Non-believers on this site are frequently asked the question, “Why are you here?” I’m putting this in my blog so that I can just reference this entry rather writing the answers again.
I initially came to CF shortly after I had done two things: I had moved to Montgomery, AL and I had just come to the realization that I was an atheist. I was having a lot of difficulty dealing with some in-your-face kind of Christians and a friend of mine recommended that I join CF to regain some perspective. Ironically, my friend left CF within a couple of months and I’ve stayed.
So, my initial goal here was to learn some ways to deal with Christians who would not take “No, thank you,” for an answer. But as things got worse and worse for me in Alabama, my goal changed to regaining tolerance of Christians and Christianity. I had reached a point where the phrase, “I am a Christian,” would cause me to get myself as far away from that person as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Christians in CF that reinforce that “run away!” feeling I get. Fortunately, however, there have also been Christians who have helped me to regain some of the tolerance I used to have for Christians and Christianity. Some of it. I have been so badly burned that I don’t think I will ever be able to hear the phrase, “I’m a Christian,” in real life and not twitch a bit.
One thing I want to make clear. I am not a seeker. I have considered Christianity as well as other religions and I have rejected them all. None of them offer any evidence of the existence of gods or the correctness of their doctrines that I find convincing. In my years on CF, I have yet to see anything that has caused me to think, “Well, maybe there is something to this after all.”
So why do I remain here? First, because of the good people who keep me grounded and help me to not be paranoid about Christians. Second, because I’ve made some friends here and I enjoy interacting with them. Third, because from time to time, I do enjoy a good, civil debate. Last, but not least, those Christians on here who do trigger my “run away!” response keep me from becoming complacent and comfortable. While it is important to me not to be paranoid about all Christians, it is equally important that I not forget the harsh lessons I’ve been taught.
I initially came to CF shortly after I had done two things: I had moved to Montgomery, AL and I had just come to the realization that I was an atheist. I was having a lot of difficulty dealing with some in-your-face kind of Christians and a friend of mine recommended that I join CF to regain some perspective. Ironically, my friend left CF within a couple of months and I’ve stayed.
So, my initial goal here was to learn some ways to deal with Christians who would not take “No, thank you,” for an answer. But as things got worse and worse for me in Alabama, my goal changed to regaining tolerance of Christians and Christianity. I had reached a point where the phrase, “I am a Christian,” would cause me to get myself as far away from that person as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Christians in CF that reinforce that “run away!” feeling I get. Fortunately, however, there have also been Christians who have helped me to regain some of the tolerance I used to have for Christians and Christianity. Some of it. I have been so badly burned that I don’t think I will ever be able to hear the phrase, “I’m a Christian,” in real life and not twitch a bit.
One thing I want to make clear. I am not a seeker. I have considered Christianity as well as other religions and I have rejected them all. None of them offer any evidence of the existence of gods or the correctness of their doctrines that I find convincing. In my years on CF, I have yet to see anything that has caused me to think, “Well, maybe there is something to this after all.”
So why do I remain here? First, because of the good people who keep me grounded and help me to not be paranoid about Christians. Second, because I’ve made some friends here and I enjoy interacting with them. Third, because from time to time, I do enjoy a good, civil debate. Last, but not least, those Christians on here who do trigger my “run away!” response keep me from becoming complacent and comfortable. While it is important to me not to be paranoid about all Christians, it is equally important that I not forget the harsh lessons I’ve been taught.
