Brother Jeff Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Just posted this rant to Facebook. There is no one more unpopular than an ex-Christian atheist! I have recently lost two friends because of my outspoken atheism, and in my opinion, that's their loss. One friend was Toni Helton. I knew her for 20 years in real life and I have many good memories of fun times with her and her husband Calvin years ago. We partied hard and had great fun building and repairing (now ancient) computers. I will never forget the party they gave me when I decided to join the Army in 1996. That turned out to be a huge mistake and ten of the most miserable weeks of my life in Ft. Benning, GA, but the party to send me off was awesome!! I have probably never been so drunk and so stoned! Toni had religion then, but not nearly as bad as she has it now. She can't tolerate anybody having an opinion different from her own, and over religion she ended a 20 year friendship. That hurts, but it's her loss. I am planning to write her a snail mail letter (the only way I now have to contact her) to try one more time to salvage the friendship, but I am not overly hopeful about it, and that's sad. The other friend was a local friend here in town named Stephanie, who I know through NAMI. She too is very religious, and she didn't like my anti-religious posts on Facebook. I apologized to her for offending her, but not for being outspoken and here's why -- religion causes far more harm in the world than it does good, and that has been the case since Day One. Here we are in the 21st Century, and we are still fighting and killing each other over whose Imaginary Friend is better or more powerful or over which "sinful" lifestyle is worse, and we are still busy judging others and damning them to imaginary hells for believing differently or living differently than we do. Here we are in the 21st Century, and there are still Christians who would gladly burn atheists at the stake and stone homosexuals to death, and plenty of Muslims who would happily kill the infidel and mutilate female genitals. Oh, and plenty of Christians who would gladly bomb abortion clinics, thinking they are making god happy by committing murder. This is the insanity of religious belief and hell yes I am going to speak out against it! I am a good person, and part of being a good person is fighting the good fight to make the world a better place! What a wonderful world this would be if the scourge of religion could be wiped off the face of the earth! I am trained to be a Health Coach because I CARE, and I want to help other people live happier and healthier lives. I speak out against religion not with the intent of offending folks, but because I CARE, and I want to see the world become a better place because I lived and I cared enough to stand up for what is GOOD and what is RIGHT. My voice might not amount to much in the big scheme of things. I don't have many friends and most of what I post on Facebook gets ignored, unless it's frivolous bullshit and then it might get some "likes" and comments... people seem to love frivolous bullshit but not conversations about subjects that actually MATTER... well, so be it. I hate discussing politics, but I could spend hours discussing religion and never tire of it. Religion is pure, unfiltered bullshit, but it can make for hours of fascinating discussion... Anyway... I have rambled enough and probably made my point... my 2 cents... I have spent my whole life being unpopular. Elementary school was okay, but Junior High sucked. High school was a living hell except for band, cool teachers who liked and cared about me, and true friends like Paul Broussard. That was thirty years ago now, but even as an adult my circle of friends has always been small, and believe me, being an outspoken ex-Christian atheist doesn't make things any easier. But I am who I am and I am what my life experiences have made me. I have survived years of severe mental illness and I have survived years of extreme religious belief and come away from both a stronger and better person. My mental health is generally great now, and I am gloriously FREE from religion! I love my family and love the true friends that I have on Facebook and in real life who love me and accept me as I am. I love the simple things in life and I love reporting on my days out around town or my hikes, usually in Eagle River. I am looking forward to getting my health coaching practice going soon and helping others live happier and healthier lives, and I would LOVE to help other mentally ill people overcome their issues the way I have -- as I said in a post the other day -- fix the gut and you fix the brain/mind. Healthy diet (which is not the same for everybody), plenty of exercise, kimchee, kefir, other good gut foods... and good friends like at NAMI. Anyway.. my 2 cents again. Enough said. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Glory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pratt Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 i had given 2 glorified farts for your rant,,,, its their loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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