Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm dont_call_it_that. Hello!

I'm a 30-something woman who grew up in the coC in the deep south. There was never really any middle ground for me; I was a devout member up until the day I wasn't. That was about ten years ago. I've been an atheist ever since. I'm also a scientist, a mom, and a wife, among other things. I hate to sound dramatic, but the political and cultural climate of late has really brought back a lot of issues for me, especially in my relationship with my conservative, religious family. I have a great support network IRL, but this particular brand of spiritual upbringing is just something that not many people understand. So, please believe me that it's a term of endearment when I say Hello, fellow weirdos!

I suspect I'll mostly lurk here. Then again I have a big mouth, so who knows. Issues I'm passionate about include science, women's rights, mental health, and emotional abuse in all its forms. Also I just like a good laugh.

Nice to meet you all.

Welcome.

Welcome to the ex-board! And I'm REALLY glad you have support IRL.

So glad you have joined us.

Hello from a fellow former c of c member but now a non-believer like you. Most of the folks here are still believers aka fundamentalists, so I don't label myself as an atheists because that word tends to upset current believers.

I am also active over @ ex-Christian.net. I go by the name Geezer over there. That is obviously a much more friendly site for non-believers. There are several ex c of c that are active there too.

Teresa has designated a special place for those of us who have fallen away to express our thoughts & opinions. Old Paths Reconsidered & the Coffee House is where she would prefer we posts our thoughts. The rest of the board is pretty much designated as agreement only sections. We can post there but only if we agree with the thoughts being expressed.

Over @ ex-Christian.net you can post whatever you want so free speech is alive and well there, but the two sites clearly have different purposes & agenda's.

Anyway, welcome aboard.

Cootie - please, a cautionary note:

'believer' does NOT equate to 'fundamentalist'.

A 'fundamentalist' is a certain VARIETY of 'believer', not a synonymous term.

There are quite a large number of ex-coc people who have joined this discussion group, and many - BUT NOT ALL - of them post. Some of them - a substantial number, in fact, only read. Those who do post span a spectrum from Christian believers, to non-Christian believers, to non-believers.

There are two divisions of this forum for ex-coc folks. One division is for mutual support ONLY. The other division allows for a degree of challenge and debate. We always ask people to avoid dismissive language or personal attacks toward individuals. On the challenge and debate side, people may attack IDEAS but not people holding those ideas.

If you see a post which seems out of line, please report it (thread and location and poster) to one or all of the moderators (use the PM function):

Moderators: teresa, gman, agricola.

We ask people who post internet links to 'disable' them to avoid creating easy ways into the forum for non-members - you can do this by changing part of the 'http' in an URL to - for instance - h**p.

There's a block on people posting links who have just joined - you have to have made ten or more posts first (I believe - this isn't my area!).

Threads in this forum - the welcome forum - are locked after a certain number of days, so that they don't turn into major discussion threads. This forum is really just for introductions and hellos.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome aboard!

Hello and welcome. Fellow non-believing-but-once-very-devout member here.