Brian - I think I see a trend here. We've all tried wearing your shoes. To be fair, don't you think you should try the same?

C'mon over to de dark side!

(I can't remember if you claim to have been
an athiest before). Just ignore me if you
were.

I come here for many reasons, first I found the library and essays interesting, before they had the discussion board, Ancient history and mythology are among my greatest interests, along with anthropology and archaeology, the dawn of civilization, religion fits in quite cozily with these, it's an interesting subject! Unlike some I was not traumitized by wako fundamentalists as a youth and have no real problem with Christians per se (until they start in with the worship god like we say or go to hell crap) Maybe one day I'll find the truth. (but I doubt it).

I'm going to take a different tack because, as always, I suspect Nomad has a agenda here that isn't quite spoken, but definitely implied. I think he'd like to suggest that our interest in religion and the bible implies that we attribute some legitimacy to the religious viewpoint.

If so, he needs to disabuse himself of that notion. I, for one, have no more interest in religion than I do in committing murders, despite the fact I enjoy reading murder mysteries and real life crime stories.

In fact, I come here for much the same reason I read those types of stories. While I'm definitely not equating the religious with the murderous (the former being much more desirable than the latter) I find both mindsets equally baffling. And since religion permeates our society, having a site like this where religion can be discussed without the deference automatically given religion in other quarters helps me get a handle on something that is very foreign to my nature.

I was an atheist back in '53 and I had to say prayer in school. I remember the putting "one nation under god" in the pledge of allegiance. I am a Viet Nam Era veteran and served overseas in the infantry yet I am not allowed to belong to social clubs like the American Legion and the VFW because I am an Atheist.

BTW, I believe that every thing written is the truth (just like Ken Starr's truth). You find me anywhere in the bible where it says that Jesus' feet were pierced then I will believe. You find me a virgin in the bible that was not a Hebrew and then I will have a better understanding of petpetual virginity.

thanks, offa

I originally found this board when looking into the Creation vs. Evolution debate, in which I have a kind of professional interest.

When debating creationists, I got fascinated by their stubborness in sticking to clearly refuted ideas in the face of all contrary evidence. There twistings and turnings surprised and delighted me at every turn (and sometimes pissed me off).

From there, I started to explore the other topics. I have been exposed to the Ancient world in my education, and this idea of the Bible as history hadn't really occurred to me before. I spent a bit of time on it, and found out that there are as many opinions on it as there are people discussing it - which to me shouts out that there isn't sufficient hard data to settle the issue one way or another.

So, I am happy to let people believe what they want, but I get worried when they make tall claims about the 'mountain of evidence', the 'best attested event in Ancient History' and such. Such statements only tell me that some people have left their critical thinking at home, and willingly disregard the religious nature of the sources.

I feel the need to point this out when I see this happening. Just the way I'm wired.

fG

Well it's not really to deconvert people. I do that on Christian boards instead - seeking out those people who look like they are trying to escape from the Christian bubble and out into the real world. Some of them just need the right prod and away they go. I am proud to say I have been instrumental in deconverting at least 3 people in the past year, one of them a pastor.

I spend more of my time here challenging the atheists about their ideas on physics and philosophy. There are exceptions - especially metacrock who is the only openly 'mystical' Christian here. In a way his brand of Christianity is more defensible than most, and it can (sometimes) present problems to atheists he debates, although he usually goes off the deep end first. Anyway - I feel a bit of a responsibility to challenge him from the point of view of an pantheistic mystic, rather than a atheistic materialist, which tends to result in him getting very upset and accusing me of being an uneducated lout, and such like. All of which makes it all the more worthwhile.

I suppose it is for the lurkers. I not only believe Christianity is wrong - I think it is evil. I feel the same way about Judaism and Islam (which I consider to be the most evil of the three). In short, I feel I have a moral responsibility to challenge Christians and Christianity whenever it is possible to do so.

I have endless pleasure on apologetics.org. Having spent the best part of a year debating with Christians on the net I feel I am getting much better at 'asking the right question'. You've got to make them think properly. You have to get inside their heads and expose the internal flaws in their own reasoning. Once the first real crack goes into their belief the whole thing can just shatter. These people are ALWAYS happier having rejected Christianity than they were when they were enslaved by its lies.

Those are some really good answers. Me, I just got fed up with everyone disagreeing with me so I started my own religion. They said I couldn't and so of course I had to do it. Completely unorthodox as usual. I even have a Certificate of Authencity, and somewhat of a Creed.

"Every man shall worship their own God in their own house.." (OT)

Know ye not that ye are the Temple(mind) of the Holy Spirit of Truth? (NT) I finally figured out what Jesus was talking about. I think. Anyways, I'm now a Progressive Evolutionist and you just might be one to.
http://www.stormpages.com/infonews/pen.html

My thoughts on Atheism are here if you'd like to view them.
http://www.stormpages.com/infonews/atheism.html


thank you..

1. Bear in mind that this is only one of many interests. And not the one about which I know the most, though I know a fair amount.

2. This to me is one of the fascinating puzzles of history. How did an obscure cult from a backwater of the Roman empire come to rule the world?

3. In a country (America) where so many social issues - abortion, gays, education, gun control, etc. - are influenced, even driven by pressure from the religious right, those with liberal or libertarian tendencies ignore religion at their peril.

4. It's fun.

Was raised Catholic. Most Catholics and "Christians" don't read a Bible. If more did, there would either be better bibles or less Christians and Catholics.

As a document, parts of which arrived right along with humanity's invention af an alphabet, the Bible is an interesting piece of human psychology.

Also, if I can become convinced that a life form sufficiently advanced as to possess the power to create universes, recently decided to impregnate a local Hebrew virgin so as to render himself/herself/itself/themselves into a demigod, to save me from the fact that my Uncle Adam ate an apple, is it really so much of a stretch then, to think I will not protest the destruction of my neighbor by burning him alive as a heretic?

Bible worship is dangerous, and should be opposed to protect the freedom of future generations. These forums help achieve that purpose.

I love to think & make people think.

"Thinking is free - try it & you'll love it."