Sunday, I spent the day making Parisian macaroons.  You can see them at my other blog, if you want.

So, what did you do this weekend?

On a side note, hello, did you know about this lala thing?  What a freaking awesome thing.  I can embed a song on my blog.  How much does that rock?

Back to the apologies.

First up, I am sorry to tell you this, but remember that list of things I wanted to blog about that I posted the other day?  Well, I am not going to blog about them right now.  I know, I know.  They have a name for girls like that.  I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have set up the expectation if I wasn’t going to follow through.  It’s not really fair to you, dear reader.

It’s just that I felt like taking a little detour and blogging about how I became a Christian and how I came to leave Christianity.  No one really knows the whole story.  I just really feel like now is the time.  I am at a place where I need to put these things together for myself, so I might as well post it for all the world to see, right?

I’ll tell you what, though.  I will go back through that list and add links where appropriate.  Here goes.

• I listened to a great podcast today about skepticism and libertarianism.
• Glenn Beck is a total creep.  No, I mean more so than you thought. (Added: I have to question what is in the mind of a man who got to that quote from that video.)
• Thoughts about the blog, by a woman who left the Quiverfull/Patriarchy movement, that I have been obsessively reading.
• A video a Christian friend sent me and stuff it brought up about my Christian experience.

I will still probably blog about those things, except the Glenn Beck one, which speaks for itself.

In sooth, I will probably not blog about the Mass. election.  What’s there to say at this point that someone else hasn’t already said and better?  The Moran Plant, again, probably not, but hey, at least 99.9% of you couldn’t give a crap, since it’s such a local issue.

I am so totally going to blog about Billy Corgan and Jessica Simpson because (1) I think it’s funny, (2) I ♥ Smashing Pumpkins, and (3) I will eventually want to break up the serious posts with something light.

And, I will publish my currently-in-draft post about dogmatism that uses radical unschoolers as a non-religious example.  But maybe not.  I don’t want to attract too much hate.

I already wrote my first post about how I became a Christian at the age of 28.  I need to re-read it and obsessively edit it and add some bling, but it will be posted tonight or tomorrow morning.

The other apology-related thing has to do with the post, Former Christian Apologizes for Being Such a Huge Shit Head for All Those Years, from My Sister’s Farmhouse.

I have been feeling lately like I need to issue a public apology to homosexuals (and a few private ones to people I know who were personally offended by my beliefs), and probably some other groups, too.  Her #1 totally applies to me word for word.

1.  I apologize to all the homosexuals.  I am sorry that I believed in a religion that condemns you.  I am sorry that for many years I thought that the bible was right in it’s condemnation of homosexuality.  I am sorry that when I no longer thought the bible was right about homosexuality being a sin, I did not raise a gigantic stink about it every Sunday right in the middle of the sermon… week after week after week…  until the church issued a restraining order against me and I could no longer come within a hundred feet of the sanctuary.

Not everything on her list applies to me, but it’s worth reading.

What a wonderful and brave woman to take responsibility for those things.

Well, charitable organizations need not be Christian, but finding ones that don’t mix the Good News with their good deeds can be harder to find.  That is why I am delighted to present to you Foundation Beyond Belief, an organization designed to make it easier for atheists and secular humanists to unite as a force for good in our world.

• Foundation Beyond Belief is a non-profit charitable and educational foundation created (1) to focus, encourage and demonstrate the generosity and compassion of atheists and humanists, and (2) to provide a comprehensive education and support program for nontheistic parents.

• The Foundation will feature ten charitable organizations per quarter.

• Members join by signing up for a monthly automatic donation in the amount of their choice, and distribute it however they wish among the categories. Contributions are fully tax-deductible.

• Members can join a social network and forums centered on the ten categories of giving, advocate for causes, and help us choose new beneficiaries each quarter.

• Featured beneficiaries may be founded on any worldview so long as they do not proselytize. At the end of each quarter, 100 percent of the donations are forwarded and a new slate of beneficiaries selected.

• On the educational side, the Foundation will help create and fund local groups for the education and social support of humanist/atheist parents.

• Our Mission: To demonstrate humanism at its best by supporting efforts to improve this world and this life; to challenge humanists to embody the highest principles of humanism, including mutual care and responsibility; and to help and encourage humanist parents to raise confident children with open minds and compassionate hearts.

Watch this short video to learn more.  Then head on over to the Foundation Beyond Belief website to join.