Happy Atheist Forum

I've been an atheist for years, but it takes time to really feel at home and comfortable in your truer role with new perceptions. I expected things like some people not understanding, or being bigoted. I expected meeting harsh or pleasant realities. There were a few things, however, that I didn't see coming at all.

1) The Exorcist isn't scary anymore. I had never realized it before, but the reason the Exorcist scared the living crap out of me as a child was because I actually believed that it was possible to be possessed by a demon or the devil. The idea of having a foreign, and evil entity possess me kept me awake at night after seeing the movie. Now? It's one of the most boring things I've ever seen. It's just watching the deluded perceptions of religious people misdiagnosing someone with schizophrenia. And as someone with some knowledge of psychology and psychiatry, I can tell you that holy water is only likely to work in a psychosomatic role (the power of the water is in the perception of the child, and in this case, in the minds of the child, the old coot, and the younger coot).
[schild=18 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Bring me a Young Coot and an Old Coot!![/schild]

2) Sunday Mornings are glorious. You know how you sleep in on Saturday, but sometimes you have to wake up and clean the house or do yardwork? Not on Sunday. That's right, the atheists get the ultimate sabbath and best of all, we aren't morally obliged to go anywhere or do anything. You know what I did yesterday morning? Jack. I slept in till like 10 got up and ate some breakfast and just hung out at the house with the family.

3) No depressing Good Friday. Oh? Jesus died? That's too bad. *yawn* I'll see you guys after I get Easter off to hide eggs with my family without the horrible downer of torture and death. But you guys have fun, kay?

4) I can read whatever I want before bed. You know what I'm going to faithfully read before bed tonight? Maybe the Wallstreet Journal. Maybe I'll finish that great biography on Robert Kennedy. Maybe I won't read at all. I won't be quizzed on what I've read on Sunday, after all.


So what are the unexpected plusses and minuses of coming out the other side for you guys?

Yeah, baby... that so great!  

In relation to your #1, I don't remember the overwhelming religious overtones to the miniseries "The Stand" that we caught the last of last night.  It all fit and made sense when we first watched it but last night, it was repressive.  I realized the good guys (overhwhelmingly religious) were just plain depressed and unhappy while the bad guys (with the ultra-evil Randall Flagg at the head) were having a darned good time in Vegas.  They were keeping to themselves... it was the good guys who went to Vegas to kill Flagg.  Why?  I'll have to re-read the book.

And I particularly love your #3... "That's too bad.  *yawn*"  :-D  Whoohoo!

A big minus for me is the loneliness (IRL... online I find LOTS of heathen friends).  I'd love a good covered-dish supper or some other regular gathering... not to ingest dogma, but just to have others of a like mind to hang with.  The church-going crowd have a built-in group of friends.  Oh well... if that's the price to pay to be free of their mind-control and fairy tales, I guess I'll have to deal.

The Pac NW has a ton of atheists, you know. I'd guess it's second only to New England, in the US. You might visit museums, libraries, or take a night class in something relatively advanced to find like minded people. An atheist putluck sounds like a blast! Maybe have a Darwin theme. "Hunt the Flesh, Eat the Flesh" game hens, with naturally selected green bean casserole and Galapagos red potatoes.

I've heard there are tons of atheists in the PNW, but I've yet to find the congregation.  I did find a big meet-up group a few weeks ago but haven't yet had a chance to attend a meet-up.  Hopefully, once I do, I'll be able to have that potluck.

The point, though, isn't so much that they're hard to find... in comparison to religion, whose followers can find a group of like minds on any corner with a church, non-believers just don't gather like that.  There are a dozen churches in our little town.  There are no atheist halls or secular humanist chapels.  I have to go looking for atheists with whom to commune.

Well we're generally more educated, so it would make sense to seek more of us out in a higher educated environment like schools or libraries. I know, "Are you an atheist?" is an odd conversation starter, but if by chance they are you may have made a good friend.

I was always bothered by having to believe in hell.  Although,while still a theist, I decided it was a absence of god rather than burning I was still bothred by the idea of hell.  So, having rational reasons to not have to accept the idea of hell is a big plus.  I would think anyone would like a reason to not to accept the hell-concept...even die hard Christians.

Although a born again atheist, i still believe in hell sometimes when i am with my inlaws...JUST KIDDING!!!!

 Actually, i have awesome inlaws.  It's MY side that's weird.  But rlrose, i hear ya about the community thing, i'd love that too!!  I have a big community of friends, but still, it would be nice to have that philosophical connection with a buncha citizens in my hood.  Guess that's why i belong to moveon.org, the ACLU, and our local Dems...but still, i'd love to hang with a buncha atheists......i've never experienced that.

Okay, i've hardly even ever met any atheists in real life, just the two i raised, and my sweetie....that's about it...THANK GOD for atheist webblogs!!!

Plus, i make a kickass chinese salad...LET'S ALL HAVE A CONVENTION!!!!  okay, a picnic even....

in re: The Exorcist, I was watching the new show "Reaper", and besides being kind of boring the whole, "sell your soul to the devil" shit is just dumb.  Suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

Although, if a show/movie is good enough, I'll turn suspension of disbelief back on for a "religiously based" show. e.g. "Carnivale"

I would be troubled by the whole idea of dead relations knowing everything you're doing.  There's plenty of stuff that I've done that I'm really happy I'm the only one who knows about it.  Nothing sinister, just mundane stuff, but still.

I was surprised by how happy it made me to declare myself an atheist.  I used to say I was agnostic, or I wasn't a believer, or whatever ... it just felt so much more right to say "I'm an atheist".  So - I guess mine is an unexpected benefit - call it the happy conscience that comes from being honest or something (I don't know what to call it).

Losing friends is a minus.

Realizing that there isn't a god that will provide me with all my needs, is a plus. That's a dangerous belief to have.

Realizing that the earth really could be crushed by an asteroid and that sort of thing, because there is no "God's Plan", is a minus. Or maybe that's a plus-- hard to say.

Not fearing hell-- BIG plus. :evil:

Not living forever-- I'll call that one a wash.

Feeling like I finally got it right, is another BIG plus.

Getting it right so late in life, is a minus, but not a big one-- better late than never.

And the fact that I can finally let go of my hate for people that weren't like me, is a plus.

And finally, the realization that I can finally let go of the guilt that Christians carry around for not being perfect, and live the life that I should have been living all along, HUGE plus!!!  :o

According to Christianity Hitler would probably be in Heaven, from what I've heard of his speeches.
And seriously, even for all of his crime, does anyone really deserve eternal torture and burning?

Quote from: "Allhailtuna"According to Christianity Hitler would probably be in Heaven, from what I've heard of his speeches.
And seriously, even for all of his crime, does anyone really deserve eternal torture and burning?

Well, if anyones does, he'd be a good candidate, no doubt. Maybe reincarnation as a Jew would be a better punishment.  :lol:

Quote from: "Steve Reason"Getting it right so late in life, is a minus, but not a big one-- better late than never.

44 is the new 24, bud. I'd not call it "late in life".

The biggest bonus for me? Realizing this world is all we have, and that realization makes life and all things living so much more precious and worthy of respect and protection. It's shifted my whole world view.

The biggest plus I can think of is that I no longer feel conflicted in my beliefs.  I don't have to make up excuses for why I still believe god exists despite horrible things that happen all around me.  The world just makes more sense.  Instead of observing things that seem to contradict my religious beliefs and then having to perform some intellectual gymnastics to justify my belief, these things only strengthen my non-belief.  

For example, I say a prayer and nothing out of the ordinary happens.  Maybe I pray for something that is possible, but unlikely (I always used to try to keep my prayers realistic), and it doesn't happen.  In my religious days, this presented an obvious problem.  I'm a good person, I try to treat people right, I go to church - so why couldn't god grant me this simple request?  I thought that was how it was supposed to work.  Well....maybe I did something bad and this is my punishment.  I did say "no" earlier today when that cashier asked if me I would like to donate a dollar to the Make A Wish Foundation.  Yep, that has to be it.  

Now, it would go something like this.  God didn't answer my prayer?  Well that's not surprising, since I doubt god exists anyway.  
Makes much more sense to me.

As for any negatives about being atheist.  Knowing that there is no ultimate justice.  That bad people can do bad things and if they are not brought to justice in their lifetime, then they have effectively gotten away with it.  I have to say, that does still bother me.

I'm happy that I can just eat my frickin' dinner without having to pray first! I hated that! I was hungry and my food was in front of me, smelling sooo good... I would sort of stare at it with my head bowed while my dad said the prayer.

Oh, and not having to preach the "good word" anymore. Never. Again.

Ugh, I hate grace. My brother and his wife are semi-sort of religious (which means I know the Bible better than they do, and I've probably been to church more often than they have. Go figure.), but they always say grace before meals (and poorly, I might add). Anyhoo, most of her family is religious and none of my family is, but the odds are 50/50 as to which side of the family will start eating before the brother or sister-in-law get to grace, which starts a mowing free-for-all, which winds up preventing grace from ever being uttered. I think "Who will pre-empt grace" is actually becoming a competitive sport for us. I'm going to start keeping score.

My dad was an old coot... and though he was a religious man (quietly), his blessing was a hoot:

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost...
He who eats the fastest, gets the most!

Try THAT one at your next family meal.  LOL!

The Exorcist was actually never scary to me, ever.

Good things:  I can listen to the type of music I want to, with utter disregard for lyrical content (Crazy Fundie:  "OH NO Jeff Tweedy took the LORD'S name in vain, this is evil satanic filth that must be burned and you must REPENT or else you will be sent to HELL where demons will pluck out your eyeballs, boil them in a stew of maggots and leeches, and feed it to you!").

I can read whatever authors I want to, with no regard for the content of their books (Crazy Fundie:  "David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs are EVIL HOMOS who must REPENT or be sent to hell, where they will...um, hold on, what's worse than having your own eyeballs force-fed to you?  Jean?  Little help?  What?  Okay, thanks.  Um, they must REPENT or be sent to HELL, where they will be forced to watch reruns of Married... With Children* for all eternity!  While sitting in pig vomit!")

I can watch whatever movies or TV shows I want to. (Crazy Fundie:  "South Park?  This degenerate filth?  God says you'll go to HELL if you watch this!  I just heard him!  He just told me, right now!  You'll go to hell and you'll... um..." Me:  "Yeah, the whole eyeball stew while watching Married... With Children thing.  Anything new?  Will my soul be chopped into confetti and strewn across a parade of murderers and single mothers? [sorry, I had to add a Simpsons reference]  And why did he tell you and not me?  You'd think if I watched a TV show that will get me eternal damnation, god would tell me about it.  And stop listening to the voices in your head.  That's how people get killed.")  Basically, I can do any damn thing I want to, short of breaking the law or being mean to people, and I know that no Invisible Space Dude is breathing down my neck, watching my every move like the CIA.

EDIT:  Bella's post reminded me that I don't have to wait an extra minute to say "grace" while staring at my food.  Actually, I've only said "grace" once, and that was at my aunt's house when I was younger.

Bad things:  You never know unless someone mentions it themselves whether they are atheist or theist, so I'm always slightly uncomfortable that I'm giving off some sort of "atheist vibe," or something.  And of course if a theist finds out I am atheist (although, unless asked, I wouldn't come out and say "I'm atheist") s/he'll probably try to "save" me even though there is nothing to be saved from.

*yes, this is actually worse than having your own eyeballs plucked out and fed to you in a stew of maggots and leeches.

Quote from: "User192021"Knowing that there is no ultimate justice.  That bad people can do bad things and if they are not brought to justice in their lifetime, then they have effectively gotten away with it.  I have to say, that does still bother me.

I have never worried about wrongdoers that much. If they believe in hell then the anticipation of eternal damnation must be eating them alive. Or if they do not believe in hell than their conscience will eat them alive. If they do not have conscience then I only feel sorry for them because they have no humanity. What a terrible thing that must be; to be a human but not a human. But I am worried about those who say what is wrong and what is right.

Hehe, my dad wasn't religious (mom made him do it) so his prayer was ALWAYS, "Dear God, thank you for this food, amen". My mom was pissed that it was always so short (but since he was the man, she said HE had to do it) so she'd sit there for an extra minute with her head bowed and her eyes closed to silently say her OWN prayer while we started eating. Hehe, I never realized how funny that was until now.

Oh, and I forgot about the tv shows I can watch now, too! There are still so many old movies that I haven't seen (that everyone else has) because I wasn't allowed to watch them then. I finally started watching those Indiana Jones movies...

Hmm... eyeball, maggot, and leech stew... sounds yummy!

Passive aggressive prayer = hilarious.

Quote from: "Willravel"I've been an atheist for years, but it takes time to really feel at home and comfortable in your truer role with new perceptions. I expected things like some people not understanding, or being bigoted. I expected meeting harsh or pleasant realities. There were a few things, however, that I didn't see coming at all.

1) The Exorcist isn't scary anymore. I had never realized it before, but the reason the Exorcist scared the living crap out of me as a child was because I actually believed that it was possible to be possessed by a demon or the devil. The idea of having a foreign, and evil entity possess me kept me awake at night after seeing the movie. Now? It's one of the most boring things I've ever seen. It's just watching the deluded perceptions of religious people misdiagnosing someone with schizophrenia. And as someone with some knowledge of psychology and psychiatry, I can tell you that holy water is only likely to work in a psychosomatic role (the power of the water is in the perception of the child, and in this case, in the minds of the child, the old coot, and the younger coot).
[schild=18 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Bring me a Young Coot and an Old Coot!![/schild]

2) Sunday Mornings are glorious. You know how you sleep in on Saturday, but sometimes you have to wake up and clean the house or do yardwork? Not on Sunday. That's right, the atheists get the ultimate sabbath and best of all, we aren't morally obliged to go anywhere or do anything. You know what I did yesterday morning? Jack. I slept in till like 10 got up and ate some breakfast and just hung out at the house with the family.

3) No depressing Good Friday. Oh? Jesus died? That's too bad. *yawn* I'll see you guys after I get Easter off to hide eggs with my family without the horrible downer of torture and death. But you guys have fun, kay?

4) I can read whatever I want before bed. You know what I'm going to faithfully read before bed tonight? Maybe the Wallstreet Journal. Maybe I'll finish that great biography on Robert Kennedy. Maybe I won't read at all. I won't be quizzed on what I've read on Sunday, after all.


So what are the unexpected plusses and minuses of coming out the other side for you guys?

The Exorcist STILL scares the crap out of me I dunno wth you're talking about right there.....I STILL can't watch that -ish in the dark .......there's NO WAY.

Hi - newbie chiming in.

Like others here - letting go of that 'suspension of disbelief' struggle is a huge plus.  *sigh of relief*  One of the last things that happened that forced me to take a serious look at reality was getting to know - not hearing about or reading about in the paper - a man my age that grew up going to catholic schools, and was regularly raped by priests.  The nuns weren't modern, liberal women - they beat the hell out of him.  No wonder that without serious meds, he's suicidal and hears voices.  GRRRRR!  I can't express how angry that made me and how strongly it grips my heart.  I was around this man for a few weeks (a patient), and every time I saw him, I found myself fiercely praying to god for his healing.  I wonder how many times he prayed for help when he was a child.   :)  I can actually enjoy the better ones now.  I agree with Willravel - that loss of fear surprised me.  I have a strong ability to suspend my disbelief, so movies seem pretty real to me.  Now I can enjoy that trait instead of worrying that I'll have nightmares.

Not having to hide my "heretical" books anymore - big plus.

Not going through the weekly guilt about not going to Mass because it made me feel like a defector - plus.  (See, that guilt still clings on!)

No longer feeling responsible for the salvation of everyone I know - plus.

Good Friday was a huge one for me too - I'm just not good at fasting and forced self-immolation.  So, religious holidays turning into secular celebrations - plus!  Pass the ham and potatoes!

Did I mention letting go of irrational guilt?  

And finally, getting to no longer base my self-esteem on a non-existent system of shame, fear of punishment, fear of losing god's love, acceptance and forgiveness...  I don't have to wait for some guy in the sky to let me know his will for my life - I can do whatever I want to do with this life.  Even at 34.  Big plus.

The biggest plus for me would be not feeling any hatred for those with different beliefs, like Steve mentioned. Since I didn't share the same religious beliefs with my family (I was interested in Islam for a short while and my family was Hindu) the conflicting emotions I felt towards them almost ruined my relationship with them.

Being free to make up my own mind, instead of having to think if God would sentence me to eternal damnation for it, is another big plus.

Being an atheist has helped me concentrate more on this and the only life I have. I spend more time improving my talents or simply relaxing, instead of learning a dialect of Arabic that is no longer spoken, in order to pray to someone who does not exist. Big, big plus.

I no longer get bothered if Science proves that something my religion states is false.

Can't think of anything negative. Does not being able to use exclamations like "oh god!" count?

I say Jesus Christ all the time. If theists can talk about evolution, it only seems fair.

Quote from: "bitter_sweet_symphony"The biggest plus for me would be not feeling any hatred for those with different beliefs, like Steve mentioned. Since I didn't share the same religious beliefs with my family (I was interested in Islam for a short while and my family was Hindu) the conflicting emotions I felt towards them almost ruined my relationship with them.

Being free to make up my own mind, instead of having to think if God would sentence me to eternal damnation for it, is another big plus.

Being an atheist has helped me concentrate more on this and the only life I have. I spend more time improving my talents or simply relaxing, instead of learning a dialect of Arabic that is no longer spoken, in order to pray to someone who does not exist. Big, big plus.

I no longer get bothered if Science proves that something my religion states is false.

Can't think of anything negative. Does not being able to use exclamations like "oh god!" count?

I'll second these sentiments. Well put.

Oh, and I say christ and jesus all the time. Old habit. Just that now I don't feel guilty saying them!

Man, it's great being able to say the F word, which I won't type but I want all of you know that I'm thinking it... Bombing the crap out of all of you.

Man, it's great being able to say the F word, which I won't type but I want all of you know that I'm thinking it... Bombing the crap out of all of you.

I feel like I've read that before...

I'm glad I no longer have to listen to the BORING drivel of the bible. I swear, maybe it's beautiful to read in its original text when it was written, but dear god that stuff is dull.  My father used to read some of it to us before bed at night & it would put me to sleep.

I don't miss church for the same reason. Just a group of HYPOCRITES gathering together to gang up against each other & gossip. It was sick.

Quote from: "Steve Reason"Not living forever-- I'll call that one a wash.

I'm hoping that about my 140th birthday, I'll be able to download my mind into an eternally young android. so maybe I could live forever!

I don't miss wasting Sunday moernings in church every week.

I don't miss worrying about being ready for the second coming. I mean really, that's the kind of thing that should come with a little advance notice.

I dont miss confession. I hated telling the priest all my sins. What if I forgot one? Would I still be damned?


I still enjoy some movies with a theist bend to them. Defending Your Life is one of my all time favorites, and damned funny.

It was depressing to find out what liars the supposedly moral religious are when engaging them in debate.

You know---I remember very vaguely seeing parts of the exorcist when I was like 8. Very little. So A few months back, I am chatting with friends they say its a pretty damn good movie. I was like cool, I remember a little. I go buy it...it blew ass. Maybe its because I lot interest in religious BS a long time back like you mentioned... But that is the only movie so far I have bought that has been a complete waste of money...

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huntington.edu%2Fdigital-media%2Fgallery_art_animation%2FJesusKids.jpg&hash=512c499bab955063b6581dc6bc293bdb41bb4a44)

AS I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH I WILL NOT REPLY TO HEATHENS WHO DISRESPECT OUR LORD AND MASTER!

Mate, if God is real then he really doesn't like you. I don't blame him. Nobody wants a fat-headed idiot representing their case.

Besides, his "accept Christ and get a free Playstation 2" link doesn't even work. It's a lie! All liars will be cast into the lake of fire...

This might have been said already but coming from the religious background I have come from no one ever told me that when you realize you're an athiest YOU HAVE A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR LIFE!!!  I was always sorta told you would just wallow in misery if you didn't believe in god.  But for real once you don't have that safe-proof lifestyle you TAKE EACH AND EVERY MOMENT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...way more than before.

I can't believe no one has said this yet: SEX! It's so great to be able to have healthy, guilt-free, sexual relationships even though I'm (gasp!) not married.

I also totally agree that sunday mornings are wonderful, and that loosing the guilt (over sex and everything else) is incredibly liberating.

Bye bye cognitive dissonance! It's wonderful to not have to justify ridiculous beliefs to myself every 25 seconds.

Along with having beautiful, free sunday mornings, I love not having to listen to some pastor go over the same damn sermon for the 500th time,  using the same damn bible verses. I absolutely cannot understand how people stay in the same church for 30, 40 years when pastors recycle the same sermon, with slight variations, every year!!!

God talk - if no one asks me how my "walk with christ" is again, it will still be too soon.

Personal Testimony - yay for not having to listen to some teenager tell, in excruciating detail, how the lord guided them from a life of horrific sin (you know, compromising their "purity" by letting their boyfriend of five years touch her breast, or being in the same room with someone smoking pot) to the light of jeebus.

The best thing I've found about becoming an atheist (other than the obvious stuff), I get to watch televangelists and read those miracle anecdotes as comedy.

Quote from: "silentaustin"The best thing I've found about becoming an atheist (other than the obvious stuff), I get to watch televangelists and read those miracle anecdotes as comedy.

That's funny, they always make me want to cry.

I feel the same way as many of you.  I grew up in a very patriarchal religion and I feel so much better about life and living now that I don't have that constant whispering in my ear.

I don't miss going to church at all, or being told that I should do this or that.  I am still friends with SOME people of that religion but they don't push their ideas on me and respect my choice.  Truth be told, I sprang from the womb NOT believing, I remember being incredulous at the things this religion taught.  I was often in trouble for things I said in religion class because I always attended a private school.  I thought these people totally out of their minds.

Maybe this is simplistic but I want to do what I deem is appropriate.  I am tired of being judged and controlled.  I am a moral person, I can control my own life.  I don't need a group of people, the church to tell me, to manipulate me and frankly use me.

I find the Exorcist so funny now. I agree with a lot of the things already posted. I still have bad habit like saying Jesus Christ and Oh my God but, I'm not using anyone's name in vain!

No more fake praying in Church, thankfully I stopped going when I was around 12.

Being able to just be me and not being told I am evil or a sinner!

I spotted this thread while watching Google grazing on the forum. Thought it is worth a bump.

Please note it's an old thread so quite a few members are no longer here.

Clarity of thought. It took a lot for me to compartmentalise, and think up possibilities that made sense in the context of religion. Now I just have to worry about understanding the theories, instead of also trying to get them to fit into a world view. It might innitially seem lazier this way, but because I get to understand many more things in a shorter amount of time, I just consider it more efficient.

The big surprise plus of atheism for me was the world making sense without a god.  All those things I had questions about, that were so puzzling with a god, suddenly made perfect sense without one.  Good, evil, death, justice, injustice, fate, luck, what have you -- there's no puzzle to them any more.  All the things the religious people in my life told me I'd understand some day I understood when I gave up trying to wedge god into the equation.  The religous sometimes wonder how atheists can live without the comfort of a god, my answer is that things making sense is profoundly comforting to me -- far more so than the idea of an invisible, immortal superman in charge of everything.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 28, 2011, 02:24:21 AM
The big surprise plus of atheism for me was the world making sense without a god.  All those things I had questions about, that were so puzzling with a god, suddenly made perfect sense without one.  Good, evil, death, justice, injustice, fate, luck, what have you -- there's no puzzle to them any more.  All the things the religious people in my life told me I'd understand some day I understood when I gave up trying to wedge god into the equation.  The religous sometimes wonder how atheists can live without the comfort of a god, my answer is that things making sense is profoundly comforting to me -- far more so than the idea of an invisible, immortal superman in charge of everything.

This makes sense ;D

I can really compare, since I've always been a de facto atheist, but it seems to me like theism is a source for ironically both comfort and mental anguish, especially when some things come too close to home for them and their worldviews.

Quote from: Will on September 24, 2007, 06:24:12 PM
2) Sunday Mornings are glorious.
4) I can read whatever I want before bed.

Atheism is looking really tempting...

1. Whoa, hello there, newfound feeling of self-reliance and general well-being. Suddenly I was free of the "Why won't God listen to me? Am I a bad person? Does he hate me?" type of depression. I stopped wasting problem-solving time on prayer and the resulting angst.

2. Life became more precious and living seemed less pointless. When I was a Christian I used to wonder why God made us live anyway instead of preventing us from sending ourselves to Hell. And I don't think I valued my time as much, because hey, it's just the entry exam for Heaven. When I ditched those beliefs, suddenly every day was that much more important. (Not that I don't "waste" a lot of them doofing around on the internet, but hey, I'm enjoying myself.)

3. Sunday morning: the optimal time to go shopping.

Quote from: Fi on November 22, 2011, 06:07:19 AM
1. Whoa, hello there, newfound feeling of self-reliance and general well-being. Suddenly I was free of the "Why won't God listen to me? Am I a bad person? Does he hate me?" type of depression. I stopped wasting problem-solving time on prayer and the resulting angst.

2. Life became more precious and living seemed less pointless. When I was a Christian I used to wonder why God made us live anyway instead of preventing us from sending ourselves to Hell. And I don't think I valued my time as much, because hey, it's just the entry exam for Heaven. When I ditched those beliefs, suddenly every day was that much more important. (Not that I don't "waste" a lot of them doofing around on the internet, but hey, I'm enjoying myself.)

3. Sunday morning: the optimal time to go shopping.

I've not heard that before, it's a good point.

Quote from: Tank on November 22, 2011, 07:08:51 AM

Quote from: Fi on November 22, 2011, 06:07:19 AM
1 And I don't think I valued my time as much, because hey, it's just the entry exam for Heaven.

I've not heard that before, it's a good point.

You can sometimes see it reflected in the mindset of conservative fundies. They'll rail against environmental regulations and stuff like that because they think God gave them a planet to do with as they wished, and of course, the rapture's OBVIOUSLY coming soon anyway, so it won't matter... the present and the future (of other people) aren't important to them because they're going to Heaven.

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 28, 2011, 02:24:21 AM
The big surprise plus of atheism for me was the world making sense without a god.  All those things I had questions about, that were so puzzling with a god, suddenly made perfect sense without one.  Good, evil, death, justice, injustice, fate, luck, what have you -- there's no puzzle to them any more.  All the things the religious people in my life told me I'd understand some day I understood when I gave up trying to wedge god into the equation.  The religous sometimes wonder how atheists can live without the comfort of a god, my answer is that things making sense is profoundly comforting to me -- far more so than the idea of an invisible, immortal superman in charge of everything.

BooksCatsEtc - the above is so well said (and well thought) that I wish it could be plastered on billboards from coast to coast.

Quote from: Pharaoh Cat on November 22, 2011, 10:05:00 AM

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 28, 2011, 02:24:21 AM
The big surprise plus of atheism for me was the world making sense without a god.  All those things I had questions about, that were so puzzling with a god, suddenly made perfect sense without one.  Good, evil, death, justice, injustice, fate, luck, what have you -- there's no puzzle to them any more.  All the things the religious people in my life told me I'd understand some day I understood when I gave up trying to wedge god into the equation.  The religous sometimes wonder how atheists can live without the comfort of a god, my answer is that things making sense is profoundly comforting to me -- far more so than the idea of an invisible, immortal superman in charge of everything.

BooksCatsEtc - the above is so well said (and well thought) that I wish it could be plastered on billboards from coast to coast.

BCE's posts are some of the best on the forum, and we have a lot of very eloquent people here.

Quote from: Tank on November 22, 2011, 12:12:52 PM

Quote from: Pharaoh Cat on November 22, 2011, 10:05:00 AM

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on September 28, 2011, 02:24:21 AM
The big surprise plus of atheism for me was the world making sense without a god.  All those things I had questions about, that were so puzzling with a god, suddenly made perfect sense without one.  Good, evil, death, justice, injustice, fate, luck, what have you -- there's no puzzle to them any more.  All the things the religious people in my life told me I'd understand some day I understood when I gave up trying to wedge god into the equation.  The religous sometimes wonder how atheists can live without the comfort of a god, my answer is that things making sense is profoundly comforting to me -- far more so than the idea of an invisible, immortal superman in charge of everything.

BooksCatsEtc - the above is so well said (and well thought) that I wish it could be plastered on billboards from coast to coast.

BCE's posts are some of the best on the forum, and we have a lot of very eloquent people here.

Ah, you guys -- I just got my first Solstice present.

 

1) The Exorcist isn't scary anymore. I've never actually watched the whole thing.  Bits and pieces here and there. 

2) Sunday Mornings are glorious. Heh.  All my Sunday mornings are a sleep-in day.  If you don't know, I'm SDA therefore my day for church is Saturday.  Although I don't like getting up ANY mornings, I'm glad I did on Saturdays because that is the day I get to spend with lots of my friends.  A couple hours at church, then the rest of the day and evening having a great time with them all...sometimes into the wee hours of Sunday.  It's great fun.  BTW...no where does the Bible make it law that the Sabbath is a day for church.  There was no "church" necessarily to go to weekly, rather its simply a day to rest from our normal work that we do the other 6 days and specifically to "do good on the Sabbath" as our best example did, by healing the sick (obviously not in the same capacity as Jesus is said to have done, but I think you can understand that), feed the hungry, etc...lots and lots of things could qualify as "good deeds" AND THEN after having helped our neighbor, if he/she/they wishes, hear about God otherwise the best preaching is usually the non-spoken type.   

3) No depressing Good Friday. Good Friday, while depressing in what is said to have went down that day, is something to celebrate, not hide or be gloomy over.  If you've met Christians being depressed on Good Friday, you've met Christians that have no understanding about what it was/is about.

4) I can read whatever I want before bed. Because we believe, we NEED to keep close to God as it is human nature to reject God.  It's not a matter of "law" that we might read at bedtime, it is a matter (should be at least) of our own knowledge of what happens when we don't keep on a path.

Eh...I threw it in the mix.  :)

1.) The sun doesn't have to be rising or setting to be beautiful.
2.) One considers how their actions affect others, not how they'll pan out to a personal advantage.
3.) Bow-chicka wowow sans guilt.
4.) Calling upon Satan's power in front of fundamentalists becomes a favorite pastime.
5.) Sane people can and will give death threats.

Quote from: MinnesotaMike on December 10, 2011, 09:03:50 PM
4.) Calling upon Satan's power in front of fundamentalists becomes a favorite pastime.

Reminds me of a bit from Futurama:  "Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, help me!  C'mon, Satan, you owe me one!"