Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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I live in a small very religious town. If it was widely known that I was an atheist, I would not be able to hire a plumber, electrician, lawn service, etc.
The guy who laid our flooring played Christian rock on his radio and prayed while working. He kept at it for the whole six day job. Our plumber is a lay minister at his church. These are sweet, hardworking people who deeply hold to their faith and would be horrified to be in the home of an atheist.
My only outlet is the local Unitarian Universalist "Church" where the atheists, wiccans, pantheists and non-conformists go to hang out. There are 20 of us in a town of 12,000.
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wow - do we ever live in different cultures! As Molly said, we rarely know the religion of people around us, and really don't care. It is seen as a private matter. No doubt people who go to any church know who else goes to that one, but beyond that, it isn't relevant. I would find it very difficult to know that what I believe (or don't) would matter to anyone who with whom I might interact.
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Notself
I get the sense you must live in the South...I'm in western MA, and notice the difference from where I used to lived - outside Washington DC. Freeing to be here - I can empathsize with your experience.
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I also have noticed a difference since I moved from the southernmost tip of Illinois (basically Kentucky) to a fair-sized city in Minnesota. It's not quite Canada. Most people (particularly those over 50) still tend to assume everyone they know believes in god. But I don't have the same level of fear about my "secret" being discovered here as I did down south. I honestly believe it would have affected my livelihood had my atheism been public knowledge where I lived before. Scary!
--CindyMN
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I love living where I do, and the people are very kind and generous. It is just that we are so isolated that the town does not have much experience with "different". Different is treated with suspicion and fear. Of course hate filled talk radio doesn't help the situation one bit.
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In Australia people rarely mention their religion and I think most are atheist or non-practicing unless they are from a highly religious country. We get religious door knockers but not very often. Openly active Christians are in the minority and people are mostly tolerant of anyone who has a different belief or no belief.
-Sheila-
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Ha ha, "hate filled talk". Is that from people who claim to be Christian?
Ahimsa. Taking a deeeep breath. If I show anger towards them I'm the same as them, except I can see my hypocrisy. Taking another deep breath. Ahimsa.
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I found this article on Google and thought it was worth sharing on this forum.
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/paul-zuckerman-why-do-americans-still-dislike-atheists-1449954.html
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Hello, all. I've enjoyed reading here and catching up with you.
Brigadoonbenson, thanks for the link. It's an interesting, quick and hopeful read.
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I live in Europe and here no one asks what faith you are. It is considered private. But I remember living in the States! Oh my.
Ahimsa to all. Used to have this on my car--when I had a car.
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Good article Brigadoonbenson. My favourite line from it is:
"Yet like all stereotypes, they aren't true - and they tell us more about those who harbor them than those who are maligned by them."
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Hi,
I've finally been able to begin to practice my "religion." Tho we can still get a frost until 5/31 - I've planted several different kinds of lettuce, just got my Pole Sugar Snap Peas seeds in the soil, I'm doing a "happy dance!" Off to the local farms to buy my favorite tomatoe plants: Sun Gold, little cherry size, wonderfully tasty. Will have to wait weeks to put in the ground, but want to have them in my kitchen so I can LOOK at them.
It has been a very, very, long winter in western MA - trees are just beginning to bud, Yeah, Pollen, even tho I'm allergic to it. It's SO good to see the world turning green. We had our last snowfall - 3 heavy wet inches - on April 23! Melted in a day, but waking up & seeing it was difficult.
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Heelo all - Having a bit of a downer here as I had foot surgery on Wednesday and it's spring and gardening time and....I'm NOT IN CONTROL! Scared s**less to put any weight with the cast on it and wire sticking out the front of my toe ---yech!----and CRABBY. Not at all the peaceful loving metta-to-all person I was after the mastectomy. guess maybe that time I was glad just to be alive - whereas am a crabby old fart cause I can't garden - big deal - friggin bunion. At exactly the wrong time of year. oh well......i live in the glassed in front porch, and can see100s of daffs and ribbons of blue forget-me-nots and if i crane my neck a few pink tulips that the deer didn't eat, just as they were in bud, nice & sweet & juicy.
and lilacs budding out and everything in the pastel frothing out stage. oh,now I feel less crabby....
Caerus - Sun Gold? will try. So far I've loved Summer Sweet, a "grape" shaped variety. My snowpeas and spinach ahve germinated, but they are far away, up a hill, will see if I can cajole my sweet new young tenant in our apt. to water each row with the wartering can - he says he wants to learn about the country.
Here's a funny story. I've dabbled in meditation a long time, never stick to it. My new young tenant, a boy of about 22, wanted to live here cause we have a country apartment and 3 acres and we love quiet. so does he. Turns out he meditates every day, and takes yoga, and might take a teacher;s yoga training. had his meditation teacher over and we already agreed to have some "retreats" here. hahaha so finally the mediation teacher comes to me - there's no escape!
We are exchanging books on Aldous Huxley and Allan Watts and how our genes might change because of our thoughts and....he's a serious jazz guitar player/student. What fun! His eyes, his skin, his smile - he's so young, he's just starting out on the adventure of life - of an intellectual nad spiritual life - and his friends so sweet - what a gift to have landed in my life.
Somebody phoned to say they're coming over....
Ok, way less grumpy now, thanks for being here you sweet silly nature loving slightly pagan atheists
Arlene
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There was an article in today's newspaper here about a college that will
offer a major in "secularism"...it is a beginning
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Hi Lisa, nice to see you back. I enjoyed the pictures of your trip.
A major in secularism - that is a beginning. I just hope it is allowed to grow and that there aren't attempts to shut it down.
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Arlene, your tenant sounds fabulous! I'll bet he even pays his rent on time!
I got out in the garden this weekend, as well as putting out some drought tolerant, deer resistant plants. We'll see what happens.
I'd love to see the cirriculum for the secularism major!
I loaded up some Pema Chadon onto my Kindle. I find her so thought provoking (she's Buddhist) but more about our approaches to life and how/why we react...she talks about meditations and how our active brains can really jump around. I tried to focus on my breathing and meditate during a massage yesterday, but was too "involved" in the music. One day...
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Hi Anne - I do not have a Kindle - do not even know what that is. some sort of book-turned computer that you load actual books into & carry about instead of books because it's lightweight?
I did just finally get high-speed internet. Can one load some Pema chodron from - somewhere? so I can read her - or better - listen to her talk - via internet on my laptop?
Thanks,
Arlene
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Anne, my Kindle just froze and I can't get it back, now it froze to a blank screen
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Pema Chodron and Bill Moyers.
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thanks notself, that was one of my favorite Moyers interviews. I was amazed to learn of her background before she became a Buddhist Nun ( Ani) - and still remember her talking about her way of live - and learning that pain was a part of life, and "suffering" was "optional." Really loved that interview.
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Thanks Notself - I've just watched half-way through. I'd only read her work, never heard her speak - how she hits it on the nose when she talks about "groundlessness". that's exactly what for me, just under the surface, is always there. I guess that's when ego steps in and makes sure we get away onto firmer ground!
Arlene
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amazon customer service was great, they restored my kindle by magic
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I hear great things about Kindle's customer service. Mine was flaky for a while, but I changed out the cover--it was shorting out the battery--and no problems since!
Getting a beautiful spring snow today. We so need the water. Most moisture we've had since January. Gotta love spring in the Rockies. I was in shorts and a tank top on Monday!
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AnneW ... pictures please!!!
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Oh no! I killed the thread! ;-)
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Yes, I'm an atheist and I feel no problem with my lack of faith. Que sera sera! The support of my family and friends is hugely important to me and I feel very upbeat despite my grim diagnosis. I don't have faith, but I have lots of hope!
My hope is that the combination of conventional treatment and my adjunct therapy with Dr. Berkson at the Integrative Medical Center in New Mexico will keep me stable indefinitely -- absolutely putting my faith in science. Just started Anastrozole a week ago, newly diagnosed with ILC with metastasis to the pancreas and likely metastasis to the lung. No symptoms, feel great.
Just came back from four weeks of intravenous alpha lipoic acid treatments and I'm on low-dose naltrexone, plus a bunch of pharmaceutical grade supplements. And I'll return the end of July for another two weeks of treatments. Dr. Berkson can't cure cancer, but he can often keep it from progressing. Doesn't work for everyone, but works for many. Whether or not the treatment works has nothing to do with God or Goddess in my opinion----it's just one of those mysteries that will some day be explained by science.
At any rate, no one prays for me as far as I know, but if they do, that's fine. Some of my friends do insist they send white light my way. And my sister ships me Graeter's Ice Cream! All good......
Camille
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Camille, welcome to the thread. I'm so sorry for what you're having to endure. I light candles for people and I'm happy to light one for you. Come back anytime.
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Thanks, Maya, candles are good! I have an interesting story: until last week I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, had a whipple (still recovering from that surgery), confirmed pathology report, but no symptoms. It turns out the pancreatic cancer is a metastasis, so my doctor is actually happy---this dreadful diagnosis is a lot better than pancreatic cancer! At any rate, I will fight this like crazy.
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WElcome Camille - I love your fightin' spirit and upbeat attitude. And yes, it seems a pancreatic metastasis is a LOT better than pancreatic cancer. I believe one of the beauties of upbeat attitude is that if, say, one becomes deeply depressed, the immune system sinks and suffers - surely not good.
I was dxd with a HUGE tumor - like, the booby prize! normally I would have sunk, but for some strange reason went your way and rose to the top to swim & fight. I bought a juicer long even before my surgery and made cabbage juice - highly not recommend LOL unless you want straight diarrea for 6 weeks like I had. Anyway drank the juice till I realized it was way too strong but...guess what? instead of the 6" tumor they'd seen in the mammogram, mine was 4", and mixed with a "lot of DCIS" said my surgeon. I'd like to think the cabbage juice was so vile it was doing the suckers in - or, who will ever know - a mystery. (Cabbages have high amounts of Indole 3 carbinol, a phytochemical cancer-fighter)Or a gift of the universe.
so glad you are combining treatments - the best of both worlds. I've been on Anastrozole for 2 yrs. Sending you good heart-vibes
ps a real upper is the book Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips
arlene (that is not me in the picture lol)
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CamilleL
Another candle lighter lighting one for you! A whipple - wow - that's MAJOR surgery. I hope you are here with us candle lighters for a long, long time....enjoy the gorgeous NM scenery too.
Gotta go google what ever Graeter's Ice Cream is to see what makes it worth shipping
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