Nyannan,I'm into admiring nature,decent humans,art and the unknown.I am open to new age stuff,so I guess I'm sort of a Wiccan.Of couse I used to think Wiccans were demons,witches and satan's children,....so what do I know?
Well, your take on religion is rather light compared to that of most people who post here - people who are still dealing with psychic scars from their encounters with religion. But if you're in the closet as an atheist, you must feel some pressure to conform. It just doesn't weigh on you heavily? That would be a good thing. I'm almost 38 years a born again atheist (since age 12), and it still weighs on me. That's probably because I'm surrounded by these irrational people and have to travel significant distances to be around like-minded people other than my partner. I think that weight never goes away also because people of faith are so exasperatingly impervious to reason. They are so fricking afraid to use their minds for anything that could contradict their religious beliefs.
Darwin is my HERO! My partner and I traveled 5 hours to do a Darwin Day event in Austin. It was great fun! A comedic musician - Roy Zimmerman - was the entertainment. For some of his references it helps to have lived through (and paid attention to) about 3 to 4 sociopolitical decades. Understanding evolution and making new discoveries about evolution is a primary source of thrills for me.
You wrote, "I do not consider Wicca (for me) as a religion. It is more of a way of life and something fun. I’m into herbs, crystals and oils for natural healing. Basically, just using their energy to complete a task. I don’t believe in actual gods and goddesses but I understand the duality of the planet and the nature within."
That was a little too new agey for me. My mind is grounded in reality and double blind placebo controlled scientific studies that have statistical significance, or as you would have it, I think concretely. So whatever the herbal, crystal, oily energy is doing for you, it sounds more benign than religion, and you are having fun and getting energetic from it. Fun and energy are good. Have you heard or seen Julia Sweeney deliver her monologue "Letting Go of God"? I don't think she went through that as a phase, but she went through a number of others in trying to find "God" - including one or two that I went through.
Your religious experiences sound crazier than mine. My family's been unwavering Church of Christ forever - think they have a monopoly on the truth because of unique interpretations of a few scriptures. HELL is a big deal with them too. I think of fire and brimstone sermons as kind of primitive horror shows that entertain people through fear. I'm 50 and haven't been to a religious service in 27 years. I do occasionally flip on a TV evangelist briefly to see what absurdities they are spouting. It's as much political as religious.
Being gay (lesbian), I also do not get why any of us would want to have anything to do with this homophobic christian religion which legitimizes bigotry. It makes more sense to me that they use it as a social organization, as you described, rather than as a religion.
So you're from a military family and have military experience yourself. I would like to hear about that. I couldn't ever bring myself to let some of these clown commanders-in-chief make life and death decisions for me.
I love Bill Maher's directness and had some good laughs with "Religulous" He says what I would like to say to these people.
Hello Nyannon,
Glad you've joined us. Your background also fundamentalist christianity? How long have you been an ex? Why Wiccan? Is that a belief system? Do you have non-religious contacts/friends in NC or are you in isolation?
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Sacrificed any children lately? lol
Well, your take on religion is rather light compared to that of most people who post here - people who are still dealing with psychic scars from their encounters with religion. But if you're in the closet as an atheist, you must feel some pressure to conform. It just doesn't weigh on you heavily? That would be a good thing. I'm almost 38 years a born again atheist (since age 12), and it still weighs on me. That's probably because I'm surrounded by these irrational people and have to travel significant distances to be around like-minded people other than my partner. I think that weight never goes away also because people of faith are so exasperatingly impervious to reason. They are so fricking afraid to use their minds for anything that could contradict their religious beliefs.
Darwin is my HERO! My partner and I traveled 5 hours to do a Darwin Day event in Austin. It was great fun! A comedic musician - Roy Zimmerman - was the entertainment. For some of his references it helps to have lived through (and paid attention to) about 3 to 4 sociopolitical decades. Understanding evolution and making new discoveries about evolution is a primary source of thrills for me.
You wrote, "I do not consider Wicca (for me) as a religion. It is more of a way of life and something fun. I’m into herbs, crystals and oils for natural healing. Basically, just using their energy to complete a task. I don’t believe in actual gods and goddesses but I understand the duality of the planet and the nature within."
That was a little too new agey for me. My mind is grounded in reality and double blind placebo controlled scientific studies that have statistical significance, or as you would have it, I think concretely. So whatever the herbal, crystal, oily energy is doing for you, it sounds more benign than religion, and you are having fun and getting energetic from it. Fun and energy are good. Have you heard or seen Julia Sweeney deliver her monologue "Letting Go of God"? I don't think she went through that as a phase, but she went through a number of others in trying to find "God" - including one or two that I went through.
Your religious experiences sound crazier than mine. My family's been unwavering Church of Christ forever - think they have a monopoly on the truth because of unique interpretations of a few scriptures. HELL is a big deal with them too. I think of fire and brimstone sermons as kind of primitive horror shows that entertain people through fear. I'm 50 and haven't been to a religious service in 27 years. I do occasionally flip on a TV evangelist briefly to see what absurdities they are spouting. It's as much political as religious.
Being gay (lesbian), I also do not get why any of us would want to have anything to do with this homophobic christian religion which legitimizes bigotry. It makes more sense to me that they use it as a social organization, as you described, rather than as a religion.
So you're from a military family and have military experience yourself. I would like to hear about that. I couldn't ever bring myself to let some of these clown commanders-in-chief make life and death decisions for me.
I love Bill Maher's directness and had some good laughs with "Religulous" He says what I would like to say to these people.
Write when you can. Thanks for responding
reasoningbeing
Glad you've joined us. Your background also fundamentalist christianity? How long have you been an ex? Why Wiccan? Is that a belief system? Do you have non-religious contacts/friends in NC or are you in isolation?
reasoningbeing
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