I deconstructed from Christianity from the late 1990s through the late 2000s, culminating in becoming an atheist nearly a decade ago. While it might be surprising, my experience seems to be fairly typical: atheists and atheistic literature had virtually nothing to do with it. Despite being heavily involved with the Catholic Church while growing up, with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during college, and again with the Catholic Church while I was in dental school, I’d never heard of Christian apologetics until I’d fully deconstructed. Same for all the people online criticizing Christian apologetics – never heard of any of them until well after I was an “out” atheist. However, I’ve enjoyed many of their channels for a few years now.
Christian apologetics comes in a number of forms, depending mostly on the flavor of Christianity the apologists represent: Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, Calvinism, progressive/liberal Christianity, whether they accept or deny some or all branches of science, philosophy, literalism, etc. Some attempt to be more critical or rigorous, but in the end, every apologetic argument is fundamentally based on special pleading. Whether it’s about the Bible, the voice of God speaking in the silence of your mind, being spiritually reborn, science, it doesn’t matter – it all comes down to special pleading. And the following creators do an amazing job at criticizing Christian apologetics and apologists.
Great Channels Criticizing Christian Apologetics
Paul Enns, aka Paulogia, is a Canadian & former Mennonite. I mention him on other pages about atheism, as his channel covers a wide range of topics. The relevant one for here is exemplified by this playlist criticizing the awful book/movie The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Strobel has been a prominent Christian apologist for over 20 years, and his books are frequently recommended or cited. Even though they’re really awful.
Kristi Burke, aka JezebelVibes, first built quite a following on TikTok, but I found her on YouTube in the summer of 2023. As with so many prominent atheists, she grew up as a Bible-believing evangelical Christian. Her style is different from most atheists, it’s really refreshing. Sadly, it seems being a public atheist creator took a toll on her. She has stopped creating new videos as of Dec. 2023. However, the videos she created on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are an enduring and effective legacy.
Matt Dillahunty has been a prominent atheist for decades now, participating in countless debates and forum discussions, headlining conventions, etc. He was probably the first atheist I came across on social media.
Megan Lewis & her husband, Dr. Josh Bowen, aka Digital Hammurabi, are both Assyriologists, meaning that they’re experts in Ancient Near East literature, culture, laws, etc.
Megan co-hosts the Misquoting Jesus Podcast with Dr. Bart Ehrman, noted Biblical historian and the James A. Gray Distinguished Scholar in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (my alma mater – GO HEELS!).
Drew, aka the Genetically Modified Skeptic, is one of the biggest atheist channels on YouTube today. He’s calm, always respectful, values honest dialogue, is very articulate, and covers a wide range of anti-apologetics interviews.
DarkMatter2525 (I don’t know his real name), is less active in creating content as of 2023, when I first learned of him. He’s made a lot of humorous, sarcastic, and very adult-oriented (i.e. cussing and explicit language, hence the age-restriction warning for the linked playlist) cartoons that harshly criticize the core concepts, beliefs, and traditions of Christianity.
Viced Rhino (drawing a blank on his name) started as a cartoon rhinoceros wearing a bowtie, commenting on bad Christian apologetics. In 2023 he started doing live response videos. It’s still kind of weird seeing a rhino in human clothing 😆 . He tackles a lot of the fundamentalist cranks, like Answers in Genesis. He offers a combination of humor, sarcasm, and serious critique. You learn a lot of good info along the way!
There’s more to come, but in the meantime, look for other creators on the following topics: