Whoops guess I can't edit...Anways...

THE COLLEGE YEARS:

So lipservice Agnostic, but really Atheist, but you know how it is not wanting to ruffle feathers if possible so went with the "I'm on the fence" statement...lol.

My Mom gets cancer and dies after 6 months WITH chemo/radiation. 30 years younger than Grandmother, good health, none smoker/drinker etc. Go figure. Not like I blame the imaginary man in the sky for this, but the idea of a just/righteous/loving God department took a hit for sure.

Then I meet my eventuall wife(2 years this June) who hey wazits she's a MORMON!!! Hrmmmm...wtf am I doing? Oddly enough, I end up dating another Mormon later, and that accounts for basically the bulk of my romantic life...

But my future wife is 4 years younger than me, fresh out of HS(I was 22) and pretty naive about a lot of things, and a moderate Mormon I would say. But still one who would attend church, feel guilt about a million things/worry about parents thoughts and I would often make her cry when I would lay down LOGIC BOMBS on her about God. Sorry Chief(her nickname...don't ask lol) that's just how it rollls..

We broke up several times over the 6 total years I have known her, and a big reason being her dogged faith and reluctance to refute God.

Hey but I did marry her right so something must have changed....DING DING DING!!! She eventually stopped going to church/functions and generally became more open and open to proggresisve/liberal/athethiest logic from myself and those around us. I tell her every other week how silly it was she used to fight with me not only about religion, but also about BUSH...just makes he feel like an idiot lol but I'm glad she pulled a 180. She still has a lot of religious baggage here and there, but i think with every passing week she is coming out her shell more and being more forthright about atheism and he absolute absurdities of faith. Still, she won't turn down help moving into an apartment from those well dressed missionaries!! :}

As for myself recently, I really have to hand it to a few things that re-galvanized myself to atheism and actually accepting that(I changed that on my FB page yay me! ).

One, realizing that by not fully accepting this fact about my ideology it was clouding my worldview/focus  a bit, even though admitadly it's not smart to run around shouting you don't believe in God...as you well know. Still not gonna put down some bumper sticker so I can get keyed..but I'm definatly prouder of my atheist than I ever have before.

Two, through the media of "The Invention of Lying" and longtime favorite "Bill Maher/Religulous"  things just started clicking more and more that yeah "F Religious absurdity, I'm gonna be more firm with my beliefs". I mean if I was a theology/philsophy/soc teacher I would show that movie in a heartbeat and have  a healthy debate, though I would have to bite my tongue for sure. It just has some epic lines, and in a mainstream movie that point for point just makes God/Religion rediculous- which is pretty easy.

Third, after suffering the trauma of the Bush Dogmatic years of Religiosity BS, I think Obama while far from perfect helped put science/reason back in place so it helped nudge that part of me to the forefront..."it's safe to come out now..."

Fourth, I just got plain disgusted with the Fundamentalist/Neo-Con movement and backlash post election. And now with a wife that agrees with many of my viewpoints, it has given me new energy to do what I can do support my fellow atheist and the movements it alligns with.

My Fifth and finall tipping point is basically is the very real physical reaction that overwhelms me when I think about the utter cesspool that is organized religion. I know folks go to it for guidance/strength/communal/family comforts etc but please...My Aunt is a good example of the pain I feel. She used to be a bit of a hippie in teh 60s, but like many, was BORN AGAIN PRAISE BE TO JEEBUS a few decades later. Why exactly? I don't really know but she became part of this Fundy/Republican base that sickens me to no end-BUT SHE"S AN AWESOME LADY! That's the tough part; she's smart, she's extremly kind/caring, yet WTF is wrong with her delusional brain for beleiving so much in this nonsense? She no doubt is like many who are now basically trapped by FEAR/COMFORT and may have a few whispers of doubt but fearing their WORLDVIEW broken, can't get away from their fallacies. Just like the same way you or I can't ever go back to the days of exploring Young Life/Religion...it's just silly.*

(*as a sidenote... when I was talked to by various Mormon folk in my wife's church, Missionaries or not, I found it increasingly difficult to be cordial, and became downright annoyed that they would even come over to do something random like give a lesson to her parents or help with something. I can't take someone seriously or respect them much if they believe things like homosexuality is a sin/choice, animals are lesser beings, or "God works in mysterious ways" etc etc etc...BALOGNY MAHONY FA-FONEY!)

And that my friends is the kicker that finally drove me insane enough to put both feet into the kiddy pool of the atheist movement....how can so many intelligent/well educated/well versed/life experienced people-from all parts of the world/country-believe in their various Religions?

W.....T....F.....?

Cheers! :}

I really don't know...

Welcome.