(March 23, 2017 at 5:34 pm)Fred Hampton Wrote: Hi, thanks for creating this forum for atheists, of which I am, since about the age 1 hour(or less). It's a WAR out there with billions of stupid religious people trying to take you down, your brain down and often your body too if they could pull that off.
Presbyterian family, supposedly, but never went to church growing up, except for a few "vacation Bible school" ventures over a few summers when I was a kid. Sat in the back with another kid and cracked jokes about it. That kid's in prison now, "finding Jesus", I presume. The next door neighbor family was into the Bible and Jesus a bit--the Dad was more interested in $ of course-- and I liked their mom because she was friendly and good looking and cooked good food--so I went to their damn vacation Bible school for a few weeks a couple of summers. It didn't "take". Our family usually watched bowling on TV on Sunday mornings anyway, and I am thankful for that: bowling is REAL.
Never thought about "Gawd" much as a kid until some wacked out woman pointed to the clouds on a sunny summer day and said "Jesus is going to come down some day and save us". I thought, "save us from what?" And, "who is us"? Anyway, that didnt stick either and I thought it was the weirdest idea I had ever heard of in my life. My sister also had a miscarriage that brought her to Jesus, so I had to listen to that a fair amount, though she wasn't offensive about it. I think that was in my Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath phase. Steely Dan has always been my phase.
Fast forward to teenage years and Dad was borderline alcoholic--great guy, though--and Mom was maybe going to divorce him, but found Evangelical Jesus instead. So, we all 3 went to that church, the pastor was cool, lot's of super cute chicks there was a bonus for me: couldn't make damn heads nor tails out of what they were selling, so I dropped out after a few years.
Like Sam Harris, I have an interest in meditation/"Nirvana", but don't believe that is a supernatural "Gawd"--just something of the brain, a really GOOD something, so they say. I have not "attained Nirvana", so you don't have to worry about that.
I'm a pro level musician, drums are my main "ax". And like (dead)Jesus, I have some carpentry skills. Also, med-school drop out from way back--can't stand hospitals and most Doctors. Oddly, dentists don't bother me much.
In addition to my native tongue, American English, I speak Spanish and Brasilian Portugues fairly well, BELEZA!
I would LOVE to survive my own death if I didn't end up worse off, but ain't jack I can do about it: the stuff's biological. Which reminds me, I am a Socialists/Communist--ideologically--Marx/Che' Guevara/Mao type stuff. Historical Materialism. But I am not inclined to talk about it with capitalists.
Welcome. I like Sam Harris too, but his Buddhism fetish gives me a lip twitch like any other religion does.
Be sure to barbecue kittens, record the NFL without their permission and rip the tags off of your mattress.
