missing being Christian...
Posted on: April 20, 2010 - 9:41pm
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missing being Christian...
Does anyone else, who is a former theist, ever miss being a theist? It's understandable, it's a sense of security in our life and our purpose. But it's still very irrational. I just miss feeling like I'm 'part' of something, a big community, ya know? I don't know many atheists, and there's no 'atheist congregation' that meets on sundays and wednesdays lol. I guess I just miss feeling like everything was okay, and not having to question anything. being secure in my conviction. I don't know, maybe these are just my random musings (:
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I would suggest that you take up a cause of secular ethics.
For example, I'm a vegetarian, so I'll meet other vegetarians for potlucks, and things like that. There's talk about environmental issues, health, animal welfare, etc. A bunch of people volunteer at animal shelters, or rescuing stray cats or injured and abandoned farmed animals.
Doing something worth-while in life is important to personal identity and overall fulfillment.
As such, I can't say I miss religion or have any interest in the community- I'm already involved to the extent I want to be when I'm in the West.
If you care about animals, that might be a good community to turn to (Animal welfare people are a little 'spiritual' sometimes, but usually not very religious- nice people in general)- and it's a bonus if you get to adopt a healthier lifestyle as a consequence.
If you don't care about animals... hmm... maybe something like peace corps? That's a bit more of a personal investment (since you have to travel overseas to really find people who need serious help).
It just depends on what you care about, and how much personal commitment you are willing to give to it.
I agree. I wish atheists could come up with and organization with some of the social benefits of church. Churches take advantage of this desire to be part of something and to belong to a supportive group. Maybe you should visit a Unitarian church since they are OK with atheists.
Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen
The World Pantheism Movement, AKA "Sexed-up atheism" -Dawkins, The God Delusion
My take on "how atheism will ultimately triumph over theism" is much more radical than that, but this is a hella good start for former theists. Sometimes, it does help to take the more pragmatic, nontheistic components of religion and apply those to yourself and the society you live within.
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
When I was going to church I found going once a week was a lot of work and going 2-3-4 times a week was just too much. I always had other things I wanted or needed to do. My children were young at the time and it was such a hassle to get everyone dressed, on time mostly, and then to come home to chores and lunch and dinner and ...... The commandment to honor the sabbath was obviously written by someone who didn't have to deal with a hungry, muddy, tired, wet/dirty diapered two year old and a husband who didn't know how to cook or change the baby.
I don't know, I still have so much I want to do that spending time at church services seems a waste of time. If you need to fill the hours, volunteering is always a good thing no matter the cause. And just think, they are probably short of volunteers Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings because a lot of people are at church! And like babies, many volunteer opportunities are not 9-5 M-F.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
I am a depraved old cynic who has seen and done it all.
You name it, I have *been there, done that*. Sex and drugs and rock'n'roll.
Yet, when I look at for instance children playing (and I have a few of my own), I sometimes do wish that I could have that level of naive enthusiasm and curiosity about life instead of all this terrible *knowledge*. Ignorance, as they say, is indeed bliss.
"The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind." (Alphonse Donatien De Sade)
http://www.kinkspace.com
Personally, I'm with cj...I always thought church was a hassle, even when I was a theist. My wife and I are hermits though.
However, I would suggest finding a local cause to volunteer. Food banks, shelters, concerts, theater, join a band....there are lots of ways to get that community feel back.
What kinds of things are you interested in? What are your hobbies? Ask yourself that, then see if there are any groups that meet about those things. Try the local papers, classifieds, craigslist, meetup.com, etc.
Everything makes more sense now that I've stopped believing.
Exactly my line of thinking when I read the original post. When I was 12, life was easy. God was there watching me, and all I worried about was my little league baseball team, and what was on TV. My meals were prepared for me, school was easy as pie, and life seemed to just flow day to day.
Many parallels can be drawn between childhood and church and religion IMO. Church has a way of shielding, explaining things away and helping everything just flow. In my experience with the Roman Catholic church, many people do BELIEVE in God and that's where it ends. They kind of spend their time just floating along and taking everything as it comes.
It's definitely harder to question everything, to come to your own conclusions. With that mentality, things can be bleak and trying at times. But, in my estimation, it's a much better way of living than just coasting through and spending sundays hanging out in church.
The funniest part of that - in an ironic and roundabout way - is that I vividly remember my own teen and tween years... when I was like "aha! I get it!!!!" and all my elders just shook their head at my "let's just fix the world!" kind of go-get-it-spirit and refused to discuss all those interesting things with me. Now I am 47 and I have arived at the point where I see no point in engaging in *discussion* with young people any more. Let them beat their heads against the wall. They will learn soon enough. The circle is completed.
"The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind." (Alphonse Donatien De Sade)
http://www.kinkspace.com
Baseball... BOOOO!
I would rather live alone, which I do, than to fit in even when the majority seems to be having fun. You don't hang out with people because of a label. There are plenty of atheists I have talked to whom I would not hang out with, not because I don't have the lack of god belief in common, but because we may not socialize together in the same way.
FOR example. I found an atheist Humanist group an hour north of me. I could go to the meetings if I wanted to. But after reading up on them, they are far too politically correct for me, and they hang out in Libraries.
I get plenty of social interaction at work and with my mother. Other than that, I am content to converse on the net because it is easy and cheap access to both believers and atheists I do have things in common with.
I would rather hang out at a sports bar with a believer who is also a Skins fan, than to hang out with a politically correct atheist who runs when they hear the word "boo".
Labels don't determine who you like. You can hang out with people whom on certain issues you'd froth at the mouth over with, but get along with. Then there are others whom you have everything in common with, but are killjoys.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Ok, but baseball still sucks.