Hello all,
1st of all the website was slow to load and register, so as of now I am not the happiest atheist.
But that aside, I'm glad that I found this site as what I want is a place to discuss religion and even more so the absence of it with people of similar beliefs.
About myself: I started to have serious doubts about religion and God I think way back when i was about 7 or 8 years old. Maybe this is normal, I don't know. Despite this, I went along with the Christianity thing for a while, until admitting to myself around 10 I think that I was not a true believer. I have had phases of hating the church and religion, etc. and perhaps I had a bad introduction to religion, and this is a reason why I am who I am today.
Regardless, I HAVE lied to others and said that i was a believer, and more recently have came out about being an atheist to someone, but this only led to a great deal of confusion i think. I have not told my family about my being an atheist as I do not want to disappoint them, and they are really all I have.
Since I live in Canada there's no reason to be ashamed or anything and I am not. I realize that churches can be tremendously positive places for the right people. I just am not one of those people. I have explored the world ofn religion a little, and would like to explore it more, but I do not expect to gain faith anytime soon. Whether it's a tragedy I do not have faith remains to be seen. I seem to go between the agnostic end of the spectrum and only when I am at my most negative OR scientific/proof-based do I feel that there is no God at all.
Notice that I do Capitalize the G, because if we happen to be wrong, as most of us, I assume, think about religious people, may He help us all.
Oh, and my name is David BTW.
Welcome David.
Thanks for sharing your story. I think we all should explore all possibilities and options with an open and scientific mind. That's what life, to me, is about.
Hope you have a good time here.
Hi David - welcome to the forum. I certainly don't think losing faith is tragic --- for some it may have tragic consequences, which is a better reason to never acquire faith in the first place! Better to live a reasonable life with realistic understanding, IMHO.
Anyway - feel free to post topics/ask questions - plenty of people here will be happy to discuss with you. Glad to have you on board!
Welcome, David... you have a unique point of view, some of which we share. And this is a great place to hang and ask questions. I've been on dozens of non-believer forums and this is the only place I've stayed because of the acceptance and lack of arguments (with each other, anyway... stubborn believers beware).
Have fun here!
Hey David, welcome to the forum.
Many of us here have studied religions other than the one our parents taught us before coming out as atheists. I never found any answers in religion and haven't felt any anger toward the god I don't believe in. I'm content and I hope you will find contentment one day, too.
Enjoy your time here, Saturnine.
Welcome, and thanks for the background information! This forum is a really nice resource for all of us, and you'll find lots to share here.
Welcome to the forum....it's only slow sometimes and I think the only way to fix that is get a dedicated server since we aren't overloaded on anything.
Hello David.
"Woah, that was a bland welcome...."