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Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

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Comments

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2021

    I posed the question on another thread that led to an informative discussion of the historical aspects. I just keep on learning so much from all of you.

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,747
    edited December 2021

    image

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,621
    edited December 2021

    Yeah, thanks God.


  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    image

  • miriandra
    miriandra Member Posts: 2,240
    edited December 2021

    Ha! Seriously.

    Denver is back under mask mandates for all public indoors areas. Our local vaccination numbers are pretty strong: >70% fully vaxed, and 76% at least partially innoculated. But our mayor was gauging our hospital loads, and weighing that with holiday visitors coming in from less covered areas and bringing their Deltas, Lambdas, and Omicrons with them. I'm hoping after the holidays are over and everyone goes back home, we'll go back to laxer rules.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited December 2021

    My SIL has been in the ICU since Sunday. This am they are intubating her. I wish there was someone I could pray to but I can't feel that there is. Covid followed by pneumonia. My head is sending her a message which is don't die on me bitch.

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    KIDI919, how horrible! Pray to her medical team; if there was a god, shit like this wouldn't happen.

  • miriandra
    miriandra Member Posts: 2,240
    edited December 2021

    Oh no! I hope she pulls through this. Sending good vibes y'all's way.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited December 2021

    Alice I believe you are right. If there is, it's a sadistic bastard. Sometimes I picture something looming over us having a big laugh as we scurry around on this Earth. Something out of the Twilight Zone.

    Miriandra, thank you.

  • miriandra
    miriandra Member Posts: 2,240
    edited December 2021

    As I like to say, "If there is a god, and I see them after I die, we will have words."

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited December 2021

    Miriandra, you bet ! I gotta whole lot of shit to discuss.

  • blue22
    blue22 Member Posts: 172
    edited December 2021

    I don't want to start
    Any blasphemous rumors
    But I think that God's
    Got a sick sense of humor
    And when I die
    I expect to find Him laughing

    Blasphemous rumors from Depeche Mode




  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,621
    edited December 2021

    image

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,621
    edited December 2021

    A cartoon interpretation of the song:

    image

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited December 2021

    DivineMrsM, I hate that song!!! Whenever it came on at work everyone would say Kathy hates this song.

  • miriandra
    miriandra Member Posts: 2,240
    edited December 2021

    Love the interpretation version!

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    KIDI919, Oh good, I'm not the only one! I'm usually afraid to say it, but I've always been unimpressed with McCartney's songwriting. Too many of his tunes are simplistic and boring, at least to my ears.

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    I posted this on FB as my personal holiday card. 😈

    image

  • divinemrsm
    divinemrsm Member Posts: 6,621
    edited December 2021

    Love it, Alice!

    I do have to wonder if Santa's days are numbered. I suppose there are those who will always exalt him as the symbol for the magic of Christmas while in the same breath exalt Jesus as the “reason for the season". But a fat old white guy who never shaves, makes kids sit on his lap to tell him what they want and enters houses at night, as well as somehow spying on kids day and night and, as the above meme describes, judges their actions, seems counterintuitive to all the things we try to teach children these days. I especially notice it when I watch old sitcoms from the 70s-90s. It takes on a creepy feeling.

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    image

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    DivineMrsM, I've been reading about European countries' descriptions of St. Nicholas (a lot of gorgeous artwork, BTW), and his disturbing reward/punishment aspect was handled differently, with a nasty companion who meted out the bad stuff - anything from coals to beatings to cannibalism. It's all quite fascinating. And December 6th was for presents from St. Nicholas, with Christmas for religion and family feasts, and some other traditions like Saint Lucia in the Scandinavian countries in mid-December. Somehow it started getting smooshed together. I like the older ways which quite openly included and acknowledged the pagan roots.

  • elderberry
    elderberry Member Posts: 1,068
    edited December 2021

    AliceB: That would be Krampus. Still a popular figure in Alpine countries' Christmas festivities. They have parades of folks dress up in grotesque goat-like masks, wearing animals skins. Yeah, I am for all the Pagan stuff. I think Christians picked Dec 25 to be Christ's birthday so Pagan would accept it and not have Dec 21 (Yule) as the main festival. Coptic Christians believe Jesus was born on January 6 or maybe it was the 7th -- anyway, not in December.

    image

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    Elderberry, there were several others besides Krampus. This has a quick overview.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companions_of_Saint_Nicholas

    I was particularly interested in Hans Trapp since my great-great grandparents came from Alsace.

  • elderberry
    elderberry Member Posts: 1,068
    edited December 2021

    AliceB: I will definitely do some searching.

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2021

    Unbelievable!! Yet not surprising based on history of Catholics and gender and sexuality. This is reported today in the Washington Post

    A Catholic diocese in Michigan has instructed its pastors to deny baptism, confirmation and other sacraments to transgender and nonbinary people unless they have "repented" — possibly the first diocese in the United States to issue such a sweeping policy about those who identify with a gender other than their sex assigned at birth.

    The guidance issued by the Diocese of Marquette also stipulates that transgender people may not receive Communion, which Catholics believe is the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ. In most circumstances, they cannot receive the anointing of the sick, which is meant to provide physical or spiritual healing to those who are seriously ill. The guidance was issued in July but only recently sparked a debate after a prominent priest and advocate for LGBTQ Catholics shared it on Twitter.

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,962
    edited December 2021

    I don't know which has the worse rules, catholics or fundamentalists. A plague and a pox on both of them!

  • everymoment
    everymoment Member Posts: 6,656
    edited December 2021

    Alice: I am going to remember that curse!

  • miriandra
    miriandra Member Posts: 2,240
    edited December 2021

    Is the American catholic church actively trying to alienate their parishioners? They've already lost 18% of their membership since 2000.

    Mind you, they've got lots of company. Young people overall have become disillusioned with organized religion, especially the flagrant greed and political ambition of conservative christianity. The percentage of people who consider themselves churchgoers has dropped below 50% for the first time since Gallup started tracking it. It gives me some hope.

    U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time (March 29, 2021)

  • trishyla
    trishyla Member Posts: 698
    edited December 2021

    You and me both, Miriandra. I loathe organized religion and it's effect on our society. The damage is immeasurable, especially innocent children.

    Since chemo ate my brain I've been unable to do my normal job as a TV writer, so I started making jewelry. I sell at an artisan fair at a winery in Temecula. I do really well there, especially with tourists. I struggle with the locals, however, as it is an extremely religious/enthusiastic Trump supporting community.

    This past weekend took the cake. The artisan in the booth next to me was selling handmade wooden serving boards in the shape of a wine bottle. A woman walking by picked one up and started whooshing it through the air as if she was going to hit someone with it. She laughingly told Mabel, the artist, that she needed to drill holes in it, so that when you paddled your kids with it, they'd know they'd been hit. Not as handy as the belt she used to beat her kids with, but still good.

    I listened to her and my first thought was: she's a Christian. I wasn't wrong. She went on to tell a "funny" story about how the principal of her Christian high school (sadistic asshole that he probably was) used to paddle the students on a regular basis. When he retired all of his students showed up and signed his favorite paddle. How sick is that?

    She came to my booth and picked up a bracelet to look at it. I asked her to put it down and leave my booth as I don't sell to child abusers. She started sputtering about being a good Christian. I said "And I'm a good atheist. And I will not sell to you. Not now, not ever."

    She told me I was going to hell. I said "Doubt it. I'm not the one who beats defenseless children." She left and went to complain to the management of the winery. Good luck with that. The owners of the winery are Indian and don't have much use for the wacky fundamentalist Christians. Nor do I.




  • spookiesmom
    spookiesmom Member Posts: 8,178
    edited December 2021

    wow. Just wow.