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[Revenant77x]

(17-06-2013 08:22 AM)comet Wrote:  Taking Atheism for a "test drive". I enjoy the podcsts. I have always been agnostic while attending church.

I started pressing the doctrine of hell, which is the hardest doctrine to buy into. I attended seminary, learned Greek and Hebrew and own all of the up to date commentaries Anchor, Hermeneia, etc. and am convinced that Christianity is just another religion, the bible a man-made book.

I am not giving up a lot, I hated mega-churches anyway, and have been jumping from small church to small church. My wife is fervent Pentecostal type, but we don't have kids, and had already decided to attend different churches. We are accepting that what church or whatever that I chose to attend or not attend is a private matter.

I am skeptical about the atheist movement however. I do not feel compelled to "come out" as an atheist, I see no reason to do it. I do not feel compelled to change the world. I am free and I will live my life the way I see fit.

If any zealot atheist starts attacking me as a "coward" or as "selfish" because I am not signed up for their agenda, I have no problem getting right back in their face, and be warned; I can bring it. No one is going to impose their beliefs on me religious or atheist. Plus, who made you the arbiter of morality? By what authority is your morality superior to mine?

It is the mindset of the zealot, regardless of ideology, that leads to genocide, witch-hunts etc., and I will not tolerate any agenda.

With that in mind, I hope I am welcome, if not, I will move on.

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy you test drive. 1 note of warning however we do not accept Pascal's insurance here.

[comet]

(17-06-2013 10:34 AM)Revenant77x Wrote:  

(17-06-2013 08:22 AM)comet Wrote:  Taking Atheism for a "test drive". I enjoy the podcsts. I have always been agnostic while attending church.

I started pressing the doctrine of hell, which is the hardest doctrine to buy into. I attended seminary, learned Greek and Hebrew and own all of the up to date commentaries Anchor, Hermeneia, etc. and am convinced that Christianity is just another religion, the bible a man-made book.

I am not giving up a lot, I hated mega-churches anyway, and have been jumping from small church to small church. My wife is fervent Pentecostal type, but we don't have kids, and had already decided to attend different churches. We are accepting that what church or whatever that I chose to attend or not attend is a private matter.

I am skeptical about the atheist movement however. I do not feel compelled to "come out" as an atheist, I see no reason to do it. I do not feel compelled to change the world. I am free and I will live my life the way I see fit.

If any zealot atheist starts attacking me as a "coward" or as "selfish" because I am not signed up for their agenda, I have no problem getting right back in their face, and be warned; I can bring it. No one is going to impose their beliefs on me religious or atheist. Plus, who made you the arbiter of morality? By what authority is your morality superior to mine?

It is the mindset of the zealot, regardless of ideology, that leads to genocide, witch-hunts etc., and I will not tolerate any agenda.

With that in mind, I hope I am welcome, if not, I will move on.

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy you test drive. 1 note of warning however we do not accept Pascal's insurance here.

I don't really care about what you accept, only what I accept.

[Blakenstein]

Greetings from south GA - in the heart of the bible belt USA. Like many of you, I was forced to go to church with the family, vacation bible school, church outings and christian summer camps. I started noticing the trend of hypocrites, money laundering and people that would drink, beat their spouses/kids Monday through Saturday, then Sunday comes and they are on the first row, crying their eyes out - praying to Jesus for salvation then Monday morning comes and they do it all over again - this was my own father that did this, BTW. I shunned Christianity and started looking at other religions: Presbyterian, Methodist, Buddhism, hell even Catholicism but all were the same thing - hypocrisy, judgmental, thousands and millions of dollars pouring into the church and the preacher is still asking for more. My 90 year old great grandmother sent over 50% of her retirement check to Jerry Farewell because he promised her passage into heaven. I don't know if I'm supposed to be long winded here but to sum it up, I was screwed over by so many churches for time, money and dignity and my church "friends" are constantly trying to save my soul - I claimed I was Agnostic for many years but I was kidding myself, nothing made sense about organized religion, the bible or holier-than-thou preachers that claim they are your friends but will stab you in the back and claim it's "God's will". So the other day, I ordered Seth Andrews "Deconverted" read it, understood it and found it absolutely enlightening. So only a few days ago I announced to myself, my bandmates, my musician buddies and my friends, I am an Atheist - suddenly it's like all the oppression I was under since my childhood for damn near 40 years, just melted away. Thank you Seth... can I say that here!

[phasys]

Hi everyone. I'm a 42 year old male from the Netherlands. Never believed in any god, although in my metal years we liked to sing praise to satan, because that's what metal bands do. :-) Kidding of course, but it was fun to scare church folk with the clothing and the patches (not to mention the music). I do think about religion and good/evil and the whole why are we here thing a fair bit, but I always get to the point where I see it as it is, which is, well, as it is. As it IS, not as it might be because our senses can't see the other side and bla bla bla. Anyway, I've been following TTA on facebook for about a year now and figured I'd check out the forum. I'm also currently reading the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and find myself giggling and nodding my head a lot while doing so. I find myself worrying over the fact that religious organisations and factions are, in my opinion, gaining more power by the year. So I hope for like-minded people and interesting conversations.

[phasys]

(17-06-2013 01:55 PM)comet Wrote:  

(17-06-2013 10:34 AM)Revenant77x Wrote:  Welcome to the Forum and enjoy you test drive. 1 note of warning however we do not accept Pascal's insurance here.

I don't really care about what you accept, only what I accept.

This sounds pretty hostile. Are you sure you're a believer? Make love not war and all that.

[Chas]

(17-06-2013 01:55 PM)comet Wrote:  

(17-06-2013 10:34 AM)Revenant77x Wrote:  Welcome to the Forum and enjoy you test drive. 1 note of warning however we do not accept Pascal's insurance here.

I don't really care about what you accept, only what I accept.

Then why are you even here?

[maklelan]

Hi everybody. My name's Dan. I am a grad student in biblical studies. I found my way to this board because someone linked to my blog from here. Hopefully there's some stimulating discussion here.

[ShingleFTW]

What's up everybody, my name is Kyle and I'm an Atheist from Illinois. I never understood the concept of religion from a young age and eventually my parents decided to stop going to church and now religion is not a big topic for them but a rather large one for me.

[Hobbitgirl]

(17-06-2013 01:55 PM)comet Wrote:  

(17-06-2013 10:34 AM)Revenant77x Wrote:  Welcome to the Forum and enjoy you test drive. 1 note of warning however we do not accept Pascal's insurance here.

I don't really care about what you accept, only what I accept.

Ummm....wow. Can tell that you're not the opened minded, excited to learn type. Good luck.

[SteveL]

Hello everyone. I'm Steve and I used to be a Mormon. (I think the first step is admitting you have a problem) I deconverted almost 10 years ago at age 17. I claim to be healthier (especially mentally), happier (whatever that means), and far more enlightened the further into the past my believing years move. I enjoy conversation/debate about evolution and religion but I don't get much of it in the real world, as nearly everyone I associate with is Mormon or subscribes to some other belief system. I hope to find a community here I can't have in Utah.