Just when you're sure God doesn't exist, he throws you a bone.

[openday]

How is it possible that I could have three in-depth, soul-searching discussions about God with three different people in the space of three days, without there being some external force at work? How is it possible that two of these people are a complete strangers, another is a close friend? It just seems too much of a coincidence that at the moment

Comments

[birdlawyer]

I would have to disagree a bit with the above comment; the "hole" is indeed filled again for many of us, and faith has nothing to do with it. Granted, it took me about three years, but I no longer feel lacking in anything. The idea of genuflecting before some faceless God is now every bit as absurd to me as, say, praying to unicorns on Pluto

[openday]

I had a talk today with someone who expressed pretty much the same thing you have here. He said that since turning away from the church he has been able to find greater satisfaction in life. What I'm finding by hearing these varied opinions is that those people who, like yourself, have turned away from organised religion tend to find some sense of fulfillment. Conversely, those who have never experienced organised religion tend to find themselves lacking something. That's a sweeping generalisation, I know, and is not to say that all people who haven't been involved in a church are unfulfilled. But, it strikes me as odd that we continually hear from celebrities, authors, sportsmen etc. who say they can't find any sense of fulfilment despite looking everywhere - in drugs, sex, money, art, movies, isolation and all the many alternatives. Is there something in this or are these people just a minority who happen to be listened to because of their celebrity status

[birdlawyer]

Chris, would you like me to tell you sometime about my experiences? Email would probably be better. I have absolutely no desire to "evangelize" you into heathenism-- I am amazingly mellow about religion these days-- so I would only be speaking for myself, of course. I can tell you right now that I won't be able to solve everything (or anything) for you, but there's always-- I dunno-- the beauty of commiseration?

[openday]

Yeah that would be cool, thanks. I wouldn't expect you to be evangelising me into heathenism (I like that epression) but you're right, commiseration is a wonderful thing. And hearing the experiences of others is always helpful. I bought a book last year called Walking Away From Faith and I'm spewing I don't have it with me here at my parents' place. The author tries to write about both sides of the faith-commitment struggle in order to point out the beauty of Christianity but she unintentionally seems to do a better job at highlighting the good things about walking away from religion (Hence the title, I guess).

[terrid_b]

i agree that it gets easier. i have learnt to live without it and i am no longer desperately saddened by it, nor do i feel a need to fill that hole. but it will always be there. i just can't agree with you that it gets filled by other things...for me it won't. because i know people who have never believed who don't have that hole, or don't notice it because nothing ever filled it.
with regards to your reply, openday, i've never believed in hell. ever. even when i was christian. i've always looked upon hell as the worst form of religious coercion - a creation by the church to scare people into giving them power. i don't really believe in anything to do with the afterlife really, so i guess, looking at things from that point of view, i've never really been too involved in organised religion. 'God' for me was always a comforting thing - that if i was a good person, then there would always be this one being who would love me and watch over me no matter where i was. which i think is why for me, the fear is a fear of loss, not a fear of

[birdlawyer]

i just can't agree with you that it gets filled by other things...for me it won't.

Well, that's just the thing, isn't it? For you. I think I understand myself better than anyone else does, and I can say that, for me, nothing even resembling a "hole" exists at all. I have experienced the intensity of religious "wholeness" and, compared to the "wholeness" I have now it is, shall we say, pitifully lacking.

[terrid_b]

sure, for everyone everything will be different. otherwise, life would be pretty damn boring :D