I'm praying to nothing, pleading that religious nut jobs everywhere get their fondest wish and disappear into the all enveloping embrace of their all powerful yet oddly helpless imaginary super-being rulers of the universe and beyonce.

DUer swag introduced me to the Freedom From Religion Foundation and it's really pushed me to take a stand more. This group is a great place for information and discussing issues with some really smart, funny and wonderful heathens.

Thanks, all!!

Unitarians pray "To Whom It May Concern". That is a very old UU joke. I consider myself a UU atheist. Went to my first UU church way back in 1978 and just decided it was the place for an atheist social club.

<--back atcha, everyone!

I got an excellent liberal arts education at a Presbyterian college. The religion courses were quite fascinating. The Intro course was called Nature & Function of Religion and had to do with the anthropology and sociology of religion, taught by an amazing ancient language scholar. Then I took Old Testament as History from the same guy which gave us the JEDP theory of the writers of the OT and some history of the 12 tribes. So I'm more qualified to be a Xtian minister than Joel Osteen, who I call pimpleface, because he dropped out of Oral Roberts after ONE semester. I've had TWO religion courses from a Princeton graduate.

...old atheist here who has recently (relatively) found the UUs to be very friendly and welcoming.

Plus,I like the coffee.

Not a big hugger, but how about a glass of wine?

Living in a religious area of the country, I have been so glad to realize that I am not the only one who is an atheist....and this group definitely gives me encouragement.

Welcome.

We seem to have picked up quite a few smart, funny new members recently. Bet that annoys some people...

I'm glad I don't have to share this little bit of the Internet with disgusting people who will defend bigoted murderers in order to defend the belief in fantasies and lies. Even people who claim not to be believers.

Glad to see new infidels in our happy group!

Heathen Hangout or Internet Infidels?

Those are boards that used to exist that had fabulous member handles (Skeptic Tank, Jovial Reaper, Occam's Aftershave, Christ On a Stick).

I am not active in any heathen boards now.

...here.

Everyone who posts here has something to teach.

I enjoy reading your comments, stories, anecdotes and personal insights.
Even your gripes (especially?).

Doing so expands my understanding.

Thanks everyone

You see the world in a different light once you realize that the emperor has no clothes. I'm glad that I have people here who share my perspective.

A really great group of guys and gals. Truly.

I find that they are even-keeled (heh), fair, and allow for and openly solicit ideas from the participants of this group, and take all opinions with equal weight, regardless of whether you post daily, or have only been to the room once.

Unlike other so-called "Safe Haven" groups, I have found the hosts here to be MORE than patient with the litany of internet trolls, master baiters, and trouble-makers from other DU groups that come here to cause trouble. Rather than banning someone based on a single post and then claiming that person's MERE PRESENCE is a troubling disturbance to members, our hosts are quite patient, send PM's to posters who seem to be stepping over the line, and have discussion prior to anyone being banned.

I would also like to remind anyone who may have read slanderous slurs by those who have been banned from this group: NO ONE WAS BANNED HERE FOR NOT BEING THE "right" KIND OF ATHEIST. That is, to be utterly kind, revisionist history. To be honest, it's unmitigated bullshit formed of the most intentional of fabrications.

Those that have been banned from this group were banned because they were disruptive, and did not adhere to the safe-haven mindset of this group and openly mocked Atheists and/or Agnostics, "quote mined" the group, or were otherwise unwilling to have civil conversation. One, who seems quite burned by his banning, was not just banned for being insulting, and disruptive, and offensive to the posters of this group, but for failing to address a former host by their gender-preferred pronoun (she), instead INSISTING, publicly, in referring to that poster as "Him" or "he," despite being repeatedly educated regarding that member's preferred gender pronoun. He even used a word akin to "confused" to describe our friend and host. Several of those banned have since been banned from DU for being homophobic bigots---I guess bigotry generally doesn't limit itself to one "hate".

THAT is the kind of thing that gets you banned from this group. THAT is what this group protects us from.

I just think the record needs to be set straight, because there is quite a bit of revisionist history and purposeful misinformation being spread about this group by other people.

So, let's give some cheers to our hosts, who are unflappable and keep their cool under extreme pressure, and who do a superb, stand-up job at keeping this a great safe-haven (as much as they can).

Now you are saying this forum is full of master baiters?

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Especially after travailing General Discussion. I thought some of the people in the other room were bad...



The things people say in defense of religion is scary. So many posts I have written and not posted simply because I didn't want to put up with the hassle of dealing with those people.

I echo the sentiments and thoughts of the others posted above this.

I almost always check-in here daily, just to have a few smiles and feel some support.

This is a great group of folks, always a pleasure read what you all have to say.

Thanks for starting this thread, Heddi. *big hugs*

Your posts echo some of the thoughts and experiences I've had and its been helpful and (and at times) entertaining. You rock!!

I've had more time to post online lately. And in particular DU - events of the last few weeks provide a lot to talk about.

The response to disagreeing with privileged views is interestingly patterned -- I see it in responses to disagreements over feminism and religion. It always ends up the same ... Religionista-splaining that concludes that I'm being the illogical and emotional one. In an active thread in Religion now, I was accused of taking the bible literally, then admonished that I should care about the words the person used as modifiers so I have "precise thinking" ...

Victory was claimed against me, so the progressive christian warrior valiantly slinks away ... certain I will not mock religion again!!!

Next thing you know, we'll be singing Kumbaya and getting all Interfaithy.

What's the sound of no faiths hugging?

So have some random memes collected in an Internet drive-by...

I just love all you clever, witty heathens! AA is pretty much all I look at on DU these days.

Hugs back atcha!

Julie

it's not about religion, we know, it's about religion.
Remember, better to snuff out one candle than allow the whole house to go up in flames. It's the 21st Century ferchristsakes, we have electric lights, we don't need to use candles.

we should expect to be attacked if we criticize or mock religious beliefs. And lots of people on DU agree with him.

I, too, am glad we have a place where we can speak freely and not be threatened with physical violence for simply voicing our opinions.

Hugs to all you godless heathens!

as we should expect to be slaughtered for mocking them. The only difference is that one response is proportionate, while the religiously motivated one is not.

Beautifully said!

calling out religious bullshit for what it is (often called such horrible things by 'atheists'), and then when some sad, horrifying shit like what happened in Paris goes down, and the moratorium is lifted on GD, and these religion-related threads go up in GD...

And come to find the general populace of DU feels JUST LIKE WE DO.

They may not frequent the Religion forum, but we are the mainstream, not reactionary 'militant' atheists. They've been trying to pigeonhole us for a long time as being mean, bigots, you name it. Problem with that effort is, we *are* the mainstream.


I just wish it didn't take an event like that to, along with an expanded dialogue on the issues, validate that it's not us who picked the wrong side of an imaginary fence.