If you grew up evangelical Christian like me or are still battling with figuring out what you believe, please know that you do not have to share every detail of your life with everyone you meet.
Evangelicalism often promotes the idea that fellow Christians are your brothers and sisters. That if someone states they believe the same things as you, they do. You don't question it, that's the way it is.
There were so many times in my life where this turned out not to be the case. Someone is not automatically safe because they are religious. Media is not automatically good because it is Christian.
You get told over and over again not to question, so it feels wrong just to have thoughts show up in your head that something doesn't feel right. But this is your inner voice fighting back.
My trust was betrayed by many people who claimed they were my brothers and sisters in Christ. Who said they were praying for me, that they cared about me, that they were family. Yet as soon as you start asking too many questions or don't believe exactly the same things they do, they flee. This is not real friendship. Friendship is not a string that frays every time you say things they don't want to hear.
Please protect yourself as early in life as possible. Knowledge is power. Evangelicalism and other strict religions dislike their members obtaining knowledge because of this. This is called information control.
Whether you choose to continue to believe or not, learn as much as you can. Don't put 100% of your health and livelihood into the hands of other people. You deserve to have a decent quality of life. Fight for yourself. If not for yourself, fight for those you care about.
