RE: I really should get going...
September 23, 2017 at 8:52 am
(This post was last modified: September 23, 2017 at 8:58 am by Brian37.)
You are not alone in fearing, "What if someone finds out I look at atheist websites".
Back before 9/11 I held the "off" "atheist" position for a few years, but because of a lifetime of society telling me atheists were bad, I feared seeking others out because I feared maybe I was going to join a cult. Of course it is bullshit, but when you are isolated and not as educated you buy the fear others sell you.
The atheist who inspired me to get off my ass and seek other atheists out will never know what she did for me. After 9/11 I ran across a opinion article out of Chicago that was distributed to newspapers nationwide, including my local paper. In it she states that she is an atheist nurse and felt left out as an American in the 9/11 mourning process.
Either that day or the next, I did a web search, the first website I visited was American atheists, but really wasn't a message board. The second one I went to was the now defunct "Atheist Network". I joined, but that lifetime of fear nagged at me. However, in less than a week, after seeing tons of atheists saying the same things I was and talking about everyday mundane life, that fear went away and I have not looked back since.
Since 01 being online, I have learned lots from others. I've read Dawkins and Harris and Hitchens and Victor Stenger and Ayann Hirsi Ali. I have learned tons about how theists of ALL religions will try to make apology sound objective when really they are merely trying to justify clinging to old mythology.
You are not alone, you are in very good company here. And if you ever feel stumped by a theist, that happens, but if it does, run their argument by other atheists and we will be happy to obliterate it as the nonsense it really is.
Be sure to barbecue kittens, record the NFL without their permission, and rip the tags off of your mattress.
Bit of advice too, never get into PM or email debates with theists. That tactic is like a lion stalking a calf, the don't like open public debates where everyone is watching and can weigh in. I would not do that until you get years of debate under you. Harder to sell snake oil where everyone can see what you are doing.
Back before 9/11 I held the "off" "atheist" position for a few years, but because of a lifetime of society telling me atheists were bad, I feared seeking others out because I feared maybe I was going to join a cult. Of course it is bullshit, but when you are isolated and not as educated you buy the fear others sell you.
The atheist who inspired me to get off my ass and seek other atheists out will never know what she did for me. After 9/11 I ran across a opinion article out of Chicago that was distributed to newspapers nationwide, including my local paper. In it she states that she is an atheist nurse and felt left out as an American in the 9/11 mourning process.
Either that day or the next, I did a web search, the first website I visited was American atheists, but really wasn't a message board. The second one I went to was the now defunct "Atheist Network". I joined, but that lifetime of fear nagged at me. However, in less than a week, after seeing tons of atheists saying the same things I was and talking about everyday mundane life, that fear went away and I have not looked back since.
Since 01 being online, I have learned lots from others. I've read Dawkins and Harris and Hitchens and Victor Stenger and Ayann Hirsi Ali. I have learned tons about how theists of ALL religions will try to make apology sound objective when really they are merely trying to justify clinging to old mythology.
You are not alone, you are in very good company here. And if you ever feel stumped by a theist, that happens, but if it does, run their argument by other atheists and we will be happy to obliterate it as the nonsense it really is.
Be sure to barbecue kittens, record the NFL without their permission, and rip the tags off of your mattress.
Bit of advice too, never get into PM or email debates with theists. That tactic is like a lion stalking a calf, the don't like open public debates where everyone is watching and can weigh in. I would not do that until you get years of debate under you. Harder to sell snake oil where everyone can see what you are doing.
