Hi! I'm Tiddlywinks! I live in the Bible Belt!

[tiddlywinks]

Can't tell you how glad I am to be here. I also participate when I can in the atheist meetups in nashville and knoxville.
Happy Day!!
:)

[lizerdbits]

1. Welcome to the dark side

we have delicious cookies here. :hi:

It must be hard to live there. I spent 2 semesters at Mississippi State which is actually where I moved more toward atheism due to the fundy stupidity. It happened pretty quickly so the remainder of that time SUCKED.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. "we have delicious cookies here"

Don't forget the delicious kittens :)

[RebelOne]

2. Welcome. I live in a Bible Belt state, too.

I'm in North Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, where there is a church on about every block.

[YankeyMCC]

3. Welcome

good to hear you're finding ways to connect with others of like mind.

[immoderate]

4. Welcome!

We're glad you made it.

--IMM

[awoke_in_2003]

6. Welcome

from the megachurch capital of the world, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

[tiddlywinks]

7. Lol! We don't have mega-churches here

but on my way to a memphis atheist meetup last winter I saw on 40 the biggest church I believe I'd ever seen. It looked like Opryland Hotel in Nashville. I am interested in trying to find out where has the most churches per capita, is there a way to find such a thing? I think where I live has the most per capita. I tried looking on the internet but wasn't successful. I bet the church ppl know! I honestly don't feel like I have any freedom here. I'm a teacher and would lose my job if people found out..it's a dark secret! People would do mean things to me. They would think I am the work of the debil. On the other hand, I'm proud to say that my parents chose to bring me up this way, i.e., not imposing any set of beliefs upon me. they rock.

[tiddlywinks]

8. and thank you for sayin' Hi!

:) :)

[Rob H.]

15. That might be Bellevue Baptist Church

If you saw a ginormous church with three huge crosses visible from the interstate (Ooh! Classy! Or not.) that's the one, and it's a crazy fundagelical Southern Baptist church. They hosted Mike Huckabee during the GOP primary and have had Jerry Falwell's son come and speak, just to give an idea of the religious whackaloonery that goes on there.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. "and would lose my job if people found out"

Boy, I know that feeling. I currently work for a company named Higher Power Aviation. Came here a year ago, but only because I knew a Dutch firm was going to buy us out. Knew I had to lay low for 1 year until a no competition clause expired, and it finally has. We will now be owned by a European group (same group of people that owned the facility the last time I worked there), and the only thing they care about is results (which I can deliver)

[Synnical]

9. Well-Come

Look around, have some fun. I've read that sarcasm is the norm.

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

:P

[Az]

10. Hey there Tiddlywinks!

Glad to have ya here in this little godless haven here at DU. Jump into the R&T pool if you like swimming in the deep end. Just try not to think about Boojata's polls too much.

[beam me up scottie]

11. Hello, I'm bmus and I live just up the road from Nashville.

I feel like I'm at a twelve step meeting or something... :)

Kudos to you, it's rather risky to come out of the atheist closet in this neck of the woods.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

12. Welcome

I always imagined the 'buckle' of the bb as somewhere around Memphis
Guess that makes me in the 'armpit'

[awoke_in_2003]

18. I have been to memphis

and currently live in Fort Worth. The buckle has moved south west. Can't throw a rock down here without hitting a mega church.

[cindydivine]

13. Hey Tiddlywinks!!!

I'm from right here in Ozville - ooops - I mean Kansas...

So many GIANT churches 'round here... I get so happy when I meet like minds.

Funny thing about Atheists, we don't necessarily feel the need to congregate, hence the lack of non-churches :) hehehee

[awoke_in_2003]

19. "we don't necessarily feel the need to congregate"

Maybe not congregate en masse, but it is nice to be able to sit down with somebody, every once in a while, that isn't insane. I know that may be a harsh word, but what else do you call someone that will believe what they are told with no proof to back it up?

[Duppers]

14. if you attend the meetups in Knoxville, then

ya gotta say hi to my very good friend Larry R. there.

Do you attend the RET meetings - Rationalists of East Tennessee?
or
the Knoxville Atheists Meetup Group, which was started by Larry?

Hear y'all had a meetin' last night. ;)


:hi:

[ZombieHorde]

16. Welcome tiddlywinks.

[southpaw]

20. Another bible-belter here

I live in Alabama... North eastern area near Georgia and not too far from Tenn. I can drive to Chattanooga in about two and a half hours.

Welcome, Tiddlywinks.

[onager]

21. Late welcome from the Koran Belt

:hi:

The outrageous unsupported claims, wonky logic and special pleading are exactly the same here. Only in Arabic.

Oh, and this is the Extra-Holy Month of Ramadan, so everybody is even more grumpy and self-righteous than usual.

Welcome! We always need reinforcements.

[tiddlywinks]

22. o WOW i had no idea the responses! this is so nice!

I agree wholeheartedly about atheists organizing- I did join the Knox and Nashville meetups and I have met Larry. He recently told me about the group that meets at Pellisippi State, too. I wish I could participate more in these groups, but I work full-time and then some. I was just asking him if they ever have stuff on weekends. :(
It astounds me how many people are willing to permit themselves to be told how to think; as attested to by those nauseating mega-churches. (new word for me-haha)
There is a Freedom from Religion group that has formed recently; my father joined and told me about it. They are lawyers and file suits or fight for ppls rights. I'm gonna find out when they are having some convention in Chicago in Oct. he was telling me about.
Yes, i was being sarcastic when I introduced myself that way. I'm glad you caught on to that! Hehe! Thanks to everyone!

i forgot to say.. the nashville meetup is talking about the new BIBLE THEME PARK!!!!!