Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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Illimae, sorry about your Tamoxifen side effects. Thanks for the reminder about Festivus from Seinfeld and I just Googled it and watched the program clip - funny as always. Don't forget to celebrate December 23rd!
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I had very good results this week. Post chem imaging shows no cancer! Will know 100% upon pathology but it was a great result and I am feeling very thankful.
I feel thankful to fate, life, luck, STEM majors, very caring friends, people who bring food, my adult children, two new kittens, and this forum!
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Santabarbara: I am so happy for you receiving good news. Yes, there is much to be thankful for with the wonderful people you mention and of course those 2 kittens.
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Ananda8,
love this.
Cheers, Yaniza
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Ananda, thanks for informing. I had to go to a big box store today and I must say the only reason for the season is green-- as is dollars. I've saved so much money by not being a believer.
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Winter Solstice is not too far away. To me it is the true spiritual holiday, a time of ending and beginning.
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This is a really interesting thread. I am Catholic (actually, I am a nun) and admit that sometimes I am pretty ignorant when it comes to understand what others do (or don't) believe. My faith has certainly helped me in joy and in difficult times. It's actually been wonderful for me to read how many of you find such meaning in natural beauty, even more than some "theists" at times. For me, nature all comes from God, from others, not; perhaps it's not so important that we all believe the same thing as respecting others and the diversity of belief (or non-belief).
I wish you all happy holidays - and a happy Festivus! (mad Seinfeld fan. It's not you, it's me.)
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sparrowhawk,
I was raised Catholic, went to a Catholic elementary school. I was always one step back from believing even as a child. I read the bible cover to cover including the footnotes and the result was a search for a god that was not the god of the bible. I studied other forms of Christianity. I like the Quakers, but still nothing. I read the Quran. Nothing. I read the Tao te Ching and that made an impact. http://thetaoteching.com/taoteching1.html
Around the age of 21, I read What the Buddha Taught and it was if it had been a cloudy day and the sun came out. http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/what%20the%20buddha%20taught_rahula.pdf
Buddhism as it was originally taught is in my opinion the greatest philosophy developed by man. 2600 years ago a man explained the workings of the mind in ways that neuroscience is just now discovering. Buddhism has no creator god, but has been adopted into many Asian beliefs that do. Still, Taoism and Buddhism are at their source both "religions" without a god. Here is a link to the texts of the oldest form of Buddhism. The index is excellent. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/
The Metta Sutta is the text that got me through the tough times of diagnosis and treatment. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/khp/khp.9.amar.html
I wish you well on your spiritual journey. May you be well and happy.
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sparrowhawk, I love that your post was open minded and understanding. More often I see others so focused on saving our souls, that they ignore that we might actually be ok the way we are.
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Beautiful words all. This thread grounds me. Happy Winter Solstice on Friday!
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Looking forward for the solstice and days getting longer. We still have Santa Claus day for the grandkids and for families getting together.
I usually opt out of Christmas parties if I can help it . But love get togethers, minus the churchie stuff.
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After years of being rather hard-nosed about my atheism, I decided I can be a Secular Christian; after all, there are Secular Jews. So I still don't believe, but I enjoy the music and architecture as a cultural tradition. And I've been a little too hermitty since I retired, but I think the medical events of this year have made me want to be a bit more social. We went to a dinner and program at my son's church the other night (all secular except for one very brief, vague prayer before dinner), and I found a group of women my age who were smart, friendly, funny, and reminded me of my mature nerd friends from work. And no proselytizing!
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I've passed over this thread for months because I was searching for the experience of other metastatic members. I decided today to pop in and see how this thread deals with a cancer DX though everyone may be at different stages. I was surprised to see religion/faith/God to be the theme of many posts. That's fine. I think questions/civil and open discussion benefits everyone. I expected some but not as much of the negative, demeaning and scoffing of those who have some form of Jude's/Christian belief system. I was encouraged by others who had a healthy toleration for those who do believe in a higher power outside of themselves and expressed the need for universal virtues that cross all belief systems and cultures.0
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165. By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another. --- Dhammapada
No god, no Brahma, may be called
The maker of this wheel of life
Empty phenomena roll on
Dependent on conditions all. ----Visuddhimagga XIX
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Lots of threads available for religious people. This is for non-believers and it should get the same respect as believers get on theirs. And for those of us who don't follow gods, quotes from ANY religious book are just weird and out of place here.
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ananda8, thank you for your wishes and for all you shared. I studied Buddhist teachings at school and found the philosophy very interesting to learn about. I truly value and respect the Buddhist view on the preciousness of life, even of the smallest things.
illimae, thank you. I try to be open minded. I grew up in a Catholic family with parents who mixed with people of different faiths. I have several friends who are agnostic or atheists. One of my very best friends is a Muslim. Interestingly, they were more often than not much more supportive of my decision to become a nun than other Catholics. We all get along wonderfully. 😊
Listening to the stories and views of others is very important for me, as I see that there is a greater chance of connecting with someone when I can see and respect their view, even if it may be different to mine. The way I see it, I'm not in the world to convert people. I'm here to live well and to love well. I don't know that people are drawn to God because of me, or because of any small thing I do or say, but I'm just trying to live a good life as I firmly believe you all are here. I'm sorry that you have had such negative experiences with people of faith.
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Just a quick reminder that atheism is a disbelief in the existence of a god or gods. Atheism says nothing about the person being good, bad or somewhere on some vague good to bad spectrum. I find it quite wearisome to be lectured by people who feel 'sorry' for atheists and attribute their disbelief in the existence of god on 'negative experiences with people of faith'. Perhaps those opinions need to stay on the religion specific thread where boasting about one having a Muslim or atheist friend is seen as an act of Christian charity.
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Yes, no need to preach to converted and/or dedicated atheists. I should be more tolerant, but I’m not and I actually hate most established religions, especially those with an obsession about their diety. A bit grumpy for this time of year, but there you go. Happy Holidays everyone.
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Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I am not "sorry" for atheists, nor was I attributing any disbelief to negative experiences. I was simply replying to the comment that some people who do believe in a god can be overbearing, trying to convert, etc. And I did not mean at all to come off as boasting about having relationships with people of other or no faith, or speaking of my relationships as being "Christian charity". Not what I meant at all. Actually, you could say more correctly that my friends have shown charity to me. I apologise if I caused any offence.
My original intention for posting here was to say that I actually appreciate this thread and was touched positively by some things I read.
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That's fine by me, thanks for the clarification sparrowhawk.
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Thank you! Happy holidays!
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I do my best to keep religion off topic with believer friends, different drummers as they say. While I’ve never believed in any god, being or heaven/hell, I do admit to having many negative personal experiences with some religious folks, from a loud brimstone preacher I saw once (aunt forced me to attend Easter service, I was 8 or so), to in-your-face groups handing out pamphlets at the beach, which amounted to borderline harassment, to the born again types on a person mission to convert.
I appreciate this thread for what it is, interesting, funny and relatable.
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In many places in this country, coming out as a Christian has some pretty serious repercussions. I keep quiet about my non-belief because I am concerned about the reactions of my neighbors. If I was not retired, I would have a hard time finding a job if people knew I was an atheist. To me, religion is not benign. I have no objection to how people believe but in my town, religious people would have objections to my non belief. This thread is one of the few sites where I can vent a bit. If believers feel that I am being disrespectful or unfair, I suggest they look to the beam in their own eye.
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That scripture verse is well chosen
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ananda8: Well said. I can relate and deeply appreciate this thread where I am not bombarded with prayers.
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Many atheists go on what I describe as a religious quest when they begin to be dissatisfied with the religion of their upbringing. Usually that begin with reading the bible cover to cover like one reads a book. Most Christian denominations that I am aware of sort of skip around the bible with emphasis on the Epistles and Proverbs. Reading it cover to cover puts a different light on things. Many continue by studying other religions until finally they admit to themselves that they are non-believers. This journey results in many atheists being well versed in religious beliefs. This is supported by the US Religious Knowledge Quiz of Pew Research. Take the quiz and see if you score at the top in knowledge like our fellow atheists do. http://www.pewforum.org/quiz/u-s-religious-knowledge/
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This was a fascinating survey. I missed the major religion of Pakistan as I hovered back forth between the correct choice and the answer I chose. (no spoilers) Thanks Ananda.
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I missed the last question...I'd never heard of two of those people.
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I missed the last question as well. I had heard of the Great Awakening, but didn't know the names.
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