Howdy

[CrowTRobot]

I am a later in life atheist/skeptic who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school.  Events in my personal life and mental health struggles in my teens made me begin to question what I was raised to believe but it took a long time to finally shake free of it.  A long term relationship with a skeptic helped tremendously.  I did the whole Pagan thing for a few years but it was just more bullshit with a different name.  Around 40 I decided it was all crap.

[Mike Cl]

I am a later in life atheist/skeptic who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school.  Events in my personal life and mental health struggles in my teens made me begin to question what I was raised to believe but it took a long time to finally shake free of it.  A long term relationship with a skeptic helped tremendously.  I did the whole Pagan thing for a few years but it was just more bullshit with a different name.  Around 40 I decided it was all crap.

Welcome.  I'm married to a life long catholic--she thinks of herself as a recovering catholic.  I experimented with finding 'spirituality' for quite some time.  I did not become a full atheist/skeptic quite a bit later that 40.  Hope you stick around.

[Cassia]

Welcome...Yep, I looked into the Wicca thing for a bit...seeing as I was already into all things dark, romantic and gothic. It was hard to go 'cold turkey' when ditching the Catholicism because I was still talking with someone/something or so I thought. Looking back now it all seems so frickin' ridiculous.

[Baruch]

Welcome also

[Blackleaf]

A lot of theists will hear your story and think, "Aha! See? Atheists usually deconvert because something bad happened to them, and they're mad at God!" Because when good things happen to you, it's evidence of God's love, but bad things happening to you for no reason are not evidence for God's neglect for some convenient reason.

Anyway, welcome to the server. I hope you enjoy your stay. We've got virgin blood and newborn baby jerky at the refreshments table. Help yourself.

[Mr.Obvious]

Former catholic here. Lost faith late teens.

Welcome to our little band of heathens.

[Unbeliever]

Well come! Better late than never, huh?



I was a Southern Baptist but explored all the paranormal/spiritual stuff and found it all to lack credibility. Science works, and there is no other way anyone can know what is. Anything else only tells us what we want to believe, but we are only fooling ourselves when our beliefs mandate reality.

[SGOS]

I am a later in life atheist/skeptic who was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school.  Events in my personal life and mental health struggles in my teens made me begin to question what I was raised to believe but it took a long time to finally shake free of it.  A long term relationship with a skeptic helped tremendously.  I did the whole Pagan thing for a few years but it was just more bullshit with a different name.  Around 40 I decided it was all crap.

That's a familiar story around here.  I was raised Lutheran, and I doubted the whole thing very early in life, but I hung on to my religion in an effort to somehow connect with God in a meaningful way.  In my late 20s or so, I just started drifting away.  In my early 50s, I realized I was an atheist, a label I had been fighting for years, but it was actually a relief to just let go of my last supernatural belief and let reality's current float me along in peaceful joy.  Life still has problems of course, but I face them like a grownup most of the time.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Never been religious, ever. Makes it hard to "understand where they're coming from".

[SGOS]

Never been religious, ever. Makes it hard to "understand where they're coming from".

I can understand that.  Why would anyone try to make things that complicated?  It's all in the indoctrination, I think.  Believing is not hard, but questioning what you were trained not to question, gets complicated.  In retrospect, I'm like you.  I don't understand what the big deal was, but back during the transition, every logical observation I experienced was immediately followed with, "Yeah, but...," even when the 'Yeah, buts' were never logical.  I guess part of it is like a habit that isn't good for you.  Breaking a habit is especially hard when it's a really bad habit.  Quitting  smoking was easier.

[Cassia]

I can understand that.  Why would anyone try to make things that complicated?  It's all in the indoctrination, I think.  Believing is not hard, but questioning what you were trained not to question, gets complicated.  In retrospect, I'm like you.  I don't understand what the big deal was, but back during the transition, every logical observation I experienced was immediately followed with, "Yeah, but...," even when the 'Yeah, buts' were never logical.  I guess part of it is like a habit that isn't good for you.  Breaking a habit is especially hard when it's a really bad habit.  Quitting  smoking was easier.

I always wonder how important religion is to easing the parental burden. Once a child has fear of a supernatural entity that can torch you over and over for eternity, the parent has a 'Trump' card, so to speak. LOL.

[SGOS]

I always wonder how important religion is to easing the parental burden. Once a child has fear of a supernatural entity that can torch you over and over for eternity, the parent has a 'Trump' card, so to speak. LOL.

Parents want their children to be good, so it's tempting to play the card (with good intentions, right)?  But when you think about it, it's an overly dramatic way of instilling fear of punishment.  It's brutal and sadistic and has lasting consequences, some of which are very bad consequences.  I think parents use it with good intentions, but they just don't understand the side effects.  Of course little children can't process logic so it's hard to reason with them, and since you don't want to hit them with a stick, you give them a deep seated neurosis instead. 

[Baruch]

I always wonder how important religion is to easing the parental burden. Once a child has fear of a supernatural entity that can torch you over and over for eternity, the parent has a 'Trump' card, so to speak. LOL.

Without G-d, it becomes necessary to beat children, or turn them over to the commissar ;-(  Neurosis sounds better ;-)

[Blackleaf]

Parents want their children to be good, so it's tempting to play the card (with good intentions, right)?  But when you think about it, it's an overly dramatic way of instilling fear of punishment.  It's brutal and sadistic and has lasting consequences, some of which are very bad consequences.  I think parents use it with good intentions, but they just don't understand the side effects.  Of course little children can't process logic so it's hard to reason with them, and since you don't want to hit them with a stick, you give them a deep seated neurosis instead.

You assume these parents don't beat their children every chance they get... I've seen Christian parents complain about spanking their kid three times a day, and getting no results. It takes every drop of restraint to avoid telling them, "Maybe you should try a different strategy then, hmm??????"

[the_antithesis]