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Phillip Badger's avatar

Great piece again, Tom. It’s weird because I was just thinking about my first semester of college, back in the fall of 1979, and all the weird weird aspects of it. I was sorta contacted/recruited by this “Christian” campus group, which I was open to, because years earlier (long story) I had been an extremely devout Christian in the sorta long-haired liberal 70s sort of way, and having slid backwards for several years was very willing to jump back in with the right group of people. The leader of the group, who seemed sincere enough, but had a vibe I couldn’t quite figure out, invited me to his apartment to have a sincere talk. His apartment was icy cold and he sat on a stool directly in front of me, a little too close, and gave me this hard sell on Christianity, which he didn’t really have to do. I was freezing and he seemed as cold and expressionless as his stark, colorless apartment and the whole thing left me never wanting to have anything to do with him or his group again.

I was instead persuaded by my brilliant roommate, who went on to get a PhD in physics from CalTech, to embrace agnosticism, and he provided an example by being the most steadfastly moral human being I have ever encountered in my life.

Now well into middle age, I have returned to God. I regret ever leaving. But at the time I found it impossible to live up to my own standards of what a true follower of Christ should think and feel. Having Jerry Falwell and his cult burst upon the scene at that time didn’t help either. They did their best to destroy Christianity for millions of people.

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Mathew Crawford's avatar

This article reminds me that, as a boy, my ordinary desire of female companionship helped me steer clear of being pulled further into elements that might have kept me from escaping the cult I grew up in sooner.

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