Member introductions.

Hi everyone, I'm 123625 a New Zealander born in Christchurch. I'm most likely one of the few theists on this union, in that I'm a christian and beleive in God :P

How I came to be a christian exactly I'm not, only that it happened about a year ago when I said I was a fulfledged one. Before that and the earliest age I can remember first hearing of religion was about when I was eight. It was a religion class, and probably on of the first classes I really enjoyed, I remember learning about moses and snake, and thats about it.

Then for a long time I just beleived In God, I didn't beleive in Jesus, cause i didn't know who he was or what he did, I just beleived in God, and Moses. That was a time I didn't know at all what religion was, nor did I care. But then as I grew older, and when God didn't answer my prayers I guess i sort of just stopped beleiving in him for about five years.

Only recently when i moved back to NZ i took an interest in religion. Before then I was most likely atheist or agnostic. About the first time I considered myself interested in religion when I saw the catholic interpretation of the ten commandments, or a web page like that. I bagan to research christianity and what it was actually about, and then decided I was a christian through what God did through Jesus for us.

The only negative thing was that I was a fundementalist, creationist, christian. This changed my personality in many ways, as I felt that some religions were made by satan, and that evolution was incompatiable with christianity. Gradually though as I learnt more about the religion, I grew less out of beleiving in the bible literally and I find my faith stronger than ever now. So as of right now, I consider myself an agnostic theist, christian.

123625

G'day 123625 it's good to have another kiwi here.

I remember debating with you quite alot last year and honestly I thought to myself on more than one occasion "this guy's a fool". More recently though I've seen you develop into an intelligent and very reasonable poster with excellent points regarding Christianity and God. I'm glad your views have matured and I'm happy to have you here to keep us all in line.

G'day 123625 it's good to have another kiwi here.

I remember debating with you quite alot last year and honestly I thought to myself on more than one occasion "this guy's a fool". More recently though I've seen you develop into an intelligent and very reasonable poster with excellent points regarding Christianity and God. I'm glad your views have matured and I'm happy to have you here to keep us all in line.

domatron23

Thanks Domatron, nice to hear that :) Also thanks Genetic.

[QUOTE="creepy_mike"]...my heart chakra...
mikeg0788

Please tell me that was a subtle Fight Club reference?

Good story, btw. What's your wife's view on your beliefs? Most of my devout Christian friends here in the midwest would probably never marry an atheist (I've overheard some saying they wouldn't marry a Catholic unless they "converted" them), due to the fairly reasonable belief that an atheist might cause them to 'stumble' or 'fall away.' What's your wife think? You said she's pretty liberal, so I'm guessing that means shes pretty accepting (especially if she married you :P).

Mike don't you remember the first rule of Fight Club? YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!:P

Thanks 123 for joining.

Hello aliblabla2007 welcome to the atheism union, hope you enjoy your time here.

My name is Luke. I am the most amazing and modest person you're likely to meet this week, if not ever. I live in the UK and am nearly the pension-drawing age of 21.

I was born and raised in a protestant Christian society but never bought into any of that rubbish. I've been an atheist for as long as I can remember and have never, ever regretted that decision. I like to live in reality and leave the fairy tales in my childhood story books. :lol:

I think that all religions are controlling, mind-warping and dangerous tools that prey of the vulnerability of children in all nations. I also think that religion is an irrational mindset that can hinder technological and scientific progress.

Not sure what else to say really. :lol:

Hey Luke. Welcome to the union!Genetic_Code

Ah, the obligatory welcome message. :P

You make me feel so special. :lol:

Hey Luke we both have the Darwin Fish in our signatures.:Pfelixlynch777

Darn tootin'. :P

[QUOTE="felixlynch777"]Hey Luke we both have the Darwin Fish in our signatures.:Pluke1889

Darn tootin'. :P

lol nice guys. You TELLIN' those fish tote'n Christians we mean b'ness :D

so, I kinda invited myself, hope that isn't against some rules...

My name is Stefan, 20 years old and I come from Slovenia (look it up on a map preaty small and unimportant country^^). Althrough I am a member of the protestant church in my country (mostly beacose the procedure to get out of it is more truble than worth and beside who cares if my name is in some book, I know what I believe), I was never at any point in my life religiuos, I have just gone through the standart procedure basicly required by my family (who also isn't something one would call religiuos, the whole thing is more or less just a tradition) after that I go to church only for family things which I have to attend. Other than going to church once every 2-3 years religion has no influence over my life and never had. Well some 2 years ago I kinda got into old slavic paganism, but realised it wasn't for me, actualy I realised religion in general isn't for me, I see no comfort in it and find it unnecasary. But I do understand why some people believe in a god (or more of them for that matter).

so, I kinda invited myself, hope that isn't against some rules...

Enosh88

Hey no problem, we're open to anyone joining us in discussion here. Welcome to the party Stefan :D

Time to introduce myself!

I know, I know, I'm late. I actually forgot about it. Hope you guys don't mind.

I come from a muslim family. I have been an athiest for about 3-4 years. Unlike many, I had the privilege of growing up without religion being shoved down my throat. It's because my family didn't care about religion that much but they did encourage a bit when I was just a kid. I can't even remember the last time I prayed but it has been atleast a decade since then. I didn't even start to think about this subject until much later when I realized I need a strong standpoint about my beliefs, and the choices I had were pretty simple and easy and obviously I chose to be an athiest. For me it was not a leap of faith. I just chose not to ignore the simple facts and logics that I have known to be true all my life.

To me believing in religion means to agree that pretty much all the things I have read so far in my biology books are false and were taught to make all the children in the world athiest!:shock:!:P

Hi, my name is ____. I'm 13, and I've realised that all religions/religion are merely hypocritical statements retorted on a mass scale. I pretty much end up getting into an argument with either blackregiment or Crushmaster whenever, the opportunity arises (TCWU annoy me :x) and I absolutely hate evangelism.

I love Music, Art and Literature, and I'm glad to be part of this union.

Hello all! I joined without an invite, I hope this is alright. Anyways, my name is Charlie and I'm 31 from San Jose, CA.

First let me say I'm not a happy atheist, and it's quite a difficult belief for me to hold. I don't believe in God despite my strong desire to do so. I don't know why this is exactly, all I can say is my heart and head are in direct conflict when God and religion come up. I have trouble with religion's convenience, it's ability to continually mold, adapt, and attempt to explain everything so easily. There is always an answer for everything. Free will is the "get out of jail free" card that is played so often it's not even funny. I believe religion is a tool that people utilize to simplify a incomprehensibly complex world into something more manageable and sensible. Not knowing is frightening.

That being said, I do believe in a creator. There has to be, we exist, no ifs ands or buts about it. However I do NOT believe that this creator is one of benevolence, morality, justness, or any other term varied religions find suitable to describe their said deity. I think God just is. I'm a naturalistic pantheist, nature is God to me, everything around us is holy. Everything, existence, is a miracle. As corny as it sounds, I believe we are living God. Not just us, everything composes God. It is, we are, one.

Anyhow, I don't wish to rant too long or get all sentimental, just wanted to say hey and put my general beliefs out there. I can't say if I'll be a great contributor as my attendance on the forums wavers on and off often, but it's good to be here and see differing opinions on both sides presented in a respectful and mature manner.

Hello all, I just joined this here shindig.

I'm of 24 years of age, a Moderate left Independant and an Atheist since the age of 17.

Just dropping in to say Hello! :)

Hey guys, I finally stopped procrastinating and got around to typing up an introduction. I joined the union without an invite, so hopefully I am not crucified. :P

I am Forerunner-117, and I am 17-years-old. I was born a Catholic. The sad part is that the previous statement is literal, as I was taught from day one to believe without hesitation everything that the Catholic church teaches. I pride myself on having an open mind, and it is because of my open mind that I slowly started to think for myself and eventually came to realize the utter ridiculousness of organized religion.

I am a fairly new atheist, having started to question religion only about 5 months ago. Ever since becoming an atheist, I have unconsciously adopted a whole new perspective on life, trying to live it to the fullest. I am particularly fond of what Richard Dawkins said in a short CNN interview, and feel that it sums up my views quite nicely:

"If you are an atheist, you know, you believe, that this is the only life you are going to get. It is a precious life, it is a beautiful life, it is something that we should live to the full, to the end of our days. [...] Being an atheist frees you up to live this life properly, happily and fully."

As far as my hobbies and interests go, I love to play chess, read, play guitar and piano, play soccer, listen to music (mainly metal and its sub-genres), play video games (although I feel like I am drifting away from gaming) and having fun with friends.

I have been pretty inactive in this union up 'till now because I hadn't made my introduction yet, so I hope to drop by more frequently in the future. As long as there are interesting threads and I do not drop GameSpot completely, I am sure you will see me around. :)

Well hello there TenP and Forerunner-117.

"If you are an atheist, you know, you believe, that this is the only life you are going to get. It is a precious life, it is a beautiful life, it is something that we should live to the full, to the end of our days. [...] Being an atheist frees you up to live this life properly, happily and fully." Forerunner-117

I like that quote as well. :)

Hey Charlie, great to see you. Hope you've been doing well. Cool story, we've never gotten into that conversation before, I should have sent you an invite, my bad. btaylor2404

Thanks B. An officer? *salutes* :) No problem about the invite, I usually find them an annoyance anyhow and seek out the ones I wish to be in. Everything's been going OK, no complaints. You?

My name is Aethan. I've been a Christian for most of my life, and I have two associate degrees in the studies of theology and philosophy. I want doctorates.Theokhoth

Well hello and welcome, this should make things interesting.

A big (if not grossly late) welcome to Enosh88, blue_hazy_basic, cowboymonkey21, 7guns, KOTORkicker, Rekunta, Lansdowne5, TenP, Forerunner-117 and Theokhoth (Aethan eh?).

Nice to have some more theists here to spice things up.

Wow, I just realized that the only contribution I've made so far was making the banner.:? Well, I guess I'll have to change that.

I'm a 16-year-old high school student from Ohio. I'm an atheist-leaning agnostic, I suppose. The way I see it, either God doesn't exist or he does, and lets people on earth suffer for his amusement. So if he doesn't exist, then it doesn't matter. If he does exist, such a cruel god isn't worthy of worship.

Hi, call me Stryder. I've been a staunch atheist all my life. I'm studying Theology, History, and Political Sciences. I find people's unrelenting belief in something they can't prove fascinating. I can often be caught arguing with zealots or writing papers comparing religion's ability for peace with it's ability for war. Top 5 activities in my life now: College, Girlfriend, Reading/Writing, Videogames, and Ultimate-Frisbee. It's a pleasure to meet some like-minded intellectuals here on the internet.Stryder1212

Welcome and great signature you've got.

Well, my name is Steingrimur, I'm 18 and I'm from Iceland (which explains the name)

Most my life I've been living in Denmark, where most of the youth isn't religious at all. So, I am an atheist, at best agnostic. At the innocent age of 13 I was lured into confirmating my christian beliefs, by money and presents... Back then I han't really thought about religion all that much, so it was an easy decision. So, on paper I am christian, but I will get my revenge some day! 

Welcome Steingrimur! I know how that is. I actually became an atheist/agnostic around the time that I was confirmed in the Catholic church, which is actually pretty ironic.

Hey people, I'm a 14-year old agnostic living in the US.  My parents(being atheist/agnostic themselves) never pressured me into any sort of belief.  I've never gone to church.  So...I don't actually have much of a story hehe. 

Anyway, it'll be fun to talk to people with similar beliefs.

Welcome!

(Oh and welcome to everyone else! Like TenP, I'm too lazy to individually greet everyone right now :P)

Theokhoth changed his avy! :o

Hello, my name is David. I'm a 21 year old guy from Norway. I have never really believed in a god, and i consider myself to be an agnostic atheist. _Tobli_

Hello. My name is Kelly. I am somewhat of an anomaly on GS. I am 40, female and an atheist who grew up in a very religious household. My mom was Catholic and then switched to a Jehovah Witness and My dad was High Anglican and switched to Jehovah Witness very late in life. (I think so my mom would shut up already!!)

I stumbled across your union by accident but I am so very pleased that I did. You would not believe the amount of bashing I have taken on this site for being an atheist.

I'm looking forward to posting and talking with you all.