When Dan Barker Was a Christian, He was in Control of His Own Mind, He Says

How a Christian Fundamentalist Became a Leading Atheist | The Story of Dan Barker
A Dose of Reason | 20 Sept. 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFs8DG8tfIE

Here is a piece of his dialogue with Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah

do you feel you're better off now 15:38 that you've rejected religion in your 15:39 life

Dan

well I'm in control of my own mind 15:41 now I'm not receiving orders from some 15:44 mind that I don't even know what

Oprah

who was 15:45 in control of it before

Dan

I was 15:48 basically I was living a delusion

So, basically, whether or not he was actually living a delusion, on his view, he was not really oppressed by an alien mind. It was his own mind.

Certainly tying itself into some kind of knot, if that's true, but still, it was not making his life dysfunctional.

Apart from the fact that he got no answers on certain themes (like God a God of order, not of confusion vs Bible and Protestant confusion, he didn't look into Catholicism, and timing of the parousia) the supposed delusion was not hurting him. It was just not giving him everything he had hoped for, intellectually. Also, it was probably deluded (normal sense, not psychological one) on some moral issues, that's what I'd say about certain Puritan views, whether they think they have the views from Bible reading or the voice of God.

Does he find this roundabout way so unsatisfying today?

and I would get goosebumps 1:56 when I was talking to Jesus and all that 1:58 and in fact I can do that right now as 2:01 an atheist I can go back somewhere quiet 2:03 and speak in tongues and all those 2:05 feelings come back

So, basically, he doesn't want freedom from religion, he wants freedom from obedience. Not feeling bad if he's disobeying something God tells him, but he still likes hearing the voice. Or perhaps he's not even disobeying, perhaps God is guiding him through atheism. I don't claim to know, Dan gave too little detail.

Well, in that case, I'd say, he is somewhat disingenious in wanting to "disabuse" others of it. A Commie might believe, you only get those types of experiences, if you have been heavily abused by a pastor shouting about as much as Steven Anderson, I think Dan Barker could testify, this is not the case.

For my own part, I have plenty of other reasons to believe there is a God (like human language can't evolve from ape*). I have plenty of other reasons to believe the Bible is intelligible, to the actual Church that Jesus founded, the one which was given it, the Catholic Church.** I have plenty of reason to believe in tradition (even if "inadequately" documented in writings and therefore to us basically oral) is clue to understanding the past. I apply that to Pagan legends as well.

I have recently argued again, in a youtube comment, as previously in comments reposted as blog posts, the timing question of the Church refutes the idea of it being fake.

This being so, there are alternatives to myself being the one doing the talking, when I feel Jesus is talking to me. For instance, God could be giving me a good hint. Or, worst scenario, the devil could. As far as I can see, my situation is not getting worse through decisions I make, this way. If anything, when I neglect obeying. I cannot blame the devil for having deluded me to a bad decision, when I see all of my good decisions taken away from me, and "dismantled" ... so, I have no reason to consider I'd need an actual cure.

Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris
St. Hedwig of Poland
16.X.2024

(15.X) Cracoviae, in Polonia, natalis sanctae Hedwigis Viduae, Polonorum Ducissse, quae, pauperum obsequio dedita, etiam miraculis claruit; et a Clemente Quarto, Pontifice Maximo, Sanctorum numero adscripta est. Ipsius autem festivitas sequenti die celebratur.
(16.X) Sanctae Hedwigis Viduae, Polonorum Ducissae, quae pridie hujus diei obdormivit in Domino.

* See here: Correspondence of Hans Georg Lundahl: Tomasello Not Answering · New blog on the kid: How did human language "evolve from non-human"? · Assorted retorts from yahoo boards and elsewhere: Adam Reisman's Response, Mr. Flibble's Debate · Andrew Winkler's Response and Debate · Creation vs. Evolution: Odd Perfect Numbers? Less Impossible than Abiogenesis or Evolutionary Origin of Human Language! and also here: Human Language Revisited · Elves and Adam · Back to Picq · Off the Bat

See also: Scientists Discuss Music and the Origins of Language, which is great on health benefits of music, and great on mnemonic benefits of music to an already existing language, and already existing text, at 43:06 in the overall 51:18, Daniel Levitin hasn't really given a beginning of an explanation on how language originated./HGL

** Question on Epistemology

*** See here: What Did Thor Heyderdahl Say, Again? · What did I say about Troy, Again? or here: I Have Some Audience in India or (in French) here: Quelle discrépance de critères entre Buican et Bloch ... and also here: Venus Mater = Puduhepa?