this guy...I don't know. Converting to atheism isn't a simple thing. Like becoming a vegan. Its a change of outlook, approach, emotional bearing. Its a gravitational shift, and suddenly, all you have is the sky beneath you until you can find something else to stand on. Its not as simple as just saying "Oh, there's no god." You might as well wake up one day and go, "You know what? Ima be a rocket scientist." Sure, you can do it, but don't expect to be the same person after you walk away from that launch pad. Its easier to think you have the right answers than to find out you haven't even been asking the right questions.

reply to post by AfterInfinity

The real work comes after converting to atheism. A lot of self-deprogramming has to take place over a period of time. The amount of time depends on how deeply you were entrenched, and how convinced you are you have made the right decision. Decades of indoctrination isn't easy to change. It's a daily thing until you break it's hold over your unconscious thought patterns. It has been well worth the journey though.

The best advice I can give anyone on the path is to keep reminding yourself why you walked away, and keep adding to the evidence that first convinced you to do so.

The problem is, first off, he got it wrong
He said he is an atheist now, but then he describes atheism as a -belief in no gods-, which is not the case. an atheist doesn't have some sort of faith based belief in nothing, rather, an atheist simply does not believe in deities until more proof comes.
A skeptic doesn't believe in anything until there is proof, doesn't mean he/she cannot entertain many ideas, but belief in anything (to include a faith based belief in nothing) is not skeptical, and not an atheist.

He simply, the way he described it, replaced one religion for another.

Why is it always Christianity or broke?

Do Atheists forget there are other religions? This guy decides he doesn't like Christianity... so he assumes that all the others are just as bad and becomes an Atheist? That's not very scientific at all. If he's going to take upon himself the name and carry the mantle of Atheism, he should tell us why there are no gods. Not just the Christian one.

It's a much bigger world than the claims Atheists make will cover.

reply to post by windword


HOLD the phone... I don't ever recall hearing Bart Ehrman was an atheist...

Last I recall he was agnostic

NthOther
Why is it always Christianity or broke?

Do Atheists forget there are other religions? This guy decides he doesn't like Christianity... so he assumes that all the others are just as bad and becomes an Atheist? That's not very scientific at all. If he's going to take upon himself the name and carry the mantle of Atheism, he should tell us why there are no gods. Not just the Christian one.

It's a much bigger world than the claims Atheists make will cover.

Why Christianity? Because it is the most prevalent and in your face, in Western Society. I don't think he made an assumption. He says in the video they studied other religions while in school, if I'm remembering correctly.

Speaking for myself only. I don't see that any other religious belief in deities is any different from Christianity. God/Goddess either is or isn't, and from my perspective. He/she isn't.

reply to post by Akragon


You're probably right. But he used to be a believer, until he started to deeply study the scripture, and realized that the Bible isn't realizable. And, this guy, Pastor Justin Vollmar, probably had the same experience and isn't really an atheist either.

That's the thing with Christians, they put all their "faith" in one basket, and when it falls apart, they go to the extreme, "There is no God." It's funny that most Christians jump on that same band wagon when it's the other way around too. If you don't believe in Jesus, or the Christian God, they say/assume that you're an atheist. It's a really myopic syndrome that people like this guy go through to get free of of religion.

It's like there's phases of defection, like the phases of grief that have to get worked through.

reply to post by windword


Yeah, I saw a video with him talking about Thomas... He said blatantly, "I believe this book holds the keys to eternal life"

That just doesn't strike me as atheist...

reply to post by NthOther


I agree, but my reasons apply to any deity you care to set before me. It wasn't "Christianity or no god at all" for me. If Christianity is rubbish, other theistic systems are landfills. You can't say no to Christianity and expect other religions to have a better answer based on the same material. But that's just me.