Reddit reviews The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness

If you research Christianity with the same goal to find the truth most of us researched Mormonism, it's pretty much the only conclusion. Christianity has just been around a lot longer so the apologists have an easier time. Christians by and large also have no interest in researching anything which might challenge their faith in Christ.... Kinda like Mormons.

Edited to add: History of God did it for me as far as the historical claims, but The End of Faith and Why I Am Not a Christian are good too. History of God is really heavy, but also an amazing experience in itself. I've read it twice. I read The Spiral Staircase by the same author first, which is a much easier read. It is a memoir of her own loss of faith. She was on the verge of graduating from novice to full nun. Studying apologetics did it for her, much as it does for exmormons. It's the beginning of the end for the critical thinker.

You can also read Mother Theresa's letters wherein she often questions her belief in god pretty strongly and for long periods of time. One of the most interesting things Armstrong discovers in her research is that many of the most learned leaders and aesthetics of all 3 monotheist religions are virtual atheists themselves. She interviews several from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It's just something that happens when you study it to that degree. She is a really interesting person and an aesthetic in her own right.

If you like Karen Armstrong, I highly recommend her memoir, ["The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness,”] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XU4TYK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) in which she talks about why she became a nun as a young woman and eventually left.

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