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Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 12:31 am
Hi, I'm an atheist from a small town in Ohio. I'm 13 and am very new to the whole online forum idea. I have read posts on this site for some time and would also like to have my story told.
I grew up in a catholic household but my parents are fairly lenient when it comes to religion. We went to a Methodist church for a while when I was little but we eventually left. I guess it became too hard to fit in our schedule. I never really got religion. My parents read me the children's bible but all I got from it was a bunch of colorful stories that made no sense.
Eventually, I caught on but still didn't care. Then I started going to public school. I'm a fairly smart kid and so I got through class easily and suddenly had loads of time to study much more complex things (evolution, anthropology, etc.) I started to realize around the age of 10 it was all total crap (religion was) and I deconverted.
My parents have no idea though. They probably would be shocked and send me to bible camp or something. At school, most people don't know except for a small group of friends. I did manage to convince one to join the "dark side" and become an atheist. We have very spirited discussions of religion and the total garbage it implies.
I will say one thing. Despite ignorance having kept most things the same, religious holidays are awkward when I say grace. I try to say it fast and meaningless. Anyway, I'm glad to see I'm not alone and there are others out there who go through similar stuff. Thanks.
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 12:49 am
Welcome to the forum.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 2:16 am
Welcome ANO
It's not required, but can you tell us if you are male or female?
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 3:26 am
Welcome, but please don't become a know it all, like many atheist are.
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 3:46 am
Welcome.
I didn't know 13 years old could write flawlessly on their phones...oh, autocorrect... well played, young sir, well played.
Enjoy the forum!
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 3:53 am
Welcome, and enjoy! 
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 4:18 am
Welcome to the dark side youngling.
I have to say that your spelling and grammar are excellent, a pleasure to see.
![[Image: mybannerglitter06eee094.gif]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i118.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo112%2Fpussinboots_photos%2FBikes%2Fmybannerglitter06eee094.gif)
If you're not supposed to ride faster than your guardian angel can fly then mine had better get a bloody SR-71.
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 4:36 am
Welcome, however ...
(April 21, 2014 at 12:31 am)Allnewoutlook Wrote: Eventually, I caught on but still didn't care. Then I started going to public school. I'm a fairly smart kid and so I got through class easily and suddenly had loads of time to study much more complex things (evolution, anthropology, etc.) I started to realize around the age of 10 it was all total crap (religion was) and I deconverted. ...that bias isn't healthy. One of my good friends is a geologist and he sees that elitist attitude towards religion all the time in his workplace, we also have at my church three physicians and a world-renowned astrophysicist. I personally also have an interest in anthropology and in evolution, so don't go thinking that all religious people are stupid, I can provide you with plenty of examples of brilliant ones. Isaac Newton was also religious, albeit a heretic and so were many other brilliant minds. Leonardo certainly believed in God - we don't know exactly what his religious beliefs were, but that much we do know.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 4:52 am
No Daniel, religious people are not stupid, just like you they will NOT bend their formative inquiring intellect towards their own belief system, and for the bias alone they are regarded as stupid.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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RE: Want to be in the community.
April 21, 2014 at 5:06 am
youngling. Mind the intellectual turds left floating around by some of our members 
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![[Image: Evolution.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i1118.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk619%2Fjcincain%2FPublic%2FEvolution.png)
