Good Company

[Evolved]

Greetings, everyone.  It's refreshing to be in the company of people who are not afraid to let logic and common sense take over.  A big thank you to the creators and the maintainers of this forum.  I think that it's one step closer to a world that makes sense.

I was raised Roman Catholic and began to question the existence of gods and afterlives at an early age.  (Not) coincidentally, I took an interest in science early as well.  The more I learned, the closer I came to the natural conclusion that there is no god, no heaven, no hell, and nothing to worry about.  I am now at the point where I feel that I must be more vocal about my position, and my unrest grows stronger by the day.  Living in Florida, I am suffocated by the presence of religion at every turn.  I see by many of the posts that I have read on this forum that many of you feel the same way.  In my area, churches are popping up faster than Starbucks.  We hold such honors here as being the state where people tried to push a Christian license plate through government, where people worshiped a stain resembling the Virgin Mary on a bank window for at least three years (really - in Clearwater), and where a substitute school teacher was fired recently for practicing wizardry in the classroom (he made a toothpick disappear in his hands).  Religion permeates the government offices where I work as well (don't get me started).  My parents are quite religious, and I do not have any local peers that are not as well.  Fortunately my girlfriend is atheist, although she is not nearly as vocal as I am.  I am starting to come out to one person at a time, save my bosses and my parents (for now).

I love the hard sciences, and I have a particular interest in the hardcore stuff like astronomy and astrophysics.  I'm planning to make a complete 180 in my career soon so that I can pursue the stuff that really lights my fire.

I would really like your opinions on how you folks deal with fears of retribution.  Living where I live, I would be afraid that some of the people around here would cook me and eat me if they knew that I was an atheist.  Your thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks again for the good company.

[Neoncamouflage]

Welcome Evolved!

The fear of retribution is something, sadly, everybody who questions religion has to deal with. I try to think of it this way, if they accept you for who you are then great, the world needs more people like them. If not then they just can't handle the fact that someone thinks differently than they do( they often say Atheists hate God, or are just hiding from the truth). As for being eaten, well that's what Pit Bulls and shotguns are for.

[joeactor]

Welcome Evolved!

Wow - must be tough to live in Fla.
I've been following the Intelligent Design / Intelligent Origin Theorists (ID/IOTs) for a while.
What a debacle!

Happy to lend a brain from time to time if you find there is a lack of them nearby.

Glad you joined us - cheers,
JoeActor

[SteveS]

Hey Evolved - great name, and welcome to the forum!

[Evolved]

Thanks for the welcome, folks.  It's good to know that there are people with brains out there.

[rlrose328]

Welcome, Evolved!  Hope you have a great time here!