The author and the poster are both atheists so your title makes no sense

Makes no sense to whom?

I'm not a believer. I never was. When I was a kid, I just assumed when I grew up I would feel something I have never felt at church, for church, for Mormonism. When I hit eighteen, I realized, not unlike someone who is gay, this is it. This is who I am. It is not changing or going away and I'm going to have to deal with it.

And really? This is what atheism has come to -- at least for some? Furiously accusing people of being believers if they QUESTION? If they are critical? If they want to think for themselves and not be harassed into toeing some atheist party line?

Wow. How irony impaired can you get?

And why bother to leave? Maybe if I could put up with that, I wouldn't have had to break my dear father's heart.

Nah. Tragically, that just had to be. As in being gay, I could not choose to be a believer or to go along with Mormonism. It was never a choice for me.

I didn't give a squat about religion or the religious beliefs of others until I realized that they were the dominate perversion of the attacks against me as a gay man and an atheist. My anger is from being attacked by religion and having the attacks done by religion, not just because of religion.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2013 11:47PM by MJ.

So MJ, how do you deal with religions like mine -- UU -- that have gone to bat for the GLBT community -- and with atheists who have not dealt with their issues and are still -- er -- struggling? I doubt anyone is going to call Chris Brown religious, yet the man has his problems with gays while I go to a proudly rainbow congregation. (It's actually spelled out in the stained glass of social hall -- if all the gay couples with their arms around each other wasn't enough of a clue for you.)

Don't think I'm unsympathetic. When I see those horrible signs at the edge of the Pride parade, I just want to punch someone. And I've decided the next thing anyone says to me personally is going to be greeted by "That is my niece you are talking about. Tread lightly. Nieces are sacred in my family." And I think most of them do feel empowered in their hateful dysfunction by their religions. What I mean is that there isn't really a tight correlation. Some religious people are open-minded. Some atheists are not.

All ready addressed:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,518779,518779#msg-518779

Sorry but religions that represent BILLIONS of people is more representative of "religion" than a religion that represents less that a million people.

Why should I excuse religions representing BILLIONS because of the UU that doesn't represent even 1% of the world religious population?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2013 12:26AM by MJ.

Still as rational as always.