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Hello Mark! Any friend of Min's is more than welcome, enjoy your stay here at AF! ^_^
When I was young, there was a god with infinite power protecting me. Is there anyone else who felt that way? And was sure about it? but the first time I fell in love, I was thrown down - or maybe I broke free - and I bade farewell to God and became human. Now I don't have God's protection, and I walk on the ground without wings, but I don't regret this hardship. I want to live as a person. -Arina Tanemura
April 22, 2014 at 3:32 am (This post was last modified: April 22, 2014 at 3:48 am by Mark Fulton.)
(April 21, 2014 at 2:29 am)Losty Wrote: Hi mark
I will resist the urge to want to ask to see you naked....for now
You show me yours and.....
(April 21, 2014 at 3:39 am)pocaracas Wrote: Welcome to the forum, Mark.
I'm also not Australian... Portuguese, from Portugal, somewhere in Europe's south western coast.
Enjoy!
Nice to touch base with Europeans!
(April 21, 2014 at 3:46 am)Esquilax Wrote: Hi from, uh, Perth too. Welcome aboard!
Cheers mate
(April 21, 2014 at 3:52 am)DarkHorse Wrote: Welcome Mark! Glad to have you on board. Where can we find this book you wrote? Sounds interesting.
Thanks for asking! It keeps bouncing back and forth between me and "create space," the publishing arm of Amazon. Shouldn't be long and it'll be out there. I think it's a great read... although I would say that because I wrote it! Anyone who is interested in the history of the times I'm sure will learn much from it. It contains at least 1000 links to documentaries and commentaries that back up my opinions, so it's a good resource. Feel free to check out my website to give you some idea.
(April 21, 2014 at 5:02 am)KichigaiNeko Wrote:
(April 20, 2014 at 11:27 pm)Mark Fulton Wrote: Thanks for the welcome! I love Perth. I'm on the Sunshine Coast
Noted.
Have a few relatives in your neck of the woods. Atheists all of them.
Yep....all my family are atheists too....nowadays.
(April 21, 2014 at 5:53 am)NoraBrimstone Wrote: Welcome, Mark!
We already have a Mark here, you can be Mark2, yes?
You can't be too far from where my sister lives now. She's in Bundaberg, just moved there on Wednesday from Tully.
You can call me Mark 2 if you like... I've been called a lot worse. I sailed into Bundaberg once on my way up to the Whitsundays.
(April 21, 2014 at 5:59 am)LastPoet Wrote: Enjoy the forums.
Thanks! I'm enjoying myself already
(April 21, 2014 at 9:46 am)Kayenneh Wrote: Hello Mark! Any friend of Min's is more than welcome, enjoy your stay here at AF! ^_^
Yeah.... He sure opened the door for me!
(April 21, 2014 at 11:14 am)Chas Wrote: Welcome, Mark.
At this rate, I wonder which forum will try to annex the other?
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
(April 22, 2014 at 4:00 am)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: Cheers from canada
Hi and thanks! Canada is one of the places I really need to get to one day.
And here I'm thinking of traveling to australia lol
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
My online friend minimalist told me about this forum and invited me to comment on one of his threads which I'll do shortly. I've been an active member of the thinking atheist forum for the last three years or so and have had a brief look at this site and am impressed.
My particular interest is in the early history of Christianity. I've spent many years researching the topic and feel that I have some things to say. I also have some things to learn so I hope my presence here will be a two way process.
I have written a book about the history of Christianity and its relevance in today's world. It's the product of seven years hard work. I have a website that discusses many of my ideas at http://www.markfulton.org if anyone is interested.
I live in Australia so I'm in a very different time zone to most others.
The following is the preface to my book which tells you a little bit more about me.
I was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. My parents were practicing Catholics.
I attended Catholic schools during my formative years. As a child and young man I never felt comfortable with Christianity, considering much of it inherently implausible. Like millions of others I suffered through religious instruction and church services, but didn’t have the maturity, inclination or time to seriously question the dogma. I was too busy being a kid. I now regret the waste of countless hours lost in Christian indoctrination during my youth.
The day I left home as a sixteen year old I stopped going to church. I’d had enough of being ordered what to believe and how to behave. I went to university, obtained a medical degree, and am now a practicing doctor on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. I own a practice with a particular interest in preventative medicine. I have a holistic approach to my patients, and try to help people achieve not only good health, but also happiness.
Some years ago I noticed that many of my Christian patients had significant psychological issues, and their Christian beliefs were to blame. I knew that many political and social problems also had their roots in religious belief. I’d always been curious about the origin of Christianity, so decided it was time to make a serious study of the religion I was born into. I wanted to discover the essence of Christianity, and spent nearly all my spare time in the next seven years studying early Christian history, with a particular emphasis on the bible. The more I learned, the more intriguing and complicated the puzzle became.
After many years I arrived at some firm conclusions. I thought them worth sharing. The result is this, my first book, a product of over seven years of intensive thought and investigation.
I write in a colloquial, rather than formal style, and not as a biblical scholar, (I can’t read Greek or Hebrew) but as a layman. Some of my views are partly based on my own professional experience.
What’s revealed may be life changing for some people. I hope this book will appeal to everyone who enjoys history and informed opinions about the bible and Christianity.
The biblical quotes in this book come from the Jerusalem bible, (JB, my parents’ bible) the New Jerusalem bible, (NJB) the King James bible, (KJV) or the new King James bible, (NKJV) and there is the odd one from other bibles too. I used a few different bibles so as not to be accused of being partisan or out of date.
Okay, that's enough about me. I'll just say it's nice to be here.
Well we can have an argument/discussion another time, for now I'd like to say welcome to the forums Mark.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50.-LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea.-LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
Welcome aboard!
Enjoy the forums.
