new member intro.

[bob nelson]

 I joined this forum so that I could interact with other like-minded people like myself. I was born and raised catholic and even survived 9 years of catholic school. As i've gotten older (61),I've come to realize that I've never believed in any god,especially the christian god. My wife of 38 years became a devout christian after our son was born,and has tried every argument that you can think of to "convert" me,but to no avail. Both of our kids are married and have families of their own. Of course they're christians and have also tried to "convert"me but after all these years, we've agreed to disagree. I look forward to interacting with others who have similar beliefs, or non-beliefs.

[drunkenshoe]

Welcome to the forum.

[aitm]

Welcome indeed. Take a needed break from crazy and join our insanity. 😁

[Cassia]

As i've gotten older (61),I've come to realize that I've never believed in any god,especially the christian god.

I can relate to this. I did some time in Catholic school as well. I wouldn't go so far to say I didn't believe. I was simultaneously doubtful and guilty because I was using my brain. The insistence that Jesus's body is physically present in billions of wafers (aka 'hosts') was just too much bullshit for me. I did the unthinkable. I started to read the Bible. I enrolled in the college of engineering. That was pretty much the beginning of the end of faith for me.

[SGOS]

Welcome.  My religious training began around the same time as my potty training and taught me to be a Lutheran.  We are the guys that replaced your Catholic bullshit with newer bullshit.  Since that time, I have tried to avoid bullshit.  I'm getting better, but it has taken some effort.

[Mike Cl]

Welcome.  My wife is a recovering Catholic, as well.  She attended Catholic school thru HS.  Stayed devout and even became a priests aide.  Then started drifting away when her husband divorced her and she was told she could not remarry--while nothing was said about her ex.  I helped speed the falling away. 

[Baruch]

My Ex is a former Catholic sister (religious order).  She shifted to Protestantism, with mixed results.  Conflict in a marriage is much fun indeed.

Welcome also.

[Unbeliever]

Hi Bob! I wanted to be a Catholic just so I could be excommunicated!

;-D

[Mr.Obvious]

hiya Bob, welcome to our little band of heathens.

[bob nelson]

 Thanks for the welcome. since i'm on here,is any one else a "metalhead"? that's another issue that i have with my family. been a life-long music fan and metalhead for over 40 years. needless to say, my choice of music doesn't go over very well.

[Mike Cl]

Thanks for the welcome. since i'm on here,is any one else a "metalhead"? that's another issue that i have with my family. been a life-long music fan and metalhead for over 40 years. needless to say, my choice of music doesn't go over very well.

Find the thread on this site--What Are You Listening To? Part II

[Blackleaf]

'Sup, Bob? I've been an atheist for a few years now. I was extremely devout in my late teens and early twenties. I was involved in more ministries (free labor) than I could count. But despite my devotion, God still felt distant to me. I was tired of living in a one-way relationship where I did all the work and he took all the credit. So I gave him an ultimatum. He could either give me an undeniable sign that he was there, and that he was listening, or I'd walk away. I didn't get a sign.

Must suck for you to be married into a religious family, where even your kids are Christian. I wonder what your kids will think when they outlive you. Would they honestly be able to justify God sending you to Hell for all of eternity, or will they realize that you're a good man, and that no just god would punish a good man with eternal torture just for not believing in the right religion?

[Cassia]

He could either give me an undeniable sign that he was there, and that he was listening, or I'd walk away. I didn't get a sign.

That is interesting Blackleaf. A Christian asked me what it would take for me to believe in god. I asked her what would it take for her to believe in Vishnu. Crickets. I am not so sure what a single event would look like for me to accept the Christian god as a fact. A 'wheelchair healing' in a megachurch just reinforces the lack of evidence. I don't see ambulances rushing to churches for some reason.

 I think a factual god that has been interacting with humans for centuries would be undeniable. There would be one true religion. If the Christian bible even had one passage that could not have been written by a person of that time; I would consider it carefully. There is nothing like that. Instead it is a repackaged rehash of previous myths. The case for any particular god is nonexistent.

[SGOS]

But despite my devotion, God still felt distant to me.

When I was first taught to pray, and that training came very early in my family, I remember feeling silly, because it seemed like nothing was at the other end of my prayers.  There wasn't even an annoyed stir, like, "Don't bother me kid."  I was talking to God, as per my instructions, but no one was talking back to me.  It seemed like a pointless way to have a conversation.  I asked my mother why God didn't answer me, and she told me that was not the way God talked to us.  This was my first exposure to Christian apologetics.

[Mike Cl]

One simple thing would make me a believer, and of the most ardent type.  Have the bible come from many different geographical places around Earth--and all dating from the same time frame.