The first thing I would like to say is to Sapient and all of the others who are spearheading this movement is simple: Bravo. Bra-fucking-vo. I applaud you for this more than you know. I saw the newscasts on your website and I nearly died. Laughing.

 Christianity is a virus. Christianity, especially in the grand ol' US of A is a virus primarily because of the business attitude of the Church. The hypocracy of the Church. The villainy of the Church.

 My belief is something that I simply cannot deny. I have had experiences which could not be explained in any other means aside from the possibility of a supreme being. I have nearly died more times than I can count, from freak accidents in the home (which in reality... were really just that) to coming within inches of death in near traffic accidents. I've seen things with my own eyes that I cannot explain, and I have had dreams in which I cannot explain. You can find those here: "http://dreamsofzayntahirziya.blogspot.com/" . Specifically observe the April 11th, 1998 dream. The link to higher powers there would be evident if indeed such a thing existed.

 How religion is forced upon youth is why I agree with you. Obviously I'm being a bit hypocritical in agreeing with you when I'm clearly not agreeing with you on the level that you are all about. When I was five years old, I was forced to go to Church. I was bored. I found it useless. They kept telling me about people like Noah, and Moses, and Jews, and blah blah fucking blah. I didn't care... I wanted to go home and play with my friends. I wanted to go home and spend time drawing, or enjoying myself. Church was a prison to me. They tried so hard to get me to "accept Jesus" in my heart, and I kept refusing to even look at them. It didn't feel right. What was I supposed to know at the age of five about these things? What COULD I know about these things? It's not like I'm "Born Christian" or anything. 

 Here's my defining point: I believe Jesus EXISTED. I believe the Prophet Muhammad EXISTED. I believe God EXISTS. But that does NOT mean that I believe that Jesus and/or Muhammad are watching over me like some gargoyle like vigil stance. I believe they are DEAD, and have been for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

 I believe that Jesus was a teacher just as the Prophet Muhammad was a teacher. They taught that love and kindness were the two things that were most important in the world.

 Look at religion and what it has done to those messages! The Crusades? What the fucking hell? Since when is a message about love and peace and charity suddenly requiring turning plowshares to swords, and sending young men (and women) off to die? That is the hypocracy of the "Church". Yeessss, they can all preach good will, but they have the monopoly on heaven, sort of what whatsisface said on the Da Vinci code.

 I live my life as someone who refuses to consider himself a "Christian" or a "Jew" or a "Muslim" or even an "Atheist". My experiences are too much to ignore. My heart is too much to ignore. Either I'm schizophrenic or God occasionally talks back to me (in the form of dreams). Either I have an active imagination, or I have seen not one but two angels in my life. I understand that active imagination and schizophrenia are the more likely culprits for these, but then again--Stephen Hawking has also said that there is no scientific way (yet) to show that the Universe was created and thus there must be a God.

In the United States, we have a plague called the "Sunday Christian". Hell--my last girlfriend was one of those. Good Lawdie. She was going on about being Methodist, wanting to find a Church and whatnot. She also said that she probably wouldn't be able to be with me because I hadn't "accepted Jesus into my heart". Yet... where does all of that go? She was ready to tear my clothes off on the first date, she fucked me like a wild animal, and to top it off she blew me in my car on her lunch break. Then to top it off she cheated on me. Yeeaeah. There's a real Christian for you.

They all talk the talk, but most of them can't walk the walk. They use Christianity as a weapon. An excuse. A way for them to get away with all of the bad things they've done in life. "Jesus died for my sins so I'm going to heaven! Yay!" Who cares if they covet their neighbor's belongings? Who cares if they hate on people, treat them badly, or abuse one another? Jesus died for their sins so they're ok!

In the mean time, I actually walk the walk, but refuse to do so in the name of Christianity. Prime reason? I'm not a fucking Christian. I refuse to be even SLIGHTLY associated with the [general] pisspot of society. I live my life on moral principle. Ya know... that thing that Jesus was teaching to begin with? That Christianity has conveniently ignored for the message of "believe in Jesus or you go to hell!"

Irony that the Church advertises salvation in direct opposition to what their great savior was even trying to accomplish. For those of you who are religious, this is your world. A world of stupidity, hypocracy, selfishness, war, tyranny, and greed.

But--to counter what is said to a point. Theism is not irrational. The people who abuse theism are irrational. When they force it on a young child on the bases of "or else you'll go to hell", and then enforce that social stigma... is this free will? Or is this belief out of fear?

The message of Theism has been lost for hundreds upon hundreds of years. There is no real recovery at this point. REASON, has also been lost. I am a theist by technicality....though I paid homage to the Ancient Greek Gods upon Mount Olympus' peak back in 05'. So maybe by technicality I'm a polytheist. In general, I simply accept that there are forces in the universe that may never be explained.

When Islamists stop putting bombs on their chests and throwing themselves into crowds of innocent people for Allah, and when Christian fanatics stop burning down abortion clinics (and the people inside) for God, then maybe religion and thus theism will have a bit of credibility back. Until then? Fuck them both.

I know that God is not watching over me. If God created man in his own image, then why in the hell would he spend his time watching over everyone? He'd have more interesting things to do. You know... like playing Halo3. Any time in my life that I've needed some kind of divine intervention, I've gotten it. That doesn't mean I expect him to be there next time. Hell.. with 6 billion+ other people he has to take care of... would you expect it? 

 I apologize for my split hair rambling... I am by no means an English major and some of my points (and fallacies) may roll off like water on a duck's back. But I want to again state first and foremost--as a believer of a supreme being, that this website and what it stands for is something that I would happily stand by for the sake of reason. For the sake of the innocence lost by small children out of fear of hell and damnation by some crotchety old bag at the pulpit who secretly wants to sodomize them.

For the sake of bringing an end to the bullshit that is the American Sunday Christian. Because most Christians refuse to even question their faith, their faith is weak. Therefore if you say ANYTHING against their faith they automatically become irate and they HATE you for it because "how could you possibly understand my belief in god!?" (Simple... you're only there to fuck your neighbor's wife you stupid fucking infidelic bastard.)

Speaking as a past Pagan. A past Wiccan. A past Atheist. A past Agnostic---and now as nothing but myself and my own personal beliefs (which is what they should be anyways--personal). I invite all American Sunday Christians to actually LISTEN to what the people who run this place have to say. It will either break your religious bond to the bullshit that is the Church, or it will strengthen your PERSONAL bond with God.

Regardless of what happens... what matters is whether or not your heart is truly part of it. What YOU want. Not what your parents or your preacher want.  Your will. Your life. YOUR fucking choice.

-Leu

PS--If anyone feels like sending me a PM with this edited up in a more ah... "eloquent" manner, please feel free. I suck at this shit.