Just Joined

[Jeep]

Hello All,

I'm a 43 year old male that joined here in order to try to help promote the lack of a need for faith.
I was born and raised in what is almost dead center of what is known as the bible belt in east central Mississippi.
I have a degree in electrical engineering and I currently own/operate a Harley-Davidson aftermarket repair and customizing shop.

My dad wasn't religious that I know of, as he never spoke on the subject, but his mother was. I went to church with her until I was about 11 or 12.
My mother was raised as a baptist and her side of the family was very religious although I got the impression that she leaned toward being religious only in order to not make waves among her parents and 8 syblings.

For a great deal of my life I never mentioned that I'm an atheist as I felt like I would immediately be looked down upon. For several years now, that has changed, as I have read the bible in depth as well as Darwin's "Origin of Species", Dawkins' "God Delusion", Hitchens' "God is not Great", and Stephen Hawking's "A brief History of Time" and Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell".

Exactly one of those books made no sense at all to me. Guess which one.

[Goat]

Hello All,

I'm a 43 year old male that joined here in order to try to help promote the lack of a need for faith.
I was born and raised in what is almost dead center of what is known as the bible belt in east central Mississippi.
I have a degree in electrical engineering and I currently own/operate a Harley-Davidson aftermarket repair and customizing shop.

My dad wasn't religious that I know of, as he never spoke on the subject, but his mother was. I went to church with her until I was about 11 or 12.
My mother was raised as a baptist and her side of the family was very religious although I got the impression that she leaned toward being religious only in order to not make waves among her parents and 8 syblings.

For a great deal of my life I never mentioned that I'm an atheist as I felt like I would immediately be looked down upon. For several years now, that has changed, as I have read the bible in depth as well as Darwin's "Origin of Species", Dawkins' "God Delusion", Hitchens' "God is not Great", and Stephen Hawking's "A brief History of Time" and Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell".

One of those books made no sense at all to me.

Hello Jeep. It must be interesting being an atheist in the bible belt.

[Jeep]

well Goat,

let me put it this way, I live on a semi-rural road, part of which is in the city limits, and most is not. On this road that stretches for about 5-7 miles, there are 5 churches.
1 of them is a fairly modest small building, while the other 4 are the most unbelievable displays of immense wealth that the mind can fathom.

[bernee51]

Hello All,

I'm a 43 year old male that joined here in order to try to help promote the lack of a need for faith.
I was born and raised in what is almost dead center of what is known as the bible belt in east central Mississippi.
I have a degree in electrical engineering and I currently own/operate a Harley-Davidson aftermarket repair and customizing shop.

My dad wasn't religious that I know of, as he never spoke on the subject, but his mother was. I went to church with her until I was about 11 or 12.
My mother was raised as a baptist and her side of the family was very religious although I got the impression that she leaned toward being religious only in order to not make waves among her parents and 8 syblings.

For a great deal of my life I never mentioned that I'm an atheist as I felt like I would immediately be looked down upon. For several years now, that has changed, as I have read the bible in depth as well as Darwin's "Origin of Species", Dawkins' "God Delusion", Hitchens' "God is not Great", and Stephen Hawking's "A brief History of Time" and Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell".

Exactly one of those books made no sense at all to me. Guess which one.

Hi Jeep

welcome to the forum.

We have a similar reading pattern...I would suggest adding Michel Onfray's The Atheist Manifesto to your reading list.

b

[C-Nub]

Hiya Jeep, and welcome my brother heathen.

You have an excellent taste in literature, and I always appreciate when one of 'us,' being the non-believers, emerges from one of the most culturally religious centers of the western world. It sounds like your parents gave you a very fair opportunity to make your own determinations in regard to the nature of the universe, and you clearly did a fair amount of research on the subject, which is, despite what common sense might tell you, a path not chosen by as many people as rationalists might expect.

Though I don't think it's possible for a rationalist to understand an irrationalist's (read; theist's) mindset.

Rambling a bit, so... uh... welcome! Unless you somehow support Australia.

[Zzyzx]

.

I was born and raised in what is almost dead center of what is known as the bible belt in east central Mississippi.

Greetings from another resident of the Bible Belt -- northern Arkansas. I was fortunate to have been born and raised elsewhere.

I agree with your stated objective -- which I view as being educational in nature (with two meanings applied).

[JoeyKnothead]

Welcome my fellow atheist Bible Belter. "Georgia, we're not Alabama."

[catalyst]

Hello All,

I'm a 43 year old male that joined here in order to try to help promote the lack of a need for faith.
I was born and raised in what is almost dead center of what is known as the bible belt in east central Mississippi.
I have a degree in electrical engineering and I currently own/operate a Harley-Davidson aftermarket repair and customizing shop.

My dad wasn't religious that I know of, as he never spoke on the subject, but his mother was. I went to church with her until I was about 11 or 12.
My mother was raised as a baptist and her side of the family was very religious although I got the impression that she leaned toward being religious only in order to not make waves among her parents and 8 syblings.

For a great deal of my life I never mentioned that I'm an atheist as I felt like I would immediately be looked down upon. For several years now, that has changed, as I have read the bible in depth as well as Darwin's "Origin of Species", Dawkins' "God Delusion", Hitchens' "God is not Great", and Stephen Hawking's "A brief History of Time" and Hawking's "The Universe in a Nutshell".

Exactly one of those books made no sense at all to me. Guess which one.

Hiya Jeep and welcome

My hunch as to the book which made no sense at all would be the bible?

I look forward to reading your posts around the traps.

TC,

cat.

[Beto]

Hi Jeep, welcome to the forum.

[Confused]

Welcome to the forum Jeep. I look forward to seeing your justifications for the lack of faith and/or the invalidity of a God (Christian preferably as this is mostly a Christian site) in the debate section. Fresh input is always nice.