(November 5, 2013 at 1:15 pm)Zazzy Wrote:(November 5, 2013 at 1:05 pm)ToriJ Wrote: Did their deconversion happen all at once?Some of them, but for many it seems to have been a drawn-out experience, complicated by family pressure.
I always ask about this because I was raised by atheists, so I have no understanding of what this experience is like.
My parents weren't atheists but they also weren't effective brain-washers. I think those who have it the hardest must be those who are coerced into becoming apologists before they get away. It is like someone who is made to kill another when joining a gang. The experience makes it much, much harder to get out. My niece went through this and seems unable to forgive herself and move on. I would think it would really chip away at ones ability to trust themselves. I think that is why so many swing from true believer to hyper rational. Trouble is that hyper rationality is ultimately a kind of rejection of self. It isn't really possible to rationally support the rejection of everything except rationality. The effort has to lead to alienation.
