Each domino falling

I had put this off for far too long...


I had started my history degree and tried to avoid taking any Ancient History classes. Or Biology classes. (for science, I took forestry and can identify about a dozen trees.)


M.A.D - Maple, Ash and Dogwood... the only trees that branched oppositely. (Most are alternating.)


I knew that the next inquiry would teeter my faith towards belief or unbelief. I had the opportunity to legitimately look into the validity of the bible through my college library. I also wanted to step into the realm of science and get a crash course of the basics and the evidence for evolution.


Oh how dangerous! What a secret life I was living!


Each Domino fell in a line... no archeological evidence for Moses or the exodus... no evidence of the conquest of Canaan,.. No extra-biblical evidence of Israel until the period of the Kings. And not only that, but thousands of pre-5th Millennia BC sites all over the globe showing a slow development of Homo Sapiens. Magnificent cave murals with creatures that are now extinct. Tools around the globe that showed each stage of sophistication.


In science I took time to learn about evolution and transitional fossils (that I was told didn't exist.) I learned about plate tectonics and the layers of the earth that were created over eons. The formation of rocks and the movement of glaciers to carve the continents. I learned why Darwin came to the conclusions that he did and it had nothing to do with a "anti-God conspiracy." He was following evidence and being skeptical!


Just like identifying trees by branching pattern, I could plainly see the pattern across the board in terms of science.


Meanwhile, in history I was learning about sources and discussing ancient manuscripts. And it hit me again. People excuse the supernatural events of the bible, but would not in Greek legends. We recopy the Sermon on the Mount as word for word but we also realize that this is a literary oratory tool and can't be word for word. Miracle stories, manuscript problems that would deter any person from taking other works seriously were dismissed as "not a problem."


Like a dam bursting, I felt my whole world flood down the river. It was a complete reworking of my world view. And the dominoes kept falling.


They had to keep falling.


Anti-LGBTQ perspectives, misogynistic texts, pro-slavery, haunting tales of genocide and cultural and religious superiority.


Now they were part of history and had a context. Not a spot on the top shelf of my mind.


My journey into atheism went straight through history and basic science.


And I had still never met a single atheist.