Witchcraft & strange fire, I ask a question please! (Christianity, Satan, Christian)
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It wasn't meant to be a reply to your post and I owe you an apology.
Your post set my train of thought in motion about a conversation I had with a friend shortly before her death. What I posted were my musings, not meant to be more than that.
By the time I noticed,it was too late to edit.
Please accept my apology for the error.
Quick comment: atheists are not "people who believe in nothing." We can be (and often are) quite spiritual, we just do not believe in a specific and formulaic mob-standardized supernatural being who will take care of everything if we profess our unthinking irrational belief in Him/Her/It, and the book of fable written by others about Him.
If that is in fact what you think, you should rethink. In the meantime I'll remain insulted.
Well, while you're busy being insulted I suggest you go back and read my first post on this thread. I have and for the life of me I can't find ANYTHING pertaining to atheists.
If you feel the need to be defensive i'm sure you have your reasons but none of them are a result of anything that I posted.
If you want to tear into people for disrespecting atheism there are several other threads where i'm sure you'll have a wide choice of targets.
Also, consider this, not everyone has a hidden agenda, it is what is. I have no problem speaking my mind and had I wished to make any snide comment regarding atheism or any other belief system I would have done so.
Just because some one else assumed they knew what I "really" meant doesn't make it true. I said what I meant to say, no hidden meanings, no coded messages.
That was an observation based on the people that I know and have known. I made no mention of atheists. Frankly, I have no problems with what people chose to believe.
Based on your overly defensive though, I must have hit a nerve.
That is quite disingenuous. You stated 'people who believe in nothing' (if not Atheists, then what?). You "hit a nerve" because you made the statement that we are sad, disillusioned, and want to believe in something but can't. That is a sweeping and largely untrue generalization.
That is quite disingenuous. You stated 'people who believe in nothing' (if not Atheists, then what?). You "hit a nerve" because you made the statement that we are sad, disillusioned, and want to believe in something but can't. That is a sweeping and largely untrue generalization.
I've explained this already and I see no reason to do so again. Read the last 2-3 pages,you'll find it.
I'm really annoyed that a single post has been used as a ladder for some so that they can get up on their soapboxes and speak out against what they chose to see as an anti-athiest rant.
If you feel that ,as a group, you are being disrespected then I suggest you take it up with those that actually do. What you choose to believe or not believe is of no importance to me. It's your right to choose, and I respect that. I never said otherwise.
Anyway, I didn't mean to cause a problem. I just wish that some people would quit looking for hidden meanings, sometimes things are what they are and nothing more.
Be well.
pamelaBeurman, I know your intent was not to cause any problems and that you were stating you're opinion on what you personally experienced and there can be no fault in that, we all do that, however there are times when we must look at the bigger picture and not narrow it down to just one aspect of that picture and I do find that it is a shame that some will try to find a hidden meaning in things that are not said for their own agenda. Your statements were very clear and easy-to-understand to those of us who take the time to read them and I thank you for your outright forwardness and speaking your mind.
pamelaBeurman, I know your intent was not to cause any problems and that you were stating you're opinion on what you personally experienced and there can be no fault in that, we all do that, however there are times when we must look at the bigger picture and not narrow it down to just one aspect of that picture and I do find that it is a shame that some will try to find a hidden meaning in things that are not said for their own agenda. Your statements were very clear and easy-to-understand to those of us who take the time to read them and I thank you for your outright forwardness and speaking your mind.
I appreciate your input, and in the future i'll put more effort into looking at the big picture. Good advice. Thanks.
If you weren't referring to atheists in your original post about people who don't believe in anything, I apologize. What do you think of us godless atheists then? How unhappy do you think we are?
I am an atheist (in other words, I don't subscribe to any formulaic and dedicated unmodifiable and obedience-based mythology about a Christian super-being, with all it's rampant contradictions) but I'm far from believing in nothing. With a long-ago lineage in native North Americans, and a interest in their approach and ideas, I have my own intense spirituality, mostly focused on the natural world. This is very much unlike the Christian idea of the destructive "man above all else" arrogance.
You perhaps made the same mistake as Mystic does in assuming what other people think and believe if they aren't believers in a God of some sort.
Now then, if you weren't referring to atheists, then whom? Who do you know who does not believe in ANYTHING outside of their religious convictions? I'm honestly curious. Since we're right smack in the middle of the Religion and Philosophy board, why wouldn't we come to the conclusion you, as a Christian, weren't referring to atheists?
If you weren't referring to atheists in your original post about people who don't believe in anything, I apologize. What do you think of us godless atheists then? How unhappy do you think we are?
I am an atheist (in other words, I don't subscribe to any formulaic and dedicated unmodifiable and obedience-based mythology about a Christian super-being, with all it's rampant contradictions) but I'm far from believing in nothing. With a long-ago lineage in native North Americans, and a interest in their approach and ideas, I have my own intense spirituality, mostly focused on the natural world. This is very much unlike the Christian idea of the destructive "man above all else" arrogance.
You perhaps made the same mistake as Mystic does in assuming what other people think and believe if they aren't believers in a God of some sort.
Now then, if you weren't referring to atheists, then whom? Who do you know who does not believe in ANYTHING outside of their religious convictions? I'm honestly curious. Since we're right smack in the middle of the Religion and Philosophy board, why wouldn't we come to the conclusion you, as a Christian, weren't referring to atheists?
Inform me, please. I'm all ears. Honestly!
First things first. I was referring,in general,to people in my life,in specific,a close friend who ended her own life. The comment was based on conversations I have had with these people over the years. Just because I farm doesn't mean all I talk about are pork futures and grain prices.
As to my belief system. I was raised as a christian,my grandparents were ministers. I have become disenchanted with organized religion yet I still believe that a higher power exists. Hopefully female,but that's just the liberated woman in me talking. I think that by loving those around me,being a good person,giving when I can and helping who I can,I have the same chance as any fundamentalist of a good afterlife. We have a few religious persuasions in our family. Baptist to Pagan with a few Druids way way back there.
What do I think about Atheists? Well, one of my sons is an atheist. I haven't banned him from the house. Seriously,I feel that a person has a right to believe as they choose. I may not agree with it but I still respect another's right to choose a path that is right for them.
A persons happiness has far more to do with what is inside of them than anything else. I have known people who despite having everything felt empty and people who while having very little were happy and content.
I don't think that the state of unhappiness that some dwell in is based on religious beliefs or the lack of them. I would never assume that atheism equals being miserable. I've met a lot of miserable,unhappy people in my life,of all religious persuasions.
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