Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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Atheist with Buddhist leanings - count me in
.I have tried to do the God bit in the past (baptised Catholic) but there is just nothing there for me. In some ways I envy those with a faith as I'd love to think I will see my family again. Guess I just have to keep living as much as I can before the grim reaper knocks...
Laurie
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Hi, all...can I join in? I am an atheist. I have checked out Buddhism and found some of it very helpful...but ran the moment someone said something about "THE TRUTH." I really really put my "faith" in reason. I like that whole thinking thing. Seems to make a lot of sense...:)
Anyway...just thought I'd get counted in, too. Have a good night, all.
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CLC - of course you can join!
It's nice to see this thread active again ... glad you bumped it Flannelette!
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Yes, thanks Flannelette! CLC you are welcome and I know what you mean about someone wanting you to know "The Truth"! Yikes, I run all the time when my SIL starts on me. Even her daughter said that I got BC because I didn't "Believe in the truth"! I asked her "who's truth?" and all she could come up with is, God's. Then I asked her who's God? Well she continued with her rant on the one and only true God, but by then I was thinking yeah whatever and tuned it out. It's so sad to see someone so narrow minded and almost brainwashed by a single idea.
I like being Agnostic and questioning everything. I also like to look at everything with science in mind. The questions are so interesting and the research is even more fascinating. I could never be locked into a narrow paradigm of thought. I also enjoy the Wiccan thoughts of nature and balance with nature and it's energies. Just food for thought. Happy days everyone! Kitty
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Hi, all - just wanted to wish all a Happy Holiday Season - which we know was "taken" from the original wonderful Pagan celebrations - Winter Solstice coming soon.....
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I am pretty much an atheist, or a pantheist – at least I like the thought of the universe as a being. It's more like a way of thinking than a belief to me. And being an atheist is an active choice, made by the age of 5, because I didn't like the thought of a god ... and still don't.
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I just realized the thread woke back up. Good to see you all again ... and some new faces makes it even better!
Mandalala ... your comment about not liking the thought of a god jolted me a little bit. I consider myself agnostic but I don't like the idea of a god playing with us all either ... and I'm not sure I had totally realized that before. Was too concentrated on whether I 'believed' or not.
Happy Holidays to everybody!
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I don't like the thought of people behaving a certain way in the name of god. Drives me bonkers. It frequently seems to me that people believe only what they want to about god. Leaving them completely inconsistent.
Personally, I never believed in god. Just no evidence for one. Life is hard enough to make sense of, just based on reality. No need to create extra confusion based on absolutely nothing.
However, there have been moments in my life when I envied people who did believe in god. When life is really tough, it would be nice to think someone can just take care of you. You know, take all responsibility off your shoulders. You can just be subject to the winds of life without taking the responsibility for directing your own life. Well...not something I want for very long...but just had moments when I thought how easy it sounded. But certainly not my style! And certainly not my substance...
Good evening to you all...
Claire
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Some of the least judgemental people I know are either agnostic or atheist. I always find that so interesting.
Happy Holidays to all my sisters here!
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Claire - I LOVE your "tag" line "Turn your facc to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." Realized reading it, that it's what I really do try to do, live. Looking for the LIGHT in the Universe, the good, appreciate what I am experiencing every day - seems to increase my feeling of well being.
Agree too with what PlantLover is saying - so many behaviors I find very difficult in people are usually done hiding behind the excuse of "religion." Makes me shiver with very bad feelings especially to hear a person seeking a position of Power say "God wants me to do this." Shivers.....
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Sunflowers...thanks...I love the line, too. I discovered it when I first found ADH in my breast and was getting ready for my excision. I really came to terms with a lot at that point. (I am grateful that I had that experience a full year before they found the DCIS...I had already done a lot of the hard emotional preparation for my mx the year before).
When I first saw the saying, I was immediately transported to a day when my daughter (then about 5) and I were busily doing errands and we stopped suddenly, held hands, closed our eyes and faced the sun. We stood there together for only a short time, but it will forever be with me as the expansive and wonderful experience that it was. That I wish to fill my life with as much as possible.
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Thanks for sharing that Maori proverb. It's how I try to live my life as well. I've been experiencing a bit of "God envy" this past week as my dad is seriously ill in the hospital and isn't expected to live long. A lot of people have been trying to comfort me with comments about heaven and spirits, which aren't real to me. I don't want to get in a big argument, so I say nothing.
I feel like I'm just floundering in the muck but I need to remember to look up towards the light, towards all the good that is in the world, and that brings me some peace.
--CindyMN
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Cindy
so sorry about your Dad.
about "floundering" in the muck - reminds me of the image of the Lotus Flower - it only grows when it's roots are down deeeeeep in the muddy muck. So, as time brings healing, I hope you'll think of feeling like a Flower in the future....
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Cindy...I am sorry to hear about your father. I hope that you can continue to find the sun and turn to it...:) Some times, it is very difficult to locate the good...and it crops up in the most unexpected places... I hope that you find it and I am glad if the proverb brings you any support or comfort. It certainly has helped me address breast cancer. I wish you and your father peace and serenity. Claire
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Ah, Cindy, I'm sorry to read about your dad. I, too, experience "god envy" from time to time when I see people seeming to find comfort in it even though I cannot connect with it. What finally brought me comfort was realizing that if I had what I wanted -- my mother still here -- then she would be suffering. There were two choices: here and suffering or not here. "Not here" might encompass anything from waiting to be reborn to being a part of the greater energy in the universe or simply gone ... But whatever it was, it meant not suffering. That helped me. I hope you can find something to give you peace, too ... And that your father and the rest of your family finds their kind of peace too. (((((Cindy)))))
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Thanks so much, ladies. I'm going to dig my toes into the muck and concentrate on photosynthesis.
--CindyMN
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Cindy ... I'm so sorry your Dad is so ill. I'm sure someone will come along and say something that will help you get over your "God Envy" soon. Something like ... "It's God's Will". Know what I mean?
((( You )))
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Cindy, I'm sorry that your Dad is so ill and that you're dealing with "God Envy." I have dealt with both of those things and it is a difficult situation. It has been almost 10 years since my Dad died and I think of him often. When I hear music that I know he would have liked or read something I know would have interested him it reminds me that his memory still lives in my heart so I still have a connection, and he's not in pain anymore. I did have to remind myself to "look for the sunshine" but it has gotten easier over the years and the bad memories have faded while the good ones remain.
I hope you can hold tight to the good memories and find enough sunshine to get you through this difficult time.
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Haven't posted in ages, but glad to see thread has come to life recently... Cindy, like the rest I really feel for you in your present situation.. I hope your father isn't in pain, as that is the toughest thing to deal with. I lost both my parents when I was in my 30s, and basically you never quite get over it, but then how could you ever NOT regret losing people who made you who you are, (that is if, like me, you had a happy childhood). And now they live in my memories, in my photos, and on occasions when I am with my sister and we talk about them to our kids, and laugh at their funny habits, or at old family jokes. They never really leave as they are part of you and who you are...at least that's how I find comfort.
I know the 'God Envy' thing can be difficult sometimes....I am surrounded by practising Catholics here, who cannot imagine being any different, but people have been so kind and generous, in their own way. I'm always being told that I'm being remembered in people's prayers, have been handed holy pictures to keep, and although I'm tempted to blurt out that I gave up Catholicism when I was 16, in fact I keep quiet most of the time so as not to offend, and accept their prayers, which after all are kind thoughts, and what's wrong with kind thoughts? As long as I'm not being preached at of course. And yes, perhaps they might feel consoled in their belief of an after-life with the idea that we'll all meet up again in heaven, but as Plantlover so rightly said, you'll soon get over this when someone says what's happening is 'god's will'! Sending gentle thoughts your way.
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Good Morning all - I happened to meet somone who once taught Taoism, and he's sending me some of his old course, bit by bit - so far a very old poem . I started a thread called Taoism, anyone? under the spiritual inspiration group - didn't know where to put it - but I think it would appeal to atheists, pagans, and anybody who can't figure out where they belong, or perhaps, don't want to belong anywhere, except on earth!
maybe see you there?
I'm putting the first post on now - it put a smile on my face in the midst of a busy day.
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really a lovely, lovely poem...
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/38/topic/779175?page=1#idx_4
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flannelette,
The Tao Te Ching (pronounced "Dow De Jing") is one of my favorite books. Perhaps this is the 'poem' your friend is sending you. There are many translations of the Tao and you may want to read several. Translation is as much art as it is science.
http://www.taoism.net/ttc/complete.htm
Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are the three great world religions that do not have creator gods. They are atheistic in the western sense of the word.
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My son gave me a copy of "Tao Teh Ching" interesting ...I think he thought since I am an nontheist, I was looking for something, I am not..
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Hi Notself - thanks for your copy of the Tao Te ching - I do have a copy (Jane English, about 1972?) and yes translation is as you say it is. When I was studying world religious traditions I was smitten by the bit of Taoism I was exposed to - the book we used was thomas Merton's Chuang Tzu - speaking of translation that is an art
. My cyber friend used to teach a university level course in Taoism, and since he's retired and probably would still like to be teaching i think he's decided to teach me! a class of one. he started out as a customer, but I accidentally mentioned the word Taoism and here we are.
So, I'm just passing things Eastern along. In this quiet, grey, cold, yin time of year. A refreshing time out from the Xmas hoopla - of which I am part.
Hi there, SoCalLisa - do you think there is a word that describes the particular kind of atheist you are? ...scientific materialism, matter-of-fact, down to earth, practical? non-transcendental? we all seem to take a slightly different slant...I haven't read any of the current atheist writings or followed that news but i guess if I had the right descriptive word would be evident. or maybe it's totally unimportant...
Cheers
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guitargrl - I am with you - My faith is with SCIENCE - as inexact as it is concerning cancer treatment, it is still tangible and somewhat logical. I have done chemo and lumpectomy. I am in the middle of rads and will take oral chemo as part of a research study. The cancer may recurr - I may die from it, but at least I know that I have tried my best. No offense to believers, but would my 3.5 cm tumor have shrunk to 1.5 if I only put my faith in God and did not do preadjuvant chemo......I have never, ever smoked. I have not had alcohol in 25 years, and was not a heavy drinker at all before then. I have never done drugs. I am not overweight and do my best to treat my body well. My hypothetical question then is, if God is loving and caring, and helps them who help themselves, WTF?
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....while I am on a roll...I was raised as a Lutheran. I loved the church and I believed strongly in God, until my first child died 20 mins after birth. I had regular ob care from the time I was one-month pregnant. I did not drink any caffienated drinks, did not smoke, exercised and ate healthy. There was no indication whatsoever that my full-term pregnancy would become the major disaster of my life. That's when I turned to science as my belief. My child died because of a scientific reason. Not because my faith was not strong enough or because I was not a good Lutheran.
I believe that I have cancer due to scientific reasons - Not because God chose me to have it - and I definitely do not believe that God will cure it!
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Flannelette, I call myself a non-theist because I think atheist has a negative ring to it...I don't care if other people are theists...helps keep the unhappy people happy and controllable. I am just a pragmatist..
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Wow. I happened to see this as one of the active topics. I must say, I'm a non-believer in religion or a judgemental god. (That's not to say I rule out all sense of "spirituality" and some superstitions - all very vague and irrational). Since my BC diagnosis I have never missed having a god to pray to. I understand how others would be comforted by this, I understand the need, but personally I could never believe in a god who allowed so much pain and suffering and misery on this earth.
I've been sustained by the care and love of my friends and family, and that's always been enough. But to each her own.
xo
mgm
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Not sure what I'd define myself as, but neither am I worried about not fitting into a particular mould. Maybe I could call myself a 'non-practising atheist'? Flanellette thankyou for posting poem..lovely.
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Hi Maria Malta - My intention is to post a poem a day from Taoist thought - got side-tracked already. Probably a bit boring but a peaceful way to start my day...
Cheers
Arlene
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