Happy Atheist Forum

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"Ok, guys

what are the pros and cons:


what should I watch out for/be careful of?


I know they have some goofy ideas, like no condoms and stuff like this...i think i can look past it



My town is full of a lot of assholes(rednecks), and i really like most Catholics i meet.  They seem more down to earth than the dominant religion of this town(mormon).  Is it wrong to join a church mostly for the social aspect?

Pro: You get to drink Jesus' blood and eat his body -- literally.

Con: You can't have gay sex ( ).

Well, pretty much the only pro that I can see from your perspective is the social reasons. Whereas every rule they have is a con.

What do you mean by "join"? Are you going to fully accept and practice their dogma? Do you just want to join so you can be more accepted into the community, and meet people?

What are you, anyways? Are you a Christian?

If you're not a Christian why join an organisation where you will eventually find yourself viewed as odd at best and dangerous at worst?

I would never join an organization who's values I didn't agree with simply because I lacked a social network.

Look on facebook and meetup.com; there is bound to be some social group in your area that actually fits whatever it is you are.

Why would you join a religion/denomination that has no evidence that it's true? Plus, there are many, many restrictions.

Quote from: "Whitney"I would never join an organization who's values I didn't agree with simply because I lacked a social network.

Look on facebook and meetup.com; there is bound to be some social group in your area that actually fits whatever it is you are.

I was going to suggest that.  You could also look for a local Unitarian Univeralist church in your area.  Most of them are very welcoming to atheists.

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"guys i see your point, but have any of you ever lived in a mormon dominated town?

So, the solution to living in a Mormon dominated town is to join a Catholic church...?

What exactly is better about Catholicism than Mormonism? If you're joining a church for purely social reasons, doesn't it make more sense to join a Mormon church?

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"

Quote from: "Whitney"I would never join an organization who's values I didn't agree with simply because I lacked a social network.

Look on facebook and meetup.com; there is bound to be some social group in your area that actually fits whatever it is you are.

guys i see your point, but have any of you ever lived in a mormon dominated town?

I live in the UK, fortunately I've never been anywhere where theistic behaviour 'dominates' a town. Mind you when I was in and around Chicago in the late '90's I didn't notice much difference from the UK.

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"guys i see your point, but have any of you ever lived in a mormon dominated town?

I don't see how joining an equally strange religion would offer any escape from whatever it is that is bothering you about Mormons.  In my experience Mormons tend to be less pushy than some other denominations.

This whole region is dominated by Christians in general with a heavy Catholic influence...only way it affects me is I see those jesus candles at the store and sometimes overhear a religious conversation when out and about.  Since I enjoy being social I have joined and helped form secular groups in the area.

JBS

Have you looked into finding an agnostic/atheist group in your area?

"Joining" the catholic church is not something to take lightly, or something you do for the social aspect. It's a long process, and they take it extremely seriously. In short, I would not recommend you do it unless you are genuinely wanting to become a believing and practicing catholic.

I say this as a lifelong catholic (cause once you're in, you're in to stay, even if you join other churches) and having come from a family of still practicing Catholics. You simply don't do it unless you agree to all the beliefs and tenets of the church.

The Unitarians are an excellent idea though.

I think I would relocate as soon as possible.

Sounds like Utah.

I agree with Whitney. Got 7 words for you JBS:

Get the Hell out of there!

Edit: Apparently I'm a dumbass and forgot how to count. That's only 6 words.    But I still stand by what I said. You need to relocate pronto.

I agree with the others that said to get out of there. I can't imagine living a lie simply to fit in with people you don't know and may not even like.

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"late night ramblings are allowed on forum????????????????

We have threads for rambling....again, it's against the forum rules to post drunk (you even replied to yourself).

Quote from: "Whitney"(you even replied to yourself).

Twice.

 

Bob, the only thing you seem to post are ramblings. I think it's too late to ask if they are allowed.

LOL don't worry too much about it JBS. We all get drunk and say stupid stuff every now and then. I probably should have made a few drunk posts myself by now, but for some reason whenever I get sloshed I seem to forget how the keyboard and mousepad work...

I really don't know what's worse, feeling isolated in an island of ridiculous beliefs or joining a group with ridiculous beliefs in order to feel less isolated and alone. If you don't believe in it, how can joining a group that's defined around what you don't believe help in the long run? If it's just for the social aspect, I'm going along with what others have posted before: look for a more open and maybe even non religious group. Doesn't even have to be an atheist or secular one.

 :D

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"

Quote from: "xSilverPhinx"I really don't know what's worse, feeling isolated in an island of ridiculous beliefs or joining a group with ridiculous beliefs in order to feel less isolated and alone. If you don't believe in it, how can joining a group that's defined around what you don't believe help in the long run? If it's just for the social aspect, I'm going along with what others have posted before: look for a more open and maybe even non religious group. Doesn't even have to be an atheist or secular one.

I'll tell u what.  I think the head priest in my church is a homo, and every time I interact with him he gives the the creepiest look.

I'm not sure if i'm gonna do the whole deal...baptism, but if i do i'll let you all know if drinking (supposedly) Jesus's blood changes me at all

Honestly I'm probably a better catholic than most of the catholics in my perish, and i'm not even a catholic.  And this church is turning out to be an "old man's" church, so i'm really not doing it for the social aspect anymore anyways

Will there be Jesus crackers as well?  I always wanted to know what Jesus tastes like...some say rather boring.

Quote from: "xSilverPhinx"Will there be Jesus crackers as well?  I always wanted to know what Jesus tastes like...some say rather boring.

I always liked the communion wafers...at my church they tasted like oyster crackers (really small white crackers commonly paired with soups in the US)

I guess if an atheist/agnostic had to join a church for whatever reason, Catholic would probably be the best way to go.  There's a lot of mindless sit/stand/kneel/repeat after me going on.  You can be a Catholic your entire life and not really have to think.  Well, except for that Catechism thing.  But that's easy to get through.  If you go to an evangellical church or one where they have less chanting and more preaching and teaching, it could get annoying.  I got kicked out of a couple Bible study classes even before I was an atheist, because I wouldn't let them sit there and lie about what was in the Bible, so I often made class rather difficult to conduct.

Quote from: "fester30"I guess if an atheist/agnostic had to join a church for whatever reason, Catholic would probably be the best way to go.  There's a lot of mindless sit/stand/kneel/repeat after me going on.  You can be a Catholic your entire life and not really have to think.  Well, except for that Catechism thing.  But that's easy to get through.  If you go to an evangellical church or one where they have less chanting and more preaching and teaching, it could get annoying.  I got kicked out of a couple Bible study classes even before I was an atheist, because I wouldn't let them sit there and lie about what was in the Bible, so I often made class rather difficult to conduct.

I'd go to a Unitarian Church if I were to feel the need to ritualize my Sundays.

an oyster cracker?

can you tell me what you mean

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"

Quote from: "fester30"that Catechism thing

can you tell me what you mean? thanks

To join the Catholic church, you have to go through confirmation.  This is a process by which you learn the Catholic doctrine.  There is a little book called the catechism that you will read and study, and you'll have to pass a test on this book.  There is a ceremony as well when you get your first communion, and you'll have to be baptized somewhere along the way.

Quote from: "Whitney"

Quote from: "xSilverPhinx"Will there be Jesus crackers as well?  I always wanted to know what Jesus tastes like...some say rather boring.

I always liked the communion wafers...at my church they tasted like oyster crackers (really small white crackers commonly paired with soups in the US)

Sounds nice, even if mundane and earthly

Quote from: "fester30"To join the Catholic church, you have to go through confirmation.  This is a process by which you learn the Catholic doctrine.  There is a little book called the catechism that you will read and study, and you'll have to pass a test on this book.  There is a ceremony as well when you get your first communion, and you'll have to be baptized somewhere along the way.

Baptism --> First Confession --> First Communion --> Loads of stupid classes --> Confirmation --> Huge waste of time

Also, Jesus crackers taste kind of like styrofoam, but I would buy Jesus blood by the bottle. I'm not sure what kind of wine my ex-church used, but I've never had better.

Quote from: "februarystars"Also, Jesus crackers taste kind of like styrofoam

Oh, so they're like what you buy from McDonald's.  :eek: )

Quote from: "JoeBobSmith"

Quote from: "fester30"that Catechism thing

can you tell me what you mean? thanks

If you're actually serious about considering joining, you could go a couple Sundays to Mass and see what it's like (sounds like you might have already gone a few times?). You don't have to do all the aerobics, and when they get up for Eucharist you can walk up with them if you want (just cross your arms over your chest so they know you won't be partaking, and the priest will "bless" you in stead), or you could just stay seated during that time...nobody really minds either way.

The Chatechism is a medium sized book (about as thick as a hardback version of Twilight), and it's a reference for what the Church believes and why. The chapters are broken up so that if you have a question about Baptism you just look up "baptism" (the Religious Ed office at the church will give you one free if you ask, but you can get it at a bookstore too). It also explains a bit about why all the singing and aerobics etc..

For adults, there's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), that's usually one hour a week for 6 months (from September to Easter). They want you to go to as many as you can, but if you miss it's usually not a problem, and you're not signing up for the church just by going to the classes. You won't be asked to join until Easter, and usually by then people have already decided they're not interested and stopped going or have decided to join the church. There isn't a test after every class or anything, but there will be a time when either the Priest or a Deacon has a face-to-face interview with you to make sure you understand what Catholicism is about and to make sure it's really something you want to do.

At the end of RCIA if you want to join but you've never been baptised you'll be baptised, and then you'll do first confession, first communion (or "Christ Chex", since it's usually about breakfast time...don't say that to the priest though), etc. with the rest of the class.

If you just like going, but don't believe everything the Church teaches, you can still go every Sunday (just don't take Communion).

 ;)

Quote from: "xSilverPhinx"Will there be Jesus crackers as well?  I always wanted to know what Jesus tastes like...some say rather boring.

Ahh, yes, the Jeez-it. It's like one of those packing peanuts squashed down to a circle. It sort of dissolves, but if you have the priest put in directly on your tongue (all you had to do at my church was walk up to the guy and stick your tongue out and he'd slam one on there) and keep it there, take the sip of blood/wine (came from a box... I used to fill the decanter before mass as an alter boy) it will spot weld to the roof of your mouth, and the 11th, much lesser known commandment was "Thou shall not scrape the Lord from thine roof of the mouth piece."

Amen