Hi cofty;...I take my hat off to you sir, although I wonder on a personal note how you reconcile your many years as a theist and how this has affected your life coming to your stanpoint now.
For myself I was a believer but in terms of my life so far only for a relatively short time until my early 20s when I can say I was definately free of belief in god.
I experienced some emotional trauma in coming to terms with the fact that I had wasted so many years which to be brief could have been more beneficial / productive, so for yourself to have spent so many more years and may I say in a more comprehensive capacity must have impacted on you quite considerably.
Anyway as I say I take my hat off to you.
Best wishes.