I was born in Southern Maryland and was baptised in the Methodist Church. I moved south when I was young and so I grew up in Northwestern NC. My mom and Sister started going to a Baptist Church nearby and I started to go with some of my friends to different baptist church. As I reached my teens, I began to question a lot of what I was taught and had read in the bible. I have always been fascinated by science, especially in the fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics. It seemed that most of religion contradicted science and science is based on facts and things that can be tested in a lab. Religion is based on faith which faith is something people believe in with little to no evidence. I believe it was when I was 17 that I finally walked away from religion
I was troubled by the preachers always saying that if you did not believe in god and that christ was your personal savior then you were doomed to spend an eternity in hell. So, I asked a preacher about my Cherokee ancestors. I wanted to know if they had all gone to hell since they knew nothing about the christian god and that Jesus had never visited America to deliver his message. The preacher pretty much said that what the bible states is true and that they are in hell. I looked at the preacher and just said that god is supposed to be a loving god, that is not the act of a loving god and I can no longer worship him. I walked away and never came back.
Well, I had left NC for a while and spent 17 years in Florida. I just recently moved back to NC and as much as I love the rural life and the scenery, it is hard to find people around me that are not religious. That is what attracted me to this site. I can come here and read posts, maybe add to some discussions and feel like I can relax and not have to defend my beliefs or lack of belief I should say. So, here I am, looking to make friends and maybe, if I am lucky, meet someone special. The main thing is, I have found a place where I can be me and not be shamed for it.