My inadequate words cannot express the gratitude I have for you and this web site. For the last year I have been struggling with abolishing my old christian ways of thought and it has been very difficult because of the many years I had convinced myself that christianity is true. Old thinking habits die hard and slowly. I think I understand now what I have so many times read about brainwashing as has happened so many times in political and religious circumstances. It can take time to rid one's mind of the habitual thinking that had enslaved you for so many years. I have no one to blame but myself for my continued delusion about my religious thoughts. No one forced me to think a certain way. No one pushed me into certain beliefs under the duress of torture and I admitedly believed and thought the ways of christianity because I wanted to. So I am the only one to blame for my stupidity and short-sightedness and the continued pain it caused me. I am not into the victim bit. I ...

I am sorry about your journey away from Christianity, but perhaps it was a journey away from a childish faith that needed to mature. (Many adults have never grown beyond a childish faith.) Remember that faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive and can coexist in the sincere heart and intellect. I hope you will continue to seek and continue read, not only the writings of freethinking atheists, but also those of freely thinking Christians, such as Meister Eckhart (ancient), Karl Rahner (twentieth century, a challenge to read), and Gerald May (twenty-first century). And pay no attention to "Christians" who curse you for your non-belief. There is no violence in God, who is totally loving and merciful. R F Hoover, PhD Faylei Hoover email: faylei@netscape.net

sent in by the Happy Humanist "Believe the way we believe or you are going to spend eternity in a mythical place called Hell, a place where you will be forever tormented." That is the basic mantra of Christianity. To all of you Christians out there: Can you not see the manipulation in such a code? Can you not see that that is a scare tactic, one that persuades you to believe in the rest of the crap that Christianity spoonfeeds its followers (demons, Satan, a god, and angels)? Can you not see that you are on the losing end of the biggest fraudulent scam in the history of mankind? Can you not see that your hard-earned money is being used to perpetuate this scam?

you are a perverse man. you are disrespecting god and he will not tolerate it. not all churches are like the one that hurt you. god is calling you to come back to him Jesus_Freak ninja_monkey92@yahoo.com

I take it you are one in the same. Excuse me if I am in error. I have read through your intro as to why you are where you are in life, in regards to christianity. I must admit that I found your life story,[ up to the place that you are at now] quite an emotional one. I was amazed at your willingness and earnestness to continue your search for truth, despite so many twists and turns in your life. If I did not know better I would of thought that you would be at a much differant place than you are now. I can say this for sure "you are an honest man". I have been a christian for about 20 years, and have seen many wonderful things in Jesus name, as well as strange things in Jesus name. I, like your self have visited differant churchs and so on, but dispite the fruit and nuts that seem to exist in churchs these days I do not and can not say that it would change my choice of who to Serve in this wild and crazy world we live in. I know you know what I mean. I have to say at t...

Unlike you, I was raised in a non-religious household. My father vocally and vociferously despised all organized religion and its attendant hypocrisies, and my mother had no interest whatsoever. I consider I had a very carefree childhood in that respect, no fears of holy ghosts or anything of the sort. I have read a lot of books about Christianity and other religions and have had enough losses in my life to be tempted by the thought of life after death, but education, observation and common sense have always won out and I have never converted to any religion. I have relatives who are pretty much fundamentalists (Church of Christ) and they are a pretty neurotic bunch on the whole. Luckily their early attempts to influence me (books of Bible stories, etc.) had the same effect on me as Hans Christian Anderson -- even at a very young age I knew I was just reading or listening to another fairytale. It all just seemed so far-fetched and improbable. I love my family, but some or them are a me...

Hello, I wish to say that, although you may not be able to control it entirely, I am offended by the occasional, unmonitored anti-Semitism on this site. "Hebrew Demon God" being one of the expressions I see used frequently. Yes, the OT is an outdated, violent book. But the Jewish people have LONG ago stopped practicing any of the more primitive and vengeful things in it; unlike, dare I say, some other religions. And about the OT, as Jewish thought developed, the tales are usually regarded either as a grim moral tales about the fallibility of man, or otherwise tales of Jewish history, or semi-pseudo-history if you like. Christian or Ex-Christian, or Muslim, must you all accept slandering Jewish people and their tradition as all right? Which tradition, by the way, most Christian and Muslims view through bigoted, slanted, or ignorant eyes, having absolutely NO concept of what Judaism is truly like, and having their information filtered through bigoted, slanted, self-serving inte...

Remember before you leave Christianity that Jesus is the "way, truth, and light" "No one gets into heaven except through him". There may be things you don't like about the way certain denominations run things, but religion is not about business or taste its about the truth. Jesus is God and you can't say God is wrong. He is the way to heaven and he also is the one who loves you the most. His heart morns for souls he loses and he wants you to come to him especially in the sacraments that he gave which is why The Roman Catholic Church is the way. Every Christian faith has their strengths, but in the Catholic Church we have the sacraments, which Jesus has reassured, us through saints and his Spirit are necessary for us. So try it out. May the lord be with you, Michael Fannon email: fanno399@aol.com