Well, just introducing myself!
My name is Will and I reside in Statesboro, Georgia. Pretty crappy town to not be a hyper-Christian, much less one at all, honestly. I was brought up in the Church, but it never clicked with me - always had doubts but I "believed" some what for my parents I guess. They still are not aware of my disbelief in any God, so that's some what of a strain on me and I always wish to tell them, but always lack the nerve. I feel somewhat ashamed for that, for not being true to myself and being some what cowardly, so I feel I should remedy that soon, but I'm really unsure of how.
I guess that's the meat of it, I hope to make many new friends and be free to talk my mind here. Hope you all have a nice night!
-Will
Very warm welcome to you, Will. I was brought up in the Southern Baptist tradition. Pretty sucky... I hear they have a lot of those in Georgia. I once visited Northpoint Church in Atlanta as the president of my church's college outreach club. I always had an atheistic streak, but didn't fully realize it until age 24. It took me a while to tell my mom, who worked at the First Baptist church for the majority of my life. It just kind of came out naturally. It probably started with sarcasm in religious conversation and then turned into a full blown, "I don't believe in this stuff anymore" conversation. Anyway, looking forward to chatting with you.
Haha, plenty of them indeed. I was in a Southern Baptist church first, then they went to a pentecostal church, and so I went too. Most of what I really remember came from the pentecostal system, and I think that eased my disbelief, they were full on wild for God in my eyes, and that fanaticism alone scared me away from a lot of their teachings. There was all the speaking in tongues, being slain in the spirit, and every thing else that added on to it. It was pretty harsh in that kind of setting, but I think I cam out pretty well rounded. For all of what my parents (mostly the mom) believed, they were at least good at bringing me up and didn't try to indoctrinate me. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. Hopefully it comes out easily for me, my mom is also heavily involved in the church with ministry work, mostly going to Prisons and such.
I too look forward to talking to you, and I'm curious if you're a Mastodon fan or if the Leviathan reference is more of a Moby Dick in general thing, or what.
Nice to meet you!
I was also into the pentecostal church for a short while. I babbled a bit. I was never slain, though. I knew that was way too far.
The leviathan reference is just a nod to the monster within. Comes from the Bible. It's an ancient Biblical mythological creature that survived the monotheistic editing of the Torah. The author Robert Price talks a lot about it.
Hi Will, welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the forum, Will... glad to have you on board!
Hey there Abaddon - welcome to the board! That parent thing sounds tough. Luckily, neither of my parents were really believers or church goers. I hesitate to call them atheists, as they've never described themselves that way, but they are definitely not religious. I suppose agnostic would work as a label.
Anyhow - hope you find a way to deal with everything, and please feel free to speak your mind on the forum!
Cheers,
Steve
Welcome to the forum, Abaddon. I lived near Atlanta for 6 years, so I know how thick the religion is in that part of the world. Just keep your head down and keep doubting!
QuoteWoke up this morning, had them Statesboro blues,
Woke up this morning, had them Statesboro blues.
Well, I looked over in the corner,
and Grandpa seemed to have them too.
I love that song!
Welcome to the forum!