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Greetings from the bible belt!

Started by LifeisSweet, June 19, 2020, 05:23:31 PM

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LifeisSweet

Happy I found this site!  For decades I considered the most stable and sensible people would be happy atheists, i.e. able to find peace of mind, contentment, and happiness from a real world perspective without a spiritual crutch.  I even considered starting an Internet forum called "The Happy Atheist", but I see y'all beat me to it.

I grew up Roman Catholic in NJ and, as a scientific sort, managed to break the brainwashing over 50 years ago when I was 17.  Since atheism at the time was an unpopular ideology with potential consequences I remained "in the closet" for many years.  No more - I am proud of my beliefs and don't feel a need to defend myself or engage others in a debate as silly as the existence of Santa Claus.  I rarely even think of religion, except as another amusing (albeit sometimes frustrating) example of mankind's gullibility.  Makes me shake my head, but I don't let it under my skin.

Eight years ago I moved to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, on the edge of the bible belt.  In spite of some 69 mostly Baptist churches in our county, amazingly I found other atheists here, and the religious folks (with one exception) don't ask me about my religion or what church I belong to.  Very accepting people, in contradiction to the common perception of Appalachia.

I am in the sweet spot of life now, retired, healthy, and happily married in God's country  ;D  I am savoring my remaining years of existence on this wet rock, a truly happy atheist!
"When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not." Epicurus

No one

That's great and all.....but, did you bring the tacos?

LifeisSweet

Quote from: No one on June 19, 2020, 05:34:32 PM
That's great and all.....but, did you bring the tacos?

No tacos here, just fried chicken and pulled pork.  :)
"When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not." Epicurus

Tom62

Quote from: LifeisSweet on June 19, 2020, 05:59:37 PM
Quote from: No one on June 19, 2020, 05:34:32 PM
That's great and all.....but, did you bring the tacos?

No tacos here, just fried chicken and pulled pork.  :)

I approve! Welcome to HAF!
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

Dark Lightning


Tank

Hello LifeisSweet

Looking forward to getting to know you  :)

Welcome to HAF.

Regards
Chris
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

hermes2015

Welcome! You sound like the kind of guy who will fit right in. HAF is an interesting fruit salad of personalities, as you will discover if you stick around.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

No one

Some of that "salad" has been tossed though.

billy rubin

welcome.

but i am sorry i do not fancy pulled pork



"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

No one


hermes2015

Quote from: No one on June 19, 2020, 07:32:25 PM
Some of that "salad" has been tossed though.

That comment is getting a bit too close to home.
:unsure:
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Magdalena

Welcome, LifeisSweet.

I had to google, pulled pork.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Recusant

Hello and welcome to HAF, LiveisSweet. It's good to hear you've found the Blue Ridge Mountains a congenial place to live. I hope that you enjoy your time reading and posting here.  :blue smiley:

:spagwelcome:
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Icarus

Welcome to the forum LifeIsSweet.

I once had some kinfolk who lived down in the "Holler" near Christiansburg.  The  mountains had such steep sides that grazing cows had to have shorter legs on one side so that they could stand upright.

Bluenose

Er, g'day LifeIsSweet. I'm our resident troublemaker, umm, Australian.  I do take some things seriously, but not all that often. 
+++ Divide by cucumber error: please reinstall universe and reboot.  +++

GNU Terry Pratchett