Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?

[Diablo]

So, you come across as a very decent person, having read your posts. It seems that your experience then was mystical, and had nothing to do with the accuracy or otherwise of the bible or any teachings you had.

I raised this issue previously when you referred to a critical appraisal - or words like that, I don't remember exactly - and I don't recall that you replied.

Does the lack of logic bother you at all?

I'm sorry, I don't recall your previous question. In brief, I embraced the Christian faith 'at risk' of it being incorrect, or perhaps at risk of it being correct. That was after the 'mystical' experience. The critical appraisal is essentially living the faith. The longer I live it the more sense it makes and the lower the risk seems to be, though I haver no doubt I've got at least something wrong somewhere and always will. I'm also quite aware I might be terribly wrong about everything. I couldn't go back to atheism though, or at least not a materialistic form of it. For me the atheistic paradigm just couldn't hold my experiences without denying the possibility of them really reflecting the presence of the numen. I know this is going to sound so terribly week, but you know the monastic approach (I am a lay member of a monastic community of Benedictine monks) of prayer and silence has just really 'gelled' with me. I still much prefer silence to listening to preachers :-)

OK, I misunderstood what you meant by 'critical appraisal'. I trained as a scientist and worked as an accountant so I have a different interpretation of that phrase.

If you're happy with the problems inherent in the bible, and the explicit contradictions with logic, then I'm glad for you, and I wish you well. Personally I could never accept that difficulty: if it's wrong, it's wrong, and no amount of contemplation could persuade me otherwise.