Hi everyone!

[sjd3]

Hey everyone, new to AFA, a great website,
i've been a firm believer of Christianity when I was young, from around early age to 13, I'm now 14 and have had some doubts about religion for around a year or so, but never really expressed those or even admit it, as I was such a strong believer, I don't quite remember how it started but I ended being on YouTube a lot in the last 2 months and looking at the marvellous Richard Dawkins videos, my hero, and started looking at evolution as we just finished in science and love science, so of course as I was fascinated by it, I got his book The Greatest Show on Earth, and finished about a week ago, loved it, and was really starting to doubt religion much stronger than before, I then got out "The God Delusion" which I am still reading and loving, and must say that I love reading it! Am now an atheist, happy, and love arguing creationists for some strange reason. Happy that there is a website for talking about atheism and all, and now confident, and can't wait to get back to school as it is a religious christian school which I will enjoy arguing with my religion teacher.

Loving being an atheist!

[cyclist]

Welcome to the forums sjd3, it's great to see younger people taking an active interest in science and question their beliefs.

James

[davo]

Hiya sjd3

It is always good to look into and work out things by looking around and judging all the evidence, it's good that you have used critical thinking to come to a decision, never give that up

You will find on this site, people will still question each others idea and look further into things with a skeptical eye. Learning to work stuff out for yourself is very important and a tool that will do you well in years to come.

Don't just take peoples word for it, learn to look into things for yourself to weigh up the evidence for claims from anyone, atheist or theist alike. It's a skill that will last you a lifetime.

enjoy!

[simonecuttlefish]

Hi. Welcome, and have fun. This site can look seriously overwhelming to start with. You will eventually beat it into submission though

[sjd3]

Thanks everyone for the thumbs up and for welcoming me, thanks davo, for that, appreciate it.

Thanks again everyone, and can't wait to start participating in different discussions.

[Lord Blackadder]

Welcome sjd3. It's always encouraging to see young scallywags with questioning minds. :-)
Enjoy your time on the forums!


Sent from my iPhone using magic technology thingy application thingy.

[wolty]

Hiya Sjd3. I hope you enjoy the forums. Looking forward to your input.

[BlueDevil]

Fantastic! Good to hear that you are questioning religious teachings and coming to realise that the existance of god is extremely unlikely.

There is enough atheist material on Youtube to keep you going for a lifetime, and a lot of it is VERY good. There are also many websites with heaps of information, and SOOOOO many books these days. Not long ago it was almost impossible to get hold of books on atheism, but now you could just about fill your house with them.

I find it interesting that your 'conversion' came around 14 years of age. I have noticed a lot of people seem to find atheism around that age. I guess the early teenage years are a time when we start to question what we are taught rather than just accept what other 'authorities' tell us.

[66 vegie]

Hi.
It's great to have you here on the forum. Hope you learn a lot from your time here...and I'm sure you can teach us a few thing's as well.

[Worldslaziestbusker]

Originally Posted by sjd3

Richard Dawkins videos, my hero,

Welcome sjd3 (anything to do with the NZ SJD??)
I am a fan of Bertrand Russell, but am wary of giving him too much lip service when discussing my atheism with others as any hint of my having a hero or leader is seized upon by the religious as an indication that atheism is a religion. It's great to hear that you admire Richard Dawkins - he writes some good stuff and is a solid public speaker - but please take care how you discuss his role in your education. I arrived at an atheistic perspective through my own process of thought and reflection, with some encouragement from people like Richard Dawkins and the arguments their books provided. Because I did the hard yards coming to my own conclusions, I think my position is sound, but if someone could show that I was just taking Richard Dawkins' word for it all, my position would be little different to a faith.
I hope you get as much from this forum as I have.
WLB