New Introduction Area

[mw59]

Hi, just call me....hmmm...Rhonda? Well, my name does start with an R. I am a closet atheist. I have been for at least 20 years. I live in the bible belt, in a very small community. Another reason I am not giving my name is because I am living with my ex-husband. We are trying to "work it out", but from my point of view, it's not going so great. I just can't bring myself to kick him out, once and for all. I would love to communicate with another intelligent human being. I really want love and romance, but that will have to be for another day, when I finally have the nerve to end this mess I'm in. I am an intelligent, attractive, 49-year-old professional. I would love to get to know someone who is 45-60 years old, funny, and intelligent. Is anyone interested in a penpal?

[demigod79]

`Thought I'd say hi and introduce myself. My name is Daniel and I am a Korean-Canadian living in Toronto. I am a closet atheist (as far as my family and relatives are concerned I'm still a believing Christian) who was raised in a Christian family (actually a Christian-like cult but that's a topic for another day). I began to doubt my belief system when I got into my teens although it took my quite a while to break free completely (the fear of God kept me chained for a long time). I gradually developed from a believer to a liberal believer to something of a deist before finally maturing to atheism. Seeing films like The God Who Wasn't There and reading books like Robert Price's The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man and Sam Harris's End of Faith helped me complete the journey. Now I am a dedicated hardcore atheist who values science, knowledge, and freedom. Unfortunately my family and all of my relatives are Christians, plus many of the people I know are still religious. Only my closest friends know that I am an atheist and many of them are on-line friends. I don't know a single real-life woman who is atheist (except for my sister) and I guess that's why I'm here, heh. Although I'm fortunate to be living in a country that is more or less tolerant towards secularists it's still hard to outwardly express my non-faith. As far as my interest go I am passionate about politics (particularly American politics) and love debating constitutional issues. I tend to be left of the political spectrum although not always. In terms of my profession I am a software developer, creating wealth management software for banks and insurance companies. I have been a computer enthusiast since my teens, although I'm not as hardcore as I was before. That stuff never dies though and I still like tinkering with my system. My other major hobby is wealth management and I like to invest in stocks on-line. This also forces me to keep up with economic news and I've become familiar with many economic factors. I'm currently saving up to move out (I can't stand living with my religious family anymore and hiding my non-faith, no matter how much money it saves me). I'm hoping to find someone who shares my world view, although even a friendship would be nice. Well, anyways, that's enough for my intro I guess.

[kemaiku]

Evening all, I'm new to the forums, and the site in general, and thought I'd introduce myself. :D

[bettyfelon89 (deleted)]

`Hello, i'm new and i'm an atheist in need of passion. :D

[palegal]

*Waves* Hi, I'm Ashley and am currently a college student, majoring in film. I hope to go into film editing in the next few years. My main hobbies are making videos for youtube and reading. My favorite books are The Terror and Heart Shaped Box. I'm also a HUGE film buff and am a *tad* obsessed with zombies and zombie films. My favorite movies are Perfume: Story of a Murder, The Ninth Gate, and Shaun of the Dead.

I joined this site because I don't know any atheists and am, I'll admit it, a bit lonely for like-minded individuals. :)

[robbyt (deleted)]

Hi, I am Rob from London, UK, new to the site. said most of the important stuff about myself in my profile.

RobbyT

"Tis a dangerous thing to ingage the authority of Scripture in disputes about the Natural World, in opposition to reason lest Time, which brings all things to light, should discover that to be evidently false which we had made Scripture to assert."
Thomas Burnet (1635-1715), quoted by Niall Shanks in God, The Devil and Darwin, 2004

[gatlin6252]

Hello I'm an ex Christian of 20 years and thats why im an Atheist now.

[disciplejc]

`Hi I'm an ex-christian of 20 years. Left the south to go to the mid-west area only to find that I was more of a loner when I became Atheist. Have been looking for somewhere I could chill without believers breathing down my neck and here I am.

[5element]

Hello Everyone My name is Chi and...well...I am a Atheist
(wipes sweat from forehead) lol I dont know whats worst me being native american lesbian and atheist... I have always had my doubts,My father is a pastor and we have always had it out about religion and I have always asked questions and gotten into major trouble for it....this is a great way to meet new people,who freethink and live their lives without praising some skydaddy every min of the day...Anyway I hope to become friends and learn more from others...have a great one peace:)

[albertarancher]

`Well, with everybody saying hi I guess I will too; Hi!

I have the advantage of having atheist parents and so thankfully I have never had conflicts like Chi has had.
Importantly (unlike what most religious parents apparently do) I was told to come to my own conclusions. I would be lying if I said that their views did not impact upon mine; I mean, what person does not model themselves, at least as a start, after their caregivers? However, I thought about the subject completely for myself (as shown on my profile). What I am saying is I was not indoctrinated by my parents.

Anyway, I thought for some of you 'closet atheists' it might be nice to hear of someone who is an atheist but does not have conflict with his family.

[melaniesmiles75 (deleted)]

`Hello,my name is Melanie.I'm 36 years old living in Maryland.I'm a Liberal Atheist.I was raised catholic and even went to catholic school but got kicked out due to starting a shaving cream riot on the boys floor.Then locking a nun out of the dorm after she chased me down the firescape.Good times...

[petitavril]

`Hi, my name is Avril. I'm 21 and from Ontario, Canada. Born an Atheist.

As a child, I never understood why everyone believed in god, but not in leprechauns. I was shocked that adults could take a fairytale so seriously...And a little scared. In fact, I honestly believed that anyone who mentioned the words "Jesus", "Christ", "Amen", "God" etc. was crazy.


I guess not much has changed, although I am more accepting of religion...I don't want to be a Fundamentalist Atheist!

On the political spectrum, I would probably fall under Social Libertarian...with some Anarchist thoughts maybe?

[petitavril]

albertarancher wrote:
I have the advantage of having atheist parents


My parents are also atheist/agnostic. I wasn't indoctrinated by them, but I turned out almost exactly like them anyway. They were free-thinking hippies and valued having children who could think for themselves.

[whollyheretic (deleted)]

`
I created my own atheism.
It was a necessary corollary of the quest to understand our circumstances ;
both as an individual, and for humanity collectively.

Christianity was shoved at me from a tender age.
It never made sense.
And to defend myself, I developed the noble arts of rebellion.

Turns out that rebelliousness is a key ingredient of freedom.
The creepy religioneers inadvertently helped me to reach escape velocity
from the swampy silliness of “popular wisdomâ€Â.

Hooray for freedom !
Not as portrayed in the diseased drivel of the United States of BS,
but standing as a sovereign individual,
unencumbered by slavery to phoney obligation
and alien self-crippling propaganda of mankind as weak and flawed.

We wield the most powerful force in the universe : Awareness

So, what shall we do with it ?

[cherrera]

Hi. I'm Carla. I live in NW Arkansas and have been an atheist for quite awhile. I've dabbled with religion, including paganism... I used to enjoy the study of why we believe what we believe.

Today, I don't concern myself with it as much.

As Popeye says, "I am what I am and that's all that I am."

Someone asked in a previous post what American Gods was in reference to a book. It's a novel by Neil Gaiman.