Jon Willis is a father of two, computer programmer, avid motorcyclist and casual skydiver.
“Reading the Bible is the best way to become an atheist.”
Growing up in a Christian home, Jon spent years reading the Bible and trying desperately to hear the voice of god. Bible studies, Sunday School, Experiencing God courses, earnest prayer and contemplation all led to the eventual conclusion that either god wasn’t listening or simply wasn’t there.
“I am an agnostic atheist. That is to say I don’t have certain knowledge that any of the 2,500+ gods ever imagined by mankind do or do not exist but I see so little evidence to believe they do, I won’t waste my life groveling to any of them.”
After a gradual decline in church attendance and a voyage of self-discovery, Jon began to identify as an agnostic – not wanting to completely turn his back on his upbringing (and slight his family) but also not wanting to continue pursuing a system of beliefs based on falsehoods and wish-thinking. After the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing holy war, Jon discovered and integrated into the atheist community. He has since come out to his family as an outspoken atheist and is the only member of his family to have broken the shackles of religion.
Joining the Springfield Freethinkers and attending Skepticon III bolstered Jon’s confidence in his world views and his ability to speak out against the ills of religion on society. His most passionate topics are circumcision, Biblical inerrancy, free will and prayer. Jon has blogged on two sites (Blogspot and Xanga) and participated in online discussions/debates on such diverse community forums as Christian Forums and Gixxer.com and is a contributing editor to Atheist World. You can watch his videos on YouTube.
Jon is, in addition to being an atheist, a skeptic in all things. He will neither accept extraordinary claims without extraordinary evidence nor stupid claims without intelligent research.