Monday, May 3, 2010

Religious zeal can be detrimental

As a former evangelist in the Pentecostal church, I must admit that I was an extreme fundamentalist. I believed the bible was the inerrant word of God and that it said what it meant and meant what it said. I prayed fervently and tried my best to live my life in a Christ like manner as much as possible. I preached and when I wasn't preaching I was handing out tracts on the streets, at work, etc.

I spoke in tongues in my prayers and believed that God spoke directly to me through the holy spirit in my own voice in my head. I looked for divine guidance for anything and everything I did, and at times because of that I made some horrible mistakes that cost me good job opportunities. I could not separate my beliefs from my job and so I wore my religion on my sleeve so to speak.

It took me years to be completely free from religion and independent once again. Religion as in anything else that is taken to the extreme can be very harmful on an emotional and psychological level. I literally feared the wrath of God more than I feared life itself. There are many online communities that help those of us who are trying to recover from the effects of extremism and indoctrination. I will do some research and will be posting on how to link up with them for support.

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