What are some things (music, holidays, etc.) that you will continue as an atheist? Here are are some of mine.
Listening to music like Brahms' Requiem or Elijah by Mendelssohn. The subject matter may be religious, but they are some of the greatest Romantic choral pieces ever composed. Brahms was a humanist, but wrote his requiem for his mother who was a devout Lutheran.
Celebeating holidays like Easter and Christmas. I mean, the Christians hijacked them from pagan holidays after all. It is, after all, about being with family and friends, and that is the aspect I like.
Read the Bible, but not for religious reasons, more to give me an edge in debates with Christians.
Just a couple of things I will continue to do, even after I come out as an atheist to my family. What are some things you would or will continue to do as an atheist?
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Self bump because this is getting burried under this spam.
I agree and you can't avoid it no matter how hard you try. It just shows you how obtrusive religion is.
It really makes you wonder what a world without religion would be like, not influenced by the "holy" or the "godly". Imagine how great the German Requiem would be if it was about Brahms' humanist beliefs. Or how different Christmas would be without a figure to worship, being only about gift exchange and celebrating the end of the year.
Hopefully the end of the year would change to something that makes more sense like winter solstice (falls on Dec 21st in 2017)
Maybe the year will change too, something like: year 12, of the current age (if further accuracy is needed,) or something even better that I have not thought of. We often short hand 2017 to just 17 anyways.
Same here on the holidays. I still say oh my god sometimes. Hindu families have an annual prayer to bless the house. If invited, I will still go. Not so much to pray, but to wish them well and eat the food lol.
Also I won't stop the music. There are a lot of good songs with religious lines and some that are straight up inspired by it. My sweet lord by George Harisson or even the Hallelujah song for example.
What? about bless you for sneezes. I feel kinda funny saying it, but it is the most common and normal thing to say. Especially in public. Any thoughts on this?
You could always use gesundheit instead.
I would have to agree. Bring from the southern US, I say things like that all the time without thinking about it. I've started saying gesundheit, but saying things like "bless your heart" I need to work on because I say it impulsively without giving any second thoughts.
I do not say it, I do not say anything at all. But I am weird, when I sneeze I would prefer it if everyone politely ignored it rather than point it out by saying something (anything.) But even worse when its a silly religious thing.I believe its origin stems from ancient superstition that an evil spirit posses the body and a sneeze was the bodies effort to expel the evil spirit, and bless you was supposed to somehow help a person expel the evil spirit via divine help.
In Japanese culture it is considered ill manners to comment on any bodily noises by others such as sneeze, cough, hiccup or fart. The Japanese politely look away while the person regathers himself.
LogicForTW,
Muslims think that Satan sleeps in the nostrils at night. So maybe a sneeze is just blowing him out?
http://islamcomicbook.com/10.htm
http://islamcomicbook.com/11.htm
BTW, did you know that you can't sneeze when you're sleeping?
Heh, I learned some things today, thanks Diotrephes and dancing fool :)
@Diotephes: "BTW, did you know that you can't sneeze when you're sleeping?"
If only the same was true for farting. I've heard a few nether-snores from sleeping people on planes, etc.
Having been more or less a Christian for almost 60 years, old habits do die hard now I’m atheist.
I always found Easter to be creepy, so I never really “celebrated” it as a theist, and I certainly do not now.
I still enjoy Christmas, especially “traditional” carols sung by a cathedral choir. I throw a few lights around some trees outside the house and put up a few decorations inside. I just ignore all references to the biblical Christmas story.
Christmas presents were becoming a pain because there was nothing the family really needed or wanted. We solved that problem by giving in their names to an appropriate charity, e.g. Dear Megan, we gave a hive of bees in your name to a family in Guatemala, or sent a child to school for a year in Malawi, etc. There was some opposition from the traditionalists in the family to our “Socialism” in their names; too bad.
I’ll admit that religion still infects my language at times, e.g. “Thank God we have Little Donnie in the White House to sabotage the Trump Presidency.”
If I’m ever asked to say the blessing before big family meal, I am now mentally prepared with a secular blessing of thanks which omits all references to any deity. They are never really sure when I’ve finished because they are waiting for key phrases like “We give thanks for these blessings in your holy name,” but I never say them.
@Alembe: "I always found Easter to be creepy"
There's something unwholesome about Easter. I don't if it's the nails and blood or the bunnies and eggs. I've always hated the whole thing.
In Australia and New Zealand, country people often celebrate Easter, which is the autumn, with rabbit hunting competitions. Rabbits are a bit of a plague in this part of the world after some idiot released a few in the 19th century. They have no natural enemies.
Hi Algebe,
As a budding 10 year old scientist, I did the "Easter Experiment." I selected a nice juicy green cabbage white butterfly caterpillar from the garden and popped it in the freezer. I prayed for 3 days for it to be resurrected when I thawed it out. All got was caterpillar lysate in a limp green skin bag.
Alembe', intrigued by your comment about having a prepared secular meal blessing, I googled for examples of such, and came across this page with some very nice secular, or at east non-denominational examples of grace. What's funny, is the comments at the bottom of the page - the Christians getting their panties in a wad over no mentions of Jesus, Christ or the lord in any of the listed graces.
https://wanderlust.com/journal/11-beautiful-ways-to-love-your-lunch/
When someone sneezes I usually say, "good health". Some people don't get it even though it is quite obvious that I'm wishing them good health.
I like that. I'm gonna use it.
I love hymn music. Some of them bring back fond memories from when I was young. Others are simply amazing words and music. Jerusalem, with words by William Blake and music by Hubert Parry, is awesome. So is "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" with music from Haydn's "Emperor." When I first started school in the 1950s, they put that to different music because it was also the German national anthem. I also love "Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah" with "Cwm Rhonda" as the music. A Welsh choir singing that is an experience to remember.
Even if it was inspired by religious nonsense, great music and poetry are still great. We don't need to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
I still lapse into religious practices unconsciously. I often knock on wood to appease the tree spirits when expressing a hope.
I like some Christian Gospel music. Emmy Lou Harris singing "Wayfaring Stranger"! (Come on , what's not to love.) Billy Joe Shaver "I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal" ("But I'm gonna be a diamond someday!") Mavis Staples singing anything! I don't feel compromised listening to these.
I love Pentecostal church potlucks. My family was partnered with a Pentecostal mission to Native Americans. The church on this missions property was Pastored by a Phillipino. The congregation was Phillipino, Navajo, Apache, Gringos, and Latinos. The potlucks there were outrageous. Elk tamales, fry bread, fried chicken, and Pansit on one plate.
If we did not have Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween we would have to invent them.
It's all human creation anyways. Might as well enjoy!
I love "Amazing Grace" performed by Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, or even Johnny Cash (but not Rod Stewart). "
Right! Gospel by Rod stewart does not cut it! No street creds!
Johnny Cash recorded this most ultrafundamental tune that I thoroughly enjoy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA
"Amazing Grace" done by the Simon Fraser University Pipe band. They've won World's six times.
Oh yes. That melody was made for bagpipes.
-Celebrating Christmas. However, I sometimes refer to it as "Athmas", and utter the dreaded war-cry "Happy Holidays!" in front of my conservative dad, just to mess with him (but also in front of my friends as a friendly greeting).
-Whenever an old, cringey religious song (which I sometimes think were designed to be catchy) pops into my head and is impossible to shake from it, I kind of "atheify" the song- a neologism which here means that I change up the lyrics so that it conveys a humanist message instead of a religious one, e.g. "Amazing Reason" instead of "Amazing Grace".
I will continue ......
Eating Shrimp.
Insisting bats are birds and rabbits chew their cud.
talking to my ass and expecting him to respond.
eating bacon.
fornicating as much as I can.
masturbating when I can't fornicate.
I will never say "fuck" again. FUCK! I said it. FUCK! I said it again.... Oh FUCK!
I will continue eating cheeseburgers. Exodus 23:19
I will wear mini-skirts.
having threesomes and watching lesbian porn.
I will slash my own throat after my next Thanksgiving meal Proverbs 23:2
I will continue slapping my mother or girlfriend should they try to speak in Church.
I will let all the homosexuals know that they are evil sinners worthy of death.
I will take Gold jewelry from anyone I see wearing it so they don't piss off God.
I will only wear bed-sheets so I do not mix woven materials.
The only psychics and fortune tellers I will believe are the ones in the bible.
I feel no need to completely cut of customs that happen to be religious. Indeed my atheism frees me from having to worry about offending my god. Biblical stories are just like any other mythology (or science fiction, for that matter), just stories. (I know an atheist Jew who enjoyed caroling around Chrstmas)
I gotta go with "Goat Bless you." When someone sneezes. I am planning on using it the next time someone puffs dust out of their nose.
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