SouthLoopAtheist
09-14-2007, 10:10 PM
As suggested, I'm going to give a brief explanation as to why I've come out as an atheist. To sum it up, I read The End of Faith by Sam Harris about a year ago. I was profoundly influenced by the book. Mostly because it confirmed many things that I had supposed on my own.
I guess I was an agnostic for most of my life, with brief interludes of faith. But those were always fleeting. I dabbled in a couple religions,(Mormonism, which I was born into,and Catholicism) but always found that the rules they imposed were either impossible to follow, or just plain silly. (Birth control, Word of Wisdom)
Anyhow, after 9-11 happened, I became more and more convinced that there was no way there could be a god that "cared" about what us silly humans do.
I only had one road block that stopped me from coming out... I'm a recovering alcoholic. And I'm sure most of you know the "spiritual/quasi-religious" aspect of AA. I've been sober for over three years, and have attended meetings for that time. I however refused to buy into the god talk, and just used the group as a reminder why I can't drink. During that time, a friend of mine from AA confided in me that he was an atheist. (he's been sober for a few years longer than I) So we have used each other as a sounding board, and started attending Quad A meetings. (AA for Atheist and Agnostics) Since then I have found the strength to come out, and feel my experience can help others who have addictions and don't want to believe.
Another source of inspiration, has been blogging. I've made a lot of friends through blogging that are also atheist. I came out on my blog. You can read more of my story here (http://americanscot.blogspot.com/2007/08/coming-to-terms-with-letter-and-other.html).
Thanks for welcoming me here, my hope is that I'll be able to contribute to the community in a meaningful way!:)
I guess I was an agnostic for most of my life, with brief interludes of faith. But those were always fleeting. I dabbled in a couple religions,(Mormonism, which I was born into,and Catholicism) but always found that the rules they imposed were either impossible to follow, or just plain silly. (Birth control, Word of Wisdom)
Anyhow, after 9-11 happened, I became more and more convinced that there was no way there could be a god that "cared" about what us silly humans do.
I only had one road block that stopped me from coming out... I'm a recovering alcoholic. And I'm sure most of you know the "spiritual/quasi-religious" aspect of AA. I've been sober for over three years, and have attended meetings for that time. I however refused to buy into the god talk, and just used the group as a reminder why I can't drink. During that time, a friend of mine from AA confided in me that he was an atheist. (he's been sober for a few years longer than I) So we have used each other as a sounding board, and started attending Quad A meetings. (AA for Atheist and Agnostics) Since then I have found the strength to come out, and feel my experience can help others who have addictions and don't want to believe.
Another source of inspiration, has been blogging. I've made a lot of friends through blogging that are also atheist. I came out on my blog. You can read more of my story here (http://americanscot.blogspot.com/2007/08/coming-to-terms-with-letter-and-other.html).
Thanks for welcoming me here, my hope is that I'll be able to contribute to the community in a meaningful way!:)