"new person" introduction

[dissenter719]

After reading a couple other intro threads, I feel the need to spill immediately. I'm a closet atheist, a college drop-out, and I occasionally drink from the carton. I'm a wife and a mother of two beautiful children (thank you), and I usually work but am currently recuperating from ankle reconstruction. Needless to say, I have some time to kill. I figured I'd spend some of it here with you all.

-- dissenter #719

[upallnite]

Welcome.

I occasionally drink from the carton.

For this sin you will be dammed to hell.

I figured I'd spend some of it here with you all.

Good works will not save you!



I hope you enjoy the site.

[Zzyzx]

.

After reading a couple other intro threads, I feel the need to spill immediately. I'm a closet atheist, a college drop-out, and I occasionally drink from the carton. I'm a wife and a mother of two beautiful children (thank you), and I usually work but am currently recuperating from ankle reconstruction. Needless to say, I have some time to kill. I figured I'd spend some of it here with you all.

-- dissenter #719

Welcome to the forum.

Having you join after an ankle injury sounds familiar. I did the same thing eight or nine months ago after surgery to an ankle to repair damage done by a falling tree limb that I had cut with a pole saw. The forum was "good medicine" during the months in a cast when the leg needed to be elevated. I spent many hours in a recliner with leg elevated on a "bean bag" and a keyboard on my lap.

The leg is pretty well recovered now -- but the forum has become a "habit". It grows on one after getting to know some of the personalities involved. There are many good people here that express reasoned opinions -- and there are others.

How did you injure your ankle?

Enjoy yourself and keep the leg elevated.


Zzyzx

[Fallibleone]

Hi, dissenter. Welcome to the site. I've been here a few months now, posting slightly more as time goes on. It's a moth ---> flame kind of scenario.

[OnceConvinced]

Hi Dissenter!

I can understand why you choose to be a closet athiest. Too much persecution out there from so-called Christians. But here you don't have to hide. Welcome!

[dissenter719]

Thanks for the welcome. Whew, it's good to know I've found some people who won't bless me if I sneeze!

As for the ankle thing, that's a bit ironic. When I was originally typing it, I was thinking about how I came to find this site. I was at the hospital, being prepped for surgery, and this strange man wandered into my cubicle. He introduced himself and asked if I'd like to share a moment of prayer before I went in. My husband was looking at me, the man was looking at me, and I felt like the whole world was listening. I honestly meant to say, "Sure. Why not," and out of my mouth flew, "No, I've got some good karma going on here, so thanks but no thanks." The man said that if I changed my mind, he'd be around, and then he walked away. My husband busted out laughing and said he was really proud of me, but I was angry with myself. That's as close as I've ever come to saying out loud to someone outside of my husband/children/father that I don't believe in God or prayer, but I felt like I wussed out at the last second. I don't know bupkis about karma.

Anyway, back to the ankle. I had horrible strep throat one winter, and I had gone to pay my cable bill (in the dark ages before I discovered satellite), and I slipped on their wet floor, tearing my posterior tibial tendon. That's the one that runs around and under the ankle bone and up across the foot arch. I was told it was tendinitis for two years before I finally got a new doctor and a referral to an orthopedic specialist. I did the physical therapy thing and learned to live with it, and I made it three whole years! By the time the tendon actually ruptured and was irreparable, I needed three osteotomies (where they cut my bone and inserted cadaver bone to realign everything, and then screwed it all back together), a shiny new Kevlar tendon, and nine weeks sitting on my butt before I can even think about walking or physical therapy. I just finished week 5. But if you ask anyone else, I injured it while running the Crim. (It's a 10-mile road race.) That's a way sexier answer than that I slipped while paying the cable bill.

So yeah, I'm hoping to become comfortable enough to speak my mind when I feel the need and to develop a repertoire of snappy replies to my future persecution, because I'm tired of being in the closet.

[Fallibleone]

I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for you atheists across the pond. You seem to be in a situation where you are confronted by religion at every turn, just going about your daily lives. I almost get the sense of an entire sub-culture of people treading warily around at all times in case someone finds out their awful secret. I might be strictly speaking in the minority where I live (lots of Catholics in the Liverpool area - there's a nun-factory just down the road), but I'm never worried about expressing my views. The situation which you described at the hospital just would not occur over here. Most people seem to be fine with differing views, although I suppose it could just be that British thing of not wanting to cause an argument. Maybe they wait till they get home to berate me...

[otseng]

Welcome to the forum dissenter719. And don't be ashamed of being a closet atheist. I know of also many closet Christians.

The forum was "good medicine" during the months in a cast when the leg needed to be elevated. I spent many hours in a recliner with leg elevated on a "bean bag" and a keyboard on my lap.

I was wondering how you are able to spend so much time on the forum!

[Zzyzx]

.

I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for you atheists across the pond. You seem to be in a situation where you are confronted by religion at every turn, just going about your daily lives.

“Confronted by religion” is a very apt phrase to characterize life in the US – particularly in the less industrialized and urbanized areas, including the “Bible Belt” that consists of the southeastern states (the old Confederacy). Churches are everywhere, testimony to human desire to escape death and decisions. “God talk” is a feature of many or most conversations.

My wife and I live in a part of the “Bible Belt” (the Ozark Mountain area of Arkansas) and coexist with a society that is primary composed of Christians who “put the lives in the hands of god” and who usually want to convert others to their way of thinking. We are pleased to encounter others who are fellow members of the non-theist minority.

I am not certain how pervasive religious beliefs are in this region because some may pretend religion to be acceptable to the general society. That would be the easiest course of action for many (though judgment of the religious commitment and practices of others is not uncommon).

Our means of dealing with the religious majority is to send a clear message that we do not subscribe to the same ideas and are not willing to endure god talk. Most people we encounter are willing to respect our position and our boundaries; however, some are convinced they must attempt to “save” us. With those people we are very firm and rejecting. We do not associate with any of the latter group for more than a few minutes.

We have lived elsewhere in the US where religion was not a dominant factor in the lives of so large a portion of the population – but still there was pervasive religious advertising (“Jesus Saves”, etc) and a great number of palaces of worship. However, we choose to life where we like the terrain, vegetation, small towns, rural atmosphere, mild winters, etc – and realize that a negative aspect of the region is its religious orientation.

[Fallibleone]

This is fascinating. I can't imagine people including 'God talk' in a normal conversation over here. Even the devout Catholics I know rarely bring the topic up. I was at my college last Wednesday for my counselling class talking beliefs with the woman sitting next to me, and I discovered that she is a Catholic. I've been sitting next to her for two months and she has never mentioned it before. We were discussing the concept of guilt, and the course tutor asked 'hands up if you're a Catholic'. Approximately three quarters of a group of 18-20 people raised their hands. I have known some of them for over a year and I had no idea what their stance on religion was.

A conversation usually has to be very specifically God-based before people here will start offering their beliefs on the subject. In fact if someone began talking about God or Jesus as part of a normal conversation, there would ensue that most British of furtive looks between the others which says 'ohhh dear, beliefs'. I don't know what the reason for this is. It may be the desire to not ruffle feathers and to remain at least superficially polite, or that ones faith is seen as more of a private thing. I'm sure it's not because religious Brits are less fervent in their beliefs than religious Americans (mind you an awful lot of our churches are looking pretty run-down these days and the lead on the roofs is much sought-after. Maybe a lot of us aren't as bothered)

My own in-laws are religious and they know that I am not. They accepted our marriage taking place in a register office rather than a church and love me as one of their own. If my father-in-law was to suddenly start exclaiming 'God bless you' or saying grace at the dinner table I think I would faint clean away.