Angry Feminist. Happy Atheist. Glad to be both.

[Luna]

So many welcomes! *happiness* This is going to look like another giant post, and you're absolutely right that it is, but I swear only because I didn't want to separate out quoted replies into lots of little posts when one would do.

Welcome, Luna!  This is a good place; you can have a laugh and some serious discussion too.  Beware of the Asmo, the Pudding and me, that's all.

Hullo, Git! Thank you! Uh oh. Are you three like an HAF hazing crew? I'll have to be on the lookout.

Hello Luna

In my experiences on a number of atheist fora the majority ex-theist (vs. never-theists) atheists are ex-Catholics and we have a number on here as you'd expect. So there are members that have been through what you have been thorough and your story isn't that unusual. The bible often trips up Catholics as what they are taught about what the bible stands for is very different from what is written in it by all accounts.

Thanks for making the effort to sign up and join in.

Welcome to HAF.

Regards
Chris

Thank you for the welcome, and the links, Tank! I fully admit it's a little surprising to see so many ex-Catholics, but not in a bad surprising way. More like when you think all the leftover pizza is gone, but then you open the fridge and there's still a slice! Hurray!

I bolded your thoughts above. Not only do I agree, but it reminded me of a line from Julia Sweeney's "Letting Go of God" (please forgive me if anyone's already familiar with it or if it's already been quoted to death). It's basically a sweet, amusing monologue (oops, I said monologue everyone's asleep ^^) about her separating from religion and god. There's one moment where she says, "The Catholics don't really emphasize the book all that much. Their attitude is sort of like, 'Leave that book to the professionals'". Hilarious, and eerily accurate in as far as my experiences with the church were. So, yeah, actually sitting down and reading the thing instead of relying on "interpretations"... well, here I am!

Again, thank you!

Hello and welcome to HAF, Luna. I found your introduction an enjoyable read; thanks for that.

I hope that you enjoy your time reading and posting here. 

Thank you very much for the welcome, Recusant! I've been happily reading, and I can't wait to settle in.

Hey Luna, welcome to HAF! Your story indeed sounds familiar, particularly the religion and science being compartmentalized, and then actually reading the Bible for the first time on my own. Oh, and like many here, growing up Catholic and leaving it later after having done some research.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy HAF! I think you'll have a lot of fun here, and I'm looking forward to speaking with you more!

Hi and thank you, Amicale! Oh, yes. I've read many (gosh, I'm not sure what to call them) transition stories, and I've often nodded my head along with them. It's a comfort to see just how many people did the same interesting (read: silly) things I did. Like having a separation of church and state in our own minds! Or, just how many times I've seen that reading the Bible turned someone into an atheist. That will always make me smile just a little bit no matter how often I see it.

Looking forward to seeing you around the board, too!

Hi hi!
I'm another ex-Catholic I hope you like it here.

Hiya! Thank you for the warm welcome, DeterminedJuliet! I definitely see myself enjoying my time here.

Me too.
Ex-catholic, ex-theist; now reasonable and free.
Busy spreading the message to the younger generation: Throw off those chains, reclaim your independence, become a thinking adult.

*waves* Hi! Right there with you. Reasonable, and free, and one step closer to a better me. (Crap. I didn't intentionally mean for that to rhyme, but oh well, too late, now I'll have to pretend I'm deep. )

Welcome!

I liked your intro, it was long but I didn't skim over it

Thank you, xSilverPhinx!

Your reply made me laugh at myself in a good way Next time I'll have to leave in all the pointless details, then we'll see who doesn't skim! (I kid!)

Welcome.  I like when you mentioned that in order to determine whether or not there is a god, one may need to ponder the possibility that there may not be one.
The seed of doubt is is easily crushed if you are not ready to think about alternatives.

Hello i.os, and thanks for the welcome! *nodding* Definitely agree with you there. Have to nurture those seeds of doubt!

[Tank]

Thank you for your comments Luna.

It's perfectly OK, in fact preferable, for you to reply to each post individually rather than build all your replies into one post. If somebody wishes too reply to your reply they have to do a bit of work to cut your reply to their post out of your post. 

[En_Route]

Well, hello! 

I've been lurking on and off for quite some time around the Happy Atheist Forum. For one reason or another (or no real reason in particular) I decided that now is the time I should dive on in, and actually say hello. Why not, right? So *twiddles thumb* this is the awkward part of the date where I get to talk about myself. *tugs at shirt collar* Maybe if I just start out with how I realized I was an atheist.

I grew up in a fairly typical Roman Catholic household. The Church, and my parents said "this is the way things are" and that was the way things were. I was a 'good kid', and didn't much mind any of it (except for boring church every Sunday and Holy Day ). I was an indoctrinator's dream child.

Despite my never questioning my religious upbringing, I was a very curious kid about the physical world around me. My parents, while being extremely Catholic, also encouraged my siblings and me to be inquisitive. They never specifically said "go forth and be curious", but the nature programs, art books, history novels, and magazines that delved into the mysteries of the Earth were so prevalent around our home that it almost seems, looking back on it, that my house was one giant juxtaposition with all the crucifixes and rosaries laying about often on the same table as the books on the (very scientific and secular) origins of the universe. Perhaps my parents were just asking for trouble.

That might actually be how I developed compartmentalized ideas about religion and science. For many years, they never once "crossed the streams". Everything that I was taught about my Roman Catholic faith could be true at the same time that all of the facts in my science books at school could be true. There was just no need to question it.

I didn't have one big eye-opening moment. Rather, it was many smaller moments that added up, and threatened to break through my compartmentalization. Some of the most notable being:

- The night one of my CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) teachers said, "We don't know that God exists. We believe that God exists."

- The night I was on the phone with friends and they started joking about there being no god. What was notable here was my knee-jerk reaction. "Stop saying that. It's freaking me out." It was a knee-jerk FEAR reaction.

- My brother lent me a new age-y religious book (a book I'm actually embarrassed to say I read ), and while I set about reading it like a fantasy novel, it said something to the effect of, "In order to determine whether or not there is a god, we have to accept the possibility that there isn't one." While the book itself went on to say there must be a god and blah blah blah reasons, it was the questioning that stuck with me.

- When I entered high school I began making many friends that didn't fit the mold of The Church. This was a positive thing, and though not a single moment, definitely added to the growing pile of things built up behind that wall.

These things happened over years. Again, I can't say anything suddenly burst open the dam. It was simply a matter of time before I had to turn my naturally (and encouraged) curious eye to my own religion.

Now, as many people who grew up in any faith may understand, this is not an easy task. Not only is it fraught with confusion, but it's a landmine of fear, self-doubt, the questioning of everything around me. While at the same time dealing with self-punishment for even daring to question The Church, I could not unsee what I had seen. It was an unpleasant time in my life to put it mildly. And mass each Sunday was purgatory. I hated myself for questioning, and part of me desperately wanted to "go back", even though I knew I could not.

While many things lead me to question my faith, I do remember the one moment where I was finally liberated from it.

I set about like any 'good Catholic', and decided that reading the Bible would surely reaffirm my beliefs.* I only made it through Deuteronomy. Specifically, I only made it to Deuteronomy 22:13-30. It was then that I realized I didn't much like that book. At that moment, I was not a Roman Catholic. I wasn't even a Christian. And after reading the Old Testament I also knew I wasn't Jewish.

The dam of compartmentalization was obliterated. Reading the Bible made me an atheist.

I was in limbo for a while. Truly, I was an atheist who didn't want to use the word "atheist". Given more time, more reading, more curious exploration, I accepted that I am an atheist. Thank god.

*Whew* I know. TL;DR - Grew up Catholic, now an atheist. But, I think I've been holding onto that for a bit too long.

Yikes. Enough about me, right?

Really, I'm glad there's a place here where being an atheist doesn't have to mean anything else about me. And, where while there may be discussions and many differences, there's still a solidarity.

So, thank you for having me. Hope to get to know you all.

---

*Yes, I'm still laughing at myself about that one.

That is a mightily engaging and readable opening salvo. I cancelled my subscription to Catholicism around age 14, but unlike yourself I moved in largely secular circles which probably facilitated my reverse epiphany. For me it entailed an outright rejection of any form of supernatural being , on the simple footing there was zero evidence to support such a proposition , one which was so palpably the product of human yearning for meaning and immortality. What a precocious and bumptious little whippersnapper I was (little has changed). I am sure you will have a good time here and will be an adornment to our godless little cabal.

[MadBomr101]

Welcome Luna. 

I freed myself of my Catholic programming by my early 20s.  Once you leave religion behind isn't it bewildering how you ever managed to believe it at all?  It's very freeing not believing in supreme beings.  Post often.

[OldGit]

Once you leave religion behind isn't it bewildering how you ever managed to believe it at all?  It's very freeing not believing in supreme beings...

Absolutely.  It's when you learn the true meaning of being born again.

[Stevil]

I've only read the first few pages of the bible.
Its a very hard read. Sounds childish, mythical, sexist, vindictive...
But the believers seem to think it is great, just needs interpretation.

Then the Catholic church tell them that the bible is missing details but the church is divinely guided and infallible (How convenient is that?).
They also seem to twist language to suit themselves. It is like they rewrite the dictionary.
Someone was telling me recently that the pope defines freedom as "freedom is not the right to do what we want but the right to do what we ought" and then the Church takes ownership of the "ought" part of that. Thus they define the restriction they want to place on society, not as impeding freedom but as enhancing freedom. It is quite a dishonest twist don't you think? Very cheeky, like little immature children trying to get their way with everything. I find this happens a lot, it is really hard to discuss differences of opinions with the religious, because although we are speaking English, we are actually speaking different languages.

[Luna]

Thank you for your comments Luna.

It's perfectly OK, in fact preferable, for you to reply to each post individually rather than build all your replies into one post. If somebody wishes too reply to your reply they have to do a bit of work to cut your reply to their post out of your post. 

Thank you for letting me know!

The culture of replying varies greatly from forum to forum, so it's good to know how you all prefer to do it around these parts.

[Luna]

Welcome Luna. 

I freed myself of my Catholic programming by my early 20s.  Once you leave religion behind isn't it bewildering how you ever managed to believe it at all?  It's very freeing not believing in supreme beings.  Post often.

Thank you for the welcome, MadBomr! Yeah. It's bewildering alright. It'd be like me picking up a random fantasy novel at B&N and deciding that everything in it was real. Truly bizarre looking back on my younger self.

[Luna]

I've only read the first few pages of the bible.
Its a very hard read. Sounds childish, mythical, sexist, vindictive...
But the believers seem to think it is great, just needs interpretation.

Then the Catholic church tell them that the bible is missing details but the church is divinely guided and infallible (How convenient is that?).
They also seem to twist language to suit themselves. It is like they rewrite the dictionary.
Someone was telling me recently that the pope defines freedom as "freedom is not the right to do what we want but the right to do what we ought" and then the Church takes ownership of the "ought" part of that. Thus they define the restriction they want to place on society, not as impeding freedom but as enhancing freedom. It is quite a dishonest twist don't you think? Very cheeky, like little immature children trying to get their way with everything. I find this happens a lot, it is really hard to discuss differences of opinions with the religious, because although we are speaking English, we are actually speaking different languages.

Hi Stevil!

It is so brilliant, the system that the Catholic church has built, that I almost wish I had built it myself. "Look at that. Now they get to say that they're the only ones who can interpret the holy book. They can just add in any meaning they want! The pope is infallible! I'm a frickin' genius! Anyone who even questions that is wrong! *teehee*"

Even the bible alone is much like, "Stuff written in here is written in here because it is true. Look we have witnesses. And this book is so true. Did we mention it's true? It's definitely true. Look how it's written in here!"

And it's hard to have a discussion with someone who is at that "unquestioning" stage. Because it's all simply believed. And I know that feeling, because I lived through that feeling.

[Luna]

That is a mightily engaging and readable opening salvo. I cancelled my subscription to Catholicism around age 14, but unlike yourself I moved in largely secular circles which probably facilitated my reverse epiphany. For me it entailed an outright rejection of any form of supernatural being , on the simple footing there was zero evidence to support such a proposition , one which was so palpably the product of human yearning for meaning and immortality. What a precocious and bumptious little whippersnapper I was (little has changed). I am sure you will have a good time here and will be an adornment to our godless little cabal.

Thank you, En_Route!

Your reply was a delight to read ^^.

My own de-conversion took place between the ages of about 13 to 18. It was a years process for me, as I said. That was *mumble* years ago, and can only say that I'm glad it happened at all, despite the pain it was at the time.

There was always a real chance that things would've happened in such a way that I never would've bothered to question it. And really, it's only that possibility, that alternate universe, that scares me.

[Ali]

Hi Luna, welcome!  I liked when you you talked about realizing you had a knee jerk fear reaction to the idea of there being no god.  I think that's mostly what keeps people believers; the alternative is scary if you've been raised to believe that you need a god.  Anyway, welcome to HAF, hope you enjoy it here! 

[Buddy]

Welcome to the forum Luna! Hope to see you around. 

[Sandra Craft]

- The night one of my CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) teachers said, "We don't know that God exists. We believe that God exists."

It would be so nice if all Xtians were that honest about it.  Welcome, Luna.

[Will]

Angry Feminist. Happy Atheist. Glad to be both.

Oh, man, me too! I found that a lot of the same assumption-challenging victories I had that led me to leave religion also led to me being a great big feminist. The lies and manipulations and harm the church does are a lot like the lies, manipulations and harm patriarchy are responsible for. Now I am both an atheist and a feminist down to my very bones.

Welcome to the forum.

[MichelleM]

While many things lead me to question my faith, I do remember the one moment where I was finally liberated from it.

I remember the first time I said "God strike me dead" out loud to prove to someone that nothing would happen. I did feel secretly nervous as I said it even though I knew nothing would happen.  But it did feel liberating...