Hello From A New Member

[Invictus]

Greetings All,

I've just recently learned of this forum and am looking forward to sharing questions and opinions on the subjects that engage thoughtful atheists and theists.  My own views are atheistic in nature.  I am very interested in what leads others to arrive at similar conclusions, and what leads others still to opposing conclusions.

The "Invictus" user name was a spur of the moment thing when registering just now.  It's the title of a poem by William Henley that you may be familiar with, and one that I have long been fond of, especially the final stanza.

I look forward to connecting with you on these pages.

Invictus

[Tank]

Good Morning Invictus

I say Good Morning as it's 6:56 here and I'm just scalping my first cup of coffee while evicting all the spammers that arrived overnight, nice to see you're not one of them!

Thanks for making the effort to sign up and join in.

Welcome to HAF.

Regards
Chris

Notes for new members.
The Rules.

Users who comply with forum rules will graduate to full membership after 10 posts.
Till that time your ability to post is limited to the "Getting to Know You" section of the forum.
It is our hope that this small restriction improves the overall atmosphere of HAF.

Some threads you might find interesting.
Where did you get your username from?
10 Things About Yourself
Tell us A Bit About Where You're From
Photography
Non-religious pet peeves
Pets...what do you have?
Favorite Song, with video
How to tell your family you are an atheist.*
"Rules for Conducting a Discussion" by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler*

*You will need 10 posts before you can add a post to this thread, but you can read it at any time.

[xSilverPhinx]

Welcome!

[OldGit]

Welcome, Invictus!  Hope your head is still unbowed and not too bloody. 

[The Magic Pudding]

Greetings

[Invictus]

Hello All,

Thanks for responding to my first post on this forum.  I didn't have much time for writing that post.  It was about 1:30 a.m. here in Virginia at the time.  My wife and I had already stayed up later than we had wanted to.

Let me tell you a bit more about myself, beyond that I'm male, married and a Virginian.  I'm in my mid-60s, and my wife and I have recently retired.  (I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about that.)  We met in college and have been together going on 50 years.  Obviously, she's the love of my life.  We've also been so-called "empty-nesters" for some time now.

I was reared in a family that believed in God, though my parents were of disparate Christian faiths.  I followed that path in my youth, but began to diverge during adolescence.  After my undergraduate years I moved closer and closer to a full rejection of the belief in God.  This was less the effect of college than of maturation, further exploration and self-examination.  I have been an atheist, then, for over 40 years.  Yet, the foundations of my atheism remain a subject of continuing inquiry for me.  Given this--as I noted in my first post--the bases of others' convictions for or contrary to atheism are also intriguing to me.

As far as the idea of the "happy atheist," theists think atheists are morose only because theists find it difficult to conceive of life without a deity; therefore, theists view atheism as a state of being deprived of what theists "have."  I find atheism liberating.  But I don't feel that my temperament is a consequence of this philosophy specifically.  Overall, I have always had a positive attitude toward life; perhaps I have been lucky in having never suffered as deeply as have some or been tested by great deprivation.  That's not to say that I don't have down times or never get crabby.

Briefly, my politics are skeptical pragmatic liberalism, meaning that I tend to support liberal views, but get ticked off by the foibles of both government and business.  I also enjoy stargazing and much of what I have come to understand regarding the immensity of Existence informs my atheistic views.  When I graduate from this novitiate level, I'll post a poem that I wrote years ago that will give more of my perspective on this.

Thanks again for responding.  I look forward to hearing more from you (and others).

Invictus

P.S.  I'm a huge fan of Douglas Adams.

P.P.S.  I have more hair on my chin than on my head.  Consequently, I have often bloodied my head from not bowing quickly enough!

[Anne D.]

Welcome--and what lovely introductory posts 

[Invictus]

Thank you, Anne D.  I appreciate the compliment.  You appear to have joined this forum relatively recently, given the 123 total posts, compared to the several thousands tallied by others who have responded.

I look forward to hearing from you in future posts.

Invictus

[McQ]

Welcome to the forum, Invictus. Thanks for sharing your background. It's nice to have some seasoned folks join up. We have a ton of great, young people here, but have been a little short on the 50+ side of life.

Hope you make yourself right at home!

[Amicale]

Welcome, Invictus!

Glad to meet you, and I hope you enjoy it here. It's great to meet another fellow Douglas Adams fan!

[Tank]

I'm in my mid-60s, and my wife and I have recently retired.  (I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about that.) 

Well now you have loads of time to tell us all about what you get up too! That's part of being retired.

[Stevil]

I don't find atheism liberating, but that is only because I don't know what it feels like to be a constrained theist.

Welcome old timer, 50 years married to the same woman, that's great stuff.
I've just reached 10 years myself, so just newly weds I guess 

[chic]

Good Morning Invictus,

I joined HAF yesterday and appreciated your welcome post.

I'm 72 and retired as you and your wife.  My wife likes her job so she continues part time.

That gives me more time to figure out how to send a post the next day! LOL  I was more adroit with tech a few years ago but I continue to challenge myself to stay current in this evolving culture.

Atheism is on the move.  It may be like the Enlightenment period when Reason took a turn at removing religion but failed to have much effect.  Of course statistics from surveys indicate some changes in church attendance.

What news or activities are you following in retirement?

[Firebird]

Welcome invictus! You'd be surprised how quickly some people rack up posts. I joined in January, and some people who joined after me are already well past 1000 posts.

[Invictus]

Hello All,

Continuing thanks to prior and new respondents.

McQ, I like the term "seasoned" that you used, especially the possible interpretations of "savvy" and "good taste."  I'd like to think those applied to me, but I'll defer to my wife on this.  But, Stevil – never a "constrained theist," eh? -- your "old timer" also applies, at least sometimes, but I like that people say that the 60s are the new 50s these days.  I'm going to go with that.

Amicale, glad to hear that you're a Douglas Adams fan, too.  I noted that Tank had a D.A. quote in his signature, so I had to reveal myself as a devotee.  I've read most all the books and still occasionally re-listen to tapes (obviously old technology) of the unabridged Guide, Restaurant and Mostly Harmless books, read by Adams himself (!), when working around the house.  One benefit of being retired is now having time to read books that I've had sitting on the shelf.  I just read the Salmon of Doubt.  So much of the humor I appreciate is epitomized by Adams, Click and Clack (the "car guys" on NPR) and Bugs Bunny.

Chic, good to know that we're about the same generation.  Sounds like we may be in the minority here.  May lead to some interesting generational perspectives when they let us into the other posting areas.

To all, thanks again.

Invictus