Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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Agreed. I want Mary and Joseph to look semitic. And Jesus too.
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I've been to Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem once. All the saints and, of course, Jesus are portrayed as black Africans there. I bet each race adapts the icons...
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as they should
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Morning Friends,
I was singing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" this morning. I cracked myself up. I can't help it, I still like the old Christmas hymns, and miss the pageant and splendor of a Lutheran Xmas service.
I can't remember who posted it, but they suggested to me something along the lines of incoporating it all ... I was sad cause I didn't believe anymore. So, I guess I can merrily sing the hymns and just go about my non-believing day!
Layne .. thank you so much! Great to hear from you. hugs and love my friend.
peace and love,
Bren
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Bren - why not just take the bits and pieces from everything that feel right and speaks to you and create the church of Bren? Isn't it all about what you believe, or brings you comfort or gets you thru the good and bad times? Maybe its about celebrating life, in whatever way you want. I don't think it has to be all or none, does it?
peace and good will to all...
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Thanks Meg! There's hope for warm sunny days again!
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I am agnostic, I do believe in a higher power but not in a religious sense, and I am spiritual with in my self...I do not believe in organized religion, and when some one says they will pray for me, they are praying for themselves hoping they do not get any type of cancer....I am not saying that right but I hope it does not offend anyone.... I am a recent diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, have surgury planned for December 31, and radiation treatment after that....
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EWB .. thanks for posting! I knew it was you who posted such a great idea. The "church of Bren" is closed now because of all the snow. Can't get down to my fields on my trusty mower and clear the meadows! Shoveling just doesn't cut it for spiritual rejuvenation. After the snow plow came through, the whole area I cleared at the end of the driveway and mailbox was piled really tall. arggh. And then it froze into huge chunks. I had to kick the stuff back into the street!
Thank goodness the shortest day of the year has come .. and now it can start to get sunny again.
peace and happiness to all,
Bren
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Catlover .. we were writing at the same time ... Welcome! I'll keep you in my thoughts as you go forward with treatment. Stay in touch and we'll help you through this.
hugs,
Bren
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The Church of Bren! Can I join? I love to sing. That's what got me going to church as a kid--to sing in the choir, even though the sermons were a bit tedious! My fondest church memories are all centered around music.
Anne
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But I soooooo believe in Santa Claus...we can sing those songs...
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Catlover123--Hope your surgery goes well on the 31st. Don't worry about getting all the words right all the time; no one can go through cancer and get the words right all the time. What's right is showing up here so we can offer support. Hope to see you again.
To all-Happy Winter Solstice! It's back to the singing and fire for me! And yeah, from time to time, I still sing the old Christmas tunes that smack of that old time religion. Just can't help myself, although I do try.
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well - these days Santa Claus and Christmas have nothing to do with the birth of christ and that celebration so you should be ok Lisa.
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If you look at the analemma (my avatar), it is a compilation of the sun's position in the skay at a certain time of day, over the course of a year. So, the lowest spot on the curve is the winter solstice, and the highest one is summer solstice. Isn't that just the coolest thing?
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I always wondered about your avatar Analemma. It is so cool! Is the point where it overlaps when it's at the equator? I've never seen such a compilation before -- very interesting.
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I'm not exactly sure, though that makes sense. I thought at first that the crossing of the lines would be the equinoxes, but it's not quite.
There's a lot on the web if you ask Google.
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Just checking in here. I've been lurking on this thread for a while and it's great! I've never really felt the need to belong to an organized religion, although I do like marking the seasonal holidays like Solstice. Pagan agnostic maybe? George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" sounds right for this time of year. It's wonderful to find this group of strong, funny women. Also, I Googled Julia Sweeney and found her blog, which is very well written and definitely worth a look.
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Yeah, I'm not into any faith either. What has happened since your diagnosis?
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Madalyn, When I first started using Analemma as my second email, my sons thought it was Anal Emma, couldn't figure it out! I had to educate them, though they should have known.
I've seen "Here Comes the Sun" used for Solstice before - I wonder if GH meant it to be so? Deck the Halls is a solstice song that made it through the ages without being Christianized. I'm sure there are more.
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thanks for enlightening us on the analemma...it is a good thing to know...
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bump
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I am a Catholic. I was diagnosed November 2008 and am still in treatment. Dealing with breast cancer made me wonder about God and Jesus. Supposedly they are 'in charge' of what goes on down here on earth. I decided I was 'mad at them' and developed the 'talk to the hand' attitude.
On Christmas Eve this year I decided it was time to go to Midnight Mass and see if I could make peace with the church. I spoke to the Priest (whom I know very well) when I entered. He wanted to know what was new with me. I told him that I had lost faith in 'his operation'. He wanted to know what I meant. I told him what I thought about God and Jesus and how they had given me cancer so I was mad at them and have lost faith in the church.
He wrapped me in his arms, told me how sorry he was and suggested that I attend the service for the Annointing of the Sick on January 2nd. He said he finds that those who attend that service tend to do well. I think I will attend the service but I really feel we have one life, this is it and Carpe Diem should be everyone's motto. Unfortunately, while I live my 'Carpe Diem' motto, I find myself all too often Carpe Dieming the Car Wash, Walmart, the grocery store etc... LOL!! But that's life right??!!
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I'm not sure if I am an atheist or just mad at a God I don't believe in....
But ultimately, I don't have a formal faith. I have not relied on a deity to sooth my troubled spirit through this crisis. Often times I envy those who do.
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Marie, I'll bet you make peace with your god. It's normal when bad things happen that we lose faith as we try to make sense of the situation. But God and Jesus did not cause your cancer any more than Curly, Larry, or Moe did. I have a feeling your faith is deeply rooted. Go to the healing ceremony, talk over your anger with your priest. Anger is part of the grieving process. I don't believe you are an atheist at heart--you feel betrayed by your faith. Am I wrong?
Part of seizing the day IS doing all those mundane things that we must do. It's the attitude we have while doing them that makes the difference.
I had a friend ask me recently to read a certain book by an atheist who converted to Christ. And she wants me to explain to her what "made me an atheist." I don't even have the desire to explain to her! I said I would never ask her to read a book that supported MY position in hopes to change her mind about HER position. And that it was unfair of her to request that I do it. I think she's upset that she can't save my soul.
I heard a great piece on NPR this weekend, and I'm going to buy the book, "A Very Brief History of Eternity." Look it up on Amazon--I can't remember the author. But it sounded fascinating and seemed to resonate with me.
Peace,
Anne
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Edited - changed my mind.
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Anne, thanks for the heads-up on the All Things Considered interview. Here's the link to the story.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121925840
It is interesting that the writer Carlos Eire, theologian from Yale, says that he does believe in eternity as it relates to the eternal human soul. I myself believe that once we die that we lose whatever it is that holds us together as one being, and we disslove into particles of energy and matter that mix into the cosmos (or fertilize the tomatoes). The book sounds interesting, let me know if it's a good one. I'm having a hard time staying focused on deep reading these days.
Brenda
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Runs, I must check out God Hates Amputees, also. I haven't seen that one. It sounds like a perfect reply to all who say we need to pray harder for a miracle. An old (sort of) friend stopped by on Christmas Eve and says he will put me on the prayer list at church, since he doesn't think he carries enough clout with God that it would make a difference.
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Oh dear, the older I become, the less I understand about organized religion and what it seems to have become. "Prayer lists" sound very retail-oriented (similar to Santa's wish list??). And if there is indeed strength in numbers, as your "sort of" friend believes, then what about the 400 million Christians who pray for "Peace on earth, Goodwill toward men" at this time of year? We don't have peace, and goodwill seems to be deteriorating at an alarming rate.....
Personally, I wish good things for you all in 2010 -- but I'm not praying for it
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Thanks for the link to the NPR story - very interesting. I am an atheist and always have been....I am not angry and respect the need of others to have some way to explain what we cannot explain.
Sometimes, I join with my friends in their religious celebrations (christmas, chanukah, solstice) because that is part of my friends lives and heck....some of them are fun! I have friends who are jewish, buddhist, catholic, pagan, jehovah witness, lutheran...to name a few. They pray for me, and I just look at it like they are thinking of me and how nice is that? Religion is just not for me. I practice kindness every day. I help those who are less fortunate when I can, and I recycle.
Being stage IV has not changed my views, I am here now and will touch as many hearts as I can before I go....that's how I will live on :> lisa
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Hey I'm new to all of this and just came here and looked around. I thought this thread looked intriguing. 51 pages is a lot but I started at the beginning and got a lot of laughs reading different things about bishops spinning in robes and people talking about all that "mumbo jumbo" prayer stuff and the stupidity or organized religion! That and getting spun out over people praying for you when you don't want them to! That really must be a huge drag. Well I figured if people here were a good time poking fun at God stuff and prayer and bishops spinning, and prayer and all that "mumbo jumbo", the God people probably were having an equally good time making fun of people who worship rocks - or even funnier - themselves!!! Or, horrors - NOTHING!!! So I found that thread because I am always up for a good laugh you know? Boy was I disappointed. Instead of making fun of the beliefs/nonbeliefs of atheists, agnostics, pagans, wiccans, and anyone else who posts in this thread, they were instead loving and kind with respect to all beliefs.
Me, I'd rather be here with the irreverent. It's always more fun having a laugh at someone else's expense. You know, it's empowering to put others down, especially if you can do it with the image of bishops spinning in their robes!!! Or calling prayer "mumbo jumbo". I like what all of you represent better. But then I've always been called sarcastic, disrespectful, and self absorbed. I think I'll fit well here!
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