Quote:
Originally Posted by BBinNYC
I'm here as a person who does not identify as an atheist to respect and support those that do. I grew up in an interfaith family (mother Jewish, father Catholic) and even though I was raised Jewish, I was taught over and over to respect other peoples' beliefs.
I know among progressive Jews there is a strong tradition of questioning everything, including the existence of God. I was so glad that when Jennifer agreed to come with me to the final part of the Yom Kippur service, our rabbi, who is fabulous, acknowledged that there were people in the congregation who do not believe in a god, and said that they are fully accepted. I was so glad that Jennifer could be there to hear that and not feel like she was being coerced in some way.
I think spiritual beliefs are less important than what each person contributes by way of their actions. There are atheists who work hard everyday to make the world a better place and I am grateful to them. I can't imagine that the "universe" would disapprove.
BBinNYC
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There is a lot of stereotyping of atheists and sometimes I have been as amazed at the bashing of atheists here as much as religion/spirituality bashing.
I'm glad to see this thread and I hope there is an adult response to it. As iamkeri said, it just might be a way for those of us that do have some kind of spiritual/religious belief system- no matter what it is, can gain understanding of atheism across our site. There are several other threads that "believers" or whatever we all identify as to have discussions.