"Anyone who believes his religious experience is unique has not studied religion"
Univerally it is true that what we believe, we know for a fact to be true,whether right or wrong.We see it everywhere people believing in the craziest things,and why?Yes, they ignore evidence or require none,usually defended with some spiritual intuition."It has a ring of truth""I just KNOW it's true."I did it you did it,face it. Psychologists use terms like,Belief system,internalization,pattern seeking,etc.This is why many exJWs hastily grasp at another brand of religion when disenchanted by the first.Of course most JWs leave or are booted out for reasons other than intellectual.Hence much of the banter about repression and spiritual abuse.But whatever the reason we find ourselves here,the opportunity to grow exists.Redirect our positive energies tward worthwhile pursuits.
First we must breach the topic of Bible errancy. Debates about the colrof Jesus garments are fruitless. the question is why do Jesus' virgin birth,star,manger,miracles,quotes,message of redemption,death by impalement,ressurection,accension,all mirror earlier religios traditions?The debate as to whether there was a Jesus is raging.But if therewas he bore little resemblance to the charactor in the Bible.Freely salted with familiar legends of the neighboring cultures.
To learn that what we believed we should not have believed is the ordinary intelligent process by which understanding grows.
Religion is not the enemy we are.We make religion.
Our religion is today a very evolved sophisticated philosophy woven onto primative mythologies.
Despite the relentless exposing of its flaws by combative atheists,religion has serviced us adaquately to this point in time.At it's core are time tested social conventions that preserved our species.Many today believe we know have the intelligence and experience to shed the mysticism while retaining the core ethics.What is missing is an emotional platform,and a degree of international consensus.I fear a long road ahead.Amnesty Intl.and various humanist organizations are in the forefront but need support.
Books to read :Climbing Mount Improbable,Richard Dawkins,Excellent and readable.Tactfully lays out the mistakes "creaton scientists" make in ther arguements.(the ones in the creation book)also explains what evolution is (I thought I new too)
Another good first read is, The Mythic Past,Thomas L. Thompson,an introduction to the science of paleography.Sites a number of parallels of Hebrew religion with "pagan".
Very much reccomend bookssuch as Stephen Jay Gould's,The Rocks of Ages,to bouy your spirit and temper the fire while struggling with these
issues.
You must teach yourself to "make the truth your own". A truism a heard somewhere.
