tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post7026419002419937082..comments2023-11-22T21:30:35.388-06:00Comments on My Own Mind blog / Homeschool Atheist Momma: Being an Atheist: I Miss the Church CommunityKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-20065719351393467582015-10-26T12:21:32.629-06:002015-10-26T12:21:32.629-06:00YES! An excellent example of the PRICE of the com...YES! An excellent example of the PRICE of the community of the church.<br />I missed it for so long....until I realized that the cost of being a part of the community was way too high...makes me wonder who *I* ostracized in those years. :(<br /><br />I'm very interested in how you explained that process to your kids or how they understand it...<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. ;)Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-36638983992364777262015-10-26T07:32:18.218-06:002015-10-26T07:32:18.218-06:00I've been an atheist for at least 10 years now...I've been an atheist for at least 10 years now, but only left the church environment and organized religion 3.5 years ago. It was a good and healthy move for our family, but I do miss the church as community greatly. That particular part has been really hard for my kids. When we left, it was an excommunication and it was hurtful. All these people who claimed to "love their neighbor", shunned us and we lost friends. It became apparent that love thy neighbor only meant those in the tribe. But I miss the weekly gatherings. I miss the social opportunities. I miss being a part of a group of people. However, I wouldn't trade being free from the indoctrination for the social bits for anything in the world. :)Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06414592639900097040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-2499948125350170082015-10-25T21:40:54.635-06:002015-10-25T21:40:54.635-06:00I'm curious to know what you do as a volunteer...I'm curious to know what you do as a volunteer for them. :)Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-22615715601795964172015-10-25T21:40:02.156-06:002015-10-25T21:40:02.156-06:00That's a great example of community. :)
My 14...That's a great example of community. :)<br />My 14-yr old son went to Camp Quest this summer and WOW did he find wonderful community there.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309932952235453461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-48634952853319336592015-10-25T16:43:39.586-06:002015-10-25T16:43:39.586-06:00Camp Quest had really helped me fill my need for c...Camp Quest had really helped me fill my need for community. My son (almost 12) loves that he can be around kids that accept him for who he is and I get to volunteer with young people that often don't have other secular allies in "real life". Camp has become the best part of our year :) Heather Robinsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357415193462649988.post-70689362127334726602015-10-24T08:22:12.796-05:002015-10-24T08:22:12.796-05:00Our journeys are so similar. I, too, was Catholic ...Our journeys are so similar. I, too, was Catholic (raised to be so). I was the child who was usually getting yelled at by our hapless catechism teachers because I always had questions about dogma: "What was the actual physics of Jesus turning wine into water?" "What do you mean that God expects a woman who was raped to carry that child to term, no matter what?" "If God is all-loving and forgiving, then why does he excommunicate people? Why is there even a hell?" "I am not Eve, so why am I suffering with horrible cramps each month because of her actions in the Garden of Eden?" Yes, I was threatened pretty much weekly with damnation and a call to my mother if I didn't just shut up and believe what they were teaching.<br />Like you, I look back to see that the my skepticism first took root in mistrusting the trappings of organized religion. And, my serious doubts about the whole shebang began after the birth of my first child; motherhood--and its powerful, unconditional love--is what started me truly questioning. How could a supposedly all-loving, all-knowing father-being actually *WILL* his children to suffer? I am a mere mortal, but I know I'd never plan for or *WILL* my child to suffer violence, disease, etc. in order to learn a life lesson.<br />However, I never really loved the church community. The supposed fellowship of it all always felt fake and forced to me. Even my favorite part of mass (because it was a break in all the overdone ritual when there was actual, potentially meaningful interaction and the priest finally stopped yammering for a moment), which was the whole peace-be-with-you-now-turn-and-offer-each-other-a-sign-of-peace, often felt forced on the part of others. <br />Still, there are brief flashes of nanoseconds in life where the dogma, the overdone rituals, the blazing organ music, and even the handing-it-over to a supreme parental being feels comforting--again, for a flash of time--and I understand on an intellectual level why people believe... it's comforting on some level. Though my mind just can't accept all the trappings anymore, I understand that it's easier to "give it all to God" than to be totally, soberly a participant in the whims of the Universe; or, perhaps even worse, to be accountable--it's always easier to look up and around one's self for answers or blame than to look within. ;)MamaBeannoreply@blogger.com