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Post by dingleberry12286 on Jan 27, 2004 22:59:08 GMT -5
How is everybody feeling on this fine night? I am new here, but I am sure I will fit in perfectly. I have been an atheist for, I would guess, about four years now. There was only a few people that I knew were atheists, but now I would say that about two fifths of the people I know are atheists. I went to this site two years ago, but never really got into it. I am just wondering why this site is here. It seems like all you could talk about is how you do not believe in god. If the only reason for this site is for you to harass other religions, then it should not exist. I have not yet read any posts, so maybe I am wrong. But if I am not, I just might leave this forum for good. So maybe you will see me again, maybe not, but if you do not, just remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion.
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Post by nonny on Jan 27, 2004 23:18:12 GMT -5
Let me be the first to say Welcome!
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Post by Maverick on Jan 27, 2004 23:40:30 GMT -5
Welcome to the message board, dingleberry12286. Let me address your statements about our site and see if I can clarify some things. dingleberry12286What were your impressions of this website when you first found it two years ago? What are your impressions of it now? dingleberry12286Our Network Policy includes a mission statement for this website. As listed in that mission statement, Atheists Anonymous exists to: - Provide a system of support for non-religious individuals.
- Promote the use of freethought and critical thinking.
- Help spread an understanding of atheism and the atheist.
- Actively support the atheist movement in our respective societies.
- Break the barriers of intolerance against atheists.
- Help closet atheists as they struggle to reveal their atheism to loved ones.
dingleberry12286While the main focus of this website may be our lack of belief in god, we talk about different things too. We discuss politics and current events in our Politics & Current Events section, for example. Our Expressive Outlet & Multimedia, Science & Philosophy, and General Discussion sections may involve discussion about atheism but they are not limited to such discussion. We also have our fun too. Consider our role-playing Mafia: A game of survival section as an example of us kicking back and having fun. I find it hard to understand how someone who has been browsing this website for the past two years could miss these things. Maybe you could help us understand where you're coming from, dingleberry12286? dingleberry12286Don't worry, we aren't out to harass anyone. In fact, we're here to do quite the opposite: provide support to a group that is harassed and excluded in many of our societies today. However, Atheists Anonymous does welcome theistic participation on our boards and in our chat room. Though we may disagree on beliefs in god, the members of Atheists Anonymous recognize that a diversity of opinion is important for discussing controversial issues. dingleberry12286I've taken note of your last statement and I do hope you give us a chance by taking the time to read through some of our threads. I'm confident that you'll find a welcoming and respectful community here.
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Post by Yaw on Jan 28, 2004 0:25:31 GMT -5
Welcome, dingleberry12286. Please feel free to join any of the existing threads, or start your own.
I'll reiterate what Maverick said, and ask that you not pre-judge us. We are here for the exact opposite reason to harassing other religions. If you look through some of the threads, you'll find that discussion between atheists and theists has been at a very high level, and that we are pretty quick to jump in if and when it descends into harassment. Several of us, including myself, have defended religious viewpoints against extremist atheist views when necessary. The sort of thing you are worried about is certainly not supported by the staff of this board.
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Post by dragonfly on Jan 28, 2004 16:20:51 GMT -5
This board is wonderful.Everyone has been most tolerant of my views which veer wildely in all the possible directions between theism and atheism. The communication is of an exceptionally high level with most people being very open minded,interested and interesting. Most people here are comfortable with their views on atheism and express them well but this can not be considered as harrassment of other religions.As you say people are entitled to their own opinions. I hope you stay and explore the minds of the people here as in doing so your own mind will be taken on a journey. Welcome!
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Post by Griffey on Jan 28, 2004 18:34:35 GMT -5
Welcome, dingleberry12286! As Maverick, Yaw, and dragonfly have all said, this board is definately not about trashing other religions. Everyone here is actually refreshingly open-minded about religion and non-religion, and I don't think there's any harassment going on here. I hope once you take a look around you'll become more interested and decide to stick around, we do have some really good discussions, and yes we do talk about other things than not believing in god. ;D I hope that you'll enjoy this board enough to keep coming back!
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Kalena
Seasoned Citizen
Posts: 115
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Post by Kalena on Jan 28, 2004 21:53:11 GMT -5
Welcome dingleberry12286! I'm new here as well so I'm still looking through the threads and seeing what type of discussions are here and how the members are like. So far, the discussions are interesting and the people are tolerant. There are a lot of different opinions on this board, which makes everything an interesting read. I hope you do decide to stay.
Is it okay if I just call you Dingleberry?
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Post by dingleberry12286 on Jan 28, 2004 23:19:24 GMT -5
I must first start by thanking all of you for the warm welcoming. And Maverick, when I said that I came to this site two years ago, I meant that I Only read a few things, and added my name to the mailing list, I used to ignore all of the messages, but one day I decided to join the forum. And I did go through some posts and it seems like I misjudged, and I apologize for that. I just want to say that you will see more of me in the future, and thank you once again for the warm welcoming.
P.S Kalena, you can call me Dingleberry
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Post by nonny on Jan 28, 2004 23:32:02 GMT -5
I just want to say that you will see more of me in the future, and thank you once again for the warm welcoming. Well I'm glad to hear that and can't wait to see some of your posts.
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Kalena
Seasoned Citizen
Posts: 115
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Post by Kalena on Jan 29, 2004 8:52:10 GMT -5
I'm glad you decided to stay Dingleberry.
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Post by AuntieSocial on Jan 29, 2004 20:23:38 GMT -5
Allow me to add a late welcome dingleberry. I see that you have now read some of our threads. I hope you feel confident that we are not out to "harass" religions and feel comfortable enough to join in.
I wanted to mention that I am a secularist as well as an atheist. What this means (to me) is that everyone has the right to their religious views, but no one has the right to infringe on another's right, be that the right to have a religion or to not have a religion. I try very hard to abstain from 'bashing' religious people. I do not, however, refrain from pointing out the injustices that have been committed by religious institutions. You see, I draw a line between the individual and the organisation.
Anyway, welcome again!
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Post by dingleberry12286 on Jan 29, 2004 21:21:50 GMT -5
Alright AuntieSocial, calm down, I realize that I have made a mistake and I hope that you can forgive me for doing so. Thank you also for welcoming me, but please do not hold this against me.
And I am glad to see that I have pleased you, Kalenasn, by deciding to stay.
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Kalena
Seasoned Citizen
Posts: 115
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Post by Kalena on Jan 29, 2004 21:45:10 GMT -5
You can just call me Kalena.
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Post by AuntieSocial on Feb 1, 2004 8:51:51 GMT -5
Alright AuntieSocial, calm down, I realize that I have made a mistake and I hope that you can forgive me for doing so. Thank you also for welcoming me, but please do not hold this against me. *giggles* I'm calm ... that thought just came to my mind when I was reading the earlier posts and I thought it was something that I should still post (after reading that you had decided to stay after reading some of the threads). The main reason I posted it is because some people (not necessarily any of the members on our board) can't see the difference between the religion and its adherents. While I respect the adherents as individuals, I may not respect the religion they follow.
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