My name is John Paul / Bruce. I just wanted to introduce myself real quick. I am 29 years old and have recently become an atheist... I chased sex, drugs and rock & roll from highschool to college. In college I searched for spirituality and was attracted to eastern thought & rastifarianism. Eventually I realized that truth exists and decided to search for that above spiritual experience. One thing led to another and I became a Christian. I was involved in various ministries. While I was in Mexico I realized that I wanted to committ my life to the poor. Soon after that realization I went to work with the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's community). I was a full time live-in volunteer with them for 2 years. After 2 years with them I decided to join the Army when it was clear that we were about to engage in war with Iraq. I was a light infantry soldier and did a 13 month tour in Iraq. My unit was the Q.R.F. (Quick Response Force) which meant that we moved from place to place to plenty of unstable areas that needed our support (from Najaf to Mosul and plenty areas in between). We were constantly on the move and had a handful of combat experiences. I got out of the Army in APR 2006 with an Honorable Discharge and then entered the seminary to become a priest. I was in seminary for one year before leaving. During seminary and after seminary I engaged in deeper critical examination of scripture and theology. Recently I have let go of my belief in God. I have also returned to the Army (as a medic). I am happy to be a moral, open minded, well adjusted atheist in a fox hole. I will post more blogs and look forward to becoming more involved with the RRS web site. Take care.

Peace,

John Paul / Bruce

*John Paul is my name from baptism/confirmation in 2001 / Bruce is my name from birth. I go by both names.

ps: you can check out my myspace page at myspace.com/broostafer