My introduction

[Richard]

I'm Richard, and I'm a twenty two year old, recent atheist. I left religion last year, but these last few months is when I've truly felt like an atheist. Perhaps atheist isn't the best term for me though, seeing as I don't put much thought into the existence of god, or lack thereof. I'm more an atheist in the sense that even if there is a god, it's not revealed through religion, and there's truly no purpose in worshiping it. As some people leaving religion might know, it's can be scary even thinking about leaving everything you've ever known to be true, but I've realized that the joy you get from seeing life for how it is surpasses any fantasy. Still, the occasional fear of hell does affect me (not nearly as bad as it did when I believed mind you), but I feel as though I'm getting better everyday. Hearing the words of various atheists (especially Christopher Hitchens) truly make you understand how utterly stupid religion is. I've taken up writing fiction, and I hope to be able to cover the dangers of religion through it. My whole family is Christian, so I hope to be able to find some like minded people here.

[MOHO]

Welcome to Ex-C, @Richard

 

Sounds like your'e in the right place.

 

Here you'll find readings, suggested readings, and marginal advice on leaving the fold.

 

You'll also find a place to socialize with folks who are recovering, or have recovered, from the mind-fuck of organized religion.

[Tsathoggua9]

Glad to have you aboard!

[Geezer]

Welcome aboard. Your posts indicates you have a firm grip on reality. You do not seem to be burdened by the huge amount of baggage some folks bring with them when they leave their faith.

[Richard]

17 minutes ago, Geezer said:

Welcome aboard. Your posts indicates you have a firm grip on reality. You do not seem to be burdened by the huge amount of baggage some folks bring with them when they leave their faith.

I had quite a lot of baggage when I first left, and it still affects me from time to time. However, eventually you realize that even if you still believe, you'll still have that anxiety, so it's best to just accept life for how it is.

[LogicalFallacy]

Hi Richard

 

Welcome to Ex-C.

 

I also initially found (And still do) that the likes of Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris et al were good at summing up major points against religion but they didn't fully get to the truth of why there is no God.

 

In that regards I've found the writings of people like Bart Ehrman, Richard Friedman, and Israel Finkelstein who go in depth into what we can know from history about ancient peoples, their gods, and how religions formed, evolved, influenced one another and took over the world.

 

I've also found lectures on youtube by Christine Hayes who goes in depth into the old testament to be useful, and am starting to investigate the astrological connections espoused by D M Murdock. (@joshpantera is our resident guru in these subjects if you wanted to find out more - we current have several threads open discussing this)

 

So if you are interested in a fuller historical perspective these sources might help in abating any lingering fears of hell. Essentially hell is a 1st or 2nd century construction - it doesn't exist in the old testament.

 

Hope to see you round, and all the best

 

LF

[Richard]

35 minutes ago, LogicalFallacy said:

Hi Richard

 

Welcome to Ex-C.

 

I also initially found (And still do) that the likes of Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris et al were good at summing up major points against religion but they didn't fully get to the truth of why there is no God.

 

In that regards I've found the writings of people like Bart Ehrman, Richard Friedman, and Israel Finkelstein who go in depth into what we can know from history about ancient peoples, their gods, and how religions formed, evolved, influenced one another and took over the world.

 

I've also found lectures on youtube by Christine Hayes who goes in depth into the old testament to be useful, and am starting to investigate the astrological connections espoused by D M Murdock. (@joshpantera is our resident guru in these subjects if you wanted to find out more - we current have several threads open discussing this)

 

So if you are interested in a fuller historical perspective these sources might help in abating any lingering fears of hell. Essentially hell is a 1st or 2nd century construction - it doesn't exist in the old testament.

 

Hope to see you round, and all the best

 

LF

Oh, I'm well aware that Hell doesn't exist in the Old Testament, and all the reasons why it doesn't exist. It's simply that indoctrination takes awhile to fully go away, and for some people it never fully does. I've also studied a good deal about the origins of religions (mostly for the purpose of my book), and it's honestly quite fascinating. When you're not believing obvious fairy tales, you begin to notice how they were formed by the world around them.