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I'M BEGINNING TO WRITE A NEW SEGMENT ON THE www.fostl.com WEBSITE TITLED, ODDLY ENOUGH, "BEGINNINGS" TO INTRODUCE NEW FREETHINKERS INTO THE FOLD. PLEASE READ ALONG AND COMMENT (MY VERY FEW READERS) AS YOUR THOUGHTS MIGHT HELP ME TO SHAPE THIS SECTION.

AS YOU KNOW IT'S OKAY AND CERTAINLY PREFERRABLE NOT TO BELIEVE, BUT IT'S NOT ALWAY EASY IN OUR SOCIETY TO TRUST OUR SKEPTICISM. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A GOOD GUIDE. HERE'S MY BEGINNING...

When I was young, I was surrounded by Christians. I didn't know why I didn't believe. I thougth there must be something wrong with me. I thougth I wanted to be a Christian because I wanted to be a good person. This was odd, however, since I already was a good person. In fact some of my friends did really awful things at times, things I would never do to myself or to others, and they were Christians. I also never bought the concept of hell. Eternal torment. Eternal torment for killing, I maybe sort of could get, but for simply not buying a bridge some guy was trying to sell me? There were too many questions. Too many inconsistencies. And the rationalizing asside, I still couldn't believe even thought I kept trying.

Well, maybe you're feeling some of these things. Maybe entirely different things. It doesn't necessarily matter how or why you've gotten to this point, you're here and you're reading these words. I plan to do my best to set this up as guide for people searching. I'll tell you at the outset that I most definitely don't have all the answers, but I'm going to do what I can to provide some insight into my long, arduous, sometimes painful and often humorous journey. Hopefully it will help you to miss a bit of the anguish and enjoy a bit more of the insight.

I'll work with as much structure as possible, but much of this will be stream of consciousness, gaining more form (revision by arduous revision) as I go along. Please check back often and please visit my blog if you will, as I'll mirror this discussion there, so you might comment or as questions to help form this into something useful for you, me and future visitors to the site.

Thanks. I'll begin typing again tomorrow and everyday I'm able thereafter!

A quick story I simply have to reiterate...

I had to reiterate this quick little story that will hopefully make you all smile. I spent much of yesterday sandbagging in Winfield, Missouri. Sometime around Noon a military helicopter flew overhead with Governor Matt Blunt aboard to survey the flooding situation. For the record, Governor Blunt is a conservative republican of great faith. Word soon came through the ranks that he'd be landing and speaking to news reporters and such. Sure enough, the helicoptor soon landed on the other side of the high school from where we were all working. Personally, I'm not a fan, I didn't vote for him and I'm glad he's not seeking another term, so with that in mind, I continued to work unphased. After a time, the sand-bagging line suddenly stopped (as often happens for one reason or another), I set down my bag and turned around to grab my water bottle, when who is walking directly toward me but Matt Blunt followed by a deluge of reporters, cameras and the like. Our eyes meet and he stretches out his hand and we shake. Him in his button down oxford shirt, neatly pleated pants and finely polished leather shoes; me in my work boots, cargo shorts and sand spattered 'GODLESS LIBERAL' imprinted shirt!

Defining Us - Defining Them

What is a Christian? Is a Christian a person who attends the funerals of soldiers with signs saying 'God Hates Fags'? Is a Christian a person who believes and attends church, but rarely reads the bible or promotes or considers their faith on a regular basis. Is a Christian a person who attends church one or more times a week, donating generously? Is a Christian a person who rarely attends church but reads his bible regularly and constantly pursues a relationship with Jesus?

What if all these men have accepted Jesus as their savior? What if they all try day in and day out to live in his light and by his word? Are they still all Christians? Do they still all fit under the same umbrella? Should they all be defined the same way?

What is an atheist? Is a person who is mad at God? Is it a person who has suffered a traumatic loss? Is it a person lost and alone? Is it a person who simply refuses to live under the difficult demands placed upon him or her by Christianity? Is is a person without morals?

What if he's none of these things? What if this simply represents a single answer to a single question and defines this person in no other way? What if we think about it the other way. The Pope, George W. Bush, Thomas Aquinas and the 9/11 hijackers are all theists. Or consider this; by definition (considering her now public journal entries), Mother Theresa was an atheist.

Being an atheist does not define you in any way. Just as the Bible says not one word regarding family values, atheism says nothing of an individuals values. Take a moment to look at the values of secular humanism. Are these individuals devoid of morality?

Don't devine a person by his position on theism, or how he or she is defined by any title. Ask them about their convictions. Observe their behaviors. Judge then on the 'content of their character'. Or better yet, don't judge them at all.