I'm a little shy, and I tend to botch introductions but here it goes. My name is Lisa I grew up in Michigan near Detroit, I'm not from a part of the United States where being openly Atheist is a potent form of social suicide, but it's not exactly endearing me to anyone either. The upside is that usually, people in my part of Michigan don't care and will leave you alone. I'm honest if asked about my unbelief but otherwise, I don't tend to talk about it. Sometimes, people here react with shock and mild disappointment, (with the exception of one woman, a co-worker of my father's, who let out a horrified scream...) I joined to reach out to other atheists around the world and among my fellow countrymen.
I know that even in places that are relatively safe for unbelievers it can feel lonely and unwelcome. There have been times, especially as an insecure young woman, when I've lost my nerve, where I've kept my mouth shut, or lied. I've felt ashamed of those cowardly dishonest moments--- guilty, and regretful, the guilt still lingers... I know that not feeling as though you can be honest about your own thoughts is a miserable feeling. The freedom to express one's thoughts is a part of the process of thinking.
Freedom of thought is at the very core of human dignity, it is a natural right that you can imagine retaining even in a "state of nature" where consistencies in access to food, and shelter, might be fickle. Even in some of the worst human conditions, people have recorded their thoughts, (Thomas Pain, wrote part of, The Age of Reason, in the Luxembourg Prison.) To ever feel as if one's ability to think freely is being restrained is a slight against human dignity.
I joined in the hopes that I might make someone feel less lonely by offering conversation and a chance to have their thoughts listened to, so feel free to share your thoughts with me no matter where you're from, and I promise I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
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Welcome to AR, Lisa!
thank you, it's lovely to be here : )
Yossarian: Greeting and welcome to the site. No reason to be shy around this place. At the same time, in the real world, there is nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut. It's called self preservation. I work in an office with two Devout Christians. These guys pretty much know my views and I have bashed every Christian argument they have ever presented. I have told them not to give me apologetic and just admit that they do not care what the facts are, they choose to believe. Believe it or not, that is what they do. They just say, "I choose to believe and my reasons are my own." I have them well trained.
On the other hand, I am the university Counselor for Foreign English speaking students. My boss is a Christian and I have been to Church with her and her family. She knows I am a "non-believer." She has not tried to pin me down with the why questions but she does a lot of God talk in the office. "I'm happy because I have Jesus." I respond, "I'm happy too." LOL No Jesus. Instead I have said, "Happiness comes from inside. It's what you bring to the world." Knowing her counseling background, I know she basically agrees with this. So we are both happy. Challenging her would put my job in jeopardy, it is essential that I get along with co-workers. THAT DOES NOT MAKE US COWARDS. IT MAKES US SENSIBLE AND REALISTIC. (CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES WISELY.) Guilt and regrets have nothing to do with anything. Take care of yourself first.
See you in the funny pages! Welcome!
Thank you, it’s great to meet you and I enjoyed reading the banter between you and the other guys lol
Howdy again, Yossarian! Caught you in another thread, but it is only proper that you get a nice welcome on your first OP. Great having you with us. Great thing about this place is that you can feel free to speak your mind and simply even rant and rave if you want. Jesus knows I have done my fair share of ranting... *scratching head*... (Well, that is, I would guess Jesus would know, if he actually existed... maybe... I suppose... *shrugging shoulders*...) But I digress. Anyway, again, welcome aboard. Oh, and you might want to watch out for that monkey with the typewriter (Cog). Sometimes he gets a little carried away banging on those keys, and you never know what will spill forth from those hairy knuckles of his. And don't try to feed him. Definitely don't try to feed him.... ever. He will follow you home and you will never be able to get rid of him. Just sayin'...
lol I look forward to ranting and raving. You two imbibe the chat with such fun :)
Oh, and don't end up like the skull in my profile pic... he's a skeleton because he died of lung cancer from smoking that cigarette. And watch out- Arakish might leave some Miracle-Gro in our fridge... LOL
There are three ways you know you are getting old and beginning to go senile. The first is when your knuckles begin to get harry. The second is when you begin to forget things. The third is.... um..... is...... um........ er.........uh..............um..................errr...................
And I would follow her home whether she fed me or not!!!
Hey, Yossarian, I wouldn't worry too much about ol' Cog following you home. Just keep a banana with you at all times. If you spot him following you, then all you have to do is throw the banana down an alleyway as you pass it. He will go after the banana, then you can turn the next corner real quick and get out of his sight. Works every time... *grin*...
OH! That's how you keep vanishing so quickly! I thought you had been abducted by Christians.
Phew! My parents' worst fears for me would've been realized! (Please see my OP on the matter for more info)
Hi and Welcome Yossarian
I am in Western Australia and thankfully some distance from Cog's obsessive and peculiar behaviour and Tin Man's 'Humor' . In fact where I live is some distance away from everyone...so you have grand time here Yossie, and there is noi end to your tour of duty here either.
Australia, you know, down under, Where all the real men ride trikes and put shrimp on the Barbi.
Land of the wallabies, emus, and kangaroos. Aussieland.
I’m excited to hear you live in Australia. There’s a lot of really cool plants there and Dominic Cooper is filming the new season of Preacher in Australia, it’s a hilarious show. Getting back to plants though, their is a really cool parasitic underground orchid that grows in Australia so I’m pretty jealous hahaha
Hey Old Man - Why don't you get out there and dig up one of them parasitic underground orchids. I will send you the money for wrapping paper and the post if you will mail it to Tin Man.
Re: Underground parasitic orchids
Hey, Yossarian! Are those things good in salads? If Old Man and Cog are going to send me some, I need to know what type of dressing to use.
Heya, Yossarian! The men definitely have us outnumbered here, so it's always great to see another woman join the ranks! I'm glad you're here!
Hey! lol, I was starting to feel like the only woman around, thank you, I'm happy to be here.
@Yossarian
Hey! Did you bring the bacon? Where's the bacon? Oh, and some friggin' cheese for Cog's whiny little ass.
@Yossarian
Love the name! Welcome to AR.
Thanks! They are making a Catch 22 movie, I think it’s out in may (:
@Yossarian Wait a minute... 22 and 42 both end in 2... therefore... THE MEANING OF LIFE AND THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING IS A CATCH 22!
@Yossarian
Welcome to the boards Yossarian!
I think you did a great introduction. Don't be shy, cool thing is with the anonymity that online forums offer, there is no reason to be cautious or shy here. Just keep the more personally identifying information to yourself (as you would anywhere on the net.) And you will be perfectly fine, I am sure you already knew that though.
Guilt and regret does not do much but get in the way. Learning from mistakes is always a good thing (I don't think you made any mistakes here,) but then you put it behind you and stop carrying around guilt and regret. I tell people what they want to hear, especially on religious matters all the time for my work. I don't really have coworkers I have to deal with anymore, but when clients pay me a lot of money to solve their problems, I skip over and shortcut any religious discussion as fast as I can, telling them what they want to hear so we can move on to more important work.
A quick new person tutorial of Atheist republic forums incase you have not already read up on it: You are in the atheist hub, an atheist only forum, mostly used to discuss among ourselves, where we can rant about religion etc and offer each other support, hopefully shutting out all the religious apologists.
Then there is the debate boards, sometimes a bit of a thick skin is required there, the debates sometimes can get quite lively. Plenty of people that stick mostly just to the hub to chat. The debate forum also sees a fair amount more activity then these hub forums.
There are a few other sub forums but they do not see very much use.
Also if you want to do a bit more fancy stuff like my block quotes I used above see my signature to get started on that, although it is a little bit of technical work to do that. Most people just stick with plain ole' text.
Welcome to the boards again, please feel free to create new topics or reply to others as you like, just about everyone is interested in hearing from others on almost any subject.
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▮I am an atheist that always likes a good debate
▮Please include @LogicFTW for responses to me
▮Tips on forum use. ▮ A.R. Member since 2016.
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Thanks! This was really helpful I will check out the coding stuff in your signature. I’m pretty thick-skinned so I’m sure I’ll be well prepared for the debate forum lol
@LogicFTW But sadly though, virtually all of the theists and spiritualists who have "debates" in the Debate Room are just a bunch of dumbass drive-by evangelists who just regurgitate their usual PRATTs and tired talking points that require you to already believe in God, and which we have already debunked a million times each- and then seriously wonder why it doesn't cause us all to magically transform into theists, overriding any and all rational thought. Not to mention that they then run home crying when we understandably laugh at them, never to return again.
I would like to welcome you as well Yossarian. I live in southern baptist dominated North Carolina. I tend to keep my opinions to myself too. It just makes life easier. Like I’ve said before, I don’t care what people worship, as long as it stays out of the classroom,and out of the government. If I’m at someone’s house for dinner and they pray, I just look down for a minute and remember loved ones who are no longer with us. The hardest thing for me to accept is just how foolish the whole belief in religion seems once you have looked at it rationally, and realize that billions of dollars are poured into religion all the time! Hope you feel welcome!
I didn't realize anyone else here was in NC! Me too!
Pirate Jack: "I live in southern baptist dominated North Carolina."
What part? I grew up around Wilmington parts. Spent almost 40 years there.
rmfr
That’s awesome! I have lived in North Carolina my entire life. I live in the piedmont region near Greensboro. Wilmington is a beautiful city. They film lots of movies and tv shows in and around Wilmington.
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