An Intro: I might be deconverting

[J a c k]

Hello! 
I hope you like it here and stay. Don't look under the rugs... the cleaning lady will get to it. I promise.
I arrived not long ago and feel comfy. If they'll let me, I plan to stay. Come feel comfy with us.   They have cookies! 

[Minimalist]

Welcome.  Zeitgeist is pretty lousy scholarship mixed up with ample portions of conspiracy nuttery.

Try this for starters.

http://www.yorku.ca/dcarveth/false_testament

In the last quarter century or so, archaeologists have seen one settled assumption after another concerning who the ancient Israelites were and where they came from proved false. Rather than a band of invaders who fought their way into the Holy Land, the Israelites are now thought to have been an 'indigenous culture that developed west of the Jordan River around 1200 B.C. Abraham, Isaac, and the other patriarchs appear to have been spliced together out of various pieces of local lore. The Davidic Empire, which archaeologists once thought as incontrovertible as the Roman, is now seen as an invention of Jerusalem-based priests in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. who were eager to burnish their national history. The religion we call Judaism does not reach well back into the second millennium B.C. but appears to be, at most, a product of the mid-first.

[SteelCurtain]

Word of advice: you might want to fact check Zeitgeist. While eye-opening, it's not exactly full of the facts.

[Old Baby]

Welcome aboard. I deconverted back in November. I'm also the son of a pastor so my experience mirrors yours in many ways.

Nothing to know about atheism. It just means you lack believe in a God.

Once you stop believing in a God, you're as atheist as you'll ever be. It's up to you where you go from there.

[JayLugh]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes.

Welcome.  Zeitgeist is pretty lousy scholarship mixed up with ample portions of conspiracy nuttery.

Try this for starters.

http://www.yorku.ca/dcarveth/false_testament

Yeah, I started questioning Zeitgeist pretty quick, but I still find it fascinating, maybe in a human sense. I've always kind of liked reading about conspiracy theories. No matter which side I believe, that aspect of humanity fascinates me and always has. I even staged my own conspiracy for a school project once (just to show how it could be done.)

Thanks for the link!

[ignoramus]

Word of advice: you might want to fact check Zeitgeist. While eye-opening, it's not exactly full of the facts.

That's right Jayjay!   (I nearly said vajayjay just then! Oh dear!   Hehe)

Zeitgeist is not 100% fact as SC said.
If you want solid facts, you'll need to read the bible.
It's 100% fact, because it says so right there in the bible!

PS, don't listen to Val, she's more dangerous than I can ever be!
(She can hurt you in ways you never thought possible) ...

[rexbeccarox]

Welcome, Jay

[Excited Penguin]

Welcome! I'd say you're more likely to be an atheist than not.

[Aoi Magi]

Welcome, it's good that you are so strong at heart. Don't worry too much about atheism, it's nothing more than a label which saves you the trouble of explaining your position on god claims. And it isn't something which you have to choose to accept, it comes naturally as you know more and more about our reality, so keep learning and enjoying the short life we have, that's all there is to it

[Minimalist]

Word of advice: you might want to fact check Zeitgeist. While eye-opening, it's not exactly full of the facts.

That's right Jayjay!   (I nearly said vajayjay just then! Oh dear!   Hehe)

Zeitgeist is not 100% fact as SC said.
If you want solid facts, you'll need to read the bible.
It's 100% fact, because it says so right there in the bible!

PS, don't listen to Val, she's more dangerous than I can ever be!
(She can hurt you in ways you never thought possible) ...

But, its rumored that that costs extra!