positive sense of self is essential for mental health. Followers of fundamentalist Christianity achieve this vicariously through the goodness and forgiveness of God. But now you are faced with this issue directly. Although you may want to love and respect yourself, you are probably carrying some old, negative assumptions about who you are and what you are like. This is one of the most insidious outcomes of conservative Christian teaching. Even though you were taught that God is love and Jesus is the good shepherd, you could never be loved unconditionally. You were not okay just as you were but
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