I was an astrologer
&gt; I watched nuns offer compassionate care to the dying...I became uncomfortably aware that New Agers do not build hospitals or feed alcoholics – they buy self-actualisation at the cash register.<p>&gt; Half the time, though, I couldn’t get a word in. It turned out what most people want is the chance to unload for an hour.<p>&gt; “Get to a doctor,” I told him. “Now.”<p>I grew up in an evangelical, southern-baptist church. I indeed saw many mission trips, community events, charitable efforts. But there was always a catch: it was <i>always</i> a veiled effort to convert people. You didn&#x27;t <i>have</i> to convert of course, but that&#x27;s what the whole thing was about. Every greeting, every friendly conversation, every volunteer effort. They were all just spoonfuls of sugar. None of it was without ulterior motives. It was like one of those business &quot;seminars&quot; that really just wants you to buy something. Every interaction with another human was steeped in this mentality. Of course, when asked, they would argue that converting people is the most compassionate thing you can possibly do. I have to disagree.<p>What I never got, even as a convert, was a real chance to unload to someone who would actually, truly listen. As someone with deep anxiety and depression, nobody ever told me to go to a therapist. Not once. They would always nod, and smile sympathetically, and say &quot;have faith and leave it up to God&quot;.<p>Every religion - even every religious body - is different. I just felt the need to provide a counterexample to the rosy light that traditional religion was left in by the author. For me, Christianity was astrology: something that made me feel superficially better sometimes, but was really just pushing me further and further away from any actual healing or personal development.