Hi, it's me Chirpy.  I haven't been around for over a year though I joined Walkaway six years' ago.  There wasn't much action going on when I left and I thought the forum had gone defunct but this morning I was curious to see how things were going and so logged on.

Reckon I still need this place now and then to pop in once in a while as questions still pop up.  For my main bit of support I used the Idle Foundation Forum which is UK based and full of renegades and people who question the mainstream including religion.

It's now becoming apparent in the UK as well how damaging religion can be particularly the fundamentalist variety because more people are finding out through the internet and because of the debate around evolution and creationism in schools.  People  used to think that religion can do no harm (apart from those in the Secular Society) and would advocate Christianity (fundy variety no doubt) to anyone who had problems or who was anti-social while not going to church themselves.  I say to them "well if it's so good, why don't the fuck you go yourself".  They're too busy, they want to have a lie in on Sunday mornings or go to the mall or Tescos.  They have a family.  That's their excuses.  The real reason is that they don't want to submit themselves to the hang ups and restrictions they want to impose on other people.  The hypocrites!  To fully recover from fundy christianity is to question mainstream society as well particularly as the country is now run by a Calvinist who believes in hard work for all and wants to spy on the populace.  I had friends who purport to be atheists but their judgemental attitudes (a remnant of their religious upbringings) depressed me just as going to church does.

The problem with evangelical christianity is that your reading matter is restricted. I suffered from problems stemming from religion and sought the solutions within religion when I needed to look outside in places such as the Secular Society (who want to keep religion out of public life) or books written by pagans to gain a broader view of what I was going through.  I would go from church to church because once I was settled the screws were tightened by the elders.  I think back now that I was leaving before they got a chance to throw me out for being stubborn.  The words the elders, pastors and bible study leaders plus the busy bodyies are "you aren't growing in the Lord" when in their eyes you aren't becoming more and more fanatical and willing to die for their beliefs.  Noice they aren't willing to die for their beliefs.  Those who aren't leaders are the front line soldiers in the trenches.

Peter Owen Jones, a Church of England minister, has been making TV documentaries about the rise of Christianity in Britain from the time it was seen as a trendy cult in London and a series of programmes called 'Around the world in 80 faiths' who is quite liberal.  I find his objective views on religion quite refreshing along with his willingness to experiment with different faiths.  I love his work.