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Former theists: what do you miss?

an anarchist

Your local anarchist.
Former theists, a question for you.

What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.

The other night I was laying down and going to sleep, and I was fondly remembering the nights where I would fall asleep with the knowledge that Jesus Christ was taking care of me. Now I don’t have that, and I miss it, if only for its calming effect.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I enjoyed the comrade in arms feeling. Vulnerable people against a great foe, relying on God for the ultimate rescue type feelings. That type of drama.

Missing it? Not really all that much actually. It's just way too silly for me now to miss something that turned out to be nothing more than a big game of playing pretend.


I do have cherished memories though that I reminisce with time to time, so there's that if nothing else.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Former theists, a question for you.

What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.
I think you're talking more about being a former participant in a religion, than about theism. People who are former church-going Christians, may still believe in God, but just in different enough ways that it makes it hard to fit in with mainline religious groups.

That said, yes, the sense of community is a definite gap for no longer being a Churchian, as I once was. But that can be found in other ways, with different regular group participations. Having a spiritual focus, or health and wellbeing as a focus gives what church ostensibly was about (at least for me that's what I wanted from it).

Find others of like interest and develop a community with them. That fills that hole, and makes it your own on your own terms, as opposed to being threatened by religious zealots only interest in group conformity, not personal growth.

As far as comfort from beliefs, you can change how you believe about God, without necessarily needing to throw out that Baby with the bathwater of religious muck. They don't own God. They want you to believe they own God. Don't give them that power. Make your beliefs about God your own, if you derive good from them. What good you got from it before, was always you in the first place. Keep sight of that.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
For a short while I missed the comfort of having god by my side. That soon faded and rather than miss i was kind of glad, the freedom to think for myself and doing what i wanted to do without judgement is extremely enlightening
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Former theists, a question for you.

What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.

The other night I was laying down and going to sleep, and I was fondly remembering the nights where I would fall asleep with the knowledge that Jesus Christ was taking care of me. Now I don’t have that, and I miss it, if only for its calming effect.
Since you can't know that some higher power is not watching over you, why not allow yourself to imagine it being so? What does it hurt? It seems both arrogant and counter-productive to presume nothing, based on nothing. Just to kill hope, for no reason.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Since you can't know that some higher power is not watching over you, why not allow yourself to imagine it being so? What does it hurt? It seems both arrogant and counter-productive to presume nothing, based on nothing. Just to kill hope, for no reason.

And it seems rather arrogant to presume something exists based on nothing but personal belief.

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Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Former theists, a question for you.
What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.
The other night I was laying down and going to sleep, and I was fondly remembering the nights where I would fall asleep with the knowledge that Jesus Christ was taking care of me. Now I don’t have that, and I miss it, if only for its calming effect.
Nothing.
I have the support of the family and relatives. That is my community.
However a clarification. I still love my former deities as part of my culture, though I don't worship them. I am sort of separated, but not divorced.
Just to kill hope, for no reason.
False hope? I do better without it.
 
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wellwisher

Well-Known Member
Since you can't know that some higher power is not watching over you, why not allow yourself to imagine it being so? What does it hurt? It seems both arrogant and counter-productive to presume nothing, based on nothing. Just to kill hope, for no reason.

Science and many other areas of culture use statistical models. Can anyone explain, how random works, based on a cause and affect explanation? It appears there is a faith requirement in the fuzzy, which is not firmly based on reason.

In other words, to draw a straight line we need two points. If we use statistical models, the data points are not sharp points but fuzzy dice, which means your cause and affect line of reason is fuzzy, since the slope of a line touching two fuzzy dice is not fixed but has a range of angles.

Why allow any fuzzy data if the goal is to be rational and universal instead of opinionated. What is the logical purpose of statistics, since it seem counter productive to reason? It has too much uncertainty; fuzz, that you cannot define, which is what religion is often accused of.

Could science, gambling casinos, politicians and pollsters function with just reason, without any statistical fuzz. Or is the fuzzy unknown needed to compensate for partial reasoning? I used to part of this fuzzy religion, but I outgrew it, since it required too much faith in the bandwidth created by blind folds and black boxes. I left the black box and hung up the blind fold, and now I can see the light.

Very recently there was mega lottery in the USA worth over $2 billion. This lottery total got this high, not because of reason, but faith in fuzzy dice. The fuzzy dice of winning overlapped millions of people; all with finite odds for success. It turned out only 1 in millions was real.

Before the drawing, many people, in their imagination, already have the money spent and their new lifestyle was all in order, even before they bought a ticket. This faith based fantasy is due the line between two fuzzy dice that appears to touch them. They extrapolate this with logic, based on a fuzzy premise that is not real for by one, but as imaginary as unicorns, for most. This religion is allowed by science and politicians which makes you wonder?
 

PureX

Veteran Member
Science and many other areas of culture use statistical models. Can anyone explain, how random works, based on a cause and affect explanation? It appears there is a faith requirement in the fuzzy, which is not firmly based on reason.

In other words, to draw a straight line we need two points. If we use statistical models, the data points are not sharp points but fuzzy dice, which means your cause and affect line of reason is fuzzy, since the slope of a line touching two fuzzy dice is not fixed but has a range of angles.

Why allow any fuzzy data if the goal is to be rational and universal instead of opinionated. What is the logical purpose of statistics, since it seem counter productive to reason? It has too much uncertainty; fuzz, that you cannot define, which is what religion is often accused of.

Could science, gambling casinos, politicians and pollsters function with just reason, without any statistical fuzz. Or is the fuzzy unknown needed to compensate for partial reasoning? I used to part of this fuzzy religion, but I outgrew it, since it required too much faith in the bandwidth created by blind folds and black boxes. I left the black box and hung up the blind fold, and now I can see the light.

Very recently there was mega lottery in the USA worth over $2 billion. This lottery total got this high, not because of reason, but faith in fuzzy dice. The fuzzy dice of winning overlapped millions of people; all with finite odds for success. It turned out only 1 in millions was real.

Before the drawing, many people, in their imagination, already have the money spent and their new lifestyle was all in order, even before they bought a ticket. This faith based fantasy is due the line between two fuzzy dice that appears to touch them. They extrapolate this with logic, based on a fuzzy premise that is not real for by one, but as imaginary as unicorns, for most. This religion is allowed by science and politicians which makes you wonder?
All we humans get is "fuzzy" information. From which we can try and extrapolate probabilities, or we can invent fantasies, or we can just plow ahead and see what happens. It's up to us. But if we want certainty, we're going to have to lie to ourselves to get it.

Not being omniscient is a wonderful gift to us, because it allows us to develop our own view of reality and then choose our own way through it. If we prefer to go to sleep at night envisioning ourselves in the arms of God, we can. Because we can't know that it's not so. And we can know that it helps us sleep better. So it's a reasonable choice to make.
 

Kfox

Well-Known Member
Former theists, a question for you.

What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.

The other night I was laying down and going to sleep, and I was fondly remembering the nights where I would fall asleep with the knowledge that Jesus Christ was taking care of me. Now I don’t have that, and I miss it, if only for its calming effect.
When I was Christian, I used to go to Church, and those people were some of the nicest people in the world. Now that I no longer believe, I won't disrespect their beliefs by going there pretending I still believe just for the friendship, and because I no longer go I've lost contact with many of them. I guess I just miss many of the friends I used to have when I was a theist.
 

rational experiences

Veteran Member
As a spiritual conscious human. I miss my rational brother living in my conscious life.

At NASA men biology born as human babies. Studied two biological humans one who could mind coerce another. Rare but special said their satanic study organisation.

I can theory about it. Built a transmitted computer program to the world when the world only allowed a few humans the ability. Everyone else's mind saved from the behaviour and lack of human morality.

Now everyone's mind origin is gone. Is not what a rational brother would have chosen. When using all reasons why only self Idolating special humans said they were special.

When being normal is special as it's rare on earth for our brother technology youre a machine man to allow us to be normal or natural.

As minds or body. He believes we should be sacrificed by his science choices as science not life was first. Is what he believes.
 

Sand Dancer

Crazy Cat Lady
Former theists, a question for you.

What do you miss about being a theist?

Do you miss the community and social aspect of it? As a former Christian, part of me misses weekly gatherings and making friends at church, but I can be reclusive so I don’t miss it entirely.

The other night I was laying down and going to sleep, and I was fondly remembering the nights where I would fall asleep with the knowledge that Jesus Christ was taking care of me. Now I don’t have that, and I miss it, if only for its calming effect.

Security, routine.
 

PearlSeeker

Well-Known Member
I am still part of the community, rituals, meetings, socializing...

What I miss:
- supernatural friends (Jesus, Mary, saints)
- a sense of security and optimism (someone is watching, listening to prayers and taking care no matter what happens)
- a sense of empowering and healing power from some rituals (sacraments)
- a strong hope for life in heaven (no scaring with hell in our church)
- no worry about the time of death
 

wellwisher

Well-Known Member
All we humans get is "fuzzy" information. From which we can try and extrapolate probabilities, or we can invent fantasies, or we can just plow ahead and see what happens. It's up to us. But if we want certainty, we're going to have to lie to ourselves to get it.

Not being omniscient is a wonderful gift to us, because it allows us to develop our own view of reality and then choose our own way through it. If we prefer to go to sleep at night envisioning ourselves in the arms of God, we can. Because we can't know that it's not so. And we can know that it helps us sleep better. So it's a reasonable choice to make.

The one problem that both theist and atheist face is that neither can see their future. Why have faith in the future defined by one way, but not the other, since both use faith to see their future? In other words, the future is not real until it becomes manifest. Before the future is "now", it is as much a fantasy as it is reality. When the weather scientists say there is a 30% chance of rain tomorrow they do not know the future, but offer odds and take bets. Science cannot know or prove the future, but it tries to predict it using the oracles of statistics. But even that falls short. Weather scientists never lose their jobs for bad predictions. These get a pass, not due to reason, but due to collective atheist faith in the god of dice and cards.

The choices we make as young people, often seem like they will last forever, but typically they do not extrapolate to our final future; I will love you forever. We assumes this not a religious path of faith, but one that is rational. But in the end it was based on faith in a lottery ticket future, that would prove not to become reality. You did not win the jackpot. What is the difference between belief in a God of determinism or a god of luck and chance? Is it white lab coats versus colorful robes?

God to me is a powerful intellectual tool, since God reflects the limits of what is possible; larger than large and smaller than small. God is not the simple walk down the street, but he is more like the journey to the top of the highest mountain. If we strive for the highest mountain; faith in that future, but only make it half way, you have still gone farther than what faith in the easy road bring you, that ends somewhere else in the future. The former evolves us for selective advantages.

Instead of trying to make my life comfortable; my ego-centric future vision, with God you see peace on earth for all humans, since God is the limit of what can become. So, if you strive beyond your own comfortable future image, and even if you fall short of the ideal, we all are still better off.

The question I pose is how is the god of chance rational in terms of your future? Can anyone infer or deduce chance? Why does science use this irrational method and why isn't the rational standard applied to science? Relative morality is based on the god of dice and cards. It assumes we cannot know the future for certain, so any path will still end up where the future unfolds. Morality is about extrapolating God to the limits and setting that distance point as the future. We may not know how it will end, but we have a vector.
 
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