So here I go. One thing to understand is this is a step in a journey that if you would have asked me to take 10 years ago I would have declined. I definitely would have not made this next statement.
I am an atheist.
That took awhile to admit to myself. It’s taking an even longer time to admit it to others… and I know I am not alone. I once thought atheists were under the direction of Satan. The term was used in sermons to demonstrate failure of a child of God, someone to be feared because that evil could somehow infect you. No one would ever want to be an atheist unless of course they were in love with evil and wickedness.
But here I am now. I am an atheist. I am a man in his mid-forties with a wife I love and have been married and faithful to for 20 years. I have two beautiful and smart children who show a caring and empathetic nature to others. I have held a succesful job in the IT industry for over 25 years at the same company. I pay my taxes and bills on time. I try my best to help my fellow neighbor or friend. I have never committed any serious crimes or been arrested. … I am a terrible speller though I will warn you of that.
Some people would say I am blessed. I might have said the same thing sometime ago. But now I am not sure what that means. It seems to indicate that for whatever reason God decided to give me a life worth living. Something millions of people today or in the past(many who were or are faithful Christians) did not even have a chance at. This would have been explained away with the God works in mysterious ways and to “just be thankful for what he has provided you”. Others would say that now that I am an atheist it is Satan’s way of fooling me that I don’t need God. But these good things happened long before I turned away, back when I was an active Christian, even later when I didn’t attend church as much but the guilt was on my mind all the time.
The truth to me now is this. It’s a combination of things luck, hard work, genetics, help from others here on earth, location …. etc. I could go on there is not one thing I could say that was the cause of what my life is now. For sure it is not a god or any god … somehow that would diminish the truth and in my eye’s it would be dishonest to myself and others. This is the promise I make to you if you take the time to read my story …. I won’t lie to you.
Uzzah – not my real name.
Please introduce yourself to me in the comments.
Uzzah's Fall 
I grew up in a christian family, went to church whenever the doors were open and thought that was the way it was to be a christian. Over the fifty or so years in the religious organization my wife and I decided the religious system was not for us. We did not leave our belief in God but we did leave the traditional church and religious life. I can certainly relate to the many questions people have and why many give up an acceptance of a god, yet we still hold to the belief that God is there and loves us. Can I prove it? Of course not. My wife and I have come to the conclusion that we are to love people the way they are with their individual beliefs and ideas. Although we believe God is there we do not feel it is our job to force our way of thinking on everyone else. We want to accept others and their ways of thought even in the differences. Whether God exists or not cannot be proven one way or the other, it is a personal choice to what we draw our conclusions to and how we choose to believe or what we choose to accept. We should be able to accept one another and treat each other respectfully and in kindness no matter what our decisions are. We have been enjoying our belief that God is with us each and every day, yet we do not hold to the traditional interpretations and ways of the organized religious churches. For us, it seems more in line with the life of Jesus, not adhering to a particular doctrine or denomination and accepting all people with love no matter what they choose to believe. Thank you for this opportunity to introduce ourselves, it is appreciated.
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Thanks so much for your comment. Though we may not share the same belief on existence of God your words indicate to me that we do share what I consider most important. Being kind to one another. Thanks again and welcome.
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Thank you Uzzah.
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Hi Uzzah, I’m an apostate. I’ve written the whole sordid tale of my atheism somewhere, if you’re interested, I’ll see if I can put up a link. The reason I’m commenting here is because you commented in a thread I commented on some time ago over at Mel Wild’s. Now Mel, bless his heart, is a busy man. The more difficult the question for him to answer with more than a hand wave the busier he gets. He’s so busy in fact, he never answered my questions and my comments often languish in the sweet arms of moderation.
So anyway, nice to meet you. Good luck getting a straight answer from Mel. You can find me on the twitter or at mydoorisajar.wordpress whiling away with my fellow ink stained wretches.
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Thanks moine… yeah it took me a couple of comments to realize that I am talking to a wall called Mel. I would definitely like to check your story out. Please send me a link. Thanks for your interest in mine.
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I let my gator mouth get away with my birdy butt. I can’t seem to place where I’ve left my backstory. I did find a survey I answered from a christian interviewing atheists years ago, I’ve added it to my about page at the bottom. It’s an attached pdf. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have if you find it to not be enough. I’ll leave the link up for a week or so.
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