Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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Happy Winter Solstice!
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If you were forced to worship a god of your choice, which one would you choose?
I would choose Shakti the goddess who is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe. Besides I like her outfit.
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Hey! Hope everyone's day yesterday was pleasant and peaceful.Chef: I agree with the frustration in being surrounded by preachy religious people. The good thing is not all are like that. There are some who have beliefs and are questioning, closet atheists, or of other non-christian religions (i.e. Buddhists) that would be worth trying to form a friendship with. I think that sometimes, people are unaware that due to their beliefs, they are bigots or intolerant. I didn't think to mention or have time to point this out to my friend. I think many religious people try being non-judgmental but forget about other things that make coexisting difficult.
Wren: I have been to a local Unitarian Universalist church several times. My problem is that it's still too formal, ritualistic and boring. As I've said before, I've also tried meetups. I'm hoping to get back to attending those, since I think it just may take some time to find some people that I could bond with. I was just starting to host one near me prior to diagnosis. But attendance was down due to me being the new host. I plan to go back to hosting once things improve.
Ananda: The physical human concept of goddess Shakti is pretty. Though her imagined powers are impressive, I would consider her or any deities needing worship insecure, weak and egotistical; which I would therefore consider them not being all that powerful to begin with.
I also want to share something cool for the holidays found earlier today. Enjoy!
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I belong to several atheist groups on Facebook as well as my family group that is very Christian. Some of them are terrified of "others" and think Trump should be President. When I post to the family, I try to post things to make them better Christians because in my opinion, one cannot be a good Christian and support Trump or Cruz. This is my latest from a Christian blog called Sojourners. https://sojo.net/articles/why-jesus-was-and-political-threat
What does everyone think of the article?
Bemba, I went to the local Unitarian and found it to be too rigid and theistic with not much room for non believers. Not openly hostile, but not warm either.
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Bemba, love the science songs!
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I've been an atheist and a Unitarian Universalist for more than twenty years and found enough diversity in the churches I've attended to find my niche. I'll admit that the major attraction for me was having a choir, but I also don't object to a certain amount of ritual. The church in New York I currently belong to is strongly humanist and generally a good fit for me, but I attended another in Texas for many years that was more theistic - not so many Christians, but a strong pagan group. You know - the Gospel according to Mercedes Lackey. The choir tended to be more humanist and the acoustics were great!
We originally joined because our kids were bombarded by Baptist schoolmates who let them know they were doomed to hell if they didn't accept Jesus as their Savior and it helped them to know there was a community that agreed there was no hell. When my younger son toured with the Texas Boys Choir his experience in church school helped him to stand up for his beliefs when discussions on the tour bus turned to religion. In fact, the director called me to ask if Andy would try to avoid these discussions since other parents were complaining that their sons were picking up some dangerous ideas. Apparently he won too many arguments!
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Carpe Diem, That's why we took our kids to the Unitarian Church too. The kids were getting Baptist and worse from school.
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I've been lurking on this thread for some time, and thought it might be time to introduce myself and say hello to everyone. Hello! *waves*
My family is very religious, but I have wavered between atheism and agnosticism (with Buddhist leanings) since childhood. I have always been curious about religion from an academic standpoint, however, and I like having friends from all sorts of religious backgrounds.
I recently posted this picture of my "altar" on Facebook. On it is all the little trinkets, both religious and non-religious, that I have been given since my diagnosis. I try to honor them in the spirit they were given to me, with love and well wishes. I try to honor "prayers" in the same way. (I do admit, though, that some of my motivation for posting the pic on Facebook was knowing that some of my ultra-Christian family members would be offended by some of the non-Christian elements. Shame on me!)
I'm fairly open about my lack of belief if the topic comes up, and mostly I get a good response. I did unfriend one former co-worker after she engaged me in a mean-spirited (ha!) religious argument, but I never liked her anyway. I sometimes remind folks that yes, despite the foxhole in which I find myself, I'm still an atheist.
I'm enjoying the UU discussion. I attended a UU church a few times and liked it. I quit going because I seem to attract the crazy in every crowd and had a guy border-line stalking me. That was over 10 years ago though, and I've been thinking about giving it another try.
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Shutterbug, It looks like you are fairly eclectic when it comes to Buddhism as well. I see a bit of Pure Land and a bit of what looks like a Theravada monk/nun. Have you looked into Taoism? It's another "religion" without a creator god.
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I just don't discuss religion with my friends. My best friend attends church weekly. My other friends talk about believing in God. Luckily no one is born again or what ever. I couldn't stand to have to listen to them. I was thinking of checking out the Unitarian church here but I have no idea what they talk about. Everyone says they're praying for me. I just say thanks. My closest friend lives about an hour & a half away so hardly see her. I don't have local friends. I can't seem to find anyone like me, lol.
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Shutterbug: I like your altar very much. I have been fascinated by Buddhism for a long time and study it on and off. I like the idea of a god-less religion and the focus is on alleviating suffering so that all beings can be happy. Have you read The Dalai Lama's Cat? It's a cute book, that explains some Buddhist principles thru the eyes of his holiness's cat.
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I, too, worship Motawi Tileworks.
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Ananda- You know way more than I do.
The mini-prayer flags were from my husband's aunt. A cause she supports send them to her every year. It came with the paper with the heart stamp. The Nam Myoho Renge Kyo card is from a friend. The photo, elephant and candle were all brought back from Thailand from various friends. I haven't looked into Taoism other than to read the Tao of Pooh, but I find that eastern religions just make sense to me in a practical way, but even they can get quite dogmatic.Louisap- I find it is hard to find friends who admit to being non-theists, but that is changing as it becomes more accepted. It depends what part of the country you are in, I guess. I think there are many who identify as Christian who probably believe more like we do, but aren't ready to admit it or just don't give it much thought.
Glennie – Thank you. I have not read that one, I'll have to look for it. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm part way through "The Buddha Walks into a Bar" which I've found to be good at explaining the basics of Buddhism, and "How to Be Sick" by Toni Bernhard is the only book I read when first diagnosed that I think actually resonated with me.
Ksusan – Oh did your post make me laugh! You must be from Michigan! That was in a care package from my wonderful coworkers. It is even signed by Narwal Motawi! We are big fans here…I even had a Motawi calendar last year. Also, your laser kittens are awesome.
Hydranne – Yes! A friend of mine bought an RV and took off on a trip around the country after her divorce and sent me that Post Card from New Mexico. I thought it looked good on the altar.
Suersis – I'm curious, what is your background in? I majored in Microbiology with a minor in Anthropology. I agree that religion has nothing to do with morality. I think I came to that realization early on in life and it is probably what first made me question everything I was being told.
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Thanks for that book recommendation,,,I'll look for it.
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Four teenagers in togas -- one in blackface!!! -- tried to write their thing on my house door yesterday without my permission. So not OK, in so many ways....
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Split-bean - How awful, I hope you caught them before they did any damage! Love the cartoon!
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Hi Bug. The thing on Dec 6 is that guys dressed as three kings "bless" your house and write their initials and the date (CMB 2016 or someting like that) in chalk on the door. I live in a farmhouse and treasure my solitude. The arrival of any stranger is stressful for me and my brain damage makes it impossible to function under stress. My partner told me don't answer the door, but when they started writing anyway, I chased them off. Then my partner got seriously mad at me for that. It was awful. I just want to live in peace.
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Ohhhhh....That is not something that is common in this area of Michigan.
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Have you heard of Emily McDowell? She had BC and came up with great cards for that and other occasions. Her website is www.emilymcdowell.com. The kind of thing you can send a friend that shows her you "get" it.
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Hi Wren, I know, I am slow. I did not notice the illness cards until I read your post again, then I looked for them. They are absolutely bang on. Here's the illness card page for everyone who is as slow as me.
http://info.emilymcdowell.com/empathy-cards-for-serious-illness/
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Control children, for sure! My dad proudly called himself "a good Catholic" but we never went to church and he never ever discussed religious beliefs or morals except for the old, "Do you know the fourth commandment?!" I hated that one. Religion for him was just something to use for his own purpose.
My mom called herself a pagan but with a nervous giggle. After she died, my dad said her life philosophy was just to be a good person, but she never discussed the topic with me. I still don't understand why.
When I had kids, I made a point of talking to them about this. I told them that religion is a part of culture. Here, it happens to be Christian, but other people all over the world have other religions. Religions began as attempts to explain the universe and to guide human behaviour. Now we have science to find the truth about the universe (which is awesome) and we have (hopefully democratic) governments to make laws. But, as you kids' shenanigans have clearly shown me, neither I nor any commandments or laws can predict every situation and tell you what kind of nonsense not to do -- you have to think for yourself.
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Just saying hi and Happy New Year to everyone! I have not read all the posts on this thread - just browsed through the last two or three pages.
I was born and grew up in a country where all religions were mostly banned for about 70 years. That didn't make my parents' or my generation any less 'moral.' I consider religion a therapy of sort and have no issues whatsoever with the people who are religious. However, after living in the US for over 20 years and raising two children in public schools here I have yet to meet really religious folks. The overwhelming majority see religion as part of ethnic and cultural tradition and so do I. The difference is, many go to church or temple two or three times a year whereas I do not.
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I think kids are naturally skeptic. I was in Catholic elementary school because it was the most convenient for my parents. When the teacher got to the "virgin birth", the kids dragged her over the coals. We were just old enough to know where babies came from, and this was too much to swallow. "You just have to have faith" was the only answer the teacher had, over and over again. I will never forget that scene. I wonder if she even believed it herself.
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solfeo - what a wonderful way to approach your son's curiosity. As much as I love my Mom and think she did a good job raising me, politics and religion were rarely discussed. When I did express an opinion or thought I was told "I don't know where you get your crazy ideas". Thinking for oneself was not exactly encouraged, so I kept my thoughts to myself and it took her a long time to accept my lack of belief. I'm not sure she really has. To be honest we still don't discuss it.
I don't think I met an openly agnostic/atheist until I met my husband in 1998.
I don't mind that religion brings meaning and comfort to many of my friends and family, but it is frustrating that we are looking at the world through two different lenses. I can't accept "because the Bible says..." as an argument for anything. That to me is the end of the conversation. Religion can be used to justify just about anything.0 -
Shutterbug: I agree with you. Religion can be justified for anything,,,, look at all the violence and wars that have happened in the name of "religion". "Because the Bible says so" is not a reason to me either.
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Excellent!!
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Ha, Ha brilliant!
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Hi, I'm new to this thread, though I have been been reading off and on for a while. I was raised totally a-religiously in a scientific family. Don't believe in God, but soon after my diagnosis with recurrence after initial Stage 3 and possible bone mets, I found myself sometimes going into churches and asking for strength to deal with the situation. It seemed a quiet contemplative place and I actually hoped that maybe a priest would appear to help comfort me. (But now that I think of it, he/she would probably have given me the 'God will take care of your spiel') which would have totally turned me off.
I've a cousin of mine is quite religious and he has been sending me meditations which are somewhat religious in nature, but I try to ignore that and get the bigger message.
Anybody else have a similar experience?
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