Adaptation - A Subtle Clue As To Why Atheism Saved My Life
staubng
Posts: 39 Member
Aloha,
I'm Neil. I've been on MFP since July. Since moving to the Big Island in May, I am now down 100 lbs. Since my heaviest, I've lost a total of 140 lbs. I only mention this because as an atheist (or agnostic atheist, that is the belief a god-like creator requires our dutiful worship is bunk but otherwise acknowledging that beyond the initial expansion of our universe, we simply do not know who or what could be described 'before') my mindset has been revolutionized and led me to the nearly-completed success I've fought in earnest for over 4 years, and more succinctly, my entire life. Soldier4242 had mentioned that our forum is rather quiet. Logically deducing possible causes for this, I've seen many folks say its as a result of much of our agreement on things. Realistically, we're as diverse in agreement from subject to subject as theists are within the interpretation of their own religion - and they have a 'manual'!
Thus, I've decided to start posting a series on my blog forum that, more or less, will discuss step by step how I dismantled my theistic beliefs through scientific curiosity in seemingly unrelated fields. Well, to the conservative christian, what appears to be unrelated fields. I'm certain many of you have found that there is a beauty in science that is congruent to that of mathematics. Each piece fits within the overall framework of how everything works. I won't be discussing the value of pseudo-scientific and fringe science hypothesis ie: Ancient Aliens, alchemy, astrology etc (though these fields have given birth to many of what are considered to be invaluable advances in our genuine, scientific knowledge), but have found that within what has been observed, tested and retested time and again is enough for weight loss, and for many of us, reinvigorates our own sense of purpose.
This having been said, I'll begin working on part one this evening, and for each blog I complete, I'll open it to our discussion forum here to get perspective both for myself and anyone else who might be stumbling out of the dark-fog, releasing the excuse of both action and inaction as instructed by a untouchable, unknowable sovereignty who conveniently only speaks through people with ulterior motives (putting it mildly) and begins to understand the sense of personal responsibility we all face to truly accomplish what it is we want to complete.
It has been the result of this conversion that I've found strength I thought belonged to something beyond me, and saved my life; this is something I still struggle with discussing with particular family members (which I'll go into detail in later posts), but it has been too powerful to ignore in its results in my life. I hope each of you will find this interesting and valuable, and I look forward to your contributions as well. I'm posting this preface in hopes that others of the 203 members will begin deconstructing their journeys as well. Then, we'll truly know if we all agree, or in the very least, can find a mutual, more fulfilling understanding of this human experience.
I'm proud of each of you. You know yourselves that it is by your efforts you have accomplished what you have. It is by your ongoing, growing abilities. You don't blame a God for what goes wrong. You look for clues to work on answers to your questions. And because of this, while you can't shrug off your shortcomings to something else, you can't blame anyone else for your success either.
Keep up your efforts. I'm not praying for you, but I'll be reading, learning and thinking of your inputs and how your experience can apply to my growth as well.
I'm Neil. I've been on MFP since July. Since moving to the Big Island in May, I am now down 100 lbs. Since my heaviest, I've lost a total of 140 lbs. I only mention this because as an atheist (or agnostic atheist, that is the belief a god-like creator requires our dutiful worship is bunk but otherwise acknowledging that beyond the initial expansion of our universe, we simply do not know who or what could be described 'before') my mindset has been revolutionized and led me to the nearly-completed success I've fought in earnest for over 4 years, and more succinctly, my entire life. Soldier4242 had mentioned that our forum is rather quiet. Logically deducing possible causes for this, I've seen many folks say its as a result of much of our agreement on things. Realistically, we're as diverse in agreement from subject to subject as theists are within the interpretation of their own religion - and they have a 'manual'!
Thus, I've decided to start posting a series on my blog forum that, more or less, will discuss step by step how I dismantled my theistic beliefs through scientific curiosity in seemingly unrelated fields. Well, to the conservative christian, what appears to be unrelated fields. I'm certain many of you have found that there is a beauty in science that is congruent to that of mathematics. Each piece fits within the overall framework of how everything works. I won't be discussing the value of pseudo-scientific and fringe science hypothesis ie: Ancient Aliens, alchemy, astrology etc (though these fields have given birth to many of what are considered to be invaluable advances in our genuine, scientific knowledge), but have found that within what has been observed, tested and retested time and again is enough for weight loss, and for many of us, reinvigorates our own sense of purpose.
This having been said, I'll begin working on part one this evening, and for each blog I complete, I'll open it to our discussion forum here to get perspective both for myself and anyone else who might be stumbling out of the dark-fog, releasing the excuse of both action and inaction as instructed by a untouchable, unknowable sovereignty who conveniently only speaks through people with ulterior motives (putting it mildly) and begins to understand the sense of personal responsibility we all face to truly accomplish what it is we want to complete.
It has been the result of this conversion that I've found strength I thought belonged to something beyond me, and saved my life; this is something I still struggle with discussing with particular family members (which I'll go into detail in later posts), but it has been too powerful to ignore in its results in my life. I hope each of you will find this interesting and valuable, and I look forward to your contributions as well. I'm posting this preface in hopes that others of the 203 members will begin deconstructing their journeys as well. Then, we'll truly know if we all agree, or in the very least, can find a mutual, more fulfilling understanding of this human experience.
I'm proud of each of you. You know yourselves that it is by your efforts you have accomplished what you have. It is by your ongoing, growing abilities. You don't blame a God for what goes wrong. You look for clues to work on answers to your questions. And because of this, while you can't shrug off your shortcomings to something else, you can't blame anyone else for your success either.
Keep up your efforts. I'm not praying for you, but I'll be reading, learning and thinking of your inputs and how your experience can apply to my growth as well. 0
Replies
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Well I am glad that my post has managed to stimulate some dialogue. I have already read your first post and I found it interesting. I have not fact checked it yet but I did not see anything wrong with it in my first reading. Perhaps I will post my own story on here as well. Your weight loss is highly impressive. You clearly stuck with it far longer than most have been able to. I really do hope that from our efforts more people will be drawn to take part in the dialogue and we can revitalize this group.
In my personal life I don't really know many atheists. I am surrounded by people who think you should at least believe in something omnipotent. Like it is such a small claim that it deserves some sort of defacto affirmation. I just feel that my position is reasonable enough to deserve consideration and I am astonished that there aren't more people who agree with me.
I can appreciate that there does not seem to be any vitriol in your writings. I am not exactly interested in a "lets bash theists" forum. I just want to have a place where I can talk about the big questions and not be looked at like I am somehow the crazy one. To me it appears that the theists get the rest of the world but here in this place it should be the domain of the atheist. We can make actual progress and help direct each others research without anyone wasting forum space explaining to us that we would all become believers if we would just accept the fact that god helped Tim Tebow score a touch down.0
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