Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

If one can't mention god on an atheist site, where can one?

thanks! It's the funniest thing I've seen in ages! I posted it on Facebook and only 1 person liked it

This is the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while.

We non-believers are here. I wish we discussed this topic more with each other under this topic....

I became an atheist after a long journey. I was a church-going Christian. For me, once I started reading the Bible in earnest and researching what I read, my eyes were opened. I learned lots of things. Not even hardcore Christians agree on a lot of biblical stuff. Literal translation does not seem to mean believing in the literal words even if some denominations claim they view the Bible's actual words as Truth as written. They still interpret "what it means." At least based on all I have read and the many churches I haver attended over the years.

I have 3-4 Bibles - one is really old & belonged to my great-grandmother back in the late 1800s. I also read about HOW the Bible was created. Now, that was interesting, of course. A bunch of men voted on which "Books" to include in the Bible. Makes one wonder what was it about the other writings that were left out, doesn't it?

Anyway, I don't feel any loss for being an atheist. I feel free! I am not stuck only looking at life from what I consider a flawed and restricted world view. I look at the meaning of life on a grand scale. I can now choose to live my life in a far more loving and more expanded way than I ever could as a Christian. I am not restricted in how I view life or how I comport myself. I judge others far less now.

I also have Christian friends. Some are very devout. I have no issues with them or their choice to be religious. Why should I? Yet, many-many-many Christians take issue with those of us that are not religious. Many Christians react negatively or with hostility -- or tears ("If only you knew how much God loves you!"). If they know a person is atheist, we are often treated differently! And sometimes with suspicion and/or hostility -- how could we possibly have a Moral Code if we aren't Christian? I've heard and read this view a lot. WTH!

So, as an atheist, I have spent a lot of time thinking about that Moral Code and what it means to me. I am comfortable with my non-belief of a super Being that must look like (a) Man (literally!). I don't need that creed or deity to understand right from wrong. Instead, as an atheist, I view Life with a grand lens. I accept that Life ends with Death and that its what I do in the interim that marks my legacy. I work at being a decent human being. I own my shit. I don't lay it at the feet of someone or something else. I don't say "the Devil made me do it." No, for me, we ARE what we do -- and what we say, too. It's about what we do with others and what we do to others. I want to leave this world gracefully and with gratitude to everyone and everything that impacted my life because it all made me who I am at this moment.

As an atheist, being diagnosed with breast cancer has forced me to dig deep inside and lay myself bare. I found I did not need a belief in a deity or religious doctrine or angels or saints or devils or demons to find my strength or my comfort. It is sometimes hard work, but being accountable is important to me. This breast cancer Journey has not only made me stronger, but also made me more compassionate. And I own my Life, all of it.

I was born to a long line of atheists. Both my parents, & all four grandparents!

My nontheism came about through pure laziness. I started sleeping late on Sundays decades ago and I realized my life was better! I'm not a spiritual searcher and i think all religions are pretty much a crock, from Abrahamic to New Age. My Mom was at least superficially religious (probably due to a feeling that it's what people were SUPPOSED to do to fit in), but Dad's family didn't do any of the churchy stuff.

I do see the appeal of some churches that emphasize (non-preachy) service to others, plus a sense of community. I attend my adult son's very progressive Episcopal Church occasionally because of the nice people and the music. I think secular Christianity can be a thing, like secular Judaism - tradition without belief.

Have you heard of CEOs - people who attend church Christmas and Easter Only? I think that speaks to the wish for tradition without a deep belief.

Myself, I am deeply fascinated by religion. I did my dissertation research on gender difference in religious orientation. I've attended a wide variety of churches. I often love the ritual but can't buy the theology behind it. I just don't see believing in supernatural beings. But I have people in my life who I love who are religious and, since they respect my lack of belief, I respect their need for it. Most recently, my BIL was elected as a bishop in the Episcopal Church. I will be at his ordination, wishing him well.

Alice and Wander... I had been to an Easter service decades ago and was publicly chastised, along with all the other non-regular attenders, for only showing up on holidays. Although I went to that in order to accompany a regularly attending friend, it was the last time I ever went to church.

I tend to approach theism as a societal structure. It was needed for social control and explaining the unknown. The complex varieties and practices have evolved over time. On a personal level, my non-theism became more pronounced as my understanding of the world became more, well, more universal. I have no trouble having others be believers. It is choice. Just please don't try to impose those beliefs and values on me.

I wouldn’t go back to a church where I got chastised either. Back in the spring I went to an Episcopal church for an Ash Wednesday service. First time I’ve been in an Episcopal Church in several years. The sweet young priest shook my hand and I could tell he was trying to decide if he knew me. So I sent him an email later and explained that he had never met me but that I grown up in an Episcopal church and was now an atheist. And that I had come to that service because I had recently finished chemo and I loved the symbolism of being reminded that I come from the earth and will return to the earth. I told him that the ritual still had meaning for me even though I no longer believed the theology. And I hoped that it wasn’t a problem that I was there. He wrote me back a very nice email and said it certainly wasn’t a problem to have doubts and that he had doubts himself and that I was welcome again next Ash Wednesday or any other time that I felt like I just wanted to be part of the ritual. I thought that’s exactly the way a good minister should handle it.

ananda8: Ha! LOL! I took one of those Do You Know Your Bible tests and scored 100%!

wanderweg: I'd love to read your dissertation! Like you, religion fascinates me as does history. Right now, I am researching the fact that during the Middle Passage, many Muslims in Africa were kidnapped and then transported to the Americas to become slaves. Most likely in the tens of thousands, too. Now, who knew THAT? Another one of America's little secrets. Many people believe that Christianity is the religion of America, but the Founding Fathers (often Deists, not Christian) were clear about the separation of Church and State. And for good reason.

magiclight: Beautifully written. Humans tend to love ritual; most likely a survival mechanism in some basic way. Ritual cements communal solidarity, teaches tribal history, how/why things are done the way they are, etc. In other words, humans like to party and have a good time. I used to attend Pagan seasonal events in my 20s...Mother Goddess/Mother Earth religion-style. They were so much fun!

❤️❤️❤️

Yesterday I received an unsolicited letter from the Jehovah Witnesses telling me that I should come to their church so I could learn all the truths found in the bible. They did not mention that their bible is different from other religions. Funny that religions have different bibles. When I explored this I found this interesting tidbit: One of the reasons we see different versions of the Bible is because of the number of manuscripts available. There are over 5,800 Greek New Testament manuscripts known to date, along with over 10,000 Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts and over 19,000 copies in Syriac, Coptic, Latin & Aramaic languages.

Wow! More evidence that these are all works of historical fiction.

I don't think it's fair to say that Christ was a liar. The Christ of the bible was a fiction - a combination of bits of real people's (more than one person) lives, and stories made up to grow the mythos surrounding the created figure that was bigger than the men the tales were based on.

Many of the tenets taught in the parables - e.g. be nice, take care of each other - are basic instructions that help people get along successfully. Others are driven by the politics of the time, especially those that focus on the oppression of women and dispersement of slaves; and are proof that not everything written in the bible is universal. And that's ok. We can separate the sheep from the goats, and the chaff from the wheat.

The Bible (the Old Testament, anyway) was an oral tradition long before it was written. Campfire stories, basically. Stories designed to hold a community together and teach its values. No different then the Viking suckers which merge the Norse mythology and oral history. And I agree with Mirianda that we can’t really say Jesus/the Jesuses were liars. A composite figure can’t really lie. And even if it turned out that the composite theory isn’t correct and it was a single figure, it’s not lying if you believe it. It may be wrong but that isn’t the same as a lie.

And on a different note: