Category: Beyond Religion

Today at the salon, I met someone from my former church. It caught me completely off guard. I saw her talking to one of the ladies there, and before she even looked my way, I tried to bury myself in my phone—pretending to scroll, pretending to be too busy to notice. But of course, life…

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much money I gave to the church over the years. How much I tithed, sowed, sacrificed, and “trusted God with my finances.” And I’ve come to a point where I know, deep down, that I’ll never give my money to the church again. Not because I’ve hardened…

There’s a part of the brainwashing process that I read about that hit close to home. It said that once someone’s sense of self has been completely broken down — when they no longer trust their own mind or instincts — that’s when they’re most open to control. At that stage, the manipulator offers a…

I didn’t realize I was being brainwashed. At the time, I thought I was just being faithful. Obedient. Deep in devotion. That’s how it often starts — you’re chasing peace and meaning, and before you know it, someone else is running your mind for you. I recently came across a description of brainwashing in psychology….

There’s yet another stage in brainwashing that sounds almost beautiful on the surface — the moment of “rebirth.” It’s described as the point where you let go of your old identity and fully embrace the new one. You’re surrounded by people who welcome you with open arms. They make you feel seen, loved, and finally…

There’s a stage in brainwashing that explains so much about religion. It’s when the person finally breaks — when they’re exhausted by guilt, shame, and fear. By then, they’ve been told for so long that they’re not enough, that every struggle is proof of some hidden sin or curse, that they start to believe it….

There’s a verse in Matthew 5:45 that says, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” And then I came across this today morning: The rain it raineth on the just,And also on the unjust fella.But chiefly on the just, becauseThe unjust…

Last year around this time, I was deep in religion — the kind where everything had to be prayed over, explained, or avoided if it didn’t seem “holy enough.” I remember posting Happy Halloween on my WhatsApp story without thinking much about it. A few minutes later, I watched it again and felt a sharp…

I’ve come to see Christianity as a kind of mask — or maybe a cloth people wear over their real selves. It’s a covering that gives the illusion of purity and moral certainty. Society has been conditioned to trust it instantly. When someone says, “I’m a Christian,” it’s almost like a magic password — walls…