Audrey Assad: Why Christian musicians are deconstructing
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- Опубліковано 30 лис 2021
- Ex-Christian singer/songwriter Audrey Assad explains why so many Christian musicians such as Michael and Lisa Gungor, Dave Bazan and John Steingard have been undergoing 'deconstruction'.
For the full conversation on deconstruction and the Christian music scene with Fr. Chris Foley of the band Luxury: • Audrey Assad & Fr. Chr...
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The biggest mistake we parents do is try to shield our children from the challenges to Christianity. Challenges are healthy. You must be able to defend the gospel IMHO. We need to be honest about those areas we are uncertain and be ready to explain that non-Christians have their own faiths too. They are simply ignorant to the fact they too must believe in something that is yet to be proven scientifically. Some of the best Christian music is written about that type of struggle.
wow that first sentence was very eye-opening, great points.
Struggle and faith aren't opposed. Israel, after all, means "He who struggles with God". There was a BBC film I watched years ago where Jewish men in a concentration camp put God on trial following Jewish law, and found him liable for their misfortune... but then went on to the gas chambers praying anyways. I found it deeply moving, and deeply relevant to the age we live in. It says something profound about what faith should be.
I'll be stealing that.
@rmwestjr Great comment. I work in a secular workplace and the most common challenge given me from my workmates is "have you considered all options or do you live in a closed mind?". They make a very valid point if I want even the slimmest hope of being a believable witness to them. A good Christian won't have a closed mind. Well, for many years now, I have listened to all the options and frankly, the idea that evolution created everything and that man's mind can evolve its own sense of morals and good and evil just doesn't stack up. It takes a great deal more faith to believe such immense complexity of humans, animals and the universe itself (right down to molecular level) happened by chance or that it can improve itself as it goes along.
I agree. My story is different as I came to faith later on but people have to know there are things out there that will contradict your faith. The problem so many make is not allowing kids to see them and understand why they are not things you should follow
So sad. I loved her early records that really ministered to me. I had her same questions and became familiar with Josephus and others. I took my questions to the Lord and after further research became even more convinced of Jesus as Messiah and the Word as true. God is big enough to handle our questions and struggles!
Well said my bro✊🏾
Amen!!
Amen! I read Josephus myself many years ago and was encouraged in the faith instead of being dissuaded.
And God does not want us to live in fear. There is a healthy fear of God that is proper reverence of HIS sovereignty, HIS holiness and HIS power, but HE does not want us to be anxious or fearful. That is really sad that she has left for the world.
I know a million reasons to leave the faith, but there is one thing I cannot leave and that is the love of my friend Jesus who owned nothing and was rejected.Without that love I am a shipwreck.Thank you Audrey for your music which was a positive in my life.
This saddens me so much. I only recently discovered Audrey's music and have been blessed by it beyond measure. I thought I had found someone who truly understood how I felt about God and was able to express it in music better than anyone else. Her story I have heard too many times. America is cursed by these closed fundamentalist bubbles that, although well meaning, produce mentally crippled adults. It is totally alien to my experience. I was raised by Christian parents who valued education highly and encouraged me to read widely. I studied Biology at universlty before becoming a science teacher, and my circle of friends throughout this time were all atheists. I pursued a personal spiritual journey which eventually led me to Christ at the age of 30. I hope that Audrey will one day return to singing songs of praise, and to sing them from the heart, in the realisation that God is not an evil monster who requires us to "obey the rules", but someone who loves us with no strings attached and simply wants us to receive his love,
AMEN
Well said, and it sounds like you had a wonderful experience of being raised by open-minded parents and then coming to Christianity when you were in full, free-thinking adulthood. For those of us raised in a twisted version of Christianity, the journey of deconstruction and then healing is much more complex. However, I agree with all you said!
Thank you- very helpful to read that. Agreed.
Same here, I thought her hymn music was superb and now she's a disconstructionist???
Amém 🙌🙏
She says she didn’t even know who Martin Luther was!! Don’t these folks go to school?? I’ve seen a few of these sorts of videos now and I’m afraid I don’t recognise the Christianity they seem to have been in.
Christianity is taught, even in churches, as a fairytale. It’s not taught as truth that engages all of the human experience. People don’t know how deep is Christianity and it’s intellectual history and it’s actual impact in the world.
If Christianity was taken seriously in the church then the outcomes would be different and more folks would come to Christ and remain in Christ.
She didn’t know because her denomination Wouldn’t allow her to learn about it. Being raised in a sheltered environment is terrible for a child’s mind
@@gfujigo They didn't embrace the full power of the Oxytocin Father, Serotonin Son, and the Holy Dopamine Ghost via Placebo Faith.
@@Iamwrongbut she left the faith as an adult. You can't blame parents/ church at that point. She didn't learn about her faith because she didn't care to.
@@User_Happy35 she left faith as an adult because she learned about these things as an adult haha. Did you even watch the video?
She had been told for fear based reasons to "stay away from so much". That is not a healthy approach. I'm a musician and a very curious one at that. I try to learn as much as I can about opposing world views. She should feel free to explore, including a Christian perspective that isn't as closed minded as the one she grew up in. After over 40 years of looking into multiple world views, I'm still in the faith. I hope she keeps searching with an open mind.
Personally my biggest frustration with music at church is modern contemporary Christian music is nauseating vapid. It has no real depth and most of the time "me" or "my" is the key word in most choruses. It doesn't inspire me at all and is often very self centered, so it's not surprising musicians are losing theirs too.
The great C.S Lewis detested church hymns. Fifth rate poetry set to sixth rate music, he said. Surely he would have considered modern Christian pop music a bore.
@@jamotter8967 what did Lewis prefer?
@@elstevobevo . . . C.S. Lewis loved Wagner operas, especially the Ring Cycle, Beethoven symphonies, Sibelius symphonies (and Finlandia, which reminded him of "Northernness") and some Mozart overtures.
@@jamotter8967 i meant for worship music. Did he have a preference?
@@elstevobevo . . . I think there was no worship music that Lewis especially liked. Even his non-worship musical tastes, though very good, were rather confined. Then there is this: Lewis also cared little for church sermons--"Sunday sermonizing" as he referred to them. He thought some clergy were apostate, many others far too liberal ("Christianity and water" he called it) and most other preachers a tad sophomoric for his tastes. He frustrated his local Headington Quarry pastor greatly because he would often leave before the pastor was finished with the Benediction. That said, although he was no Catholic and "not especially high" as an Anglican, Lewis seemed awestruck in the presence of the eucharist. And despite his distaste for perfunctory sermons he himself delivered (IMHO) the greatest sermon ever penned: "The Weight of Glory". If you are not familiar with it, do look it up.
Deconstructing used to be called apostasy. I don't see what was wrong with the word apostasy.
@Matthew Oakley It’s still called apostasy, but honestly I think the word probably gets avoid due to both “Perseverance of the saints” and “OSAS”.
Some view deconstructing different from apostasy because they want to nick pick what they like and don't and at the same time still be a part of the church or have their version of the church.
Agreed! To me this new terminology is just trying to put a less negative twist on sinfulness and rebellion. It’s sad that legalism has pushed so many away from Christ though! This is a great lesson to parents today to talk to our kids more, rather than isolate them from the world!
Because apostasy is turning your back on christianity whereas deconstruction Is about removing the negative, mental health-damaging elements of systematised theology.
@@polarisnorth4875 aka heresy
i wonder why would anyone forbid the reading if Josephus? That's even the secular historian who proved there was such a person as Jesus who was worshipped by His followers.
No, he reports on groups who claimed to believe in Jesus. Jesus doesn’t need to exist for that to be true.
You mean groups like the Jews, the Romans, and the Caesar of Rome? 😏🫴
Yeah, Josephus confirmed the existence of Jesus as a historical figure.
Wow... in my protestant denomination we were always taught to read and consider everything, that our beliefs could stand up to any scrutiny. I'm thankful for that.
Exactly she had no training in apologetics and succumbed to the false teachings of the world, the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God and she bought into the foolishness. Sad.
If you listen to Gungar the arguments are so weak.
😂😂😂
@henrka both u and the one that commented are so weak with ur position....absolutely abysmal 😅😊
@@captainmarvel76927 how so ?
I'm trying to be compassionate towards people that had the nerve to be Christian leaders when they didn't know what they believed. The Apostle John would say "they went out from us, but they did not really belong to us." Still, I'm trying. But if we learn nothing else from this, let's learn that making kids our hero worship leaders is a very bad idea.
I’m sure you don’t remember, but I got to meet you at a chicago concert over a decade ago. Not long after, your music had a great impact on my soul during the very hardest moments of my life. Your voice carried me through suicidal ideation and deep physical pain. Even if you aren’t making Catholic music anymore (which I do miss of course) please continue to bless us with your music! You have a gift, and maybe now it’s time for you to touch a whole new audience with the melodic groanings of a restless heart pursuing meaning and purpose. We love you no matter what your religion! 💛
Last I know, she was raised Christian in an almost cultish group and became Catholic after discovering some Catholic roots. I’m assuming that is what they mean by ex-Christian as in Protestant?
@@love2sing20101 no she went woke feminist cringe. And turned all atheist fedora.
@@mike-cc3dd how horribly sad. I hope she finds God again.
Amen me to her voice God used to heal me of depression one day.
@@love2sing20101 Lets all just pray for her. Trust that God will find her. God will leave the 99 to save the 1.
Praying for Audrey as she searches for truth. It took me 60 years to find it. Look to Christ. Read and study the Bible with the heart of a child.
I’m pretty sure she’s read the bible before
@@MoNtYbOy101 Of course… everyone has, right?
@@Sanddollar1 most Christians should have
@@MoNtYbOy101 I've been around a lot church music people, and I can tell you that it is evident that most of them do not do serious or even semi-serious study in the Scriptures. Music leaders are not typically strong in their knowledge of the Scriptures and, in my opinion, this is why they go astray so much.
Read and study everything with the mind of an adult
When my wife died at a young age her music 'abide with me', 'it is well with my soul' and 'how can i keep from singing' were the songs that got me through. Later it was 'Nothing to Fear' when the pains were creeping back.
Now i see and hear a different soul in her song "Better". There are many things out there but only God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost is the TRUTH.
"THINK OF JUDGEMENT AFTER DEATH".
I'm praying for Audrey! I Love her song, "I Shall Not Want." I pray she will fully embrace Jesus as her Savior, knowing that He said, HE is the truth and the Life and the way and that no man comes to the Father but by me".(John 14:6) I pray she will truly know in her heart that she needs or wants no other in this life. He alone truly satisfies. I pray she will grow in discernment as a beloved daughter "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1
sad. You sound like a robot.
She is right in a way. Churches directing people away from scripture as the ultimate authority leads to a bizarre, ritualistic, & thoughtless faith. But, it's a shame that (it sounds like) she has denied Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life as a result. If the latter is true, then she needs to repent and run into the embracing arms of Jesus, who is the only one that can save.
Ask the hard questions, submit to the truth of scripture, and worship God with your mind (in addition to your heart).
Aww. I was just starting to discover her songs. Life is too unpredictable
The words are true. Nothing can change that even when we are faithless.
I didn't hear her say she was stopping making music.
You can still enjoy her music
Yeah Sad to learn she rejected Christ…
I think she never had a real relationship with Jesus and then the enemy put doubts and confusion in her mind...We must pray for her.
Lack of Faith. This is the time of the great falling away. Afflictions come upon all and only the faithful will remain. All things will be shaken so the things that will be shaken will be shaken and the things that will remain will remain. Do not fear, do not fall away.
definitely 😢
It boils down precisely to this: If you're actually saved, you will certainly be left with questions for your whole life. But, you judge issues whose ideas come from the world by the transcendent truth of God and pursue answers on the basis of that. That is faith, but it's not blind (which so many believe faith is meant to be). But, If you're not saved, but have lived a culturally devoted "Christian" life, when you're exposed to things from the world - especially those that resonate - you measure the transcendent on the basis of human ideas. Since fear is the context of this vid, one of the above is a fear of God (which is the beginning of wisdom), the other however *is* fear of man. It's still fear. How odd that fear of man has won for so many of these deconstructionists. And how odd they don't see that.
Love the comment
Well said 👍👌🙏
Until we are brought to repentance and called out to the Lord and saved, spiritual blindness remains. Churches must teach sound doctrine and Christians must share the Gospel with all those the Lord brings to them.
Salvation is of The Lord ( not of us ! ) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. I pray Audrey might know both the peace of forgiveness of sins and the joy of life eternal that only Jesus can give.
God is big enough to handle our doubts and to walk us through them - IF we go to Him with them. I don't say this to criticize or judge anyone, but hopefully to encourage those who might find themselves in similar spiritual turmoil. It can be even more depressing to one who's suffering to find so much 'company' among the ranks of those who once inspired us...
I went through a crisis of faith many years ago precipitated by some traumatic events. I'm thankful for that time now - because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will never go through another. Sometimes it takes a 'shaking' to reveal what's unshakable.
God is not only able to handle our doubts, He's able to walk us out of them much stronger than we ever were before our faith was tested. But we've got to go to HIM with them. Even during my own deep inner turmoil I knew better than to talk to other doubters. The answer is not to be found in intellectual reasoning.
Doubts reveal where our faith is shallow. They reveal where we've built a belief system on something other than a true, vital, living relationship with GOD. This is actually a good thing. It is able to propel us to seek Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH because nothing else will do.
If you're in anguish, plagued with doubts, I urge you to keep seeking. God is more real and more NEAR than you know, but it's the childlike, not the intellectually sophisticated, who encounter Him.
And it is ultimately ALL about encounter. Those mystical experiences you've read about? They're not for a select few. The Bible is full of them, and we're all meant to have them - those times when God shows up for us, when He meets with us, when He confirms things to us in a way that only He can. Don't stop seeking! Don't give up! Those are moments of transcendent truth that no enemy from hell can steal!
This is so incredibly sad to me. I'm heartbroken by this. I was raised in the church and I was never "forbidden" from reading other literature, authors, etc. I was taught apologetics, reason, and critical thinking. I'm sad to hear that these former voices of faith turn away before testing the truth with these tools in their "toolbox" so to speak. All the hardest questions in life find an answer, bedrock, and meaning in the Word of God and His unchanging truth. I sincerely and deeply hope that all who have deconstructed find that the end of their journey ultimately leads them back home.. I've been through incredible hardship, and for me, my faith is what held me together through all the chaos and pain life has brought. I have studied other religions and I have tasted the "promises" of the world, and it's all empty and fleeting--nothing holds up outside of the One True, Almighty God, and the Word He has given us. May the truth always win.
This is crazy for me to see because I remember unsubscribing to her channel a couple of years back, I could tell she was a false conversion years ago. The American church is full of people just like this 😔
CCM is an apostate cesspool so when they become total infidels it's the fruit of that rotten movement.
You never know - the end result of this might be an honest faith. I see an open person in this interview, and not a Gothic Audrey. I think there is a big difference from doing something because you "should do" and "must do" it, versus doing it because you are a child of God
Keep searching. God gave your mind the ability to reason. Don't listen to the skeptics. Use your intellect to arrive at your own spirituality. God will be there, along side you as you search on "your" unique path. Then, and only then, will you be an authentic child of God.
The great apostasy as predicted by the scriptures
Where exactly?
Are you talking about 1 Timothy 4:1?
_"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing a spirits, and doctrines of devils"_
@@polarisnorth4875 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NASB2020
The ESV translates it as “the rebellion”
The KJV translates it as “the falling away”
The NLT translates it as a “great rebellion against God”
Pretty much the different translations are pointing towards a great turning away from God and people leaving the faith for what 1 Timothy 4:1 calls “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons”
Is she an atheist now, she doesn't sing gospel song anymore
I went through a difficult trial, during which time her music was very encouraging.
So called science has derailed many....she never mentions the irreducible complexity of God's creation....she may have been disappointed in God for her illness, who knows?
I actually love this. You’d have to be raised either as a Christian or in a cult to even have a context for where we are coming from.
smh why
Right at the beginning when she talked about what is hidden. EVE jumped into my mind. She was also shown and told things that were forbidden and she fell for it. Same story here. May God have mercy on us all.
Praying for you dear! ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏
It’s hard to connect with what she is saying, as i tried to find truth everywhere - literally everywhere and after years heavy in the new age, found truth, freedom and love in Jesus our Lord. ♥️ I’ve never been the same since 🙏🏻
No, you dindn´t you didn´t try to find truth LITERALLY everywhere.
So what's your conclusion? @@dux657
East answer: “Christian Music” has become big business. Lots of folks get into it for that reason. They never were bonafide Christian followers to begin with.
…..” what you’re trying to do is critique and take down the structure you left behind….
“This raises an important point for those of us who have a deconstructing spirit, what are we after? What’s our motivating spirit?
A reactionary spirit, that wants to reject the community of our youth, versus a spirit driven by the quest for truth whatever it might cost to find it.” From the podcast Rise & Fall or Mars Hill
Celebrating deconstruction - which is, in truth, forasaking the actual truth of the Gospel, Jesus, and salvation - is heart breaking. It's like, "ooh, look at us! look how smart we are! look how enlightened!" BUT, in actuality, unless we are missing something, you are forsaking your first love. And, it is not remotely anything to celebrate.
I don't think most people who deconstructed even wanted to go through it. It's so much easier not to go through that process esp a worship leader like her who has a following and people who look up to her. I wish people weren't so judgemental and understand that things are nuanced.
@@Varaidzo1 I agree nuance is often overlooked. But in this case she has openly shared that she has left the faith. Praying she returns.
So is she deconstructing from Christianity or her past and the strict environment she was raised in?
How in the world would Josephus' writings help someone deconstruct? Are we sure she's even talking about Josephus here? His writing are some of the strongest non-Christian evidence we have for the existence of Jesus.
when a person is given over to a reprobate mind i think they interpret things according to the foundations of lies. its the lens they now see the world. when one rejects the gospel, their only option is to believe the lies upon lies as though they were true. even able to twist truths.
He’s good evidence for the existence of Jesus yes, but what’s striking is the lack of support he offers for any of Jesus’ miracles, except for the notoriously forged passage of course.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It's not striking at all. Of course a follower of Judaism would deny Jesus' divinity, and his miracles. But the fact that Josephus was affirming Christ's death, the martydom of james, confirming that John the baptist was killed by Herod is evidence in favor of Christianity, not evidence against it. How in the world anyone would pick up Josephus and lose their faith over it is beyond me. It's quite odd. It makes me think she misspoke and was referring to another ancient writer?
@@reevertoun I highly doubt she doesn’t know who Josephus is.. and it is striking because for an ancient writer form the same time and region of Jesus, that knew of him, that fact he mentions nothing about Jesus’ miracles might lead one to believe he wasn’t a miracle worker at all like the Christian writers like make out.
@@MoNtYbOy101 It seems you also lack familiarity with Josephus. How anyone could read this passage from a non-christian historian and question their faith is hard to fathom(completely ignoring Josephus confirming the post-crucifiction conversion of James the brother of Jesus)
Here is the non-disputed portion Testimonium Flavianum.
" Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin"
So please explain how someone could pick up Testimonium Flavianum or Antiquities of the Jews and view it as a disconfirmation of Christianity. It's a bizarre claim to make on its face. The emperor has no clothes.
Audrey is one of a growing trend of a movement away from institutions, and towards individual discovery. I look forward to what you'll be sharing with us as you travel this journey.
Jon is an inspiration to us apostates. Christians don't realize how difficult it is to come out in a christian culture.
100%
Being true to one's own develpment is more important than the need to obey the rules, so for all you who think Audrey has gone astray, realize that her path as an artist is unique, and she has absolute divine right to follow her own curiosity into what more there is to discover. I think she's brilliant and inspiring!!!
"Risking Hell is more important than the need to have Faith in Our Lord when nothing makes sense to us." I fixed that for you.
I'm not sure what you think you fixed for me, but let me assure you, you didn't@@bradosanz4479
18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
@@bradosanz4479lol, old fear spear to keep u in line right?
no need for anyone to obey anything the Church says - thats what free will is. The consequences will remain. @@thabangmakhayi8962
Love your song "Eden" so much! Don`t worry, deconstruction is a normal thing. We all need to do it from time to time. Jesus still is the lord and sees the heart! Do you know Melissa Denyce? She has a channel called "love covered life". Would like to see a interview between you and her. Or is there already one?
It's that curiosity she thinks is okay that led Eve to fall into the trap. Staying away from things isn't evil, it's absolute discipline.
Musicians score high on the openness scale of the Big Five. So, they would be more drawn to all kinds of concepts. I can see them rebelling against tradition or feeling betrayed by restrictive Christianity.
I think this is key! And my conviction is the gospel is for everyone, so we need to be better at reaching and discipline those who have that kind of makeup.
@@danstirling7386 What’s interesting is you will learn different philosophies and religions if you went to theology school. I went to a fairly fundamentalist church as a young Christian but never stumbled by secularism or other world views. Purity of thought and being secluded (mentally) as a monk is not going to work. We need to understand these other worldview s and develope or have an answer. I’ve been studying CRT for a few years. I have an answer now.
Not to be rude but Christianity is not restrictive if you view it that way you don’t actually know what Christianity is. Most people still view it as Do and don’t and especially in the west a world of choice is freedom and also having loads of knowledge so we are encouraged to forever learn but told you are ignorant if you have faith and believe and actually come to a conclusion.
There's a paradox there as well. They explore other concepts due to their openness, but end up being more restricted than ever. True freedom can only be found in Christ.
@@Benjamin-fu5ij Yes. That’s true. The truth sets us free. Not licentiousness.
It’s why we allow our kids to think.
I've heard several testimonies of CCM artists who leave the faith or who deconstruct. From what they say they never knew Jesus Christ in the first place. It's like an unbeliever saying that they have ceased to believe.
And... kinda reminds me of how the Roman Catholic practice of infant baptism makes Catholics think they are saved when they are not. In the Protestant church that's analogous to people who are born to Christian parents and everyone assumes they are Christians. What finally happens with most of these people is not that they leave their faith in Christ Jesus (apostasize). What happens is that they simply discover, realize, find out, that they had never believed in that Person in the first place. Simply put, in New Testament Biblical terms, they are lost and in need of the Savior.
The channel "Genetically modified skeptic" made a video about modern "Christian" worship groups and how they emotionally manipulate you.
He pretty much summed up my problems with those bands I had several years ago.
Several years ago I started to doubt my faith because all this worship stuff became like worshipping myself instead of the Lord.
It impacted me so much, I stopped being an active member of our little worship group in our church and I stopped singing worship songs. In fact I think that and something else I did lead to the collapse of our youthgroup (nothing illegal, just bad for group cohesion).
I had a great voice. Yet because of my doubts I sealed it away.
After a while I became so doubtful, I kind of fell away from the faith and opened myself to sin.
Today, I still don't sing worship. At least not modern worship.
But I have emersed myself for several years in studying and confronting my faith with atheist and Muslim polemics.
Today my faith is stronger than before, but for now I am non-denominational.
But I also have suffered "injuries".
Once you open the flood gates of sin, it's hard to close them again. It's almost like Pandora's box.
That which you do often is that in which you become proficient. And if you often sin then you become proficient in sin....
well said. Spot on. Todays Churches are full of "cultural christians" not born again believers.
That's too bad, there was a song she sang that helped me through a very hard time in my life where I was an alcoholic. I think the reasons I'm a Christian, is utterly rational from start to finish, too bad she seems unaware that is the case.
I'm a non-denominational protestant raised guy, if she ever were to read this, which I'm almost certain she would not, but since she is (or was) a Catholic, I'd recommend that she read the Doctors of the Church. If she read and studied them, and TRULY understood what they wrote, she would understand that God exists, Christianity is true, and there is absolutely nothing that modernity, scientism, modern thinking, modern physics, modern psychology, whatever, can negate what they have written. Read and understand St Thomas Aquinas.
Audrey, it is all true, every bit of it, and they can prove it.
The power of the Oxytocin Father, Serotonin Son, and the Holy Dopamine Ghost via Placebo Faith is very strong in you.
If you don't mind doing a half an hour of reading on something that may challenge your beliefs? Please let me know. I would like your opinion.
@@bleirdo_dude I've read all kinds of things, and many have challenged my beliefs, and it's why I believe what I do today. There's absolutely nothing you can offer, that would in any way disprove or be more rational than the sources I just cited. Nothing. They were some of the greatest thinkers in history, and almost all of modern philosophy is spent developing or trying to refute ideas Thomas Aquinas has already thought of.
Sorry... hyperbole isn't convincing. If you have any refutations for what I said, then you can state them, or just stfu.
I would even go so far as to assert the behemoth and jonas fish were as articulate as the snake and the donkey!
@@fukpoeslaw3613 Really? And I'd go as far as to say that the "infinite multi-verse with every single physical potential is actualized, an infinite number of times" is as "scientific" as the non-empirical claim that all of space matter and energy coming from absolutely nothing!
If there are is an infinite multi-verse, and there are no physical laws violated, then it is mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes exist, and talking donkeys. If all of space, matter and time just randomly spit out into existence, and have been doing so for eternity, then it is also mathematically guaranteed that talking snakes and donkeys are spit out into space, or within a universe, all the time. If the above are not true, then God exists.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you are utterly oblivious to the entire subject as a whole, and I'd probably save my hyperbole until I figured out what I was even talking about...
@@thegreatcornholio7255 "if the above are not true, then God exists."
ehm... I don't get that so you might be right; I don't know what you're talking about.
That sounds pretty rough to be so pressured. I had a little bit of that growing up in my Christian home, but I looked at it like it was just a very human fear to go against what one has been taught. But what I cared about was the truth, hopefully, so that's why I stuck too keeping open mind about the world. Time and time again, I would keep coming back to Christianity as the true belief.
to walk away from my saviour, who rescued me from the absolute wreck my life was. no intellectualism could make me turn from Him now. i love Jesus too deeply.
Being a rebel from my early days under a wayward Methodist (splintered ) tradition, looking for truth seemed a natural path. Let’s pray you don’t find yourself entrapped, deluded by the deviancy that’s permeated the culture, Miss Audrey. From my remark below , (to an Ivan ?).. “The pursuit of knowledge as a way to truth should bring us back to the place of innocence, of true fellowship, as the Spirit helps us to see , as we forgive and get free of bitterness on the journey, to encounter the depths of His love… realizing His mercies are new, every morning. “
One who is truly born again will never ;leave. God will not let you. Sadly these folks were not born again. They may have said a prayer once as a child and believed themselves saved but they clearly weren't. Very sad. My faith was not fear based and was always based on evidence and what God had done and was doing in my life. I was saved at 31 and know well the truth.
Its sad what Audrey says, sadly alot of Christians are close minded. Once we build on foundation and work on spiritual relationship with Christ, through His Holy Spirit as the sustain and support system for the entire Christian journey we will not fall and grow to love and learn from others. I have spoken to atheists for years and held personal debates. I have never been proven wrong because the evidence against Christianity is really weak, and the evidence for atheism is also really weak. People tend to walk away and say nothing else, as it things went through one ear and out the other.
The truth is musicians have often be led by emotions not by The Holy Spirit. Believing in the love of Christ is great, but when things go wrong or unjust things happen in our lives we can either walk away and say i was wrong God doesnt love, or we can move on and say its something to help us grow spiritually and develop our mindset and prepare us for future circumstances.
Oh, the irony. In my experience, the evidence for Christianity is incredibly weak, and Christians are led by their emotions. The "Holy Spirit" is literally just your emotions.
Allowing kids to be exposed to other beliefs, life styles and challenges to their faith can inoculate them from deconstructing later in life if the parents are secure enough to have honest discussions, pointing out fallacies of other beliefs in a non-judgemental way. Letting kids see the effects of sin in other lives will also help them stay away from it later in life. As parents, we need to pray and keep the lines of communication open.
It's good to question, to learn and to scrutinize the Faith. I didn't get the sense from listening to Audrey that she has abandoned her faith in God. If that's so, then the Spirit of Truth will help her. If she was in a real relationship with the Lord (as it seems for how her music touches and moves so many of us), then she will find His help, feel his gentle nudge and return to His embrace. For this I pray.
We live in a fallen world, people think their life will never end, until it does. This is not the life that is going to matter, its the next one.
Her voice and hymnal tone is beyond my Congregational upbringing in the, well. My upbringing in the Congregational church in the Pacific islands.
After my wife divorced me and moved to Florida my son moved with her and proceeded to breakdown over the lose of his family. He began drinking, smoking pot and sleeping around. Usually on Fridays he would call me, drunk, to trash me, for what he could never say. We talked for at least an hour each time.
Finally, one Friday he told me he had been desperately trying to become an atheist, or at least an agnostic, for over a year but couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried her couldn't not believe in God and he blamed me for that!
"You were always so reasonable and you knew so much. I never had a question you couldn't answer but you always told me if something was your opinion or really taught in the Bible. And you told me more than once that I had to decide what I believed. I've never forgotten that."
Unfortunately, I found out a few years later from his sister that before our divorce and for years after his mother used to blame me for everything bad that had ever happened to her, and him! Sadder still, he is in thrall to his mother to this day.
🙏🙏🙏
Audrey, you look and sound sad to me in this video. As someone who has and continues to benefit from your songs that honestly and intimately proclaim God’s goodness in the midst of the shared human condition, I want more for you than what you are currently living.
My main choice of songs to worship the Lord when I’m driving in the car have been yours since I discovered your music years ago. Your Peace album was the one that accompanied my journey through Advent last year and ushered in the joy of Christmas as I played “ Your peace will make us one” on the drive home from midnight Mass with snow on the ground and a wind chill of -2 degrees F. “Restless” was the main song that held our Newman Center in worship through college. Your album “ Oh Happy Fault” was one that I and a number of women guests listened to in the backwoods of Ontario while staying at a lay apostolate. Your songs have sprouted countless conversations with God for me, ones that matter and bring about such a deep and unwavering friendship with Him and a commonality with others. Truly, you have a magnificent gift from God, and it does not go unnoticed.
I pray for your return to the fullness of faith, the fullness of joy and the fullness of everlasting life now in the Catholic Church and forever in Heaven that Jesus so tenderly offers you in His beautiful Body, His Eucharistic presence, and through His Bride, the Church. May the past traumas and current sufferings you face bring you into greater intimacy with Jesus. He’s the best!!! I don’t want you to miss out any longer on the love of God in it’s profundity in the sacraments. I’m zealous for your salvation because of the blessing that your gift has been to me and to so many fellow Christians I know who love your music and are saddened by your withdrawal. I don’t know you personally, but your work has influenced my life to such an extent that I can’t help but comment in hopes that you will read this. If you do read this: THANK YOU for sharing your talents so generously. May you benefit from them too!
I would love to worship with you again someday and to hear the Good news of God still waiting to be proclaimed, in concert or in Heaven. :)
“ And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” - John 8:32
You seem to me to be a truth seeker. I personally can’t stand being lied to, and Jesus is the most trustworthy person out there since He’s God Who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all- good. No personal experience or failures of other people within or outside of the Church can change that. He is unchanging, unwavering, He cannot be moved. His Bride the Church, although she is being attacked on every side, will not be overcome as she is the ship that is meant to carry all to Heaven. The devil knows this, and he has hated the very establishment of salvation since the moment he refused it. I’m certain you know this, but just thought I’d leave this here in case lies are surrounding you and roaring at you.
You are so beautiful, Audrey! Praying for you that you may know the deep love of Jesus afresh this Christmas as He never stops pursuing you.
Christ’s peace will make us one. 🙏🏻
Our failure is when our lives become all about us instead of finding the God who made thsi earth and what He created us for.
It's not saddening. It's MADDENING. It's sheer hubris under the cloak of "intellectual honesty".
Praying Audrey returns to Christ. Her music touches my soul and has obviously been spiritually inspired. Pray she puts less importance on the restrictive approach she was raised with and seeks truth.
“… my reason outpaced my need to obey “ gave me absolute chills
In what direction?
I deconstructed when the truth claims came up short. It's that simple. Also, a lot of people are leaving religions and not abandoning their faith. Churches are concerned because of the loss of power and money.
Staggering. I had no idea. So sorry. The River In The Rock blessed my wife and I so abundantly. So sad.
It all boils down to this basically:
No matter the evidence and reasoning behind, I won't believe in a God because I don't want to do the things He wants me to do.
Is the point to figure out the truth? Or to be a Christian no matter what?
i was very scientific and consumed as much education as i could get my hands on. it lead me to laugh at christianity at a certain point and my life ended up in multiple addictions and failure at every turn. i asked god to come back into my life and ive had so many blessings and so much growth in the past year and a half that its almost unbelievable. now im sober, i have my own place, i got that job, and im happier than ive ever been. ive also not been inside a church a single time since God came back into my life. im not saying thats right or wrong, im just being honest. im very skeptical of congregations and being lead the wrong way by others negative motives etc. all i know is when i sit with God im more than just a failure and my relationship with him is growing. i will sit with God alone until he shows me the church or the people he wants me to be with. i dont think we realize how sometimes christians can be the worst thing that ever happened to other christians but i do know that Jesus said if we beleive and receive his sacrifice then we are Gods children. i dont think we need to be a cult or to hide our christian children away from the world. i think we need to teach them and help them and let their strength in christ shine through. i know that takes a lot of faith but we arent prison wardens, were here to shine light, through us, not to be afraid of the darkness. im not saying we dont take it seriously or protect our brothers and sisters, im just saying at a certain point the control isnt christian, its just control.
Did she end up with a mus lim dude? Her name is Assad, and is a middle eastern Syrian 🇸🇾 Mus lim name
There are Christians in the Middle East, including Lebanon.
Genesis 2:16
16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
We have to be careful about learning about other things. Some things can't be undone. Some things can't be unseen. Some things are an aquired taste- not good at first but the appeal grows...and stays. The final part of Deuteronomy 12 explains in a nutshell what we should and shouldn't do.
And if your life gets better after walking away from God it might be satan throwing you a bone. He tried with Jesus. But some religious groups do go beyond what is required. Jesus preached against it.
The fourth commandment does make it hard to be a semi-pro or pro musician. I gladly gave it up. I do miss it sometimes but I would miss God so much more.
When the brain stops we stay in the Church because God reaches us not just through ideas but through his prescence and reality. There's a vast range of churches in the US. Try the Antiochian or Melkite for example.
Horrible theology.
Wow m so glad I did listen to her because she didn’t say anything that comes to me as a surprise!!! Could happen to anyone who just followed what they did because they were raised that way. They tend to get curious and question life which isn’t wrong. Bible says it’s fine to do it. But Christ wants a relationship and that can’t come if you just follow parole or what you’re raised to believe. There has to come a point in your life where you desperately need a saviour and there is no other way. I’m sure God has a plan In everybody’s life including her. And just because she’s turned away dosent change anything or the fact that her music once was for Gods glory and has helped many through storms. Christ is the same yesterday today and forever!!!!
The heart of Christian faith isn't about what "I think" or even "I believe", but "Who do I belong to?" and "Where is my home"? People that allow questions to close the door on faith are making a sad and tragic mistake.
She didn’t meet Jesus personally but did things exactly as she was told.
That’s the problem with overshielding parenting, and a fear based understanding of Jesus’ teachings, who often greeted people with Fear Not. Same as the Angels of God when they appeared to people.
Deconstruction: the act of getting tired of hiding that you are living a double life.
So sad to see how mans failure has shaped individuals view of God.
Jesus set me free from fear with his love. ❤
In an "exploration phase", culture, 'freedom of choice', waywardness, etc. shouldn't lead one AWAY from Truth. True, all of the 1st things that folk receive aren't correct, & its better if 1 NEVER heard political-religion before meeting the Truth, but we can't design a 'separate truth. Jesus IS the Way, Truth, & Life. Much Love.
True, it shouldn't lead one away from truth. Simple truth is that there's no good evidence for any god's existence. If you explore and honestly evaluate the evidence.. that's where you'll end up.
Wow, very well said!
Similar to my own journey and may others feel peace and comfort in their soul searching. There is no higher authority than Truth.
Man, people be praying for Audry Assad, this is God's plan, a master plan, he knew that at this time, Audrey Assad will go through this phase... He knows everything, and no one can change that.... Just love her for who she is, man!! Christians can be f**ked up sometimes. If God wants her path to deconvert, then come back to him(or not), then who are we to change that
People who grew up with strict rules did not learn to cope with questions and doubts.
In my opinion they are raised with a weird kind of perfection concerning their beliefs. This is so sad to see. It is their decision to leave, but I blame their parents too, who perverted the picture of God and destroyed so much. The kids were raised in fear. It is important to know Jesus Christ and in the first place to know a God of love.
God created the world. If Gods intention was to know all details about the creation or whatever he would give us the information.
I do not walk away from God, because things are not clear. Perhaps God created the world in a process similar to the evolution in 6.000 or in 6 billions years or in a different way? For me it makes no difference who is God.
Eccls 1:18 read that in this journey of yours.
Eccls 8:11 let that be the reason u pray at night and in the morning of the life u have left.
I hope the Good Lord will help u come back to Him. Amen
It is the best feeling ever when you OPEN YOUR MIND and start to try and break the spell. you soon realise that there is a whole different world out there.
We can just as easily say that Atheism is a spell The question is where does the evidence point. It's the best feeling ever when you experience the forgiveness of your sins and the beauty and unspeakable reality of God actually living in you by His Holy Spirit.
Yep. An "open mind" allows all manner of pollutants in. The mind then becomes a cesspool.
There are two problems that the folks that are deconstructing have. One is the problem of sin and the second is the problem of the resurrection. Their sin is not dealt with and the empty tomb is not dealt with. The empty tomb is the single most important event in all of history and until they give a rational answer for that they shouldn't be able to sleep at night!
Everyone has a choice. I believe in Christ based upon what the Bible says about people and my observations of myself and others match. Deceipt is subtle and it's easy to wander. Faith is tested.
I don't see anything wrong with allowing people to research other teachings, religion and philosophies. In my own journey i became a believer some years after college. I have a BA in Anthrpology from an esteemed university. I studied archaeology, evolution, comparative religions, big bang theory, laws of physics, laws of thermodynamics, etc. Many of my textbooks used were written by my professors at the time whom were well respected in their individual areas of expertise. Not everything made sense nor appeared to be logical to me at the time, even as a non believer. Over the course of time, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that i couldn't trust all of it and that some of it was nothing more than pure folly. Over time God made known to me that i can always trust in He who created time, space, science and thought itself. I now put my trust in nothing conceived in the hearts and minds of men but rather the creator of all things and Jesus Christ and Him crucified, my savior, redeemer, deliverer and salvation. To God be the glory! 🙏🏻☝️
Audrey, I love your music. I love your voice. Both have blessed me greatly in the past, and will continue to do so into the future. Good on you for daring to question your faith. I'm sure you'll return one day, because God is big enough to reveal himself in the little things; when you least expect it. ITMT, take a shortcut: buy yourself a copy of "The Greatest Hoax on Earth" by Jonathan Sarfati, who not only responds to Dawkin's, "The Greatest Show on Earth", but dismantles every one of his anti-God theses. Then, when you've finished, perhaps you could pass it on to your brother. He may be eternally grateful.
The pursuit of knowledge as a way to truth should bring us back to the place of innocence, of true fellowship, as the Spirit helps us to see , as we forgive and get free of bitterness on the journey, to encounter the depths of His love… realizing His mercies are new, every morning.
♥️
I love Audrey and her whole journey!!!
Sad. She almost quoted Eve in the garden before she ate the forbidden fruit… I don’t think she ever personally knew the God of the Bible. 😢🙏🏼
Yeah I think she has a wrong view of God, I pray God reveals himself to her
Religions aren't Christianity believe in our saviour the lord Jesus Christ n his blood shall cleanse us from all sin you must be born again
Dear Andrey you don't have to live in fear, you can actually learn more about God, ask all the questions you want but if you really want to know about God, you shouldn't leave the source
Dear Audrey, i pray you know who God is, not the God that is so fearful and you have to keep up with his laws but a God who is love, loves you enough to die for you, loves you now but wants to make you better
Dear Audrey, Jesus sees you and He won't stop reaching out to you, you are so precious in his sight, He won't lay anything ill fitting to you, He will grant you rest
Dear Audrey, God wants you to know him, to know his ways
Dear Audrey, i would be praying for you
Why would reading about Josephus be so controversial? Josephus mentions Jesus twice and even John the Baptist. Josephus writings are generally considered a confirmation of biblical material
Perhaps because the coming of Christ is close.. it's expected that many will fall away from the faith - matt 24:10. Certainly the verse before that about Christians being hated has become true on a worldwide scale.
Okay see this is why you dont shelter your kids so strictly. It absolutely baffles me that someone who paints a better picture of Christ’s goodness & supremacy through music, better than most worship artists today can experience such devastation of doubt & disbelief in Him in the same breath. I do personally think if a worship artist is struggling with that much doubt and disbelief, then they don’t need to be singing that type of music as it is kind of dangerous. Just do secular & do that search & healing on your own. I think the same is true of a preacher who standing at the pulpit before a congregation. Listening to her is kinda tricky. I used to be a big fan & then i started seeing a major shift in her. Had to let her music go :/ there’s still some songs of hers all this and to but I’m still very careful.
In catholicism, this fear based preaching is called " contriction of conscience" , and is just a terrible way to deal with theology.
Fear is opposite of faith and lots of religions use it to control people. Even God says he hates religion. True Christianity is about a relationship with God through Jesus not belonging or going to a local church. A lot of 'chtistian' writers and singers actually use Ghostwritters like me who have birthed these songs in great pain of circumstances. Someone with a beautiful voice can sing it but not have the same depth of experience as the writers or the song lovers. And they may not be Christians born again, so the Holy Spirit is blocked from ministering life and love to them as they can perform but not receive.😢
She’ll be back. Deconstruction is a good thing. Yahweh will rebuild her foundations with His truth. I did this after becoming an atheist. I realized that there are many traditions that have crippled theology. Yahweh had me question everything, and stone by stone rebuilt me again. It was awesome!
Love your confidence in the Lord! I agree
Is there really anything to be surprised by anymore?
I think that her story is just a rationalization so she can choose to act in any way she wants to...and the same applies to all these "artists" who leave the faith. All churches are made up of sinners who fail to live up to God's standard. But that doesn't change the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive.
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This person doesn't want wisdom...she wants to live however she wants to
That's the problem with ritualistic religion. You think you are a Christian because you follow the rules, sing happy songs and go to megaChurch or cult church but it is empty religion and you are just going through the motions with no spiritual depth and no spiritual reality. If your life is not supernatural, if you don't have spiritual and supernatural gifts then you are not a Christian, you just think you are. Christianity is a supernatural state you cannot mistake. If you can leave Christianity then you were never a true follower of Christ.
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
Sad to hear Audrey
OK, it’s reasonable for Audrey to want to explore the questions and issues which she feels she was insulated from in her adolescence, or indoctrinated against. I get that. Faith is not something we inherit second-hand from our parents - truly authentic Christian experience is the result of our own exploration and conclusions. And I even understand how young adults from Christian households can be resentful against the Church, with all its faults and failings. BUT, none of that should be used to construct a defensive wall against the Lordship of Jesus Christ Himself. Either you accept that Jesus is your ultimate Lord (because He is, Audrey), or you don’t. And, if you don’t, it’s not the fault of your parents, or of the Church, or of God. At the end of the day, it’s yours, and yours alone.
Who is telling her that certain books are forbidden? The author she mentions is a source which supports the biblical writings.
And why would she be living in constant fear? Faith in God releases us from fear because the only thing we should fear is God. Jesus’s message was for us to stop fearing about the future, money, and what others think of us. To say that there is less fear by leaving the faith is foolishness and completely false.
Deconstruction of anyone's faith is to be encouraged, if your faith is controlling you by dogmas, doctrines AND fear, if it doesn't hold up to your intelligence , logic, conscience & inner guidance, it's vital for you to question the beliefs. I deconstructed from Christianity 30 years back and found eastern religion & philosophy more suitable for my evolution as a spiritual being!🙏🙏
Not told the whole story you have the whole Bible God is about a relationship not following rules prays for you.