I am an atheist.... Why?....

I have heard over and over again Theist's saying that atheists don't believe in god because they don't want to answer to him on judgment day. That we don't want to own up for our supposed sins.

I am not a perfect man, no one is. But one thing i can assure you is that I live my life with pure adherence to my values. My Morality has nothing to do with religion, but is influenced by common sense, love, respect. I live to do everything in my power to continually become the man I strive to be. A man that is kind, caring and knowledgeable. Through Inner Strength and pure resolve i have over come life's many difficulties. I have bowed to the stresses of life but I will never break. Adversity and conflict is just a part of the process of growing and maturing.

I would assume that most anyone on this site has heard of OpenCourseWare. It is a brilliant idea and only helps to expand and envigorate human knowledge and advancement. But, for those who have not heard of OCW, a good place to start are the MIT Courses. If MIT isn't your 'cup 'o tea' there are many other universities and colleges offering on-line education for no cost. You may have to find some external resources that may compliment a course. For example: the MIT Classics in Western Philosophy course requires Classics of Philosophy by Louis P. Pojman. But, the texts included in the Classics of Philosophy compilation can be found, in full, and on-line using a handful of sources (a simple google search is usually all that is necessary).

Convict sues God for broken contract.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56680

Religious symbolism with Jordan Maxwell

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8394844811105390386&q=Matrix+of+Power

I have been thinking a lot about where I stand lately mentally, and intellectually (I know some of you thought I was going to say spiritually). First let me address that last statement about spirituality. This is the definition according to Merriam Websters college edition,

Spirituality
1 : something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such
2 : sensitivity or attachment to religious values
3 : the quality or state of being spiritual

I see being spiritual as a psychological state. It is a state of mind and not a reality. I have no use for it because it answers no questions and is simply a divisive state of mind. I hold nothing against people who use spirituality for there own individual needs, but I do feel it is self deception whether for good, or bad. And as a tool, none more is as affective for control, than an organized religion.

My parents took my sisters and I to church when I was 5 years old. Well, actually it was sunday school. They didn't say that we had to attend. It was just something new to try since we had just moved to town that winter. There were other kids to play with, activities to participate in, social functions, and so we continued to go. We didn't stay with that particular church, and I don't recall the reason why. I do know that at that point I did indeed believe that god existed, along with Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, just like any other gullible 5 year old.

When I was 9 years old my parents took us to a Lutheran church. I met a boy named Tim in my sunday school class and we became instant buddies. Tim was my primary motivation for going to church. We had much in common, and church was the only place we would see one another. Tim's parents were very religious and he attended sunday school, church, youth group, bible study and confirmation classes, and as a result so did I. Thus I received a very thorough christian education complete with a cover to cover reading of the bible, intense group studies, oral exams, and eventually confirmation and baptism.

Human beings are, by nature, an inquisitive species. We like to figure out how things work and theorize how things we can’t hope to understand might work. Sometimes we’re right, most of the time we’re wrong. This is the nature of how humans learn about the world around us. As children we may believe that thunder is the sound of angels bowling, rain is the tears of God, and Fluffy the family cat isn’t dead, she’s just sleeping forever. We build our understanding of the world like a puzzle, placing pieces where they seem to fit and then placing more pieces around those we’ve placed before. Unlike most puzzles, the puzzle of human understanding is full of false pieces and place holders that will have no place in the finished picture; the puzzle pieces of Fluffy’s eternal slumber and bowling angels are eventually discarded and replaced with the understanding of death and thunder. There are some pieces though that take on a life of their own and refuse to be discarded. One such piece is religion.

While I was still a Christian believer, and still living at home with my parents, I had access to a ‘Messianic Jewish’ (read: Christian Jew) version of the New Testament. This had a list of supposed Old Testament prophesies that had been fulfilled by Jesus as the messiah. I was intrigued by this list of prophecies and hoped to bolster and confirm my faith by looking each of them up and confirming them for myself. I was very disappointed and disillusioned when I did this—even as a believer I couldn’t honestly go up to a non-believer and say ‘such and such bible passage confirms that Jesus was the messiah’. In fact, I was even a bit embarrassed and concerned, though it would be a long time before I would get the courage to express my honest doubt.

Ok, I came across this video. It's apparently on Youtube. He seems to back himself up well. Check it out, we can discuss.

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=sk7rjr2218

I was born to an Episcopal mother and a Catholic father. I was baptized Lutheran. I was confirmed in a Presbyterian church. But I don't think there was ever a time when I really believed anything I was hearing or saying.

We all had to go to church every Sunday with my mom. We did Sunday School, vacation bible school, youth group, CC, lock-ins, pancake breakfasts, retreats, the whole nine yards. When they would sing hymns, I would stand in silence. When the pastor would ask for a response from the congregation, I was tight-lipped. I frequently sat in the back and brought my walkman in so I could listen to cassettes of my favorite bands while the sermon droned on in the background. Sometimes my friends and I would volunteer to watch the kids in the nursery so we wouldn't have to be in church for the service.

About a month ago, I was asked a question that I don't think has ever been asked before.