Nice job. [#731]

[DL]

After almost 45 years, it's amazing that I am only now seeing this clearly.

I was raised a Roman Catholic, was an altar-boy, went to Catholic elementary & high schools, and took my "faith" only moderately seriously.

My brother sent me a youtube clip of George Carlin's religion routine, and as silly as it sounds, this actually made me THINK about my religion and the silliness of it. I did a lot of web-surfing for a few days, going through your entire site in one day, before realizing that the religion I was brought up in was simply a lie.

I just wanted to thank you for spelling this out and literally opening my eyes to this. They say that the enemy of religion is THOUGHT.  If I had only committed myself to THINKING about this part of my life earlier, how different things would have been. That's not to say I would have become a murderer or rapist simply because the fear of hell was now gone; but I certainly would have lived differently, making different choices that weren't tainted by the guilt I was brought up in.

You've done a great service to me and many others. I just wanted to say thanks.

[Nick]

Come and join the forum.  You will learn a lot more and find a group of people who share your view.  I was raised Catholic also and went through basically the same path as you.  It is so nice to be free of the guilt and see the world as it really is.  Congrats !!!

[singlecrochet]

I was raised as protestant christian, and I assure you, that guilt thing is there, too!

Welcome!

[Hermes]

Thanks for the note!  I'm a former Catholic myself.

Here are some other places you might want to browse through...ask for pointers if it seems overwhelming.  There's quite a bit out there, and while quite a bit of it is excellent, not all of it is worth your time!

* YouTube Video channels;

  http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/forums/index.php?topic=2078

* Blogs;

  http://planetatheism.com

* TV programs;

  http://www.atheist-experience.com -- TV program out of Austin TX with many back episodes

* Audio;

I've got a boatload of podcasts/RSS feeds if you listen to that stuff.  Let me know what you're interested in, and I'll be glad to see if anything in my hold is worthy of your time.

[Irish]

Congratulations OP; you're free of the guilt, lies, and total nonsense of religion.  I'm glad this site, and others like it, helped you out.  If you want more, come by the forums and sign up.  We'll share our experiences and you can learn more.