"Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.- Steven Weinberg -"
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Chelsea
- Female
- Cloverdale, CA
- United States
- Blog Posts (10)
- Discussions (20)
- Events
- Groups (24)
- Photos (40)
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- Videos (12)
Chelsea's Groups
Gifts Received (3)
I think; therefore, I'm an atheist.
Latest Activity
Keith Pulley joined Chelsea's group
Quote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Dallas the Phallus commented on Chelsea's group 'Quote of the Day'"Superstition is ignorance presented under the cloak of authority. A superstition is a belief, usually expressed in definitive terms, for which there is no verifiable, factual basis; for instance, that the country in which you live is…"
Ray R. joined Chelsea's groupQuote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
CelestialTeapot joined Chelsea's groupQuote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Quote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Jeromie Pawlick joined Chelsea's groupQuote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Quote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Jendrus joined Chelsea's groupQuote of the Day
Add quotes to be used on this site! Don't hold back! Always remember: You're unique, Just like everyone else! You know you love a good quote, so tell us yours!!See More
Dallas the Phallus commented on Chelsea's group 'Quote of the Day'"Our comforting conviction that [the] world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance. -- Daniel Kahneman"
Profile Information
- Your Religious Status
- Atheist
- About Me:
- Things I love:
Science, NPR, dogs, fashion, power tools, Cloverdale, CA (aka Mayberry), my new home in the aforementioned Cloverdale, sushi, playing my piano, techy-geeky stuff, supporting meaningful causes (e.g. T|A), cycling, traveling, meeting new people, sailing, kayaking, Scrubs, Richard Dawkins, Byron Katie, Jason Mraz, the Indigo Girls...and Morgan Matthew for creating this site and all of you for joining it!! Well, the last few items on the list aren't things, they're people, but still...love is love, right?! I'm an atheist and extend love for the sheer joy of it, not because some God supposedly mandates it. That's true altruism, not the fake stuff inspired by religions.
- Age
- 41-46
- Why are you here?
- To meet other atheists and to be a vital part of an atheist community with the intent to promote atheism on a larger scale than is currently considered acceptable. Richard Dawkins believes that a critical mass will turn the tide in this country; thus, making "coming out of the closet" about being an atheist much easier. I'm just trying to be that 100th monkey.
- The religion you left
- Christian
- Why you left your religion.
- I grew up in an EXTREMELY fundamentalist Christian environment (German Lutheran, Missouri Synod) and was brainwashed from as early as I can remember. At 14, I started asking my mother questions she could only answer with "I don't know but God says it's good/bad/not understandable-by-our-fallible-limited-human-minds", etc. These answers were unacceptable to a thinking and questioning mind, and thus began a long and painful process of debrainwashing,
I had no guidance, support, or examples of how one goes about doing such a thing. For many years, my freedom from religion was so tenuous I could barely stand to be in the same room with a Christian. I studied and dabbled in all kinds of multifarious spiritual practices in an effort to fill the void left by a dogmatic, controlling religion. Fear runs rampant in many Christian minds, and mine was no exception.
I'm over all that now, thankfully, and marvel that I ever believed such nonsensical fairy tales (which never ended well if you happened to be female, incidentally). To be fair, I suppose there was also a time early in my intellectual development when I truly believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and yes, I did put a coin under my pillow as a little girl for the Tooth Fairy.
As I was working towards a degree in Chemistry/Biology (graduated in '99) my intellectual understanding of Life and the Universe evolved and supported me in taking baby steps towards atheism...As in, agnosticism at first (my crutches), then atheism (the Final Frontier...to Boldly Go Where Not Many Have Gone Before...at least not in this country).
That's how I ended up here and honestly, I am a very happy atheist! It has taken a long time for my mind to let go of the story that I need to know why we are here, what happens to us after we die, blah, blah, blah. I am convinced that once I'm dead, I won't care about any of that since I'll be, well, dead! So, I'm enjoying myself and life right now. I highly recommend it! And you all are great! I am really, really loving being here and getting to know you guys. Thanks for being here and for reading my story. <3
I have salary parity in my career and I don't have any babies, so does that mean I'm really a dude?!...Such logic brought me here, to this site...;)
Chelsea's Photos
Chelsea's Videos
Chelsea's Blog
Defending The Faith, And Morality, Of NonBelievers
Posted on December 23, 2009 at 11:00pm 2 Comments 0 Likes
Check out the link at the bottom of this post to listen to the interview from Fresh Air today on NPR:
Humanism--the belief that ethics and morality can be vested in rationality, rather than a supernatural deity--might sound like a departure from faith communities and culture, but according to Greg Epstein, it doesn't have to be.
In his new book, Good Without God: What A Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, Greg Epstein responds to challenges against humanism that spring… Continue
Humanism--the belief that ethics and morality can be vested in rationality, rather than a supernatural deity--might sound like a departure from faith communities and culture, but according to Greg Epstein, it doesn't have to be.
In his new book, Good Without God: What A Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, Greg Epstein responds to challenges against humanism that spring… Continue
In case of Rapture, who will take care of your pets?
Posted on June 13, 2009 at 3:30am 5 Comments 0 Likes
This is one of the funniest blogs I think I've ever seen, courtesy of Mark Pogue:
http://proudatheists.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/in-case-of-rapture-who-will-care-for-your-pets/
Check out the posts in response to it, as well...They are hysterical!! Thanks, Mark!
http://proudatheists.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/in-case-of-rapture-who-will-care-for-your-pets/
Check out the posts in response to it, as well...They are hysterical!! Thanks, Mark!
Chelsea's Coming Out Story
Posted on May 15, 2009 at 2:30pm 15 Comments 0 Likes
Morgan inspired me to share my Moment of Truth story! I hope it resonates with some of you and that you find it interesting and helpful in your own process.
I grew up in an EXTREMELY fundamentalist Christian environment (German Lutheran, Missouri Synod) and was brainwashed from as early as I can remember. At 14, I started asking my mother questions she could only answer with "I don't know but God says it's good/bad/not understandable-by-our-fallible-limited-human-minds", etc. These… Continue
I grew up in an EXTREMELY fundamentalist Christian environment (German Lutheran, Missouri Synod) and was brainwashed from as early as I can remember. At 14, I started asking my mother questions she could only answer with "I don't know but God says it's good/bad/not understandable-by-our-fallible-limited-human-minds", etc. These… Continue
The Art of Living...timely for all you grads! Congratulations!!!
Posted on May 4, 2009 at 4:07pm 2 Comments 0 Likes
This was on NPR today and I thought all you grads might find it especially interesting and inspiring:
The Art of Living
How does one craft a truly meaningful life? What can we learn from the great philosophers on how to live well and beautifully, even when faced with adversity? We ask the big existential questions as we examine the art of living.
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
Joshua Landy, associate professor of French, founder and co-director of the Literature and… Continue
The Art of Living
How does one craft a truly meaningful life? What can we learn from the great philosophers on how to live well and beautifully, even when faced with adversity? We ask the big existential questions as we examine the art of living.
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
Joshua Landy, associate professor of French, founder and co-director of the Literature and… Continue
Latest hot read for hundreds is the Bible
Posted on May 3, 2009 at 9:26pm 5 Comments 0 Likes
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11584824
My mother sent me the actual article, and I found it online to share with ya'll...Truly disturbing.
Here's an excerpt: It's a book awash in blood, teeming with psychosexual drama and rife with supernatural occurrences, yet the Bible is seldom read like a novel, beginning to end.
They advocate reading the Bible like fiction but treating it like nonfiction. How ludicrous!
My mother sent me the actual article, and I found it online to share with ya'll...Truly disturbing.
Here's an excerpt: It's a book awash in blood, teeming with psychosexual drama and rife with supernatural occurrences, yet the Bible is seldom read like a novel, beginning to end.
They advocate reading the Bible like fiction but treating it like nonfiction. How ludicrous!
Comment Wall (50 comments)
- At 11:43am on March 17, 2011, Dallas the Phallus said…
- Chelsea, I was checking the status of my own videos (deleting dead ones) and noticed that my video "It Could Just be Coincidence" was represented 3 times on TA.
TA tries to avoid duplicate videos, so I decided to delete two of them. I allowed the first person to post to keep his, and I deleted your copy and my copy of the video. There was only one comment under your video, btw, in case you were wondering.
Just wanted to let you know in case you noticed it was gone.
Thanks,
Dallas - Volunteer Moderator
- At 11:12am on December 28, 2010,
Nelson said… - glad to hear you're back! :)
- At 2:24am on December 28, 2010,
Gaytor said… - Hey, you are back! I'm glad to see you around again!
- At 1:05pm on November 12, 2010,
Cara Coleen said… - Chelsea... Twitter just suggested I follow you and I was like... CHELSEA! Where have you been?? :)
- At 4:04am on July 23, 2010, Nelson said…
- ah, i see. sorry you feel that way.
well, Dan has just posted a roll call thread in Black Box. if you think you'll be active again soon then maybe post in that thread so that you can remain a mod. otherwise, if you aren't going to be active again soon or if you don't think you'll ever be active on TA again, would you also post in that thread so that there's no question of whether or not you want to remain a mod? it's just helpful from a housekeeping standpoint.
thanks Chelsea! i hope you decide to decide to come back and contribute again.
- At 3:34am on July 23, 2010, Nelson said…
- hey Chelsea, a couple of us have noticed that you've been absent recently. how are you? everything ok? come drop in on us and let us know you're alright!
- At 3:08pm on July 14, 2010,
GEORGE PEDRAJA said… - Noah's Arks I see, as there must be three, one for all the animals and He, other one for food and drink plus one for dinosaurs with all the stink.
Mipio
- At 1:01am on May 4, 2010, Gaytor said…
- Hey Lady, you've been a bit MIA. I hope that all is well and you are MIA for great "life" reasons!
- At 5:35am on January 25, 2010,
Jim Valentine said… - Hi Chelsea!
- At 12:33pm on January 16, 2010,
eddyizm said…
- hi! thanks for the add chelsea!
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