My memory is very bad these days, with my brain filled with anti-seizure drugs. I
only vaguely remember Howard's request for me to describe the God I rejected. But
I am sure glad to try and answer.
The God I rejected is just a garden variety Presbyterian one found easily in the
1950s. God came in three parts, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost came
to some fellowship meetings of my high-school aged Sunday School group (that is
where we anticipated finding Him). The God never spoke directly to me, but the Son
pointed directly to Him and the feeling of design in nature was to me directly
attributable to Him. The Son was visible in the New Testament. I prayed to God
especially to keep my brothers and sisters and parents safe (my parents were
killed in an auto accident but that was when I was already an atheist).
The Holy Trinity gave a lot of benefits: life everlasting, ultimate foundation for
ethics, ultimate meaning in life, and the gift (burden?) of free will. I made
enough mistakes in life that free will sometimes seemed to be a sure-fire means
for Divine punishment.
The Holy Ghost disappeared first. Jesus second. God third, and all the others just
evaporated.
Best wishes, Will