god free since 1972!

raised methodist, drifted into hunduism in the late 60's, awakened to atheism in 72 and haven't looked back since. it was difficult losing my religion, i do remember that.

you are born into it, and it seems so natural to accept all the bible stories as real history, and it's easy to accept the religion you were born into. that makes it all the more difficult to push god out of your head. but i'm glad i don't have him in there anymore.

i have suffered no noticeable negative consequences that i can tell, and i am convinced that a person could make it all the way through his or her natural life span without ever once pondering upon god or gods, with no problems. there may even actually be such people alive today somewhere.

i do however fully support america's freedom and tolerance of religion, i say believe what you want, just don't burn, torture, or murder me because your diety instructed it.

amen.

Being raised by atheists has its advantages!

:evilgrin:

The Church Of Reality
http://www.churchofreality.org/wisdom/welcome_home/

One must be taught to be religious, just as one must be taught to hate.

People develop hatred pretty well on their own. More to the point, interest in looking beyond what is immediately tangible is quite natural.

Are you implying that atheisism breeds hatred, or is, in and of itself, hateful???

Surely you jest.

... No fat guy with toys = no magic; no magic = no supernatural; no supernatural = no spirits; no spirits = no gods.

When my daughter was 3, we went church shopping (in order to appease her John Boy Walton only-child fixation), and we were pretty happy with the Unitarians; however, we raised her to believe whatever she wanted to believe... in an atheist household.

At 22, she's a Hollywood makeup artist who respects everyone she meets, and she's even kind to the Scientologists (who don't get asked back by most film crews, BTW).

The Unitarians have caved in (IMHO) and started calling each committee a "small group ministry." Gag me. Try conducting a Social Action committee meeting by starting with a required spiritual reading and short discussion.

Not for me.

I should've stayed true to my non-belief all along!

It was a way of acknowledging our need to socialize and not theologize. We have a lot of recovering Catholics, Jews and others, one truly lost sheep Christian, and a strong pagan tendency. All are welcome, provided they believe in searching for their own truth and tolerance of others, etc.

I think the UUA is using the traditional (trans. "old") UU congregational model to keep its churches from being taken over by Pagans and Wiccans (is that a word?).

In my last UU church, the board upped the parish hall rental fee just as the pagans' church membership numbers started rising, and they wanted to perform their rituals in the church. Hm. Coincidence?

This is just my theory, mind you.

UU churches/congregations/whathaveyou come in all flavors. The one I used to go to a couple years ago, nowadays has an actual prayer (*gasp*) in the service. To a higher being. Apparently some of the under-30 crowd wanted that sort of thing, so the ministers responded. Or so I hear.

OTOH, another UU church, one I attend occasionally now, has none of that sort of thing. If you live in a large enough city, there's some choice available.

My sister's church was originally a merger between Congregationalists and Untitarians; they got some bad ministers and board members and drove her out (literally) because she objected to financial misdeeds by the powers that be.

A NH congregation had a history of intolerance (insisting on posting the 10 Commandments, etc). Once the old generation died off, things loosened up considerably.

It is the scourge of thinking groups everywhere--the quality of the experience depends on the personalities of the members. Things aren't homogenized by orthodoxy and decided by doctrine. That is the greatest weakness and the greatest strength. Consider the Democrats. Another classic case of evolution at work.

It is no doubt that fear of the pagans could drive the group you know. It depends on the pagans: are they going to be militant and fascist, or more earthy and tolerant?

Hope you can find a healthy and compatible group.

They're not pushy or militant at all.

You're so right about the "greatest weakness and the greatest strength."

started crumbling for me in college. I didn't finally openly admit to myself and others until age 50 that I just couldn't go for it anymore.

The only time I feel left out is when I go to funerals. I can imagine people saying about me at my own funeral "he was saved" and "he accepted Jesus Christ" and it makes me feel strange.

Anyway. It has been difficult because I was raised in a very religious family. It's kind of sad for me because religion seems to have spoiled the relationships I have with my parents now. It drives them nuts that I won't go to church with them.

We are Italian and in Italian families the church is the center of cultural traditions and fellowship. We were raised in the church and taught (by parents) all religions. We went to Seders every year with our Jewish friends, visited Mosques and participated in most religious ceremonies of other faiths. Our church is where we saw our distant cousins and friends of our families. When I was about 10 I asked my mother about the whole God thing. She chuckled and said to believe whatever I wanted. She also pointed out that many churches do many good things. In Texas the Catholic church supported the strikers of the Farrah Pants strike etc. I believe anyone can believe what they want but am astounded by the whole faith thing. To me, if you believe in God you must feel we are in an ant farm with no control over our own lives. I find the whole thing amazing that millions of people bow down and pray to some alien or something.

we believe that we are the ones who control our lives, and that is Spirit's intent. Spirit is like a cosmic consciousness or a system that is available to us to help us achieve our goals. In other words, we are all equally divine, and a piece of God - here to experience for God.

My point is that not all belief systems belief in an external God that is punishing and controlling.

Just my two cents' worth.

(more info. about my beliefs at .. www.religiouscience.org )

My dad, even though he never was a preacher, started a church that still exist today. Maner Baptist. Some where along the line I realized that you can't have it both ways. I guess you could say I'm atheist but I consider myself non religion. When I die I want no funeral, NO preaching, burn my stinking ass and bury my ashes and plant a sycamore tree above. I want my spirit to be FREE.

And apropos of nothing, I just had to include this FSM image I found from clicking on BlueEyedSon's link (thanks!). Santa Ramen!

The bible is a VERY INTERESTING history book. Part I, the old testament, is about the plight of the jews on their way to the holy land.

Part II, is about Christ.

To get the whole story you'll have to research considerably beyond the Bible, which was written considerably before and after Christ's death.

Christ was the most astute Jew of his time. He was a devote philosopher. He recognized the need to establish a new way of thinking....from a personal perspective...rather than a rule based agenda. His "relativistic" approach to human behavior was much more significant than Einstein's theory of relativity in relationship to how we should live with each other and share in this wonderful planet under God.

The problem with the interpretation of the Bible and everything else that has gone on since is a result of mass misinterpretation of what the Bible was and what it all means.

I take a stand somewhat between the Jewish belief and the Christian belief. I believe in what Christ said, but I recognize he is not the micromanaging intrusive God that most people believe in.

The fact that people can't even sort out the obvious is beyond me.

1. The bible is a history book
2. The jews aren't god's people, that's just their personal perspective. Many other people share similar views. Better to think of the human race as trying to survive on planet earth.
3. Christ was a brilliant philosopher. If we followed his basic tenets of do unto others and judged people fairly...we'd all be better off.
4. God....whoever this being might be, and we will never know....is not an intrusive micromanaging God....as can be evidenced by anyone with 2 eyes and a brain.
5. Relish our wonderful planet, the creation of life, and the goodness that can be brought from our planet. The amount of money and human endeavor that now goes into counterproductive religious schemes could turn this planet literally into the garden of eden if we simply made that choice.

and of course, there are some good suggestions for being a nice human being in there, as there are in millions of other, newer books.

i really do like your five points though, especially the last line. you should write a book.

With the statement "The Bible is a History Book." Or, I agree with the sentiment (that a complete historical understanding of "bible times" isn't possible from the bible alone) but not the statement.

But that's possibly because of my experiences. I'm religious and I'm also a historian (Master's Degree), and it frusterates me to listen to my co-religionists making historical arguments about what people are like based on the Bible. The Bible presents things very simply; there are the good guys and the bad guys. That does contain a religious truth (or it can, depending on how you look at it), but as history it's not very satisfying. The bad guys are usually under motivated (with a few exceptions; we don't know why they do what they do. We just know they are evil; the bible says so.

Why do the jews turn to idol worship time and time again? Again, the bible presents little context for their decisions (other than underlining that they were wrong). Again there may be a truth one can tease from this bit; but as a history it's woefully incomplete in my mind.

Anyway that's my two cents; I do believe in the Bible as holy, however, so we may have different perspectives.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

It is so hard to discuss these basic concepts though with true believers. They wouldn't get past your first point. I agree with Mopaul-write a book. Share your insight with the world and maybe open up some minds. You've obviously given it some thought. :hi:

While I applaud your interpretation of the book's teachings, there is very little in either the Old or New Testaments that has been corroborated archeologically or historically. For example, there is no evidence that either David or Solomon ever existed, despite the Bible's claim that they presided over one of the greatest, wealthiest kingdoms of its time. Yet not so much as a wine cup has ever been unearthed, despite the "Holy Land's" having been dug up like a gopher patch in search of such evidence.

As to Jesus' being a "brilliant philosopher". . . . Jesus' teachings were pure Judaism. The Pharisees taught the same things. He may have put a more humanitarian face on the Law, but his insistence on holding to "every jot and every tittle" was as adamant as theirs was. Even his famous edict to "love thy neighbor as thyself" was an OT teaching (he was quoting directly from Leviticus 19:18). In short, he said nothing really new. Perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to translate profound moral teachings into somewhat more (but not much!) accessible parables. But heck, even Aesop could do that. :)

Whoever wrote the Gospel of Luke (and it certainly was not anyone named Luke!), got several historical events out of sequence. In any case, his history is totally at odds with that of Matthew's--so much so, that the two cannot possibly be mutually correct. His biography of Paul in the Book of Acts (again, not written by Luke) contradicts everything Paul himself says in Galatians.

Unfortunately, as interesting as the book may be, history simply does not support what it has to say.

Feel the same way... born into a liberal Presbyterian home, became Hindu with occult influences for a while, now am a proud Atheist and Marxist-Leninist-Maoist.

But I have to disagree with the 'born into it' concept. We are born into atheism, and indoctrinated into theism/religion. My conception of God was only as some dude I'd heard of via tv programs like Davey and Goliath until my mother decided to find religion and started taking me and my sisters to church when I was 8 years old. It was then that I was told that God was the creator, the big boss, and had that "Old time religion" infused into me. 21 years later, after several years of doubt and questioning, I got it back out.

I do not think that I ever had a day of belief. The whole story made no sense, as a child I asked too many questions, never got a reasonable answer. Peace, and you are not alone.......

Thank god. With special thanks to Thomas Paine and Robert Ingersoll.

Sam Harris, in "The End of Faith", has issued a rallying cry to The People of Reason. We must question, debunk, and expose faith-based superstition before it's duped followers destroy the world.

I went to Catholic mass when I was growing up, but I never really bought into it. Thankfully, my parents weren't super-religious types; they didn't force me to go to sunday school or study the bible at all. All I really did was go to church every sunday, and when I was there I basically just spaced out.

I guess I realized I was a "non-believer" towards the end of high school, and at that point I refused to go to church anymore, and my mom and I had it out. She's ok with it now, though, at least.

It really was a slow realization on my part, and for a while I still went to church just because that's what I had always done. I'm lucky to have grown up in a family that fostered critical thought and not blind observance, or things could be very different.