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Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

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Comments

  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 3,293
    edited December 2018

    lol I'm beginning to wonder if there's a set schedule for believers to come here and demean and scoff at atheists & post snide remarks about how we're not tolerant enough. Just waiting for the 'so much for the tolerant left' meme to appear.


    Alicebastable - I like your thoughts & ikwym about secular christianity; I think it can be a thing.... & I like your sig line.

  • monarch777
    monarch777 Member Posts: 338
    edited December 2018
    Ananda, you seem to be uncomfortable with your choice. You make sweeping statements about groups of people based on limited Information. Wouldn't a discussion on absolutes and universal truth expand the conversation beyond a certain religion and how wrong it is? Jo
  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2018

    JoE777

    What are you talking about?

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,311
    edited December 2018

    A little-known factoid from anthropology.... the hunter-gatherer societies that were the happiest (low suicide) and least violent (did not torture enemy) were also LOW in religiosity. The common denominator of these societies was carrying their babies around. Those who did not carry babies were both more warlike and more religious. See James W Prescott NIH.

  • wren44
    wren44 Member Posts: 7,967
    edited December 2018

    I missed 2.

  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 3,293
    edited December 2018

    "A little-known factoid from anthropology.... the hunter-gatherer societies that were the happiest (low suicide) and least violent (did not torture enemy) were also LOW in religiosity. The common denominator of these societies was carrying their babies around. Those who did not carry babies were both more warlike and more religious. See James W Prescott NIH."

    santabarbarian - I like his work because it's unabashedly feminist & he argues matriarchal culture is what we need for peace. Interesting to see that bonobos are matriarchal .....

    As a lactation consultant, a La Leche League Leader and an attachment parenting advocate, everything he says sounds right to me.

  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2018

    santabarbarian,

    Joseph Campbell agrees with you about hunter gatherers.  This type of economy is usually in forests or jungles where food is relatively available.  He compares this to agricultural communities where success is only as reliable as the weather. The result is a difference in approach to the spiritual.  Here is a link to his first book in a series about the subject. https://cyudwhfyj.updog.co/Y3l1ZHdoZnlqMDA2MDk2MzQ4NA.pdf

     Here is a list of the chapters on book 1 and book 2 of Campbell's writing called the Historical Atlas of World Mythology  https://www.jcf.org/works/historical-atlas-of-world-mythology-the-series/


  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,311
    edited December 2018

    moth I too am a LLL Leader!

    And my Mom was an anthropologist so I was breastfed at a time when few American babies were.

  • socallisa
    socallisa Member Posts: 10,184
    edited December 2018

    I am 76 and breast fed my 3 boys. I was the only one in the hospitals.

  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2018

    SoCalLisa,  What was the reaction among the doctors and nurses?  


  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,963
    edited December 2018

    My sister is in her 70s and she and all her friends breastfed, as did those of us now in our 60s. Bottle-feeding was practically considered child abuse.

  • socallisa
    socallisa Member Posts: 10,184
    edited December 2018

    Amanda. The doctors and nurses were okay with my breastfeeding but really they didn't know much about it. This was 1969 and I was 27 years old. I had the book the womanly art of breast feeding. It was my source of information . This was 3 different hospitals. By the third one I taught them.


  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2018

    The late 60's and early 70's was a wonderful time of positive change.  I hope the Women's March of 2016 has ushered in a similar period that will bring long term positive change as well.


  • wren44
    wren44 Member Posts: 7,967
    edited December 2018

    I had my daughter in Alaska in 1960. Everyone breastfed because milk was so expensive. A coach would have been so nice, so I'm glad women have this option now.

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2018
  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2018

    image

    This is a picture from the article above.  It's the track of the Winter Solstice Sun from Fairbanks, Alaska
  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 3,293
    edited December 2018

    wow, cool photo! thx for posting that

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2018

    The sun will be rising on the horizon a bit higher tomorrow and the days will be getting longer. Still have time to snuggle under my down comforter with a good book.

  • wren44
    wren44 Member Posts: 7,967
    edited December 2018

    I like the Icelandic Christmas celebration. Everyone is given a book, then stays up all night reading it while eating chocolate.

  • janett2014
    janett2014 Member Posts: 2,950
    edited December 2018

    I learn so many interesting things on breastcancer.org. I just googled Icelandic Christmas Traditions. I love books and have always enjoyed giving and receiving them as gifts. Thank you Wren44 for the info!

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2018

    This holiday season I promised myself I would say no thanks to any Christmas/Holiday party invitation I did not want to attend. Oh my, life has been oh so enjoyable with nary a headache . I could list the events I'm avoiding, but rather will say that I am looking forward to a modified Icelandic tradition with mine starting in the morning on the 25th with a Mimosa and my fresh hard copy of Louise Penny's latest book Kingdom of the Blind. Mid-day will include a long walk and then a heaping bowl of Cioppino with assorted seafood and a large buttered slice of bread and of course, a nice red wine. I should have the book put down by evening just in time for darkness to envelop me as I settle down for a little movie watching.

    I wish each of you a day spent as you like.

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,311
    edited December 2018

    magiclight: I got an internet ad for a sweatshirt that says "sorry I'm late, I didn't want to come" -- and thought, How did they KNOW?

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,747
    edited December 2018

    image

    I love not putting up or taking down decorations, not spending too much money and not seeing my family, lol. Hope you’re all having a relaxing week.

  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 1,993
    edited December 2018

    I've been an Atheist my whole life. In my younger days when friends would tell me I will pray for you, it used to irritate me. I would go into a gentle tirade about my lack of belief in God and pointing out all the things wrong with their religion. Now that I'm older and hopefully wiser when my friends say I'll pray for you whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, ETC I just smile and say thank you. If it makes them feel better there's no skin off my nose. I also respect my friends religious beliefs. Sometimes we will have debates but try to keep it respectful. The line I enjoy the most from my friends is" I cannot believe you don't believe in God because you're such a good person." I laugh and tell them you can be a good person whether you're an atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant,etc. It is a challenge to keep politics out of any discussion regarding religion or lack of religion. The discussions here are thought-provoking and genuine.

  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 1,993
    edited December 2018

    Illimae- I'm an atheist but I love all holidays. I love decorating for Christmas, Hanukkah, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Valentine's Day, Etc. I don't stress myself during the holidays. For myself, the holidays are a time to relax and socialize with friends and family . I do adopt families during the Christmas holidays to purchase gifts for children and the elderly. I don't Embrace any of the religious components of the holidays.

  • Yaniza
    Yaniza Member Posts: 83
    edited December 2018

    This is the thread on bc.org that allows me to take a real breath.

    jo6359... you have summed up my goal... to be respectful but gently own my position.

    Cheers everyone,

    I'm sure any celebration of kindness can be traced back to a comfortable place... that predates all of the presently acknowledged religions.

    Yaniza

  • kjwlam
    kjwlam Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2018

    I am personally an atheist but I do not promote my beliefs to my children, I think it’s important for them to work out what is true for them. I have a close family friend who is a catholic priest and when i’ve had challenging times in my life, he's one of the few people whom I feel I could open my heart and soul to. He never judges me and always brings some kind of balance to my chaotic mind



  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,963
    edited December 2018

    Like years of water on a stone... my Catholic hubby used to select religious Christmas cards. I'd get something with poinsettias or snowmen, and we'd decide who got what depending on the recipient's belief, if we knew it. This year, he liked my choice of a frosty forest with "Winter Greetings" for everyone, even his VERY religious relatives! It only took 36 years! I must say, he's become one of the most open-minded Catholics I've ever met over the years.

  • socallisa
    socallisa Member Posts: 10,184
    edited December 2018

    luckily I have a non-theist husband