Maddox, I like what you're doing: Taking the time, multiple posts, even a whole sub stack to work in detail through your transition and your intellectual journey.
Many people just think that they jump from one set of ideas or worldview to another without a transition. It's very useful to figure out where you came from and what are the steps.
Also, I think for millions of people who have never heard of Rand, if you can find that audience, they are people who are struggling with many of the same issues. Currently Christians or involved with another religion. Or currently addressing their doubts, the issue of whether their beliefs are based on intellectual reasons versus emotion and so on.
Hi Phil, I really appreciate your support and feedback. Deconstructing my former belief system was a complex process and I'm sure that anyone who has experienced it too can attest. In my view, outlining my story in as much detail as possible is probably the best course of action because people can see the details that led you to making your change—not just an argument disconnected from your experience and your wider context. Change happens within a context—messy ones. Hopefully those details will, at the very least, help those who choose to be religious see why I quit Christianity and help others doubting their beliefs to see deconstruction as a process they can do and that is worth doing—even if “messy.” Reflecting on my deconstruction experience (and my continuing deconstruction/reconstruction) has helped me see that I am always a work in progress.
"there are no facts in support of Christian philosophy, only a lollapalooza effect consisting of multiple factors—a book of hearsay, social “proof,” childhood indoctrination, and psychological mechanisms that reinforce one’s beliefs into adulthood."
The above line, plus how you (seem to) juxtapose Christianity with "becoming an intellectual", is frustrating, and honestly a bit arrogant, especially considering the many intellectuals who abandoned atheism in favor of theism. Still, I trust that if you continue seeking the truth, you'll find your way.
I look forward to hearing your story, and reading any arguments you propose with an open mind.
Hi Thomas, I really appreciate your comment and your criticism. I’m trying my best to both state what is true without coming off as arrogant, which can be a difficult task.
Please do bring your perspective and your disagreements with me to the table as much as you can and especially when I present my story. I welcome it and hope to grow from it. Thank you!
Maddox, I like what you're doing: Taking the time, multiple posts, even a whole sub stack to work in detail through your transition and your intellectual journey.
Many people just think that they jump from one set of ideas or worldview to another without a transition. It's very useful to figure out where you came from and what are the steps.
Also, I think for millions of people who have never heard of Rand, if you can find that audience, they are people who are struggling with many of the same issues. Currently Christians or involved with another religion. Or currently addressing their doubts, the issue of whether their beliefs are based on intellectual reasons versus emotion and so on.
Phil Coates
Hi Phil, I really appreciate your support and feedback. Deconstructing my former belief system was a complex process and I'm sure that anyone who has experienced it too can attest. In my view, outlining my story in as much detail as possible is probably the best course of action because people can see the details that led you to making your change—not just an argument disconnected from your experience and your wider context. Change happens within a context—messy ones. Hopefully those details will, at the very least, help those who choose to be religious see why I quit Christianity and help others doubting their beliefs to see deconstruction as a process they can do and that is worth doing—even if “messy.” Reflecting on my deconstruction experience (and my continuing deconstruction/reconstruction) has helped me see that I am always a work in progress.
"there are no facts in support of Christian philosophy, only a lollapalooza effect consisting of multiple factors—a book of hearsay, social “proof,” childhood indoctrination, and psychological mechanisms that reinforce one’s beliefs into adulthood."
The above line, plus how you (seem to) juxtapose Christianity with "becoming an intellectual", is frustrating, and honestly a bit arrogant, especially considering the many intellectuals who abandoned atheism in favor of theism. Still, I trust that if you continue seeking the truth, you'll find your way.
I look forward to hearing your story, and reading any arguments you propose with an open mind.
Hi Thomas, I really appreciate your comment and your criticism. I’m trying my best to both state what is true without coming off as arrogant, which can be a difficult task.
Please do bring your perspective and your disagreements with me to the table as much as you can and especially when I present my story. I welcome it and hope to grow from it. Thank you!