I've belonged to this group for a little bit but have never posted anything. I grew up atheist and to me religion was simply a non-issue. I always figured people could believe whatever they wanted, so long as they didn't hurt anyone. It always struck me as absurd that anyone could even entertain the prospect of a god and I had always chalked it up to not knowing any better. I mean, if you've grown up with god in your life, of course you're going to think such a delusion exists. Far be it from me to rain upon anyone's parade. Unfortunately, religion isn't a non-issue any longer. While I have always read various religious views, it was more from a cultural standpoint than anything else. I'm not politically educated, though I have been doing my best to become so in the past few years. I suppose my reasoning for even doing this is because I'm becoming seriously concerned about what is happening to this country. I'm really not that great at explaining how I feel or what I think, so if this comes out really choppy, I apologize. I think I've blathered on enough. so, hello everyone.