Brother Daniel

Greetings to all from a newcomer to Infidels. (And apologies in advance if this message breaks any infidels-etiquette.)

I have recently found the "Ex-tian stories" on the infidels site, and I am interested in digging more into the topic of "de-conversion".

For those of you who have escaped from a traditionally "religious" way of thinking (Christian or otherwise), I ask these questions: Looking back, what stands out in your mind as something that amazes you about the way you used to think? What negative (logically flawed, self-deceiving, or self-destructive) thought patterns have you identified from your past? Which of these negative thought patterns were particularly insidious in terms of keeping you trapped? Which of these negative patterns (if any) do you associate with your escape? (For example, perhaps there was something you believed that was so "far out" that even in your trapped state you had trouble with it, and thus it in effect helped you escape.) What specific steps have you gone through in order to free your mind from these negative patterns? What ongoing mental effects are there as a result of your religious past? (Here I'm looking for personal psychological baggage, rather than social problems with (for example) religious family members.)

I'm not likely to browse the agora very frequently (because my internet connection is dreadfully slow), so email responses to dpeters@psphalifax.ns.ca are welcome.

Thank you.

Daniel

K

Daniel:

My biggest problem while I was a Catholic was the fact that I refused to allow myself to think anything that would cause me to question my faith. I questioned everything else, but did not dare to defile the sacred ground of my faith with questions.

What finally shook me out of the stupor was in studying the behavior of neurons and artificial consciousness. It became apparent to me that all human behavior is the result of the sum of all past experiences on the genetically inherited body and brain. I couldn't shake the fact that a God who would punish someone who had no choice but to follow a script provided by God Himself would be cruel and unjust.

Once the light of reason slipped through the crack in the door, that door swung open fully and all of the absurdities of my faith were exposed.

NialScorva

Welcome, Daniel.

I'm going to move this thread to the Secular Lifestyle & Support forum so that it can get a better response.