Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

moth

solfeo, the way I think of it is if god gave me (& all of us, and all the children on the pediatric oncology ward) cancer for some purpose, then she's an evil a*****e. Who would think anything about that is a good thing??? I just don't get it.

solfeo

Not sure why any god would waste its energy on a hardened atheist like me anyway. If blind faith is a prerequisite I definitely don't deserve any favor. Wouldn't an omnipotent god know the situation is hopeless in that regard and move on to another more agreeable soul?

Egads007

I’m not sure if it’s been posted in this thread already but there is a Bill Mayer documentary titled ‘’Religulous’’ that is a must see. It follows Bill’s cross country in depth search for answers to the existence of God and faith in various religions. It’s a thoughtfully prepared and rather hysterically funny hard look at faith. The ending diatribe is SO true! Check it out for a highly entertaining watch

illimae

I second Egads007 recommendation, Religulous is great. I actually really liked the guy from the Vatican and the bit about the Mormons and their magic underwear. Good stuff. There’s a movie called zeitgeist that opens with a religious comparison, showing that many biblical stories are rip offs, it then goes on to conspiracy stuff which may or may not interest you all here.

ananda8

"zeitgeist"  has some errors in it and forced parallels where none exist, but the point that religions borrow from one another is well taken.  There are three atheistic [no creator god] religions in the world all from Asia.  They are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.  One can find people in each of these religions who believe in god(s) but there is no supreme creator god in any of the teachings.

 

illimae

Good to know ananda, I didn’t verify anything stated in the movie but rather viewed it as good for thought. While I believe in nothing and specifically despise organized religion, I like the idea of reincarnation and karma. I consider myself a pretty good human, so a little cosmic justice wouldn’t scare me. My vet always say she she’d like to come back as one of my dogs, lol

Wren44

Illimae, A friend told us he wanted to come back as DH's dog.

ananda8

Just remember this about Karma.

Egads007

I may be crucified for posting this (omg excuse the pun lol!) but it cracked me up.

solfeo

And male pattern baldness haha

I was browsing Roku channels last night and noticed Atheist TV. Anyone ever check it out?

SoCalLisa

no, wonder what that's all about

Egads007

SoCalLisa - probably a lot of science. Lol.

Solfeo - thanks for the heads up, haven’t seen it but I’ll be checking it out.

ananda8

Spookiesmom

👍

illimae

Perfect! I cringe every time I hear those words, so empty and generic.

SoCalLisa

non-theist sounds good..

Wren44

Just went to an interesting memorial for a 92yo man DH used to work with. He installed and repaired industrial equipment for money and sailed large ships for love. The first one was the Adventuress, a former San Francisco Pilot Boat. Then he had a smaller one called the Zodiac, which was also quite large. One crew member said they had an overnight sail on Tuesday for 45 people. The ceremony was presentation of the flag to his wife by veterans. He served in the Merchant Marine during the war. That was followed a little later by a flyover of WWII planes. They flew over the house from behind, then turned and came back again. On the return, one plane was making smoke. As they approached the house, that plane went up and off to the distance leaving a smoke trail. Very fitting. Not a religious word was said by anyone. I loved it. The event was at the lakeshore house of one son, bright sunny weather with enough breeze to keep from overheating. The flyover was followed by a substantial buffet, prepared by crew members of the Zodiac. That's my kind of memorial.

fredntan

Hi, just been reading last few pages. I was at a BC retreat few months ago. We were in the circle talk. Some of the lower stages were all saying BC was a gift from god. This was at end, so they quickly ended it. Some of these lower stages in group were Crazy. doing weird things so it wouldnt come back. I am in Texas. There is a huge church every where and donut shops. i grew up baptist in a small southern town. Thats what turned me off religion.

Wren44

I know what you mean. I was raised in Okla and we lived in Texas for years. Really happy to be where I am.

SoCalLisa

Wren, I agree..very fitting memorial..missing man formation..

solfeo

fredntan - Cancer a gift from God. Just think of the amount of brainwashing that had to occur to cause that kind of thinking, and how easy that makes controlling everything else they think and do. They will believe literally anything if you can convince them it is God's will, and we are seeing the decidedly unholy results every day on the news. I've come to appreciate the wake up call cancer provided that motivated me to make some much needed improvements in my life and health, but I'll never be thankful for it for so many other reasons, and if there is a God who gave it to me he can go to hell.

Wren44 - How nice to go to a memorial service where you don't have to sit there figuratively rolling your eyes through the whole thing. My family has been instructed that I don't want a service when I go. I know funerals are for the living, but I can't stomach the idea of people publicly praying for my soul one last time against my will. My final act of defiance.

Wren44

I want to be cremated, scattered in the woods, and the family can have a party if they wish.

ananda8

I want to be wrapped in a sheet and buried between the pine tree and the oak tree in the yard.  I will make terrific compost.

ksusan

I'm going for either "shot into space" or "coated with concrete and used as a coral bed."

solfeo

I have a sick sense of humor and have suggested to my husband that he should bake my ashes in a cake so my relatives who insist on praying for me can eat me!

Wren44

Thanks for a hearty laugh!

SoCalLisa

between the devil and the deep blue sea..

MelissaDallas

I liked one of the things my sister did when her long-time boyfriend died. He and a bunch of his pals took a couple of road trips a year on their motorcycles and camped. When she ordered his urn she also ordered some mini ones and.gave one to each of his pals to take Steve on one last ride and scatter someplace special he loved. A local music/bar venue owner friend let her throw a big afternoon open bar party with all the music he loved, slide show of photos, etc. It was a great party. He would have loved it.

Kanga_Roo

I

Others can pray all they like, and I respect that, but I’m putting my faith in science

Traveltext

That was a good send off MelissaDallas. I've got a good and inexpensive plan for my athiest farewell. Funeral homes have a service where they'll come and collect the body, cremate it and return the ashes via courier. That costs around two grand. Okay, so your partner (or kids) have the ashes. Instructions would be left to hold a farewell party with some talks by friends or whatever they decide, and/or a power point presentation. Simple, secular, and suitable.