I was at work last Friday and we got on the subject of religion, our belief status and where we found our belief or disbelief. I am an atheist, so I practice nothing. My close friend, Ape, who is a devout Christian, attends regular church even though she has worked all night and is always seeking to be a better wife has not read the bible and knows nothing of it. The fella, Mi-kell, went on about some alien shit. Okay, the discussion is religion. I don't link my alien theory and religion theory. The lack of knowledge on Ape's part was what sparked my interest again in returning to my daily readings. I also happened to get an email yesterday (to the holy rollers it is a sign from God not a coincidence) from that website I joined a few months back called Youversion. I returned to the site, updated my account, chose a reading plan that is suitable to me and off I went. I read Genesis 1-16 yesterday afternoon.
The deeper I got into the bible the last time I read it, the more ridiculous I thought it was. I have no training in religion and I don't want any. I don't want to be well versed in thoecracy and ideals of Christianity. I just wanted a foundation.
I will admit that I have prayed. I amusually standing beside a dieing person and saying some prayer. I have prayed with someone who is passing to comfort them in their time of need and to make their death, the crossing from one world to the next as smooth as humanly possible. They don't know I am an atheist and I don't offer my disbelief to them on their way out because that just wouldn't be right.
I pray with them for them and not for me.
Sometimes I will sit with one of my patients and let them talk about God, Jesus and express their thoughts. I don't offer mine. I am there to listen. As a nurse that's what I do. I like to do it and if it makes someone happy then I am happy.
I learned the Our Father at work when I was 22. I worked in the nursing home as a CNA and I took care of a lady who was comforted by it. It soothed her and every morning when I went in to provide her care, we'd say the Our Father. Over and over and over again. Before she knew it, we were done and what would normally be a bad experience for the two of us turned into a chant session for the Lord.
I have not seen in all my 37 years the presence of God or his son, Jesus, in any part of my life. I was forced to Catholic school when I was a child through kindergarden, first and second grades. Not one day did I ever believe that there was a real God out there. Maybe it had something to do with my atheist father and my non practicing mother. She sent me to church on Sundays, up the hill and around the corner for Sunday school. I sat on the crick bridge every Sunday morning for as long as I could then I returned home after what I believed to be a decent amount of time. Sunday best on a crick bridge, waiting to go home. One Sunday morning I woke up and was straight up and said I didn't want to go, so I didn't and that was the end of that.
I remember after having my son, 10 years ago, I came home from the hospital and I was feeding him a bottle in the kitchen and she said to me very serious, "Now you believe in God don't you?"
I looked at her strange, "No, I don't. Why?"
"After all that, growing the baby inside you and bringing him home, you still don't believe?"
No, and I still don't.
YouVersion's website is HERE
YouVersion is on Facebook HERE
There is also a mobile app that can be downloaded for free to the cell. Explore that from the site itself.
Thanks for reading.
Day one 11/23/11 Genesis Chapters 1-16
Day two 11/24/11 Genesis Chapters 17-28
I often find that my atheist friends are more familiar with the bible than my christian friends are.
ReplyDeleteCurious, isn't it?