Hi all. My name is Steve. Glad to find this forum. Just a little about me. I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic schools and at one time even considered becoming a priest as in middle school and early high school. Religion was an important part of my life, I was raised that way, conditioned that way and had no real reason to question it as just about everyone else around me was of like mind. Around the time of my sophomore year of high-school I began to have doubts, questions and general discomfort with some of the teachings of the Catholic Church and thus began my journey towards Atheism.
Will spare you the details or this post would be a mile long. It was a gradual and shift from Christianity to Agnostic to Atheism. I am a RN, I spend my life helping people, not because some imaginary sky daddy commands it so, I do it because I believe that while we are here we have an obligation to better our species, to develop as a species and to lay the foundation for the next generation to do the same. I also do it because it makes ME happy.
Now I am a committed Atheist. I see religion as the greatest threat to the development, advancement and survival of our species simply because it provides the most predatory individuals of our species the tools to manipulate, control and subjugate the weakest of us. It the mechanism in which we are sold that our lot in life is predestined, beyond our control and at the discretion of a force that we cannot see, cannot hear but must follow. It is the oldest snake oil salesman trick in the book, a method in which wealth is stolen from the many and kept by the few while insisting that we should be grateful that our lot in life is not worse, and telling us that faith and prayer (doing nothing) is the only way to improve our lot, if "God" so chooses to do so. It makes me angry and sick to see. No surprise there though, never could stand bullies.
So anyway thank you for making this community to discuss these things. I know many of you will not see things as I do but that is the beauty of Atheism, we do not have to see things alike to work together if we have other mutual goals. Look forward to getting to know those who care to know me !
Will spare you the details or this post would be a mile long. It was a gradual and shift from Christianity to Agnostic to Atheism. I am a RN, I spend my life helping people, not because some imaginary sky daddy commands it so, I do it because I believe that while we are here we have an obligation to better our species, to develop as a species and to lay the foundation for the next generation to do the same. I also do it because it makes ME happy.
Now I am a committed Atheist. I see religion as the greatest threat to the development, advancement and survival of our species simply because it provides the most predatory individuals of our species the tools to manipulate, control and subjugate the weakest of us. It the mechanism in which we are sold that our lot in life is predestined, beyond our control and at the discretion of a force that we cannot see, cannot hear but must follow. It is the oldest snake oil salesman trick in the book, a method in which wealth is stolen from the many and kept by the few while insisting that we should be grateful that our lot in life is not worse, and telling us that faith and prayer (doing nothing) is the only way to improve our lot, if "God" so chooses to do so. It makes me angry and sick to see. No surprise there though, never could stand bullies.
So anyway thank you for making this community to discuss these things. I know many of you will not see things as I do but that is the beauty of Atheism, we do not have to see things alike to work together if we have other mutual goals. Look forward to getting to know those who care to know me !
