First things first. I’m sick, sick to death, of being a hypocrite. I have no capacity for it anymore. If somebody asks me straight out for information I will give it to them even if I prefer not to. Up to this point, however, I have avoided volunteering certain information. I have been thinking about it though and I realize that this is wrong. This is misrepresenting who I really am to others, allowing them to maintain an illusion that is not true. I can’t live like that forever. Eventually the reality will become apparent so I’ve decided to just cut to the chase. This is the chase. Prepare to cut to it.

First off, as I’ve stated repeatedly to others, I no longer believe in God or Jehovah’s Witnesses. I leave certain areas open, however and am still open to new evidence to overturn others. There are multiple levels of belief and here is where I currently stand on each:

  • Does God exist? Unknown and unknowable, but possible.
  • Does Jehovah, as depicted in the Bible, exist? No.
  • Is the Bible the product of divine revelation? No. It is a human document.
  • Did God create the universe? Unknown and unknowable, but possible.
  • Did God create humans separate from the other animals? No.
  • Is the Genesis creation account true? No.
  • Did humans evolve? Yes.
  • Was there a global flood as described in Genesis? No.
  • Did Jesus exist? Possibly, but inconclusive.
  • Are the gospels reliable historical documents? No.
  • Is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society God’s organization on earth today? They’re just another religion, meaning well but following the writings of humans (the Bible). No god is involved.
  • Is religion a force for good? Sometimes but on the whole, no.

I know it’s tough to read those words for people who love me, but I believe those are factual statements and I cannot pretend otherwise. There is simply no reliable evidence that leads to any other conclusion.

In part because I now feel free to make certain decisions about how I live my life for myself, I have indeed begun to do so. I will now reveal some particularly non-Witness ones…

The second thing I want to reveal here in this little earth shatterer of a post is that I have a girlfriend now. Her name is Esther. She’s not a Witness and shares my disbelief in God and the supernatural. She’s smart as a whip, kind, loving, has phenomenal taste in just about everything and I’m happy as a clam in mud to have found her. She and I went together on a road trip to Green Bay WI to see the Vikings play the Packers and stayed overnight there in Schwanno WI the night before the game. Her only serious flaw is that she’s a Packer fan.

A third thing that some will find shocking is that I have grown a beard. I have done so for two reasons. First, I hate shaving and second, I look good with a beard. Oh sure, it also helps keep my face warm, but those are the general reasons. I’ve always wanted a beard, now I have one.

Yet another thing I’d like to point out is that I have become somewhat politically active. I not only voted this year but I participated in a “get out the vote” effort. I have Wellstone and Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers on my car. I am not nationalistic or patriotic but I do believe that any improvements that happen here have to happen because of us, not a deity, and so I’ll do whatever I can.

I have also, as an aside, become a vegetarian. I’m not sure why somebody else needs to die just so I can eat something tasty. I know you can be a Witness and a vegetarian, but I also reject the Biblical idea that the animals were just put here so we could have dominion over them. I think that’s an extremely arrogant and irresponsible idea.

A final shocking tidbit is that last night I bought a new pipe. It’s a decent little briarwood pipe, nothing terribly spectacular. It’s the second pipe I’ve purchased. Here is me with the first one while in Schwanno WI with Esther:


An admittedly bearded Ryan Sutter smokes a pipe while contemplating
atheist evolutionary biology on a weekend trip with his worldly girlfriend.
This is as bad as it gets folks.

I had to buy a new one because I inadvertantly wrecked the first one by making a few novice pipe smoking mistakes (puffing too fast, smoking it outdoors, bad tamping, etc). Now, the question one might ask at this point is why, oh why, would I even think about smoking a pipe in the first place? Don’t I know smoking is terribly bad for me? Don’t I know that I’m risking life and limb? Why take up a filthy disgusting habit?Well, I’ll tell ya. When I was a little kid my grandpa Clarence smoked a pipe and I loved the smell. It was warm and sweet and lovely. My uncle Steve also smokes a pipe and the few times I have encountered him while he was doing it and I have again found that unlike cigarettes the smell is delicious and wonderful. I’ve always wanted to try smoking a pipe because it smells so delicious and because it seems so calming and relaxing. When the opportunity arose to pick up a pipe in Schwanno I decided to give it a try and I found I enjoyed it. You don’t inhale anything, just puff, taste and blow out. It’s not polluting your body at all, it’s simply tasting smoke and it tastes yummy. The argument that “smoking’s still smoking” doesn’t hold water. Smoking a pipe is no more dangerous or unhealthy than eating red meat or drinking alcohol and in fact some studies have shown that moderate pipe smokers (fewer than 4 bowls a day) tend to live longer on average than non-smokers. It’s relaxing to take a small amount of smoke into your mouth, taste it for a second and blow it away and being calm and relaxed is a good thing for your body. As long as you don’t inhale, you aren’t bringing tars and carcinogens into your lungs in the process. Yes, smoking a pipe is in some ways less healthy than not smoking one but so is eating meat or overindulging in alcohol. Just like red wine, a little in moderation does not significantly increase health risks, has certain health benefits and may actually result in a longer life. So, it’s not a filthy, disgusting habit, I’m not particularly endangering my health (so long as it’s kept in moderation, which it is) and I’m doing so because it’s calming, enjoyable and smells nice.

So, to sum up:

- Don’t believe in god, inspiration of the Bible or the Society as god’s channel
- Have “worldly” girlfriend
- Have grown beard
- Politically active
- Vegetarian
- Occasionally smoke a pipe

I think that’s all the news that’s fit to print. There. You can’t say I’m not being honest here… we’re all just going to have to learn to co-exist somehow…

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