Suddenly it's like I've been vacuum sealed in a place without all logic. My library is all Christian fiction, which I should've figured as it's a "Family" library. It's insane. I have to step up my game or get ready for intense verbal combat if I'm going to get out of this with my sanity intact. Either that or harbor my six years of Drama club to hone my lying skills. If all else fails, I'm starting a Secular Students group at college.

 

But how am I supposed to continue lying?…

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Staying with my religious right-wing aunt has been a wonderful exercise in self-control and bottling up emotions, let me tell you. But my education is worth it.

 

However, since she is also a nurse, she is technically also a biologist, as she works in the lab, and while I would usually trust her with scientific information, sometimes it has the feel of a lecture regarding how God fits into the picture.

 

She's given me a book now, called "The Language of God" by…

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I've recently entered college, and my college of choice was fortunate enough to be 20 miles down the road from my aunt, who has agreed to let me stay with her for free. Upon the conditions that allow me to stay here are doing chores around the house, taking care of her autistic son with her (he's my cousin, it's not like I was going to say no...) and attending church with the family on Sundays.

 

Does this make me a "bad" atheist? I mean, singing and pretending I believe in the…

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As a junior at my high school, I participate in a series of events with freshman and incoming freshman to help them get used to the transition from middle school. When at an event honoring the Honor Society (why yes, I AM a nerd, thank you) I was asked what I wished to pursue as a career upon leaving. When I answered "Biology, with an emphasis on evolution" I really didn't think anything of it until later I was pulled aside. A "concerned parent" asked me if I wanted to study evolution because I… Continue

A very dear friend of mine was just sent away to a relative's house because he refused to babysit while his parents spent the worker's compensation check at a casino to nurse their habits. They then punished him, called him a godless creature (again), and sent him away to live with his brother, and might send him back to Poland to live with other relatives if he does not comply. He does not have internet or any other means to contact me or anyone else.



He's still technically a minor… Continue

Today I was approached by a friend of mine who began a conversation with me with the statement, "I know you're an Atheist, but..." and proceeded to invite me to attend his youth group for a week. Now, knowing full well that he was the son of two missionaries, and is moving to Brazil this summer to learn Portuguese to do so, I expected this. The odd part was I didn't expect to feel as angry as I did with the conversation that followed. I kindly declined his offer, but he persisted, telling me it… Continue

This is so strange, because it hasn't happened to me before with someone so close to me. Ever since the school year started, I've been a bit more public about my Atheism because the diversity of my school graduated with the seniors, so I've been trying to get more people to "come out" about their faith or lack thereof, or anything that they've been hiding. I want to help preserve the fact that high school is a place of both experimentation and exploration of self, (and is where I, and a friend… Continue

(This is taken from the Newsweek website, but I read it in my issue today and found it interesting. Take a look, he mentions that nations choosing to rule under religious doctrine fail and expands a bit on that.)



Christopher Hitchens: The Death of Theocracy



The term "theocracy" trips readily enough off the tongue and is an accurate description of a system where mortals claim the right to dominate other mortals in the name of God. But it is also a word that has… Continue

Dear Anyone and Everyone,



I cannot stand this any longer. For many years now I have lied to myself, as well as to all of you. (Well....most of you...) I've been lying to myself about how I feel, even going so far to take an acting class not for enjoyment, but to better hide my true thoughts and feelings. No, I'm not gay, keep your pants on. But ever since I first met many of my friends, I have held my hands clasped and my lips shut.



I am an atheist.



Woah,… Continue

During the Years of Creationism, that is, my theist years, I've shied away from science, executing the classic Just-Barely-Passing maneuver in all of my classes. Just recently, however, I've found that science, especially Biology, fascinates me to no end. I recently purchased three (old and "outdated", but still accurate) textbooks on Biology and Biochemistry. Upon reading through the first Biology textbook (haven't finished it, but I love it so far) I find I'm learning more about the human… Continue

For the last 15 years, I have classified myself as "Christian". From birth to about ten years old, I was a Catholic, then I converted to being Baptist until I was fifteen. As a Catholic, I felt nothing but shame that I was too poor to go to Catholic school, and I hated being in the heathenish Public School. I read my Bible, praying for a better life.



I met a friend in the fourth grade, and she shared the gospel with me. At age nine. In Public School. I went to her church, read her… Continue