(Apparently, some years ago, I created an account named "Fish Stick Jesus." I have no recollection of this, but it was the only way I could sign in without paying money to change it. [Paying money?!?!] You might think I was high when I created that, but I don't "blow grass," as the kids say.)
Hello, Steve, Keith, Dr. Seinfeld, Yark, Kyzra, Waterrock, Malkut, NobleSavage, Zarathstra, and many others the years have fogged in my brain.
For those who don't know me, I was the primary moderator of this discussion board during its early heyday in the 2000s.
I was searching for something online and came across this incarnation of the board. Yikes. I remember the glory of a simple, white screen and easy-to-follow topics. I then did what anyone in my position might do: I searched for myself. I came across a great many discussions with believers and non-believers alike, and quite a few with people I might impolitely deem "nutjobs."
For those who wondered where I might have gone, to inaccurately paraphrase Dr. Malcolm, "Life got in the way." My job took up more of my time, as did my young son (who is now eighteen and graduating, the bastard). In the early days of the SABDB, I was freer and had plenty of time despite my job, then I got a new job that sucked, so I was happy to spend time on the board. Then, in 2004, I got a good job that took up much more of my time, but to my surprise, I saw in my search tonight that I was active until 2008. That blows my mind, somewhat. Yes, I was depressed by the ezboard "Great Loss" (or was it Yuku? Yoko?) that wiped out so much of the Archives I painstakingly culled and tended, but I hung on for a few more years, it seems.
I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow of what I've been doing for the last thirteen years. I have been doing a lot of writing and self-publishing, so if you're into scifi, horror, etc., you might enjoy my books (Diary of a Second Life is a zombie book with a heavy religious element): http://ety3rd.com (I go by "ety3rd" online, primarily.) I lost my job in 2020 ... BEFORE the pandemic, so that naturally put a damper on the job search. And I'm still searching, too. However, that does allow more time for writing.
I am still an atheist. I've had no fluctuations in that department. I have lost some of what believers might have called my "angry edge." I'm not looking for a fight. If I see something messed up in the news (and there's a great deal of messed-up stuff in the news regarding faith, particularly around COVID), I get agitated about it for a moment, but I don't always feel the need to pound the keys to rebut it online. Eh. That's me in my forties, I suppose.
One funny story I'll share that many of you may appreciate. In fall of 2019, my aunt died. (No, that's not the funny part.) For my son, this would be one of the very few religious services he would witness. My wife and I did not actively raise him in the non-faith; he came by it honestly, meaning, he found it himself. He has always had an inquiring, scientific mind and he often asked questions about everything. If I didn't know the answer, we'd look up the answer together. On matters of religion, I answered with phrases like, "Some people believe ..." and did my best to not flavor my answers with my own thoughts. At around twelve years old, he asked what an atheist was, I answered, and he said, "I'm an atheist." I was proud.
So, my aunt's funeral. It started well enough with my mother speaking about being with my aunt for her last days as she battled cancer, the good memories, and so on. It was emotional stuff. Then, a bombastic preacher came up who did not know my aunt (how he got to be the "featured speaker," I don't know) and did the usual schtick about hell and "she's sitting with Jesus now," blah, blah. Basically, he wrecked the tone that my mother set, that cathartic cry that comes with well-told stories and sentiments. At any rate, my son is autistic and, as such, has a hard time gauging social situations and knowing when it's considered "polite" to hide one's true feelings. While this preacher was talking, his eyes were either wide in shock or narrowed in skepticism.
At one point, the pastor started reading Matthew 6, including the following lines: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Right after that, of course, came the Lord's Prayer. Nearly one hundred people started to recite it and my son's head swung from side to side, wondering what the devil was going on. At this point, he turned to me and said, "That's some 'Hail Hydra' sh-- right there." One of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life was to not laugh at that moment. Later in the car, he asked, "Isn't it kinda hypocritical that he said you pray in your closet in secret, but then everyone prayed in public?" Yes, I said. "And it seems weird that everyone repeated in unison that prayer right after the part about only heathens using repetitions." Yep, again. Good boy.
I've droned on too long. Visiting has stirred up good memories of debates and many years of discussions with you guys. I hope all is well.
ety3 (aka ety3rd, aka Trey)
Hello, Steve, Keith, Dr. Seinfeld, Yark, Kyzra, Waterrock, Malkut, NobleSavage, Zarathstra, and many others the years have fogged in my brain.
For those who don't know me, I was the primary moderator of this discussion board during its early heyday in the 2000s.
I was searching for something online and came across this incarnation of the board. Yikes. I remember the glory of a simple, white screen and easy-to-follow topics. I then did what anyone in my position might do: I searched for myself. I came across a great many discussions with believers and non-believers alike, and quite a few with people I might impolitely deem "nutjobs."
For those who wondered where I might have gone, to inaccurately paraphrase Dr. Malcolm, "Life got in the way." My job took up more of my time, as did my young son (who is now eighteen and graduating, the bastard). In the early days of the SABDB, I was freer and had plenty of time despite my job, then I got a new job that sucked, so I was happy to spend time on the board. Then, in 2004, I got a good job that took up much more of my time, but to my surprise, I saw in my search tonight that I was active until 2008. That blows my mind, somewhat. Yes, I was depressed by the ezboard "Great Loss" (or was it Yuku? Yoko?) that wiped out so much of the Archives I painstakingly culled and tended, but I hung on for a few more years, it seems.
I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow of what I've been doing for the last thirteen years. I have been doing a lot of writing and self-publishing, so if you're into scifi, horror, etc., you might enjoy my books (Diary of a Second Life is a zombie book with a heavy religious element): http://ety3rd.com (I go by "ety3rd" online, primarily.) I lost my job in 2020 ... BEFORE the pandemic, so that naturally put a damper on the job search. And I'm still searching, too. However, that does allow more time for writing.
I am still an atheist. I've had no fluctuations in that department. I have lost some of what believers might have called my "angry edge." I'm not looking for a fight. If I see something messed up in the news (and there's a great deal of messed-up stuff in the news regarding faith, particularly around COVID), I get agitated about it for a moment, but I don't always feel the need to pound the keys to rebut it online. Eh. That's me in my forties, I suppose.
One funny story I'll share that many of you may appreciate. In fall of 2019, my aunt died. (No, that's not the funny part.) For my son, this would be one of the very few religious services he would witness. My wife and I did not actively raise him in the non-faith; he came by it honestly, meaning, he found it himself. He has always had an inquiring, scientific mind and he often asked questions about everything. If I didn't know the answer, we'd look up the answer together. On matters of religion, I answered with phrases like, "Some people believe ..." and did my best to not flavor my answers with my own thoughts. At around twelve years old, he asked what an atheist was, I answered, and he said, "I'm an atheist." I was proud.
So, my aunt's funeral. It started well enough with my mother speaking about being with my aunt for her last days as she battled cancer, the good memories, and so on. It was emotional stuff. Then, a bombastic preacher came up who did not know my aunt (how he got to be the "featured speaker," I don't know) and did the usual schtick about hell and "she's sitting with Jesus now," blah, blah. Basically, he wrecked the tone that my mother set, that cathartic cry that comes with well-told stories and sentiments. At any rate, my son is autistic and, as such, has a hard time gauging social situations and knowing when it's considered "polite" to hide one's true feelings. While this preacher was talking, his eyes were either wide in shock or narrowed in skepticism.
At one point, the pastor started reading Matthew 6, including the following lines: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Right after that, of course, came the Lord's Prayer. Nearly one hundred people started to recite it and my son's head swung from side to side, wondering what the devil was going on. At this point, he turned to me and said, "That's some 'Hail Hydra' sh-- right there." One of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life was to not laugh at that moment. Later in the car, he asked, "Isn't it kinda hypocritical that he said you pray in your closet in secret, but then everyone prayed in public?" Yes, I said. "And it seems weird that everyone repeated in unison that prayer right after the part about only heathens using repetitions." Yep, again. Good boy.
I've droned on too long. Visiting has stirred up good memories of debates and many years of discussions with you guys. I hope all is well.
ety3 (aka ety3rd, aka Trey)
statistics: Posted by Fish Stick Jesus — May 17, 2021 — Replies 3 — Views 86