You wouldn't happen to be a Redditor would you? I was complaining on Reddit about coming out and received a much shorter, but identical response to the one you gave segwaymuch. I don't mean to speak for everyone, but you really help people like us out. It sucks having to pretend to be something that you're not so that your family will accept you. (Yes, this means I'm 19, and completely dependent on extremely Christian parents.) Thank you for your blog.

I’m not a redditor. But it’s great to know that someone on that site shares my view so clearly. 

I know it can be hard. But it gets better. Trust me on that one. Like you said, I can’t speak for anybody else. But for me the years of silence are something valuable. I learned a lot about religion, and about why I didn’t submit to it. I learned to value life, and to identify unreasonable and dogmatic thinking.

I was an underground skeptic while in the army, which in my country is very religious. I was about your age. I used to go to church, and then during the night I would read the verses that the priest ‘interpreted’ during mass, only I did it within the context of the bible. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I took advantage of the situation. I used my hiding atheist phase to learn, to study and to think. Try to see the bright side.

Oh and did I mention that it gets better? Seriously, don’t forget that.

Be reasonable

Fight the faith

29 December 5 israphel-deactivated20110403

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