Post by Kalena on Jan 24, 2004 20:27:40 GMT -5
Well, I shall introduce myself. Ifm Kalena and I have been an atheist ever since I was born. I never grew up in a religious environment. My family, which includes my parents and grandparents, are non-religious. Well, except for one of my aunts who is a Christian, but she never talks about her beliefs. I grew up in a household that never spoke of religion, so I didnft know anything about any religion except what I get from the media or school. I went to church a couple of times when I was younger with friends. My mom would never set foot in a church if she didnft have to. ;D So she never went with me.
I had fun the few times I went to church. My favorite would have to be Sunday school where I read gstoriesh and ate cookies. I never enjoyed the times when I had to go into this huge auditorium and someone lectured about something. At the time I didnft know what it was about because I never paid attention. ;D It was very boring, and I usually would sleep. The last time I visited a church was when I was ten.
I remember when I was younger that I believed in a heaven. I would ask my mom, gDo dogs go to heaven?h(I watched that movie way too much). I donft remember her response but I wish I did because the answer would probably be hilarious. I also remember thinking if bugs went to heaven too. My vision of heaven is what is only shown on T.V-angels with harps sitting on puffs of clouds. Hey, I didnft know anything about religion (in this instance, Christianity).
When I was older, I was browsing through a bookstore when I saw a book on Witchcraft (Wicca). Remembering all of those witchcraft movies I have seen (The Craft, anyone?), I thought it would be cool to be a witch. I wanted to do magic! (heh heh). I asked my mom how she would think about me being a witch. She said, gThe same as if you practiced any religion.h I donft remember if that is exactly what she said but she didnft seem to care for the idea.
I read the book and it said before I can do magic, I had to practice the religion. I didnft really know how to do this and I felt lost but I tried. I tried to imagine how the God and Goddess made the universe (by going through a space full of stars and swinging planets into place), made an alter (my step-father made fun of this), and tried to pray. The prayer messed me up. I didnft know how to pray. I tried but I felt foolish, like I was just talking to myself. So I gave up on the idea of being a witch (I donft think the magic would have worked anyway).
When I was a senior in high school, I realized how much religion impacted peoplefs lives. You would think I would notice sooner, but I seemed to have a simple mind. It happened when I took psychology; my teacher was very religious (Christian). It was not in a bad way, he seemed like a tolerant guy, but he was very religious and I found it very odd. You see, I found it very odd when he said some people were possessed by demons and made to do horrendous crimes. Heh heh, yeah sure. And he believed that science could not answer all of humanfs emotions (I believe that too, but not in his way).
Thatfs when I began to notice all the religion around me. I knew I wasnft the only one without religion, but I still wonder if there were other people like me. I knew I didnft believe in any Gods or Goddess (or a God) because I have already tried with Wicca and it didnft work out. So I looked online and found out I was an atheist and I also found out how some atheists are facing discrimination because of the myths and how some people donft view it as gnormal.h This saddens me. Also I think atheism is very normal, more normal than theism. Well, thatfs what I think. I also think there are more atheists out there than we realize. Itfs just that most of them donft know they are atheists or theyfre hiding.
This is very long. Sorry! I get carried away. If you made it through, then wow.
I had fun the few times I went to church. My favorite would have to be Sunday school where I read gstoriesh and ate cookies. I never enjoyed the times when I had to go into this huge auditorium and someone lectured about something. At the time I didnft know what it was about because I never paid attention. ;D It was very boring, and I usually would sleep. The last time I visited a church was when I was ten.
I remember when I was younger that I believed in a heaven. I would ask my mom, gDo dogs go to heaven?h(I watched that movie way too much). I donft remember her response but I wish I did because the answer would probably be hilarious. I also remember thinking if bugs went to heaven too. My vision of heaven is what is only shown on T.V-angels with harps sitting on puffs of clouds. Hey, I didnft know anything about religion (in this instance, Christianity).
When I was older, I was browsing through a bookstore when I saw a book on Witchcraft (Wicca). Remembering all of those witchcraft movies I have seen (The Craft, anyone?), I thought it would be cool to be a witch. I wanted to do magic! (heh heh). I asked my mom how she would think about me being a witch. She said, gThe same as if you practiced any religion.h I donft remember if that is exactly what she said but she didnft seem to care for the idea.
I read the book and it said before I can do magic, I had to practice the religion. I didnft really know how to do this and I felt lost but I tried. I tried to imagine how the God and Goddess made the universe (by going through a space full of stars and swinging planets into place), made an alter (my step-father made fun of this), and tried to pray. The prayer messed me up. I didnft know how to pray. I tried but I felt foolish, like I was just talking to myself. So I gave up on the idea of being a witch (I donft think the magic would have worked anyway).
When I was a senior in high school, I realized how much religion impacted peoplefs lives. You would think I would notice sooner, but I seemed to have a simple mind. It happened when I took psychology; my teacher was very religious (Christian). It was not in a bad way, he seemed like a tolerant guy, but he was very religious and I found it very odd. You see, I found it very odd when he said some people were possessed by demons and made to do horrendous crimes. Heh heh, yeah sure. And he believed that science could not answer all of humanfs emotions (I believe that too, but not in his way).
Thatfs when I began to notice all the religion around me. I knew I wasnft the only one without religion, but I still wonder if there were other people like me. I knew I didnft believe in any Gods or Goddess (or a God) because I have already tried with Wicca and it didnft work out. So I looked online and found out I was an atheist and I also found out how some atheists are facing discrimination because of the myths and how some people donft view it as gnormal.h This saddens me. Also I think atheism is very normal, more normal than theism. Well, thatfs what I think. I also think there are more atheists out there than we realize. Itfs just that most of them donft know they are atheists or theyfre hiding.
This is very long. Sorry! I get carried away. If you made it through, then wow.