Are you a more outspoken or more apathetic atheist? Why?
Well for me it really depends on the situation. I'm not completely out of the closet yet so when I'm around my family, my lips are sealed tight. However, when I'm blogging or at a freethought society meeting I tend to be pretty outspoken about my lack of belief. I really don't feel that atheism is something to be ashamed of, but I do know when to keep quiet. Because I live in the Bible Belt, I don't bring it up (or try to argue with theists) in class or at work. Many of my professors are Bible-believing Christians and while they don't proselytize in the classroom, they do bring up their faith occasionally.
It's really a bit of a balancing act, I guess. I'm sure if I lived in a more metropolitan area or further north then it wouldn't really be a big deal... but this is Louisiana and my family is very religious.
I would like to point out that I am in no way apathetic about my atheism. I keep quiet because I have to, but I definitely care. :]
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
15-day atheist challenge, day 2.
What religion did you grow up with? Did you have positive or negative experiences with religion?
I guess the easiest way to explain my religious background is to say that I attended a wide array of protestant Christian churches. My family moved a lot, and it seems like each time we moved we'd adopt a new denomination. When I really small (too young to remember) we attended a Methodist church, then we moved to an Assembly of God church (when I was at peak "playing pretend under the pews during church" age), and then to a Southern Baptist, then to a nondenominational, then back to a Southern Baptist... where we finally settled. My first two years in college I attended a massive, Southern Baptist megachurch (and dabbled in Pentecostalism, because I had a crush on a holy roller... bad idea).
Oddly enough, most of my experiences with religion were positive ones. Once I got into high school I was very active in church (mostly because my mom made me). I sang during service every Sunday, kicked ass at Bible drill, traveled on youth group trips, went to camps, etc. Once I started college I stopped going to church because it just never held my interest. I believed in god but I wasn't a very religious person, and church was boring.
Then, the unthinkable happened. My boyfriend (whom I was totes in lub with, btw) finally became such a massively insufferable prick that I dumped him and I finally realized that... hey, it's my freshman year in college, I've been completely and utterly dependent on my boyfriend and now I'm all alone in a strange place and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I was in the middle of an existential crisis, and in a state of emotional trauma that left me wide open to get bitten by the Jesus bug. All it took was for one of my friends to invite me to church and I was hooked. I latched on to my Bible, and to Bible study, and to Wednesday night worship, and to all of the friends who were cheering that I'd finally started getting involved in church. I rededicated my life to Christ. Of course I was tortured over the fact that I wasn't a virgin and that I went through a "bicurious" phase in high school and that I love sex, which led to me repressing my sexuality so much that I turned into a prude ("I'm not going to even kiss until I get married!")... but at the time I sincerely thought that I was doing the right thing, and I was happy to do it because it was what God wanted me to do.
I got baptized in the Gulf of Mexico the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college, and went to Hong Kong for a mission trip during Christmas break of my sophomore year... then I decided I want to be a full-time missionary to East Asia once I graduate college... and then the doubt started seeping in. And a year and a handful of months later, here I am posting on my atheism-centric blog about how awesome it is to be an atheist. :] Aaaah freedom.
I guess the easiest way to explain my religious background is to say that I attended a wide array of protestant Christian churches. My family moved a lot, and it seems like each time we moved we'd adopt a new denomination. When I really small (too young to remember) we attended a Methodist church, then we moved to an Assembly of God church (when I was at peak "playing pretend under the pews during church" age), and then to a Southern Baptist, then to a nondenominational, then back to a Southern Baptist... where we finally settled. My first two years in college I attended a massive, Southern Baptist megachurch (and dabbled in Pentecostalism, because I had a crush on a holy roller... bad idea).
Oddly enough, most of my experiences with religion were positive ones. Once I got into high school I was very active in church (mostly because my mom made me). I sang during service every Sunday, kicked ass at Bible drill, traveled on youth group trips, went to camps, etc. Once I started college I stopped going to church because it just never held my interest. I believed in god but I wasn't a very religious person, and church was boring.
Then, the unthinkable happened. My boyfriend (whom I was totes in lub with, btw) finally became such a massively insufferable prick that I dumped him and I finally realized that... hey, it's my freshman year in college, I've been completely and utterly dependent on my boyfriend and now I'm all alone in a strange place and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I was in the middle of an existential crisis, and in a state of emotional trauma that left me wide open to get bitten by the Jesus bug. All it took was for one of my friends to invite me to church and I was hooked. I latched on to my Bible, and to Bible study, and to Wednesday night worship, and to all of the friends who were cheering that I'd finally started getting involved in church. I rededicated my life to Christ. Of course I was tortured over the fact that I wasn't a virgin and that I went through a "bicurious" phase in high school and that I love sex, which led to me repressing my sexuality so much that I turned into a prude ("I'm not going to even kiss until I get married!")... but at the time I sincerely thought that I was doing the right thing, and I was happy to do it because it was what God wanted me to do.
I got baptized in the Gulf of Mexico the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college, and went to Hong Kong for a mission trip during Christmas break of my sophomore year... then I decided I want to be a full-time missionary to East Asia once I graduate college... and then the doubt started seeping in. And a year and a handful of months later, here I am posting on my atheism-centric blog about how awesome it is to be an atheist. :] Aaaah freedom.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
15-day atheist challenge, day 1.
So you may have noticed a couple of weeks back that my blog completely disappeared for a few days... that's because, dear friends, for those of us on the quarter system it was finals week and I really couldn't afford any distractions (except Facebook, for reals). It was a crazy stressful week and I was spending a lot of time on my blog, so I decided to deactivate it to avoid the temptation until finals were over. And now that that hellacious quarter is over and done, I can start putting some serious work into the blog again. Yay! :]
Of course, now that I'm back I have no clue what to write about... so instead of going off on some useless tangent while watching a marathon of "Undateable" (guilty pleasure), I'm going to start this nifty little meme I found on Tumblr. It's called the 15-day Atheist Challenge, and basically it's 15 thoughtful questions to get your writing going... I think it'll be interesting to share these answers with you guys, and hear your answers too. Leave me a comment with the answer to the day's question and your thoughts, or if you decide to do the challenge yourself then point me in the direction of your blog and we can do this together! :]
Day 1: At what point did you know you were an atheist? Why did you become one? What were the factors leading up to the decision, if you weren't always one?
I realized I was an atheist in November of 2010, so I haven't really identified as atheist for very long. For about two years (starting in November 2008), I considered myself a "hardcore" Christian. I was crazy into mission work, an avid reader of C.S. Lewis and John Piper (and the like), and I spent an average of 10 hours a week in church or church-related activities. I was always a bit of a doubter, but after I got home from a mission trip to East Asia in January 2010 is when I really started having serious doubts about my religion. I could never justify the actions of Christians with the doctrine of "agape" love.
Around October 2010 is when I stumbled across an atheist blog that kind of slapped me in the face (it hasn't been updated in a while, but that didn't stop me from reading all of the posts). Weeks of feverish research followed... documentaries, books, articles, debates, every bit of information I could get my hands on. I joined a few atheist communities online and found that they were populated by kind, intelligent, open-minded people who encouraged me to make my own decision, something that a Christian would never do. Through my research I was able to find answers to questions that I didn't even realize I had. I realized that the reason I couldn't justify my faith was because my faith was unjustifiable.
I know I made the right decision in leaving my religion behind. In the past few months I've become a much more confident person and I definitely don't take bullshit like I used to. When I was a Christian, we were told that we should never be too happy or satisfied with our lives, lest we begin to pull away from God. Now that I'm an atheist, I've come to realize that you know what?? It's okay to be happy. Happiness, satisfaction, intelligence, rationality... these are not things to be ashamed of.
Of course, now that I'm back I have no clue what to write about... so instead of going off on some useless tangent while watching a marathon of "Undateable" (guilty pleasure), I'm going to start this nifty little meme I found on Tumblr. It's called the 15-day Atheist Challenge, and basically it's 15 thoughtful questions to get your writing going... I think it'll be interesting to share these answers with you guys, and hear your answers too. Leave me a comment with the answer to the day's question and your thoughts, or if you decide to do the challenge yourself then point me in the direction of your blog and we can do this together! :]
Day 1: At what point did you know you were an atheist? Why did you become one? What were the factors leading up to the decision, if you weren't always one?
I realized I was an atheist in November of 2010, so I haven't really identified as atheist for very long. For about two years (starting in November 2008), I considered myself a "hardcore" Christian. I was crazy into mission work, an avid reader of C.S. Lewis and John Piper (and the like), and I spent an average of 10 hours a week in church or church-related activities. I was always a bit of a doubter, but after I got home from a mission trip to East Asia in January 2010 is when I really started having serious doubts about my religion. I could never justify the actions of Christians with the doctrine of "agape" love.
Around October 2010 is when I stumbled across an atheist blog that kind of slapped me in the face (it hasn't been updated in a while, but that didn't stop me from reading all of the posts). Weeks of feverish research followed... documentaries, books, articles, debates, every bit of information I could get my hands on. I joined a few atheist communities online and found that they were populated by kind, intelligent, open-minded people who encouraged me to make my own decision, something that a Christian would never do. Through my research I was able to find answers to questions that I didn't even realize I had. I realized that the reason I couldn't justify my faith was because my faith was unjustifiable.
I know I made the right decision in leaving my religion behind. In the past few months I've become a much more confident person and I definitely don't take bullshit like I used to. When I was a Christian, we were told that we should never be too happy or satisfied with our lives, lest we begin to pull away from God. Now that I'm an atheist, I've come to realize that you know what?? It's okay to be happy. Happiness, satisfaction, intelligence, rationality... these are not things to be ashamed of.
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Valentine's Day sentiment.
"I'm so lucky... thatI love my boyfriend haha. Happy Valentine's Day folks!Godthe Flying Spaghetti Monster blessed me with a special friend like you. R'amen."
Also, I'm now listed on the Atheist Blogroll! Check it out via the nifty link in the sidebar, and add your blog or browse all the fabulous blogs listed. :D
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Best of the Bible Belt: T-Shirt Edition
There is a certain t-shirt company with a prolific following here in north Louisiana... they make shirts using the timeless combination of jarringly bright colors (lime green, hot pink, gouge-my-eyes-out-with-a-spoon orange, etc) and ridiculous, "country girl" catchphrases... Here are just a few:
I'm a 4-wheeler ridin', mud-slingin', camo-wearin' kinda girl!
If I can't wear my flip-flops I ain't goin'!
Pink ain't just a color, it's an attitude!
I'm a Bible totin', Devil stompin', faith walkin' kinda girl!
I'm a cell phone talkin', text messagin', Facebook chattin', southern sassin' kinda girl!
CINDERELLA IS PROOF THAT A PAIR OF SHOES AND A REALLY CUTE GUY CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE OMG LOLZ. (Ok, so the caps-lock and the "OMG LOLZ" is mine--but you get the picture, right?)
Every time I see one of these t-shirts (which is at least a few times a day), I imagine Paula Deen reading the ridiculous sayings plastered on them and then I get all pissy because these shirts are one of the few things that can really set my blood boiling. I know it's totally irrational, but it's just one of my pet peeves. I've never seen less thought put into designing clothing. Their typical formula: I'm a blank blankin', blank blankin', blank blankin' (repeated ad nauseum) kinda girl!
And the worst part is that everyone loves these shirts. Everywhere you go, these shirts are clinging to girls in ratty flip-flops and Daisy Dukes. Them down-home, corn-fed, Jesus lovin' country girls eat this shit up!
I want to special order one just for me in radioactive cyan blue that proudly proclaims: I'm an evolution lovin', knowledge seekin', deity disbelievin' rational kinda girl (complete with a bedazzled picture of Charles Darwin that looks like a pixie threw up on it)... But somehow that sounds even more ridiculous than the shirts they actually do offer for sale (but just barely).
Okay, rant over. I just needed to get that out of my system haha. :] Console me, and tell me that Louisiana isn't the only state with an overabundance of these terrible t-shirts?
I'm a 4-wheeler ridin', mud-slingin', camo-wearin' kinda girl!
If I can't wear my flip-flops I ain't goin'!
Pink ain't just a color, it's an attitude!
I'm a Bible totin', Devil stompin', faith walkin' kinda girl!
I'm a cell phone talkin', text messagin', Facebook chattin', southern sassin' kinda girl!
CINDERELLA IS PROOF THAT A PAIR OF SHOES AND A REALLY CUTE GUY CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE OMG LOLZ. (Ok, so the caps-lock and the "OMG LOLZ" is mine--but you get the picture, right?)
Every time I see one of these t-shirts (which is at least a few times a day), I imagine Paula Deen reading the ridiculous sayings plastered on them and then I get all pissy because these shirts are one of the few things that can really set my blood boiling. I know it's totally irrational, but it's just one of my pet peeves. I've never seen less thought put into designing clothing. Their typical formula: I'm a blank blankin', blank blankin', blank blankin' (repeated ad nauseum) kinda girl!
And the worst part is that everyone loves these shirts. Everywhere you go, these shirts are clinging to girls in ratty flip-flops and Daisy Dukes. Them down-home, corn-fed, Jesus lovin' country girls eat this shit up!
I want to special order one just for me in radioactive cyan blue that proudly proclaims: I'm an evolution lovin', knowledge seekin', deity disbelievin' rational kinda girl (complete with a bedazzled picture of Charles Darwin that looks like a pixie threw up on it)... But somehow that sounds even more ridiculous than the shirts they actually do offer for sale (but just barely).
Okay, rant over. I just needed to get that out of my system haha. :] Console me, and tell me that Louisiana isn't the only state with an overabundance of these terrible t-shirts?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Through Jesus-tinted glasses.
When I was a Christian, one of my major gripes about atheists was that "they spend more time talking about God than we do." And I've come to realize that... it's 100% true, but it's not because of our "god-shaped holes." It's because you really don't see all of the problems of religion until you're on the outside looking in... then you see people suffering, being lied to, killed, abused, etc, etc... an entire spectrum of immorality, dressed in sheep's clothing.
So the purpose of this post is just to give you guys a rundown of some of the foundations of my Christian beliefs, followed by what I now believe (which will be bolded). You tell me which set of statements is more ethical, kind, and rational.
1. We were created in God's image. We are animals, with complex brains that evolved over billions of years.
2. Satan tempts me to do evil things. I make my own choices... there is no supernatural being trying to influence me to do "evil."
3. Humans are inherently bad and we all deserve to burn in hell. Humans are born as blank slates--our genetics and our environment determine whether or not we will become "bad" people. We are born innocent.
4. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died on the cross for our sins and rose after three days to take his rightful place at the right hand of the throne of God. If Jesus existed, he was most likely a charismatic man with delusions of grandeur, who very well may have died by being crucified... but his story ends there.
5. Isaiah 64:6 -- "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (In the original Hebrew text, "filthy rags" were used menstrual rags.) I am a flawed human, and I make mistakes, but I am capable of doing good things and being kind. I am appalled that Christians are proud of Isaiah 64:6, and what it says about their "righteous" God.
6. Everything happens for a reason... even the most insignificant details of my life are part of God's divine plan. Even if god existed, he would not give a damn about the frivolous details of my life like my shoe size and my favorite foods.
7. True love waits. My body is my own, and if I choose to have safe, responsible, premarital sex with someone I care about then so be it.
8. Homosexuality is an abomination against God. Safe, responsible sex between consenting adults is harming absolutely no one.
9. Atheists are bitter, hateful people with god-shaped holes in their hearts. Atheists are people who do not believe in god. There are millions of us, and we're all very very different. Some of us very well might be bitter and hateful... but many of us see life as a beautiful, precious thing and we aim to make the most of our short time on Earth.
10. I'm going to heaven when I die, where I will worship God for all eternity. When I die, I'll be buried.
So the purpose of this post is just to give you guys a rundown of some of the foundations of my Christian beliefs, followed by what I now believe (which will be bolded). You tell me which set of statements is more ethical, kind, and rational.
1. We were created in God's image. We are animals, with complex brains that evolved over billions of years.
2. Satan tempts me to do evil things. I make my own choices... there is no supernatural being trying to influence me to do "evil."
3. Humans are inherently bad and we all deserve to burn in hell. Humans are born as blank slates--our genetics and our environment determine whether or not we will become "bad" people. We are born innocent.
4. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died on the cross for our sins and rose after three days to take his rightful place at the right hand of the throne of God. If Jesus existed, he was most likely a charismatic man with delusions of grandeur, who very well may have died by being crucified... but his story ends there.
5. Isaiah 64:6 -- "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (In the original Hebrew text, "filthy rags" were used menstrual rags.) I am a flawed human, and I make mistakes, but I am capable of doing good things and being kind. I am appalled that Christians are proud of Isaiah 64:6, and what it says about their "righteous" God.
6. Everything happens for a reason... even the most insignificant details of my life are part of God's divine plan. Even if god existed, he would not give a damn about the frivolous details of my life like my shoe size and my favorite foods.
7. True love waits. My body is my own, and if I choose to have safe, responsible, premarital sex with someone I care about then so be it.
8. Homosexuality is an abomination against God. Safe, responsible sex between consenting adults is harming absolutely no one.
9. Atheists are bitter, hateful people with god-shaped holes in their hearts. Atheists are people who do not believe in god. There are millions of us, and we're all very very different. Some of us very well might be bitter and hateful... but many of us see life as a beautiful, precious thing and we aim to make the most of our short time on Earth.
10. I'm going to heaven when I die, where I will worship God for all eternity. When I die, I'll be buried.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tough Decisions
Today marks three beautiful months that I've been dating my best friend. :] I know that's not very long, but he and I have been an inseparable force since middle school so I'm allowed to be a big sappy sap over this.
Since I finally came to the conclusion that I'm an atheist, I've had to do some tough things. As many of you who've deconverted from theism know... it's about the farthest thing from easy, especially if most of the people you know--most of the people you love--are theists. But you know what? I've done the hard things anyway because I've recently developed an extremely low tolerance for bullshit, especially the bullshit that spews out of my own mouth. I believe I can thank my atheism for that, haha.
So I sucked it up, and I told my hardcore Christian best friend that I didn't believe in god anymore. And yeah, sending him a Facebook message to let him know was probably a bit of a cop-out on my part, but hitting that send button was freakin' tough. And I did the same thing to the college minister to let him know that I was utterly incapable of continuing my involvement with the college ministry's leadership team. And it sucks, because I feel like I'm burning bridges... but that's definitely better than lying to myself and to everyone else.
I straight up tattled on my sorority for hazing. The new girls were being physically, mentally, and psychologically tortured by the old girls. And there it is again: that BS that I'm not gonna put up with any longer. NO ONE deserves to be treated like that and no one should have to prove anything to some snooty witch with a god-complex.
I'll say this for myself: since I've embraced my atheism I've grown a pair. >:] And I like it!
Last night when all of this went down, I felt so alone. I laid down in my bed and thought about how easy it would be to believe in god, that me ratting out my sisters was part of god's "divine plan for my life," and that his hand was on me in my time of need. I fell asleep kind of upset.
When I woke up this morning I felt amazing, because you know what? I made the right choice, on my own. I didn't have to lean on god for support, I didn't use the "divine plan" cop-out as my reasoning to make a hard choice. I made a hard choice because I thought critically about what was going on (hazing), who was being hurt (innocent girls who are stressed enough already), and the best way to fix the problem (report it to someone with more power in the organization than myself).
So, you know what?! BAM.
Sorry if this post seemed a tad... angry, I'm just so full of feelings! :]
Since I finally came to the conclusion that I'm an atheist, I've had to do some tough things. As many of you who've deconverted from theism know... it's about the farthest thing from easy, especially if most of the people you know--most of the people you love--are theists. But you know what? I've done the hard things anyway because I've recently developed an extremely low tolerance for bullshit, especially the bullshit that spews out of my own mouth. I believe I can thank my atheism for that, haha.
So I sucked it up, and I told my hardcore Christian best friend that I didn't believe in god anymore. And yeah, sending him a Facebook message to let him know was probably a bit of a cop-out on my part, but hitting that send button was freakin' tough. And I did the same thing to the college minister to let him know that I was utterly incapable of continuing my involvement with the college ministry's leadership team. And it sucks, because I feel like I'm burning bridges... but that's definitely better than lying to myself and to everyone else.
I straight up tattled on my sorority for hazing. The new girls were being physically, mentally, and psychologically tortured by the old girls. And there it is again: that BS that I'm not gonna put up with any longer. NO ONE deserves to be treated like that and no one should have to prove anything to some snooty witch with a god-complex.
I'll say this for myself: since I've embraced my atheism I've grown a pair. >:] And I like it!
Last night when all of this went down, I felt so alone. I laid down in my bed and thought about how easy it would be to believe in god, that me ratting out my sisters was part of god's "divine plan for my life," and that his hand was on me in my time of need. I fell asleep kind of upset.
When I woke up this morning I felt amazing, because you know what? I made the right choice, on my own. I didn't have to lean on god for support, I didn't use the "divine plan" cop-out as my reasoning to make a hard choice. I made a hard choice because I thought critically about what was going on (hazing), who was being hurt (innocent girls who are stressed enough already), and the best way to fix the problem (report it to someone with more power in the organization than myself).
So, you know what?! BAM.
Sorry if this post seemed a tad... angry, I'm just so full of feelings! :]
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