Hey, Thomas Westbrook here.
What I’m about to share with you is based off of something that happened in my life
- my personal experience with faith healers - but I’m telling it in the second person
because I really think there are some people who may be able to relate.
I hope you like it.
You’ve all always wanted to believe in something epic, possibly supernatural or miraculous.
Every kid wants a superpower.
And it’d be marvelous to be able to summon the power of god with a prayer or to heal
people with a touch of your hand.
Sitting in church, you reflect on miraculous tales you’ve heard: how God cured some old
lady’s joint pain and your grandmother’s cancer vanished with a prayer.
But doubt duels credulity in a tormented cognitive dialogue.
Second-hand anecdotes carry no more weight than suspect mythology.
Hearsay is hearsay and is utterly useless in the evidence department.
As for your grandma, misdiagnoses is in no way out of the question.
Perhaps the doc’s treatment did the trick, or she experienced spontaneous remission as
other cancer patients have.
Besides, would god save her and not your 22-year-old best friend you earnestly interceded with
him for.
You’re standing in the aisle seat three rows back - music fostering familial solidarity.
The preacher, filled with charisma, urges the sick forward.
Mustering enough courage to cautiously proceed, you approach the faith healer and inform him
of your previously dislocated shoulder’s recurring pain.
He prays over it once, the audience goes silent.
Nothing happens!
Twice, still nothing.
You’re standing there at the front desperately wanting a miracle.
All eyes are on you, the pressure is immense; your adrenaline: through the steeple.
With a third attempt, the church band goes crazy in a melodic crescendo.
You feel a wave wash over you.
Excitement strikes as your pain dissipates!
You’ve always desperately desired your own miracle.
“I’m healed!” you yell, possibly prematurely, and are instantly greeted with a celebratory
uproar before being ushered back to your seat.
But within a few minutes, the soreness and pain slowly return, leaving a small doubt
as you search for alternative explanations.
Did the pastor just pull one over on everyone in the congregation but you?
Or was he deceived too?
You realize deep down that your shoulder wasn't miraculously healed.
But you want to believe so badly.
You want to be special - to be chosen by a god!
A week later your story has spread far and wide, becoming more elaborate each time others
retell it.
You inform a close friend that the pain came back, and she blames you, saying you backslid
or didn’t have enough faith or something.
But you know that’s not true.
You know you weren’t healed, but you still feel obligated to share your miracle anyways
to perhaps lead others to god.
Having been taught that's somehow noble.
You feel like you can't let your god down.
Exaggerating your story, you tell others in an attempt to be the most holy fanatical follower
of god, and possibly lead them to him.
But deep down inside you have your doubts.
Suppressing the nagging knowledge that you’re not being entirely honest, you feel like it's
what God wants you to do.
What a sick scenario.
There's nothing noble about deception.
There's nothing admirable about lying to yourself and others - about propagating a scam or at
the very least exaggerating your initial condition and warping the outcome.
Every retelling of your story finds it more elaborate in a desperate soul-saving effort.
In the back of your head, you feel like you're doing them a favor, but you know that you're
not.
You feel like you're leading them to god, but you're deceiving them.
Not that there’s any difference.
You’re fooling yourself, but you don't have to live a lie.
You can be free of this Dogmatic obligation.
You can find true joy and happiness in living life to the fullest - in exploration, science,
and learning new things without being fettered in deceptive superstition.
The mind doesn't have to be impaired nor progress impeded.
It's ok to doubt.
In fact, it's the most honest thing you can (and should) do.
You'll find that the air is much fresher when you're not shackled to oppressive dogma or
deliberate deception.
You can be honest and admit you don’t believe.
Stop living a lie.
You deserve to be free, and I'd love to see you gain that freedom.
There are millions of us who don’t buy the BS.
And you’re more than welcome to join us.
Thank you guys so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed this video.
If you'd like to support more Holy Koolaid videos, please go to Patreon.com/holykoolaid
This is my full-time thing now, and I could really use the help.
And if you can't spare a buck, please like and share this.
And as always: Don't drink the Koolaid!