Hi Y'all!

[TRodGene]

Hi, My name is Tanner R.

I'm a young man, I live in the most Christian part of North Texas, It's bad to the point where people avoid speaking to me when they find out I'm an atheist. Granted this is not all people here but it is still bad to the point where not being Christian can affect social status, job opportunities, and education opportunities. Luckily there are some free thinkers and many of the intellectuals are open to debate!

Yes, I am a horrible meat eater I Actually made a post on the Vegan Debate section, check it out it you like answering a billion questions!

Let's see, what else.. My current goal is trying to obtain a scholarship to Cali. @ Berkeley and get a degree in... something... but the ultimatum is go professional in my Soccer/Futbol career (I know, I know big goals but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained right?)

My favorite color is orange and the best ice cream flavor is NY Cheesecake! hmm, I'm not sure there is much more I can think to talk about at the moment :/ well if you want to know something feel free to ask down below!

Glad to be here,
Tanner R.

[Jebus]

Welcome Tanner. Have you always been atheist? If not, what made you change and how did your friends and family react?

[TRodGene]

Have you always been atheist? If not, what made you change and how did your friends and family react?

Thanks,

No, I haven't always been atheist. I started as a Roman Catholic, I acted pretty devout, praying twice or thrice daily and memorizing the Bible verses. All the things I did for God never really meant anything to me though, I didn't feel connected to him at all. I started really doubting God's existence around 11 years old, at that point i had taken an interest in science and the greater understanding of the universe. I realized more and more that a super deity isn't necessary to describe the world around us; however the religion was still instilled deep within me. At age 12-13 i was pretty much agnostic, and during those years many bad things happened in my life and that's really when I became an atheist, when God didn't ever answer my pleas for help when I needed it most. That's when I told my friend I was atheist over a phone conversation, unfortunately my Mother was eavesdropping on that phone call. The next morning my parents had a long talk with me and decided that the cure for my "possession by the devil" would be more church. Every time something involved with the church was available they would make sure I got into it, I spent most of my days working with or going to church from there on. I didn't tell anyone else about my atheism again until I was 15, and my parents made it a point to never tell anyone that I am an atheist as it would reflect bad on them and the family. I told a couple of people and actually found out that many of my friends were also atheist, the religious ones were pretty weird about at first but they got acclimated to the fact. Like i said a couple people excommunicated me and for this reason i avoid talking about religion or sharing my views as much as possible. I am 16 now and i still go to church twice a week, not as bad as it used to be but it's still annoying. :/

[TheVeganAtheist]

welcome to the forum TRodGene.