I'm a Catholic atheist.

[Gallstones]

Atheist Catholic--Catholic Atheist.

[klr]

I'm Irish. I don't get hangovers. Just a state between not drunk and drunk

I call bullshit. There is no Irish 'not drunk' state.

[hiyymer]

Lutheran, baptised, confirmed and dropped like a hot potato as soon as I left home at 18.

Did you ever "feel" it? Or just went through the motions to keep the peace? (General question to everyone, in fact.)

I had a youthful intolerance of agnostics

I had a youthful attachment to the idea of agnosticism. Like many choose faith or not faith, my reaction was that I didn't trust anyone who thought they had the answer. Ideologues seemed to be a very destructive group in the world.

I have progressed to calling myself a technical atheist, in the sense that I am convinced that God doesn't physically exist. At the same time I have come to believe that whether God physically exists or not is completely irrelevant. Ideologues are still part of the problem, unless they have a sense of humor.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

I was C of E - I guess that makes me Atheist of England now...

[Eddie]

I bet I'm the only Orthodox Christian Atheist around here.

I don't know if this counts as a starting point of my antagonism towards religion, as I haven't really reached the age of reason, but during a very strange ceremony I was yelling and screaming at the priest because it seemed to me he was trying to drown me. I later found out it was called waterboarding or baptism, depending on which church you belonged to.

I still went to church as a kid, noone forced me to go. I knew it was bollocks, but I guess I went because everybody else did. Can't recall when I decided I'm an atheist, but I was very young. Probably ten.

[Audley Strange]

I'm an Orthodox Nothingarian. My formative years did not include the concepts of religion other than being the weirdos my mother worked for at the time. I never learnt much about it until school by which time I found it particularly stupid.

[rachelbean]

I bet I'm the only Orthodox Christian Atheist around here.

I grew up in the evangelical church (and very much believed it, spoke in tongues, etc), but Orthodoxy was the last thing I dabbled in before becoming agnostic, and then atheist. I attended an Episcopalian church with heavy leanings towards orthodoxy and then attended a few armenian orthodox churches before I was involved with a very strange indian orthodox church that was in it's own world. I did like certain aspects of it, some of it seemed dark which I liked, learned a lot and the theology of Apocatastasis interested me, but obviously here I am anyway

[Feck]

Isn't it nice to see sectarianism trumps an actual belief in God

[Animavore]

Feck off, yi Hun.

[Eddie]

I grew up in the evangelical church (and very much believed it, spoke in tongues, etc), but Orthodoxy was the last thing I dabbled in before becoming agnostic, and then atheist. I attended an Episcopalian church with heavy leanings towards orthodoxy and then attended a few armenian orthodox churches before I was involved with a very strange indian orthodox church that was in it's own world. I did like certain aspects of it, some of it seemed dark which I liked, learned a lot and the theology of Apocatastasis interested me, but obviously here I am anyway

Indian orthodox as in Malankara Indian Orthodox Church? Where did you find those guys?
I never fully understood going from one denomination to another, I mean they do differ over trivial stuff, but central story is the same. If I ever convert it's going to be some pagan stuff, worship birds, clouds and whatever just for fun.

[John_fi_Skye]

Lutheran, baptised, confirmed and dropped like a hot potato as soon as I left home at 18.

Did you ever "feel" it? Or just went through the motions to keep the peace? (General question to everyone, in fact.)

I had a youthful intolerance of agnostics

I had a youthful attachment to the idea of agnosticism. Like many choose faith or not faith, my reaction was that I didn't trust anyone who thought they had the answer. Ideologues seemed to be a very destructive group in the world.

I have progressed to calling myself a technical atheist, in the sense that I am convinced that God doesn't physically exist. At the same time I have come to believe that whether God physically exists or not is completely irrelevant. Ideologues are still part of the problem, unless they have a sense of humor.

[Gallstones]

I'm an Orthodox Nothingarian. My formative years did not include the concepts of religion other than being the weirdos my mother worked for at the time. I never learnt much about it until school by which time I found it particularly stupid.

Yeah, well........being Catholic was like being in a club. So there.
I'm unaffected.

[Gallstones]

I'm a Catholic. I'm fuckin' blessed. Bullets, they just bounce offa me.

Ghost Dancer?

Got your shirt on?

[rachelbean]

Indian orthodox as in Malankara Indian Orthodox Church? Where did you find those guys?
I never fully understood going from one denomination to another, I mean they do differ over trivial stuff, but central story is the same. If I ever convert it's going to be some pagan stuff, worship birds, clouds and whatever just for fun.

Yes, Malankara (and no I never expected anyone on this board to ever say those words), the first contact was with a small church in Fresno, I can't remember how it happened, my ex found them somehow. I never was really trying to go from one denomination to another, just honestly trying to find the people who had it right while clinging to some central beliefs about the divinity of Christ. Once that fell away, the rest did pretty quickly. I met a lot of really sincere and kind people along that path though, which I don't forget no matter where I am now. I don't believe it's possible for me to ever convert to anything again, every step that I took was part of a gradual and obvious progression in hindsight and I am very secure, sane and happy nowadays.

[Tero]

I never was really trying to go from one denomination to another, just honestly trying to find the people who had it right while clinging to some central beliefs about the divinity of Christ. Once that fell away, the rest did pretty quickly. I met a lot of really sincere and kind people along that path though, which I don't forget no matter where I am now. I don't believe it's possible for me to ever convert to anything again, every step that I took was part of a gradual and obvious progression in hindsight and I am very secure, sane and happy nowadays.

[/quote]

Jesus was just a prophet in my late contact with church. So I was thinking "maybe the dude was on to something." Even if he was just a special guy with some charisma. But I did not find anything special. He is not the first to devote a life to some cause or charitable works. Some others, rich dudes, discovered the same.

The only useful bit I found in the bible in my adult years was Ecclesiastes. Sort of philosophical.