how did you become an atheist?

No, these are the kind who think that hell isn't really a place but more a metaphor for...something.

It goes to show that not all Jesus fans have wierd sex hang ups and think sleeping about is some sort of terrible sin. I meet people who assume that if someone is a christian they must hate the gays and think sex before marriage is evil, and whilst that's understandable given what the shouty christians say, there are some who aren't even a bit like that. Which is worth remembering.

No way RedEd, you got it all wrong! Lumpen is right, it is the 'coolest' [sic sic sic] ones with the drum kits which are def. the worst. and the ones with electric guitars....

There usually the ones that have only got into it over the past say five years, so they get loopy as shit over it...

Choking victim, you were talking about abortion, and made some good points, but it has nothing to do with what I quoted, which was about 'sleeping around', which if you don't know, means promiscuity.

The ones with drum kits and instruments are the coolest ones. Some church/gospel musicians absolutely kick ass. Personally, if I were to worship, I would be wanting to have fun listening to music rather than listening to some old guy's sermons.

http://youtu.be/T-r848DsXEE

yeah I don't think Lumpen was (and I certainly wasn't) talking about Gospel musicians. More like those ones who cover pop songs with a secret 'message'. Or write their own songs about God. Like that shite band Delirious?

Ah, you're Irish. So does that mean you're a Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?

Grew up in a unreligious family. We celebrated capitalist christmas and bunny-egg easter out of family tradition and was staunchly anti-religion from about 12-19. Then I mellowed out, read some mind blowing books in college (and consumed mind altering substances) and now consider myself an agnostic with Buddhist influence and I prefer the Stargate interpretation of ancient mythology.

I think it was technically "deliriou5?"

I cant remember ever being interested in religion. Went to church only to listen to choir's at Christmas and not voluntarily, usually some relative or my mothers "children" (she's a primary school teacher) were singing. Even this only happened every other year or so. As far back as I remember I was really uncomfortable in church as you were supposed to say this sort of "I believe in god" thing and it felt weird keeping mum and even weirder saying it.

Religion was very much in the periphery and never seemed appealing. I honestly always wondered why you would worship gods who despite their wisdom behaved so badly

I was actually in some kind of religious childcare/activities thing when I was about six, I suddenly remember, I have no idea why my parents put me there though... have to ask. Was quite fun you could slide with your knitted socks on the smooth floor and generally muck about with lots of others. Clearly the religious indoctrination was of no use.

I was a moderately committed catholic kid (attending church weekly, few Jesuit summer camps). Before I reached 16-18 years I thought God might exist and he might punish me for sinning (like not going to church, not saying my prayers). I was influenced by religious people, mostly outside my direct family, who had very compelling and imaginative stories about eternal suffering, mystical experiences and stuff like that. I would go to church what happened there with it's boring rituals was incredibly pointless and silly to me even when I was a young and naive kid. I thought that if God's was all powerful and all knowing and has experienced humanity and the entire university for all of history why would he give a shit about human beings following such specific and elaborate rituals as we would in church. Why would God want us to jump through ridiculous hoops led by tedious priests? If I was finding it boring, no way could God seriously give a damn about all that crap. The elevated and holy air some church people had left me feeling suspicious too.

Although I never made the full leap into believing that God might not care if we believed in him (being so powerful and probably having better things to do really) I was skeptical about the whole "he cares so much about humanity that sacrificed his son" talking point - it's not really sacrifice if you're God.

Anyway, all this stuff didn't add up. When the personal pressure that you must go to church or you're a bad person disappeared when I moved away from home, religion and God started looking more and more arbitrary. After a long period of agnosticism (cause there really could exist a God or a Santa for that reason - you can never know) I decide that's pointless to even worry about and became an atheist. Never had great commitment to atheism honestly either except as reaction to Christians (in USA they are common and occasionally seriously harmful).