Quote:You said in your introduction, you were a christian from birth. That means you didn't choose. If you were born in Palestine you would be a Muslim, tel aviv, a Jew etc.
Free thinker applies to me and other atheists because we are not locked by religious dogma.
Wouldn't you think that children brought up outside religion would be as likely to adopt atheism? That hasn't been true in our experience. Maybe there is a god gene, some sort of evolutionary predisposition, that leaves everyone susceptible?
My wife wasn't brought up with religion and has no interest in it. I was brought up in a christian fundamentalist home. I was a little crusader, thinking what ingrates non-christians were, when I was in lower elementary school. By later elementary school I had doubts and by middle school I'd decided against christianity. It nonetheless took me years to lose that feeling of having lost something and the desire to justify myself.
My stepson was brought up by us and isn't aligned with any mainstream religion but he is spiritually obsessed. That is probably the influence of his bio-dad. So in fact his case isn't really one of being brought up outside of religion. I think he regards us as "muggles" in the Harry Potter sense. From our point of view he puts way to much stock in 'spiritual experts' that leave him open to exploitation.
Okay, now I'm just rambling.
