First off, you clicked on this page. Mentally, by clicking on what you did, you thought, "I wonder what her opinions on religion are?" So, I'm going to tell you. And you're going to accept it. You don't have to respect me for it. However, I respect you for your choices. I am in no way trying to change anyone. Whatever made you choose your religious beliefs is your business. I'm simply trying to explain why I am the way I am.

There are a few things that bother me about organized religion. I am not attacking a specific group. It will seem at times that I am, but that's all I have been exposed to. I am not putting down christians. The main thing that bothers me about religion is this: teaching a child from birth to believe in a certain religion. I understand that a 6 year old cannot research and choose a religion. I remember going to church when I was little and being bored out of my mind. Which is why children shouldn't be exposed to religion at all. A 7 year old shouldn't have to sit in the pews of a church and wonder if what is being said is true. That child should be exposed to proven TRUTH. In my opinion, if you cannot understand abstract thought, you have no business being near a religion.

I know some people raise their children to believe in catholicism or whatever because they were raised that way and they turned out to be decent people, and decided that's the best for their child. What you're talking about here is teaching your child morals. Morals can be taught without a religion. I know tons of people that haven't been involved in a religion but are good people. I also know people who claim to be devout christians but are really horrible people. It goes both ways.

I get tons of emails from people saying that they'll pray for me. They hope I'll find Jesus one day. Personally, if I believed in a religion, I would keep it to myself. If you send me an email trying to convert me, the impression that I get is this: you are unsure of your choices, and you feel a dire need to recruit others so you will feel comfortable that others have made that same choice. It's almost as if you're trying to convince yourself. I know I will be argued on this, because most will say, "Everyone should bask in the loving light of Jesus. I am a christian and therefore I love you, and Jesus loves you." Well, you know what? I am an atheist and I love you. Hmm. Love is capable without some unproven otherworldly being behind the scenes? Oh yes.

I am an Atheist. a·the·ist (th-st) n. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

I simply believe that there is nothing. I've been this way since I was about 11. It was only until I got the internet that I actually found out that there was a name for what I was feeling and thinking.

I remember going to church when I was very little. Only faintly though. My biological mother is somewhat religious. My father is religious only if the woman he is with is also religious. I was only exposed to church on a long-term basis when my father married his third wife, my stepmother, Carol. She was very religious. (She recently cheated on my father and lost everything she had because of it. Great person, really.) She thought we had a duty to go to church. Being one of four kids in the house, it was our duty to realize that church was a pain in the ass. Getting up early? Ugh, that sucks. I wanna go outside and play. We jumped from church to church..if I can remember..in a one year time period, we probably went to 8 different churches. It was never consistent. We weren't poor, we were middle class, but for some reason, wherever we went, we were looked down upon. Or so I was told. Me and my stepsister were very embarrassed. Our main concern? Dress-clothes. We shared clothes, but they were all hand-me downs from somewhere else. They weren't the greatest. And when you're 11-12, one of your concerns is that you're going to church with a bunch of little rich girls who won't talk to you and dress great. So we just slowly stopped going. I kept trying to tell my parents that we didn't need to go to church to be christians. We could believe within ourselves. It took some time for them to accept, but it finally sank in. At that point, I believed. I simply never thought about it any other way. I had never been told anything else. I knew god was good, and satan was bad.

There's your problem right there. I had never been told any other way. I had been blindfolded and uneducated. When I got the internet, it opened up this whole new world for me. That was seven years ago. I learned about things I never even knew existed. It was perfect timing. Just around the age I was able to understand abstract thought, all these new ideas were hitting me from all sides. I don't have to believe in god? I felt as if I had been cheated and lied to, all my life.

Don't get me wrong, I've read the bible. I can answer more trivia questions about the bible and the stories in it than most christians. I had this book when I was about 10..the bible for kids or something like that, I just recently found it packed in a box. Things were highlighted, bookmarked, things like that. My feelings toward it then could be compared to how I feel about the Iliad or the Odyssey, today. It's a bunch of great little stories that teach lessons. However, actually believing that any of that happened is like believing the events in the Odyssey. I believe in the Sirens just about as much as I believe in Jesus.

I never wanted attention because of this. Even my mother didn't know how I felt towards religion until a year ago. I did a speech in 10th grade for a class on evolution. I was scared as hell. First off, I wasn't comfortable speaking in front of people quite yet, and I was scared to tell everyone how I felt. So I just threw myself out there, did my report, got razzed from a few kids, backed myself up, and went about my business. It sucks when you get 15 year old children trying to crush your belief system when they can't even explain their own. Honestly, if you're believing in something, atleast be educated about the subject. I got a lot of information and help for my speech here: Can the Bible Be Taken Literally? Check it out if you're interested.

That's what I believe in. Someone said this to me a long time ago and I live by it. Everytime someone promises me something, or everytime somebody tries to convert me, I say this: "Show me. Prove it. Then I'll believe it."

You can rant on and on to me about how great your religion is, but until you can give me some cold hard evidence, you're just making a fool of yourself. Sure, I can't prove there isn't a god, but can you prove that there is?