Hi!
I thought I would introduce myself. I have been a "full-on" atheist for about a year now. A few years ago I moved to Portland, OR from a small town in KY. I was "home-schooled" from the 4th grade on. I put that in quotes because my mother decided her time was better spent getting whacked out on painkillers as opposed to "teaching". It was a Christian program of course. The most laughable thing I learned was that "Humans are not mammals". More of that dominion over nature bunk.
As such, my social skills are not where I would like them to be. But I'm making progress.
Ever since I became completely atheist, I have been happier, my mind is wide open, and I am more content than I EVER was as a Christian. Funny how that works. I also have become far more disgusted with the poisonous hold religion has on the entire planet.
I look forward to taking part in the discussions here.
= new reply since forum marked as read
And just realized it a year ago. We're all atheists in one form or another. After all, does the Pope believe in Zeus? If not, then he's an atheist too.
Welcome to our little corner of hell! Pull up a chair and grab a slice of roasted puppy.
(BTW, make sure you read the threads pinned to the top of the group. They provide some guidance on the rules here.)
There are some mighty fine atheists in this group. And not a single one believes in god. So much for what we have in common.
I grew up in a pretty "nonreligious" environment and never had to battle the demons.
This is a very friendly group (if not confronted with idiocy) and quite diverse and interesting. There is some conjunction with the Skeptics group. Here you deny god. There you deny Sasquatch and homeopathy.
So I will look for you on the boards.
--imm
About humans not being mammals...I take it your mom didn't breastfeed and wasn't breastfed herself. 
then it got Ikea. So now it's like "Seattle 2 hours south of Seattle" 
j/k. I like portland, haven't spent a ton of time there. Hubby was "stationed" there for a month when he was being trained as a Red Cross Worker. I liked the city, plan on spending more time come spring/summer.
At least y'all have a TV show made after you....Portlandia. Seattle has no such thing. Seattle jumped the shark, tho, years ago 
all the snow is Melting now...plus rain...it is cold and sopping wet and gonna be floody and shitty for the next while 
Srsly, that's what was taught in the "science" portion of the dogma-filled BS program. The SUN is not a ball of gas, it is GOD. God flung the stars from his fingers into the heavens.
Here's a link to the crazy if you are curious.
[link:http://www.abeka.com/|
My fundie niece was asking me questions about evolution when she was here
over the holidays....
I got out the book and she started reading it.
She asked me if she could borrow it and I told her she'd have
to ask her father.....he told me it was OK, that she was allowed
to question ....when she got to the door, she handed the book
back to me and said
"That's all right, Aunt Patty, I feel like I'm SINNING JUST READING IT".
OK, not my kid, but WOW.
Even back then I thought it was bull. They were unable to convince me that humans are not mammals. I did however worry about about the rapture/apocalypse.
In my early teens my mother would read aloud the kids' version of the Left Behind series. That was some scary shit at the time. 
Left Behind: The kids. I thought all children were automatically "saved". I guess that's just the unborn.
Glad to have another of the Condemned to talk with! As someone else posted, this is a pretty friendly bunch. Long as people don't come in just to yank our chains. When they do that, they find out we bite. (I bet the lurking theists got a laugh out of that line.)
Since you brought up the Sophisticated Theology (tm) of the Left Behind series, I'm confused.
Out here in Los Angeles, TBN (Paul & Jan Crouch) sometimes run Armaged-athons of both the Left Behind movies. Plus other masterworks like Megiddo: Omega Code 3. Which makes Left Behind look like Citizen Kane.
Anyway, in the first LB movie - in a scene directly ripped off from Stephen King's The Langoliers - we see the Rapture take place on an airliner.
Seats in the aircraft suddenly empty, except for stuff like dentures and kid paraphernalia. A theologian cleverly camouflaged as a flight attendant starts yipping that it's the Rapture, and all the kiddies have been Taken Up because "all children are innocent."
All I can say is, that dumbass didn't know me when I was a child. Or any of my friends. And most of us were little SoB's (Southern Baptists).
And finally...Boo!
I am very curious about a couple of things:
1) What was the catalyst for the conversion? Was it the "mammals" thing?
2) What did your parents think of the conversion? And are you still on speaking terms?
Matt in person. He is responsible for my raging atheism. 
Glad you made it out! You will find some brilliant stuff here at the AA forum.
Julie
Congratulations on breaking free of the homeschool indoctrination! I went to parochial school, which is slightly less over-the-top, but still pretty ridiculous. But I had some friends who were homeschooled, and sadly, they are all still super-involved in the church we grew up in.
I admire you for overcoming your early background and being open to learning. It seems like relatively few people are able to do that.
I was brought up on fire and brimstone preaching my entire life. I also struggled with it and there was a lot of emotional pain because I couldn't "believe" like everyone around me. I used to think something was wrong with me.
Divesting myself of it was also painful because this was how I was raised. I had to completely let it go and that was a long process itself.
About 5 years or so ago, I was finally able to say that I am an atheist. I had to keep looking up to make sure lightening wasn't going to strike me down. It took another year or so for me to completely let go and discover the freedom from religion.
This was a long struggle to get where I am, but it was worth it. I found a peace of mind that I never had with Christianity. It is truly freedom from religion.
Welcome to the club!
