Saint Anakin of Awkward

Letting chocolate melt a bit in your mouth and then taking a sip of wine is the closest thing to nirvana I’ve experienced.

Omnomnom. 

I just squeed.  Like a lot.

I’m at the point in my singledom where watching romantic comedies makes me hate the world because I’m alone.  Blurgh.

completeculture asked: No worries. Very interesting and thought provoking. Noticing that most of the responses to the question that was posted are a little ignorant of religions that aren't attached to "Western" thought. Thank you for a rational discussion on the topic.

No problem!  :D

completeculture asked: Thank you for your thoughts. Agree 100%. The terminology being used by the bloggers we're referring to all identify themselves as 'atheist'. They may be confused as to what their mindset actually is. What do you think?

I agree.  Anti-theist is not a well known belief.  

Christianity, Islam and Judaism are the first, second, and sixth of the most popular religion…I believe.  It’s been a while since I’ve studied it, so the numbers may be slightly off.  It doesn’t surprise me that those are more targeted by anti-theists or aggressive atheists.  Especially in the western hemisphere.  Also, I think it has to do a lot with the people of those religions.

Hindus do not seek to convert and have no “ritual” for converting.  The Buddhism core is atheistic.  Baha’is don’t seek to convert, either, in fact, they are encouraged to only convert the willing or open-minded.  Sikh’s also don’t try to convert anyone.  

Here’s how I think of it:
There’s a person of each religion in a room, plus an atheist.  Let’s assume they get into a discussion about religion.  The Sihk, Buddhist, Baha’i and Hindu don’t believe in converting people unless the person wants to be converted.  So, they’re going to pretty much leave the non-believer alone.  However, the Christian would probably be like “WHAT? OH MY GOD!  YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!”, not every Christian is like this, but I think several atheists have had negative experiences with Christianity.  So the Atheist gets mad.  Who is the Atheist going to get mad at?  All of them, including those who were all like “to each his own”?  Or just the person/religion that told them they were going to Hell and tried to convert them against their will?

Sorry for how lengthy this got.  Sometimes I don’t know when or how to stop talking.

I’m going to do this all at once, because I suck at posting regularly.

At what point did you know you were an atheist? Why did you become one, what were the factors leading up to the decision, if you weren’t always one?
I was born an atheist.  I then became a Catholic.  I then reverted back to atheism.  Religion doesn’t make sense to me, and I think people are less moral because of religion. If you’re moral out of fear of going to Hell, then you aren’t really moral. 

What religion did you grow up with? Did you have positive or negative experiences with religion?
I grew up Catholic.  I didn’t go to church much.  I have been confirmed and all of that.  I actually went to a non-denominational church for a while in middle school and I enjoyed going, until my mother told me I couldn’t go because it wasn’t “our” religion.  That was negative for me.  But my experiences actually in church have always been okay.  I’ve never felt judged or anything while I was religious.  That might change now that I’m not.

Are you a more outspoken or more apathetic atheist? Why?
I’m fairly non-confrontational.  I suppose I’m more apathetic.  I only argue when I’m invited to argue.  Like if someone posts a facebook status about how gay people are bad because the Bible says so.

Do you think religion is obsolete and should be wiped completely off the face of the Earth, or does some good come out of it?
I wouldn’t want to forcibly remove anyone’s religion from them.  I think it can provide hope.  However, I think the negatives far outweigh the positives.  If everyone just woke up tomorrow and forgot about their god or gods, I think the world would probably be a better place. 

Did you lose any friends because you decided to be an atheist? Did your family flip out?
I haven’t really told my family, I don’t think they would care much.  Last they were told I’m an agnostic.  
As for friends?  Well, I make it a point to make friends with people who wouldn’t ditch me because of what I believe. 

How do you feel about so-called “militant atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris?
I don’t really have an opinion on this.  

Except for God, do you believe in anything supernatural or pseudoscientific? (Ghosts, alien abductions, spirits, souls, demons, psychics, magic, Harry Potter, etc.)
Not particularly.  I believe that there is other life somewhere out in the universe, but I think it would be foolish to believe otherwise. 

What’s your political alignment? Does your atheism influence how you vote and how you feel on issues?
I’m socially liberal and fiscally moderate.  If there was a politician out there who openly hated atheists I wouldn’t vote for them.  But if there was an atheist politician (ha!) who I didn’t disagree with I wouldn’t vote for them either.  I don’t think religion should have much to do with politics.

Even though you’re an atheist, have you ever experienced a moment that could be called “religious?” Like an epiphany about the world or complete peace?
The closest to an epiphany I’ve ever had is that everyone (except those who were born blind) has seen the moon.  Every night, all seven billion of us, look up and see the moon.  I wonder if they just watch it like I do sometimes.  
…now that I’ve said that I feel stupid.

Are you spiritual, or are your feet always on the ground?
Depends on my mood.  Sometimes I’m like “Everything is connected!  Everything happens for a reason.” and then sometimes I’m like “Everything happens for a reason…and that reason is causality.”
Do you have/plan on having a career in the sciences? Alternatively: which branch of science intrigues you most?
I don’t know what I want to do with my life yet.  I’ve always been interested in psychology though.

What happens when we die? Do you fear death?
My answer isn’t a happy one.  What happens when we die?  We decompose and rot.  We used to become fertilizer, but then we started using coffins and concrete.  Do I fear death?  Probably a little less than everyone else.  I’ve accepted that I will die one day.  But I’m not ready for that one day to be today.

Would you ever date/marry somebody who follows a religion? Be honest.
I would never be able to date someone who believed I was going to Hell, or someone who would try to convert me.  But there are several religious people who believe that Heaven is something you earn with good deeds, not by faith.  

On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with life at this moment, and why?
I would say about a 5. Some days suck, some days don’t.

Recommend a book. :) (Doesn’t have to be relevant to atheism, just any good book.)
Looking for Alaska by John Green, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.   

And we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to share thoughts from Anne, the girl who just spent the last hour or so laying in bed thinking about a conversation that lasted less than a minute. 

Today while I was working, I had a conversation with a customer that made me think quite a bit.
Me: How are you today?
Him: Eh. It could always be better.
Me: But it could also always be worse.
Him: That’s true, but I’m always waiting for the best to happen to me to be happy. Anything less is settling.

I didn’t have much to say to this at the time. It sounds like a depressing way to live. I don’t considering it settling to be happy with what you have, I consider it to be realistic. If you’re always waiting for the best thing to happen, then you don’t see all the good things that happen because you’re waiting for the best. How do you even know if something is the best, anyway? Is it wrapped in gold wrapping paper? Does it have elegant hand written words saying “The Best” on it? Or is something softer? Perhaps it’s wrapped in the baby blanket your grandmother crocheted you with a plate full of cookies that are still warm from the oven. 

Or maybe it doesn’t exist. And even if it does exist, then what? What happens after you achieve or get it? Do you just wait for the next best? Or do you live your life knowing that the rest of your life cannot compare to that moment? 

It could just be me, maybe I’m not smart enough to grasp what he was trying to say. I’m not saying we shouldn’t chase our dreams and just accept what life gives us. A passive life is not really a life. But can’t we both accept what life gives us while chasing our dreams? 

Viewing life with tunnel vision is the worst way to live.