aa atheist question #10
Michelle Malkin
These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
questions are welcome.
#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
A young theologian named Fiddle,
Refused to accept his degree.
"'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
Without being Fiddle, D.D."
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Keith Brannen
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
I was no older than 12 when I "announced" I was an
atheist to my parents. Can't say for sure how long
before then I actually "was" an atheist.
It is hard to remember exactly, as it was some time ago :-)
--
Keith Brannen
#713
(Remove REMOVE to reply.)
MarkC
>Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote:
>: These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>: questions are welcome.
>
>: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
I guess it would be around 16 or 17.
Mark C.
>
Beth Wise
On 14-Sep-97 16:09:39, Michelle Malkin <malk...@mindspring.com> said in alt.atheism:
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was 15 - just about when that rebellious streak hit me full force. I
started debating theists, not really because I didn't believe anymore, but
because I just wanted to stir things up. Which I certainly did. :D I had
suddenly strayed from the flock and a massive effort went under way to
bring me back into its folds. ;) But it was too late. After debating for
fun for a while, I realised exactly *what* I was debating and what it all
meant. Been on my own ever since. :)
--
Please email and post replies, 'cause my news server sucks and I've been
missing a *lot* of posts. Real email address below.
--
Beth Wise | Have you ever wondered why
aka Ink on #Amiga, Undernet | the older you get, the more
in...@csrlink.net | life sucks? Everything is
http://www.toptown.com/ | revealed in Ink's Shit Happens
centralpark/ink | Theory at the URL to your left.
Amiga 4000/040/25MHz/18MB | <--
Capella
Keith Brannen wrote:
>
> Michelle Malkin wrote:
> >
> > These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> > questions are welcome.
> >
> > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
> >
>
> atheist to my parents. Can't say for sure how long
> before then I actually "was" an atheist.
>
> It is hard to remember exactly, as it was some time ago :-)
>
I was about 24 when I realized that God doesn't exist and
the real reasons people become christians. I was a christian
myself for 7 years prior.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Capella #5
Dallas, Texas
See Zeus zap an infidel at Capella's Observatory
Also pictures of galaxies, nebula, star clusters, etc...
http://web2.airmail.net/sybil/capella/
stephen knight
Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote
>snip
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I grew up without religion and figured it was just something people
did. When I joined the Army at 17, they asked me what religion I was. I
said none. They said you have to be something. I didn't have the
faintest idea of what to say to that. I said, just put anything down,
who cares. The guy says, how about protestant? Fine. The next thing I
know, every scrap of paper that had a religion space on it was
protestant and I spent the next 3 years a paper protestant. I remember a
chaplin seeking me out and asking me to attend services. I said I didn't
believe in god. It says here, you're a protestant. I said it was the
first thing that came to mind. What? (He became very confused) He asked
me if I'd like to attend anyway. I said "I don't believe in god." He
said if I attended my life would change for the better. "Really, you
mean nobody will be shooting bullets at me." he said "I didn't mean
that." I told him I would attend if ordered and he said he couldn't
order me to go. I wasn't too sure what an atheist was in those days, I
just didn't believe in god. As I matured and saw the horror of mind
numbing control, and robot like submissiveness to a concept, it firmed
up my resolve to understand who I was and what I "believed". I would say
42, but that's the answer to the universe, so I became a rational
atheist at 32 years old.
dsg5
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
It was an ongoing process for me . . . I started questioning at around age
22, and completed the transition by age 32.
dsg5
June Gill
In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
<malk...@mindspring.com> writes
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>
--
June G
# 364
Fish
>Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote:
>: These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>: questions are welcome.
>
>: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
41.
(For once, a short answer! :)
--
"Fish" (David B. Trout)
Alt.Atheism #623
see_...@wolfe.net.com
(change "see_below" to "dtrout", and "wolfe.net"
to "wolfenet" if you wish to reply by e-mail)
Randy Day
Michelle Malkin <malk...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>...
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I frankly can't recall a time when I *wasn't* an atheist. I have memories
of
my parents taking me to church when I was really young, but I never really
saw the point of it all.
I think my thoughts at the time were something like "well, if this
god-thing
they're talking about doesn't want to talk to me, it's not *my* problem.
I'll
deal with it if it ever gets in touch."
I do have to give credit to my parents, though. They never did talk about
religion around the house. I suppose I should ask them if they believe, or
just went out of social obligation...
R
Remove any occurrence of the letter 'x' in my address to send me email.
"Then I will deal with your argumentation. As long as
you just SAY things without giving *PROVE* for them
they are worth NOTHING."
- Bernhard Faber, xtian, on alt.atheism. Ah, irony!
Michelle Malkin
In <01bcc17b$08c81600$2db0...@none.rt66.com> "Colin Montoya-Lewis" <colinml#@rt66.com>
writes:
>
>
>> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
>it. I suppose that, at about 15 years old, when I began to become aware
>that many people were very interested in the idea of a god, I began to
>apply some thought to the matter, and rejected it with a more philosophical
>basis soon after.
>
>Interestingly, though (or maybe not), I've spent a lot of time since then
>(I'm 36 now) rehashing the idea because I kept being confronted with it.
>Consequently, I was forced into the rather odd position of defending *my*
>position. I ended up taking religion and philosophy courses in college,
>and eventually obtained a double major in English and Philosophy, the
>Philosophy part due, mostly, to my ongoing need to defend myself against
>attacks on my lack of belief in a god, and my fascination that so many
>people held such an odd position.
>
>I enjoyed studying philosophy, and I believe it helped me to organize my
>thinking, symboloic logic in particular. But, I confess that I think all
>the religion and philosophy study was a waste of time. If I could get back
>all the time I wasted studying an absurd philosophy, I would invest it in
>fishing, or reading the English Romantic Poets. Maybe reading Shelly while
>fishing?
>
>Not to wander too far, but sometimes I wonder why I'm here on this
>newsgroup. There are so many intelligent, well spoken individuals on this
>group, and yet, we spend so much time defending against ridiculous claims,
>presented in an illogical fashion. In a sense I worry that it is
>distracting us all from doing good in the world. Think of all that could
>be done if religion weren't such an obstacle to creativity. Hmmm....well,
>maybe that's reason enough to keep arguing. I don't know....
>
>-Colin
>#866
So far, six people have changed from being theists of some kind to being atheists, as
a direct or partial result of reading this newsgroup. I'd call that a
pretty good reason for us to continue doing good work right here, as
well as in the world outside computerland.
Besides, I enjoy reading what other atheists have to say about things
in general. That
is the original reason for this newsgroup's existence - to be a place
for atheists to discuss matters of interest to atheists.
Oh, yeah. I became an atheist when I was 12. I couldn't believe in a
deity that allowed so much evil, pain and destruction in the world. As
I got older, my reading and discussions with others convinced me over
and over that I had made the right choice.
My disbelief came to be based on the fact that no one has ever came up
with any proof of such a thing as a god or gods and religious 'faith'
is a baseless crock.
Mickey
Autolycous
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) writes:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was 17 when I first realized that even if God did exist, that existence
had literally zero impact upon my immediate life. Agnosticism set in
shortly after this. After studying not only the Bible itself (in an
attempt to "regain my faith"), but books which dealt with the history of
the book and the sources it drew on and molded into a uniquely Jewish
version of previous myths, and most especially about the dating of the
New Testament and the contemporary writings of other "Jewish-Christian"
groups, e.g., the Gnostics, I became a flat out atheist. That was around
the age of 23.
(Of course, a few years after that, after reading a lot of Joseph
Campbell and other comparitive mythology/religion authors, I decided that
I was actually a "born-again pagan;" not one of those silly Wiccans or
Satanists, just someone who recognizes that he is part of something much
bigger than himself and that there is no "we" or "they," only "us." If
any of us look into the eyes, or the hearts, of another, we can clearly
see ourselves, and it is for this reason that we should love and care for
each other. And not because some ridiculous figment of our imaginations is
watching us from a throne in Heaven. The universe, as an unintentional
by-product of its own existence, causes, or allows, life to occur, but
the idea that it is remotely interested in any human being, or that it
has a personality, in any meaningful sense of the word, is the height of
arrogant stupidity as far as I'm concerned.)
Maynard, #828, and damn proud of it!
--
---------------------------
Now, Lonestar, you see that evil will always triumph
because good is dumb.
~ Dark Helmet
Colin Montoya-Lewis
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I guess I've never been a theist, and, consequently, never thought about
Cabrutus
Michelle Malkin <malk...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>...
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was an unpracticing Xian (I thought God existed and Jesus existed but
never went to church) until about 9 or 10, when I learned about evolution.
That perfectly-understandable process caused me to question Xianity, which
turned me into a deist. At 12 I almost tricked myself into being a theist
again by a form of Pascal's Wager, but that soon passed. By 14 or 15 I was
an agnostic. During a lull in band class in 9th grade I and a couple of my
friends were able to tear apart a couple of Xians (that's right Frank, I'm
a zealous anti-theist) spiritually until they resorted to "It's just
faith". At about that time I think I was almost an atheist, or was really
an atheist. About four months later I found this NG and the reading of
just a few posts clinched it. I realized how absurd believing that a
magical superpowerful intelligent being who cared about our little planet
would suddenly appear in space somewhere really was.
>
>
>
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
> A young theologian named Fiddle,
> Refused to accept his degree.
> "'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
> Without being Fiddle, D.D."
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
>
>
--
Cabrutus
alt.atheism #820
NOSPAM...@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3587
Remove NOSPAM to respond.
"If you understand why you discount all the other gods but yours, then you
understand why I discount yours as well."
Ken Hall
Alikhat
> Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote
>
>>snip
>
>>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Somewhere between 10 and 12, I'd say. Hard to pin down exactly, since
I'd never had a very firm idea about god ( oh, right, some thingy in
space somewhere that made everything... ) and dropping the whole notion
just seemed like part of the process of growing up. Like not believing
in Santa. I do have to say that I *never* believed in either the devil
or hell. From my earliest memories of childhood, those sort of things
were always relegated exclusively to Halloween paraphernalia and tales
about what ignorant medieval folk believed in. I was genuinely amazed
the first time I met a real live person ( a very crazy babysitter ) who
*did* believe in all that. Simply blew my mind...didn't *change* it,
though. ;-)
Alikhat #757
Daneel
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
I was never a theist, so I figure I became atheist when I first
learned about theism; age 6. I learned a great deal about theism
in general and particular religions ever since [now I'm 22], but
I never encountered something whose lack of truth was a question
to me.
Bye
Daneel [a#323] (ust...@cs.elte.hu)
******************************************************************
"Radio has no future." _Lord Kelvin
"X-rays will prove to be a hoax." _Lord Kelvin
erikc
On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin)
-- origin: alt.atheism:
>|These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>|questions are welcome.
>|
>|#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Thirteen.
Erikc #2 Ag
"Go and take a crap, then look into the toilet bowl. You are are looking
into the mind of a Fundamentalist." -- xona
Justin Maroncelli
The Big Move from theism to atheism started, for me, when I was
eight years old, and a friend's mother (I lived in Bible-thumpin'
Atlanta) said to me "Now you *know* that the Big Bang is just a
*theory*, and that God made it all, right?"
That ludicrous statement started the process of rational thought
which led me here.
Justin Maroncelli
#832
-"I am Flanders of the Borg. Prepare to be
assimi-diddly-doodly-ated."
Matthew S. Cramer
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
About 16.
Matt
Raistlin Majere, Archmage
On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT, malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin)
announced to all:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was 19, as I recall.
Raist
alt.atheism atheist #51
Nothing is the miracle it appears to be--Simon Stevin
<dkresch><at><execpc><dot><com>
Dewey Henize
In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
Michelle Malkin <malk...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
hard as I knew how to find some way to reconcile what I saw with the
idea of the X-Ian diety.
I'm absolutely convinced it cannot be done by someone who's honest
with themselves.
In the process of trying to pound the square god pegs into the round
holes I kept running across, I bounced up against a lot of other god
concepts as well. Funny, except for the strictly symbolic (like
Natalie's paganism or a lot of the practice of Amerind groups), it just
would not work. I put in the requisite days and nights of wrestling
with the moral issues. I went to various churches, synagogues, and
even scientology cult recruitment. None of it made sense.
In the final analysis, it simply made much more sense to accept the
default position - there's no reputable proof. Once I did it became
much easier to see just how dishonest most theists are as soon
as you get away from daily activities.
Barring severe brain damage, I cannot picture going back to that level
of self-delusion.
Dew de la BAAWA
--
Dew de la BAAWA #119
"If you're not a clueless newbie, you are certainly the most clueless
veteran I've ever seen." Mike McAngus's observation of the moronic
chr...@cs.jhu.edu (Antichrist Alex/Ethel/Alex Reynolds)
cz...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote:
: These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
: questions are welcome.
: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Hard to tell. Atheism sort of snuck up on me. Once I realised I was an
atheist, I was suprised that I had been for quite some time.
Call it my early twenties.
--
***********************************************************
I saw weird stuff in that place last night -- weird,
strange, sick, twisted, eerie, godless, *evil* stuff!
And I want in!
Homer J. Simpson
***********************************************************
cz...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
June Gill (ju...@budworth.demon.co.uk) wrote:
: In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
: <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
: >These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
: >questions are welcome.
: >
: >#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: 18 and a few months - early thirties actually.
Your *really* late teens, eh? ;)
James Atkinson
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
> A young theologian named Fiddle,
> Refused to accept his degree.
> "'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
> Without being Fiddle, D.D."
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Hehe good Tagline,
Anywho, I guess I was about 15 or 16 when I realized that I was a
full-fleged atheist. I had never really belived in "god" or much of
anything in that vain so I can't say I was ever a theist eather. Around
the time I was 16 I read some of the bible and laughted harder then I
have ever laughted befor when I realized that some people accully try to
base there lives around such foolish notions. Sortly after that I moved
to a little very-christian town and was quite sickened...however I did
manage to convert my best friend to Agnostisium (if not atheism), it
wasn't very hard because he was (at the time) a closet homosexual and
rather fedup with the church and confused about who he was.
James Atkinson
wil...@atheist.com
<insert witty tagline here>
PKo...@primavera.com
In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
malk...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
> A young theologian named Fiddle,
> Refused to accept his degree.
> "'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
> Without being Fiddle, D.D."
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
I started really pulling myself out of the pit while I was still
attending Drexel. Although I was involved in quite a few religious
activities while at college, I seriously began to analyze and question
those activities and my various beliefs. Begin Catholic, I was involved
quite a log in the Newman center and also got involved in another fundy
group known as the DCF or Drexel Christian Fellowship (at the behest of a
good friend of mine, southern baptist, who is now one of those so-called
"ex-atheists" who was born again two yearst ago. He's till SB, just
writes newsletters about it now). Anyway, in 1994, I was 26, and finally
came to the conclusion that it all really was a crock of shit.
A lot of my introspection came almost as a direct result of my best
friend undergoing a conversion from RCC into a fundy Assembly of God
cult. Previous to his conversion, he had been dating a girl for about 7
years. She was a RCC hating SB, attacked me everytime she saw me (about
religion and being shorter than here). In late 93, she apparently
decided he wasn't the right religion and broke up with him. The reason?
God told her to. No joke, that's a quote. Then he "found god" at the
AOG cult in southern MD (where she went to school). Of course, then
their marriage was on again because, god said it was OK. Again, that's a
quote.
We used to get a group of us together for role-playing once a week. One
week, he announced he couldn't continue because his wife (after they
married) had explained to him that RPG's were instruments of satan. She
had his life under detailed control, every aspect was directed as a
result of one of her conversations with god. So much so, you could
practically see the little god-shaped nose-ring with the jesus-colored
chain between to it and her wrist.
This 'conversion' of my best friend, and subsequent loss of him as a
friend (his wife explained how god revealed that Catholics are inherently
evil, and can't be friends to the 'saved') are what helped set me on my
final path to freedom.
I also have another friend who turned into a rabid JW and there was that
SB friend who was born-again into the same cult. Please note, every
one of them now says they are atheists who found god. All I can say is
"Bullshit!"
Anyway, I guess the short answer is I finally became an atheist around
age 26.
Paul J. Koeck, #360
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Jay Mehaffey
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was always an atheist. In my younger years I was more agnostic in
view, but always an atheist.
Jay Mehaffey
My opinions, not my companies, duh.
Douglas Jackson
In our last episode of [alt.atheism], Michelle Malkin wrote:
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
That's a hard question for me to answer. As far as I can tell I have
always been an atheist. My first conscious realisation that I was an
atheist was, I recall, when I was about 13 or so. Before then the whole
notion of an entity called "God" was of little concern to me. It wasn't
until my early teens that I though of how silly the whole concept was in
the first place.
Non Serviam,
Doug (Atheist #274)
--
_.-------Commercial e-mail will be read at a cost of AUS$25 each-------.
_ // I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed |
\X/ or numbered! My life is my own. - No.6 to No.2, "The Prisoner" |
`----As always, my university has no idea at all of what I am saying----'
Amiga Users - Someone you trust is one of us.
Drachen
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I had had serious doubts as to the literal truth of the Bible as long as
I could remember, but the crystalization of my atheism came when I was
17 and was prompted by a religion teacher to really think about my
religion. I love the irony that I came out with the opposite conclusion
than he had intended.
--
-Drachen
alt.atheism atheist #742
Direct all correspondance/flames to:
dra...@worldnet.att.net
MagyckMe
>: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
>26. And I still haven't told my momma, it would break her heart!
>(Raised Roman Catholic)
30. And I haven't told mom either. (...also a recovered Catholic).
================================================================
"I speak the way, and the way is open." ...Louise Cooper, the Chaos Gate
Trilogy
"Even Chaos has a pattern." ...bumper sticker
"'And who do you think created Chaos?' said the lawyer." ;-)
Blackguard
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Dunno. There wasn't a turning point in which I woke up and said, "there
is NO God!" No, in fact there was never a time that I truly believed in
the Great SkyDaddy. I might have had the beginnings of a belief system
as a small child, but never did I really believe. However by the time I
entered high school I was the atheist that I am today. I don't know if
this helps.
Kate Watts
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
>
8 or 9. I remember being asked in school after assembly to "draw a
picture of god", and being confused because I didn't know how to draw
something that didn't exist! Too scared to tell my teacher I drew the
archetypal bearded man in clouds above earth kinda thing. At about the
same time I got 100 lines (the most futile punishment known to man) for
upsetting a girl in my year by calling her "silly" for believing in god.
Kate
Todd Matthew Koson
#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
-9 months.
John Caballero
In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com> Michelle Malkin,
I began to have some suspicions regarding the non-existence of God when I
was about 7 or 8, and by the time I was 10 I was sure.
----------------------
John Caballero
edib...@mail.utexas.edu
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~john/
Article title found in a popular PC magazine: "Plug and Play - How to
Make It Work"
Rob~
On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT, Michelle Malkin wrote:
}These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
}questions are welcome.
}
}#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Hmm, I know for certain I was an atheist by the time I was 15, but before
that I can't really say. I had been agnostic for several years before, but
looking back I can't really say that I ever believed in a god. When I was 5
or 6 I got a kick out of some of the bible stories we learned in Sunday
school, and I suppose I believed them to some extent, but they were all
stories that didn't involve god in any supernatural sense (like hearing about
Moses' mother sending him down the river in a basket - that was him, wasn't
it? It's been a long time...). I suppose I regarded them on the same level as
all the other stories my parents read to me, though now that I'm older I
realize Dr. Suess is infinitely more entertaining. :)
}^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
}A young theologian named Fiddle,
}Refused to accept his degree.
}"'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
}Without being Fiddle, D.D."
}^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
I like that...
Rob~, #754
Toby
On 16 Sep 1997, Jim Sarbeck wrote:
> My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
> non-denominational Christian.
Well, you were a catholic as soon as dad came.
Be~cau~se....
--
\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\ \\\\\\\ \\\\\\
\\\ \\\\all\ \\\\these\ \\ moments\\\ \\\\\will\ \\\\be\\\\\\lost\\\ \\
\ \\in\\ \\\\time\ \\\\\\\\\like\\\ \\\\\tears\\\ \\\in\\\\ \\rain\\\ \
\\\ \\\\ \\\ \\\http://members.tripod.com/~Tesseract\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\ \\\
zach
Michelle Malkin wrote:
> Oh, yeah. I became an atheist when I was 12. I couldn't believe in a
> deity that allowed so much evil, pain and destruction in the world. As
> I got older, my reading and discussions with others convinced me over
> and over that I had made the right choice.
Dig this: I was eight years old when I discovered WWII books. I read about
the japanese methods of torture, The Nazi death camps where they stripped all
the gold teeth out of living people, and other sordid details. I realized
there were no gaurdian angels or loving, caring gawd. Fundys might claim
that their god had some leson to teach. I say crap. If there ever was
any god in the past, it is dead now.
Let It Be Said That Damn Is god's Last Name.
zach #33 the ultimate nonbeliever
Capella
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> In <5vkft2$13p$1...@newbabylon.rs.itd.umich.edu> tmk...@umich.edu (Todd
> Matthew Koson) writes:
> >
> >
> > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
> >
>
> Do you mean the day you were born or 9 months later?
>
> Mickey
I think he is trying to say that everyone is an atheist from conception
until they are old enough to be properly brain-washed. :^)
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Capella #5
Dallas, Texas
See Zeus zap an infidel at Capella's Observatory
Also pictures of galaxies, nebula, star clusters, etc...
http://web2.airmail.net/sybil/capella/
Jim Sarbeck
: Michelle Malkin wrote:
: >
: > These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
: > questions are welcome.
: >
: > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: >
The first time? 14.
Regards,
Jim Sarbeck
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
June Gill
In article <5vifqk$6...@sjx-ixn5.ix.netcom.com>, Michelle Malkin
<malk...@ix.netcom.com> writes
>
>So far, six people have changed from being theists of some kind to being
>atheists, as
>a direct or partial result of reading this newsgroup. I'd call that a
>pretty good reason for us to continue doing good work right here, as
>well as in the world outside computerland.
I wonder how many deists, as opposed to theists, lurk in this newsgroup.
If there are any, I really don't think they will have been impressed by
most of the theists who visit us, and they must have been given a lot of
food for thought by the arguments of many of the atheists.
--
June G
# 364
erikc
On Mon, 15 Sep 1997 11:51:52 -0600
PKo...@Primavera.com
-- origin: alt.atheism:
[===]
>|A lot of my introspection came almost as a direct result of my best
>|friend undergoing a conversion from RCC into a fundy Assembly of God
>|cult. Previous to his conversion, he had been dating a girl for about 7
>|years. She was a RCC hating SB, attacked me everytime she saw me (about
>|religion and being shorter than here). In late 93, she apparently
>|decided he wasn't the right religion and broke up with him. The reason?
>|God told her to. No joke, that's a quote. Then he "found god" at the
>|AOG cult in southern MD (where she went to school). Of course, then
>|their marriage was on again because, god said it was OK. Again, that's a
>|quote.
Sounds like this woman had problems *before* she ever got religion.
>|We used to get a group of us together for role-playing once a week. One
>|week, he announced he couldn't continue because his wife (after they
>|married) had explained to him that RPG's were instruments of satan. She
Been hearing that one for about as long as I have been aware of RPG's -- at
least since the late '60's.
>|had his life under detailed control, every aspect was directed as a
>|result of one of her conversations with god. So much so, you could
>|practically see the little god-shaped nose-ring with the jesus-colored
>|chain between to it and her wrist.
And this shmuck actually volunteered to be her drone? Yecch!
>|This 'conversion' of my best friend, and subsequent loss of him as a
>|friend (his wife explained how god revealed that Catholics are inherently
>|evil, and can't be friends to the 'saved') are what helped set me on my
>|final path to freedom.
>|I also have another friend who turned into a rabid JW and there was that
>|SB friend who was born-again into the same cult. Please note, every
>|one of them now says they are atheists who found god. All I can say is
>|"Bullshit!"
Say "frank" instead.
>|Anyway, I guess the short answer is I finally became an atheist around
>|age 26.
>|Paul J. Koeck, #360
Erikc #2 Ag
Michelle Malkin
In <P6Lp5OAh...@jgdodworth.demon.co.uk> June Gill <ju...@budworth.demon.co.uk>
writes:
I wouldn't mind seeing some deists here. They'd probably make a hell of
a lot more sense than the fundies we get. I'd be curious to see what
they have to say. Considering how many different kinds of deists there
are, it would probably be very interesting. I'm sure that the fundies
would consider many of them to be atheists, even though they aren't.
Mickey
Landis D. Ragon
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
43
Email address has been munged to prevent spam. Please
remove 'nothing.but.' to generate correct address.
Landis D. Ragon
Chief Elf in the toy factory...
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Michelle Malkin
>
DeeAnne Doseman-Flaws
On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT, malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle
Malkin) wrote:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
>
>
>^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
>A young theologian named Fiddle,
>Refused to accept his degree.
>"'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
>Without being Fiddle, D.D."
>^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Myself, I was a pretty hard core catholic till my grandmother died in
the 7 th grade. This put the seeds of doubt in my mind. Through high
school I tried to "truly" believe again, but then I started to read
Von Daniken <sp>, which now I know is largely full of BS, but it
really raised doubt. By the time I left for college, I was an
agnostic. Got engaged to a catholic, tried again, still didn't do it
for me. The relationship went to hell, thus became an agnostic till
my late twenties. As I got older, and met my first baptists, this
reinforced my atheistic tendency, and by the time I hit 30, a hard
core atheist. Initially, pretty quiet, but now because of the
internet, much more a strong atheist.
DeeAnne
May the IPU bless you,
DeeAnne Doseman-Flaws
Atheist #112
deea...@deltanet.com
Jim Sarbeck
In article <5vkuh3$r...@dfw-ixnews10.ix.netcom.com>,
malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
: In <cjplace-1509...@smpop11.batnet.com>
: cjp...@batnet.nospam.com (Jim Sarbeck) writes:
: >
: >
: >: Michelle Malkin wrote:
: >: >
: >: > These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New
: atheist
: >: > questions are welcome.
: >: >
: >: > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: >: >
: >The first time? 14.
: >
: >Regards,
: >Jim Sarbeck
: >*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
: When did you stop being an atheist and when did you become one again
: and why? Hmmm, that a lot for one sentence, isn't it? :)
I gradually drifted back to theism till 22 when I married and decided my
kids when they arrived would not be indoctrinated in a religion but would
choose for themselves. As it turned out my one child is religious
(theistic) but not in any way I could pin down to a denomination.
Regards,
Jim Sarbeck
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Paul Andrew King
In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>Subject: aa atheist question #10
>From: Michelle Malkin
>Reply-To: malk...@mindspring.com
>Organization: MindSpring Enterprises, Inc.
>Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT
>Newsgroups: alt.atheism
>
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
Discounting the first time I claimed to be an atheist (apparently around
the age of 6 !), some time between 13-15. In that period I varied between
non-Church going heretical Christian (e.g. believing at times that the OT
God was more likely the Devil), Deist, and atheist.
--
"Hullo clouds, hullo sky, hullo pile of severed human heads," said Major
Basil Fotherington-Thomas.
(Eugene Byrne & Kim Newman "Teddy-Bear's Picnic")
Replace "nospam" with "morat" to reply
Paul K.
Michelle Malkin
In <cjplace-1509...@smpop11.batnet.com>
cjp...@batnet.nospam.com (Jim Sarbeck) writes:
>
>
>: Michelle Malkin wrote:
>: >
>: > These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New
atheist
>: > questions are welcome.
>: >
>: > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>: >
>The first time? 14.
>
>Regards,
>Jim Sarbeck
>*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When did you stop being an atheist and when did you become one again
and why? Hmmm, that a lot for one sentence, isn't it? :)
Mickey
Jim Sarbeck
In article
<A19CB18BA446DBB9.9C3A770F...@library-proxy.airnews.net>,
cap...@airmail.net wrote:
: Michelle Malkin wrote:
: >
: > In <5vkft2$13p$1...@newbabylon.rs.itd.umich.edu> tmk...@umich.edu (Todd
: > Matthew Koson) writes:
: > >
: > >
: > > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: > >
: > >-9 months.
: >
: > Do you mean the day you were born or 9 months later?
: >
: > Mickey
:
:
:
: I think he is trying to say that everyone is an atheist from conception
: until they are old enough to be properly brain-washed. :^)
My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
non-denominational Christian.
Regards,
Jim Sarbeck
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
June Gill
In article <5vjl4g$j9g$7...@news.sas.ab.ca>, cz...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
writes
>June Gill (ju...@budworth.demon.co.uk) wrote:
>: In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
>: <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
>: >These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>: >questions are welcome.
>: >
>: >
>
>Your *really* late teens, eh? ;)
>
No. I'm in my *really* late teens _now_. ;)
Robert E. Charles
>On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT, malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
not an easy answer. even as a child i did not really believe in god
or religious dogma. at age 14 i announced that i was an atheist...
to an overwhelming (sarcasm) response. as far as i can remember i had
always been agnostic up until age 14.
--
Robert E. Charles | rcha...@mail.sunlink.net
--
http://www.sunlink.net/~rcharles/index.htm
--
Make love, not war: Get married and do both!!!
--
I think. That's why I'm an atheist: #444, actually.
--
John Fruetel
Robert E. Charles <rcha...@mail.sunlink.net> wrote in article
<341de9b0...@news.sunlink.net>...
> >On Sun, 14 Sep 1997 21:09:39 GMT, malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle
Malkin) wrote:
>
> >These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> >questions are welcome.
> >
> >#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
> not an easy answer. even as a child i did not really believe in god
> or religious dogma. at age 14 i announced that i was an atheist...
> to an overwhelming (sarcasm) response. as far as i can remember i had
> always been agnostic up until age 14.
I too have always been an atheist, despite the fact that my parents made me
go to church every sunday until I turned 13.
Rob~
On 15 Sep 1997 23:21:06 GMT, Todd Matthew Koson wrote:
} #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
}
}-9 months.
I suppose you win. :)
PKo...@primavera.com
In article <5vl1gt$k...@dfw-ixnews7.ix.netcom.com>,
malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>
> In <5vkft2$13p$1...@newbabylon.rs.itd.umich.edu> tmk...@umich.edu (Todd
> Matthew Koson) writes:
> >
> >
> >
> >-9 months.
>
>
> Mickey
I think he meant NEGATIVE 9 months, the day he was conceived. Maybe
the question should be rephrased as: How many years after you were born
was it when you finally regained the wisdom you had when you were just a
little blob of cells?
Paul J. Koeck, #360
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Darklady
Michelle Malkin <malk...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>...
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
16 or 17.
-- Darklady
--
http://www.spiritone.com/~darklady
http://www.xmag.com
cz...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Todd Matthew Koson (tmk...@umich.edu) wrote:
: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: -9 months.
Smartass.
(Jealous he thought of that answer and I didn't!)
--
***********************************************************
I saw weird stuff in that place last night -- weird,
strange, sick, twisted, eerie, godless, *evil* stuff!
And I want in!
Homer J. Simpson
***********************************************************
Jim Griffin
> >: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
> >
I did not believe any god existed when I was around 10. After reading
greek mythology
I was very convienced that there were no gods in the universe at all.
I still attended church out of respect for mom untill I was about 13.
Then I just couldn't
take it any more and dropped out of church activities completely.
I hid my atheism from other people untill I was over 30 out of fear of
their reactions.
Now I don't give a damn what some theist thinks about my atheism.
Jim
Jim Sarbeck
In article <Pine.SGI.3.95.970915235722.25461B-100000@fraser>, Toby
<tch...@sfu.ca> wrote:
: On 16 Sep 1997, Jim Sarbeck wrote:
:
: > My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
: > non-denominational Christian.
:
Well, there was some swimming involved...
Regards,
Jim Sarbeck
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
PKo...@primavera.com
In article <341daeb1....@news.insync.net>,
fire...@ANTISPAM.insync.net (erikc) wrote:
>
> On Mon, 15 Sep 1997 11:51:52 -0600
> PKo...@Primavera.com
> -- origin: alt.atheism:
>
> [===]
>
> >|A lot of my introspection came almost as a direct result of my best
> >|friend undergoing a conversion from RCC into a fundy Assembly of God
> >|cult. Previous to his conversion, he had been dating a girl for about 7
> >|years. She was a RCC hating SB, attacked me everytime she saw me (about
> >|religion and being shorter than here). In late 93, she apparently
> >|decided he wasn't the right religion and broke up with him. The reason?
> >|God told her to. No joke, that's a quote. Then he "found god" at the
> >|AOG cult in southern MD (where she went to school). Of course, then
> >|their marriage was on again because, god said it was OK. Again, that's a
> >|quote.
>
> Sounds like this woman had problems *before* she ever got religion.
Plenty. Her father is a SB preacher. She was basically screwed from
the start. She just switched from one screw to another.
>
> >|We used to get a group of us together for role-playing once a week. One
> >|week, he announced he couldn't continue because his wife (after they
> >|married) had explained to him that RPG's were instruments of satan. She
>
> Been hearing that one for about as long as I have been aware of RPG's -- at
> least since the late '60's.
>
> >|had his life under detailed control, every aspect was directed as a
> >|result of one of her conversations with god. So much so, you could
> >|practically see the little god-shaped nose-ring with the jesus-colored
> >|chain between to it and her wrist.
>
> And this shmuck actually volunteered to be her drone? Yecch!
Well, he's not really a shmuck. Very nice guy, actually. Extremely
intelligent, one of the best programmers I know. However, he is
somewhat naive and was very much vulnerable to manipulation by
the first woman that was attracted to him.
>
> >|This 'conversion' of my best friend, and subsequent loss of him as a
> >|friend (his wife explained how god revealed that Catholics are inherently
> >|evil, and can't be friends to the 'saved') are what helped set me on my
> >|final path to freedom.
I should point out that I still work with the guy, he's still an
incredible programmer and, although we aren't really close friends, he
never really completely rejected me as a friend.
>
> >|I also have another friend who turned into a rabid JW and there was that
> >|SB friend who was born-again into the same cult. Please note, every
> >|one of them now says they are atheists who found god. All I can say is
> >|"Bullshit!"
>
> Say "frank" instead.
Same thing, less letters.
>
> >|Anyway, I guess the short answer is I finally became an atheist around
> >|age 26.
>
> >|Paul J. Koeck, #360
>
> Erikc #2 Ag
>
> "Go and take a crap, then look into the toilet bowl. You are are looking
> into the mind of a Fundamentalist." -- xona
Paul J. Koeck, #360
Nicolas Demers
Toby wrote:
>
> On 16 Sep 1997, Jim Sarbeck wrote:
>
> > My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
> > non-denominational Christian.
>
>
> Be~cau~se....
"Every sperm is sacred
Every sperm is great
If a sperm is wasted
God gets quite irate..."
--
Nicolas P. Demers n...@cs.sfu.ca
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~npd/personal/index.html
"So how stands the city on this winter's night?
The city on the hill or so they said
The snow is falling down around the armoury
And the city's closing in around my head..."
Clark Nova
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
>
>
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
> A young theologian named Fiddle,
> Refused to accept his degree.
> "'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
> Without being Fiddle, D.D."
> ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
18 or 19. I was dating a devastatingly intelligent girl at the time, and
she helped me get past all of my "societal preconceptions" and I haven't
turned back or regretted it since. Damn I miss her.
Clark #474
Religion's only true enemy is knowledge
Atheist code:DUR4 STR5 BIT3 ACT1 DEF5 DEB5 CON3 SLM4 XTN4 PUB5
Check out http://www.lcs.net/chris/atheist_code.html to get yours!!
Remove the zz in my address to reply
Rob~
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997 14:55:00 -0700, Nicolas Demers wrote:
}Toby wrote:
}>
}> On 16 Sep 1997, Jim Sarbeck wrote:
}>
}> > My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
}> > non-denominational Christian.
}>
}> Well, you were a catholic as soon as dad came.
}>
}> Be~cau~se....
}
}"Every sperm is sacred
}Every sperm is great
}If a sperm is wasted
}God gets quite irate..."
"Let the heathens spill theirs
On the dusty ground
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found"
Rob~, #754
Steve Shriver
Michelle Malkin wrote:
>
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
16. It came down to me no longer being able to rationalize the
contradictions in the bible and make any sense out of the story of an
omnipotent god creating inferior beings to run naked in a garden and
talk to him. What could we possibly say to interest him? Afterall,
this is supposedly an all-knowing god. I had the same problem with the
need this god has for our worship. Why would he care if these little
tiny beings worshiped him or not? Later, as I came to understand the
psychological reasons people believe in god, my lack of belief was
confirmed.
Even at age 16, my parents were nice enough to allow me to stay home
from church. Of course, they thought it was just to watch football
(american football for those overseas). I was lucky to have parents who
were such big football fans.
--
steve shriver # 553
"It was a narrow escape, if the sheep had been created first,
man would have been a plagiarism." Mark Twain
Shell
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Jeez, I...don't even remember. My father claimed atheism, my mother
agnosticism (in the "uncertainty" sense). I went with agnosticism
(except when trying to shock) for a long time. By the time I graduated
from high school I had pretty much found the basis for the weak
atheist stance I still hold. But I'm *really* not sure where the
dividing line fell. Anywhere from twelve to seventeen. Shrug.
Shell
Chris Kennedy
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) spake thusly:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was born that way, never theist. When I got to be about 9 or 10 and
people actually asked me what religion I was, I said agnostic, which
to me meant that I didn't know because I hadn't bothered to think
about it. I actually realized I was an atheist at about age 13 or 14,
and then it was kind of an "oh, that's what I am" realization.
--Chris
Christina Kennedy
Atheist #641
"How did 2 protozoans bump into eathother under a volcanic cesspool
and evolve into Cindy Crawford?" --Fundy in a religion room on Yahoo Chat
Shell
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
Just to clarify: when I said I was agnostic until somewhere between
twelve and seventeen, I meant "stated" agnosticism, as in, if anyone
asked, I was agnostic. Between twelve and seventeen somewhere I began
to *state* that I was an atheist. But you know, I never did believe in
gods. I went through a brief superstitious period after reading "Tom
Sawyer." Does that count?
Shell
Michelle Malkin
I remember a hysterical scene in one of the three Penrod ("Penrod",
"Penrod and Sam" and "Penrod Jashper" books written by Booth Tarkington
which I read over and over when I was a kid. It was a scene where
Penrod (a young boy) and a young black friend kept trying to climb up a
greased pole. As they climbed up, they would scream out, "Going to
heaven!", and as they slid down, "Going to hell!" (of course, they got
into a lot of trouble for this, considering that the stories take place
in a small town fairly early in the century.) This would always crack
me up, even as a kid. In fact, now that I think of it, it may even be
partially responsible for my becoming an atheist at the age of 12. I
never made the connection before!
Mickey
Lilith
On Mon, 15 Sep 1997, June Gill wrote:
> In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
> <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
> >These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> >questions are welcome.
> >
> >#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was born an atheist ;)
L I L I T H
Atheist #328
Sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me ;)
mal...@pla-net.net
<SMALLER>
}These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New
atheist
}questions are welcome.
}
}#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?</SMALLER><SMALLER>
Hmmm, How old was I when I realized that I was an atheist?
Well, I never believed in god at all. I was raised in a house
where religion was never talked about. My father was an athiest but
he never mentioned a word about it or tried to influence us children.
My mom is a baptist or something and to this date I don't really know.
The subject just never came up and I am very grateful to my parent
for letting me decide for myself when I get older without any of the
brain washing crap that goes on.
But I actually thought about my beliefs and realized I was athiest
(didn't know that people really believed in that fairy tale stuff)
when I was around 12 years old. When some of the fundy's or JW's that
would see me by myself and think that they can prey on a young kid
alone and get another convert notch on thier belt. I was actually
upset that they would try to prey on young children like myself.
I wonder if they get some kinda patch to wear if they get so many
new converts?
Why don't I believe? Sorry but it is just fairy tale nonsense just
like all of the other thousands of religions out thier past and
present. Now that I have read the bible several times, I can tell
you specifically why I wouldn't be a follow the christian god even if
by some remote twilight zone reality distortion field that would make
him real. But that would be another post and much to long to get
into.
Athiest lurker # ?
Jeff Dalton aka malakai (pronouced malachi )</SMALLER>
Jim Sarbeck
: In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
: <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
: These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
: questions are welcome.
: >
: #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
:
Some folks have said they were born atheists. Last night I watched a
program on linguistics that went into Chomsky's theories that we are born
with a language grammar (for 'the human language', not any particular
language) that affects our languages and how we learn them. This language
grammar is related to the structure and organization of our brain. (My
explanation is probably greatly garbled.)
I am wondering if there is a similar process, structure, etc. that guides
or affects how we organize reality or explanations of it. Is there a
parallel to language formation? While our tendencies toward language and
our tendencies toward explaining things are both readily understandable,
is there a 'grammar' that we bring to both?
Maybe we are born scientists/explainers/model builders, and at firtst
apply anthropomorphic models to reality because such forces are the most
obvious ones in our early lives? But do the parallels that go across
cultures imply more than this?
Any comments on the linguistic grammar theory and the possible
linguistic/explanatory parallel would be of interest to me. Arguments
abotu whether or not it points to deity would not be. If you have an
interest and some background information to share, please do so. Perhaps a
new thread title, like "How We Explain Reality" would be useful.
Regards,
Jim Sarbeck
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
lm...@nih.gov
In article <dhane-ya02408000...@news.mother.com>,
dh...@zzmother.com (Clark Nova) wrote:
> Clark #474
>
> Religion's only true enemy is knowledge
>
> Atheist code:DUR4 STR5 BIT3 ACT1 DEF5 DEB5 CON3 SLM4 XTN4 PUB5
> Check out http://www.lcs.net/chris/atheist_code.html to get yours!!
I think you need to work on this a little bit.
For DURation, you have the age at which people converted to atheism. I
think that should be deconverted, and why not just put age? Duration is
a different issue. For me 14/29
For STRength, the highest category is 5, don't believe in god. I would
have to be a 6, there are no gods.
For BITterness, you have various categories. But I'm not bitter. Do you
have some category for "laughed so hard at that garboonery, my soda ran
out my nose"?
And for ACTivism, you have choices that go from running atheist
organizations all the way to liking theism. I don't think I'm rare among
atheists in that I simply don't like organizations. It's one of the
reasons I don't like churches or any institutionalized religion. But the
fact that I don't wish to join an atheist organization is no indication
that I like theism.
Still I like your idea, it's funny.
> Remove the zz in my address to reply
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
lm...@nih.gov
In article <B045278...@206.150.180.192>,
mal...@pla-net.net wrote:
>
> }These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New
> atheist questions are welcome.
> }#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
> Hmmm, How old was I when I realized that I was an atheist?
>
> Well, I never believed in god at all. I was raised in a house
> where religion was never talked about. My father was an athiest but
> he never mentioned a word about it or tried to influence us children.
> My mom is a baptist or something and to this date I don't really know.
> The subject just never came up and I am very grateful to my parent
> for letting me decide for myself when I get older without any of the
> brain washing crap that goes on.
>
> But I actually thought about my beliefs and realized I was athiest
> (didn't know that people really believed in that fairy tale stuff)
> when I was around 12 years old. When some of the fundy's or JW's that
> would see me by myself and think that they can prey on a young kid
> alone and get another convert notch on thier belt. I was actually
> upset that they would try to prey on young children like myself.
>
> I wonder if they get some kinda patch to wear if they get so many
> new converts?
No, but I do think that community thinks of new converts as a good source
of income. It can't be all just a bad meme, can it?
> Why don't I believe? Sorry but it is just fairy tale nonsense just
> like all of the other thousands of religions out thier past and
> present. Now that I have read the bible several times, I can tell
> you specifically why I wouldn't be a follow the christian god even if
> by some remote twilight zone reality distortion field that would make
> him real. But that would be another post and much to long to get
> into.
>
> Athiest lurker # ?
You can ask Michelle Malkin to assign you an atheist number, which is why
I am emailing this to her.
> Jeff Dalton aka malakai (pronouced malachi )</SMALLER>
Count me as one who threw off the chains at age 14.
And with that I would like to present a little chart of the age at which
people became atheists, according to the responses so far.
____________________________________________________ . . . 10 . . .
. . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 ...
Vertical axis is number of people, horizontal axis is age (even numbers
are taken to include the following odd number, thus 14 includes ages 14 &
15). I hope you can see the little dots.
I was curious as to the general age at which people grew out of religion.
From seeing this question asked before I was very surprised at the wide
range of ages. I was amazed at how many people never believed in it or
who had doubts when they were very young children. Those who describe
themselves as never believing in it, but not realizing that they were
actually called atheists until later, are listed as age zero. Clearly
there is a big hit in the early teens, but there is no reason to give up
hope, since enlightenment continues to occur. :-)
Lisa Star
LM...@nih.gov
#184
lm...@nih.gov
In article <cjplace-1709...@smpop08.batnet.com>,
cjp...@batnet.nospam.com (Jim Sarbeck) wrote:
>
>
> : In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
> : <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
> : questions are welcome.
> : >
> : #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
> Some folks have said they were born atheists. Last night I watched a
> program on linguistics that went into Chomsky's theories that we are born
> with a language grammar (for 'the human language', not any particular
> language) that affects our languages and how we learn them. This language
> grammar is related to the structure and organization of our brain. (My
> explanation is probably greatly garbled.)
So is theirs, or rather, I disagree with it. But you have it about right.
They think more or less that, we are born with the ability to
distinguish between as well as recognize certain categories of
words/ideas. For example, babies very early can understand nouns/things
and verbs/actions. They seem to instinctively recognize sound
collections as names of things, for example.
I sort of disagree with them in that I think that we are born with the
ability to learn language, but we are not born with any language elements
such as nouns/verbs.
> I am wondering if there is a similar process, structure, etc. that guides
> or affects how we organize reality or explanations of it.
I think there is. But again, I feel that we are born with the ability to
organize our concept of the world. In fact, we have to do this for two
reasons. One is unthinking reaction for safety reasons. For example, it
is good to beware of red things (maybe). And secondly and more
importantly, for psychological reasons, since the world is just too
chaotic to cope with. I believe that each person constructs a sort of
mental "jungle-jim" a metal structure made of poles that you can climb
on, hang things on and run around in. It is really a "gym" but I learned
the word when I was very little and my brother's name was Jim. Anyway, I
think we (almost) all have an ability to do this, but we do it
differently. Some people have a very rigid structure which can't be
added to or changed. Others have a very flexible structure which can be
easily be taken apart and rebuilt with entire new wings added on. I
personally do not think that the difference between these types is based
on what people learn, but more on how they are biologically. But there
is some evidence that a chaotic and poverty-stricken childhood may make
people more rigid.
> Is there a
> parallel to language formation? While our tendencies toward language and
> our tendencies toward explaining things are both readily understandable,
> is there a 'grammar' that we bring to both?
I personally do not think there are any elements to this structure. I
notice that a sense of time is one of people's most basic concepts of
their world, but it varies quite a bit in different cultures, as Navaho,
from Western European. These things are often absorbed through language
learning, though. As you learn a language, you learn a way to categorize
experience. I do not agree at all with Joseph Campbell or Jung in their
beliefs in archetypes. For one thing, they seem mired in standard
Western sexism. As a woman, I am often completely mystified by the
"universals" that they take for granted.
> Maybe we are born scientists/explainers/model builders, and at firtst
> apply anthropomorphic models to reality because such forces are the most
> obvious ones in our early lives? But do the parallels that go across
> cultures imply more than this?
There is a book "Faces in the Clouds" which sounds really good, though I
haven't read it. It explains the tendancy to anthropomorphosize. It is
sold through the Internet Infidels Secular Web, I think, which I mention
because I can't remember the author. But it doesn't seem to fit me very
well. I can remember seeing faces in the trees when I was very small,
but I knew they weren't real. I think the meme explanation is a better
one for why religions are such successful parasites.
> Any comments on the linguistic grammar theory and the possible
> linguistic/explanatory parallel would be of interest to me. Arguments
> abotu whether or not it points to deity would not be. If you have an
> interest and some background information to share, please do so. Perhaps a
> new thread title, like "How We Explain Reality" would be useful.
Well, I think it was a very good question. I have been interested for a
long time in precisely the problem of how people think. Chomsky said
that language is a window into the mind, and I think that is very
relevant. That is how I use it. But I notice over and over again on
these net arguments how often people are misusing words. They seem to be
methodically mistaught, by being taught false concepts along with the
introduction of new words. You can see this in how easy it is to
recognize somebody's religion by the code words they use. They are often
quite unaware of it.
>
> Regards,
> Jim Sarbeck
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lisa Star
LM...@nih.gov
Chris Nelson
> In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
> <malk...@mindspring.com> writes
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I have always been an atheist.
I grew up in a family of atheists (my parents call themselves agnostics),
and my sister is also an atheist. I also grew up in a city where atheism
is tolerated and quite common, and at school it was very uncool to admit
you were religious -- you would be laughed at. For a few years I also
lived in England, where prayer is often conducted in schools...though my
classmates and I participated in the prayer, none of us took it seriously.
We often made up our own words to parody the prayers and hymns.
The only time I was ever taken to church was when we visited relatives
on my father's side of the family (among whom are some fanatical fundies.
I remember even at the age of five thinking that the idea of praying to
a god you couldn't see was silly. I considered god to be something that
silly adults believed in, but we kids were too smart to believe in.
Now at the age of 31 it still amazes me that there are people my age or
younger who have been bitten by the Jesus bug. I had thought that my
generation would have known better.
atheist #135
Chris Nelson (domain: ia.net)
Todd Matthew Koson
cz...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca wrote:
: Todd Matthew Koson (tmk...@umich.edu) wrote:
: : #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
: : -9 months.
: Smartass.
: (Jealous he thought of that answer and I didn't!)
Ah-ha - the quick and the dead . . .
For clarification's sake (Michelle):
I like to think I was born without the bad meme. There actually is some
historic evidence for this. I was raised a Catholic (note the Matthew in
my middle name which I write opn purpose to remind me of my burden) but I
honestly didn't buy it. When I was in CCD I was the first to ask my
teacher "But how did he get all those animals on the boat?", and "Why does
that picture of Eve have a bellybutton?"
All this at age 8 (yeah- I was a pretty intense little kid). The answer
was either "Shut up" or "pray to "god" for an answer". I never got the
answers - and I knew that it was an empty "promise".
Then I met Herr Nietzsche and the rest is history . . .
TK
U of M
June Gill
In article <B045278...@206.150.180.192>, mal...@pla-net.net writes
>
>
>
>
>
>}These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>}questions are welcome.
>}
>
>
That sounds like a good atheist question. Do we have one on the list to
that effect, Mickey?
--
June G
# 364
Robert E. Charles
>On 16 Sep 97 07:03:24 GMT, "John Fruetel" <jfru...@inreach.com> wrote:
>>Robert E. Charles <rcha...@mail.sunlink.net> wrote in article
>> or religious dogma. at age 14 i announced that i was an atheist...
>> to an overwhelming (sarcasm) response. as far as i can remember i had
>> always been agnostic up until age 14.
>
>I too have always been an atheist, despite the fact that my parents made me
>go to church every sunday until I turned 13.
funny how that works. to add to the story, i remember when i was 12
or 13 i went to a church with my parents. the preacher did one of
those things where those who are not saved should walk up front and
kneel and he would pray with them individually.
so, realizing that my parents were staring at me, i walked up front to
get out of their glaring eyes. anyway, i remember that when i came
back to my seat i was bawling my head off. i think my parents thought
i had some kind of emotional/spiritual experience. i've never had the
heart to tell them, however, that i was crying because at that moment,
up front there, i realized that the prayer was to a god that did not
exist, that there was nothing at all to the god concept, and that
religion was bullshit. at that point i realized that my path and the
road my family was on would never be the same. at that age it was
quite upsetting.
--
Robert E. Charles | rcha...@mail.sunlink.net
--
http://www.sunlink.net/~rcharles/index.htm
--
Make love, not war: Get married and do both!!!
--
I think. That's why I'm an atheist: #444, actually.
--
Talon
I was in my late teens when I becan my movement toward Atheism. Over the last
5 or 6 years I was being "shamed" every Sunday in the baptist church. One day
my neighbor (a high school drop out who worked his way up to get his PHD and
became a professor at Tulsa University) slammed a few traveling preachers. The
two religious travelers left puzzled and had no answers for Bob. Thus began my
ability te think freely and break the bonds of oppression and shame.I did not
jump into Atheism until my early twenties however. After my neighbor slammed
the preachers, I stopped going to church, continued my life casually and
finally decided that I did not believe in a god.I continued thru college and
received my Engineering degree. While in college, I mentioned to a few people
that I was an Atheist. That is when everything began to click.I was not that
informed about Atheism other than a lack of belief, had no other froends that
were Atheists. Suddenly close friends began distancing themselves. I did not
have a good argument other this is what I believe and I respect your views.
Between then and now, after the first time that I break the news to a person,
the word spreads quickly. A couple of years ago at work, I mentioned to a
friend (who I later found out in Pentecostal) that I was an Atheist. I was
looking for a room mate and he was thinking of renting one of my rooms out.
Not long after this, I mentioned that Craig was thinking of moving in as a
room mate to a fellow worker, they replied "good, maybee he will start getting
you to attend church"!
That is when the war began.
--
Talon Atheist #316
(real E-Mail address Ho...@ionet.net)
Michelle Malkin
In <cVzdyAA+...@jgdodworth.demon.co.uk> June Gill
Nope. How about: Why don't you as an atheist have any religious
beliefs? Any others suggestions for wording?
Mickey
Shell
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997 19:31:27 -0800, dh...@zzmother.com (Clark Nova)
wrote:
Clark #474:
>18 or 19. I was dating a devastatingly intelligent girl at the time, and
>she helped me get past all of my "societal preconceptions" and I haven't
>turned back or regretted it since. Damn I miss her.
My hope is that I was that girl for someone. The poor bastard was a
... mormon. He's real bright-frighteningly bright-but insisted that he
*did not* believe in god just because he'd been taught so. I said
otherwise and he was reduced to "just don't say that!" I have no idea
what his present beliefs are...but he didn't make his missionary
foray. At a guess, I'd say he's an agnostic at this time.
Shell
fzwie...@hotmail.com
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I've been one (or possibly agnostic, the definition seems
to depend on the speaker) since I can remember. So let's
say since 8. I don't recall thinking much about the
subject earlier than that.
Cheers
Frank
Shell
On 17 Sep 1997 02:36:22 GMT, malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin)
wrote:
>Why did reading "Tom Sawyer" make you superstitious?
Well, it was all the cool beliefs that Tom and Huck held...like
marbles would find their brothers, and whiporwills would indicate
deaths, and a stray dog barking would mean someone would die, and etc.
And never begin any undertakings on a Friday....
>I remember a hysterical scene in one of the three Penrod ("Penrod",
>"Penrod and Sam" and "Penrod Jashper" books written by Booth Tarkington
>which I read over and over when I was a kid. It was a scene where
>Penrod (a young boy) and a young black friend kept trying to climb up a
>greased pole. As they climbed up, they would scream out, "Going to
>heaven!", and as they slid down, "Going to hell!" (of course, they got
>into a lot of trouble for this, considering that the stories take place
>in a small town fairly early in the century.) This would always crack
>me up, even as a kid. In fact, now that I think of it, it may even be
>partially responsible for my becoming an atheist at the age of 12. I
>never made the connection before!
Funny, ain't it?
Sure, Twain's absurdities didn't lead me in the direction of religion.
Neither did Tarkington's (*Seventeen* in my case). If I'd been paying
attention, both led me away.
Shell
>Mickey
Brian J. Sayatovic
fzwie...@hotmail.com wrote in article <8745951...@dejanews.com>...
> In article <5vhn2s$j...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
> malk...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
> > #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>
> I've been one (or possibly agnostic, the definition seems
> to depend on the speaker) since I can remember. So let's
> say since 8. I don't recall thinking much about the
> subject earlier than that.
I would like to answer this one also. Let's see... An Atheist is godless, or
in today's definition of the masses, one who doesn't believe in any God. Well,
when I was born I couldn't even distinguish my feet as being mine,m much less
blieve in a supernatural being. So I'd say I was atheist then. And since I
was never brain washed as a child with the primordial seed of believeing in
God, I never developed my own beliefs. Instead, as I asked questions, I got a
wide variety of answers and took the ones that seemed to make sense, not the
ones I was predispositioned to from childhood brainwashing. (Yes, taking a
child to church is, in my humble opinion, brainwashing. Unless, of course, you
explain that they are free to choose what they want to believe and make all
materials so readily available). So, after this breif thoguht experiment, I'd
say I've been an atheist since I was alive. I never really became one. I just
never became a theist.
Brian.
Talon
This thread made me think of a good point. There was a news report about when
raising a child it is omportant to read to that child as soon as possible,
even newborns. Choldren have the ability to remember certain things but at
that early age they cannot comprehend it.
Many xtian families bring their child to services. Weekly these children
listen to the ramblings and the word jesus. Later in life when they can
comprehend the language and they hear the same words again, the words
re-appear and they make a connection. Xtian groups love to get kids as soon as
possible. I witnedded 3 SYATP rally's Wednesday and the brainwashing is very
evident.
How much of religion is subliminal?
lm...@nih.gov
Michelle,
malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
Is there a question along the lines of, Are you antitheistic (or just
atheist)? Why or why not? What good or bad do you think religion does
to the people who believe in it?
The reason I ask is because I've been an atheist forever, but I have
become much more antitheistic since I have been on the net.
Lisa Star
LM...@Nih.gov
Clark Nova
> Michelle,
> malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>
> Is there a question along the lines of, Are you antitheistic (or just
> atheist)? Why or why not? What good or bad do you think religion does
> to the people who believe in it?
>
> The reason I ask is because I've been an atheist forever, but I have
> become much more antitheistic since I have been on the net.
>
> Lisa Star
> LM...@Nih.gov
>
Ya know, I have too. I can actually be quite rude at times. I have examined
this and come to the conclusion that I have just seen the same arguments
(Pascal's wager, argument from design, argument from authority, etc) so
many times that I quickly lose patience with people. My reasoning is that
if I can take the time and energy to acquire the knowledge, anyone who
wishes to debate the issue with me should be expected to do the same. Is
this wrong? Honestly, I would like opinions.
Clark #474
Religion's only true enemy is knowledge
Atheist code:DUR4 STR5 BIT3 ACT1 DEF5 DEB5 CON3 SLM4 XTN4 PUB5
Check out http://www.lcs.net/chris/atheist_code.html to get yours!!
Remove the zz in my address to reply
Van Isaac Anderson
Toby wrote:
>
> On 16 Sep 1997, Jim Sarbeck wrote:
>
> > My Dad's sperm cells were Catholic and my Mother's ova were
> > non-denominational Christian.
I'm a Roman Catholic. And have been since before I was born.
And the one thing they say about catholics,
is they'll take you as soon as you're warm.
You don't have to be a six footer
(like that stops other fundies from brainwashing their kids.)
You don't have to have any clothes on you're
> a catholic as soon as dad came.
>
> Be~cau~se....
>
> --
> \\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ \\\ \\\\\\\ \\\\\\
> \\\ \\\\all\ \\\\these\ \\ moments\\\ \\\\\will\ \\\\be\\\\\\lost\\\ \\
> \ \\in\\ \\\\time\ \\\\\\\\\like\\\ \\\\\tears\\\ \\\in\\\\ \\rain\\\ \
> \\\ \\\\ \\\ \\\http://members.tripod.com/~Tesseract\\ \\\\ \\\\ \\ \\\
Sorry, I had to.
--
Van Isaac Anderson alt.atheist #716
mailto:vani...@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/8250/mtime.htm
"I know of no better goal in life than to perish in attempting the great
and the impossible." - FNietzsche
Van Isaac Anderson
Shell wrote:
>
> >These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> >questions are welcome.
> >
>
> agnosticism (in the "uncertainty" sense). I went with agnosticism
> (except when trying to shock) for a long time. By the time I graduated
> from high school I had pretty much found the basis for the weak
> atheist stance I still hold. But I'm *really* not sure where the
> dividing line fell. Anywhere from twelve to seventeen. Shrug.
>
> Shell
Boy, when I read this, I thought you were talking about the dividing
line between atheist and agnostic. Now that's another topic altogether.
--
Van Isaac Anderson alt.atheist #716
mailto:vani...@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/8250/mtime.htm
http://landru.i-link-2.net/mcander/index.htm
Magenta
Van Isaac Anderson <vani...@geocities.com> doth speak:
>Boy, when I read this, I thought you were talking about the dividing
>line between atheist and agnostic. Now that's another topic altogether.
And one that I get more confused about
every time someone answers the question!
--
+----- Peace & Love, ----+- Magenta (dash) 7 (at) JUNO (dot) com ----+
| /| /| _ _ _ _-|-_ |"There are more things in heaven and earth,|
| / |/ |(_|(_|(/_| )|(_| | Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." |
|_________ _/ __________|_________________--[Hamlet Act I: Scene V]_|
Michelle Malkin
>Is there a question along the lines of, Are you antitheistic (or just
>atheist)? Why or why not? What good or bad do you think religion does
>to the people who believe in it?
>The reason I ask is because I've been an atheist forever, but I have
>become much more antitheistic since I have been on the net.
>Lisa Star
>LM...@Nih.gov
That's two questions, but that's fine with me. They won't come up as weekly
questions for almost a year, so if anyone wants to answer now, go ahead.
#50. Did you become an atheist due to anti-theistic feelings or for other
reasons?
#51. As an atheist, what good or bad do you think religion does to or for
people?
Since joining this newsgroup, I've become much more anti-theistic, also.
This is due to the morons who constantly come here to try to convert us and
then stick around acting like idiots when we ask them to go away. Many of
these fundamentalist whatevers are deeply frightening and mentally ill
people. If they ever come into power, the world won't have to go to hell.
It will be hell.
Mickey
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
A young theologian named Fiddle,
Refused to accept his degree.
"'Tis bad enough being named Fiddle
Without being Fiddle, D.D."
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Magenta
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) doth speak:
>These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
>questions are welcome.
>
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
My father was a non-practicing Catholic, my mother was a
non-practicing Jew, and they raised me to examine the world around me
objectively. I read about the major religions and a few of the minor
ones, and came to my own conclusions without being told what to
believe by others.
June Gill
In article <5vv94p$g...@camel2.mindspring.com>, Michelle Malkin
<malk...@mindspring.com> writes
>lm...@nih.gov wrote:
>>Michelle,
>> malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>
>>Is there a question along the lines of, Are you antitheistic (or just
>>atheist)? Why or why not? What good or bad do you think religion does
>>to the people who believe in it?
>
>>The reason I ask is because I've been an atheist forever, but I have
>>become much more antitheistic since I have been on the net.
>
>>Lisa Star
>>LM...@Nih.gov
>
>That's two questions, but that's fine with me. They won't come up as weekly
>questions for almost a year, so if anyone wants to answer now, go ahead.
>
>#50. Did you become an atheist due to anti-theistic feelings or for other
>reasons?
>
>#51. As an atheist, what good or bad do you think religion does to or for
>people?
>
>Since joining this newsgroup, I've become much more anti-theistic, also.
>This is due to the morons who constantly come here to try to convert us and
>then stick around acting like idiots when we ask them to go away. Many of
>these fundamentalist whatevers are deeply frightening and mentally ill
>people. If they ever come into power, the world won't have to go to hell.
>It will be hell.
>
>Mickey
>
not to individual theists. Previously I was only anti-theistic towards
the religions which still subjugate women, and I hadn't perceived
Christianity as much of a threat, but now that I see what they're trying
to do in the US, I am very much against it. I still find it amazing
that so many people can believe in what is demonstrably an evil-causing
myth.
Van Isaac Anderson
Talon wrote:
> That is when the war began.
> --
> Talon Atheist #316
> (real E-Mail address Ho...@ionet.net)
Please elaborate on "war".
Van Isaac Anderson
Michelle Malkin (malk...@mindspring.com) wrote:
> These questions are to answered only by atheists/agnostics. New atheist
> questions are welcome.
>
> #10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
I was never a theist, so I quess I've been an atheist since birth. As
soon as I could really think, I rejected god claims. They never seemed
real. To tell you the truth, I was probably in Junior High before it
hit me that people actually believe in that crap. I really had no idea
why we went to church on christmas. It was just some weird building
that had beautiful architecture. I think that's the real value of
xianity: the wonderful architecture. [sigh] I guess I probably have the
most boring atheist background of anyone here.
--
Van Isaac Anderson alt.atheist #716
mailto:vani...@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/8250/mtime.htm
"I know of no better goal in life than to perish in attempting the great
Andy Longton
Clark Nova (dh...@zzmother.com) wrote:
:
: Ya know, I have too. I can actually be quite rude at times. I have examined
: this and come to the conclusion that I have just seen the same arguments
: (Pascal's wager, argument from design, argument from authority, etc) so
: many times that I quickly lose patience with people. My reasoning is that
: if I can take the time and energy to acquire the knowledge, anyone who
: wishes to debate the issue with me should be expected to do the same. Is
: this wrong? Honestly, I would like opinions.
My opinion is just about the same, but I'm not rude in public. (Here, I
don't take a second of crap from the theistic aggressors who drop in
constantly.)
The reason is simple: Being stupid is no defense, and refusing to
consider my opinion when I have considered yours is bigotism. 'Just
because' isn't a reason, its a prejustice, and childish.
Yet, If I say I'm an atheist, the immediate reaction is that I'm the
bigot -- even though I not only considered thier postion, I've
considered thier competitors too.
George Ricker
> In article <8747072...@dejanews.com>, lm...@nih.gov wrote:
>
> > Michelle,
> > malk...@ix.netcom.com(Michelle Malkin) wrote:
> >
> > Is there a question along the lines of, Are you antitheistic (or just
> > atheist)? Why or why not? What good or bad do you think religion does
> > to the people who believe in it?
> >
> > The reason I ask is because I've been an atheist forever, but I have
> > become much more antitheistic since I have been on the net.
> >
> > Lisa Star
> > LM...@Nih.gov
> >
>
> Ya know, I have too. I can actually be quite rude at times. I have examined
> this and come to the conclusion that I have just seen the same arguments
> (Pascal's wager, argument from design, argument from authority, etc) so
> many times that I quickly lose patience with people. My reasoning is that
> if I can take the time and energy to acquire the knowledge, anyone who
> wishes to debate the issue with me should be expected to do the same. Is
> this wrong? Honestly, I would like opinions.
>
> Clark #474
>
> Religion's only true enemy is knowledge
I find that lately I've been paying less and less attention to what gets
posted unless a thread catches my eye. Most of the endless debates about
definitions, etc., have just become tiresome. I keep thinking someone may
offer something new, but in the two years I've been hanging out here, I've
seen precious little of that. One point I would make though. I think it's a
mistake to equate the theists who come blasting into our newsgroup as
representative of theists as a whole. That's not to say you won't find some
pretty obnoxious specimens outside of usenet, but there also are many who
try to live according to the best precepts of their respective religions
and don't attempt to beat everyone else over the head with it. I know
several people like that myself.
But I agree that anyone who comes here to debate the issues ought to be
expected to have done their homework and ought not complain about the
reception they receive when they don't. We may be obliged to respect the
right of each individual to his or her own opinion. However, that imposes
no requirement on us to treat nonsense as anything but nonsense.
One last note. If nothing else, participating in this newsgroup has taught
me the value of killfiles. I'm running about 85 filters on this group right
now. Thus, I don't have to wade through the garbage from Boatwright, McCoy,
Jahnu or that crowd. It's made things simpler. Also helps to keep the old
blood pressure down :-).
--
George Ricker
"Theology is not what we know about God,
but what we do not know about Nature."
Robert G. Ingersoll - "Some Mistakes of Moses"
Brian
<snip>
>#50. Did you become an atheist due to anti-theistic feelings or for
> other reasons?
I became an atheist due to a general disillusionment with my
religious upbringing. When I started studying science at uni, I found
it increasingly difficult to reconcile the need for imperical data and
evidence on the one hand, and the blind acceptance of dogma on the
other.
>#51. As an atheist, what good or bad do you think religion does to or
> for people?
I think people who exercise a little moderation can gain a lot
from religion. It just wasn't for me. Mind you, in the past I have
never really had any contact with creationists. Since I picked up the
cross-post from Chris Anderson to aus.politics and became involved in
that debate, I've definitely become more anti-theistic. There's
absolutely no reasoning with these people, and their myopic devotion to
a book of fairy tales would be quaint if it wasn't so sad.
--
Brian Seckold 'Strength and courage override,
B. Med Sci the privileged and weary eyes,
University of Sydney. of river-poets search naivete.'
Australia - 'Find the River', REM
Colin Montoya-Lewis
I think that this point is the biggie for me too. While I suppose it's
quite possible that someone could be an atheist without ever having even
considered the notion of a god, I've never met a "naive" atheist. That is,
every atheist I've ever known had put thought into the matter...had to
because they couldn't avoid religion. I personally, have put a lot of
thought into the matter, too much I feel, and I easily get irritated at the
accusation that I'm closed minded, particularly when I feel this accusation
is coming from someone who has always taken the truth of their position for
granted. People who call my position indefensable, accuse me of failing to
"give religion a chance," and then present absurd arguments make me want to
scream.
-Colin
--
My real email address is: colinml at rt66 dot com
============================================================
Spambot bait: postm...@fbi.gov, webm...@cyberpromo.com,
postmaster@localhost, abuse@localhost, u...@ftc.gov
============================================================
Andy Longton <alongton.REMO...@clark.net> wrote in article
<600c20$p...@clarknet.clark.net>...
Michelle Malkin
gre...@mindspring.com (Todd Greene) wrote:
>malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
>24.
>I was a very sincere and active Christian, a member of the
>strictly fundamentalist Church of Christ denomination. (My father
>was a Church of Christ preacher.)
>I found that studying myself out of that way of thinking was at
>first difficult, but taking the idea of "seeking the truth"
>sincerely led, as reason will do (to my way of thinking), out of
>that religious morass. My particular pathway out of the darkness
>was my study of evolution (at first in the context of being in
>opposition to creationism, but later out of sheer interest).
>Todd Greene
><gre...@mindspring.com>
It seems to be fairly common that people start out studying both evolution
and atheism to find ways to disprove them and end up disproving their
former beliefs instead. Was there a particular point when you realized that
this was happening, and what was your intial reaction?
Todd Greene
malk...@mindspring.com (Michelle Malkin) wrote:
>#10. How old were you when you became an atheist?
24.
I was a very sincere and active Christian, a member of the
strictly fundamentalist Church of Christ denomination. (My father
was a Church of Christ preacher.)
I found that studying myself out of that way of thinking was at
first difficult, but taking the idea of "seeking the truth"
sincerely led, as reason will do (to my way of thinking), out of
that religious morass. My particular pathway out of the darkness
was my study of evolution (at first in the context of being in
opposition to creationism, but later out of sheer interest).
Todd Greene
<gre...@mindspring.com>
_______________________________________________
| My words come from an upright hear; |
| my lips sincerely speak what I know. |
| Answer me then, if you can; |
| prepare yourself and confront me. |
| Let us discern for ourselves what is right; |
| let us learn together what is good. |
| (Job 33.3,5; 34.4) |
_______________________________________________