So here I am almost exactly 5 years later and I stumble upon this thread I started. A few observations and thoughts.
1. I'm ashamed I called someone a lovely human.
2. I'm still an atheist/agnostic. Some would argue they are different, but really they are essentially the same. Most of my friends are atheist. All of my family knows my stance, it has been the cause of some divide, mostly do to my choosing. I no longer have a relationship with my grandparents. Religion isn't the only reason, but it played a big part in my decision that I was just done with that part of my life. They are really conservative southern baptist Christians. I decided I didn't want my future kids getting their heads filled with their bat shit insane idea's about the world. (I'm engaged now)
3. I went from a staunch right wing republican to a someone who is a Bernie Sanders supporter. I wouldn't call myself a liberal. I don't necessarily like political labels. I like to separate each issue as its own issue and make a reasoned decision not based on what group i identify with believes in. Once you put all the religion BS aside and out of your mind it really opens up your view of the world and you think about things a different way. I liken my personal experience with religion as a sickness. It crept into every crevice of the way I acted and thought. When I was a "christian", I never acted the part. I had the belief part, but I didn't follow the "rules". But even so, it drastically changed the way I thought and acted in certain situations.
4. I'm no longer afraid to be wrong. I like to debate and I like to listen to others and exchange thoughts. I like listening to the greatest minds of our times (Richard Dawkins, NGD, L. Krauss) just to name a few. I generally feel like I care more about my fellow man and the world as a whole now that I don't have this fear of some invisible sky man that watches everything I do.
5. I never considered myself racist in the traditional sense. But being brought up the way I was, it would be next to impossible for some of my families discriminatory habits and remarks not to rub off on me. I have never been the type of person that would openly discriminate against someone in public, or do an action against that person because the color of their skin. To give an example, I would say I would not have had an open mind to the discrimination that some minorities face today in this country of ours. The reason I didn't have an open mind is because of how I was raised, and that racism kind of crept into that part of my life when dealing with the social issues of another race. To be more clear, I was essentially in denial that real issues existed and that it wasn't just as easy as "blacks commit more crimes". I suppose I'll always fight against that instinct, but now I'm aware of it. I think deep down we are all a little discriminatory against others not like ourselves. I think half the battle is knowing that about yourself.
6. I'm still not a troll.
7. The reason I decided to bump this thread is that maybe someone else is just coming into where I was 5 years ago. Plus its just kind of cool to see what a difference 5 years makes. I now see that Christianity does not have the monopoly on morality. I can now hold my own against any bible toting southerner ready to argue with me about religion or politics. Overall I feel like a more intelligent person, while still knowing that I'm ignorant about a lot of things. But things like logic and the scientific method have given me the tools necessary to solve many of life's little problems and queries.
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