Religion's affect outside of religion

[TheRocketSurgeon]

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I wrote a long response to this, but my computer's CAD program (I was doing work in the other window, and the big calculation apparently was too much alongside Chrome) crashed my computer, so it was lost.

Short version: You make a false assumption when you think we didn't feel all the things you feel about God, when we were Christians. I know that's what they tell you to think about us. That's what they told me to think about ex-Christians, when I was a Christian. But I felt the "presence of the Lord". I never once believed that God answers all prayers as we want Him to, and I know few Christians who think that. I even had a teeshirt that says, "God answers all prayers; sometimes the answer is no." I was moved to tears by worship and prayer, and told people all the things you're now telling us.

I later learned that my experiences were not unique to Christianity, and that religious ecstasy and "sensing a presence" is the norm, rather than the exception, among the deeply devout. I came to realize that I was feeling these feelings internally, not from an external source. Looking back, I am horrified by the cult-like teachings of my religion, which say that thinking for yourself is "pride", which tell you that you must first believe and then reject anything to the contrary, and that "man's knowledge" is to be rejected if it conflicts with doctrine.

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Edited to quote you so you get a "ping" notification. Sorry I forgot to, in previous entry.

Maybe, that is why the 'experience' of God is not centered around 'feelings.' But tangible testable experiences and real exchanges. Respectfully, if your whole experience with God was 'feeling' based, maybe that is why it failed when tested by the wind and rain.

I don't even know what you mean by this. And it wasn't "tested by the wind and rain", it was tested by comparing it to demonstrable reality.