I went to Church today.............

[walkie talkie]

.......all of you atheists, go ahead and laugh.
I am tired.
All of the anger and fear and hate has finally sucked all the energy out of me and I have nothing left to feel except thankfullness.
I went to church this morning for the first time in at least 20 years. I was raised Catholic.
I sat in a pew by myself and I thanked the higher power for my family and friends and the life that I have.
Then I cried.
I cried for the people in my life that are dead, I cried for the things that I have done that were wrong, but most of all, I cried for the human race and what we have done too ourselves and what is going to happen us.
I have now reached a level of comfort and acceptance that I have never felt before.
I am not happy, just content.
I will do the best I can and try to be as positive as I can, considering the situation.
There are givers and takers in life.
I am going to concentrate on giving and helping now.
Thats all.

[Huaquelah]

Welcome, walkietalkie. You are beautiful. Keep on keeping on.

Love,
+  Huaquelah
   (one of the few "out" Catholics around here)

[Michelle]

We all need a good purging from time to time. And chocolate fudge.

[Greenbeast]

what i find strange, from an objective point of view (i hope, which is good for me being a very very strong atheist), is how some people can cope and survive without religion and church and all that and a lot of people can't?

i'm not out to 'get at' any of you religious bods its just something that i thought of on reading this topic

[SabreKai]

Hey, I'm atheist, and I don't have a problem with you going to church. What ever keeps you chugging along is ok by me. Some people need faith. Some people are too cynical to have it. (like me I guess)

The only problem I have with people who are religious is when they try to pass it on to me. Some are more aggressive than others about it, some are very subtle. Its the persistant ones that really honk me off. Ask me once about it and I'll tell you no, and thats the end of it. But some  just keep on trying. Thats where the problem lays.

Sabre

[Greenbeast]

Hey, I'm atheist, and I don't have a problem with you going to church. What ever keeps you chugging along is ok by me. Some people need faith. Some people are too cynical to have it. (like me I guess)

The only problem I have with people who are religious is when they try to pass it on to me. Some are more aggressive than others about it, some are very subtle. Its the persistant ones that really honk me off. Ask me once about it and I'll tell you no, and thats the end of it. But some  just keep on trying. Thats where the problem lays.

Sabre

that would really get me as well but luckily i don't really have that, perhaps being in britain the general level of outward religious-ness (new word there) is very low

[walkie talkie]

The Catholic religion was basically forced upon me in childhood. When I was in college, I lost faith in religion and the premise of life after death, heaven and hell, etc. I replaced it with science.
Science gives me no comfort now. Science says we die. Science does not explain what the point of life is.
Religion does not explain to me why we are here, but it offers an option to explore.
I don't want to get into the oldest argument known to man.
I might never go again, but today I went to an empty church and I prayed and it felt good.
Escapism? A crutch? Weakness? I don't know.
I let go of a lot of things today and I never want them back.
I feel mentally prepared for whats coming now. I'm 49, I've had a good life, a wife I love, no children.
When it's my time to go I want to have something to hope for....even if it's false.
Where's the harm in that?

[lady-t]

i think church is good for those who subscribe to the group worship thing.  i married a preacher so i get it at home all the time.

what did the movie "the stand" say---"something about those who know they are going to die usually die in a church? or something like that" or don't want to die alone.

if the real reason a person wants to go to church and be saved, is a pure reason i think that is fine and noble---but if they only go to church because they think they need to cover all the bases, so to speak, then that is hypocritical.

i wouldn't want to be judged as hypocritical.  although i admit i am far from perfect.

we all have dents and tarnished spots in our moral armor.

[Jay Dee]

That sounds like a powerful experience to me , walkie talkie, that occurred while you were in a church of your choice.
I am a tad cynical about organized religion but I am a strong believer in spiritual growth and development. I think spiritual growth and religion can be related but you do not have to have organized religion to develop spiritually - in  my estimation. The cornerstone of spirituality for me is community meaning a love of others, belief love of a power more potent than oneself ( i.e god) and also a love of self, and the other is truth  - truth being the concept of subscribing to things that enhance life and growth and things that are not true are dark or things that destroy or undercut life. We all have both - which do you nourish? Thats as simple as it gets for me. I am happy for you - sounds like you experienced  some  good stuff and very real - its powerful to live that.

[Huaquelah]

      “It is love alone that gives worth to all things”
                              St. Teresa of Avila

[walkie talkie]

That sounds like a powerfule xperience to me , walkie talkie, that occurred while you were in a church of your choice.
I am a tad cyncial about religion but I am strong believer in spiritual growth and development. I think they can be related but you do not have to have organized religion to devleop spiritually - in  my estiamtion. The cornerstone of spirituality for me is community meaning a love of others, a being more powerful than oneself i.e god and a love of self, and the other is truth  - truth being the concept of subscribing to things that enhance life and growth and things that are not true are dark or things that destory or undercut life. We all havve noth - which do you nourish. Thats as simple s it gets for me. I am happy for you - sound slike you experienced  some  good stuff and very real - its powerful to live that.

Thanks J.P.
I am not an organized religion guy either. I think an omnipresent "God" knows what the truth is in someone's heart.
Jesus went to the people, he never had or needed a place of worship or a "group" and neither do I.
To me, modern organized religions are responsible for more hypocrisy, deceit and tax exemption, than good.
The message is there, but when people start grouping up it gets distorted.
For better or worse my "religion" is in my head.

[GrumpyPops]

Glad you found some peace, WT.

I guess you've learned that science is not a substitute for religion.
IMHO science and religion have little in common.
Science is (IMO) about discovering how the universe works.
Religion is (IMO) about a philosophy of life or a way of living your life (a very personal thing).

Re: Church and religion
I have long made a distinction between christianity and "churchianity".
IMO christianity is based on the "message" and example of J.C.
Like you said WT, the churches are institutions, which are often (not always) controlled (or have been controlled) by megalomaniacs who use them for there own purposes and as a result they corrupt the message.

Like J.P., I believe that community is an important part of spirituality/christianity, but formal church institutions may not provided the supportive kind of community some of us need.

What does this have to do with PO and LATOC?
IMO, mental, emotional, spiritual preparation is most important.  Also supportive family and community are very important.

[Michelle]

The only problem I have with people who are religious is when they try to pass it on to me. Some are more aggressive than others about it, some are very subtle. Its the persistant ones that really honk me off. Ask me once about it and I'll tell you no, and thats the end of it. But some  just keep on trying. Thats where the problem lays.

Sabre

Yeah. 

[Elkhunter]

I understand completely where Walkie Talkie is coming from, and I am glad that the perfect moment happened where peace can re-enter your soul. I too was raised Catholic and "left" for quite a long while. I returned to a degree for myself, but more for my wife and children.               

There is a point where all the madness becomes overwhelming, where it seems that the whole of the earth is filled with sociopaths and that there is no way that any real future exists. And when one has children, sometimes the despair can become almost debilitating.

I too went and sat alone in a pew a few years back, the Church completely empty and silent. Years of incense burning had left a comforting scent long forgotten that helped to create an enveloping warmth that suddenly made everything allright. A calmness flooded over me as I stared at the Crucifix, and believed that no matter what happens, something better does await.

Shortly thereafter, we as a family began to attend regularly. Aside from being a good place to pray, there does exist also that "sense of community" which can be extremely supportive during these times, and it has really helped those closest to my heart. And it gives one the time to not think about the here, now, and tomorrow in that "earthly" sense. It is a place to calm the soul.

Whatever works for whomever. It works for me as well. God bless...

[Dennis from Oregon]

Im glad it works for many, last time I went to Church I discovered that God had left the building...

I got the sense He had not been there in a long time...

I only have to get some quiet, as I have a little divine voice in my own head that tells me most everything I need to know about Gods will...