Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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this fell off my favorite list. i have been here for many years and all my friends and family know I am a non-theist . They aren't all happy but they leave me in peace about it . It is great to live in Southern California .
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I'm in SoCal too and don't think I could bear to be in a more religious and maybe intolerant community. As it is religion is definitely more spoken about here than in the U.K. I did some voluntary work at a very Christian charity. I was upfront when I joined and always if asked,. E.g. "What Church do you go to?","I don't", "Would you like to come to xxx Church", "No Thank you" , Sometimes this was a bit awkward, but I always remained respectful. I would join in prayers at meetings and before meals if we went out. I was truthful because I feel it's the right thing to do not because I have to because my religion tells me to.
Another impact of the openness of religion in the US for my DH and I on moving to SoCal in 2010. Our sons were all older (12 & 14) so we didn't meet people through school so much. We began to realise many people have their church as their center of their social like. My younger son, now a senior at HS, played rugby and we have become very close to our friends in the club. Rugby by tradition is very social, and we feed the kids of both teams after games. My DH says rugby is our religion, and we plan to continue to be involved after our son leaves for college next year.
Have had people put me a n their prayer lists, and say they will pray for me. I don't mind, as long as they don't mind me not oining in.
Each to their own - that's my motto!
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I agree to each his own . if someone wants to pray for me , I don't care . Just don't do it in front of me . Both my husband and I have met many people through our volunteer activities . I volunteer at our local museum and library and other groups . It seems that once the kids are gone from home the groups involving them dissolve. And the friends from work do too.
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Jwoo, living in Texas with a bunch of Trumpty Dumpty supporters is my definition of a living hell...
I respect all faiths and my DD is an aetheist. I do believe myself, but I refuse to try and cram it down people's throats. You don't choose it, it chooses you.
Live and let live, I always say.
Lita
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Hello all, just found this, it's a relief to find I'm not the only non religious person here. There are so many women with a Bible quote in their details, so I step very carefully around the issue usually. I try to respect other beliefs, and not to cause offence. Here in the UK you can mostly assume that no one is religious unless they mention their faith or their church, but I definitely feel in the minority on these boards.
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I was worried one of my 3 sons would be married in a church , but I was lucky . My middle son was married at a winery . That was the best way . I will go into a church if I have to . My mother needed me at my father's funeral . But I hate the feeling that I am forced to listen to the sermon I want to stand up and scream . But , of course , I don't . Both my husband and I are amazed that the church doesn't fall down if we walk in . Even the cathedrals of Europe when we lived in Madrid .
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I got married in church, despite my husband and I both being atheist. The choice then was between a really cute old church on a village green or a registry office in the town hall. So in the end we decided to go for the place that gave us a sense of occasion and history rather than something that would have felt legalistic and soulless. These days you can have a wedding in lots of different historic venues so we wouldn't have been forced into that choice.
Despite having no religious belief at all, I do get a sense of peace in old churches and cathedrals, not sure if it's a hangover from my Catholic upbringing or just the weight of history bearing down. And I love Christmas for the traditions.
I realise all this probably makes me a hypocrite!
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I'm Jewish and believe in a creator / organizing force / something way too complex for me to wrap my mind around..., but have little, if any, dogma, so I often have more in common with non-theists. I most certainly do NOT believe in a supernatural magical sugar daddy who capriciously answers prayers as if they were popularity contests. "Oh, sorry, but only 11 people prayed for your healing. Doesn't cut it. Bye Felicia! Next!"
I live in Texas, so we are constantly beaten over the head with poor old exhausted Jesus night and day. I saw online someone we know- but assiduously avoid in real life- asking for prayers because he fell off of a ladder while he was cleaning the gutters and lost his glasses. (He wasn't hurt).The next day he breathlessly reported that after an exhaustive search of the bushes in his yard, his glasses had been recovered, THANKS TO EVERYONE'S PRAYERS! Cos, y'know, if people hadn't prayed, those glasses would have stayed lost forever and ever amen.
Oy.
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JWoo, Living in FL,, I feel your pain! My county is a blue island in a sea of red,,,,, scary place to be. The KKK has a stronghold just in the next county.
I have 2 friends who are Pagans, and they celebrate the holidays the old way! After all Christmas trees, etc, are from the Pagans,, not from the Christians.
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DH and DS are athiests. DD and her husband are Buddhist and raised their children in that tradition. DIL was raised Episcopalian and they were married by an Episcopal priest in a garden. One Christmas we all had to attend Xmas Eve services at the Episcopal church because DS was interviewed in the newspaper and said it was his family tradition. I think he had been to 1 or 2 Xmas Eve services while he was in high school. The priest had all the kids come up front and sit by her while she read the traditional story. So here we sit in the pew and the 20yo Buddhist keeps muttering he'll be struck dead by God any minute. I think he was half sincere. We told DS to keep his mouth shut next year.
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I forgot that most of the Christmas traditions are actually pagan, the holly and the Yule log were really part of the druid festival. Okay, that makes me feel better.
I don't believe in any kind of creator, can't square the Big Bang and quantum physics and infinity with some creative being. Not that I understand the science, but I accept there are people who do. But I do believe that there is a need for humans to believe in something, because for millennia the nights have been long and dark, and when there was no explanation for the things that happen, people need to create a comforting belief that makes sense of the scary world out there. So we're hard wired to create religious experience because the alternative is too scary.
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Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and affirms their ability to improve their lives through the use of reason and ingenuity as opposed to submitting blindly to tradition and authority or sinking into cruelty and brutality.
Wikipedia
I'm for the kind of faith that supports community, without hurting, judging, or shaming its members or its dissenters. I've been considering the local Unitarian church, because it emphasizes compassion and tolerance.
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Religion also served as a means of social control still does some places
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This is a WONDERFUL thread!!!
Dizzybee: I agree with how people have always created supernatural beings to help them get thru the visicitudes of life...Huitzilopochtle and Quetzalcuatl (sp?) for the Latin American cultures; Pele, fire/volcano/lightning goddess for the Polynesian cultures; Thor, Odin and Loki for the Scandinavian cultures; and Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, etc. for the Mediterranean peoples.
SoCalLisa: Yep, the Catholic Church is the "parent" of social control...you can't get divorced and remarried without a special annulment or face excommunication; you can't get an abortion (or even use birth control - GEEZ!!); and you can't be a minister/pastor unless you have a dangling appendage between your legs; you can't take communion unless you're in a state of grace.....it goes on and on. No wonder my dad walked away from Catholicism. My four brothers and I were not raised in an organized religion. My parents believed in a higher power but never, not even once, dragged us to church. If we wanted to go, we had to go with our friends' families.
Fortunately, I live in CA, and everyone's pretty cool about others' spiritual beliefs. My next door neighbors on either side of me are Hindu, and they still have their Diwali celebration lights up. We have lots of Muslims in our community, too. I don't know what I'd do if I lived in one of those "reactionary" Evangelical Bible-Belt communities in the Deep South or Midwest. I am a follower of Christ, but it DEEPLY offends me when "religious" people drag Him into everything, especially politics. BTW: God doesn't care which football team wins the big game! He has lots of other things to deal with.
Sadly, we've had two incidents of men assaulting women wearing hijabs on college campuses, and another man broke in to some woman's car and wrote her a nasty note full of expletives, calling her a "hijab-wearing #itch...we own America now, get the &uc* out!" It makes me sick! The lack of respect and ignorance never ceases to amaze me.
Sigh...I'm afraid we'll be seeing way more of this intolerance now that Trumpty Dumpty is in power.
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- I guess no woman who has lupus or is undergoing Chemo treatment is really safe in public.
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Woman-wearing-headscarf-targeted-for-anti-Muslim-10619245.php
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This actually happened in my neck of the woods, Ananda.
Lita
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How can people be so filled with fear and hate?
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Nine Twelve, We took our kids to the Unitarian church because they were getting the other stuff from baby sitters and at school. The early service was totally open to any belief, the late service was more traditional. The theme was to decide for yourself what made sense.
I wonder about people who are so insecure they find it necessary to attack someone with a different belief. Do they attack other people too? For the fun of it?
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Crazy world, always has been I think..
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Hello everyone
This is a cartoon from The New Yorker, so it's a bit deep for me.
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I don't get it either unless there is some reason it's the 4th Sunday.
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You guys must have had limited religious upbringing. An Advent calendar has little paper flaps with the date. Each day the flap is lifted and underneath is a small religious picture celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is a countdown calendar. Do you get the joke now?
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Yes, but why does it only go to the 22nd instead of the 25th? Something to do with 4th Sunday?
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Oh I see it's just not there yet. Duh1!
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Funny enough that most such one-use calendars sold in stores contain almost identical chocolate behind each flap. What does that say, then?
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I think the Advent calendar is hysterical, if only in a dry New Yorker sort of way. What's December 22nd for an atheist? Is it 3 days before Christmas? Is it a day to celebrate the coming birth of Christ with a mini-gift or chocolate? No, it's....December 22nd!
I'm one of those non-Christian Christians. I'm a full-on atheist but I was raised in the Protestant church and spent years going to Sunday school so I know more about Christianity than many of my religious friends. It comes in handy when someone tries to argue a political position with me using religion and/or convert me. Despite being an atheist my family celebrates Christmas and to a lesser extent Easter as secular holidays. We sing carols, decorate a tree, and do just about everything Christmassy but attend church. I figure if Christians can pretend Easter eggs and bunnies are a symbol of the resurrection of Christ I can take the position that Christmas is just a time to celebrate family and friends and show each other how much we care for each other through common food, gift giving, festive decorations, and shared traditions.
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The joke is that it goes until Solstice, I think.
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The calendar is open until Dec 22 because the cartoon was dated Dec 23, 2013. I live in Europe where the church attendance is abysmal but Advent calendars and Advent wreaths sell very well indeed. Lulu has the über-cool sense of humor.
I go more in this direction...
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I agree that the calendar probably represents solstice....but wouldn't that be pagan? I thought atheists didn't believe in anything, including wiccan and pagan practices. Maybe I'm wrong ;o).
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