"Well I have thought about that certainly. I was raised in fundamentalist congregations, first presbyterian (not mainstream PCUSA), and then 'reformed' episcopalian (as in, "no gay or women priests allowed") before I stopped…"

"Seriously crazy as it may sound but the best evidence to me would be an actual presence. If god were talking to me and to everyone else (it's not quite the same if you're the only one!) and commanding us and all other sorts of old…"

"Fortunately, and contrary to the traditional pairing of conservitism and capitalism, the commercialism so inherent now in our biggest holidays has led to many of them not even nearly resembling what their religious origins have pnce implied.…"

"In that sense it makes perfect sense. I didn't do a lot of challenging either in my youth. Of course there were repercussions which no doubt discouraged it (in my case at least). Fortunately, there was an internal challenge to what I was being…"

"What did you think about Dinesh D'Souza? He is coming to debate Hitchens at the University of Central Florida Sept 17 (I have tickets!) His body of works looks...interesting (yes, euphemism)"

"Not yet, but it has been on my 'to read' list for a while now. In fact, it's been moving up in priority lately due to the main theme of the book, ideas I've encountered lately, and their reflection of my own life. For example, a…"

"Welcome Some aspects of my own relationships to family members parallel what you say here somewhat. I have not yet explicitly told my sister or father that I am an unbeliever, but some of our discussions have touched on topics that would have them…"

"I can definitely relate to those feelings. I was brought up fundy also, in an offshoot of mainstream presbyterian. One of the key factors to my own 'conversion' was remembering how I shyed away from proclaiming my belief, how I never…"

""Both have a something from nothing type of instant universe creation, the big bang on the one hand and 6 days on the other." I'm no physicist but I am under the impression that a singularity, however small, is comprised of something…"

"Awesome. Thanks for the link. I had never seen her before, but immediately subscribed."

"So, if I analyze this information in comparison to 'The Matrix' trilogy, I would be Jewish. Although I don't think that deeper analysis would hold up. Neo was too much of a 'Jesus' figure. On the other hand there's…"

"Well, while it's origin is a phrase inciting the blessing of god, it's current pronunciation is easily inferrable to mean that you just want a "good" "bye". So it doesn't necessarily conjure thoughts of the Lord…"