We are all born atheist. A fortunate few go through their whole lives never having believed in a super-natural being or phenomena.
I was not so fortunate. I was raised Lutheran and taught to believe in heaven and hell, god and the devil, original sin, prayer, divine intervention, and constant supervision by an all-seeing being judging not only my actions but my innermost thoughts as well.
I was also taught that god allows bad things to happen to test my faith, but that I would never be given more than I could handle. Bad things happen because the devil is at work in my life, but if I pray hard enough, anything is possible- if I have faith.
To this day, I find myself occassionally struggling with various fading remnants of my childhood indoctrination.
* I've found myself wishing, waiting, and hoping for someone to come to my rescue.
* If too many good things happen, I wonder how bad things will get in order to even it out.
* I find myself holding back from enjoying the really big things in life because I don't want anyone to know how much they mean to me, that way they won't be taken away from me.
* If I tell someone that I hope they are having a great day, I sometimes worry if that will jynx it for them. Then if they actually have a bad day, it is somehow my fault.
Some of these thoughts seem to be holdovers of the "Lutheran Guilt" that is taught so thoroughly and even made fun of in regional jokes. The reality is an ongoing battle with the idea that good is bad and bad is good.
Having reasoned my way to being an atheist, with no doubts lingering in my mind, I find myself frustrated with the emotional taint left behind by almost 25 years of indoctrination.
Showing posts with label growing up christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growing up christian. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
reality v. make-believe
Parents face a choice. Do they teach their children that there really is a Santa Claus or an Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, or even such other creatures as elves, mermaids, fairies, gnomes, etc...? Or do they teach their children that such creatures are make-believe: fantasies and pleasant stories that bring joy, amusement, and delight.
Some do. Some don't.
I wonder if you can guess which category I fall into?
:-)
My children have created a game of make-believe: a world they have created entirely on their own and popluated with all kinds of fantastical creatures and special abilities. They play it regularly and often for several hours at a time.
One of my daughter's classes this year is an Introduction to Metaphysics (nature of the universe as a whole) and Epistemology (nature and the means of human knowledge). During her second class she asked if learning philosophy would ruin their pretend game.
One atheist mother who does teach that fantasy characters are real said this of her decision, "I love leading my kids on and promoting their belief in them all. I actively encourage it. I pacify that hypocritical pang because I figure in the long run, its part of the whole childhood thing of working out reality vs. make-believe for themselves.
I am having trouble reconciling this view with the notion held by many atheists that children should not be exposed to religion before they are old enough to decide for themselves the difference between real and make-believe, between faith and reason, between belief and scientific knowledge. Shouldn't our job as parents be to make it as obvious as possible the difference between real and pretend?
Being a parent is hard. The older they get, the harder it is, because the consequences are so much more long-lasting. If you screw up when the child is one year old, there is a minimal chance they will remember it. If you screw up when the child is older, not only will they remember it and ask questions about it, but there is the potential for them being scarred for life by it. All this stress over the long term consequences of possible minor mishaps.
How about something as important to a child as Santa Claus?
Santa does not exist. That's right Virginia; he's a story, a fantasy. That does not mean kids who don't believe in Santa can't enjoy Christmas.
My mate and I never lied to our children about fantasy creatures- any of them. We told them fantasy characters like Santa are a delightful pretend; a story that is told in December; a fantasy game, if you will, that people play because it makes the time special, mysterious, and exciting.
Do we pretend that Santa comes on Christmas Eve night and leaves presents? Yes
Have my children enjoyed the holiday any less knowing that Mom and Dad are really Santa Claus? No. I don't think so.
Will my children ever have to find out the hard way that ["Pssst....Do you believe in Santa Claus? You do? Ha ha!!!! You're such a baby! Everyone knows Santa is just your parents!"] their parents' have been lying to them? No
Always I've tried to be honest with my two. Honest about having a bad day or when I need time to myself. Honest about their own emotional experiences, the physical changes their bodies go through, sex, even the meaning behind sly adult innuendo that they overhear.
As an atheist parent, this pretending about Santa et al. causes a special dilemma for me. By encouraging them to PRETEND to believe in Santa Claus and participating in that game of pretend myself....have I still done them a disservice?
I went through years of my life pretending to be a christian. Forbidding myself to look hard at the bible and ask the difficult questions. Shutting off my mind and trying to only feel with my heart. I never got to the born-again stage of christianity. But I certainly beliebed that I was a christian. Up until I was 13 the only place I'd come in contact with the idea of being born-again was in religious fiction like the books of Janette Oke. Many of her characters experience "born-again" moments so I had an idea of what emotions were involved in the experience, expectations of what could and should happen. The thoughts that the characters had as they accepted jesus as their savior.
I think that is why, when I tried twice to be born-again myself that I waited passively for those feelings to come to me. For the emotions that I thought would announce my....rebirth. When they didn't happen, I felt morally obligated to pretend that they had so as not to embarrass or disappoint the person I was with.
Have I left my own children vulnerable to pretending to believe? For faking a belief in something to please people around me? Have I left them vulnerable to pretending to believe in god?
The answer her teacher gave about whether philosophy would ruin their pretend game was "No, for the most part it will not. You already have a firm grasp on the difference between real and make-believe, so nothing will change."
Some do. Some don't.
I wonder if you can guess which category I fall into?
:-)
My children have created a game of make-believe: a world they have created entirely on their own and popluated with all kinds of fantastical creatures and special abilities. They play it regularly and often for several hours at a time.
One of my daughter's classes this year is an Introduction to Metaphysics (nature of the universe as a whole) and Epistemology (nature and the means of human knowledge). During her second class she asked if learning philosophy would ruin their pretend game.
One atheist mother who does teach that fantasy characters are real said this of her decision, "I love leading my kids on and promoting their belief in them all. I actively encourage it. I pacify that hypocritical pang because I figure in the long run, its part of the whole childhood thing of working out reality vs. make-believe for themselves.
I am having trouble reconciling this view with the notion held by many atheists that children should not be exposed to religion before they are old enough to decide for themselves the difference between real and make-believe, between faith and reason, between belief and scientific knowledge. Shouldn't our job as parents be to make it as obvious as possible the difference between real and pretend?
Being a parent is hard. The older they get, the harder it is, because the consequences are so much more long-lasting. If you screw up when the child is one year old, there is a minimal chance they will remember it. If you screw up when the child is older, not only will they remember it and ask questions about it, but there is the potential for them being scarred for life by it. All this stress over the long term consequences of possible minor mishaps.
How about something as important to a child as Santa Claus?
Santa does not exist. That's right Virginia; he's a story, a fantasy. That does not mean kids who don't believe in Santa can't enjoy Christmas.
My mate and I never lied to our children about fantasy creatures- any of them. We told them fantasy characters like Santa are a delightful pretend; a story that is told in December; a fantasy game, if you will, that people play because it makes the time special, mysterious, and exciting.
Do we pretend that Santa comes on Christmas Eve night and leaves presents? Yes
Have my children enjoyed the holiday any less knowing that Mom and Dad are really Santa Claus? No. I don't think so.
Will my children ever have to find out the hard way that ["Pssst....Do you believe in Santa Claus? You do? Ha ha!!!! You're such a baby! Everyone knows Santa is just your parents!"] their parents' have been lying to them? No
Always I've tried to be honest with my two. Honest about having a bad day or when I need time to myself. Honest about their own emotional experiences, the physical changes their bodies go through, sex, even the meaning behind sly adult innuendo that they overhear.
As an atheist parent, this pretending about Santa et al. causes a special dilemma for me. By encouraging them to PRETEND to believe in Santa Claus and participating in that game of pretend myself....have I still done them a disservice?
I went through years of my life pretending to be a christian. Forbidding myself to look hard at the bible and ask the difficult questions. Shutting off my mind and trying to only feel with my heart. I never got to the born-again stage of christianity. But I certainly beliebed that I was a christian. Up until I was 13 the only place I'd come in contact with the idea of being born-again was in religious fiction like the books of Janette Oke. Many of her characters experience "born-again" moments so I had an idea of what emotions were involved in the experience, expectations of what could and should happen. The thoughts that the characters had as they accepted jesus as their savior.
I think that is why, when I tried twice to be born-again myself that I waited passively for those feelings to come to me. For the emotions that I thought would announce my....rebirth. When they didn't happen, I felt morally obligated to pretend that they had so as not to embarrass or disappoint the person I was with.
Have I left my own children vulnerable to pretending to believe? For faking a belief in something to please people around me? Have I left them vulnerable to pretending to believe in god?
The answer her teacher gave about whether philosophy would ruin their pretend game was "No, for the most part it will not. You already have a firm grasp on the difference between real and make-believe, so nothing will change."
Thursday, August 2, 2007
moral compass
What is my moral compass, now that I no longer pretend to believe in god?
There is a common misconception among Christians that abandoning theistic belief also means abandoning morality.
In order to properly discuss this idea, I feel it necessary to define some terms at the onset.
What is morality? Morality is the code of values that man uses to guide his choices and actions in his life. Through these choices and actions, he determines his purpose in life and even the course that his life will take.*
What is ethics? Ethics is the science of values, which seeks to discover human values, classify them and integrate them into a coherent system of principles to guide man’s choices and actions.**
What are values? Values express the beneficial or harmful relationship of various aspects of reality to a living organism. When we say that something is a value we are saying that it is conducive to the life of that organism. Values start as basic as food, water, shelter, and clothing and expand into the choices we make about our personal relationships, our hobbies, our jobs, etc… What a man values will determine how he acts in his life.
But why do humans need morality and ethics? Can’t we just go through life doing whatever feels good at the moment? Aren’t morals relative to each situation and each individual?
Like any other living entity on this planet man is a biological organism, a living being faced with the alternative choice of life or death. No other being actually gets to choose if it will live or die. Animals and plants instinctively reach for life: observe the tree, growing in a mountainous crevice, straining at gravity-defying angles to reach the sunlight; observe the wolf, caught in a trap, chewing its own leg off so that it will not starve to death.
Humans do not have this instinct to always reach for life. Sometimes we make choices that are very bad for our lives even to the point of being deadly to us. Yet our very life is dependent on the daily choices that we make. Morality is the guide that helps us make these choices.
Two types of values
1- objective values- that which is necessary for our personal and immediate welfare
2- evaluative values- generated when we compare alternative courses of action, their projected consequences and the resulting decision to act in a way best suited to achieving our needs and goals in life.
It is possible to evaluatively value something that is, at the same time, not objectively valuable to your life. Smoking comes to mind. Some people value the calming effects of a cigarette in a tense situation. Yet objectively, there are serious negative consequences to long-term smoking that are not life-affirming.
And therein lies the choice that man must use his moral code to make- between life and death, between what is ultimately beneficial and what is ultimately harmful. We do not get to choose which things are necessary for us to live, but the choices we make in our daily actions in how we fulfill those needs is a constant choice between life and death. These values must be determined by man’s objective requirements for his life. Not what he wishes made his life better, but what his actual needs objectively are.
Two types of Ethical Theories
1- Teleological- concerned primarily with the good, with that which is of value, and is rationally based on standards necessary for the achievement of a desired goal.
2- Deontological- gives priority to what a man “ought” to do, his duty, and defines the “good” with reference to moral rules established by an external authority figure (usually a god) with the promise of reward or punishment for obedience.
Rational morality-
Based on the facts of human values determined by reason
Based on man’s need for objective values and need to determine goals conducive to his well-being
1- man is a conceptual being- he thinks in principles
2- man is a volitional being- he initiates his own thoughts and actions and must choose to think and act in order to survive
3- man is a purposeful being- he is goal directed and not limited to the animalistic stimulus/response
Religious morality-
Defends a universal moral order established by god and existing independently of man
Man’s duty is to obey the lawgiver and subordinate himself to the moral code
Obedience is the major virtue, disobedience the major vice
Rules are sanctioned principles of action with the threat of punishment
Fear of eternal damnation and separation from god
Guilt- to sin is the worst thing imaginable and is the built in condemnation for disobedience to god.
Christian ethics encourages intellectual passivity, fear that one’s thoughts and emotions may be sinful, guilt at the thought of disobedience to god, and the pervading feeling that one is basically helpless, unimportant and evil.
What do I use for my moral compass?
Life. Life is the moral compass that I live by. A healthy, happy, productive life.
What the question of morality seems to boil down to is this. How do people live together without hurting each other- through lying, cheating, murder, stealing, etc..?
Man is capable of rational thought. It is the tool we have that separates us from animals. We don't have protective fur or an exoskeleton; we are not equipped with ferocious claws or the ability to fly from danger. What we have is a thinking, reasoning brain. The ability to perceive the world with our senses, to form mental constructs based on sensory input that lets us compare one thing with another: to say the block falls when I drop it, the feather floats gently to the ground. The ball rolls, the book does not.
As we grow we learn that some things are good for us- fruits and vegetables; and some things are bad for us- poison, public school indoctrination, that sort of thing. The lessons get more complicated as we grow from infancy into adulthood.
The point is that throughout our day we know that there are actions we take that are life-affirming (getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, being kind to those around us).
There are choices we avoid making because they are NOT life-affirming (actually taking a swing at somebody who makes us angry- we'd likely get our butts kicked, shooting the tires out from the car that cut us off on the interstate- we'd likely get into an accident just trying to avoid hitting them as they careen around).
The evil choices that people make are not in their own best interests. They are not rational: the Catholic priest that likes to diddle the altar boys. Leaving aside why he has decided to sexually deprive himself to the point that a prepubescent child becomes sexually appealing, it is NOT in his best interest to pursue that attraction. If he gets caught he can face public humiliation, the censorship of his congregation, jail time etc... Being an active pedophile is not rational.
As for the NON extreme cases, but just us regular folk, how do we get through the day without god telling us we'll burn in hell if we think sinful thoughts?
Rational self-interest. Is this good for my life? Will my life and the life of my children be enhanced by my decisions?
Life is my moral compass.
*Nathaniel Branden
**Ayn Rand
***George H. Smith
There is a common misconception among Christians that abandoning theistic belief also means abandoning morality.
In order to properly discuss this idea, I feel it necessary to define some terms at the onset.
What is morality? Morality is the code of values that man uses to guide his choices and actions in his life. Through these choices and actions, he determines his purpose in life and even the course that his life will take.*
What is ethics? Ethics is the science of values, which seeks to discover human values, classify them and integrate them into a coherent system of principles to guide man’s choices and actions.**
What are values? Values express the beneficial or harmful relationship of various aspects of reality to a living organism. When we say that something is a value we are saying that it is conducive to the life of that organism. Values start as basic as food, water, shelter, and clothing and expand into the choices we make about our personal relationships, our hobbies, our jobs, etc… What a man values will determine how he acts in his life.
But why do humans need morality and ethics? Can’t we just go through life doing whatever feels good at the moment? Aren’t morals relative to each situation and each individual?
Like any other living entity on this planet man is a biological organism, a living being faced with the alternative choice of life or death. No other being actually gets to choose if it will live or die. Animals and plants instinctively reach for life: observe the tree, growing in a mountainous crevice, straining at gravity-defying angles to reach the sunlight; observe the wolf, caught in a trap, chewing its own leg off so that it will not starve to death.
Humans do not have this instinct to always reach for life. Sometimes we make choices that are very bad for our lives even to the point of being deadly to us. Yet our very life is dependent on the daily choices that we make. Morality is the guide that helps us make these choices.
Two types of values
1- objective values- that which is necessary for our personal and immediate welfare
2- evaluative values- generated when we compare alternative courses of action, their projected consequences and the resulting decision to act in a way best suited to achieving our needs and goals in life.
It is possible to evaluatively value something that is, at the same time, not objectively valuable to your life. Smoking comes to mind. Some people value the calming effects of a cigarette in a tense situation. Yet objectively, there are serious negative consequences to long-term smoking that are not life-affirming.
And therein lies the choice that man must use his moral code to make- between life and death, between what is ultimately beneficial and what is ultimately harmful. We do not get to choose which things are necessary for us to live, but the choices we make in our daily actions in how we fulfill those needs is a constant choice between life and death. These values must be determined by man’s objective requirements for his life. Not what he wishes made his life better, but what his actual needs objectively are.
Two types of Ethical Theories
1- Teleological- concerned primarily with the good, with that which is of value, and is rationally based on standards necessary for the achievement of a desired goal.
2- Deontological- gives priority to what a man “ought” to do, his duty, and defines the “good” with reference to moral rules established by an external authority figure (usually a god) with the promise of reward or punishment for obedience.
Rational morality-
Based on the facts of human values determined by reason
Based on man’s need for objective values and need to determine goals conducive to his well-being
1- man is a conceptual being- he thinks in principles
2- man is a volitional being- he initiates his own thoughts and actions and must choose to think and act in order to survive
3- man is a purposeful being- he is goal directed and not limited to the animalistic stimulus/response
Religious morality-
Defends a universal moral order established by god and existing independently of man
Man’s duty is to obey the lawgiver and subordinate himself to the moral code
Obedience is the major virtue, disobedience the major vice
Rules are sanctioned principles of action with the threat of punishment
Fear of eternal damnation and separation from god
Guilt- to sin is the worst thing imaginable and is the built in condemnation for disobedience to god.
Christian ethics encourages intellectual passivity, fear that one’s thoughts and emotions may be sinful, guilt at the thought of disobedience to god, and the pervading feeling that one is basically helpless, unimportant and evil.
What do I use for my moral compass?
Life. Life is the moral compass that I live by. A healthy, happy, productive life.
What the question of morality seems to boil down to is this. How do people live together without hurting each other- through lying, cheating, murder, stealing, etc..?
Man is capable of rational thought. It is the tool we have that separates us from animals. We don't have protective fur or an exoskeleton; we are not equipped with ferocious claws or the ability to fly from danger. What we have is a thinking, reasoning brain. The ability to perceive the world with our senses, to form mental constructs based on sensory input that lets us compare one thing with another: to say the block falls when I drop it, the feather floats gently to the ground. The ball rolls, the book does not.
As we grow we learn that some things are good for us- fruits and vegetables; and some things are bad for us- poison, public school indoctrination, that sort of thing. The lessons get more complicated as we grow from infancy into adulthood.
The point is that throughout our day we know that there are actions we take that are life-affirming (getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, being kind to those around us).
There are choices we avoid making because they are NOT life-affirming (actually taking a swing at somebody who makes us angry- we'd likely get our butts kicked, shooting the tires out from the car that cut us off on the interstate- we'd likely get into an accident just trying to avoid hitting them as they careen around).
The evil choices that people make are not in their own best interests. They are not rational: the Catholic priest that likes to diddle the altar boys. Leaving aside why he has decided to sexually deprive himself to the point that a prepubescent child becomes sexually appealing, it is NOT in his best interest to pursue that attraction. If he gets caught he can face public humiliation, the censorship of his congregation, jail time etc... Being an active pedophile is not rational.
As for the NON extreme cases, but just us regular folk, how do we get through the day without god telling us we'll burn in hell if we think sinful thoughts?
Rational self-interest. Is this good for my life? Will my life and the life of my children be enhanced by my decisions?
Life is my moral compass.
*Nathaniel Branden
**Ayn Rand
***George H. Smith
Friday, May 18, 2007
me and christmas
A special thanks to Janice for stopping by my open forum. Her question for me was to ask me if I celebrate Christmas.
When I was growing up, even all through highschool and college, Christmas was always a very special time for me for a variety of reasons.
Making and eating special christmas-time-only candy treats. [ohhhh, pausing to drooooooool over the memories of all those yummy holiday goodies.!] Let's see "christmas wreaths", "christmas fudge", "christmas mints", "homemade salted nut rolls", "frosted christmas cookies", egg nog. Oooooooh I want it to be December right now!!!!
Putting up all the decorations, candles, holly greens, the tree, the nativity scene. Mom's angel collection. Putting up mom's collection of houses. I LOVE Christmas decorations.
Driving around looking at Christmas lights on people's houses and yards.
Listening to lots of christmas music tapes and then cds. I LOVE christmas music. Sometimes during the summer when I'd get sick of the heat I'd bring out my christmas music to remind me of the snow. Yeah! I HATE the heat. LOVE winter.
Going to the candle light christmas-eve service. Lots of carol singing. No sermon. Holding the candles in the dark.
Playing my flute with my mom while my sister played the piano up at the nursing home where Mom works.
Doing a nightly advent wreath for a good chunk of my child hood, where we'd all gather round the "wreath" light a candle and read a story, sing a song, say a prayer. It kind of petered out during highschool because we got too busy, not enough people home at 1 time.
And of course the excitement of Santa coming on christmas morning and all the presents he'd bring. How hard it was to sleep the night before. Getting up to tip toe through the house and take a peek. Even when we found out that Mom and Dad were Santa, we still got santa presents until I was about 26. Mom and Dad just loved giving us lots of presents.
When I became an atheist, christmas became different. There didn't seem to be a lot of point. And I felt really bad about it. I still miss it. I miss that special feeling that christmas engendered. That inner quiet beauty, sense of light, wonder. Awe that a supernatural being came to earth as a baby because he loved me.
I look back on the list of things I really liked about christmas and a lot of them don't have to be religious. They could be secular. But now that I no longer believe there is a deity...well... it seems like a lot of effort to go through for nothing.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've "lost the meaning of Christmas". I still listen to the music, still give my kids presents, but the joy of the season is definitely missing.
So- do I celebrate christmas? Only sort of. I still go through the motions and even hit most of the items on the list- except for the daily advent. But it no longer "feels" the same.
When I was growing up, even all through highschool and college, Christmas was always a very special time for me for a variety of reasons.
Making and eating special christmas-time-only candy treats. [ohhhh, pausing to drooooooool over the memories of all those yummy holiday goodies.!] Let's see "christmas wreaths", "christmas fudge", "christmas mints", "homemade salted nut rolls", "frosted christmas cookies", egg nog. Oooooooh I want it to be December right now!!!!
Putting up all the decorations, candles, holly greens, the tree, the nativity scene. Mom's angel collection. Putting up mom's collection of houses. I LOVE Christmas decorations.
Driving around looking at Christmas lights on people's houses and yards.
Listening to lots of christmas music tapes and then cds. I LOVE christmas music. Sometimes during the summer when I'd get sick of the heat I'd bring out my christmas music to remind me of the snow. Yeah! I HATE the heat. LOVE winter.
Going to the candle light christmas-eve service. Lots of carol singing. No sermon. Holding the candles in the dark.
Playing my flute with my mom while my sister played the piano up at the nursing home where Mom works.
Doing a nightly advent wreath for a good chunk of my child hood, where we'd all gather round the "wreath" light a candle and read a story, sing a song, say a prayer. It kind of petered out during highschool because we got too busy, not enough people home at 1 time.
And of course the excitement of Santa coming on christmas morning and all the presents he'd bring. How hard it was to sleep the night before. Getting up to tip toe through the house and take a peek. Even when we found out that Mom and Dad were Santa, we still got santa presents until I was about 26. Mom and Dad just loved giving us lots of presents.
When I became an atheist, christmas became different. There didn't seem to be a lot of point. And I felt really bad about it. I still miss it. I miss that special feeling that christmas engendered. That inner quiet beauty, sense of light, wonder. Awe that a supernatural being came to earth as a baby because he loved me.
I look back on the list of things I really liked about christmas and a lot of them don't have to be religious. They could be secular. But now that I no longer believe there is a deity...well... it seems like a lot of effort to go through for nothing.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've "lost the meaning of Christmas". I still listen to the music, still give my kids presents, but the joy of the season is definitely missing.
So- do I celebrate christmas? Only sort of. I still go through the motions and even hit most of the items on the list- except for the daily advent. But it no longer "feels" the same.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Irony
Was mining the archives of King Aardvark's blog when I found this the "Ultimate Bible Quiz".
I couldn't resist, and it only took a few minutes.
Check it out!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA
The atheist got a 97%. WOOHOOO!!! Without even once cracking the bible, googling, or doing anything more than making tick marks to determine how many books in the new testament. WOOHOOO!!!!!!
Ahhh sweet irony. I always say I test well. Yeah Me!
If you decide to give it a whirl stop back and let me know how you do!!!!!
I couldn't resist, and it only took a few minutes.
Check it out!
You know the Bible 97%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes
BWAHAHAHAHAHA
The atheist got a 97%. WOOHOOO!!! Without even once cracking the bible, googling, or doing anything more than making tick marks to determine how many books in the new testament. WOOHOOO!!!!!!
Ahhh sweet irony. I always say I test well. Yeah Me!
If you decide to give it a whirl stop back and let me know how you do!!!!!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
what are you
In my hometown there were 3 churches: the Lutheran church, the Catholic church, the Methodist church, and oh yeah the Holy Rollers. So if someone asked "What are you?" in reference to your beliefs you were identified by what church you went to. I was a Lutheran.
And I was just thinking, if someone had asked me, back then, "Are you a Christian?", I think my knee-jerk answer would have been to say, "No, I'm a Lutheran." And that just struck me as funny. Both funny ha-ha and funny interesting.
It might be that the connotation of being a "Christian" was more fundy/bible thumper- one of those born-again types. My dad took special exception to people being born-again. He figured he was baptised, confirmed, took communion, went to church on Sunday, he was golden.
Anyway, I hadn't really thought much about it until just know.
And I was just thinking, if someone had asked me, back then, "Are you a Christian?", I think my knee-jerk answer would have been to say, "No, I'm a Lutheran." And that just struck me as funny. Both funny ha-ha and funny interesting.
It might be that the connotation of being a "Christian" was more fundy/bible thumper- one of those born-again types. My dad took special exception to people being born-again. He figured he was baptised, confirmed, took communion, went to church on Sunday, he was golden.
Anyway, I hadn't really thought much about it until just know.
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