New Atheist!!...
September 5, 2010 at 9:03 pm
(This post was last modified: September 5, 2010 at 9:46 pm by dave4shmups.)
I've already started 2 different threads, so I thought I'd introduce myself! I was a Christian (Evangelical), for almost 14 years. I have to say that I've been treated far nicer by the secular world, and those I saw as "the other". For example, one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life was gay. I'm 33 years old, and read "The God Delusion" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" (I liked Sam Harris's book the best!) back in February, but came back to my faith, even though I still had serious doubts.
However, throughout my Christian life, I'd been micromanaged-told how to think about gays, evolution, and how to spend my money-and on that last point, that I would be (no, I'm not making this up) under a curse if I did not tithe 10%. Well, I work as a grocery clerk, and I don't make a whole lot. But the last straw came when other members of a church that I no longer go to badgered me about taking time off to volunteer for something in November, the Monday after Thanksgiving, after I explained to them repeatedly that I'm still new to my current job, and that I wasn't comfortable asking for the time off. One person screamed in my ear over the phone, and I was done with church (this was recent). I'd been told time and time again that Christianity isn't about doing enough for god, and that this differentiated it from other beliefs. Well, I no longer believe that, or in a god.
And, the more I've learned about the human mind, the more I know we don't have souls. So, there you have it, I am an Atheist. I haven't told my family yet, and I do have friends from church that are nice people, and I'm certainly not perfect. But I do NOT see any reason to pray or ask forgiveness from any deity anytime I screw up in life. And I hope I never will again.
I LOVE video games, both retro and next gen, and reading and socializing.
However, throughout my Christian life, I'd been micromanaged-told how to think about gays, evolution, and how to spend my money-and on that last point, that I would be (no, I'm not making this up) under a curse if I did not tithe 10%. Well, I work as a grocery clerk, and I don't make a whole lot. But the last straw came when other members of a church that I no longer go to badgered me about taking time off to volunteer for something in November, the Monday after Thanksgiving, after I explained to them repeatedly that I'm still new to my current job, and that I wasn't comfortable asking for the time off. One person screamed in my ear over the phone, and I was done with church (this was recent). I'd been told time and time again that Christianity isn't about doing enough for god, and that this differentiated it from other beliefs. Well, I no longer believe that, or in a god.
And, the more I've learned about the human mind, the more I know we don't have souls. So, there you have it, I am an Atheist. I haven't told my family yet, and I do have friends from church that are nice people, and I'm certainly not perfect. But I do NOT see any reason to pray or ask forgiveness from any deity anytime I screw up in life. And I hope I never will again.
I LOVE video games, both retro and next gen, and reading and socializing.
