My original post about this must be in purgatory or something. So, here's an abbreviated version.
I was raised baptist and my beliefs were in line with the typical teachings. The exception being that some of the stories seemed to insane to me; so, I used the typical rationalization and called them metaphors.
I became interested in science. I got into amateur astronomy, bought a telescope, and tried to learn from any source available. I used books, the Internet, and podcasts... The latter of which later had a big role in my de-conversion.
Also around that time, I started listening to a lot of punk music. The extreme left political views and anti-establishmentarianism of the genre doesn't leave much room for religion. I tended to ignore atheist themed songs and otherwise didn't think about it much.
One day, while looking for another astronomy related podcast, I stumbled on "The Skeptics Guide to the Universe." It was the beginning of the end of my theism. I thought I was skeptical already; I didn't believe in psychics or magic. But I was introduced to a world of pseudoscience, misinformation, and logical fallacies that I was previously unaware of and I couldn't get enough! I sought out other skeptical podcasts and started building a critical thinking skill set.
When I turned this new thinking skill on my own beliefs, the teachings of religion began to unravel. It took some time. All the above experiences cooking in my brain like a rational stew. I started listening to the atheist songs and looking for any sign that not believing was ok. Soon, I knew I didn't believe and that it wasn't a choice I could make or un-make.
The day I said the words "I'm an atheist" to another person was scary, but I was met with acceptance. A couple days later I joined this forum.
I was raised baptist and my beliefs were in line with the typical teachings. The exception being that some of the stories seemed to insane to me; so, I used the typical rationalization and called them metaphors.
I became interested in science. I got into amateur astronomy, bought a telescope, and tried to learn from any source available. I used books, the Internet, and podcasts... The latter of which later had a big role in my de-conversion.
Also around that time, I started listening to a lot of punk music. The extreme left political views and anti-establishmentarianism of the genre doesn't leave much room for religion. I tended to ignore atheist themed songs and otherwise didn't think about it much.
One day, while looking for another astronomy related podcast, I stumbled on "The Skeptics Guide to the Universe." It was the beginning of the end of my theism. I thought I was skeptical already; I didn't believe in psychics or magic. But I was introduced to a world of pseudoscience, misinformation, and logical fallacies that I was previously unaware of and I couldn't get enough! I sought out other skeptical podcasts and started building a critical thinking skill set.
When I turned this new thinking skill on my own beliefs, the teachings of religion began to unravel. It took some time. All the above experiences cooking in my brain like a rational stew. I started listening to the atheist songs and looking for any sign that not believing was ok. Soon, I knew I didn't believe and that it wasn't a choice I could make or un-make.
The day I said the words "I'm an atheist" to another person was scary, but I was met with acceptance. A couple days later I joined this forum.
