Lallapalalable
New Member
How you kids doin'?
So I've been living easy, not giving a shit about what other people believe so long as they return the favor, and that's been pretty chill. Worked with a guy that was all "Born-Again Christian but also believes in reptilian aliens" and I just nodded when he talked about it and beyond that he was a pretty cool dude. I also met this girl a few months back and we hit it off pretty well, and one of the things that naturally came up is religion, of course. I knew since before we started dating that her father is a Lutheran minister, so I was kinda nervous about explaining how I'm not Christian, but she told me something that really surprised me.
She's religious, but not spiritual. Either does not believe in God or believes that the existence thereof doesn't matter, not 100% sure, but that part I'm entirely in line with. I'm agnostic vs atheist purely because the world does not change either way, and no matter the answer I still live in the same world. However, she does think going to church is the most important thing in life, no matter what you believe. I was a little confused, yeah, but I asked why that is and she gave some answers worth pondering:
1) Ritual: It's important to establish a rhythm in life, and the act of going somewhere to reflect on life for an hour helps with that.
2) Commitment: Forcing yourself to go somewhere every week when you may not always want to is good for personal growth. Just the act of doing something you aren't ecstatic about because you tell yourself you have to reinforces positive processes, and can be applied anywhere.
and 3) Community: There's a difference between personal reflection and community reflection. I don't know the difference yet but I guess I'll see what's up. I guess talking with people who are reflecting on the same things as you has that multiple perspectives benefit you won't find on your own.
So yeah, I'm sure this has been an argument since the beginning of time, or at the very least been brought up here more than once, but my experience has always been either religious fanatics or militant atheists, and her middle-of-the-ground views on spirituality and religion is new to me. Her dad is Lutheran, but she goes to Quaker Meetings because it's less "sermons and songs" and more "sit quietly and think about life," so I decided I can swallow my pride and join her this Sunday and attend church for the first time in... yeah, I don't actually know. A while. But my life has been less than wonderful lately (not bad, but could definitely be better and I've hit a wall), and if this is something I can tolerate then why not see if I can utilize it to improve myself? I'm not going in looking to change my spiritual beliefs, but maybe adopt a new philosophy or two, and at the very least get myself into a new routine with a new perspective on life. Who knows, I might enjoy it.
So I've been living easy, not giving a shit about what other people believe so long as they return the favor, and that's been pretty chill. Worked with a guy that was all "Born-Again Christian but also believes in reptilian aliens" and I just nodded when he talked about it and beyond that he was a pretty cool dude. I also met this girl a few months back and we hit it off pretty well, and one of the things that naturally came up is religion, of course. I knew since before we started dating that her father is a Lutheran minister, so I was kinda nervous about explaining how I'm not Christian, but she told me something that really surprised me.
She's religious, but not spiritual. Either does not believe in God or believes that the existence thereof doesn't matter, not 100% sure, but that part I'm entirely in line with. I'm agnostic vs atheist purely because the world does not change either way, and no matter the answer I still live in the same world. However, she does think going to church is the most important thing in life, no matter what you believe. I was a little confused, yeah, but I asked why that is and she gave some answers worth pondering:
1) Ritual: It's important to establish a rhythm in life, and the act of going somewhere to reflect on life for an hour helps with that.
2) Commitment: Forcing yourself to go somewhere every week when you may not always want to is good for personal growth. Just the act of doing something you aren't ecstatic about because you tell yourself you have to reinforces positive processes, and can be applied anywhere.
and 3) Community: There's a difference between personal reflection and community reflection. I don't know the difference yet but I guess I'll see what's up. I guess talking with people who are reflecting on the same things as you has that multiple perspectives benefit you won't find on your own.
So yeah, I'm sure this has been an argument since the beginning of time, or at the very least been brought up here more than once, but my experience has always been either religious fanatics or militant atheists, and her middle-of-the-ground views on spirituality and religion is new to me. Her dad is Lutheran, but she goes to Quaker Meetings because it's less "sermons and songs" and more "sit quietly and think about life," so I decided I can swallow my pride and join her this Sunday and attend church for the first time in... yeah, I don't actually know. A while. But my life has been less than wonderful lately (not bad, but could definitely be better and I've hit a wall), and if this is something I can tolerate then why not see if I can utilize it to improve myself? I'm not going in looking to change my spiritual beliefs, but maybe adopt a new philosophy or two, and at the very least get myself into a new routine with a new perspective on life. Who knows, I might enjoy it.