(March 3, 2013 at 2:26 am)Aractus Wrote: Also Jonah was swallowed by a fish, not a whale.

OH WOW!! THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!! Surviving inside a whale? RIDICULOUS! But a giant fish, now that makes sense. I was confused about what animal swallowed him whole and did not digest him. Surviving something like that totally depends on which large carnivorous ocean creature we're talking about.

OP I thought your status was written very well, congrats, I hope everything works out for you.

(March 4, 2013 at 12:38 am)Aractus Wrote: Ryantology - by all means, start a thread and present evidence that the siege of Jerusalem is somehow fabricated, inserted or written after 70AD. But don't come and accuse me of entertaining fantasies and uneducated bullshit - you should know by now that I speak up for the facts no matter who is the one making the bogus claims....

So what you're saying is that if Ryantology wants to talk about a completely different topic from the one the thread is about, he should start a thread where that topic is relevant?

Good call on the Massey stuff, btw.

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(March 4, 2013 at 2:52 am)Creed of Heresy Wrote:

(March 4, 2013 at 1:05 am)mralstoner Wrote: Welcome to reality, Marc. If you want to save your marriage, try not to make a big deal out of "coming out". Try to show that you're still basically the same person. A smooth transition during this difficult phase can make the difference between saving and losing your marriage. So don't go preaching to her at all. Respect her beliefs and only bring the topic up if she asks about it.

I found this the other day - Human Evolution: Our Poorly Designed Foot:

You know, I always find myself wondering...what's next in human evolution? Give or take a few million years, what will we look like then? And will our evolutionary paths modify to incorporate our technological exploits? Or will we create that path ourselves and control our own evolution? Hmm.

In the 'for what it's worth' department, the Doma people often have only two toes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doma_people

(March 3, 2013 at 2:20 am)AtcAtheist Wrote: Anyway, my wife feels betrayed that I finally 'came out', and I hope this doesn't put a strain on our marriage.. Anyway, wish me luck!

I wish you only the best for holding your marriage together. It's not easy. How long have you been married?

(March 6, 2013 at 9:37 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: I wish you only the best for holding your marriage together. It's not easy. How long have you been married?

Thanks.
We have been married 15 years this June...
We have talked at length, and have agreed to respect each others beliefs. We are not going to try to push our beliefs off on the other.
This is working for now..
Wish us luck!

See, back when I made a thread about whether I should be deceitful or not, I talked about how it felt like I was throwing away courage and being a coward. I swear - I do it for the sake of my family. But there is always an urge in me to go public.

I have an urge to say the truth. I hate not letting people know who I am.

(March 3, 2013 at 9:44 am)Norfolk And Chance Wrote:

(March 3, 2013 at 2:20 am)AtcAtheist Wrote: I've been wanting to do this for a while now! No one knew my new beliefs but my wife (who is still Christian) and 2 people who I knew were atheists... Maybe I took the easy way out by posting on Facebook, but that was NOT easy to do!! This is what I posted:



*******
I've been wanting to say this for a while now:

I No Longer Believe in God or Jesus...!

I've been doubting and having questions for about a year now. I spoke with 3 of my former pastors, and received typical answers ("we're not supposed to understand", "it's God's will", "just have faith", etc..) After being tired of these unsatisfying 'answers', I started looking for answers myself. The more I dug into the bible, the more disturbing stuff I discovered (especially in the Old Testament), and the more I started doubting the validity of the Bible and religion in general...
Some key factors for my decision: The bible was not written by god, but by man, and for many books, we have no idea who wrote them (including the gospels- no, they were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The bible was written nearly 2000 years ago for a bunch of sand-dwelling people (the true nation of Israel). Most of the stories were passed along by word of mouth for generations before finally being written, so imagine the inaccuracy!! Do we as intelligent grown ups really believe in stories of talking snakes and donkeys, the Red Sea parting for an Israeli shortcut, Jonah living in a whale, people rising from the dead???
There are hundreds of 'Gods' in the world. How many of them do you believe in? Me, I just believe in one less god than you do.
I hope I am not offending anyone, and I hope I don't lose any friends over this... I'm still the same ole Marc!! Please don't judge me, don't think I'm a monster or a heathen damned to hell. I have not taken this decision lightly. I hope you all respect my beliefs, and still accept me for who I am!!
*******



I have gotten some positive replies, but most saying they'll pray for me...
Anyway, my wife feels betrayed that I finally 'came out', and I hope this doesn't put a strain on our marriage.. Anyway, wish me luck!

I wish you luck, but if your wife feels you have betrayed her, or is ashamed, then she is incredibly shallow like most xtians and you'll have to deal with that or find an atheist wife.

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(March 3, 2013 at 2:26 am)Aractus Wrote: Actually we have a very high degree of confidence that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was written by Luke the Evangelist - a companion of Paul. And the Gospel of John is firmly believed to have been written by the John the Apostle because of his constant use of the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" when describing himself.

And we still have a high degree of confidence that it's still bullshit.

So what do you get for being an atheist? Do you get a gift card or free wax at the car wash or something?

(March 10, 2013 at 6:07 pm)Catechism Wrote: So what do you get for being an atheist? Do you get a gift card or free wax at the car wash or something?

Self-praise is enough sometimes. You don't need everyone to praise you or be promised a huge reward.

You were honest to yourself and you defeated a delusion from your perspective. You don't need over exaggerated praise for your stance over an issue neither do you need outside praise.

It is what it is, everyone has their own intention.

I myself believe in a higher power/creator (not a god though) through indirect proofs, and if it's a delusion with no basis, I want to defeat that delusion. If it's based on truth, I want to attain certainty in it.

(March 10, 2013 at 6:07 pm)Catechism Wrote: So what do you get for being an atheist?

The chance to start anew.

Congrats Atc, brave move. I hope it all works out the way you want.

(March 10, 2013 at 6:07 pm)Catechism Wrote:

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(March 3, 2013 at 9:44 am)Norfolk And Chance Wrote: I wish you luck, but if your wife feels you have betrayed her, or is ashamed, then she is incredibly shallow like most xtians and you'll have to deal with that or find an atheist wife.

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And we still have a high degree of confidence that it's still bullshit.

So what do you get for being an atheist? Do you get a gift card or free wax at the car wash or something?

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Hello new forum member, , I can see you.

(March 10, 2013 at 6:07 pm)Catechism Wrote: So what do you get for being an atheist? Do you get a gift card or free wax at the car wash or something?

You get a free brain. Try it and find out.