I hope that thursdays historic ruling for civil rights resonates across the country. The only reason fights like this have to be fought is because there's too much religion in government.

http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9285835

Tags: Gay Marriage

Even when I believed in god I thought the "bless you" after a sneeze was stupid. When my girls would sneeze I would say "spread the cheese". Why? It was just as stupid but mine was funny. I've taken to ignoring people who say "bless you" when I sneeze. Some may think I'm being asinine, so

Tags: Bless You, Sneeze

When I get an email from someone who is more of an acquaintance than a friend and their email is asking me and others to pray for their friend, what do I do.

Karen has indicated that letting them know by replying to their email is not appropriate, I get that. But then when, out of the blue, randomly?

This question popped into my head the other day and it defines my position on everything. I question everything.

More than anything else this question applies to the bible, a book that claims to have answers.

Tags: Bible

I just finished watching this show that I thought was going to be about evolution when it was really about creationism. I knew it wasn't going to be a science show when I realized it was on TBN. The show is hosted by David Hames and Dr. Jobe Martin.

Dr. Jobe Martin attempts to legitimize himself by saying he went to college for biology and was an agnostic and claims to have been an evolutionist. You can tell the direction the show is going by the way he discusses the Big Bang Theory. He discusses study he did against evolution that led him to believe in God but doesn't indicate how long ago it was.

He regularly says that things had to be created whole because they wouldn't work otherwise. He's talking about "irreducible complexity", and science had proven that something that doesn't appear to be able to work when any part is missing will in fact serve a purpose.

Interestingly he repeatedly says "scientists don't know" when it comes to how some things work, yet when he does have an answer it's a scientific one. Unless of course he doesn't have an answer and says "God did it".

At one point he discusses that they are teaching things in school about evolution that are not accurate. There is some truth to this, however, it has more to do with the school system reprinting books with information that has changed than the teachings themselves. It would be as if schools still taught with a school book that said the Berlin wall was still standing, it's not the Berlin wall's fault the school is using an out of date book.

Dr. Jobe Martin can't conceive that these animals evolved (natural selection) into what we see today over the period of millions of years given we have proof of just that. Yet he doesn't have any problem believing in an invisible God that he only knows about from the translated text of a two thousand year old book.

I might be a Brand New Atheist but I am not a moron. I can see right through his apologetics. If you want me to believe in what your saying show me some proof, I don't care how you feel. I would believe in God if there were any proof, as it stands right now, there is more proof for Bigfoot than God.

1. Do you believe the bat is a bird? No you don't, you know it's a mammal. Science one, bible zero.
2. Do you believe the Earth is flat? No you don't, you know it's round. Science two, bible zero.
3. Do you believe the Earth is the center of the solar system? No you don't, you know the sun is. Science three, bible zero.

For you to truly believe the bible you need to believe that the Earth is flat. If you do not believe the Earth is flat then you deny the teachings of the bible. If there is a single error in the bible then any part can also be in error. If the bible were the word of god then he would have known the Earth is round and the bible would not state the contrary.

There is enormous amounts of evidence for evolution. Why, if your bible is wrong about so many things do you not believe the same science that tells you about evolution?

This is how religion retards intelligence, it forces you to deny evidence.

Fractal Wrongness is defined as your idea as a whole is wrong and also equally wrong at any resolution.

What I'm trying to say is that if you build your entire knowledge base of any given topic on one idea that's wrong, then all of your proceeding conclusions on that topic will also be wrong. For instance, if you believe in bible then you can't believe in evolution. If you believe in the bible then you must also believe the Earth is flat.

The Theory of Evolution is a scientific fact. Yet your belief in the bible (your foundation) is wrong therefore making your conclusion about evolution to also be wrong.
Religion has retarded your intelligence about evolution.

The Theory of Gravity is a scientific fact. Since this theory doesn't cause some type of conflict with your religion you will accept the scientific answer as fact.
Science has made you smarter about gravity.

The Atomic Theory is a scientific fact. Since you probably don't even know what this is you will accept the scientific answer as fact.
Science has made you smarter about atoms.

The Cell Theory is a scientific fact. Since this theory doesn't cause some type of conflict with your religion you will accept the scientific answer as fact.
Science has made you smarter about cells.

The Theory of Heliocentrism is a scientific fact. This theory goes against the teachings of the Bible yet you accept the scientific answer as fact.
Science has made you smarter about the sun, in spite of your bible.

At the top and bottom of the list we have theories that conflict with your belief in the bible, yet you don't believe the first one and you do believe the last one.
Can you come up with a logical reason that your own beliefs aren't consistent? You shouldn't believe either because of your bible.
This is what religions do, it makes people stupid. Religions makes you stupid in the face of proof and evidence.
At one time they taught in schools that the Earth was flat and the center of the Solar System, thanks to science you don't believe that.

Religions and your bible retard intelligence because it makes you abandon evidence.

What do all of these theories have in common, proof evidence, testability and they are all scientific facts'

This morning I was sleeping when all of the sudden I woke to my house shaking. My first thought was my wife was washing something and the washing machine was off balance during the spin cycle, only the vibration was about 4 times that. When I sat up to understand what was happening the house had been shaking for about 15 seconds, then all of the sudden it got about 10 times worse. I stood up and headed down stares with the house shaking and by the time I made it to the bottom of the stairs it was over.

Is God angry with me for being an atheist? What was God trying to tell me? Should I sacrifice a goat? What? These are questions you and I would have been asking ourselves 1000 years ago. This something that religious people don't get, God was created by man to answer questions they couldn't. Science has continued to answer every question the Gods were created to answer.

As it turns out this is the 21st century and we are all aware of what an earthquake is. The goats are safe.

This is my first birthday as an atheist.

Birthday #37. Honestly, no different than any other. One of my gifts was Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, good stuff.

Being an atheist hasn't affected my birthday in anyway.

Being the brand new atheist that I am, I sometimes hear an educated atheist say something that means more to me than anything I have ever heard a pastor say. This is one of those times. In response to a woman's thoughts on cosmic justice he lays it on the table and dissects every single part. It takes that fairness christians think their getting and exposes it for what it really is.

Here's the link to their podcast episode 7.7 Start listening from 48:16 thru 53:24. This part of the podcast is not explicit but many other parts are for those who care about that.

This is from The Non Prophets, one of my favorite new podcasts.

TRANSCRIPT
VCurious [wrote]: "I don't want to live in a world where those with power impose their evil intent on the masses and not face any type of consequence. Without God people can easily escape human justice. I can't buy into that."

Matt Dillahunty [response]: The kind of world you *want* to live in has no bearing on what kind of world you *do* live in. If this is your principle objection to world-views that don't include some cosmic justice then, if you'll forgive the condescending remark, you really don't understand what you're talking about.

Life isn't fair and the desire for justice that you express is one of the key foundations of most every religion. We're all aware that sometimes good goes unrewarded and evil goes unpunished, so some justice-seekers invent a security blanket to ensure that they aren't mired in depression. It allows them to avoid facing the harshness of an indifferent reality. Whether it's heaven & hell or karma dictating infinite rebirths, it serves the same purpose.

Some of us prefer to actually face reality. Some of us realize that there is no good reason to believe that the universe is anything other than indifferent to our existence and our perceptions of good and evil. Some of us realize that dealing with reality on reality's terms is the only way to make any real improvement in the situation.

Life isn't fair and that's actually comforting, if you think about it. If life *were* fair that would imply that you actually deserve the bad things that happen to you and that those who benefit from evil deeds are similarly deserving.

The realization that there's no reason to expect justice is what ensures that we take steps to impose justice. The realization that good isn't always rewarded is what drives us to reward it when we see it. The realization that evil isn't always punished is what drives us to work together, as a cooperative society, to deal with our problems, collectively and individually, in a way that encourages real change and that, hopefully, minimizes harmful actions. Realizing that justice isn't guaranteed allows us to appreciate it when it happens and work toward ensuring it on a more regular basis.

Your particular god-concept view of justice represents the height of irresponsibility and injustice. Your chosen religion has us born as reprobates, guilty before we've taken a single breath, responsible for things we've never done. It offers instant, undeserved, forgiveness for the most horrible of crimes and punishes people whose only "crime" is disbelief - forever. It advocates slavery, denigrates women, curses homosexuals, orders the stoning of unruly children, sanctions wars of extermination, condones human sacrifice and poisons every mind it touches. It includes only one unforgivable crime: disbelief. Is that just?

This "justice" you so admire, is no such thing. It is divine edict, arbitrary, capricious and ultimately unjust and immoral.

Yes, I realize that there "are pedophiles out there who have escaped our flawed justice system?" Do you realize that your system says that they're all eligible for an eternal paradise? How does that address your objection? Under the rules of Christianity, the pedophile who escapes justice here can also escape your ultimate justice. Under the rules of Christianity, he may live forever in paradise while someone who spent their entire life doing good, helping others and contributing in a generally positive way to the one-and-only life we're sure to get, is ultimately judged unworthy of that reward.

Don't kid yourself. You haven't accepted a cosmic sense of justice that alleviates the problem - you've accepted one that you believe alleviates the problem FOR YOU. It is a selfish justification that shows no regard for real matters of justice. It is the height of arrogance and your desire to feel special because "someone up there" thinks you're special. Well, according to the paradigm you advocate, he thinks that *anyone* willing to worship him is special - with no regard for justice or character.

Go, read Romans. No one makes this point clearer than Paul. The "law" was established with full knowledge that no one would be able to fulfill it, it was established to demonstrate this inability and damn us further - and then a loophole was established to let some people through, regardless of their standing with the law.

Your religion has made you a slave. It has made you uncaring. It has made you support immorality and injustice while claiming that arbitrary edicts and loopholes count as either. It is a reprehensible lie that poisons the mind and prevents you from understanding reality.

When the scales drop away from your eyes, as they have for many of us...we'll be here, and you'll realize that you're not alone and not to blame.

Can you be considered rational and still believe in something that remains unproven and in many cases disproved? I don't think you can. Once you've been shown that what you believe in is false you have two options, ignore them completely or do some serious homework. If no one has ever questioned your own personal beliefs to your face then you probably believe whatever you were taught as a child and took it as truth.

Sometimes I consider using the shock factor and saying something so outrageous about their God that they would seriously think he would strike me down where I stand. But I am 100% confident that long after they had that thought I would still be staring them in the face with a condescending look. Your God can't touch me because he is imaginary, which means I can whatever I want to him or about him and nothing will ever happen to me. Here's the kicker, so can you.

The reason I don't use the shock factor is respect of the person, not their beliefs. I made a joke to my nephew that I had killed God and he could worship me now. He took that as a personal attack and asked that I refrain from such things, I doubt he would have felt the same if I made a similar comment about his choice for president, etc. I agree 100% with Richard Dawkins about people thinking that their religious beliefs are above criticism. Why do believers think their religion deserves a level of respect that puts it outside of criticism?

Typical believers view God as something that watches over them, like a parent watching their kid through a window playing in the back yard. Most believers think God has a hand in their daily lives, helping them make the right choices. Almost all believers think God answers prayer, which is why they spend so must time praying. All believers think God made the universe, but they rarely consider the universe outside Earth's atmosphere.

So what happens when I tell you that the universe is so big you can't even understand it, you're not able to comprehend it's size? Does your mind play tricks on you and try to convince you that God is powerful enough control the universe? Do you make your God as powerful as he needs to be for you to believe in him? Let's take for instance this image of the Omega Centauri. This is a tiny image through a tiny pinhole of the universe. And it contains hundred of thousands of stars. You can't actually see the stars with your naked eye, but you can see the cluster of them which is Omega Centauri.



When scientists refer to the universe they use phrases like millions of billions of stars. Millions of Billions, not only can you not convince me of God here on Earth but take into account the Million of Billions of stars, those star's planets and those planet's moons and you don't have a chance. There isn't anything that made this, their isn't anything controlling this and the universe will still be here when humans no longer exist.

Here's the original article with higher quality images of Omega Centauri. Want to be reminded daily of just how small you really are?

Tags: Omega Centauri

Karen and I just finished watching Troy the movie and what's of most interest to me is how they portray the worst decision made based of their belief in Apollo. A God that no one today believes in.

If you look at the world today you see people making bad decisions based on their belief in God. A God who doesn't even have a name. It would be like naming your dog "JD" for just dog.

I'm telling all of you believers out there, one day, when future civilizations look back upon your beliefs, they will criticize the decisions you made based on a God that no one believes in. I sincerely hope we are beyond the point where future civilizations will believe in any God at all. History has shown that we are almost there. Think of all the prior civilizations and the large number of Gods they believed in. The number of Gods kept getting smaller and smaller until the majority today are only hanging on to what I hope is the last one.

Tags: Troy

I tried to get a Caramel Frappuccino earlier today. Since the closest coffee shop (Coffee Crossing, yes their logo is a cross) is closed for all religious holidays, I went to Target to get me a Frap. To my surprise they were closed. It was almost as bad a Christmas day, most stores were closed. So I went to Bass Pro Shop because they have a Starbucks, and they were open.

I'm very surprised that large chains like Target would close any day. You can always find someone to work when someone else won't. And why do these stores or our government for that matter care what your personal religious beliefs are? Wouldn't it be easier to treat everyone the same in a secular manner and let them practice their personal beliefs on their own time.

As the population of atheists grow in America, we will be able to remove these annoying restrictions that religious people have created that affect everyone. Because your religious holidays mean nothing to me, the same way other countries religious days don't mean anything to American christians.

This is my first Easter as an atheist.

First I'm going to explain what Easter means to me now, then I'm going to look it up online.

Before Research: Easter is the one day a year that children hunt artificial or boiled and painted eggs. It seems to have no relevance to adults. Why does Easter exist? I have no idea. Is Easter related to some other event? None that I'm aware of. I look at Easter and Halloween as very similar. Kids gets candy. Easter has never meant more than kids and candy to me.

After Research: Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus three days after he was killed. I didn't know that but it doesn't really surprise me. Easter is also linked to Passover. As far as I'm concerned Easter will remain about kids and candy. If I can age 36 years in America and not know what Easter meant then it doesn't deserve more than a colored goose egg.

Have ever wanted to kill the Devils ass? Or maybe open a can of whupass on Eve for eating that fruit.

Well now you can in Bible Fight. The first rule of Bible Fight is, you do not talk about Bible Fight.

This is my first Saint Patrick's Day as an atheist.

First I'm going to explain what Saint Patrick's Day means to me now, then I'm going to look it up online.

Before Research: Saint Patrick's Day is the one day a year that Americans pinch each other for not wearing green. People also like to make things green that normally wouldn't be. Why does Saint Patrick's Day exist? I have no idea. Is Saint Patrick's Day related to some other event? None that I'm aware of. I assume Saint Patrick's Day is something they celebrate in Ireland and we do it here just for fun.

After Research: Saint Patrick's Day turns out to be religious. Are you serious? I thought it was about a place or a thing, it never occurred to me that it was an actual person. I was partly correct, it's celebrated in Ireland. The story of Saint Patrick's Day isn't very interesting either. The day was mostly over before I even knew it was Saint Patrick's Day. And it still doesn't mean anything to me.

Last night Karen and I watched "Stargate: The Ark of Truth", this was the first time I really noticed how much religion plays a part in Sci-fi. Most of the bad guys in Stargate are false Gods. But they have people worship them and they have books to live by. The Gauld were more hands on but the Ori were more inline with the religions in the world today. They had their holy book and if you didn't worship you would spend eternity in hell fire. Very original.

I think what amazes me most is how I watched this show for 10 years and never thought about it's relationship to real religion. Now it seems almost comical. The crazy stuff they come up with isn't any less crazy than the real stuff. Have you seen the drama with Scientology.

Even the robots in Battlestar Gallactica "Praise the Gods."

I wonder if almost all Sci-fi writers are atheists? One of my favorite Sci-fi writers, Joss Whedon, is an atheist. He produced the awesome TV series Buffy and Firefly.

In their latest podcast the guys over at Amercian Freethought, John Snider and David Driscoll, discuss Pi and a letter I sent them about publishing this site.

They do a great job of answering my questions (they previously answered in private) which many of you may have also thought about asking.

If you are an atheist and want to share your thoughts, please don't be afraid. Nothing worth having comes easy.

I sometimes am judgmentally challenged. I tend to think that many high level politicians actually make decisions with my best interests in mind. That is their job, right?

It doesn't matter if you're atheist, christian or muslim, the more I learn about our government the more I realize these high level politicians aren't as concerned about my rights, as they are their inflated salaries. It's amazing that politicians live a better life (financially) than 99% of the people they are making decisions for. Even after receiving an inflated salary from the tax payers the same high level politicians will make decisions favoring big business rather than the people.

Not only are they paid well, but they do it without having to do their job. Their job is to do what's right for the people. It's only a small number of them but it's enough when one of them is the President.

So who are these high level politicians? We can start with the President of the United States of America. If Homeland Security reads that they will probably flag me as a Domestic Terrorist. Simply for speaking out against the government. Yes, Homeland Security violates many of your inalienable rights.

You see, as American citizens you have your constitutional rights (inalienable), those rights are not given to you by the government. Many people willing give them away because they don't understand what government is doing or how the government works. Most people believe their rights are provided by the government, this is false.

So who are the rest of these politicians that are not doing what's best for the people? (here I go again) It's probably a relatively small group, the Clinton's, it's certainly not the majority but it's enough to mess with your state of living.

I get the feeling the only reason we went to war in Iraq is because they walked on George W. Bushes Daddy's face at the Al-Rashid Hotel.

I try to vote for the one that I think is concerned for the right of the people. I'm so glad Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are out, I guess God didn't want them to be president or have Huckabee change the constitution. I voted for Ross Perot twice because he made sense to me. This time it's a toss up between Ron Paul and Barack Obama. John McCain, does the constitution change meaning when read by a christian? McCain thinks so.

I voted for Bush twice, so sometimes I'm definitely Judgmentally Challenged.

This is a great article for those of you who are just beginning to get your bearings in atheism and those of you who have preconceived notions about atheism.

My favorite misconception of religious people is that morals come from the Bible.

Los Angeles Times Original Article Link

It doesn't matter how you say it, The Son of God, The Sun of God, The Sun God, God of the Sun, God's Son or God's Sun.

I haven't done much research on this but it's crossed my mind several times. Many civilizations worshipped the Sun. It seems to me that the Sun may be the most worshipped item ever. If you think about this coincidence it's almost seems farfetched. Of all the things Jesus represents, he just happens to be called the son of God. Think of the things he or she could have been called or referred to as. Mother, Father, daughter, King, Queen, proper name. There are many more examples of what the name or reference could have been. But of all the possible references it just happens to phonetically the same as Sun. That's a pretty big coincidence.

Christmas was the hijacking of an existing Winter celebration (The Winter Solstice). Jesus' life is littered with plagiarism from previous prophets. Unicorns, really?

Now take into account that Mary was not a virgin, but a maiden (mistranslation, look it up) and you have a man, "Jesus", who was born to a man and a woman (if in fact this individual ever existed) not the immaculate conception (a product of the original mistranslation) that is claimed in the current translations of the Bible.

You can begin to see that the current beliefs of Christians are founded in plagiarism, mistranslated text and Bible books that have been selectively removed (Book of Judas and Book of Jasher).

Why can Christians read the Bible and see the mistakes (the Earth is not the center of the universe) yet think other parts are without error? Even a simple story of the Bible will be taken as a exact representation of the real story. This doesn't make sense, if any part of the Bible is in error, then that proves that any other part of the Bible can also be in error.

I've begun to understand that Karen doesn't care what the Bible says. What I mean by that is she's not concerned about the accuracy of the Bible. She believes in a personal God. I'm not really sure how you can separate God from the Bible because without the Bible there is no God. Regardless of any inaccuracies I point out in the Bible it doesn't affect her relationship with her personal God. I understand it but I don't think it makes sense. The only way I can relate is to imagine an imaginary friend that you love like a real person.

Now we have the problem of God and Jesus. If you can only speak to God through Jesus and the Bible is wrong about Jesus then how do you know what to believe? What I've found is that most Christians simply believe whatever comforts them. So the nuances between two Christians beliefs are small and the main difference is that each is comforted by something different. I don't think it's even possible to convince a Christian that something they take comfort in could be in error.

So who or what do you believe in?

It appears that many people need protection of their First Amendment rights from the very government that is suppose to provide them. We currently have too many people in power that think their personal beliefs are the ones that should be followed. I wonder how many of these people even know what our rights are?

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
You will find this Article in The Treaty of Tripoli (1796) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_tripoli

The Fox News Original Article Link

I just deleted a comment posted in the "America was not founded as a Christian nation" article. Someone by the name of "Anonymous", posted a link to an article about a former atheist turned believer in God.

That linked page had nothing to do with my article about America, nor does Anonymous indicate anything about why the post was made. Anonymous doesn't indicate that it was a good article or that they read the book mentioned and it was worth looking into. They simply posted a link.

In essence Anonymous simply SPAMMED my comments page with an irrelevant comment. There are many other articles on this site that may have relevant to.

Sometimes I truly dislike the anonymity abuse on the internet. Everybody wants a voice and to be heard unless they are saying something they wouldn't say to your face, then they must have their anonymity.

An anonymous voice is a nonexistent one. If you are incapable of saying or doing something and taking credit for it, then your audience will be anonymous as well.

I don't have a problem with anonymity, my problem is the abuse of it and the unnecessary use of it. Spam exists because of anonymity.

One more thing: Anonymous, there isn't really any true anonymity on the internet. Within 30 seconds of seeing your post I knew where you posted in from. Everything leaves an address where it came from.

I do, however, want you to comment, but please keep it relevant to the article in which you're commenting.

I continue to hear people say that the Unites States of America was founded as a Christian nation. They are either ignorant and believe something they were told or they are lying. Not only was the US not founded as a Christian nation, it protected us against religion.

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The word God does not appear in The United States Constitution.

"separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to a group identifying themselves as the Danbury Baptists. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes:
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

"Under God" wasn't added to The Pledge of Allegiance until 1954. It is an unconstitutional use of the phrase and should be removed.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister who did not use the the word God.
"Under God" has only been a part of it for the last 50 years.

"In God We Trust" wasn't added to US currency until 1957. It is an unconstitutional use of the phrase and should be removed.
This country is 220 years old and "In God We Trust" has only been a part of it for the last 50 years.

I looks to me as if some religious politicians in the 50's decided to go against the Constitution and make the Church part of the State. These things should have never been passed, they completely go against the basis in which the country was founded.

Our founding fathers knew what they were doing with the First Amendment. They were protecting us from the very thing we declared our independence from, the singular religious rule of Great Britain.

Which one? From which religion? Which translation?

No. I have never read the Bible from beginning to end (though I tried in the Army). I have never read the Bible entirely (every single page). I have never read the Bible to prove a point. I have looked to the Bible for wisdom. I am reading the Bible online.

I'm not a book reader, I could probably list all of the books I've ever read in under 60 seconds. Karen couldn't list all of the books she's read in 2007 in 60 seconds.

I do, however, spend about 8 to 12 hours a day on my computer, I read more online in a year than most do in a lifetime. I'm a research fanatic and since becoming an atheist I have researched and read the Bible online. I still can't bring myself to read it from beginning to end or try and memorize it for the sake of knowing it.

Since becoming an atheist I know more about the bible than my prior 36 years. Because I now have an interest in why it's so messed up and why people believe it. If I could quote the Bible like some can, I would be a horribly obnoxious atheist.

I'm bothered by people who trust the Bible yet discount the Old Testament because of the New Testament. If the New Testament changed the rules then why hasn't God updated the Old Testament and removed the unnecessary rules? Imaginary characters can't make real changes, that's why. There isn't another single book I can think of that would leave in the old rules after changing them. If God was real, and he wrote a book, it would be the best damn book ever written and everyone would read it. But he's not. The Bible is not a good book, it's schizophrenic, hard to understand, contradicts itself and difficult for people to agree on the meaning.

Now that I'm and atheist I don't really care that I never read the Bible. I know people who have and they don't understand what they read. Besides, now that I'm an atheist I'm well aware that the Bible was written by men for men. So I don't really feel like I missed out. Had I read the Bible before now, I would have become an atheist much sooner. I believe we have so many christians in America simply because they haven't read their Bible.

Never accuse me of simply passing along or believing what I've been told by others about any subject. My opinions are mine, after my own research. If I simply believed what I was told I would still be a christian and I would believe banks are looking out for my financial interests.

Of the dozens or so people I sent a link to my new blog only two have responded so far. Both were pastors and both said it didn't affect the way they think about me. Both of them know me on a personal level, which I think helps to dispel what an atheist is. I'm a very happy person, and an atheist.

Most of the time when someone ask me how I'm doing, I reply, "I'M BEAUTIFUL!". It's nice to invoke a pleasant reaction from someone. It makes people smile.

I say "I'M BEAUTIFUL!" instead of "I'M DOING BEAUTIFULLY!" because the reactions are funnier. And it's easier to blurt out.

I've been doing that for about 8 years now and "I'M BEAUTIFUL" represents how I feel on the inside.

I'm quite happy, with my wife and girls, with my job, with my things, but I definitely strive for more.

People think that I was never very religious because they didn't see it. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Even my own wife has learned more about my previous spirituality since I opened up in this journal than she knew before. People who know me think they knew what I was about when it came to God, but they didn't, because I kept it to myself. As I do with most things, it's part of my personality. It's been quite liberating to actually share information on this blog that I would have never shared before.

As little as two years ago I would listen to the same christian music tape in the car everywhere I went and I would sing along out loud. When I was by myself of course. I really believed and wanted to be surrounded by Gods love. It's fortunate that when I realized God doesn't exist it didn't have a detrimental affect on me, I can see how it would on others.

I'm not trying to contradict myself at all. I may have said in the past that I wasn't very religious but the truth is I was never openly or outwardly religious. I believed in God, I prayed almost daily for someone other than myself, I occasionally broke out the Bible to look something up. I didn't spend my days reading the bible. I know more about the Bible now and have read more of the Bible now than I did in my previous 36 years.

I sent an email to about 12 of my friends today to share this new blog. The first response was a good one. My friend Rob (a pastor), asked "Why I waited so long to come out of the closet?" Excellent question.

First of all let me explain that when I was a believer I kept it to myself. So when I became a non-believer I kept it to myself. Fortunately I began writing everything down. Even when I thought I might share this new part of me there was an obvious concern. How will friends treat me, will they suddenly become afraid of me somehow?

In "The God Delusion" Richard Dawkins says, "The status of atheists in America today is on par with that of homosexuals fifty years ago." Thats' a scary thought, are people going to fight me because of this? It's reason enough to be concerned or take precautions. In my previous post, I thanked several individuals for their help. They helped by indicating what it's like to be a known atheist in America today. They all said hate mail is virtually non-existant. So if christians only occasionally get animated then should I worry about Muslims? Then I realized, they view christians and atheists as infidels, so we are no different to them.

Now that I've ruled out threats and harm, who am I afraid might know that I'm an atheist? No one.

Christians openly show what they believe with their Jesus fish on their cars, and their crosses hanging from the rear view mirror. If they can openly share their personal beliefs without fear of harm then so can I.

To answer your question Rob, "Why did I wait so long to come out the closet?" Fear of the unknown, I really didn't know what would happen when people found out. I wanted to wait and get some answers from seasoned atheists about whether or not I was endangering my family (because my family come first). It was only 5 months ago yesterday that I decided I was an atheist, so it really hasn't been that long.

I would like to thank the following people for some excellent tips on going public. This has been my own private blog until now.

Jacob Fortin (The Good Atheist) Website Podcast
John C. Snider (American Freethought) Website Podcast
Dave Van Allen (Ex-Christian) Website Podcast

It dawned on me the other day that for 1800 years after jesus, women were property and black people were slaves.

If you give that any serious thought, you realize, 1800 years after Jesus, women were allowed to be the property of a man and slavery was encouraged.

And if you read your bible you'll see that it was not only allowed, but encouraged. These are the bibles teachings.

My would women and black people even chose to believe in a God that would allow them to be viewed as worth so little?

I think the an