new to the whole forum thing

[slapdashartist]

Hello all! So, I've never really used any forums before and I apologize if I seem a bit ignorant to the way things are done.

I guess I'll go ahead and introduce myself:

I am currently 20 years old, 21 in August. I am an Atheist and very happy with that fact. I grew up in southern USA (to my displeasure) so I don't know if I need to say that I was raised in a Christian family. My mother was lenient about religion and let us kids choose our own way of thinking and I'll always be thankful for that, but my grandparents and pretty much the rest of my family are extreme Baptists. I'm pretty closed mouthed about religion to those around me (since I am surrounded by some pretty close-minded people, not just in my family) but it is something that I think about all the time. I talk to my sister and some friends about it on occasion, but honestly I could rant and debate the subject all day long... That's why I decided to join this forum!

I don't really know the exact moment that I "became" Atheist. When I was little I remember that whenever I "prayed" I would always think, 'God, if you're really there...' so I guess that shows that I never fully accepted the religion of my peers. I suppose I've always been skeptical, but the truth is I just never really cared or even thought about religion until I was in high school. I didn't give myself any labels such as "Christian" or "Agnostic" just because it never crossed my mind. But when I got to high school the subject started getting pushed on me. It started with people simply asking me "do you believe in God?" I never knew how to answer, so I guess I could have been called Agnostic. Then, when people started realizing that I couldn't answer that question, they began to push the word of God on me. It was at that point when I became VERY interested in the subject. I got sick of all these people placing judgement on me because I couldn't answer that question. Not only that, but I also began to get curious about where existence really DID come from... I had always believed in the truth of science, I just never had much interest in it when I was younger. I'd say I went through a drastic change during those later high school years. I started gaining this thirst for knowledge that I had never known before. And so I started researching. It was that research that lead me to the conclusion that I am indeed an Atheist. And since I have discovered that fact, I have felt much more fulfilled in myself. I feel as if my understanding of the world has deepened and I am very satisfied.

I am always ready to learn something new about science, religion, politics, or anything for that matter. I am seeking more knowledge so that I can back up my opinions more clearly. I won't debate something unless I feel that I have a worthy argument and if I end up being wrong about something, I will admit to it. I have strong conviction in what I believe, but if I am given enough evidence against those beliefs, I won't continue to blindly follow them. I will seek the truth, even if it isn't the answer I want.

I don't know how often I will post here. I may just end up reading around instead of becoming involved. I don't even know if I'll be able to get past the 50 post requirement to be able to post in other sections. But I figured it would be worth it to create an account and see where it goes.

Hello again and sorry for such a long introduction.

[ThinkAnarchy]

Hello, I'm new here as well, but not new to forums in general. I live in the south, so I know where your coming from. One of my family members actually told me not to discuss my atheism with a teenage relative. They didn't want him to be "corrupted." I'm trying to honor that request, but sometimes the topic is raised during dinner, and I'm not one to let my opinion go unheard.

Did you have to deal with the wonderful Blue Laws when you lived in the south? My favorite was not being able to buy wine and liqueur on Sunday's, yet able to buy beer because the Baptist voters liked to drink beer while watching football. Of course I would always decide I wanted a bottle of Scotch on Sunday, before remembering what day of the week it was.

[The Black Jester]

Hello again and sorry for such a long introduction.

At least you knew enough to insert paragraph breaks - I didn't even know that much when I first showed up here  .  Welcome!

[Whitney]

Welcome to HAF.

[slapdashartist]

Hello, I'm new here as well, but not new to forums in general. I live in the south, so I know where your coming from. One of my family members actually told me not to discuss my atheism with a teenage relative. They didn't want him to be "corrupted." I'm trying to honor that request, but sometimes the topic is raised during dinner, and I'm not one to let my opinion go unheard.

Did you have to deal with the wonderful Blue Laws when you lived in the south? My favorite was not being able to buy wine and liqueur on Sunday's, yet able to buy beer because the Baptist voters liked to drink beer while watching football. Of course I would always decide I wanted a bottle of Scotch on Sunday, before remembering what day of the week it was.

I'm unfortunately not so outspoken with my family. I'm pretty sure that most of my family is still under the impression that I am a Christian, just because I never talk about religion with them. (It's a good thing they close their eyes during the prayer before eating, because I tend to make funny faces for my own amusement while everyone else prays.) If someone in my family asked me outright whether I believed in God, I'd be honest, but I don't want to create a storm by just randomly telling them... "Hey Nanny (that's what I call my grandmother) How's the family? By the way, I don't believe in God."

I am familiar with blue laws, but none of them ever really had any affect on me. I know hunting wasn't allowed on Sundays, but I don't hunt anyway. And I couldn't buy alcohol, so that didn't make much difference either. But I do find that beer loophole you mentioned amusing. I guess Baptists don't consider beer a real alcoholic beverage. haha

At least you knew enough to insert paragraph breaks - I didn't even know that much when I first showed up here  .  Welcome!

I'm surprised I figured out the whole quote thing so quickly too. Go me!


Thanks for the welcomes!!!

[ThinkAnarchy]

I'm unfortunately not so outspoken with my family. I'm pretty sure that most of my family is still under the impression that I am a Christian, just because I never talk about religion with them. (It's a good thing they close their eyes during the prayer before eating, because I tend to make funny faces for my own amusement while everyone else prays.) If someone in my family asked me outright whether I believed in God, I'd be honest, but I don't want to create a storm by just randomly telling them... "Hey Nanny (that's what I call my grandmother) How's the family? By the way, I don't believe in God."

That's understandable, my grandmother was the worst (in the most loving way.) I can tell it upsets her because she believes I'm going to hell. She also thinks I will find my way back to god someday, which I like to not push because it seems to keep her from fearing as much for my soul. I don't remember exactly how or why I came out to them, but it's much nicer now. It did cause a lot of tension in the beginning though.

I am familiar with blue laws, but none of them ever really had any affect on me. I know hunting wasn't allowed on Sundays, but I don't hunt anyway. And I couldn't buy alcohol, so that didn't make much difference either. But I do find that beer loophole you mentioned amusing. I guess Baptists don't consider beer a real alcoholic beverage. haha

Yeah it wasn't very logical, I was tempted on several occasions to park in one of their parking lots getting publicly drunk while services were going on. Seemed like a fun protest, but also one that would have gotten me arrested and not accomplished much of anything, hence only ever thinking about it. It also would have likely solidified the belief in the evil of hard drugs like Whiskey.

[The Magic Pudding]

My favorite was not being able to buy wine and liqueur on Sunday's, yet able to buy beer because the Baptist voters liked to drink beer while watching football. Of course I would always decide I wanted a bottle of Scotch on Sunday, before remembering what day of the week it was.

But Jesus is a wine guy.
Everyone knows this.
If it's running short he'll make some more.

[xSilverPhinx]

Welcome!

[Tank]

Hi slapdashartist

nice avatar from a good film. Welcome to HAF, i hope we live up to your expectations

Regards
Chris

[Cecilie]

Hello and welcome to HAF.

[Too Few Lions]

Welcome to the forum. As a fellow newbie, I think saying 'hi' to any other new members when they introduce themselves seems like the easiest way of reaching 50 posts!

[Tank]

Welcome to the forum. As a fellow newbie, I think saying 'hi' to any other new members when they introduce themselves seems like the easiest way of reaching 50 posts!

It's one way. One can always trawl the LBL and add to the threads there.

[Too Few Lions]

cool, I'll do that too!

[slapdashartist]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! Yeah, I'll probably be slow at my 50 posts, but it's kind of fun building up the excitement to become involved in the rest of the forum. It's cool to see who is around the site too (in the intro section and whatnot).