[my stuff about dealing with defferences deleted]


i am sorry; i did not mean to.  i think i understand how your
experiences were much worse than the small bit of ridicule i have had
to put up with.  i guess i didn't really understand before; now i do.


wow, pretty conservative church.  (please excuse me if this seems like
a ridiculous understatement to you.)


(on a side note, that "under God" wasn't in there until recently -- i
believe my father, who is in his sixties, remembers saying the pledge
of allegiance without that in there.  i don't know the history behind
that though.)

emotional blackmail -- ouch.  thank goodness (i'll be neutral in my
thanks here :) ) i was raised in a completely tolerant household, so
that i could make my own decisions!


so atheism doesn't have to be taught, but christianity does.  i guess
i can see that, although i can see a child believing in some sort of
god without anything other than his/ her own imagination as a basis.
(sorry, i guess this is sort of minor)

[my query about parallel between lack of choice for homosexuals and
lack of choice for him as an atheist deleted]

hmm, i wonder why i am a christian then?  this isn't a flame, this is
a real wonder.  does anyone else have opinions to offer on why you
believe in something that hasn't necessarily been "proven" to you?


sounds like you are an atheist by nature, then.  or is it possible
that at least part of it is due to the apparently repressive nature of
the christianity of your childhood?  if this is getting too personal
perhaps you should ignore it, or we can take it to email.


this may have been a general remark; you do not sound broken to me,
but indeed stronger.


yes, i agree with that.  i've seen some of the damage repressive
religion can do, and as a result i intend to raise my own children as
much as i can to look around before accepting one religious stand
(atheism is included in this) and to _question everything_ -- this is
very important.


i can see that.
