Hello from the Mormon capital, Utah.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia on April 24, 2010 at 7:24pm

Welcome from a Canadian X-moron!

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Permalink Reply by Timm Simpkins on April 24, 2010 at 7:34pm

Thanks. I guess I forgot to mention that I am an ex Mormon as well. It essentially goes without saying if you live in Utah that you either are Mormon or you once were. That's not always the case, but it usually is.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia on April 24, 2010 at 9:27pm

I used to have relatives in Provo, but since I'm out of touch, I wouldn't know now. I'm Canadian born, but have a lot of US relatives.

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Permalink Reply by ImproperUsername on April 25, 2010 at 11:53am

>
even in the atheist community there are some ideas that just aren't popular
>

I am a noob to this community also, and find myself very pleasantly surprised by the general courtesy and kindness of its members. I used to belong to an atheist forum that was very negative and judgmental, that I found very inhibiting.

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Permalink Reply by Tabitha Ellaine Smile on April 27, 2010 at 12:59am

"but now I find it necessary since it seems that even in the atheist community there are some ideas that just aren't popular, and I happen to hold several of them."

I consider myself more than open minded, please enlighten me to your exotic ideas. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jean Jacques on April 27, 2010 at 4:41am

Hello from another ex mormon.

I left Utah a little while ago to be closer to family and friends in Southern California and have never looked back. I too am interested in your exotic ideas.

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Permalink Reply by Timm Simpkins on April 27, 2010 at 6:36am

Well, my ideas aren't necessarily all that unique. I am more of a libertarian than anything else, and it often seems that atheists are mostly liberals. I happen to lie somewhere in between on social issues, and very conservative on fiscal issues. In other words, most of what I differ with are political ideas, although I do disagree with some of the things atheists say.

As an example, I believe that there are good reasons to be against abortion that are not religious, which is something I had to wrestle with within myself. It was rather difficult to reconcile why I felt that abortion was a terrible thing considering that I don't believe in a soul. A search for the word abortion on my blog will get you to my reasoning. On the other hand, I believe that gay marriage should be allowed, which is a liberal position. I don't buy into the idea that gay marriage is a fundamental right though, and that is a purely legal position. I believe that homosexuals feel it is a fundamental right, but that doesn't make it a fundamental right under the law.

I think Glenn Beck has turned into a cry on demand sensationalist asshat, but I find Rush Limbaugh to be generally entertaining and informative. Michael Savage is a narcissistic windbag, but Mark Levin is rather generally humorous in his surliness. I actually find myself hating politics over the last few years, even though I used to love it previously. I can't find anyone that I agree with enough to listen to regularly anymore. Both conservative and liberal politics disgust me so often that I find myself shutting off the radio or television.

One thing I am somewhat different about that isn't related to politics is the fact that I think that atheism does offer happiness. I wrote a post on my blog about it a few days back where I discuss how I understand that atheism is not a set of beliefs, but as a response to harmful belief systems, it actually has quite a bit to offer.

I am in the middle of a post now where I discuss feminism's self contradictory attitude when it comes to modesty. I think that modesty actually works against what women should want, namely the freedom to do what one wants and feels comfortable with. (Prompted by feminist responses to boobquake.)

Anyway, there are just too many things to list here that I find myself being contrary to the views generally held by atheists. I've been an atheist for about a decade now, and I have to admit that it has had an effect on my political views, but I find no reason to align myself entirely with a party that only represents a couple of my views, especially when those views aren't anywhere near the most important issues to me. It seems to me that liberalism is generally a superficial position to hold.

Okay, now I'm sure I've pissed some people off, but there it is.

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Permalink Reply by Tabitha Ellaine Smile on April 27, 2010 at 10:45am

I find liberals and conservatives annoying.

It seems to me like your stances on issues have more backbone than the scribblings of desert nomads. ;) You should fit in just fine.

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Permalink Reply by Jean Jacques on April 27, 2010 at 6:54pm

I wouldn't worry too much about your opinions bothering others. There is a common misconception about atheists, both within and without the community, that we all think alike. As long as your views are backed by solid reasoning you should be fine.

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Permalink Reply by Timm Simpkins on April 27, 2010 at 7:10pm

I don't worry about it. If I did, I would keep my mouth shut and my fingers off the keyboard. :D

Really it's just that I notice I disagree with most atheists that openly express their opinion. I don't think that's a bad thing either, but that could have something to do with how I enjoy debating. I've even been told that I'm not an atheist because of some of my views, none of which had to do with whether or not God exists btw.

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Permalink Reply by LarryL on May 2, 2010 at 8:58pm

First, welcome to the Nexus. Glad you are here.

Second, have you listened to the "Irreligisophy" podcast? A couple of Mormon guys do it. It's a hoot, but also very informative about all religions, including Mormonism.

Third, re politics, consider watching/listening to NPR/PBS . I find they give a balanced and more honest perspective of the issues. The BBC also provides a good, outside, perspective.

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Permalink Reply by Timm Simpkins on May 2, 2010 at 9:20pm

NPR is just way too boring for me. It's great if I'm having trouble falling asleep though. Truthfully I have just almost totally lost my interest in politics. Everyone lies, and people believe either one lie or another without even looking for the real information themselves.

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