rebelnerd

GeoTheo,

I don't come here for reassurance from other atheists. I would consider myself as being an atheist for about seven years now, and I found this site while searching for something else back in April of this year. What I found were intelligent, like-minded people whom I could learn many things from, so I decided to stay and register. If I were to leave this site, I would still hold the same views on atheism.

I became an atheist on my own without input from others. I realized after a lot of hard thought that religious beliefs were man-made. We created god(s) in our own image.

Something I find very ironic is that if a person were to profess belief in an imaginary friend and claim this imaginary friend told them what to do, how to do it, performed miracles, raised the dead, and told them to kill others who didn't believe in this imaginary friend, they would be locked up for psych evaluation and given heavy meds. Yet this is no different than what believers in most religions do all the time. They even have their own schools to indoctrinate the young. In my opinion it is nothing more (or less) than organized insanity.

Did I need reassurance after I found out there was no Santa? No. Do I need reassurance after I found out there was no god? No. But it is sure nice to have a refuge from the insanity of the theistic world.

Filo

-RRH-

I don't think atheism is solely a reaction to the fundies. I myself became an atheist through a lack of religious training more than anything. And the religious people I met were all very liberal about it. I didn't start meeting fundies until after I was already an atheist.

Hedwig

Personally I didn't come here for reassurance. I started coming here because it seemed like a great place to relax after dealing with Christians all the time in both my every day life and over the internet (I'm a bit of a forums addict.) All the atheists I'd met on fundy Christian forums seemed like very well reasoned and intelligent human beings...so I listened to what they had to say and listened to their recommendations. So when I eventually was lead here I felt right at home and eventually settled into the community. No one needs to reassure me of anything.

Dibble Helix

I don’t think people come here for reassurance that religion is nonsense. They come here for the reassurance that others have also realised this.

dibble.

Kosh

A moment of pure beauty...

Kosh

Perhaps. Except for the fallacious ones. We leave those to the theists.

PJPSYCO

I come here firstly because of the intelligence level of the philosiphers. Arguing against novices all the time gets old.

Also, atheist humor escapes people who are not atheist. So, this is a great place to go for that.

And, this is just one of many places I go for CS separation news. Which is of course very important because the relious right don't seem to think I deserve the right to live.

bonduca

I come here to listen to GeoTheo.

Aerik Von

Not entirely, but it IS nice to see that others believe (or don't believe) as you do and can put it in words that seem easier than most.

Matt Arnold

Most of the posts have been the same thing, and I would like to chip in my agreement. Even though I could defend my secular position without ii, it helps to know the whole world isn't crazy. In that sense it "supports" me.

Off of the internet, I am surrounded by nobody but evengelicals and fundamentalists. I have to carefully tiptoe around religion subjects to my parents, siblings and co-workers. Even a group that I attend exists for the express purpose to convert me to Christianity. The ii provides the only people who like me the way I am.

Don't get me wrong, I do have the courage of my convictions regardless of the complete lack of social support. But one or two people in my life who I could confide in without being attacked would be a great stress-reliever.