Atheists And Christians Community Blog - Latest Comments in A Year Without God

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:58:39 -0000

Thanks, Cori! I need to write a new post!

Re: A Year Without God

coriw — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:26:39 -0000

Thanks for visiting my blog and for contributing to forging positive and healthy links between atheists and Christians, without the 'bashing' as you say! It's great to follow your story. I'm sure I'll be visiting here more often.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:48:03 -0000

Thanks, Kevin.

Re: A Year Without God

Kevin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:44:45 -0000

We are all certain of many things, but I refuse to be certain about the invisible.

For me, this is the quote of the week. This describes my position exactly. Thank you for sharing your story.

Re: A Year Without God

boomSLANG — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:40:03 -0000

"I'd just like to tell you that God loves you whether you believe in Him or not. I sincerely hope that one day when you truly believe...."[emphasis added]

Pardon me, but the term, "truly believe", is redundant, and ultimately nonsensical. Obviously, no sane person sets out to "falsely" believe a given proposition. You either "believe", or you don't. Person X can believe proposition Y, and change their mind. This, in no way, suggests that X didn't "truly believe" Y when they believed it.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:20:26 -0000

Thanks, JEB. Yep, I've read several posts on Vyckie's blog. Good stuff so
far. That Quiverfull movement is just crazy.

Yeah, I always thought it odd that Christians see God as this huge profound
being, but they feel the need to push him/her/it into a tiny box.

Re: A Year Without God

JEB — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:12:36 -0000

Hi Mike . . . hope you found time to visit Vyckie's blog. And since I just left a couple comments on your coverage of Dan Silverman's story and thought I'd tell you that I'll be posting from now on as JEB.
Too many John's around, eh? Although as I mentioned there, I've always said that everybody need a john now and then, LOL. And I might say here, while I'm running my keys, that I hate that we have to keep calling God HE. I don't think, if there is a god, that It's a HE any more then it's a SHE. Jumping jimminy but our minds are so damn small. J'ever notice that? Wish I new how to post a picture on my comments. That'd scare the hell out of a few people I'm thinking. FDLH (that's FallDownLaughingHysterically) And Mike, keep on trucking friend.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:38:32 -0000

Thank you, Lee Sah. I would certainly hope God would love me or he wouldn't be a very good God, would he?

Regardless of what John 11:40 says, one can not choose to believe something. If I could, I would still be a Christian. I never wanted to be an atheist.

Re: A Year Without God

Lee Sah — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:59:11 -0000

Hi, Mike! I'm from Malaysia. I'd just like to tell you that God loves you whether you believe in Him or not. I sincerely hope that one day when you truly believe, you'll see the Glory of God. (John 11:40) God bless you!

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:26:37 -0000

Thanks, John! I will check out the blog you linked to. You are right, people do try to project their beliefs on things others create sometimes.

Re: A Year Without God

John — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:08:31 -0000

Mike . . . Read the poem you posted at Dan Silverman's blog and really appreciated it. I dropped out of what I call Fundagelicalism many years ago but have recently become connected with a woman who just stepped out of a Quiverfull disaster. http://2spb.blogspot.com/20... She asked me to give you this connection on her blog to check out. Actually her whole blog is getting a lot of attention. She and her friend, Laura, do it together and their stories are arresting, heartbreaking, uplifting and enlightening. I think you'll enjoy it.
As for my thoughts on your question of how I experience god. God is whatever I claim It is . . . for me. And whether I'm right, wrong or somewhere in between has nothing to do with anybody else. The poem below kind of wrote itself after an experience I had the details of which I'll not go into here. Was I experiencing god? Who the hell knows? But it was a very mind blowing experience never-the-less. The last part makes me kind of embarrassed now but I suppose being Love isn't all bad, eh? John
Cosmic Connection

And I was in a womb and
Looked without into
A blackness filled with stars
A multitude of stars that moved
And swirled and formed a
Sphere
And then dissolved and shot away again.

And from that star-filled void
A voice spoke out to me
And it said,
"Come to me, Be with me,
Go with me".

And I birthed out among
Those swirling stars
To find my body, mind
The All of me
Reduced to it's component parts.

And then became aware that
I infilled the galaxy
The universe
And every creature living
Anywhere.

And I cried out to everything
And everyone
And to myself
I AM, I AM, I AM
And flew away to
Everywhere and
Always
And to the love
I AM.

The fun thing about this, to me, is that when I showed this poem to
a lady I worked with she tried to tell me how I should write this poem
and what words I should have used and so on. It wasn't her experience but, by god, she knew, knew, I'm telling you, how I should be doing it. What a hoot some folks are, eh?
Regards
John

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:07:54 -0000

Thanks, Karla. I'll check it out.

Re: A Year Without God

Karla — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:59:22 -0000

Mike, I was in Barnes and Nobel the other night and I picked up a Brian McClaren book called "Does This Make Sense." It's a little book about doubt and faith and touches on some of the questions atheists have. However, it was a very different approach that while I don't disagree with McClaren, my approach to the questions has been from a different direction than his. I thought you might enjoy his approach and find it rather refreshing. I know you had mentioned checking into some of the emerging church books, so I thought maybe you could check this one out. You could probably read it in an hour sitting in your local bookstore. If you do check it out, please do a book review of it on your blog or something from your perspective. That would be awesome!

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:44:59 -0000

Thanks Gary, I do read your blog and have been for some time, and I'm glad you started posting there again.

Yes, I've matured through this process and it's much more than this last year, it was the years of doubt slowly opening my eyes to the fact that Christians hadn't cornered the market on being "good". Even "evil" atheists and members of other religions could be good. This led to some liberal views about Christianity, as I tried to reconcile, but what it ultimately came down to, and still does, is that I don't experience anything in my life that I would call God. Maybe someday I will again, who knows?

I totally agree that many of the things seen as benefits of Christianity are just mundane things that they have put a spiritual wrapper around. Praying during a decision process for one. I find zero difference now that I am an atheist when I think through a process. I still think through it or talk it out in my head. It's just that now it's not directed to God.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Re: A Year Without God

Gary — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:32:04 -0000

Hey Mike, thanks for the comments on my blog. Pigeon-holing is a common and easy thing to do, and from what you've said it appears that you've matured through this process of de-conversion. Remember how spiritual maturity was discussed in church? I would suggest that those things considered 'spiritual' are really psychological maturity, growth in wisdom. From your writing I detect compassion and humility, and am encouraged by this. If you've read anything I've written lately you would have seen quite a shift, I'm on the verge of admitting being an atheist. Like a previous commenter, it's difficult to swallow due to preconditioning. I have had no problem however labeling myself as a Freethinker on my Facebook profile.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:08:16 -0000

Thanks, Karla, I do appreciate you sharing your experiences.

Re: A Year Without God

Karla — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:01:17 -0000

I agree that experience is a huge part of it. Belief should always be rooted in something experiential and tangible. All throughout Scripture God showed himself in some form or fashion in a real experiential way. There is no reason to believe that if it's true that shouldn't continue today. You know I have given testimony of it happening today. But I'll continue to pray that you have your own experience, for mine can give you hope, but only your own can give you what you are looking for.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:03:36 -0000

I may find my way back to some sort of faith some day. Thanks!

Re: A Year Without God

kinggame — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:30:35 -0000

I'm glad you are happy, but I hope you someday make your way back to faith, in one aspect or another. The invite is always open.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:49:17 -0000

No, I know people who seem to have perfectly fine relationships with Jesus, of course many of them believe vastly different things and have vastly different theologies, but they seem to have something real.

For me belief depends on experience, if I don't experience him how can I believe in him?

Re: A Year Without God

Karla — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:21:20 -0000

I think it is difficult for you to see what I am saying because you don't accept it is even possible to have a relationship with Jesus. So no matter how I explain it, it all boils down for you to as a matter of "belief" and not what is in actuality. For we differ that there is an actual "being in relationship with Him."

Re: A Year Without God

Carolina — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:34:19 -0000

Congratulations on your one-year anniversary. It has been 52 years since I started to doubt and 45 years since I first had to courage to tell someone I was an atheist.

If you are interested, visit my blog on 3/13/09 for information on this year's "Blog Against Theocracy" event which will take place in April.
http://tirelesswing.blogspo... in support of sontinued church/state separation.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:29:48 -0000

I didn't think you came off wrong at all. :-)

Re: A Year Without God

David — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:01:13 -0000

Mike I am glad that you are doing okay. Thanks for stopping by the site the other day. Sorry if I came off wrong. Not my intentions.

Re: A Year Without God

Mike aka MonolithTMA — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:54:05 -0000

Ok, you encapsulated the "believe what I believe" part.

People that aren't "in Him" or "safe in Him" are going to hell, why because they haven't accepted him, which is what conservative evangelical theology teaches. So, if people don't believe what they believe and ask to be in Jesus, they are going to hell, right?