I realize I’m late to the party, but I recommend reading this essay by Nick Szabo, about the difference between Objective and Intersubjective Truth.
As applied to your case, Christianity may be objectively false. Nevertheless, there was something about it that made it possible for you to turn your life around.
Absolutely, and I’ve had to wrestle with that, as well. This was even more challenging for me than simply having “been wrong”—I had to be willing to “rewrite” my story, something I’ve been claiming as true about myself and what happened to me for 9 years (a long time).
Edited 10/2011: Removed some details I decided to try and purge from passer-by readership.
I would heavily credit the strong relationships and intimate sharing fostered by my religious participation with the development of proper methods of dealing with life’s ups and downs, though. This is not something unique to religion, but perhaps had I never been religious, I wouldn’t have experienced the tremendous benefits that such practices bring about.
As such, I’d really, really, really like to find local “rationalists” interested in social support and remedying deficiency since I’m no longer receiving such support via a religious equivalent.
I realize I’m late to the party, but I recommend reading this essay by Nick Szabo, about the difference between Objective and Intersubjective Truth.
As applied to your case, Christianity may be objectively false. Nevertheless, there was something about it that made it possible for you to turn your life around.
Absolutely, and I’ve had to wrestle with that, as well. This was even more challenging for me than simply having “been wrong”—I had to be willing to “rewrite” my story, something I’ve been claiming as true about myself and what happened to me for 9 years (a long time).
Edited 10/2011: Removed some details I decided to try and purge from passer-by readership.
I would heavily credit the strong relationships and intimate sharing fostered by my religious participation with the development of proper methods of dealing with life’s ups and downs, though. This is not something unique to religion, but perhaps had I never been religious, I wouldn’t have experienced the tremendous benefits that such practices bring about.
As such, I’d really, really, really like to find local “rationalists” interested in social support and remedying deficiency since I’m no longer receiving such support via a religious equivalent.