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Originally Posted by annettemarie
 Hi ladies. I wanted to ask if you would rather stay here in FYT or move to Spirituality. As long as you're discussing cultural issues rather than issues of faith (including critiques of other belief systems), you're welcome to stay here in FYT. But if you would rather move to Spirituality, that's OK too. Just discuss it amongst yourselves and let me know which would suit you better. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by siobhang
can we have two threads? One in spirituality for questions on spiritual atheism/atheism and religion, etc. and here for more day-to-day discussions?
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Originally Posted by Jacque Savageau
Yes, because your looking for two different areas to focus on. Feel free to start a thread in Spirituality.
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Eventually we read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. We were both all over it, but I was still trying to make it fit my Christian mold. Eventually it broke the mold and I was released from my state of ignorance. I mean, I was the kind of Christian who believed that Jesus died for my sins and that only through believing in him and giving myself to him could I be freed from my sins. That he did rise from the dead and all of the other stuff the bible says.
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Originally Posted by avivaelona
personally I'm just much more interested in the cultural aspects and how to live peaceably and with mutual respect among those of other religious belief, I think atheism can encompass a wide variety of spiritualities and for me those are mostly private anyway. I think two threads are a good idea but I'd be interested in this one mostly I think (well we'll see) .
To the previous poster who suggested just talking about other religions with respect, to my three year old, thanks for the attempt but I think what I'm getting at is much more simple..like literally how to explain what a church building is for, or what people even mean when they say "god" to a little person who asks questions that are hard to answer at his vocabularly level. My son is very verbal for his age so I can talk to him about things but he still only has a three year olds knowledge of the world. So it isn't that he is coming to me saying "Jimmy says he's christian, who is Jesus?" its that he says "mommy what's a "Church"" and I have no idea how to answer him because all of the words you would use to describe what a church is for are just as foreign to him as the word Church is. As far as death, when our kitty died we told him that the part of her that made her be alive was gone, even though everything else was stil there she wouldn't be able to walk or eat or do anything anymore. So he started asking lots of questions about what part it was, and asked if she still had every part of her body. So we added that there was something in people or animals that makes them be alive, and that some people think that is just energy and other people think that there is something called a soul or spirit that is a seperate part of them and goes somewhere else when you die. That some people think it goes to a place and other people think it just dissolves into the ground or the air. He said that he has a seperate part of him that is a spirit and it lives right next to his brain in his head, and pointed to a very specific spot on his head, so for him he's got it figured out |
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Originally Posted by siobhang
My definitions I have used with my kids - I am an anthropologist so that definitely influences my definitions.
Church: a community of like minded people who gather to talk, celebrate, commiserate, etc. The building they gather in is also called a church - it can also be called a temple or other word. We go to church - our UU church. God: the sense that there is something bigger and more important than us as individuals. We sometimes ask God for help, when we need something beyond what we feel we have internally. Sometimes God is portrayed as a person who can talk to you or who is watching your actions, but those are just stories. God is an idea, not a thing or person. Jesus: a teacher who lived a long time ago who said many wise and important things to help us live our lives better. There are many stories told about Jesus, some of which are true and some of which aren't, which talk about his life and his good deeds. I want to get across the idea that God is a metaphor for many important ideas and feelings we humans all share. God does not need to be literally true, and Jesus does not need to be the Christ, in order for some of the concepts and emotions in religion to be valid and helpful to us as ethical beings. In addition, dh and I need standard definitions that resonate with our kids when they hear "God bless America" or "Thank you, Jesus!", which they do hear a lot ('tis an election season, after all...). I look forward to hearing what others say. |
I'm still here!
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Originally Posted by expat-mama
Anyone seen the trailers for "Religulus"???
If not search for it on Youtube. It's documentary on religion from an atheists point of view...or something along those lines, but as it's hosted by Bill Mahr and directed by the guy who directed "Borat", it'll be pretty funny. I think it's coming out this October and IMHO it looks like it will be highly entertaining! |
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Originally Posted by expat-mama
Anyone seen the trailers for "Religulus"???
If not search for it on Youtube. It's documentary on religion from an atheists point of view...or something along those lines, but as it's hosted by Bill Mahr and directed by the guy who directed "Borat", it'll be pretty funny. I think it's coming out this October and IMHO it looks like it will be highly entertaining! |
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