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Washed up on the shore

Zatarra

Zatarra

Dauphin
Let's see. I'm a native of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. I'm 29 years old. I've been married for less than two months and I begin law school on January 12th.

Religious history: I was born into a devout Catholic family. At 17, I experienced my first doubts, which I suppressed for years. From ages 20 to 25, I was a miserable scrupulant. At 25, I investigated my doubts in earnest and left the church. Since then, I have been a very happy atheist with a keen interest in discussing religion. I've written an atheist blog since April 2006. My religious family doesn't give me any flack, but it bothers me they think I might go to hell for not sharing their opinions.

Any questions?
 
Quagmire

Quagmire

Imaginary talking monkey
Staff member
Premium Member
Hi Zatarra, welcome to RF.

Let's see. I'm a native of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. I'm 29 years old. I've been married for less than two months and I begin law school on January 12th.
Click to expand...

Congrats!

... but it bothers me they think I might go to hell for not sharing their opinions.
Click to expand...

I can relate. I was raised Catholic too and, even though I walked away from the church long ago, I walked around with the same "what ifs" in the back of my mind for a long time.

Studying religion objectively has helped me get over all that. Hope you find some of the answers you need here.
 
robtex

robtex

Veteran Member
Zatarra you will probably fit right in here. This forum may be bad for your law school career though--it can be quite time consuming at times. What kind of law are you hoping to study and where is your blog in cyberspace?
 
C

challupa

Well-Known Member
Zatarra said:
Let's see. I'm a native of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. I'm 29 years old. I've been married for less than two months and I begin law school on January 12th.

Religious history: I was born into a devout Catholic family. At 17, I experienced my first doubts, which I suppressed for years. From ages 20 to 25, I was a miserable scrupulant. At 25, I investigated my doubts in earnest and left the church. Since then, I have been a very happy atheist with a keen interest in discussing religion. I've written an atheist blog since April 2006. My religious family doesn't give me any flack, but it bothers me they think I might go to hell for not sharing their opinions.

Any questions?
Click to expand...
Hi there welcome to RF. I surely understand what you are saying. I was raised in a strict christian family and started questioning at about 12 years old. I have gone the route of being a strong athiest to agnostic to a version of belief that is all my own. I too walked around wondering about the negative aspects I had been taught by my religion because everyone told me I was going to hell. I have since realized that it makes no sense for God to be a god of punishment or reward, merely a companion we walk with, converse with and rejoin when I leave here. It takes awhile though because the programming is very good. Also, don't be afraid to go back if that is what you want to do. It's all about choice.
 
Zatarra

Zatarra

Dauphin
robtex said:
Zatarra you will probably fit right in here. This forum may be bad for your law school career though--it can be quite time consuming at times. What kind of law are you hoping to study and where is your blog in cyberspace?
Click to expand...
I'm planning to study international and immigration law. I was an ESOL teacher for four years, so it fits well with my past experience. And my blog is in my profile, but it's at secularplanet.org

(I can't post an actual link in a reply until I have 15 posts.)
 
Zatarra

Zatarra

Dauphin
challupa said:
Also, don't be afraid to go back if that is what you want to do. It's all about choice.
Click to expand...
It mostly depends on whether I think it's true. I say "mostly" because there are moral considerations as well, that is, whether I think a given god is worthy of worship.

My opinions have changed in the past, and thought I don't anticipate it at all, I don't know what the future holds.
 
zenzero

zenzero

Its only a Label
Friend Zatarra,
Once again,
welcome
Best wishes for everything.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Love & rgds
 
Zatarra

Zatarra

Dauphin
Hey, does anyone know when my avatar will begin to appear? I figure it's after a certain number of posts, but I don't know what that number is.
 
zenzero

zenzero

Its only a Label
Friend Zatarra,
We celebrate your presence with or without any avatar.
Do not worry about it.
Love & rgds
 
tomspug

tomspug

Absorbant
Welcome to the forum! You'll never have to worry about expressing your opinion here.

Click on the "User CP" link, where you can edit things like your avatar, signature, title, etc.
 
Katzpur

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
Zatarra said:
Hey, does anyone know when my avatar will begin to appear? I figure it's after a certain number of posts, but I don't know what that number is.
Click to expand...
I can't recall having to wait for mine to appear. Double-check that you set it up correctly and, if you did, PM one of the staff.
 
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