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 Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:38 am
Hey, everyone. I'm new to this forum so I thought I'd start my own thread. I'm sorry if this has already been discussed before.
I was raised as a Christian by a Christian family. I was a huge Jesus, Bible-thumping freak and followed through every religious motion you can think of off the top of your head. I even recall the overwhelming feeling of God's love when I became a "born again Christian" and, as they say, "accepted Jesus into my soul".
Lol.
Anyway, as time passed, the Christian religion started to make little sense. The wisdom I was given in church became stale and rigid; I was hearing the same stories over and over and when my parents would ask me what I thought about sermons I would say, "I've heard it all before". In Sunday school, I was alienated as cliques formed because I didn't go to the same school as the other teens in the church. I kept asking myself, "If Christians arms are supposed to be wide open, how come I am alone in church?" Eventually, my family and I stopped going to church every Sunday for my sister and I who were both unhappy.
A year or so afterward, I broke away completely from Christianity not to be rebellious, but because I felt very empty being a part of it. I never made any good friends at church. I even went to a Baptist church my first year of college during this time just to see what it was like to be in a church again. It wasn't pleasant (mind you, I also had depression at this time).
Only recently have I become a full-blown atheist who doesn't believe in an all-powerful being, but moreso a force. I'm not going to go on and on about my belief system, but I'm kind of exhausted being around other atheists who would rather bash those affiliated with a religious sect instead of discussing spirituality.
I separate spirituality and religion since I believe while they can coexist, they can also function without the other. When I was a Christian, as I said, I followed through motions and never really felt a spirituality. I think I just accepted it because it was how I was raised to view the religion. Now that I am atheist, I think about life more. I think about Fate, the human soul - or existence in case you don't believe in souls, why people function the way they do, etc. I enjoy drawing wisdom from many people and holy texts, but I don't follow anything quite like a religion. I just follow my heart, intuition, and common sense.
I'm not sure what the whole point of this thread is. I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else shared my thoughts and feelings about atheism as a godless spirituality instead of a way to bash those with religion (which is what I tend to run into on the internet rofl ).
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:58 pm
I think you're going through "the process."
I used to be religious as well, and went through the typical process.
God + religion = true. Then add doubt in religion.
Religion = false. God = true, but varies.
God = true, but is indescribable.
God = only plausable.
Atheist.
No god, but fate, destiny, the force = true.
No fate.
Something like that. I see where you're coming from though. From our point of view things do seem oddly convenient, but that's why we have the word 'coincidence', to remind ourselves that no matter how planned things may seem, it's really all just random chaos. = my 2 cents.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:30 pm
You can be an atheist and be spiritual. Atheist just means that you're not a theist; that means you can be an Animalist* which is the belief in spirits, or a Humanist. I am personally a Humanist which is the belief that you should strive to better yourself and humanity because it's the right thing to do (basically). So to answer the topic: No.
*correct me if I chose the wrong word
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:34 pm
Being "Spiritual" defeats the purpose of being an atheist. confused
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:39 pm
Yur-Yur Yuri Being "Spiritual" defeats the purpose of being an atheist. confused
Some Atheists want to believe in spirits or some kind of place beyond but not a higher power.
As for me, I'm a humanist. I don't believe spirits.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:03 pm
Spiritual is a very general term, but I feel «spiritual» when I am volunteering, outside in nature tending to my plants, or just doing something to reduce the pollution in my city.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:48 pm
I'm not spiritual, I'm a materialist to the bone. But I do meditate if that counts as spirituality.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:30 am
Dathu I think you're going through "the process."
I used to be religious as well, and went through the typical process.
God + religion = true. Then add doubt in religion.
Religion = false. God = true, but varies.
God = true, but is indescribable.
God = only plausable.
Atheist.
No god, but fate, destiny, the force = true.
No fate.
Something like that. I see where you're coming from though. From our point of view things do seem oddly convenient, but that's why we have the word 'coincidence', to remind ourselves that no matter how planned things may seem, it's really all just random chaos. = my 2 cents. I said spiritual, not religious. 
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:08 pm
Spirits? Naaah.
Never seen them nor being in contact with those.
I will not say I believe in them since I've never witnessed their presence.
Maybe one day, who knows.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:56 pm
Afflatus Divine Dathu I think you're going through "the process."
I used to be religious as well, and went through the typical process.
God + religion = true. Then add doubt in religion.
Religion = false. God = true, but varies.
God = true, but is indescribable.
God = only plausable.
Atheist.
No god, but fate, destiny, the force = true.
No fate.
Something like that. I see where you're coming from though. From our point of view things do seem oddly convenient, but that's why we have the word 'coincidence', to remind ourselves that no matter how planned things may seem, it's really all just random chaos. = my 2 cents. I said spiritual, not religious.
My bad. I probably should have taken more time with that post. sweatdrop
I guess one can be spiritual while being Atheist. Since Atheism only deals with the belief in a god/gods/god-like beings, a person could still believe in spirits and or souls. Personally, I don't but I do know Atheists that do, both on and off line.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:51 pm
Dathu
My bad. I probably should have taken more time with that post. sweatdrop
I guess one can be spiritual while being Atheist. Since Atheism only deals with the belief in a god/gods/god-like beings, a person could still believe in spirits and or souls. Personally, I don't but I do know Atheists that do, both on and off line.I wasn't asking if it was possible, I was asking if others shared my idea of godless spirituality. emo
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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:06 pm
Well I'm an Atheist because I use evidence and the scientific method as a means of acquiring knowledge, so spirituality kind of goes out the window for me because there really isn't any decent evidence.
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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:15 pm
Afflatus Divine I wasn't asking if it was possible, I was asking if others shared my idea of godless spirituality. emo
I fail. Or iFail.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:20 pm
Spiritualism is what you make it out to be. We all have our quirks about our beliefs. Some of us like me are humanists, and you get your occasional nihilist here and there. Even without a higher power, there's a lot to be explored.
Oh, and the people who bash you are probably anti-theists. I wouldn't let them get the best of you...They're no better than the evangelists. It's okay to say what you believe as long as its true.
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 6:35 pm
I think that Religion is more or less a perversion of spirituality. Spirituality, a belief in something can be a good thing. But you add a mass amount of people invading the privacy of your beliefs, it turns into something ugly.
Nothing is more personal than what one believes to be true, and allowing someone else (singular or a whole organization) to make that decision for you in any way is a terrible thing. Belief in one thing does not lump you into a category of believing in everything else semi-connected to it.
For instance. I personally believe in Reincarnation. Most people associate that with Hinduism or something and then try to say I have to believe in the existence of a god for that to be possible. Which is untrue. There are many things about this world that we do not know about. I don't claim what I believe is fact because there is no real proof it is true. Hence the belief part.
So I suppose I am "spiritual", but I do separate what I believe from fact and I do not confuse the two.
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