Time transcripts of JohnNarrative [00:00:00.00] Uh, again your project is...you want to me to talk about what- something I've read or discussed in my life that influenced my belief in...being an agnostic or an atheist more than...y'know, belief in any one religion and, uh, I'm trying to think back as to ...y'know, what event took place or book, and... [00:00:36.00] I think it probably occurred in my early teens; this is after I went through Catholicism in the Lutheran church, and went through, y'know, all the memorizations that you had to go through- the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed, and y'know state your faith, and I went through that whole process there, but I don't believe I really felt comfortable with that. [00:01:04.00] And, um... So I was very interested in science at the time, and...I got my own chemistry set, and put things together, and y'know made things and, uh, I think one of the books that I found at home, maybe in the closet-I was the youngest of four kids, you got a lot things kinda handed down- and I think I was rummaging through the closet and I found this little blue book on, uh, that discussed creationism versus evolution, and y'know talked about Charles Darwin and his adventures and...what, all, everything he catalogued and his views on how life, y'know, began on Earth... [00:01:56.01] So I, I think that influenced me as, as an alternate as to how life, y'know... began. Y'know, it seemed very plausible at that time. [00:02:10.01] That was many years ago... that would've been... let's see...back in the...back in the sixties, I guess, so that would've been, maybe 40 years ago... that I was looking into this, as a young man, y'know, trying to find some sort of faith, and I remember getting,getting, going into college and...or outside of college, I started looking into it and reading more once I left college, because in school, I tended to just focus on the reading material that was assigned to me, I never kinda did anything outside the classroom, but it wasn't until I left, I think, school that I started reading things on my own for pleasure and, and trying to learn things and understand things [00:03:04.01] And, uh...So, I started reading more, and uh...But at that young age ,when I was still in school,as, as a teenager, I was looking at evolution and reading that book kind of influenced me, as to,uh, how things would, uh, evolve, y'know, from a very simple... form of life into a more complex form over time, especially over a long period of time, and I think that influenced me quite a bit. [00:03:46.01] Now, I remember in school, in 10th grade, I think biology was required and we had a- I had a very good biology teacher, at least I enjoyed it; it was actually the coach, the coach of the football team, and... I couldn't tell it at the time,I, he was actually a religious man, but he taught evolution in class, and he made a distinction between the two, and y'know, what evolution was- explained why and how, and how things were, and I think he did a very good job at explaining that and I... [00:04:26.01] So I think I was influenced by that -his teachings- y'know, even though, he couldn't...I didn't find out till later that he was actually a devout Mormon, and... so that was interesting to find out. [00:04:44.01] But, uh...But still, I think he presented it in a way that I felt, y'know, that science seemed to rule the day, as far as explaining how we got here, or how life began and...So, I kinda put- hung my hat on that, as the explanation for...for being. [00:05:12.02] ... [00:05:16.02] So, I don't know if you have any other questions or...? [ What was- Is there anything that you've read recently? That's been interesting?] Um... [00:05:24.02] Well, I think recently...well the past few years, I think what helped me a lot, as far as being able to, uh, since I didn't tend to read on my own that much, I started listening, through this audio program, where you can download books onto a... [00:05:48.02] At one time I had a, y'know, a little, before the iPod, and i...all the other units came out, it was a little audio download device, and you could download the whole book on there, and then play it and listen to it while you're doing other things, y'know, around the house- raking the leaves, or what have you, and, and consume a book that way, and I found that much more easy to...y'know, pick up on materials, so, and information, so I did download some books on religion, and, various religions of the world, and got a, kinda an overview of what, what they're all about, that I didn't have before and I got some other, other books that talked about, y'know, God, and the...y'know, creationism versus evolution... [00:06:48.02] And, uh... several books there by some well-known authors, y'know, the biologists that are...well-renowned in the world, and...of course they got a lot of flack form religious circles for their proposing, y'know, emphasis on evolution and how the universe began without there being a superior being, actually having to be involved in that and... [00:07:28.02] So, uh, I found that I was able to listen to several arguments, y'know, on that, on that side through the audio programs, and I found it very beneficial to- actually being able to, y'know, read, or having read to me, more, more books than I ever had before, because I always found it difficult to have-to find the time just to sit down and read something, and this gave me the opportunity to, y'know, listen in the car, and on the way to work, or, on, on a trip, on a business trip, or, uh, or around the house.