Hello Y'all...from North Carolina

NCProdigal · Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 8:45 am Post subject: Hello Y'all...from North Carolina

It is good to find another place where people who love books congregate. It seems like my home away from home has developed into being Barnes & Noble. :rollin

I live in a small town in central North Carolina, in a county named for Robert E. Lee. An avid reader of history, particularly American, however I am currently delving into Irish history especially on the time span from the Easter Rising to present day. Have an associate in Broadcast Journalism which propelled me into being a radio announcer from a couple of years, AM daytimer, but alas, it wasn't enough deniro there to keep me in the style I wished to accustom myself to.

Am a proud American Army Veteran and member of the American Legion in my local post. I've been raising a family of two fine sons, 18 and 20 now, learning to be a better husband daily, tho...some days I think I may be relearning some lesson plans.

I enjoy canoeing and hiking , and yes, reading. Have been a factory worker for 20 years now which is a little unnerving these days with all the NAFTA fallout since I am employed in the textile industry. Hope to add something worthwhile to the interesting conversations already posted here. Have a good day!

Kostya · Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 12:49 am Post subject: Hello

Welcome to BookTalk. From your introduction it looks like you will bring yet another unique point of view to this community. I am looking forward to reading your posts and meeting you in our chat sessions.

Edited by: Kostya at: 2/25/04 12:50 am

Chris OConnor · Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 1:02 pm Post subject: Re: Hello

NCProdigal

Welcome to the community!

Chris

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them" -- Mark Twain

ZachSylvanus · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2004 2:01 pm Post subject: Re: Hello

Glad to have you, NCProdigal!

NCProdigal · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:56 pm Post subject: Hello Y'all...from North Carolina

Well...I must say I will be fading into the sunset, but first I did want to post my reasons since several of y'all were so good enough to welcome me in. The word Books is basically all I saw when I joined and needless to say it took actually going through the book suggestions achieves before my limited intellect caught on to the premise of the club...freethinkers! LOL...with a finite amount of time for me to read, I would rather not use it in reading books that seem to have no other purpose than to attack those who believe in Faith. I do appreciate the amount of time and effort that has been put into the site, it shows and it is a site to be proud of. I just do not see how I can be a part of it in good conscience. I wish each of you the very best and hope this will in no way taint any feelings toward me. I just am trying to be honest and not slink away without giving a reason for my not posting here.
Again, thank you and I wish you all well.

Chris OConnor

NCProdigal

Attack peoples beliefs? We're currently studying the mechanisms for belief, but we aren't a community dedicated to attacking beliefs. Many members are theists. And part of our actual logo is, "the freethinker's book discussion community." We're not hiding anything.

So you looked over the books we read? How closely?

Book 1: Future Shock - about the effects of rapid industrial and technological changes upon the individual, the family, and society. Technology & industry book.

Book 2: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - about how the American Indians lost their land and lives to a dynamically expanding white society. A history text.

Book 3: The Demon-Haunted World - refutes irrational beliefs, but also says that science doesn't destroy spirituality. Skepticism book.

Book 4: Guns, Germs, And Steel - a scientific expedition into why one group of people has done so well, while another stagnated. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this gem in 1998. A sociology/science text.

Book 5: The Lucifer Principle - puts forth the thesis that "evil" is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation and that it is woven into our most basic biological fabric. A science text.

Book 6: Global Brain - asserts that our networked culture is not only inevitable but essential for our species' survival and eventual migration into space. A science text.

Book 7: Atheism: A Reader - an anthology that presents for the first time a comprehensive selection of writings on atheism, agnosticism, and skepticism by some of the world's most celebrated thinkers, past and present. Our only book in 2 years about atheism.

Perhaps this book is too confrontational for you. But can you really claim to be open-minded about religion without understanding the perspective of nonbelievers?

Book 8: Unweaving the Rainbow - a deeply humanistic examination of science, mysticism, and human nature. A science & humanistic text.

Book 9: The Blank Slate - explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature... A science text.

Book 10: The Red Queen - about why humans reproduce through sexual means. Argues that men are polygamous for the obvious reason that whichever gender has to spend the most time and energy creating and rearing offspring tends to avoid extra mating. A science text.

Book 11: Lie and The Lying Liars Who Tell Them - a book specializing in bashing Republicans to pieces. A political satire book.

Book 12: Looking for Spinoza - a study of human emotions and feelings. A book about how the human brain works to create our subjective experiences we call emotions and feelings.A science text.

Book 13: How We Believe - A book about why so many believe in the existence of something so inexplicable as deities. A conglomerate of science, history, comparative religion, and basic human psychology. Definitely NOT a book bashing peoples beliefs.

I hope you reconsider participating after thinking a bit more about what we are all about. While we are predominantly atheists and agnostics, many of our members represent the theistic worldview, and they are respected and appreciated as much as nonbelievers. We're about thinking, learning and growing. As long as you're willing to consider the possibility that what you believe might not be true....you will fit in just fine here. If science isn't your bag, you'll probably find few books of interest. But we are NOT a community for bashing religion.

Chris

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them" -- Mark Twain

Edited by: Chris OConnor at: 3/7/04 4:29 pm


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