The need to believe?

[*Deidre*]

I was being flip. lol

Can we not make this thread about Hitler?  

[mordant]

I was being flip. lol

Can we not make this thread about Hitler?  

Sorry, Too much waiting for program compiles makes my mind wander.

My other excuse is Godwin's Law ;-)

[*Deidre*]

I was being flip. lol

Can we not make this thread about Hitler?  

Sorry, Too much waiting for program compiles makes my mind wander.

My other excuse is Godwin's Law ;-)

Ha, no worries.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, he was a snazzy dresser....das boots?

Even if we pretend he wasn't a raging psychopath, he looked like an awkward creeper.

[ignoramus]

[*Deidre*]

you're so silly 

---

I feel like a weight has been lifted, that I've been carrying around for a while. I think this struggle is coming to an end, and maybe I just needed to deal with the grief of losing my grandmother. My resolve is different this time, and I've processed that what is at work is more dropping my desire to believe, than really trying to figure out ''what'' I believe. I don't really believe in a deity, and if I'm honest with myself, I haven't for some time. But, my emotions took me on highs and lows with the whole thing, and now I see all of it for what it was/is. So, anyways...thanks for discussing this with me, and I've talked about this with other atheists as well, and a few have told me that they too battle their emotions on some days, and that when times get hard, their emotions want that comfort. But, they've learned to process it and find comfort in realistic ways, and ways that aren't built around fantasies.

[RedgraveStorm]

A few years ago when I was becoming an atheist, I felt I needed to have some sort of spirituality. I briefly considered becoming a Norse pagan, not because I believed in the Norse gods, but because I felt I needed something to believe in. What would me life be without belief? The answer is simple: My life is more or less the same. There are minor differences, a greater disdain for gullibility, religion, deification, and idolization; as well as a willingness to get Satanic tattoos. Beyond that my life has been no different. It can be hard, there are times I doubt and fear, but not for any logical reason, or any reason for that matter. And I think that learning to accept that belief is not something you need to live a fruitful life may be the best thing that can happen to you. There are no gods to punish you, nor a disappointed sky-father to look down on you. There is only you.

[*Deidre*]

A few years ago when I was becoming an atheist, I felt I needed to have some sort of spirituality. I briefly considered becoming a Norse pagan, not because I believed in the Norse gods, but because I felt I needed something to believe in. What would me life be without belief? The answer is simple: My life is more or less the same. There are minor differences, a greater disdain for gullibility, religion, deification, and idolization; as well as a willingness to get Satanic tattoos. Beyond that my life has been no different. It can be hard, there are times I doubt and fear, but not for any logical reason, or any reason for that matter. And I think that learning to accept that belief is not something you need to live a fruitful life may be the best thing that can happen to you. There are no gods to punish you, nor a disappointed sky-father to look down on you. There is only you.

I love your words, here. It's exactly what I've been feeling. All this time, the truths were in front of me, (I have mainly atheist friends in my life) and I just wasn't ready to hear them, maybe? Or willing? But, because I realize that it's okay to be afraid now and then, as that's part of life really, I'm able to process it all a lot better. The inner strength has always been inside of me, and it's great to not feel bad about that. 

[RedgraveStorm]

A few years ago when I was becoming an atheist, I felt I needed to have some sort of spirituality. I briefly considered becoming a Norse pagan, not because I believed in the Norse gods, but because I felt I needed something to believe in. What would me life be without belief? The answer is simple: My life is more or less the same. There are minor differences, a greater disdain for gullibility, religion, deification, and idolization; as well as a willingness to get Satanic tattoos. Beyond that my life has been no different. It can be hard, there are times I doubt and fear, but not for any logical reason, or any reason for that matter. And I think that learning to accept that belief is not something you need to live a fruitful life may be the best thing that can happen to you. There are no gods to punish you, nor a disappointed sky-father to look down on you. There is only you.

I love your words, here. It's exactly what I've been feeling. All this time, the truths were in front of me, (I have mainly atheist friends in my life) and I just wasn't ready to hear them, maybe? Or willing? But, because I realize that it's okay to be afraid now and then, as that's part of life really, I'm able to process it all a lot better. The inner strength has always been inside of me, and it's great to not feel bad about that. 

A quote that seems apropos comes from All-Star Superman. "You're stronger than you think you are."

It's amazing what ridding ourselves of religion can do for self-esteem and the growth of inner strength. Celebrate yourself, you're worth it.

[JackRussell]

As an always atheist i find this fascinating. But I wonder if theists have ever understood that all of us have a sense of the numinous?

I have have spent today walking my wife around Pevensey castle, and trying to evoke how this place would have been in C.290AD.

We are primates and evolution is pretty good at explaining why we feel things.

No magic required.