Member introductions.

Hi my name is Scott and I am 20. I just left a dead union I was in so could join another. Thought I would try this one out. I stumbled upon the photo album thing here awhile back and had some laughs from that.

I went to Catholic school from preschool to 12th grade. My parents are catholic. Even as a kid I was skeptical of the stuff I was being taught and did not really believe the whole thing of eating bread was eating Jesus. As I got to high school and could think for myself more I realized that all religions do not make sense and that their is surely no god like the Christian one who supposedly is obsessed with every aspect of our lives.I just thought about how there are a lot of religions, which all believe they are right and know how things work, obviously they can't all be right, so how can one religion claim to know that they are?So, I considered myself an agnostic for awhile ( I did not think anyone could know how the universe was created and things worked). Reading Dawkin's "The God Delusion" made me realize that I really was just an atheist, since all atheists cannot know 100 percent that there is no god, but the odds are way higher than 50/50 for god not existing. 

 I also believe that people should be free to believe whatever they wish, as long as their beliefs do not cause negative affects on me.

But yea that is some of my beliefs.

Welcome Scott, glad to have you here.

@kellymae, you must post more!  I've yet to read a wasted sentence in a blog or post from you, very glad to have you join us!

@kellymae I had a similar experience when I was in church as a kid. I was at a catholic school so we had to go to mass as a class once a month. One mass the priest was trying to connect to the younger kids by asking them what they did not like about church. One kid said he didn't like having to sit so long. Another kid said something like he didn't like how long it was. Then I raised my hand and said I just don't really like anything about it at all. The priest didn't respond to me and just went on to the next kid. I was a little kid at this time so I did not realize I had upset them. On the walk back from the church to the school the prinicpal of the school walked up to me and she said "why don't you come to my office so we can discuss what you said in church". I was young so as expected I feared/hated the principal and I just decided not to show up because I did not think I did anything wrong. She never came to make me talk to her after too.

Another reason why I started realizing that there was no god was seeing the bad things in the world too. I mean in my opinion with all the terrible stuff that happens to people every day, if there is a god he has really sick sense of humor and is a humongous jerk.

I was about 5. I remember distinctly the first conversation my father and I had about it as my mother was losing her mind that I had just embarrased her terribly at the church she had dragged me to. I did this by asking the priest if he was out of his mind. I then whispered loudly to my mother that this person was crazy. She smacked me and I said, but mommy, he says there is an invisible man in the sky that watches us. She smacked me again. But mommy, he said that god looks after us. The priest then said let her speak and I said if there is a god, why does so much bad stuff happen. Then the priest started to tell me and I shook my head and said I was going home. Our farm was not far from the church. Then i went home and started to tell my dad what I did and then mom came home determined to beat belief into my butt I think. kellymae

Hi there colby it's great to have another member here who's familiar with the Socratic technique. I hope you have a fun and thought provoking time here.

Don't hesitate to make a topic about the mutual exclusivity of the worlds religions or your dad's suicide. You'll get a good mature discussion going I'm sure.

I'm the toaster of terror and...I'm trying to wonder how a few outlandish statements overhaul every scientific discovery ever.TerrorToaster

Hello all.

I'm an atheist after being a long time Protestant Christian. I'm not ashamed of it at all, and I've told my brain-washed family, and they didn't take to kindly to it. I'm a second year Bioengineer student at the University of California, Riverside, and it's perfectly fine being an Atheist here. 

I became an Atheist last year after laughing at the notion of a God sitting in heaven listening to the murmurs of the people throughout the world, and watching people suffer without doing anything. Additionally, as a man of science, I find that the Bible contradicts what is real and true in the physical world. There are trillions and trillions of galaxies with innumerable planets--it is highy improbable that our planet would be the only planet to receive the "true religion," so those claiming that their religion is truth should kindly shut up. 

I became an Atheist last year after laughing at the notion of a God sitting in heaven listening to the murmurs of the people throughout the world, and watching people suffer without doing anything.

Bentham

Might. Want. To. Read. This.

[QUOTE="Bentham"]

I became an Atheist last year after laughing at the notion of a God sitting in heaven listening to the murmurs of the people throughout the world, and watching people suffer without doing anything.

Lansdowne5

Might. Want. To. Read. http://www.gotquestions.org/innocent-suffer.html" title="http://www.gotquestions.org/innocent-suffer.html">This.

Thank You, but that doesn't answer my question. Additionally, it leaves me to wonder why God would murder thousands upon thousands in the Old Testament. It also seems silly to refer to him as a loving God, when he is in fact, portrayed in a capricious manner. Anyways, I don't want to stray off topic for the sake of this thread. 

 Hi, you can call me itsTolkien, and to start it all off, I'm atheist. I am rather young, (i will not tell you how old ;) ) but I occasionally like a nice discussionon the topic, and after reading through the forum board I see that you all seem like the nice, considerate people that I would like to discuss this with. 

My parents were and are slightly religious, although not to any real extent, and I have always leaned toward atheism/agnosticism.

I will try to keep my posts on this board as simple as possible, as I believe that helps in having closer, more understandable and relatable discussions. No need to overcomplicate anything.

I  attempt to consider all points of view, and I hope you do not discount me for my age ;) .

I look forward to good experiences in this union.

Welcome to the union its_tolkientime. I hope you will enjoy your stay.

Hi there, itsTolkien. :)

A fellow Tolkien fan I suppose. :D

Hi there, itsTolkien. :)

A fellow Tolkien fan I suppose. :D

Teenaged

You know, Rowling writes well for a modern author, the Harry Potter books are enjoyable and interesting, creating a world I would not mind living in (I have read all seven).

But in terms of greatness, depth, and meaning, Tolkien crushes them.

But in terms of greatness, depth, and meaning, Tolkien crushes them.

itsTolkien_time

Her editor was sub-par and the later books badly needed good editing ;)ChiliDragon

What makes you say that?

First order of business: To establish once and for all, in no uncertain terms, that The Lord of the Rings is far superior to any one of the Harry Potter books. All who disagree will be fed to the Balrog. ChiliDragon

Pfft, A Song of Ice and Fire is better then both of them. :P

[QUOTE="ChiliDragon"]Her editor was sub-par and the later books badly needed good editing ;)Lansdowne5

What makes you say that?

Since my grand plans on a Theist Take-Over have been crushed by Sun-Tzu's evil military genius, I have a new idea! A Tolkien-Fan Take-Over...! First order of business: To establish once and for all, in no uncertain terms, that The Lord of the Rings is far superior to any one of the Harry Potter books. All who disagree will be fed to the Balrog. Welcome to the union, it'sTolkien! :)ChiliDragon

Maybe we should add the question "Do you believe that The Lord of the Rings is far superior than other works of fiction?" in the "Is there an atheistic dogma" thread. :P

[QUOTE="ChiliDragon"] Since my grand plans on a Theist Take-Over have been crushed by Sun-Tzu's evil military genius, I have a new idea! A Tolkien-Fan Take-Over...! First order of business: To establish once and for all, in no uncertain terms, that The Lord of the Rings is far superior to any one of the Harry Potter books. All who disagree will be fed to the Balrog. Welcome to the union, it'sTolkien! :)Teenaged

Maybe we should add the question "Do you believe that The Lord of the Rings is far superior than other works of fiction?" in the "Is there an atheistic dogma" thread. :P

Hey Maqda7 nice to have someone here from the middle east (we like fresh perspectves). Some theists state that without God logic is impossible although of course I disagree on that point. Welcome to the union and feel free to make any topics of your own.domatron23

Hi and welcome to the union! :)ChiliDragon

Thank you both :)

hello everybody :Dtwilightpanda

[QUOTE="twilightpanda"]hello everybody :DTeenaged

hi you greek monkey!! :P 

hello everybody :Dtwilightpanda

Welcome. :) 

[QUOTE="Teenaged"][QUOTE="twilightpanda"]hello everybody :Dtwilightpanda

hi you greek monkey!! :P 

Is it because I have hairy ............................hands? :o

hello everybody :Dtwilightpanda

Hi there. :D