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Pastor Bo Wagner #fundie timesfreepress.com

Religion is a very powerful thing, so much so that, when people have been involved in it even for a while, it is very difficult to leave. It is even more difficult when an individual has been in it for most of his or her life and has given a full heart of devotion to it.

So the news world experienced some shock waves yesterday when one of the most religious men in the world renounced his faith: Farhis O'Hare, world-renowned atheist, has left the faith.

"My religion was precious to me," he said, "as much or more so than any Christian or Muslim or Jew. Faith in the absence of God always brought great comfort to my heart. Faith in the theory of evolution did too."

O'Hare tried very hard to hold onto his religion.

"I wanted to keep believing, I really did. But faith just became so hard for me. Every time I turned around the 'science' was changing. First the universe was 20 million years old, then a billion, then 4 billion, then 16 billion, and now 20 billion. It finally dawned on me that people just threw figures around without any evidence. That hurt me; I really did have lots of faith in my favorite scientists, my 'gods,' I guess you would call them."

In spite of all that, O'Hare did not go down easily.

"I worshiped very hard. I suppose I was really just trying to convince myself," he said. "I always attended lectures on atheism, even when I would rather have been on the lake fishing. I gave my offerings (donations to liberal causes) regularly. I even prayed."

When queried about whom he would have to pray to, O'Hare got a bit sheepish.

"To me," he whispered, explaining that, since he had believed there was no God,that made him (and any other human) the final authority, and thus, a god himself.

"I have to admit, it is a bit awkward at first, but after a while you just learn to refer to yourself in the second person as you pray. After a while, you can really get into it."

In addition to the billions of years simply spoken into existence as the need arose, O'Hare also stumbled in his faith because of the inconsistency of life among other believers.

"They claimed not to believe in God, but when their children's mother died, they told the kid she was 'in a better place.' They claim to believe the survival of the fittest, but then get angry when their kid gets bullied by a bigger kid. They say there is no absolute truth, but they blow up when someone lies to them. Do you want to know why I stopped believing? I left the faith because of the absolute hypocrisy of so-called believers."

O'Hare knows that he will likely receive little sympathy.

"Believers are really mean to those who leave the faith, I know that. The 'tolerant' are really very intolerant to any dissent. I fully expect to be blackballed and to have the leaders of my former religion command that other believers no longer talk to me. Shunning is such an ugly thing, but it is just part and parcel of the religion I spent my life in."

Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, N.C., and the author of several books which are available at wordofhismouth.com. Contact him at [Email address censored]

Ridgedale Church of Christ #fundie timesfreepress.com

Collegedale's decision to grant benefits to same-sex couples was a victory for Kat Cooper, a gay detective who championed the months-long effort that made the Chattanooga suburb the first city in Tennessee to offer benefits to same-sex spouses of its government employees.

Cooper's mother, Linda, stood by her side throughout the process. She held tight to her daughter's hand at a July meeting over the issue. And the two embraced after the City Council's 4-1 vote on Aug. 5.

But those small acts of support translated into collateral damage that left Linda Cooper and other relatives separated from their church family of more than 60 years. And one local advocate for gay families says the church's stance was the most extreme he's heard of in years.

Leaders at Ridgedale Church of Christ met in private with Kat Cooper's mother, aunt and uncle on Sunday after the regular worship service. They were given an ultimatum: They could repent for their sins and ask forgiveness in front of the congregation. Or leave the church.

Their sins?

"My mother was up here and she sat beside me. That's it," said Kat Cooper. "Literally, they're exiling members for unconditionally loving their children -- and even extended family members."

But the family's support of Kat Cooper was as good as an endorsement of homosexuality, said Ken Willis, minister at Ridgedale Church of Christ.

"The sin would be endorsing that lifestyle," Willis said. "The Bible speaks very plainly about that."

Willis, a father himself, said the church didn't expect the Cooper family to disown their daughter.

"But you certainly can't condone that lifestyle, whether it's any kind of sin -- whether they're shacked up with someone or living in a state of fornication or they're guilty of crimes," he said. "You don't condone it. You still love them as a parent."

Hunt Cooper, Kat's father, said his wife is still too distraught over the church's actions to comment.

"She is just so traumatized and so upset," he said. "It has been days and she's still crying. It's almost like losing a family member."

Linda Cooper's parents were practically founding members of the Dodds Avenue congregation, Hunt Cooper said. Her father was a church elder and his picture still hangs on the wall there. Kat Cooper grew up helping her grandfather clean the pews and helped her grandmother hang bulletin boards for Sunday school.

"This is not just some casual church they dropped in on," he said.

Hunt Cooper said his family rejects the notion that being gay is a lifestyle choice. And his wife, along with her brother and sister, believed repentance would be hypocritical. So the decision to leave, devastating as it was, was a simple one.

"There's no sin to repent for," he said. "And she's not going to turn her back on her daughter."

AndrewLohr #fundie timesfreepress.com

No one has to go to football games. And imposing a religion of silence is neutral? No, it's a point of view. Taxing Christians for Godless schools is neutral? No. If there were no God, what would be wrong with Christians taxing, or even eating, atheists?