Original Atheist

I did not really grow up around religion, not any organized one anyways. Sure I went to church a few times when I was young and I even believed in Jesus being god's son and all that for a while. I watched the 700 club with my grandma during our visits every other summer but to say I was a born again christian or fell into any other organized religion would be incorrect.
I guess I would have to thank my father for my way of thinking.....well, for the fact I think about everything, a lot.
I remember when I was young he had a book called 'the lost books of the bible'. it was a collection of the books King James did not include in his version of the good book.
My father was raised in Kansas, in a small town. His family, from what I could tell by their words were all born again, even though their actions made it hard for me to believe at times....
My father always questioned religion, he would get into debates and arguments about it with others and I remember the conversations we had which helped me to learn how to think logically not just about religion, but about life.
Now that I think back about those talks, my father was an atheist before it was cool.
I am not sure he would admit it if you were to label him as such because he is one of those people who is smart enough to realize he does not have all the answers (unless he is talking to me that is)
I used to call myself agnostic but the term has become one that reminds me of a fence -sitter, someone who is unable to accept the fact there is no scientific proof of god and is a bit afraid to ruffle the feathers of friends and family or others who may think less of them if they were come down on the side that questions organized religion.
I watched a video today about a 'creationist museum' in KY. The people who run the place think that god created the earth 6000 years ago and men walked with dinosaurs. They believe Noah had prehistoric beasts on his ark.......The thought that some people think this way still after all the advances we have made in science makes me sad for them. These people have seen science save lives, answer questions about how the world works and they most likely enjoy the fruits of scientific advances everyday yet when that same science calls into question a 2000 year old book of fairy tales they dismiss it out of hand. Science has been shown to help us progress and understand the world we live in. All the bible has done is attempt to hold us back and to cause us to fight amongst ourselves about what has been tested over and over and shown to explain the things that were unexplainable when the bible was written. I am sick of this backwards way of thinking and the people who want to believe in what makes them feel fuzzy and warm. Is it so bad to learn about the word? Is it so bad to realize maybe a 2000 year old book does not have all the answers? Is it so bad to move on and try to use what we have been given so we can help future generations answer the questions we have about why we are here? I would like to think 2000 years from now humanity will look back at us and think we were the atheists before it was cool and have the same respect for us I do for my father who was an atheist before his time.......