As a newly registered member I assume this is the best place to place my first post and start up my first thread.
So, hello everybody!
About me:
I haven't been raised in a religious environment, and that's probably why I have been an atheist for most of my life. But later in life I became interested in the bible and the quran(after I read them I also became interested in the apocrypha/pseudepigrapha and also in Non-Abrahamic scriptures) as I grew curious about what was actually in there. I came to notice that many people (believers and atheists alike) had a very outspoken opinion of the religion(s) based on them, without knowing themselves what was actually written in there. Many of them just seemed to copy the opinions and traditions of the people they grew up with/people that raised them without questioning, and shame, ridicule, or even intimidate those who think the truth may be more complicated than what their "culture" dictates. As I started to study the scriptures myself, I gradually started to open my mind about believing in an all-knowing and all-powerful entity. I think this was partially because I lacked direction in my life. Being an atheist made me feel sort of free in the sense of believing what you want to believe and doing whatever you want to do. But at the same time, it made me feel "trapped" in existence itself, as I lacked a goal to live for. I'm also a loner by nature, so I've always found it hard to deal with people, especially for prolonged periods of time. I think this is also a reason why God is so important to me, so that I won't hold a grudge against mankind(including myself), as this was an issue I've struggled with for a long time with in the past. But obviously I don't want to be alone(with God) all the time because otherwise I have no reason to be on this forum. I felt this was the perfect environment where I can talk about my beliefs, and listen to what others have to say without having to feel that I'm talking to "the wrong crowd" all the time, as the diversity is great and yet interested in religion in an open-minded kind of way.