1. What common misunderstanding of those who leave the faith does Lynnette attribute to many Christians?
2. What comforted Lynnette in compensation for her father's inadequacies?
3. How did Lynnette talk to God? (What did she take to mean that He was telling her something?)
4. Why does Lynnette feel happier as a nontheist?
5. For what was Chris taught sin is responsible?
6. What led Chris to reject hell?
7. What existentialist philosophers did Chris read? What did he conclude about the origins of morality?
8. What puzzled Cora about prayer?
9. What did Cora read that shocked her?
10. Striving for "perfect compliance" with Mormon principles prevents what?
11. What choices did Naima not know she had?
12. post yours please
DQ
- Have you known any formerly-ardent OR formerly-tepid theists who are now enthusiastic nontheists? Are you one yourself?
- "Until my last year of High School, I don't think I ever had any doubts" (32) - when did you first entertain conscious doubts as to your early religious training?
- Besides Lot's wife & daughters, and Abraham & Isaac, what other examples from the Bible might incline a reasonable person to ask "What kind of god...?" (35)
- What's your view of the tendency of theists to rationalize their consternation over seeming injustice by invoking God's mysterious ways? Why is our inability to understand His ultimate mystery not, in their minds, equally an argument against belief?
- Did you discover any blogs or other online forums that contributed positively to your own evolving views and your opinion of godlessness?
- COMMENT: "The blackness and the vastness of the universe terrified me." 40
- Do you find cosmic mysteries pleasant and satisfying to ponder? 46 What specific sorts of mysteries do you find most compelling - physics, consciousness,, language,..., ?
- Did you feel pressured, as a theist, always to "study more, pray more, repent more, forgive more..."? 48
- Do you agree that "blacks are invisible in the secular community"? 70
- post yours please
Quiz Feb 8, AA 6-10
1. How does James say the Holy Spirit communicates with members of LDS?
2. Mormons support what with a feeling of moral duty?
3. Fear of what confrontation made James reluctant to come out as an atheist?
4. Where did James take refuge?
5. Shawn's parents' advanced degrees did nothing to... ?
6. Adults who claim godliness are also children in what sense?
7. How did Shawn's parents' generation view children?
8. What does David say psychologists call a hardwired predisposition to infer a God who answers prayers?
9. David struggled with filling our what part of an online form?
10. What tradition focuses on altering the "condition(s) requiring illusions such as religiosity"?
11-12. post yours please
6. Adults who claim godliness are also children in what sense?
7. How did Shawn's parents' generation view children?
8. What does David say psychologists call a hardwired predisposition to infer a God who answers prayers?
9. David struggled with filling our what part of an online form?
10. What tradition focuses on altering the "condition(s) requiring illusions such as religiosity"?
11-12. post yours please
DQ
- Do you agree that "it's easy to be an atheist if you grew up in a liberal community"? 72
- Do you think Mormons are more "terrified when a a family member is questioning or has left the faith" than other religionists?
- Do you find references to the Goddess any less objectionable than those to a Heavenly Father? Or do you find neither of them at all grating or annoying?
- Are nontheists less likely to treat their children as "extensions of themselves," or more likely to recognize and encourage their autonomy?
- What do you think of the way Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery programs invoke a "higher power"? 86
- Have you ever misrepresented your own religious orientation, to avoid unwanted consequences? How did that work out for you?
- Why do you think LGBTQ people might be 3x more likely to be agnostic or atheist? 92
- Do you admire Quaker spirituality? 96
- Did you have any godless peers during childhood?
- Did you read any life-changing books as a young person, with an impact comparable to that of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors on Sherilyn?
- How old were you when you ceased to take seriously any "lingering fears of a punishment" in the afterlife? Or do you still?
Quiz for 2/6/18
ReplyDelete12. "When it comes to religiosity" what really does matter? (p.59)
Response to ADQ: "Besides Lot's wife & daughters, and Abraham & Isaac, what other examples from the Bible might incline a reasonable person to ask 'What kind of god...?' (35)"
ReplyDeleteJust a basic example: Jesus was able to turn water into wine. That's alchemic...which could be considered witchcraft. Was Jesus a witch?
Intermediate example: Once god flooded the Earth and killed everything and everyone on it except for Noah, his family, and the animals, who helped Noah's family repopulate the Earth? The same thing could be asked about Adam and Eve's children... we all know that incest doesn't work passed a couple of generations.
Advanced example: God's omnipotence. Can god create a prison so secure that he himself cannot escape from it?
If he creates it and cannot escape, he is not omnipotent. If he doesn't create it, he is already not omnipotent. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, what have you is apparently god's nemesis. This automatically proves that god's force is not strong enough to keep out satan. So, does that mean Lucifer is a god? No, he's a fallen angel. Which means god is his super superior. There's even supposed to be a huge battle between god and satan that concludes existence as we know it.
Reality example: If we are all god's children and he/she loves us so much, why does he help sports teams win big games and not feed or give water to the babies in Africa?
Response to ADQ: "Do you find cosmic mysteries pleasant and satisfying to ponder? 46 What specific sorts of mysteries do you find most compelling - physics, consciousness,, language,..., ?"
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think languages would be like without terms that apply directly to religious happenstance: faith, miracles, salvation, hell, etc..
Have you known any formerly-ardent OR formerly-tepid theists who are now enthusiastic nontheists? Are you one yourself?
ReplyDeleteMy family never went to church growing up, but I still called myself a Christian when I was a kid. I think it was more out of fear of going to hell or being different from my friends rather than my actual beliefs. One day when I was in middle school, my uncle mentioned in passing that he was agnostic. I didn’t know what that meant, but when he explained it to me I had a little “Aha!” moment. Finally a word that showed my doubts about religion, but didn’t come off as harsh as “atheist” in the bible belt.
"Until my last year of High School, I don't think I ever had any doubts" (32) - when did you first entertain conscious doubts as to your early religious training?
Everytime I went to church with a friends family, from elementary to high school, I always left a little skeptical. I never felt comfortable in church settings, and the more exposure I had to it growing up, the more I questioned theism.
What's your view of the tendency of theists to rationalize their consternation over seeming injustice by invoking God's mysterious ways? Why is our inability to understand His ultimate mystery not, in their minds, equally an argument against belief?
I think they rationalize their own personal doubts with the “mysterious ways” argument. Instead of looking at the cracks of implausibility in their glass ceiling, the fill the cracks with “God has a plan” because that is easier than shattering their reality.
What do you think of the way Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery programs invoke a "higher power"? 86
DeleteI think psychologically, a strong belief in a higher power has proven to help people through hard times. I don't know if the 12 steps creator truly believed in faith or knew there was a higher chance of the program working on theists. I think it is definitely possible to sober up without converting.
Have you ever misrepresented your own religious orientation, to avoid unwanted consequences? How did that work out for you?
All the time when I was younger. It was easier and made me less anxious to talk about. It didn't really bother me, but now I'll just say I'm agnostic.
How old were you when you ceased to take seriously any "lingering fears of a punishment" in the afterlife? Or do you still?
ReplyDeleteI was probably 18 when I officially came to the conclusion, I am 21 now. As I grow, I continue to learn and research many things. I do not have any fears of life after death, I feel that death is only the beginning.
Quiz AA 6-10
ReplyDeleteAlternative quiz questions
11.What does the "Eternal Family" mean for Mormon families? (p.77)
12.In a recent analysis of GSS data, how much more likely are members of the LGBTQ community to be agnostic or atheist? (p.92)
Answers:
Delete11. Families go to heaven together. If one family member rejects the faith, it reflects negatively on all members of the faith.
12. Members of the LGBTQ community are three times more likely to be agnostic or atheist than heterosexuals.
Alternative Quiz Questions:
ReplyDelete1. What caused Shawn's family to metaphorically "Die" before his eyes?
2. What is the Mormon Catch-22?
3. What led Sherilyn to believe that her life was her own to lead?
4. What challenges did David turn to God for help solving?
1.Islam
Delete2.The only possible correct conclusion possible is that the Mormon church is true. If that is not the conclusion you find, you must be incorrect.
3.Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.
4.For help in coping with life.
DQ- Are non-theists less likely to treat their children as "extensions of themselves," or more likely to recognize and encourage their autonomy?
ReplyDeleteI think that non-theists are more likely to recognize and encourage their children's autonomy. I think there is far less reasons not to than theist parents may have. This is not to say that all theist parents have to reject their child's autonomy, just that they have more reason to if they fear things such as: the damnation of the child's soul if they stray from God, their own reputations within the church being harmed if their child does something "distasteful", or their child not raising their grandchildren "the right way". Non-theist parents have none of these fears, though they may still fear for their own reputations in the community if their child does something horrible. Most non-theist I know are far more excepting of their child's own opinions, views, dreams, and desires. But, their children still have rules to follow.
I think that all parents, theists and non-theists alike, can become a bit concerned or even overbearing when they realize that their child may be heading down a path that they did not wish for them to travel. However, non-theists can come around to a child’s ideas for his or her life more easily (assuming the life they are choosing is not physically harmful to themselves or others). This is because theism generally encourages parents to fear for the children’s eternal souls as much as their own. Therefore, any act that is perceived by the church as a sin could potentially damn the child forever. This makes many life choices that should be left up to the individual as they develop through life fair game for theist parents worry. It is really quite sad how much fear is peddled in churches that are supposed to be about love.
Alternative Quiz Questions:
ReplyDelete1.Why did James feel guilty as a teen?
2.James became aware of the LDS church's involvement in what campaign?
3.According to Shawn, what is the "specter" that ruined his family?
4.Why did David love the Christmas season?
5.Why did David not view his belief in God during his 20s as irrational?
6.What prevented David from developing fully as a student and a thinker until he was in his thirties?