Ex-Christian turned atheist

[DsRed19]

Hello,
After over two decades in Christianity I have finally seen the falsehood of it all and am now an atheist. It still feels weird and I haven’t even told family yet. It’s weird, I honestly feel ashamed that I was a Christian for so long despite being a fairly well educated person in the sciences. I was converted in high school so “ get them while they’re young” does work for religion I guess. Anyways, glad to be here.

[airportkid]

Welcome!  Look forward to your thoughts on many matters!

[airportkid]

By the way there's no reason whatsoever to feel ashamed you went with the flow of your social surroundings - many of us did too, before finally making that transition of mind.  It takes a lot of courage to cut against the relentless tide.  Glad you did!

[Szuchow]

Welcome.

[brewerb]

Welcome Woof!

Couple of questions:

Which flavor of christianity? I'm ex-lutheran. You'll find many 'ex' people here.

Can you give us some more specifics about 'converted in high school'? I was indoctrinated from infancy/toddler and left prior to high school.

[c172]

Welcome, and thank you for a proper intro. Hope you find your place here. Looking forward to your posts.

[Minimalist]

Every "mark" feels used when he learns how badly he has been conned.

Look at it this way, at least you learned.  There are plenty out there still clinging to their superstitions.

Welcome to freedom.

[jerry mcmasters]

I took my sweet time about it too.

[Deesse23]

Howdy, pilgrim.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Hiyas and welcome. Recovering SoB here.

[SYZ]

G'day DsRed19, and welcome to the forum.    

[pattylt]

Welcome! Don’t be embarrassed about it taking time. Atheism is a process not an instant conversion as religionists claim for themselves. That process can have painful moments as well. Most of us have some piece of religion that we enjoyed…the comaraderie, the bells and smells, the music and feeling of belonging. There’s often the hardships of fellow believers turning against you, anger at you leaving and, too often, family rejection.

Only you know your family and how they will take the news. I never told my parents as I loved them dearly and it was too uncomfortable a thought to cause distress to them. Some parents are, “ok, whatever” but some have made their children, spouses and friends into persona non grata.

We’re here to help! There’s a lot of experiences here, various previous religions and atheists don’t fit into neat boxes like believers like to put us in. We’re cats that can’t be herded, not cattle. Glad you found us…

[Fireball]

Welcome!

[LastPoet]

Hello,
After over two decades in Christianity I have finally seen the falsehood of it all and am now an atheist. It still feels weird and I haven’t even told family yet. It’s weird, I honestly feel ashamed that I was a Christian for so long despite being a fairly well educated person in the sciences. I was converted in high school so “ get them while they’re young” does work for religion I guess. Anyways, glad to be here.

Welcome. Those atheists really got you conned with entropy haven't they?

Just kidding. I am an atheist after all 

[Gwaithmir]

Welcome! I look forward to reading your posts. 

[DsRed19]

I was converted through Young Life in high school ( they really sell it to youth through super fun camps and gatherings) and although I was raised Episcopal, I bounced around several different denominations trying to find the “ right” one, everything from southern Baptist to catholic and some non denominational churches. Never had a truly bad or traumatic experience, just some life events, seeing prayers go unanswered, and my own cognitive dissonance kick in over the years. Still have dear friends at church but now I really have a hard time bringing myself to participate anymore. I only go once in awhile to for my husband.

[LastPoet]

I was converted through Young Life in high school ( they really sell it to youth through super fun camps and gatherings) and although I was raised Episcopal, I bounced around several different denominations trying to find the “ right” one, everything from southern Baptist to catholic and some non denominational churches. Never had a truly bad or traumatic experience, just some life events, seeing prayers go unanswered, and my own cognitive dissonance kick in over the years. Still have dear friends at church but now I really have a hard time bringing myself to participate anymore. I only go once in awhile to for my husband.

I find no problem with that. My mom, dad, twin sisters, wife and daughter are all religious. For a long time i wondered if that was a problem with me. Nah, just love them and keep them on their toes, lest they go into fundamentalism. 

It is hard to be the black sheep.

[mordant]

Hello,
After over two decades in Christianity I have finally seen the falsehood of it all and am now an atheist. It still feels weird and I haven’t even told family yet. It’s weird, I honestly feel ashamed that I was a Christian for so long despite being a fairly well educated person in the sciences. I was converted in high school so “ get them while they’re young” does work for religion I guess. Anyways, glad to be here.

It took me 3 decades, so you must be 33% smarter than me (33% less dumb?)

Anyway, welcome! Look forward to hearing more from & about you.

[OakTree500]

Welcome aboard!

[Cavebear]

Hello,
After over two decades in Christianity I have finally seen the falsehood of it all and am now an atheist. It still feels weird and I haven’t even told family yet. It’s weird, I honestly feel ashamed that I was a Christian for so long despite being a fairly well educated person in the sciences. I was converted in high school so “ get them while they’re young” does work for religion I guess. Anyways, glad to be here.

Welcome to sanity. The journey is easy for some but difficult for most. I had it it easy (very vaguely religious parents) and they never pushed any beliefs on us kids. I look forward to your future posts.

[Mathilda]

Glad to have you here and welcome to the forum!

[Rhythmcs]

I had a great time at christian youth camps. You say you were converted. Were you not from a religious family..but they sent you to a christian youth camp?

[DsRed19]

My family is Episcopalian but my parents never put a ton of pressure on us to believe. My dad is very liberal and to be honest I am not sure how much he believes vs enjoying the community and traditions. But they thought a Christian youth camp was a great idea since I was making friends and not getting into the usual teenage trouble.

[brewerb]

I had a very nice early sexual experience at an x-tian youth camp. It was a good beginning.

Should I have thanked god, the devil or the girl?

[Fireball]

I had a very nice early sexual experience at an x-tian youth camp. It was a good beginning.

Should I have thanked god, the devil or the girl?

Yes, but all for different reasons.