Hello!

[LaMont Cranston]

Hello to one and all. I have come here looking for a place where there are people who are interested in many of the same subjects that interest me, including such things as science, religion, philosophy, spirituality, the nature of consciousness, love and so on. On RDF, I was known as "Dr. Robert Klass," and I do have legitimate academic credentials. I have chosen the identity of LaMont Cranston, "The Shadow," on this site because some people seem to have a bit of a problem with the letters "Dr." in front of my name. "The Shadow" happens to be my kind of super hero.

I do not wish to represent myself, so let me make it clear that I am a theist, a writer and a seeker of information. If I am welcome here, you will find that I am hardly your namby-pamby fundie type. As a theist, I have found a great deal to like and met many wonderful people of RDF. I made it all the way to over 2000 posts on that forum before Richard Dawkins had his meltdown. I love science, I believe evolution happened and is still happening and I think that rationality, reason, clear thinking, logic, etc. are all very good things. However, as we have seen, it's one thing for somebody to claim that they are a rational person, and it's another thing entirely to actually be one.

A number of people invited me to join rationalskepticism.org, and I did, hoping that it might be more openminded and receptive to controversial ideas and concepts than RDF. Sad to say, I have found that exactly the opposite is true, and I found out this morning that I had been permanently banned, a move that I consider to be irrational, premature and unfair. From what I can tell, many of the same people who were in positions of power on RDF have assumed similar positions on RS, and many of those people seem to be coming from places of fear and weakness.

It seems to me that true rational thinking should empower an individual to better deal with ideas that are different than their own. I do not wish to be protected from ideas; I choose to examine them and make decisions for myself. I believe that strong people are fully capable of doing this. Please protect me from the people who think they have the capacity to protect me...or that I need being protected. As a theist, I realize that I am in a minority on these fora, but that doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, I like coming from a minority position.

Bottom line, I don't much care whether others do or do not believe God exists. I think that's a decision that we all have to make for ourselves. I think that organized religions have seriously screwed up by proselytizing and employing "believe it or else" tactics, and, I've got to say, I find many atheists using the same tactics. I like people for who they are, and I don't suffer fools, assholes, hypocrites or scumbags well. That happens to be true whether or not those people are atheists or theists.

I look forward to meeting you...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Welcome! You'll find that most people will think for themselves, so you don't have to worry about them trying to shove areligion down your throat.

[Durro]

[Elessarina]

Hello!

[Feck]

Welcome enjoy this forum most of it is not an argument If you can get over the fact that most of us are godless then we should be able to excuse your theism .

BTW you did not say which god you had decided to put your faith in , and as there are lots maybe a clarification? If it's Bacchus or Dionysus then you will fit right in

OH and probably best if you don't accuse a big bunch of strangers of fear and weakness before you have met us it does come across as a little patronising ..doesn't it ? OR do you really think that god is on your side ?

[charlou]

Indeed.

Come on in to the pub for a beer, Robert. The barmaids are very friendly.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Indeed.

Come on in to the pub for a beer, Robert. The barmaids are very friendly.

Best barmaids, bar none!

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Welcome to Ratz, Shadow.

You'll find we are a pretty friendly and non-judgmental group on the whole. So feel free to look around and make yourself at home.

Be aware that most of the members and staff at RS are also members here, just in case you were thinking of making any personal comments (which I am sure you weren't.)

[LaMont Cranston]

Feck, I most definitely do not want to sound patronising, and I don't want to suggest that anybody here is fearful or weak. In fact, my initial reaction is that there is much more of a party atmosphere here than on some of the other fora I must admit that I was a little shell-shocked that I got "the hook" so fast on RS. I do not hold any ill will toward any of those people...I have found that forgiveness is a very powerful thing (but, no, I don't want to preach about it)...but it does seem to me that some of the decision makers were a bit on the uptight side, if you know what I mean.

It's been a pretty long day, and I don't feel like talking about God, faith and all the rest of that stuff at the moment. Hopefully, there will be plenty of opportunities for that in the days ahead.

PS: I'm a big-time dog lover, and I love your picture. If we lived in the same neighborhood, I'd be happy to take you for a walk on the beach or slip you a couple of dog biscuits. Take care...

[LaMont Cranston]

Xamonas, I have absolutely no problems with members or former members of RDF or RS as a group; I have been known to have problems with certain individuals. I do not believe that I have a history in my life, either the real thing or online, with authority figures, and, if any of the staff of RS read this, I would like them to know that I think that they perpetrated as injustice. I have no intention of getting personal about it. As I said, I don't suffer fools, assholes, etc. very well, and I prefer to use humor as a tool instead of things like anger and vengeance. It's nice to meet you!

[FBM]

Welcome! Hope you don't mind the smell. Some of these people practically live on beer and cheese.

Btw, would you mind telling me what kind of evil lurks in the hearts of men? I've been trying to figure that out since I was a kid.

[Bella Fortuna]

Welcome! Hope you don't mind the smell. Some of these people practically live on beer and cheese.

Btw, would you mind telling me what kind of evil lurks in the hearts of men? I've been trying to figure that out since I was a kid.

Just remember that the weed of crime bears bitter fruit...

[LaMont Cranston]

FBM, The evil that lurks in the hearts of men (and women) is whatever evil lurks there. We all have however much evil we carry around with us. If I should beat my wife or kick dogs (I don't do either of those things), those would be evil acts by the yardstick I use to judge myself. What The Shadow neglected to tell people is that there is also a great deal of good that lurks in the hearts of human beings. Believe me...or don't...The Shadow knows...

[LaMont Cranston]

Bella Fortuna, I'm impressed that you remember that part of what The Shadow had to say. It's too bad the movie with Alec Baldwin playing LaMont Cranston was such a piece of crap. Those old radio shows were very cool. I think I'm going to like it here!

[kiki5711]

Hellow, so good to see you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!