omigod..lol

I just saw there are only nine...yes 9 people who have listed atheism as one of their intrests!!! There must be thousands of members of OH !! D

Hi Debbie, Welcome to the Godless board. I lived in Berlin, Germany for seven years so I have a feel for the 'ex-patriot' kind of life. Hum, why are there only 9 of us? I think there are more, but some don't like to join, others are too afraid to put the athiest label on and others are conflicted. I have a theory for why there are so few of us on the OH board. I have nothing to base it on except my many years of living and having lived all over the world and meeting people of all shapes, races, politics, income etc. Ok here it is....... I don't think athiests as a group are as obese as believers. Why? Because athiests aren't trying to fill an inner hunger that can't be satisfied by food or gods. I really feel that religious people are searching to fill some emptyness and they turn to food or god to fill it. They are desperately trying to deny the truth, we all die. To admit to being an athiest is to admit that one is mortal and that this life is all there is. I wasn't obese until my late thirties. I was physically active and ate moderately. My daughter's illness and my resulting depression packed the pounds on me. Obesity is the result of too many calories in and not enough calories out. Once the human body has stored those calories in fat, it fights hard to keep them. It is waiting for the famine that will never come. That is why losing weight is so hard. No amount of praying or hoping or even will power (since almost all diets fail) will get that excess weight off. We need a disease, a famine, forced confinement, or surgery to get it off. I knew I was killing myself and being an athiest knowing there is no reward on the other side, I wanted my remaining years to be productive. There was only one option to rid myself of the diabetes, high blood pressure and other health problems. I needed surgery. Anyway that's my opinion. Cheers Barb

WoW! Two awesome responses! I so agree with everything you both said. Thanks so much for responding. It's nice to have somewhere on this board where I can find some reason. Sometimes all the Jesus talk get tiring and of course I don't to be mean so I just come read a couple of posts herer and I feel better! D

While I am functionally Athiest, I wouldn't clasify it as an 'interest', but I do read the board. Likewise, while I am a man, I wouldn't classify men as an 'interest', but I do read the board. I think you'll find there are thousands of nominally Christian folks on the boards that do not list Christianity as an interest. You must also consider the difference in mandates... The Christian God tells them to share and convert, so they are very vocal and visible in their beliefs. Athiests have no such mandate, therefore are less visible. It's not unlike Star Trek Fans... There are a lot out there, but Rodenberry did not command them to go out and convert everyone, so there actually tends to be very little discussion of things Trek outside of Trek circles. As for a smaller or greater proportion of God-fearing or God-less being obese... I doubt it ****il I see supporting statistics). I suspect 'support' boards draw a personality trait that is also one that draws people to religion. There are few men on the boards, but it is definately not because less of them are obese, but they react differently to obesity, and less of them look for AMOS kind of support. I would guess the same of Athiests who may be more used to dealing with certain stuff on their own. Tek

I would agree with everything you stated so well. I think that being a chirstian defines who you are. It consumes you until you have no identity of your own. Christianity becomes who you are. Athiests are individualistic. I am not defined by what I believe or do not believe. I define myslef by who I am as a person and what I have to offer this world while I am here. My beliefs do not interfere with my relationships with people or hinder who I can befriend or not. When I meet people for the first time, I never offer up my beliefs. Xtians will introduce themselves as such because they have no other identity. My Atheism is not who I am. It is a part of me for sure, but no one would ever know if I did not tell them. I have other things to offer and bring to the table. It is not necessary for me to put it out there for everyone to see. I have no agendas. I am just me. Take it or leave it. Terri

Okay, what happened to the posts that were here? This is just plain silly. Barb

Bashing anyone or any group is still a NoNo, no matter how well deserved "Buffet" It's still a wee****il I can say that on the main board Tek