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YmirGF · Sep 19, 2015

Hello, my name is Paul and I have been an RFaholic for ummm.... not sure... have to look it up...

(Edit: 9 years 10 months)

I really am an old frosty giant and have the ice water in my veins to prove it. *smiles menacingly*
I am currently homing in on my 60th birthday next Feb. (So you all have plenty of warning and can get those extravagant gifts out in time.)
I really do live on an island paradise and being a Bodhisattva is actually an inside joke.

Smart_Guy · Sep 19, 2015

I salute all those shared their real first names. To me, introducing one's first name gives me the impression of friendliness and cheerfulness

YmirGF said:
Hello, my name is Paul and I have been an RFaholic for ummm.... not sure... have to look it up...

Hey, nice to meet you, Paul

Godobeyer · Sep 19, 2015

In this thread i met many old members i never met them before, or i don't remember lol

Kirran · Sep 19, 2015

We should totally get together and have an RF party. Drinking optional, for those who are into that sort of thing. We can hold it in Austria, it seems a decent neutral place, being far away for the Americans and for the Indians and Australians

Smart_Guy · Sep 19, 2015

Kirran said:
We should totally get together and have an RF party. Drinking optional, for those who are into that sort of thing. We can hold it in Austria, it seems a decent neutral place, being far away for the Americans and for the Indians and Australians

Last time I checked, flight ticket to Australia costs fortune. I think it was $6,000 USD round trip.
Oh, I finally got myself a passport, by the way

Kirran · Sep 19, 2015

Smart_Guy said:
Last time I checked, flight ticket to Australia costs fortune. I think it was $6,000 USD round trip.
Oh, I finally got myself a passport, by the way

But you can get to Austria?

Actually, I think Jerusalem would be a great place for an RF meetup, if we all had the time and money for this to actually be a thing. Even easier for you than Austria.

And awesome man! Next stop, UK?

David1967 · Sep 19, 2015

Renji said:
Basically, we have a specific part of the forum wherein we get to know newbies, but we don't have one for those who aren't new, as far as I can remember. So I decided to come up with this thread so that we can somehow get to know each other.

Anyway, for those who don't know me yet, I am Baek Jo. I'm half Korean, that's why my name is like that. I'm a member here since 2008. I joined the forum out of my boredom with my high school life and interest in religious discussions. Looking back on my posts the previous years I am in here, I can say that I am a bit childish and sometimes annoying, I vent out a lot and post random things when I am really bored, which actually makes me laugh a bit while posting this, thinking of how things used to be. I've been out of here for quite long because I entered seminary school and do some personal things. Well, I didn't finish seminary. I got bored, a lot of things happened then I became 'agnostic' with my beliefs, so there, I'm now back. The reason why I keep on coming back here is that I have some 'friends' here, and I like the balance of discussion on the forum. Basically, you have a choice to debate or simply discuss both religious and non religious things right here.

Hello Renji. . Nice to meet you. I am interested in your story concerning seminary school. I too attended a seminary school and have moved beyond many of the things I was taught there. However my belief in God is very strong. I have never doubted that there is a God, only my concept of God has evolved (for lack of a better word). What type of seminary school did you attend?

Smart_Guy · Sep 19, 2015

Kirran said:
But you can get to Austria? Actually, I think Jerusalem would be a great place for an RF meetup, if we all had the time and money for this to actually be a thing. Even easier for you than Austria.

And awesome man! Next stop, UK?

OMG, you said Austria not Australia! I feel stupid.

I just checked Austria (Vienna is the capital, right?) and a round trip costs ~$1170 USD. I think I can afford that for a good vacation.

I'd prefer Austria over Jerusalem. I'm fed up with Middle Easterners

. But aren't expenses in Vienna high?

For expenses, I heard Malaysia and Indonesia are really cheep.

Not sure about my next stop. Not even sure why I issued the passport

Kirran · Sep 19, 2015

Smart_Guy said:
OMG, you said Austria not Australia! I feel stupid.

I just checked Austria (Vienna is the capital, right?) and a round trip costs ~$1170 USD. I think I can afford that for a good vacation.

I'd prefer Austria over Jerusalem. I'm fed up with Middle Easterners . But aren't expenses in Vienna high?

For expenses, I heard Malaysia and Indonesia are really cheep.

Not sure about my next stop. Not even sure why I issued the passport

Haha, don't worry man. Maybe we can find somewhere more amenable to all RFers. If we find the location of all of them and average it out, where would that be? So a lot of North Americans of course, but then a lot of Europeans, some Indians and Australians. You

Maybe like North Africa?

Passports are good to have in case you need!

MysticSang'ha · Sep 19, 2015

Been here since Feb 2006. My name is Heather, and I arrived here as a Tibetan Buddhism practitioner. Now...meh. Definitely NOT Buddhist, but can jive with a few of it's principles.

I am completely turned off when I see misogyny, homophobia/biphobia, and bigotry in an ideology. That's where I am at now, and sadly I see a lot of that remaining in many ideologies.

So rather than going about my day bitter and turned off most of the time, I make this up as I go along with a lot more happiness and joy and generosity.

Debater Slayer · Sep 20, 2015

Hello. I'm DS. I'm not going to share my real name here due to safety concerns. I'm 20, and I'm from Egypt. English is my second language.

I joined RF in May 2011 after searching for a religious debate forum to debate people and convert them to my then-religion (Islam). I ended up becoming an agnostic theist, and then an agnostic, and then an agnostic atheist, and then an atheist. I'm anti-religious as well, albeit to varying degrees depending on which religion we are talking about. I also became a feminist and gradually adopted feminist ideals during my transition from religiosity to atheism. I think that women deserve much, much better than what they get in most societies around the world. I hope to become a feminist activist someday. I'm also a volunteer at a charity organization. To me, charity and human rights activism represent a significant part of the meaning of my life.

I have been battling clinical depression and suicidal thoughts since 2012. I fought it for two years completely on my own without therapy or support from anyone; I was living in Saudi Arabia where I didn't trust any therapist enough to tell them about my problems and the causes thereof, and I was being homeschooled at the time, so I had no friends to have support from either. I have almost attempted suicide several attempts, although I never actually attempted it. I still seriously think about doing that quite frequently. It's been a long and difficult struggle, but I'm still here. I'm a stubborn person, so I'm not going to go down that easily. Take that, depression! (I don't mind how cliche that might have sounded.

)

I'm kind of vain, and I often question authorities and don't trust them completely except when I see a strong reason to do so—a reason other than the mere fact that they are authorities. As a result, I don't look up to anyone in my life. Two people, however, are a rare exception; they are @MysticSang'ha and @Jayhawker Soule. I look up to both of them, and I have no problem with that.

Finally, I'm RF's resident Glompist. I consider adding the glomp smileys to the forum to be one of my greatest achievements as an administrator of RF. Well, I'm being facetious (partially

), but I give glomps and hugs to people who need them.

1137 · Sep 20, 2015

I came here in 2011, formerly known as The Doors of Perception. I am in my 20's living in the United States. Currently I am studying psychology and plan to be a counselor for young adults and teens. Right now I have a **** job doing marketing and delivery for a pizza shop, but I have a lot of chronic issues and a still undiagnosed stomach disease so I have to do what I can. I volunteer wherever I can in psychology, and I spend a solid part of my time playing dark souls with my best friend and also my hopefully future wife.

Renji · Sep 20, 2015

David1967 said:
Hello Renji. . Nice to meet you. I am interested in your story concerning seminary school. I too attended a seminary school and have moved beyond many of the things I was taught there. However my belief in God is very strong. I have never doubted that there is a God, only my concept of God has evolved (for lack of a better word). What type of seminary school did you attend?

Well, I attended a catholic seminary school, for those want to become a priest, I may not look like it, but yeah I thought I have such calling. I eventually come out due to doctrinal issues. Then, I also joined a christian church, where I used to be trained for pastorship level, then I decided to step down of leadership from that church due to doctrinal issues as well and the things I've seen on the church that are not really 'christian', or let's just say, things that a 'true' christian would do. And yes,I find the things being taught in both seminaries contradicting scientific facts, so there.

Renji · Sep 20, 2015

Kirran said:
We should totally get together and have an RF party. Drinking optional, for those who are into that sort of thing. We can hold it in Austria, it seems a decent neutral place, being far away for the Americans and for the Indians and Australians

Don't you think that it is more economical to go to either Philippines or South Korea? Well, I guess it's only economical for me since I'm a citizen for both countries.

Renji · Sep 20, 2015

Debater Slayer said:
I have been battling clinical depression and suicidal thoughts since 2012. I fought it for two years completely on my own without therapy or support from anyone; I was living in Saudi Arabia where I didn't trust any therapist enough to tell them about my problems and the causes thereof, and I was being homeschooled at the time, so I had no friends to have support from either. I have almost attempted suicide several attempts, although I never actually attempted it. I still seriously think about doing that quite frequently. It's been a long and difficult struggle, but I'm still here. I'm a stubborn person, so I'm not going to go down that easily. Take that, depression! (I don't mind how cliche that might have sounded. )

I can feel you DS. I've been there.

suncowiam · Sep 20, 2015

Hi everyone,

My name is Tuan, like Juan with a T. Where I'm from, it's much easier to describe my name that way. I live in San Jose, CA. I'm 40 years old, Vietnamese, married, have 2 lovely kids and another on the way.

I joined about a year ago. The reason was to better understand religion's stance against homosexuality. My first post was about the main religions and why its was so homophobic. And, frankly, I still don't understand it. It's a head scratcher, but whatever.

I'm a very straight-forward person. I don't believe in walking on egg shells so I try to be as transparent as possible to let any relationships settle quickly. I have no problems with people disliking me because I've learned to accept imperfection. I had depressions years ago over self-esteem and confidence issues, but after accepting my core identity everything just smoothed out. Kind of like smoking a blunt and letting it loose. Go with the flow so to speak.

I'm a SW engineer and I love what I do. I used to be a manager but the political side was too much to bare so I went back to development.

I also love sports and competition. I play soccer and basketball, but more into soccer lately. I think its great to build teamwork and personal skills. I love electronic music and dancing. Went to raves and clubs years ago but had to retire in my glow sticks now that I have a family to take care of.

Now, I just bicker with you folks. LOL

sun rise · Sep 21, 2015

Smart_Guy said:
I'd prefer Austria over Jerusalem. I'm fed up with Middle Easterners . But aren't expenses in Vienna high?

Middle Easterners are leaving and going anywhere and everywhere especially Europe these days. There's just something about being shot at, bombed, oppressed, poor and desperate that leads to a lot of traveling.

sun rise · Sep 21, 2015

I suppose I should also introduce myself since I never did. I first came here because a question someone asked was spotted by a Google search. So I barged right in, went to the DIR and posted not being aware of DIR rules at the time. No one objected then, fortunately. The complaints came later when I tried to post in the Jewish DIR because I'm Jewish but not observant of Jewish religious tenants.

My first name is Jerry and I'm a follower of Meher Baba and thus land in the "spiritual but not religious" camp since there is no "Meher Baba religion", at least not yet. So I label my religion "love" since that's what I try to practice where 'try' is the important word. I find that if one looks underneath the theology, every religion is based on fundamental principles: love/compassion, truth, justice and happiness. Atheists also believe in the same basic things. And I find that understanding what others think and believe in helps round out my own understanding of life.

Tarheeler · Sep 21, 2015

I've been here since 2010. I first joined because I was researching Judaism and google pointed me to a few posts written by Levite and a few others in the Judaism forum. I lurked and read for a while, and then I joined. I've enjoyed my time here, and even though I don't always post much I always come back here.

I was born and (primarily) raised in NC, which is where "Tarheeler" comes from.

savagewind · Sep 21, 2015

Smart_Guy said:
I'm not pretending, I am 33
Lately I don't eat shawurma much. I guess my faith has weakened

You were pretending your language calling you me, not I. Haha

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