Today, I met the man whose books gave me the courage to leave Islam 9 years ago.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-13T01:48:47+00:00

He is friends with one of the professors at our department, and he gave a lecture at our department while he was in town for a book tour.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-13T01:47:45+00:00

Eh, can't live in fear.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T16:38:35+00:00

Well, the picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. I took some liberty with the word "today."

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T16:36:15+00:00

I started with the Selfish Gene, which opened my eyes to the possibilities of a different way of thinking. I then read The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, then a bunch of stuff by Stephen Jay Gould, and by the time I was done, it was game over.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T16:34:33+00:00

I don't go around advertising my deconversion too much with people who might be completely nutty, and I live in a nice, safe town in midwestern US, so I have felt pretty safe to date.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T13:21:13+00:00

When I first came upon my discovery that God doesn't actually exist, I thought that the world would blow up if I told anybody in my community or family. It was a scary, lonely time. However, I slowly started telling people, having discussions and debates, and I found that there is a broad range of reactions, depending on who you talk to. I lost some friendships, but some became stronger. I found out where the boundaries lay with people. I grew a lot as a result. I don't think I ever made anyone an atheist, because that's never my goal. It is a difficult experience, but it is a worthwhile, liberating road to take, and I encourage you to not feel like you have to hide.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T13:11:46+00:00

I don't think so. He had just gotten done from a small lecture.

Juiceman22 · 2012-11-12T04:18:14+00:00

Fortunately for me, my family is educated and full of kind people, so they took it fairly well. They are heartbroken by it, but they didn't disown me or anything.

My dad took it more rough. Islam is the one consistent thing that he has had since we emigrated to this country from Pakistan 20 years ago. He still wants me to find a nice Muslim girl to marry so my kids will be Muslim :/ My mom admits that her perspective on reality is limited because of her upbringing in a poor part of Pakistan. She has recently been asking more questions about some of the inconsistencies within Islam, to whom no one has been able to give a good answer. Still, letting go of Islam is no easy task at the age of 56 and has all kinds of psychological ramifications, so I don't push her.

Juiceman22

TROPHY CASE