The frontman of a well-known Christian rock band has made a stunning reversal, saying that he "no longer believes in God." Jon Steingard, who has fronted Canadian band Hawk Nelson since 2004, made the statement in a recent Instagram post that he was "terrified" to share.
"I've been terrified to post this for a while — but it feels like it's time for me to be honest," he captioned his lengthy statement. "I hope this is not the end of the conversation, but the beginning."
Steingard touched upon his upbringing, explaining that his father was a pastor and, growing up in a Christian home, he ultimately wound up playing and singing in a Christian band. For a long time Steingard said he had the word Christian "in front of most of the things" in his life, but that has been changing.
"I am now finding that I no longer believe in God," he wrote in his statement. "The last few words of that sentence were hard to write. I still find myself wanting to soften that statement by wording it differently or less specifically — but it wouldn't be as true."
Coming to his conclusion has been "several years in the making," Steingard said. His loss of faith came after questioning the Bible. He said he was seeking answers but only found confusion. A deep depression set in but the vocalist said he has "emerged from that dark place now."
Now he hopes that, by speaking out, others who are filled with similar doubts can experience some sense of relief.
"Now I don't believe anything is wrong with us," Steingard wrote. "We simply didn't believe — and we were too afraid to admit that to ourselves. So in that sense, we have a tremendous sense of relief now. I am hoping that writing this contributes to that relief."
Hawk Nelson released a statement on Tuesday to USA Today, claiming that their mission is to "inspire and encourage all people with the truth that God is FOR them and not against them."
"God is still FOR Jon & he still matters," they wrote. "Why? Because that truth doesn't change just because we question it."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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