I'm coming out of the closet, wish me luck.

[Ziploc Surprise]

After several months of being quiet I've written a letter to my former church. We'll see how this goes. I wrote it out of respect for them. I should give them some sort of reason why I haven't been going to church. Here's what I wrote:



Hello,
I guess by now I ought to give some sort of reason as to why I haven’t been going to church for so many months. After 30 years of being a devout Christian my belief gave up the ghost, I’m an atheist. I didn’t lose my faith in God and religion because of anything anybody did, I just don’t believe in god anymore. No one led me into atheism either, believe me, I found it myself. I did try the agnosticism thing for a few months…that didn’t work out so well for me.

Anyway I think this means that I’m no longer a Methodist because I believe that a prerequisite for being a Methodist is that you must have a belief in the Christian god. With this requirement scratched off the list I guess you’ll have to scratch off the other thing as well. Also, I think you need to be a Methodist to be a member of the church so I guess you’ll need to scratch me off that list too.

Anyway, to reiterate, I’m not bitter at anyone, there’s no one to be bitter at, I just don’t believe in god or religion anymore. As for those of you in the Sunday school class, I still consider all of you my friends. I just don’t see the point in coming to class. It would lead to a rather uncomfortable situation for all of us. If I see you around town, believe me, I’ll say hi. I also intend to show up for the Christmas specials at church. I’ve always loved Christmas music. As for the regular church services, well, there’s not much point to my attending these.
Sorry to drop this bomb on you like this. I just thought that, out of respect for all of you, I’d better give some reason why I’m not going to church anymore.

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Wish me luck

BTW I also learned that I shouldn't capitalize the word atheism http://atheism.about.com/od/definitionof...theism.htm

[KichigaiNeko]

Goodluck Ziploc ...hoping it all goes smoothly for you

[Minimalist]

Watch your back....although methodists are far from the worst of the lot.

[Begynol]

Good luck to you!

I anticipate some misguided folks from your church will try to contact you and correct the error of your ways, as they see it. You need to be resolute in your decision.

Sad how this is seen as coming out of the closet. Just underscores the perversity of a society in which the belief in imaginary beings is seen as the norm and reliance on fact and evidence is seen as deviance by some.

Hope all goes well!

PS: I love Christmas to. It is a time for me to reflect and think of what I can do to help others and to spend time with friends and family. No need for a religious connection.

[Ziploc Surprise]

I wrote the letter because I thought they deserved some sort of explanation for my absence from church. This particular church actually cares about it's members....even the one's who don't donate a lot of money. Anyway I don't expect it to be well received, I just did it out of respect for them, and perhaps to get off their mailing list.

PS: I love Christmas to. It is a time for me to reflect and think of what I can do to help others and to spend time with friends and family. No need for a religious connection.

I like your attitude.

[Phil]

Was this the same closet R. Kelly was trapped in?

[znk666]

I'll pray for your success.

Anyway,make sure to keep us updated,comrade.

[tackattack]

Good luck

[Ziploc Surprise]

Was this the same closet R. Kelly was trapped in?

Who's R. Kelly?

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Good luck

You're a Christian, why are you wishing me good luck? I thought the closet was a good place for an atheist. It's quieter that way.

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I'll keep everyone informed if you are interested...heck I'll probably do this if you aren't interested. I e-mailed the letter, so far no response.


On another note what do you think about not capitalizing the word "atheist"? I had been doing this off and on, but then I realized that it really shouldn't be capitalized because it isn't a religion and it can't exactly be called a belief system because it relies on as many provable facts as possible.

[RW_9]

Good luck, and be prepared for a volley of "concerned" intrusions from people.

Atheism should not be capitalized. It is a negative descriptive term meaning "not theist," not a positive descriptive term meaning a specific group of people.