Re: Hi!

[usetheforce]

My name is Shannan. I'm 18, from the Pacific Northwest in the US. I'm still kind of exploring around a bit, but I decided to join due to some recent arguments I've seen or been involved in regarding relgion.

I grew up with parents who kinda, sorta, maybe believed in God but never went to church. Mostly I heard about God from my mom's parents, who are Lutheran. For most of my early childhood, I thought God was something everybody believed in, but I didn't really know much about the religion. I remember telling my mom that when it rained, it must be God pouring buckets of water out of the sky, and that was no analogy or anything, I literally believed he was some guy sitting up in the clouds controlling things like the weather.

In my early teens, dealing with a long move, a very shy personality, trouble making friends, and the death of the dog that had been there my whole life, I sort of grew back into Christianity. I loved the concept of being able to see my dog again someday.

But by high school, I had moved back to a less Christian-dominated area of the country and things started working out better for me. I realize that Christianity was something I was clinging onto as a means of comfort. It wasn't really something that made sense logically to me.

So, I came to where I am today. I prefer saying "no religion" to atheist, but that is what I am. Anyway, so the recent arguments I've seen about relgion have just made me realize that I let them upset me too much. All I do is get really frustrated. And I know what I believe and want to say but I have a very hard time putting my beliefs into words that make sense to anyone.

So I came here to be around some people that are probably more accepting, more like-minded people to cool myself off, and also to see some of your beliefs and how you talk about them to hopefully help myself put my own beliefs in more comprehensive arguments.

Sorry it's so long, it's late where I live but I was upset by some arguments on Facebook and so I came here to calm myself down. Anyway, hi.

[Recusant]

Hello and welcome to HAF, Shannan.  What sort of arguments about religion do you find frustrating?  You seem to be pretty articulate, but I guess that running into some of the more combative religious types online might be vexing if one isn't used to it. This place tries to keep the over the top rhetoric to a minimum, which I think is a good approach when discussing a topic which can easily become volatile.

I'm reminded of an essay by Mortimer Adler which I posted here a while back. I don't know if you'll find it helpful or not, but even after decades of discussing religion (and of course other sometimes sticky subjects) I still find it worthwhile to read Adler's advice every once in a while to help remind myself of a sort of ideal to strive for.

Rules for Conducting a Discussion by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler

I hope you enjoy your time reading and posting here.

[Cecilie]

Hi Shannan. Welcome to the forum.

[Too Few Lions]

Welcome to the forum. I live in the UK, over here the gods dispense rain by a fire hose!

[Stevil]

For most of my early childhood, I thought God was something everybody believed in

That's actually quite funny, because upto about half a year ago, I used to think very few adults actually believed in god. I realised that quite a few go to church or tell people that they are Christians or Muslims or what not. But I thought they were only in it because they wanted some moral rules to follow. I really actually struggled to understand that grown adults could believe in the god stories.

[Tank]

Hi Shannan

Interesting intro, just about the right length and content, thank you for taking the time to write it. At 51 I've see a little bit more of life than you , but as was born in England and lived here all my life I doubt I have ever witness some of the religious fanaticism that you have.

Welcome to HAF, I hope you enjoy it and settle in.

Regards
Chris

[thedport]

welcome, hopefully you find what you are searching for here, with other liked midned individuals. 

[ThinkAnarchy]

... but I was upset by some arguments on Facebook and so I came here to calm myself down. Anyway, hi.

One of the reasons I hate that site. Everyone on my friends list is Christian with a few Muslims sprinkled in. I usually ignore their religious posts so as to not get involved in a 20 against one argument.

At the expense of infuriating you further, do you mind summing up what upset you so much?

The only time I really got pissed off was during a dinner with family when I mentioned why a lot of atheists annoy me (which I would like to discuss in the future, but this thread is not the place) and one of them said, "I thought you were an atheist, how can they annoy you." I was bit speechless at such a well thought out response.  ???

Also, the more you read about religion and atheism, the better you will get at explaining your point of view to others. Watching videos of Richard Dawkins and Hitchens debates are also a good way to get a grasp of the arguments and perspective of the religious. 

Finally, welcome to the boards.

[The Black Jester]

Welcome to HAF!

[Too Few Lions]

... but I was upset by some arguments on Facebook and so I came here to calm myself down. Anyway, hi.

One of the reasons I hate that site. Everyone on my friends list is Christian with a few Muslims sprinkled in. I usually ignore their religious posts so as to not get involved in a 20 against one argument.

Sounds like you may need to delete a few of your facebook friends  Pretty much all my friends (and facebook friends) are atheists, with a few agnostics and pagans mixed in for good measure. One of the joys of living in the UK is that we're a pretty irreligious bunch, and tend to view overtly religious people as being mad (which they invariably are!)

[Maria]

Hello Shannan.
Welcome to HAF.

[xSilverPhinx]

Welcome!

[Willow]

Hi Shannon.
I'm not sure how much support and fellowship this site can offer, but we should certainly be taken seriously.

[The Magic Pudding]

Hi Shannon.
I'm not sure how much support and fellowship this site can offer, but we should certainly be taken seriously.

Hello Shannan.
Willow is probably mostly right about the seriously thing but there are exceptions. 

[nacaric]

не планируете устанавливать на него объемные программы и загружать большие файлы, дозволительно, в принципе, ограничиться 30-гигабайтным системным диском.     
57 минут обратно     
В ноутбуках, якобы норма, предусмотрено местечко один чтобы одного диска. Всетаки в настольных компьютерах (и некоторых крупных ноутбуках, поддерживающих установку двух накопителей) можно извлекать SSD в качестве системного диска ради Windows 7, а причина беречь на обычном жестком диске. В такой конфигурации важно рационально пользоваться место для относительно небольшом и притом дорогостоящем системном диске.