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Ok, since you said this post was directed at me I'll give it a go. Nope, you're absolutely right, no hidden agendas or certain "causes"....if I want to contribute to a cause then I'll do it on my own, thank you very much. You know the things that I remember about church? Nothing about the lessons, it was always about the people for me. I remember the people, oh and.....my freaking Dad standing up arguing with the preacher. He did that more than once at different churches and that's the kind of **** that I remember......bad ****. OMG, can't take the brainwashed fanaticism of it all. Do you or any of the other atheists/agnostics have this **** to deal with?
I didn't grow up in a Christian background. I was raised to be a religious Jew and had become a Protestant evangelical conservative Christian later in life (much to the chagrin and anger of my mother) and am now an agnostic. My mother was rather a fanatical Jew (or at least ethnically). That is, she was somewhat religiously observant but then fervently tied to her Jewish ethnic identity and it was a cause of discord between us. My parents are both deceased now.
[quote=Ilene Wright;24438322]
Quote:
Originally Posted by UsAll
Moderator cut: Orphaned You know, after I started questioning fundamentalist Christianity and the whole "hell" thing, I became a Universalist.........do you know what that is? Go to the Christianity sub-forum and you'll find out...they butt heads big time with the fundamentalists. That portion of the board used to be covered with fundamentalists vs. Universalists..........it was just another time in history that comes in waves, and it waved out. We all knew that it would, but it was fun while it lasted. One thing I've learned over the years is that nothing stays the same.....there were times that I never wanted it to end.
Yes, I am fully aware of what universalism is (I am very well read and studied in many areas of human endeavor, including theology). Hey, historically, the Unitarian Church merged with the Univeralist Church to form a new denomination called the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association).
The UU in my town is dominated by the "pillars of the community," who are old Pete Seeger-like lefties. Very good people, but the UU is dominated by them (I think they donated the land for the building and stuff). There used to be a big honkin' cross in that building (I went there for a concert) but the next time I was there, it was gone.
It is also very family oriented, which I don't like.
The UU a couple of towns over is very old, big, much more intellectual, has older people in it, and has some earth-centered stuff. I hope to get over there sometime, but at present, I work night shift on Saturdays and don't want to do anything Sunday morning.
Ethical Culture feels like the right place for me. No concerns about the possibility of creed, etc., and a lot of (ethnic) Jewish people for ethics, which feels right. They have their meetings ("platforms") 25 miles in towards town, and also on Sunday mornings. Other activities, like book clubs and so on, are a lot further into town. Basically, as long as I'm working five nights a week, I don't expect to make any commitments to anything, but I do like the feel of Ethical Culture. (They meet in a music school, so great music played in an acoustically perfect setting!).
I also think it might be a good place to meet atheist guys. (blush)
I would be looking for a sense of community, based on ethics. I was fortunate not to be raised with any god belief, so don't have any of those early searing experiences or questioning or anything like other people who did have religion earlier.
The UU in my town is dominated by the "pillars of the community," who are old Pete Seeger-like lefties. Very good people, but the UU is dominated by them (I think they donated the land for the building and stuff). There used to be a big honkin' cross in that building (I went there for a concert) but the next time I was there, it was gone.
It is also very family oriented, which I don't like.
The UU a couple of towns over is very old, big, much more intellectual, has older people in it, and has some earth-centered stuff. I hope to get over there sometime, but at present, I work night shift on Saturdays and don't want to do anything Sunday morning.
Ethical Culture feels like the right place for me. No concerns about the possibility of creed, etc., and a lot of (ethnic) Jewish people for ethics, which feels right. They have their meetings ("platforms") 25 miles in towards town, and also on Sunday mornings. Other activities, like book clubs and so on, are a lot further into town. Basically, as long as I'm working five nights a week, I don't expect to make any commitments to anything, but I do like the feel of Ethical Culture. (They meet in a music school, so great music played in an acoustically perfect setting!).
I also think it might be a good place to meet atheist guys. (blush)
I would be looking for a sense of community, based on ethics. I was fortunate not to be raised with any god belief, so don't have any of those early searing experiences or questioning or anything like other people who did have religion earlier.
Thank you for sharing your story. And the first one if I recall correctly) to mention any experience with an Ethical Culture Society.
My husband and I went to a Universal church for a few weeks, b/c of how I'm non-religious and he's Christian... he was hoping we'd find a church we'd both "like." But in the end, I found the stuff they were talking about in the Universal church to be stupid and a waste of an hour of my day. So we stopped going. I'm sure there's probably a Universal church, somewhere, that would have a "speaker" that I agree with, but I'm not desperate enough to find one, b/c I don't care. Churches suck. Heck, calling it a "Universal church" is already saying a big negative to me.
My husband and I went to a Universal church for a few weeks, b/c of how I'm non-religious and he's Christian... he was hoping we'd find a church we'd both "like." But in the end, I found the stuff they were talking about in the Universal church to be stupid and a waste of an hour of my day. So we stopped going. I'm sure there's probably a Universal church, somewhere, that would have a "speaker" that I agree with, but I'm not desperate enough to find one, b/c I don't care. Churches suck. Heck, calling it a "Universal church" is already saying a big negative to me.
By saying "Universal church", did you mean a UNIVERSALIST CHURCH? As far as I know, there are no standalone Universalist churches anymore (i.e., the Unitarian Church merged with the Universalist Church to form a new denomination called the UUA or Unitarian Universality Association). (As Wikipedia states: "Unitarian Universalism was formed from the merger in 1961 of two historically Christian denominations, the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association, both based in the United States").And, in the USA, there appears to be no denomination calling itself the Universal Church. Do you specifically mean that you, in fact, attending what was actually called a Unitarian Universalist Church (rather than what you referred to as a "Universal" church)?
No. Being an atheist means I do not have religious beliefs. So why would I wake up early, get all dressed up to sit at a place and listen to some dude pontificate? Doesn't make sense. I am very selective about joining a group and stick to hiking and search and rescue. I'd like to find a group that smoked cigars, drank whiskey and talked about various philosophies, culture, history, and how it all works together.
No. Being an atheist means I do not have religious beliefs. So why would I wake up early, get all dressed up to sit at a place and listen to some dude pontificate? Doesn't make sense. I am very selective about joining a group and stick to hiking and search and rescue. I'd like to find a group that smoked cigars, drank whiskey and talked about various philosophies, culture, history, and how it all works together.
That is how I have felt as well since dropping out of church life a while back. I wonder "why should I go to or, for that matter, regularly attend, someplace that feels like 'church', with just a somewhat different set of rituals and the trappings of ceremony, listening to someone pontificate each week on thoughts and issues that I could think of myself or read about otherwise, having group pressure to conform to their standards or be set apart to whatever degree, etc. etc. etc.?" I haven't felt the inclination thus far but sometimes wonder if it might be nice or fruitful to meet and hang around like-minded others (i.e., presumably non-theists) . . . but then who says that they are all (or even mostly) like-minded? From what I hear, Unitarian gatherings run the gamut in theological views, social and cultural views, theological views, philosophical views, etc. If so, then WHY are we all supposed to be gathering together each week or multiple times a week? To accomplish WHAT? To WHAT end? My time is precious and valuable . . . like yours.
By saying "Universal church", did you mean a UNIVERSALIST CHURCH? As far as I know, there are no standalone Universalist churches anymore (i.e., the Unitarian Church merged with the Universalist Church to form a new denomination called the UUA or Unitarian Universality Association). (As Wikipedia states: "Unitarian Universalism was formed from the merger in 1961 of two historically Christian denominations, the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association, both based in the United States").And, in the USA, there appears to be no denomination calling itself the Universal Church. Do you specifically mean that you, in fact, attending what was actually called a Unitarian Universalist Church (rather than what you referred to as a "Universal" church)?
...yup, pretty sure I meant the UniversalIST Church. If you wanna be all picky on the name. Whether it's a UC or a UUC, they're probably not that different in experiences.
It sounds like you are looking for relationship rather than religion. There are a few gathering places in your area that offer exactly that - Relationship not religion.
Depends. A "relationship" with an invisible sky entity is definitely religion.
Or a mental disorder
(Assuming of course that there is a difference between the two).
I was a UU as I moved from Christian (Catholic) to agnostic, before I became an atheist. It was a pretty large congregation (for UU), and I went for the sense of community, the intellectual discussions, and the whole "liberal do-gooder" vibe.
My ex and I discovered it when looking for a place to get married. We were originally going to get married in a Catholic church, but seeing pamphlets in the foyer for a trip to Florida to protest Disney Gay Days was the last straw for me with the Catholic Church. A) I found that to be exceptionally mean-spirited, and B) one of our ushers was gay and there was no way I was going to have him come into and out of the church seeing that.
The day my ex and I "signed the book," there were about 8 others who did the same. We went around the room talking about our religious upbringings. Seven of us were raised Catholic. The minister said [URL="http://www.uua.org/"]UUA[/URL] should really thank the Roman Catholic Church for its membership.
Maybe the whole feeling of rites and rituals that Catholics grow up with has something to do with UU's appeal to me. I had 12 years of Catholic school, and I did feel comfortable with the structure of the UU service. The best part, however, was shedding the dogma and being in a community where people were just accepted and welcomed for who and what they are. We had everyone from liberal Christians to Wiccans to agnostics to atheists, and one of the two ministers in the congregation came from a Jewish background.
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