I guess I should start at the beginning... Once upon a time, all matter was condensed in a relatively small space under extreme pressure and...
Just kidding.
My parents separated when I was about 6. My Mom was a commited Baptist. My Dad was very anti-church. So you can imagine my childhood was pretty screwed up. My two younger sisters and I visited my Dad every other weekend, Fridays and Saturdays, and went to church with my Mom on Sundays.
I'm not sure how much the idea of "God" even registered with me back then. I have vague recollections of being semi-intrigued at some times and terrified at others. I have a distinct memory of my Mom telling me that people who attended the Masonic Temple across the street from our church were basically the same thing as satanists. (Might have been the first time I ever questioned something a christian tried to teach me)
I went to live with my Dad about the age of 9, and with my Stepmom, he began taking me to a Protestant church on Sundays, probably a result of something my Mom made him agree to in the custody arangement. I imagine we went to a Protestant church just to piss off my Mom.
During highschool, my interest in religion peaked for a different reason: Girls. For some bizarre reason, I always ended up dating girls who were heavily invested in religion. For better or worse, this resulted in me attending churches of many various faiths including Evangelical, Seventh Day Adventist and Pentacostal. I was Baptized Seventh Day Adventist. I've witnessed speaking in tongues, I've seen "spiritual laughter", I've taken part in footwashing ceremonies.
I was part of a very rare in-school christian group at my highschool called "ACTS" (Active Christians Terrorizing Satan. Cute, I know) We got away with it by including absolutely NO school faculty or officials. It was all completely student run. Was also where I met my Junior Prom date.
By the time I joined the Army in '99, I hadn't gone to church in a few years. That said, basic training has a way of bringing out the spiritual side in a person. I probably prayed for strength as much in those weeks as in all four years of highschool. At my permanent duty station, I fell into a kinda of a rhythm of going to church about once a month or so. I still prayed pretty regularly.
Then 9/11 came. There is a larger story about this that I may tell someday, but it involves politics which I'd rather avoid for the moment, and this post is already too long. I went to Afghanistan for a couple months in the spring of '02.
A few months after I returned, my 1SG invited me to come tweak an electric drum set his church had recently purchased. (Oh, yeah. I play drums.) Anyway, I ended up playing drums for his church, which as it turns out, was Pentecostal. I was a regular member of this church through the mission change from Afghanistan to Iraq, and the run-up to the '04 election. As time went by, I began to hear things that didn't make sense to me. The church praised President Bush and his glorious war in Iraq (where many of my friends were about to be deployed). They bashed gays (like my sister) and claimed that their kind were leading to the destruction of the country. They told people that they could vote for anyone they wanted in the coming election, but that they would be judged for it later. (Read "vote for the Christian or you might go to hell")
In the midst of all this, I began asking myself questions. Why have I never seen this Christian president in Church? What denomination is he? Are these people really so blind? If they are this easily fooled, what else might they believe which is not true?
At some point, I found myself lying in bed unable to sleep. And a single question arose in my head and it was like a light blinking on.
How can there be an all loving, omnipotent God? According to everything I've ever been taught, God is omnipotent. That IS how the song goes, right? "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." That means before he created me, he knew who I was, and therefore, how I was going to turn out. So that, in turn, means that, if I will eventually go to hell, God knew it before he created me. And, at that point, he chose to create me anyway. That doesn't sound very loving to me.
I consider that to have been the first domino in my coming to atheism and science. I've been a non-believer for about 7 years now, and I still consider myself young in it. I want to learn more, but I don't consider myself militant. I believe that we all need to learn to live together.
So my basic demeanor is to live and let live... that is until someone tries to use their own personal belief system to control or effect another person or group. That's when I believe the gloves should come off.
So, nowadays my Mom is still a commited Christian, but she's become very accepting of myself and my sister. She's what I consider a "good Christian". Set in her beliefs, but not trying to control anyone but herself.
Surprisingly, my dad has also turned "spiritual". Calls himself gnostic, though I'm not sure HE even knows what that means. This may have something to do with his getting cleaned up from addiction. He still doesn't attend church.
So, I guess I'm here to meet people, exchange ideas... Hoping I can contribute something worthwhile. Thanks for bearing with me!
. Very interesting background 
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