December 18th, 2011

You seemed to have the same thought process as I do now, so I'm not saying that I'll never become a religious person; however, it is very unlikely. I kind of exaggerated a little bit in my previous comment/message when I said that both of my parents were overly-religious, and for that I apologize. My mom, is actually very humorous about some of the stuff we talk about with regards to religion, making me wonder why she is not agnostic. Honestly, she claims to be Christian, but if you'd hear some of the stuff she says to me, you would probably think that she is just a skeptical person (such as me) who simply labels themselves as "Christian" in order to fit in with society (unlike me). My dad on the other hand, is where the overly-religious part comes in, which can most likely be attributed to his strict Christian parents who most likely did not allow for him to freely think whenever he was a child. Why am I telling you this? Well, going back to the whole concept of me becoming a preacher, she sometimes jokes (or maybe she's being serious, I don't really know) about me becoming a preacher whenever I'm older. Kind of funny huh, even though I know I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I am part of an indoctrination process that torments the minds of little children. Why am I telling you this? I guess it was fair for me to tell a little bit of my life story, simply because you were kind enough to share some of yours with me.

I'm not in any way a nerd who researches this stuff for hours on end, and to be honest I'm not even really that intelligent. I'm just an average student in school, who if you saw at the gym, movies, or any other public place, would never expect that I go home and have this anti-religion side to me that compels me to
go online and challenge people to open their mind. I'm quite nice person who gets along with most people in my school, and I pride myself on that. I'm not someone who smokes pot and drinks alcohol all week like many people my age, only to go pray away my wrongdoings in church either. People who do that are the kind of Christians I cannot stand, and I think you'd agree that they are a discredit to your religion.

Thank you for your consideration, as you mentioned at the end of your response that you prayed for me, although it has been proven that prayer doesn't actually heal or change people in any way. As for you not expecting me to reply, of course I will! It's not everyday that you get to talk to a Christian who can actually come up with intelligent things to say. I mean, if we were to go more in depth with this, then I'm sure it might be a more faith vs. logic sort of thing, but as far as a simple discussion like this, everything you said works perfectly. If you are familiar with "crawfish," as they are mentioned in my name, you could most likely use process of elimination to determine which section of states I live in, all of which, are extremely southern and extremely religious states that are filled with morons who don't have anything to say when it comes to religion. They believe it simply because that's what they are told to believe, and for no other reason other than that. Things of that nature are what piss me off; people who actually have intelligent things to say about religion such as you do not, although I still believe that there would be many more atheists/agnostics in this world if people put a fraction of the time that you seem to have put in when it comes to researching religion.

After watching countless clips from "The Atheist Experience" call in show, I know that it is not everyday that a Christian and atheist/agnostic/skeptic get to engage in a discussion that challenges the minds of both sides. For that, I thank you. Now both of us are more knowledgeable about where the other person is coming from. I doubt I'll ever be able to fully see your perspective (or anyone's perspective for that matter) when becoming a Christian, but it is nice to know that there are people who can actually think for themselves when they decide to proclaim themselves as "Christian," and are actually able to back up things that they say.

Thank you for the wonderful discussion. I most likely won't spend an hour each day replying to you as I have done today, but I will continue to reply if you keep sending messages.

1700 words in only an hour of writing. Man, if only school essays were this enjoyable and relaxing. =D