All about me thread

[Green Bottle]

Just read that Scotland is now 50% atheist. Lucky you.

Cheers Stromboli, long may it continue...

[jonb]

Baruch
Your post it seems to me points to an unusual path. I wonder is your relationship to gawd more a consequence of seeking personal ethics than what seems to be the usual theist position that a relationship to gawd is central and their ethics flow from that?

Mike Cl
You make me think about conformity.
I can understand people throwing themselves into something they don't fully understand. Theology like any other subject means we have to learn about it to understand it and that takes some level of commitment. I can see you joining a church and wanting to know more and picking away at it. The thing I don't really understand is that although most religions try to limit that examination why so many religious people don't pick away at their dogmas and expose the problems with them, but seem content to base their whole lives around often quite a superficial understanding. Unless of course their driving force is not to get at the truth, but just to find something they can conform to and feel safe within. Which is why I quite like atheism being definined as not being gawdist because it is then hard to impose any conformity onto it.

Green Bottle
I think in Britain that is the common experience, and the most common traditional British attitude to religion. Although I have heard, more people in Scotland will identify with religion when Celtic/Rangers were playing each other.

Freedom, along with the responsibility it requires, is the greatest thing we can have.

Right on brother I see the light!

Oh and I identify with the horror of your childhood I had three older sisters!

[Mike Cl]

Mike Cl
You make me think about conformity.
I can understand people throwing themselves into something they don't fully understand. Theology like any other subject means we have to learn about it to understand it and that takes some level of commitment. I can see you joining a church and wanting to know more and picking away at it. The thing I don't really understand is that although most religions try to limit that examination why so many religious people don't pick away at their dogmas and expose the problems with them, but seem content to base their whole lives around often quite a superficial understanding. Unless of course their driving force is not to get at the truth, but just to find something they can conform to and feel safe within. Which is why I quite like atheism being definined as not being gawdist because it is then hard to impose any conformity onto it.

From what I've seen from the 'inside' of my church times, that is more a big social club than anything else.  The minster is the club leader, and the tithe is the club dues and the ritual is what the club does.  Socialization is the driving force for most who attend.  They don't want to know if it makes any kind of factual sense.  Unity is not a mainstream christian denomination, but even within that group, even tho they were more of the 'rebel' sort, they did not want to delve too much into the hard facts and background of christian history.  I have always wanted to know 'why?' and 'how'--so, doomed to asking too many questions.  And that lead to atheism for me.

[Baruch]

Mike CL - you took the words right out of my mouth ... again!  "just to find something they can conform to and feel safe within" is exactly what most people are doing inside any religion.  They didn't go to it for intellectual excitement ;-)

jonb - sharp as a tack ... again!  Yes, to me being Jewish with out concern for ethics ... is a pointless exercise.  This is why I find modern Israel to be questionable.  Some visitors to American synagogues call it ... ancestor worship.  Again the social aspect (and usually within ethnicity) is paramount.  Other ethnics in America have tried this in the past (Sons of Italy) ... but assimilation has washed it out.  There are even rabbis in charge of congregations who are atheist ... but since it is taboo, they don't talk about it.  My rabbi here, and the one I admire from the past ... are definitely theists who take religion seriously ... but if they neglected ethics .. then they are history.

[Green Bottle]

Quote from Jonb

''Green Bottle
I think in Britain that is the common experience, and the most common traditional British attitude to religion. Although I have heard, more people in Scotland will identify with religion when Celtic/Rangers were playing each other.

Yes this is true, people who havent seen the inside of a church or chapel in years will all of a sudden go completely mental during an old firm game, but thankfully this isnt every old firm fan, and since rangers were relegated to the lowerdivisions it hasnt been the case for the last 3 years.
But they may be back in the top league next year and for all the idiots on both sides it will be business as usual, i think it is slowly getting better but it will always be there in this city.

[Termin]

  It wasn't a choice for me, it is better to describe it is as a realization. I had wanted to believe, for the longest time , I think simply because it looked easier, but then one day I realized, If I want to believe then that means I don't believe.

[jonb]

Termin, that is such a nice way of explaining that realisation. It seems to me often the angriest people are those trying to fit into clothes which do not fit them.


Green bottle, I worked with an art director who came from your neck of the woods, and told stories of how he had to wear football shirts so that other kids did not notice he spent saturday in the library. And he swore blind he was asked if he was a protestant jew or a catholic one.
I must admit my family is that worst sort of English that has a little dream of someday being in Scotland, I see myself captaining a Clyde puffer and being a new Para Handy.

[Green Bottle]

Quote ''

Green bottle, I worked with an art director who came from your neck of the woods, and told stories of how he had to wear football shirts so that other kids did not notice he spent saturday in the library. And he swore blind he was asked if he was a protestant jew or a catholic one.
I must admit my family is that worst sort of English that has a little dream of someday being in Scotland, I see myself captaining a Clyde puffer and being a new Para Handy.

being asked if ur a 'proddy jew or a 'cafflikk jew in glasgow isnt so strange if u understand the mindset of these people. for them , it's all about the religious identity,if you wear a celtic shirt in this city then ur automatically catholic and vice versa wi rangers, definitely a protestant. Even though there's people of all religions who follow both teams, and also atheist old firm fans, bet there's loads of them...

There's only one Para Handy....
One Para Haaaaaaaandy
There's only oone Paaaaaraaaaahaaaaandy   

[stromboli]

As GB knows I was in Scotland in the Holy Loch as our advanced base for subs. Lucky enough to spend time in Glasgow and some other locations. One of my "bucket list" dream trips would be a motorcycle tour from Dunfries to John O'Groats. I've also seen the Northern lights there. And the ladies are mighty fine as well.......

[Solitary]

I won't say what I was thinking----my lips are sealed. 

[jonb]

Good don't open up the subject of Scottish sexuality.



Whoops, own goal. Sorry

[Green Bottle]

rab c,  brilliant....
https://youtu.be/U4yeqSgNxiE

[jonb]

GB now should we expose some parts of Ivor Cutler to the world? Is the world ready for the man who is for my money the Greatest Brit of us all?

https://youtu.be/Oxl2sWuKjJ0
(Unfortunately the sound is a bit quite on this one.)

https://youtu.be/-Nt7PWtgOPI

[Termin]

Good don't open up the subject of Scottish sexuality.



Whoops, own goal. Sorry

   They fry everything in Scotland don't they ? :)

[stromboli]

Nay, that be some boiled Haggis under there.