December 21, 2020
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Deconverted Men are highly intelligent.
Despite how close-minded you may have been when you were still in the Church, it is no longer fair to say that you still are.
You know how to read a book and take on board new information.
You know how to connect the dots in your learning.
You know how to think critically.
You understand that acquiring new knowledge — even if it conflicted with your previous religious beliefs — was what ultimately led to your deconversion. And even if that deconversion was hard and painful, you are ultimately better off because of it.
This is because the greater amount of accurate knowledge that you have and that you actually synthesize and implement into your life and behavior, the higher quality of life you will have. You will be happier, you will be more free, you will make better decisions, and you will solve problems faster and more effectively.
As a result, every single one of you reading this should be spending at least some time each and every day acquiring new knowledge.
When acquiring new knowledge, you have two basic strategies: go deep or go wide.
When you go wide on a subject, you gain a very surface level understanding of an eclectic array of topics within that subject before moving on. This allows you time to learn about multiple subjects.
When you go deep on a subject, you drill down into all of the topics very thoroughly and understand every aspect, nuance, and exception. You become an expert.
Is one of these better than the other? I’m sure there’s some debate, but I recommend you do both depending on your learning objectives.
I point this out because one thing I’ve noticed about people who are deconstructing their faith is that they tend to go deep, deep, deep into information that helps them deconstruct.
There is nothing wrong with this at all.
The problem arises when they go so deep they are hitting the level of diminishing returns. I know because I’ve done this myself.
Many recently-deconverted people become miniature experts in things such as Biblical textual criticism or early Church history. They spend huge amounts of time learning every aspect of ancient books and letters and storing that knowledge as if they were hoarding gold. They often do this for the next time they get to gleefully debate a Christian and “prove him wrong.”
But at some point you need to step back and examine what you’re doing. Do you really need an encyclopedic knowledge of Bible text criticism?
Is it all just a bunch of mental masturbation?
As I talk about extensively in my book, it’s highly likely that if you’ve recently deconverted from your religion, then you’ve had other problems arise in your life that have nothing to do with religion — your money, your health, your family, your social life, your hobbies, and your romantic relationships.
Is it fair to say that you may be better off redirecting some of the time and energy you spend reading and learning about old manuscripts into something more practical, such as getting healthier, rebuilding your social circle, or learning how to bring more money into your life?
I think so.
Men have a tendency to over-invest into things they are already good at while neglecting to learn other things. We love feeling like the expert in at least one thing and being the go-to guy for that thing.
As a result, recently deconverted men get really excited about all the new knowledge they’re acquiring about science, history, and the true origins of the Bible. They can spend weeks, months, or perhaps years consuming all of that information because it continually reconfirms over and over their decision to deconvert. It makes them feel good.
If this describes you, perhaps it’s time to “go wide” again in your quest for knowledge. Perhaps you’ve gone as deep as you need to in terms of religion-debunking content.
You’ve already spent a considerable amount of time with this religion. Do you really need to give it more?