Ex Theists

[Kyuuketsuki]

Well I didn't 'Choose' atheism, I chose non theism. I decided not to believe. So you are right there. I apologise (if you were talking to me ;P). By choosing not to believe in God I just rejected God. I held no other beliefs.

It was (addressed to you).

As Ev says there's no difference between choosing to be a non-theist and choosing to be an atheist ... what I was trying to impress upon you is that you can't really do that (well I can't at any rate and I'd guess that most of the others here would say the same); I never chose to stop believing in god, I just realised I no longer did. Over subsequent years things I read and debated reinforced that view leading me through a militant atheist phase to today's' angry atheist stance (they are different, I can explain if you wish but I'm guessing you'd think I was like this all the time) but it was an intellectual process (particularly after I stopped believing) that reinforced my lack of belief in deity and that's an important reason why I am unlikely ever to become a believer again because I could no more start believing again (without evidence) than I could stop reasoning. Even when I decided to go back to church for a while (in my late 30's) I still didn't believe in fact I remember pissing myself laughing at the singers in the church when they started singing a modern hymn/song called "Garden Of Creation" ... I kept referring to it as multimedia religion and replacing "god" with "Postman Pat").

But anyway, what I am trying to convey, is the lack of choice that I (and apparently most atheists other than you) ...

I have never been superstitious but I had childish notions acquired from the various wingnuts that I heard and read. Is that the same as your Christianity? There's all this shite about black cats, ladders, stars ...I accepted that de-facto.

My Christianity? Sorry but I think you have me confused with a believer.

Kyu