Things I Miss About Christianity
Some of those things could be re-created without the supernatural context. Instead of "praying" they could simple be "wishing". Like: I am expressing a wish, not because I believe it will magically happen, but as a part of self-therapy. We are expressing our wishes together, to help each other with their own self-therapy, and to encourage group bonding.
In other words, do more or less what you did before, just be honest about why you are doing it. You will not get back all the nice feelings (the parts that come from believing the magic is real), but you may get some of the psychological benefits.
Thanks. That may be rational and all, but any psychological benefits I could get out of "wishing" would probably be countered by strong negative feelings of cheesiness.
Also, as far as I can tell, all the benefits of prayer came from really believing in an all-knowing, all-loving personal God.
Anyway, I'm totally fine, at least for now. I don't feel like I need/have ever needed much self-therapy, but that doesn't mean I was immune to the therapeutic effects. When I first de-converted, I probably even did it because subconsciously I thought I woul...
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