Upvoted for honesty, and for conscientiously documenting it in a very readable format, and for courage. Of course, we who already choose to read LessWrong are not the intended recipients of this message—we’re the choir, and don’t need to be preached to. We’ve arrived at this forum from many different backgrounds, along many different paths. You came from Roman Catholicism. Eliezer came from Judaism. Some LessWrongers were never religious at all.
Your message is not to us, but to your own friends and family, who remain active believing Catholics. By coming out of the closet as an atheist, you are evangelizing the truth and making the world a slightly better place. You know this, of course. At the same time, it can feel like (I don’t say it is like) betraying or at least hurting people who have nothing but love for you. With that said, you’re showing far more respect to your religious friends and family by honestly dissenting than you would if you simply went through the motions without faith.
As an aside, have you looked at Julia Sweeney’s videos or books? She talks about leaving the Catholic church as an adult, and the times in her life when faith would have been very comforting. Nothing you don’t know already, but sometimes it’s good to hear people who have gone on the same path as you.
Thanks for the note. Hopefully it will be well received by others. I’ve listened to Sweeney’s main audio/tour/thingy (can’t recall the name at the moment), but may have to revisit it again. (I noticed NancyLebovitz also mentioned it.)
Upvoted for honesty, and for conscientiously documenting it in a very readable format, and for courage. Of course, we who already choose to read LessWrong are not the intended recipients of this message—we’re the choir, and don’t need to be preached to. We’ve arrived at this forum from many different backgrounds, along many different paths. You came from Roman Catholicism. Eliezer came from Judaism. Some LessWrongers were never religious at all.
Your message is not to us, but to your own friends and family, who remain active believing Catholics. By coming out of the closet as an atheist, you are evangelizing the truth and making the world a slightly better place. You know this, of course. At the same time, it can feel like (I don’t say it is like) betraying or at least hurting people who have nothing but love for you. With that said, you’re showing far more respect to your religious friends and family by honestly dissenting than you would if you simply went through the motions without faith.
As an aside, have you looked at Julia Sweeney’s videos or books? She talks about leaving the Catholic church as an adult, and the times in her life when faith would have been very comforting. Nothing you don’t know already, but sometimes it’s good to hear people who have gone on the same path as you.
Thanks for the note. Hopefully it will be well received by others. I’ve listened to Sweeney’s main audio/tour/thingy (can’t recall the name at the moment), but may have to revisit it again. (I noticed NancyLebovitz also mentioned it.)