Freethinker stuck in the bible belt

[britzlove]

Hello,

As my title indicates...I cherish thinking, reasoning, but I am also an atheist.  I occasionally lean agnostic only because I will not say that is impossible that God exists, just that it is improbable, and irrational and the belief in such is counter-productive to the development of humanities true potential.

I live of course in the midwest, right along the bible belt, and in the county where I found my dream home there are 90 some odd Christian churches (multi-tradition but Christian), Zero churches or mosques or other religious houses and there are only a little over 10,000 people in a large county square mile wise.

My father was not religious until my mother converted.  My mother, was originally Baptist so my early influences were from other Baptists, my grandfather was a Baptist preacher, and my grandmother is still very devout.  I attended Catholic elementry school and during that time my mother converted and my father was baptized with her.  My school years were those spent in mass, all the time.  Lots and lots of time to think.

I also went to Catholic high school, and loved it honestly.  I still didn't like being required to go to mass, but still used the time for other pondering.  I became an atheist not out of resentment, but because of the superior education I recieved, in class I was encouraged to think critically, my brain was stretched and stretched and here I sat in all those hours of mass using the premises they fed me for one purpose to line my arguments in opposition.  But I won't say that there was nothing good about mass, I always enjoyed when the central idea was about acceptance of others, love for fellow man etc.

I was also encouraged by both parents to be an avid reader, and this has truly been my greatest strength.  I won't go to in depth into much of my life philosophy because I hope to participate in many discussions here where more depth will reveal.  Basically though, I don't give control to an entity I can not observe and test, I credit mankind with capabilities far beyond what we currently live, I do not fear what I cannot see or feel, and I believe the only heaven and hell that matters is lived by us on earth.  I do not ponder the after life much, I really don't care, what matters to me is what I do here, now, and how others are affected by my actions in this life.

Guess that sums it up almost.  I am married, to an under-educated atheist, and we have a daughter who is simply encouraged to think freely.  I love animals and my ever growing zoo includes: 9 horses, 2 ponies, a rabbit, 4 birds, 5 dogs, 1 giant mean looking rooster that is really a big wuss, 10 hens (adding more within weeks) lastly so far 2 ducks.

Looking forward to interacting here! :wink:

Brittany

[Whitney]

Hey Brittany, welcome to the forum; I hope you enjoy it.

[ImpaledSkier]

Hey there. good story, and if you're interested in other people's backgrounds I've found some good ones looking through the introductions part, which I'm sure you've done.

...and that is a lot of animals..my family had two dogs once?

[donkeyhoty]

"9 horses..."

Are you, by chance, planning on building an ark?

[McQ]

Welcome, Brittany. Thanks for the introduction. Glad to have you on board. There is quite the mix of folks here as you'll see. Not all atheist, but all trying to think about their beliefs instead of just going with a set theological doctrine. Ok, maybe one or two that don't think. Feel free to read each and every introduction. Then get back to us next month for your intro. quiz.
 :wink:

[Tom62]

Welcome to the club, Brittany. I'm also an animal lover, but have never been able to manage more than one cat.

[britzlove]

Thanks everyone for the welcome!  I have read most of the introductions to try to get to know some of the frequent posters backgrounds.  I need to read all of them, I'll try I promise...don't want to fail the quiz lol.  I may someday build a private zoo, if I can buy more property attached to mine or close.

I wish I could spend more time here today, but alas, am dealing with horses and politics today and likely through next week, today and tomorrow I have a proposal to write. I'm a horrible procrastinator.  I hope to use this board as a thinking vacation

Thanks Again!
Brittany

[Kestrel]

... I'm a horrible procrastinator.

That would make you punctual.

I hope to use this board as a thinking vacation

Hi. Good to meet you.

[Big Mac]

I think I still rank #1 on the poster scale in the amount of posts. My internet (more precisely the network my wi-fi was leeching off of) went down since the weather went sour. Actually it's helped a lot. I've been able to focus on other stuff and get a lot taken care of. So I'm using work and school connections to visit these sites more. Glad to have you on board!