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Going to see Sam Harris

So I'm going to see Sam Harris this Thursday night debate William Lane Craig at the University of Notre Dame. Upon hearing about the debate, I was thrilled to find out that Notre Dame is only 4 hours away from me, and even more thrilled when I found out that there were still tickets left (6 tickets left, to be exact. I'm way in the back, but at least I'll be there).

So getting a ticket to this thing really made my day. A lot. I love watching debates, and I'm glad that people like Hitchens and Harris are making noise and standing up to religious dogma. I feel like if I had heard some of their arguments sooner or if someone had stood up to my religion sooner maybe I might not have suffered all the ill effects of religion in my life.

It is the natural tendency of humans to share exciting things with others, usually in the form of friends and family. And it's true that I have friends to share things with. Like the fact that my business is growing I share with my friend who also owns a business. Or the fact that I'm enjoying being a father and learning from my 4 year-old I share with my own brother who also has a family.

But who do I share this with? As a recently de-converted Seventh-Day Adventist I find myself in that raw, bitter, and fearful time that immediately follows apostasy. I'm not exactly inclined to share my excitement about attending this debate with my facebook (mostly Adventist) friends only to be met with judgment and ridicule. I'm left in that strange and lonely place where the one thing I am most passionate about is the one thing I'd better not be open about.

So that's why I'm coming here. I wanted to tell you all something:

I'm going to see Sam Harris at Notre Dame this week, and I'm going to have a fucking good time!

Tags: Apostasy, Atheism, Harris, Sam

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Daniel on April 2, 2011 at 2:31pm

That's wonderful! I hope you have a good time; I love watching debates between the "heavyweight" atheists vs the religious ones!

I'm in a similar boat; as a teenage apostate, and still in the closet about it with the exception to my eldest brother and a close Canadian friend I met online. I know exactly what it feels like to have this kind of loneliness; to not be able to share experiences with other people. Good for you for sharing it online! That's something I've wanted to do more of, but procrastination has kept it down. Even if you don't get to share them as much as you'd like; they still happen, and they'll still be special to you. You get to watch two of the champions of major religious factions do intellectual battle. Harris will sow the seeds of doubt among the Christian audience, and contribute to the exponentially growing atheist population in America. You are truly witnessing a part of history; a secular renaissance, or as Richard Dawkins put it "A wave of reason".

Permalink Reply by Sam Kennedy on April 3, 2011 at 10:46am

Awesome!! Congrats, Sam Harris is a fabulous debator. I have yet to see him live, I'm jealous. : )

Have fun!

Permalink Reply by Ashleigh Carter on April 4, 2011 at 1:47pm

That is some damned fine news. You'll have to enjoy yourself twice as hard for the rest of us that can't attend. Personally I'd love to hear all about it when you get back. Have fun!

Permalink Reply by Gerald Scott on April 5, 2011 at 3:02pm