Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

I just love it when a casual acquaintance or a co-worker tells me "you are blessed to have cancer. This is God's way of testing you.' ME. If you truly believe that nonsense. Your God test Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindu, and every other freaking religious group out there and non-religious. And for those God-fearing Christians who tell me "if you believed in God this never would have happened to you. But I'm praying for you anyway" I love the "anyway" comment. Interesting when you consider cancer doesn't discriminate on race" religion, ethnicity, Etc. I don't care to get into the debate about spiritual as being a way out. I have my Christian and Jewish friends tell me "you don't believe in God but you are a spiritual person. When I ask them what makes me a spiritual person the response is varied. The top two responses are " I'm active in various charities and I care about other people" I call that being a decent person which all of us should strive to be. Tomorrow I have to go out of town to visit my adult nephew who had emergency gallbladder surgery two days ago but is experiencing serious complications. I know I'm going to be bombarded with prayer groups which I will respectfully decline. When family members tell me to pray for my nephew I will inform them I will keep him in my thoughts. God will win, my friends! If my nephew survives, it's because of the power of prayer. If my nephew dies or experience debilitating side effects it's because it's God's will. It is always a win-win for God or that pesky devil. Yes, I'm being sarcastic. These debates do calls a lot of thinking which I greatly appreciate

Jo6359, it's like those Christians are admitting their god is a real dick, even bragging about it. Sounds like Stockholm syndrome.

I agree to.

Me three, totally agree...while laughing hard at ‘Stockholm Syndrome’....that was awesome! )

And I am also an atheist.

TB90-please dont leave. When I'm running, hiking in the woods or dancing when nobody's watching, I feel free. I don't call it spiritual but it makes me feel better. I enjoy your posts. I learn a lot from you. You make me think. Don't leave because of a debate over spirituality. I know plenty of people who are atheist who have a spiritual connection. I respect that. Sometimes I think we beat ourselves up over semantics.

Ananada- thank you.

Well said, I don't think of myself as spiritual and I don't get it but I think it is a beautiful thing and I admire those who have it. Perhaps even jealous. I have peace and feel free so maybe I do have a spiritual side and just don't recognize it due to past experience. The wonderful women on this thread are thought provoking and challenging, I am enjoying it.

I am too a person who does feel like I am “spiritual” but not religious. I love this thread because it has helped me develop more deeply my thoughts about “what” and “who” I am.

I am not a Jesus person or a bible person or a Torah person or an Allah person or an extremist and that’s for certain for certain.

I DO believe in love and the power of love to heal. Maybe love is my “religion” as one of the Marley sons sings!

I have seen the incredible healing powers of love and kindness and compassion through and through time and time again.

I have been victim to extremists religious violence and it took a long time to heal from that trauma. It was so full of anger and pain and hatred.

Nature is my “sanctuary.” I find peace and calm in nature. I feel “connected” to all beings in nature. More so when no other humans are around oddly 😂

I was just snorkeling alone in the Caribbean Sea a couple weeks ago and felt the deepest sense of inner calm and elated joy at the same time. If it weren’t for the sun burning my back and my stomach crying out for lunch, I could’ve stayed out there all day just pondering the sea life. For me, this felt like a spiritual experience. And so I think that to me, spiritual means feeling an inner calm and peace and interconnectedness with life.

There is a thread on Spirituality outside of religion that seems to be for theists who do not adhere to a religious sect. On the other hand, when I searched for the term spirituality, this thread was frequently listed. As an atheist participator, I'd like to keep this thread for atheist as per the title. I tend to use the word consciousness without a theistic bent whereas spiritual tends to have religious overtones. Just this one woman's ideas.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I will post here - I really like this topic and discussion. I did move over to the other thread but there’s not much discussion there. I guess the sticking point is how to define spirituality. Not religious to me at all, there is no doctrine, it is non-theist, no church, a variety of beliefs,etc It seems many of us connect spirituality to nature and the universe. Pretty amazing planet we have

wanderweg- being from Tennessee you should be well aware how serious Southerners take their religion. For the most part people are really good. They don't generally shove their religion down my throat and we have mutual respect. There are a few individuals who are very judgemental. Today went very well. When I was asked to join the prayer circle I declined and only one person gave me a nasty look. My nephew is doing very poorly. He is severely jaundiced. This afternoon a liver biopsy was done. He went in for emergency gallbladder removal and everything started going out of whack within 12 hours post-op. No signs of infection. He is only receiving IV Saline. AST, ALT, liver enzymes and bilirubin are extremely high. He does not drink alcohol or take drugs. Coincidence or so we're waiting for the results of the Doppler and the liver biopsy. Thanks to all of you for your good wishes.

I think I do belong here after all! Spirituality means to me an overwhelming feeling of happiness, a connectiveness and sheer joy. Often lasts just a moment, but is so memorable. I never attribute anything supernatural to this. It is an experience that is profound and special. It is spiritual, stimulating my psychological wellbeing. I also believe animals are spiritual, they too experience emotions. Spirituality may mean more to others and I respect that. Both definitions exist in the dictionary. Many words have several meanings. I actually think we all agree. Lets just accept the meaning as per the intentions of the writer. Advice I too need to heed.

I have no objection to the use of the word spiritual in a non-theistic way.  I experience awareness as in the awareness of our being part and of the universe.  That is the word I think of when a feel the soft spring wind on my skin or smell the damp earth of the garden. I become aware of being part of all of existence. 

jo6359, I wish there was some help I could offer you and your family at this difficult time.  I hope your nephew isn't in pain.  When my husband was in the hospital and in distress, I washed his face and hands in warm water followed by cool water.  The stress of surgery leaves a film on the skin and having a clean face and hands is comforting.  It may be a comfort for him to suck on ice chips as well.  Try to get the family to rest as much as possible.  This goes for you as well.  ((jo)).

Animals definitely experience emotions. I volunteer at an animal shelter and it's heartbreaking to watch a cat whose owner has died. They know and they mourn.