...(Atheistic irony)

[Cinjin]

I know of no Deist church and yet I regularly attend a meeting of Atheists, Agnostics, Free thinkers and the like. And it happens to be on Sundays. It's not a church and yet .... the atheists there playfully call it "atheists church".

In the end, does it really matter what its called?
Humans come together in social situations. Persons who share the same passions come together in those groups. Hell, you could call an AA meeting a sort of "church". I'm sure they have solemn moments and even tears as well as hardy laughs and social mixers.... just like any religion would.

Perhaps this atheist in the military just wants equal treatment and/or respect from the religious groups inside the military and only needs to use the title of chaplain as a means to an end. He may not consider himself a preacher or teacher of any kind, but rather wants his lack of beliefs to get equal treatment.

[bozo]

cGodfrey, are you sure you are an atheist?
I ask because in your initial post you refer to the lack of an afterlife when maybe you would prefer one?
I am of the opinion that people of faith hold on to that faith in the hope of " eternal life ".

[cGodfrey]

I know of no Deist church and yet I regularly attend a meeting of Atheists, Agnostics, Free thinkers and the like. And it happens to be on Sundays. It's not a church and yet .... the atheists there playfully call it "atheists church".

I suppose it doesn't matter what it is called, but I think that's really what I was getting at. Do we have to say "We are a bunch of Atheists that want to get together and share our ideals"?

Allow me to ask these questions and your response will answer tons of questions I have about Atheists' meetings. What do you all do every single sunday? Do you have "rituals" (not like killing goats or have candles lit while you chant ancient languages), I mean stuff that you do every weekend? Or do you just play it by ear. Is there an echelon of leaders or is everyone equal? Then there's the flip side to this, do you just come together in nonorganized fashion as friends who share beliefs and play cards, drink beer, watch football and sometimes talk about religion, Atheism, Agnosticism, Freethinking etc...?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Well, as it turns out,there are LOTS of trained professionals who provide the kind of help and support chaplains are meant to provide.These people are called 'counselors'

I was a Lifeline counselor for a few years. Good counseling is NOT advice giving.It's about the person being counseled and what THEY want.

I have not and will not attend any meeting nor joined any organisation with the word "atheist" in the title. I'd probably say something sarcastic to a gun nut or libertarian and become decked.

[cGodfrey]

cGodfrey, are you sure you are an atheist?
I ask because in your initial post you refer to the lack of an afterlife when maybe you would prefer one?
I am of the opinion that people of faith hold on to that faith in the hope of " eternal life ".

I'm very sure that I am an Atheist. I think that what I prefer and what I know to be true are different. Who wouldn't want to party with a crap load of virgins for eternity, then again those virgins could be wierd nerdy kids who idolize Harry Potter and Star Trek and speak Klingon all the time. Reality is much more boring than delusions, otherwise hallucinogins wouldn't be so popular. What I believe or prefer is not what is on trial here. You might as well say: "Are you sure you are a poor person? Because you keep refering to how you would like to live in a mansion and drink expensinve champagne." Yep, I'm pretty poor and pretty Atheist, but lets stick to the topic please.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Who wouldn't want to party with a crap load of virgins for eternity,

Well, me for a start. Virgins are overrated. Give me an experienced 30 year old any day.* (minimum age)

I mean, have you ever tried to get a virgin to give you blow job?


*I'm 63; my girlfriend is 52 and twice married. (I have no intention of being number 3).

[cGodfrey]

Who wouldn't want to party with a crap load of virgins for eternity,

Well, me for a start. Virgins are overrated. Give me an experienced 30 year old any day.* (minimum age)

You rebel! You break the half your age plus 7 rule!

I mean, have you ever tried to get a virgin to give you blow job?

Well, with 75 of them at least one has to be a natural.

[tackattack]

As a former military member, chaplains do have more privilege than counselors. There's 100% confidentiality with chaplaincy, but not with counselors/psychologists. There's the benefits officers get from the additional duty of chaplaincy for promotion purposes. There's a separate budget and increased authority over giving people time off. There's some authority outside the chain of command as a Chaplin. All that being said I'm completely without an idea of what an atheist service would look like.

As for forming the group, just like this forum (and has already been said), sociable behaviors could be one reason. Being a minority for a time causes people to clique together for social support. Just as this is a place for atheists to come and not get attacked for expressing their beliefs, the "club" could be similar in purpose. There is also a lot of forced religious practice in the field as the possibility of death is more immanent. This could be a shield for those who don't want to be around those things.

[Violet]

I remember in highschool when all the goth kids started coming about with their all black clothes and black hair and piercings all over their faces. They would hang out together, dress alike, listen to the same music and claim to be into anarchy, etc. I asked one of them why they dressed like that. I figured he would say so everyone would know what he was in to and further allow other that were into the same thing a more approachable avenue. His response was "I'm not a sheep, I'm an individual, independent and capable of my own thoughts." I replied to him. "If you are capable of your own thoughts and are an individual, independent from the rest of society, then why do you have to dress, look, and act like all the other individuals, independent and capable of their own thoughts, who are also not sheep?"

Do you seriously have a problem with the fact that I wear black and white and can find the look attractive if it's done right?

It's pretty hard being 'individual' when you can't do what you would do as an individual. Life lessons from a transsexual. What's next? Nobody expects the spanish inquisition!

---

I mean, have you ever tried to get a virgin to give you blow job?

Alternate perspective... have you ever tried to give a virgin a blow job?

Over in seconds.

[Cinjin]

Allow me to ask these questions and your response will answer tons of questions I have about Atheists' meetings. What do you all do every single sunday? Do you have "rituals" (not like killing goats or have candles lit while you chant ancient languages), I mean stuff that you do every weekend? Or do you just play it by ear. Is there an echelon of leaders or is everyone equal? Then there's the flip side to this, do you just come together in nonorganized fashion as friends who share beliefs and play cards, drink beer, watch football and sometimes talk about religion, Atheism, Agnosticism, Freethinking etc...?

First of all. It's nothing like church. Usually between 20 and 30 of us gather in an informal circle. The person who runs it is just the man who represents the organization of free-thinkers that brought all of us together by way of the internet. We have a guest speaker each week. Speakers range from college professors to atheist writers to local scientists and national lecturers who happen to be in town and want to kill a sunday morning. The speaker usually only speaks for 15 or 20 minutes and this is followed by a lengthy group discussion. "Preaching" is not something you would ever get at one of these meetings. Topics range a great deal. There's actually very little "god-bashing" and much of the discussions turn to societal issues and the like. It's quite a collection of intellectual minds and the perspicacity with which many of them speak makes it somewhat of an elite group. It's not for everybody, but I can't get enough.