Worried about my Father / Finding Community
Posted on: February 26, 2008 - 10:59pm
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Worried about my Father / Finding Community
Just today I had a conversation with my aging father about religion, and now he's talking about joining a church again. He began about saying how much regretted not being apart of a church when I was younger, how it would have helped us being apart of that community. He is talking about tithes as well, a man who can barely afford his medication talking about giving money to some church so they could help take care of him. I finished our conversation suggesting a Unitarian church, I can only hope he find a community without his mind becoming more deluded than it already is. He was raised by a very religious mother, so I am very afraid he will fall into something nasty. Of course this did make me about my Atheists brothers and sisters, and how we need more of a community ourselves. Many times I feel isolated. I live in Hollywood and can go to the Center for Inquiry, but my schedule is too crazy to make any of the meetings. It would be nice if we had a "church" of our own, or just a place we could get togeather and discuss things at any given time. An Atheist Lounge, local branches all around. It really is the only thing I miss about being a believer, and even then the sad game of politics ruins those good memories.
To go beyond your limits you must first find them.
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Agreed. I see these type of communities being easily accessible being the key to atheism becoming more standard and accepted for future generations.
No atheist lounges for me, thanks. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to have places to gather for a sense of community but I would prefer these were secular community centers. I don't want the word atheist attached to something like that as it is misleading as to what atheism actually is and we already have enough problems trying to explain it to people who are hell bent on not understanding anyway. I have no problem with atheists wanting to gather together as many often have similar interests and discussing the experiences we have in a predominately theistic society can be interesting, productive and therapeutic, but I just think that there doesn't need to be special places for these gatherings. Special meeting centers are one of the main ways that people sequester themselves from contrary ideas and build walls within societies.
“Philosophers have argued for centuries about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but materialists have always known it depends on whether they are jitterbugging or dancing cheek to cheek" -- Tom Robbins
So you want segregation, hasn't the world seen enough of that? I rather the Atheist community not make the same mistakes religion has made.
If you feel like an outsider ti has nothing to do with your being an atheist, it is probably about you lacking social skills which in todays world is becoming normal. I am friends with Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and of course atheists. The only requirement I have is that my friends do not try and shove their beliefs down my throat.
If Jesus was born today he would be institutionalized as a schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur.
I should qualify myself more...I don't want 'atheist community centers' but more accessible humanist/atheist type community groups would be good.
There's always the Shriners, elk clubs, eagle lodges, moose clans, the Odd Fellows..
Besides, what would Atheist Club do? Talk for an hour every Tuesday/Thursday about how much of a prick God is? ... okay, well he is, and I'm sure you can find lots of evidence and ideas or scripture to support that but eventually it'd get old.
JanCham, this is a community for you right here. The forums are level one of the RRS family. We have chatrooms that you can usually find us on almost all the time. Also a lot of video chats go on all the time. We were helping Rook out with one of his articles earlier this week with him on camera. Last night Brian was talking with us in video chat. And not like he was giving a sermon. It was a relaxed back and forth discussion. Friday Jake is doing the weekly video chat. Heck we send packages to each other. Email each other. Proof read each others blogs before they are posted. RRS members that live close to one another meet in person from time to time. We're always communicating around here in a variety of ways.
Dig a little deeper. RRS is offering you a family with likeminded atheists.
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
As ambivalent as it might sound, I agree with everyone who has posted so far on this matter. While there are a lot of really great communities on the internet for atheists, as social critters it just seems that face-to-face contact will always trump online contact. I do have trouble socializing with religious folk; yes, I am friendly with them, I will go out and have a beer and a good time with any of them...but those people that I do hang out with aren't the voracious troglodyte freaks that characterize the extreme. Just normal folks having a normal time. But....I don't think I could ever call any of them a "close" friend. It would be great to have a place of....err, well....un-worship?....that atheists could regularly gather....but how could we NOT be like the THEM we have already separated ourselves from? And what WOULD we do?
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."
- Blaise Pascal
Interacting with people face-to-face is overrated.
For your father's sake I hope he does find a Unitarian Church. Giving money when you can't really afford it isn't going to help him at all. I know that my mother has been talking about joining a Unitarian church even though we never stepped foot in one growing up and religion was pretty non existent in our family.
I personally don't care either way if there were a group or community center that I could attend. I suppose going to meetings and having other people to talk to or work on projects with would be nice but... eh, I'm not too worried about it.
Actually, now that I think about it there are a few communities out there but I don't have a car so that would make it impossible for me to attend anyway.
If god takes life he's an indian giver
One of the reasons I signed up to this website was because I wanted to become involved with a group of people that shared a similar world view. Human beings have a very real desire to be part of a community. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It can be difficult to connect with people who have a drastically different view of reality than you do.
There certainly is merit to the idea that segregating people based on their beliefs can lead to division and conflict, but based on my own selfish needs, I do agree that it would be nice to have a place to go where I could "be with my own kind" so to speak.
(also if I'm not mistaken, the Shriners are a subsect of the Freemasons which require a belief in some sort of deity (they don't care which one) in order to join them.
)
Well I am not sure about America but I was extended an offer by my accountant to join the Freemasons. Apparently you need to be recommended by 3 members and they only take people with potential. So you either have to be rich or you have to be on your way to being rich. They also take clergymen and people like that. They are not as secretive as people make them out to be.
Getting to the point to join the regular Freemasons you have to believe in a higher power/creator of some kind. It does not have to be any of the major religions or the minor ones as long as you believe a higher power exists. I thought my accountant was talk crap but he showed me magazines and stuff. They actually release a Freemason NSW magazine monthly and they give to a lot of charities.
Maybe Americas Freemasons have different rules but here the Freemasons not a sect have to believe in a creator.
If Jesus was born today he would be institutionalized as a schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur.
One of the reasons I signed up to this website was because
..... I AM GOD .... just like you,
segregating people is what religion does, that ain't god !
but it is damn it ..... so they say .....
Atheism Books.
Mom and Dad died, they let out a last HAPPY breath and said good bye. That was it. so COOL they passed ..... I AM NEXT, tells the kids , IT'S all good, no worrys ...... please please please for the kids .......
Atheism Books.