Justin Vollmar, pastor of the Virtual Deaf Church for the past four years, shocked his followers last week when he announced he was an atheist. Vollmar wrote an explanation for CNN and created a blunt YouTube video in which he renounced the existence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus as the Son of God and the virgin birth. He also called the church “completely man’s invention” and said the Bible is not the inspired Word of God.
Vollmar said he was originally drawn to Christianity at 18 and studied at Capital Baptist Deaf College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in pastoral studies. After seven years of working for a pastor he called a “harsh taskmaster” for little pay and with little rest, he resigned his position and began to doubt the church.
Vollmar then developed the Virtual Deaf Church, preaching to about 3,000 listeners per broadcast/video blog. But he continued to struggle with the questions in his mind: “How could dozens of Christian denominations fight and call each other false churches? Why are there thousands of conflicting interpretations among Christians? How could God be so loving when he will send millions to hell?”
During last week’s announcement, he signed to his audience, “A Christian for 32 years! Then decided to devote the past two years to studying the Bible in extreme depth. Then realized it was all fake and the prophecies for Jesus go against the Tanakh. And the god in the Tanakh contradicts itself. And the science and math in the Bible is totally contradictory to reality. In the end, my little Christian family, we’re all atheists now.”
He is now a part of the Clergy Project, a community of about 500 preachers who no longer believe in God, some of whom are still leading congregations.
