Does anyone have a conversion experience?

Lucidmoon

Lucidmoon

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MBTI
INFJ
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Say what?
If so I'd love to hear it. I have one but it's kinda lengthy and I genuinely want to hear from others first.

It can be a conversion of any kind but obviously I'm looking for that "aha" moment when everything comes together...
 
I have had several major ones and lots of more subtle ones. Conversion has become something of a lifestyle. Mine are all pretty lengthy to describe, too, mostly because they have all become woven together over the past 40 years.

My first (might as well start there) was early in high school when it began to dawn on me that Jesus was a real person and that he had something to say to me. That personal connection meant big changes.
 
I wouldn't say it was an instantaneous, wholesale conversion from one philosophy to another but I was definitely changed over the course of a few weeks when I read The Sane Society by Erich Fromm along with a wide selection of works by Karl Marx and Trotsky. I never embraced far left ideals (I've yet to see a satisfactory argument addressing how human nature can be grafted into such a system) but it was one of the first times in my life when vague, unsettling notions I had about society were validated and explained by way of a systemic political philosophy. It was incredibly exhilarating to realize that the discontent I felt was not due to weakness or immaturity but because I was a human being who had correctly intuited the existence of massive flaws in the ethos around me. Or to put it in teenage layman terms: "holy shit, I knew I wasn't wrong about this and now I know why!"

I guess that's more of an awakening / validation-of-intuition than an outright conversion, really. But my point is that the experience was an impetus in shaping me into a more confident person because it showed me that my instincts were for more reliable than I could have ever imagined. Had it not been for that, I may have just accepted I was being a "typical teen full of angst" and then spent the rest of my life trying to grow out of it and be "normal".
 
The best choice I made was to leave Christianity and become an Agnostic Humanist and never look back. I'm been much better off. Even if I'm no longer being comforted by lies and false hope. And to seek truth whenever possible.

This is a good rundown of some of the things I hold to be true.

From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism

Secular Humanism describes a world view with the following elements and principles:[3]

  • Need to test beliefs – A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted by faith.
  • Reason, evidence, scientific method – A commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence and scientific methods of inquiry in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
  • Fulfillment, growth, creativity – A primary concern with fulfillment, growth and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
  • Search for truth – A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
  • This life – A concern for this life (as opposed to an afterlife) and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
  • Ethics – A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
  • Building a better world – A conviction that with reason, an open exchange of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.
Click to expand...
More specifically

From religious tolerance

http://www.religioustolerance.org/agnostic2.htm

Still another category are "Agnostic Humanists." These individuals are undecided about the existence of God. Further, they do not really consider the question to be particularly important. They have derived their moral and behavioral codes from secular considerations. Their ethical behavior would not be altered if a deity were proven to exist.
Click to expand...
 
Korg said:
I wouldn't say it was an instantaneous, wholesale conversion from one philosophy to another but I was definitely changed over the course of a few weeks when I read The Sane Society by Erich Fromm along with a wide selection of works by Karl Marx and Trotsky. I never embraced far left ideals (I've yet to see a satisfactory argument addressing how human nature can be grafted into such a system) but it was one of the first times in my life when vague, unsettling notions I had about society were validated and explained by way of a systemic political philosophy. It was incredibly exhilarating to realize that the discontent I felt was not due to weakness or immaturity but because I was a human being who had correctly intuited the existence of massive flaws in the ethos around me. Or to put it in teenage layman terms: "holy shit, I knew I wasn't wrong about this and now I know why!"

I guess that's more of an awakening / validation-of-intuition than an outright conversion, really. But my point is that the experience was an impetus in shaping me into a more confident person because it showed me that my instincts were for more reliable than I could have ever imagined. Had it not been for that, I may have just accepted I was being a "typical teen full of angst" and then spent the rest of my life trying to grow out of it and be "normal".
Click to expand...

+1
 
Conversion. Coming from the Catholic tradition I tend to view conversion as a life long process. Personally I place much value in personal growth. As I look back over my life I view that growth as a process of conversion.

Quoted from Wikipedia by Blind Bandit as a definition of Secular Humanism.
  • Need to test beliefs
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Norwich said:
Quoted from Wikipedia by Blind Bandit as a definition of Secular Humanism.Is it not possible to hold all these ideals and still be a Christian?
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I think his entire point is that it's possible to hold all these ideals and not be a Christian.
 
Norwich, much agreed. Any true conversion is borne out of a lifetime of mini-awakenings IMO.
 
Norwich said:
Conversion. Coming from the Catholic tradition I tend to view conversion as a life long process. Personally I place much value in personal growth. As I look back over my life I view that growth as a process of conversion.

Quoted from Wikipedia by Blind Bandit as a definition of Secular Humanism.Is it not possible to hold all these ideals and still be a Christian?
Click to expand...

Possibly but I find no value in Christianity. And there are problems with Faith vs truth and faith vs objectivity.

more specifically


  • Need to test beliefs – A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted by faith.
  • Reason, evidence, scientific method – A commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence and scientific methods of inquiry in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
These two ideals are counter to faith.

Also this talks more about things I find true.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/humanism1.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_Manifesto



Keep in mind there are Christan humanist but I don't subscribe to that ideal as I'm agnostic humanist. And secular humanism is what I'm defining as standard humanism.
 
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I'll keep mine short.

Everyone has probably had this experience, but it was a big day, when I woke up one morning and realized that it isn't just about me.
 
Korg said:
I think his entire point is that it's possible to hold all these ideals and not be a Christian.
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This is also what I was trying to get at. Religion is not needed for morality or truth and personal growth.
 
Blind Bandit said:
This is also what I was trying to get at. Religion is not needed for morality or truth and personal growth.
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I understood this point. But because I would never argue against it, it didn't occur to me to comment on it. Sorry if I derailed the thread.
 
When I think of conversion I have to consider that, without exception, every preconception I had about the nature, teachings and building-blocks of my own faith was completely up-ended at some point in my life (I would even say deconstructed) only to find a truer, deeper meaning that was illuminating, vast and life-altering. There was definitely far more there than I ever saw at first glance, and this inevitably was a point of conversion. It's been a wondrous process.
 
I literally tried to answer this question 4-5 times, trying to explain things in different ways each time, and couldn't make a coherent response.
 
I will share that I had a flurry of mini-revelations as a teenager enhanced by the addition of mind altering drugs. I spent a lot of time thinking as a child and pondering life's mysteries so by the time I could add actual experience to that my mind was ripe for further exploration. I wouldn't recommend dropping acid as a way to achieve that though I found some success there.

I remember one night sitting in the car with two friends and letting the wheel of my mind spin until it seemed to take up every inch of space around me and become something tangible whirling in my field of vision. I literally felt my mind, body and soul connect as I saw the answer to all of my questions dangling just within reach. I lurched towards it and the experience was immediate and visceral. "I KNOW!" I shouted. I said it with such depth and conviction that I startled my two friends out of their stupor yet I couldn't grasp what I'd just discovered. It was like waking up from a dream that changes you intrinsically though you forget most of it's details.

That was the first in a chain of events that sent me careening off of the path I'd been on.
 
I don't believe in "aha" moments. I've had many of them, but I don't want to become dependent on them.
 
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