Talk:List of former Christians
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[edit] Who belongs?
I've limited this to people who left Christianity for a non-Christian religion or ideology. That seems more in-line with the title. Some might say those who became Christian Scientists or Mormons would fit that too, but I want to avoid controversies of that kind.--T. Anthony 02:43, 1 January 2007 (UTC) Mormons are not christians virtually all theologians agree and same is true of Christian Scientists--Java7837 15:54, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
- Many Christians believe that if a person leaves Christianity it shows that he or she was never a Christian to begin with. I think the whole concept of this article has major problems, however the information is interesting. Steve Dufour 06:36, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
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- That's a pretty convenient solution. If Wikipedia took that as a definition, we couldn't list any living person as a Christian, since they could all change religion.--Prosfilaes 17:19, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
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- That is the sincere belief of many Christians, I am not advocating it as WP policy however. Steve Dufour 22:43, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
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- I am going through the list and removing names where the person's WP article does not indicate that they were really Christians, rather than just being brought up by families that belonged to a church. Steve Dufour 14:16, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
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- Does Tom Cruise really belong on Wikipedia's list of ex-Christians? I've never read anything that showed he was a Christian at one time in his life. On the other hand, there are several names of ex-Christians that probably should be included on Wikipedia's webpage for list of notable ex-Christians. Famous biologist E.O. Wilson is a former Christian (now a vague deist), New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman was as well (now agnostic), Skeptic magazine editor Michael Shermer (skeptic) is a former Christian, as was astronomist/science writer Chet Raymo and British novelist A.N. Wilson. You might also consider Charles Darwin as an ex-Christian and possibly comedian Sam Kenison as well. Helper, 1:50, 8 July 2007 {UTC]
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[edit] Barbara Smoker
Her WP bio only says that she was born into a Catholic family. Nothing is said which indicates any personal belief on her part. Steve Dufour 01:06, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Mark Twain
He was certainly a skeptic and a critic of religion. However, his WP bio says that he "never renounced Presbyterianism." He also wrote a book about Catholic mystic Joan of Arc. Christians can certainly be social critics and critics of religion, Jesus was himself. I don't think it is clear that he left Christianity. Steve Dufour 19:39, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] William S. Sadler
It is clear that he was a Christian. What is not clear is that he left Christianity. The Urantia Book, as much as some people might dislike it, does draw on the Bible and Christian tradition. I don't think we can say for sure that he left Christianity. Steve Dufour 20:55, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
- I would tend to agree. While his beliefs are all perhaps notably out of step with what some might consider orthodox or mainline Christianity, the fact that Part IV of the Urantia Book is specifically and explicitly about Jesus makes it very hard to say that he abandoned Christianity, at least in some form, entirely. John Carter 13:48, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
- I'd have removed him, but he's already gone.--T. Anthony 07:01, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Qualifications for inclusion of "List of former (x)s"
I have recently started a thread at Talk:List of notable converts to Christianity#Qualifications for inclusion of "List of former (x)s" in which I am hoping we can standardize the qualifications for inclusion in such lists. Any constructive comments would be more than welcome. John Carter 14:55, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Mary Doria Russell
I put her back. Although she was never very religious her time as a Catholic is of enough significance to her writing to merit it I think.--T. Anthony 08:04, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
Richard Dawkins should not be included. To my knowlege he has never claimed to be a Christian and has also asserted that children should not be put in a religious category, thus eliminating categorizing him as an adherent in his childhood.
[edit] Proposed Merges
Someone suggested merging many articles here but didn't create a thread for discussion. I support the merges.--SefringleTalk 04:45, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
- You could delete the Catholic list, but a merger doesn't make sense to me. I count at least 34 names on that list who didn't leave Christianity, but instead switched to a Protestant or Orthodox form of it. That's about a third at least.--T. Anthony (talk) 11:25, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
- I disagree with a merge. There are many former Catholics that are still Christians, but not Catholics any more - ipernar
