Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[Kelly G]

Oh! I am Sooooooooooo relieved to find this thread! The only place I never felt at home here was always hiding lack of religios beliefs and a strong dislike for most organized religions. I grew up attending Catholic schools in a very religious, strict Catholic home. It didn't work for me. I consider myself a recovering Catholic.

But I do adhere to a strict code of ethics for living. My life is filled with respect for others and the highest regard for all life.

I'm going to go back and read all the posts...I'm so proud of what I've read so far (first two pages) - everyone's being very respectful!

 

[Whispering Winds]

I love the idea there is a supreme power out there. I try to go to church every Sunday, and can honestly say I don't really "go" for every lesson we have in Sunday School. I go primarily because of my 9 year old, want him to have at least a path. I pray every day, for everyone, and hope other people pray for me. My DH is a believer, but causes me grief because of the way he has chosen to live his life in some ways. He is a wonderful, good man, but has let his diabetes take over his life, and I am the scrapgoat for most things going wrong in his life these days. Good thing I have broad shoulders, and Someone Else to talk to about it.

I cannot look at a baby anything and not think there is a "God" or "Supreme Power" out there somewhere. I can also say, without hesitation or doubt, that it has been my salvation more than once to be able to hand my biggest problems to someone else and let "him" carry them for me. Without that, I would not be able to carry on somedays. I love Mother Earth, and think that Wicca is just fascinating, but live in such a rural area with very prominent "Christians" I would never let on. I have family members who are though, and have wonderful writings on it, and its not evil in any way.

I question some of the things going on in this world that I feel like should not be happening, and have a hard time believing there is a lesson to be learned from all of it. For the life of me, I cannot fathom what lesson is to be learned from setting a boy on fire with alcohol and then beating a girl into a coma. I know it brings out the best in people, but we should not have to endure such horrors to bring out the "best" in us.

Just my thoughts on this, to a small degree.

 

[ConchRepublic]

I always wondered if there was a higher power. Honestly, I don't think it's anything to put faith into. To me a higher power is like a scientist putting bacteria into a culture, but we are not the bacteria, the entire universe is the bacteria and the big bang theory is the equivalent of the "being" placing them there. It's kind of like "Lets try this and see what happens." The "Higher power" just set the beginnings, everything else happened on it's own.

So I tend to lead towards my apathetic beliefs, what happens happens. Doesn't matter if there is one or not.

 

[Whispering Winds]

I think the History channel had a thing on the Meterors and how that is what actually created us. If it wasn't for the dust from them, then we would not be here, "hense ashes to ashes, dust to dust" I guess. BUT, there is also a picture of a space shot that shows "the eye of God" that is pretty dramatic. Most beautiful picture I have ever seen. Food for thought.

 

[Kelly G]

Quote:
^ THIS ^ is EXACTLY how I feel. I tried SO hard to believe everything the church tried to teach me - if only to please my parents...but even to my 10 year old brain - none of it made any sense.

Darwin? Got it!!! Makes all kinds of sense - to me, anyway.

Other random things I found hard to swallow and contributed to my giving up on religion:
2 of each animal on a boat - that wasn't going to go well.
Immaculate conception - unlikely.
Adam & Eve populating 6 of 7 continents - again, unlikely.
Physically rising from the dead - possible coma

I don't ever try to apply my beliefs to others. It is important that everyone walk their own walk & we're all at different places in our journey.

 

[Pupsnpullets]

Quote:
^ THIS ^ is EXACTLY how I feel. I tried SO hard to believe everything the church tried to teach me - if only to please my parents...but even to my 10 year old brain - none of it made any sense.

Darwin? Got it!!! Makes all kinds of sense - to me, anyway.

Other random things I found hard to swallow and contributed to my giving up on religion:
2 of each animal on a boat - that wasn't going to go well.
Immaculate conception - unlikely.
Adam & Eve populating 6 of 7 continents - again, unlikely.
Physically rising from the dead - possible coma

I don't ever try to apply my beliefs to others. It is important that everyone walk their own walk & we're all at different places in our journey.

I'm loving this thread. I have long since dismissed the thought that there is some judgment male God sitting up there somewhere watching everything I do with a critical eye and clipboard on his lap. I certainly believe there is a powerful energy (higher power?) that we are all tapped into whether we actively use it or not. I don't think the original teachings of the bible were necessarily wrong at all. I just think the teachings were tweaked according to who was in power at the time, and distilling the warped messages right down to their original intent is not an easy task.

Kelly and Redhen, and possibly others, there a new play in production of which I've seen parts of, and that addresses a few things like the virgin birth, rising from the dead, and the missing years etc. This play is called 'Daughter' and it challenges a lot of believes out there in a very sensitive, thoughtful way. If you feel the urge check it out.

http://thesphericalwe.blogspot.com/2009/05/daughter-seminar.html

 

[Whispering Winds]

The biggest mystery to me, and I admit I don't research it, and it has never come up in Church since I have been going is WHERE did the other non-relatives come from for Adam and Eve's children to marry and carry on? Maybe someone has that one answer. I think the people who wrote the Bible saw it THEIR way, and who knows what they may or may not have been drinking or smoking for that matter. No disrespect intended, my SS teacher would fall over in a dead faint if she even suspected I think about these things. I have a couple of men in my class that are great; the one really challenges the teacher on some of the "ethics" of the Bible and we have some pretty interesting conversations. The other one just questions some of the decisions made that doesn't really make much sense.

 

[Jena]

I love this thread,

You are all such amazing people,

you have come from a range of viewpoints so wide and with a lot of courage in some cases, and a dollop of humour too,

and I just realised something, several people have stated a sense of lonliness or a kind of isolation in being different.

What you have actually done is to bring together another community,

I have read so many posts that share a little bit of how I have felt and also tell me a bit about other views, but it has all been respectful and very kind.

So maybe a lot of us are not as alone as we think.

Brilliant People... all of you.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
There are many Christians that don't take Genesis literally and believe in evolution. So if someone wanted to remain a Christian but still couldn't accept the Genesis account as being factual they would be able to retain their faith.

Not only does it seem strange that Cain(or was it Able) was able to quickly find an adult woman to marry but why would God put two people in a garden and expect them to follow rules when those two people won't know what right and wrong is until they break the rule?

 

[redhen]

Quote:
There are many Christians that don't take Genesis literally and believe in evolution. So if someone wanted to remain a Christian but still couldn't accept the Genesis account as being factual they would be able to retain their faith.

Not only does it seem strange that Cain(or was it Able) was able to quickly find an adult woman to marry but why would God put two people in a garden and expect them to follow rules when those two people won't know what right and wrong is until they break the rule?

Yeah... it JUST does NOT make any sense! And thats why i cant believe...
I honestly believe that a mortal man wrote it..and put THEIR beliefs in it....