I like this idea and am interested in joining in to make it happen.

I'll start by posting my own collection of links that I have collected during my walk away.

Homosexuality

Can homosexuals remain Christian (the answer here is yes) http://http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_chri.htm

Soulforce (politically active Gay Christians working for social justice) http://http://www.soulforce.org/index.shtml

Two sites with evidence that homosexuals are not pedophiles ( a little off topic, but the religious right is actively promoting this belief and I've been hit in the face with it by my own father -- good to get the facts)

http://http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_chil.htm

http://http://www.robincmiller.com/gayles4.htm

Biblical Errancy

http://http://www.atheists.org/church/realbible.html

http://http://members.aol.com/ckbloomfld/index.html

http://http://www.cygnus-study.com/

http://http://www.thenazareneway.com/new_testament_biblical_inconsistencies.htm

http://http://www.truthbeknown.com/bible.htm

http://http://members.cox.net/galatians/tension.htm

http://http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/bible-a.htm

http://http://members.cox.net/galatians/Wheless2.htm

http://http://www.mindspring.com/~bab5/BIB/toc.htm

Christian answers to biblical contradictions

http://http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/abdiscr/abdiscr.htm

http://http://www.carm.org/bible_difficulties.htm

ugh, I'm getting tired of all this cut and paste.  this is only a small fraction of what I have.

I have an idea. 

How about we divide up the various pages we want and make subcomittees for them.

We can all agree on the style/format for the pages and a person will be responsible for compiling all the info for each page and programming it in HTML.

Then we can just FTP St. Thomas the pages and he can coordinate the links between them.  (e.g. make a nvigation bar)

So I hearby volunteer to program the links page.  I already have a lot of content for it.  I can superimpose whatever wall paper and font etc. we want whenever we decide what we like.

What other pages will we need?

HOME

       FAQ

       LINKS

       WA TESTIMONIES

       ARTICLES

       PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM OUR WA THREADS

I'll start making the links page --- please post or e-mail me any links you think should be included.

LINK TOPIC IDEAS

Biblical Errancy

Homosexuality

Myth and Christianity

Liberal Christianity

Christian Parody

Evolution/Creationism

Atheism

Secular Humanism

Skepticism/Free thought

Recovery from Fundamentalism

Books (with amazon links)

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How about a link to the board?

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of course.

Actually, when I first found this forum it was from a link on a home page called "Walk Away".  This site no longer exists, but there are still links to it out there in cyberland and a review of it here.

http://www.challenging-atheism.com/a_review_of_walk_away.htm

here is the old URL of the previous WA website

http://www.ifas.org/wa/index.html

Does anyone know who ran this site and what happened to the contents?

The original Walk Away web site was run by the folks at the Institute for First Amendment Studies (IFAS). As Chirpy noted, this site had a great number of resources -including great articles, links, and lists of "warning signs" and helps.  It is a shame that much of this is possibly lost.  Guess we will have to recreate it. 

Soon after taking over this board in 2001 I was in brief email contact with their web master.  But, it did not last long and she basically told me good luck and that I was on my own.  They never answered any of my emails after that.  In the last few months their WA site has vanishished as well as their IFAS site.   I do know that Dan Barker (famous atheist that was once a fundy music minister) was on their board of directors.  But, I have been unable to dig up any info on what happened to these folks.  If anyone knows anything, please post to this board.  But, in any case, it looks like we are on our own as far as a web presense for the time being.

Foxmaiden, you GO GIRL!  Thanks for your links and info.  That is just the thing I am looking for.  You have created a great list for starters.  I like the idea of dividing up the work into committees.  If we get more responses to this thread, maybe we will have enough volunteers to do just that.  In the meantime, we'll go with your topic list .   I hereby make an appeal for links, information, and past posts that would fall under the topics and areas as noted by Foxmaiden.   To reiterate, these general areas are:

FAQ       LINKS       WA TESTIMONIES       ARTICLES       PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM OUR WA THREADS

The specific topics are as follows:

LINK TOPIC IDEAS

Biblical Errancy
Homosexuality
Myth and Christianity
Liberal Christianity
Christian Parody
Evolution/Creationism
Atheism
Secular Humanism
Skepticism/Free thought
Recovery from Fundamentalism
Books (with amazon links)

If anyone has addition topics or areas or comments, please respond.

It seems to me that many of these topics dealing with things like biblical inerrancy, creationism, and atheism (for example) have been very well handled by other site such as internet infidels.  Although, we can link to such information, I would like to concentrate for the moment on areas and topics that deal specifically with giving support and information to "walk aways."   Thus, I think topic areas such as  Recovery from Fundamentalism and Books (with links to reviews), are perfect areas for our new web site.

So, scour the internet and past WA posts for gems to include.   Operators are standing by.

I've started programming a link page and will share it for ideas and feedback in a week or so.

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I've started programming a link page and will share it for ideas and feedback in a week or so.

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fox, just wanted to thank you very much for picking up the reigns and running with this. i think that it's awesome that you are getting something done.

Reply to : St. Thomas

i was just having a look over the general categories for links and would suggest at least one refinement. the "secular humanism" section might be a little narrow in it's appeal (?). maybe "secular ethics and morality" (how should we live?).

i also see a usefulness for having a section (links) devoted to encouraging the skills of critical reasoning.....logic, reasoning and argument. a few helpful links to a succinct article on how to construct an argument, how to validate a position, internet research skills (might sound silly but people enter on all levels)..........you get the drift. maybe that is a little narrow in it's usefulness but we are trying to put basic tools in the hands of people that may be reconstructing their lives? food for thought.

where would you put links to famous quotes by athiests and the like? in the skeptics/freethought section? those kind of quotes are veyr uplifting and insightful in a timely way for new walk-awayers, IMO.

i will try and dig up some old threads (or juicy sections thereof) over the coming weeks, time allowing. wish i had more time. if i point them out then we can put them up for approval. like i said, i'll try to slowly chip away for the present, starting from as early as possible. in my search (and others should free to join in), i will identify anything i think will be of interest to an audience wider than myself. maybe if we sort of ticked off a thread that has been sifted for gems and add it to a list (start a thread) so we don't double up son our efforts so much?

anyway, i don't have tech skills for webpage development so i'll just jump in here and get a start on other stuff. hi ho hi ho....

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yippee computer's crashing. I started at the beginning of the SF, post 105, to about 95 treenee's "are you more compassion" found a few things to make me giggle. will post later.

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you mean "page" 105-95 of the threads in the support forum? cool. i will be hurtling through that early part of the forum myself because i should rememeber some of the threads from back then so the process will be a little quicker for me. it's probably not a bad thing if you and i double up on some of those very early threads because we will have different ideas about what is worth keeping. you're right, there is some great gigglke material in there. i got a little embarassed reading over some early threads. my thinking has certainly eveoilved a little since being here.....thank the lard!!!

anyway, keep chipping away. i think i will note the threads that catch my attention, with a suggestion for editing out the extraneous bits. i don't like the idea of chopping out sections of a thread that will effect the continuity of the read but i do see value in culling out the less relevant or helpful posts in order to allow the reader to keep interested and to glean the info on offer in an eficient manner?

St. Thomas, have you given serious though to rhianna's idea of a forum for younger walk-awayers? she made the very good point that younger members may  get intimidated about posting alongside people with decades of experience. also stands to reason that some of the younger visitors to the forum want to speak to people their own age about certain topics.

 a start to posting some links:

SDA info...........

ellenwhite.org

"myth and christianity" (philosophy?) .....................

christianity meme website   Meme (pron. meem): A contagious information pattern that replicates by parasitically infecting human minds and altering their behavior, causing them to propagate the pattern. (Term coined by Dawkins, by analogy with "gene".)

 As Richard Dawkins writes , "God indeed exists, if only as a pattern in brain structures replicated across the minds of billions of people throughout the world."

philosophy/ethics.............

utilitarianism ultimate resources page for consequentialist thinking

post-fundy spirituality.............

pantheism     Any doctrine, philosophy, or religious practice that holds universe [cosmos], taken or conceived of as the totality of forces and/or matter, is synonymous with the theological principle of God.

christian-derived pantheism

deep ecology (website)

deep ecology links/resources

how do you get your links to be shown in different colours to normal text? fox, there ARE links in my thread....promise.

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how do you get your links to be shown in different colours to normal text? fox, there ARE links in my thread....promise.

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I think you have to change the color manually with the toolbar.  It stopped doing it automatically after St. Thomas changed the color scheme.

Thanks for the links and the suggestions on topic categories.  Very helpful.

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Reply to : nologoboyhow do you get your links to be shown in different colours to normal text? fox, there ARE links in my thread....promise.You can't see the links because you have already visted them. They show up in red for anyone who has not been there. When unvisited or visited, you can hold your mouse pointer over the link it will change color and become underlined.

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oooohhhh!!.......i'll try it with this link to secular spirituality

thanks brak, i hope........

fox, i am finding some good references (books, web resources etc) amongst the threads i am sifting through. i thought it would be worthwhile cut & pasting in this thread until they can be sorted (or agreed upon as suitable for inclusion). so far, they are mainly familiar so i won't bother but the more obscure (but interesting) ones i will post here.

sorry if i don't provide the links and such all the time. it will get too time-consuming if i get too meticulous with all thta. if you do have a better suggestion for where to dump them then just point me in the right direction OK? here' a start

Biblical Errancy by Dennis McKinsey

The Christ Conspiracy by Acharya S.

Jesus: Pagan Christ or Jewish Messiah? by Dalton
The Jesus Puzzle by Earl Doherty
The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You to Read - Tim C. Leedom
The Born Again Skeptic? Guide to the Bible by Ruth Hurmence Green

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.you mean "page" 105-95 of the threads in the support forum? cool.

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It seems to me that many of these topics dealing with things like biblical inerrancy, creationism, and atheism (for example) have been very well handled by other site such as internet infidels. Although, we can link to such information, I would like to concentrate for the moment on areas and topics that deal specifically with giving support and information to "walk aways." Thus, I think topic areas such asRecovery from FundamentalismandBooks (withlinks to reviews), are perfect areas for our new web site.

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Absolutely agree with St Thomas here.

It strikes me that THE most critical thing we could provide is some way of NORMALIZING the process of walking away for those in that process. The "stages" of walking away that ExMis posted recently are just the type of thing.

FAQ is not what we ought to be doing. Something more like "what you might expect" with links to or excerpts from the archives would fit.

Most of the links given - excellent as they are - focus on SUBTITUTE belief systems for fundamenatalism. Finding such substitues are a natural part of the WA process, but perhaps more in the later stages.

We should be focusing more on our collective experience of the immediate impact of walking away and the thought processes and experiences leading up to that. And yes, we should include reassurance that there is life after fundamentalism.

Instead of FAQ, we should have things like the following:

Doubt

Hell

fundy practice versus ideals

what to expect.

other key themes that will become apparent as we pool our experiences.

It is not up to us to ARGUE agains Fundamentalism. The user of the site will do that for themselves. The biggest SUPPORT we could offer is the reassurance that they are walking a well trodden path and are not on their own.

Hope this helps

bhoff

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Reply to : St. ThomasIt seems to me that many of these topics dealing with things like biblical inerrancy, creationism, and atheism (for example) have been very well handled by other site such as internet infidels. Although, we can link to such information, I would like to concentrate for the moment on areas and topics that deal specifically with giving support and information to "walk aways." Thus, I think topic areas such asRecovery from FundamentalismandBooks (withlinks to reviews), are perfect areas for our new web site.Absolutely agree with St Thomas here.It strikes me that THE most critical thing we could provide is some way of NORMALIZING the process of walking away for those in that process. The "stages" of walking away that ExMis posted recently are ju

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Great  points from St. Thomas and bhoff.

I just want to clarify that the portion I have taken on is simply the links page to outside sites and other resources (e.g. books).  I am trying to balance this in the direction of recovery as much as possible.

The ideas you mentioned bhoff -- about what to expect and how to cope with the transition -- are excellent.  There's not a lot of content about this out on the web and we could really enrich cyberspace by creating some.  These things should go on another page or pages other than the link page I am working on.

Would you like to run with your idea, bhoff, and start compiling a framework and content for a "What to Expect" page?

Just a note for those of you wondering where the heck I am and have been in the last few days after I opened this topic up for discussion.  I have to take some left over vacation days or loose them by the end of the month.  Yea, I know, what a horrible thing to hav to do (good greif, someone has to do it).  I'll be back on full time the first of September.  Till then, I'll be briefly in and out of here.  Just wanted you to know.    Please keep the ideas coming!!!

PS: I plan to have a draft web page up by the middle of September.

Thanks.

I am crossposting this message to all threads in this topic area. 

I have several essays I've written about walking away and problems with fundamentalist Christianity.  Should I post those here?

In the meantime, some links:

I haven't seen www.losingmyreligion.com listed yet.  That website was very helpful to me after I walked away because it addresses such concepts as hell, heaven, and atonement briefly and with a good helping of humor thrown in.  The webmasters were both fundamentalist Christians at one time, and they make it clear that their site deals specifically with the doctrines of fundamentalist Christianity.

Leaving Christianity - with testimonials: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~slocks/decon.html#links

God Hates Figs (parody): http://www.godhatesfigs.com/index2.html

Recovering from Religion forum: http://pub76.ezboard.com/finlakeshfrm6

The Philosophers' Magazine online: http://www.philosophers.co.uk/religion.php  an excellent place to learn the ins and outs of critical thinking and philosophy.  This particular link is to the "religion portal," featuring articles, interviews, and activities involving the philosophy of religion.  They have some wonderful games and quizzes on this site.

http://www.newrational.com/joy/  This describes one man's experience leaving Christianity (not just fundamentalism itself).  He describes how it felt just like a divorce, and his own new awakening once he shed his old beliefs. 

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I have several essays I've written about walking away and problems with fundamentalist Christianity. Should I post those here?In the meantime, some links:I haven't seenwww.losingmyreligion.comlisted yet. That website was very helpful to me after I walked away because itaddresses such concepts as hell, heaven, and atonement briefly and with a good helping of humor thrown in. The webmasters were both fundamentalist Christians at one time, and they make it clear that their site deals specifically with the doctrines of fundamentalist Christianity.Leaving Christianity - with testimonials:http://www.user

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Thanks for the links -- they will be added.

And yes, please do post your essays.  This is exactly the kind of thing we want on the site, I think.  What was walking away like for you, and how did you cope?

Hi all,

Visit the link below to see the WA link page first draft.  If you scroll all the way to the bottom you will see a to do list (yes, I'm still not done).

Any input would be great in the form of:

-checking links to make sure they work

-commenting on content appropropriateness

-suggesting links we don't yet have

-Feel free to copy the code and modify it if you are so inclined.

http://www.laurenlewis.com/WA%20links.html

ps. this isn't the sites permanent home -- just a spot to park it so you can all look at it.

Foxmaiden, I'm link checking for you, and so far the only one that isn't working is (ironically) the link to WA in the "online support or discussion forums" section, which instead takes you to "Recovering from religion forum".

In "books about the process..." Losing Faith in Faith, doesn't have an authour.

Uner "moving on" it says "recover your conscience" at the top but "recover you ethics and morality" at the bottom.  (Nit-picking)

BTW, I'm editing as I find more things.